Moving From Physical Sight To Seeing | 1Nov2023

Pastor West: [00:00:00] Well, we'll continue your Sunday teaching on the end Times and kind of just going to give a chronological order of where we are, because that's the day that we're in right now. I'm going to go back to a familiar verse and second Timothy chapter two, and here we go. Good evening. Welcome to Gracelife Church. And those of you who, us. We're going to get into the word tonight. Have a good time. If you've got your Bible, if you will go with me to Second Timothy chapter two. And I'm going to read verse 25 and 20, 24, five and six and 24 goes like this. It says in the servant of the Lord must not strive. But be gentle unto all men, apt to teach and patient. Verse five. In meekness, instructing those who oppose themselves. If God prevents your will, give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. That they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive at his will. That's a at last verse he says that they may recover themselves. Out of the snare of the devil. Who has taken people. Who has taken. You know, Paul writing this letter to Timothy. Telling them that they they need to understand the truth of certain things. He told them. Timothy, he said, you need to instruct them. He says, because without truth. He said they will be in opposition. To themselves. You know, it's one thing to fight an enemy.

 

Pastor West: [00:01:40] It's another thing to fight yourself. And he doesn't need much help. We know saying is, you know, if you're stuck in mud after a while. Let off the accelerator. If you're getting deeper and deeper and deeper. Don't just sink the car down to the axle, should you? Well, so he said they're opposing themselves, but God will give them repentance by the acknowledging of the truth. That they may recover themselves. So we taught on this a few months ago. We just really fell to my heart. Maybe it's going to go a little different way tonight. If not, it'd be good just to hear some of this again, because it still applies to us in a big way. What does it mean? What does it look like? And what does it mean for us to oppose not someone else? What does it look like for me to oppose me? Now you have to. When you just read the scripture, you can see here that people aren't even aware that they're in opposition to themselves. So Paul is telling Timothy, you're going to have to give him instruction because their problem is not the devil so much. Although we see he's involved, he'll take them captive, but they had to turn and not acknowledge the truth to put themselves in this position. So the question is, what is it look like to oppose myself? Well, wrong thinking always opposes yourself.

 

Pastor West: [00:03:08] Wrong. Wrong thinking or not having understanding. Matthew 13 of the parable of the sower. You know, he says, when when the word goes forth, he says, if the one who hears it doesn't have understanding, he says, that's just easy prey for the devil. Not just he might have. He or she might have heard the word, but if they only have an understanding of what they're hearing, he says, then it's easy for him to take the seed away. So oppose means that you're working against you. So how can we how can we do that? Well, just put it in any area of life that you want to, you know, whether it's the financial end, whether it's in relationships or a marriage situation, you know, whether it's a physical situation going on in someone in your family or in your own body when you elevate anything. Of its place in the natural, and you're looking for a spiritual answer, but you're you're gauging this thing, you're grading it by anything that you can touch, taste, hear, smell or feel. Then you're in two different worlds. Two completely different worlds. Both worlds were made by God. You're living as a Christian. You're living in two worlds simultaneously at all times. Now, you may just. We we're in Alabama, so we're we're say, well, no, I'm right here in Alabama, in the United States of America. You are. But you're living in two worlds at all times.

 

Pastor West: [00:04:39] And I'll say it this way if you ever want to know if the supernatural is present, then all you've got to do is you can either take your two fingers and go up to your neck, or you can go to your wrist. You can just see until you can feel your pulse. And then, you know, the supernatural is happening around you all the time because we're all just one breath away from not being here, aren't we? And so you're living in two worlds, the spiritual world and the natural world. And we and we do live in a both times. It's not like you say, well, I should just be in the spirit realm. Well, you can't just be in the spirit realm. You have to be in a natural world. You have authority here on earth and that's the reason why you're here. You have authority to be an a master in Christ, to be a representative of Christ. As the days get closer and closer to the end, the more I think display, the more demonstration that we'll see of those who know who they are in Christ. We'll see it not just in teaching. It won't just show up in sermons, but those who have the understanding of who they are will begin to demonstrate, not just articulate, but they will demonstrate it. And so we are in. We're not in the end days. We're in the end of the end days.

 

Pastor West: [00:05:50] We're at that small time frame. Someone said, well, you know, I've heard that all my life, and, you know, I've heard all. Jesus is coming soon. Morning, night or noon. Well, the Bible talked about you when you say that. It said in the last days there will be scoffers saying, yeah, we've heard that all of our life that Jesus comes soon. But then he came. But then it came or they left. I haven't been with a lot of people who said, yep, I'm leaving. I picked this time. Most of them were fighting the tooth and nail, trying to stay here. So not everyone leaves when they when they would pick the time and said, this is the day. We know a few. I mean, Charles Capps kind of it's kind of impressive to hear his story. You know, he met with his family on Friday and he says, I want the Lord said, I can go and I want to go Sunday. So they spent three days together. And he walked down the hallway, told them all goodbye and give him a hug and kiss. And they talked. Bitterness over everything had to be done. The whole family didn't even have a funeral. And the kids said, well, why wouldn't you? Have I, as well known as he was as a national and international speaker, why would why wouldn't you have a funeral? I said, well, we shared our dad with the world all his life and this was our time.

 

Pastor West: [00:07:01] But we didn't need to have a funeral because dad told us that he was going. And we spent three days with him. So we said to him everything that we would say about him. So there was nothing to do. So the funeral home just came and they already had the place ready. And they said. And so they just came. And within they said two hours. He was he was prepared and put it in the ground. And the family went on. That's. That's kind of unusual, isn't it? That's not the norm. But it could be. But it could be. Well you say well, I just I think that's nuts. Well, you might be someone who poses yourself in other areas when you think something like, that's nuts because you're living in two worlds all the time. You know, Jesus said everything the father has, he said he's given to me. He says, and I'm I'm holding nothing back from you. That means that Jesus acts just everything the father has and knows, and he's willingly, willingly wanting to share it with us. Well. So what do we have? Well, we have the same Holy Spirit, don't we? We do have the word. We have a greater advantage than the disciples did. We have this word? They you know, Peter didn't look up the book of Peter, and John didn't look up the book of John.

