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Sometimes the only reason you're not at peace, the only reason you don't experience joy is because you're not yet submitted. The moment you say, "Lord, come what may, you will find me in your will," there is a joy that will begin to overtake you. You may be seated.

I truly believe there's such a special word that the Lord desires to go forth and we're just going to see what the Holy Spirit does with it. But you see, I truly believe that even when you you look at the times that we are in, it's in times of chaos and times when there is wars and rumors of wars that the Lord begins to reveal and call forth a remnant. Because when the times are vulnerable and chaotic and imp and I you know not predictable unpredictable rather there is a a level of sobriety in the land.

There is a harvest that is being is waiting to be gathered for the Lord. But it takes people of radical obedience because what will be required of you? You have to be willing to lay everything on the line for Jesus if you're going to be effective for his name.

And the Lord, the word that the Lord kept putting on my heart had to do with obedience. But you see, obedience is something we we know. We hear it.

We know that when you're walking with the Lord, it's it's, you know, just part of if there are like, you know, when a child starts talking, their first word is no. No, no, no. And you know, for us as believers, one of the first things that we understand about being a Christian is obedience.

Jesus would say, "If you love me, obey my commandments." Now, even though we know that this is one of the first things that we learn about what it means to walk with God, yet many of us find ourselves in the place of disobedience. So, it's not that we don't know we should obey and sometimes even the heart posture in which we obey is still not complete before the Lord. And so I believe that this word is going to really bring us to a revelation on why we choose wrong when we know what we ought to do and what is truly at stake.

What is the real cost of disobedience? You see, um, we have a we have a daily, you know, we have an internal team and together we pray every day. And this morning, it was so beautiful.

Mariah, who you heard from earlier, you know, she had shared this scripture in 1 Corinthians 10:10 when the Apostle Paul is literally telling the people, you know, to not complain, to not murmur. And it's so fascinating because you know this he's writing this letter to the church in Corinth and Corinth at the time was a place that you know the city was known for three main things that was happening. There was spiritual pride happening or spiritual arrogance.

There was uh idolatry and sexual immorality. And so he's writing them this letter because these are people that are exposed. They've been exposed to in a one way or the other to spiritual experiences.

They've been exposed to spiritual encounters. But he wants to remind them that just because you've been exposed to spiritual encounters does not mean you're spiritually mature. Just because you've been exposed to spiritual experiences does not mean that you're spiritually secure.

So he begins to paint a picture. He uses Israelites as a mirror for them. He starts to remind them about the ways of the Israelites when Moses had delivered them out of Egypt and they were in the wilderness walking out this journey and he's literally talking to them about how the Israelites and first of all remember these were people who experienced the power of God plagues that would hit Egypt.

how the plagues would hit Egypt and they would be separated. It would pass by them. They walked on dry land.

Like I always call the Red Sea the first aquarium because they're just there walking the, you know, it parts. Nemo is somewhere in the mix. They walked on dry land.

They, you know, the Lord is feeding them supernaturally every single day. They saw some of the greatest, you know, moves of God, but yet they complained, they murmured, they it was just it it didn't add up. And so the Apostle Paul starts to paint this picture of don't be like that.

Because even though this people saw all these amazing things, I'm actually want to read a scripture 1 Corinthians in verse 5 of that. It says, "Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered in the wilderness because a lot of them died in the wilderness." The Apostle Paul is talking to believers here.

You come to a gathering, you go to a service, you experience the presence of God, you have encounters with God, you you know the move of God, but yet when you're walking out your faith, when the Lord is speaking you about things, when you're experiencing, when the Lord is bringing you through process, you complain, you murmur, you're you're telling God why It's not you. You're annoyed. You know that is the hand of God that is sustaining you, but you are dissatisfied, discontent with where you are.

Have you ever been there when you know, Lord, I know you're you made it possible for me to pay rent. You made it possible for me to have food on my table. You made it possible for this door to be opened.

But in the same vein, you always complain. Because while you know it is the hand of God that sustains you, when the Lord gives you an instruction, when the Lord is telling you to do something, you're complaining because deep down is that Lord, I'm not where I'm supposed to be. There's a discontent in you.

And the crazy thing is that when you continue to tolerate, there's a reason why the Apostle Paul is telling them do not complain, do not murmur. Because it is not just about your words. It is not just that you don't ex you don't like the condition of your life.

It is about the condition of your heart. When you continue to tolerate it, when you continue to allow it to grow, the seeds that have been planted, you're watering it with your words, you're watering it with your posture. Then eventually that discontent, what is in your heart will begin to be revealed in your actions.

