good morning church family and ministry
friends
i'm pastor stephen brooks welcome today
to our online internet
around the world church service i'm so
happy
that you're here today because i'm
convinced
in my heart that god's word is able to
build you up
to give you the strength to do what he
has called you to do
and to be developed into the person
that he wants you to be and that is the
person
that is in the mature image of the lord
jesus
christ praise god now today we're going
to be in zechariah chapter 3.
let's go to verse 10 we're going to
receive the holy tithes and offerings
we're going to bring them into the
storehouse of god
and let's take a look at a verse that
out of the many verses in the bible
here's another one
that reveals god's prosperity plan
for your life oh yes i say that with no
reservation no embarrassment no
shame god's prosperity plan
for your life zechariah chapter 3 verse
10
in that day says the lord of hosts
everyone will invite his neighbor under
his vine
and under his fig tree
notice the scripture says in that day
what day is that referring to well we
have a
good indicator from verse 8 a previous
verse
it says for behold i am bringing forth
my
servant the branch so this is a
messianic prophecy for telling the
coming of the messiah
and we know that he has come he has
accomplished what god assigned for him
to do
he has completed that task and now he is
seated at the right hand of god the
father
so in that day the day of the lord
there were many many things released
into the better new covenant
in that day says the lord of hosts
everyone will invite his neighbor
under his vine and under his fig tree
you can't find the rabbi on the face of
the earth
that would not agree that this is
referring to
the prosperity of god's people
the phrase under his vine and under
his fig tree denotes the life
that is blessed by god now yes there's
other references that you can
you can read into that quite easily in
other words if you have
your own vine and your own fig tree and
you're inviting your neighbor over
that means you would have to have your
own house
praise the lord and so if you're
believing god for a home
and you want to strengthen your faith on
that journey
then meditate on these types of
scriptures that give
scriptural structural validity
for your faith exercising your faith for
home
ownership but my my friends while this
does include that
this is a blanket reference to god's
plan to bless his people
where you have your own home you have
your own vine you have your own fig tree
you can invite people over for bible
studies
you can have praise and worship times at
your house
it's it's the anointing of prosperity
and you have to understand that jesus
was jewish and of course he still is
and any jewish person at that time
moving through the what we now know is
the old covenant
and the mindset of the jews that was
formed through
the the torah and the biblical teachings
of the prophets and so forth
any jew that would have the least
bit of knowledge of scripture would know
that in god's word that prosperity is a
blessing
from god and they would directly know
any jew would that the curse
is a representation that something is
wrong
something is really off track with your
walk with god
in that area now for a jewish person
they wouldn't have the excuse of not
knowing
or how can we say or being mistaught
i was mistaught when i was raised in
church
having a better covenant and yes
it dealt with my sin issue gave me new
life in christ
eternal life in christ and if that were
all i'd be
shouting praises for all eternity but my
friends
we didn't know growing up my pastor
didn't know the elders didn't know
others in that denomination did not know
that god wanted us blessed
and if the pastor would have preached
from zechariah chapter 3 verse 10
it could have been an uprising on behalf
of the elders they would have just
thrown him out
and said now we don't believe that they
probably would have said something dumb
like this
that's only for the jews
having no clue really you know like let
the light come on
jesus is jewish they they
this is their mentality their mentality
is formed from the torah the holy word
of god prosperity is god's plan
for the jewish people god's uh
prosperity is god's plan for
his people and poverty
has always been associated with the
curse
because god connected it to the curse
and revealed it as being a byproduct of
the curse
the curse being a byproduct of sin and
that's
all revealed in what any knowledgeable
jewish person would know in deuteronomy
chapter 28.
so we as a evangelicals
we as protestants we as perhaps
catholics
we perhaps as orthodox believers
we basically didn't know what the jews
knew for so long
ah but as we read the bible
through the understanding
of the old testament which set the
framework
for the new testament oh it begins to
make sense
god wants us blessed god doesn't want us
being homeless
not having any shoes not having any food
what kind of a father would stand up and
say i'm just so happy
that my two children have turned out to
be hobos let's give them all a hand
good job now go catch a ride on that
boxcar
[Laughter]
you'd think that person had lost his
mind but there are still
many in the church today they'll
celebrate
the prosperity of the world and think
it's wonderful
while those that have it use it for the
most filthy and vulgar means
but yet they'll turn right around and
say that god's people
the church is not supposed to have
anything that is all based
on ignorance and there's one cure for
ignorance
and that is the word of god praise god
and my friends if you want god's word to
work for you
you're going to have to believe it
you're going to have to shake off what
culture
which always is transitioning you know
like a roller coaster in different
directions
you're going to have to shake all that
off and you're going to have to believe
the bible
and if you will believe the bible and if
you believe especially
matthew mark luke and john then it will
work for you
and deuteronomy 28 it will work for you
but if you doubt it
and you think well you know things are
different today
then you're not going to be able to walk
into
those promised blessings because let me
tell you right now
there's one thing that god honors and
that's
his word god's been around forever
nobody ever created god he's he is the
non-created god he has always been
he's the eternal one so when god sees
all these silly little fads
god sees all this dumb stuff that goes
on within the earth of different nations
even if
nations are having maybe we could call
it backsliding situations
god doesn't just like suddenly change
his commandments
or change his principles to accommodate
that which is wrong god's word is
eternally
true rock solid and the same and so you
have to believe it
you have to take it into your heart and
just stand on it
and it'll begin to produce in your life
and yes it'll work in your finances but
you need to believe
god on purpose for prosperity
and you either shrug off any old poverty
mentality because if you don't and you
let even religious fuddy-duddy teaching
affect your thinking you could stay
broke for the rest of your life
and you could struggle with money for
the rest of your life
but there's going to come a day when
your life will end
and you're going to go to heaven and
you're going to find out that when you
get to heaven
that the whole time you were on the
earth you were believing
you were living far below your
privileges you were living
far below the covenant standard that god
