Take Back Your Identity in Christ - Best of Bill Johnson Sermons | Bethel Church

0:00 The enemy will always try to attack the last thing God said to you. He can't change who you are. He can just alter your confidence in who you are. biblical self-esteem is to see what he sees is to say what he says is to believe his word over everything else in our life the war against identity is so huge and so significant it's the it's what's behind the absolute destruction of the concept of fatherhood in a country in a nation i don't say i don't by any means mean that a single mom cannot release and impart identity to children. It's just there's such a war over identity. That's the whole point.

0:44 And unfortunately, what happens out there doesn't stay out there. Sometimes what happens out there comes in here. And the very battle that your neighbor has, if you fight the same battle that your unbelieving neighbor fights with the same tools that they fight, you're going to have the same outcome that they have. Regardless of the fact you're going to spend eternity with Jesus. the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They're actually divinely designed to fit in your hand well. Divinely designed to be apprehended by every single individual in this room. It's not an ill-fitting sword. It's a perfectly fitting sword that is according to your design, your purpose, and with what God has said over you, it is possible for you to completely annihilate every lie that is thrown at you. Paul told Timothy to wage the war against you. Wage it according to the prophecies that have been made about you. Take the word of the Lord and fight your fight. In other words, your destiny is on the other side of a war. So take God's word and get there. Do whatever you need to do to get there. That's his design. That's your purpose. Get there, but take this word to get there. And part of what we do is that sense of self-esteem and purpose.

2:04 Thank you. we don't work on our self-esteem so that we feel better about ourselves. That's a nauseating conclusion. I should say it better than that. It's a conclusion that could be better.

2:28 How's that? Did I do? Dan, was that okay? I don't know. It was a kind and gentle way to say, don't do that. That's dumb. What's the purpose of your self-esteem? Your self-esteem is anchored in the nature of God. You don't find out who you are until you find out who he is. Self-esteem is our confidence in design, which means we are automatically devoted to our designer. All right. That went over well. Let's go to 2 Corinthians 10.

3:09 Chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians. I don't know if I mentioned this. I spoke this week to some of our students out of this chapter. I don't want to say this verse is haunting me, but it's haunting me. It just keeps following me everywhere I go. I can't shake it, nor would I want to. but the Lord is definitely trying to build. I feel like this is a now passage for us to better understand the hour that we live in. And so, all right. Verse three, we walk in the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds. Picture with me a stronghold. If we were in biblical days, you would see cities that were made out of these huge stones, these carved stones, and each wall would be these various stones that have been built.

4:06 Inside there would be houses or castles or whatever. If you're from Europe, they have these beautiful castles that are built out of these stones. A stone is not a stronghold. A stone does not create a dwelling place. but repeated stones connected together eventually build a place where the enemy can hide unrecognized. He hides, what are these stones? They're illegitimate thoughts. And when I embrace an illegitimate thought that the enemy has suggested over my life and I dwell on it, I meditate on it, what am I doing? I'm actually building a habitation for the enemy to dwell unrecognized. Does that make sense to you? This castle-like edifice, the enemy hides inside, we can't see him, he comes out at night.

5:07 to attack. But we don't spot him during the day because he's hiding behind a way of thinking that is illegitimate. so he says the weapons of our warfare they're mighty in god for the purpose of pulling down strongholds pull down the illegitimate patterns of thought that have actually enabled the enemy to kill steal and destroy Thank you. Verse five, casting down arguments in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

6:01 Every lie I've ever believed was thrown at me for me to question what he's like. Every lie was to get me to question his nature, his promise, his covenant. Casting down arguments, every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. bringing every thought into captivity, into the obedience of Christ. Let's just say for illustration's sake that this is an army in here, an actual physical army fighting an actual physical war. And outside of this room is an enemy army, and in that enemy army is a world-renowned terrorist that kills, rapes, and maims just for pleasure and delight.

7:02 and we put together a team of Green Beret type operatives and we send them out and they sneak in behind the enemy's camp and they take that world-renowned terrorist captive and they bring him into our camp.

