Stephanie Ike - Abide (01/19/2026)
The preacher shared how her sudden wisdom tooth pain reminded her that temporary fixes like painkillers aren’t enough—true freedom comes from the permanent solution of abiding in Christ. Drawing from John 15 and other scriptures like 2 Corinthians 10, she urged the congregation to move from reactive faith to consistent intimacy with God, where His revealed truth pulls down strongholds and sets us free. The key takeaway is that many struggles, even lust or addictions, stem from lacking deep intimacy with God, and recommitting to abide in Him wholeheartedly brings deliverance, boldness, and true peace.
A Personal Story: The Wisdom Tooth
So you know, PT has been on this Warfare Journey. On Saturday, I love it because it is war, and it’s so interesting. There’s something God has been speaking to me about in regards to today, in regards to everyone who was drawn to this house. Some people, you came in here today, and it was not your plan to be here—if you’re honest—but God drew you here because there’s this particular word. And I want to go into that, but first I will share a story.
So this is a story that happened today. I didn’t, you know, plan to share it because I didn’t know it was going to happen. All of a sudden, like, I’ve never had—like, I haven’t had tooth pain in a long time, and today my teeth were just aching, like, oh my gosh. And I’m like, what’s going on? So on the way to church, I find out that my wisdom tooth is bleeding 'cause it was just like this crazy pain. I said, the devil is a liar. I’m going to speak this word. And so, you know, what came to my mind is that, okay, get painkillers, right? You need something. Even I was talking to one of my closest friends; she’s like, Stephanie, you need to pop in a painkiller or something because you need to speak. And so in my mind, I’m—I don’t really take medication. I mean, that’s not, you know, that’s not fair, but I’m just—let me not qualify that. I just personally don’t take, you know, you know, I try to eat healthy and stuff like that. But so I was like, painkillers? I’m like, okay, you know, let me think about that. But the moment that thought came, it hit me—the connection between what was happening to me and the word.
You see, I was supposed to take out my wisdom tooth a long time ago. Actually, I was supposed to take it out in college, and I just kept like, okay, take it out later. So I have it scheduled anyway to take it out 'cause I’m like, let me just get it out of the way. But this, you know, my having that particular tooth be the one bleeding—and I wanted—I said, okay, if I take painkillers, it’s a temporary solution, right? Taking the wisdom tooth out is the permanent solution. And so it connected to me about where we stand, what it truly means to be a Christian, right? There is a proactive choice, and there’s the reactive choice.
Reactive vs. Proactive Faith
A lot of times, our walk with God is very reactive. When we feel frustrated, when we find ourselves doing things that we don’t want, you know, we start resenting, or, you know, when something—there’s a storm in our lives, and we start running to God. All of a sudden, our disposition changes, right? Sometimes we’re triggered to fast because we’re scared, right? God, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to pay rent. Let me go into fasting. But these are very reactive ways of living. And what I’ve learned about God is that when we truly live in God, the storm doesn’t shake you because His word is in you about what the storm represents. You see, the only thing that shakes us as Christians is based on how we perceive what is in front of us. But when the truth is in you, you’re not moved by, you know, circumstances that are passing.
The Call to Abide
And so what the Lord kept speaking to me is this word: abide. The Bible talks about, «Abide in me, and I in you.» You know, Jesus—and there’s a scripture I want to actually bring up. Let’s pull up the scripture in John 15, actually—not John 8, sorry—John 15. Because the place of abiding, family—I’m going to go into some, you know, personal matters and some things that are going to be like, she said what now? —but what He showed me about today, before I even go into that, is that many of us here are struggling with certain addictions, certain what we perceive as lust, what we perceive as things that we do that we—whatever it is that you do that you end up repenting, whatever it is that you do that you’re like, God, why am I doing this? Why don’t I have self-control over this area, right? And this is a place—there’s a solution. And for many of you, you’ve been praying for deliverance. There’s some people—I’m specifically talking about—you’ve been praying for deliverance to the point that you’re like, God, why won’t You take this away from me? And God is saying that He’s not a wicked God to not answer your prayer for deliverance or anything like that, but there’s something that you’re not perceiving properly.
You see, the word says—then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, «If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.» There is a freedom when we walk in truth. There is a freedom when we abide in God. To abide in God is a place of consistency because the word «abide» means to continue in God. You see, a lot of times our walk is summed up by the services we go to, the books that we read, and the sermons we listen to. But the true walk with God is a life that lives in God, that God is your home.
