Be An Encounter-er - Women’s Gathering

Good morning, everybody. I actually was on the schedule today. Normally when I run up here, it's in the moment. I want to read a note that somebody put in my hand this morning. It says to the the women's conference team. So there was a lot of people that were involved in putting this weekend's event together. And so this is a note to all of you, dearest, precious team of sisters. I cannot thank you enough for allowing God to use you and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide and direct every part of this wonderful weekend. God definitely blessed every woman in the room in one way or another. Many chains were broken and burdens were left at the well. The Lord is alive and well and and moving among the community of one church.

From the humble foot sink. To the Lord's Supper. To the laugh, to the tears, to the praises and the crying of agony. The Lord blessed your efforts. The food was delicious and plentiful. Thanks, guys. Thank you for a wonderful life changing weekend. And him, Sharon Fields. And actually, guys. So the love the Lord moved on Miss Sharon to say she had a contribution to the event at the event. So I will just say that when when the Lord put something on your heart to do and it really is of Him, when you begin to share that, he will bring the team together. And if people are allowed to work their gifts, talents and you bring them all together, you get this weekend, you get breakthrough because everybody shines because the thing he put in them has been put to use.

And there's a lot of doll believers out here because we're not doing we're not moving in the gifts that he's given us. So we're just we're not effective. We're not shining brightly for to draw people to him. And so this weekend was such a testament of that. It wasn't one person's vision. It was a collective. And as we started planning. Pastor Ryan, I don't know what kind of pastor you have. I mean, girls, if you only knew Thursday night we were setting up Ryan and Brian and Chance was back there. And then Trey and Brian were in the kitchen and Ryan had all the kids. There were 17 children that he and Ashton and Nathan were taking care of so that you ladies could have time away with the Lord.

And and that was a last minute change. There were some there were some ladies that just couldn't couldn't work out the childcare thing. So we wanted to figure out a way. So I'm like, Ryan, I got to figure out something. He got a bounce. House they went to would you go to Chick-Fil-A? And the Children's Museum is at I house. You get 17 because they were nine the last time I talked to him. But he told me last night with 17 children. Well, feels like that one feels like that. So I think I thank you men for stepping up and supporting and making space for us to be here. I mean, they were here all weekend in the back doing stuff, helping, telling me not to move tables and not move chairs and it it is such a blessing. We have a lot of wonderful, wonderful men who serve in this body. And you don't see that in a lot of places. You have a lot of women that serve. There's not as many men. So I'm so grateful. And to see my girls.

None of that would have been possible without each without each one of you and Leslie. And see. And for you all who do not know that picture that's in the lobby when you walked in and the woman of the. Well, we just had this I don't think it'd be really great if we had a picture. Who can we ask? Leslie. Leslie's an artist. And so what? So what? What? Yes. So that painting in the lobby. Leslie painted that in two days. And the. The only direction I gave anybody I said is because when we came together, like, what do you want to do? Somebody said, the woman at the wall was like, Oh, that's perfect job for us.

So that's what we went with. And it just built on after that and so I just as everybody rage John for and just do what the Lord showed you from that that was literally the only direction. And she painted that in two days and she was so excited she couldn't stop painting. And I asked Felicia, I was like, Felicia, can you put together a ladies band? And she's like, Well, I yeah, so so she this is out of her norm. So. So thank you for for that sacrifice. I miss Julie with her flag bags and worship and movement. And it just it was better than any of us could have hoped. And that, Becca, you said that it was just going to be even better than we can even imagine.

So I think each person for for doing it so part of how I got here to this stage today when we were doing all the planning, I tell Pastor Ryan's like, Hey, I think we need a woman to speak on Sunday. He's like, Yeah, you have anybody in mind? I was like, Nope, just me, a woman. And so I literally didn't have any clue. And so a couple of the ladies are like, Oh, is it going to be you? And I was like, No. Oh, oh, no. And but part of this weekend is about stepping into new things. And so how can how can I ask or expect people to be outside of their comfort zone and do things? And I'm not woman to do the same.