made available for you through his son
everything was on the table for you to
receive by faith
and to enjoy but
you know maybe had some old communist or
socialist
talk you out of it and uh you know what
you have to stand on the word
stand on the word praise god thank you
lord jesus and look at the
look at the jewish people remember
god made a covenant with abraham all 12
apostles were jewish every single book
written in the bible now some people
some theologians argue about the gospel
of blue but even still i believe
luke was written uh by he was jewish so
i believe
every single bible we know all all of
them 65 for sure are and i believe
number 66 is as well
the gospel of luke but they're all
written by jewish men
praise the lord and we have a jewish
savior
so don't let the world form your mindset
concerning money whoa praise god get
back to your
biblical judeo-christian roots
what are they pastor stephen in that day
the day of the lord the day of the
messiah
says the lord of hosts to everyone that
means
me and that means you everyone will
invite his neighbor
under his vine and under his fig tree
do you really want to invite your
neighbor over to your cardboard box
and eat some uh leftovers out of the
mcdonald's trash dumpster
do you think anybody's gonna want to
come over
just stop and think about the insanity
of those that glorify poverty
stick with the word stick with the word
over religious tradition
look i was taught from the pulpit for
years and years that poverty is holy
god wants us poor god wants us poor
and you know what we were poor and we
just drifted into a thought process that
ended up
that left us stranded and that thought
process well
it was like this it was well you know
god just has a mysterious divine wheel
where there's some that he has
predestined to be rich
but for all the rest which is the vast
majority
he is predestined that we either be poor
or maybe
maybe middle class
my friends god has a plan
but you must merge into that prosperity
plan
through acceptance of his word strict
adherence to his word rejoicing in his
word and remember jesus said if you're
ashamed of my teaching
you're ashamed of my word i'll be
ashamed of you
if you're embarrassed of what i said he
said i'll be embarrassed of you on that
day
well pastor stephen i don't believe
preachers should preach a nice clothes
they should just preach in an old potato
sack well you go wear an old potato sack
i'm going to represent the lord jesus
christ as his ambassador
as a human being as a minister of the
gospel that has dignity
and i ain't wearing no potato sack
praise the lord glory to god hallelujah
thank you jesus see somebody's getting
delivered in their mind
i am intentionally tearing down
strongholds of wrong teaching
and wrong thinking and wrong poverty
mindsets
and i'm having a lot of fun doing it
praise god
thank you jesus glory to god so let that
be your confession
i have my own house i have my own vine
i have my own fig tree i've had extra
food in the fridge so i can invite
people over
praise god glory to god thank you jesus
now that your faith is stirred to walk
in god's
goodness his even financial goodness
towards your life
let's honor him with the tithe that
belongs to him
god commands ten percent of all of our
increase
all of our income it goes to him the 10
the tithe goes to him and on top of that
we can sow offerings as the holy spirit
touches our hearts
and also just as we have a desire to
want to bless the lord and honor god
with gifts and acts of love and those
would be called offerings
you can not only tithe but you can give
an offering as well
so let's honor the lord and bring the
tithes and offerings into the storehouse
right now if you prefer to mail them in
please send them to stephen brooks
international p.o box
717 moravian falls north carolina
our zip code is 28654
if you would like to bring the tithe and
offering in online you can do so
from anywhere in the world day or night
praise god the online storehouse is open
please visit the ministry website
stevenbrooks.org
there's a link right on the home page
that says give has a red heart on it you
can click that
you'll see the box for the tithes and
you'll see a couple of other box
options perhaps you would like to sew an
offering into one of those projects
that we are currently working on it
would mean a lot
to help us move forward with some of
these extra projects
that god has called us to do thank you
for your giving
thank you for honoring the lord with
your finances
and one day may you hear those blessed
words well done
good and faithful servant come on in
come on
in there's a mansion waiting for you
whoo
praise the lord
well now what's about 70 of the church
going to do when they get to heaven
and they never tithe
[Laughter]
never never never gave any money this
didn't really have an interest in the
things of god
yet they were saved that's nice they're
still welcome
they're still in man they'll be you know
they're going to just be like oh
what was wrong with me praise god but my
friends i'm speaking to those
that are the overcomers i'm speaking to
those that
don't just say they love the lord you
prove it
through your obedience to him praise god
thank you for your giving father bless
your people
let the reward be wonderful thank you
father let their life on earth be
blessed let their finances prosper i
thank you for their own fig tree
their own vine thank you father in jesus
name
amen praise the lord now
i'm feeling a prophetic declaration
coming forth
maybe not a maybe i wouldn't say a
declaration a prophetic insight
some of you
you're wanting a home you need to go buy
a fig tree
you need to go buy a fig tree praise the
lord
we had a we had a friend give a minister
give to the ministry of fig tree about
10 years ago and the fig tree
got gigantic and beautiful beautiful
figs
and then it died just completely um
just look it looked like it was dead
well it
seemed like it stayed like it was dead
for two years so you know what we dug it
up
and we moved it we thought and just
before we were going to throw it away
and have it haul to the landfill
my wife said stephen it could be that
that tree could still have some life in
it she said let's take it to our house
and we had just purchased a home and we
dug a
nice spot for it and we put in some
super rich fertilizer
watered it and prayed over it laid hands
on it
and that tree oh that tree looks so
beautiful right now
somehow came back to life i mean it was
just dead for two years
but it sure is looking good now praise
god
getting ready for some figs praise the
lord hallelujah
but that can be a prophetic touch point
for many of you
you want to own your own home you you
you're believing god for your own
as they would say in scripture your own
victory your own fight go buy your go
buy a fig tree
keep it in a pot say lord i'm gonna
plant this at my house
hallelujah those men those of you that
are ministers you're believing god for
your own ministry office
get a fig tree for your ministry office
praise god that you can plant it on the
property
glory to god and then and then
you're walking in it zechariah 3 verse
10. now
the thing about the grapevine well
that's a lot of work but
you can have some figs praise god
if i grow grapes the deer are going to
eat the grapes but they leave the figs
alone
they sure uh pick my cherry tree clean
god bless them
amen now my friends the lord's blessing
is coming to you
thank you for your giving praise the
lord praise the lord praise the lord
go get your fig tree now let's take our
bibles today and go to
psalm 119.
