Set Apart

Hi, this is Pastor Daniel Bracken. You're listening to Kings Alaska Podcast. I hope the Word encourages you and you get a touch from God that brings transformation and equips you to experience life with people, power and purpose. Thank you for joining us. Enjoy the word.

Matthew 11. Are you all there? Go down to verse two.

And usually we stand, but I'll. I'll have you stand up on the inside for tonight.

So John the Baptist is put in prison. To give you a little context, this is Matthew, chapter 11. John the Baptist is in prison. Herod didn't kill him at that point because I think he had a fear of God. And so he's in prison.

And it says in verse two, when John, that's John the Baptist, heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him and said to him, are you the coming one, or do we look for another? So John the Baptist is in prison. It's been taught by some that because he was isolated, he began to backslide in his conviction about the Messiah, the forerunner of Christ. The greater, the greatest one born among women, said Jesus later on, and we'll look at it. The greatest born among women is having second thoughts about Jesus being the Messiah.

So he tells his two disciples, go talk to him and ask him if he's the Messiah, are you the one? And so he sends them off and they come to Jesus and they. And they say, you know, John sent us, are you the one? And look at, look at the next verse. Are you the coming one?

Or do we look for another? Verse 4. And Jesus answered and said them, go tell John the things which you hear and see. Verse 5. The blind see.

He quotes Isaiah 35, verse 5 and 6. And he quotes Isaiah, chapter 61. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the debt are raised up, and the poor of the gospel preach to them. Blessed is he who's not offended because of me.

And so they depart. And I imagine it's not in Scripture, but I imagine they came back to John. I mean, they're good disciples. So he sends them off, they come back to John. And John's like, what happened?

He's like, well, yeah, he said, he quotes Isaiah 35 and, and, and, and you quote, quoted Isaiah 61, he's the one. He's a Messiah. He's it. He's the Messiah. He's like, why?

Awesome. Follow him. Serve him. And then I just imagine John saying, did he say anything else? Yeah, he said this encrypted parable.

Blessed is he who's not. We don't know what that means, but he said, blessed is he who's not offended.

What does that mean? There are people that are offended at God by what he does and people offended at God by what he does not do. And I have been in both categories. Is there anybody else that's been offended at God? If you're offended at God tonight, I would highly advise you get unoffended because He's God and you are not.

It's so important to trust his leadership. I had a promise, still have the promise that I was going to see restoration of two daughters said were born to me in a previous marriage before I got born again. I know that was a lot, so I'll say it again. I have a promise of two daughters.

My two daughters would be restored. I have no relationship with them currently. I've been cut off and they don't want relationship. But I'm praying that would change. They also said, don't talk about us in church.

Well, too bad. I want to offend you, but at the most, mostly I don't want to offend God. I feel pushed to say it. And so I have these two beautiful daughters that I don't have relationship with. And one day I.

One day I will. I have a promise that God's going to do that. They'll maybe, perhaps even sit here with us one day. One day that'll be different. So if one day, when you come to church, you see two beautiful girls sitting next to me on the front row, you will know those are my daughters.

They're 36, 37, approximately.

Well, I had a promise. I still have it, but I thought it was going to be fulfilled in a specific way. And so I took action to see that fulfilled. I mean, I had his dream that it was the way it was going to happen. But the dream was kind of in my soul, wasn't really from God, and it didn't happen that way.

And when it didn't, I flipped God off, which I would advise you don't do. Cursed him, turned my back on him and went straight back into the hellhole that he delivered me from.

I went to really a place of insanity for about eight months. At eight months, I found myself in a mental hospital. Don't worry, it was a long time ago.

Found myself in a mental hospital. My dad visited me with the letter that I had wrote to him. I wrote this letter to him when I was on fire. I mean, winning souls, constantly in church, constantly in prayer, fasting, Every week. I mean, hungry for God and on fire.

And I wrote my dad this letter and I mailed it to him. He comes to visit me in the mental hospital. I'm totally like nearly reprobate. But God brought me back. Thank you Jesus.

He makes an appointment and visits me. They bring me into this little room and there's my dad. And my dad says, Daniel. I said, hi dad. He said, good to see you.

I want to read you something. I said, okay. He pulls out this envelope that looks familiar. He pulls out the letter that looks very familiar. And he reads this letter that I wrote to him.