It's a subtle departure from God. It's a subtle departure from walking in the spirit to satisfying the lust of the flesh. It's subtle, but it starts in the heart.

So the apostle Paul is telling them, let's actually go through it. 1 Corinthians 10:10, nor complain as some of them also complain, talking about the Israelites, and were destroyed by the destroyer. You see this word complain, it points to murmuring, grumbling beneath the breath, expressing dissatisfaction against God's dealing.

This is not the thing that people see. This is not You can be walking things out in front of everyone, but deep down you're having these whispers to yourself, I'm over this, God. When are you going to stop?

When is this going to be over? These are the things that it's only those that are close to you, your intimate circle that hear you. How you really feel about the things that the Lord instructs you to do.

How you really feel about the reason you're delaying the way that God is calling you to live. How you really feel about the excuses and the things that you bring up in walking things out with the Lord. Because again, the Apostle Paul recognized that this is not just about your words.

This is an issue of the heart because it is exposing what you really believe about what God has called you to steward. It is exposing what you really believe about who Jesus is. It is exposing what you really believe about how God will carry you.

It is a heart issue and it's also an issue of revelation. And so what Paul is confronting in them is that he's not saying don't disregard your emotions. He's not telling you that I know how you feel and disregard it.

Shut it off. He's calling them higher. You see, anytime there's an instruction given, even when you will hear things that the Lord will say to you, fear not.

Fear not is not just about a commandment like you're you're some robot that just has to, you know, remind you of stuff. I can't be afraid. It's an invitation to the revelation that there is something you will know about God.

There is something you will know about the ways of God. That the outcome of your life is that you no longer complain. That the outcome of your life is that you no longer feel discontent.

that the output of your life is that you you realize the honor of what it is for the Lord to partner with you. You realize that truly it is my reasonable service to serve the Lord with my all. It becomes a natural surrender to God.

So Paul is calling them to a place of revelation. This is the revelation the apostles and the scripture had when they would rejoice in persecution. How can you be persecuted and you're happy about it?

How can you be stoned talked about and you're smiling? Stephen was getting ready to be stoned. Yet he looks up.

He's not moved. He is looking at his maker ready for him to be received. There was something they knew that made suffering worth it.

There was something they knew that even when they walked out in boldness, they would pray for more boldness. There was something they knew that they would say to live is for Christ and to die is gain. And that is what I believe I'm inviting you into by the grace of God tonight.

You see even when you there was a king God told him to read this chronicles 2 there was a king that the scripture has literally said and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord but not with a loyal hearts. The Lord is not just looking for your lip service. The Lord is not just looking for you to say, "Okay, God, I did it.

Okay, I showed up. How did you show up? How did you carry it out?

How did you live for me? The heart matters." And so, this really leads me into the key text we're going to be studying. And we're going to be looking primarily at the life of a man named Esau.

Because Esau's life is such a teacher to the true consequence of disobedience. The true consequence when you don't treat the things that are sacred. When you rather when you treat the things that are sacred as common.

When the Lord wants to partner with you, this is holy. When the Lord gives you an instruction, these things are holy. When the Lord places something in your hand to steward, when the Lord gives you something as a vision for you to execute and to start, these things are holy.

But there are real consequences when you treat the holy things as common. So let's look at the scripture. We're going to be studying from Genesis 25 from verse 20-34.

So it begins by saying Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca as a wife, the daughter of Bethl the Syrian, of Padam Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. Now, you know, first of all, I think this is just so beautiful because you're going to see that Isaac, you know, he gets married at 40, but they don't have kids until he's 60, 20 years later. Isaac is the promised child.

This is just going to encourage someone. Isaac is the promised child. It is known that through him would be the lineage of Jesus.

It is in God's interest for Isaac to have children. Not just Isaac's desire, it is God's desire that Isaac would have children, but yet 20 years will go by before his wife gets pregnant. You see, I don't know what you might be believing for, but there is something I'm learning about God that even in his promises to you, it is never your strength he's looking for.

He wants to work with your weakness. That even the promised child would also take him 20 years before they have a child. It says, "Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife because she was barren and the Lord granted his plea and Rebecca his wife conceived." I love the fact that even Isaac, the Bible says, he pleaded with the Lord.

That was a sign of humility. Isaac was not coming from the place of carrying the trauma of what his father did. He was not coming from a place where he's like, "Don't you remember how I was almost killed on the mount that this was traumatic." It's interesting because when the Bible shows us that when Isaac's mother died, he mourned.

