i'm pastor stephen brooks and welcome today to our online internet around the world church service i'm so happy that you're here now normally on sunday mornings i'm in the sanctuary standing up and ministering god's word but today i felt more of a teaching anointing and i actually wanted to just to sit down and teach something that i believe is a timely message with you today so here i am praise god happy to be ministering god's word to you whether sitting or standing now let's prepare our hearts to honor the lord by bringing the tithes and the offerings into the storehouse of the lord let's take our bibles and go to ii timothy chapter 1 verse 7 and it says for god has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind now i have noticed that because of the spirit of fear that is very prevalent today not just in america but around the world because of the virus and so forth that fear has produced in some of god's own people by uh them allowing that spirit to work on them has produced what i would call a paralysis and that's what fear will do it can freeze a person up uh physically it could also freeze them up in their mentality and their way of thinking and if you do that you have stopped moving forward in god's plan for your life so remember god has not given us a spirit of fear and there are some christians that are very concerned right now because of the various economic shakings that would be in the earth i am here as a minister of the gospel to let you know that god's hand is on your life and that you have a covenant with jehovah jireh your provider and should every natural source fail you will be okay because god will never fail and you're tied into him praise the lord so you're always going to be okay regardless of the various difficulties that the nation or a city or county may face god has provision for you you know it says back in the days of abraham and isaac you see times uh particularly with isaac where money failed wow that's that's pretty uh difficult times and then joseph uh you know with what was going on in his life ruling over time of great prosperity but also the time of severe famine and you know this was a time when people didn't have money and so they would have to uh you know trade their land or things that they owned just so that they could purchase food but i'm here to say that should various systems fail god will never fail you by the way i don't believe that everything's going to fall apart i really don't believe that if you listen to a lot of news you may be of that theory or opinion but i just believe that you know god's going to keep moving us forward and there's a lot that we're supposed to do and there's a lot that this nation is called to do and god's going to hold it all together so don't get in fear don't get in pandemonium start making bad decisions and start doing things that aren't wise praise god stay strong stay stable praise the lord you know i love the story that daddy geo from nigeria he has taught about his spiritual father and the great crisis of life they went through when there was food shortage and you know no money and uh in the natural no hope but uh they call him daddy geo uh his name is pastor enoch adeboye and he tells the story of his spiritual father uh that during a time of food shortage the lord spoke to his wife and the lord spoke to his wife saying whenever it's time to eat breakfast lunch or dinner now remember there's no food not just in their house in hardly anybody's house and the lord said when you go into the kitchen and you go to the stove you have that pot over there on the stove now open up the lid and don't look into the pot just serve out of it you know to the various family members and then when you're done put the lid back over the pot and i'll take care of you so uh you know the pastor's wife did that uh pastor adeboye his wife excuse me his spiritual father his wife did that and so you know in the breakfast i was time for breakfast she'd go into the kitchen over there on on the stove and she would take that pot take the lid off and she would start dishing out of a quote you know empty empty pot unquote well she would dish it out and sometimes there would be like a like a meat type dinner you know with potatoes and everything she just dish it out and there it is and then you know come back for the next meal of the day take the lid off the pot and dish it out and serve it and it would be fish and then you know come back at night take the lid off the pot dish it out it would be chicken and this went on for quite some time and eventually the economic difficulties of the nation began to get some breathing room and people could get some food and stuff like that and she said that the miracle ended when one day out of great curiosity she looked into the pot and there was nothing in there just air nothing in there just a clean empty metal pot but the lord had been doing a miracle to sustain them so i don't believe money's going to fail by the way if money ever fails it just get it just gets turned right around and replaced with another currency it's not like things come to a grinding halt and all uh economic systems are shut down forever it's just you know and you see that in war if you look at world war ii and world war one when there were these large-scale wars and nations had their economies totally obliterated you know that didn't last forever next thing you know as soon as the war is over they're already moving into a new currency or whatever it is so you know you're going to keep on going god's going to keep you going and you're always going to be just fine there are people even god's own people that are in so much fear they have become paralyzed and they're they're concerned about food although there's plenty of food out there they hear reports we're running out of food but you know i'm just saying that in the lord you don't have anything to worry about you will always be okay whatever it is that you need god will take care of you food water whatever it might be and should there ever be something crazy where you know it ran out uh it doesn't mean it's going to run out on you you have a covenant god that keeps covenant wow praise the lord thank you jesus you know years back dr norvel hayes he's in heaven now he said the lord revealed something to him that i i found phenomenal phenomenal and the lord had revealed to him that there has never been in the history of the world one person who has ever listened to this who has ever died of starvation who called upon the lord and worshiped the lord well pastor stephen millions upon millions have died of starvation yes they sure have maybe while they're trusting a false god to feed them while they you know go about in fear or unbelief but jesus told norvel hayes that has never in the history of the world ever been one person during a time of famine or that when there's no food who would worship the lord and call upon his name that the lord let die of hunger never it's never happened ever and it never will if you will just worship the lord and trust him and praise him you'll just cut right through any difficulty now others yes others may experience calamity disaster why they have no covenant with god they have no covenant with god so they are you know impervious or let me say like this they're wide open to whatever the circumstances could throw with them but you have a covenant with the lord and that covenant is that's associated with finances is connected through honoring the lord with your tithe which is 10 of all monies that come into your life whether earned or gifted or whatever it might be and also offerings which is the sowing of financial seed and also the resultant harvest that god brings so my friends when you have a covenant you don't have anything to have fear about you don't have any reason to be in fear praise the lord and if god has to do miracles to carry you through he will praise god but he is a he is a covenant keeping god and if you will just trust him he'll take you through anything praise the lord praise the lord thank you jesus praise god i just see fear dissolving praise the lord so you need to stay on track you need to stay focused on what god has called you to do and dismiss the fear and keep moving forward by the way don't think that just because there's a virus and we see a lot of a lot of businesses close down and so forth uh don't think that people aren't making money are you kidding me there are people getting fabulously rich right