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I Will Take The Children Part 4 – Ps Sharon Bendixen (JHB)

August 16, 2020

Scripture Reference: Revelations 18:4 (GW); Revelations 2:1 (AMPC); 2 Corinthians 2:17 (AMPC); 2 Corinthians 2:17 (TPT); 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, 6 (AMPC); Revelations 18:2-5, 8 (AMPC); Luke 1:66 (AMPC); Luke 2:21-22, 25-28, 33-35 (TPT); Genesis 18:19 (VOICE, NLT, NIRV, CEV, CEB); Genesis 22:1-2, 5-6, 8 (AMPC); Hebrews 11:17-19 (KJV); Genesis 22:12 (KJV); 1 Samuel 1:11, 21-28 (MSG)

It’s wonderful to be with you again. As you know, Pastor John is the one that decides who ministers where, you know, and so I’m here. I’m always here. I’m always where I’m supposed to be because Pastor John definitely does that. He definitely directs that. I’m very grateful for that. I am a son of God under authority. I’m so glad for that because I can be in authority when I’m ministering in a place that God has placed me. I can minister and God’s Spirit can be upon me so that it can be upon you and so that the Holy Spirit can have His say and can have His way. It’s a wonderful thing; the order of God.

The Lord and Pastor John have me on assignment to be obedient to the Lord to come and bring these messages to you and – (excuse me, winter, water. Winter water, you know that. Winter water. So strange. Alright.) I am on assignment to Johannesburg Church with very particular messages, specific messages, and this will be part four actually today of this series called I Will Take the Children. The Lord has called me to come to the children of my people through Ezekiel, He called me about two months ago and I just said to the Lord, “You have to speak to my pastor, my spiritual leader,” and He did. Here I am to speak, to come to the children of my people. Actually that Scripture says the children of your people who are in Babylon, and I read to you the Scripture out of the book of Revelation that Jesus says, 4Come out of Babylon, my people, which is the world system. Come out of Babylon, so that you may not participate in her sins (Revelations 18:4 GW), her twisted ways, and you may not have her plagues in your life. There are many things plaguing people in the world system. He has sent me on this mission, I have organised special prayer for this series and this time of God bringing these messages to us. Like I said to you, I don’t know when it’s going to end. But what I do know is that this message today is called I Will Take the Children, part four, and the title of the message is Dedication. Dedication.

What the Lord wanted me to show you today is that Jesus is the One who is the head of His church. He certainly is the head of this church because of the measure of the fear of the Lord that Pastor John and I have. He has never allowed us to get away with things and do what other people in other churches seem to get away with. He has always said to us, “Others may, you may not. Not that they may but they’ve chosen so they may. But you may not.” And so, we have walked with the Lord to the very best of our ability. I must say that because we’ve exercised it all these years, we’ve come to a place now of heightened walking with Him and a greater certainty and more light because it is what God wants for His people and it’s for His time.

So, what the Lord just wanted me to share before I start on the teaching on dedication is, the Lord says, Jesus writes to us today through His messengers. In the book of Revelation, chapter two, I’m just going to show you His pattern, 1To the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Ephesus write (Revelations 2:1 AMPC) – so He tells John, write the things you see. Then He writes to another church; write the things you see. And then at the end of every writing that He writes to every church, He says, 17He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). Okay. And so to Him who overcomes, He writes to every church, the seven churches that He writes to. And He wanted me to tell you He still writes to His churches today through messengers. Right. The Jesus of Heritage of Faith Church, He walks among us, He knows every person that’s here, He knows Pastor John, He knows me and He knows all the people in the assembly – knows you by name. He knows you by the hairs on your head and He knows your condition. He addresses through messengers directly to those people. He does not bring a messenger to the assembly to direct someone else that’s going to watch on TBN. It’s not His pattern. They didn’t have TBN in these days. God is, Jesus is still the Jesus that will write. Okay.

And then, so He is writing. He said this to me, He said to me, “The two churches are very different. They are in a different location. They are in a different place and they have different things to contend with. There are different principalities and powers. There are different things – Dad Hagin said this, he said sometimes he would go to a city and he would be able to tell you what spirits were operating there.

Okay, and so I’m just using that as an example to tell you that this location of this church and the things that have infiltrated your hearts and your minds and the spirits that are at work here are different to what is at work in Witbank. The effects are the same; it’s to steal, to kill and to destroy. Right? And then Jesus sends a messenger with a message so that you can overcome. You can overcome everything because every message He wrote to every one of the seven churches, He says; if you will listen, you will overcome and to him who overcomes I’m going to give you. To him who overcomes.

So, He has a message to a messenger and He says to the messenger, “Write it down.” And that’s how we still do it. I take a pen and a paper when the Holy Spirit starts to speak to me and I write down what He’s saying to me to come say to you. You understand? It’s because Jesus still writes like that. He’s writing something here. His intention is to write something on your heart here, because this scripture, I’m just going to read it in second Corinthians, chapter two, from the Amplified Bible. Second Corinthians, chapter two. I’m going to read the last verse here because this is quite important. 17For we are not like, Pastor John and I – I will declare that – Pastor John and I are not 17like so many, [like hucksters making a trade of] peddling God’s Word [shortchanging and adulterating the divine message] (2 Corinthians 2:17 AMPC). The Passion Translation says, 17watering down the Word (2 Corinthians 2:17 TPT). We are not allowed to water down the Word He gives to us. When He gives us a Word like I’ve said to you; He said to Ezekiel, son of man, you eat what I give you and you give it to my people. And then He said to Ezekiel, don’t you be like my people; stubborn.