You see, I love that song when it says my one desire—David talked about how his one desire is to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. And we are here—we have the ability where Jesus is saying that, let me make your house My home—that we can live in God and make Him our home. Family, one question I want to ask, and I want everyone to think about this: Do you talk about God more than you talk to God? Are you talking to your friends a lot about Jesus more than you personally are talking to Him? What is your personal time with Him? Where have you—where is the priority that you have set with Him in your life?
Many feel that as though sometimes it’s hard for them to discern the voice of God. But the question is, do you study your word? Do you study the character of God to know when He’s speaking to you? You can say, well, that is something that would be of God, and that doesn’t sound like it’s from God. You see, what God was speaking to me about is for us to come back to the place where we are spending time with Him—not because we have to preach a word, not because we have a small group, not because we have a ministry meeting, not because we have a daily devotional to write—but that we are spending time with Him because truly we say, God, I live in You. I desire to know You. I desire that every day of my life I want to know more of who You are in me, more of who I am in You. God is calling us, family, to abide. God is calling us back to the place where all of our heart is His.
The scripture talks about that: «If you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me.» You see, I always wondered when God is like, seek Me with all your heart, and it’s like, God, I can’t really control my heart. You know, what does that mean, you know, to seek You with all your heart? And what I’ve learned, family, is that seeking God with all our heart is that anything that is occupying space, anything that is unlike God, unlike the character of God—whether it’s bitterness, whether it’s anger—choosing to let these things go, but feeding what makes us whole. Because to seek God with all your heart is a decision where I choose to feed the things that are God. I choose to—because a lot of times the struggles that we have is because we have fed that area too much. And so whatever you feed grows. If you feed bitterness, it will grow. If you feed an addiction, it will grow. It will consume you. And so it becomes a struggle where it’s like, okay, God, I really need You, but this thing has a stronghold on me. But God is saying, then start feeding your relationship with Me. Start feeding the place of intimacy with Me.
Weapons of Warfare: Pulling Down Strongholds
I want us to go into a scripture because, you know, we’re going to kind of, you know, balance this out. It’s in 2 Corinthians—yeah, 2 Corinthians 10. And this is where the Apostle Paul is talking about, you know, this is kind of like warfare. So he says, «For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal"—so the weapons of warfare, they are not of physical origin, right? —"but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.»
So actually, let’s go back to «mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.» So when we talk about strongholds—I’m going to pile everything up—when we talk about strongholds, we’re talking about an idea, a false idea that you have perceived to be true based on your experiences in life, based on the feelings that those experiences produced specifically. And, you know, God spoke to me about this: how our generation is so consumed by lust—very specific; it was very specific about that. And what it brought me back to is because when we talk about lust, when we talk about, you know, even pornography, for example, we end up kind of like saying that, oh, I struggle with this thing, right? It becomes a way we define ourselves because of experiences and how the feelings that were produced from those experiences. So it becomes this concept of, I’m struggling with this. And I’m using this as an example to symbolize something.
The Woman at the Well: Seeking Intimacy
And God showed me—for anyone in this house that is struggling with whether it’s lust or pornography—there was something so interesting that God showed me. There’s a story, and I would charge you to read this: it’s in John 4, and it’s about when Jesus encounters a woman by the well. It’s a Samaritan woman. And so Jesus is by the well. Now, everything God does is very strategic. Everything He does is never—He’s always on time with when He approaches somebody. There’s something particular about that moment and that time. So Jesus is by the well in Samaria, or, you know, a woman is there. And this woman—Jesus tells the woman, «Give Me some, you know, some water.» And the woman is like, you know, why is a Jew—why is a Jew talking to a Samaritan? So that’s a whole different, you know, message.
So it ends up being that Jesus is telling her that I have a water that if you drink it, you will thirst no more. Then the Samaritan woman says, you know, give me this water because, you know, I’m tired of coming to this well. Listen—but now it’s so interesting, right? Because then what Jesus replies to her—He says, «Go and call your husband.» And then she tells Him, you know, I don’t have a husband. Jesus says, yes, you’ve had five husbands, and the one you’re with is not even your husband.
But now the question is—so the woman talks about how, you know, I perceive that You are a prophet. But I wondered—I said, okay, Lord, You could have used anything to show Your prophetic abilities. Why that? Why did You—You could have told her what happened when she was five, anything. Why would You use the fact that she’s had five husbands and she’s hooking up with somebody that is not even her man?
