Set Apart - Stephanie Ike Okafor
Transcript
00:00 (Music)
00:16 (Applause)
00:17 Family, while you're standing, I want us to pray, and then we'll read the word.
00:21 Heavenly Father, we thank you. Great are you, Lord, indeed.
00:26 Lord, we worship you. We thank you, Lord, for everything that has been taking place.
00:32 And I thank you, Lord, that even in this atmosphere, oh God, you are speaking to your people.
00:38 And just as your son was ministering about the urgency connected to the word,
00:43 that Lord, I thank you that everything that they collect today,
00:47 everything that they recall today, that they would move with that urgency.
00:53 And so, Heavenly Father, may you be glorified through each and everything that we do,
00:57 every word that we speak, oh Lord, glorify your name, Jesus.
01:02 Have your way, in Jesus' name. Amen.
01:07 We're going to be reading Exodus 8, 22.
01:11 And it says, "And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen,
01:19 in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there,
01:25 in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land."
01:31 You may be seated.
01:33 You know, just a little bit of back story, right, concerning the location.
01:39 There are a few things I want to share with you that just the Holy Spirit has been showing me
01:44 about this season that we're in, to prepare you for what's to come,
01:49 so that you don't lose your balance, you don't lose your cool,
01:55 you don't get caught up in anxiety.
01:59 Even before I start reading, it's amazing, you know, when you think about the story of Peter walking on water, right,
02:06 there was a storm, the winds were acting crazy,
02:10 but as long as his eyes were on Jesus, he could do the impossible.
02:16 You know, Jesus did not find the calmest moment to walk on water.
02:22 Jesus did not choose, He didn't say, "You know what, storms, seas, so that I could walk on the water."
02:28 He says, "Even in the midst of it," because He knows who He is.
02:32 And He recognizes the power of when you are in sync, in alignment with what heaven demands on earth.
02:40 That no matter what the noise around you, that the Lord is the one who establishes you,
02:47 even in the midst of chaos, right.
02:50 So, a little back story, so, Goshen, the very first time it's mentioned in the Bible,
02:56 you know, how many of us know about the story of Joseph, right, the one, his brother sold into slavery?
03:01 You don't know it, there are amazing movies about it, okay, Prince of Egypt.
03:06 Actually, no, that's a different story, my bad.
03:11 But they were all in Egypt.
03:16 Just watch, you know, the book, read the book, watch the movies, there's a movie.
03:25 But he was sold as a slave in Egypt, that's how I was thinking of Prince of Egypt, come on, somebody.
03:30 Praise the Lord, we need a little laughter.
03:34 So, he was sold into slavery, right, and his brother sold him, you know, Joseph went through so much,
03:42 so much ups and downs, I mean, at some point he was in prison for a crime he did not commit, you know.
03:49 And then he, the pharaoh, the ruler at the time, has this dream, and the dream really troubled him.
03:56 And there was word that Joseph knows how to interpret dreams.
04:00 Joseph, what I love about him, he didn't even take, he doesn't take credit for that, he's like,
04:04 is it not the Lord, right, who interprets dreams?
04:07 So, Joseph, obviously, you know, in his prayer time, you know, consults the Lord, he gets the revelation of the dream.
04:14 And the dream had divine mysteries about what was to come, right.
04:19 The Lord was actually giving them insight about a famine that was on the way.
04:24 And strategy on how they should prepare.
04:27 And so when Joseph tells the meaning of the dream, he gives strategy about the dream, he gets promoted.
04:33 And he becomes, I mean, literally, like the second most powerful person in the land.
04:38 Now, when the famine hits, the famine hits the whole earth.
04:43 But Egypt was exempt, because they had foresight.
04:48 The Lord had given them insight about what was to come and how to plan for that.
04:52 And so Joseph's family, when he reconciles with his brothers, he tells his brothers,
04:59 hey, go get my father.
05:01 And you all are going to live in Goshen, so you can be near me.
05:06 And then I will provide for you and protect you.
05:09 So the very first time we hear about Goshen, it has to do with provision.
05:14 It has to do with protection.
05:16 This is the same land that's connected to the land that God promised Abraham to his descendants.
05:22 So now when we fast forward, you have all these Israelites living in Goshen,
05:27 and the Lord is blessing them.