psalm 119 i just had a
minister friend overseas he wrote an
entire book
expounding on psalm 119
and he wants me to do the forward to the
book and i've enjoyed
reviewing his fantastic book and in the
interim
while i was doing that the holy spirit
just happened to bring me over to psalm
119
and had something for me in there too
praise god
and perhaps my friend has even covered
this in the book
i am not aware of that yet but i know
that the holy spirit brought it to my
attention
and i'm going to talk about it today
psalm 119
we're going to start in verse 49.
and let's open in prayer heavenly father
as we go into your word
into today's message we're asking that
your holy spirit would illuminate
the scriptures and would illuminate the
path
that you have for us we thank you for a
bright illuminated path
we thank you for no guess work
we thank you for no lost in the fog
we thank you father god that we know
exactly what we're supposed to be doing
because
of the illumination of the path thank
you
for the illuminating power of your holy
spirit
in jesus name let us all say amen
psalm 119 verse 49
remember the word to your servant
upon which you have caused me
to hope now i was having
some uh a coffee a nice latte
at a nice coffee house with a dear
friend
ministry partner and very close friend
and we were talking about the things of
god
and he said he said brother stephen
he said god is doing so many things
through your ministry he said i'm amazed
at how many things
your ministry is doing you're you're
doing all this
you're doing all of that and you're
doing all these things
and i said well brother i said it's all
by the lord's grace
and i said you know you could stand back
and see these things but
in my life in my world it actually it's
it's a very smooth flow it's not like
all this is going on and
you know what i'm just running and
trying and yes i am running in a sense
but it's not like i'm
flustered or you know or just you know
it's too much it's too
it's actually a lot of fun so i'm having
a good time i'm actually enjoying it
but here's the thing every
single thing that the ministry
is doing today every everything without
it
without one exception every outreach of
the ministry
every work of the ministry
everything that we're doing is all
because
of a direct word that i received
from the lord and then taking that word
and
acting up on it and stepping out on it
perhaps
small at first but then going with it
and going with it and then watching it
grow
watching it grow watching it expand and
watching it go further
but it's all because i received a word
for every
single assignment that we have
launched out upon remember
the word to your servant
now god can give you a word
and it is amazing how the enemy can try
to
cause you to forget a word even if that
word were to come
in a way that was so supernatural
that when it initially happened you're
like man
this is fantastic i'm on the rock with
this and you are
but you know what you have to continue
to stand on that word and it says
remember the word to your servant
so there's actually here
the psalmist is actually telling the
lord to remember
well pastor stephen god's not going to
forget
yes we know that god is certainly not
ever going to forget
not only that the word will never return
to god void
that word is always loaded with power
but it
it could come to us potentially
and be void because we take our
eyes off of it we get we get focused on
wrong things we get distracted
and the re reminding god of what he
said also reminds us
of what god said and it honors god
because he loves his word he loves it so
much
he even wrote a book of all the things
that he said
praise god this it's very very important
to him
so the psalmist says remember the word
to your servant
so god hey god i remember now
yes it's almost like my mind
was starting to let that slip and maybe
it was a word that god said three months
ago
maybe it was a word that god unveiled to
you
two years ago or or maybe it was
something where you had a vision and
maybe an angel or
the lord brought a message to you and it
electrified your faith
praise god but it's also a faith
assignment that has to be walked out
and even though you had such a
supernatural experience
some time can go by and your faith can
be tested
and you're like lord i really need to
hear from you
and sometimes he doesn't give a new word
sometimes he helps you to recall a
former word because that was rock solid
and it'll still stabilize you it'll
still move you forward
and really the truth is all you need is
one word that's all david needed was one
stone
to take out goliath the other stones the
extra ones he got were
for goliath's brothers because family
members oftentimes get involved in
conflicts and stuff like that
but it really he just needed one stone i
don't think he had
any intentions of missing at all
and all you need really is one word from
the lord
that's all you need you really can get
the job done on one scripture
one word of god speaking to you you can
get it done with that
so we have to uh
be aware of that word we have to
celebrate that word
we have to remind ourselves of that word
and because god loves his word and
honors his word we have to bring it back
before him again
and say now remember god you said this
and lord you remember also you said that
you watch over your word to perform it
and lord i just want you to be mindful
of that
and he is and he likes that
see there are some people that try to
trap you in their words but god doesn't
mind if you trap him in his words
because he's never going to say anything
wrong
so he's like yeah yeah i said that sure
did
and so we need to bring that before the
lord now watch this
remember the word to your servant upon
which
you have caused me to hope that word
from god
will do three primary things one it will
bring
instant hope into your spirit
and hope is not like the world's hope
where you
you know you got those people out there
they hope they win the lottery they're
buying cards and
spending their hard-earned money on
these stupid lottery tickets
um and they're scratching them off and
they're hoping they're going to win
that's the natural hope
and it's it is extremely disappointing
and uh might come through might not
usually doesn't
but the god kind of hope
is very very powerful and it creates an
ongoing
sustaining expectancy yeah it's going
down
you know like yes it's happening and it
can happen today
and i'm in faith that it will praise god
so that faith and hope
working together that very very dynamic
duo
so it causes hope the moment you get a
true word from god
it will just bring that dream on
fire on the inside of you and that your
hopes right back
up it's right back up what the hope what
that is going to happen
that it's going to happen and that there
is an element
of like even even if it's like uh
even if it doesn't happen today or this
week it's happening it is going to
happen
and i know it is whoa praise god
now he said it caused me to hope
now watch this this is my comfort in my
affliction so
this word also brings comfort
so it brings hope and it brings comfort
and you're going to need that
word to remind you because that word
will bring comfort
when oftentimes the enemy
can mock and he could say you don't have
it yet do you
and he can do things like that and he
can try to taunt
and he could try to work through people
to constantly discourage
and to say things like well you meant
well but i guess it's just not god's
will for you you might as well just get
ready to die
and stuff like that and so affliction
also
can be referring primarily to tests and
trials
and difficulties that present
circumstances that say
it's never going to happen for you but
see that word will bring a
