hey my friend god bless you welcome to the one youtube channel you're getting ready to hear a dynamic message that's gonna bless you richly i'm pastor torre and uh on behalf of myself my wife pastor sarah our incredible ministry team we're just glad that you're here and you're connected to us and we want you to stay connected really quickly there's two ways you can do that one is turn on your notifications we want you to know every time we're going live every time something powerful and edifying and encouraging is coming through so turn on your notifications click subscribe and if you want to support this ministry that's doing great work all around the world not just spiritually but even practically their instructions on how to do so here and last but not least if you haven't read my latest book balance if you don't have it in your life you're missing out it's changing lives all over the world and you can go to thebalancebook.com and get that book and be a part of the thousands of people whose lives have already been changed by this great work now speaking of great work here comes the word i'm so glad you're here enjoy thank you lord two weeks ago i'm very excited for what the lord is going to do today and even as i'm standing it's all making sense to me the flow of the this what what the holy spirit is doing two weeks ago i had this encounter with the lord in my dream so there are some times when before like a message or before i'm even aware of like okay you know to to prepare for a sunday sometimes the lord would encounter me and begin to speak to me about what he wants me to speak on and so two weeks ago i had this encounter with the lord and he began to speak to me about deception and he showed me that i want you this is what i want you to teach and speak to my people on and i believe there are some parts of this message that are very critical to your life to your freedom i believe that the presence of god is so strong in this house because there is freedom in this house i believe that god is going to set us free from every trap of deception there were there were two key areas that the lord began to highlight to me very very specific things he wanted me to speak on and what i prayed is that we will all be open to what the lord is doing not just what you're hearing but what is a conviction in your heart and that we would not go another day holding on to the deception of the enemy you see deception is very interesting one of the things that the lord you know and if as you're taking notes my message is exposing deception because one of the things the lord said to me and i found this intriguing he said the seed of deception isn't planted it's exposed and uprooted and i found that so intriguing because then does that mean it's in every one of us it all depends on what type of fertile ground that we give it do we water it do we give life to it and are we seduced by it because when you think about deception you know just think of a kid i have a niece and a nephew my niece is in her teenager so she's more advanced in how she moves but my nephew does not realize that we see it the manipulation not too long ago i remember the my i was on the phone with my brother so we're on facetime and my nephew wanted to do something with you knows from things with from his mom and his mama you know the mom was asleep my sister-in-law and he's telling my brother he's like you know daddy daddy can i play with it and my brother is like you know mommy said you should not have it and he said but mommy is asleep i said what in the world why is it that kids nobody taught them this but kids can be so manipulative and deceptive you see many of you you've heard the saying that we were all born in sin right but what does that actually mean how is it that we were born in sin i'm going to do a lot of teaching today because i really want you to understand the message behind this so there's going to be a couple scriptures but i believe god is going to do something so beautiful you see one of the first scriptures is genesis 1 27 right and check this out the bible says so god created man in his own image in the image of god he created him male and female he created them so in the beginning we see how god created man in his image and the image of god is not flesh and blood it was not about a physical attribute it was about a spiritual attribute that we were created to bear the image of his nature of his ways how he thinks how he moves his rulership his dominion that's why when matt when god created man he talks to man about having dominion so we were supposed to reflect the image of god and god was watching the whole time there was a moment when you know god called adam to name all the animals and the bible says he was watching to see what he will call them and then the bible says whatever adam called them that was its name adam was moving in the mind of god but then when the fall of man happened man no longer beard the image of god because god would never listen to satan man was always supposed to reflect who god is to creation that is why god because sometimes you wonder why is it that even the enemy had access in the garden because man was supposed to reflect the image of god god knows that yet the enemy could be around doesn't mean he will have he will listen to him it doesn't mean he will submit to his ways it doesn't mean he will be deceived by him because even after satan has been kicked out of heaven the bible still gives us a count where satan will show up the conversation about job happened in heaven so god is not intimidated by the presence of the enemy and as image bearers you are not supposed to be intimidated by his presence so god allowed satan to have access on the earth the same way he has access in the heavens but none of it is his home his home is hell he just hasn't been sent there yet but it was never about this fear or intimidation because god says you have my image you have my rulership my authority but when the fall of man happened man began to reflect the image of a fallen man the image of one who gives in to the desires of the flesh and this is what happened as a result if we go to adam i mean genesis 5 verse 3 the bible then says and adam lived 130 years and begat a son in his likeness and after his image and named him seth you see no longer was adam give it his children it was not about how seth bear the image of god now he's bearing the image of the fallen man and so now all of reproduction is bearing the image of the first adam that's what the bible talks about the first adam and the second adam who actually has a better witness because it is through jesus that we were reconciled to bear the image of god again that is why even when satan came against eve because when you bear the image of god you are not at war your flesh and your spirit is not at war with each other and so the tactic of satan you see satan did not come against eve with something fleshy because if he wanted to really attack her flesh he would have said eve come on now if you eat this fruit you will be the ruler overall if you would not submit to nobody so if you would just be sitting down and adam will be feeding your grapes it would have been something that enticed the woman you said say what say then all right now but satan was so you know deceitful that he attacked the very thing that was a spiritual desire they were created in the image of god and satan brother deception and says there's a deficit in your