It doesn't really tell us that he was mourning when Abraham passed. I I'm not Isaac, but I'm saying I think the man was a little traumatized. But this was not a moment for him to remind the Lord like, "Okay, here we go again." So, is it because I'm the promised child, would I have to go through what my father went through?

He heard of the stories of how long it took. I mean Abraham, it got to the place where you know Sarah that the Bible says that she her womb was dead already. These thoughts could could start coming up.

But the Bible says Isaac pleaded humility. Someone that honors what he has received. Someone that honors his position in God.

that for some reason the Lord has chosen me to be the lineage that the Messiah comes from. Isaac pleaded with the Lord. This is not the message, but I believe it would help someone because sometimes just because God gave you a word does not mean you're not going to journey through difficulty for it to come forth.

Just because you have a vision from God does not mean God changed his mind because you're experiencing what you perceive is delay. Just because you know for a fact that Lord even another person confirmed this prophecy but nothing is happening. It's not because God changed his mind concerning you but the Lord partners with you at your weakness.

Not when you feel like you are strong. He gets you to the place of humility because that is actually your protection. It becomes dependence on him because what starts in the spirit needs to finish in the spirit.

You cannot start something in the in the spirit and finish in the flesh. If you think that you it is your strength, it is your relationship, it is your age that will give you the favor, you will finish it in the flesh and not in the spirit. So the scripture continues in verse 22, but the children struggled together within her and she said, if all is well, why am I like this?

So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples shall be separated from your body.

One people shall be stronger than the other and the o and the older shall serve the younger." Now some of us are familiar with the scripture when it says that when the Lord literally says, "Esau have I hated and Jacob have I loved." And it's perplexing because it's like God, how could you hate Esau? And this is not that God hated Esau like emotions because if God hated Esau, the real question would be why would he love Jacob? It would be different if it was said of Jacob that he was someone like Noah.

Noah was blameless in his generation. Jacob from the moment he was born was conniving. So this was not about an emotional thing of God just choosing to hate one and love another.

The language actually speaks of the fact that it was more about preference for who the Lord has chosen again to continue in bringing forth the lineage of the Messiah. Now, this election, this choosing was one of grace because later in the scriptures, it would talk about how it was not based on any evil or good they've done, but it was really, you know, grace. But at the same time, God, I mean, God is God.

He is all knowing. And so, even in his choosing, we will see his divine wisdom play out about the difference between Esau and Jacob. and what I believe was one of the turning points in why Jacob would be the one to continue in this promise.

And so the scripture continues, "So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb, and the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over. So they called his name Esau.

Afterward, his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel. So his name was called Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when he bore them.

So the boys grew, and Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. But Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game.

But Rebecca loved Jacob. Again, he they both loved their kids. They just had a preference of one over the other.

Now, Jacob cooked a stew. And Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary." Therefore, his name was called Edom.

But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die." So what is this birthright to me? Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him and sold, this was a legal transaction, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils.

And he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthight. A man traded everything for lunch.

not even everlasting food lunch. You see, this was one of the defining moments here because funny enough, Esau, as the Bible talks about, he was a skilled man. He was a hunter.

And later on in the scriptures, you would see when, you know, there was a time when the father was were getting ready to bless his children and he says to Esau, you know what? Go make me the tasty food I enjoy. so Esau could cook.

It's not that Esau wasn't skilled in the kitchen and Esau was not a vegan. So, a man who knows how to cook with meat will trade his birthright for what we eat during fasting. This was not a feast.

It was lentils. And Jacob, we don't even know how good Jacob could cook. Because when his mother was conniving with him, if you've never read this, you have to study these scriptures in your own time.

When the mother wanted to connive with him to say, "Hey, I've heard what your father said to Esau. Go get me some meat. Let me cook the tasty food he likes." So, es um Jacob, what was your kind of food?

This man gave it all away for some lentil stew. Now what was the birthright? The birthright carried a double portion of everything the father possessed.

It made you head of the household. It made you the spiritual leader of the lineage. And what made it more weighty in the case of when it came down to the bloodline between Abraham um Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the birthright also spoke to placing you in the lineage of the Messiah.

That the blessings and the promises that were connected to Abraham that it positions you for it. This was weighty. This was not just something of a moment.

This spoke of an eternal blessing and for some food. He he sold it. You see, Esau did not understand the value of the position that he had.