You see, I love how Jesus communicates. The woman is telling Him, give me a water so I will quench my natural thirst. Jesus responds to her about what she’s been using to quench her spiritual thirst. He talks about—she’s been seeking God. If, when you read this passage, she talks about, I know the Messiah is coming. There was a desire that she had to know who this Jesus is when He comes, not realizing she was talking to Him. But she had been with all these men because there was something she was seeking for that she could not find. And she was seeking for that in every man that she was marrying, divorcing, marrying, divorcing—because they could not feed that part in her.
Family, sometimes what you conceive as a lust issue is actually an intimacy issue. It’s not always what it looks like. You think it’s a lust issue, but really it’s—you, there’s a desire in you to want intimacy. And true intimacy first starts with God. Because lust—when you, whenever you look at something—one thing God taught me, He says, don’t just look at the big picture of a thing; bring it down to its root. When you look at lust, the very root of it is sexual. Now, the purpose of God-ordained, you know, certain sexual activities, right—but the purpose of that, outside of childbearing, was for connection, was for intimacy.
When Jesus talks about—even there’s a passage in scripture when He says, you know, «Get away from me; I never knew you"—that word He uses to say «I never knew you, » as it actually—when you, you know, kind of look at the meaning behind that—it’s a knowing of the same way as sexual intercourse. There’s an intimacy level that you’re seeking, and you’re looking for that now in people, in pornography, in all kinds of things.
It was funny—I was researching something, and I found that the day that people watch the most pornography is on Sunday. And why I found that to be interesting is because Sunday is the day—whether you’re atheist or, you know, Christian or whatever religion you serve—is a day that is known for connecting with a Creator. You know, everyone wants to call it something else—we, you know, obviously we know it’s Jesus—but it’s a day for connecting with your Maker. And so, in the absence of not having that true intimacy, people are running to pornography.
Family, I don’t know what it is—you know, whatever it looks like, your struggle is, whatever strongholds, whatever ideas you perceive to be true about you because of how you feel in certain experiences—there is a truth in these things that will set you free. There is a truth in abiding in God that will give you the freedom, the deliverance that you’re looking for.
Casting Down Arguments and Thoughts
Let’s go to the next verse, and it says, «casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge"—let’s keep it here—"against the knowledge of God, bringing"—oh, that’s the last one—"bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.»
This is so powerful because, first of all, it says casting down arguments. There are things that are arguing with you out of your own destiny. There are things that are saying that you are what God says you’re not. Every high thing that exalts itself—you know, the scripture talks about how the same Paul, in the book of Ephesians, he talks about how there are spiritual wickedness in high places—warfare, demonic entities that are seeking to put labels on you that are not your truth.
And then it tells us—because in the previous passage it talks about how our weapons of warfare are not carnal but mighty in God. When I looked at the actual translation of that, it almost—it’s almost as though it says they are mighty because it is God. And what is God? His word.
So now we are in this verse, and it says casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. There’s something Paul said that I love so much, and this is in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 2. And Paul talks about how the only thing—this is my own version—the only thing that he concerns himself with is to know Christ and Christ crucified. And that is what these two things are telling us.
Because the knowledge of God, family—now the scripture talks about, I believe this is in—if you’re taking notes—this is in Proverbs 9:10—it talks about that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. The knowledge of God is not just about what you know about—it’s not what you, you know, you know about God through reading or through just, you know, like that kind of knowledge. This is an understanding of who God is. This is when there are certain truths that become revealed to you.
You see, some of the most powerful things in the Bible are actually the simplest truths: I am a child of God. God is for me. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. You know, the same Spirit that raised Jesus up from the dead lives in me. But why we don’t often walk in the power of this truth is because that word hasn’t been revealed to us—that we are not walking in the true understanding of what that word is.
The knowledge of God is something that in the scripture it talks аbout: grow in the knowledge of God. And when it says grow in the knowledge of God, it is this place of consistency. It is a place of faithfulness—when, because of your reverence for God, God begins to reveal His word to you. It is a place where you’re not shaken by things because God has—because it’s one thing to know, it’s one thing to be aware of something; it’s another to truly know what that means to you.
Revealed Truth in the Secret Place
And in this place of abiding in God, abiding in His word, there are truths that become revealed to us—the knowledge of God: who God is to you, not just who you say God is, but really understanding that, no, this is Jehovah.
I remember when I started preaching, I would always—there’s this song I would sing right before service, in my head or low tone. And the lyrics of the song would say, «Stand by me, God. No, hold my hand, Lord. Stand by me. Oh Lord, stand by me.» And I will sing that song because I’m like, Jesus, I can’t do this without You. You need to hold my hand. Don’t leave me, Lord. And I was singing that song from a place of lacking confidence in who God is to me. And I was singing, I’m like, okay, Jesus, you know, come on, come on, stand by me, stand by me, hey, hey, oh Jesus.
