October 2024 Sunday Night Dennis Burke _ Victory Maysville _ LIVE

Summary: The Dr. Burke expresses his passion for knowing and experiencing God's power. He mentions his own journey of faith and their desire to grow in God. He also express admiration for the ministry of Byron and Rhea Mills in whose church he is speaking with emphasis on their walk in the Word of God without compromise. The Dennis then talks about the importance of receiving help from the Holy Spirit and how Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help believers. He emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is available to help in any situation and that having problems doesn't disqualify someone from receiving help. Message: I'm glad you're back tonight, Sunday night Christian, you, you hard-core believer. It takes a hard-core believer to show up on Sunday night. Anybody go to church Sunday morning. Devils and demons go to church Sunday morning. Not around here. But I've been just like you since I gave my life to the Lord. 1971, I was 17 years old, gave my life to Jesus, and from that first moment of understanding I belonged to Jesus, there began to be a passion on the inside of me, that hunger to know that what was real in Jesus could come alive in me in big ways. And I had, I'd come out of a drug scene and a lot of confusion, and everybody had their variety of sin that they got delivered from, that was mine. And instantly, well, I wouldn't say instantly, it grew in me in the first few weeks, there was such a passion and desire for me to come to know how things work, what God does and that He would do it in me and even do it through me. Right from the start, man, I began to have that, Vicki and I met in a few months at church, and we were immediately, just like you are here, hungry for God to do something in our lives on an ongoing basis. And if something was happening at the church we were at, or even at another church, if nothing was going on in the one we were in, there was a church down the road called Bethel, man, we would jump in there and shout praise with all the long-haired ex-stoners or some still stoners. And we just had a desire, an insatiable desire to not only know God, but know His ways and grow in God and just be touched by the power of God fresh. And so if something was happening, man, we wanted in on the action. I believe that's how you've come tonight. And as the pastor has already said, one word from God really can revolutionize anything in a person's life. One word. Now, we already heard enough word during pastors leading up to receiving an offering. Now, that was a seminar that you gave tonight. I wanted to take notes and figure out how to preach it again myself without anybody knowing where I got it. Come on, you guys. One of the things truly that I, Vic, and I both have admired about this ministry is there is an ongoing, non-compromised mindset of how to walk and minister the Word of God purely, accurately, without compromise, as I said, and just let it flow. And it flows out of this ministry every time we're around, and I'm sure every time we're not around. You've got to qualify everything, you know, make sure it comes out right. And so all that just to say I'm glad I'm back, and I'm glad you're back, too. Praise God. Vicki sends her love. She's not jealous because that would be not biblical, but she is almost jealous that I'm here and she's not. As Pastor pointed out this morning, the first time we connected to this ministry, she was here and I was not, but we've developed a friendship and relationship over these years and just have blended and understand that we have the same kind of mindset and desires and we just click. And plus, we love Kentucky. That was a little weak, I think, really, for being in Kentucky. We are in Kentucky. Is that right? A few from Ohio. We don't want to attend those from Ohio, but my daddy was born in Ohio. I don't know who's from Ohio, but God bless you for that. I've been having the Holy Spirit just drop different things in me over different ideas and messages that are meaningful, that really fit right now, and if we did everything He stirred up in me, we'd be here till my flight leaves tomorrow. Well, there was a little enthusiasm, but it wasn't near enough, and I appreciate every bit we get, so that ain't going to happen. But I want to jump into some things and just follow the stream the way the Holy Spirit unwraps it for us tonight, and let that teaching, anointing, and flow of the Spirit of God just do His thing the way He does it so well. We thank you, Holy Spirit. We've invited you. You've shown up. You are a part of everything that we are involved in right now, and I thank you for that. Use me tonight to minister with this that you've given me with clarity and accuracy. Let that flow of the anointing just take this in a stream that will be meaningful, life-changing for anybody that will take hold of it in Jesus' name. Amen. Of course, Ronald Reagan was one of our favorite Presidents. I've got two favorite Presidents now, but Ronald Reagan said something... We could just let that simmer for a minute longer, can't we? It's a good moment. Glory to God. He said something. He had such a magnificent sense of humor, and he said something in one of his speeches. He said, the nine most terrifying words in the English language, I'm from the government and I'm here to help. Terrifying. And some of us have had some of those government-helping kinds of sit-downs, and they can be terrifying. But that's not what I'm wanting to talk to you about. It's not about the government. It's not about being terrified. What I do have some direction to jump into is that word help. We read something this morning. I'm going to read it again tonight, this time just from the New King James Bible, from the Gospel of John chapter 16. And Jesus said in verse 7, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. Remember we talked about this this morning, that he prefaced what he was