And in a moment of choosing comfort over destiny, you see, there are some things you have to understand that even in your love for God, even in your desire to walk with God, you could make heaven, but there were things written about you that cannot be restored if you relinquish it. You see, one of the things that that keeps me alert spiritually was when I encountered the Lord and he started to speak to me about my calling and the things that he had called me to do and he said to me, "If you don't finish this, I will give it to your daughter, but that is not her calling." What was Jesus saying? Essentially, it is within you to fail me.

You have the capacity to fail me. If you don't if if you don't bring that those appetites to the cross, if you don't become aware of the fact that you have the ability to choose comfort in certain situations over purpose, if you don't acknowledge that, then the spirit of God can help you deal with it. So, he was giving me, it was not about a warning.

It was not about, you know, judgment. It was to bring me to the reality that if you're going to walk this out, you need to stay close to me. Never try to do this in your own strength because you will fail me if you try to do it your way.

When the Lord was telling Peter, you're going to deny me. I think if Peter said, Lord, why would I do such a thing? If he acknowledged that I could have the capacity to deny you, maybe something would have shifted.

But Peter said, "No, no, no, no, no." And not only did Peter deny him three times, he was aloof. You have to read it. He denies him first time, second time, third time, going about his day, thinking about some fish grill.

And the Lord, the scripture says when the Lord looked at him, that was when Peter lost it, he remembered what the Lord had said. So the first time, second time, third time, what was driving him? How could he be so out of himself that even while he's performing the act, he was not conscious of what the Lord had warned him that it was after the third time the rooster crows.

He's still thinking about fish grip and then Jesus looks at him and everything comes back to memory. If you don't stay close to Jesus, if you don't choose to carry your cross daily, if you just believe that you know what, I'm me and Jesus, we're just good. The enemy while you are asleep will plant seeds in your heart.

So the first thing is that we have to acknowledge that there is something in us that has the capacity to fail in our walk with the Lord. If there wasn't, the Apostle Paul would not say I die daily. That means yesterday's death would not bring me into tomorrow.

What I conquered yesterday would not be my confidence for tomorrow. I have to choose to carry this cross every day. It is a conscious thing that every single day, Jesus, I'm being mindful of the fact that I choose you over self.

If I ever get to a place that just because I've seen the move of God, I've seen the hand of God. I prayed for someone and they were healed and I just start coasting, stop reading my word, start negotiating with the word of God, start picking and choosing what I will submit to and what I would not submit to. Start creating language because you know what?

On Wednesdays, I just want to adapt to what culture is for. and then Sunday, Lord, I'll get back in your house. When you start making your own rules, you don't realize you're already in the path of death.

The scripture says that there is a way that literally it leads to death and you will not even know it. If you start making your own rules, this is the path that is awaiting. Esau sold his birthight for some stew.

You see what is interesting about this is that there who you must become in God requires what you must overcome in self. There is always a place, a moment, a time and this seasons come in different rather what I will say is that these um this periods rather it comes in different seasons of your life. These tests comes in different seasons of your life where there is something you must overcome in self before you can become who the Lord has called you to be.

You see, what happened with Esau did not just start with Esau. Because even when you talk about Esau, look at what Hebrews 12:16 says about him. It says, "Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright." And what what were they talking about?

Again, the writer of Hebrews is talking to believers and he's giving them a warning that I know you are experiencing some of the same pressures. You're under pressure in your faith. You're going through some persecution.

There are things that you feel challenged. You're you're going through some hardship in your life. You're growing weary.

But then it says, "But do not be a fornicator or profane person like Esau." The writer is talking to people who are tempted to drift. They're experiencing things that they're just like, "Lord, I didn't think it was supposed to be this hard." And his warning to them, "Do not be like Esau. Do not be the one." Because what is profane in this context that you treat what is holy as common profane that you don't have the spiritual discernment to know the value of what God has placed in your hands that you don't have the discernment to know why the Lord has called you to steward whatever he has given you see I see there's someone in this room and the Lord has called you to have Bible studies in your home It's just a few people.

Amen. She said, "Child, you talking to me?" [laughter] It's just a few people. It doesn't look like much.

It doesn't look like, you know, Lord, I could do this next month. I could start in July. But you don't realize what God is entrusting to you.

And if you treat it as common, he will give that responsibility to another. And here is the crazy and scary thing with the Lord is that you can be functioning on the throne, but heaven does not see your crown. Saul had a throne, but his position was already given to David.

So if you miss out on the way the Lord is calling you because the only reason you become effective is that you are partnered with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the crown on your head. The Holy Spirit is the authority through your life.