image he says if if you don't eat of this fruit then you and you're not fully like god but if you eat of the fruit you would be like god knowing good and evil so eve is like wait the more she was listening to him she starts thinking oh there's a deficit in my image there is something wrong with me and you see the interesting thing about that moment you see sometimes you're wondering why is it that the enemy was after eve and the whole time eve is the bible says and adam was right there why was it that he approached eve and not adam what was it about eve there are many things that the lord has been teaching me about the woman one of it is that the woman is a gateway but that'll be another message but another thing is that the woman came second in the natural and you see many times the enemy is always looking for what is it like the moments the things that you feel like you missed out on to use against you when people are telling you you see maybe you know for me i didn't grow up with a father my father was murdered as a baby the enemy would come and start looking for deficits in your life not and you don't even realize all along god was right there i didn't miss out on anything the enemy attacks eve because he recognizes eve has not even though she has been here since the beginning but she was hidden adam was the one who was naming the animals adam was having conversations with god you never really see any account in the bible up until the fall of man that eve is having a conversation with god so in the in the idea he's looking what is a loophole who has a loophole what what can i use against her well she wasn't really there when he gave the command adam maybe told her she wasn't really there when he named the animals maybe she's already questioning maybe she's wondering and this is a thing with the enemy right before the moment you're about to press in and perhaps ask god a question he shows up and that is why when we talk about how the counterfeit always shows up before the real thing you have to check that in your life right before god is about to bring you the answer the deal the partner counterfeits just start popping up everywhere and they look good i had a counterfeit in my life that i was dating one time i said you know he looked like sunrise but but he was the absolute counterfeit nothing about our lives made sense but the enemy is looking for this loophole he says right before god does the real thing let me see if i can get you in the moment where you doubt let me see if i can get you in the moment where you're lacking confidence let me see if i can get you because the reality is that god says cast all your cares before me cast everything for i care for you when we cast it before god he gives us revelation but on the way of you carrying your burdens to the lord the enemy watches your posture he watches your head held down and he says this is the moment to attack you have to be very careful when the math is not mattering in your life when something you have always desired and wanted something that the lord not enough sex is in an obsessive way because we're going to talk about that but when something the lord has promised you shows up but it's missing some key details do not be so quick to settle because that is the counterfeit approaching before the real thing shows up because the interesting thing family there were two trees in the garden there was a tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they had to be cast out of the garden of eden because the lord said if they eat of the tree of life they would live forever we cannot have this so what would he have meant if they ate of the tree of life first could it be that they were just one conversation and one right fruit away from actually stepping into the fullness of everything god had from them from a pure place not a perverted place so the enemy finds eve in a place of vulnerability and he attacks the spiritual thing her image and that is why the same technique he used against jesus he says if you are the son of god you know then hey let's see what you're about but jesus already knew the game by then but when you are moving in god's image you are not at war in yourself but this is why deception we all have to recognize that we are all likely and most likely have been deceived because the thing about deception is that if deception is the seed then what is the fruit and the fruit is sin because sin does not just happen in just like that sin is the maturation of what has taken place in your heart when it always says that god judges the heart jesus even said something that was so intriguing he said if anyone looks upon a woman lustfully that he has already committed adultery with her in the heart because when and sin you know sin really is about missing the mark right sin is literally you're going the way that the lord did not call you to you're going away that has nothing to do with your destiny you're giving yourself into the trap of the enemy where he steals kills and destroys but sin is what has matured it is the revealing of what has already matured in the heart that's why one of the greatest deceptions even in culture is pornography because many times we're just like i'm just watching it i'm not doing nothing i'm just looking at the screen but there is something happening in your heart and that is why you know i'm nigerian in my country sometimes in the movies they'll have this thing where a man or a woman whatever is caught in adultery and they're like oh honey it's not me it's the devil [Laughter] and it has always been a thing of comedy right they say it's not me it's the devil that did it but the reality is that was some code switching okay the reality is how many of us have found ourselves in situations that right after you did the wrong thing you felt regret right after you did the wrong thing you're like what like why like what was i thinking why did i do that because i'm someone i i used to watch pornography in my past right i used to just you know have my little turn up life because then you know i thank god that he still had me in the chokehold but but the thing is that i would literally find myself doing something and i'm like why did i do that and you start feeling shame and guilt and all these things but you don't realize it didn't start when you acted on it it started in the heart that's the reason why you know when you're ready when you know when you're about to like go out with your friends you have a whole turn obsession you're detecting in a group chat what you know darker light what songs are on the playlist come on now y'all know it's true because sin needs an environment sin needs to be cultivated for i don't know if some of you who are like stranger thing fans right but vecna who i'll just call him for those who have not watched stranger things it's like the monster right and when he inhabits a person he needs an environment and stranger things that will talk about he likes it cold so you know if he's in a person the person needs to be and then you know having a cold shower or sitting in a tub with ice because there is an environment for sin and this is where when we don't realize that we can fall into the trap of deception and it starts in the heart then you find yourself being tripped up over and over and over again because on one end you're like god i would never do this but nothing about the ingredients of the atmosphere has changed you're like you know what i'm done with