 

Pastor West: [00:08:14] And some of them were too immature. If you told them that they'd had their own book, they'd have been so puffed up they'd never got nothing done. You know, they didn't start off as apostles. They started off with some some roughneck disciples, and Jesus was constantly having to say, you go sit on this side and you go sit on. You're in time out, both of you. And John would cross room. He says, well, I'm still the one he loves most. Well, you know, you can just see humanity everywhere in this book, and I'm glad that he let us see this. I mean, you see, when they went to the tomb, when Mary went to the tomb and she said, the tomb is empty. I mean, John is telling you the whole story about how he ran down there. And then he tells you in his book, he said, he says this. He said that disciple, he's talking about himself. He said, this disciple outran Peter. Well, why did you have to mention that? Did that you that you beat Peter on the foot race? So you see humanity in there everywhere in the Bible. So if we elevate a situation or we elevate a, let's just say, a symptom that you might be having in your body. If we accept that and we elevate it above the truth, we put ourself in a place of opposition. You should never let a situation or a symptom convince you of what you know to be true in your heart.

 

Pastor West: [00:09:34] Don't let don't let a symptom convince you that you're not healed. Though the situation in your home. You can apply this anywhere you want to. I'm just I just use it right there. But don't take a situation that Jesus paid for. No matter what you're dealing with, then elevate it to the place to where it becomes a reality. I'm not saying it's not happening. I'm not saying that if it's an x ray, it's not on the x ray. I'm not saying faith is never denial. If someone's teaching you, if you have faith, you just you just deny it and say it's not. It's not really true. Well, if if they find a tumor in your body and it's there, then it's probably there. But we're not denying. We're not denying the fact that it's there. We're denying the fact that it's going to stay there. Right. So your physical senses, your five physical senses, they know only physical reality. That's all they can know. Your senses can't pick up on anything spiritual. Your five senses does not even know a scripture. One. Your foul senses have never had a prayer meeting. Your five senses have never operated in the gifts of the spirit. You say, well, I'm going to give the I'm going to give the gift of smell, you know, to give a tongue interpretation.

 

Pastor West: [00:10:54] Well, you'll have to smell that one out because I don't know how that's going to work because they can't they've only been made to assist you for physical reasons and for physical benefits, but they do not. Your physical senses will not accept spiritual truth. Now say it that way on purpose. I didn't say it would be hard to. I said won't. It's not that it's hard for them to accept truth. It's that it's impossible. Your body. Your body does not accept spiritual truth. We know where our three part being spirit, soul and body. But your body does not do that. So your so your your your spirit's trained. You train your spirit. And you trained your, you know, your human spirit. You renew your mind. And then your body is brought under subjection, Paul said. I put my I, the real Paul, I the real man in Christ. I put my body under. Someone's going to be in charge. So spiritual truth will decimate physical reality every time. If you're not swayed by your situation, if you're not swayed by your by your body, if you're not swayed by the the bad report, then if it's a physical thing or a mental thing, emotional thing, if you're not swayed by that, those situations, they will line up with the truth. How will they line up with the truth? Because the truth of God is in you. It's in the word.

 

Pastor West: [00:12:23] It's in your spirit. You make the channel open for it to flow into wherever it needs to flow to, whether it's into the physical body or whether into the emotional realm. It has to. It has a channel to get into. But if you put your senses as king, then what's there for you to bless you, to help you to change the situation and the spirit realm? It has it has no opportunity to get to you. So we need to stop imposing our self. The Word of God says, by his stripes you were healed. Now. So here's a few questions. Are we waiting on an event to happen to be healed on this side of Calvary? Are we waiting on an event that would make it spiritually true for us to be healed? Because bias traps for what? We are healed. So would we be waiting on some type of event? Do we have to wait till we get to heaven to be sure that we're forgiven? If you're not sure, you won't get to ask Kevin because you won't. You won't be there. I don't suppose. I mean, if you're if your sins are forgiven the moment that you're saved, you won't make heaven to find the answer. So why? Because these are present tense truths, aren't they? You were forgiven. You were saved. You were healed by your stripes. You were healed. There is no condemnation to those who in Christ.

 

Pastor West: [00:13:52] It didn't say there will be none. It says there is none. Now, to those who's in Christ. Yeah, but you don't know what's been going on in my life. I don't know what's going on in your life, and you don't have to tell me. But the greater truth is me to tell you this, that in Christ there is zero condemnation. Every evil thing in our life, everything that's not of God. What's evil? Well, that which is, you know, that which is not heavenly. Has its root in evil. Every evil thing in your life has the same source, and it's called lies and deception. What is a demon? Well, demon is a spirit. What does he do? He carries a lie. He doesn't have anything different from his father. You know, Jesus told people, he told scribes and Pharisees. He said, you're of your father, the devil. Can you imagine? You know, they talk about. He's saying things I never heard no one say. He said he called them the father of the devil. You know why I did that? Because they were. Huh? So, so every every spirit he carries, he carries the lie of his father. Every cause of sickness is demonic. I didn't say every sickness was caused by demonic activity. But in the root of it it is. There was no sickness in the world until the fall of man, right? So if you want to just trace it back, every form of sickness or disease is started in the Garden of Eden at the fall of man.

 

Pastor West: [00:15:35] So every you could say every cause of sickness is demonic because it's alive. When it boils down to is this the lie that you aren't healed? Well, if you ask someone, well, are you healed? They say, well, not yet, but I know God's going to heal me. Well, what does that mean? That means you don't believe you're healed. No, no, no, I believe I'm healed. I'm just waiting on the manifestation of it. You know what I mean? Yeah. I mean, I know you don't believe it. Not criticizing anyone. I'm just saying. Let's. Just. Because the question I beg to differ was where I started. What would need to happen? What event needs to happen for you to be healed? Well, I'm just waiting for God to. Touch my body. Well, well, well. When did he start doing that? What Scripture says that he needs to come touch for you to be healed today in this covenant. Jesus believed they touched his body. And it wasn't just a love tap. So all we can go back to. According to the word is something has already taken place, something that has already happened. What are you doing? You're taking your. You're taking your body back to a place to where this has already happened. You're taking your emotional realm back to the place where something has already taken place.