now because of certain innovations certain changes in the way that business is conducted and things like that just this microphone this sure microphone you know which is a certain brand certain model these things were sold out all over america why because so many people now they have had to move online to conduct meetings or so anything having to do with podcasting or internet streaming it's like all of that equipment was gobbled up and consumed by consumers by buyers so all of these companies are just profiting making all kinds of money because of the way that business has changed and has to be conducted and uh so when it comes to you know these various uh servers and any type of equipment that's been directed or or affected i should say by the coronavirus that's in demand now well you could hardly get it it's back order and stuff like that praise the lord so there's always a time for prosperity regardless of what is going on i see the lord blessing you right where you're at right in the middle of any difficult situation because isaac proved it he proved it by sowing in a time of famine and the lord gave him a 100-fold return harvest right in the middle of a famine and the philistines who represent the unsaved or the people of the world who don't understand the principles and the ways of god they were totally baffled and just couldn't see how this guy was prospering and getting ahead right in the middle of an economic meltdown i'm just telling you that when you have a covenant with god you can be like the salmon in the alaskan rivers that swims upstream when everything else is getting swept downstream so you're not even holding steady you're moving forward you're going up against the current praise the lord so you know don't don't think that everybody's just sitting at home nobody's making any money and nothing's happening everybody's on standstill no people are innovating people are trying new ideas trying uh different uh methods of this and that and it's working praise god whatever you put your hands to and you labor in it the bible says there's prophet in that hallelujah hallelujah thank you jesus for god has not given us a spirit of fear get that old fear off of you praise the lord you don't have anything to be afraid of nothing keep on moving forward so because god has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind not a crazy mind running around terrified and not knowing what to do but a sound mind [Music] thank you lord jesus praise god i know people personally that have already been told that actually were told two months ago that you won't be coming back to work for the rest of the year just work from home so you know that that's like uh for some of them it'll be easily a 10 month stretch of working at home well what does that mean uh well for a lot of people it meant well if i'm going to be working from home i need to go out and buy an office or you know one person was telling me they got one of the desks that raises and lowers it and goes up and down and stuff like that so who's making all of those desks who's making all of that equipment people that were smart and people that are making money right now don't ever let difficulties or circumstances present to you an excuse saying this is why you can't prosper you can prosper in the lord anywhere anytime anyplace regardless of what's going on if you can't then the covenant is worthless and you just might as well take god out of the equation and just go out there and as they say in the world is hustle and do the best you can because it's a dog eat dog world but it's not like that for the believer you have a covenant with god and he will secure you take care of you and move you forward move you forward even during times of challenge we are not exempt from the challenges that are out there but we are exempt from failure and defeat because we serve a mighty god i'm just talking out of my spirit right now praise the lord trying to get some of you out of paralysis and get you back into a place where you're moving i've talked to too many people recently who are their only hope right now is the rapture they're they're just wanting the lord to come right now and uh one lady uh that i was talking to recently a minister actually uh you know she she just like was looking for the lord to come and rescue the church right now i said you know what um you you probably shouldn't be focusing on that although we all can say with a good conscience maranatha in other words lord come quickly yes we want the lord to come but have you noticed he hasn't come yet the very fact that you're listening to this message says he hasn't showed up yet so we need to be working with a good attitude and not just like oh it's so bad we need to get out of here praise the lord hallelujah thank you jesus don't get into that woe is me uh don't get into that oh we're just in such despair we don't know what to do don't do that that's crazy thinking sound mind sound mind i'm seeing i'm talking a little bit longer uh extensively on the tithing authoring because i'm trying to bring some of you back to home base you've been floating out there and all kinds of feared worry and uh about to do some crazy ideas maybe you're thinking i need to sell my home and get out of here and yet the whole time god blessed you with the home and wants you to stay in your home and enjoy your home but you're trying to cook up all kinds of crazy stuff because it's based out of fear well you need to just settle down spend time with the lord relax and realize that god's got you covered you have a covenant with the lord everything is going to be okay now if there are certain changes that the lord is leading you through then embrace those changes and walk in faith don't walk in any fear praise the lord thank you lord jesus and if there's changes there's new opportunities new opportunities for growth increase and expansion hallelujah thank you o lord praise the lord glory glory to the lord thank you lord jesus praise the lord the lord is the stabilizing factor in your life praise the lord see unbelievers and people who trust in themselves and in their own ability and who trust in money you know what they do when the economy uh takes a drop or something dramatic financially shakes you know what they do they go up on top of skyscrapers and jump off okay that's crazy stuff that's stupid stuff okay so for those of you that maybe again you just felt that fear hitting you i say the lord is your stabilizing force and factor rest in him trust in him be strong hallelujah stop looking for the exit and for the escape hatch and just be strong and stand and just determine to grow and increase praise the lord have you noticed we're not running for the heels here we're expanding in every format we're expanding on every uh ministry platform and we're reaching more and further now than we ever have before and we're looking for new television networks to get on hallelujah we're not cutting back we're moving forward and god's god's providing god's blessing for god has not given us a spirit of fear praise god thank you lord jesus i see your increase before you just go up and take it hallelujah go up and get your blessing praise the lord heavenly father i speak blessing over your people that as they honor you today with the tithe and the offering they're doing so in a spirit of faith knowing that you are stabilizing them increasing them and moving them forward father we thank you in jesus name amen and amen praise the lord see we are living in the reality of isaiah chapter 60 verses 1 and 2 where gross darkness is upon the face of the earth yet at the same time the glory of the lord is getting stronger and stronger on us so in one area you could say it's the best of times in the other area you could say it's the worst of times but it's the worst of times for those who don't know god but is the best of times for those of us who do praise god and when the lord jesus does come to take his church home with him it will be in a place where we have such strength and such blessing and the glory of the lord is so strong upon us that the world and his antichrist system will be like please just get out of here and leave remember that's what pharaoh and the egyptians were saying to the israelites just you know get out leave we don't like you anymore we don't want you anymore you can go just leave and we will leave at the right time we will leave on a note of victory we will leave having accomplished the great