about to say by telling his disciples, I'm telling you the truth, which seems unnecessary for Jesus to say, particularly to these people, the disciples, or to us. But he said it because of what he was about to say, and that was this. He said, It is to your advantage that I go away. Shocking. Until you understand where this goes. He went on and he said, For if I do not go away, the helper, referring to the Holy Spirit, and the translation we looked at this morning, said the divine encourager, will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send him to you. So what we know for a fact is the Holy Spirit was in the earth already, had been from the very beginning in the book of Genesis, the Holy Spirit was a part of everything, and yet he was about to transition into an entirely new role that he had never had before. You know, Jesus transitioned into an entirely different role that he had never had before when he took on flesh, became a man. And he became a man forever, you realize that, for the rest of eternity. But he did not revert back to what he had been prior to taking on flesh. He is flesh and bone today, glorified, yes, but he is still flesh and bone. His blood has been laid on that altar, thank God, and it is still alive. That is all I needed to hear to flip my switch tonight. Glory to God. That living sacrifice is still on that mercy seat, and the Father still sees through that living sacrifice as he views your life and mine so that everything is tinted and changed by that blood sacrifice that is still alive on that altar. Glory to God. God sees us today through the tint. That may not be quite the right word to use, but it is what popped out. Through what is alive and looks into our life and on our events and sees us through the mercy seat that is covered by the blood sacrifice of Jesus. Glory to God. There is nothing you can do to turn that off. It is always on. Glory to God. And he sees you through that. Thank you, Jesus. But he said, I tell you the truth, I will send him to you, and the Holy Spirit now has come. On the day of Pentecost, as we know, while they were in that upper room, the Holy Spirit came like fire. Now some depictions of that event, we were not there to take a photo, so we have to just let our spirit receive what this may have looked like. Some artists have had a drawing of the disciples and all those that were in the upper room that they all had a little Bick Lighter flame above their head, a little Bick Lighter flame, a little matchstick flame above their head, each one. I guess that is fine for some, but somehow I have a picture of a raging fire of the Holy Spirit above all of their heads. It does not matter if it is a raging fire or a little Bick Lighter. The truth is that the fire of the Spirit of God came and not only rested on them, but flooded into them. Glory to God. I always get this moment in Jesus' life in light of what happened on the day of Pentecost. It was when Jesus was baptized in water. The Holy Spirit, the Bible says, when Jesus came up out of that water, remember the Bible says the Holy Spirit came upon him as a dove. Came upon him. We know this. We know that this is Jesus, God in the flesh. We know that he is quite familiar with the Holy Spirit and had lived and worked and walked in the Spirit throughout his life prior to this, and yet now there is a transition taking place. He is moving from one aspect of his life on earth, in the flesh, where he did no miracles, he did no teaching, though he was the Son of the living God and full of all of the source and resource necessary for any miracle to take place, he did none of this until after that moment when the Holy Spirit came upon him. It was a transitioning moment, and what is powerful too in that is that in that baptism verse where Jesus came out of the water, we have the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit all in one verse. This is a major moment in the kingdom for us to understand that what Jesus was doing was revealing what was going to be available and happen to every person that chose and made the choice, that the Holy Spirit who is among us is now within us, but he is not only within us, he is also upon us. Glory to God. And he is here to help, he is here to help any of us in any kind of trouble or situation that we face. Having a problem does not disqualify us from the Spirit of God, it actually further qualifies us for what the Spirit of God has come to do. He has come to help. Say it out loud, help! Yes, help. That's what Peter cried out when he started to sink out walking on the water. I'm going back in time now in a chronology of scriptural events, but you can go with the flow. You're a Sunday night crowd, you get it. Do you remember when he was walking on the water, with Jesus walking on the water? That's amazing, Peter was walking on the water. You know, we know Jesus walked on the water and some people have struggled with that idea, but now we've got Peter walking on the water. And it's kind of startling, after you've really meditated on it, what caused Peter problems with walking on the water. It was the wind and the waves that got his attention. And he began to sink. Now what I've experienced in my own brief life is that sinking doesn't take all that long. From the time you begin to sink until the time you are sunk is like a flash of time. But Peter began to sink and he cried out, help! Not heavy theology, but very accurate theology. He knew where to turn and who to look to and what to cry, and he didn't have a whole lot of time to work out all the details, because he's begun to sink. So no matter where we're at in our situation, whether we're beginning to sink or already sunk, we know where to turn and what to say. It doesn't have to be heavy theology. Help! The Holy Spirit's ready, because he is the helper. Glory to God. Are you glad you came for that? Yeah, I'm glad I said it, too. But the Apostle Paul gives us some light and real insight, real depth, as to how this help not only comes, but is established on the inside of a believer. And I want us to unwrap a single verse from Romans chapter 8, in verse 26, about that exact idea. In Romans chapter 8, verse 26, one of the greatest chapters in the Bible, of course any chapter in the Bible is great. But there's so much light and insight in the book of Romans, and then you get to this passage and you understand some things that it just flips your switch. So he says this, Likewise the Spirit, speaking of the Holy Spirit, also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. I want us to spend some time tonight and just unwrap a few things about that verse. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. God doesn't slam us for having weaknesses. He knows exactly how we're made. He knows exactly what we're going through. He knows what's in our head and in our heart. No mystery to Him. And He doesn't push away from us because we have weaknesses or infirmities, some translations use. And weakness or infirmities here can really refer to many different kinds of things. Physical infirmities, mental stress, trauma situations, diseases of all different types. It even in some ways has been used, that same word has been used to refer to someone who's comatose. And so it really covers a great deal of problems. But the Holy Spirit has come to help all of it. No matter what kind it is, whether it's physical, emotional, mental, even financial. He's come to help. Glory to God. Now look, I didn't say this was going to be stuff you hadn't heard before. But I just understand this, that tonight there's going to be an impartation of the Holy Spirit. And before we're out of here, the blessing is going to be commanded. And something's going to shift. But I particularly want to focus for a minute here on that word helps in this passage. It's a word that really has never been used prior to this verse in the Greek language. It was used after that. And it's really a compound word, a compound of three different words. And it's as if the Holy Spirit created a word out of three words and stuck them all into one word to give us understanding as to how help from the Holy Spirit comes. And so these three words, the first one has to do with taking hold of something, to seize or grasp, to firmly grip on something. The Holy Spirit has come to firmly grip on your weakness. Get a firm handle on your weakness. Not in order to condemn you for it, but in order to do something about it. To grab hold. To seize. But to not only seize it, but to seize it in harmony together with you. That's that second part of that word. It is to be in harmony. Or in symphony. Or to be on the same page. So He comes to take hold together with us. But this third part of this word is also so strong and really vital to understanding this. It is not only to take hold of something that is a weakness. It's not only to do it in harmony with us, which means we have to actually take hold of it and recognize it, pinpoint it, identify it. This is what's going on. We don't have to understand all the details of it, but man, I'm facing some stuff, Dennis, and it's going on right now, and I'm calling on the Holy Spirit for help. But this third aspect is to be against something vehemently. The Holy Spirit is already against, not you, but against the infirmity that is robbing your life. He's already against it, but this is important to realize. In doing this in harmony together with us, we have to be against it ourselves. Not excusing it, but turned against it. Not compromising ourselves or just kind of having a mindset, well, you know, my whole family's gone through this. Everybody in my family's been a drunk. That's why I've been a drunk. And I don't want to drink anymore, but I probably will, or whatever your deal has been. It is to be against it. So the Holy Spirit comes to help by taking hold together with us as we are against the weakness or infirmity or challenge or trauma or issue that's going on. Thank you, Jesus. Our own infirmities do not disqualify us, but actually do qualify us for this kind of help. Glory to God. So you don't have to feel isolated or on your own, or like you have to hide things. You know, there's a whole lot of shame that goes on when it comes to identifying weakness. People live with terrible shame over things they've gone through or things that have happened to them. And the Holy Spirit has come to help the whole shame situation. And you don't need to be ashamed. Not now that you're in Christ. You've been forgiven. He sees you through the lens of that mercy and that blood sacrifice. And consequently, the shame of what you have done or had happened or the trauma you've lived with, the shame of it is no longer an issue. It really, for God, has never been an issue. But Satan uses those things in our life in order to control us and prevent us from moving forward. There's people, and some have put different statistics as to how many, but we'll just say a lot of people, have suffered really serious and severe trauma in one way or another. Maybe recently, but maybe decades ago, or even as a young person, went through traumatic things that shifted something in their soul that Satan really has used to build strongholds of one type or another within a person's mind and soul. This is why Scripture tells us that we tear down strongholds. We tear down the arguments that have been within us that are contrary to God and contrary to His plan for our life and what He's provided for us. And once you begin to recognize and let the Holy Spirit help you identify a stronghold, maybe a trauma or another aspect of how Satan has built some sort of wrong thinking into your soul and into your head that has prevented you from really feeling you are worthy, maybe. Or you have the capacity to receive, or you can get freedom, or you can make progress, or you can get further and let the Holy Spirit do His work in you. The Spirit of God has come to take hold together with you against that