And it came to a point where God revealed to me a very simple truth: that, Stephanie, I am with you. But it was a revealing in the place—in the secret place with Him—that when you speak, I am with you. So now the fear of speaking—I mean, there, you know, times you have a little anxieties and things like that—but I’m not even worried about how I said what I said because I know the power of God is backing it up. And so no matter if it’s not—I could even cough right now—the power, the way it would hit you, is the way God intended for it to hit you because His power is backing it up.
So it’s a place of confidence in God—that God, it doesn’t matter the platform You put me on. When I grab this microphone, power is coming out, right? But that is a place that is in a place where it was revealed to me what it means for God to be with me.
It is something that we’ve always—we talk about, oh, God will never leave you or forsake you. I’ve said that to so many people. Yet I would be like, Jesus, oh Jesus, don’t leave me, Lord, don’t leave me. But yet I will be the one preaching the same thing. But in the secret place, family, God is saying, I can reveal—You see, the scripture talks about the secret things of the Lord are with those who fear Him. And that fear is a reverence for Him. It is a way you respect God’s word. You respect what He has to say. You respect how He views things. You respect His person in your life. And to those, He reveals His covenant.
Now, the covenant of the Lord is not—it’s something that you know—even when we look at the words to Abraham—this is something that it’s in the Bible, but it’s not revealed to everyone. Isn’t that so interesting? Even the scripture talks about how you can read the word, but the word is actually masked. So you can read it without understanding it. You can read it without the word becoming you.
You see, when I was talking about painkillers earlier—is our time with God, is it serving as a painkiller, or is it serving as a place that we truly abide and we truly live? What is—how are we viewing the Father that we call upon? What is really our opinion about Him? Are we feeding that space?
You see, what God showed me today—it was really just a call back to your first love. It was a call back to the place where He is the priority of your life. He is the one thing that you truly desire. I’m not talking about religious practice of, oh, I read my Bible today. No—when you sit with the word, stay until it becomes real to you. When you’re seeking the face of God, be intentional about what is occupying space in my heart that is not God. Don’t assume, and don’t make up your own ideas about things that fit you when it’s not God that is speaking that to you. Open every area of your life to Him.
Understanding God’s Ways in Warfare
It’s so interesting because this passage—why I brought up this passage—because when we don’t understand the ways of God, we don’t know how to differentiate, and we don’t know how to fight properly. And that’s why we’re so vulnerable to ideas and thoughts of the enemy—because we haven’t understood what our weapon truly is. When the word is in you, that is your biggest weapon. Because when the word is in you, your faith matures.
You see, when Jesus talked about, you will say to this mountain, move, and it will be moved—and He was referring to faith—there is a place in God when the word lives in you. Rather than running away from the storm, rather than crying because there’s a storm, rather than being frustrated because there’s a storm—and yes, everybody has their moments of frustration—I’m talking about dwelling in frustration because of the storm. Rather than doing that, you would have the power to look at that storm and say, be still. That is where the peace of God is evident in your life.
When you find yourself—when it’s very easy for you to waver, when it’s very easy for you to lose your patience, when it’s very easy for you to question God—those are things you have to check yourself: Am I truly spending time with God? Why is it so easy for me to question His love for me, His trust in me, or my trust for Him?
You see, I love it—on Sunday, there was a scripture that PT talked about, and it says that, «For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.» And when I was thinking about this word, that passage came up to me. And I thought about, what is the connection between fear and a sound mind? Because ultimately this word is talking about our mental capacity, right? Our ability to say no to this and yes to that. Our ability to choose properly. And so I wondered, what is the connection? Because the spirit of fear is about a spirit of timidity, right? And timidity ultimately is a lack of courage, a lack of confidence. And so why does that—where does that connection come from?
You see, family, when your confidence in God is—it is kind of like, you know, you’re so vulnerable to anything that the enemy tries to put in your mind. When you’re not confident in who God is to you, then when a situation makes you look like you’re the victim, then you claim it. When a situation makes you look like you’re—you know, you’re on the other side of, there’s no hope for you, there is no light at the end of this tunnel, there’s no way you’re going to make it—you claim it because you’ve embraced this place of lack of confidence in the God that you serve.
And that confidence does not come just because, you know, we come in here and we clap and we shout. That confidence comes in a secret place with God—when you get to know God in ways that it’s just like, oh my gosh, like, how—where was I? Where have I been all this time?