that i want to live a celibate lifestyle but you are still listening to songs that is talking about things that you want to try how you gonna be celibate [Applause] you have to look at your atmosphere what is in my atmosphere that has deceived me from thinking i can actually do this what is what what am i cultivating around me because there is no way it's just like why is it that we there is worship before the word why is it that even in biblical times before sometimes if our prophet will prophesy he will say bring me my minstrel we need to create an atmosphere that is conducive to the holy spirit in the same manner family there is an atmosphere that is conducive to demonic spirits and when you give into that atmosphere they begin to function they begin to move and then you have no idea how you got tripped up into something and you wake up the next morning you're like what was i thinking it started in the heart that is why the bible says that the heart is deceitful above all things who can know it the heart is deceitful above all things this is where relationship with god is so important god what is in me search my heart oh god and reveal to me myself and so when we're talking about deception what is deception right in simple terms deception is to be led away from the truth anything that leads you away from the truth is deception now the crazy part of this is that the truth is a person i'm not talking about your truth my truth our truth we could talk about this for hours here the truth is a person the truth is jesus the bible says that jesus is the way the truth and the life so when the enemy is deceiving you he is after your position in hearing because when you are deceived when you're led away from the truth you are led on to the enemy and this is why many times one of the the biggest signs of deception is confusion you see the bible clearly says god is not the author of confusion why does he why is it so specific to say that because god does not contradict himself god does not confuse people he doesn't tell you one thing and then switches up on you if you've ever seen in the bible because maybe some of you will argue and say well god told abraham one thing and then he said you know he's not going to kill the son or whatever but you see abraham was never confused one moment in his life to be confused is a sign that whatever is being spoken did not come from the lord because when god is speaking even if he changes his language then he knows you are at the place of maturation to know what he's really after abraham was never confused by god when you read the stories that confuse you in the bible you recognize that the people you're confused about were not confused they never questioned for a second because god knows who he can trust with certain types of movements you see everything about god is in stages that is why one of when if a person just says you know what i came into the lord i gave my life to jesus today and tomorrow you now say you know what he wants me to cast judgment in america you i don't know who you gave your life to and i don't know who you're hearing from because god takes his time with you god is a god of process that is why the bible will talk about being fed with milk before being fed with meat he uses the same illustration as how we feed children you don't give a newborn meat i mean i don't that food that would be tragic you know cps right you start a newborn with milk and the older they get and you even transition slowly you start getting all this you know then you give them avocado [Laughter] before you get to the place where you're like okay have a piece of chicken and then that chicken you have bitten tore it slashed it to make sure they don't choke so god is a god of stages so even how he moves is just like that oh that's a song actually but one why am i sharing this with you family because when we begin to understand the nature of god and the ways of god then some of the things i'm going to teach on is going to make a lot of sense you see why do i say that one of the signs is confusion because where there is deception and you know the lord the beauty is that when you come into christ because of jesus we can bear the image of god not based on our salvation not based on our righteousness but his so the holy spirit can access you but the thing is that when you give into the bait of deception the enemy can also access you and this is where confusion is born because there are two voices that oppose each other that are directing you to do something so one moment you're like i got it god wants me to move to san francisco the next day you're like something happens you're like you know i just had a dream and he's changed the plan to florida huh i mean why is god switching up the plan just within 24 hours because sometimes when you have opposing voices in your head it is the evidence that there is deception that has been sown somewhere and that is when it becomes very hard for you to tell the difference between what is the voice of god and what is the voice of the enemy has anyone been there i know i have because when there are certain things that you want to do because you see one of the key things and actually let me not even get ahead of myself one of the key things when we talk about how does deception happen what are the gateways of deception what are the fertile grounds of deception there were three things that the lord spoke to me about and i'm sure there are many more but there was a need to focus this message on these key things and one is unchecked desires the other two i will group them together because it is pride and offense and i say this because the two things the lord was teaching me about as it relates to deception is relationships and worship relationships and worship now when we think about unchecked desires right the bible tells us that you know what god knows how to put desires in our heart when god wants you to be drawn to something he knows how to put a desire within you for it but that does not negate the fact that your flesh also has desires and when there's a desire has been unchecked that means that desire has no restraint that you become obsessed and the desire actually becomes an idol in your life you see as i'm speaking the holy spirit is going to start putting a conviction in your heart because there are certain things or people that we have made an idol we have made it an obsession and then we slept on the name of jesus over it you see when it came to relationships who lord what i'm about to say we've all been about to expose myself to for you to recognize that because this is going to be for the people that this connects to this is a very hard thing to let go of it is very difficult when you marry a desire that you have that is unchecked with the word of god it is very deadly and a recipe for disaster because then to to get set free from it is extremely difficult because on one hand you want it above anything else and then you say the voice of god told me the lord was showing me marriage or dating relationships and it's this notion that has plagued a lot of christians when we come into this place and we say god told me person a is my wife or person b is my husband and it becomes an obsession because here's the thing with deception what is birth from deception can only be sustained through manipulation but the end will always always be destruction you don't need to to think far about what is the what it who who spoke to