← Dufresne Ministries Podcast
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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message. Praise God. Wow, wow, wow. What a treat. You know, I'm not being falsely humble when I say, you know, I come from nothing and nowhere. I literally am an Okie from Muskogee. You know, I don't know if you'd heard that song before, and, you know, God needed songs to fulfill that scripture in First Corinthians, chapter 2, about the foolish things. You know, God calls the foolish things. So if you see anything good in me, it's the God in me. And one of the great honors of my life is to get here, to be at this moment, to stand in front of you, and to get to minister the Word and the Spirit, whatever he might give. So, amen. So before you're seated, turn to your neighbor, give him a great big God bless you, and say, I'm going to help Dr. Cody today. Okay, then you could be seated. Honey, would you take that for me? Thank you. Praise God. You could turn in your Bibles to First Corinthians, chapter 14, First Corinthians 14. And I was invited. I think I will just make a quick mention of my latest book. It's called A Prosperous Journey. And I've noticed some patterns with me. I'll be cruising along in the scripture and I'll get stuck on a passage or a verse. I was at Pastor Jay Eberly's for a meeting where Dr. Dufresne was ministering in 2010. And, you know, it wasn't his subject, but Docter made this statement. He said, there is coming an onslaught of demonic power upon America and the church, and the church isn't and won't be ready for it. And about that time, I was reading in First Timothy, you're going to First Corinthians, First Timothy, Chapter 3, I believe where it says Second Timothy 3, that in the latter days, perilous times shall come. And I got stuck on that. I got stuck on that for a year and a half. And I wrote a book out of that called Walking in the Overcoming Last Days Deception. And So anyway, in 2018, I could, for the first time in many, many years, I could do a360 look at my life and see prosperity and blessing in every arena. And I hadn't been able to say that, you know, about every arena all at once. And anyway, I made a mistake. I did. I made a mistake. And I said to myself, I've arrived. I have proved it out. I Am prosperous now. And right about that time, everything got tight. Everything got tight. And Pastor Nancy happened to be ministering, not about a few months after that in Clarksville. And she ministered to my wife and I by the spirit. She grabbed me by the hand and began to laugh, Said, ha, ha, ha. It's okay when things get tight. Of course, she didn't know that. And she said, but learn the lesson. Learn the lesson in the stretch. And so for another 18 months, things were tight in every arena, and God taught me lessons. One of the lessons I talk about in this book, about that very thing that I made a mistake in, was, when do I think I'm prosperous? See, I thought I was prosperous because my circumstances finally told me I was. He had to remind me, no, you're prosperous because I made you that way. You became the prosperous at the very same moment you became the righteous. Righteousness of God. You became the prosperous the very moment you became the healed. Never again, son. Define your prosperity or your condition by an outward circumstance, good or bad. You know, money comes, Pastor, because we're prosperous. We're not prosperous when money comes. Anyway, I learned some lessons, and the Lord helped me put them down in a book that I called A Prosperous Journey. And it's helping people. That's not pride to say that either. That's just. And it would help you if you read it. And the first chapter, I talk about the full Gospel. And I was laying across my bed one afternoon getting ready to minister at a neighboring church, and the word of the Lord came to me and said, no man has heard the full gospel until he has heard the prosperity part. Then he said, furthermore, no preacher has preached the full gospel until he has preached the prosperity part, because prosperity is part of the gospel. It's not an event. Prosperity is not an event. It's a journey. And So I think Ms. Chelsea said that they have some of these out in the bookstore if you're wanting some of those. Or you could get them through our ministry. Praise God. I'm not authorized to give this copy away. It's not mine. So we'll put it back where it goes. Father, we thank you today for utterance in the Holy Ghost. Father, help me as I often pray. Help me help them. I'm just a vessel. I'm just a servant. I yield myself entirely and completely to you and to your spirit and to your spirit alone. May my answer. Excuse me. May the people's answer be found in my mouth this morning. We thank you for it, Father. I thank you that people are Anointed for their part and as pastor needs, they shall do their part. God, the people will be helped and you will be glorified. We walk away knowing that happened this morning, then we could be pleased. We thank you for it. In Jesus name, amen. Well, as Pastor Nancy was ministering to us so wonderfully last night about why some things aren't clicking, you know, Dr. Dufresne said, if things aren't clicking, you'll find out why. I love what dad used to say. He said, you know, I fell off the lettuce truck once or twice and bumped my head. He said, you know what? I learned not to fall off the lettuce truck. But, you know, a lot of Christians, preachers, they just keep falling off the lettuce truck. They live their lives inaccurately. They live their lives because I fellowship with some of them. And they're sweet, prayerful, dedicated, godly in many ways. People. But inwardly, they're frustrated. They're not going anywhere. They know they should be further along than they are. And, you know, they can't just blame it on