The Holy Spirit is the one who backs you in power. So if you have natural, if you have the resemblance, the looking, the the the the appeal, the presence of natural authority but no Holy Spirit, you have no crown. You have no position.

What you're doing will not be known in heaven. And unfortunately, you could be doing it in the name of God, but it is not known in heaven because you did not do it with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not led by you.

You are led by him. He doesn't submit to you. You submit to him.

So when you want to start doing it your own way, the Lord will leave you to your ways. That's why Jesus would say to people who came to him and said, "Lord, Lord, Lord, we did all these things in your name." And he says, "I never knew you because whatever you did with my name, the spirit has no knowledge of it. You were trying to command." And you see that is the difference when you talk about Christianity, what Christianity really is about, what walking with Jesus is about and every fake and counterfeit religion.

Because the enemy, the enemy thrives on your illusion of power, not reality, the illusion. So that is why you would hear someone who was in the occult say things like they could move things with their mind. It's the illusion of power.

I literally growing up in Nigeria, I remember um the high school I went to, there was this lady in our high school who was a witch young but wow. One day, you know, not like America, there's light all the time. When there's a blackout, everyone freaks out.

The first time there was a blackout in America that I was here, I was like, why is everyone panicking? Because blackouts were normal for us. We don't call them blackouts.

We just said, well, you know, I guess we're going to put a generator. So, one time in school, and this was unusual because normally when the light goes out, the generator kicks in automatically. But the light went out and the generator did not kick in.

And this lady, young girl, not even lady because we were all barely even 13. We're not We were not even 13. She looks at the fan and it starts rotating.

Half of the class ran out. The other half, they want to look scared so they don't get marked. But even in America, you would hear of people who were in the occult and they would tell you how powerful they were and how they would look at things and command things and things will be moving and it's the illusion of power.

Because if you look at it a bit deeper, what is happening is the enemy, you know, there's this book I tell everyone to read and it's called He Came to Set the Captives Free. It exposes how deep the occult is in the United States. But literally, these were people that could look at things, move things with their mind, X, Y, and Z, but they're not really powerful.

Because what happens is when they they they have they're so possessed by so many demonic spirits that the spirits are at they have oneness with their thoughts. So the moment they want to move something, they want to levitate what gives them the ability to do that word demonic spirits but they are not in charge of those demonic spirits because the moment they don't do something the way Satan desires those same spirits will torment them. So who is really controlling who?

It's the illusion of power. That's why the language in new age and all these things has to do with being your own god. We are the we we have a society that is so obsessed with the idea of having complete rulership and authority over themselves.

We would rather we are more comfortable saying the universe and acknowledging there is a god. We we are more comfortable acknowledging creation not the creator because we feel some sense of ownership over creation. But the Holy Spirit, your true authority is when you surrender to him.

He was there from before there was even a thing known as the beginning. Because the beginning is only a marker of time. Before time existed, God is.

When you know the majesty of the one you serve, he does not bow to you. You know, it's so interesting even as we continue to read, we have been planning for a gathering in Dublin and the Lord was gave this is all based on we only do as the Lord leads. So I remember when the Lord said the next one is going to be in Ireland.

I was like okay. So we've been planning for it and there's been so much warfare on securing a day, securing the location. there would be progress and then something just happens and we got into this mode and I would say I I would even just put it on myself where it's like you know you're talking to a venue and it's like just give us any day what day is available in May because this has to happen in May until the Lord rebuked me and said it can be any day it's my vision it's what I desire and I've given you the date.

You submit to the time period I gave you. And we had a prayer call. We have some intercessors in the land and you know some of our team locally and so we we had a prayer call and I just confess I'm like you know what I have to repent of this.

We are not when we're with when we're moving with the Lord. It's not about our I'm not doing this for myself. We're doing what the Lord has commanded and he's given us a date and it must be that date.

Any venue that doesn't have these dates available, that's not the venue. We had to get to that point. And the Lord said, "Move forward like you already know." Because here's the beauty about God.

When you do things God's way, then he would reveal to you the place he has prepared for it. And so without a venue, we just started like we were like, "Okay, we we're going to buy the tickets with like everything." We were like, "Hey, we're going to do everything we can do to move forward and let the Lord walk it out." Literally the next day, a venue that already told us there's nothing available reaches out and says, "We can shift things around. When you submit to him, then he makes it easier.

You don't command the Holy Spirit. He commands you. I don't know what it is the Lord has called you to.

