hello my friends i'm pastor stephen
brooks welcome today to our midweek
bible study called morning glory
i'm so happy that you're here and i want
to invite you to grab your bible
meet me in the gospel of dr luke luke
chapter 18. and today we're going to
talk about how
god is so much bigger than
the devil and perhaps the devil has been
pushing you around
or has presented something in your life
that would seem to be impossible to
overcome
i just want you to know that god is
bigger than the devil
and i'm going to share that with you
today so let's open up in prayer
heavenly father as we go into your word
we ask that your holy spirit
will come and illuminate the scriptures
to the eyes
and ears of our understanding we thank
you father god that jesus has made
a way for us to experience victory
through his teachings and when we put
them to use
they work for us and you do mighty
miracles
for your glory now father we thank you
we thank you for your love for us and
the great help that you want to bring
into our lives and we stand ready today
to receive it
and to praise you for it father we thank
you in jesus name
and around the world we all agree and
say amen
luke 18 verse 1 then he that would be
jesus
spoke a parable to them that men
always ought to pray and not
lose heart it's easy
to lose heart in a
situation when you are in a battle
and you perhaps have prayed
maybe for a few days watch this
maybe for a few weeks let's go deeper
maybe for a few months and you have not
yet
seen the change the breakthrough
that you desire not only of course a
breakthrough that you desire
but something actually that would be a
biblical promise
that belongs to you and yet you have
prayed
and it still hasn't happened i know i'm
talking to somebody today that's
in that place well jesus
wants to share a parable a story
that will represent a truth to you
so that we can know why we should keep
on praying
and not lose heart
now i want to say this that as we go
into this teaching
that i'm going to share something
that for some of you it could be
new it could be maybe something that
would sound a little bit unorthodox
but i think i think you would agree with
me and here's what i want to say
and i'm going to say this in a certain
context that i hope you understand and
i'll try to explain that
but here's what i would like to say
short
prayers rarely ever work
with god now i know that jesus said now
when you pray don't utter these long
prayers but he's
talking about like these prayers that
are based out of routine and like a
religious
wrote that are just like mechanical or
robotic
that's what he's talking about he's
basically saying you know be yourself
you know come to me let's have a
conversation don't be like praying these
long
structured you know prayers of orthodoxy
that you think you have to go through
all of these
you know one two three four steps and
you know and you do all of that and just
because it was real long and took up a
bunch of time
you think that's how it works that's not
how it works
short prayers can be effective in
certain situations
and i have had god answer short prayers
[Laughter]
but now let's get to where the rubber so
often meets the road
which is in these situations where you
really need god to come into your life
and change
something that only god can do
and you'll find that when it's something
major not something minor that maybe a
little prayer
a short prayer can you know it's it's
like hanging fruit as we would say
easy to grab and there you go wow you
prayed and the next day look at that
you've already got an answer well
we're not really talking about that
because
this is something we're obviously is
causing
circumstances are causing people to stop
praying and to lose heart
in other words like it's not going to
happen i i've done the best i could i'm
just about ready to throw in the towel
or give up
so we're talking about harder situations
things where the devil thinks he's got a
rap
on this he thinks he's got you so locked
up in this
or perhaps someone you love so locked up
in the situation
that truly only god can get
you or them out and that can be what you
face in times
where if god does not come on the scene
yeah it's it's over you're either going
to die in this type of a situation
or you're going to be forced to live in
some form
of subjugation from the dark side
that that is influencing the way that
you live your life and now it's
hampered or handicapped or messed up in
some way
and without god yeah it's not going to
change
so in situations like that
i have to be honest with you as a
minister and tell you
that short prayers in those type of
situations
i would say they're probably hardly ever
going to work for you
and so you're going to have to learn how
to engage
fully uh with what i would call a
full-out commitment to god's word and
that you stand on that and that you
don't
waver because it's it's easy for
us to make a like a like a three-week
run lord i'm going to make a big push
but you know what sometimes you find
yourself in
a battle and you know it talks about in
isaiah 35
and also it talks about in the book of
hebrews
about don't let the hands that hang down
become weak
don't let the knees that are feeble be
weak but
to strengthen them and i believe that
the reason that
hands hang down and knees or achy and
weak
can be because we we have gotten out of
this routine of prayer
and the reason we get out of prayer is
because we think well
i've been making a pretty good push but
it doesn't seem like anything has
happened
yet so jesus has a
parable that will encourage you to do
the right thing
and that right thing is to keep on
praying
because these short prayers they they
just they don't work in these types of
situations
and so that will help some of you to
understand
what you're up against and why you need
to keep on going
because if you keep on going well we're
going to see what can potentially happen
here
so the lord shares this parable there
was
in a certain city a judge who did not
fear god
nor regard man well that's a
very dangerous place for a person to be
in
because the truth is is that we all need
god we all
need the lord in our lives preferably a
whole lot
you know not just keeping god on the
fringes but god
you know fully in our lives so here's a
man that maybe could
call himself a self-made man and now he
is in a position where
nobody's going to tell him what to do he
has authority
he has leverage and he's going to run it
the way
he wants to run the show so he does not
fear god
he has no regard for man and you know
how they play the games those that are
in these positions that unless you can
do something for them
that's going to benefit them they really
have no interest in you
they may be called a public servant they
may be in an
office that's designated a sir you know
as that of a public servant but no
they're going to use it all for their
benefit
and so they really don't care about
justice and
that could be a little bit hard to
swallow but the truth is
is that perhaps they really don't care
about you they're only in it
for themselves this is certainly
the case with this man now there was a
widow
in that city well the widow would be the
person
that is really very very low
in society she doesn't have any
connections