opposition. Come on, we all have. Jesus had opposition. You know, Paul had opposition. We all have opposition. And we should not blame our lack of progress on opposition. When the Bible calls us more than conquerors overcomers, faith is the victory. You know, things can be delayed. Sure enough, things could be made more difficult than you wanted them to be by people, by demonic power. But in Christ, someone that's really called and in their lane and doing what they're supposed to do, the way it's supposed to be done, will overcome and will make progress. And you know, my daddy, his name's Lee, and he wasn't a big shopper. I don't think he still is today. And when Mama would take us to the mall, dad would grab my brother Ben and I by the hand. We'd sit out in the concourse. And my dad got me in this habit. I blame it on him. Yeah, my wife. Yeah, I hear. I see you out there. My wife said that I kind of got her by stalking her. And that part of our testimony is not true. You know, that's not true. But I was interested and I let that be known. But anyway, my dad got me in this habit. We would sit out there and we'd just watch people. Have you ever done that? You can be cheaply entertained. Just sit in a Walmart parking lot, You'll either be entertained or appalled or both or. I don't know, but people are weird. Dr. Jacobs got his term for that. Is Paul. People are weird. But anyway, and then I had Dr. You know, so I've kind of become a student of people. I got to where I looked, I observed, and I watched. Amen. And then I would hear dad Dufresne say things like, it's amazing to him, if I could use that word. He probably said it a little different, that ministers, people could be around ministries like dad Hagin and not get anything, not get what they should have got. And then he told us why that was the case. They were bad students. So you could be. You could be in the right church, in the right company, hooked up right, and not get what you ought to get, still fall off the lettuce truck, you know, and your life, your business, your church, your ministry not gain the traction that it should. And I just want to minister along that line a little bit today. Is that all right? Praise God. If things aren't working, if things aren't clicking, find out why. And Pastor Nancy, she, God through her hit on some of those things. I just want to build on that this morning. So. First Corinthians 14, verse 33. The first verse I want to highlight this morning. Notice it says here, First Corinthians 14:33. For God is not. It's amazing how the Spirit of God has to defend the Lord. Amen. God is not the author of what? God is not the author of confusion. What is he the author of? Peace. Now, that word, peace is a wonderful, very full word, much like the word in the New Testament. Salvation. Salvation, we know, right, is a holistic word. It's a package that's got a package, that's got another package that's got another gift in that word, your salvation from hell and damnation and from judgment and sin. That's salvation. But so is your deliverance, your healing, your soundness of mind, your prosperity, your health, your well being. Well, peace is a big, big word. It doesn't just mean calmness or tranquility. It means your well being, your wholeness, your prosperity. And God. That's what God is the author of. In the face of real opposition, God is the author of peace. God's the author of well being. God is the author of soundness. God is the author of prosperity and fruitfulness. And so if. If we are in a. In a place where. I'm not talking about a season, but I'm just talking about chronic problems, chronic lack, chronic inward frustration, chronic lack of any apparent fruit coming out of your church, and I'm not necessarily talking about big attendance growth, but even the People you have, they ought to be becoming more rooted, more mature, more fruitful. And yes, even now, we all have different graces for numbers. I understand that. But God is a God of increase. God is a God of expansion. And it's an appalling, the lack of apparent willingness to honestly, introspectively look at ourselves and say, what's up? And not blame the devil or the town you're in or the spirits that rule over your city. My first year, Dr. Dufresne came to minister at our church in Paducah for the first time, 2003, 2004. And he said to me, by the Spirit, he said, you know, God has assigned and called many people to this city, but religious spirits have run them out. But he won't run you out. Well, we're still there celebrating 20 years this year. That doesn't make me anything. But, you know, again, if things aren't working, if what we are involved in, if what we're doing, if what we're pursuing is not producing peace, God's not the author of what you're doing. If you're confused all the time, you know, preachers, I feel for their congregations because the preacher is confused. There's no real sense of rootedness or absoluteness about who they are and where they're supposed to be and what their office is and what their calling is. And if the leaders like that, how are the people supposed to rise above that condition? God is not the author of confusion. Now, you do a quick reading of several other translations. You'll find out that this word confusion in the King James isn't the best word, the best word. Most other translations will render it more properly to the original. And it's the word disorder. Now, confusion is not a bad word because something that's out of order, if you look it up in the dictionary, is confused. It's confused. There's nothing in heaven that's out of order. So there's perfect clarity. There's no confusion about how things go and how things operate and how things ought to be in heaven, in the kingdom of God. And it's. It's fine to. To enter into seasons where, you know, I. I don't know everything I need