Okay, so the implication here is that there are many, many messengers that come with a message but they are peddling God’s Word and that actually means they are making a living out of it. They’re making money out of it. They come to God’s people to get their money by watering down the Word – so that they can just, your itching ears so that they can just give you what you want to hear. They give you what you want to hear. The Bible is full of examples of that where He says; woe to the shepherds, woe to those prophets that say, and I never told them to say that to my people and I didn’t and I didn’t. Okay. Woe to those who say, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace, people, when actually I’m running a sword to my people. Right? And so this is just what I want to show you today. I want to declare this in your presence today; we are not making a trade of God’s Word and peddling it. We’re not shortchanging and adulterating the Divine Message. I’m not here, I cannot adulterate this message God has given me to come and bring you. 17But like [men] of sincerity and the purest motive, as [commissioned and sent] by God, we speak [His message] in Christ (the Messiah), in the [very] sight and presence of God (2 Corinthians 2:17 AMPC). I’m so aware when I’m standing here that I am in God’s presence here. He is watching me. He’s listening to me and He’s in me and He’s expecting me to yield to Him and bring the words out to you that He’s given me. He’s put them in me. He’s had me write them down, so I’m in His presence speaking to you; not peddling, not shortchanging the Word of God. And then it says here in verse 2 of chapter 3, 2[No] you yourselves are our letter of recommendation (our credentials), written in your hearts, to be known (perceived, recognized) and read by everybody. 3You show and make obvious that you are a letter from Christ (2 Corinthians 3:2-3 AMPC). You see when He writes you a letter, a messenger brings you a letter from Him, He’s wanting to write it on your heart so that you are the message that comes – you become what the message is sent to you to become. You change your thinking. You repent; if you’ve had a different way of thinking you change. To repent means to change your way of thinking, to change your will in your heart of what you’ve willed to meet the will of God; for God’s will to come in that place of it. Right? So, 3not written with ink but with [the] Spirit of [the] living God. So, this is what He’s doing this morning on your heart, the tablets of your heart. Every time you sit to come and bring a message the Holy Spirit is in you and He’s saying, “Can I write on the tablets of your heart? Can I erase the other things that have been put in your heart and can I rewrite your story? Will you let Me change this in your thinking and in your heart?” Written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3 AMPC). Hallelujah.

In verse six it says, 6[It is He] Who has qualified us [making us to be fit and worthy and sufficient] as ministers and dispensers of a new covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6 AMPC). Glory to the Lord. So He wanted me to just remind you of His way. We are in His way this morning. We’re walking in a way of God.

Come out of Babylon so that you don’t participate in her sins or share in her plagues, my people and I will be your God and you will be my people. And let me just read that to you again because this is one of our key scriptures for this series of writings, of letters that God is bringing to us. He said here in Revelations 18, I’m just reminding you again because we’ve’ had two weeks of not being together. He says here, Jesus says here, 2She is fallen! Verse 2, She is fallen! Mighty Babylon is fallen! Mighty world system is fallen. (Okay, just looking for this now. Where is that scripture? Come out from among her. Verse 4. Thank you. Verse 4 of which chapter, Lillian? 18? I was in the right place) Verse 4, so He says she’s fallen, she’s fallen. She has become a resort and dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every loathsome spirit … 3all nations have drunk the wine of her … 4I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues. 5For her iniquities (her crimes and transgressions) are piled up as high as heaven (Revelations 18:2-5 AMPC). The last time God said this was in the days of Noah. The world was filled, the earth was filled with violence and iniquity of every kind. 5For her iniquities (her crimes and transgressions) are piled up as high as heaven and God has remembered her wickedness and [her] crimes [and calls them up for settlement] (Revelations 18:5 AMPC). See? Verse 8, 8So shall her plagues (afflictions, calamities) come thick upon her in a single day … for mighty is the Lord God Who judges her (Revelations 18:8 AMPC).

So, that’s very serious scripture that God is wanting me to bring to write on the tablets of your heart at this time. So, I’ve shared with you that Brother Jerry said that this is a defining moment in our life right now. Right? What we do until the end of the year – so evidently there are some things – he said; how you respond, what you say, what you do, how you respond, what you decide is also a big one. What you decide – so what decisions you make, what responses you’re going to have and he said in what you’re going through right now and how you act is going to determine your future. So you can’t put off this defining moment until next year because Jesus said to Brother Jerry; I just believe the prophets. I believe the prophets and I prosper spiritually. You understand? I’m not believing the prophets so I can prosper financially, even though if I’m prospering spiritually and I know what God’s Word says about financial prosperity, they go hand in hand. Health, prosperity, go hand in hand. This is; I believe the prophets and I prosper in my walk with God. I prosper in my spirituality, in my understanding of my recognition of what God is saying and doing in me right now. Hallelujah. I believe this and he said, “What you’re going to do and say and how you’re going to act and what you’re going to decide and how you’re going to respond right now and for the remainder of the year,” this came to Brother Jerry in June, “And for the remainder of the year will determine your future. So there are things that I already know what to say, I already know what to believe, I already know my response to signs and wonders and extraordinary manifestation of the goodness of God such as I’ve never seen. Manifestations of my God. I know the new open door, supernatural increase and Brother Jerry has been ministering on this recently that it’s to His faithful ones. It’s to His faithful ones. He’s opened a door for supernatural increase to come through. And that’s not just supernatural increase of finances, people. It’s supernatural increase of my spirit life with God. My spirit life with the Holy Spirit.