A Side Story: David and Keilah
There was a scripture I was reading, and when God opened that scripture up to me, I was like, oh my gosh. Side note—it’s been told that I speak like I’m having a conversation, and it’s true because I’ll be going in different places. But I was reading this scripture about David—and this has nothing to do with this word, but actually it does because this is about—it is about the secret place, right? This is my secret place.
So I was reading this scripture about David, and, you know, David is on the run from Saul. And I’m just reading this, you know, in my personal time with God. And he goes to this town—and the town, it sounds like the town was called like Keilah or something like that. I’m not, you know, Hebrew and all that stuff, you know—bless y’all. So it’s in the Bible.
So there was this town he goes to. And I mean, the Philistines—before he went there, the Philistines were attacking this town. And David is like, oh my gosh, like, the Philistines are attacking this town. And he asks the Lord, and he’s like, God, should we go and, you know, fight the Philistines? And God says, yes, go and save the people. So David is talking about attacking the Philistines. God says, save the people. His—David’s people are scared. They’re like, what should we do? You know, the Philistines may kill us. God says, go and save the people—that, you know, they would win the battle.
David and his men—they put their life on the line to go save some—the people of the city, the Israelites. After he’s done this, David feels like that is a place where he could find refuge. He just saved them from being killed. Saul finds out—this is when Saul was looking for David to kill him. Saul finds out where David is. Saul is on the way. David figures out that Saul is coming. And David asks the Lord—he says, will the people deliver me to Saul? And God says, yes, they will.
I said, ain’t this a hoot? He just saved the people, and now they’re going to betray him. And God, You led him to do that. But you see, what that spoke to me was that sometimes—and that gave me so much peace about things, about situations—when God will call you to someone that will turn their back against you. And it’s not for you to have hate. It’s not for you to have anger. It’s for you to know that I had something that God needed me to give you, and there is nothing you needed to give me in return.
And so—but you see, family, that understanding does not come from the world. That—because in the world, wait, I just did this for you, and you did what now? Actually, that understanding—in a lot of circles, even amongst Christians—it will be, oh hell no. It’s just—you know, you cut them off. I mean, he was already cut off, but hey, shoot. But in that understanding—if they needed his help again, even amongst friends that are Christians, they’ll say, oh no, oh no, that person—you see what they did to you. Be wise, okay. The Bible says be wise. Be wise to—you know, you need some wisdom.
But guess what? God—the very same God that told him they would betray you—it’s the very same God that led him to do that. And so when I encounter situations like that, it doesn’t move me anymore because I’m like, it’s all good. It was never about what you needed to give me.
Family, what is it—my question is, what is it that is occupying space? What is it that you haven’t come to God to truly understand? Let’s stop coming—let’s stop only seeking the face of God when high frustration hits. No—because it’s—there’s a scripture that talks about—I don’t know if it’s actually—disclaimer, I’ve heard this so much, you know how there are things you hear, you don’t know if it’s the Bible or if people just said it, but it sounds like the Bible. But this—I’m not really sure, honestly. But it talks about, you know, don’t forget in the dark what you heard in the light, right?
And so ultimately, in the light, you should be studying. In the light, you should be drawing close to God. In the light—it’s not when things are bad that you start seeking the face of God. When things are good—and so when the dark times come, when the storms come rolling in, you’re like, nah, no, no. I remember. I know who my God is.
Bringing Thoughts into Captivity
You see, the passage then says, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. What is the obedience of Christ? We see that in the—literally, it’s the obedience of Christ, right? What Christ did in obedience, which is ultimately giving His life for us—what the cross symbolizes. When we come into the understanding of Jesus took captivity captive on the cross—and that’s why it says bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ—because any thought that tells you that you are who God says you’re not, He died for that. And so it’s not even a place of struggle. It’s that, God, give me the right perception about this thing because You already died for it. And so I cannot be alive and struggling with something You died for.
Paul says—Paul talks about, even in the very same—in Ephesians chapter 6, when he’s talking about the same kind of like the same concept—and he starts talking about the armor of God. He talks about the helmet of salvation. So spiritually, the helmet of salvation is what protects the mind. But salvation is what—your salvation, your coming to God—is what gave you access to what the cross represents. And so when he says that we are protecting our mind through our salvation—God died for what you think is a struggle. So something is wrong with how we view that.