she doesn't have something that she
could use as leverage
and i think it's very important to
understand
and this doesn't happen overnight for
the believer but you can come to a place
in your walk with the lord
where you understand that while god does
work through people and god can even
change the heart of a king
and god can alter things for your
betterment the truth is that when he's
doing that he's the one that's doing
that
and you really don't need uh a whole lot
of stuff
uh you just need god in a sense yes we
we thank god that he works through
people
but god is someone that if you come in
covenant
with him you suddenly find
relief and you realize you don't have to
pull
gimmicks you realize it's not about
these connections and trying to hustle
and
work these back room deals all of that
stuff
you you're just like thank god i don't
have to do that
anymore now in my career field which is
that of the ministry which was which is
what god has called me into
there are those in ministry that uh do a
lot of hustle
and uh and i'm not saying that they
don't love the lord and
they aren't called but they actually get
caught up in
and sometimes what is like a religious
game where they have to really work it
and they
and trust me some really really work it
and uh
and it's it's almost like a circus and i
just i am so glad
that because i have a covenant with god
i'm out of that i don't have to play
those games now
um not all ministers do that of course
but there are a few that do and it's uh
for them it's all about competition
it's it's all about you know we've got
to out market the others
we have to out hustle the others we have
to consistently
produce something that is hyped more
than anybody
else and they can't put out a video with
say
without the video having a title like
shocking word
or latest you know world altering
prophecy and it
and on and on it goes it's stuff that
they have to do
to try to fight to either get to the top
or if they do
get to the top that way now they're
under that strain to maintain that
and it's awful well it's awful it's just
like a circus and i'm so glad
that i and the the good ministers that i
know and that i have good relationships
with
we don't play that stuff you know why we
don't have to
when you have a covenant with god you
don't have to do all of that stupid
stuff
that so often people think you have to
do to survive
i feel sorry for them what a what an
awful what an awful existence
hopefully they'll figure it out praise
god and when i was young in ministry i
i thought i've got to play that game too
but as the covenant
began to dawn on me i realized oh no i
don't
no i don't so i'll give you one example
i was in a minister's conference uh some
years back
and there was a there was a minister if
you know we get a bunch of preachers
together
the gifts of the spirit are going to
operate because everybody has different
gifts and anointings and so forth and
there was a minister that stood up in
the public
meeting and gave an utterance in tongues
and somebody stood up and gave the
interpretation and another minister
stood up and gave the interpretation
well after this was over and the
meetings you know that that session
ended and
there was like a lunch break i knew one
of the lady ministers that was
there and she was wired and she was
upset
and she was like oh i should have jumped
up there for before he did and gave that
interpretation
my interpretation was better my
interpretation had more depth
and i just thought while is this
you know it was just gross it's like is
this what
ministry is about competing to try to
outdo the other person
and uh it's just sick
really and so when you walk with the
lord
you don't have to do stuff like that and
and it's not about even about ministry
it's about
uh its secular secular world there can
be those that are really
uh they want to climb that career ladder
and
there are some they're going to get to
the top they don't they don't care what
they have to do to get there
they're willing to do anything to get to
the top and you know what you realize
with the lord
you don't have to play those sick games
praise the lord
that if you'll just honor the lord do
your part and do your very very best and
serve the lord
he'll lift you up and you don't have to
you'd have to do stuff like that
praise god it's extremely liberating but
of course
the judge doesn't know that but so now
he's played that part he's in his place
and now he's really going to roll
with what got him there and now here's a
widow woman and this is what she's up
against
she's up against this system and she
can't
she can't buy her way into it she
doesn't have the look
you know how many of you know what it
was like in high school
actually i think a lot of it starts in
junior high when hormones and
testosterone and starts kicking
in and stuff like that and and clicks
form
and if especially in high school it can
get worse so if you're cool
maybe you're good looking or maybe you
have
money so that you can get the tennis
shoes or the the
clothes with a certain logo then you're
in the good click uh
you're you're in the groupie whatever
something like that and on and on it
goes and then that can form later in
life and
even the apostle paul writing to the
church in corinth cory said there's
you know there's clicks here in the
church
he said some of that actually has to
occur
in order for us to see who the spiritual
ones are
and who are those who are still carnal
so those that are in the cliques
they're they're carnal but this lady
bless her heart
she has no way to get into the clique
she doesn't have the right purse the
right handbag the right designer this or
that
she she has nothing going for her except
for understanding a kingdom principle
and you need to know this you really
really need to understand this it can
alter
the way that you pray and seeing
what i would call nothing short of
miraculous
answers to prayer now there was a widow
in that city
and she came to him saying get justice
right right as if he's interested in
that right get justice for me and
from my adversary and he would not for a
while
but afterward he said within himself
though i do not fear god
nor regard man now ideally
you you hope that if you do need some
help there can be those that will
do the right thing but if there are
those who won't
god can still override all of those
difficult circumstances yet because this
widow
troubles me i will adventure lest by her
continual coming
she weary me so this widow
woman would not give up
and uh he would dismiss her but then
like a couple hours later
hello uh mr judge it's me and i'm just
back again i really need you to help me
i know that you can and i
there's this person that has done me
wrong i need there to be righteous
just vengeance against this situation
i'll get out of here
i've already just missed your case the
next day
hello who's there it's me uh mr judge
i'm sure that you know who i am
uh but i'm just here to let you know
that this
situation has got to be dealt with and
you know
she just wouldn't give up she's doing
that all the time and
if it were modern day she's sending
emails she's
she's uh you know making her post and
and she's doing
what she needs to do to just not give up
now for us the aspect that the lord is
wanting to pull