 

Pastor West: [00:17:08] My emotions were, was given to us, to serve us, to be a gift from God. Not not to torment me. But you bless me, to help me, to assist you in life, but not to torment you. So it comes down to a truth or a lie. The truth set you free and a lie will bind you. If you say that I'm. I believe that I'll be healed. But I'm still sick. Then you're telling me sickness still has power? Ask you to say that. I believe that I will be healed. But right now I'm not. Well, then you're telling me that sickness is still empowered, right? If you. Oh, yeah. But I believe I'll be healed. Okay, well, then when will you be healed? How will you know it? This is not to critique or criticize anyone. It's just maybe to help them. Sometimes you ask the right questions. I mean, this question came up. Uh, two weeks ago. Here. After service and you know, and I wouldn't have thought I needed to have the conversation. I said, well, then how will you know you'll be healed? And they said, I don't know. That's a good question. And I'm thinking, I know I didn't after ten years. Oh, God. No. I said, no, how will you know when you're healed? I said, well, I don't know. That's a good question. Well, how will you know where your heel.

 

Pastor West: [00:18:53] Do you know that you're going to go to heaven? When we leave here, or when we or when we leave from this earth. Do you know that? How do you know that? You say, well, I've accepted Jesus. Well, what did Jesus have to do for you to to be able to accept him? Didn't he have to die and go the cross to die for your sin? For you to become new creature in Christ Jesus. Does he do that again? Is he going to go back to the cross for anyone? So you're basing your entire attorney on being salvation on something that has already happened. But in that same verse in Isaiah 53 says, he was wounded for your transgressions, bruised with your iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. By his stripes you are healed. You had a dual provision happen at the same time, the same moment that he provided salvation for your spirit. He provided healing for our body. That's what we're pointing back to. That's what you're banking your entire eternity on, is what Jesus already did. And then you accepted it and put faith in him. And your evidence is the only evidence that you have going to heaven is you ask him to come into your heart. Based on what? Because he died for you. That's your only evidence. True. Why would you have other evidence for for healing? You don't. You don't say well said.

 

Pastor West: [00:20:19] Well, but if I was healed, I'd feel better. Well, you ever felt not saved, I have. You say, well, do you do you feel saved every Sunday? I don't know if you all do. I don't feel saved every Sunday. I mean, there are Sundays. If I just went on feelings, I wouldn't even be here. Now I know you all never felt that way, but I'm just going to be honest with you. Tonight's testimony tonight. There had been some Sundays. If I would just on my feelings, I would not be here. I've had people here who wasn't here. But he's glad to have their body and their spirit here. But. But they weren't here. I know I've been. I've been that person myself one time. Once you've worked out outside and it's winter, you've been outside all day. You sit down in the warm room the first time you're like, oh, I'm going, I'm going and going and going. So let's have mercy. Let's give mercy. Well, all we're trying to say down, say, here is what does it boil down to. It's going to come down to the demon carries a lie. But the spirit is the truth. That's where. That's where you have to settle it. If you have to say what faith has to do is it has to settle. It has to put a period there instead of a question mark. Put a period and you put some exclamation points.

 

Pastor West: [00:21:42] The Word of God settled. Why? Because he said it was. How do we know he's the way? Truth and life. Because he said he was. How do you know? By his stripes, you're healed. Because he said we were. How do you know the mountain will hear you and obey you? Because you said it would. Amen. You say you're so narrow minded. I'm getting narrower all the time. I'm closing the gap up every time, every chance I get. It's been too wide for too long. I thought I was narrow. Listen, I know you need to close the gap. I mean, y'all probably didn't notice. About two years ago, I made a big change in the ministry. He said you got way too much commentary and too few scriptures. And he says, so the more commentary that you have, the more opportunity that you have to talk from your soul. And the more human error that you can make. I don't know if you notice how much more scripture that I use than I do commentary. Because a lot of sermons are just are based out of, you know, it's a story. And and you know, if it's scriptural and it's good and it can be good. Like Brother Hagan know, he could tell stories that help you just as much as the Scripture was. And he goes down the road, you know, go on the side road and then come back to the very place that he started off with, and, and and you'd really get it.

 

Pastor West: [00:23:10] But sometime people get off down the road, they get lost themselves and GPS can't even find them. I sit in the service one time with a guy who had a he was a he knew Greek and Hebrew and it was interesting. But after a while he got so far down in Greek and Hebrew, we all forgot the topic because he said, well, now, now what? That word actually means that he went to explain it and then that broadened the subject. And he said, and actually, what that word of that word means this. Then that's what we we let the Book of Maps. And we was out there in the pasture somewhere and we forgot what the what? We didn't even know what his title was after a while, but we knew that guy knew some Hebrew and Greek. We flat knew that, you know, because this thought made that thought come. And he's out there and he says, you know, he says, well, just take a little side journey. It's like we way outside. Way outside, you know, when you put a pizza in and it says cook for 35 minutes, don't go two hours with it. It'll be burnt and burnt. So it's got a time. It's got a time limit on it. Now. So for waiting for situation or say something like a symptom to change.

 

Pastor West: [00:24:16] Can I just be real plain? I talk to me too. If I'm waiting for a sympton or circumstances to change. And I'm really. I'm really not in faith yet. Because. Why? Because I'm not really believing what the word says to me yet. I've got a mental understanding of it. But it's about believing in your heart and saying with your mouth. So I'm waiting. Now we want the situation to change. You can be tired of the situation, whether it be physical, whether it be financial, whether it be mental, whatever it is. And we say, well, I'm just I'm tired of this thing. Well, we joined the club. But if I'm waiting for that circumstance to change, then I'm really not in faith about it. I'm not really believing yet what the word, what Jesus has already done about it. And did it apply to me? And did I make it mine? Because the bottom line I started to say, well, I'll go. The bottom line of faith is it has to come down to just to put it real plainly, is. I got it. Saddle. It means I got it. That's the bottom line of faith. What did you. You said. What did you get here? I shared here. Well, you don't look any better. And I put the thermostat in your mouth. No, you're still 102.9. You couldn't. You couldn't. Got a jet? Well, I thought you said you got it.