7:22 Now imagine that terrorist is here and we retrain him with his zeal. with his willingness to put his life on the line. And we train him now to fight not against the purposes of God, but for the purposes of God. That is exactly what happened to the Apostle Paul. Saul of Tarsus, who sought to kill, was apprehended by the Lord and brought to the front lines of battle. And he became the captive thought, if you will, that now works on behalf of the kingdom of God. The lies that you and I have dealt with throughout our lives must be dealt with. But it's not good enough that we get out of the red.

8:22 We have to get into the black. It's not good enough that I stop the bad thought. I must replace it with what God says. I must replace it into what God actually says. What does he say here? Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. It's apprehending that that was working in me to undermine identity, undermine my confidence in God, undermined my faith, and now that very thing that was working against me is now working for me, building up my faith, building up my confidence in God, building up my sense of esteem and purpose. The thought life is now used for my welfare, not against me. the renewed mind is to, in a sense, usher in the miraculous. It is to give us access to a godly self-esteem that anchors our soul into the nature and covenant of God.

9:22 One of the things we work on the hardest here and in our school, in the school, of course, we have many days a week to pound this into people's lives, but it's this issue of identity, identity in Christ. And it's fun to watch people step into this liberty, this freedom of knowing who they are in the Lord. There's a certain confidence that arises, there's a certain willingness to take risks, there's a whole bunch of stuff that happens that's really positive. One of the things that happens that's not so positive is people sometimes in their journey become impressed with themselves.

10:01 And they are quick to start their intergalactic ministry. The apostle of apostles who will basically change first this universe and then we'll move to the next one. And it's all, it's, it's actually, I look at it and I think it's cute. I think it's, I think it's cute. It's cute like the eight-year-old that get a policeman's outfit for Christmas. That's got the little plastic badge and a little plastic gun and drives his bike around the neighborhood pretending he's a cop.

10:32 That's exactly what it's like. It's cute. Now you get a 30-year-old with a plastic badge. It's not cute. With the eight-year-old, it's cute. It's part of the process. It's part of the process of learning who we really are. but the person who is infatuated with who they are has not yet seen him because once you see him it not only increases your confidence in who you are it makes you very unimpressed with who you are it's a strange combination it's two sides of the same coin it's absolute raw brutal confidence in faith, but absolutely not impressed, infatuated by him. For years, we've been praying for people, all of us together, praying for the Father's blessing. In fact, I was just with John Arnott this week, and of course, he was here a month ago, and the Toronto blessing, the Toronto outpouring, it was titled the Toronto blessing by newspapers. And when John found people calling it the Toronto blessing. He retitled it the Father's blessing. As far as he was concerned, it wasn't about Toronto and it wasn't about their church. It was about what the Father was doing to reestablish identity in people. And that really is the heart of the Lord. Jesus came to reveal the Father. Now think quickly here. Jesus came with an assignment. His primary assignment was to reveal the Father. Why?

11:57 Because it's a planet of orphans. And our whole sense of identity and purpose is regained in the revelation of God as our Father. Not abusive, not distant, but incredibly interested in all the issues and affairs of life. Involved, if you will. And so this revelation that Jesus brought to earth is to shift and to change the way we perceive life, the way we perceive ourselves, etc. So oftentimes we will pray for a blessing, a Father's blessing over people. And it's common for us when we pray to pray for that sense of identity, the whole sense of purpose, and destiny. But I've been adding a fourth one for a number of years now, and I finally found a verse for it, so I feel pretty happy. I remember when my kids were small, I'd go into their rooms while they were sleeping at night and prophesy over them, lay hands on them.