out of this parable is a prayer life
where
you just don't give up you just stay in
this thing
and you lose all what i would call
respect for time and you let the lord
know
and you let the devil know that i'm in
this
and i'm not going away lord i know that
you are a miracle
worker and i'm going to stay with this
until your power comes on the scene
and then there's also that other side
where you're like devil
look i see what you're up to here and
you're certainly causing problems
but the god i serve is bigger than you
and i i am standing against
this attack and i will not re i will not
quit i will not relent in prayer
i am going to continue to pray until
this
thing is changed praise the lord
well now pastor stephen i'm you know uh
i i i'm the person that's gotten very
comfortable with the microwave and i
i cook a lot of my food real quick
so that's nice and i like microwaves too
and if there's something i can cook in
one minute as
uh you know that'll taste preferably as
good as something that takes 45 minutes
yeah i'm going to put it in the
microwave
but while we say that we know
you know god doesn't work like that the
truth is
is that he doesn't and we really need to
be able to just
settle in settle into the trenches
and just pray and stay on it and i want
to
share with you how to do that in just a
moment
the judge said lest by her continual
coming
she weary me so she literally would this
guy just bugged him
as we would say bugged him to death
until it was such an irritation
she he basically said it doesn't even
matter to me whether she's right
it doesn't even matter to me if she's
being wrong i could care less about that
but i'm going to get her off my back
i'm going to i'm going to get the
vengeance for her
that she needs simply just to get it
over with
because this is interrupting you know
the things that i want to do
now verse 6 then the lord said
hear what the unjust judge
said and shall god not avenge his
own elect who cry out day
and night to him now stop and think
about that
the difference between short prayers and
hoping that'll get the job done
as compared to investing yourself
fully into it with prayer and you're
calling out
crying out to god day and
night day and night
well now pastor stephen i thought
miracles were a lot easier than this
i don't really know if i'm really
connecting with this
well if you're not connecting with the
words of jesus you're probably not going
to
be connecting with genuine bona fide
miracles where god will eventually if
you keep doing this there will come a
point
where he will eventually come on the
scene
and move on your behalf
but i can't tell you when he's going to
do that and how many of you
like me have figured out you can't force
god to do anything
[Laughter]
oh yes i can't no you can't
you can't make god do something
within a certain time frame or something
like that
he's just he's god and we aren't
and so there has to be a persistence
that god sees on our behalf
and there has to be a persistence that
the devil sees
or the unjust judge sees and says you
know what
they're not giving up they're not
quitting
and i'm there is an element where demons
they they can start to tell if you're
serious or not
and if you're not they will really put
in a fight
now there can be times also when you are
serious they'll put up a fight
but if you keep pounding you keep
pounding they'll come a point they can't
take it anymore
and god when god comes in oh they'll go
running they might even leave their
suitcase
they'll they'll they'll just scream in
terror and leave whoa
praise the lord glory to god
thank you lord jesus hallelujah
i've had different
miracles in my life that when i
look at them from the rear view mirror
and examine them and kind of like i
wouldn't say dissect but kind of look
carefully at the mechanics of how that
worked out
there were very few that happened
overnight and the ones that happened
overnight were ones that were it was
just like compiling
compiling until there was a break
and some of the greatest miracles that
i've had
and i was thinking about three of them
particularly
each one of them came after a period
each individual one each one had an
individual
a time frame of two years of prayer
invested into each one where for two
years on this one
then on the separate miracle two years
on that one
and then on another major miracle two
years on that one
and it was something that i was pretty
much i have to be honest
i was on it every single day i didn't
take a faith vacation
i was just on it every day i just said
god thank you thank you for doing this
god i give you praise
and i would do that whole year go by and
i just stay on it i do that year and six
months go by
but for for me in these situations
because i was in it i wasn't even
looking at the calendar
you might as well not because you know
that can make you faint and so i just
forgot the clock
and i just said i'm i'm in all the way
but for each one of these three separate
great miracles of my life right around
that two-year mark
god just suddenly came on the scene and
it happened
and when it happened it happened so fast
it happened so
easy it was it was almost like surreal
it was like
it was done and it was done and it took
two years
of praying on that and then it was done
glory to god and remember jesus is
telling this parable that we will
always pray and that we will not
lose heart so i want to encourage you
that god loves all of his children all
of his sons and daughters
the same and he will
not might he will absolutely
do a miracle for you but you have to
stay on it
you cannot quit and say this is taking
too long you have to stay on it
and shall god not avenge his own elect
who cry out
day and night you have to do that
well pastor stephen this really i i
don't know if i want this type of
commitment
then you don't want the miracle as much
as you perhaps would say
or act like you do so you have to be
willing to pay
that price and go all in and just cry
out to god
day and night lord lord i praise you god
i praise you
hallelujah and there's also this element
where god will watch you and he observes
you to see that you are being steadfast
and not wavering and let's say that you
need a miracle in your body
or that there is a child that's in your
home that's sick
you know what you have to just lock in
and be convinced
by god's word that he's a healing god
and if that's that's where it all begins
at if you're not convinced of that
then you have to get back into the word
do your homework and understand
what jesus made available for us through
his death burial
resurrection and ascension from calvary
and from
jerusalem but then once you know
and once you know what belongs to you
and that you can have it
then just go after it go after it and if
you have to do it every day
all day long week after week month after
month
and just say jesus you're my healer
by your stripes i was healed
it's a done deal i believe it and i
receive my healing jesus you're my
healer even if the symptoms
are still fighting you have to say jesus
you're my healer
and just go ahead
and hit the old unjust judge also and
say
i'm still here i'm still here
devil you can't kill me
devil you're never going to kill me
jesus
is my healer devil do you hear that
get out of my body with all of your junk