you you just have to look at the fruit because the thing is that when you give into deception the enemy now has other things he wants to say that is why if we go all the way back to the beginning after eve was deceived then she deceived adam what happened the lord is walking and he says adam where are you and adam talks about how he is naked and afraid so he hid himself the lord says who told you that you are naked then he says have you eaten from the tree that i commanded you not to the sequence of his questions reveals so much because first of all we never see a moment where satan is having a dialogue with adam that you are naked but the lord already recognizes this voice is not mine adam who told you you were naked and the only way that this voice had access to you you must have eaten of this tree deception happened and now the enemy has access to say other things to you adam who told you that you were naked in the same way we come all the way back and then now we find ourselves in this position where you're like god said to me that this person person a person b is my partner the person is not you you both are not in a relationship they are not you know taking interest to your pursuit listen i don't know who this is for but the urgency in my spirit to share this message and so what happens many of the time what follows manipulation then you start using maybe your wealth or your body to lure the person in sometimes they may take bait sometimes they might not and even if they do they're you know they're out the door in a few but when manipulation follows when you start to lack integrity and you say the voice was god it was not the lord because the word of god is not just a random word god says he is his word so the word of god would always produce his essence it would reveal his nature so for god to tell you something that puts you in a place of obsession it is very likely with a 99.999 that that came from deception i've been there i'm telling you this as a pastor you see one of the biggest things when someone asks me to pray for them if it's something extremely critical the best thing you can do for me is not to give me all the details i would only ask for details if i'm led by the holy spirit the other thing is that if you are close to me and there is something going on in your life i have to remove myself completely because i recognize that my heart can deceive me because of the closeness of our relationship what i might desire is good for you might not be the thing that god wants to do and so my hearing can be easily corrupted that's why many times even when i'm praying for a loved one i don't just wait to hear from god i say god show it to me in a parable show it to me in a way that is coded in a language that would not be my norm that the moment i begin to unpack it then i would understand what you're saying but don't speak to me in a way that i would i would understand immediately because i am not sure if it is your voice or the voice of my desire that's why the bible says the heart is deceitful above all things when my heart has an interest or an investment it is so easy to be deceived i remember those those some guy was talking to in the past right and we were not moving in the forward direction right pastor roosevelt preached last week and he talked about listen where are we going okay i should have had that conversation because definitely we were not going in the same direction but when your heart desires something the voice of god was telling me stephanie this is not it walk away i will literally have visions where i will see him and i will see his face and it's like a demon is dancing on his face i said oh man but then you know what happened then i would hear another voice say he is just a tormented soul he needs you you understand him you can't walk away from him now and i said oh god then you have dreams that satisfy what you desire you see him in need injured you say oh look at that the lord has given me a person who is injured because he knows that i have what it takes to heal him oh lord i just thank you for this revelation i thank you for giving me the insight to endure we we start quoting scriptures but and then the moment you see that person slipping away you randomly have tickets to their favorite game he said you know what it's so crazy somebody just gave this to me that is manipulation because you see them slipping away now you're trying to find how to bait them back in i'm saying this family because god wants to set you free for anyone that is connected to this we're going to go into more because and this would apply to so many areas but i want to be obedient to the very things the key things that the lord said if there is someone you are holding on to if there is someone that you're like god showed me because here is the thing god will never help you to build an idol if god will give you a word that will cause you to build an idol it did not come from the lord god kills idols he doesn't build them because an idol is anything that replaces your affection for god and turns it over to something else when we think about the life of abraham abraham always desired the son it was his i mean like he just wanted a son so bad when the lord gave him a son when he gave him the promised son not the one who came from you know the the manipulation look at that because he was deceived right before the real thing the counterfeit showed up the enemy says i'm i i i'm seeing the movement of the lord here before the real thing shows up let me just let me plant a count of it that counterfeit is still affecting it is still the war between christians and islam till today he presents a counterfeit and then abraham settles in the counterfeit how are we so grateful for the mercies of god that even when he recognized that you have settled in the thing that is beneath you he shows up again this message is god showing up again don't settle in your counterfeit when the real thing shows up and isaac is born abraham the lord tells abraham sacrifice isaac on the mountain and even though if we believe that isaac did not die that day because you know in the natural he did not but in abraham's heart he did when god said kill him on the mountain it was never about kill isaac physically kill the idol in your heart on the mountain because on that mountain later on in in i believe in hebrews we get a full picture of what was going on in abraham's mind abraham began to say that he knew that even if isaac died the lord would resurrect him but you see this is the language of the one whose worship and affection is solely on god abraham was not looking at isaac he was not thinking about the corpse he was not thinking about how do i explain this to my wife because even when he's saying i know that even if this happens he didn't he didn't know the timeline he had no understanding but abraham said isaac is not an idol in my heart i am focused on god god your will be done you gave me this promised child and you have the ability to resurrect him what happened on that mountain was that the idol of isaac was killed it was never about killing him in the natural god was doing something deeper a hard work i'm sharing this family because god will never help you to build an idol god will not give you a word that would activate an obsession in you it is not to say that it is not within the power of god to tell you who your spouse is but if he does the fruit is that you will be so unbothered you would