A Sovereign Among the Stuff

Today, First Samuel chapter 10, let me direct your attention to the word of the Lord tonight. First Samuel chapter 10 and verse 17. First Samuel 10 and 17, I'm sure they have that available for you on the screens, but for both of you that brought your Bibles, you will. You gotta be careful because there'll be some of my friends over here who say, we all got phones and stuff, right? I have a carol, I know that, I know. I mean, this is just like my old friend. I can't come church without this. I just can't. I just, I feel like I'm not dressed or something. I just, it's my Bible. I tried to explain to our church, we did this when I was pastor and I'm a recovering pastor. When I was pastor, I tell our church, it's we do this for sinners that don't have Bibles, not for Christians that can't find theirs. That's a different category entirely. For Samuel 10 and 17 and Samuel called the people together under the Lord to mitzvah and said under the children of Israel, thus say it, the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all kingdoms and of them that oppressed you. We gotta be reminded of that sometimes. Doesn't hurt to have somebody to remind us, he brought us out of slavery. He brought us out of bondage to sin. Because that's what's so staggering about this next verse and he rejected your God who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations and you have said unto him, nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they inquired of the Lord further if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered and said, behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. I don't even know what that is. God thought so little of it, he wouldn't even identify it. When this man was hiding from his purpose, what he was hiding behind just didn't matter. Just stuff. I'm gonna preach it out on this subject, a sovereign among the stuff. A sovereign among the stuff and you can be seated in Jesus' name.

Let me just get right to it this evening. Get right to the point. God has a purpose for your life. Not for the person seated beside you, not for somebody that you think has it all together, not for somebody that you would have deemed more acceptable, but God has a plan for your life. God has a calling for your life. Three mans and two nods. God has a calling for your life. No matter who you are, no matter what you've done, no matter what your last name is, no matter what your last name isn't, no matter your background, no matter your family, no matter your mistakes, no matter your regrets, no matter what road brought you here tonight, did you hear me? God looks in your tomorrows and says, I've got something I want that person to do for me. He looks at every one of you tonight and says, I've got your tomorrows mapped out. You think you've got your life planned, but I got news for you. I have your life planned. I've got a work for you to do. I've got a purpose for you in my church. I have a calling for you to fulfill, and nothing in hell and nothing in this earth can stop God from doing with you what he wants to do, except you. I have but one purpose tonight. I want to destroy that lie out of hell that says that what God wants to do with you can't happen because you fill in the blank. Preacher, if you knew me, you would never say that about me. You are wrong, but if you knew the mistakes I had made, I know people that have made bigger ones. If you knew the ways that I've rejected God in the past, but you're here tonight. It's time for us to turn loosens of stuff that is under the blood and say, I'm not proud of what that was, but I thank God that all things are passed away and all things have become new. And I stand here tonight clothed in the righteousness of God. And if God has a purpose for my life, I refuse to let hell beat me up over yesterday's failures until I fail to complete tomorrow's mission. I want to call this generation of young adults to rise up with a passion for God that says, I may not have it all together just yet. And I might have my issues. Some folks have got so many issues, they've got a subscription. I may have made some mistakes. And I may not have everything that some other people have, but I'll tell you what I have. I've got a God who loves me. I've got blood that's cleansed me. I've got a spirit that empowers me. And I've got a purpose that drives me. And hell, you are in trouble because I'm gonna come out of this town. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. I may have been dry bones laying in the valley when I got here, but the wind is blowing in this house. And you got a problem on your hands because I'm gonna leave this place absolutely committed to doing what God wants me to do. I have a God ordained, heaven designed, eternity shaking, devil frustrating, calling of God on my life. And fulfilling what God wants from me is my purpose in life. So let's get to where we are here.