And it says something like this. Dad, I given my life to Christ. I'll no longer serve idols. I'll no longer have smooth knees and apathy. I'm a live for Jesus with all my heart.

He's my Savior. I mean it goes on and it's filled with scripture. As he's reading the thing, I'm weeping, going, where am I? What happened? What happened?

I got offended at God.

Blessed is he who is not offended because of me. Jesus was not going to set John the Baptist free. Oh, he totally set him free. He's in heaven. But he was going to lose his head.

He was going to allow him to lose his head.

Well, that doesn't really fit my, my categories of what's very nice of God to do. Well, who are you? You want to tell me how planets don't spin into each other?

Where were you when the earth was formed? God is good and we don't understand all of his ways. But clearly he has a plan and that's the plan you want. You never want to get yourself over into position where you're offended at God and angry at God and accusing God. The devil is the accuser of the brother and then the devil accuses God also.

If you don't understand, just mark it off and say you don't understand and settle it that God is good.

You know when he talks to these disciples, talking that most of them are between the ages of 15 to 18 years old. They're your age 15 to 18.

His strategy for changing the world was in the hands. And I know some 15 year olds. I don't think I'd want to put the strategy of saving the whole world in the hand of some 15 year olds. And then I know some others that Jesus might do. You know there are 17 year olds here.

Everybody listening, everybody listening. There are 17 year olds in the Philippines that are leading churches of like 500 to a thousand people. People, I think in America, we just dumb it down and don't think that they can grow up and do anything great. No, you can do things great. Jesus is talking to these disciples who are that age, and he underlines this life of John the Baptist.

Let's look at this now. Say what? Pastor Daniel, I'm a little confused. Are you just teaching out of Matthew 11 where actually you're going? Well, I'm glad you asked.

God is going to raise up. Listen to this prophetic decree. God is going to raise up those with the spirit of Elijah, those like unto John the Baptist. He's going to raise up a people who are hungry and thirsty and desperate and are willing to do whatever is required to see the fulfillment come. Not a man pleaser, but a messenger from God.

And that's what John the Baptist is in. John the Baptist is vindicated by these verses that follow because all of the. All of those listening or think John Baxter fled to hell. He don't even believe in the Messiah. He's in prison.

Oh, he who isolates himself rages against all wisdom. That's a true scripture. But I don't think John the Baptist was doing that. He was turning over his discipleship of his disciples baptized into a baptism of repentance. And he was giving them to the one who would baptize with fire.

He was doing his job. And our job in this hour of history is to be like forerunners, to be like John the Baptist. If you could turn your heart and change the dial of your. Of your heart to go after God in a way that maybe you never have before, to see God pour out his spirit on your life and your family. Maybe that's never been done before.

History books are waiting to be written about a people who would believe God. And I believe that there is a company that is rising in Alaska that are like Jesus, John the Baptist, burning shining lamps for God. I believe that unashamedly. Can I tell you how many people I've had tell me you need to, like, chill and somebody tell me you guys are like extra over at Kings. Well, maybe you're dull.

Maybe you're backslid. You're. You're offending me. Some of you need to be offended.

Listen, if you're not on fire, it's not God's fault. I mean, what do you want him to do? Die on a cross again? He's not going to die on a cross again. He already did that.

So if you're dull in your walk with God, it's not him. He's not the one that Moved you did, you drifted, you got seduced you, you doomed Scrolled until your eyeballs fell out of your head and played video games until you and chewed candy until the cows came home. Whatever you you can be set on fire. Choose it and it's a way better life than the doom scrolling life. The swipe left life way better the swipe one don't worry about it sir.

And so he vindicates John in these verses to follow Verse seven As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John. What did you go out of the wilderness to see? Because. Because people were drawn. They say thousands of people were drawn into the wilderness.

It's not like on the corner of Wasilla. We're talking like in the bush Judean wilderness if you will. In the desert they would go and journey out to see this total freak unusual man. Did you go out to see a reed? Did you go out to see a read?

A reed is blown by any wind and wave. A reed is easily moved. A reed is. Is just goes with. Goes with the flow all the time.

A read is not a compliment. Would you do go out to see some weak spineless person? And the answer is no. No, we didn't go out to see a reed shaken by the wind. Verse 8 what?