allow things to go in such a natural way and there would be evidence that this came from the lord there will be some form of connection because you see family god honors free will if we go back to the story of adam before god even created eve that moment when adam was naming all the animals not only was the lord seeing that okay he moves like me but the lord was also watching if adam would find a spouse in the animals or if he would recognize that none of them is suitable for him the lord is watching because when you read it in your bible you would recognize that right after adam finished naming the animals the bible said and there was no helper found suitable for him there was no helper found that every time adam named the animal because if adam named a giraffe eve the lord would say well eve you gotta wait because right now adam is entertained with this giraffe here so the lord is watching anything that the lord has his eyes on you pay attention to the lord is watching what does adam call in every animal and it was after that that the lord created eve now one of the things the lord was teaching me in this encounter was a story of rebecca and i never saw it this way that after that i had to study it because abraham when abraham was looking for a wife for his son isaac he tells his servant look we can't you can't find a wife for her in this land i need you to go back to my hometown and find a wife for my son the eyes the the servant goes back and the servant prays a prayer he's like lord show that you have favored your servant and that the person who is supposed to be the wife that give me this as a sign that not only because he was by a well he said not only would she offer him water but that she would offer his camels water this was a sacrifice and by the way this is a real sign you see sometimes when we are in deception we are like god if you want me to continue in this let me see four white cars today and god if this is not of you then let oprah just knock on my front door it is like clearly you know what side you're standing on okay but this man asked for a real sign because to water someone's camels they are extremely thirsty and then rebecca shows up rebecca is like hey you know you want a drink and do your camels on a drink and she's over there just you know giving everybody water and he is like surely god has favored me he follows rebecca to her house he tells them everything they're like beautiful you know what she will marry that man but right there the the servant says you know they were like let her just stay with us for 10 days you know let her just stay here the servant says please do not delay me we need to go now and then the parent said she will go let us let's first ask her if she is willing then she will go rebecca shows up and they asked her are you willing to go and she said i will god honors free will you see in the midst of everything there was a sign from heaven the lord showed up and said yes surely that is your wife but what's their willingness the person that god has spoken to you about is there any willingness and could it be that an actual sign that is a god thing is that there is willingness there is connection you see for anyone who is praying about their spouse and how they identify them i encourage you to watch our pastor's message on five keys to identify in your soulmate it is very powerful because there has to be a connection god does not want to torture you you have to understand this god does not want to put you in a place of mental torture watching going on fake pages and stalking the person on instagram sending cryptic messages this is torture and then we slap the name of god on it and he's looking and he says my child be set free don't give in to this ideology any longer because you would recognize that the moment you walk away from this delusion that all of a sudden you will begin to see where there is willingness you will begin to see the people that have been around you you begin to encounter people maybe i trade the drugs you say hi they said hi you know that is willingness all right but family i'm saying this and that's why i'm sharing my own story too because it's not a thing of judgment the heart is deceitful above all things and many times we hear the voice of the enemy and call it the voice of the lord but you have to look at what did this produce what was the fruit what did it produce in me and what did it produce outside of me because in me it showed me that i could be manipulative it produced a version of me that was lacking integrity it produced a version of me that would do whatever it takes to just acquire this and then what did it produce out of me pain relationships being cut off all kinds of weird things the fruit never lies the fruit never lies that is why even when the lord wants to talk to you about you know prophets and and evangelists and all these people he said test the spirit and what does testing the spirit mean look at the fruit god does not validate his own just because a miracle happened he said what is the fruit of their lives because later in in some later weeks we're going to talk about the spirit of divination just because someone was able to say something to you does not mean they came from the lord what is the fruit of your life and why i'm saying even talking about divination because the second thing the lord told me to speak to you about his worship and what is that because now offense and pride i couple that together so easily because when you're offended pride conceals your offense pride keeps you a prisoner to your offense now there's a scripture i want to read to you before we go into what does the lord mean by worship now it says in matthew 13 from verse 55 to 58 this was when jesus went to his hometown and the people could not receive him they said is this not the carpenter's son is not his mother called mary and his brothers james joseph simon and judas and his sisters are they not all with us where then did this man get all these things so they were offended at him but jesus said to them a prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house now he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief now every time that you know i've read this scripture i'm just like man these people he was right there and you were offended at him but we are like many of those people because why were they offended at him they had grown up with jesus he was there probably at many of their funerals people got sick and he was he was right there when they passed on they needed help they needed assistance they needed a miracle jesus was always there so all of a sudden jesus is moving and doing miracles and they're like hold up isn't this the same jesus that's why they give you his whole background his mother his father his brothers they're like we must be tripping but this is the same and for them to know the whole family tells you the closeness and the familiarity they had he he was i i buried a son i buried a father my aunt was sick and he's over here healing people with the issue of blood where was he when a cold took her out they were offended at him this is sometimes the same way we think that we are familiar with jesus because we encountered we he did not meet our expectation when that sickness happened he did not meet your your expectation and you lost a loved one and now you have made yourself familiar that the fact that he does not do that and whenever someone will tell you their testimony