natural comfort and that comfort
basically says to you
yeah it's going to happen and i don't
care how much you snicker
or laugh i'm still going to get it it'll
do that
it will do that it'll bring a comfort
and
there is a rejoicing going on with
within your heart because you know god
will come through this
is my comfort in my affliction
for your word has given me life and
there's the third thing
that word will give you life and that
life pertains to
the life of god coming into you and
your willingness to walk out your life
pertaining to the unique
plan that god mapped out
strategized out just for you before you
were even born and put
on the planet god already knew exactly
his plan for you now let me say this
you will never know that plan
i don't care how smart you are i don't
care how gifted you
are and you start to move in a certain
path and you just say this is me this is
what i was born to do
you will never ever know god's plan for
your life
without knowing christ as your lord and
savior
because your destiny is wrapped up
and tied up in jesus and unless you're
in jesus and he has become your your
savior and your lord
you'll never fully know what god has for
you even if you could somehow
sniff out the trail even if somehow you
can make sense
a little bit just because of maybe a
draw towards a certain direction
you'll never know it it'll always be
veiled until
you find christ as your lord and savior
i don't care how much the world applause
you and says yep
isn't he successful it'll mean nothing
what does it matter if you gain the
whole
world but lose your own soul
it means nothing it means nothing
praise god so you must know the lord
and you must walk with the lord so
your word has given me life
it has given me life and that life
is that energy that life is knowing
yes lord this is something you've got
planned for me
and i'm excited about this because lord
i like this
and the lord and the lord's like yeah i
know you do i put that i put that in you
whoa praise the lord for your word
has given me life the true word
it will lift you it will energize you
uh even as we know the simple gift of
prophecy is for edification
exhortation and comfort you hear that
prophetic word it blesses your heart
praise god that is what the living word
of god will do
your word has given me life the proud
have me in great derision now that word
derision can mean
that the proud have me in a place where
they're ridiculing me
they're sneering at me they're scornful
of me
it can even be a reference to their
mocking me
the proud have me in great derision yet
i do not
turn aside from your law
david my friends was a word man i'm a
word man praise god
praise god hallelujah you must
learn to follow the directions of
this book well now pastor stephen you
know god gives
he gives grace he gives leniency he does
but if you're just playing around
and you're toying in things that god
forbids
you're going to get hurt praise the lord
and you're not going to be able to walk
in the fullness of the blessing
that god has for you and there will be
certain
areas where your mind cannot get into
the wisdom
to go the direction or path that god has
for you you must really really
be like david where you say i do
not turn aside from your law or
your word your principles your teachings
i don't care what kind of pressure
culture tries to put on me
i'm not conforming to anything but the
holy eternal word of god
my friends that word
has the power to move you forward
into that place where what he has called
you to do
will be brought fully to pass praise god
now let's go to psalm 105.
psalm 105 verse 16
and this would be a reference to joseph
moreover he called for a famine in the
land that would be the lord he destroyed
all the provision of bread
he sent a man before them
joseph who was sold as a slave
they hurt his feet with fetters
he was laid in irons until the time
that his word came to pass the word
of the lord tested him
wow the enemy
will try to get you to forget
the word that god gave to you
he'll try to get you to forget that
prophetic vision
or that prophecy given to you by the
prophet of prophetess that made the
hair on the back of your neck stand up
the the prophecy that electrified you
for three days and it was
all you could think about the enemy will
try to get you into a place where
you forget that and you're just consumed
with the negative circumstances that
would suggest
it's not going to happen for you my
friends even
if a person like joseph who was wrongly
imprisoned
if such a person will just stay
with that word eventually that word will
bring you out
and what god will do in the interim is
that he'll stand back
he'll stand back and he'll watch to see
if you really believe his word not just
believe it for three days
and not just you know really latch onto
it for three weeks and celebrate it and
tell everybody how you really have
stepped out to believe god
no what if it goes longer what if it
goes for three months what if it goes
for three years joseph was in prison for
13 years
i'm not saying that that testing would
last that long for you
but i i'm thinking of one minister that
went through a five-year test
and after the end of five years he
sensed that it was going to break
and god sent a prophet one of the
world's leading prophets to him
and that prophet said the lord shows me
that
the fiery trial that you have been in
for the last five years
it's over and you have passed a test and
god's going to set you up on high
and the lord did greatly lifted that
minister up greatly blessed him
that word that word can try you praise
god the word of the lord
the remarkable dreams
that were real that joseph had we're
talking about
real words real whether the word came
through a dream
a valid dream a valid vision or
the rhema word leaping off the page as a
living word
just as if god spoke it in essence he
did speak it
it's that's what the rhema word is but
nevertheless
that word oh yes it can try you praise
god and you would think how can that
word
work how can it overcome these things
that i'm in
my friends god has an ability to
be able to work miracles and while we
look at miracles as being these great
big things to god
it's just easy easy stuff the greatest
miracle that we could ever imagine
i mean it's just easy easy stuff with
god
when you look at the expanse of the
universe and all these galaxies and all
these stars and all of this
uh majesty that display his
his omnipotent power you realize
yeah this this is like for god this is
easy and so my friends
we must hold to his word because it will
produce in our lives
verse 20 we see that it eventually
produced for joseph
because he never gave up on it the king
sent and released him
the ruler of the people let him go free
he made him lord of his house and a
ruler
of all his possessions to bind his
princes at his pleasure
and teach his elders wisdom praise
god thank you lord jesus i see your
trial
the trying of that word i seeing that
season being fulfilled
and you coming into the manifestation
of that word in your life praise god
let's go to the gospel of john
john chapter 21
and let's go to verse 18. praise god
jesus said to him that would be peter
feed my sheep
most assuredly i say to you when you
were younger
you girded yourself and walked where you
wished
but when you are old you will stretch
out your hands
and another will gird you and carry you
where you do not wish
this he spoke signifying by what death
he would glorify god
and when he had spoken this he said to
him follow me
then peter turning around saw the
disciple whom jesus loved following
who who also had leaned on his breasts
at the supper and said
lord who is the one who betrays you
peter's seen him said to jesus
but lord what about this man jesus said