commission and we will leave also having plundered and spoiled the egyptians and we will leave on top praise god and then when we go they can do whatever they want the antichrist he can finally come forth and do his thing but we will have stepped off on the right note we will have stepped off having accomplished all that god called us to do now as you're bringing the tithes and offerings in if you would like to mail them in please send them to stephen brooks international p.o box 717 moravian falls north carolina 28654 if you want to bring the tizen offerings in online please visit the ministry website stevenbrooks.com there's a link on the home page called titans and offering so and reap and you can go there right now now we also have a special project that we are working on if you go to one of the headers called projects you can click on that and we are working right now towards raising the needed funds for what we call studio refresh we're going to refresh this uh small internet studio that i'm in right here as well as the larger sanctuary studio with uh some we want to move the audio from analog up to digital and we also want to do uh some things with some creative backgrounds so thank you for sewing seed into those special projects by the way there'll also be a new ministry website that will be launching in the very near future uh it's taking a little longer than normal i've talked with the team that are working on it and uh you know these things take a lot of code so the guys are writing code behind the scenes i don't know how they do all of that but i find it fascinating in the modern world you can't get much done without writing code uh cars won't work without it computers won't run without it nothing works without it so they had to uh change some templates and modify some things on the new site but it will have as we would say all the bells and whistles that a new website needs to have to be effective and at the same time simple and easy to navigate i don't like going to things that i can't even figure out where i'm supposed to go i like it to be easy to move around so all of that's in the mix plus a lot of other good stuff so thank you for supporting the work of the lord and honoring god with your finances and staying in faith woo glory to god and keeping fear out of your heart praise the lord heavenly father bless your people let them increase right now let them be a sign and a wonder to those around them because they are covenant people and their increase is not based upon luck or chance it's based upon covenant promise and i thank you father god they are working your covenant and you are faithful to it in jesus name amen hallelujah i i tell you every time i think about that covenant i'm amazed because it is so supernatural and it will work for you regardless of what's going on in the world i think the thing to me that also is so fascinating is that if you'll dare to believe god and engage god on the covenant terms it'll work for you even if you are in one of the most impoverished nations on the face of the earth see because sometimes people say well pastor stephen it will work in america because you know in america there's a lot of money but uh but of course for those that would know when you do come to america it's not like the streets are paid with gold here there's quite a few potholes uh too so there there's a lot of things that america needs to catch up on so this is not like any type of utopia society now we are blessed uh in many ways we are a blessed nation but uh it's not like you can go to cities not see poor people our cities are full of impoverished people homeless people and stuff like that not only in the cities but in rural communities so it'll work anywhere it will work anywhere if you'll work it praise god it'll lift you up yes it will hallelujah now let's take our bibles and go over today the second samuel chapter 11. i want to talk today about the subject of a crown and the sword we're going to look into the unique life of david and how he fulfilled his destiny but there were times when he had some challenges and drifted but the lord accomplished the full destiny that he had for him by the time it was all said and done so let's pray heavenly father we ask that as we open up your word to study it that the life that david lived of fulfilling his assignment that by the time we reach our finish line father we pray that we also will have checked off all that you called us to do and that the primary thrust of our lives will be completed and that the work will be very pleasing in your eyes having been done with the right motives and with a heart of love father we just thank you we give you all of the praise in jesus name we pray and we agree and say amen praise the lord again we're in second samuel chapter 11 verse 1. it happened in the spring of the year at the time when kings go out to battle now we're going to pretty much camp around that thought of the time when kings go out to battle you need to see yourself as as a king from the perspective that jesus is the king of kings and the lord of lords and you in the eyes of god have kingly anointing that's been imparted into you so jesus is the king over the kings that you and i are and he is the lord over the lords that he has anointed us to be so since we can relate to that you need to understand that there is a purpose for you also to go out to battle and if you don't do that something will trip you up somewhere eventually sooner or later in your life it happened in the spring of the uh in the spring of the year at the time when kings go out to battle that david sent joab and his servants with him and all israel and they destroyed the people of ammon and besieged rava but david remained at jerusalem that was a big mistake he should have been out there not in the battle necessarily he's done enough fighting already but still the ancient kings of those days even though uh it would be rare for them once they're really into the fullness of their kingly uh rule to pick up a sword and start you know fighting uh somebody out on the field they still would have a tent pitched for them at a safe distance where they could oversee the battle and present strategy present encouragement and just by the fact that they're there the troops could look and see and be rallied and encouraged knowing their king is praying for them and supporting them and so forth now he would be back out of arrow distance and things like that he would have a guard an elite guard protecting him but his physical presence was very very much needed and it was also expected but he's not there where is he hanging out at jerusalem back at the uh back at the palace verse two then it happened and we all know what that story is about it's been uh you know preached all over the world and uh told all over the world in that wild david probably had no idea that the trouble he got himself into would be talked about even hundreds of years later how about this thousands of years later one minister said he was on the beach one day this was recently you know sometime back in other words within our generation he was on the beach one day and looked up and there was an airplane flying by pulling a banner and the banner said david and bathsheba and it had uh an advertisement for a uh it was a theater play that was being played out there in the local town and you could go to the theater and watch the replay the reenactment of david bathsheba can you imagine that when david did this he had no idea no idea that 3 000 years later somebody in an airplane is going to be flying up and down the atlantic beach advertising and promoting or telling everybody about the mistake that he made in private while uh just consequences beyond anything that he was able to comprehend at that time so we it says then it happened and we we know what happened but why my friends did it happen uh that's what we need to look at today and really the reason it all began to fall apart was because when kings went out to war when it's time for that david stayed put and he didn't do what he what god had called him to do so having read that verse i want to make the statement that the number one reason a child of god fails in their life is because of and if we put a blank there what would you fill in i want to tell you what i believe fills in that blank but think about it just for a moment the number one reason men fail is because of and some people would would put maybe because of not enough prayer