What did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments. Matthew 18, Matthew 11, verse 8. Did you go see a man in soft garments? Indeed.

Those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses now. I like clothes as much as the next guy, maybe more. I don't know. I like my clothes, but I mean, they didn't go out to see some celebrity. They didn't go out to see some man.

I Did you hear that? The whole Just when I feel like I got the right tightness in my pants.

I mean to follow the trends is just insane. Did you guys see what the new thing is? Barrel jeans.

Whatever.

How do you know what a barrel jean is?

Believe me, I'm not getting Barrel jeans. At least I don't think unless Pastor Karen gets them for me. That'll be Barrel jeans. Did you go out to see Barrel jeans? Did he go out to see some ripped skinny jean, large screen with smoke?

Did you go out to see that? What did you go out into the wilderness to see? He's questioning, goes on to say what did you go out to see? He. He's questioning three times.

A prophet. Yes, I say to you more than a prophet. John the Baptist was a prophet for sure. But he was more than that. He is the one that was prophesied out of the book of Malachi that would come with the spirit of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, the children to the fathers as he strike the earth with a curse.

He had a very specific calling. He's the forerunner, the one crying in the wilderness.

Behold, I send my messenger. Verse 10. I send my messenger before your face will prepare the way before you. Verse 11. I surely, assuredly I say to you, assuredly I say to you.

Among those born among women, there has not been one greater than John the Baptist. But he who's least leave that up in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. But he's saying, he is saying that there has been no one greater than John the Baptist. And I think he's talking about Old Testament to there's no one that's been greater than him. But greatness defined by God is not the greatness that you and I might use.

Oh, he's great. Well, what does that mean? Does that mean he's wealthy? That means he's gifted. Does that mean he has popularity?

Does that mean he has a lot of followers? What does it mean to be great? What does it mean to be great?

Great in the eyes of God is very different than great in the eyes of the world. I'm prophesying and telling you on the first Sunday of January 2026 that God is going to raise up a company of people who will be great not in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God. Great in obedience, great in, in submission to God, great in authority, great in power, great. And it has nothing to do with the barrel jeans you're wearing. No offense, I'm sure the they're awesome.

It has nothing to do with your clothes or your, your jeans or your shoes or your hair, the lack thereof, and God knows every hair on your head. It's not about any of that. It's about loving God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and all your strength and realizing that you are part of a generation that's going to cause really a preparation for the return of Christ. He's coming back. Jesus is coming back.

It's not preached all that often. I just preached a message to you with all my heart about the eminent return of Christ. He's coming back and we are closer than when we first believed and what God has called you to do, whether you're 15 or 18, whether you're 80 or you're 12 or 9. God's called you to live for God Like John the Baptist, set apart of obedience.

We asked him, did he go see a reed? No, He's a man of courage.

Did he go see someone wearing barrel jeans? No, not. Not someone who's moved by.

Clothing or jeans or things that you wear, but someone who's moved by the very voice of God. You got to see a prophet. He was a prophetic figure that signaled the return or the, pardon me, the. The Advent, the first advent of Christ. We live between the two tensions of his first coming and his second coming.

And just like God brought a John the Baptist to declare, prepare ye the way of the Lord before he came, he's raising up a generation that says, prepare you the way, the Lord before he returns. We are that generation. It's quite a. Quite an hour in history.

God comes in the flesh two times on the planet, to the planet in history. Two times. One's already happened. The second one's coming. Second advent, greatest born among women.

Wow. In John, chapter five. And you can go there, verse 35, he's called a burning shining lamp. I desire to be that. I desire to be a burning, shining lamp.

I said that. And somebody said, you are pastor. Well, I hope to be. I want to be a burning shiny lamp. I want to burn for God.

I want to be a light of. Of revelation. I want to bring forth truth. And it's not so you can get more likers and have more followers. That's that.

The point of ministry and the point of the anointing, the point of the power of God is not so that you can get people likely like you might just tell you what happens when God really comes on you with power and God really comes on you with the anointing, you'll have a whole group of people that love you and a whole group of people that hate you. And that's the way it was for Jesus, and that's the way it is today. You let people celebrate you and people like, hate your guts.

And. And really the point is, is that God would use us. The anointing is not for making money. There is an anointing to make money. The point is, it's not to.