to him if i will that he remain till i
come
what is that to you you
follow me in other words the context
you follow me in your own
unique and specific calling and
assignment
that i have for you which is very
different from john
which is very different from andrew
which is very different from all of the
others
you follow me
in the path that i have been talking to
you about
over the last you know 10 minutes or
however long
showing peter personal details about his
life his upcoming future
but yet peter seemed to have some type
of
infatuation with somebody else's
assignment
maybe somebody else's ministry maybe
somebody else's career path
maybe somebody else's job somebody
else's life
let me ask you a question why do many
people including
some christians watch soap operas
why do they watch these fake
make-believe
worlds of somebody acting out
a false life why would anybody waste
their time doing that
because they don't know their true
purpose
or they are not
really interested in what god has for
them and their life
so they are infatuated with somebody
else's life
and they would rather live somebody
else's life
why would anybody watch some kind of a
stupid reality show
somebody else it's the same thing as a
soap opera
it's a reality show what's such a great
interest in seeing somebody else
live their life when you have your own
life
to live and jesus
he got a little bit point blank a little
bit direct with peter
and said what is that to you in other
words john's ministry
and what john is going to do
jesus told peter what is that to you
it's not your life
it's not your calling it's not your path
why
what's what's up with the infatuation
about john
well now pastor stephen it seems like
john had a little something special they
all had something special
you have something special with the lord
there is no other you i hope you've
noticed that nobody else out there has
your fingerprints
your dna your smile your personality and
nobody else ever will
you are you are a one and done you're it
praise god and so you have something
very very special
going on with the lord and you need to
follow the lord
follow the lord in the area of the
fulfillment of what he has called
you to do
pastor stephen i don't know how to do
that you do it through a word
you do it by getting the word that god
has for you
understanding that that word ties you
in with prophetic destiny ties you in
with the assignment
and you just stay on that word work that
word you're aware of it
you remind yourself of it you remind god
of it hey god that's remember that's
what you told me lord i'm not out here
doing this because i don't have anything
else to do
lord i'm doing this because remember
lord
you follow me you followed me
pastor stephen that's a little bit rude
what jesus did to peter
no it's actually rude what peter was
doing
praise the lord what god has for you
is when you get the understanding of it
and how he tailor tailor-made that just
for you
i tell you what you're suddenly like
lord hey
lord i like my life lord i don't need to
watch some stupid soap opera i got my
i like my life i like my life better
than their life
why this is my life
hey and yeah happy for others out there
that have their thing going on too
that's great that's great that's great
but i love my life in the lord
i don't need artificial stimulation i
don't need to watch
soap operas i don't need to see somebody
else live out a fake life that's not
even real
glory to god
i guess we could label romance novels
the same way
all that stuff silly silly stuff
now let me say this in the light of what
jesus said
you follow me in that unique calling
that
those unique areas i want to say this
you can't do everything
i've met some people to think they can
but
the truth is they can't you can't do
everything
and let me give you something that will
help you to relax
you aren't expected by god to do
everything
he doesn't expect you to do that because
he knows you can't
praise the lord you don't have the
financial resources
to do everything you don't have the
strength
the energy the stamina to do everything
and most importantly let this go into
your spirit
most importantly you don't have the word
to do everything you don't have a word
from god telling you
do this this this it just goes on
forever you don't have that
you have specific words everything this
ministry
is doing again comes back to something
that god told me either in my prayer
time
my fellowship my time with him or some
type of visitation or encounter with the
lord
and that's what i'm doing and there's a
million other things
that i'm not doing that i could do but
i'm not going to do them because god
hasn't told me to do them
well now pastor stephen you need to jump
over here on that god that's a good
thing
but god hasn't told me to jump over
there on that i've got a full plate
right here with this
and the full the plate's getting larger
whoo praise the lord well
but but jesus what what about john look
look what he's doing
yeah that that's nice that's nice but
peter
peter i know you like my mother
she's a nice lady and i know you are
very sweet to her
but peter i'm not i'm not asking you to
take care of mary
john's going to take care of mary and uh
and i i don't need you to
do this this this and this that i've got
others
on those assignments
voices voices everywhere voices voices
everywhere
come do this come be involved in this
come be involved in this come do this
and there'll be some voices that you
connect with
but there'll be a lot of others that you
just have to say
keep up the good work keep going strong
but i've got to stay
in my lane
you know jesus was unique he's god
in the flesh now that power
that god power he laid it down
operated as a man with the anointing of
the holy spirit
to do mighty works
but with that
mystery of being god and man at the same
time
you can see in jesus the fullness
of every ministry office i mean he
wasn't like just another
apostle according to hebrews we're told
that
he was the apostle so it's not like hey
he's just one of all the thousands of
apostles that you know that are
in the earth no he was the apostle that
every other apostolic minister
you know follows after he's the
prototype he's what we
would endeavor to emulate he wasn't just
another prophet
he was the prophet the one that moses
said that hey there's coming somebody
a whole lot greater than me and when he
comes
he is the prophet listen to him do what
he says
okay so he's talking about jesus praise
god not just another prophet the prophet
that any prophet would endeavor to
emulate and follow
his prophetic ministry and jesus was not
just like another evangelist
he was the evangelist he's not just
another pastor
no it's the great shepherd of the sheep
and he's not just like another good
teacher he's the teacher
he he could teach yes he can preach but
wow
i'm just incredible teaching which is
very very essential
so my friends while the lord was able to
do all these things
and fill each ministry office fill each
ministry office
as ministers of the gospel we have to
realize that
we have to be set in where he places us
and you can't do all five and in
in work within various
you know platforms of work you have to
realize that um
if if you don't get really good at
something you're going to end up in this
very bad place
which is called a jack of all trades and
a master of none
and that's something that you don't want
and that happens because you're trying
to spread yourself
too thin try and do all this stuff think
you can do all this stuff
but you need to move towards becoming
excellent and what god has called you to
do
and staying on task not getting all
distracted
but staying focused staying focused in
your position
and if you do if you do you will be