Pastor John made a powerful statement in his message last week we have to know God now like we’ve never known Him before. We have to know His voice. It’s our will. Our will is our platform and our worship is our power. What we’re going to will with our platform and what we’re going to worship is going to determine. So it can be, I mean I’ve looked in the Word of God of how God says, Don’t worship the other gods, don’t worship, don’t worship.” Worship is not singing a song with Bible words to a slow song. Worship is the worth that your heart gives to God or the worth and the value that other things have. That’s the worth that you give to the things in the world is your worship. The worth and the value that you give. You know, the word worship means to pay homage to. To submit to and yield to. So whatever you’re paying homage to, whatever ideology, philosophies in the world, whatever you’re yielding to, what people are saying, who’s saying, who’s influencing you. The Lord said these three words to me this morning. I was getting ready, He said to me, (can I just get my cell phone? I’m just getting my cell phone because I had to quickly write it down, put it in my notes that I don’t lose it because it has to do with coming out of Babylon) He wants the children to come out of Babylon. When I’m ministering to the children, I’m ministering to – unless you become like little children you cannot. That’s who I’m ministering to. Yes, I’m very definitely also ministering to the children of my people. And that scripture in Ezekiel that says that are in Babylon, that is in the world system. Right? But I wanted to make that clear from a heart of the love of God. So He said this to me; we’ve been impacted, influenced and imprinted by the world system, the Babylon of our day, way more than we realise. We’ve been impacted, influenced and imprinted by the world system way more than we realise. And then He reminded me of some scriptures; it’s false glamour. There is a scripture in the Amplified that talks about false glamour, deceitfulness of riches, distractions of this age, and being immersed. There’s another ‘I’; impacted, imprinted, immersed in the foolishness of this time. Right.

So these series of messages are going to help us to have recognition of where we are influenced, impacted, infiltrated, immersed, imprinted. It’s like an imprint on your heart because your eyes take photographs of everything – clickity, click, click. Your eyes. Your eyes, your lenses of your eyes and what you look at imprints your heart. Things you allow through your eye-gate. God’s wanting to clean what you’ve been looking at. The world system, in the world system; how worldly people do things. We’ve been so impacted, imprinted, influenced by it, much more than we know. How’s God going to help us to come out of Babylon if we don’t know how much we’re in it. He’s going to do it through messages. He’s going to do it through a messenger. I’m so glad because these messages are influencing me, imprinting me, impacting me, infiltrating me. Right. So, what you say, and what you do right now will determine your future. What the Lord said, “You can’t exclude yourself here.” You can’t say, “It’s not my defining moment.” No, God says, “It is.” If you ignore it, you ignored your defining moment. There are always consequences to not listening to God. God’s full of, “You didn’t obey my voice. You didn’t listen. You didn’t obey. You didn’t listen. You didn’t obey.” That’s why that message of Pastor John’s last Sunday is so powerful. You have to will to want to hear His voice and cultivate even more than you ever have before – this knowing Him, knowing His voice, hearing His voice. When Jesus said that My sheep know my voice, He is not a liar. If you’re saying, “I don’t hear His voice,” what are you saying? What are you saying? Are you saying you can’t hear His voice or you don’t hear His voice so you’re not going to believe that Jesus said you can hear His voice? You’re supposed to be hearing His voice all the time. He’s created you and I to walk and talk with Him and hear His voice in all things in your life.

Now, Pastor John said especially at this time now, people, we have to move into knowing His voice. How do I know His voice? Well, I know His voice because I’m meditating in His Word and I’m reading His Word, and He speaks to me through His word. And He speaks to me through His messages. And I sit, I sit with the realisation the Holy Spirit is inside of me and He’s moving in me as Pastor John says certain things. As Pastor Sharon says certain things. I take note of that. He speaks to you through His precious, holy written Word and His messages, messengers, messages that He brings through His messengers. That’s the primary way. Then you put your foot in that and then He speaks to you in your heart by the person of the Holy Spirit throughout the whole week. That’s your starting point of getting to know the voice of the Holy Spirit. – that’s your starting point, to know His Word, and so that then when it comes to knowing His interpretive will for your life, you already know that Voice. You already know that Voice. Glory to God.