and garbage get out of my
body you cannot stay and trespass in my
body get out
out out out out and just
drive the daylights out of him out out
get out
in the name of jesus get out i'm healed
by his stripes i'm healed
now and then turn it back to the lord
lord i praise you i thank you for your
mighty healing power
jesus you're my healer jesus i thank you
that
i thank you that you paid the price for
me to be whole
[Music]
whatever it might be whatever it might
be maybe you need a financial miracle
and you want to honor the lord with your
finances listen
please listen there's two people i'm
talking about christians
there's two types of christians god
cannot
bless he can't bless the stingy
christian
and he cannot ever bless the lazy
christian so give god your best give
your work
your best and my friends don't be a
stingy old miser
honor the lord with your finances praise
god
and then when you need a financial
miracle if you need a breakthrough just
say god
i worship you you're my provider and god
you have made provision
for me to be a blessing you have made
provision for me to be a blessing i
refuse to stay poor
poverty and lack and insufficiency
are not your will for me that was a
product of the curse
under the law pronounced as a curse for
those
that walk in disobedience so lord i
thank you that
my portion is more than enough and god i
have a giving heart
and lord i want to be a blessing so i
thank you o god for your prosperity plan
for my life unfolding for your glory
devil get out of my finances in the name
of jesus
and you stay on it and you stay on it
because for some of you
you're trying to break out of something
that has been
multi-generational you're trying to
break out of something where nobody
ever in the entire history of your
family legacy has ever made more than a
hundred thousand dollars in a year
and you're endeavoring to break out for
the glory of god
you're endeavoring to increase the tithe
you're endeavoring to sow greater
seeds and you are fighting with
everything that you've got
to break through into this new level and
so don't
don't stop praying don't lose heart
don't
don't faint stay in that fight and push
push
push to the glory of god hallelujah
glory to god break that spirit of
poverty
hallelujah through giving through giving
and through worship and through prayer
break it hallelujah
hallelujah praise god somebody is going
to go into a new land
you're going to go into the new places
of the canaan land that some of your
family members have never tasted these
grapes
they have never tasted these uh
pomegranates and these other beautiful
things these figs and
these olives and so forth but god wants
you to possess your inheritance don't
let any devil keep you out of your
promised land
fight the fight of faith pray
pray when i read about some of the great
miracles that happened in the ministry
of rhys howells you can see when you
read his autobiography how he
prayed these things in oh yes
he made good confessions and he would
speak
in harmony in an agreement with
scripture
but he just didn't leave it at that and
think somehow it's going to float in he
prayed it in prayed it in and if it took
two months or two years he just
pushed and pushed
and the great miracles that i have had
in my life nothing has been accidental
nothing has see jesus said the violent
take it by force that is a violent
faith that takes those promises by going
into the place of prayer
and saying i refuse to be denied by
the devil and just shout god you're
greater than the devil
god you're greater than the devil god
come
god come into my life with your power
and turn
this situation around and then just
worship him
and call him those wonderful names your
great
great almighty jehovah god i worship you
praise the lord if you need healing you
know call upon him as your healer
whatever it might be deliver whatever it
might be
if if you're if you're somewhere
where you need to escape and you're in a
place of great persecution
god can get you out but worship the lord
in that area and he'll make a way of
deliverance for you he's done it over
and over again
praise god hallelujah
thank you lord jesus and shall god not
avenge his own elect
who cry out day and night
to him you may want to get up two
o'clock in the morning lord
i'm here yes lord it's me now lord you
know i praised you all day long
lord you know i've stood on your word
all day long but lord hey
it's two o'clock in the morning and lord
i'm here for 10 minutes to worship you
and just say lord i know you can do this
lord i know you're bigger than the devil
lord come on the scene
come on the scene with your power
hallelujah
glory to god and then you know after a
few minutes or after however long you'd
like to
you know express that to the lord you go
back to bed
you say lord good night i bless you i
thank you that the miracle is
mine
thank you jesus now
it says and shall god not avenge his own
elect who cry out day and night
to him though he bears long
with them
[Music]
though he bears long with
them pastor stephen i want i want
somebody to lay hands on me and i want
this thing over
there is a ministry of laying on of
hands
that's a that's an anointing that's a
ministry that the lord has given me
but what if you live on the other side
of the planet what if i can't
put my hands under that anointing on
you and pray the prayer of faith with
that anointing
praise god because it's the anointing
that removes the burdens and destroys
the yokes
what if you're in a situation where you
can't find somebody around you
that can operate in the gifts of the
spirit or
in the power of the spirit what are you
supposed to do praise god
well the lord he bears long in other
words
let me say this you can contact
god with your faith you can get your
miracle
even if you can't get somebody else on
the phone
you can't get the elders of the church
to pray for you or whatever the case
might be
you one on one with god
can make that contact and what god will
do
is that that bearing long that
god can do that on purpose because he's
trying to do something
he's trying to get you to grow and
develop in your faith
where this will not just be a one-time
act
where this is not like well you've
invested all of this
into this but once you get it you know
you'll never use it again because it's
good for nothing else no
no once you learn how to ride a bicycle
you've got that for the rest of your
life
my friends once you understand how to
work with god in faith
and you put this to use and it starts
working
well you have now developed a friendship
with god
and see god called abraham a friend why
abraham learned how
god works you can't please god without
faith and
abraham figured out oh so you honor
faith
in other words you honor you
you honor me and respond to me when you
see
that what you say i take it and i
believe it and act upon it
and you you like that and so because
your word means so much to you that when
you find a person that believes it and
works it
then that actually opens up a relate a
working relationship
which becomes a friendship praise the
lord so you realize
wow this works and after you receive a
miracle
praise god what's next something else
something else that will be a betterment
to your life
though he bears long with them how long
