Mike Bickle emphasizes the importance of strengthening what remains in our spiritual assignments, urging the community to remember their calling and hold fast to it. He reflects on the miraculous journey of IHOP over the past 18 years, acknowledging the weaknesses and struggles of the people involved while highlighting God's faithfulness. Bickle calls for a renewed commitment to the core values and DNA of the ministry, encouraging leaders to model and insist on these principles. He warns of impending challenges and the need for a unified response to the call of God, reminding everyone that their words and actions matter in the face of adversity. Ultimately, he invites the congregation to recommit themselves to their sacred trust before the Lord.

Is better with you. I love that. Well, let's say he gave us that little phrase. I love that. Okay, let's get out our sacred trust form, the yellow page, this yellow sheet here. We're going to fill it out in a moment. You can fill it out on your phone as well. I'm going to ask everybody to grab a seat and I'd like you to pull out your handout. Most of it on the handouts, just a reference. It's a point of review. I'm not going to go through it, but I just want you to have the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points. If you don't have the handout, go ahead and raise your hand up. It should be on your table. But if you don't, I want everybody to be able to get one. Isaac Bennett doesn't have one. Okay, Isaac. Good. Good. No. Anybody else doesn't have it. If you don't have the handout, raise your hand up high while the ushers will get it to you. There's a few. If you don't have the handout or the sacred trust, raise your hand up high. And I'm just waiting a moment for the trash pickup guys on the table. I appreciate them doing that, though. I really do. We've got a few at the back there that still need a handout. A few more. Keep that hand up high. Okay, I'm just giving them a minute again for the trash cleanup. Finished. You know, we're at the 18-year mark. That's a miracle that 18 years later that the Lord has kept a weak and broken people focused. I mean, I know us. You know, people come and visit us and they go, boy, IHOP's amazing. I don't say this to them, but in my heart I go, it's a miracle because we're as weak and broken as the people who are awed by what's going on here. And I'm not awed by the people, though I love the dedication and the sincerity. It's second to none that I've ever seen. But the actual, the ability to do this, I look up and I go, Lord, this is so much beyond the collective abilities of the people. You have helped over and over again. Again, the dedication, you said yes to. God didn't make you, so that I really esteem, and you're totally cool people on top of that. Well, let's pray. I'm going to give a short exhortation and then a little pastoral perspective. Then we're going to fill out the sacred trust form and present it to the Lord and one o'clock, our goal is always at one o'clock to be done and to have you on your way. Father, we thank you for 18 years of the grace of God. Lord, I thank you. You have sustained us and over and over again, when we draw back and we feel weary, you give us another reason to go to the next leg of the race. Lord, we look at you and we say, thank you for it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I want to remind you in Roman number one here on the notes of a word that I gave in November 2015. It was a word from the Lord. I don't claim very many words from the Lord for us as a people. I feel like I have more than I say, but I don't typically put that phrase on it. I speak it and if it seems right, then your heart responds. This was so clear. It was from Revelation chapter three, verse two and three. I want to remind you of it because when the Lord gives a warning, there's a promise of renewal and rescue in the warning and the Lord typically, you have a bit of time to respond. It's not like a three week window. I'm guessing a word like this, it's a two to three, it's a several year window. God's looking down at us. It's not like a day or a month. It's a, it's a larger period. He said in Revelation chapter three, spoke this to the church. He said, be watchful and strengthen that which remains. He spoke this very specifically to me about IHOP. Strengthen what you have. We are at year 16. For I have not found your works mature. It says perfect, but it means that most translations say mature. Here's the answer. Remember. Remember. That's the answer. Then after you remember, hold fast. Hold on to what you remember and repent and repent means realign yourself to the purpose of God, to the heart of God, to the call of God. So there's a couple exhortations in here to remember and that's what I, you know, the human capacity to forget is very common to the whole human race. There are probably more exhortations in the Bible to this one word, remember. I've never added it up, but it's one of the most common exhortations in the Bible, remember. Because when we remember, it makes sense to do what we're supposed to do. When we forget, it doesn't make sense. We get discouraged. We lose motivation. Remembering is the key. And the way that we remember is we say it to one another over and over. We say it to God. I don't mean repetitious kind of, you know, robotic, but it's in our conversation. That's why it's key to me because I understand this principle of the Bible that I urge people to be faithful in attendance at meetings. Say, well, I already know that. No, we lose sight of it. I lose sight of it. I've told the story more than anybody by far, but I lose sight of the story because I'm human and that we get captured in what's happening in front of us. Remember how God called you to this particular calling. Remember how God spoke it prophetically. Now, when I think of God's prophetic, our prophetic history, some people interpret it quite differently than I do. They think, wow, it's amazing. And this is so fun. And we're so special. And I think, well, yeah, I love the amazing, but that's not how I think of it. I think of it as the Lord saying to me personally, but it's to you because it's our story. It's not my story. It's about IHOP. It's not about mikebickle.com. It's about IHOP. He's saying, Mike, I'm zealous for this. Don't forget it. I'm zealous for this. I gave you a supernatural confirmation. Do not back down from this. You're going to want to, you're going to be tempted to. Don't back down. I'm zealous. That's what the prophetic history means to me. The reason I say that I've talked to different ones over the years and some people go, I don't really care about the prophetic history. And they go, that's kind of Mike's thing. And I don't hear that and feel like, oh, how terrible. But I