To fulfill your greed. I'm talking about anointing to. To bring in, like Osiris, a wealth of the wicked. That. That's beautiful.

I pr Me, come on. Somebody say, give that to me, then you got to steward it. But if it's about greed and there are people, as I said on the. On that watch night service, there are people who will be like making bread in A wine press. Gideon was make grinding wheat a threshing floor in a wine press.

You don't thresh wheat in a wine press. It's a picture to me of the anointing, the power of God to get provision and to get your needs met and even to make money. Please don't hear me wrong. We all need to make money. Everybody needs to get a job that can.

Because if you don't work, you don't eat. Paul tells that to the Thessalonians. It's important to work, it's important to be good steward. But if you let greed get a hold of you, you are in some deep kimchi, which is a Korean food, that you don't want to be in.

Deep trouble. You'd be up Ship Creek without a paddle. Ship Creek is a creek in Anchorage, and you don't want to be on that creek without a paddle. Can I get an Amen? Tilt the head.

The test for every anointed minister, pastor, leader, business person, the tester. Is it not whether people like you, but are you turning the hearts of people? Is God using you to turn the tide? To prepare a way to make a highway of holiness for the Lord. That is what we're called to do.

Go to Luke, chapter 1, verse 15, 7, 22. There's nothing on Netflix that you can't watch later.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, Luke, chapter one, Verse 15.

This is the prophetic word from the angel Gabriel to Zachariah. For he will be great. This is talking of his son, the answered prayer. The prayer. The prayer he used to pray has been answered.

And he says of John the Baptist, for he'll be great in the sight of the Lord and shall neither drink wine or straw and drink. He should be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit of power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. There it is.

And the disobedience of the wisdom and the just to make ready the people of the Lord. This is what we're called to do. We are called by God to go deep in him, to become a burning, shining lamp. To live with such complete, abandoned abandonment that God would put fire and power on you and you'd be like a burning bush. You'd be like a burning lamp so that you would turn the hearts of a generation.

People are sick of pablum, sick of lukewarm, half hearted, cute little leadership teaching is not going to set Your cousin free from the demon of addiction. It's only the. You can't teach demons. You can only deliver people from demons. Don't try to teach in demons.

I've. I've tried that. It's very frustrating. They don't learn. They don't listen.

They lie.

These are the three things really that we're. That we're called to do.

Verse 17, verse 16. He'll turn the hearts of children to Israel to Lord their God. Verse 17. I believe there's the NIV now. He will also go before him in the Spirit.

That means the same purpose, the spirit of Elijah. It's the same purpose that Elijah had. What did. What purpose did Elijah have? To turn the hearts of a backslidden nation of Israel back to God away from baal.

And that is what God has called us to do. He's called us to be the repair of the breach. Isaiah talks about that. Gosh, you're intense. Yes, I'm trying to.

Trying to get through.

To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedience of the wisdom of the just. The purpose of the anointing is not to have a huge church. The purpose of the anointing is not about having a big bank account. The purpose of the anointing is so that you can have people like you. Anointing, purpose of the anointing.

The God enablement definition of anointing. The God empowerment to do what God called you to do. It's the Spirit at work within you. An unction, if you will. As it says in Scripture.

The definition of the anointing. Doing that which God called you to do with the power. It's the power of God to get the God stuff done. And it's not for any other purpose than expanding the kingdom. And if you lose that, you've lost it.

Man. I like my hair standing on end in his presence as much as anybody else. But it's not just about that. It's about taking that and shifting the spiritual gears to move forward. To do what God called you to do.

To cast out devils and heal the sick and set the captives free to be like a John the Baptist. So this is all review. Want to get to some new, some new content? Here we go. Matthew 11.

Back to Matthew, verse 11. There's not risen one greater than John the Baptist, but he who is in least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

So Jesus reveals that there's greater power available for. For us. John the Baptist is clearly a great man in the sight of God and he's saying he's least in the king. There is power available to live a heart set on fire for God. Will you access that is the question where you just live a ho hum life.

He touches you in direct proportion to your hunger. And if you're not hungry, you're going to get in trouble. You are by nature by, by the way that God designed you. You're hungry. You want to see the supernatural.