does he bear
i don't know i don't know
and that's not really the focus because
the focus is that he'll come through for
you
but during this long bearing this
waiting
where god's watching you to see that you
stick with it and you're praising him
and you're not a flake
you're you're you're really learning
this you are moving into
christian maturity you are
you are being discipled through the word
of god
by the anointing of the holy spirit and
when you learn this
you can go out and disciple others and
you'd be shocked how many don't know it
in the church
there's a lot of people listen to me
please very carefully there's a lot of
people today
that are buried six feet under with the
tombstone
there at their grave site and you know
what it's not god's will for them to be
in that place
yet they could have lived god could have
come on the scene and could have done a
miracle for them
but there were some that just didn't
understand this
and they they thought well i guess if
god wants to heal me
he'll heal me well that's like saying if
god
just suddenly has a desire to save
people they'll just go out and start
saving
sinners no it doesn't work like that
everything has to be appropriated by
faith and received by faith
and so many have died many have gone
prematurely before their time
they did not know how to continue to
stay with it
and they just gave up and that thing
took them out
it took them out others have exited
this life they have left this planet and
yes of course when you get to heaven
oh glory to god at least you made it
that's the greatest thing
you receive christ and you you made it
through life keeping your faith and now
you're there
but you realize wow i really live
beneath my privileges
as a child of god and i never took from
off that banquet table of blessing
off of that covenant table what was
rightfully mine
i never prayed it through i never really
pushed
i just gave up when they get one the
going got tough well my friends i'm
speaking to those
i believe that are hungry hallelujahs i
feel like i'm speaking to maybe
um these powerful creatures that
they'll take the bone and they just
they're going to crunch that bone
and you take the word and you're just
like i'm not letting go
glory to god now watch this
though he bears along with them i tell
you
that he will avenge them speedily now
here's the thing
when god sees after this time
of bearing long with you when god sees
you know what they're never giving up
you know what they really do believe
when you reach that place where your
faith pleases god
and that even though that that bearing
long has been
going through that transitionary place
whether it's two months or two years
but when god sees your faith
and you will not quit and that you're
gonna keep praying and you're gonna keep
it's me again it's me again lord praise
you hallelujah
it's 2 30 in the morning lord how are
you doing lord i know
that you're going to do this for me and
you're just you're there all the time
when god sees that what takes place
is that he will move and when he
moves it is lightning fast
i tell you that he will avenge them
speedily
some of you have never met the speedy
god
you've heard about him you've heard some
testimonies about him
but you personally have never met this
fast
moving god that can come in and just
boom bless the devil and all of his junk
out of your body out of your life or can
go
visit that that loved one who is
drifted away from god and is often sin
god can boom after your prayers can come
on the scene
and god can go visit that person and
shake the living hell
out of those out of that person god can
give that person a vision
and show them where they're going he can
show them hell
he can let them experience a little bit
of that heat
god can do all kinds of amazing things
hallelujah
but my friends we must continue to pray
until god comes on the scene and god can
also come on the scene in a dry and
weary land
where you say lord where is your glory
where is your power well keep praying
and you'll have a power encounter
thank you jesus so get rid of your clock
get rid of your calendar in this sense
of
prayer and just stay invested heavily
heavily into prayer and stay in faith
don't waver
and he will move on your behalf
nevertheless when the son of man comes
will he really find faith on the earth
we have a lot of
how can i say a lot of teaching now on
faith which i'm grateful for
good teaching on faith but along with
that teaching
along with that teaching eventually
we're going to have to just like put
this to work though
and we're gonna have to believe and
we're gonna have to pray and pull
these things in so that we're not just
talking about what faith can do
we can give examples of what faith has
done
and that your faith will never stay
vibrant without a strong prayer
life you're going to have to merge both
of them together
honestly when you're praying you have to
pray in faith
and if if you're not there in faith
while you're you're praying well just
keep on praying until you slip over into
it
the holy spirit will come along with you
come along with you and help you
and you'll get to that point in your
heart that this is what god will do
you'll get to a place in your heart
where you know
not not not that you may be or you know
or just no no you'll know that you've
got it
before it's even happened there is that
place you're like i've got it
i've got it and it's not it's not of
it's not anything that's kind of like
flaky i mean it's real
and you're not letting off the gas pedal
but there is that place you're like i've
got this
god's gonna do this i know it with
everything in my being
and usually when you get that real
powerful witness
after after staying in the game this
prayer battle
usually when you're that convinced you
don't let off an
inch you just push it even more
hallelujah and sure enough
sure enough it happens you know what's
interesting
when it does happen it's not like
for the believer it's not like for the
person like the widow woman who's been
in this and refuses to quit
it's not like it's a shock that it
happened
oh oh i did this that just blows my mind
no it doesn't at all you knew it was
going to happen
you knew before it ever manifested that
it was going to happen
that's mature faith praise god keep on
pushing
keep on pushing god's going to do it for
you god is bigger than the devil
god can come on the scene and blast that
that junk of the devil all that sickness
all that garbage it doesn't matter what
it is
it doesn't matter what you need it
doesn't matter what it is
if you'll just keep on praying don't
faint just stay in it keep believing
stay in faith because the lord wants to
find faith on the earth
if you'll just stay in it stay in that
fight
and really push to the lord he'll come
on the scene he'll give you anything you
want
he'll give you anything you want need or
desire praise god
praise god father we thank you for your
mighty power
we thank you that it's available and
father while it
is available we have to
cry out day and night
we thank you father god that even though
there so often can be that
interim time that
maybe the word interim is not even that
good maybe a lengthy
in between time is actually more
accurate
we thank you father god that our faith