rewarded praise god romans chapter 11
romans 11 verse 13 the apostle paul said
for i speak
to you gentiles inasmuch as i am
an apostle to the gentiles now remember
peter totally different assignment
apostle primarily
to the jews now yes he would he would
skip over and do some other things
ministered to cornelius brought he and
his family
into the christian faith so now he's
he's reaching to some gentiles
but primarily his ministry was for the
jews
but you have paul mainly reaching out to
gentiles and yes he's still going to go
to a lot of synagogues he's going to try
to reach a lot of jews
but primarily he's going out to the
nations he's ministering to the gentiles
for i speak to you gentiles and as much
as i am an apostle to the gentiles
i magnify
my ministry now that magnifying his
ministry
in essence was him being obedient to the
lord jesus to do what the lord had asked
him to do
and he didn't say well i you know i'm
not really needed we got a lot of other
guys out there
you know we got the other we got the
other apostles to carry on the work and
uh
you know i got barnabas he's real good
and you know we're raising up apollos
and you know
seems like there's a lot of people they
they don't like me they say i'm just
causing too many problems
i guess i'll just go sit down and i'll
go over in the corner and
uh you know just do something that'll uh
you know
maybe take up some other time doing
something else but no
no he understood his value
he understood his uniqueness he
understood his role how how did he get
that understanding
the word of the lord coming to him
revealing destiny
unveiling the path and it comes by the
word of the lord
and when you have that word
you're moving quick you're on the way
praise god
i magnify my ministry
one translation says i boast about
my ministry praise the lord
and there is a part of our lives where
we walk
in the humility of the lord but there's
another part that brings that balance
that that is very much needed where you
know
i can help people in this area i'm good
at this
if you're a brain surgeon you're like
hey i can
i can fix your head i can you know i can
fix your brain or your car
i i'm a really good uh tech person with
cars
hey i can there's something wrong with
it i can take the whole thing apart and
fix it i'm really good
and you magnify that area that anointing
that gifting that god has put in you
praise the lord hallelujah thank you
lord jesus
i magnify my ministry
i magnify my
ministry praise god well
my friends the lord was really wanting
peter to get into that assignment
that fullness of apostolic ministry that
he had for him
and in order for him to get going in the
right direction
lord have to give him some strong words
what is that to you
concerning john what is that to you
peter you've got your own ministry
i've just given you personal insight
about your future
you don't need to be distracted by all
this other stuff
[Music]
praise the lord praise the lord and
peter moves forward
later paul comes on the scene paul moves
forward and there were many people that
tried to get
paul just to shut it down but he
wouldn't shut it down
and he says i magnified my ministry and
he said i appreciate all that peter's
doing
peter's doing a great job james is doing
a great job over there at the church in
jerusalem
but hey i've got some things also that
need to be said
and i have received some revelations
that are greater
than what the disciples have even
understood
because i have been taught things by the
lord himself
and i'm going to share those and he did
he did praise god
and god has put things in you that can
only
be expressed in certain ways in a best
way
through the vessel that he chooses
praise god and it doesn't matter if god
has called you to bake cookies
and to sell cookies or be evangelist
to a remote part of the world it doesn't
matter
just develop that and say i magnify my
ministry
yes we need to magnify john's ministry
yeah that's good
john has plenty of people cheering him
on everybody likes john
the beloved apostle the one that leaned
his head on the lord's chest
look he's got a big fan group john's
just fine
but look you have to understand that you
are very vital in the church
you are very vital with what god has
invested into you and you need to
magnify that
praise the lord
and don't listen to the voices don't
listen to those types of criticism
that will say well now you know you're
really not that
much needed see david said the proud
have me in great
derision the proud mocking him and
saying ah you know you we we don't
really need you and you can be replaced
and on and on it goes and we don't even
really believe you're the king and
we we wanted somebody else we want it
saul and you know you have people like
that
but what got david through
with comfort and hope and life
was the word was the word was the word
god has a word for you now i'm teaching
this message right now it's about 2 45
in the morning you might be thinking
well pastor stephen
why in the world are you teaching in the
middle of the morning in the middle of
the night
well because i started
much earlier of course in the day went
into the
afternoon went into the evening and i
was wanting
a word from the lord uh on a certain
thing
a certain thing that i've really been
talking to the lord a lot about
and i want to tell you a little bit of
how this works
when you want a word you have to really
seek the lord for that word
and i'm not talking about fabricating
something or just trying to make
something up to get a
you know like well i guess that's the
word i guess i'll take that now that
won't work when things get tough
you must have true words genuine
authentic experiences with the lord so
as i kept on seeking the lord
it just took me a while to get quiet it
took me a while for my mind
just to get relaxed to get quiet and uh
it wasn't until like 11 o'clock at night
where it just everything went like
totally tranquil it's like i got onto
a body of water uh it reminds me one
time i went on the sea of galilee
of course in israel and it was so
tranquil and smooth there was not one
wave
anywhere it was like like glass
it was perfect and that's what i came
into
and it took me a long time just waiting
seeking hanging out with the lord
until i got into that place where i was
now
finally positioned to receive a word
from the lord
and once everything got real still and
real quiet
and it took about six hours to get into
that place
then i got on that smooth uh
crystal sea of uh of moving forward with
the lord in prayer
and sure enough he started talking so
you can't make
you can't force god to talk but if you
just hang around
hang around not so much until he's ready
but also when you're ready
you're real calm we're re real relaxed
and uh you can discern you know what's
what's uh and you know when you get into
that place very very smooth place
it's like the vanilla place vanilla is
very very smooth and relaxing
and you feel like in that place
that if that were sustained your body
wouldn't get tired you feel like you
could just sit there forever
you feel like you could sit there for
days and days in the presence of the
lord
enjoying the lord's presence and he
starts
talking and the scriptures
start coming and the revelation starts
flowing
and i had an experience with the lord
where he took me back to a previous word
and basically said i'm not going to give
you a new word on that why
i've already given you a word on that
through a supernatural experience
and i said my goodness lord you sure did
i guess i was just seeking
something fresh because i'm just still
walking this out
believing for the miracle manifestation
and i said but lord it is true
you actually revealed that to me
and as i got back on that word life