05:29 He's blessing them in resources, they are multiplying by the numbers, and all these amazing things.
05:35 But some centuries go by, and there's another ruler, you know, several rulers have happened by that time.
05:42 But there's a ruler that the Bible says did not know of Joseph.
05:47 So the ruler did not see the Israelites as our allies.
05:52 They saw them, and they saw how they were growing in numbers, and he saw them as a threat.
05:57 And so he now plans to enslave them.
06:02 So now the Israelites are in slavery.
06:05 The land where they live is within Egypt, is in Goshen.
06:09 And so now time goes by.
06:12 Four hundred years go by, and God raises a man named Moses to bring deliverance to the people.
06:20 When Moses goes to meet the Pharaoh, he's telling him, "Let God's people go."
06:25 You know, he follows instruction.
06:26 "Let God's people go."
06:28 And the Pharaoh is like, "Nah, nah, bro.
06:31 They're basically making money off them and the things they're doing."
06:36 And if you're familiar with this story, you might be familiar when the Bible would say things like, "God hardened Pharaoh's heart."
06:43 But it's not that God hardened his heart.
06:46 God just caused what was in his heart to be his reality.
06:50 God does not need to exploit you for his bidding.
06:55 Right?
06:56 It was really that God just exposed what was in his heart and made it his reality.
07:01 So now, the man has a hardened heart, and God is like, "All right.
07:07 Now we're going to send some plagues."
07:10 Because the Pharaoh is coming from a prideful place of, "You can't touch me."
07:16 They have their magicians.
07:17 They have all kinds of things that they were doing, their witchcraft and all kinds of crazy stuff.
07:22 So Pharaoh is saying no from a place of feeling powerful.
07:27 So the Lord is like, "Okay.
07:29 Okay.
07:30 Now let's do a showdown."
07:32 So there are nine plagues, and each one is the mercy of God because it's for him to soften his heart and say, "You can't challenge me, Pharaoh.
07:44 Pharaoh, you can't challenge the God behind Moses."
07:48 But instead, he's talking to his magicians on how to make things happen or whatever.
07:53 And so the plagues happen, but something supernatural takes place.
07:58 Goshen, the land where the Israelites lived, was exempt.
08:05 God caused it to be set apart in the midst of the plagues.
08:11 So it's in Egypt.
08:13 It's not outside of Egypt.
08:15 It's in Egypt, yet it is set apart.
08:19 You see, one of the things that the Lord began to show me about this season that we are in
08:26 is that it is going to be marked by great judgment and great favor all at the same time.
08:35 There is going to be great judgment because, you know, I loved it when we had Pastor Phil Muncy.
08:41 We call him Uncle Phil, and he was talking about judgment.
08:44 And he said, "Whenever you see judgment, it's literally God just putting things in order."
08:49 There are things that need to be put in divine order.
08:54 And when the Lord began to show me this, there is a judgment because there are people who have used their influence
09:01 and their authority to either build or continue in systems that have caused many people to compromise.
09:12 So they have built and established and/or sustained systems within industries
09:19 that have made it hard for people to say no to bowing down to things that don't serve them.
09:26 And so that's why you see sometimes when people talk about certain industries,
09:29 they're like, "Oh, this industry is so demonic and so evil and X, Y, and Z."
09:34 But God has a plan for it.
09:36 The problem is that you have people in high places that have used their power for evil.
09:44 And you have people that sometimes would even try to represent God,
09:49 and they're corrupting the name of God because of what they do.
09:55 And so when the Lord is getting to fix things, there is a judgment that is released to put things in order.
10:03 So the plagues was a judgment on the people in order for his people to be let go,
10:10 to release them from the oppression.
10:13 And so there are people that God has gifted and they're talented,
10:17 and all kinds of things that came from God, but it is chained right now.
10:23 Because they cannot find a means of expression unless it comes with compromise.
10:29 And so there are gifts that the earth is waiting for.
10:33 And that the Lord is saying, "No, you're going to let it go."
10:37 Because you have caused them to either they bow down,
10:41 or they look for things outside of their calling.
10:44 Because there is no expression for what God has gifted them with,
10:49 if they don't bow down to the wrong thing.
10:52 And so there is a judgment to fix that.
10:55 There is a judgment of the Lord where a lot of things are going to shake up.