 

Pastor West: [00:25:45] Was he lying? Here. Man. You still burning up? You still got them whips all over your body. X rays still shows it. Which every day. See you're opposing yourself because you're pointing back to the physical. Jesus doesn't heal through the physical, although the physical gets healed and emotions get blessed, but he doesn't. He's a spiritual or a spirit. He deals with you, spirit to spirit. He doesn't go. Jesus didn't say, well, I'm going to go. I'll get with you in a minute. Mean you mean your liver is going to have a conversation first and then I'll get around to you after a while? No, it's not spirit. Deliver spirit to esophagus. Spirit to kidney. The spirit to spirit. All right. You get the spirit in the mind working congruently one with another. Thinking just the same. Then you open up the channel for the life of God to flow now. So it's been shut off and someone's got to open the valve. The only way that you can open the valve is to get the mind. The soul. To think exactly what is actually true in the spirit. I put a thing on. I don't hardly ever post anything on Facebook, but I did today because I just thought it was funny. It's a simple little truth, but. Let's see what. This is called a pause on the video for station identification. I navigate Facebook so well. I to have helped myself.

 

Pastor West: [00:27:45] Oh, yes. Granny from Beverly Hillbillies. Y'all see granny? Yo! Over here! It says. She says it don't matter what you think. If it don't match up with the Bible, you're wrong. That's great. So? So go eat some more possum stew and think about it. Put Jethro back in that cement pond. Baptize your head. Well, if it don't line up with the Bible, you're wrong. I've had. I've had spiritual helpers before. Mentors, teachers, pastors, whatever. And you know, they're kind as they can be. And that's why he says, he says, well, what's the problem? He says, you're wrong. And I said, well, you know, he says, yeah, you're wrong. You know, my flesh didn't like that when I was real young. I didn't particularly like it any time. But the older I got, the more I appreciated it. Because I'm looking. I'm looking for help. I'm not looking for credit. When you get in a situation long enough, you're not looking to be right. You just want help. You know, Peter, we can figure out how Peter sunk after a while, but right now, he's drowning. You know, it's not the time to find out. It's time to get delivered now. So if you say that. Well, I'm waiting for the situation to change. It ain't changed. And that just means we're having come to a place of faith. See? Faith. Faith knows it, and it becomes fully persuaded about it.

 

Pastor West: [00:29:23] And then it talks about what it knows. We're not talking about confessing unto healing. We're talking about confessing because of what Jesus already did. See the it's not it's not completely wrong, but a lot of it has to be straightened up. You say, well, I'm by my by my confession. There'll be a possession. Well, it depends on what you mean by that. If you don't come to the place of faith that you receive, that your confession is not bringing it to you. Your confession is as an admission in your in your in your heart that you speak with your mouth of something that has already happened. A real situation has happened through Jesus Christ. And you put faith in that just like you did for salvation, because your banking your eternity on it. And the other stuff don't work any other way. It's just this is in the physical realm. So you see it and feel it. You just don't see the other. You don't see. You don't see salvation or feeling. I mean, you can have, like I say, kid, a while ago, you can feel more saved, more like, ooh, I feel good day. I mean, I feel like I mean, angels are here. Well, they here whether you whether you feel like they are or not. Right. I mean, well, if you don't feel like there's oxygen in the room. Well, thank God there is, whether you feel like it or not.

 

Pastor West: [00:30:53] I was counting on it when I got here. So it's the same. It's the same exact thing. But we're not confessing to possess. I say, well, I'm. I'm calling them things that be not as though they were. But you have to understand. But but the things that you're calling are. You're confessing is not creating. And they already are. Now you're saying, is it wrong to confess? No, it's not wrong to confess. But you have to. You have to understand that that Hebrews six talked about going back to the very foundations and going back over the same things and calling some of these things, call them dead works. A dead work would be trying to take the faith of God. And cause God to do something with confession that is dead. Works, is taking the Word of God and confessing it, using it as a leveraging, leveraging mechanism to get God to do something that you're really saying he hasn't done yet. I'm mentally ascended. You're close, but you're all the way away from it. You're so close, but you'll never get any of it. I'm going to confess the word by my confession, which I believe to be true, that Jesus did this for me. I believe that, and they do believe it. I do believe Jesus did this. But by my confession, I'm going to leverage God with His Word and agree with God and begin to speak these things and say these things, and until it be so.

 

Pastor West: [00:32:26] Oh, until it'll be so. Well, it is so. So faith has to come to the place. You know, when God told Abraham, he said, this is your new name. He says, you're no longer Abraham. You're no, you're no longer Sarai. Your Abraham and Sarah. That's just God's mode of operation. When God wants to make a change in your life. He changes something about your speech. He changes your identity. He changes your name. When we moved in 2010, he told me to rename the church and I was thinking, why would I do that? I'm just moving seven miles. Then I was in a meeting with David Ellis, which is. You all know who David is, I guess. But he's Brother Copan's worship leader at the piano and all these major events and David's pastor, and comes from a long line of pastors. And I was in a meeting and, and David walked up to me 2 or 3 times in that service. And he said, in so many days you're going to know what to do about this. Which is exactly what I told my wife in the car on the way to the meeting. She looked at me, I looked at her, and then? Then he said, and then he got back. He says, why eight weeks? Lord, why did I say in eight weeks you'll know what to do. He went on preaching, come back.

 

Pastor West: [00:33:53] And he said, oh, because eight means new beginning. You're about to have a new beginning. So I said, well, Lord, I mean, I'm not going to argue with you, but okay, if you want me to change the name I said to what? Well to what it is now. I said, well, why would I name this church Gracelife church? I mean, shouldn't it have something to do with your, you know, your the emphasis of your ministry? You know, I mean, you ought to be a ministry of grace, or it ought to be like your main thing. And he'd say nothing. I'm thinking, well, that's just kind of strange. So I'd go check with the state of Alabama and I'd check with the attorneys. I'd go check with all this. They said, well, it's pretty easy for your state. You can do this and do DBA, whatever. So we're still living Word Bible Church, DBA Gracelife church. So he never answered me. So people ask me sometimes, you know, friends of mine, Minister said, hey, no, should change Navy Church. I said, yeah, I said, why did you do? I said, I don't know. I said, what do you mean you don't know? I said, I just felt like this is what the Lord told me to do. You teach a lot on grace? No, I don't. I hardly ever teach on grace. I mean by grace. By grace.