think, no, this place won't make sense unless you understand the zeal God has for a couple of points. And it's that zeal that God has that keeps me recovering, realigning when I draw back. He says, remember, that's what we're going to do today a little bit. That's why we tell stories. That's why we rehearse it. And I want to urge you to hear the prophetic history here and there now. And then with your team, don't think, well, I heard it eight years ago. I got it because you don't have it because I don't have it without reviewing it. And I lived it out day by day in those days, because again, God said, this is what I'm insisting on. And this is what I promise I'll help you. And this is what I'm going to hold you accountable to. If I've called you to this place for the season that you're here, this is what will make sense for you to do. And so I want to urge you again to take the prophetic history as part of a story where God shows his zeal for something, not a story about how special I hop is or how fun the story is or how cool it must've got been to get the story. That's not the point at all. That's not the point at all. As I look at this with the fear of the Lord, I want to urge you, even with some of your teams or departments to every now and then to go to the website and take one of those eight sessions. I mean, we could have had 20 sessions, but I tried to narrow it down to seven or eight and which was painful to get it that narrow and say, huh, this is what God's going to push in our midst. He says, hold fast to it. And the reason he says hold fast, because it's very easy to draw back. Then he says, repent, which means align yourself to it, align yourself to it. Now notice in verse two, it says, strengthen the things that remain. How do you strengthen something that remains? How does a leader, here I am, Lord, what do you mean strengthen it? Here's three words that I've used over the years that go along with the word strengthen it. As a leader, when the Lord tells me to strengthen something, say it, say it often, say it regularly. That's what I'm doing right now. Number two, model it. Do what you say and get leaders to model it. It's critical that our leaders model their commitment to the sacred trust. It's critical that the leaders model an appreciation and an agreement with the forerunner spirit calling. It's critical. If the leader, if we don't say it and we don't model it, it will drift away. And then the third way is insist on it, meaning I want to call our leadership team to a new intentionality. That when we receive somebody in our department, when we receive somebody in our worship team, when somebody gets a leadership position, when somebody gets a ministry missionary stipend, I want you to insist on them understanding what our mandate is and them having an agreement that this is what they want to do for this season. They don't have to do it for 10 years, but while they're here, they go, yeah, I get it. This isn't my life calling, but for all I'm here, I'll do it. And what I think is that we don't say these things enough. We don't model them enough, and we don't insist on them enough. And therefore we're weakened. And that's how you strengthen these things. So leaders, I'm calling you worship leaders, department heads. I hop you when you interview someone to be on your team, see that they understand what the vision and mandate of this house says. See that they have grace to do it for the season they're here. Again, they don't have to do it for life, but for here, yeah, I'm not going to resist it. I'm not going to roll my eyes about it. I'm not going to ignore it. In as much as I'm here, I'll do it. And as a leader, you're going to see to it that it's real. That's how we strengthen. And the Lord says, strengthen, strengthen that which remains. And so that's what I'm wanting to do right now. Paragraph B, this verse in Isaiah 59, this is one of my favorites. You know, when we do this Forerunner Institute, we're starting off in August with the book of Isaiah. We're going to go right through the book of Isaiah, every chapter that is dedicated, it's focused on the end time storyline. You will be blown away how much information God gave Isaiah about the generation that you might be living in right now. Isaiah saw more about it than any other person in the Old Testament. But anyway, let's get off that. Isaiah 59, look what he says. This is an end time passage. Verse 19, they shall fear the name of the Lord from the West. Now the West is Europe and North America. That's the West. 700 years BC, Isaiah saw the spirit of the fear of the Lord coming on the West. Wow. I look at that and I go, I'm putting my name in there. I could sneak Kansas City in there and that word, the West. He says they will fear the glory of the Lord, tremble before it from the rising of the sun. Most translations say from the East, you could put Asia in there. The glory of God is going to be released in great measure in the East throughout Asia. But know this, that in the midst of the increased the fear of God, in the midst of the glory being released in the East, the enemy, he'll come in like a flood. The enemy has many diverse plans and tentacles to his schemes. He's coming in in a diverse attack, intense, subtle, direct, violent, deceptive. He's coming in like a flood. But the spirit of the Lord, don't worry people of God, he's going to raise up a standard. He's going to give clarity. He's going to raise up messengers. Now a standard was a, in a military sense, they, they had different battalions or different groups and they would raise up their standard, their flag, their banner, so that people in the, in the heat of the battle, they would know where their company was. They would look at the standard and they would run to it. It was a place to identify where your group was and where it was going in the war. The Lord says, I'm going to raise up. And in this idea of a standard is messengers, a clear message. I'm going to give clarity and I'm going to back it up with power. And I look at that, the Lord will raise up a standard. And the forerunner ministry is in that, it's included in that prophecy. But look at verse 20. We know this is in context to the end times, because it's the context in which the comes to Jerusalem. Jesus returns at the second time for the second time of the second coming verse 21. Here's the part I really want you to see. He goes, this is my covenant. This is what I promise. The spirit of God is going to be on you. This is the plan. And my words are going to be put in your mouth. And here's my commitment to you. I will visit you with my spirit. And my desire is that my words would never stop flowing from you. They'll never depart. Meaning you won't quit speaking them. Now the words God's putting in the mouth of his