I brought you the scripture, what will your children be? Luke 1:60. It was, 66Whatever will this little boy be then? For the hand of the Lord was [so evidently] with him [protecting and aiding him] (Luke 1:66 AMPC). And that goes for every child that is born. What will your child be? What will your child be? God is wanting us to make a decisive dedication of our children. And you know what? What I realised, through all my studies of this, is it doesn’t matter how old your children are, you can rededicate them to God. You can repent, which means you can realise and recognise how you didn’t do things the way you should have done them with your children. Have an honesty with God, repent, change your inner man to meet His will and then rededicate them to God and say, “Yes, I see Lord. I acknowledge. Yes, I went the way of the world with my child. I allowed him to be influenced, impact, infiltrated, impressed, imprinted by the world, Father. I recognise that, Father. I did not, I was not serious about my dedication of my children to You Lord. So I recognise that.” God doesn’t want you living in regret for a moment, but He does want you to repent, which is something that you allow Holy Spirit to show you even if you experience the pain of it. It’s better for you to experience the pain of it than for you to rise up in the pride of it and go, “Don’t tell me I didn’t do a good job with my children. I went to church every Sunday.”

This is a serious time for us, people. Why? Because God wants to bring supernatural increase to your life of spirituality, of relationships with your children, relationships with your spouse, relationships with one another in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s got supernatural increase, but there’s some things that we have to recognise and get right. Hallelujah. Because He’s not going to go, “You know what? I’m bringing supernatural increase to you and look what you’re doing – you’re just leading your children right into the world system. They love it. But I’ll bring you supernatural increase.” He chose Abraham. The Bible says He chose Abraham because He knew Abraham. He chose Abraham for blessing. He chose Abraham for supernatural increase because He knew that Abraham would command his children after Him. We cannot suppose that we have commanded our children after Him just because we bring them to church every Sunday. It goes way, way, way, deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper, much deeper than that. And we’re going to look at God, how God sees it in His Word.

So, dedication. This is another defining moment. Alright. He gave me this, when fathers don’t circumcise their children, and it’s a circumcision of the heart as new creatures in Christ Jesus. When fathers don’t circumcise, and I read you that scripture because Moses was about to go into the Promised Land with people, but he hadn’t circumcised his own sons. And the new circumcision in the New Covenant is a circumcision of the heart. No, my son. No, my daughter. Now we’re going to look at something very powerful; dedication. We’re going to look at dedication today.
Right, in Luke 1:21 in The Passion Translation. I’m starting here now. Right. So, I’m going to take my time, if this takes the rest of the year because our direction for our lives is going to spill over into 2021. Right? I’m telling you, this is such a powerful teaching for people that are going to become parents one day. You’re going to hear things now for people. People that have been parents that have erred, that now rededicate in their hearts to God and say, “God, it doesn’t matter that my child is 50. It doesn’t matter. Lord, this I’m bringing, I’m acknowledging and I’m asking You; get them on their ancient path. Get them. Get them. Get them, Lord. Get them, Lord.” I have some scriptures for that too. Hallelujah.

21On the day, Luke 2:21, from verse 21, On the day of the baby’s circumcision ceremony, eight days after his birth, his parents gave him the name Jesus, the name prophesied by the angel before he was born. 22After Mary’s days of purification had ended, it was time for her to come to the temple with a sacrifice, according to the law of Moses after the birth of a son. So Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to Jerusalem to be dedicated before the Lord. (Luke 2:21- 22 TPT). They took the baby to be dedicated. Yoh, I tell you this hit me. I thought I was just thinking of you know the dedication of babies that we’ve done – Pastor John and I. And the dedication that parents have done. For our hands to be on those children, you know. But this is a spiritual thing that’s happening here. Even though our water baptism is a natural thing where we go under the water, it’s a spiritual thing of the heart that happens. This is a spiritual thing of the heart that happens when a parent truly dedicates their child to God. 22So Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to Jerusalem to be dedicated before the Lord (Luke 2:22 TPT).

Now I want you to see verse 25, 25As they came to the temple to fulfil this requirement, an elderly man was there waiting—a resident of Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He was a very good man, a lover of God who kept himself pure, and the Spirit of holiness rested upon him. Simeon believed in the imminent appearing of the one called “The Refreshing of Israel.” 26For the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he saw the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. 27For this reason the Holy Spirit had moved him, the Holy Spirit had moved him, to be in the temple court at the very moment Jesus’ parents entered to fulfil the requirement of the sacrifice. 28Simeon cradled the baby in his arms and praised God and prophesied, saying (Luke 2:25-28 TPT). Verse 33 33Mary and Joseph stood there, awestruck over what was being said about their baby: Simeon then blessed them and prophesied over Mary, saying, the part that I want you to see is even though Simeon said that, 34-35A painful sword will one day pierce your inner being, for your child will be rejected by many in Israel. These are the words, And the destiny of your child is this (Luke 2:33-35 TPT). That’s what I want you as parents to see. For every child, God says, “And the destiny of your child is this.” God has first say or not. If you don’t allow God to have the first say about the destiny of your child, you will impact, you will imprint on your children with your will and your words – it’s either-or. God wants you to know that God has a say, God is the only One, He wants to be only the One to say about your child, because that spirit of your child comes from God into the womb, into the womb of the mother. The spirit of that child was sent by God into the womb of the mother for His purpose, for His plan. And so there is no dedication of the heart by a parent and there is no recognition because you have been impacted and raising your children like the world does, then you will have the say. After today you will be without excuse with the Lord because today the Lord is saying to you; Him and Him alone wants to have the say about what the destiny of your child will be.