to know about this season. And that's fine to be in that place. But if you're in that place, you ever find yourself in that place, everything around you ought to stop, slow down, do only the necessary things press into God and find out. Brother Hagin made the statement in his book Plans, Purposes and Pursuits that the reason that there is not more of the manifestations of the Spirit and fruitfulness. That's probably a paraphrase on my part in the body of Christ today is because men do not take time to hear from me. The Lord's helped me to say this repeatedly that I like. It's pretty simple, but it'll help you maybe. And that is the statement. People who pray know people who don't guess. And what do you think the success rate is? The accuracy rate on hitting the divine target? Guessing, guessing your way through life as a Christian, That's a recipe for failure, frustration, defeat, or an early death. We are not supposed to. I'm going to show you this in a minute in the Word. We are not supposed to be walking around large segments of our life in our ministry. Amen. As a layper, I don't care what your station, your place is in the body of Christ. Not knowing we're going to read in a minute, it is not wise. It is not wise to live like that. And over periods of time, for people like me who are looking at you and watching to see what is the fruit of their life? What is the fruit of the overall vein of their decisions? Where does that take them? What does that. You know, I'm still young, but I've been again pastoring 20 years. I've got people. I've been there long enough to see some of my young people graduate high school with a call of God on their life. They knew it, they acknowledged it. And they're now in their 40s and they are so far away from the plan of God. They had strayed so far away from the plan of God. They went out and did their own thing. They've been doing their own thing. And they found a wife doing their own thing and found a job doing their own thing. And their social media is full of pictures of what looks like fun vacations and happiness and things going. But listen, if they don't change course, I have seen it. Something is going to get in their body and they'll endeavor to use their faith to get it off. I've seen it. And we've taught them faith. And then they'll come and they'll say, I don't understand why my faith is not working. Because faith is not designed to operate while you stand on the ground of rebellion. God is not going to heal us to further enable our disobedience. What pastor said last night was just so important, so vital, so. So skillful. It's not God, it is God not stopping the reaping of what we've sown. So God is not the author of confusion. He's not the author of disorder. All of the failure. Do you observe failure? Do you pay attention to it? It's all around you all the time. Failure. So much more failure than victory. We expect it in the world, but it's true in the church. I don't want to fail. I'm not going to fail. I'm not going to fail myself. I'm not going to fail my father, I'm not going to fail my wife. I'm not going to fail my church. I'm not going to fail to bring my part to the body of Christ. And for what? Boating on the weekend? I mean, for what? Doing my own thing. Listen, could I say this to you? I'm going to. There's nothing safe about your plan. There's nothing secure. Why do people do their own plan? They think it's better. They are deceived, aren't they? They believe they're going to be more fulfilled, safer, more secure. It's a lie. There is nothing safe about your plan. You have no expectation from the Word that God will involve himself at all in your plan. Jesus told brother Hagin, I bless all my people far as I can. Now what determines that? How much of what you're doing lines up with his plan? To that degree he can help you. That's it. And so to live your life outside of God's divine order, his will in any area is to invite failure. It is to invite. It is to throw up the white. It's a trade that some people are consciously making. I am okay with the outcome as long as I get to do what I want. It's a huge problem today among American Christians about stubbornness and being self willed. People ask me, how do I know, Pastor? How do I know if I'm living my Christian life properly? One way to answer that question is to say, well, if your flesh is unhappy a lot, you're doing something right. Right. Because they that are Christ have crucified their flesh. So how do you know if you're. If you're just generally speaking, am I heading the right way? Pastor, how happy is your flesh? Very good. Another way to ask it or analyze it is how much of your week do you spend doing what you want to do? How much of the time are you going, where you want to go, doing what you want to do? How sincere? And how much time do you spend inquiring of the Father, asking the Father, inviting the Father to actually be your Shepherd? Told my congregation lately, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack. Jesus could be your savior and not your shepherd. Because if you're in the driver's seat of your life, your church, your ministry, your business, you're the shepherd. If you're choosing where you graze, what watering hole you drink out of, what corral you park yourself at night, you're the shepherd. I didn't get to Paducah because I wanted to be in Paducah. I didn't know what a Paducah was. I didn't know if I was going to have to take a ship. I didn't know if I was going to have to airlift in. I didn't know what Paducah meant. I was pleased to find out it is in the Intercontinental, you know, part of the United States, that I could drive there. But listen, everyone wants prosperity. People argue with us about that, but I told one of my Baptist brothers recently, listen, you believe in prosperity. Just admit it. Everybody