infirmity. Say it out loud, I'm against it. And the Holy Spirit's helping. That's what He's come to do. He's come to help and take hold together with you against it. But let's go a little further in this. He said, also, He said, we do not know what to pray for as we ought or as is required. We don't really always have a clear mindset as to how we need to pray. This is why God has given us that gift of speaking in other tongues. When you don't know how to pray as you ought, and I know pastors have been doing an amazing series of messages and teachings on the Holy Spirit and the gifts of speaking in tongues and the power of it. It has been shocking and a real surprise to me how many people are full of the Holy Spirit and have spoken in tongues, but they really don't. Very seldom do they speak in tongues. Maybe if they're encouraged to over something. But when we don't know how to pray for as we ought, we can tap into this gift of the Spirit of God to pray it out in the Spirit and do it even over the smallest of things. We don't have to wait for a major event to get the wisdom of God, man. We need the wisdom of God to know where to find a parking place. And I know that's not terribly deep, and maybe in Maysville you don't go through that in a big way. But when I drive to the airport at DFW, I start praying for a parking space on the way there. That may not be the best of examples, but that's what we got. When we don't know how to pray as we ought, you tap into the anointing of God that's in you to pray by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God always knows how to pray. It goes without saying, but we say it anyway. But when we pray in the Spirit, one of the benefits of praying in the Spirit, and there's many, many, many, is that the Holy Spirit then can take what you've prayed and give you an interpretation of your own prayer, of a priority that you prayed or an issue that you prayed out. You prayed it in the Spirit and suddenly there comes some clarity in your thinking. Or suddenly you know that instead of going down this road, you need to take a detour and go down a different way. The Spirit of God gives us that kind of detailed information. Now, some have had the funny and silly idea, really, that we don't want to bother God with trivial things. We'll do our best and just really bring up the big issues. Well, you can go at it that way if you like. How's that working for you? I don't know. But, man, I'm not going to wait until the issue gets big. If you pray about some things prior to them being big, they may never get big. Is that too deep? But he goes on in this passage and he says the Spirit of God makes intercession for us. Did you see that? Now, we see ourselves as intercessors. We know in churches and people within a church scene or within the body of Christ have really an assignment, they feel, as intercessors themselves. All of us really have been called to stand in the gap, which is partly what intercession is all about. Standing in the gap for another situation, another person. But here we have the Holy Spirit is the one making intercession on our behalf. Glory to God. Isn't that amazing that we have the Spirit of the living God standing in the gap over our situation, no matter how big or how small it may seem, we have the focused attention of the Spirit of God on our personal situation. Now, you just loading up on getting Him busy with all of your things is not going to cost me. He's going to be as attentive to me as He is to you and as attentive to you as He is to me. This is an amazing thing about God. How does He do all that? I have no idea. And it's really not important to understand it. We don't understand a lot of things. But He makes intercession for us and part of what this word intercession really indicates is that if you find yourself in a ditch or if you actually got yourself in a ditch, the Holy Spirit will literally, this is what intercession partly means, He will fall into this ditch with us. He'll literally jump in, not waiting on the sidelines saying, you know, you have really got yourself in a bad way right there. If you'll get out of that ditch, I'm going to help you. That's backwards from the way God goes at it. He jumps in to help while you're in the ditch, before you start feeling better. He jumps in before you have answers or a sense of things going to turn out all right. But you know the Holy Spirit is accessible and He will fall in with us into the hole that maybe we even dug ourselves. You know, not every hole that we end up in, and I say we, I mean you, really. But I'll leave it at we, just to be friendly. I'm not sure now that I've wrecked being friendly. I'm not sure that's going to work. A lot of the holes that we find ourselves in, and this is a we situation, are holes we dug ourselves. Satan had to be notified of the mess we created so he could get some credit over it. Come on, some of you look really holy right now. Holy is a bit of a play on the word, really. You can look at that two ways. Anyway, that goes somewhere else. But intercession, the Spirit of God intercedes on our behalf and jumps in with us, not condemning us, but lifting us. There's that divine encourager stepping into our discouragement so that he can lift us up out of that hole and from there begin to instruct and encourage us to not do that again. You know what you just did when you got in that hole? Don't do that again. That's not all that deep, but man, it is really important. Glory to God. All right. And he said then that he would pray or he would speak with groanings which cannot be uttered. And that really kind of has a mental picture, the word does, that it is to vent. A venting. Kind of like a teapot on top of the stove. If anybody uses teapots anymore, it has a little vent on top and what happens when it begins to boil? It starts whistling. That's that venting. It's like things are happening in here and it has to have a release. And these groanings are about a release of