I don't know the instructions he has given you. I don't know the hard things that he's telling you to do. But if you treat it as holy, you will receive the help of God.

Your joy would be restored. You see, sometimes the only reason you're not at peace, the only reason you don't experience joy is because you're not yet submitted. The moment you say, "Lord, come what may, you will find me in your will," there is a joy that will begin to overtake you.

that regardless of what happens, it doesn't mean that you may not have times where you're discouraged, right? When you are lacking courage, when you're lacking encouragement, it doesn't mean you will not have moments, but you will not find yourself murmuring or complaining or treating what is holy as common. Because this is a test that will come to all.

You see, like I said, this did not start with Esau. You're going to experience it anytime that obedience feels heavy. Every time that you're on a journey that you did not expect, every time it's costing you more than you feel like you can give, you are going to meet the crossroads of whether you walk in destiny or you choose comfort.

But this started in the garden. Because again, birthright is about position. This started in the garden of Eden.

You see, it's so fascinating when you think about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life and when you think about the fact that the enemy had access to the garden of Eden to and then there's a whole conversation happening with Eve and Adam is right there. Now, I've always asked the Lord and finally when the Holy Spirit made it plain to me, I'm like, I see it clearly now because the tree of life, you know, we always talk about it being an apple. But look at in the scriptures, I I I believe I gave them um Genesis 1:29.

And in that scripture, the Lord literally will tell Adam, look at this, that see I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth and every tree whose fruit yields seed to you it shall be for food. So every tree that had a fruitbearing seed was already given to man. So the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were not natural trees.

It was not an apple or any natural fruit because any fruit that had a seed was already given to the man. They were spiritual. The tree of life, everything, the garden of Eden, when you study the Garden of Eden, it's it it's almost like it it it it's giving you, how do I even put this?

Like the code for the entire Bible. Everything you're reading in the Bible, you will see it in the garden. Because the tree of life was not just about A TREE.

FROM THE very beginning, it was always God's desire to dwell in man from the very beginning. But God cannot dwell in what does not look like him. If you fast forward to when Moses is building the tabernacle, Moses could not build any tabernacle.

>> [snorts] >> The Lord says, "Build it according to the pattern I have shown you." Because what you're building is what already exists in heaven. You're just going to build a shadow of it because I cannot dwell in something that does not look like this surrounding, my environment, my image. I can't dwell in it.

So when God made man, you would see that in Genesis 1, it would talk about how God created man. But in Genesis 2, it would say how God formed man. This was not repetition.

It was progression. Because in Genesis 1, God creates the spirit of man. It is the spirit of man that he made in his image and in his likeness.

Because for God to dwell in you, he's dwelling in your spirit. And he can only dwell in your spirit if it looks like him. So from the very beginning then Genesis 2 is when he literally forms man even though root word this is not part of my teaching but let you go there because when you see study the scriptures in your own time when you study Genesis 1 it says that God created man it gives you the understanding of creating out of nothing but forming man has to do with a potter.

This is God taking the dust of the earth and forming the body of the man and then when he will put that spirit in man then the soul will emerge. But you see the spirit is what had the image of God. That is why when we say things like everyone is created in God's image in an error because a fallen man is not created in God's image.

You are only in the image of God when you are now in Christ because it is his spirit that now brings your spirit back to life. Because when man sin, it was his spirit that died. The first expression of death was in the spirit.

Then the soul got corrupted and then the body was given to deterioration. But when God made when when God created man, he created man's spirit in his image after his likeness so that he could dwell in man. The tree of life was spiritual and it was not about it having seed because the seed will be what it produces in you.

It was about a nature it will produce in you. To eat of the tree of life is to receive Jesus. Remember, he is the way.

Continue. And the life. Say y'all reach back with him.

Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. It was about receiving him. And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the nature of death.

That's why the Lord said, "In the day you eat of it, you will surely die." And that death happened when man became flesh. This is a whole different teaching. We're not going there.

But what I'm trying to teach you is this. Because why is it that man was not drawn to the tree of life? He should have just eaten it first.

It was spiritual. In order to become what would be produced when he is one with the Lord, he must first overcome the temptation of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he doesn't overcome that temptation, he could never become what God desired, God designed.

There is always from the beginning there is something you must overcome in the nature of self before you can become who God created and ordained you to be. And we see this so clearly because you see the Bible will say that God will never allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. That means before the temptation comes, there is an equipping.

There is a truth. You know, there is something he has exposed you to. There is someone in your corner telling you, "Don't you touch that girl." There are people in your ear reminding you of the ways of God.