believes in prosperity. You want to know how I know? You take every raise. You've never. The board at your church has never offered you raises. You go, no, I don't think so. No. I think that'll make me less holy, less devoted to the Lord. Every Christian you know, they accept every bonus that comes. Oh, no, boss. No, boss, no. I'm good. I don't believe in people, prosperity. People are hypocrites. They criticize people like us who show them in the Word that what they want is Bible. Paul. Paul. People are weird. Amen. But everything, whether it's prosperity, safety for your children, longevity, you know, a good outcome. One of the things, as a pastor, it's an honor to get to be a part of, even in the most horrific of circumstances, is to be with humans at their beginning and at their end. And I've been in those rooms, I've stood over. I'm thinking about a young man, wife and a young son. And he got esophageal cancer, however you say that. Cancer of the throat. He's fairly new to these things. I knew he could be healed. I knew. I knew if he just opened the door a little bit that I could carry him. And I said. I said, brother, I'll clear my schedule. You don't even have to look up the Scriptures. I'll bring them. I'll sit with you in your chair. I'll come every day. He said, pastor, I'm not going to do it. I don't have the faith you have. I said, what about your wife? You got. What about Your son couldn't talk him into it. So I stood there over him while he was in his morphine fogs. I held his mother, who's still in our church today. And I cried with her as we prayed and released his spirit. Let him go to heaven. See? Pay attention. What kind of end should the Lord tarry his coming? What kind of end do you want? We all want a dignified, glorifying, peaceful exit. I do. You think about it. Some people don't even see. That's what I mean. They don't even think about it. But should the Lord tarry is coming. You're going to breathe in and out a little bit more. It's going to be over. Go take a few more breaths. You're going to have a few more Christmases. And listen, it's going to be over. How do you want to go out? What you do today and every day contributes to the kind of end you're going to have. The Bible says, there is a way, and it seems right. It seems right unto a man. But the end, that way, it's death, you know, I tell you, it's not my message, but it's good. I said, I found how Jacob, the patriarch, I found out how he went out. He went out the way you want to go out. He was old, gray. Amen. And he'd had all his children there around him. And he stood up and leaned on his staff, and the Holy Ghost came on him. And he prophesied the future of all of his children. Come on. He laid back in his bed, drew his knees in his blanket up into his chest, and gave up the ghost. No tubes, no morphine, no hospice, no nursing home. And then I found in the Psalms, I found King David. King David's smart. King David's a word guy. He saw that. He paid attention to that. And you can find in the Psalms, David praying to the Lord, said, lord, let me die the death of Jacob. Let my death be like his. See, I'm just 48 years old. But should the Lord tarry his coming, I have a confession going out there. If David could claim it, if David could pray it, lord, give me the death of Jacob. Let my end be like his. And men have done it. Men have done it. Charles Capps, I understand, told everybody. They thought Papa or Grandpa, whoever they called him, is getting a little senile. But he said, no, no, come on. Was it today at noon? What? Something you could be sure to be here. I'm going home, be with the Lord today. Sure enough, he did. But see, it's not just his faith that. It's how he lived. He did not live his life out of order. Turn back to the 11th chapter. And I remember dad Dufresne. He spent a lot of time in the body of Christ for several years, endeavoring to pound this revelation home unto us. And if I could just bring it back to the forefront this morning, Wonderful. What an honor for me. In verse 28, Paul by the Spirit says, but let a man examine himself. It doesn't mean beat yourself up. It doesn't mean, you know, climb into the waller of, you know, pity and oh, woe is me and tearing yourself down. No, stay out of that mess. I used to be so insecure, you know, I was a staff member of the first church that I was hired into. I'd get corrected sternly and I'd almost cry every time, thinking I'm about to get fired. Every time Brother Dan laid into me, finally he said, stop that, Chris. I want you to stop that. I'm not about to fire you. But you messed up. You missed it, and I want it changed. Stop that crying mess. Stop that. And you need to stop crying every time Pastor Morgan gets up and says something kind of straight to you. Stop that. I knew it. She doesn't like me. You know, anytime your pastor gets up and wants to say something just kind of blunt and straight and direct, that's the only way we get it. Anyway. I've tried all that fluffy pastoral. Shh. I mean, you give them a reason not to get it. They were not going to get. And I'm not putting the sheep down. I'm the same way. It's one of the reasons I. Of course, it's divine connection, but I just love Dr. Dufresne. I love Pastor Nance. I love Dr. J. I love. Because. Just give it to me right? Just. I don't want. I'm tired of missing it. Help me know what order looks like. So, you know, he says, examine yourself. Brother Hagin said every year he would lay everything out before the Lord. Everything he was doing, he didn't. Just a nugget here. He didn't just assume that because it was the plan of God for him. Last year, It was the plan of God this year. You know, for those of us in ministry, there are phases. And I've seen people die because they were so attached and emotionally invested in the pastoral title. They weren't called to