the power of God to now shift the narrative of what's going on in your life and what's happening in this situation. Let me read something Isaiah said that just to me goes right with this where he said in Isaiah 40 verse 29, he said he gives power to the weak and to those who have no might, he increases strength. Verse 30, even the youth shall faint and be weary and the young men will utterly fall. So it's not just natural strength of course he's talking about, but it is divine Holy Spirit strength. But he goes on, he said those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. That word renew really includes the idea of exchange. Will exchange their strength or lack of strength. Those that wait on the Lord will exchange their strength. They'll mount up with wings like eagles, they'll run and not be weary and they shall walk and they shall not faint. Glory to God. Now listen to that same verse from the Passion Translation, that's 31st verse. Those who entwine their hearts with Yahweh. I love that terminology. Instead of wait, sometimes people just have the idea when they read wait on the Lord that they're just, what are you doing? Well, we're just waiting for God to show up. We're just waiting for God to turn this thing around. Man, I don't know what to do, but I'm waiting. Like he's not doing his job. Like he's not handling things well. And you're just having to be patient. Tie a knot in the end of your rope and hang in there, baby. That's really not what this waiting is all about. It is really, in the original Hebrew text, it is to bind together by twisting or wrapping things around. To braid together, or hence the word entwine. Those who entwine their hearts with Yahweh. You see, this is what the pressure and the problems and the infirmities come to do. It is to unwrap your heart from being wrapped up in Jesus. It is to compromise or give you reasons to doubt or feel uncertain or to fear what is not happening. Or what could happen. You know, some people are just high-level worriers, really. Worrying about things that oftentimes don't ever come close to happening. They're worried about all kinds of things. They're high-level worriers. And if they know you and you're not worrying and they love you, they're worried about you. And if they love you enough, they know a certain amount of worry needs to be in everybody's life. And you're not keeping up, so they'll worry and put in time for you. You don't have sense enough to worry, I'm worrying for you. You're right, I don't have your kind of sense, which is not common. All right, that'll take us somewhere else. I've got to watch it. But I am of the common sense crowd. Those who entwine their hearts. Man, I'm on the edge. Those who entwine their hearts with Yahweh will experience divine strength. It's how this passage reads in the Passion Translation. They will rise up on soaring wings and fly like eagles. They'll run their races without growing weary and they'll walk through life without giving up. Say it out loud, I'm not giving up. Quitting is not an option. Glory to God. No, we're not giving up. We're not quitting. We're not laying it down. We're not going to allow ourselves to be worn out. But now, keep in mind, you have to make the choice that you're not going to allow yourself to be worn out. You have to feed on the kinds of things that this is talking about. Entwining yourself, braiding yourself with the things of God. And allowing the strength of God to become your strength. You don't have to feel it to know you have it. Well, I just don't feel strong. Well, we don't... Alright, this is going to get rough. I've got to watch it. We don't care how you feel about it. Not in this. Not when it comes to strength. Oh, we care about you. Don't get your feelings hurt. We want to pat you on the back. It'll be alright. It'll be alright. But in the end, we don't care how you feel. I say we. I mean, I don't. Alright, I do. But I really don't. I mean, not when it comes to these kinds of things. So don't get it wrong. We care. We care about you. We care about your situation. We care about your suffering. But we don't care how you feel about it. I'm going to try to clean this up somehow. I'm not sure how to get there. Back to the Bible. Those who entwine their hearts with Yahweh will experience divine strength. Quitting's not the option. We'll go through life without growing weary and we'll walk through life without giving up. Glory to God. Thank you, Jesus. Now, I've got some instruction of the Spirit of God to kind of make a little bit of a shift. It really flows right with what we're talking about. But I want to read some things to you from the Song of Solomon using, again, the Passion Translation. God really took me to this a number of months ago and spoke some things directly to me and I think there's going to be things that He's going to speak directly to you through this. But in light of these things we've been talking about and the times that we're in, He says this in Song of Solomon chapter 2, beginning in verse 11 in the Passion Translation. It says, The season has changed. I want you to let that just soak in. The season has changed. Don't you feel that? Don't you realize? I mean, I know you do, but don't you realize? That we're in a season of change. But He goes on and He says this. The season has changed. The bondage of your barren winter has ended. Say it out loud. The bondage has ended. The season of hiding is over and gone. The rains have soaked the earth and that really, to me, is a reference of the Holy Spirit. He has soaked the earth. There's no mystery about that. And left it bright with blossoming flowers. The season for singing and pruning the vines has arrived. I hear the cooing of doves in our land, filling the air with songs to awaken you and guide you forth. Are you getting this? Then He says this in verse 13. He said, Do you not discern this new day of destiny breaking forth around you? Say it out loud. It's around me. My day of destiny is