is growing our faith is growing
thank you thank you thank you
thank you father and that faith in your
eyes is more of more value than pure
gold
father you have plenty of gold in heaven
what you really want is mature faith in
your sons and daughters
so father we thank you that you're
you're extracting that pure gold faith
from us there's a refining and we won't
quit
and we thank you father in your good
timing
your power is going to come on the scene
and everything will change
in a moment we give you all the praise
and we thank you now father strengthen
your people to not faint
to not quit but to continue to pray
and to be encouraged today that you're
going to do it for them because
you will now if we give you praise thank
you
in jesus name amen
praise the lord praise god
thank you jesus if you're watching
today's program
and you don't know christ as your savior
the greatest miracle that you can
ever receive is salvation
through jesus eternal life eternal life
i'm not talking about living eternally
in your body in the sense that the way
you are now you just keep on living and
you don't die
i'm talking about his spiritual life
which results in eternal life coming
into you
praise god now you may think that you
need some other type of miracle that's
more important
but if you don't know the lord jesus as
your savior
that's the greatest thing that you need
right now and it is the beginning
of any other miracle so right now
if you don't know him get your heart
right with god because the holy spirit's
moving upon your heart right now
so take advantage of this window of
opportunity
to receive forgiveness of sins and
eternal life
pray this prayer after me say lord jesus
come into my heart i repent of all of my
sins
and i turn from them jesus
wash my sins away with your precious
blood
give me your new life
right now jesus i take you by faith
as my lord and savior write my name
in your book of life and i thank you
that you have a mansion in heaven
waiting for me jesus thank you thank you
for saving me right now
in your beautiful name i pray amen and
he has heard
that prayer and he has answered that
prayer you now belong to him
live for him walk with him
praise god let's all together as a
church family
take communion together i want to ask
you grab some
unleavened bread i have this little
wafer that i use
you could use a saltine cracker
something like that if you don't have
one of these
and grab some grape juice
and let's pray father we thank you
for the bread the juice and we bless it
and consecrate we set it apart as holy
now
through this prayer and we thank you
that this is now the flesh
and the blood of christ under the veil
under the form of bread and juice but we
thank you father this is the body and
the blood
of jesus thank you father in jesus name
praise god
let me let me share something just for a
moment before we receive
the the body and the blood i felt
i felt led of the holy spirit to talk
about this for a moment
i want to ask you to walk in wisdom
when you share your testimony
and when you talk about what god has
done for you
a child of god when you confess
your sins to the lord
god hears and when you repent
he completely forgives you of your sins
he actually says in the bible in
multiple scriptures that
your sins and your iniquities he does
not even remember them
anymore so in his mind they are forgiven
and they are gone and he doesn't even
have memory of them
so with your testimony you want to use
wisdom where you can encourage
others but at the same time it's not
like you're going to glorify the devil
and give the devil credit you know for
some kind of previous lifestyle
that jesus has actually forgiven
washed away and in many times he'll
cover it in a way where he doesn't
there's some things he doesn't want you
to talk about
and i think that's really what i want to
highlight stop and think about moses for
a moment
the great man of god the servant the
prophet of the lord in the old testament
excuse me i almost drank my uh almost
drank the blood of the lord
and i want him to get a drink of water
praise god but we know from the book
of exodus that moses murdered
an egyptian now yes it was an egyptian
slave master and he was
he was beating up one of the hebrew
slaves
but even still this is not right this
was murder now we don't know how
moses murdered this man this egyptian
but nevertheless
it was it was murder and
uh moses took the body and buried the
the dead egyptian in the sand and the
next day
moses is out and about and uh
he sees two hebrew men fighting sounds
like a fist fight
he tries to break it up and says you
know your brothers you shouldn't be
fighting and they said well you know who
made you
like judge ruler over us are you gonna
are you gonna kill us
like you killed the egyptian yesterday
and moses realized uh oh
uh the gig is up and so he left
and pharaoh heard about it and tried to
kill him but
moses was gone there is a thing in the
law that's called
statute of limitations and that
basically means there's a maximum time
in which
legal proceedings can be carried out
and if that time frame expires it's
different from state to state country to
country
how these rulings work but if a certain
time goes past and nothing was brought
against you or so forth
then it's uh you're you're in many ways
good to go
long as you're good to go with god which
is the most important thing
but moses goes away for 40 years
on the backside of a desert he's in a
remote area
and in the interim time pharaoh this
pharaoh
dies and another pharaoh comes on the
scene
and eventually god sends moses back but
when god sends moses back
that stuff of the murder first of all
god's got that moses has sorted that out
with god
there's repentance there murders murder
you can't just you cannot justify murder
so he's got that sorted out with god but
god has also
put away moses sin but he's also covered
what moses has done and the last thing
that moses should do when he comes back
after a 40-year absence
and all of that is covered and no news
agency is talking about
it and nobody really even is bringing it
up
right last thing moses should do is say
you know i want to stand up
and i've been gone a long time and i
want to give my testimony and i want to
talk about the time i murdered that
egyptian
and then suddenly that okay that's going
to cause a problem
there is a place where
god wants you to be quiet and god has
not only forgiven
and forgotten your sin he's covered it
and the last thing he needs you to do is
be out there blabbing it all over the
place
and you're you're messing up your future
okay
and so the church in america
has this funny thing about glamorizing
certain kinds of testimonies and you can
stand up and tell your testimony
let's say for example if you're a former
uh you know gang banger
oh the church they want to hear your
testimony if you got saved and
you had a testimony like that they'll
get you in front of the whole church and
you can tell about all the people you
shot and all the drugs you're in and
stuff like that
that's kind of like they consider that a
cool testimony
maybe if you used to be a drug dealer
something like that they think that's a
cool testimony
share your testimony in church but you
know
you have to use wisdom um
it's not like if god delivered you some