Okay, so I want us to go and have a look at Abraham, and how Abraham offered up his son – how powerful this is. Right, Genesis 18:19. I want you to see this. If Abrahams blessings are to be ours and Abraham is our father, then this is a requirement. This says here, (ah, I don’t know which translation these are, I have it out of various translations, let me just read it to you.) 19I have chosen him for a reason, namely that he will carefully instruct his children and his household to keep themselves strong in relationship to Me and to walk in My ways … I know he will uphold his end of the covenant, so that he can ensure My promises to him will be fulfilled and upheld as well (Genesis 18:19 VOICE). The New Living translation says, 19I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord … Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised (Genesis 18:19 NLT). I have chosen him. He must direct his children to live in the way that pleases me. Right. And he must direct the members of his family after him to do the same … Then I, the LORD, will do for Abraham what I have promised him (Genesis 18:19 NIRV). 19I have chosen him to teach his family to obey me forever, to obey Me forever, and do what is right (Genesis 18:19 CEV). 19I have formed a relationship with him so that he will instruct his children and his household after him (Me). And they will keep to the Lord’s (My) path (Genesis 18:19 CEB).

Okay, so now I want to read to you something here in Genesis 22:1. We are with Abraham, and how Abraham offered up his child to God, Genesis 22:1. Don’t let it be a stumbling block in your thinking to look at Pastor John and I’s life, our natural life and what happened with our children. Don’t let that be a stumbling block. This is a message from the Lord, regardless of the messenger. That’s a big thing that Christians do so that they can have an excuse to not obey Gods Word.

I tell you if I had had that attitude about Brother Jerry and not taking my sons to Brother Jerry, just the last few years on some critical issues. I could have had that same attitude about Brother Jerry. Doesn’t look like, you know, don’t do that, that’s ‘ggg’. That’s really immature, that’s really immature. To think that you cannot listen to God’s message through me because you judge me to be not as good as you are in raising your children. That is a very, very sneaky thing of the devil that he would love to do to your mind.

Genesis 22:1, 1After these events, God tested and proved Abraham. I am going to teach you now, (how much time have I still got left here, Gideon? It’s11 o’clock, right? Is it eleven now? That watch is right?) Okay, so after these events God tested and proved Abraham but I want to show you how glorious this testing and this proving was. And said to him, Abraham! I’m reading from the Amplified. And he said, Here I am. 2[God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him (Genesis 22:1-2 AMPC). We are talking about dedication. We are talking about a dedication of children to the Lord. Offer him up, offer him up. There is a powerful thing that happens in the realm of the spirit when a mother, because Hannah did that, when a mother or a father, truly from their hearts out of covenant with God, offers up their only child or their child that they love, only to God. They offer him up only to God. They entrust that child only to God and not to the world’s system.

We are talking about dedication, dedication. Take, offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you. 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then began the trip to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5And Abraham said to his servants, Settle down and stay here with the donkey, and I and the young man, young man. Young man not little child. Young man – I’m going to read to you what the Bible commentary says about this. The young man will go yonder and worship (Genesis 22:2-5 AMPC). Worship, when you give God when you offer up, completely entrust, completely consecrate – it’s worship. I’m making no plans for my child because You know the thoughts and plans You have. I’m not speaking nonsense like the rest of the world does over the destiny of my child or anybody else’s child for that matter. I’ll not speak from my soul thinking you could become this, or I think you could become this or you can become anything you want to become – that’s completely antichrist. It’s completely antichrist because Christ says and Father God says, “I will tell you what the destiny of your child will be.”

I am not going to seek God about what my child is going to be. I’m going to seek man. I am going to go to a career counsellor and see what they say my child should become. It’s where your trust is. There is no condemnation if you have done that. You have got to make your own adjustments with God. You have got to have your own conversations with your own children about these things. You have got to have holy conversations. You have got to change your conversations. It’s one of the things the Lord said to me during lockdown, “Have your conversations on earth as they would be in Heaven. Have conversations on earth as they would be in Heaven. Don’t have, that’s how My kingdom is going to come on earth as it is in Heaven. Your conversations in your homes that you have been having for years and years and years. You didn’t know how it impacted, infiltrated, influenced you were by Babylon.”
I live with no regrets but that God had sent a messenger with this kind of message to me all those years ago. But this is the time of God. 6Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on [the shoulders of] Isaac his son, and he took the fire (the firepot) in his own hand, and a knife; and the two of them went on together. What a beautiful picture. What a beautiful picture of Abraham’s trust and Abraham’s faith. He was not sorrowful at all. The book of Hebrews is quite clear on it. His faith and his trust in God was so absolute that in Hebrews chapter 12, I think it is, he said, and Abraham received, or 11, Abraham received his son back from the dead because God is faithful.

Now I want to read something to you, 7And Isaac said to Abraham, My father! And he said, Here I am, my son. [Isaac] said, See, here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt sacrifice? 8Abraham said, My son, God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering. So the two went on together. 9When they came to the place, places and spaces that we’re occupying now. Spiritual places, spiritual spaces allotted to us at this time as a people. 9When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there; this is worship, this is worship. Then he laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar on the wood (Genesis 22:6-9 AMPC).