10:59 And even as we are in Los Angeles, right?
11:02 We had the Hollywood strikes, that was crazy, it affected a lot of people.
11:06 But there's going to be a whole lot more shakings.
11:10 If that was one side of it,
11:12 then you saw the side that had to do with the greed of man.
11:17 But you're going to see the side that has to do with the correction of the Lord.
11:23 So on one end, you got to be exposed to the mindset of the people that are signing some of your checks.
11:35 But on the flip side, God is about to turn things upside down.
11:42 Where all kinds of things are going to start coming out.
11:47 And it's going to destabilize what seems to be secure.
11:52 But you have to know that even though you're in that industry,
11:57 and even though there's going to be darkness in the industry,
12:01 that engulsh in there was light.
12:04 You see, one of the plagues in the time of Egypt was literal,
12:09 like darkness that you could feel, it was tangible.
12:13 But the Bible said, "But engulsh in, there was light."
12:17 So while there is judgment being experienced,
12:21 somehow you will begin to see doors that God will open in sustaining you.
12:27 That it would be the time where you're like,
12:29 "Wait, there's a change of the guards happening."
12:33 And so, this is the time where you can't play in your relationship with God.
12:41 You can't mock the Lord.
12:43 Because you will begin to see that the physical realm is only an expression.
12:50 Things are not decided on this realm.
12:54 They're expressed on this realm.
12:57 If you want to, when you're watching television,
13:01 you cannot--the most random thing that comes to mind,
13:05 many people would not even know what I'm talking about.
13:07 I love Lucy. I don't know why.
13:10 But just think about a show, child. Think about any show.
13:14 If you're watching your favorite TV show,
13:17 you can't change what they're doing by touching the TV.
13:22 You can't change the scene by talking to the television.
13:29 The TV is expressing what has already happened.
13:34 So, if you want to change something in the next episode,
13:38 then you need to get in the writer's room.
13:41 And so, why I'm saying this is that there are some things that can't be stopped.
13:47 When the Lord has executed and decreed judgment,
13:51 you can't stop it because it is agreed in the realm that changes things on earth.
13:58 So, there are things that what we see happening on earth
14:01 is playing out what has been agreed and discussed in heaven.
14:05 That is also why I love when Pastor Ebb talked about the urgency of the word
14:09 because when God speaks a word, heaven has decided that it will happen.
14:14 And if you get in the flow of it,
14:16 then you will have a backing of supernatural provision.
14:22 So, in the midst of this, there is going to be great favor on God's people.
14:28 Great favor on God's people.
14:31 So, if you're just like playing games with God,
14:34 this is the time to build real intimacy.
14:38 Because you see, something I've learned,
14:40 have you ever watched when you're maybe it's an interview with a president of whatever country
14:45 or you know, whatever is going on,
14:47 anytime you meet a president, they would be addressed by their title.
14:52 But because you call them president does not mean you're affiliated with their country of origin.
14:58 Why I'm sharing this is that many times we talk about Jesus as Lord,
15:03 not because we are affiliated with him as Lord,
15:07 but because his title is Lord.
15:11 And you need to know where you stand.
15:14 I call him Lord because that is who he is,
15:17 or I call him Lord because actually I have submitted to him as my Lord.
15:27 And this would be the difference.
15:29 Because in the scripture, the Lord says he will set apart,
15:32 he set apart Goshen because he called them his people.
15:37 That is also why Jesus would talk about many will come to me and say,
15:40 "Lord, Lord, Lord," and he said, "Get away from me. I never knew you."
15:43 Why? Because you called me by my title, but I have no relationship with you.
15:49 Yes, I am Lord, but I'm not your Lord.
15:54 Because when Jesus is your Lord, it would be evident in your lifestyle.
15:59 It would be evident in your convictions.
16:01 There are things you just don't do because you want to do it.
16:04 You will feel the grief of the Holy Spirit saying,
16:07 "What you're doing, I'm not in agreement with it."
16:10 And that is why repentance flows.
16:16 So this is not the time just to say, "Jesus, Jesus, you don't do it."
16:21 Does he know you?
16:24 Does he have relationship with you?
16:27 Are you known by him?
16:30 There was a time that they were telling a story,
16:32 the Lord was telling a story about a certain rich man and Lazarus.