people, words, worship and intercession. Those are words. The forerunner messenger clarity about the unique dynamics. So the body of Christ isn't confused and deceived and offended and filled with fear. Words that bring clarity. Words that you speak from the spirit to the Lord. That's intimacy. You see and feel how God sees and feels about you. You say it back to him. That's intimacy. Words, that's evangelism. Words, that's prophetic. Because God's pattern of scripture, you say words and the spirit moves. You don't say words. The man didn't get saved. The guy didn't get healed. The prophetic word doesn't go. The nations aren't clear what's happening. If the people don't say words, that's his answer. When the enemy comes in like a flood, God says, I'm going to have people who say words, night and day and prayer and intercession words. Oh, I love it. Intimacy with God. I love you. You love me. Those words have to be said over and over. That's called abiding in the vine. You know, there's great trouble in the nations that's brewing right now. And the Lord is going to equip the body of Christ. He's doing it right now. I mean, just take a look at the news. What's happening just in the last weeks in Russia, in Iran, that's trouble. That's trouble. I got, I got a lot to say about that, which I'm not going to, but that, that is not a small thing, Russia and Iran. Again, there's a big story. I could tell you about that from the Lord, but even also in the natural trouble, troubled North Korea with nuclear weapons, Iran fired test nuclear weapons. They did something. I just saw it in the news the other day with, with submarine, they were doing something. I ran and North Korea trying out nuclear weapons now in the last week or two, like, where is this going? I'm telling you, it's not going to go away into oblivion. It's going somewhere else. Trouble in the middle East trouble in Europe, economic markets shifting to where people are going to be pressured to make wrong decisions because of economic troubles. It's going to cause deception to spread far rapid because the economic troubles causes people to let go of their conviction in light of the economic decisions they have to make. And the troubles we multifaceted across the earth. It's going to shift the globe, but the Lord says, I'm equipping my people. I'm going to give them words. I'm going to move by the spirit. I'm going to raise up my people ahead of time. You know, Bob Jones back in, in the 1970s had the, the open vision about limited nuclear exchange in America. And I, I really believe that's going to happen. There's going to be limited nuclear exchange. My point is this in a, in a minute and a half, you know, that's just the term I use for whatever. It's not long. The earth is going to be in demand for the forerunner message right now, the forerunner message, the understanding of what those 150 chapters say about what's where things are going. Now it's kind of casual. It's debatable. It's cool to argue it, have an opinion. Does it really matter? The beloved in a minute and a half, it is going to be one of the most in demand subjects on the planet. When Gabe, I mean, when the mighty angel visited Daniel and Daniel 11 verse 33, he told Daniel, he goes in those days, the people of understanding, they will teach the multitudes, the hunger in the millions to know what's going on. Believers and unbelievers will be beyond anything that we can imagine. And the Lord says, I'm ahead of time preparing peoples because the forerunner message, you don't get it in an afternoon or seminar. You don't become seasoned in it where you grasp the storyline, the 150 chapters. You don't get it on the run. You get it. You go deep in it. You get seasoned in it because you've taken time. And the Lord says, I hop, I went out of my way to tell you to pay attention to this. And I gave you decades of warning. I want you to be one of the many groups ready to give understanding because the need is going to be great in the nations because if they don't get it, they're going to cave into fear, offense, deception, confusion, and all the bad decisions they make when those things take place. Takes time to go deep. Let's look at a, a word paragraph C and I've shared this over the years, but I'm really kind of provoked or provokes at the right word. I'm something I'm stirred by this word 34 years ago, this month, May, 1983, we're in the solemn assembly, the 21 days that solemn assembly, the Lord did three remarkable things. He spoke audibly do 24 seven prayer singers and musicians. That was or the spirit of the tabernacle of David's how it was, but okay. I don't know what that means. There's going to be a healing anointing that no disease known to man will be able to stand before. Whoa. And the Lord confirmed it. And the third day watch Mississippi, an angel appeared, said, watch Mississippi, Mississippi. There's a great flood coming. There's a flood of the spirit that is on God's calendar, and it's going to come and watch Mississippi. And when that comes as an angel says this, I mean, she shows up and says this when that flood of the spirit comes, you'll grow from 500 to 5,000 overnight by multiplication. Then you will grow from 5,000 to 10,000 later by addition. And then he went on and said a few more things. Bob Jones comes and tells me that in the context of the 21 day fast, I go watch Mississippi. I don't even know what you're talking about. I don't even know what you mean. 24 seven was singers and musicians. I get the healing thing. That sounds cool. Cause I was a John G Lake guy. You know, I was really into the, yeah, I like that, but I don't get this other stuff. About a week later on May 23rd, the newspapers, they came, they bring it to us. I think it was the day after the flood. It says flood comes 5,000 people put in new homes overnight. And that's how Bob Jones said the angel said 5,000 people will find a new home in Kansas city overnight. Watch it. You'll, you'll see it. You'll see it testified. And so a week later, the flood hits the Mississippi 5,000 people. It says in the newspaper brought into a new home overnight. Bob Jones shows it. It's a week after he told it to me because I told you to maybe 15 or 20 in a back room. I told you to watch Mississippi. Here's a sign. I'm telling you, I don't know how to make these things happen. I heard it and it happened. And we all laughed like, whatever, what does that mean? And why did God say that 34 years ago? I mean, in the cluster of the three big words, 24 seven prayer healing, no disease, known to man will stand before the anointing of the Holy spirit and Mississippi, like what it seems disproportionate. That word seemed out of place. Those were the three big words. And I've always kind of taken the Mississippi one and put it way in the back