only amplifies your offense it's like you know what you can keep that for yourself i don't want to believe anymore you see the lord was highlighting this to me because i literally saw how there is a seduction and a deception especially in our culture where you want to start looking i don't know who this is for but you want to start looking for answers elsewhere you're like you know what you've been contemplating visiting a psychic visiting mediums you're so hungry for an answer that you're willing to go anywhere you want to open up your chakras you want to try ayahuasca there are so many things that you want to open up yourself to because you're like i try this with god and he did not answer me here i don't want to go back to him and expect to be disappointed again it is this same offense that the enemy is using even in the lives of many black americans because it is the lie that how could you serve a god who was the same god of the slave masters it is this same tactic that the enemy is using over and over again and he's not presenting you with other options he said why don't you actually go to a psychic and there's some of you in this room your friends have actually been telling you about someone to see they're like if you see this person they will tell you so much about yourself and that is why later on we will talk i will teach on the spirit of divination because it is possible to access information that exists without going directly through the holy spirit and so because someone just told you something that sounds like truth and you don't recognize that the enemy is using truth to bait you into a curse there was a friend of mine that went to see a psychic and she told me the story much later because what happened she went the psychic was telling her all types of information she's like oh my gosh that is so true and when they bait you in slowly but surely slowly but surely the next thing hey be careful you're gonna have there's an accident awaiting you be careful but what they're doing you don't know the power of words there's an accident awaiting you you've already come in agreement that there's an accident about to happen so now you start tripping and you're not even giving it to god you're just like oh my gosh and now you're moving with paranoia but you don't understand that that agreement just gave the enemy access for that accident so you think that on one hand you're opening up yourself to a solution and the enemy says now open up because i'm gonna plant other things to bring disaster you see while you're contemplating i'm telling you don't open up yourself because you're offended by at god and your pride is keeping you a prisoner because all god is saying is just say ouch just say god i want to understand where were you when this happened god i want to understand i i'm i'm going through this is heavy on me but i want to still believe that you're a good god you see i'm so happy the lord highlighted that we should bring rb on stage even with her past kidney failure and i'm going to prophetically declare that it is a past even if even with it you know what she does every sunday is serving the house of god that is a person who has hid the word of god in her heart she says even though it doesn't look like my expectations are being met god i honor you above everything else you are still we were singing you are worthy of it all god you are still worthy you see one of the problems even in our culture is that we think blessings are only things that make us feel happy but what the lord has taught me about a blessing is that a blessing is a responsibility and sometimes the lord will burden you god will give you the blessing of trouble god will give you the blessing of an issue because your testimony what does what in the life of many it bears the image of god when your testimony is declared do you guys remember the story when there was a man born blind and the disciples saw the man and they asked jesus who sent was it him or his family his parents jesus said no one sinned actually this is a blessing he says no one sinned but this would glorify the name of god sometimes a blessing is not just the things that is celebrated sometimes a blessing is really the moment of pain and torment because of what it would produce but i want to speak to you today whatever has caused you to have a fence in your heart that's why the bible even says guard your heart with all diligence because the opportunity to be offended happens probably a hundred times a day you can anything if you just open yourself up to be offended you'll be offended every single minute of the day how a person was walking how they were looking at you they didn't wave they didn't say hi you were on the phone you said but i love you no one said i love you back they just hung up you would be offended every single minute of the day and why because we are flawed people but whatever it is that you had an expectation of god come before him and say lord i don't understand your ways matter of fact the bible says that your ways are not my but lord give me insight when your heart is open i kid you not god will speak to you when your heart does not look at him like the evil one god will give you revelation god will minister to you his peace will overtake you don't allow because even offense one of the words for offense is actually a trap there's a book you have to read it is by john revere called the bait of satan and the bait of satan is really offense don't let that trap you and lead you into things that are very deceptive i'm telling you there are many things that you open up yourself to you have no idea you think that what you're doing will bring a solution but right in this house we have some of our prayer ministers in the front row some of the things that we have to pray and deliver people from by the power of god spirits that needed to come out because they had access through things and culture that will tell you this is the way to progress in life it is not worth it i'm not speaking from a place of just you know randomly like oh this happened that sounds weird no i have seen the outcome of these things i have seen what actually happens when a person does things like ayahuasca i have seen the doors that are open when you go to a psychic or a medium you see the bible says that satan appears as an angel of light he doesn't come to you like he wants to ruin your life he comes to you in a beautiful way i will share with you a personal experience i had i remember there was this particular person who portrayed himself as a prophet in my country and the lord had revealed to me that this this person it's not what it is this is that he is not called of me i remember telling my mother i said mom this ain't it whatever he's dabbling into it's not the holy spirit one day when the you see when the enemy finds you finds finds your weak points one day my mom called me she was with that particular you know um self-proclaimed prophet and she was like he wants to speak to you now i'm very playful and you know i'm extremely goofy but when it comes to things of the spirit i will check you and so when she was about to give him the phone i said mom don't do that because my tone will be different and she was like no stephanie he and this is where the enemy gets you she said no stephanie he told he just said he wanted to pray for you no he wanted you to pray for him and i said oh shoot he's over here repenting rather than me to stay sensitive