So I'm like, okay, Lord, I will speak if you want me to say something. And so that, that following week he gave me a new perspective on this passage. So I want to start and I apologize. Already in the back I may jump around, so just roll with me because that's that's what I've been doing all weekend, moving with this spirit. And we change directions multiple times. So be be expectant. So I'm actually going to read quite a bit of scripture because I think it's important to pull all of this together. But we're going to go to John for and so I will just I don't know what. Oh, it is on the screen. It's actually we're going to read one through 42.

But just so you know, so John four, therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were, He left Judea and went away again into Galilee and he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a city of Samaria called Sikar, near that parcel of ground that Jacob gave his son, Joseph, and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus being wearied from his journey, was sitting there by the well. It was about the sixth hour there came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give me a drink for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore, the Samaritan woman said to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, asked me for a drink since I'm a Samaritan woman for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans?

Excuse me? Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, who it if you knew the gift of God and who it is, who says to you, Give me a drink. You would have asked him and he would have given you living water. She said to him, Well, sir, you have nothing to draw with in this well as deep when there where then do you where? Then do you get that living water? You are not greater than our father, Jacob, are you? Who gave us this well and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle. Jesus answered and said to her, Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst. But the water that I give him will become in him a well of water springing up to the eternal, to eternal life. The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw. He said to her, Go call your husband and come here. The woman answered and said, I have no husband.

Jesus said to her, You have said, you have correctly said, I have no husband, for you have had five husbands and the one whom you've had is not your husband. Excuse me, the one whom you have now is not your husband. This you have truly said, the woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain. And you people say in the Jerusalem and excuse me. All right, Jesus, our fathers worshiped in this mountain. And you people say and Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said to her woman, Believe in me, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the father.

You will worship. You worship what you do not know. We worship. What we know for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth. For such people, the father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming. He who is called the Christ when the one comes, He will declare all things to us. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you. And He at this point, His disciples came and they were amazed that he had been speaking with a woman. Yet no one said, What do you seek?

Or Why do you speak to her? So the woman left her water pot and ran into the city and said to the man, Come and see a man who told me all the things I have done. This is the Christ, isn't it? They went out to the city. I'm going to. I'm going to sit down and I'll come back to that. I'm going to skip down and go to 39 from this city. From that city. Many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman who testified. He told me all the things that I've done. So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking him to stay with them and he stayed there two days. Many more believed because of his word. And they were saying to the woman and that, excuse me? And they were saying to the woman, is no longer because of what you said that we believe for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is indeed the savior of the world. So in asking, I don't even know what I gave you all and asking the Lord about a title first.

I first. The first title I came was with being Jesus. And I was like, Oh, they'll call me a heretic. He's going to get a lot of hate mail for that one. But we need to be the encounter. And there's many times in this passage when we read this that that we're reminded of how broken this woman was and how he put her back together. And she came to the well for her and her natural thirst. But Jesus saw her and he felt that he quenched the thoughts that she really had. But I propose a different lens for us to take a look at this passage. Now. Raise a hands with God. Was was Jesus a good guy? Yes. No hands, please. Yes. Okay.

Would you agree that he changed lives of people that he encountered? Okay. He changed water to wine. He killed the sick. He caused the blind to see in the lamb to walk. He forgave sins and many other things. In fact, the word says in John 21 that there aren't enough books to contain all of his works. So there's a lot that we have no idea that he did, but we know it was a lot because he did a lot in the word that we actually do see. Now in Genesis 126, God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them have dominion an inverse. 27 He did that. And so if we think about that, when you when you say someone is in your image, in your likeness means they look like you, they they act like you, they walk like you, they talk like you.

And if that is what our original mandate was, if that was God's original plan for us and Jesus is the reconciler, he's the last atom, he is our prototype for how to be in the earth in this time. He's the original model. So prototype in Webster's Dictionary defines it as an original model on which something is patterned an individual that exhibits the essential features of a later type. We're reminded in the New Testament and in Paul's letter to the To the Current, he is in first Corinthians 11 one that we should be followers of him as he is of Christ. And so even though Jesus did a lot of good, I mean, he did all the good, all the good, everything good is in Jesus. But he went through a lot of stuff.

He was lied about. He was criticized, he was harassed. He was laughed at. He experienced storms just like his disciples. He was sleep and they were freaking out. He still went through it, he was still in it, and he was eventually murdered. And I said, I lose. I use that term loosely because he he laid his life down. They thought they murdered him, but he just you know, gave up his spirit. And knowing that we that we know that God is great and there's greatness that that we are to do because we are like him, we have to understand the fullness of that. Jesus gave up his entire life to save us and to walk among us.