12:55 And I just prayed constantly. I said, God, give them a heart to know you. Give them a heart to know you. It was just a prayer. And I know it's the will of God because it's just the heart of God for everyone. But I didn't have a chapter and verse for it. And I remember one day I was reading through Jeremiah and I came to chapter 24. And in that chapter, the Lord said, and I will give them a heart to know me. I got so happy because I just realized it's a biblical prayer. It's legal. I get to pray this. And so I began to pray more fervently knowing that I had scripture behind me to pray that my entire family would have a heart to know God. Well, I've been praying for people for this Father's blessing for a lot of years. And I pray, God, establish identity, true identity in you. The kind that liberates, the kind that frees, the kind that empowers. Identity.

13:46 But also let them see their purpose. Why they're on the planet. There's no one in this room, if you saw who God made you to be, would ever want to be anyone else. This thing of purpose is so rich and so profound. for every individual. There's no second-class citizens in the kingdom. Everyone gets to be involved in the purposes of God in the earth. And your whole sense of identity and that which makes you come alive, comes alive as you, as we discover the purposes of God. The third one, that thing of destiny. This isn't it. Eternity is where we're headed. And living for that is wisdom. We get to enjoy this life. I'm thankful for all the blessing of the Lord, the favor, the friends, all of that. But it is about eternity. And to lose sight of that is to really make a huge mistake. But there's a fourth area that I've been praying for years that I finally see is biblical.

14:41 And it encouraged me greatly. I've also been praying as I pray for people for the Father's blessing that God would give them an awareness of unlimited resources. Why? Because that's how Jesus lived. You can see it in his life. There is no lack. They need money for taxes. He gives the disciples instruction, go fishing. They find a gold coin in the fish's mouth. The point is they're out of food. They have a multitude to feed. Jesus multiplies the food. Why? Because he's connected to a world that has absolutely no lack, but also not just no lack, it's a world of extreme abundance. That is the world you're connected to. I want you to look at this passage in John 13 again. Verse 3, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God, was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside his garments.

15:37 Jesus was conscious of two things before he put the towel over his arm and washed feet. He was aware, number one, he had access to unlimited resources. The Father had given all things into his hands. It's more than a point of theology. Jesus lived conscious of unlimited resources.

16:18 It includes money, but I'm actually not even talking about money. That's a part of the world, but it's so much bigger than that. he lived aware of two things. Number one, unlimited resources. As a son, he had access to the father's kingdom. And he says the father had given him all things. Interestingly, John 16, Jesus says, all things, all that the father has is mine. And I'm giving you all things. And so Jesus actually took the all things he got from the Father and he gave it to you. So technically, you and I have access to unlimited resources.

17:03 Now it starts as a truth that gets believed that we begin to burn for. And when we begin to burn for it, we start living in that place of accessing what we have legal right to. But the purpose of the unlimited resources is not for building personal kingdoms. And this is where the problem starts for us. James and John were interested in personal kingdom. The orphan heart can serve, but the orphan heart serves to gain identity as pleasing God. A son makes the best servant because he's serving from identity. The son serves from a place of identity in the household of God, knowing everything the father has is at his disposal in order to serve well. The whole purpose of serving for a son is different than the serving of a servant.

17:59 The son serves with hope because he can see the future. The son serves because there's building building something, preparing something for the purposes of God in the earth, seeing that God has intentions, purposes and plans that are yet unfolding. And a son has that in heart, has that in mind, in serving. Obviously, when I use the word son, I'm referring to sons and daughters. When I talk about father's blessing in a home, I'm referring to fathers and mothers. It's not gender specific. But here something took place in Jesus' life that he modeled as a man dependent on God. When he saw that he had unlimited resources and he saw, he was conscious, that he came from the Father, he was going back. In other words, the identity is the Son of God. When those two things were in place, he put a towel over his arm.

18:53 I can tell when people don't quite get it yet because they're fighting for honor. When you fight for honor, you can call it justice. We empower evil all the time, heart issues, by giving it virtuous names. a real good one for jealousy if you've not tried it just call it discernment you'll look real good Whenever you give a virtuous name over an issue of the heart, you actually empower that thing to remain. It's the honesty before God. Actually, the power to leave a sin habit is given with absolute honesty to confess. In the confession is the power to forsake.