As God made of Abraham's descendants, the great nation that he had promised, it was his intention to rule over them. God never intended for Israel to have a king save himself. It was not to be a monarchy. It was a theocracy, a nation governed by God. He intended to express his will through prophets and priests. It was only when Israel began to look around at the nations around them and express a desire to be like them that the development of a king of Israel arose. The Lord spoke through Samuel the prophet to explain that he would grant their request for a monarchy. And then God himself began the process of elevating the one that he selected. His name was Saul. Now, those of you who are familiar with the Bible's account of this man know what a failure he became in time. Saul allowed the power of his position to go to his head. He began to believe that he didn't need any voice of authority in his life. When Samuel arrived late to a place of sacrifice, Saul took it upon himself to step out of his place and offer the sacrifice instead. When God spoke judgment through Samuel against the Amalekites and commanded Saul utterly to destroy them all, no matter what their age or gender, Saul decided that he didn't really have to obey God or God's man. There were some parts of Amalek he didn't really think were all that bad anyway. So he spared them. And for that, he dealt with these grievous words of rebuke and judgment in 1 Samuel 1526. And Samuel said in the Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected thee from being king over Israel. Hard words.

Let me stop just a minute and tell you to state the obvious, sir, ma'am, don't you ever let the enemy of your soul convince you that you don't need the voice of spiritual authority in your life? Amen. Amen. I'm not above amen and myself if some of you refuse to. Did you hear what I said? I know you're a young adult now. I know you're paying your old bills. I know you're over 21 and way more than a hundred, but you still need a pastor. Amen. And when the moment comes that you think I'm an adult, I'll do what I want. You're walking down the path that led Saul to destruction. I preach to you, I preach to you, you need the voice of a man of God in your life. You need the voice of a pastor in your life. You better thank God for spiritual authority that loves you enough to invest in you. Thank you Jesus. Submission to the voice of authority is not a burden. It's a blessing. It is not intrusive. It is protective. Doesn't keep you captive. It lets you live free. Saul tragically demonstrates to us the cost associated with being governed by your own desires and guided by your own opinions. His last 24 hours witnessed him visiting a witch to hear from the spirit world since he himself cannot hear from God and won't listen to the man of God. And then on the next day, he is slain by the Philistines beheaded and his lifeless body is nailed to the wall of the pagan city of Bethshon. And it didn't have to be that way. It shouldn't have been that way.

He goes, this is a point I wanna come to here tonight. When we preach the many sermons about Saul, they generally center around his failure. They generally have the tone of what I just expressed to you. We warn, even as I have done tonight, of the danger of pride and arrogance and the inevitable results of self-rule. We caution against the horrible consequences of rebellion. We advise against evaluating right and wrong from a human perspective. I get all those lessons, but tonight, I would rather focus for just a bit on what Saul was before those things corrupted his life. Because even though God did not intend a king for Israel, when he bowed to their request, he did not go seek someone that he chose because they would fail. He didn't go out and pick some off-scouring, some worthless nobody. He didn't go pick somebody with nothing to bring to the table. I mean, if they're gonna have a king, he loves Israel. He picked somebody that could be a good one. He found somebody with potential. He found somebody that had he stayed submitted, could have ruled well and long and godly. God and his omniscience looked through the land and selected one that had the capacity to rule well. They found this young man named Saul. Who was exactly what we would have expected? He was the tallest guy in Israel. In fact, the Bible says that the guy next to him in stature only came up to his shoulders. He was ahead above everybody else. He wasn't some dangly uncoordinated doofus. That's a Hebrew word, if you wanna know. The Bible says he was handsome. He was handsome man in Israel. He was tall, dark and gorgeous. He was gifted. He was able. He had it going. Capacity for greatness and so, God began to coordinate a divine moment, a rendezvous with the man of God. Just ride with me here a minute. We'll get back up and gallop here in a second.

Saul's dead kish had some donkeys that went missing. And he sent Saul to go look for them. When they had traveled far and couldn't find them, Saul decides to seek the counsel of the prophet Samuel. See, the thing was the day before God had spoken to Samuel, said, tomorrow about this time, you're gonna see the one I've chosen. And so, as Saul approached, Samuel looks at him without Saul saying anything, he said, don't worry, the donkeys have been found. Now that would freak you out a little bit. You're walking up the man of God, said, hey, I got nevermind, they've been found. Ever had one of those moments? Your pastor preached to you. Saul had one of those moments. Don't worry about it, the donkeys have already been found. But I got news for you. You're here because you think you're looking for donkeys. You're not. You're here because God is looking for a world changer. You think you came here because your friends are now looking for four-legged beast of burden. You're here because God is looking for a two-legged leader. You think you came to wins because your friends thought it'd be a good time, but you're here because God is looking for somebody. Cause God is looking for somebody to turn your church upside down. You think you're here to find Mr. Right. You're here because God thinks you are Mr. Right. Do you hear me? God brought you here this week so that he could have an encounter with you and say, I've got something higher for you than just chasing donkeys. Saul, you think your mission in life is to re-gather the wealth of your father. I've got something higher for you, Saul.

