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Hey, good people, this is Torre Roberts. Blessings to you and welcome to the ONE Podcast. I'm excited that you're here. ONE is a community of dynamic and vibrant thought leaders, preachers, teachers, and just a community of wonderful people all together. And we're excited to bring you this weekly podcast from our services from ONE in la. If you haven't been the One, I encourage you to check it out. You can go to one the Word one O N E online and find out all about the service times and all about the teachers and all the philanthropic things that we have going. I believe you're going to be blessed to be a part of it. And speaking of being blessed, we're getting ready to get into a teaching right now that I believe is going to bless you. So tune in, enjoy, and I'll be back with you at the end.
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Well, I got a word for you this morning. I got a word for you this morning. If it's your first time here, welcome. Raise your hand, let me see you. Because we're not sitting down there. Hey, you. Hey, you. Hey. Hey. I see you. Who else? Raise your hand high, wherever this is your first time. Hello. How you doing? Good to see you. Welcome to One. Thank you for being here. I know you're already being blessed. Yes, we're crazy like this all the time. And so I hope that means you'll want to come back. God knew where you were gonna set your foot this morning. And I have no doubt that you're gonna leave with something that is exactly what you needed, that you're gonna leave with something different than you came in here with. If you don't mind scanning the code on the screen, let us know how you got here, give us your name. We promise not to spam you. We do promise to try to love you well, and I hope I'll see you again. My name's Dr. Anita Phillips. I'm the pastor here and I'm just excited, so I'm talking real fast also. I'm from the east coast, but I'm also excited. Welcome to One.
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We are going to give. We're going to give. So get your offering prepared. But we're not going to give it yet. But I want you to get it prepared. I want you to go already. Open your heart. I know you brought your tithe. If you are a member here, you know, we teach, we believe that God requires us to give 10% of what we earn back to him that belongs to him. And he opens the windows of heaven. He pours out a blessing you will not have room enough to receive and we declare it. And if the enemy is trying to convince a single heart in this room that because you haven't seen what you want to see, that the word is not true, Honey, do not stop standing on this word. You keep on testing God. Watch him show up and show off. You've been thinking, I can't budget this no more. I gotta let this go. I need to take a month off. Don't you do it. Because the enemy will steal that money and next thing you know it'll be two o' clock in the morning and you spending it on doordash because you're depressed and you can't sleep. Stay obedient to God. And then we give our offerings. That's our free gift. And it says the give as it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together and running over. So ask God what would he have you give in obedience, not habit. I want you to gather it. But we're not going to give it yet. But I want you to gather it. All right. Okay. I'm going to preach this word first, and then we're going to sow into the soil of this word. Amen. And God might change what he has you giving between now and end of this Word, but we're going to sow into the soil of this word. And so I'm going to start out by reading this verse. First Peter, chapter two, verse nine. We've been here for about two months. Has it gotten good to anybody? We're going to be that church that gets all the meat off the bone. We're not going to leave half the meat on that bone. You know, your grandmother used to be like, if you don't get that meat off that bone. We love to just skip across scripture like we skipping stones across the water. We don't go deep, but we're going to be a house of depth continually. Amen. That's continually who we shall be. So we're going to read the word that we've been reading for this couple of months. First Peter, chapter two, verse nine. But you read it with me. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but have now now have obtained mercy. Amen. You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. And that's what we've been talking about. Grab your seats for A couple of months. And I think this is the last Sunday that we're gonna be digging into this particular series that we have called Priests and Kings. And we've been learning what our posture is in the Kingdom of God. Revelation, chapter one, verse. I'll start at verse five. It says, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who loved us, not to him who judged us, him who kicked us out, him who punished us because we were imperfect. That's what you do to you. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made us, what, kings and priests to His God and Father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. It's so important for us to recognize that our kingship and our priesthood were given to us by the high priest and the king of kings. Because Jesus is our high priest and he is the king of kings. So we are priests under a high priest, and we are kings under the king of kings. We are reflecting him in the earth. But sometimes it is challenging for the priest and the king to live together. And I want to dig into a story from the Old Testament that I think exemplifies it extremely well. The story of a king named Joash. This wasn't in your Sunday school book. So some of y' all are like, who is Joash? Well, child, wait till you find out. Second Kings, chapter 11, starting at verse 1. When Athaliah the Thaliah, Athalia, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs. I'm gonna stop right there. Let me tell y' all this tea. What's going on here? So Israel originally didn't have any kings. Israel had judges. Israel had priests. Israel had prophets. It was not God's will for Israel to have kings. It was not his perfect plan. But Israel got extra because they saw that other countries had a king. And so they were like, we want to have a king. Like, they have a king that looks fun. The king. There's ceremonies and there's balls and there's parades, and we look strange, like maybe we compared to them. We want to have a king like everybody else. And God was like, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Since y' all are having such a fit, I'm going to let you have kings. But they'll be the kings that I choose. And so God began to have kings. And we know there was Saul, and we know there was David. We know his son, Solomon. But after those three blew it in many ways, some things they did well. A lot of things not so well. Starting to become clear why kings can be a problem. At the same time, we are called to be kings and priests in his kingdom. So what does that mean? Well, after Solomon finished the trifecta of stuff, the kingdom had a split. And so there was the northern kingdom, which was largely the kingdom of Judah, and then the southern kingdom and