19:51 But when I call it something other than what it is, I'm actually toying with God as though I could justify my own issues of the heart. And there are many who work hard for self-promotion. They call it justice because they're going off of what the Bible says about their promotion. And they fight for self-promotion, but it's actually an orphan's heart. An orphan's heart fighting for recognition because they're due that recognition. It's justice. whatever you gain through self-promotion you have to keep alive through self-promotion it's a lot of work it's exhausting but whatever you gain through his promotion he sustains And so the real issue here in serving is sons, daughters versus orphans. And I would guess that probably every one of us in this room, this is an issue all of us have dealt with and probably will continue to deal with.

20:57 as the Lord is working to build sonship in us, that authentic sense of identity with the Father that is more generous than we have brain cells to comprehend. His heart for you, if you're interested, if it matters to you, it matters to him. His personal involvement in the details of life is beyond comprehension. Joyfully so, he delights in involving in the day to day. It's not yet entered our mind what kind of father he is. And yet this father is longing for you and me to see what he's like and in that countenance to see our place. Because we'll never leave impressed with ourselves, but we'll leave with extreme confidence to serve well. So the first temptation to Adam and Eve was to question what God said.

21:58 And any time the enemy knows, some of you are too deeply, you've been at this too long. You're not going to deny the Word of God. But perhaps for you, the weak point would be, while you wouldn't ever deny the Word of God, you would deny your ability to hear from God. And they are interconnected. And the enemy will always look at the weak point and try to get us shifted from the awareness of I was actually designed to hear from God. Again, it's a gift. It's not like I somehow worked hard and arrived at this place of breakthrough. I was designed to hear from the Lord. Everything about me is wired to perceive him. From my physical senses to everything about me, emotionally, mentally, it's all designed to perceive him.

22:57 I have to, the most obvious thing in the universe is him. You have to work hard to train yourself to ignore him. that's the truth look at Luke 4 Luke chapter 4 then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. does your Bible just say what I just read? Yeah. The Holy Spirit, the kind, wonderful, generous, gentle,

23:56 merciful, compassionate Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When the Lord leads you into a conflict, it is never punishment for you. It is always punishment for the devil. Listen to me carefully. There is no contest between God and the devil.

24:23 It's not a contest. It's not worthy of mentioning the two in the same breath. There is no contest. with a word he can completely demolish and obliterate all powers of darkness. He has chosen to keep them here because they are training ground for you and me who will reign with Christ for eternity.

24:48 And anytime the Lord leads us into a conflict, it's only because he's equipped us to win. The enemy's only chance is to get us to question what God has said. or who we are. Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returning from the Jordan was led by the Spirit into the wilderness being tempted for 40 days by the devil in those days he ate nothing and afterward when they had ended he was hungry I don't get that at all Thank you. I've done 40. I was hungry all 40 days.

25:39 In fact, I was hungry before it started, and I was hungry after it ended. This is amazing. Afterward, when the 40 was over, he got hungry. And the devil said to him, if you are the son of God, command this stone to become bread. Jesus answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Okay, listen carefully. we are alive because he talks We live because he speaks. The Bible says he spoke the worlds into being. Let there be light and there was light. He spoke things into being.

26:31 Secondly, the Bible says that all things are held together by the word of his power. So his abiding, prevailing word actually holds every molecule in place. It's the glue that holds everything in place. thirdly we know that he sustains us and brings life to us with his voice again back to the it's the only book you can read that the author shows up when you read it because he sustains us with his word Paul said in Romans, the faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It doesn't say faith comes from hearing the word of God.

27:28 I'm not saying that's bad or wrong. I'm just saying it's not what it says. If faith came from hearing the word of God, we should all get Bible apps on our phone and just play scripture 24-7 and we'd be like Wigglesworth by Friday or Father Abraham or somebody. Many people hear the word, but never hear the word. they hear and can quote, but there's no impact here because the living word has not pierced their soul. Here he says, faith comes by hearing. Doesn't say faith comes from having heard.