This message is part of that equipping that it God will never allow you to walk through the doors of temptation before you're equipped. And how do we see this in man? Let's go to Genesis 2:19.

Look at this. It's going to come up. And the scripture says, "So when God made man, right, before God made man, God had already made all the animals.

But look at what happens. Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see." When God's eyes are on something, pay attention. To see what he would call them.

And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So first of all, we didn't need Adam to name the animals to for the animals to have a name. But God is watching Adam because when you can name something, it's not just a name carries identity.

When you can name a thing, you know its place. when Adam named because you see it was first of all Adam it was not until Adam named the animals before God would even think about bringing Eve because it's was in him naming the animals that he realized there is no helper suitable for him amongst the animals he realized his need for Eve but when Adam named the animals it also revealed that Adam realized he has dominion over them when you Name a thing and you know its identity. This was God's equipping.

Okay, let me watch to see what he would name them. And he named them accurately. He didn't call the lion the snake.

He didn't call the snake a bear. He knew their place. So, Adam was ready for the temptation.

Because this is why I believe the Lord would allow the enemy to infiltrate to watch what would happen. You see, even in the enemy's infiltration, there were boundaries. He didn't go to Eve when she was by herself.

He went to Eve when she was with Adam. Adam knew better. And it was Adam's role as the man of his home, as the priest of his home.

Something you must study in the Bible, we'll discuss this at another time, is how when God would judge a family, he didn't judge the wives. He judged the fathers. The fathers, the men, society is trying to make men so weak that they lose their position in God.

But the men have a place in God to bring the vision for the family. There are gender roles. Not the way culture defines it, but it has to do with offices in God.

It would be the man who was responsible for educating Eve about the place of all things. That is why the scripture says Adam was not deceived. Why?

Because he knew better. Look at this. 1 Timothy 2:14.

And Adam was not deceived. But the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Why is it that the woman was deceived?

Adam was right there. She didn't know. She was She didn't name the animals.

It was easier. That's why Satan went to her. But Adam was right there.

Boundaries. The enemy could not just go to Eve by herself. There was something the Lord was hoping to see.

Because if they were able to overcome that temptation, it would qualify them for the tree of life. It would awaken the hunger and the appetite to eat from the tree of life. Esau, let me eat this tree.

Eat of this tree and forsake the place of intimacy, the place of authority. That is why what happens after they ate of the tree, Adam, where are you position? You lost your place.

And then we fast forward to the second Adam that we know is Jesus. The Bible calls him the second Adam. Jesus is baptized.

The father speaks about him. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. You know what happens right after that?

It didn't say Jesus fell into a trance and woke up dazed. It says, "And the spirit led him into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." After this is my beloved son now Jesus because Jesus is 100% man, 100% God. But in this earthly ministry, Jesus, you have to overcome this before you can become the fullness of who you're called to be on the earth.

And that is why when you read the scriptures, it wasn't until he overcame the enemy that the Bible talks about he came out of the wilderness full of the power of the Holy Spirit. The becoming was connected to what he had to overcome. You see, there are times that there are doors that are open to you.

You might think it's a door of opportunity, and it's not. It's a door of your test. It is to see if you would feed the lust of your flesh.

Because when you look at the temptations of Jesus, it it goes from Esau, he was hungry, he was fasting 40 days and 40 nights. And the first thing Satan says is, "Turn these stones into bread." This was not about want. This was about need.

This is the bare minimum. This is the things you need, not the things you want. the things you need.

Jesus is hungry. He needs food. There are temptations that come disguised as meeting your need, but wrapped around it is compromise.

the thing you said you would never do, the thing you wouldn't walk away from. All of a sudden, you're dating someone and it just makes sense for us to move in together. We split the rent, right?

It it's it's meeting a need to live in LA becomes cheaper if I live with my boyfriend or my girlfriend. Compromise. Because y'all not are not going to act like furniture around each other.

There are temptations around your need. There are things packaged by the enemy. It's for your need.

But if you're honest with yourself, if you take it, you know that it doesn't please the Lord. If you walk away from that thing, you know that it doesn't please the Lord. You're like, "God, but I need more time.

I I I can't do this and this and that." But did the Lord call you to it? Your excuses does not change heaven's timing. need.

It goes from Satan telling Jesus, "Turn the stones into bread." From to him telling Jesus, "Hey, just bow to me and I will give you all the kingdoms." What is he saying? Glory without the cross. Many of us don't want to endure certain things.