16:37 And I'm always fascinated by that because he calls the name of the one he knows.
16:45 And the one he doesn't know, the one whose name is not in him.
16:49 You can't search for the name in Christ because he says that our lives are hidden in him.
16:56 And if you never lived the life that was hidden in him, he does not know this version of you.
17:03 So what Jesus calls, Jesus cannot call the man by his name because he would be a liar.
17:10 Because to call him by his name is to say, "You lived according to what I knew."
17:14 So he called him by what you called him, a certain rich man.
17:19 He called him by his title on earth.
17:22 "Oh, he was rich, okay, so I'm going to just call him by how the people refer to him."
17:29 Because I never knew him.
17:33 It's going to be marked by great judgment and great favor.
17:39 And so in the midst of what is happening, don't be moved.
17:44 And don't be too quick to align yourself with people that you think have favor.
17:54 What I mean is, there is a perception we have of what favor looks like.
18:00 But if God gave it to you, don't be too quick because you might align yourself with someone that's being judged.
18:09 Because they look the part. They sound the part.
18:14 But if God gave it to you, my husband says something I love so much.
18:18 He says, "Do not finish in the flesh what started in the spirit."
18:22 What does he mean by that?
18:24 When God gave you a word, don't try to finish it in your own understanding, in your own wisdom.
18:32 Continue from the place and from the source where it came from.
18:36 God, give me strategy. God, give me insight.
18:40 Let me not just say yes because something looks and sounds good.
18:44 Because you cannot count yourself out.
18:47 There is a changing of the guard.
18:50 And it will not look like what it's supposed to be.
18:54 You see, the Israelites went from one oppressed leadership under a leadership that was ordained by God, Moses.
19:05 They left the house of Pharaoh to now be led by Moses into the promised land.
19:13 Moses did not look the part.
19:16 He did not sound the part.
19:18 Why they wrestled a lot of times in the wilderness is because they're like, can you imagine, they cried out to God for freedom.
19:26 Then they get to the wilderness and they're like, "You know what, we should go back."
19:31 There was meat there. There was blah, blah, blah, blah, X, Y, and Z there.
19:36 But in the reality of it, it was not what I'm learning that it was not just because they were, you know,
19:43 "Oh, let's go back for meat, but we're in bondage."
19:46 It is that they were struggling to some degree of recognizing the leader in Moses.
19:53 And that's alright.
19:55 Because when God establishes you, He knows what the rumors are, what people are saying about you.
20:01 But then the Lord in their midst will cause you to shine.
20:06 That is why there are certain things the Lord would allow with Moses.
20:11 He would allow Moses to come down from the mountain and they literally have to cover his face.
20:17 Because it radiated so much glory.
20:21 Because the Lord said, "I know the people are murmuring.
20:25 They may not trust your leadership, but they're going to find out why I chose you."
20:31 Why I'm saying this is that the way God measures your readiness is not the same way you measure it.
20:40 You have to be willing in this season to lay down how you measure being ready.
20:46 How you measure being qualified for how God measures it.
20:50 God measures it by a pure heart.
20:54 That's it.
20:56 He's not looking for your relationships.
20:59 He's not looking for your resources.
21:01 He's not looking for any of that.
21:02 He's looking for heart.
21:04 He's looking for character.
21:06 Because He can build on that.
21:08 He doesn't even need you to be talented.
21:10 Do you know that Moses needed...
21:13 His assignment was to speak.
21:17 And he stuttered.
21:19 God was not even looking for the one who had the ability to do the job.
21:26 Do you recognize everything about Moses' assignment had to do with speech?
21:32 God said, "Look, you're going to go and you're going to say this to the Pharaoh and X, Y, and Z."
21:37 And Moses was like, "I can't even talk."
21:41 And God said, "That's all right. We can fix that."
21:45 Because at the end of the day, I don't need what you think I need.
21:50 And you need to recognize that why you've been disqualifying yourself is not the same way God qualifies you.
22:00 And if you would simply align and move with urgency,
22:06 then you're going to see heaven back you up.
22:09 There's going to be things that would not make sense.
22:13 I want you in your own time, we're about to pray, to study how Moses moved with God.
22:20 To study, because you would see that when the Word of God is back in your life,
22:26 it is the Kingdom of God back in your life.