Today, what I’m so happy about is that there is a grace in this house for certain things—whatever it is that is not God—to be laid down. You see, why God is so adamant about, about worship me with your whole heart—it’s not a place of, you know, just give me everything, you know, type of thing. In the spiritual realm, there’s no emptiness. God—everything God creates has purpose, right? Now, if the heavens and the earth were created by Him, there’s no—everything serves a purpose.
When God is not filling a place in your life, something else is filling that space. It’s not that, okay, I’m not doing all of this—it’s not because I don’t love God, but I’m just trying to find the time. No, no, no—something else is filling that space. And a lot of times, what that thing is surfaces when frustration comes—what you are naturally inclined to go towards, that you end up resenting, is what has been filling the space that God was supposed to fill.
And so when we start thinking—and that was my prayer—is that God will bring to the surface everything that is not of Him, everything that we’ve been battling with in our hearts, knowingly and unknowingly—that He will bring that to the surface. Because when we are in God, family, there’s nothing that can stop you. There’s no storm. There’s no locked door. There’s no—no, there’s nothing that can stop you because you know who you are, and you know who you belong to.
They Had Been with Jesus
There’s a passage in scripture—and let’s pull that up—it’s in the book of Acts. And it says, «Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled and they realized that they had been with Jesus.»
Family, being with God changes your disposition. Being with God changes you. There is a—there is a different, you know, there’s a boldness about you that is—when you tap into the Spirit that it says God gave you a spirit of love, a spirit of power, and a sound mind. Because the very boldness you were lacking in timidity, you have that in Christ. You’re able to stand against the things that stand against you. This is what it means to be with Jesus.
The one thing God showed me is that on this day, that we’re making a recommitment to Him—to say that, God, I give You my heart, that You are my one desire. Do you know what it means to be a child of God? Do you understand that that is the greatest privilege, that is the most powerful thing in this life? The revealing—the revealing of that word—is what God can give you in the secret place. It’s not just a word that it’s fancy that we say, I am a child of God. No—what that means is power. What that means is that I am the child—wait, I–I have—I want us to say it. Let everyone in this room say that to themselves: I am a child of God.
Think about that—that the God of this universe, the God who created time and is outside of time, the God who created the heavens and the earth, the God who created the devil—I am His child. How can you touch me when I’m His child? Who are you to come against me when I am His child?
I want you to say it until you believe it. I want you to say it until you understand what that means. What is shaking you? What are you calling your friends to complain about? Do you know who you are?
You see, it took me a long time to realize this very simple truth that we all talk about. It took me a very long time—well, not very long 'cause I’m kind of young—but in my perspective, it was a long time. Because I encountered God, and I didn’t catch that till way over there. But when it hit me, family—when it hit me—that I admire people that I don’t even know, but the Creator of those people is my Father—what is it that I need that He wouldn’t give me? When I understand that all earth and everything in the earth belongs to Him, and I am His child—why wouldn’t I want Him to be my one desire?
We are chasing after things. We’re chasing after lives. We’re chasing after concepts of things that were structured by other people—seeking for something that we can only find in Him. We find ourselves in places, in strange situations and in strange atmospheres and in strange positions—because what we’re ultimately after, we’re seeking for it in somebody else.
Thank You, Jesus. They realized that they had been with Jesus. Do you have this boldness that you’re talking about in this chapter? Do you have this boldness against persecution, against judgment, against drought—that when times are rough, when there’s nowhere to go, when it looks like everything has dried up, and the very reason you came to this city, the very reason you came to this country, the very reason you came to this town is not making sense—do you have the boldness to still stand? Do you have the boldness to say that, no, all things are working for my good, and even if I don’t understand it, I know it?
Family, the one thing—the one thing God showed me about today—is that we come back to Him with a whole heart and say, God, You can have all of it because I want to know You in a way that I’ve never known You before. I want to abide in You. I want to continue in You. I want my walk with You to be intentional. You don’t build anything without intention. You don’t become a good father, a good friend without intention—that, God, my relationship with You would be intentional. That I seek You. I want to know, Lord, who are You? I want to understand things about You. I don’t want to just talk about You without talking to You. As much as I talk about You, let me know You in the secret place. Let me read my word, and let that word become me.
Altar Call and Prayer
Family, stand with me. You see, the vision God gave me about this day was literally—fact, the best way I could explain it was—it was like there was this opening of ears. There was an opening for your hearing. And He showed me that as we pursue Him—as we pursue Him in a way that we’re saying, God, I choose to feed everything that You are—when I talk about a child of God, I think about it, and it makes me emotional because of what that really means. And my prayer is that you would know what it means.
