Wendy Salisbury preaches on faith, the armor of God, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit
A solo sermon delivered at Rivers Apostolic Centre by Wendy Salisbury.
Summary
Wendy Salisbury delivers a sermon titled "You've Got to Have Faith" at Rivers Apostolic Centre, drawing primarily from Revelation 1 and 19, Ephesians 6, and Hebrews 11. She opens by sharing prophetic words from the church's recent Jubilee weekend, including a word about "an assured welcome" for the season ahead, and gives a personal prophetic word to a man in the congregation. The central argument of the sermon is that faith — grounded in the Word of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit — is the primary weapon available to believers, described in Ephesians 6 as the shield that extinguishes all fiery darts of the enemy. Salisbury draws on a personal vision she received during recovery from surgery, in which she was shown a massive encapsulating shield of faith, to illustrate the protective scope of faith.
A sustained rhetorical sequence contrasts what circumstances, culture, and the enemy declare with what faith declares — covering finances, health, identity, persecution, and eternity. Within this sequence, Salisbury gives extended treatment to the claim that culture defines people permanently by their trauma, arguing this directly contradicts the Word of God, which declares believers to be new creations whose identity is found in Christ rather than in what has been done to them.
Salisbury also discusses faith as counter-cultural and illustrates God rewarding faith with the account of Todd Weatherly's community sowing $5,000 and receiving $500,000 some fifteen months later, and references contemporary testimonies of Muslim people having encounters with Jesus as evidence of God pouring out His Spirit on all flesh.
She closes with a call for members of the congregation to come forward to be baptised in the Holy Spirit and to receive or grow in the gift of speaking in tongues, framing this as essential preparation for the season the church is entering.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Welcome, Prophetic Words, and Upcoming Ministry
Wendy Salisbury: Hallelujah. Wow, so good to be in the house of the Lord. It is the King's birthday weekend, so a lot of people are away, I see, but hey, we bless the King with the power and the might of the Holy Spirit of God on his life in a significant way. But today we are here to bless the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. Amen. Let's give it up for Jesus. He is worthy, he is worthy, and every day is a good day to celebrate Jesus.
We had a really good time last weekend, and I'm just still in the aftermath of that, really enjoying all the words that came through on the Jubilee weekend. I just want to share a word that Kim Jones, who's one of our consultants, shared on the Saturday morning that I thought was really significant for all of us.
Just the week before lockdown in COVID, Kim Jones brought a word to this community that God was saying to us: relational glory. She's a shifter in the atmosphere when it comes to the Holy Spirit, and it really shifted the trajectory of where we were going as a community — to bring in relational glory, that we would do relationship authentically, and that when people came into this house, they would understand and know the love of God. So there's been a season now of close to seven years, which is amazing.
She then brought a word last week on Saturday. She reminded us of the relational glory word, but she said this: it is the season of an assured welcome. An assured welcome. So I just wanted to speak that out over all of us, that this place would be a place of an assured welcome for all who would come, wherever they come from and whoever they are, that they would feel welcome here. But primarily, that this would be a place of an assured welcome for the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Father, and the Son in this house.
I just wanted to let you know that, because she didn't speak on Sunday. But then Todd Weatherly spoke, and it was just like a banquet of the Word of testimony, the power of God. So if you didn't listen to that yet, it's up online — please have a listen to what he said. There's so much there. I was just pulling things down in the Spirit and enjoying what he had to share.
A few other things, just pulling things together before I head off. And thank you — I so appreciate your prayers. As I head off, I'll be ministering in two different streams of churches. The one is the New Covenant Ministries, which is an apostolic movement all around the world. And the other one is Vista Church, which many of you have prayed for. They are a multi-site church, and I'm looking forward to just spending some time with the leadership of that community. So looking forward to that and appreciate your prayers.
A Personal Prophetic Word
I do just have a word for that gentleman there. I know you, I've seen you before. We've spent a little bit of time together. We've just crossed into the year 5787 in the Hebraic year — we've just come out of 5786, so we started a new year. The Lord said to you that last year was a year of exposure, pain, humility, and healing. But this year is the year of recompense for you and for your family. So it's shifted. Things have shifted. And while in the natural it might not feel like it's shifted completely yet, the Lord's saying that He sees you, He knows you well, and He's walking with you. So be encouraged. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.