some Benjamin, and then the other kingdoms, the tribes went to the south. So now you got a split. So northern Israel, Judah had their own level series of kings, and then the southern kingdom had their own series of kings. So in the northern kingdom, that's where we're going to hang out today, the kingdom of Judah. You may not have ever known this, but there were not only kings. There was a queen. We never hear about Athaliah, but there was a queen. So there wasn't just a woman judge. And she was incredible. There was also a woman king, not Viola's woman king. This woman king was a problem. I'm cool with Viola's woman king, but this woman king acted terrible. And to me, this is even just more testimony that God is no respecter of person, that he uses whomever he will. Because not only do we have an excellent example of national leadership in Deborah, we have an example of horrendous leadership in Athalia. So women can do well or they can do terrible. Stop believing that if a woman was in charge, everything would automatically go well. Some things would go different, but that don't mean everything would go well because we are fallen creatures, and creatures with power don't know how to behave. And so this woman's son was king and he died. And she wanted the throne, but the throne should have first gone to some in the line of her grandchildren. This woman was so evil that she had all of her grandchildren who were in line for the throne rounded up to be murdered so she would be next. That was how evil she was. And so the children are taken away and they're murdered. But the Bible goes on to say in verse 2, 2nd Kings 11:2, but Jehoshaphat, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Hazziah, the king who had died, took Joash, the son of Hazziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being murdered. And they hid him and the nurse in the bedroom from Athaliah so that he was not killed. So he was hidden with her in the house of the Lord for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land. So here's your first word of today. This room is full of the ones who were not killed. Baby, you are among those who were not killed. We talk so much about generational curses and generational attacks, and this woman epitomizes that. People in a family line who are just determined to let mess pass down. People in the family line who are just determined to be emotionally abusive and verbally, Verbally abusive, who didn't treat you like you needed to be treated, give you the love that you needed. That narcissistic mother, that narcissistic grandfather that was just tearing everybody up, acting like nothing was their fault. They were bad stewards over a generational blessing. They tried to kill off everybody so they could stay in their position. And they passed on nothing but pain to you. But God said you would not be destroyed. I need you to recognize that the generational attacks of the enemy will not steal your kingship. See, kingship is inherited. The gift, the opportunity to have dominion over an area is inherited. You have inherited a call. You have inherited a space. You have inherited dominion to accomplish something in the kingdom of God. And there are generational attacks that have tried to wipe it off your family line, but God said, not this one. I think about it a lot. Why I seem to be one of the ones. It's a different kind of joy, gratefulness and grief. I don't know why my sister. I don't know why your cousin isn't here. I'm not saying I don't know all the things. It doesn't absolve the grief of some of the broken things that I have seen in my family line. But what can be absolved, what can be taken care of, is the attack, because it runs out here with me. I need you to not let up off of the generational mess that was running in your family. When running out, when it hit you, somebody tried to wipe you out. But you're standing. But you're standing. And this child Joash survived. He lived in the temple with the priests, protected for seven years. And in the seventh year, well, at the, say, six years, at the end of the sixth year, beginning of the seventh year, let's go to verse 4. Second Kings 11:4. In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds of the bodyguards and the escorts and brought them into the house of the Lord to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the Lord and showed them the king's son. So now when this child is about to be seven years old, the priest is rounding up the armies. We often think of kings leading armies, but the king within you is not in charge of war. Your priestess. See, this is why you have to have your spiritual posture. This is why in this year of abundance with which we are being crowned, if my spiritual core is not strong, the weight of that crown will be too much for me. This is where the war is fought. From your inner man. The spiritual you, not the natural you, not your natural weapons. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. The priest called for war. You gotta let the priest lead the battle. And so he calls everybody in. It's a lot. I want you to go back later and read this whole story. It's too many scriptures for me to read. All right, but I want you to read the whole story. Second Kings, chapters 11 and 12. 2 Chronicles, chapter 22. Read that whole one, too. And I think maybe through 24, but those things. Read the whole story because it's so good. And so he comes back, the priest is calling for them. And then something else that I love about what he does. Because in 2nd Kings 11, verse 10, it says the priests gave the captains of hundreds the spears and the shields which had belonged to King David that were in the temple of God. Why had the priests gathered the weapons of the king, the only one that God said was after his own heart. He didn't keep Saul's weapons. He didn't keep Solomon's. Why he went and got the weapons of the king whose heart was in standing with God. You have to stay there to wear the crown. Your heart has to be aligned with the word of God and with what he has spoken over your life. Because if not, your weapons will be destructive. You might win, but you will lose everything. And so he gets the weapons from King David, he gives them to the soldiers, the priests lead the war, and they win. They overflow everything. And the queen is going crazy. She's screaming treason. Treason. But it's too late, because the priest has already gotten the soldiers to pledge their loyalty to the true king. And so there is no one to protect her. And so, honey, you know what happens to her? She is killed. In 2nd Kings 11, she is killed. And then let's go to verse 17. Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people, and also between the king and the people. A covenant between the king and the people. If God places you in a domain where you are supposed to have dominion. You cannot skip the fact that there are people. I hear folks complain about that all the time. And I grew up hearing that often in ministry, and I don't love that. My mother corrected me on that when I was very young. Never, ever talk negative about your privilege to do anything for God's people, ever, ever. We were having, like a little Easter Sunday, and me and a friend were singing a duet because they made everybody do something on Easter Sunday. And we were pretty sure it wasn't gonna go well. And so we got up there and we're nervous. And so I decide, you know, I'm gonna, like, make a little speech to cover up how bad I think I'm about to do. And so I was like, we're doing this for the Lord. It's for the Lord, not for people. What I really meant was we're about to not be any good, and I gotta have a reason not to be embarrassed. So I'm gonna get my little attitude, my little ego shield up. Nobody's ever done that, huh? Nobody's ever done that. This isn't for the. This is for the Lord, not for people. And I really was so proud of myself. And when I tell you my mother yoked me up like I had cussed in the pulpit or something. And she got right in my face, she said, don't you ever insult God's people like that. Ministry is for them from the Lord, and it's a privilege. And I never forgot it. I never forgot it. You may not be called to the platform ministry in a church room, but wherever God sends you, he is sending you to people he loves. He is sending you to people he died for. He is sending you to people that he wants to bless. And you need to go to them with a heart that looks like the God who sent you. Make sure you get that right. We won't be perfect all the time, but I have to be committed to love. And so he had this covenant, verse 18. And all the people of the land then did what? They went to the temple of BAAL and they tore it down. They got rid of any other God worship in their space, and they thoroughly broke it in pieces. They didn't just put it in the closet, they didn't just put it in the bottom drawer. Oh, Jesus. They didn't just, you know, change the name on the contact, but not delete it. They utterly, thoroughly broke it into pieces. God's saying, clear out some spaces. Let him lead you around your home. Clear out some spaces. There might be some pages in Your journal that need to be tore out and burned up because you wrote words at another time, from another place, from another posture of heart, from another person, the person you. Not even that person. Jesus. They thoroughly broke in pieces of its altars and its images and killed Matan, the priest of baal, before the altars. And the priests appointed officers over the house of the Lord. And so then they went and they installed this king. They took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord and went by way of the gate to the escorts, to the king's house. Then they sat on the throne of the kings. He sat on the throne of the kings. So all the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet, for they had slain the Thalia with the sword in the king's house. And Joash was 7 years old when he became king. This child is on the throne, and believe it or not, it goes pretty well way into his 30s. They believe he was leading well. But then something went wrong. The priest died. And when the priest died, things did not continue to go well. It says in 2nd Chronicles 24, starting in verse 17. Now, after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. He had only listened to the priest. He had been covered by the priest as a child, protected by the priest. The priest placed him on the throne, waged war, put him in his place. And when the priest died, he started listening to someone else. I need you to understand that your priest must always lead your king. Because when he started listening to the leaders of Judah. It says verse 18. Therefore, they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers and served wooden images and idols. So they tore down the idols when he was enthroned. And when the priest died, then they looked for power elsewhere, power that they created through wooden images and idols. And what happens? And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem. And because of their trespass, then in the next verse it says, yet he sent prophets to them. So God is trying to. He trying to fix it, to bring them back to the Lord. And they testified against them, and they would not listen. Verse 20. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest who stood above the people and said to them, thus says God, why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord? So that you cannot prosper. You cannot prosper if you don't do it God's way. And once you have been crowned, it happens little by little. When the priest stops telling you what to do, you start listening to the rules of the world around you. You have to do it this way. You have to come in this door, you have to say this thing. You cannot say that thing. You have to lay that down. You have to hide this. You need these relationships. And he became one of them. He began to listen to them. And it brought nothing but problems to Judah and to Jerusalem. There are very few places this is harder to avoid than Los Angeles, New York, the atf, Miami, anywhere. But I'm just saying these are places that we go because we believe that we are called to have dominion in some sphere that affects the culture. And that may very well be true. But you cannot arrive in the kingdom to which you are called and stop listening to the priest who enthroned you in the first place. Because the spirit of God within you has to enthrone the king within you. The spirit of God within you has to advise the king within you. Your inner priest. Priest must be the authority. We are a royal priesthood, not a priestly kingship. Priest first. When he let the voice of the priest escape, it should have been hidden in his heart. 30 plus years of being guided by this priest who he did right in the sight of the Lord. But that tells me he was just following instructions, not coming to know God. I need you to not just be looking in your Bible to find out what to do next. I need you to not just be looking for the scripture that's going to tell you how to make the choice or how to get where you want to go or how to figure out what to do or how to solve this problem. You have to be in there trying to know God. Jehoiada's name literally meant knows Yahweh. Joash's name meant sent by Yahweh or set by Yahweh. That's different. The part of you that knows him has to instruct the part of you that's set by him. My priest, the inner priest that I am. That is a vertical relationship. The king that I am is out here in the world, bringing the kingdom to the earth. But I have to be guided by my priest inside me. The priest draws near to God. The priest worships. The priest prays. The priest offers a living sacrifice. The priest ministers before God, cultivates God's presence. The king stewards what God entrusts. The king leads. The king has to exercise good judgment. It has to protect my inner king has to establish order in the places where I've been, sit and represent God's reign and extend God's order. But it cannot do that without my inner priest being in charge. The priest cultivates God's presence, the king stewards God's order. The priest tends to the presence of God, the kings tend to the order of God. We have tried to make the priest tend to the order and then we get legalistic. It's about the knowing of Yahweh. I know him, I know his voice. I understand how he speaks to me and how he moves. And let me tell you, you can have a season in your life where