to the holy spirit the enemy got me with my emotions i was on the phone i said let me you know what let's pray which was pride i prayed for the man but it was only an open door for him to pray for me after i prayed i'm all vulnerable and whatnot and then he began to pray for me and when he prayed he was like you know the lord and this is where oh you you have to ask god god show me what i am weak to show me what could be an idol in my life because that was a moment in my life that god has stripped me of everything and i was like god i mean i just need you know a breather and he said you know what the lord is showing me that the angel that was with solomon he send them to you i said oh snap i said because you know solomon was over there having a lot of fun you know wealthy and all that good stuff i said amen amen sir amen my god i go to bed i kid you not that night so i've had different encounters with angels so it's not that they scare me that night i look up i see this angel standing by my bedside beautiful has all these like his whole makeup is like diamonds and rubies and he was i've never seen an angel like that he was gorgeous i was like oh snap this is the angel that was with solomon look at that but then he started to smirk i said i've never seen an angel do that and so within me there was like this alarm in my spirit and i was like god something is wrong here and i began to ask the holy spirit who is this person what is their name and the lord gave me a name and while he's standing there looking at me you know the spiritual and natural is very interesting because i went on my phone and i went on google and i put the name in google and the name translated to lucifer that it was another name for lucifer the moment i saw the name next thing i know he was in front of me i was in bed he was in front of me grabbed my grabbed me by the legs and i kid that was one of the scariest moments in my life it literally felt like my soul was leaving me through my feet and i began to call on jesus i said lord whatever i have done in my ignorance whatever door i have opened lord you need to save me in this moment then this other angel appears and strikes his hand and he was gone and then i asked the lord i said god if this came from that person when he prayed for me the same thing that's that that's that hit this ain't the lucifer's hand then let it strike that man's head let him have a headache so bad that he would even say that i feel like i'm about to die but he's not going to die we don't want to kill nobody but i said god give this to me as a sign you know what happened the next day i called my mom and i shared everything with her and she was like you know stephanie that is so interesting because i just got off the phone with him and he said he has a headache so bad that he feels like he's about to die why am i sharing this with you family in our culture today you have to be vigilant you have to open up your eyes don't just give in to anything that appeases where you're in because you miss your grandmother because you miss your father don't just give in and say you know what let me just go to a medium let me hear from them one more time because you're not hearing from your grandfather you're not hearing from your mother you're hearing from a demon disguising himself so that he can bait you in be watchful where you give your worship and as we are talking about expose and deception what the lord showed me was as simple as this you expose deception by exposing your idols what is an idol in your heart what is the thing that you have put above god and you know it when it is the very thing that will cause you can you think of something that if it happened you might start questioning your faith can you think of the thing that if you don't get it if it never happens it will cause you to question your faith that is the evidence of an idol because that means you have put it above your affection towards jesus in your life when something happens to you and it causes you to feel like god i don't know if i can trust you anymore it is the evidence of an idol and i have been in prayer that the holy spirit would reveal to each and every one of us what is your idol what is the thing that will take you out of character what is the thing that will cause you to lack integrity what is the thing that will cause you to compromise it is your idol but when you expose it and say god this has a hold on my heart you don't need a lie to the lord you can tell him exactly like it is this has a hold on my heart this is where partnership comes in god does not need you to do everything by yourself he just needs you to open up if you just say lord this person has a hold on my heart i really wanted it to be them this the idea of this thing has a hold of my heart this job has a hold in my heart this city has a hold in my heart whatever it is fame has a hold in my heart being an influencer has a hold on my heart whatever you are willing to compromise yourself for is an idol but when you expose it to god it is the mercy of god and the grace of god and the goodness of god that steps in and he will begin to empower you for you to experience freedom isn't it crazy how sometimes you can go from completely being obsessed about something and then all of a sudden it's like you woke up from a dream because you're like what the heck was i thinking what was i doing it is the grace of god that stepped in that the same way you didn't know how you could get free when i used to watch pornography it had a hold on me and and at the time i was like god you just have to allow me to do this since i can't do anything else you know i said just let me watch a little bit but i remember i'm sorry mom but i remember was a particular day never forget that when i recognized that no matter my mess the voice of god never left me god will talk to me in all my foolishness and i remember one day i said god i want to represent you in truth i don't want to live a double life i don't want to act like one thing and or say one thing and do another i don't want to talk because no matter what one thing that is consistent anyone will tell you this anyone from my past people that we used to dance on the dj booth together will still tell you after all of that when we're in the car heading home i'll be talking about jesus i be like after everything you can't even see straight i'm like are y'all coming to church on sunday it's youth night [Applause] but i said god i don't want to live a double life and in that moment that stronghold broke immediately i never had a desire for it i never it is supernatural how god can just uproot because remember deception is a seed that has to be exposed and uprooted you do the exposing god uprooted because god already knows what it is but you need to know what it is so when you open it up to him he uproots it and it's a beautiful journey so family stand with me and in this moment i want you to only focus on jesus i don't want you to focus on who's next to you who you came with because to respond to messages like this might feel like man that's embarrassing no it's not freedom there's nothing embarrassing about freedom don't allow the enemy to even use this moment to deceive your perception about what has taken place and so if you know that i was talking to you in the room whoever you are because the freedom of god is in this room and it is a work that only he can do we are only messengers to deliver his word for the holy spirit