it. I've had people call me on the phone and I literally fell over in my chair when they told me what they were doing. And I wonder. I know I'm not special. How come it's so obvious to me, how come, see, pride blinds us to our own fleshly imperfections? You would do well, it would be a safety to you. You need somebody over you who loves you, listen, but who's not impressed with you. I am so impressed with the seagulls, there's no way I could correct them or speak into right. I'm too impressed with them. So hopefully they have somebody over them that loves them but isn't impressed and still sees what needs to be tweaked into Is there anything left? I mean, I don't know. I'm happy to be around somebody who's got an affection for me, sees something in me, values that, but is not impressed with me, not afraid to speak to what's yet developed in my life. You know, none of us are going to arrive at our God ordained end by ourselves. So anyway he says, examine yourself. How long have I been going anyway? And so he says, examine yourself and then notice what this ties into. What she was talking to us about last night about how we treat the body, this phrase about verse 29, not discerning the Lord's body, that's a serious matter. And the higher your voice, your influence, your call in the body of Christ, the less room for error you have. You know, you hear related like we heard last night, Jesus telling brother Hagin, if you didn't let, if I didn't permit this to happen about your elbow, you just kept on outside of my perfect will, you'd have been dead. You wouldn't have reached 50. Over what? Saying teacher before prophet sounds like splitting hairs. Remember the account of Jesus coming, appearing to Dr. Dufresne coming out of the cloud in that service. And he said, you're not being skillful with the healing anointing. Then later the spirit of God explained that to him. He said, well, what did I do wrong? He said, well, you've been advertising prayer for the sick every night. And Dr. Did exactly what I would have done. He goes, yeah, I don't get it. What's the problem? The spirit of God told him what the problem with that is. He said, I did not call you to a ministry of prayer for the sick. I gave you a tangible healing anointing to impart healing power that heals the sick. It's a different flow, it's a different operation. That may sound to the lay person like splitting hairs, but the higher up you go in the body of Christ, the more accurate you Be must be because the devil wants to take you out again. In Clarksville, this was 2015. On a different occasion, Pastor Nancy got over in the Spirit and ministered to me. And I want to read this not because it's just about me, but I think, I believe it applies to some in the room today. And so the Spirit of God said to me, prepare, prepare, prepare, prepare. Okay, I need to prepare. I'm in the ministry. You know, it's just like God's not ever done well. I'm in the ministry. Great. But you're not where you're supposed to end up. None of us are. Then the Spirit used this word meticulous, meticulously, painstakingly. There's a kind of a slang term, nitpicking. That's how I say it in Oklahoma. You ever feel like somebody's nitpicking you? You missed a comma right there. There's 20 pages here. That's all you get knit right. But meticulously. The Holy Spirit will deal with you about things that he possibly doesn't even deal with too many others about because of where he has for you in the future. So wherever we are today, there's part of what we ought to be doing, part of order is preparing. See, because there's phases. And if you're going to get to your end, your God ordained end, you've got to navigate all the phases. And you could beat your chest all you want. Say I got into the first phase of my ministry, ha ha ha, you know, 90% Jesus said, don't get there, I got there. And you can still die early. He expects you to get in all the phases. So one of the things, and it's true for the laity, if you're not called the five fold, you're called to the helps ministry. That's an office. And there are ranks and greater anointings, greater levels of responsibility and whatever degree that God you're going to be held accountable to that, to attaining that, bringing that just like the fivefold will be in their office. Amen y' all getting anything out of this. So to successfully be in a phase of ministry like I am, I have to be skillful and faithful in the present day operation of the mantle. I have today, the office, the assignment on my life today. But that's not it. I can't go. I was a good pastor today and then just forget about it. Even if I stay in the pastoral office the rest of my earthly life, there are greater degrees agrees within that office that if he has it for me. And he's not done with any of us yet. He expects me. So while I'm being faithful with the assignment on my life today, I must also save some time to prepare to qualify myself for what comes next. Because if I don't, that failure to qualify myself will eventually open the door to the devil as a form of disobedience. Prepare. Prepare, prepare. Amen. See, there's a future. There's a future for me. There's a future for all of us. So the prophecy goes on, says he, the spirit of God will have to deal with you in a very meticulous way because of the responsibility you will move into. It will need a very. Think about this phrase meticulous faith. A faith that a meticulous spirit. A meticulous spirit. I'd never heard that phrase before. A meticulous spirit. I looked up the word meticulous. It means conscientious. Be thoughtful, be thinking, don't. Before I let us go or turn it back over, we will get to Ephesians, chapter 5. I want to show you something there. But so many people, they're just floating through life. They get up and all their all they can muster in their spiritual, mental