room without whatever the, I could never could figure it out. A couple of days later, the headlines of the paper said 10,000. It was by addition. It was some days later are moved out of their homes because of the flood. I want to say this, a great flood of the spirit is coming, but the great flood of the spirit is coming in context to a great flood of trouble. There's a trouble, a flood of trouble and a flood of the spirit. And the Lord's going to cause us to go from 500 to 5,000 overnight by multiplication. Then to grow to 10,000. I remember asking Bob Jones, I go 5,000 what? He goes, full-time intercessors. I remember going, what's a full-time intercessor going to do all day? I remember he goes, I don't know. You'll figure it out then. Cause you know, I'm a pastor of a church, about 500 people. I go 5,000 full-time people. Like, you know, I couldn't make any sense of it. Well, over the years, you know, our staff grew to 700, 800. People asked me and I gave the same answer every time they said, or nearly every time people said, uh, I thought when we got the 500, we go to 5,000. I said, Hey, heaven has an accounting system. That's very different than ours. Very different. Very, very different. And here's what I understand that to mean. That when we get to 500 people and it's the Lord's doing, it's not like we're going to make that happen. We're not, we just got to be faithful to say it, faithful to model it, and faithful to insist on it in an intentional way. In other words, the word strengthened from revelation three, what we just looked at, we got to strengthen that which remains. But I don't, when I look over the 18 years of IHOP, my guess, purely a guess, we have between two to 300 people who have laid hold of the DNA, the core DNA, the specific messaging and mandate of this house. We had 700 staff, but many of them loved the context. They love the ministry opportunity. They love many things, really good people, really good motives, really good ministry assignments, but they were not laying hold of this. They were enjoying it and we enjoyed them and the Lord's hands upon them. But they were not saying, I don't really know about all that stuff you guys are into, but I love being here for now. And I think if I had to guess right now, we're still at the two to 300 mark that Gideon number, that 300 ish. We've never been to 500. Somebody might say, what is the DNA? Paragraph two, so I just say this real fast because we've gone over and over, but I want you to have a one, two, three, four, every ministry's primary calling. I don't have this on the notes, but I've said it like a broken record. Everyone's ministry's primary calling to build a church, engage in the great commission, everybody's primary calling. But we express that primary calling. Most ministries have a specific assignments in the context of that primary calling. They have specific assignments that God requires them to obey. They don't do it in a, in contrast to the great commission to building the church, but in context to it, like James Dobson focused on the family. He locked into families. He was for all the other mandates of the Bible. Remember when promise keepers came around for 10 or 15 years, they taught men how to keep their promises in their home. They believed in all the other stuff, but the Lord says, Bill McCartney coach, focus on this. Stay steady. You know, different ministries come along and Franklin Graham, the Samaritans person, they provide for the poor. They do all the others. They believe all this stuff, but we, nobody's the whole symphony. We rejoice in the whole symphony. We're committed to the whole mandate of the Bible, but everybody has specific assignments. And I could go on and on. Some are like David Ramsey with economic kingdom principles. He teaches on it. He still believes in discipleship of the church of the great, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Whenever you have a focus, I want you to put your seatbelt on. Whenever you have a focus, people that don't have that focus will call you elite and unbalanced. If they don't have the same focus you have, and they don't have the big picture of the great symphony where everybody has assignments, they will feel, Oh, I'm left out. So they're they'll call you unbalanced unbiblical or unfocused. I mean, or elite that every ministry with a focus has the group down the road saying that to them. Don't let that get into your brain and form your narrative. Every group in the body of Christ has to deal with that with the group next door. The group down the road is what I mean from them. The groups that don't have their focus. It's not biblical. It's unbalanced. You think you got it and we don't, you think you heal the sick and you're the only ones that heal the sick. You think you care for children. You're the only ones that care for children. We're not, we don't have to answer any of that. That's just how humanity works. So don't get caught up in what they say. They will never stop saying it until the Lord returns. Here's the five specific ministry assignments that the Lord confirms supernaturally. All five of these are a stumbling block. All five of these, I would not do without the Lord going out of his way, or that's just my funny phrase of without the Lord's zealously saying, Mike, do this. I would do other things. All five of these, we have a tendency to drift away from. That's why the Lord spoke of supernaturally because they're stumbling blocks. They create stigma. They have added rigor. Nobody would choose them on their own. Just seeking their own natural peace and happiness. Number one, a 24 hour sanctuary. Who on earth would want to do that? Really? Now, with my understanding today, I really value it. But when the Lord first said that, I went, what? That wasn't interesting to me at all. Next one, paragraph B, first commandment. I've always liked first commandment, but bride group, that's not my deal. The Lord says, it's going to be your deal because the whole mandate doesn't work if this piece isn't in it. And we could call it intimacy with God. You could call it any one of those three terms, first commandment, bride group intimacy. They're so overlapped. You can't separate them. Paragraph C, the forerunner calling, speaking the unique dynamics, the unique negative and the unique positive happening in one generation never seen before in history. So no one has a model of how to navigate it. That's why it's unique. 