God showed me that He’s going to open your ears in a manner that you would read the word and you would hear the word. The scripture talks about faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It doesn’t say faith comes by reading—because the word of God is not limited to the Bible. But even when you read the Bible, you have to hear it. The Holy Spirit has to speak it to you. Because you can read, I’m a child of God. When the Holy Spirit speaks it to you, it’s a different thing.
Your spiritual walk cannot be summed up by this service. This service should just add to who you already are in God. But your spiritual walk should be in the secret place with God. God desires to open up your ability to hear His word. And as you seek Him—as you recommit—if He’s been speaking to you, if you know there are things that you put in your heart that you’ve been keeping in there, that you’ve been struggling with in your heart—there is a grace that if you would say, God, take this because I desire to seek after You with everything—if you’re here and you’re saying that, God, I want to recommit my life to You—come down.
Thank You, Jesus—that you will seek Me with a whole heart, and you will find Me. That is His word. That is His word. Thank You, Jesus.
To abide in Him—the scripture talks about that if you abide in Me—if, when you abide in Me and My word abides in you, that you will ask anything, and it will be yours. And that comes from a place of, first of all, you have a knowledge of God in such a way that you even know what to ask. And that when you do ask, your faith is unwavering. And so you have the ability to grab that thing—abiding in the word of God.
Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, God. Family, this is not even the time to be shy. This is not the time to wonder who’s watching me, who’s doing this. This is about your walk with God. This is about the most important thing in your life.
If you’re here—you know that even when I talked about lust and pornography, and it’s something you struggle with—it doesn’t matter who’s looking. At this point, it does not matter. Honestly, everybody’s not even looking. If you know that is a struggle—because honestly, the root of a lot of these things is just intimacy with God that you’re seeking—I want you to come on down.
Nothing—nothing in this life has the power to keep you captive. If you know that you’re struggling with things that you feel like, I’m doing this, but I don’t want to do this—there is a power in God because there’s a power in what He did for you. And so if that thing is in your life, it’s occupying space in your life that should be for Jesus. And if that’s you, family, just come down.
There’s no—Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord.
When I talked about—are you someone that talks to God more than you talk about God? More than you talk to God—I sense that there are people that it’s almost like you’re caught in this religious bubble. That’s the only—that’s the best way I could describe it. You’re caught in a religious bubble of doing what always seems right, doing—saying what always seems right. You truly believe in God—that is not a doubt. But you’re caught in this bubble of religion.
And when I spoke about—when certain things happen, and you see the way they move you, and see how quick it is for you to question your faith—yet you are someone who is always talking about God and how good God is and how you should trust in the Lord and how all things are working for your good and right. But when it happens to you, it’s like from 0 to 100, and then it’s—and you go back in the same cycle. When that thing dies down, you go back in the same cycle. But the word has not become alive to you.
And so even when I’m speaking, you’re just like, no, that’s not me—because thank God—oh God, I need to say—actually, I would say this very specific: one of the things that came to your mind is that, I know who I need to send this message to. This is not—this is not a bad thing; send a message. Listen, this is a powerful message. But the first thing that came to your mind is like, oh, I already know. I already know. Thank You, Jesus. I know who to send this to. But it hasn’t caught you that, wait—when trouble comes, when storms hit, I shake so quickly.
If that is you, I want you to come down and say, God, I’m recommitting my life to You. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus. Have Your way, God. Have Your way, God. Wow. Thank You, God.
You see, family, whatever is happening—the spiritual always mirrors the natural. And so I also want to call down anyone who’s having ear—hearing problems. If you’re here, just come down. If you’re watching, come on down as well. And I mean, if you’re watching, you can’t come down, but in the spirit, you’re here.
When we pray—if anyone has hearing problems—when we pray, I want you—the part of your ear that might be—either it’s you’re losing your hearing or you can hear in one ear—I want you to just like go like this in that ear. Go like this—just go like that in that ear when we pray.
Thank You, Jesus. Have Your way, Lord.
Father God, someone is here, and you didn’t intend to come here today, but you’re seeking—even as we’re talking, there’s a—there’s a power you don’t have over your own life, but you haven’t fully embraced God. But it’s funny because you’re here. This is not even about heart posture—this is just about you, like, your very—how you view—you view God in a very general way. You’re like, you know, there’s a very general approach about Jesus and a lot of other things as God. And I’m saying this because so you know that I’m speaking to you.