and physical strength seemingly is to get to the end of the day. And then you get up and do that again, and then you get up and do that again. And then you get up and do that again and your life goes by and you never attained. It's not good to live your life like a billiard ball on a pool table, though if you're that ball, you don't get to go. You're just reacting. Some force hits the ball and that's the direction the ball goes. And some people, that's the definition of their life. The winds of pressure, the winds of circumstances, the winds of the pressures of daily life. That's what's. That's what's dictating the direction. That's what's orchestrating the flow. You can't let life happen. You have to make life happen. You have to take the reins your life put them in the hands of Jesus. You have to pay attention. So you have to be conscientious. The word means diligent. The word means painstaking. And the word means accurate. Accurate. Amen. The prophecy ends in others. Yes, maybe. How do you say it? Others that will not be required of them. What's required of you? But it's because where God has for me to go now, I didn't ask for that, but it's on me. Whatever's you didn't ask for it, but it's on you. And your outcome is dependent on what you do with it, how skillful you are. So all of the failure, all the defeat, all the wasted potential, all the forfeited blessing we see in people's lives today is the result why they have failed to order their lives in sync with God's plan. That's why there's nothing about God's plan that's got failure in it, that's got defeat in it, that's got sickness in it, it's got divorce in it, it's got tragedy in it. None of that. Amen. And listen, I've told my. You know, if you get to know me, I'm an open book. Much more open book than my wife would like me to be. And she's tempered me a little bit and helped me. Amen. But if I ever go out of here in a wrong way that's not dignified and glorified, you just know something, I missed it. You couldn't get me back here. I wouldn't want to come. You know, you do realize if you miss it, you go to heaven. That's one thing about fear. I try to tell people, stop letting the devil frighten you and threaten you with home. Heaven is home. I can let the devil threaten me. Oh, the doctor said the C word. Listen, if you go home, you just go home. It's just one way to get the fear off of you. Amen. But if I go out early, if I go out in a list glorifying way, then you just know I missed it. You better not judge me. We're all going to be judged by the same standard, right? Ephesians, chapter five. Can you take a little more? I got off the first page of these notes, Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 15 through 17. And I'd like to read it to you in the amplified. It says, look carefully then how you walk. You know this. The word walk in the New Testament means your manner of life, your lifestyle. Look carefully then, how you walk, how you live. Now, I want to do a little compare and contrast with the amplified. First, Paul tells us about the positive. Here's how we're supposed to live. Here's how we're supposed to conduct ourselves in ministry. Live purposefully. If the flow of your life is get up every day and see what happens, you're out. You're out of the will of God. I used to one of my first jobs out of college, my first job out of college was I won't even say the name. It was a rental car company in a high volume location. They wanted me to dress up in a suit like this and wash cars all day. And I hated it. And as the sun started to go down on Sunday evening, a dread came on me because I knew I'm going to go to sleep and I have to go back there. So you were very conscious what day it was. I tell you what. You find your vein, you find your call, you find your lane, you'll have trouble. I don't care what day it is. Every day has meaning. Every day is fulfilling. Every day is full of joy. Every day. Because I'm not in a rat race. I'm in the race and I'm not frustrated. And God has dealt with me meticulously. He went several years, more than 10 years ago. He went right to my flesh's weak spot. On purpose. The Father did it. I was just minding my own business, Dr. Keys. And the Lord said, from now on, I want you to get up six days a week at 6am Now, I know that sounds like late afternoon for some of you, but for me, that is an ungodly hour. That's an ungodly hour. Six days. You can pick one day a week. Sleep in, you get up, you spend that time with the me. Ten years before I got that straight, I struggled, I cried, I begged, I acted like I didn't hear it. I had spiritual toddler tantrums with the Lord. Seriously, with my pastoral diapers on. I say I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't do it. Help. Father. It's not fair. I cannot do it. You. I told you. You know everything there is to know about me. I just cannot do it. Why? He did it on purpose. He knew how. He wired me. I'm more like Brother Hagin than that. You know, I'm more alert than later at night than I am. He went right. What was he doing? Assigning me a very. He was giving me an opportunity to gain mastery over my flesh. I rebelled against it and my finances started to dry up and the momentum of ministry started to dry up. And I would try and try and try and try. See, he's picking on me. Just like he said he was. One of the definitions for disorder means want of rule. It means a lack of rule. If there's disorder in your room, someone's not ruling. Your car has petrified McDonald's french fries in it. Someone's not ruling. See, I'm telling you about me. You better listen about you though. One day I'm going along and I finally kind of seared my conscience to that enough. I felt like I had some false peace, at least about it, you know, sometimes God will just leave you alone. And then he broke in. He broke