rushed rushed rushed back into
me praise the lord and the journey
continues
see remember the word to your servant
upon which you have caused me to hope
so hope comes back this is my comfort
comfort returns and your word has given
me life praise god the word of god is
eternal
it's always living and that word my
friends will just lift you up
it'll lift you up this is the same word
that created everything that we see the
beautiful mountains
the sun the moon the distant stars
everything within the universe it all
came forth by god's
word so when he gives you the word you
must stand on it you must hold to it
even in the midst of derision
even even in the midst of others
who would maybe perhaps even mock or not
agree with it
but because you're on the word praise
god
that word will work for you thank you
jesus
now i would also say that when
you are going in a certain direction in
your unique
calling you also will by the holy spirit
you'll have others at times that you
cross pollinate with
why they are also those of like
precious faith and they're believing god
too
and they're holding the word too and
they're trusting god too
and some of them in a sense are
not on the same unique path as you but
they are also
in a same flow they're in the same vein
praise god and so you can encourage each
other brother i know you believe in god
i'm standing with you also it's going to
happen yes and brother you're going to
get yours too
and you know hallelujah it just iron
sharpens iron
so does one man sharpen another so
eagles fly um within
that group there can be places where
there's gatherings of eagles
praise the lord but those are the ones
who are in faith believing god taking
god serious
with his word praise the lord
hallelujah praise god praise god
thank you jesus so my friends
let your focus be restored
let your focus be restored and
like peter who was just caught up with
john
maybe maybe there was a little bit of
envy there
i don't know well now we do know that
they had you know the apostles they had
their time
sometimes you know you had the two
brothers
that had kind of gone behind the scenes
and they had talked to their mother
and their mother had gone to the lord
and said hey uh lord uh and she brings
the two
the two apostles and says hey uh lord
when you come into your kingdom
in other words when you're ruling and
reigning over the whole world from
jerusalem
let my two boys once sit on one side and
one on the other of you when you have
your big throne and everything let them
sit on the right and left
and uh man when the other apostles heard
about that they were hot
they were mad and uh and so yeah you had
you had these things going on sometimes
and
perhaps john's special walk with the
lord
made some others you know that's not
right he's that close to the lord but
you know
everybody has their own thing everybody
has their own thing we we need to leave
john alone
john's doing just fine and you have to
focus on your own thing and the lord had
to help peter with that
and i feel in my spirit that he's trying
to help some of you with that also
woo hallelujah praise god
and i'm trying to be a little bit nicer
because the lord he's
he's he's he's the most loving person
but he can be very very very strong
in in bringing needed correction and he
he could just say very very strongly
what is that to you um
so praise god and we don't want him to
say that to us
we want to be busy about what god has
called us to do
and encourage others um as you
are in that place with the lord
doing what he's called you to do and you
and you love it you know what it frees
you up to
have true love for others yeah go for it
keep on going
amen and it's just it's so
good to be in your flow that god has
called you to be in
praise god regardless of what that is
and if you
if you don't know if you don't know what
it is
it's in here somewhere you need to get
the word
you need to get the word you take your
bible take a notepad and a pen
and go sit down somewhere and just wait
on the lord and pray and worship the
lord
until you get into that place where
you're real calm
real still and you can get a word
praise god and if you never have one
he'll give you one
praise god thank you jesus
and i'll say it again one is all you
need to get the job done
on that task one's all you need praise
the lord
lift your hands father thank you for
your people
they're all giant killers
and the enemy knows it and while the
enemy would try to act like a big tough
guy and
the enemy is actually intimidated by
them that's why
he's doing the mocking and doing all of
the uh
attacks of bad dreams and nightmares at
night trying to
do it because he's he's intimidated he's
intimidated
it's all a bluff so father i just thank
you that i'm speaking the giant killers
i thank you father god that you do
miracles for those that believe
and i thank you father that your people
are busy
about what you have called them to do
thank you and they celebrate the unique
assignment that you have for them
in jesus name amen
and amen praise the lord if you're
watching today
and you don't know the lord jesus as
savior and lord
there's no better time than right now to
get your life right with him because the
holy spirit is moving on your heart
right now
so right now pray this prayer after me
say lord jesus
i'm a sinner jesus
you died to save sinners you died on the
cross
and you rose again on the third day so
jesus
save me now i give my life to you
i turn from sin wash all of my sins away
write my name in your book of life
i take you now as my lord and savior
thank you jesus for saving me now
in your name i pray amen
welcome to the family
of god woo glory to god
hallelujah praise the lord praise the
lord
praise the lord father we praise you for
your word
we praise you that your word is not a
history book it's a living book
it's life it's alive
thank you father god that you are a god
who
speaks and there is no other god
and even if there is any other so-called
god
those gods are all mute and they can't
talk
we thank you father god that you are the
true speaking
god we thank you we thank you
that all over the world you're speaking
your word
your assignment to your people and we
thank you we rejoice that it's a good
word
we give you praise we thank you
father in jesus name
amen amen praise god
let's take holy communion together those
of you also that just gave your life is
the christ
take communion with us this will be the
first time that some of you have ever
taken communion
grab some unleavened bread and some
grape juice
if you don't have one of these little
wafers just grab a like a little saltine
cracker
or something like that if you don't have
that grab like a
it or something praise god the lord
understands until you can get your
little wafers
let's pray heavenly father we thank you
for the bread and the juice
we bless it and we set it apart as holy
through this prayer
and we thank you that as we receive this
we are now receiving the body
and the blood of jesus
the christ thank you father
we thank you father that we can all use
a little encouragement at times
to stay on assignment
with the beautiful things that sometimes
we take them for granted
but father we thank you for the
uniqueness that you put in every person
thank you father god we give you praise
let us be faithful to encourage others
onward we thank you we give you praise o
god thank you father
it's for all running the race
endeavoring to cross
the finish line thank you father god
let us stay focused and not be
distracted
thank you father we now receive the body
the flesh
of jesus in his name amen let's partake
god's going to connect you with some
friends that are on the same destiny
type journey
hallelujah i've got friends like that