Being like our prototype is not going to be easy and is not always glamorous. It is not always fun. It is very, very costly. And so for those of you who profess to be Christians, have you counted that cost like it tells us in Luke 1425 to 33? Actually, I'm going to read that. So starting and in verse 25 of Luke 14 now large crowds were going a long with him and he turned and said to them, If anyone comes to me and does not and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters. Yes. And even his own life. He cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it. Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish all who observe it, begin to ridicule him, saying this man began to build and was not able to finish or what.

King, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with 10,000 with 10,000 men to encounter the one coming against him with 20,000 or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation to ask for terms of peace. So then none of you can be my disciples who does not give up all his own possessions. Matthew 16, 24 and 26. Jesus tells his disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross. First, John two six says, Abide in him and walk after his ways. Ephesians five one through two says again. Paul tells the Ephesians to be imitators of God and walk in love Jesus as Christ gave himself up for us and offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

And so when I read that, I underlined offering and sacrifice, and that's complete surrender. We just sang that song. I surrender all all means, all means all the things, all your wants, all your dreams, all your hopes, all the things that you you say you want. All of that has to be given up for the Lord. And many of us are not willing to do that. Matthew 2028 and Matthew 1045 says The son of man came to serve and give his life as a ransom or a ransom is a redemption price. So it's something given up to redeem. Another thing first, John 316, he laid down his life for us and we should lay down ours. Excuse me? We should lay ours down for our brother.

If you look to your left and look to your right, those are your brothers and your sisters. Are you willing to give up your life for that person? Because that's what Jesus did. And if he's our prototype, that's our requirement is to lay ourselves down first, Peter, to 21 Christ suffered and let left an example that we might follow. John 1331 Jehovah Jesus gave the commandment love one another as I have loved you and how to Jesus love us. John 317 The son was not given to condemn but to save. And how many Christians do we know failed to live out that example? They failed to model that. If we go back to John for understanding kind of this new definition of our prototype and giving ourselves up, surrendering, taking up our cross and relinquishing all of our possessions and our possession of our life and all the things attached to it.

If you think about it, John, John, Jesus was really busy before he got to the woman at the well in John one. He met Nathaniel and, and he read him. I mean, he, he, he told him about himself. He identified him rightly and told Nathaniel where he had been, which was in a fig tree. There was just a fig reference for those who don't know come to Sunday school.

Nathaniel recognized him, though, as the Son of God that moment. Have we ever been recognize as a son of God by what we do and what we say? In chapter two, he went to the temple and he flipped some tables. He threw the moneychangers out. Those who profess to be the religious order, who were monopolizing people's time, their money, their energy, they were stealing.

They were pillaging, they were taking advantage of God's people. Is that Jesus's example of who we should be? In Chapter three, he meets Nicodemus and answered all of his questions. And Nicodemus is probably one of those really annoying people that has like 50 questions in a row. Like, I have a question. That's one that's one of those people that when you see him coming, you try to, like, go the other way, so so that you can avoid them. But so so before we get to chapter four, he's already done all these things. Also, you have the wedding. The first miracle. Jesus was chilling at a wedding. You know, some say that it was his sister's wedding, I believe. And so he was there just hanging out, minding his business, and his mother comes up, pull on him. And I need you to you should do a couple of things.

He was like, It's not my time yet. No, thank you. But he did it anyway. How many times are we going about our business? And we see a need and we have a choice. We have a choice to fill that need or continue minding our business. All right. So we get to chapter four. Now, the the Pharisees had already heard about him. So when Jesus is doing his thing, people hear about what you're doing, they see what you're doing, they're paying attention. And and so he continued on his trip to Galilee. Now, I don't know if I didn't know. I didn't send you the map, so forgive me for that. But I wanted to show a picture of where Jesus was in Judea and where Galilee was.