That's why Hollywood has captured the attention of a whole generation by the amazing green screens and the crazy stuff that they can now do. People are wild. I mean anybody else like action movies? I've found that most spirit filled pastors like action movies. If you're not, if you're a spilled pastor and you don't like an action movie, I don't, I don't know if you're spirit filled, I'm not sure.

I just do. I just, I don't know. I like going home from church and just be like yes, I like the good versus evil and I, I hate a movie that has a bad ending.

God wants to put power on you greater even than John the Baptist. And then, and then to see that to happen, in order to see that to happen, you've got to get hungry for it. It really points to a spiritual violence. He says that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Wow.

What does that mean? There is a rewarding for spiritual violence has nothing to do with physical violence. Listen, you know it's an act of violence to get up for morning prayer. Come on Pastor Christian, can I get an amen? It's a spiritual act of violence to put your flesh to death and get your carcass out of that bed and get up and get down to morning prayer.

It's, it can be an active fasting is definitely an act of violence. What do you mean? I mean you want to eat everything, don't you? I mean some of you don't maybe, but fasting, fasting for years, for years before we fasted. Right.

Maybe some of you can relate to this. It was on this night, the Sunday before we would start on Monday. We called it the Last Supper. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? It's called the Last Supper because you're, you're going to, you're going to fast on Monday, But Monday's coming 12 o' clock and, and we were very strict about 12.

It was noon, midnight, midnight, 12 high midnight. And we would just go and just gorf. I mean we would eat and we would just eat. I mean, I would just get doubles and triples and just walk out of that place like, oh, hallelujah. It's time to just totally give in to a gluttony spirit and get all sanctified at midnight.

For years. For years I did that.

It's an act of violence to put your flesh down, to put yourself, push yourself away from the table and begin to fast and go after God. It's an act of violence because you have flesh, your fallen human nature. It's just like the bride of Frankenstein, not the bride of Christ. It's constant, constantly, just wants to come out and take over and rule. Wants to step on the green grass that you're not allowed to step on.

Wants to do the things you're not supposed to do.

It's a spiritual violence. It's being resolute in your heart to pay any price necessary to get near and closer to God. And if you'll do that, you'll experience a joy and a power and a breakthrough that you have never known. As we move into a time of fasting, have a paradigm shift. What is a paradigm shift?

A paradigm is a set way of seeing something. I had a paradigm shift the other day. I talked about in the second service, not in the first. The paradigm shift was, for 28 years, Pastor Karen has stolen the covers for me every night. Every night, this precious woman would steal the covers from me every stinking night.

And it was just the way it went. And so I would pull them back. In fact, I even had a gym exercise for getting good torque to get those we. I don't know if. Do you remember?

It's like, no, we never really talked about it, but we've actually had some cover wars, which I totally win every time. Yeah. And then she would say something like, as I finally get them. Something like that.

I had a paradigm shift. That's the way it was for 28 years. And then last week, I suddenly realized, I'm the one that steals the covers from my beautiful wife. I thought, how could that be?

Somehow the veil came off of my eyes and I realized, I'm the one. I'm the one. And so last night, for the first time, I didn't steal the covers. She didn't notice. But I said it twice in service today, so I'm getting some points.

Amen.

You need to have a shift about the way you think about fasting.

I'm telling you, a touch from God is far more satisfying than a large chocolate cake.

Well, you need to have a Paradigm shift. But if you draw close to God, his burning presence and fire and visitation from God and. And hearing wisdom about your business, about your marriage, about your children, about your ministry, about your calling, you need to have a shift in your thinking. Let me see. Push myself away to draw near to God.

I want to be a burning, shining lamp for God. I want to be set ablaze. And God has. Has poured out his spirit, but had touched you in direct proportion to the hunger that you have. And if you are not hungry, something's wrong.

I'm trying to preach you hungry and not for the Last Supper. I'm trying to preach you hungry for God because God is raising up those like John the Baptist, Source of our spiritual violence. I. I tried to analyze. Could I have keys, please?

I asked God to just show me some things. Recently, I have a. I have a gift of zeal.

And I started asking the Lord about that. And there's been times when it's been hotter and stronger than other times. Other times I've. I mean, I've gone through discouragement and different things like other people have as well.

I started looking at where that came from. I think it's a sovereign gift. But also the Lord has forgiven me of so much, and he's overwhelmed me with his love, and his love rules my heart. How many things try to vie for our affection and our attention, but it's the love of God, it causes us to get up for prayer. It's the love of God that causes us to draw near to him.