28:16 By implication, it's a present tense encounter, an abiding relationship. Faith comes from hearing. It's this abiding in Christ, him abiding in me. His word abiding in me. That connection is what makes me available for faith. I don't need faith for tomorrow's problems today. I have enough challenges today. Staying in the abiding relationship is what keeps me current in faith to address the issues I face now. Faith comes from hearing. Hearing comes from the word of God. I'll tell you a secret for hearing the voice of God. Let's come back next week.

29:14 Say yes before he commands. If there's a willingness to obey before he speaks, you will attract the voice. And by the way, him speaking to us five, six, seven times about a matter, audible voice, writing on the wall, all the external things, is not a sign of our maturity. It's a sign of our immaturity.

29:55 He wants to lead us, listen carefully, not just with a still, small voice, But the Bible says with his eye. The one he gives attention to, we give attention to. so the enemy comes to Jesus and the first temptation now that he's hungry might appear to turn a stone into bread but that wasn't really the first temptation the first temptation was if you're the son of God there's nothing the devil could do to persuade Jesus he wasn't the son of God What he was trying to do is to get him to prove his identity out of an insecurity. We do stupid things.

30:54 All of us do stupid things when we feel insecure. And it may look really bold. It may look very powerful. But if it comes out of insecurity, it has too much flesh to attract the hand of the Lord. Many things go unfulfilled in our lives because we function out of insecurity. so what was the last thing that the father spoke to jesus before this wilderness experience if you look back just a few verses before the spirit of god led jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the enemy just a few verses before jesus is baptized in water he comes up out of the water and the father speaks, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased.

31:48 The enemy will always try to attack the last thing God said to you. He can't change who you are. He can just alter your confidence in who you are. verse 8 if we died with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead dies no more death no longer has dominion over him for the death that he died he died to sin once and for all but the life that he lives He lives to God. Now listen, this is talking about you. This has some brilliant information for you. And remember, truth sets free. So anytime you and I join our hearts to that which God says is true, liberty is the evidence that we've heard it.

32:40 for the death that he died, verse 10, he died to sin once and for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Likewise, you also reckon yourself to be dead to sin, but a life to Christ. All right. Let's say we go down to the morgue. I bring in a dead body. Does that person struggle with lust? Are you sure?

33:13 Are they greedy? What's their thought life like? Are they carrying bitterness? Are they want to? No, why? Because they're dead. We have to think the way he thinks. When he died in our place, me being that dead to sin is what he considers to be real. and I can hold to my perspective all I want, but I'll be wrong. So here's the deal. He says, you were buried with Christ.

33:57 You were raised with Christ. Likewise, reckon or consider yourself to be dead to sin. What is he saying? Do you believe in the resurrection? Do you believe in the death of Christ? Death and resurrection. of equal value and truth.

34:20 Let me rephrase. Equally true is that you are dead to sin. to believe this Jesus died and raised from the dead but not to believe this is to voluntarily embrace the carnal Christian lifestyle because I'm living from an inferior reality I don't know if I'm forgiven I just don't feel forgiven so he said if you confess your sin he's faithful he's just to forgive your sin cleanse you from all unrighteousness that's what it says did you do your part yeah so you think you're better than he is you think you can do your part he won't do his part See, it's embracing truth until that truth becomes a part of you.

35:22 Now, here's the point I want to make. One of the great tragedies of today's culture. in some ways the greatest tragedy in my thinking is that we have men who think they are women and they really do and there are women who think they are men they don't need to be mocked they don't need to be teased they don't need to be politicized there's just serious issues healing deliverance. But what is even more disturbing is there are born again believers who think they are sinners. Wow.

36:13 You better talk to us. Wow. Wow. Wow. This is true. The Bible says, let God be found true in every person a liar. so in other words if I think different I'm wrong this is Jesus in print some of it I understand some of it is mysterious and that's the fun of the journey is it's a relational journey but he's challenging me and he's challenging you you say you believe in the death of christ yeah i do i really do and you say you believe in the resurrection i do equal to that is what that made possible.