but i'm talking to those that you're
feeling a little bit lonely
and you're looking for some other eagles
to fly with god's going to
cause there to be some wonderful things
happen where you have those divine
connections and friendships
praise the lord of course that's all in
christ
amen hallelujah
father thank you for the blood of jesus
we ask that you would
wash away all of our sins forgive us of
our sins and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness and father if
we have
sinned against anyone we ask that
there be forgiveness and father that
those people would forgive
and father we certainly forgive anybody
anyone who sinned against us
we forgive them and we forget about it
and we go on
in wisdom and in love we thank you
father god
father we pray that you lead us away
from temptation
we don't want any crazy distractions and
we pray that you deliver us from the
evil one
who had tried to pull us off track get
us looking in directions other
than the path that we're supposed to be
focused on
thank you father thank you in jesus name
amen let's receive the blood of jesus
praise the lord praise the lord let's
lift our hands father we give you praise
we thank you father god mighty creator
you know what you're doing
you know what you're doing we give you
praise
in jesus name you know i took a test one
time
after college and after college i'd uh
the test was a little bit later
i uh began working different jobs and
the years started going by
i was very very frustrated extremely
disappointed
i was 26 years old get ready for this
i was 26 years old and i had already
worked
73 different jobs
in that wild how crazy is that and i
couldn't
i couldn't figure out what god wanted me
to do and i
i just couldn't figure it out and i and
i was just like god i don't i don't know
what to do i'd work a job and
i i just think this is a crazy job this
is not working for me and
and so now i know that's kind of crazy i
know for most people that's
you know you usually slip into something
but that i'm just telling you what
happened to me
i went through 73 jobs
and some of the companies they really
wanted they really liked me they really
wanted me to stay
but i was just like the some things
about this job
it's not clicking i i don't like it i
had a job one time where
i was assigned to um
fill orders for pesticides that farmers
would use to spray
and kill certain crops and certain bugs
and
the pesticides were so dangerous and
lethal
we're extracting it one time out of a
barrel and the person said
stephen if one drop were to touch you
and i we're going straight to the
hospital and so
and the guy that was trying to train me
was a drunkard he always came to work
drunk every day
and uh so i'm just like i saw as much as
they wanted me to stay and you know
and stuff like that happen over and over
and over again so i would just leave
and one day there was a a nice young
lady she was
she had a master's degree in psychology
and her specialty was
job placement she said stephen there's a
test
i'm going to have you take a test it
will take you anywhere from six to eight
hours to complete it
but once you complete this test i will
know
exactly i will know exactly what you're
supposed to do in life
now keep in mind this is psychology
and psychiatric efforts
to do their best to unlock what is
actually in the human spirit
and it's good stuff but it's not god's
stuff
i took the test i slowly answered every
question to the very best of my ability
it took me about
maybe seven hours somewhere like six and
a half seven hours
and i finished it i turned it in she
said alright i'm gonna i'm gonna
run it through the thing i'm gonna
compare the data
and she said i'll be able to tell you
exactly what you're supposed to do in
life
i said great great great i'm finally
gonna know i'm finally going to know
and she came back like like five days
later with the results
and it wasn't good i could tell by the
look on her face it wasn't good she said
steven
she said i have never seen anything like
this before
she said according to the results
you fall into a category that is less
than the one percentile category of all
the other 99
of the people that are out there you are
in
you're not only in the one percent
you're less than the one percent
and the only the only occupation
this says that you could ever do and
will ever be good at
is to become a helicopter pilot i said
to do what
she said to be a helicopter pilot she
says that's what the test
shows i said i don't know what to think
about that she said well that's that's
it she said these tests are accurate
and the whole time the destiny
was right in front of me and i couldn't
see it the whole time
it was like on billboards everywhere
it's like people trying to tell me
everywhere
minister ministry ministry ministry i
couldn't pick it up
i couldn't pick it up neither could the
psychiatrist
i didn't know until i came into the
baptism of the holy spirit
and the holy spirit began to teach me
break things off of me and help me to
see the true destiny that god had for me
all right now watch this that was in my
mid-20s when i was in my 40s
when i was in my 40s i was reading
an article in an aviation magazine
from the world's one of the world's
greatest
helicopter pilots and this is what the
article said
as they were interviewing the pilot she
was a lady
she was a woman she said this she said
when i was in my 20s and got out of
college i didn't know what to do in life
i tried different jobs
you probably know where this is going
she said i tried different jobs i wasn't
happy with anything i couldn't find
satisfaction in anything
and she said i ended up taking a very
long extensive
psychiatric diagnostic test
that would point me in the right career
direction
and she said after i finished the test
it showed that i fell
in a very very small percentage of those
that
aren't like others you have to you have
a very
unique uh put together system of what
will work for you what it won't
and the test said that i would only be
good at one thing
and that was helicopter pilot
and she went on she said okay if that's
what it is i guess i'll do it and she
dove into it hit first
because she's a smart person and she
ended up becoming
what is considered the world's greatest
female
helicopter pilot one of the greatest in
the world actually
praise the lord but here's here's the
catcher
here you ready for this here's the
catcher when reading the article
it left the impression by some things
that she said
that she's still not sure if that's what
she's supposed to be doing
even though she's now considered the
best in the world in it
she still when you read her answers to
some of the questions you still kind of
you got to take away of like she's still
searching
she's still looking you can only find it
in the lord
and you can only find it by the
anointing of the revelation
of the holy spirit working in your life
get into the word pray in tongues
spend time get into the word and just
wait on the lord
until he speaks until
he speaks and when you get the word
you're going to know exactly what to do
whether it's
cookie maker helicopter pilot
submarine director or whatever it
doesn't matter it doesn't matter
get the word oh pastor stephen that's
not in here about submarines you'd be
shocked what holy spirit can pull out of
this book to speak to you about
it's all in this it's all in there it's
all in there
every bit of it every bit of it every
bit of your life
is there praise god the holy spirit
could unveil it in prophetic form
speak to you get ready
get ready the word is coming father
bless your people in
jesus name amen i say goodbye to you
uh not from the left seat of a
helicopter
but from behind a pulpit i look forward
to seeing you back
next time bye-bye