well prayer is extremely important um but you know you can pray and still miss this area so let's just get let's just jump right to it the number one reason men fail is because of broken focus that's why men women god's people if they fail in a certain area or fail in their life it's because of broken focus and that's really what we're seeing here in chapter 11 verse 1. now broken focus can be attributed to drifting away from the assignment that god gave to your life keeping in mind that your assignment is unique and it pertains to you and the assignment that you have that i have that somebody else might have they're all different and even if your assignment would be like mine ministry even within ministry there's a million different directions you can go in a countless different number of ways that you can do things so all of that has to be understood broken focus can be attributed to drifting away from your god-given assignment now when this happens broken focus will result in a loss of passion passion that fire of doing what you love to do even if you do it every day uh you know you may still have to get up in the morning and get your coffee and stuff like that you don't really feel it yet but once you kind of get going and get into it you're like this is my thing i like it i love it i enjoy it that is the passion that is the thing that god has called you to do that is where your anointing is at so we know that with solomon that his kingship was very different he was a man of peace and within his kingdom there you know the kingdom of israel was so strong solomon really brought it to a tremendous military power and also an economic powerhouse and he really didn't have any enemies except only on the outskirts of israel and that really was only a result of when solomon had gotten into sin uh his heart had gotten away from the lord he got into idolatry and that's that's when on the outskirts of israel you would start to have these raiding parties and these these uh uh kind of like marauding bands that would begin to frustrate and irritate the armies of israel but they were still nobody strong enough to take on solomon's main army they're just too powerful uh so there was there's pretty much peace throughout the reign of solomon but during david's reign who was you know previous to solomon uh but david it was just war after war after war it was just fighting and fighting and chopping heads off and stabbing people and uh it was just phenomenal warfare but that was what god had called david to that was his anointing and he got away from that praise the lord david's destiny was to be king no question about it david's destiny was to sit on a beautiful throne yes no question about that and have a nice robe that's all good wear some fancy slippers that's all good but incorporated into the ongoing destiny of david was more than just a crown it was also always a sword he was just a man that god had anointed for war and if you take that element away from him uh you've taken the fish out of the water thank you lord jesus so he always needed to have that fighting thing going on in his life at this point he has moved from hebron hebron is where he had his initial reign at but then when he's put over the whole nation and he's you know and he captured the phenomenal city of jerusalem from the jebusites at this point as we see him here he's really established he's very firmly established as king but his assignment is not complete and david got off track he thinks well you know this is my destiny uh all those years was saul harassing me and all those things i went through i made it through that and the the prophecies of of samuel the prophet all that has come to pass and now here i am in jerusalem and i'm the king and i've got my own general let joab go out and fight the battles and i can just finally kick back and relax uh no you can't david you can't why because you are a king who is called not only to wear a crown but also to know how to swing the sword praise god or sling that slingshot or whatever it might be or throw the spear trust me he was he was a man of martial arts now that doesn't mean he knew kung fu martial arts just basically means to study of various forms of warfare so i can guarantee you he knew a lot more than just how to sling a stone he would have been familiar with every single type of weapon that was out there and i'm sure he was really good with all of them praise the lord but it just was not his uh like a single uh how can we say one dimensional anointing that he had was just which was just to sit on the throne and you know act like king no the he was supposed to be out there especially when battles are going on when it's time for battle and time for war hey it's springtime this is just what we do well why do we do that because god put that in us and that's what we do well that doesn't that doesn't seem to make sense well it doesn't need to it's just what we do it's who we are praise the lord it's just a type of a behavior of a king it's just what you do well i don't want to do that i think i want to take a break we're going to get in trouble now david got in trouble because he got in the flesh and when he got in the flesh his outlet was sexual immorality his outlet was adultery uh for other people if they're going to get in the flesh it could be some different venue that they want to entertain to indulge their you know you know the lower nature of the base nature but i can tell you this when you have a calling and you have an assignment from the lord you have a prayer i'm not just talking about ministry when i'm talking calling but when you have an assignment from the lord and you sit back and you don't move on that i'm just here to tell you you're going to get in trouble somehow some way you may not you know go after another man's wife and you may not get into murder lord forbid but i'll tell you one thing you'll get into something that you're not supposed to be into why because you're in the wrong place at the wrong time and you're supposed to be out there uh engaged in battle kings go off to war i hope that there is a battle right now that you're engaged in now when i'm talking about a battle really i'm talking about you're using your faith to move forward in what god has called you to do oh well pastor stephen right now there's coronavirus going on out there now you can't do anything right now we're sure you can if you have to they'll obey the laws of the land just put a mask on and go but one thing's for sure even if you've got to pick up your sword and go out to war uh put your mask on and do it and then go out to war praise the lord but you don't need to be sitting around making excuses for why you can't go off to war for why you cannot engage for uh in the faith project that god has called you to do well pastor stephen everything's shut down all the restaurants are shut down not your faith you don't have to shut your faith down rise up get going get moving thank you lord jesus hallelujah praise the lord thank you lord jesus he was on the throne he had the throne he had the crown but somewhere along the line the sword he laid down and when he laid that down that was one of the greatest mistakes he ever made in life now david it says that he was a man after god's own heart he was he made a mistake because he got in the flesh it was very different with solomon solomon his son got away from the lord and got into idolatry and bowed down and worshiped demon idols but you'll never ever in the life of david see david falling down before an idol and saying you're my god no he never did anything stupid like that even when he blew it and made mistakes he when he when the lord dealt with him he would repent and he would get right with god but you never see him as an idol worshiper praise the lord it doesn't excuse what he did and he went through a he went through the whirlwind for that but my friends you have to you have to go out to battle praise the lord you have to go off to war you have to be involved in what god has called you to do or listen to me very carefully or you're going to get spiritual arthritis why do many people get arthritis well if you get older and you don't move things will begin to lock up things will begin to get stiff and if if they're not moved and if they're not used regularly then they'll they'll just get to a place where they think well you're not using this anymore we'll just kind of remain in position and then it gets all hardened and locked