37:23 And that when you received Christ, you became a new creation and you're dead to sin. As everybody in this room knows, that when you got born again, he didn't remove your ability to sin. Just removed your ability to enjoy it. You get angry and you say what you shouldn't have said and you're driving your car down the road and you can't get it out of your mind because the hound dogs of heaven.

37:55 And it's a wonderful gift, let's be honest. Otherwise, yeah, we'd just build air on air. So this wonderful Holy Spirit is in us to make us like the Christ resurrected, seated at the right hand of the Father. glorified. and when he gives us assignments like disciplinations. It's because he sees who he's made us to be. He assigns us that which is equal to our identity. so when we fall short in identity it's not a time for guilt and shame it's a time to re-engage with what jesus says about us i can't manufacture strength i can't somehow make myself different than i am but if i truly have the resurrected christ living in me the holy spirit himself living in me, then this lifestyle of triumph and victory is not only possible, it is probable.

39:20 the way the way you come into these truths being more than just a point of theological agreement but actually becoming a part of who you are the way that happens is through engagement with this living word you find that he says something oh he says I'm dead to sin and man, I do not feel dead to sin at all. So what do you do? I know you're right. And I'm not. So I want you to teach me. You take the word. You read it. You pray it. You write it out.

40:06 You put a three by five card in your pocket if you need to. You bring it out throughout the day. Oh yeah, I'm to think of myself that I'm like that dead corpse that has no ability to sin. that is the reality of his conversion in my life that has made that a reality that is not only possible it is probable and you pray it you you meditate on the word you run it over in your heart and mind until it becomes just a part of your reaction and this is really the key to just about every victory you and i can think of you want to be used in healing you want to have greater health in your own body. It's discovering what God has said. You don't feel forgiven, well, but are you? You don't feel healed, but are you? Why would he say, let the weak say I'm strong? He's not trying to keep us busy with positive attitude. He's not trying to keep us busy with some kind of pretend activity. There's something profound and powerful about the effect of our own confession.

41:11 I don't care who has abused that concept. It's in the Bible. abuse by another doesn't legitimize misuse in me or no use life and death is in the power of the tongue and some this is a voice activated faith and it's it's through the decree that we make over our own lives at the time when does let the weak say i'm strong when is that person supposed to say they're strong is when they're in the worst part of weakness. In other words, it's the opposite to the way I feel in the moment. So I'm going to confront that with not just a soft-hearted positive thought, but a proclamation that comes out of my mouth that says, No, I am strong. All right.

42:13 Help us again. Help us again. Father, I do pray for that grace to see ourselves the way you do and to actually think of ourselves as dead to sin. when God created you in his image he planted you in a nation that he doesn't live in to illustrate to all humanity they have a king and this is what he looks like Now that only works when we live in the expression of the Lordship of Jesus. Outside of the Lordship of Jesus, it's a perversion. It's a distorted message that is given.

43:10 And religion works hard to destroy hope, to destroy identity. it's as by religion I mean routine without relationship you can have all the right philosophies but the anger the resentments all the stuff that torments is rampant in the life of a religious person and that works to destroy the identity of the individual as much as socialism Talk to us.

43:45 So Jesus has created us as image bearers that he planted in the earth who through the lordship of Jesus can actually represent him in the earth. Here's the problem. is that most of us have become way too addicted to our own opinions. will I have a right to my own opinion? Do you want it? Do you want to use your right? Or do you want to find the mind of Christ?

44:20 Because the unrenewed mind is at war with God and the fight for your own opinion is to choose a war against God. Years ago, something happened in a city with another church, and people would come and they would ask me, they would say, what do you think about it?

44:50 And I'd say, no one can make me have an opinion. For me to have an opinion means I'd have to think about it. And that situation is not worthy of my attention. Now, I'm not saying we want to have opinions that are biblically based. But does this make sense to you? You can have an opinion based on facts but not based on truth. I was in another situation some years ago where I was with a group of about 10, 15 leaders, all men.