150 chapters. Now people say that's elite. The forerunner, the elite part, the forerunner part is you're a step ahead of God's calendar. You're a step ahead of what God's going to do next on his calendar. You're not a step ahead of people. You're a, you're proclaiming what is on God's calendar that God has said prophetically. He's about to release, but all prophetic ministry is proclaiming what's coming next on God's calendar in someone's life, in a geographic area. That's the nature of the prophetic is to say what's around the corner on the calendar. You're not saying you have more insight than someone else. You're saying God wants the body of Christ to know this is coming. And he's stirring many groups up to begin to alert their part of the world they're in of these things. Paragraph D, God's purpose for Israel. I remember when God spoke the Israel thing to me first using Bob, I went Israel, what? He goes, do you ever pray for Israel? Never. I go, isn't Israel symbolic of the church or something like that? He goes, no, he goes, you'll see you, you've really got a lot to learn. Okay. Paragraph eight, the praying church. That was the easy one. But even that is a stigma because that most churches don't want to wrangle with this subject of getting prayer off. And they're going, well, now we got programs. We got meetings. You guys come in here and you tell us we're not spiritual because we're not praying. No, that's not what we're saying. So even that has a lot of pushback. And you think you pray and we don't pray and we're bad and you're good. Like, no, no, no, no, that's not what we're doing. So even that has a rigor and a stigma to it. Paragraph F the summation, our DNA in one summary sentence to keep a 24 seven sanctuary with a forerunner spirit, because the forerunner spirit means Israel forerunner spirit means the end time scenario. It means the bridegroom. God, the forerunner spirit is all of those together. The Lord said, that's the DNA I want you to have paragraph three. Why don't we keep a 24 seven sanctuary? Most of you know this, but I want you to be able to say it. If somebody asked you like Rob Parker was saying, you got to be able to say this stuff. Number one, we minister to God. Number two, we labor an intercession to release the power of God. Number three, in the prayer room, we grow in intimacy. Number four, we grow in revelation of the word. I love sitting in that prayer room with my Bible open and my laptop open where I'm journaling what I'm reading while they're singing. That's my favorite space in life. My laptop. I love to journal. I love to say things that I think God's feeling, because when I say them, I write them. I capture them. If I don't write them, I lose them, but I still say them. But if I write them, I capture them. I can say them again. I so recommend journaling with an open Bible with a live worship team. It's the most wonderful experience I think on the earth. And then number five, we do a prayer room because we're resourcing through the web stream and other ways, teams and all. We're a resource. That resource is cool on our resume in heaven, but it's a burden in the reality of the earth because our best people are constantly being resourced away. But the Lord says, no, no, no. I want just go with that. Just go with that. They're my people. It's my kingdom. You'll be with them forever. Just let them go, bless them, and love them all the way, and you'll be together forever. Paragraph B, the 24-7, it's not just we minister to God. It's a prophetic declaration that God is worthy of this kind of rigor and stigma, because it's a stigma to do it, because lots of people don't like that you do this. It bugs them because they think you're telling them they should do it, and they're bad, and you're good. They get all these other rejection things in the conversation, but we got to lay those things aside. It is a declaration on earth. It's all over the earth, 24-7 houses of prayer emerging all over the earth. It's a prophetic witness. There's a man on the throne in heaven who's worthy of an expression of devotion on the earth, and I love it. I love it. That's why 18 years ago on that first day, May 7th, I said, I'm doing this till the end. I made a commitment before the Lord. I go, nobody shows up. I'm going to be in this room till the day I die. I'm burning the bridges. I'm not doing it because it's going to make big conferences. I'm doing it because it's right. That's good enough for me. When I stand before the Lord, me and him will talk. He'll say, you did what I told you, and if it makes big numbers, cool, and frankly, it will. That's not why I'm doing it, and I don't go up and down when the numbers go up and down. I don't say, oh, it's working. Oh, it's not working. I say, you told me you're worthy. I'm here. They can come. They can go. I'm staying here till the end. That's what I'm doing, and you don't have to stay in Kansas City. I am, but I mean, you might, but some of you have this calling your whole life. You might do it in another city, but some of you, he's called you to burn the bridge and do it to the end, no matter what it produces, because he's worthy. Now, a quick pastoral perspective. We saw a clear growth pattern for about five years. I would just guess 2008 to 2012. About a five-year period, we had an unusual growth pattern. Here was the problem. That was a training time. As the leader of IHOP, I get it now. I really get it now. The Lord gave us, he's looking at a 50-year perspective, and about year 10, we have a big growth. We start a growth pattern, but again, God's looking at a 50 or whatever the number is. I don't know, but he's saying, I'm going to give you a little pop quiz in the early days of your journey. So we had a little growth spurt, but here's what happened. Me and you, a couple of you are exceptions, but most of you that were here, we got so encouraged by the growth. We began to mobilize the growth, and we were excited. We lost sight of the zeal God has for the DNA of those five specific things. We were happy for growth. You know, intimacy with God, we hope they do it. As long as they're joining us, we're growing numbers. And the Lord says, no, no, no, because if you grow at a number, but the people who join you don't take hold of the DNA, the narrative and the culture of the entire ministry will shift to where the majority is. And so five years go by, we're the largest numbers, the largest money, largest numbers locally. We're by far the largest in our global blueprint now than we were then, but locally, we're all excited. The Lord says, you got excited, you lost sight of what I told you to do. I said 24-7 prayer, forerunner ministry, bride of Christ with intimacy, Israel, and resourcing the prayer church. Well, we're sort of doing that. Lord says, you don't even know if the people in your midst even understand it. You don't know if they're committed to it. You're so happy they're coming. You're so happy you're growing. You just, everybody's come, one big happy party, but the narrative shifts, the conversation of the community shifts. You're not even doing what I told you to do. I love you, I