out of some really really bad stuff that
you need to get up start talking about
that
pastor stephen i want to get up in
church and i want to tell everybody
how god delivered me out of depravity of
being a petiole a pedophile
and i used to molest all these kids and
i want to stand up and give full
testimony of everything i've done
uh no no
you need to let that stay under the
blood and you also not need not to be an
idiot
and wreck your ability to function
so here's the thing when you really
really repent
god can extend mercy there's a portion
of that mercy well he will
of course forgive you and of course
in his mind he's going to forget it but
you have to realize other people can
have really good memories
so what god can do out of this
incredible mercy is that now he doesn't
do it all the time because sometimes
there's different
factors that are involved but many times
god can cover
things and that way you can move on in
life
and go forward in life with that
coverage
and so the last thing that you would
want to do is you know stand up and say
i want to give testimony really
i just really want to let everybody know
and um
have to be real careful on things like
that so
you know in the church uh the church
for whatever reason loves these
testimonies like if you're a pro athlete
say like an nfl football player
you weren't saved and you gave your
heart to jesus and then the next thing
you know
every christian television station
they're gonna they're gonna want you to
be on there and give your testimony and
tell all about it here's the big one
is that if you're a pop singer a world
famous pop singer
and you give your heart to jesus then
the church just almost falls out oogling
and goggling
is that the most wonderful thing
and you know you can you can be a pop
singer tell all about
all of your wild escapades and the
church is just like
praise god praise god or hollywood
celebrity
got saved oh this is wonderful
but i hope you have enough sense to know
that that there are some things
you don't want to talk about it it's uh
they really even in some
public settings they should never even
be mentioned
because they're too they're too ghastly
they're too um they're too dark
and if you tell it you'll actually you
can actually even
what is the word i'm trying to use you
can stain people
it's so dark and so depraved that um
in certain audiences uh many church
settings you may have young believers or
others
don't say that don't say these certain
things let me give you an example
let's say you have a woman that comes
out of a lifetime
uh a lifestyle or maybe she's been a
prostitute
maybe she's been sex trafficked and
maybe she's been all over the web with
pornography and stuff like that
but god delivers her and saves her she
gives her heart to christ of course now
she's washed with the blood of jesus
and she is cleansed from her sin
you know you don't want to grab a person
like that and put them up on
the stage and say now tell us all
your testimony tell us everything you
did well okay
well i used to be in pornography and
okay
you're gonna have a lot of men sitting
there that don't need to hear that
because you're gonna have some men that
may be struggling and the last thing you
need to say is
she used to be you know a pornographic
film person or something like that
you're gonna have some that are so weak
that they might go home and i wonder who
that person is
i'm going to get on the internet find
out who that person is i want to find
out more about their testimony no you're
in the flesh
and that that stuff that was shared
stirred up
your flesh and um look i've had people
confess things to me
because it was so bad and dark
and disgusting that they
they bore their soul because they knew
that god would forgive them
but it's like they needed a human they
needed a man of god
that they could least share it with
because it brought some comfort knowing
pastor stephen can god forgive me of
something this awful
i i truly am grieved and all yeah and
i'll never do it again i've asked god to
forgive me but he
can he forgive me of this and yes with
true repentance
he can forgive the most vile murderer on
death row
but all i'm trying to say when it comes
time for testimonies
is there are some things for some that
god
even out of his mercy give a fresh start
and with that fresh start the next
the worst thing you want to do is get
out there and start talking about it
when god
god himself wanted to cover it so that
you could go forward and if god
has forgot about it and washed it washed
it away with his blood
don't you think that you should too well
maybe i should tell everybody um
wisdom wisdom because you do have a lot
of people even in the church that
although they know
that we are to forgive and so forth
they're just not very good at it
and if you tell it every time they see
you they're going to think about it
so if god's dealt with it and god has
helped you to put it away
privately then thank god for it receive
his forgiveness
receive his mercy and go on and don't
say nothing
don't say anything praise god some of
you need to learn that
i felt that i needed to share that well
we have a right to know no you don't
have a right to know anything
if god hides it if god takes your sin
and throws it to the bottom of the sea
as the prophet said and it goes to the
very bottom of the abyss
what's the interest of going down there
trying to look it at it look at it
no no no we are told do not look into
the mystery of iniquity
do not look into the mystery of
lawlessness i don't want to know
i don't want to know i've heard i've
heard crazy stuff
some of the stuff i wouldn't even tell
you that has been confessed to people
confessed by people to me that need it
that they they just need it released
knowing that god's mercy is enough the
blood's enough to cleanse
praise god praise god praise god praise
god
praise god the blood the blood the blood
of jesus
covers you cleanses you washes you free
from all
sin hallelujah so walk in wisdom
walk in wisdom pastor stephen we need to
have a club for men
that have been healed from being
pedophiles let's start a christian men's
pedophile club
no no don't do that
do not do stuff like that this is crazy
stuff
and so there's a lot of people that they
love the lord they just don't have any
wisdom
in these areas and there are some things
god doesn't want you talking about and
they don't need to know
god has put it away god has put it away
and when god's trying to give you a
fresh start
don't talk about it praise god
well pastor steven i still have memories
of it that's nothing but
burned ashes it can't hurt you your sin
has been forgiven
it's gone hallelujah praise god
praise the lord is nothing but burnt up
ashes praise god
can't hurt you praise god glory to god
glory to god
we never sin intentionally we hate sin
we endeavor to stay away from it we
endeavor to honor the lord
but my friends i'll say this where there
is sin
and where sin would abound grace
abounds much more god can pour out the
grace
and some of the most amazing ways i've
seen god
cleanse and heal the most vile people
who turn to him
and then the wildest thing is that i've
seen god
cover it and nobody knew i've had my
wife and i have had people walk into