45:27 Unfortunately, we were missing a huge part of what we needed. But anyway, really good, honestly, integrous people, all sharing facts about another ministry in the area. and we were trying to decide what kind of actions we should take. And I remember sitting and hearing all the facts from really integrous people, people I really respected. But something wasn't settled in my heart. It just, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like we were, it didn't feel like we were coming into truth. We had facts that were accurate. There wasn't a liar or deceptive person in a group, but somehow we hadn't arrived to the truth. And I told, in this meeting, I said, give me a month. Just give me a month. Let's table it. Give me a month. And I went and I called this particular ministry. I sat down with the leaders, not to correct them, not to advise them, not to do anything, just to be a friend.

46:26 One of the most important things I ever learned from my dad that I'm still learning, but he taught here at Bethel so many years ago. He said, when you wash the feet of another person, you find out why they walk the way they do. When you wash the feet of another person you find out why they walk the way they do. Now we in this meeting had great detail on how these people walked but nobody took the time to find out why they walked that way. I remember I was in a meeting conference it was about probably 3,000 maybe 4,000 people I'm up with where the speakers are sitting and there's this wonderful time of worship going on and there's a lady not too far from me that is singing her own notes her own words basically her own song And it really stood out.

47:30 When a soprano does that, it was noticeable and I remember standing there trying to worship trying to just making sure I don't become critical I've been down this road before and I know it's like to be stupid and I'm just trying to build just don't be stupid don't be stupid don't be stupid don't be stupid so I'm worshiping the best I know how and finally worship came to an end and Heidi Baker's down the row. She scoots down close to me. She goes, wasn't that beautiful?

48:13 And I said, oh yeah. Oh yeah, it was beautiful. It was beautiful, yeah. And then she said, yeah, this lady has been a prostitute for 35 years. Now she's free. And I thought, oh goodness, give her the mic. She can sing. She can sing any way she wants. She is free, and she's letting everybody on the planet know she is free. And see, the difference between me and Heidi is I had facts. She washed feet.

48:52 And when she washed the feet, she found the story. And it wasn't just something to tolerate. That story was something we're celebrating. And oftentimes we become offended by things in people or movements when all we have is facts and we don't know how they got to that place. There are so many people that are harshly, harshly criticized in what's called the prosperity gospel only because people have never learned how they came into that truth. It's not about building empires or kingdoms. it's about obeying the Lord in every single part of life and when you realize the story when you find out how they got to where they are why they walk the way they do you just walk away going Jesus you're so kind you're so merciful you're so good and that's the point is that Jesus when he helped the woman that was about to be stoned because she was caught in the very act of adultery when he ministered to her he was revealing the Father.

49:57 It's the sole assignment. Jesus came to reveal the Father to a planet of orphans. The Old Testament didn't do that because it wasn't the purpose. Jesus had that purpose to reveal the Father. And when he came, he revealed the Father in his actions, in his words. He only did what he saw the Father do. He only said what he heard the Father say. He illustrated, in a sense, what lordship would look like for us. Do you want your own opinion? Or do you want the mind of Christ? Now, I believe in analytical thinking, getting counsel, getting input. But oftentimes, we end up with ideas and thoughts that did not come from the Lord. They come from religious values, but not from the word of the Lord.

50:53 And Jesus did what nobody in that crowd, including the disciples, no one expected. he ministered to that woman that was caught in the very act of adultery and did the very thing that any father in this room would do for his own daughter if she were caught in that kind of a mess and showed compassion and kindness and reset almost like the setting of a bone reset into her purpose and destiny in life Jesus revealed the father you and I are the image bearers of God Thank you. and without that lordship experience without that lordship expression i will only mess up that image i will only misrepresent i will do my best but it'll be harsh or it'll be too lenient it'll be something that won't be from christ but in the lordship of jesus where we learn to move in the holy spirit out of absolute obedience our life is laid down as an offering as a sacrifice in that place it can be said we bear the image of God to remind the nation to remind the city to remind the neighborhood to remind the family we have a king and this is what he looks like