Now listen to this; in Genesis 22 this whole account and Elohim tried Abraham. God brought Abraham into such circumstances as exercised and discovered his faith, love and obedience. The word tempt, although it is now generally used to imply an evil in which way God never temps any man, it will be well to avoid it here. God glorified Abraham and rendered him illustrious because this word that is used here, signifies to glisten with light. So according to God’s words, the word should be understood as this: God put great honour on Abraham by giving him this opportunity of showing to all successive ages the nature and efficacy of an unshaken faith in the power, and the goodness and the truth of God. God put great honour on Abraham by giving him this opportunity of showing to all the successive ages the nature and efficacy of an unshaken faith in the power, the goodness and the truth of God. Let me continue now with the commentary.

Allowing him to be only 25, he might have easily resisted because all the commentaries say he was between 25 and 37 – some even say as old as 40 – Isaac. He was a man. For can it be supposed that an old man of at least 125 years of age could have bound without his consent a young man in the very prime and vigour of life? In this case, we cannot say the superior strength of the father prevailed, but the piety that was in Isaac. Abraham had so raised Isaac to fear the Lord and trust in the Lord Himself. This was the same Isaac that God said, “Don’t go to Egypt to put your trust in Egypt in this time of famine like your father did. You stay here where there famine, and you sow your seed.” And Isaac was, “Yes, Sir.” Who taught him? Abraham taught him. Abraham so totally gave him to God. Abraham wasn’t running after Isaac to say, “You’re going to have no money, you must go to Egypt. You need to do this, you need to make a plan here. Why don’t you try this?” He so totally dedicated his son. He so totally trained his son up to fear the Lord, to have faith in God. Isaac’s faith was with Abraham’s faith on that altar. There was no resistance in Isaac. Glory to His holy name forever. Glory be to His holy name forever that God could show us out of scripture that this kind of parenting is available to us. This kind of dedication is what we can do. Glory to God.

We cannot say the superior strength of the father prevailed, but the piety, the filial affection. There was such affection between the two of them – such love. That is something that is developed because you teach your child to fear Him first. You show him, you show him. Oh, Jesus. Thank You, Your Word is changing everything in our world, Lord, for all of our children. Thank You, Father. Thank You for this word. Thank You. Is not Your word like fire, Lord, in our hearts – the fire of Your love? Thank You. It was the piety, the filial affection and obedience of the son yielded. Glory to God. All of this illustriously, typical of Christ in both cases, the father himself offers up his only son, and the father himself finds him on the wood to the cross. In neither case is the son forced to yield. Hallelujah. He yields of his own accord. It brought such beauty to my eyes to see Isaac like that – a yielded son. He could have easily overpowered his father, but he understood, he knew. He had recognition of the moment. It was a bright shining moment for them both because of knowing between the two of them. Wow.

Heb 11:17-19 says, 17by faith Abraham, when he was tried or when God had put great honour on him, by giving him this opportunity of showing to all successive ages the nature of an unshaken faith, and the power and goodness and truth of God. That is what that word test means. God cannot test anybody with evil. And it says, that he had 17offered up Isaac, he offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure (Hebrews 11:17-19 KJV).

12Lay not thine hand upon the lad (Genesis 22:12 KJV). Genesis 22:12. As Isaac was to be representative of Jesus Christ’s real sacrifice, it was sufficient for this purpose that in His own will and the will of His Father, purpose of (I don’t know what this word means) emulation was complete. Isaac was now fully offered, both by his father and by himself. The father yields up the son, the son gives up his life – on both sides as far as will and purpose could go, the sacrifice was complete. Glory to God. Hallelujah. So, there is Abraham offering up his child to God.

I’m going to go, because I still have time, or do you think, what do you think? You think we’ve had quite a lot today already. I can go to Hannah now or maybe I’ll start the next time with Hannah. Start again when we’re fresh or we quickly end with Hannah. Hannah’s dedication of her son, her first fruit, her first so that the rest were blessed. Right. The Message Bible, 1 Samuel 1:11 from The Message Bible, this is what Hannah says, 11By giving me a son, I’ll give him completely, unreservedly to you (1 Samuel 1:11 MSG). That is the dedication that God is looking for that heart in every parent that will not fear to unreservedly give that life to Him and not want to control it themselves the way that the world parents control their children through fear; fear and pride.