Now. The easiest way to get to Galilee was straight through Samaria. Now, because of the culture in that time, the Jews did not deal with the Samaritans. There's a long history of that. They they would not go near them. They would avoid going to that town. They would go all the way around Robin Hood's barn to get to Galilee instead of going to it, taking the straight line. Now, the tradition was to go around to get to where you're going. But Jesus didn't follow tradition. He didn't follow what was expected of him. He went against tradition. He went through Samaria, which is what everybody else wouldn't have done. So he went against the grain. How many times have you the Lord has asked you to go from point A to point B and you have to go through some stuff that on the way there, most of us would be like, and that's why I have the time.

He didn't tell us all the things that he wants us to do because we wouldn't do it. He just gives you a little bit, right? And so the shortest, fastest route from any point, from point A to point B is a straight line. But they went around the bend in verse for it says he needed to he needed to go where he had to go. And I was asking him or why did he have to do that? Jesus was very intentional about his time with his father. He knew what his father wanted him to do. He even said that I do what my father is doing. And so when you have this connection lined up and you know what he's doing and what he wants to do, that gives you a lot of opportunity to do that this way.

So he shows it to you in this relationship and then you go and do that. But when this is not right, you have no idea what you're supposed to be doing and you can be swayed from left to the right instead of going the direction you're supposed to go. This the words says that he was inconvenienced, he was hot and he was weary. So he he ended up meeting this woman in the middle of the day. And it was, I think, noon ish. It was super. Thank you. Look at that pretty map up there. I wish I had a pointer. So, Judy is in that Brown section and Galilee is in the blue section. And what he would do, leave in from Gallop, from Judea, you just go northeast.

They would go all the way into the green and wrap it all the way around. I'm sorry. I'm not walking up in the heat. They had no sandals. They didn't have cars back then. I don't want to go. I don't want to go 20 minutes out of my way to get gas. You know, I got to doing that. So maybe Jesus was just practical. I don't know. So he was hot and he was weary. That's actually what the scripture said, that he was weary, but he went there intentionally. He knew the father had a divine appointment for him, and so he made it his business. He sent his disciples along to go get food, and he went about his father's business, which is what he told his mother when he disappeared, when he was 13, in the temple.

And they're looking for him and they're like, where were you? He was like, Don't you know? I'm about my father's business at 13, I probably would have I probably would have plucked Joya six. Never she if she came at me like that. But he's always had he's got this this connection. I mean, he is God. But he he would go away in his quiet time to seek the Lord to get direction. That is something we need to be doing daily. Lord, what do you want for me today? Where do you want me to go today? Who do you want me to talk to today so that you can intentionally follow those instructions and do what God is asking you to do? So He took an interest in her. You know, he could have ignored her.

He could have been like the rest of the Jews and gone in the green and looped his way around. But he intentionally stopped. He sat down and waited for her. He watched her come towards him. He could have been doing anything else, but he intentionally, for that one moment with that one person saw her. And that's one of the things we were talking about in Lady Seeker was seeing people we go through lives with these tunnel vision and I'm we're all guilty of it. I'm guilty of it. You got this one track mind and you're walking and maybe you notice something, but you're so consumed with what you're doing, you just keep moving. He was hungry and it was hot. You know, somebody wouldn't, you know, how many times have you been on your way somewhere and you see something over here and you're like, Oh, somebody should do something about that.

And then you keep moving and you see a homeless person on the on the corner and it bugs you. Somebody really needs to do something about this homeless problem. And you keep you keep driving past or somebody needs to do something about this this abortion issue, and you just keep driving on by. Somebody needs to do something about that and you just keep going. The Lord shows us stuff because we're part. We are the solution with him. He was her solution in that moment because he saw her and he engaged with her and he revealed who he was to her. She was change. And then in turn she changed her city. And when I was so in and verse 39 and John four, many believed on him because of what she said, what she said, what her testimony.

And I've talked to a couple of ladies that were here this weekend and they've been telling everybody, look, this is what God did this weekend. Let me tell you, they just been evangelizing Jesus since this weekend. That is what happens when people have an encounter with the living God. They are change and they have to share it. They have to share it. The other the other example he gave me when I was reading was about the the man with the Legion of Demons and Mark five. The same thing happened when that man was delivered from all of those demons legion. And because we are many is what its name was. He went back to his city and I'll I'll go back and read that and that account and I'm just going to go, it's Mark five and I'm just going to read 14 through 20.