to take over and so family if you know i was speaking to i want you to just meet me at this altar [Music] and it was interesting because while in prayer and whoever you are if you're already coming down but i need to even say this the lord showed me someone who kept looking at their watch over and over and over again you just kept looking at your watch and i asked him i said what does that what is that what does that mean and he showed me that there are some of you in this room and maybe even listening to our global family that you have put god on a time schedule you have literally said to him god if you don't do this by this time i'm walking away from the faith and when the lord showed me this group of people it wasn't just one person there were several people who had this their hand just kept looking at their watch you see you can't bait god that is not the right heart posture that was what the pharisees would do the ones that were against god they would say well why don't you show us a miracle why don't you show us a sign because it was never about that god is for you he is for you more than anything else he is for you than you are for yourself he knows your end from your beginning and that is why he has taken his time with you if the lord began to give you everything you ever desired when you wanted it it could destroy you you may not know how to handle it or what to do with it but god has taken his time with you god has taken you in a process whatever it is just give it to him say lord here i am you see there are some of you in this room and you've already gone to a few places you've already gone searching for answers and the lord is gonna set you free the lord is gonna set you free thank you jesus thank you jesus because already you sensed the torments what started off beautiful what looked like wow that is crazy i just spoke to my grandmother next thing now your dreams are tormenting you things are happening in your life you can't explain weird stuff god is going to set you free there are many things we do in ignorance and that's why thank god we have a god who is so merciful that the bible says his mercy and his goodness follows us that his mercies not only do they follow us they are made new every morning god says i know that you went in the wrong path but my mercy is new upon you today the mercy of god is when god holds you in his hand no matter what you did god says i am right here with you i will heal you i will deliver you i will set you free but open up to me [Music] deception is a trip man because you will think you are in the in the right you will think you're doing the thing god wants you to do but look at the fruit what is the fruit telling you about the source [Music] i thank god because i just see breakthrough all over this room thank you jesus thank you jesus [Applause] if anyone else needs to walk out of their seat i want you to walk out don't be so bothered about you know composure and all this stuff don't be so worried about what you think you're supposed to do but i want you to take this act and say god i am not going to be bound by this lie maybe you don't want to come all the way to the front maybe you know you know you're worried about covet but just move to the left just do a little movement right but whoever you are in this house because we're going to pray i want you to just lift up your hand if you're saying yes to jesus thank you lord family can we celebrate them in this house hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah heavenly father we thank you [Music] lord jesus we worship you lord i thank you for your sons and your daughters who are here lord god and i thank you for the breakthrough that is happening right now in their lives i thank you that many of them are already feeling this burden being lifted because literally i can see it this burden is being lifted oh god that whatever trap of the enemy they have been set free in the mighty name of jesus lord god i thank you for those who are saying yes to you oh god i thank you lord that this decision is literally the best decision they would ever make in their lives and i thank you lord that you would hold your hand and you would walk with them holy spirit you said that you would teach us you will guide us you are the helper oh god i pray that they will know what it means to have a personal relationship with you i thank you that they will not just know you by hearing but they will know you by experience because lord this is not religion this is relationship and i thank you heavenly father that they would come into true relationship with you and they would be lovers of truth lovers of jesus that when a lie is coming that they will detect it from a mile away that lord god i thank him that every trap of the enemy we will not fall into it lord jesus when you were raised up you were raised up with all power and authority and might oh god and i thank you that as your children say yes to you you are raising them up from defeat you are raising them up from weakness you are raising them up from insecurities you are raising them up oh god from bondage from addiction you are raising them up from torment into victory in the mighty name of jesus lord we love you we worship you continue to have your way in jesus mighty name amen amen hallelujah hallelujah family can we just shout to god thank you jesus thank you jesus hallelujah now family i never want to miss an opportunity for anyone because i know that there are people coming in even while the message was going on if you would love to give into this house if you would love to sow a seed an offering or your tithe then this is that moment if you have an envelope or you want to give by cash right outside there are boxes just on the walls that you can you can give into or some of our team may have a um a collection for you i love the given moment family because it always reveals where my trust is whenever i tithe it reminds me of where i put my trust and i put my trust in jesus i recognize he is the one that provides for me he is the one that makes ways for me and so it's for me it's it's such a it's a personal thing it's like lord i want to keep building what is lifting your name up i want to keep building what is praising you what is demonstrating your image and the offering just like pastor ebenezer mentioned earlier whatever the lord puts in your heart whatever the lord places on your heart to give whatever that could be it is between you and him for me the offering is always how i mark the spot when i know that god met me in a message i sow into it because the the mystery about seed is that wherever there is seed there is harvest and so i don't just so randomly i sow with intention i say god i'm believing as i'm sowing this seed i am marking the spot of what you have already done it's not we don't bribe god with it we acknowledge him and i say lord i am thanking you for my breakthrough i'm thanking you that i'm free from this and i am marking the spot and i'm watching and i can't wait to testify to the fullness of what you have done in my life and so family as we're giving let's just if you're if you didn't give and you want to give you can lift it up but let's close out in prayer heavenly father we thank you we love you you have shown up in a mighty way we thank you god for what you're doing in and through us and lord as we give multiply its impact in the mighty name of jesus have your way o god in jesus mighty name amen amen [Music]