breaking forth. I love this terminology, man. There's so much depth inside of these words. We understand that we all have a destiny. And really that word destiny is compatible with the word destination. We all have a destination that God has already designed for our life. He has pre-designed a path for you to take and for you to walk. But now listen close. Thank you, Lord. He just put something else together for me. He's designed this path, your destiny, that is breaking forth around you, a destination in mind. God has divine destinations for every single one of us. You're not without a plan. And God has a plan. If you don't know it, you can. You can discover it. Saber Dennis, I feel like I have messed up any plan that God has had for me. I had a plan. I felt like God had me walking in a direction and then things went south for me and something happened, a divorce, a bankruptcy, a strife, a bitterness, trauma, whatever, rose up and it's like I'm damaged goods. It's like life is not what I envisioned it would become. The path for me is just to endure and hang in there and go to heaven. Some people find themselves in that sort of thing. They won't articulate it just that way, but that's how they're living their life. But God does have a plan and when you mess it up, that doesn't end things. We all have GPS now. You carry it around in your phone. It's amazing. When I first got introduced to GPS, a friend of mine, well, I had an airplane and we had GPS in the airplane, but for a car, when cars were not equipped with GPS, my friend bought a brand new Mercedes and it was one of the early models to have GPS in it and he wanted to show off and he brought his cool Mercedes over to me one time and he said, Dennis, let's go for a ride. Why don't you drive? Well, it was high horsepower. He said, you want to drive it? I said, is the Pope a Catholic? Of course I want to drive. But he started to describe the GPS, the way it worked in the car. Now, look, we're all familiar with this. I don't need to go through it, but just for a moment here, just bear with me. He said, Dennis, he said, if I want to drive from where we are right now to, say, your house, I just enter your address into the GPS software that's in the car and in a moment's time, a whole map will come up. We're all familiar with this. The map comes up and it will have every turn I need to take, every road that I need to drive on and it will take me down the road, no matter how far it is, whether it's 10 miles or 1,000 miles, it has everything mapped out and it'll take me directly to your house. And he said, but here's a feature that's amazing. He said, if I miss a turn, if I drive past the road I'm supposed to be turning on according to the plan that GPS has come up with, he said, a very pleasant female voice comes on and talks to me. You need to make a legal U-turn. This is what this voice, this pleasant female voice, I don't know something about it when he started down that road, a pleasant female voice telling him how to drive, I said to myself, I said, I don't need to pay extra for that. I've been getting that for free for a long time. I should say more, but I think that's all I'm going to say about that. He said, if I continue without turning around a second time, that voice will come on. Hey, idiot, I told you to turn around. No, it doesn't say that. Same thing. Make a legal U-turn and get back to whatever road it was and tell them how to get back on track. He said, if I missed two turns, he said, the screen goes blank and the word recalculating comes up and suddenly there's a plan not to get back on the road that he was initially on or supposed to be on, but now there is a brand new plan. This is how the kingdom of God functions. God has plan A. When you mess up plan A, you know what happens. He recalculates and comes up with plan A. There is no plan B. It's a perfect plan from where you are now. I'm not trying to correct everything that you have messed up. Some things you're just never going to be able to correct and get back. But that doesn't mean that God has done away with plans for you. He has plan A and the destination remains the same. To walk in the image of Jesus and see the provision of God and the finished work of Jesus come alive in you in the greatest ways possible. Nothing has changed to the destination. Glory to God. It remains the same. That's big. That's huge. So again, he says, can you not discern this new day of destiny breaking forth around you? He goes on and he says, the early signs of my purpose and plans are bursting forth. The budding vines of new life are now blooming everywhere. The fragrance of their flowers whisper, there is change in the air. Say that out loud. There is change in the air. That's true for every single one of us. That's true for this nation. But that's true for you on a personal level. I believe that's also true for this church and this ministry. There's change in the air. Good change. Now he's not talking about an attack coming. He's talking about the attention of the Holy Spirit, the help of the Holy Spirit bringing change that's in the air. Glory to God. We know that there are things churning. We may not have and don't have all the details all ironed out. We don't have to have all the details ironed out. You know when you drive your car at night, you don't see the whole road. You believe it's out there. How many of you believe it's out there? Let's just get back to basics here. Headlights being on help you see that there is road out there. So that's important to have your lights on. This is back to the basics. But you don't see it all the way down the road. You just believe it's there and that it's taking you to the destination that you have in mind. And as you go, you see more. As you go, you see. As you stay parked, you see but you don't see more. You see what you've been seeing. But as you start moving forward, this is so basic, but this is kingdom thinking really. The more you begin to see where this road