So this is after the deliverance has happened and the demons have gone into the pigs. So the pigs, right. They have herdsmen, they have shepherds that are paying attention. So they so the pigs who now have been demonized and went into the sea, their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the Legion. And they and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it happened to the demon possessed man and all about this wine. And they began to implore him to leave their region as he was getting into the boat.

The man who had been demon to possess was imploring him that he might accompany him and he did not let him. And he said to him, Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you and how He had mercy on you. And He went away and began to proclaim and to capitalists what great things Jesus had done for Him. And everyone was amazed. Yeah, that's what happens when people encounter God. They are changed and they go and they change. Others. What would happen to our communities if we took the approach that Jesus did? What would happen if we saw what the Father was doing as Jesus in John five, 1921, and then did it? What would that do to our social ills?

What would that do to racial issues? What would that do to all of the isms that we deal with? What if we were willing to be inconvenienced? What if we were willing to see people where they are and engage them in conversation, ask them about their lives, show them the love of Christ, not condemn them, not point out all their flaws, not any of that. Just connect intentionally. Connect with them. How many more would believe in some? I put a plug out here for our Love Our City event in a couple of weeks. That is our opportunity to do just that. We're not trying to invite them to church. We're trying to invite them to Jesus and period. We're not trying to grow a church.

We're not trying to grow a ministry. We are trying to extend the Kingdom of God must switch over one last section of Scripture that the Lord gave me with this morning to go to Isaiah 61. And this Scripture has always stuck out to me. And and I'll tell you let me make one more mention. Back to Mark four with Legion. Not only did the demonized man change his city, but the bystanders that saw it happen were like, What did you see? That there are people that are native involved in this situation, that are watching from the outside, that are impacted by us doing our job. And Isaiah 61, one through seven, when I read that some of that word is for you, for me, the individual, but then you see some sections that talk about them when we do, then they will.

There's also a section about the bystander. So I'm going to read that and then highlight a couple of things. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim the liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn, to grant to them, who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness, instead of mourning the mantle of praise, instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified. Then they will rebuild ancient ruins. They will raise up the former devastations, and they will repair their ruined cities, the desolation of many generations. Strangers will stand and pasture. Your flocks and foreigners will be your farmers and your vine dresses. But you will be called the priests of the Lord.

You will be spoken of as Ministers of our God. Ministers are not just people that stand with a microphone in their hand. That is a lie from the enemy. It's crap. Oh God. I got to say it. That's an inside joke for you all. That had been a secret with me. I say it a lot. A lot of stuff we believe as Christians is crap and just saying okay, instead of your shame, instead of your shame, you will have a double portion and instead of humiliation, they will shout for the joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land. Everlasting joy will be theirs. So for you and I, we our job description is this as Isaiah 61, we you and I are called to preach good tidings. We are called to bind up the broken hearted. We are called to proclaim liberty to the captives. We are called to open the prison to them who are bound.

We are to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. We are to comfort those who mourn. We are a point. We are to appoint beauty for ashes, oil for joy, oil of joy for mourning, garment of praise for heaviness. And them those that we are called to, those that we're intentionally connecting with, those that we are stopping to have a conversation with, those that we are going to share our gifts and abilities with. They will be called oaks of righteousness and the planting of the Lord. They shall build old. They shall build old ways. They shall raise up the former desolation. They will repair the way cities, and then the strangers, the bystanders, those that are just kind of on the outskirts, hanging around, watching it all happen. They will stand and feed your flocks and shall be the plowman and your vine dressers.

Our willingness and obedience to see people and then do something changes cities. It's time to repent for us being focused on ourselves and focus on our assignment, there are things that we are supposed to be doing that we are not doing. We are not getting outside of our bubble. We are not stretching and using the gifts that he's given us. We are not seeing people. We are being disobedient. There are things that he's asking of us and we're like, Oh, maybe next week, maybe in five years. When I get this, that and the third together, maybe, you know, maybe when I get married, maybe when my kids are out of the house, maybe he's saying today, is the day today. So as the worship team comes up before the Lord even gave me this message, he had already show me something else that He wanted to address. This has been a phenomenal whole weekend for our ladies. It has stretched those who served at stretch, the people that came to participate. But it's not just about the women he wants to address our men.