 

Pastor West: [00:34:57] You're saved through faith. What else is there to know? Then? Then April 2011. Come along. And everything changed. So. God changed my name. Then change me. God changed Abraham. Sarah's name. Then it brought about a baby. God will change your words and it will change your situation. But it wasn't the word that was causing it to come to pass. It was his word. It was his plan. It was his path. My confession is just the recognition of it. I'm not leveraging God to do something that's like, now, Gordon, you got to do this now because I said my, my I said today, I know I said I counted, I know 112 times. I said, by you shall supply all my needs and you know that lot bills to do so 112 times already, Lord. So we leverage. We think we're leveraging God that he's he feels like we have paid the you know you know there are enough payment spiritual payment. Because his scriptures motivate him, because he you know, God has an ego and he likes to hear what he wrote. And the more we can stroke his ego, the more maybe he'll do for us. You say, well, now that God created the world with words. So. But see. And that's right. So you don't want to misunderstand. I'm not saying don't confess the word, but I'm saying. But you can take the word and confess it with the wrong understanding, and it'd be nothing but a dead work.

 

Pastor West: [00:36:48] See, the confession is supposed to be the. It's supposed to be the fruit of it. Not the root of it. I'm confessing it because it is. So I'm not confessing to trying to make it. So I'm saying what God said because God's right. And how could I? How could I be lying? Telling you what God is saying. You can't be. So if I said, by his stripes I'm healed, you say, well, you don't look healed and the x ray ain't no no different. You still got a kitchen. You get along, you say, well that's just. Well, so my body's just catching up. I'm already healed. I mean, that woman, she was pretty famous, you know, when Smith Wigglesworth came to church. I forgot what part of the world he was in. But she had huge goiter on her neck. Huge. And he and she he prayed for her and he cursed it. And then she'd get up after Smith was gone, and she'd just think before she said, oh, I'm just so thankful. She said, I had that goiter for years, she says. And I'm so happy. She said, you know, you all know. She said y'all was here. You all saw it. She said, you know, three weeks ago, Smith was laid hands on me and she said, curse that thing. And she said, I was just gloriously healed. She she wasn't no different.

 

Pastor West: [00:38:05] She gave that. She gave that confession for almost a year and the goiter is getting bigger. So they was embarrassed. And, you know, they'd have they'd have they'd have guests come in and they they'd hear this woman stand up and give this testimony. And they, the deacons. Told the pastor said, now this has got to come to a stop. This woman, she needs help. I mean, you know, look, we're four, but we can't have her stand up in our service and thanking God for something that ain't never happened. Now we all can see that. Now, pastor, you went to have a talk with her. So the pastor said, I hate. And I said, I know, but this guy stopped pastor right now. So he he went to go deal with her and she went home crying. And she told Laura, she said just it just hurts me so much that that they can't see what's true. She said, Lord, they can't see that you heal me like I know that I'm healed. She said, Lord, would you just do whatever they need? Will help them to know what's true with our nose. True. The next morning she woke up and the guard was gone. And Schumacher, she said. Will this help you all? And I said, well, you got healed last night. She said, no, I got I got healed when Smith came. And that's like, well, she's still loony.

 

Pastor West: [00:39:27] But thank God it worked out. Somehow. God just felt sorry for her. You understand the principle I'm trying to say. So faith has to finally get down to the end of the whole thing and say, well, well, how would you know when you get saved? Well, you anyone in this church right now could tell you. Well, I said, give us Bible evidence that you're saved. You say, well, this is this is what it says right here. And I was in church and I was 14 years old. I mean, last week, I mean, on the way here. And then you take us to the verse and you say, and I did this and now I believe. Now I'm saying, I said, and that's what you're going to make your journey on. Well, yeah, but that's what the Bible says. And I believe that Jesus lives in me. I say, well, you heal. No, no, I ain't never been get healed yet. But it. But it's the same verse. That's what he said when he saw this. He said, I went back and I started preaching so I would preach both at the same time. He said, I preach salvation, healing at the same time. And since they didn't know anything, they said, oh, we can get saved and healed same day. Oh yeah, it works that way always. They said really? He said, and he says so his percentage of healings went up about 97%.

 

Pastor West: [00:40:31] He go. He'd be in India somewhere. He preached salvation and he preached healing at the same time. And they'd say, he said, God, do either one for you. And he'll do it either salvation first or healing first. Well, that was some religious. He's having to overstep some places. You didn't do that in America. That was you had to preach and they got to get their heart right. And they got to qualify and they got to get sent out of their life. God ain't got to heal. No one was in their life. Really? He saved you with sin in your life. Yeah. Have you ever thought about that? Well, God, God can't answer your prayer and heal your body until you get sent out of your life. Well, how'd you get sent out to get saved? Oh. See, we we're just religiously stupid sometimes. Not y'all. Just some some people. So he said he found out that he he did that in India one time and he says so I said, everyone who's blind come up here right now. Someone help him up here. He said, if ever one of y'all aren't healed in just a few minutes, when I pray for you, y'all ought to run me out of your country and get y'all to just put me on a plane and get me out here in just a few minutes if you ever want. Y'all aren't heal every person he laid hands on.