Before he leaves, Samuel takes out the oil, pours it over his head, sends him on his way to meet Samuel and Gilgal where the prophet will offer sacrifices. Man, I'm sure Saul's head, this is the longest introduction you've ever heard, just stay with me. I'm sure Saul's head had to be spinning. His reaction was predictable. Me? No way. I mean, how could this be? He was quick to point out that he was from Benjamin, smallest tribe, and that his family was the smallest in that tribe. Can I just stop for a minute and tell you that God's purpose for you supersedes the family origin you come from? Now, that may not mean much to some of you who are a fifth generation apostolic, but to somebody whose daddy was a crack addict, you need to hear what I'm telling you. The family you came from doesn't stop God from wanting to do something with your life. Hey, boys, shout it out, yeah? I don't care what kind of lineage you've got. God says I've got a calling on your life. You can preach the gospel. You could be the greatest soul winner my church has ever seen. You could be the worshipper that lights your church on fire. I don't care what family you came from. You may have a mom and dad who've been apostolic for generations of lineage of preachers in your background, or you may come from a family that's riddled with addicts and apostates. Your family may be the backbone of the church or they may be the backsliders out of the church, but that does not limit God's capacity for his plans in your life.

Look up here in Uncle Scotty for a minute. I came from the mighty metropolis of Gravel, Illinois. A little church of about 30 people. My dad wasn't a preacher, my dad sold insurance. Name Graham didn't have any significance in the UPCI. I was a nobody from nowhere. And I still don't think I'm all that in four bags of chips, but I know that God has used me for his glory, far belong, anything I could have anticipated back in Gravel, Illinois. And if somebody had tried to tell me that I'd have been standing on a platform in Palm Bay preaching the first night of winds conference when I was in that little hick town, I would have been prone to have a Saul moment and say, you don't know what you're talking about. My daddy's not a preacher. I don't come from a lineage, you know, not me, but I thank God that somewhere in an altar I got on my face and I said, God, I don't know how, I don't know where, I don't know when, and I don't know why, but my life is yours. And you do with me whenever I'm trying to get somebody tonight to realize, God has a calling, God has a purpose, God has a design, and it doesn't matter where you're from, just get to the foot of the cross and let God make you what he wants you to be. Don't let your background stop, you saw. If God has a crown for your head, how dare you tell him it won't fit. If God has a calling for you, sir, how dare you tell him he doesn't know what he's doing. I'm just gonna stop him in it and wait out there. We need young men accepting, young ladies accepting the call to preach. I'm not condemning any degrees or pursuits that some of you are not called to preach. You're called to be an engineer and pay good tithes into your church. And teach Bible studies and lead your men's prayer group and lead your ladies soul-winnin' club.

And so while I will affirm those other things, I will not be bashful from sayin' we need some young men to value a calling more than a career. Our outgoing general manager, I'm gonna say it again, I'm gonna say it again, I'm gonna say it again. Our outgoing general youth president, Josh Carson stood in front of a youth convention, I know it was a slightly different demographic, but he stood in front of 1,000 young people and said, how many of you feel like God has a calling on your life to preach and seven people raised their hand? Out of 1,000, I say, God help us. We gotta quit worshiping the dollar in possessions more than we worship the call of God. We've come. I am not telling you you're called to preach and if there's something in your heart, you go talk to your pastor, but I'm telling you you gotta be open to say God whatever you want from me. I don't care if I never make a million dollars. I don't care about Forbes. I don't care about any of that stuff. I just want to do what you've called me to do. Hey. There's a witness in the spirit of what I just said. Some of you had ducked and dodged and avoided what you know. God's been talking about you since you were 12 years old and you ran from it and tried to hide from it, but tonight God has orchestrated a meeting for you to come face to face with His purpose in your life. We need young adults. Getting off my notes and that's frightening. We need some young adults to realize those old gray beards in your church that are carrying the burden for prayer aren't gonna be there forever. And where are the young adults that say I'll be there for six o'clock prayer because grandpa's not gonna be able to make it forever. Where are the young adults that'll start taking on PIMs? Because the burden to share the gospel doesn't just start when you're 40 years old. Yeah. You got plenty of money for paintball and golf and don't tell me you don't have money to give to missions.