hope. Here's what I'm going to do. I love you so much because you don't know this is a pop quiz with a 50 or 70 year perspective. You think, you know, at year 10, you're there. No, no, this is a learning time. I'm going to lock the safe for just a little while because you don't have enough wisdom or zeal to get back online. I need you back online. I'm going to lock the safe a little bit. I'm going to get your numbers down and I'm going to get you back to the DNA. Because even then, when we had 700 or 800 people, I'm guessing, I don't have the real number, we've probably had 200 to 300 who were saying yes to their sacred trust and yes to the messaging. We didn't have 700 or 800 and the narrative of our missions, they shifted. Now I'm taking responsibility for that. I'm not putting that on a person. That was about me. Revelation chapter three, the Lord says, the verse I started with, strengthen, say it, model it, insist it, say it, model it, insist on it. Well, we did less saying it, less modeling it, and less insisting on it. And we ended up with community that's over in the other lane. And the Lord says, no, don't you remember when you get to 500 that are committed to the DNA, I'm going to multiply to 5,000. Then I'm going to send it to the earth. But I'm not going to multiply what you're doing now because I don't want to send that to the earth. I'm going to put a lock on your safe, get your attention, because I love you. I'm not mad at you at all. I love you. You don't have the wisdom or resolve to do it yourself. So the last five years, our numbers have declined. And some people there, they look at numbers and they go, oh my, the Lord says, no, look at my leadership. Look at my promises. Look at what I said. The numbers don't, the numbers will come and go. You got years before this thing was over. Take it as a learning lesson, leadership of IHOP. Don't do that again, because I'll lock the numbers. I'll lock the safe again. I want you to strengthen. I want you to say it, model it, insist upon it. I want to get our leadership team committed to their sacred trust. Not, hey, nobody's watching. I'll go the other way. Beloved, we want to get to 500 people. Not like we're trying to get to it, the magic number that God breathes. God's going to bring the 500, but he's requiring that we're faithful. So I want to be serious about this. The Lord's whispered in my heart. He says, I'm really going to get you to 500. And when I do, I'm going to multiply it. And I'm going to thrust it to the earth. That's going to break glorious and difficult dynamics when I multiply it to 5,000, but it's going to go to 10,000 after that. But that's not about you being happy and big. It's about you being faithful with the DNA that I've entrusted to you. Get back to it, IHOP. So I want our worship teams. I want our department heads. I want our school teachers. I want us to insist on people that we're incorporating under our leadership to understand the story, to understand the messaging, to understand the values, and to see you model faithfulness to it. Now I know the Lord's going to get us 500 people that will do that. I don't know who they are. I don't pick up. I don't, that's none of my business, but I'm going to hold the line on this and we're going to recover five years of growth. The Lord says, you know, it was all, it was not only, but it was about a learning moment for you as a team. It really was. You just are so short-sighted, you didn't get that. This decline is a learning moment. I am going to send a flood of the Spirit. Watch Mississippi, but it's going to come with a flood of trouble. Watch the nuclear things happening, the strife in the nations. They're going to come together. IHOP, IHOP, I've invested in you. Will you be ready, IHOP? Will you be ready? I resigned after 17 years of pastoring the church, Metro Christian Fellowship after 17 years, and I shared this with some of the leaders afterwards. I resigned. I take responsibility for this. I really do. This is not like all in that sweet, no, this is real. Under my leadership, 17 years of pastoring right here in Kansas City, I told the story, and under my leadership, people applauded. I mean, this room, this very room was full. So many times, tell the prophetic stories. We told them year after year, the excitement. We had dinners and celebrations and all kinds of cool things in the 80s and 90s around the story. But at the 17-year mark, because of my leadership and the folks that were with me, we led in such a way that people didn't want the assignment at the 17-year mark. They out, they grew different than the assignment. They go, well, we like the story. It's kind of like it's neat, but, but, but, but, and the Lord says, go down the road. You're starting over again. Because, Mike, under your leadership, you've produced a people who don't want this assignment. I love them, and I have things for them, but I want a people, 500, that want the assignment. And I'm going to multiply it, and then I'm going to send it to the earth. So I look, you know, a few years later, the room is filled again. So I hop, you know, it's 1990s, 9, 2000, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Room is filled by celebrating. Well, it's years later, there's another group of five. The room is full, and people are celebrating. And the Lord says, I'm not going to multiply this group of 500 to 5,000, until it's faithful to what I've called you to. Faithful to the sacred trust, without people running you down to make sure. Faithful to the mandate, without arguing against it. If people don't want to do it, they love God, they have their ministry assignment, I want to urge them to go where they're in agreement, and then do it with all of their heart. But I don't want people here resisting the mandate, and the assignment, even if they're here short time. I want them embracing it, and when they're not embracing it, I want them to say, honestly, you know what? I love you guys, and I love Jesus, and he's got a great call in my life, but it's not this. And we say, that is cool. Are you kidding? We get it, that this is not it. Now for those that are saying yes, I have so much mercy on weakness and stumbling, but yes in your heart, those five, the specific messages, I mean assignments, that speak of our messaging. The 24-7, the bride first commandment intimacy, the forerunner, the Israel, the praying church, and all that goes with sending our people, resourcing, and all the rigors of the loss related to that. You go, no, I'm in. I just don't do it well because I'm weak. I go, hey, I'm on your team, and I got grace for that. I have grace for weak people that are trying, but it ain't working, because it just hasn't worked, but they're saying, I'm not giving up. I go, man, you're on the team 100%. I have