Yahweh, where our Father, where God continually communicates to you, you in a certain way and it always works. And then suddenly he'll teach you to hear from him another way. It's very important. Especially those who've been walking with the Lord a long time. And I've walked through two of these seasons. I had a long season for most of my life where the inner voice of God was so clear to me, you could never get me off of it. And then I went through a difficult season and that went dumb and numb and gone. My brain was just dumb and done. But God started showing up around me. I had to learn to follow the cloud instead of listen for the Word. I had to learn that skill set. Cloud by day, fire by night. It was difficult, but God taught me to look for him. He taught me to be still and not move until I saw him, until I saw the direction, till I saw the next step. He taught me that I can't always see the end game. Sometimes I'm only going to have one step and one step because my steps are ordered. Not my dear destination, not my journey. See, you want the big picture, you want to know how it's going to turn out. But you may be a season in now where you used to have that information, but now you got nothing. And you learn to depend on him another way. Because when your interactions with God have become too predictable, you start to confuse God with you. Cuz you're like, oh, I know this route and now you out here running. I can remember, my daughter is an explorer and from the time she could walk, she would walk ahead of us. We be in the street, the whole family, and I look up, she's six feet ahead. Olivia, where are you going? Five years old, you ain't got no money, you ain't got no car, you ain't got no keys. You ain't got no plan, but she's just rolling. I love the confidence. And God is using that in his glory in the kingdom. Now, she knows God, but that thing had to learn to stop and listen for God. But sometimes you get to thinking you know the route because you and God ran this play before. But you have to recognize that if you keep running the same play, your opponent is going to recognize that they're going to be in the game room at halftime saying, xoxo and arrow. Because this is the play they always run under pressure. They've been studying the game film, baby. They've been at every game. You've got to stop. You are not always going to run the same play. That might be your favorite play. It might be the one that gets you your end zone dance that you've been planning. But if the enemy has already clocked it, it's not going to do you any good. But you cannot get frustrated with God when he calls you to learn a new play. Ah, that was free. So anyway, Deuteronomy 17, we're going to jump to there. Joash completely blows it. He kills Jehoiada's son. When the son of the priest tries to come back and give him another word to come back to God, he kills him. Can you. Can you imagine? But nothing is in scripture that is impossible to happen within us. So you think you wouldn't do it. You think you wouldn't do it. But gradually your algorithm transforms. Scriptures used to come up in your feed all the time, but now, oh, what happened? I mean, them scriptures was flying through your feed. But then it was like you saw somebody achieving what you wanted to do. You saw somebody pulling off what your dream was. You saw somebody offering a masterclass on how to get where you are now that you have your crown. And the next thing you know, baby, the scripture's not coming up in your feed no more. Just how to get done the thing that you believe you're called to get done. But, baby, you can't get it done if you're not listening. And then one day, all of a sudden, some preacher pops up in your feed and you maybe catch yourself before you move on, but then you move on. You might kill the son. I don't know. It happens in small ways. You must maintain your commitment, your anchoring, and your chasing of the word of God. Keep your priest posture because Joash dropped the ball as soon as Jehoiada died. And so eventually Joash goes down. He gets killed. He's done. It's Over. Let's skip from there. Why did every king seem to come to raggedy ends? I'm sorry, that's the official question of the morning. Why? When God said, okay, Israel, y' all can have a king, he gave them some warnings about what not to do so that they didn't blow it and look exactly like the other nations. Jehoiada gave Joash the law. So I know Jehoiada had these instructions, but he didn't follow them. But I am about to give the instructions to you. Are you ready? Because if Joash had returned to the instructions at halftime, see, when Jehoiada died, that was like halftime. First half of the game going well, and then all of a sudden, the MVP tears his acl. You're going into the locker room wondering what us gon do. Our star player is down. Everything was going well. I want you to think about the first half of the year, because no matter what, halftime is always a pivot point. You go into the locker room winning, and you in there hyped up. How do I maintain this win? But the same time that you went into the locker room winning, the other team winning, losing. And that team that goes in losing be having a different conversation in their locker room than the winning team sometimes has in their locker room. How many times have we seen a team go into halftime up 20 points, and by the end of the game, they have lost by 30 because that losing team came out blazing? Have we seen it? And so next at five. And so. And so I want you to think about that. Because in these first six months, go all the way back to New Year's Eve, we was hyped. First Sunday of January, y' all was up in here. We had no seats last Sunday of June. Where they at? Took them through there and out there. We ain't even in here. Y' all coming back, though. You gonna get it. This is what happens to all of us in different areas of our lives. By the middle of the year, by halftime, you are ready to come up with a strategy that lets you give up, settle for less. Well, maybe it won't go this way. Maybe I'll lower the bar. Maybe I ask for too much. Yeah, God's going to do it eventually. It don't have to be this year. You start making up a story on why you cannot be defeated on December 31st. I need you to resist that. There are some things that have gone great. And you coming into the locker room like, yeah, this is doing it. And there's some things that have not gone great. And you might be coming in like, our MVP just went down. And I don't know what I'm going to do, but you cannot give up in there. I had somebody say to me today, I'm kind of looking forward to 2027. I was like, I rebuke that. I rebuke that. Why are you thinking about 2027? You're already trying to skip the second half of the game. You're already accepting defeat in an area of your life. When God said abundance over the whole year, when God said, let this be the most spiritually focused year of your life. So you gotta get in that locker room and shake it off, baby. Whatever went good, we thank him. What went bad. We're not going there. I have another half of a game to play. You gots to get it together. We're not quitting. We're not dialing it in. We're not giving this one away. So what are we going to do? Well, here's the halftime coach speech. You ready? Deuteronomy 17. This is a word to the king in you. It says, this is what God told them to do. To not fall into the temptations that take a king down. Verse 8, 16. But you shall not multiply horses. He shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. For the Lord has said to you, you shall not return that way again. Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. What kind of king instructions are these? Kings build big armies with horses and chariots. Kings have the most wives. Kings have the most. And he's telling them, do not do this. You want to run your play that you see the world running. But we don't play like that. You've been getting offline. You've been getting off balance. Baby is not horses, baby is not wives. But baby is not riches. Also. It shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in. In a book. Oh, I'm gonna start doing that. I'm getting me a brand. I don't even have to get a brand new journal. Cause I'm one of them people that always has a brand new journal available. Because every time I see a cute one, I buy it. Why? Holy Ghost convicted me. I said, I'm gonna buy a journal. No, you're not. I am going to get one of the blank journals that I already have. And I'm Gonna open my Bible, and I'm just gonna start writing the word. He said to do it. He said, what? Also it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom. He shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book from the one before. The priests, the Levites, write it down. I'm crazy enough to do it. Why would he have a king do that? Because that's how the word, it gets in you. It's not the same as talking. It's not the same as typing it. The brain has a different relationship with the words you write than the words you type. Creativity has a different relationship with the words you write over the words that you type. That's why one of the problems, and there's many good things challenges with AI is just killing our brains. They are not designed to farm out all the processes. When. And I can attest to this, when I have been stuck in my book writing, I get my yellow pad and my pim. That hand start moving. It's something else about it. And so he said, write it out. That way the king doesn't lose the word next verse. And because he did that, and it shall be with him. And he shall read it all the days of his life. That he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes. That his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left. And that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, not just prolong your days in the earth? Do you want to prolong your days having dominion in the realm where he has assigned you? Do you want to prolong your days in leadership? Do you want to prolong your days preaching the gospel? Do you want to prolong your days writing that music, acting on that stage, sharing the gospel in every area he has sent you? Do you want to prolong your day serving him, or do you just want to prolong your day? How long do you want to reign? We don't want to just be a king. We want to stay a king. But this is how we stay king. Not by killing everybody else who might get in the space. Ah, that he may prolong his days in the kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel. This is how I need you to go onto the field for the second half of the year. Do not multiply horses. Do not trust in your strength and your ability to fight. Stop strategizing based on what you have access to how much money you have, how good your credit is, what relationships you can plug into. That cannot be your starting point. If your inner priest, as you go to God, leads you into one of those spaces, it has to come from there. But we often, as kings, we are focused on what we see. And so we start strategizing based on what we also see. Ephesians 6, I'm not going to read all these verses 10 through 18 tells us to put on the whole armor of God, not multiply the horses out here. I'm not going to build my kingdom out here with a war and an army. I'm going to put on the whole armor of God. This is spiritual work. He tells us, do not return to Egypt. Do not go back to your old patterns. Do not go back to your old patterns. Some of your old patterns have come back and you've given up on it. I'm not even talking about sin entire like it broke a rule, but it is undermining. I spent this whole month fixing stuff. I went back to scratch on my adhd. What do I need to build into this thing so that my ADHD is not throwing me off kilter? Don't act like I'm the only person here that got. This is a room full of creatives. I bet 75% of you guys have ADHD. It's one of the things that makes us great. I was like, let me check on here. Because there has been increasing levels of demand placed on my life. And so things that I had in place that were working, I need to strengthen because there is more on my plate. So I've been checking. I've been getting tight on my sleep schedule because it has slipped. I was going to bed at a certain time, I was waking up at a certain time, and then it starts slipping because I watched two more episodes. It's the little things. The Bible says the little foxes will destroy the vine. So you have to not go back to your old patterns. It will dress itself up as something different, but it's not. She will. I'm showing up looking like something different. He will show up looking like something different. They will show up looking like something different, but it's not different. Don't go back. Take the time. Ask the Lord to reveal to you threads and patterns that you had not noticed so that you can find out why certain things are repeating in your life. Do not go back to Egypt and also to actual sin. I'm giving you some extra applications, but also sin. Okay? Do not do that. Write down Galatians 5:1 and read it later. It says, stand fast in the freedom Christ has given you. Do not multiply wives. What does that mean? Don't let your heart be attached to so many competing interests. Be careful what you are allowing your heart to become entwined with and attached to. If it is competing with God, and particularly not just intentionally, is it competing, but is it replacing God as a power source? Is it replacing God as an information source? Are you asking that thing before you ask God? Are you asking that person before you ask God? Let me tell you, we do it. You know, I'm going to tell my own business because I'm y'. All. I don't have to be perfect. I can't be. Now, a few months ago, something I was really stressed about, and I reached out to someone in my relationship circle who I know has an incredible prophetic gift, and I said, I got this question and I don't know what to do about it. Do you hear the Lord saying anything? And did doesn't look bad, right? I mean, this is a proven prophet of the Lord. They love the Lord. It's not like I didn't go. I didn't go to the psychic. I didn't go to the adjunct. I went to a galaxy. You think you're doing something. I asked two questions. The first question I asked was yes or no question. They responded with a yes or no answer. And then they said, and then I. I heard God say no. And then God told me to tell you to ask him. I was like, what,
- [42:14]
B
man?