up and then it becomes painful you need to stay active in your calling active in your assignment right now especially right now praise the lord thank you jesus hallelujah you need to understand who you are why god put certain types of passion in you and you need to act on that you need to be a hearer and a doer of the word don't just become a professional hearer although that's part of it but you also need to be a doer or else you will deceive yourself you'll think well i know everything well if you're not doing anything though it's not it's not it's like halfway there so you have to hear and then do praise god move forward with the plan that god has given you find out what you're supposed to do next you may not be able to do it all in one chunk usually you can't but there would be something that you can do to keep things going forward and of course when you do that when you do walk forward eventually you do hit those moments you make the great stride forward and you do sometimes get the big breakthrough blessings all of a sudden that that's wonderful as well but none of it happens if you don't get out there and get into the battle start moving praise the lord psalm 144 verse 1 psalm of david blessed be the lord my rock who trains my hands for war now this training in the hebrew denotes containing excuse me it denotes training that is continual in other words it's not like well i had a lesson one time on how to shoot a pistol and now i know everything i know about that no it's it's all ongoing training it's not like a karate master says well i you know i've trained for a few years i know everything there is to know it's lifelong that's the chinese mentality uh it's just something that's a lifetime practice and you'll never learn at all you're going to run out of time before you uh are able to learn all of it because really all of it can never be learned in a single lifetime so it's continual training blessed be the lord my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle who trains his hands for war i believe that david was familiar with any type and every type of weapon that was out there if you could throw it he knew how to throw it if you could shoot it he knew how to shoot it if you could if you could swing it he knew how to swing it and i believe that he was very very skilled in anything that could be put in your hand in which you could do battle including even the hands themselves and my fingers were trained you said for battle that training the sensitivity of being able to draw back a bow and to shoot that and hold it still and everything all of those things he was very very good at all that and he had an anointing for it even as a king whoo praise the lord thank you jesus and for him with that anointing and all of that ability and all of that you know gifting from the lord to lay it down just to lay it down and say you know i think i'll just sit around play a harp all day here in the palace uh that's uh david you know you're letting go a major part of who god called you to be and what he uh has enabled you to be praise the lord now totally different with the son solomon solomon could just sit on the throne all day and teach solomon give us another lesson tell us about the hyster tell us about the plants that grow out of the wall solomon explained to us about the animals and he could just sit there all day teach teach teach teach east and you're just like wow this is amazing but david was totally different david was just like hey let me get out here get a spear and show these guys how to throw this thing uh and uh oh my goodness he really was something phenomenal but he he abandoned all of that that's why he got into trouble and if if you start walking away from your gifting or your anointing you're starting to lose the passion that is associated with that and then you lose that skill if you're at the very forefront of your of your of your work of your career field you know that it takes everything to stay at the front it's the same way in sports if if you're at the forefront there's very little difference between first and second place the the requirement is is major between first and tenth place uh it's a vast difference but up up front at the top we're talking 100 of a second that's the only difference so if you start goofing off uh you know you're going to lose that edge now you'll need a break and you can't over train but if you pull back too much you'll lose that edge because it's very fine it's so small when you're right up there at the front and you don't want to do that praise the lord you'll lose your passion and you have to have that god put that on the inside of you psalm 18 this is very interesting also verse 29 again this is david for by you i can run against a troop oh you you read these things and you think well that's that's normal that's what any soldier should do but it's really abnormal uh this shows extreme levels of courage and this is a type of courage for an individual or very small group to charge against a troop when you're outnumbered out gunned or whatever it is and you just you just go for it anyhow well that shows that david knew that god was with him and when you know that god is with you and you're you're called to do this whoo you have some crazy faith and you could have some crazy boldness and you do things that uh really the the enemies like oh my goodness these people are crazy but you know what god will back them up god would back up david and david inspired many others to rise up and become mighty men why did they become mighty men because he led by demonstration didn't just say hey this is how you do it he demonstrated he killed he killed thousands and thousands of people with his hands incredible incredible anointing for war for by you i can run against a troop and so when the others would see him doing that that just uh they would they would just have their hearts with faith just explode with tremendous courage and faith and there's one thing there's one thing although it it has a spiritual essence to it anybody can see in that sphere you can see fear and when fear hits the enemy you can see when it you can see fear in their eye and david would just run and faith would rise and the next thing you know the enemy's afraid and it's another victory praise god but he had it he had that and you have something you have something and don't ever lay it down and if you have laid it down you need to get back into the place of safety and pick that up and start running again for by you i can run against a troop excuse me by my god i can leap over a wall oh pastor stephen that's beautiful metaphorical language no this is not symbolic this is literal anytime you read about the modern day army of israel and the various wars that uh it's gone through you're going to see miracle after miracle after miracle because god fights with israel god stands with israel and it's been like that throughout the millennia praise the lord and he says here by my god i can leap over a wall so i believe that there were the times when the holy spirit would come upon him with super human ability just like just like the spirit of god would come upon samson who killed the thousands men a thousand soldiers with nothing but the jawbone of a donkey that super human ability praise god well that anointing would come on david why because he's doing what god called him to do well i have to be honest pastor stephen i've never seen a king act like that well this is a different type of king this is the warrior king oh yes he could play a hulk uh harp really well no question about that that's only one dimension of who he is though a big element of who david is is this warrior element and for him to drop that uh this can't happen it did happen and it cost him dearly but you'll notice he got back on track when he got back out to that battle that's when he got back into his anointing when he got back out on the battlefield and the next thing you know as he's out on that battlefield the next thing you know they're putting a crown full of talents of gold upon his head that's all because he got back into what he was anointed to do for by you i can run against a troop by my god i can leap over a wall and when you're doing what god has called you to do there will be times when that supernatural element will also come upon your life even if it's to bake a cake that's what if that's your thing god will be with you praise the lord he'll be with you whatever it might be but you need to