great mercy on the people that say, I'm all the way in, but the money's not working. So I go down the road, I have to get a job. Hey, we're going to, we want to help you, but no, you're on the team. Yeah, go down the road, get your job. We can make that work. Just give it time. Be patient. I'm not talking about coming up short because you're weak, or coming up short because of money. I'm talking about in your heart, you go, I don't want those five messaging. You know, I like music, but I don't want forerunner, and intimacy, and not really. I mean, not really, really. And I'm saying, find where God wants you. Serve with unity, with all of your heart. But I am committed to that two to 300. Again, made up number. That's not a specific number. We've probably had two to 300. I'm guessing it's that Gideon number that the Lord spoke, which there's a big story about that, a few of you know. It might be a 300 Gideon number. We just kind of hover there, hover there. And the Lord's locked the safe. He goes, I'm going to get you back to your focus. I want you to get realigned because I'm about to release a flood of the anointing in context to a flood of trouble. And you've got to be faithful. This isn't your deal. This is my deal. Because all five of these things, I didn't really like any of them. Not really. I did like the first commandment. That's the one I really did like. I like the power for healing, but that's kind of, you know, not a specific thing. That's just one of the promises. Well, last point or two. It's so much more difficult to be faithful alone. God has built the human spirit in a way we can bear the rigor and the stigma. Both things. Rigor is really hard on the flesh. Stigma. People go by humbug. You're off balance. You're unbiblical. You're all elite. You think, you think, you think. There's a stigma. We got that. We can bear it when we look to the right and the left and we see comrades bearing it too. We're built that way. That if you look and you see them bearing it, they're faithful to their sacred trust when their life is tired and busy and they're weary, but they made a commitment to Jesus to be on the wall. They go, I'm going to do it. When they do it, you go, if you will, I will. You look to the other side and you see people that shortcuts. They don't really care. They're ignoring it. Hey, if no one catches me, it doesn't really matter. What happens is the faithful ones, their arms get weary and weak and they go, well, if nobody cares, why am I doing it alone? I don't want to bear this stigma and rigor alone. Now, the good news is you aren't alone, but the truth is you can feel alone. So as a leader of IHOP, I'm saying I'm getting back to where the main story and narrative is. We're pressing in faithful together that we look to the right or left and there's a whole company of people that are bearing the stigma and they're bearing the rigors, the work of this. Now, I want to say something. This is kind of a little bit embarrassing, but I'm going to say it anyway, is that this sacred trust, this sacred trust thing, it is not a casual thing to me where I look at, well, that's kind of neat. It's kind of a neat phrase. Let's put it in and hope people lay hold of it. No, it's not like that. This thing is real to me, meaning here's the part. I don't really want to say this. I just hate saying this, but I feel like I should like, so forgive me. I have been faithful to my sacred trust 90% plus for 18 years. 18 years ago, I went to my two hour sets because I committed to 16 years ago, 13 years ago, nine years ago, I've lost many opportunities for increase, for socializing, for people to like me, for things to go well, if I could just skip my sacred trust. And by the grace of God, 18 years later, I could say for the Lord, I'm not saying this like I'm dedicated. That's not what I'm saying. If you're hearing that you're missing me. I'm saying this is worth it to me. This is not a game. This isn't a little cool thing on the side. This is costly. This invades my privacy. It invades my sleep. It messes with my money. I lose so many things because I've committed to that two hour set. And if I miss it, I go to the two hours after it. Not because you're watching because you're not watching. I mean, if you say, Oh, he's over there. Cool. Because God, I said to God, 18 years ago, I'm doing this for you to the end. Here's what I'm asking. I'm asking for two to 300 now and 500. Eventually you will do the same. I want to see a company. And I know about two or 300 of you are doing it, but I'm saying, let's do this. It is rigorous. It is invasive. It is like, I don't want to do it. I want to go home. My body's tired. My friends are in town. Everyone's having a party, but I committed to the set. The Lord says, go to the set because God says, I have set Watchman on the wall. I'm setting them, not you. You're not setting Watchman on the wall. I hop is not setting Watchman on the wall. I called them from the North, the South, East and the West. I sent him here. They, with their own mouths committed to the sessions. They thought I was, they could have grace for, and they're committing to me to do it. If they did it for me, it's sacred. You know, there's a party or a friend, or you got a little cough in the morning. That's not a good enough reason to cast off that set. I don't, I'm happy if you move it two hours later that day or four hours later, but I want a company of people that see this is there's something big going on in the nations. The hour of history we're living in is massively important. And the Lord says, I've invested 34 years. There's a flood coming. There's a flood coming. I showed you a week ahead of time before it happened. It was in the newspapers. I told you to be assigned 5,000 were moved overnight. And then 10,000, if some days later, 5,000 are coming overnight. I hop it. I don't know if that's 24 hours. I don't know. I don't care. I know that a big flood is coming of trouble and a big flood of the spirit. And it's going to be people who speak God's word. Isaiah 59. They say God's words to God. They say God's words to each other. They say God's words to the nations. They say God's words because they know them because they believe in them. Well, a man and a man. Let's go ahead and fill out that. Let's look at the secret trust. Let's look at this paper. And Joseph, if you'll come on up, we got this, you're going to do it on your phone. Jay, if you'll come on up, we're going to take the next two, three minutes. This is super easy to fill out. Then Jay's going to lead us. We're going to commit ourselves to the Lord like we do every year in May. This is real. This is important. I mean, there's fun things we do, but there's something way more than fun things. We're at a time in history and God has invested in