- [42:14]
A
And this person was nervous because they were like, this is Dr. Anita. Like, I know she talks to God. Did I hear that right? He was like, I'm sorry, but I mean, God said to ask him, and I didn't want to say that to you. And I was like, nope, you nailed it. You nailed it. Because that's what I needed to be doing. But it was an area that was so deeply emotionally stressful to me, it scared me to approach it hard. So I tried to come in around the side. Oh, huh, huh. I'm telling you because I need you to recognize it when you do it. Because I didn't know I was doing it when I did it. My Bible says that I ask, but I have not. I don't have, because I don't ask. And then sometimes I ask and still don't have because I ask amiss that I may consume it on my own lust. That was an ask amiss. That was me saying, I don't want to navigate this emotionally painful space. I want to escape it. So I'm going to try to go around it and ask God another way. And he said that was in amiss. Ask me. Oh, he don't let us get away with stuff. He don't let us get away with stuff. Do not multiply wives. Don't have your heart invested in idols in places that you go to before you go to God. Do not greatly multiply silver and gold. It doesn't say don't have it. It didn't even say don't multiply. It said don't greatly multiply it for yourself. Some of us are getting caught up in how much money we want to get. It doesn't say don't want it. It doesn't say don't have it. It doesn't say God won't bless you with it. It doesn't even say don't multiply. It say do not greatly multiply silver and gold for yourself. We found out that the priest should be offering living sacrifice, which includes doing good. God, make me so wealthy so I can do so much good and start doing good now. We don't find our security and wealth. Matthew 6:33. Seek first the kingdom. Hebrews 13:5. Be content and trust God's presence. Write and continually read God's law. We have to stop. Stop allowing any other word but God's word to shape our lives. Colossians 3:16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Psalm 119:11. Hide His Word in your heart. And finally do not exalt yourself above your brothers pride. Pride is the greatest, greatest sin and loss of the king. Because once this crown is on my head, I can start thinking I'm all that. But you are just called to have dominion in the area that you're called to. It doesn't make us better than other people. And this is one of the challenges that sneaks in sometimes. It sneaks into church and house of God because we talk about how we want to do stuff in excellence. I want to do this in excellence for the Lord. Excellence. Please give me a break. You want it done your way. Be careful that your excellence for God doesn't become your way. Because I think that the pile should be stacked like this. And I think the dinner table should be set like this for the end, for the fellowship hall. And if the fork is too far to the left. You talking about excellence when it's just your OCD and your demands. Ah, he got you though. If when you say I want us to pursue excellence for the Lord and your body is Stiff. If you're mad at anybody, if you're thinking of someone specific, I'm gonna suggest it might be pride. And not a humble pursuit of God's best. Ah, that pride, that pride. Some of you are so gifted that it seems like you're surrounded by people who are not excellent. I need you to recognize. Cause you know what you're doing. You're looking from your level down and then it's like, why aren't they up here instead of recognizing in this area? God has given me such a gift that I'm not in an average space. And so let me humble myself and share with people. And yes, you might have to repeat yourself. And yes, you have to teach him again. And I know it gets frustrating, but lay that frustration down and come on back. Jesus had to repeat himself three years and they still wasn't getting it. But he kept going because he knew what God had given him and it was his job to share it. Pride sneaks in so many ways. Philippians 2, 5, 11 teaches us about following the humility of Christ. And James 4, 6 says, God gives grace to the humble. Who needs grace? Kings naturally drift towards power, self reliance, divided loyalties, wealth, independence and pride. Your inner priests must anchor the king within you through worship, dependence on God, wholehearted devotion to God's kingdom, to God's word, and to humility. The priest within you must keep the king submitted to God. If you do not let your inner priest keep your inner king submitted, if you do not humble yourself, God will. And I don't want that for me. And I don't want that for you. Last thing. The reason that we often mess up as kings is because we are pursuing a kingdom we can see. He said he would make us kings and priests and priests unto his Father God in the kingdom of heaven. But we start pursuing kingship in kingdoms we can see. And so we associate our success as kings by the level to which we rise and not the level to which we have obeyed. And so the constant living sacrifice that has to be made to keep the king from getting an elevated vision of what it believes success is, is a constant crucifying. But Jesus reminded us that your kingship is not about who you rule. It is an identity in a domain. John, chapter 18, verse 33. This is Jesus standing in front of Pilate. Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, called Jesus and said to him, are you king of the Jews? This is the first time we have a king conversation with Jesus. And Jesus answered him, are you speaking for yourself about that? Or did others tell you this concerning me? Can you imagine somebody walking up and saying, are you next? Are you gonna win that award? You think you gonna get that contract? You think you're gonna run this company? You think you're gonna win? Are you the king? And you be like, yeah, he didn't say. He said, why you say that to me? What sends you here? I don't look like I'm a king. Jesus was under arrest at that moment, about to be crucified, but he wasn't shook. He said, are you speaking for yourself about this? Or did others tell you this concerning me? Pilate answered, am I a Jew? I don't know your own nation. And the chief priests have delivered you to me. What have you done? Just because you are getting fights and pushes against you doesn't mean you're not the king. Jesus is literally king of kings. And he has been arrested and he's about to be murdered, but he's still the king. That be the moment when you're like, man, this is not the word that I received. It's giving, return, void. It's giving. God did lie. It's giving. God's not gonna do it again. That's your moment. God, I cannot overemphasize. You're gonna hear me say this a hundred more times this year. The best thing that can happen is for you to recognize when you are in that moment, so you can be like, this is it, I'm about to do the thing right. And not collapse and not fall short. And not have God be like, oh, we got to run this test again. This is my moment. It looks bad. That's how I know it's not bad. It shall be.