It's time. It's time for you to confront the calling of God in your life. You're not a 12 year old kid anymore going to youth convention just shouting with a choir. Saul, you're out chasing donkeys. God interrupts and says I've got something higher for you than the accumulation of possessions. You go home, talk to your pastor about it, submit to his leadership for what God has for you. You need to have a calling to pray. It needs to be a calling to worship. It needs to be a calling to teach Bible studies. Be a calling to come and work around the church. God has called you. If he didn't think you could do it, he wouldn't have called you. Saul, I know you may have some insecurities, but in spite of your excuses and in spite of opposition, God sees in you what you can't see yet. Okay, you need an illustration and a conveniently, I happen to have one.

Back in 2005, I caved on a promise that I had made to myself and I surrendered to a long standing request of my daughter. I bought her a dog for Christmas. She had been after us forever to get a dog. It's what she asked for every Christmas, every birthday, every Easter, every St. Patrick's Day, every President's Day, every year on National Penguin Awareness Day, which is January 20th for you that are interested. In spite of my firm commitment that I would never have a dog in my house, this happened. Maybe. Oh. Cookie, the wonder pooch. Do you know how incredibly hard it is to scare a burglar with a four pound dog named Cookie? Sick of Cookie. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Does not do what sick of Fang does, okay? It was one pound, three ounces when we got her. Half ball tease, half toy poodle. You could tie her to a stick and dust with her. We had to put her down a couple of Januarys ago. Well thank you. I didn't really care, but. No, I mean, I cared for my wife and my daughter who needed counseling, but I just. See y'all right now, all the dog owners go, you heartless creature. No, I reached a peaceful coexistence with the dog. I mean, to me it was like a piece of furniture. Just something I owned and cost me money. If my daughter is watching right now, I will not be allowed in the house when I get home. And some of you, somebody's gonna know her and send her a text and now I'm in trouble. Our next door neighbor had a dog. His name was Satan. Serious, I'm dead serious. Half Rottweiler, half Doberman. Satan. I don't think I've ever seen a dog that had quite that disposition. He had the demeanor of a rabid badger with an impacted wisdom tooth. He hated everything and everyone. Their backyard was next to our driveway and if I was working out in my yard, my garage or my vehicle, whatever, Satan would be plastered against the fence growling. Now I don't mean that, you know, I'd rather you didn't mess with me growl. I mean that I'm planning to eat you and your children growl. Lips curled and dripping fangs on display, ears laid back, a knife and a fork in his paws. And his whole body just trembling with desire to rip my throat out and consume my internal organs one at a time. One day, not very long after Cookie's arrival, she was outside with me in the yard. Before I could even blink, she tore over to the fence and she was so little she just went right under it and began to snarl, bark and challenge Satan. My first thought was, well there's a few hundred dollars down the drain. She's not even a chew toy for that monster. He'll bite her to her only hope is to get stuck in his throat and suffocate him from the inside out. And then the most amazing thing happened. That little ball of fluff about the size of an anemic gerbil began to chase that demonic canine across the yard. Satan ran up on their deck, crawled under the gas grill and trembled silently while an oversized mole rat raged and roared just feet away. When I finally coaxed her back over because I wasn't going over there.

When I finally coaxed her back into our yard, I thought to myself, Cookie, one day, you're gonna pass by a mirror. You're gonna see what you're really like and on that day, you're gonna remember this day and you're gonna think to myself, what was I doing? What was I nuts? I was no match for him. See, I kind of think the same thing is gonna happen here tonight in reverse. You're gonna look into the mirror and you're gonna see what you're really like and you're gonna say to yourself, you mean to tell me I've been scared of him? Do you mean to tell me I've been led to him? Intimidate me? Look what I am. I'm more than a conqueror, greater is he that's in me, that's in the world. When you look into the mirror and you see who you are, you march home saying I can win a soul. I can teach a Bible study. I can preach in the nursing home. I can preach in the prison. And all of a sudden you say, I don't know what I've been so scared of. Look who I am. Look who I am. Look who I am.