will shift or turn or curve, and you're able to go right along with it without interruption. Quitting is not an option. We're staying with it because we're seeing all we need to see. We don't see everything, but we see enough. Faith has eyes that see. Glory to God. So then he goes on here in verse 13. He said, Arise my love, my beautiful companion, and run with me to the higher place. For now is the time to arise and come away with me. Glory to God. Now drop down to verse 15 and watch this. He said, You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship. I want you to catch that. That hinder our relationship. For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I have planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them from me? How would you answer that question? Yes, we'll do it. And then he adds this. He doesn't leave you on your own to work it out. He said, We'll do it together. Glory to God. There's the help of the Holy Spirit. But he said, Catch the troubling foxes that are ruining what I have planted within you. Isn't that powerful? We have deliverance planted in us. We have now an anointing planted with us that can be interrupted by our tolerance of things that we need not tolerate. By our fear, anxieties, worries, keeping our attention rather than us allowing the work and help of the Holy Spirit to flood our soul with real solutions and real answers with the light that we can see far enough down the road to keep going forward. Is this making sense to you? I've asked the Holy Spirit to take these ideas and give you individually some clarity as to how this really applies to where you are at in your life right now. It's not enough to have information. We need an impartation of the Spirit of God. And that's what I believe this is all about tonight. An imparting of clarity, of help, of seeing how it really works for us to entwine our heart together with Him. And part of it is in this verse 15 that we read to catch the troubling foxes that He helps us see are having an impact. What is it that is ruining your confidence? What is it that is stealing from you? Robbing you of the joy of your walk with God? What's going on? You say, well, I don't know, but I've lost my joy. Well, that's where you start. Lord, I'm joining myself together with You for clarity as to why this joy has been stolen from me. I'm calling on You to help me discover these troubling foxes in my own life and in my own soul. He's here to help. If you have been sinking or are already sunk, it happens to even Sunday night people. God doesn't slam you. There's no condemnation, man. Not in Christ. But He's come to join in with you and let you know that you're not on your own. We'll do this together. Glory to God. Isn't that rich? That is so powerful. Let me read a footnote to that verse 15 of the foxes from the Passion Translation. It says here, these foxes are the compromises that are hidden deep in our hearts. These are areas of our lives where we have not yet allowed the victory of Christ to shine. The foxes keep the fruit of His Spirit from growing within us. He said, will you catch these troubling foxes? Will you do it for Me? We'll do it together. And He's really calling out to us, isn't He? He's reaching out. And you can just sense that longing that He has for your life to get past the troubling foxes that have been interrupting and ruining what He really has designed to bring to pass in your life. So the Lord has given me a further instruction about tonight that I am to take a few minutes and command the blessing upon you. I've only done this a couple of times ever, but I really had this from the Lord about this service. But let me preface it with this. I started talking about Jesus being baptized in water, but what I didn't mention, which we know is in that same scenario when He came out of the water, the Holy Spirit came upon Him as a dove, and then the voice of the Father came billowing out of heaven saying, You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The Father blessed Jesus. How? With His words. Jesus knew He was the Son. That wasn't a mystery to the Lord. The Father wasn't clarifying something that Jesus was fuzzy over. But something happens when words are spoken. Something happens when words are spoken to us that go off in us, and something also happens when we speak words ourselves. You realize there is a part of your brain that carries memories, the RAS, and reticular part of your brain, reticular activating system of your brain that science has discovered. It was first really talked about in 1949. A lot of research has been done about this. And it's fascinating to study and to understand if it doesn't get too new agey for some people. But what I want to point out is that your brain responds only or mostly, primarily, to your own voice. The words you speak. Things you say that can rewire your habits and your priorities. Literally rewire your brain. You literally, as I've said before, you talk yourself into a new place with the words of your own mouth. Not just your thoughts. Not just what you believe. 2 Corinthians 4.13 is clear about this. We believe, Scripture says, and therefore we speak. Paul said because of that we also believe in faith and speak in faith. It's not only believing right. Obviously, believing right is vital. But believing and thinking thoughts is not the total picture. It is also what is said to us and what we say ourselves that rewires and really sets things in motion. Ultimately, we are blessed by the Lord. But it's when we speak what He has declared that really things start to shift in a big way in our life. But now I want to take the time and to do this, I'm going to ask you, I didn't think I'd do it this way, but I'm going to ask you to stand with me if you would. Because I believe something's being imparted that you're going to be able to embrace and ultimately begin to speak things in harmony with His blessing that I'm declaring over you in the name of Jesus. Now, I