us in a huge way. Learn the story behind us. I plead with you. Come to the meetings and learn about the forerunner messaging. Engage yourself in intimacy. Learn the bridegroom messaging. I was talking to someone the other day. They said, you know, I've been here for some years. I don't even, I know how to say bridegroom, but I don't even know anything about it, to be honest. I know bridegroom, bridegroom, bridegroom, first commandment. I can't talk on it. I said, learn it then. Learn it then. They go, I've been here for some years. I hear you talk about it. I don't know what to say. I go, that's not a good enough answer. Father, here we are before you. We're just saying we're in this for you, Lord. Joseph, just come and show us how to do this. It's pretty simple. Yeah, it's very simple. I don't want to distract from the, just the tenderness of this moment. We just want to give you guys a couple options. You see up on the screen, you can fill out the piece of paper. Everyone has a piece of paper in front of you on the table. There's also an online option. So if that's easier for you, we just want to give you the options and let you choose which one's easiest for you. You can also fill it out on your phone or your computer. But I'm asking the payroll not to give missionary stipends. I want everyone committed. If they don't follow through, I can't make sure of that, but I want everybody before God saying they will follow through, or I want to shut things down in their world here until they do, because this is too important to me. Yeah, and that's exactly it. We ask all of our staff once every year, at least once a year, maybe more depending on if your schedule changes, to renew your sacred trust commitment. And it's at the May staff meeting that we all fill out this form together and we all recommit before the Lord. So that's what this time is. We just want to, again, stay in that tender place and ask the Lord, what would you give me grace for this year to commit to you and make sacred before you? Let's fill that out right now, Jay. Just lead us here. Oh, we love you, Jesus. Jesus, you're so worth it. You're so worth it, Jesus. I want to live before I, I want to stay before you. Just keep me steady for all my days. I want to live before I, I want to stay before you. Just keep me steady for all my days. I want to live before your eyes. I want to stay before your gaze. Just keep me steady for all my days. I want to live before your eyes. I want to stay before your gaze. Just keep me steady. I want to be found faithful. I want to be found steady. I want to be found faithful until the end. I want to be found. Here we are, Lord. Weak and broken people. But we love you in the grace of God. We set our heart to be faithful until the end. To the sanctuary, to keep a sanctuary, to keep a message. So give me grace for the moment. Give me grace for tomorrow. Just give me grace. I'm a weak man. Help me, Lord. To say yes again. God, give me grace for the moment. God, give me grace for tomorrow. God, give me grace to say yes again. Because I want to be found steady until the end. I want to be found steady. I want to be found faithful. That's what I want to do now. I want us all to stand. And I would like you to bring your papers up here, if you've got them, or you did it on phone. That's cool. Laptop. We're going to do this for about two, three. No, no, Jay, you stay with it. And two, three minutes. And then we're going to just dedicate ourselves to the Lord. But I want these presented to the Lord first while we're worshiping. This is the perfect song. I love this. I love this. Lord, we say yes. It's wise to say yes to your calling. Lord. I want to stay before your gaze, Jesus. In a dark and evil generation, I want to stay steady. My days. I want to stay before your gaze. Just keep me steady for all my days. I want to live before your eyes. The Lord is pleased. I feel his pleasure looking at you. And present your heart. Officially dedicate ourselves to the Lord. So let's stay in the ministry mode here before the Lord. This is pleasing. This is good. This is wise in a dark hour of history. This is the doing of the Lord in our midst. Still, I want to be found. Faithful Israel. You're not alone. God has a people in the earth. And the Lord says, all your mountains are in me. I have everything you need. So keep coming back to me. Because those who call upon my name, I'll be put to shame. Coming back to me. Mountains are in me. Okay, coming back to those who call upon my name. Better pray now and just echo this prayer in your heart. Words Lord, here we are in your presence. You recognize 34 years ago, you began to make clear things you cared about for this movement. Lord, I honor you for it. Lord, they're not casual to me. What you care about, I care about related to this movement. They're not small things, though some of them are hard to understand. I say, thank you. Thank you that 18 years ago, you said it's time. Thank you that 16,000 people have come here at one time or another in a full-time way. Lord, and I bless the 15,000 out there. I thank you for their lives. I thank you for their obedience. I thank you for the calling you've given them. I thank you for the city you sent them to. I thank you for the way they gave to us, the way that we love them and they love us now. Lord, I thank you for the people in this room now, the economic sacrifices that are so intense, the long hours, the stigma, the rigor, the misunderstanding, the waiting on the manifest presence at the next level, the waiting, the believing, the waiting, the believing, the waiting, the believing because you're worthy. I thank you that I'm with comrades, that that makes sense to, that I'm not alone. God, I look at the ones around us. I thank you. Just everyone, just look around them. Thank you. Look at the guy next to you. Thank you. They're not quitting. This is amazing. And so, Lord, we offer our heart to you on this paper. And Lord, we're weak people. So we won't, we know we won't do this a hundred percent, but we want to. When we come up short, we're going to sign back up again. We're not going to wait for somebody to knock on the door. We're doing it because of you. When we come up short, cover us and we'll come back again. Lord, I ask for all the ones that want to do this, but financially it's not workable. And Lord, we say, yes, they're on the team. They're with us to the end. Even in this time of waiting, we're in it together. And Lord, I say that if you'll unlock the safe again, we as a leadership team commit to be faithful to the DNA the best we can. We'll be faithful not to get excited by the growth and forget, but to think of the 500 and the 5,000 and ascending to the earth. And we thank you. We dedicate ourselves in the name of Jesus. Amen and amen.