We have been impacted, we have been influenced, we have been imprinted by the world system and by Babylon. More than we knew. 11I’ll give him completely, unreservedly to you. This is a heart that’s decided to do, this is a mother’s heart that’s decided to do this. I’ll set him apart (1 Samule 1:11 MSG). That’s what it means to dedicate your child to the Lord. I’ll set this child apart, in other words, I’m not going to interfere with my emotions and my feelings and my insecurities in the life of this child. Everyday of this child’s life I will say, “I dedicate him to You. He’s consecrated to You. I offer him up to You and all of my conversations.” Right. 11I’ll give him completely, unreservedly to you (1 Samule 1:11 MSG). 1 Samuel 1: 21 to 28, The Message Bible. I want you to see the spiritual thing here and do not get into the realm of reason and relevance that this was for her, this is not for you. This is God writing the story for us for right now. 21-22 When Elkanah next took his family on their annual trip to Shiloh to worship God, offering sacrifices and keeping his vow, Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll bring him myself and present him before God—and that’s where he’ll stay, for good.” (1 Samuel 1:21-22 MSG). That’s where he’ll stay for good. As a parent it must be in my heart; I bring, I bring, I bring him myself. I present my child before God and that’s where he will stay, she will stay for good. And 23-24Elkanah said to his wife, “Do what you think is best. Stay home until you have weaned him. Yes! Let God complete what he has begun!” So she did. She stayed home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. Then she took him up to Shiloh, bringing also the makings of a generous sacrificial meal—a prize bull, flour, and wine. The child was so young to be sent off! 25-26 They first butchered the bull, then brought the child to Eli. Hannah said, “Excuse me, sir. Would you believe that I’m the very woman who was standing before you at this very spot, praying to God? She had to remind him who she was. I prayed for this child, and God gave me what I asked for. And now, verse 28, I have dedicated him to God. He’s dedicated to God for life.” Then and there, they worshipped God (1 Samuel 1: 23 -28 MSG).

So, what will your child become? What has your child become? What could your child still become? If you realise and recognise that you have been impacted, imprinted and influenced by the world system. So how do you make a dedication like that? I think I am just going to finish off reading you a modern-day example. This is just a man that God has been speaking to Pastor John about. I’m not reading books out of the order of God. I am going to just read here; In the midst of all this God called again, the Howells had a burden of prayer for some friends in Africa and Reese and Elizabeth felt they should help them in some way. While they were asking the Lord about it they read in their magazine that a little girl, Edith, had been born to the Stobers. Mr Howells knew that West Africa was no climate for children, so he told his wife this would be a good chance to help them, that they would take the little girl while the parents were in Africa. It was is a real test. I’m speaking about the test in the light of Abraham. Mrs Howells would be tied at home, yet the child would never become theirs. She made the decision. “If they give their lives for Africa,” she said, “I will give mine for the child.” They wrote and told the Stobers. Okay, so they did not do that.

I walked straight into the meeting, this is what Mr Howell says, and there I saw a vision of Africa. Mrs Albert Head was speaking on behalf of the South Africa General Mission, and pleading for a married couple to take the place of Mr and Mrs Edgar Faithfull. That night they prayed for this couple and they could not stop praying. When morning came the Lord said, “I will answer the prayer through you. I will send you both out there.” “It was the greatest surprise of our lives,” said Reese. We thought we had a vision of the Africans in order to burden us to pray for someone else to go, but with the Lord, we can only push others as far as we are willing to be pushed ourselves. There were a thousand and one hindrances, but the Lord would take no excuses.

The problem was that a little boy had been born to them. Okay, so they didn’t take that other little girl, the parents came home. So here it says here, Months before their little boy was born, the Lord told them to call his name Samuel. There was no Samuel in the family; it was given them, just as the name of John was given to Zacharias. There were several similarities in his life to the one he was named after. One being that Mrs Howells’ name was Hannah, and she too was now to put her son on the altar of sacrifice. “It was our greatest, our first test on the call, and the greatest,” said Mr Howells, who tells the story in his own words. The Saviour had said, “Anyone who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me,” and now the Holy Spirit said to us …. Okay. “Does He really mean it?” I wondered. I don’t want to read everything here just because some of it is too meaty. “Does He really mean it?” I wondered. Yes, He meant it, the Holy Spirit. He told Abraham to take his only son up the mountain and offer him as a whole burnt offering. Many a time I had preached about Abraham giving up Isaac, and had emphasised the words, ‘Take now thy son, thine only son whom thou lovest.’ How little had I realised what that had meant to him. Unless your surrender is real and up to the standard, you will break down long before the end. Is that not powerful? Unless your surrender is real, and only God and you know if it’s real in your heart and up to the standard of God. God’s standard was; Abraham take your son. Fully expecting Abraham to come up to the standard; God’s standard.

So, The time came for my wife to take a course of Bible training; we did not know. So it wasn’t a question of leaving Samuel behind and then that he should call our attention back to himself. No thought of Samuel was to bring us back to this country. We did not know what place the Lord would open up for little Samuel. We left it entirely in the hands of the Lord. You can leave your child entirely in the hands of the Lord. See how much fear there is in a parent? Can you sense it in you even? Fear? How can I do that? Listen to this; We left it entirely in the hands of the Lord, we wouldn’t have dared to interfere, or we would have made the greatest mistake. A few weeks before the time for us to leave to South Africa I was sent for by my uncle, a brother of the one who was healed; his wife was the headmistress and he asked if we were taking Samuel with us. I said, “No.” “Where is he going to?” I said I didn’t know. “Well,” he said, “he is to come here.” They had never seen him, although they lived within three or four miles, something came over them, they said, about him, and they wanted to nurse him while we were away. In a couple of days they were coming up to see him. Walking home that day to tell my wife was more than one could bear. Although we had given him up in our hearts, when the Lord actually opened a door for him, it was like pulling one’s heart to pieces; but before I had reached home, I had enough victory to control myself. His surrender was real. Unless your surrender is real and up to the standard you will break down long before the end. I had enough victory to control myself. When I arrived home she was playing with Samuel and I thought I had never seen him as he was that night and for a time I could not break the news but I took courage and told her. We proved that night that Africa was going to cost us something. You think the price that people pay to come to South Africa, God’s just going to let it go? That He is not going to require for somebody to come up to the standard so that that standard can continue. You think He is not going to find a people somewhere that will determine the future of the Kingdom of God? You think He forgets that kind of thing?