I think we use the verse backwards all the time in James. We talk about he that's a doer of the word or hearer of the word, not a doer. And it's like that guy that beholds his natural face in a glass. Now walks away and forgets what man or man he is. And we always use that to be like, man, I look in the mirror and go, I see the flaw and I see the problem. I see the issue. And then I walk away and just forget about all the flaws that need to be fixed. But maybe if what God was saying was, if you'd ever look in this mirror and see who you are, don't forget who you are. Maybe he was saying, you gotta see a picture like God sees you and then say, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. Come on, somebody, I need you to rise up and let hell know. He can't hold you down. He can't stop God's purpose. He can't stop what God wants you to do. He can't stop the calling of God. Look who I am. Look who I am. I'm a bloodwashed child of God. Look who I am. I'm a Holy Ghost filled, tongue talking warrior. Look who I am. I'm a great army. Look who I am. Stop hiding behind your excuses. Stop hiding behind your mistakes. Stop hiding behind your family. Stop hiding behind your yesterdays. Stop hiding behind your stuff. He goes, God, I'll be finishing me. God decided to show Saul that what he had experienced was real, because he knew Saul was gonna walk away and once he wiped that oil off his head, he's gonna say, man, I don't know. Felt good at the time and I'm, mm-hmm.

So Saul, Samuel told Saul, here's three things you can expect to happen when you leave this encounter that are gonna confirm to you that this was not just a feeling, this was a calling. He said on your way home, Saul, you're gonna see a couple of men who will tell you that your father's not worried about the Miss and Donkeys anymore, he's worried about you. One way that you'll know that something is at work in you is when what used to matter doesn't matter anymore. You've been walking all over creation, looking for them stupid donkeys. That's not gonna be very important to you pretty soon. Pretty soon you're gonna care more about people than things and you'll be more concerned about what concerns your father than anything else. I wanna tell you tonight in the Holy Ghost that one of the ways you're gonna know, after we get done in this altar tonight, one of the ways you're gonna know that something seismic is happening to you, one of the ways you're gonna know the wind of God that's blown into your life and done something eternal in you is you're gonna see some of your priorities have changed. Things that used to matter to you suddenly don't matter so much anymore and things that used to be important are really not that important when you compare them to your calling. Things that used to matter just don't. Things that used to be important just aren't. Likes on social media just don't matter compared to heaven liking your prayer and study habits. Fun with friends won't matter as much as your time with God. You'll find your calling is closely connected with what matters to you, Father. What concerns you, whatever moves you, let it move me. Whatever touches your heart, let it touch my heart. Whatever drives you, let it drive me.

Then Samuel said, but that's not all. You're gonna meet three men heading to worship. Listen to me carefully now, you gotta follow this. He said, one of them will have the animals for sacrifice. One of them will have three loaves of bread and one of them will have some wine. When you leave that conversation, the one guy is gonna give you two of his loaves of bread. You know, one of the ways you'll know this calling thing is for real if you start running with different people. All of a sudden, the people you run with, the people that matter to you, the people whose opinions really matter to you are the ones that know how to sacrifice. I wish I had, I wish I had, now remember, there was animals, bread and wine, people that know how to sacrifice, people that love the word and people that love the moving of the spirit. One had animals, one had bread, one had wine. He said, you're gonna re-surround yourself with people that aren't embarrassed to talk about what pastor preached on the night. You're gonna start hanging with people that aren't embarrassed to go to the altar and get on their face and weep and cry after a pastor preaches. All of a sudden, the girl that looks pretty to you is the one that gets up to the altar with her eyes red from tears because she knows how to sacrifice. The guy you're gonna think is attractive is the one that gets out and shouts till his tie is crooked because he loves the wine. But watch, but he said, but of the three, the one that will mean the most to you is the one that loves the word. You'll take some bread with you. I know shouting and the spirit is more fun and I know the good worship set of the praise team is more entertaining but the way that you'll know there's a calling in your life is you're hunger for the bread. Get in this book. Love this book. Consume this book. Read this book. Live this book.