- [50:51]
B
Well.
- [50:52]
A
Verse 38, Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. He is. His kingdom is not this world. We will do things in this world. I loved running a master's degree program when I was working at the university. That was a high point in my life. I love having a best selling book. I love getting to do some of the media things I've done. But that does not mean that every part of that was establishing his kingdom unless I am aware of why he has me there. You will make the desires of your heart his kingdom. He said he would give you the desires of your heart. That's wonderful. And enjoy that. That does it. That does. It's not the same category necessarily of things. That is his kingdom work. It would not be my desire to be crucified. And it wasn't Jesus's because he said, hey, not My will, but yours. But this is not my. I don't want this. But it was the kingdom work. Okay, did anybody get that? All right. My kingdom is not of this world. It's not political. It's not financial. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here. You talking about ain't nobody fighting for me. My servants don't need to fight for this kingdom because this kingdom's not seen. Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king? Then Jesus answered, you say right, that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Why are you in this world at this moment? Make sure you know why. He has you in the kingdom in this moment. And it should be something that can transcend environment. I know why he has me in this world. To heal the brokenhearted and bind up wounds. I'm doing that this morning as your pastor. I'll do it later this week in a therapy session. I will do it as I write down the next book that he gave me and wherever he. As a professor. I did it in the classroom. All the places that I was. Did not change my purpose. It did not change the thing I was created for. And you cannot confuse your actual purpose with the current vehicle of your purpose. And we often do that. Do not confuse your purpose with the current vehicle of your purpose. However, God is working it out in the kingdom right now doesn't mean it won't be worked out in a different way later. So if this goes, if in five years or 10 years, I don't know when, this is not where God has me to do this. I'm still going to be healing. I'm still going to be binding up the brokenhearted. I'm still going to be unpacking the revelation of the Word in a way that changes the way that people live abundant lives. It doesn't change because that's why I'm in the Kingdom. Don't get so attached to the current vehicle, the current location, the current manifestation. Some of you are clinging to a location and a place and a thing because you think if that thing slips down through your fingers, then the thing, everything has failed because you have defined the purpose as the thing. Go higher. Why are you in the Kingdom at this moment? Last thing I want to show you. We're going a little late, but we're Doing good. Y' all with me. Because this second half now, when y' all go out that door, I want you to go out that door with the energy you had on January 1st. I want you to go out that door with the energy you had after the revival was over. I want you to go out that door when you committed to have the most spiritual year of your life. You have got to shake off the losses, the bruises and the hits, and remember, we are in a spiritual kingdom. Now. Note that Jesus said, if my kingdom was of this world, my servants would fight for it. John 18:4. We're in Gethsemane again. Jesus, therefore, knowing all that things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, who are you seeking? The soldiers have come to arrest him in Gethsemane. Y' all know he was just crying a minute ago. Now he's up, he's been strengthened. And the soldiers come, and he says, who are you seeking? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth and Nazareth. And Jesus said to them, I am he. And Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them. Now when he said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. The king of kings did not have to say, I am the king. Soldiers are standing in front of him holding their authority. They should be bowing in front of a king. Jesus says, I am he. And they are knocked into the subject position. You have to recognize somebody just got it, that your kingship is an identity. And when you step in a space and you acknowledge your identity, you don't have to declare your title. It's the knowledge of your spirit. He said, I am he. He crowned himself at that moment and they went into a subject position. Those who came to fight you will become subjects in the kingdom that he assigned you to, because you know who you are. Because you know who you are. Stand to your feet. And I love this moment. Because what does g. What does Peter do? Peter jumps out and cuts somebody ear off after that. Now, Jesus then said, I am he. And they have been knocked to the ground by his declaration of identity. And now Peter think he got something to do. So he pulls out his sword and he cuts off a soldier's ear. And Jesus picks the ear up and puts it back on. But you have to hear this through the lens of what Jesus is going to say to Pilate. If my kingdom was of this world, my servants would fight for it. But when a servant tried to fight for it, he rebuked Peter and healed that soldier. Because even standing right next to Jesus, Peter tried to Fight in an earthly way. He wanted to defend his little kingdom. My apostle brothers, my brothers, my disciple brothers, Jesus, I want to keep everything right here the same. And so he tried to wage a earthly fight. Jesus is reflecting on that when he says, if my kingdom was of this world, my servants would fight for it. He did not allow them to fight. He told them to go. He said, if you're looking for me, let these go. You take me. He was protecting them in that moment. Let my God. Let God cover you. Let him protect you. Stop being determined to jump up and fight something that ain't even your fight. Let God stand. Let the Holy Ghost get in front of you and deal with that battle. He said, let them go. I got this. The Lord is fighting your battles. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are mighty. Jesus, we gotta go home. You ready to give? Get it. We are gonna give into that moment. Before you go back out on the field, leave a seed here saying, I have heard you, Lord. I have heard you, Lord. And my priest is back in the game. I was playing let the king run the place, but the king is not gonna run without the priest. I am not going into the second half of this year believing that it's already over. I am not going in the second half of this year with lowered expectations. I am not going into the second half of this year paying more attention to the bruise I got in the first half than the victory I'm about to have in the second half. I am not going into the second half of this year with the enemy in the back of my mind trying to get me to write a second story, trying to get me to write an alternate ending than the one I declared on January very 1st, because the alternate ended might work out better. And at least I could say God didn't fail me. Baby, God don't need you to bring his job description down. He needs you to bring your faith up. This is your moment. It's half time. Turn things around. Lift your offerings to the Lord. Some of you might have just changed your offering. You might need to sow an extra seed on that if you're watching online. Do it. We sow seed. There's a reason why our offering is called seed. And sometimes the ground needs to be in a certain place when you put a seed in. So I want the seed to have been attached to this word. That the seed is your declaration that I'm coming out of halftime back on the field with more energy than I came out to the first half. Baby, it's a whole new walkout song. I'm standing up straighter, I'm stronger. I have a word from the Lord and that word is on my lips. And I'm going to keep confessing what he told me no matter what I see, I'm coming out standing stronger. My enemy is about to get nervous because when they see the look in my eye, they gonna know they got a problem. Baby, I'm about to tackle you so hard, you ain't never gonna get back up. It's gonna be a hit that you will never forget. I'm about to take you out at the knees, baby, because I am soldier of the Lord and you don't get to win. Oh. On December 31st, when I look back and tell the story of how God brought me through and brought me over and established in my finances, my relationship, my vocational aspirations, God is going to do it now unto him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you ask or think according to what the power that worketh in you. Father, receive these offerings from us that we sow as a reminder to ourselves and an expression of our faith in you that no weapon formed against us could ever prosper. That we will never stand in asking, did God really say? But we will declare your word with every breath, and we will expect, not avoid thinking about. We will expect the manifestation of your power in every area of our lives. In Jesus name, Amen. Amen. I'm gonna ask you. We're gonna be here just two more minutes past the buckets. I don't want y' all one walking out while we're doing that. Is there anybody here who doesn't know Jesus? If you don't know Jesus, honey, if this. You gotta have the real coach now. If you are not locked in with Jesus, if you have, remember a day when you said, this is the day that I've walked with Jesus and don't turn back. Then let today be the day. Let you go. Leave halftime with the Lord with you. Is there anyone who's like, yeah, I need to get in there with Jesus? I kind of thought I was with Jesus, but I've been in this room enough. And I'm like, yeah, I need a different lock in with Jesus. Just slip your hand up. I want to pray for you. Is there one? All right. The nine o' clock service came in hard. Hey, I see you. Come here, baby. I see you. I'm telling you, this life with Jesus is so good. You may have heard people say before when they've asked about Jesus to replace repent. Repent means so much more than, hey, God, I'm sorry for the things I've done wrong. It's harder for you to forgive yourself than for God to forgive you. But repent means to change your mind. It means to change the way you view the world. It means to change your purpose. And so I want to ask you, do you want to change your purpose today and make Jesus your purpose?
- [62:45]
B
Yes.
- [62:45]
A
She said she does. Do you want to look at your life through this lens after today? That's repent. I'm telling you, this view is so much better. And he's not mad at you. God's not mad at you. So let wipe from your mind the things that you think he would be so mad at you for, huh? He's not mad at you. He is not mad at you. And he's never been mad at you. God has been protecting you in ways. Ways that you were not protected as a child. But God had you. He's not your mom and dad, and they might be wonderful people, but he's so good, he makes them look bad. He's that good. She said he died. He that good. And so I just want to tell you that he's in. He is deeply in love with you. Deeply in love with you. And he is definitely a keeper. Trust me. So in order to jump in here, I just need you to let me know a few things. I'm going to ask you a couple questions. If the answer is yes, declare it is. If you're not sure, you know, don't say so we'll talk some more, okay? Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God? That he was born on this earth and then he voluntarily died? He let some people murder him because he loved you so much. Do you believe he defeated death and now he's alive again in heaven? Then welcome to the kingdom of heaven.
- [64:07]
B
That's it.
- [64:08]
A
Can you give her a hug? Because this is a hug. It's even welcome to the kingdom of God and this crazy family of yours.
- [64:17]
B
Hey, family. Well, I pray that you were just as blessed by this teaching as I was. I'm just so grateful again to be a part of a dynamic community full of love, full of revelation and wisdom. One has been a movement that's been blessing people for over two decades. Decades. And I'm so glad that you got an opportunity to experience it. I also have a podcast called the called it's right here on wherever you're listening to this Spotify or Apple or wherever you're listening to this podcast. You can just look up the call T H E C A L L E D with myself, Ture Roberts. This is designed for entrepreneurs, leaders and business people. It's a weekly podcast and it will bless you you. But hey, I enjoyed having you here. Meet us here next week. Check out the called. Much blessings to you. We'll catch you next time.