There are things we don't want to suffer. There are things we won't. But you see, there is a cup of suffering for every believer.

It's not to scare you. It's how God deals with you. It's how God kills the thing in you that could kill you.

The you he formed, the you he ordained, the you he called. The Bible says God disciplines those he loves. Again, love in this context, those he has called to himself, those he has chosen.

Do you know something interesting with Esau and Jacob? You never see the discipline of God in Esau. Esau lived however he wanted to live.

The Lord never intervened. Esau married women that the Bible even said it grieved his parents. God never intervened.

Why? Because first of all, the Holy Spirit is a is a gentleman. He won't force himself on you.

But if there is a seed of willingness in your heart to walk with him, when you look at Jacob, oh, Jacob had a lot of interruptions. The Lord dealt with Jacob. It was God's love.

It was his discipline on Jacob. Because what was he trying to kill Jacob so that Israel could be born? But Satan wants you to have the illusion of control, the illusion of peace, the illusion of power.

So he wraps up what you think is an opportunity, but it's a prison. It's a cage. It's to keep you from who you've always been called to be.

If you allow the Lord to deal with you, if you allow the Lord to discipline you, if you allow the Lord to take you through your wilderness, you would emerge in power, in authority, in glory. But if you complain, because being in the wilderness, it's not a guarantee you will come out the way you're supposed to. And if you ask the Israelites, it's not a guarantee you will come out.

It's quite sad. But but if you allow the Lord, if you choose to stop complaining about the dealings of God and begin to embrace his discipline in your life, you would know that God, this is his love for me. that what he always created me to be is what he's trying to bring forth.

The reason he even introduces the wilderness to you is because there is something in you that is hungry to say, Lord, I want to walk with you. I want to do this thing called life with you. I want to know who I am in you.

But you have to understand the cost before you start the journey. And if you started it already while you're on the journey so you don't quit. You see sometimes we want to tell you that you know what everything is going to be glorious and amazing and there is a cup of suffering for every true believer.

It is what it is. The faithful church in the Bible could not be called the faithful church without persecution. You see, until obedience is tested, then intimacy can be cultivated.

If it's not tested, there is no true intimacy. And intimacy is the place where you truly start to walk with the spirit of God. I don't know what area of your life that the Lord is bringing to your attention right now, but I'm believing that the Holy Spirit will begin to do that work in your life, in your mind, in your heart.

He will begin to show you and speak to you about things that you have treated as common, but it's holy. The things you just disregard, but it's holy. Don't miss the window when you can restore your gaze and see it in the right perspective.

Because the scriptures will talk about do not cast your pearl before swine. Swine cannot understand the value of pearls. Do not be the swine.

Whatever the Lord has commissioned you to do, it may look small, but it is your stewardship over the small that produces a harvest. And we don't do it for a harvest. We do it to please him.

You see, for some people, it's the big thing you're after that releases judgment in your life. What do I mean by that? To whom much is given, much is required.

If you don't know how to handle small, if your capacity is not for big and you manipulate your way to it and you don't steward it well, what releases the judgment of God on you is what the world celebrates. the world will celebrate you for, you know, all the people that follow you. Like, man, this person has x amount of followers, but what are you feeding them every day?

Social media is not just a social thing. It is disciplehip. It is forming and shaping people's appetites.

That's disciplehip. So what are you feeding the people? How are their appetites being formed by what you post?

You see what I'm saying? That there are things you don't want to run ahead of yourself. In all things, walk with the Lord.

be submitted to the Holy Spirit. Even as a on account of this very message, there is going to be doors for many for them to be tested, opportunities to be tested. There are things that will look like your dream fill in the blank, but if you're honest, it's wrapped around compromise.

What will cause you to engage with it is a wrong motive in your heart. What it awakens in you is greed. What it awakens in you is lust.

What it awakens in your heart to engage with it is what the Lord is after. Will you overcome that? Will you say no to your dream fill in the blank?

Because it's wrapped around What makes you not loyal to God in your heart? It doesn't stop you from testifying of God's goodness. It doesn't stop you of declaring his name.

But you know in your heart something shifted. Not every door of opportunity is an opportunity for you. Some of it is a test.

The question is, will you pass it? Will you overcome it? That is the only way you become.

The true cost of disobedience is you, who you are called to be, your position in the Lord. I pray you carry that in your heart the next time that you want to be so casual with your complaints and your murmuring. The next time you just want to delay, the true cost is you.

You can repent. The Lord will forgive you. But there are certain things you are called to carry that you no longer qualify to carry.