It's the love of God that releases a spiritual violence. And if you've not had that kind of encounter, stick around, because he wants to put that on you. That he becomes more important than anything else. That's the real definition of being your Lord, your savior. Lord and.

And savior. And it's. The other thing is that I don't. Pastor Tim and I, we. I think we spoke about this not long ago, maybe a year ago, but many times we would pray for healing for people, and, you know, we didn't see the miracle.

And so we'd pray again. I don't mean like at an altar. I mean, like ongoing battling for someone who's in need of a miracle. And then there's been times when you. I didn't see it, didn't see the breakthrough, didn't see the miracle, trusted God, and then just sort of let go and said, well, you know, God's good.

And then rested on his sovereignty to be sovereign. He does what he wants when he wants to, whoever he Wants to. He's sovereign, he's God, and he's good. And so I can back off and just rest on the fact man, God's good. I don't understand.

I prayed, I contended. But there's another level of contending. There's another level of spiritual violence. There's another level of outpouring. There's another level of fire.

There's another level of power. And let me ask you, where are you at? Where are you at in your walk with God? Are you willing to get more on fire? You're willing to do anything it takes to draw near to God and to have your heart enlarged, to be able to carry a greater capacity of the anointing of the Holy Spirit?

Are you willing to be set apart like John the Baptist to be a burning, shining lamp? Or you just want to contend with whatever level of relationship and anointing that you now have? The fact that Jesus lives on the inside of you puts an anointing on the inside of every single one of us, clearly. But there's other levels in God. There's other levels in God.

You've seen people that walk in a greater healing anointing than someone else. You've had them here preaching. I know in my own life. And when I put my. My hand to the plow and I let my heart burn for God and I fast and I pray, something stirs in me that is.

That is dynamic and powerful. I can't even put words to it. I challenge you. I call you to go higher in God. Go higher in God.

See what you can do this year like never before. Out. Give your giving lag from last year. Out. Serve your serving from last year.

Out. Pray all your praying not to earn anything. You can't earn his love. You already have it. And when you realize that, you realize that you can have a capacity to grow in your walk with him, which is the only thing that will satisfy you.

Nothing will satisfy you besides God when He has the right place and he adds all these other things for our enjoyment. But if he's not in that center place, if he's not in the center of your heart, if he's not there, then you won't live the satisfied life and be satiated like Abraham.

A couple more things here.

Verse 16 of Matthew 11. What should I like in this generation is like children sitting in the marketplace calling to their companions, saying, we played the flute.

The flute is synonymous with, like a wedding song. It's a picture of. Of the song of the Lord. We played the flute. The Flute for you.

And you did not dance. We mourned. It's a picture of lament. Mourning, lamenting. It's a picture of God's judgments.

You're there. Matthew 11, verse 16. 17. For John came. Look at verse 18.

For John came, neither eating or drinking. And they say he has a demon. You know, there's a. There's a.

There's a reproach. There's a persecution that comes by being on fire. On fire. People make lukewarm people very uncomfortable on fire. People are oftentimes criticized.

And I've been criticized. Not that I've always been on fire. I'm like the paragon of on fire. John the Baptist was. Jesus certainly is.

And I'm telling you, you can go to another level of fire and passion. And when you do that, you're going to have people that. Why, dude? Why aren't you vaping anymore?

Come on, come on, come on, come on. What's the big deal about vaping? Show me in scripture where it says you can't vape. Come on. Here, have a glass of wine.

Show me in scripture why you can't have a glass of wine. No, don't be drunk. Of course don't be drunk, but you can have a glass.

There's so much compromise. I've had people say to me, hey, Pastor, you know, I got this girlfriend, and is it okay if we, like, go this far? I'm like, you. You're already backslid. What do you mean, is it okay if we go this far?

You. You. You're already blown it.

Not feeling the love. I'm going over here to the holy section.

See how big a heart you can get for God. See how. How on fire you can get in complete abandonment and. And separated unto him. And watch and see what he'll do.

He'll give you pleasures from his river. For at his right hand there are pleasures for even evermore. At his right hand, he's the author and the perfecter, and he's the one who gives pleasure and blessing. He. He designed it.