do it praise the lord thank you jesus verse 32 it is god who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect so god would give him this strength that although the enemy was strong god would work through him supernaturally just like he would do through samson to overpower the enemy he makes my feet like the feet of deer and sets me on my high places so he wouldn't stumble he wouldn't fall although the terrain and things like that could have been a disadvantage to him and his men the lord would stabilize him and he would keep on going verse 34. he teaches my hand so he would have more teaching it was constant teaching constant training he teaches my hands to make war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze oh again pastor stephen such beautiful metaphorical language no no that when that anointing was on him it was on him and he could do he could do what would be considered supernatural there is a place even in athletics where you have those special moments when you get into the groove and you can't miss a shot or you're in your rhythm and uh you're you're unbeatable on that day and if anybody's gotta compete with you on that day it's just you know it's too bad because you're you're in your you're in your groove and i've seen teams that may not be that good but they just had their day and everybody on the team it was just something was clicking that day and they beat uh a team that nobody thought could be beat you know there is something that's true to that that on the right day anybody could beat anybody now that's that's the exception to the rule but you have moments like that but david was just walking with the lord and that supernatural anointing was upon him and he could he could do things that were beyond human in the music industry you could take a great pianist and you know they could have good days you know musicians know this especially if they tour and they're they're playing like you know every other night or something like that but they'll admit you could you could go night after night and you you know you have good you know good meetings but then you could have something really special where you're you sync with that crowd and they sync with you and you're playing your skill you're singing everything goes to a new level now you can't do that every time because of the various things that create an atmosphere like that but during that one time you're untouchable you're at the very peak of yourself praise the lord well that's what the anointing will do you know when the azusa street revival was going on in the early 1900s it only ran for about three years but during those three years it was very very intense and those that assisted in the praise and worship there was one man he was a violinist and another man who played the piano but the the violinist uh they both had the same testimony but the violinist said it a little better because they were both professional musicians and the violinist played in an orchestra but he said in those meetings there at azusa street when the holy spirit would come in and that anointing was there his ability to play the violin went beyond anything he could ever do when he was playing there you know just with his own skill set in the orchestra and that was good but he said under the anointing he said i could just play with no limitations no limitations at all so he said my my plane was just off the charts there i praise god that's what the holy spirit will do it makes it makes everything go into this new dimension and i believe that's what god wants to do with you when you just dial in and you say lord i'm i'm fed up with wasting my life i'm fed up with wasting time it's time for me to write off the battle hallelujah i'm tired of just sitting here and and weeks going by and i'm not getting anything done just watching the news all day i'm not gonna waste my life i'm not gonna waste weeks or months i'm getting up and i'm riding off to war and i'm going to get back on track lord what you have called me to do and when you do that you'll start winning you'll start overthrowing the enemy you'll start moving forward you'll start taking new ground and then you know what you should do don't ever quit just keep on going praise the lord praise the lord now i've noticed that a lot of good ministers move forward and move forward when they get when they get into their eighties although they have plenty money to retire and they could easily retire if they want to have you ever noticed that most don't most of them who are really accomplishing great things and love the lord and have the anointing that this mainly revolves around an anointing have you noticed that most of them just keep on going praise the lord amen and i see that will be true for many of you just keep on going you may think oh i'll retire eventually pastor stephen but when you actually get there you may not want to praise the lord thank you lord jesus he teaches my hands to make war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze i have pursued my enemies and overtaken them neither did i turn back again until they were destroyed and i see that that's what you're going to do in your life as well he said i have wounded them so that they could not rise they have fallen under my feet for you have armed me with strength for the battle you have subdued under me those who rose up against me this is a king this is not just a military man alone this is a king who was anointed for war and this was something that david walked away from this was a huge element of his life that he abandoned and when he did he got into trouble but my friends you're not going to make that mistake because you're going to stay focused with your hands on the plow of what god has called you to do see jesus said don't look back if you're plowing don't look back and you know if you look back the plows start going all over the place and uh that's not the way that you do it you must stay focused hands on the assignment hands on the assignment and really this is a time for increase god will prove himself faithful to you that the covenant will work and you'll go uphill while those who complain and worry and are in all kinds of fear while they struggle and uh maybe have to file for bankruptcy and things like that well you'll you might be the one when that person files for bankruptcy you're there ready to buy that building for pennies on the dollar praise the lord [Music] exodus chapter 15 verse 3 the lord is a man of war the lord is his name the lord is a man of war and that anointing that's on the lord as the man of war as the lord of hosts the captain of all of the armies the armies of israel the armies of angels in any type of an army the lord is over that that's a warrior's anointing praise god and he put that very very strongly upon david when kings go off to war and see that anointing is on you through the spirit of faith the spirit of faith that says you know what things are a little shaky out there but god is on the throne and because of that regardless of what might be going on out there we are moving forward we're taking new territory we're expanding hallelujah praise god and we're aware what's out there but our eyes are and our decisions are not going to be determined just by natural our everything that we're going to do is determined by the word of the lord and the moving of the holy spirit so we're going forward [Music] praise the lord thank you lord jesus now this is very very important the spirit of faith in you to accomplish great things i want to read from first timothy chapter 1 verse 18. this is what the apostle paul told timothy this charge i commit to you son timothy according to the prophecies previously made concerning you that by them you may wage the good warfare now in the old testament there was a lot of natural war but in the new testament it's a fight of faith it is a it's like a war because you you're being bombarded with doubt and fear and unbelief and you know all this stuff that's out there so it's a war against your mind to fight the fight of faith whoo praise the lord thank you lord jesus and you can wage a good war with prophecies with prophecies that have been spoken over your life you know there was a very or not not used to be still is a very good man of god who's a who's an apostle and in 2019 he said that the year you prophesied that the year 2020 will be a year of plenty plenty oh well pastor stephen when he prophesied that he probably had no idea about the