 

Pastor West: [00:41:47] I popped him boom boom boom boom boom boom boom. Now he's talking to Buddhists. Lindy Garrett salvation called. Who wants to get saved? Just everybody. In other words, what he did. He says it's like going to a fruit stand. I mean, as a kid, I used to sell fruit, you know, and I'd peddle it out. And the guy who owned it, he said now and he said, don't. Not every time he says. But if they're kind of like, decide like, I don't know, he says, then take 1 or 2 peaches and break them open and said, well, here, just try this. And then they said, man, that's good. I said, yeah, you know, these things only hang around for loggers and they're gone. Yeah. Let me have a basket two. What do you do? He whet their appetite. What's he going to do? It whets your appetite. So easily. It's easy to believe when you've seen the goodness of God. It's the goodness of God that leads many people to repent and to believe. So faith has to come to the place that says, well, I got it now. Romans eight six, if I can. We're running out of time. So let me get here real quick. Romans eight six. Y'all anywhere around there? I'm in the Passion Steel. This is the mindset of your flesh. Now I'm going to change the word flesh. I'm going to leave it there, but I'm going to give you some other words to go with it.

 

Pastor West: [00:43:17] That won't change anything, but it'll just every one will be Scripture. The mindset of your of your senses. The the mindset. In other words, like if let's say your knee hurts, the mindset of your knee hurting. Or let's say, emotions, the mindset of your emotions right now to use death. But the mindset controlled by the spirit is life and peace. Now that's not hard to understand. In other words, the five senses out of control. Not controlled by the Holy Spirit, but but controlled by human thinking. Brings you one thing. Death. But the mindset controlled by the Holy Spirit brings you life and peace. Now somebody is going to be in control. Something or someone's going to be in control. Now verse seven and the passion says, in fact, the mindset focused on the flesh or the physical or the symptoms, I'm getting just as plain as I can get it. The mindset focus on your symptoms right now fights God's plan. Well that's good. The mindset focused. So you got a you got a passion, right? Is that in your Bible? So same thing. I just I want people to know I'm not making it up. The mindset focused on the flesh, which is your physical, all your five senses. Or if you have a symptom of. If you have physical senses, you have symptoms, right? So the mindset focused on your physical symptoms is fighting God's plan and refuses to submit to his direction.

 

Pastor West: [00:45:17] Your body fights and your emotions is fighting his plans and your emotions refuse to submit to him. Well, tell me what's there, because. Cannot. Say it's hard. It can. Your physical senses cannot submit to God. And won't. Because it cannot watch here. Verse eight. No matter how hard they try, God will find no pleasure with those who are controlled by your symptoms. Your physical situation, your emotional situation, your financial situation. Try as hard as you want to. No matter how hard they try, God can find no pleasure with those who are being controlled by your flesh, by those who are opposing themselves, by giving place to their anything, to their carnal nature. Carnal nature. Flesh. Nature. Census symptoms. But when the spirit of life empowers your life, you're no longer dominated by the flesh or the symptoms. But you're dominated by the spirit. And if you're joined and you're not joined, it says. And if you are not joined to the spirit of the Anointed One, you're not of him. Verse ten. Now Christ lives in you, and even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life giving spirit imparts life to you because you have fully accepted your fully accepted by God now. Verse 11. Yes. God raised Jesus to life. And since God's Spirit of resurrection lives in you, he will also raise your dying body to live by the same spirit that breathes life into you.

 

Pastor West: [00:47:17] Now, said this other day, I want to say it again. It's not just that the same spirit that raised Christ dwells in you will quicken your mortal body. Does that. But the bigger picture is not. If the same spirit that raised Christ from dead dwells in me, then he'll quicken or he'll heal my body. It includes the healing. But don't make the object healing. What was the what was the what were the what was the subject that he said? It's the same spirit that lives in you. That was in Christ. That spirit raised him from the dead. And if that spirit raised him dead and lives in you. What? Healing? No, that's not what he's talking about. What is he talking about? The same spirit. So if you had the same spirit in you that was in Christ, everything that that spirit has, he just carries with him. So don't make it just about healing or whatever it is that you're needing in your life. Know what you're carrying is the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead. And just so happens that same spirit has everything that you need in the physical and emotional and the financial realm and the relational. It carries everything. Amen. How does it work? I've become aware of it. Right? If it's just paper and ink and pages, like I told you, I mean, I know how they print this book.

 

Pastor West: [00:48:52] I did it for a living for 2 or 3 years. But this is just a book. That's all this is. Let's just pages and that's. This gives about I know 12 people. 12 different departments make this book right here. 12 different departments. 12 people pay their house mortgage because they know how to put this book together. And they know how to get where that paper comes from. And they know how to make them letters show up on that page. I was the guy responsible to make sure there was ink in there, and there was paper in there so it could go through it, through a cylinder. And the coolest thing is to watch the people who make the templates for the words right here that are embossed in that ink and whatever. But all this is, is a book. So what is he saying? It's the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is living in you. He says he'll quicken your mortal body. But we don't want to just get to the place where, say, man, I've got healing in me because that's what the life giving spirit does. Well, he does do that, you understand? He does do that. He he'll heal, quicken your mortal body. But the big thing is, the good news was the same spirit that raised him from the dead.

 

Pastor West: [00:50:03] He's not in heaven. He's in you. He's in you. What does that mean? That means I'm becoming God inside minded. I'm God inside minded. What does that mean? I mean that greater is he that's in me. That he that's in the world. What does that mean? I can do a couple of things through Christ who strengthens me. Now I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Why? Because the greater one lives on the inside of it. Why? Because I'm in union with him. Why? Because he's the vine and I'm the branch. Why? Because I have one life with him. Why? Because I've been enjoying the Lord. I'm one spirit with him. Why? Huh? I've been grafted into Christ. Why? Because Christ in me, the hope of glory. Well, I need peace. Well, I've got the Holy Ghost. Who is. Who is the author of peace? Well, I need joy. He's the author of joy. Well, I need the grace of God. The Bible says he's the spirit of grace. What is it that he's not? He's all that on the inside of you. Where's it at? It's lying dormant on the inside of there. Well, I've been confessing it. I know you've been trying to leverage God. Like, you know, like on the Western. They got there, and they try to get the water. Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo. We thought confession would leverage God. So you hear this or we have a good worship team.