He created it. He created pleasure. Pleasure is not from the devil. The devil took it and twisted it and tried to get you to get that outside of covenant, inside covenant. Pleasure with God is amazing.

There's nothing like that. And I found it through fasting and prayer.

You left. People that think you're crazy used to say to my daughter and my son, you need to pray for them. They say, but, yeah, but, dad, why can't we. I said, he said, you're not going to do that, because that's not what we do here. It is in scripture.

That's not why we do that. You'll trust me, you'll obey. But they get to. I, I know, but I'm not their parent and I'm not. I can't.

I can't make them do anything. And they can do whatever they're going to do. I said, but just take note. You pray for them, but take note. If they continue on that track just tech 10 years from now.

Well, we've watched 10 years go by. It's not pretty. Those who live a life of compromise, half measures, half stepping, one foot in the world, one foot in the kingdom. It's very painful. But this life set apart for God.

I'm a whole. I want to go deeper with God. I'm going after him. Anybody else? I'm not doing the Last supper thing.

I'm done with that. That hurts. I'm not doing that. You want to do that, great. But fast and pray, pray.

Believe God. Who knows? Who knows what will happen.

I believe he'll release the spirit of Elijah upon us. We'll see the hearts of a generation turn and we'll see the disobedient turn to the wisdom of the just. We'll see God pour out his spirit. I believe what's happening in Iran is largely due to an underground church that has cried out. There has been revival underground in Iran and they've been crying out, most of which have been women from what I understand.

And there's an outcry for God to move. What could happen? What could happen if we draw near to God in this time? A generation of those burning shining lamps, a lifestyle of seeking God.

Lift your hands to Jesus.

This could be the last year that we're in the earth.

Set your gaze, set your. Set your life up to win, fast and pray, serve. Be a part of a team here in the church. Get into a life group, maybe become a life group leader. Life group leaders, we have a commission leaders meeting next, next Sunday.

Life group leader team leaders assistant host that Sunday night right here.

What could happen?

Do you just position yourself to get hungry and thirsty? You position yourself to go after God. Abraham, stand up on your feet. I see the word of the Lord coming to you even tonight. I prophesied to you a great release of God's power.

Your hunger and your brokenness has drawn his favor to you. And I see God reaching his hand out over you and touching you. I see him taking a coal from his altar and placing it upon your lips. The cleansing Power of God has come upon you by the blood and that you know full well of the anointing and the unction to preach, even like a John the Baptist, even when I've been preaching here, you've been like, oh, I feel it like that. It's because it's God.

And I affirm to you the call of God. I affirm to you that you're to preach and you're going to be raised up as a mouthpiece for God. Holy Spirit, let your fire come upon him tonight. Fire.

Doesn't matter what you did or didn't do. It doesn't matter what pedigree you have or don't have. It doesn't matter where you came from. It doesn't matter your background. It doesn't matter if you have money or don't have money.

It does. None of that stuff matters. All the stuff of the world doesn't matter. With the. With the.

With. With excellence and money and fame and fortune, the level of the world goes up. But that is not greatness in the kingdom. Greatness in the kingdom of God is, is like John the Baptist, greatness in the kingdom is seeing how, how quick he can obey, how you can love God, how you can serve him, how you can live before him with Christlike character. See how big a heart you can get for God in 2027.

And watch what will happen. He will turn your family around, turn your cousin around. He'll turn your auntie. Yeah, even your auntie. He'll turn her around.

He'll set the captains free. Stand upon your feet all across this place and begin to make a decree before God. Come on. You're gonna be a burning, shining lamp. It is the reason that you were created.

It's the reason that you're in the earth. It's the reason you're alive. Not to live some mediocre life where you eat, watch tv, go to work, come home, eat, watch tv, go to sleep, snatch the covers, get up, go to work, come home, eat again. This ho hum, boring existence with no fulfillment. That is not God's plan.

God's plan is to use you. God's plan is to speak through you, to use you. If you're not being used by God.

Like I said before, it's not his fault. And I've found many times, God is using us and we don't even know it.

I'm gonna go deeper in God.

How about you?

Well, I hope you were encouraged by God's word. Thank you again for listening to Kings Alaska Podcast. God bless you. For more great content, go to kcalaska.com and may God's face shine upon you and give you peace.