And so I would ask for all of the men in the house to come to the altar for me. Please, you two in the back, be all the fellas, all the fellas, all the fellas. Come on, Nolan. Come on, Nolan, your fellow. Come on. Young and old men. So the Lord showed me wanting to bring you all forward so that we can repent to you. The enemy from the beginning has used women to impede the success of men. And not because women are weak, not because women are stupid or whatever, but it's proximity. We're closest to you in the Garden of Eden. And it became and whispered and Eve's ear. He kind of. They talked to animals. He kind of said something to the cows or an ape or something, but that would not have meant anything to Adam. It was a woman. And so we repent to you for any words that have been spoken over you, that have hurt you, that have bound you, that have made you feel less than that have shattered your hearts and you can't show it. It's been teachers who told you you are stupid or that you are never going to get it.

Does your mom even in her loving you or not loving you the way she should have told you? You're just like your bleep daddy. You are holding on to scars from women, intentionally or unintentionally, that have bound you for the rest of your life. Since you are kids. The enemy always comes after us when we're children because it plants that seed and it stunts our growth. So I'm sorry. And we want to pluck up those word curses that have been spoken over your life because you are called to your families. You are called to lead ministries. You are called to lead businesses. You are called to to do so much more than what you think you can do. And as he's released the women this weekend into our new thing, it is time for all to be released into what God always intended for you that you haven't been able to reach.

You haven't been able to scratch. Every time you try something and it just doesn't work or, you know, your wife is like, yeah, maybe, you know, we really need money though, so I need you to I need you do this thing over here because that's not that's not right. Now, best of intentions, but it's hurt and you can't even show it because you got to be be the man.

You got it. You got to put on the show and the Lord wants to release you from that today. What he showed me was that as the men were together, there was a like a chain that was bound around your waist and you were cinches, like, you can't breathe because of this oppressive thing that the enemy has done. But he showed me an angel unwinding it. And so some things may break off today and some things may happen over time. But he's coming to heal those wounds that women would have inflicted on you, intentionally or unintentionally. He wants to change you. It is your time to be the man that he has designed you to be. He's created you to be. You are the head and not the tail. You are above, not beneath. You are kings. You are kings, kings. And any person that says otherwise is wrong. And those allies are the enemy. And so, Lord, we break those work curses off of these men right now, in the name of Jesus, Lord, you are so faithful to your children.

God, I thank you. I honor these men. I honor them for their sacrifice. I honor them for even being in the building today. Lord, we need them. We need them. There's so many women, you know, the enemy has just been rollin. Stuff up. Women, you know, we're independent. We don't need a man. And we we don't. We don't need you. We don't want you. That's a lie. We need you and we need you, brothers. We need you sons, we need you dads, we need you, uncles, grandpas, we need you. So if you've ever felt unwanted or unneeded or unworthy, I break that off of you right now. In Jesus name, Lord, release a fresh wind on our men, or we release them into their newness, into their strength, into their joy.

Lord, there's such a weight to be a man. You have all of these things coming at you and you have to be able to handle it all. Or the father bring them to a place where they can release all of their burdens on you and you'll make it easy for them. Father, I thank you. We love these men. We love these men. You love them and they will, in the name of Jesus, be everything they are supposed to be. So, guys, those dreams that you put on the shelf, the things that you wanted to do when you were ten years old, that somebody said, That's stupid. Why would you not pick it back up and pick it back up?

Now, today is the day. Today is your day to be released into the men of God that you are called to be in name and and one other thing as as gentlemen, as you go back, you see it's something else. The Lord told me for those who may be in the room or may catch this replay. We've talked a lot about women as we can dress our men. You might get some hate mail for this if you identify as a man and you are not born one or you identify as a woman and you are not born one, there is room at the altar for you. He sees you. He loves you. He wants to pour out his glory on you. He wants to speak his truth over you. I promise you, if you just surrender what you think, what you feel to him, he will fix it. He will realign things and show you the truth. His truth. He loves you. And so I invite you to give it all to him and let him work out all the details. It's not for you to figure out is for him to show you who you are, not what people say, not what you think.

And that's for any of us or something. People put their identities on us, you know. Oh, well, you're smart. So you need to be a doctor that. That God didn't call you to be a doctor. Do what He said for you to do. Don't fit in somebody's box. The reason we're not operating in our gifts and our abilities that God gave us is because we have been boxed into what other people say.