in on me one day again and said, hey son. I said, hi, Father. He said, I just want you to know I just reached over in the spirit and pushed the pause button on your life and ministry. You're going no further till you do what I said. I said, really? If God has ever said anything like this to my wife, I don't know it. He loves her more than me. I love what you said last night, Pastor. People say you ask them, what is God dealing with you about? And they say, nothing. That's not true. Right? Right. Amen. It's different. I just found out he wasn't going to be moved about it. He's stubborn. What I finally had to do is I had to call a guy in my church who got up early and I said, listen, here's my number. You text me every morning at 6 and you keep dinging my phone until I tell you, because I'm not going to lie that I'm on my feet and I'm out of bed. I had to put a hook in my jaw today. It's the only way. It's the only way it happens. I'm either going to say I'm up and lie and go to hell for lying or I'm going to have to get get my sorry self up out of bed. And I'm not saying I'm perfect at it today, but I'm more in a flow of obedience. And it's just amazing. It's just amazing how much easier finances flow, how much quicker prayers get answered. And plus, the whole point is I have had some sweet precious times with God at six in the morning. This verse says that we must live purposefully. Then it says worthily, our call to the helps ministry demands a worthy manner of living, much less being called to minister before a blood bought people. Then he said accurately, I don't have time to minister on that, but it's huge. One of the definitions for the word accurately means on target. Living on target. It means to live closely. It means to live with precision. It means to have a fixed determination. The word accurate means I love this. If it's accurate, it's free from failure. Look it up in the dictionary. The word accurate means something that's free from failure if there's constant, if there's two, if There's a dissatisfactory level of failure in your life. Just be honest with yourself and hear your answer this morning. I'm not living accurately enough. If I'll get more accurate, I'll have less failure. Then. Paul and I'll close with this. He contrasts living purposefully, worthily and accurately with three words telling us how we should not live. He uses in the amplified the word vague. But how many people? That's you ask them what you called to do. I don't know. How long you been. How long you been in the kingdom? 10 years. You don't have any inkling. You better get with it. We are not supposed to live vague. I looked up the word vague. Something or someone living in a vague manner lives a wandering life. Life. See, I know where I'm going. I don't know at all. Like Paul. I know in part. I see in part. But I know enough and I see enough today to be skillful. And he's shown me enough about tomorrow to help give guidance and definition to my manner of preparation. He's no respecter of persons. So don't live a wandering life. I like this. The word vague means unsettled. So many people, they're unsettled. You marrying right? That's not the right answer. The word vague means undetermined. Some people act like it's spiritual to not know. And it's exactly the opposite. What did I say? People who pray know. People who don't guess and they guess wrong. That's why they die young. That's why they have multiple marriages. That's why their finances are messed up. That's why their churches never go anywhere they probably shouldn't be in that office to begin with. It means unfixed, indefinite, uncertain. And I love this last definition I put down here of the word vague. It means something that proceeds from no known authority. See, the ministry I'm operating in today, it has proceeded from heaven's authority. And that has been validated by every man and woman of God I've ever had in my life. I went to Paducah not only with God's authority, but with my pastor's commission. It's a difference between someone who went and someone who was sent. I'm not better than anybody else, but it's just the fruit that we've been able to achieve is a result of being in the will of God. So then he. So don't live vague. Then he said, don't be thoughtless. The word thoughtless means heedless. You know, if you're Open minded and hearted and connected. While your pastor, your man of God, whoever's like me. Today, you'll hear your answer if you're paying attention. You will hear your answer. If you leave here and don't heed it, you don't do anything about it. You're thoughtless. By definition, you're thoughtless. The word thoughtless also means careless. Some people, they just live like they don't care. I watch people. The outcome of such living is not good. The word thoughtless also means neglectful. Pastor touched on it last night. You get your spirit out of order, things don't respond right. Your body breaks down, you find it, things don't go well. Why is that? You've neglected things that we've taught you and been taught. If I've done anything. Amen. We've been connected with the defrain since 04. Many have come and gone since then. I'm not judging them. I'm not judging them. But we've continued to move forward. And it's not just because we stayed in the company. It's because we paid attention to a good enough degree to go somewhere. The last word from the dictionary on thoughtless is stupid. Amen. It's stupid way to live then. Last one is he said don't live foolish. Don't live foolish. It means void of understanding or sound judgment. Listen, we're not going to get to a good God ordained end if we don't know some things. And it's not wrong to not know. But you ought to know what you don't know and get after it. Stay in the place where. Stay in the getting to know place. Church is your place where you get