So you’re—your coming here is that you came here as, okay, you know, you know, one of the—you know, the ways to God, right? So you haven’t embraced Jesus as the way and the truth in your life. And if you’re honest, you don’t have—you feel you always feel out of control. You feel like you catch yourself in things, and you have no control over it. And you have a concept of, you know, live good, do good—yeah, and that’s great. But in your life, you don’t have self-control. And you’re in this house—it’s not by coincidence. You thought you came to this house because, you know, you know, you know, hey, the ways to God, you know. But God is actually calling you close to Him.
Because your heart posture—one thing I’ve learned about God—that’s why we can never judge people. Whatever end people believe, you can never judge them because when a person’s heart is truly seeking the truth, God will encounter that person. It’s one thing—it is one thing to want to be God over your life. But there is a heart posture that they just don’t know. And so they’re in so many things because they’re really trying to find out the truth.
It’s never our place to judge because we don’t know the end from the beginning. We’re not God. But when your heart posture—and you have a heart that is truly seeking to know the truth—you have a desire to know what is really real. And so that is why you’re so open to many things—because you’re seeking to know the truth. And I’m describing you. I’m explaining who—how your thought process.
If that is you—if you would have the courage to come down and say, Lord, I may not have the answers, but I’m choosing to embrace You as my Lord—you didn’t come here by accident. And the only reason I’m saying this is so that you know that I am speaking to you. If that is you, come down.
Thank You, Jesus. Can we praise God? Thank You, Jesus. Jesus. Amen. Thank You, God.
When your heart is truly seeking God—oh, He will find you. He will find you. And as you took those steps down, you’re going to see how your life will change so drastically. You’re going to see—and it’s not just in the steps, but it’s also the steps you take in your daily life—that you know what? I’m submitting to who this God says He is. I’m submitting to seeking Him. And you will start gaining power over your own life. You will realize that I have a choice in this matter. I don’t have to agree with the enemy. I don’t have to agree with a feeling that is trying to betray my identity. Because in that place of weakness, you have come to the Lord as your source of strength.
Let us pray.
Thank You, Jesus, for what You are doing in this house. You showed me that Your purpose for today is to open hearing ears—that You will bring Your children to a place where they can hear the word as they seek the word. I thank You, Lord, because Your word says if they abide in Me—if it’s a choice—it’s a choice. And as they came down here, Lord God, they’re saying that, God, I’m making the choice to say yes. I love You. I believe in You. But I’m choosing to serve You with my whole heart.
Whatever I used to give my heart to, Lord God, I am laying it at the altar of Your throne. And I am choosing, Father, to feed what makes me whole and to starve what is destroying me. I thank You, Lord God, because You are going to empower them. You are going to strengthen them, Lord Jesus.
Thank You, God. Thank You, God. There are angels assigned to help you. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus.
I thank You for those that walked down here, Father God, to say that, yes, I viewed—I viewed God as, you know, as many things. But today, I’m choosing to embrace Jesus as Lord. I thank You for them, Lord God, that they would not stray from this path. I thank You, Lord God, that You would reveal Yourself to them in a way that it will be—
Thank You, Jesus—that Mo is still coming down to say, God, I choose You. Thank You, Father God.
That as we pray, Lord God, that You are touching the hearts of Your people to know You as Lord—to know who we are in You. I thank You, God, that even in the physical, where there has been hearing problems, loss of hearing—Lord God, in this very moment, I command every ear to be open in the name of Jesus.
Everyone here, everyone listening, everyone that would watch this message—I command that where there is a hearing problem—for what this is Your word, not mine—that every ear that has a defect or an issue, Lord God, that right now, under the sound of my voice, I command ears to be open in the name of Jesus.
Thank You, God. Thank You, God.
I thank You, God, that we are coming into a place of boldness in You—that we are coming into a place where we are not shaken by the storm, but we know that within us is the power to tell the storm to be still. Lord Jesus, You told us to move mountains because You understood that mountains will show up in our lives, but that we have the power to say that it will be moved.
I thank You, Lord, for a desire—the very desire that Your children have for You—to seek after You. Lord God, You will honor this desire and reveal Yourself to them in a new way. Lord God, have Your way in their lives. Be Lord over their lives.
Thank You, Lord, for healing. Thank You, Lord, that as they see things differently, their deliverance is in their perception. Some thought that they needed something to come out of them, but it was all a matter of perception.
I thank You, Lord, that You’re giving them new eyes to see things better—because You’ve given us the Holy Spirit already, and Your promise is that He would lead us into all truth—into the truth, not just showing us the truth, but that we would abide in the truth.
I thank You, Lord, for Your goodness. And I pray that they will all know You as a good Father—as a Father, as a good Father—in Jesus' name.