And finally, he said, you're gonna meet a group of prophets coming down the mountain. All of the instruments, they'll be playing songs and they'll begin to prophesy when they do something that's gonna come on you, Saul and you'll start prophesying with them. I know you've never done that before, Saul, but see part of pursuing a calling is allowing God to take you to new places. Now please note, you hear me, he only went there with his pastor's blessing. Don't you go running out here saying, brother Graham said, I should go, no. His pastor said, when you meet up with them, you're gonna start doing this. Saul's journey to a crown was guided by his pastor and yours will be too. But at Samuel's direction, Saul was willing to try something new.

Don't be scared into immobility when God starts ordering your steps into ministry. Whatever that ministry is, don't think ministry just in terms of preaching, whatever that is. God calls you to start teaching the junior Sunday school class. Don't be scared to try something new. Well, I've never done that before. Well, thank you, Sherlock. Every person who's ever done anything for God had to say that at some point in time. Go ahead and teach a home Bible study. I've never taught one before. Good, this will be your first. Saul did not meet up with those prophets. He still had oil dripping down off his head. He came from wind's comforts. He could still feel what he felt there. But when he met up with those prophets and the power of God started to nudge him to do something new, he didn't square up and say, no, no, no, that's not for me, I'll find somebody else. He began to do what God pushed him to do. One of the ways you're gonna know that God is meeting you in this place and has a divine purpose for your tomorrows is you're gonna be given the opportunity, listen, you're gonna be given the opportunity and the impetus to do something new. You mean I'm gonna get the same thing? You mean I'm gonna get the soul with the choir? No. Saul didn't prophesy in front of the nation. He prophesied on the backside of a mountain just a little cluster of folk. If you're worried about being seen, you haven't spent enough time in the altar. Maybe I'll get to preach wins next year. Probably not if you don't teach a Bible study between now and then. But when you leave this divine encounter and the smell of the oil is still dripping down off your soul and God brings you to a place and your pastor says, you know what I need? I need somebody to start a hyphen group. I need somebody to start a young adults ministry. I need somebody to come alongside our prayer coordinator. You know he's 93 years old. Somebody's gotta take up this mantle and start leading. I want you to square your shoulders and say, God, I don't know how to do it. But if this is of you, I'll follow you. I'll do what you say. I'll go where you call. There's a calling on my life. I preach to you that a new day is coming in your life.

A new chapter, a new focus, a new purpose. And to meet that new day, look at what God did for Saul when he left that meeting. Stand, I'm almost done. Stand. Look at what God did for Saul when he left wins for Samuel 10 and 9. And it was so that when he had turned his back to go for Samuel, God gave him another heart and all those signs came to pass that day. Here's what I believe in the Holy Ghost. Oh listen, it would have been easy to preach to you about you being cookie and chasing Satan under his gas grill. And we could have just shouted and rejoiced about what I really feel in the spirit tonight. Something sovereign and surgical has to happen. God is gonna give somebody a new heart. He told Saul, I'll tell you how I'm gonna get ready for my purpose in your life. I'm gonna give you another heart. I feel in the spirit that tonight something sovereign is gonna happen. He's gonna see the willing and do something deep inside of you. Not just an emotional change, a heart change. Not just a behavioral change, a heart change. I'm wondering if there's anybody desperate for God to touch your heart. Take over, Jesus. Holy Ghost, just take over right now. Ha moshadnei mo'ika tarayinabohotarama. Holy Ghost, take over right now. Holy Ghost, take over.