 

Pastor West: [00:51:15] We've got some really good music now. Lord, you ain't heard no music till you heard our praise team. I mean, I know you got music up there, but you you fixing to be blown away in a good way. We have put together five songs today. I don't even know if you're going to be upset and you're throwing them, or you may just slip out. In other words, go ahead. I probably sound like Ned the reader to him. In other words, is. Here. You know what? I'm through. I'm talking about the reason why we're doing it. The reason why you would speak the word. Because your hearts and minds in agreement with it. But if you just use this as a tool to leverage God, to try to get him to do something that he knows he's already done, or people say, we're going to, we're going to have a worship night and we're just going to seek God and we're going to then the Lord come down, come down, come down, come down. And you're just going to beg his presence down. We're going to the praise is going to go up, you know, before God. And is there anything wrong with praise and worship? No. But what is your motivation for? Are you doing it because you just love the Lord, and you just want to worship him and acknowledge him and glorify his name? Or are you trying to create an atmosphere that you think the glory will now come down? In other words, man has to create a glory that God thinks he could live in.

 

Pastor West: [00:52:49] And Bam would decide this is adequate for you. Come on down. Yeah. This is like. Well, okay, I want to get some goldfish. Well, baby, you have to have a tank first. Okay, go get the tank. Then we'll bring the goldfish. So we're going to build a goldfish tank for God to come down so he can swim in, so he can survive when he gets here. We're going to put up a fence in the backyard so God don't run out in neighborhood. Man's going to build something that can contain God. And all of our wisdom and all of our glory. And the Lord says, that's good, I'm going to come visit y'all. Hmm. And take a lot of pressure. We're not doing that, he said. We're not saying any more. He said we're doing this different. The others not working. At least he had enough sense to know that wasn't working. He said, from now on, we're going to do it this way. We're going to pray for people on the front end. Because they have a beautiful Koran. I mean, it's got leather, it's gold on the outside, you know, and it looks good. They have nice motivational things in there. They got kind things to say in the Quran.

 

Pastor West: [00:53:54] They say, you know, you know, we we got a book like, you got our books pretty, your books pretty. We already have a god. How long you had that cancer? Oh, about three years. Your God healed you. Now, God, don't do that. Your God don't do that. No, he said, My God does that where I go? Do what? Oh, yeah. Then they pray for him. Then they get healed. Then they demonstrate the goodness and the love of God. Then do you think they not want to know that God? Of course they do, because they get a sample of him. But the church has been working it backwards. We're thinking we've got to leverage God somehow to come down. Come, Holy Spirit, come. Come Holy Spirit. I was invited to a meeting two years ago and I didn't really want to go, but I went with some friends of mine and they said, we'll just go with us. And it's just going to be a praise and worship, and it's going to be a bunch of leaders in the room. And I said, okay, okay, I'll go. I don't know who any of them are. Let's go. So we went no names and they just. I know they mean well, but I'm not. I'm not criticizing them. I'm just thinking. I just felt sad about it. And about an hour and I said, I'm free to go. I said I'm sorry.

 

Pastor West: [00:55:16] I had no idea. And as well, meaning people would just I mean ministers and worship leaders, and they were just pulling their shoes off and telling God they're on holy ground and. And they were begging God to come to the church and beg him to meet them there, and making him all kind of promises if he would just come and be in their midst and just tell him how unworthy that they all was. And but if he would just come visit them. And I know they meant it. I know their feelings was real. But I'm just thinking that's that's where the church has been for a long time, that we're coming together to do something. But but you know what that's really called? That's really called manipulation. That we think through some type of religious jargon, that we can manipulate God to come down, or we could and and some don't even know it. I mean, I was with Pastor Buzzy one time and the guy didn't understand his message and he says, man, I'm going to start speaking that word. Get that? He said, what do you call that? He says, our life. He says, yeah, he said, he said, I'm going to start speaking that word. And he says, he says, I'm going to confess. I'm going to confess it in. Pastor Buzz said buddy. He said if it ain't already in you, confessing ain't going to bring it in.

 

Pastor West: [00:56:41] You know what I'm talking about. Now, if he hadn't already done it. See? Finished is finished. So when you go to court and when attorney. They're always going back to the books. They're a lot like ministers. They're a lot like believers because they have to have proof and they have to have evidence. But a lot of times, you know, to get a verdict on something, they'll have to have a presence for it. They'll have to say, you know, back in the case of Smith versus Johnson, back in 1947, judge, this was this I mean, very similar to our case. And there's presence for what I'm asking you to do here. And then I can tell you about something that in 1963 and I can tell you about something happened 1978. And so the judge has presence to rule a certain way because it's been done before. All I'm doing, I'm sitting here holding a book and said, the judge, George Carter, did it. I'm telling. I'm telling you what the judge already did through his son. Huh? And all of it's already finished. Amen. So my faith just gets lined up with that and says, I'm not. I'm not confessing it. Then I'm not even having to believe it. Then I just believe it. I feel bad, I'd feel bad. I'd feel bad if Dennis come and asked me if church. He says, could you let me borrow $20 till Sunday? And I say, yeah, let me, let me get with you a few minutes after service.

 

Pastor West: [00:58:02] And he'll say, okay. Then I find out he runs around, asked for you all to agree with him, and Alex would do it for he and Alex. I feel bad about that. If it's the other way, wouldn't you feel bad about that? That that didn't care. So you can borrow 20. That's the. We got to go talk to someone. So we'll meet you over here in 15 minutes. Then I go over here about half dozen. Y'all. Would y'all would y'all agree with me that they'll actually do this in 20 minutes? I used to, that's just nuts. It's the same thing. It's same thing. I'm going to get a human to agree with me that God will do what he said he's going to do. I'm going to get a human to make God do what he says he's going to do. If any two shall agree, we can make God do it. Think about it. I know I'm teaching this just in a sense, it's just kind of whatever, but but if you don't break it down to the most natural state, then then you end up with mental. When you finally get up to the place, you say body. You don't look any better. You don't feel any better. If I was going to put you on a scale of 1 to 10. It don't look good.