our ministry headquarters unannounced in
agony of soul because of acts they have
committed
against god and their conscience is so
grieved and they are so
burdened with the guilt what they have
done that in despair
some not even really knowing who we are
have come to our ministry
and have just bared their souls
pleading that god would forgive them and
we have assured them that with pure
and true repentance that god will do
that well pastor stephen that you call
the local newspaper and tell them all
about it
absolutely not
praise god now when we do counsel
certain people
and that by the way that's not really my
ministry of counseling okay
because my ministry is more apostolic
and prophetic and i'm on the move a lot
and so i don't really have time
for what would be deeply uh excuse me
deeper pastoral type ministry
but there are areas particularly where
you get into things where
laws have been broken then
you're going to need wisdom on that
especially if you're a minister talking
to somebody
and they're i would say it like this if
i can put it in a nutshell
if restitution can be made it needs to
be done
well now pastor stephen i want to
confess that i stole all this money
okay god will forgive you are you ready
to return that money well i i
i want god to forgive me but i i don't
want to take that money back
you need to take it back all of it all
of it
you need to make right what you can make
right
and if you can make restitution you
absolutely need to do that
now some things you can't some things
you can't
but that's something that of course you
would have to um if you needed some
insight on that
you would need a spiritual guide to talk
with you about that i'm talking about a
mature
uh minister who's got some years of
leading ministry praise god that would
help you praise the lord
i'm saying that because i if you if i
get a
barrage of emails pastor stephen i've
done this what do you think i
you know i already get so many emails
that
and i'm endeavoring to help as many
people as i can
but that's not really my anointing but
i'm just trusting that what i'm sharing
with you alone
will be enough to help clear up some of
these areas
so that you know what to do praise god
praise the lord glory
glory glory to god look if you'll just
always do the right thing always do
the right thing then
that's often when that mercy is extended
i was reading uh about a certain soldier
that um not in america but a different
country he
sold he was a christian but he excuse me
he was not a christian
but before he became a christian he sold
weapons that belonged to the military
he sold them you know under the table
to some bad guys
and they gave him cash for it and these
were military-grade weapons
well shortly after that he got saved
and he was born again but
the holy spirit was really riding on him
in the sense of
you've got to make this right and of
course the devil is right there the
suggestion say
well now if you go to your superior and
confess this
you're going to go to military prison
but you know what
in certain situations as much as
well in all situations if there's
something that you can do
that makes something right that needs to
be made right
you need to go get that taken care of
and so
he went to his military superior and
said
i have sold this many weapons this is
the money
that has been attained for that some of
this money i still have i want to turn
it all in right now
other money i've spent on stupid stuff
and i said i know
this is a this is a crime and i'm here
to confess everything
that i did and the superior in this
situation now he just become a christian
the man did but he wanted to be right
with god
and the superior said so you did all
these things
and the guy said yes i did i said okay
he said it's now all settled
and he said this is now closed and he
said i have actually have the authority
and then in that
certain nation he did to make that
judgment
and he said it's it's over with and it's
forgotten
he said this will never happen again and
the man said yes this will never happen
again
and he was released he's released but he
was willing
if it meant going to prison he was
willing to do whatever it took to make
things
right this is why we must live our lives
honoring the lord because there are laws
of sowing
and reaping and there are certain things
that you do
god can forgive you but the reaping
consequences could be
something that could mean yep you're
going to have to walk this all the way
out
praise god
praise the lord praise the lord this is
not really for everybody but this is
helping a few
that have been struggling with some
things that have really been weighing
on your soul on your conscience and it's
certainly something you
want to have cleared up before taking
communion don't ever take communion
with something in your soul in your soul
some type of stain some type of
blockage between you and god confess it
get it right
and then take communion because if you
don't
you're shortening your life
well pastor stephen if that's the case i
shouldn't take communion yes
that's absolutely the case you need to
get it right
get it right and then come into the
lord's presence
and he'll receive you father thank you
for the bread
the body of jesus
thank you for all of your promises
we thank you father god that we're
learning to pray fervently
but along with these fervent prayers we
have to be living right
we have to have a as as paul said father
thank you a
conscience that's right with you and our
fellow man
so father we just thank you for the
flesh of jesus
we thank you father god for wisdom we
thank you for wisdom in all that we do
including our testimony
you father thank you in jesus name
amen and amen praise god
did you ever notice the wisdom of god
how god knew that the statute of
limitations had run out on moses before
god sent moses back to egypt
and by the way i'm not preaching this
because i'm trying to out out
live some statute of limitations of
something i've done there i don't
there's nothing on the books out there
that i know of
it's not like i'm the former gangster
you know what i'm talking about i don't
have a wild testimony like that
my testimony is not so much wild my
testimony
is more having done stupid stuff
[Laughter]
praise the lord glory to god
but the holy spirit's really trying to
reach some of you that are on the edge
there are a few of you that are on the
edge
you need you need to make it right
praise god
hallelujah father thank you for the
blood of jesus
that cleanses us from all sin and we ask
father currently that if we have
committed any sins
any trespasses we ask that you would
forgive us
and wash them all away
praise god thank you o god
and father we pray that you would lead
us away from temptation
we pray that you would deliver us from
the evil one in jesus name we pray
amen let's receive the lord's precious
blood
praise the lord hallelujah glory glory
to god
praise the lord my friends god wants to
come on the scene in your life
and do a miracle for you he will do it
but you must stay with him in prayer
show him that you really mean him
when the lord jesus comes back he's
going to be looking for those on the
earth that really understand faith
i believe he's going to find it
in you praise the lord
thanks for watching i'll see you back
next time