22:30 And there is nothing that has the power on this earth, below the earth, wherever, to shake the Kingdom.
22:37 That is why God will have these weird things that would cause them to have victory,
22:42 because He's trying to just make a mockery out of people.
22:45 I mean, God be funny.
22:47 God will say things like, "You know what? As long as Moses' hands are held up high, you will win the battle."
22:54 What?
22:57 As long as His hands are held up...
23:00 You see, because there was a duality to it.
23:04 On one hand, God was showing them, "You need Moses."
23:08 As much as you don't respect Him, if His hands drop, you're going to lose.
23:15 God would honor you in the sight of people.
23:18 He would honor you in such a way that people would not get it.
23:22 Do you mean that just their presence would make this film work?
23:28 You mean to tell me that just their name on this would make the deal work?
23:35 That there is just something about how they smile, that they're the ones for the ad?
23:41 That you would not even... Just their sound would cause something to happen.
23:47 God used Moses' hands.
23:50 He could have done anything else.
23:52 He could have said, "If you dance five times, you're going to win the victory."
23:56 He said, "No, no, no, no, no. I'm going to establish the leader I chose in front of you."
24:01 As long as you hold up His hands, you would win.
24:04 And then He does things like that.
24:07 You can't lose when you're with the kingdom.
24:10 You can't lose.
24:12 Family, I just want to speak a prayer over you.
24:16 Just rise with me.
24:18 And we're going to worship.
24:22 This is not a time for you to be shaken. No.
24:25 There's a lot of things that are going to, you know, want to shake you.
24:29 It's going to be a very interesting time.
24:33 You're going to see the darkness, but you're going to be in light.
24:39 You're going to see chaos all around you, but the Lord will keep you steady.
24:45 And there is a change in the changing of the guards.
24:49 God is setting you people in leadership.
24:53 Because they will do His will.
24:56 That's what it's about.
24:59 You see, there are positions that God had allowed evil to reign for a long time
25:07 because He needed to build the right person and raise up the right people.
25:14 A personal question I've had for a very long time, I'm waiting for the Lord to answer.
25:18 Was there someone else other than Moses that maybe said no?
25:26 I always wondered why God got so frustrated with Moses, almost like I've been here before.
25:33 And you're not going to tell me no.
25:36 The last guy.
25:39 I just wonder, this is just in my curiosity.
25:43 Was there somebody else?
25:46 And because of their fears and uncertainties,
25:50 there were people in bondage for another century.
25:57 Do you know the weight of your yes?
26:00 That there are lives attached to the impossible, yet possible thing God wants to do through your life.
26:09 And He needs the right person in the seat, so that things can be unlocked over people.
26:16 So that gifts will come forth.
26:18 So that people will step into the positions that they want to do.
26:23 And express the gift of God that He has given them without compromising.
26:29 There are things connected to the weight of your yes, and so when it feels overwhelming,
26:34 remember that heaven is backing you up.
26:38 You may not look the part, you may not feel like you got it all together.
26:42 God doesn't need any of that. He needs a pure heart.
26:46 That's it.
26:48 He can teach you.
26:50 He will build you. He will connect you with folks.
26:53 He will cause people around you that you can delegate to.
26:59 God will strategize alongside you.
27:02 But purity has to build it.
27:06 Purity, it can't be built on corruption.
27:11 So let us pray.
27:14 Heavenly Father we thank you.
27:17 We thank you Lord God that your sons and daughters are not going into the new year still playing old games.
27:27 But that when it comes to intimacy and relationship with you, that truly you will be their Lord.
27:35 And they will be submitted unto you.
27:38 And I thank you Lord that they are saying yes to every word you have given them.
27:44 And I thank you for the urgency in which they would move with it.
27:49 In Jesus name, amen.
27:53 God bless you family.
27:55 Well I just believe and know that that word ministered to you as they often always do.
27:59 Remember to subscribe so that you can continue to experience this ritual.
28:03 And as a reminder if you want to sow into this ministry, we are reaching people as you know all around the world.
28:09 And we need your help and your support to not just bless people spiritually but practically in all the ways that we do.
28:14 The giving instructions are on the screen. Sow into this and may the Lord bless you abundantly in every way.
28:20 God bless you. We'll see you next week.