Saul, you're hiding behind the stuff. You're hiding behind the stuff that God sees you. And he believes in you. And he wants to empower you. Saul, would you leave the donkey pursuit behind and maybe come to an altar tonight? Is it possible your priorities could be shifted around and you let God do whatever he wants to do with you? Don't stop praying. I'm just asking for Saul to come and get on your knees in front of Samuel and say, God, I'm desperate. I am desperate. I've lived my life for me for too long. I've made my degree in my career the priority in my life for too long. I've made my ambitions more important than your calling. I've sought my own way for too long, God. God put another heart in me. Give me a hunger after the word. Oh, Jesus. Call me to something new and I'll do it. I'm done. But I need your voice to be about seven times that loud in this house. I call on you now to lift your voice and cry aloud to God. I call on you to lift your voice and cry aloud to God. And let Him give you another heart. There's a sovereign among this stuff. There's a king in the midst of chaos. There's a royalty in the midst of all your junk. Hey, Saul. God sees you. He knows you. He shows you. There's a sovereign in the stuff. God sees you. If you are ready for an apostolic shift of your priorities. If you've been carnal as you come in here, disconnected, materialistic, focused on the wrong thing, you have clearly heard the word from God tonight. It is time right now because the Holy Ghost will now shift everything out of the way for the calling of God in your life to manifest. Would you raise your hands right now and would you let God go to work on your mind and your spirit, and would you drop every agenda and would you drop every motive and would you drop every plan and would you drop everything that's in the way of Jesus manifesting his will in your life? Would you lift up your voice and would you cry unto God like you never have for the Lord to make his perfect plan manifest in your life right now? In fact, no music every hand raised, every mouth open, shift my priorities, shift the people I'm around, shift everything that's disconnecting me from your sovereign will. Let there be a cry on the opening night of winds. Let there be a shifting so I can do what I'm called to do. You don't need the purse. You don't need the boat. You don't need the car. You need to do what the Lord's called you to do. Come on. Put the phone down and put your life on the altar. The apostles died for this. Refocus your spirit. Refocus your thinking. Let the Lord in right now on the things that belong on the altar. Put something on the altar that needs to die. Put something on the altar that needs to die. Put an agenda on the altar that needs to die. Put some flesh on the altar. He has big plans for you. Stop chasing the donkeys. You're frustrated because you're chasing the wrong thing. Come on. Find the word. Find the anointing. Find the spirit. You're a king. You're anointed by God. You're not average and you're not ordinary. Somebody pray open my eyes that I might see. What do I need to focus on? What do I need to pay attention to? There it is. There's a cry. Let the broken cry. You know the cry that you have when no one's around? The calls that nobody hears? You know when you let loose and you don't care? That kind of prayer. That's where everything changes. That's where everything moves. That's where everything breaks. That's where the will of God is manifested.

There it is. Let there be travail. Let there be travail. Let there be a cry. Let there be a hunger. You're about to read your Bible. Like usually scroll through your phone. There's a hunger coming in you for the word of God. There's a hunger coming in you for a relationship with God like you've never had. Come on. Come on young man. Come on young lady. Let everything die. Let everything die. Let every dream die. Let every plan die. The donkeys aren't worth it. The donkeys aren't worth it. The donkeys aren't worth it. Come on evangelist. Come on missionary in the making. Come on pastor's wife in the making. Come on preacher. Come on child of God. Come on intercessor. The will of God is in front of you right now hovering over you. Let the shift begin. Let the shift begin. Hallelujah. Every dream on the altar, every dream on the altar, every selfish desire on the altar, every greed on the altar, everything that wants to give us fame on the altar, every desire to be noticed on the altar, every desire to be seen on the altar, every desire to go far on the altar. Let the Lord take over everything. Let the Lord take over everything. Let the Lord take over everything. I want you to ask God, what do I need to give up right now? I want you to go into your, go to the mirror and start to ask God, what do I need to let go of? What do I need to give up? Show me the donkeys I'm chasing. Show me the donkeys I'm pursuing. Open my eyes to my destiny. Open my eyes to my true calling. Open my eyes to your plan for my life. Open my eyes to see what you want me to be. You're not a dasa. You're Esther. You're a queen. You're not a slave. You're a queen. Come on, David. You're not a shepherd boy. You're a king in the making. Let the dry bones live. You're not a slave. You're a soldier. I tell us Salah, you go to shut the Yamaha. Getting real in the altar right now. It's getting real. If you want to go down there and pray, go ahead. It's getting real. Intercession's birthing right now. Somebody's on an altar dying for it right now. It's getting real in the altar. It's getting real. There's a shifting going on. There's a shifting going on. Come on, deal with the real thing. Deal with the addiction nobody knows about. Deal with the struggle you can't get victory over. Deal with it right now. There's real deliverance in here. There are real miracles in here. There are real answers to prayer in here. This is your moment. Let it shift. Let it change. Let it break. Stop worrying about your image. Stop worrying about your image. Stop worrying about your image. He wasn't worried about his image on the cross. Some things are more important than how you look right now. Find your cross. It's not pretty, but it's my destiny. It's not comfortable, but it's my anointing. Come on, young people, let it break. Let it break right now. Let it loose, young person. Let it loose in the altar. Let it loose. Let it loose. Stop being in control. Ashata. You don't have to control everything. Let go of the steering wheel. Let God flow into your life. The stuff doesn't matter.