We proved that night that Africa was going to cost us something and we were coming up to the victory by degrees. The process was slow and hard. Because it going to be an intercession one had to walk every inch. I’m just giving you a taste here now. God’s not going to ask you to do this. He knew that this man had come up to that standard. I’m just using this as an example of for us to say what standards can we come up to that don’t even come up to this standard that God is wanting to pull us up to. What surrender is God wanting to bring us to? My uncle and aunt came up and they had never seen a child like him. Without a doubt the Lord had put a father and a mother’s love in their hearts towards him. The first thing they did was to invite my sister to be his nurse. It was like Miriam and Moses. Morning came when my sister arrived to fetch him. I think in eternity we shall look back on what we went through then giving our best to the Lord. Hallelujah. Glory to God.

The souls that God gave him in South Africa for that just was, you know, time does not let me tell all of this story. We knew what it was to give money, health, many other things. The devil was not quiet that morning. He said I was the hardest man in the world to give my little child up. The devil was not quiet that morning. The worst of all was to enter into the feelings of my wife preparing his clothes. His going out was more than emptying the house. When I came home that night I asked my wife, “How did you get through?” So they weren’t even talking to each other. They were just in God in their hearts. “How did you get through?” She said she went into the garden and wept and thought to herself, “I’ve been singing that hymn many a time.” And this is the hymn that we can never prove the likes of His love until all the altar we laid. And then the Lord told me, “Measure it with Calvary.” And with those words she came through.

The Holy Spirit knows how to bring you through to a surrender if you want to come through. They wanted, they willed it. Their will was their platform and their worship was their power. And praying together afterwards the Lord showed me the reward; hundredfold for all the souls in South Africa. So I’m going to finish this story. So after Mr. And Mrs. Howells left for South Africa, Samuel became so completely a son to Mr. and Mrs. Rees that his name was changed to Samuel Rees. Now this book is written by Rees Howells. His father is Rees Howells. Their surname was Rees. So it was with him literally as with Samuel of old that he seem to set apart for the Lord and served him from his youth up. He accepted Christ as personal Saviour at the age of twelve. His adopted parents always wanted him to become a doctor but Samuel, and this is for your children, Samuel felt. Children do not need to become what their parents want them to become. Says here; Samuel felt the Lord’s call. After his university course he came back to join his own father with his foster parents’ loving consent. Although Mr. and Mrs. Howells never raised one finger to draw him in their direction it was God sending him back to them. Samuel became assistant director of the Bible College of which after his father’s home call, he became director and was once again known to everybody by the name of Samuel Rees Howells. How perfectly the Lord fulfilled the promises given to his father and mother even before his birth. And how abundantly the Lord honoured the sacrifice made by his parents. Glory to God.

Well, thank You, Father, for Your word to us this morning. Thank You for the journey that we are on, Father. This speaks to us of a surrender of aheart. Whether we’re parents or not. We see the possibilities of the surrender of our very own lives to You to entrust our very own lives to You completely. And I thank You for this word that you will work in the hearts of us – like You see it Lord. You said Your Word will work, I wouldn’t have to try to make anything happen here, Lord. Now I realise, Lord, the magnitude and the weightiness of what You are wanting to say to us, Lord. This is not me, this is Your Word. This is your spirit working in the hearts of Your people to bring about what You need to bring about.

I bless Your people and I thank You, Lord that You have shown us all how it pertains to us because it pertains to everyone like I said whether you are a child and we have no parents or we are an adult and have no children. This is a life of surrender that we can dedicate our own lives to the Lord like that and trust Him completely. This is for parents that have older children that can rededicate and say; Lord, forgive me. I didn’t know, I didn’t see, I didn’t train them like that and teach them like that to fear Thee. Forgive me. I turn around on the inside now and I’m embarking on a completely different journey, Lord. It’s that easy. I’m going on this place of surrender to You, Lord. Hallelujah.

All my conversation about my child or my life is going to be, its dedicated completely to the Lord. Completely to the Lord when I talk to my wife, when I talk to my husband. We’ll not be having our old conversations. We’ll be saying; we dedicate them to You, Lord. We give him, we give her to You and we leave them there, knowing how wonderful we can create with our words because what we say and what we do now will determine futures.

In Jesus’ name, Father, we thank You for Your Word here. I bless Your people. The Word and the blood of Jesus surrounds them, protects them, Lord. Everything that You have for them, Lord. All of Psalm 23. All of Psalm 91, Father. All of it, Lord. Thank You for helping us to come through, bringing us up to a standard of surrender which we could give or have but Your Word is bringing us there; in Jesus’ name. We all say; Amen. God bless you all.God bless you. Praise the Lord.