coronavirus because when that thing came out boy it just wiped everybody out no hasn't wiped everybody out and god was well aware that this stuff was going to be released but see you can wage a good war by meditating on good solid prophecy that is spoken through mature seasoned prophets or ministers of the gospel and you could say you know in the natural they're saying everything's gonna fall apart the news reporters are but that's not what i'm hearing the prophets are saying this is a time of great prosperity this is a time of plenty plenty so what you can do with those uh with those prophecies is you can wage warfare with them and you can start going uphill when everything else is going downhill [Music] because the prophets didn't make a mistake they didn't make a mistake not one bit it's right on target this is a year of breakthrough this is a year of the glory of the lord being seen up on you this is a year of plenty plenty the year of 2020. well pastor stephen don't look like it well that's because you haven't been waging war with that prophecy you've been sitting back in jerusalem playing the harp and watching soap operas i would suggest turn off the tv and get out to battle leave jerusalem and get out the battle get back in the fight get back in the spirit of faith praise the lord and possess your inheritance you mean right now pastor stephen yes right now thank you jesus shake off the this spirit of fear that try to paralyze and keep on going forward this charge i commit to you son timothy according to the prophecies previously made concerning you see concerning those prophecies spoken over his life that by them you may wage the good warfare you know what i do is on several very specific prophecies i received some prophecies from uh some really good prophets about this year and what i do usually almost daily is i take them and i because i i type them up and i print them out i take them and i look at them and i pray over them and i look at them and then i study the word and then i look at those prophecies and i think about this verse right here that you can wage a good warfare with those prophecies and i just think lord everything you said everything you said and the lord has already done so much already but you know what we still have time for more praise god don't wait till december the 31st to believe god for more start moving right now praise the lord go out the war praise god go out into the battle with the spirit of faith and you know get into your passion increase in that area expand in that area whoo thank you lord jesus and i think as you do you'll begin to realize you know god had a lot for me than i ever even thought see you're just thinking something small and maybe a little this or a little that but the truth is is that up till that point david had not even really began to get into the fullness of his anointing after this he gets on track and he just uh as we could say makes up for lost time i mean he he gets in there and by the time he lives his life out and he you know he he's gonna realize he can't build the temple but he can make storehouses to save up for so that his son can build it and so david's like well i'm going to do my part and my part is to gather materials and gather provisions so that my son can build it and he just he starts conquering all over the place and when he's conquering he's taking spoil and plunder so he really was most economists believe that david without question was a billionaire um i told you he was multi-dimensional but that's because he really worked that warrior king anointing praise the lord don't get out of your anointing stay on assignment boredom is deadly extremely deadly well pastor stephen i don't really have anything to go out to warfare over i don't really know what i'm supposed to do well i don't know everything about your life but i would say this you need to be doing something you need to write off the war and get you a faith project and get you something and not just be sitting around not utilizing all the anointing and talent and gift and and skill that god has put into you well pastor stephen we can't do anything there's coronavirus well sure you can just do it but wear your mask praise god put your mask on until this stuff is over with and but just get busy get going praise the lord thank you lord jesus the church's finest hour has not yet been realized we're going to move towards it glory glory glory rising rising rising but you won't experience it if you just sit around back at the palace lounging around having some servant drop grapes into your mouth and you know spoon feed you all day you don't need that um look i i like nice stuff i can appreciate nice things but i don't need to be sitting around 24 hours a day getting pampered nobody does i mean even jesus referring to john the baptist said hey if you're looking for a king or somebody with fancy robes you're looking for the wrong kind of a guy because that guy john is a prophet so you need sometimes a little bit of a roughness in your life you don't need to be in the palace all the time i know you're king but you need to go out there and get involved or else you're going to end up living in some kind of a make-believe world which is what a lot of these career politicians do they're they're they don't even know how real life functions because they've been separated from it for so long because they live in just this make-believe political arena and that's why they can't relate to the average person because you know they they don't have any association with the average person praise the lord but the lord is going to bless you the lord is going to bless you so get up and get moving praise the lord get back into your passion get back into that anointing be able to identify it and walk in it fully embrace it embrace who god made you to be praise the lord [Music] praise the lord father we thank you we give you praise i want to speak just for a moment for those who think well pastor stephen i can't identify anything well let me just say this you need to find something because kings go off to war kings go off to war you have to have something that engages you god didn't put you on the planet just to take up space and breathe air that that's you know you're not here just to kind of like take up room you're here uh with a purpose with an assignment with a mission get involved in what god has called you to do praise the lord and put your hands on something because god will bless what you put your hands to but he can't bless nothing my hands aren't on anything pastor stephen we can't bless nothing you have to put your hands on something if you put your hands on something now he can bless that [Music] and if you put your hands to it whatever you do do it as unto the lord with all of your heart with all of your heart no half-baked effort praise the lord thank you lord jesus and eventually it's going to move well pastor stephen nothing's happening um it may look like that but i would say in the background something's already beginning to shake just keep pushing keep pushing until you get the breakthrough and you'll know it when you hit the breakthrough praise god it's closer than you think many of you watching you've already been pushing uh quite extensively for quite some time and you're going to get a breakthrough and i think when you do it's going to be quite powerful and it's going to make a big impact praise the lord praise the lord praise the lord glory glory glory to god praise god embrace your god-given identity praise the lord thank you father praise the lord it's the crown and the sword it's not just the crown well i'm king i made it i can kick back relax now i've got plenty of money who cares about anybody else no it's about it's about the fulfillment of your destiny when we get to heaven we can rest i'm not saying you never need a vacation or a break down here you certainly do at times but uh after your sabbath day is over get back to it after your vacation is complete get back to it praise the lord praise god praise god i believe when you do this you'll find yourself in the thick of the glory praise the lord hallelujah what's what's coming what's new it's not going to come from an angle of what people are thinking it's not going to look like something we've seen before it's going to be something different hallelujah praise god some people are already trying to they're trying to copy something that happened a few decades ago or something like that it's not