The stuff doesn't matter. The stuff doesn't matter. There's a calling hovering over your head right now. Do whatever you've got to do to make it happen. Do whatever you've got to do. Let anything go that's in the way. Let anyone go that's in the way. Some of you get aligned with your pastor right now. You've been disconnected from your authority. Line up with the man of God, align with your authority, and the favor of God's going to come back to you. The enemy has been attacking because you've been uncovered. It's time to get underneath the covering of your pastor again, and watch God bless you. But what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ, yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, then do count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of the God of faith that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his. Let it die. Let it die. Let it die. It's not worth it. It's not worth going to hell over. Let it die. It's not worth being lost over. Let it die. It's not worth going to hell over. It's not worth going to hell over. It's not worth going to hell over. It's not worth going to hell over. Disconnect from the distraction. Disconnect from the distraction. Stop settling for a pot of her's wife, Joseph. You're supposed to have a princess. Disconnect from the distraction. Disconnect from the distraction. Don't let distractions go into your destiny. Disconnect now. Cut it off now. Cut it off now. End it tonight. Oh, Saka Shataya. Time to send one final text. Time to let everything stand. Time to be real. Because the shift has started. The shift has started. Sikathara Mahasattah. He a Talabha Shataya. Talabha Sokoshataya. Anything for the will of God. Anything for the will of God. Anything for the will of God. He a Talabha Sokoshataya. Talabha Sokoshataya.

If you don't have the courage to do what you know the Lord's telling you to do after the service is over. I want you to step into that third shifting right now and start prophesying right now. I will do what I have to do. I will call who I have to call. I will delete what I have to delete. But I will do what I've got to do. If you don't know how to prophesy, prophesy to yourself and start to learn that I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Prophecy to yourself. I will not die in this dilemma. I am the head and not the tail. I am above and not beneath and the Lord is with me and I'm not going to fail. I'm not going to walk away. I am going to change right now. Come on release prophetic anointing. Release it to your family. My kids will be saved. They will be anointed. They will be world changers. Speak it. Come on Joseph speak it. Speak it to yourself. Speak it to your spirit. Lullabal salabashatah. The shifting took place in your mind but now it's moved to your mouth. It's time to start talking differently. It's time to start speaking differently. It's time to start preaching differently. It's time to step into the vein of the prophetic will of God in your life. The miracle is in your mouth. The miracle is in your mouth. You're one statement away from a change. You're one commitment away from the change. Just speak what you're afraid to speak. Speak the opposite of what you're seeing. What you're feeling. What the environment is telling you. Speak. Speak. I said with it all the Lord's people were prophets. Speak El dad. Speak me dad. Speak. Speak. To the mountain. Silla ho shut up.

We may not be shouting up but I promise you. The demonic is disturbed right now. Because they can hear the whispers of prophetic anointing. Coming through some people that have never spoken like that. In their entire walk with God. They can hear the chains. Falling to the ground. The bones coming together. There's a whisper in the wind right now. There's a prophetic whisper in this wind tonight. There's a whisper in the wind near you. Open your mouth and speak your destiny. Declare God has great things for your family. Declare unseen revival. You can't just prophesy to what you see. Prophecy to the invisible. Speak to the wind. Speak to the wind. Speak to the wind. Go beyond prophesying to what you see. Prophecy to what you can't see. Alamosa. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's Jesus. Oh, Sokoshatala Mahal.

There's something huge coming in this conference. Something huge is coming in here. Sikoroshatala. There's a birthing of greatness going on in here tonight. Hallelujah. Somebody press toward the mark. Somebody press toward the mark. Get your eyes refocused. Come on. Stare down that spirit and say, You've had enough power in here. You've had enough authority over me. Come on. Lock eyes with hell like Paul did with Elimus in Acts 13. Lock eyes and speak to it. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. This altar calls go into your house. This altar calls go into your phone. This altar calls go into your kids. This altar calls go into your future. This altar calls go into your connections. This altar calls go into your destiny.