know this church is recording what we're doing. If you want to hear this again, there's a way I'm sure you can access that. But I want to take the time to do this and I want you to receive this. Say it out loud, I'm open. And I'm a receiver. I take it. And I receive blessing in Jesus' name. So I declare in Jesus' name that you are blessed. I declare that you are blessed with wisdom, that you have clear direction, that you make good choices in life. I declare that you can hear the voice of God clearly and that your spiritual ears are open and sensitive to His voice. That you know the right decisions to make every time. I declare that you will make those choices that move you toward God and your God-given destiny. I declare that you are excellent and a leader in your field. I declare that you are blessed with courage, with confidence, with boldness, and that fear, intimidation, and insecurity will not hold you back. I declare that you will step into new opportunities and projects, new levels, and know that you are well-able and equipped and empowered and anointed. I declare that you've been blessed with a strong will, with self-control, with self-discipline, and that wrong desires will not control you. I declare that you walk in obedience, honoring God, and putting an end to compromise, bad habits, and things that will pull you down. I declare that you will walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. In the power of the Most High, He will strengthen you, helping you to obey. I declare that you are blessed with great relationships, a great family, that your children and grandchildren are surrounded with divine influence, and that favor surrounds you and surrounds them like a shield. I declare that great joy is in your home, and that your children are happy, and that they will stay close to you. And if they are distant from you, that they will return in the name of Jesus. I declare that love and peace fill the atmosphere of your home. And I declare that the power of strife, discord, divisions, hurtful words, petty arguments, and disrespect are all broken in Jesus' name. God is releasing you and your house into unity. I declare long, happy, healthy relationships into your life. And I declare that you are blessed with good health, with strength, vitality, and with energy, and that your youth is being renewed like the eagles, that you will run and not be weary, and you will walk and you will not faint. I declare that no sickness can stay in your body. All disease, inflammation, and viruses leave you now. That your body is strong. Your bones, your joints, ligaments, and organs are all healed and filled with the life substance of Jesus. I declare that your blood, your mind, and memory all function properly, fully and wholly, completely the way God created them to in the beginning. I declare that you will live a long life and fulfill the number of your days. That even in old age, just like Moses, your eyes will not be dimmed and your strength will not be abated. I declare that you are blessed with abundance, with success, and with promotion. That whatever you put your hands to will prosper and you will lend and not borrow. You are above and not beneath. I declare that because you honor God, that you live under an open heaven, and that you will see supernatural provision, increase, favor, and blessing chasing you down. I declare that resources, contracts, opportunities, the right people come to you. And I declare that your cup is running over. That this is a prosperous, favor-filled time for you and your children. I declare that you are blessed with divine protection. That the angels of God are watching over you and your family. That you live under the shadow of the Most High. The forces of darkness will not harm you. Destruction and calamity cannot come near you. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but God has a hedge of protection that surrounds you. I declare that you live in safety and protection under the shadow of the Almighty. I declare that every negative word, every curse right now has been broken. This blessing overrides the curse. The past disappointments, the hurts, the mistakes in your life are powerless. This is a new day. God is releasing you into new levels of freedom, wholeness, favor, promotion, and purpose. I declare that you will become all that you were created to be. And you will go further than you previously believed. That you will fulfill all that you've imagined and that you'll finish your course with joy. I declare that you are blessed. Do you receive this? Say it out loud. I do receive. Every bit of blessing in every resource of heaven in my life. In Jesus' name. Hallelujah! Now give a shout to the Lord! Glory to God! I understand that with the length and a number of things that we just did, this is not something that's just going to be in your memory only. This is something imparted by the Spirit of God that God can use and bring up at any point in time in your life. Now if you go through this audio and you remind yourself of these things, that can help reinforce things no question about it. But I want you to understand that what has been commanded over you and into you is alive. It is alive from now on and you said you received it. Say it again. I do receive it. It's mine. I'm blessed. In Jesus' name. Amen! You receive that tonight? Come on, shout a praise to the Lord! The help of the Holy Spirit has come to take hold together with you against weakness and infirmity of any type. He's come as an intercessor falling in with you over issues and things that have gone on. It is a new season. Season of blessing. Glory to God. And the blessing has been commanded. And you've received it in Jesus' name. That's a full night right there. Glory to Jesus. So I bless you. I bless this church. I thank you for being a part of it and being a Sunday night Christian. Pastor, thank you for inviting me back and not just my wife. I love you guys. God bless you. Thank you, sir. Amen.