going to be the new thing's not going to be like that it's going to be totally different it's going to come from an angle people aren't even expecting hallelujah glory to god so father we praise you help your people today to ride into battle to ride off the battle and to get up out of a place of lethargy or complacency and get back into the warfare father we praise you i thank you that there's plenty of time this year for you to do some phenomenal things in their life and then as we get closer the next year then we'll think about that but father this year there's a lot you still want to do in the lives of your people so we thank you for a movement thank you father for passion in jesus name amen and amen praise god praise the lord praise the lord go get your promotion go be looking for the next level be looking for the breakthrough praise god praise the lord it's closer than you think father we praise you in jesus name amen praise the lord there's an anointing there's just an anointing right now for breakthrough father i just pray that even as some years back i met one of the breakthrough angels i thank you father that you want to open new doors and you want your people to break through into new levels of of glory and encounters and prosperity and blessing so father just let the breakthrough angels be released today uh and let one of those angels go into the life of the person watching receive in the name of jesus father let these angels go forth and let new doors and opportunities just break through open up thank you father god let provision let funding let answers let solutions come thank you father god in the name of jesus father let these angels fight behind the scenes to push the enemy back so that we can break through father we give you praise we thank you in the name of jesus amen and amen let me close this message by saying this you have to believe the word of the lord you have to believe the prophecy you can have one of the most esteemed prophets give you a prophecy but if you don't believe it it's not going to happen you have to release your faith and take a hold of that thing you wage warfare over the prophecies not doubting them believing them taking hold of them and saying this is inspired by the lord this is the utterance of the lord i believe god this is true hallelujah well pastor stephen i've never had anybody prophesy over me well then go in the word and let the word prophesy to you find the scripture that speaks to you and then make that your personal prophecy and hold to it praise god wage warfare with that the same thing praise the lord glory to the lord thank you father you're going to you're going to a new level and the level is a lot larger and bigger than what you previously thought praise god so lift your expectations and lift your vision to a larger format because god wants to do something that will glorify him not a little bitty thing he wants to do something that will glorify him and identify that move towards it and go off to war and you're going to get it in jesus name praise god now if you have watched today's message but you do not know jesus christ as your lord and savior my friends you need jesus because he is the only way to salvation he is salvation that's what his name means it means salvation salvation from your sins forgiveness of your sins but also he'll recreate you on the inside i'm not talking about your liver your kidney i'm talking about your spirit praise god now you can do a creative miracle too on a body part if you need one but the most important thing is for your spirit to be born again if you would like to receive this new life then pray this out loud after me right now say lord jesus i repent of my sins i turn from them i ask you to save me right now lord jesus wash me clean with your blood give me your new life right now write my name in your book of life thank you jesus thank you i receive you now as my lord and savior thank you jesus for saving me praise the lord praise the lord if you're watching and you're a backslidden christian come back right now god will bless you god will clean you up and god will move you forward in his plan for your life if that's you backslidden christian just say jesus i come home today forgive me of my sins and restore my life with you right now thank you jesus thank you in your name i pray amen praise god god is so good let's celebrate the lord today let's take holy communion don't let anything give you an excuse to stop keep going forward there's a healing anointing that's here right now father we thank you for the bread and the juice we set it apart as holy through this prayer and as we receive this this is the flesh and the blood of jesus our savior our redeemer and our healer our soon-coming king father as we receive the body of jesus we just thank you for clear focus of how we're to go off to war the the battles that we're supposed to fight any battle we're not supposed to fight or anything we're not supposed to be involved then we thank you that we won't touch it but those things that we are supposed to engage we lock on with uh like a laser-like focus we thank you o god and we thank you for the victory in jesus great name amen let's receive the body of the lord father thank you for the blood of jesus thank you that you are our healer jesus by your stripes we were healed thank you lord jesus as we receive communion today that every sickness and disease has to bow to you and leave and exit our bodies i speak to any and every form of cancer loose the people of god let them go in the name of the lord jesus christ hallelujah glory i continue to drive out every spirit of fear loose the people of god in the name of jesus praise the lord hallelujah praise god hallelujah praise the lord thank you lord jesus healing anointing healing anointing of heart conditions right now in the name of jesus glory to god glory to god father we thank you as we now receive the blood of christ claim your healing by faith through the finished work of christ at calvary claim that healing now because healing is included in the new covenant so receive it now by faith in jesus name amen let's receive the blood of christ praise the lord glory to god there's a healing anointing healing anointing i command cataracts to dissolve in the name of jesus hallelujah glory to god i command any kidney stones to dissolve and just leave the body in the name of jesus just dissolve and go away in the name of jesus thank you father god i rebuke fever in the name of the lord loose the people of god somebody of a throat condition command that to leave in the name of jesus thank you father god the fever is breaking and leaving right now hallelujah glory uh that was associated with chills and fever all that yucky stuff it's leaving you right now in the name of the lord just get up and start serving the lord start uh you know just go about the day and do the things you need to do now praise god somebody has a toothache a command that to leave in the name of the lord and father whatever is causing that that pain lord whatever is going on i just release healing and the holy spirit and jesus into that area to numb it and now lord i ask you to heal it and take out the bacteria any problem with the root let it be healed in the name of the lord thank you father in the name of jesus receive amen praise god praise the lord thank you father god glory glory glory father let there be an unveiling of destiny all this week that your people see clearly with spiritual vision they see with the eye of faith with the spirit of faith thank you father god show them the way forward thank you father god for the breakthrough angel going before them and making the way opening the door to the next level that you have for them to step into thank you father god thank you father god in the name of jesus amen and amen praise the lord now wage a good warfare with any good prophecy spoken over your life wage a good warfare with that and open your heart to receive prophecy and to receive the prophetic word from the lord and also open your heart to give that prophecy that is when the lord gives you a prophecy to share with somebody because it says in scripture it's more blessed to give than it is to receive so be a giver of the prophecy of the prophetic word and the lord will also have those very timely prophecies for you as well that will come in right on time my friends thanks for watching i look forward to seeing you back next time till then stay richly blessed bye bye