 

Pastor West: [00:59:12] You say, but I'm not putting you on a scale. I went to the word. And this is what. This is what I found out. Now I'm going to adjust my mind. In my believing to be true with God. From this day forward, I'm come to an agreement with God about this. So no matter what you do, emotions, no matter what you do, body, no matter what you feel like. I'll do natural things if I need to do it, to get to do what I got to do. But here's what. But here is what is true. I'm not confessing this to to make it so. I'm just speaking it because it is so. Okay. I mean, how many times does a policeman have to tell you, you under arrest, that he feels like it took. He called, I mean, I was, I was, I was here one night a few years ago, had music practice. Scott was here. I didn't stop him. He got to go home. He stopped me. I asked her, I said, why don't you stop? That guy just left there. He said, well, we just figured, you know, if we get one member of a gang, then, you know, we. I mean, that's what he told me. He said, if you hold one, they'll tell you. The rest of them was. And I said, so you think I'm part of a gang? Well, the policeman was right there, just building down here.

 

Pastor West: [01:00:27] We was having music practice up here and and I said, well, why would you stop me? I said, well, first off, you didn't stop me. I'm parked. I ain't even moved yet. Well, why why are you why are you in this churchyard with the blue lights on? I got to crank up yet, he said. Do you know why I stopped you? I said. I said you could put that gun to my head. I couldn't tell you. I ain't even cranked up. And he said, so I said, you want to go inside? I said, I probably could show you my name on all kinds of things. He said, well, how do I know that you hadn't? How do I know this is your place? I said, because I'm more open door, he says, if you take someone's keys, you can open up any door. And he says, and if you have their wallet, their name can be on whatever he said. Do you have a picture of you on the inside? I said, well, no. He said, well then how do I know what you're saying is true? I said, how do you know what it ain't? I said, well, he said, well, let me ask you a question. I says, go ahead. I said, this is getting real funny. He says, why did you hit the door locks twice on that vehicle? On my truck out there? I says, because if you want to unlock the front cab, you do the once.

 

Pastor West: [01:01:41] If you want to unlock something twice, you go to the back, you go to the back. And I had my Bible, I put it, I put in the back seat. I said, my Bible. And so he said, okay. So he let them go and he called his police. Another one in and they come in and he says, oh no, we can't let him go. He said, we need to further question. I said, question me. I said, and that's why I said, did you not see that guy just leave here? I said, no, he's my neighbor. He said, he is. He says, well, we didn't want to stop everybody. Like I said, if we get one, we'll get all of them. He said, the reason I stopped you, because there's all type of cars being stolen right now, that people just coming up and they're stealing the cars. He said we've already had 22 this year. How do I know this is your church? How do I know you are? How do I know you're not stealing the car that someone left at the church and they're gone on to do some type of church event? I said, because I told you and I got my license. And if you want to go inside my office, I'll show you my ordination plaque on the wall, which will go with his driver's license. He has been me.

 

Pastor West: [01:02:42] Oh.

 

Pastor West: [01:02:44] So we got all through, he said. Well, I guess you still feel good that we're patrolling it like this, I said, not really. Not not not not to this degree. No, no, I said, man, I ain't crank my car up. And you all have three cars out here in a church parking lot, and I need to crank that truck up. I couldn't done nothing wrong. You couldn't tell me my my tail. I said I didn't have time to crank it, so. So, I mean, I mean, how many times would you have to be under arrest before it took. You're under arrest? Well. Keep on. Then you have another policeman come up. John? Yes, sir. You're under arrest. You say something? Yeah. Well, I know the Bible says 2 or 3 a.m. or two, y'all. So they calling someone else that? I guess I'm under arrest. Now you'd be under arrest for one of them.

 

Pastor West: [01:03:39] Huh?

 

Pastor West: [01:03:40] You can bind the devil with one person.

 

Pastor West: [01:03:45] Huh?

 

Pastor West: [01:03:47] I'm just trying to fix a few things. In other words, I want you to agree with me. Nothing wrong with agreeing. What? You want me to agree with that I'm healed. You want me agree the Bible is true? No, I know the Bible is true. Well, then, what are we agreeing about? Oh, okay. You may agree with you. God will do it because he ain't done it yet. Well, now I know he's done it yet. But then you do know he's done it. Yeah, yeah, I know he's done it. Okay, well, when did it happen? Well, I know it's on its way. I thought you said it happened. Oh, I know Jesus paid the price. So it's kind of paid. Unpaid? No, it's paid. But, you know, it's kind of. I said, you really kind of confused, aren't you? Is he did. He ain't done. He's done. He's working on it. He's working on it. But he's finished. He was paid. But it's not. But it's not, it's not. Well, you know, we're still working, you know. How does anybody get healed like that? You don't, do you?

 

Pastor West: [01:04:49] Huh?

 

Pastor West: [01:04:51] So when you just stand there and say, well, by his stripes, I'm healed. You say, oh. I had someone tell me five years ago. He said, you know, this goes on. He says, you know, you won't ever be able to stand in the year. Well, that's what he told me four years ago. Well, he's gone by medical knowledge. I get that. I wouldn't I wouldn't criticize him, I got that. If this was to go on, this is what it would look like. And one year, that's four years ago. I don't you say, well, what did you do? I just didn't I don't believe nothing you said. Why would I? I don't believe that. I stood on this. If he says, you can't stand. I just stood on this. And if there was a day that I physically couldn't seem like I couldn't do whatever, I just, I just, I just believed it in my heart. Paul was under arrest. He didn't leave his house. He's under arrest. He's under house arrest. He said, but the word of God can't be bound. He said, you can chain me up like a criminal. He said, but you can't chain the word. He says, I'll speak the word of God. He said, try to chain it. Put the Word of God in handcuffs. Frisk the word of God. Tell it's under arrest. That's what Paul said. And Timothy he said, you can't chain and bind the Word of God. He said, you can bind me up like a criminal. You can't stop anything. Hmm. You say, what if you were to lose your voice? You couldn't speak the word. I can think it. Holy Ghost. Goodbye.

 

Pastor West: [01:06:27] Your thoughts? Huh?

 

Pastor West: [01:06:30] As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Didn't he say speak that time? He said think. You just think this stuff will start happening.

 

Pastor West: [01:06:37] Praise God. Amen. Well, Hallelujah.

 

Pastor West: [01:06:45] It's working. It's working.