to know. It's just so hilarious. People will come, they're new to the church and they want to sit down. And they're only going to stay if they agree with everything that I. In other words, if I expose them to anything new, they think I'm off. So they're saying God just sent them to my congregation so that they could nod their head in perfect agreement about what they already know. No. If God really sent you here, it's because there's something in my mantle that will help further you in what you don't know. And that's true if you're 20 years older than me. I'm anointed to pastor. You're not. People are void of understanding and they bump their head against the wall. You need to be about reading your Bible and finding out. You see me on my tractor, I've probably got my Headphones on, and I've got not knowing in my answer, you know? Anyway, foolish means unwise. It means to proceed from folly. It's just pretty serious stuff. Paul goes on in Ephesians there, just a verse or two later, and says, do not be unwise, but be understanding. Gain understanding, have understanding. What is understanding? He goes on and says, knowing, knowing, knowing what the will of the Lord is. Oh, you just never know what the Lord's going to do. No, you do. God does not work in mysterious ways. He works in predictable ways. He works in covenant ways. He works according to divine laws. That's what faith is all about. I know what God's going to do before it happens. That's what faith to be healed is. I got it before, I got it right. That's a new thought to you. Don't throw it away. Hang around. Check me out. You know, First Corinthians 2 talks about that we might know the things. That we might know the things God has given to us. His spirit. Not the spirit of the world, but the Holy Ghost. That we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. If you get anything out of this time today, don't be satisfied remaining ignorant. Don't. Don't remain satisfied. Don't just live your life or conduct yourself in ministry. Just coasting. I told my staff last week. Coasting means stopping slowly. If you don't change coasting, you're going to stop. It's wise to know what the will of the Lord is. Pray in other tongues. Spend time with God. Come to church. Pay attention. Don't be witless, don't be vague, don't be thoughtless. Love, Dr. J. He made this statement. He said, it's not my job to figure out your life. It's my job to help you figure it out, to know what to do. But we all have a choice when we leave this place. Amen. Would it be okay if I had the liberty to say something to Pastor J? Pastor Eberly? Does that be okay? Just be sure to judge it. You have come and are now coming into a season of tremendous and great acceleration, advancement and promotion, not only of your life and ministry in Cedar Rapids, but especially outside. The voice, the message, the anointing you both carry, the influence shall greatly expand for you, like others in the camp and in the company have been hidden away like John the Baptist in desert places, waiting until the time of their manifestation. Well, that time is soon to come. And yea is even here, saith the Lord. And so do those things. Focus those things that are, yes, exclusive to your office. For God has. And, yes, I see that there are those that will emerge around you who love you, that shall emerge out of the crowd, if you will, and you'll recognize their heart for you, their honor for you, and that there's an anointing on them where you can delegate further things that are not exclusive to your office that will take a load and a burden off of you. Live humble before me. Stay correctable as you are and teachable as you are. And great shall be the increase and the fruit thereof. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. Hallelujah. Be blessed. Be blessed. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the ride. I say that to all of us. Enjoy the ride. Hallelujah. Enjoy preparation time. Bible students. Enjoy it. Enjoy preparation time. Get all you can. Get all you can. I'm going to sit down, but I would say that that would apply to the seagulls, I believe. Hallelujah. The voice to many to whom God has it. It's in Luke, chapter two, I believe. It says that John the Baptist was kept hidden away in desert places until the time of his manifestation. Jesus was reluctant, wasn't he? When Mama said they ran out of wine, what did he say? My time has not yet come. He was sensitive. Now Mama threw down the gauntlet, and he did it right. But see, the flesh church is coming down. It's not going to come down. It is in the process of coming down. And the world has come to a place of great distress and great need. The body of Christ is awakening. There's a shaking going on. There is a shaking going on. It's not a safe time to live outside of God's will. But many word and spirit ministers, churches and pastors, just as Jesus said to dad Dufranc, we have stood faithful in dry times while we watched the donkey and the pony show and the lights and the smoke gain, the glitter and the attraction. But we've come to a day in time where that won't do it. That won't do it. The people are hungry, and God has had us preparing, hidden away in desert places. And great increase is about to come, and we must live humble before the Lord. Correctable, teachable. Pastor Craig, all that seems to have been lost in momentum shall surely and quickly be restored. Nothing shall be lost. Nothing shall be lost. It shall all be restored. Ha ha ha. Ha. Ha ha ha. Come on. Ha ha ha ha. It's. It's a great time. Come on. It's the time we've been preparing for. God's going to bring the Word and the Spirit to the forefront, and the earth is filling with his glory. And we shall. Amen. Thank you, Pastor. We trust you've enjoyed this message. 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