The Hebraic Year 5787
So yes, we've just gone into 5787. This is like the 11th of September in the Hebraic year. We know that we're still in 2026 in the Roman calendar. But I just wanted to talk to 5787 very briefly, because no doubt many of you will have already gone and seen the correlation there.
In the Hebraic, numbers are symbols. Usually the 5,000 is dropped, and so we're going to look into 787. The 7 is a combination of 400 and 300, and those speak to these things — so these are just prophetic things, just grab them and apply them into this year for yourself. It's a combination of covenant, completion, and the consuming fire of God. So: covenant, completion, and the consuming fire of God.
80 — and we've been going through the eights since 8-0 — is that of the open mouth. It's declaration, and it's speaking different things. Different things have been spoken in the different years. But this year, what comes out of the mouth is what's called Zion. It's the seven, and it is the image of a weapon or a sword. So the sword of the Lord, the double-edged sword of the Lord. I was going to bring Aaron's sword down here just to show us the double-edged side of the sword — the Word and the Spirit.
And I wanted to speak to us today about the fact that we've got to have faith. We've got to have faith. And a lot of what Todd was bringing last week and through the whole weekend was: you've got to have faith. You've got to have faith. You've got to have faith. So if you want to go with me in your Word, there's going to be a lot of Word today. Put on your seatbelts and let's go.
Who We Are Having Faith In — Revelation 1 and 19
Revelation 1 is where we are. Verse 9: "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." So he's been incarcerated on an island because he spoke the Word and he was testifying about Jesus Christ.
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Don't you love that? He's in prison and there he is in the Spirit on the Lord's day. He's not letting the prison affect his relationship. "And I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. And what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches."
Then in verse 12: "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke to me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to his feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were like wool, white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. And his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as if dead. But he laid his hand on me and said to me, do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am he who lives and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which you are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands — the seven stars are the angels of the churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are my seven churches."
The reason why I've read out that passage — and I'm going to read another one, just a heads up, children's church and little gems, you're welcome to head out — is to help us, to remind us who it is that we have faith in. It's this one that is described in the book of Revelation. This is who you can have faith in.
So heading into Revelation 19, just skip through. Verse 11: "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations." Did we say that? Yes, we did. He should strike the nations. "And he himself will rule with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written" — that we've been singing about — "King of kings and Lord of lords."
This is who we are exhorted to have faith in. This is the one. Just building a platform there of who we are invited to have faith in. This is him.
A Vision During Recovery — The Shield of Faith
It was a recent time I was recovering from a surgery, and I was just spending time with the Lord and having the most powerful times in His presence. In the morning before this encounter, we had been reading Ephesians 6. Now many of you will know a lot about Ephesians 6, but I really felt to draw into this space today, and I'll tell you a bit more about the encounter as I go along.
Ephesians 6 verse 6 says this: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord — that is, accept their guidance and discipline as his representatives. This is right, for obedience teaches wisdom and self-discipline. Honor your father and your mother and be respectful to them. This is a first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you and that you may have long life on the earth." Good. This is not a suggestion. It's a great and good principle of the Word of God.
"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger. Don't exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating, but bring them up tenderly with loving kindness in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord."
Then it goes on to speak about slaves, and how slaves are to be towards their employers or owners, and then masters to their employees or slaves at the time.
Then we all know this really well — the armor of God. Verse 10: "In conclusion, be strong in the Lord" — this Lord that we've been speaking about — "draw your strength from him and be empowered through your union with him and in the power of his boundless might. Put on the full armor of God so that you may be able to successfully stand up against all the schemes and strategies and deceits of the devil. All of them. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, contending only with physical opponents, but against rulers, against powers, against the world forces in this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly supernatural places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God so that you'll be able to successfully resist and stand your ground in the evil day of danger. And having done everything that the crisis demands, to stand firm in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious."
Amen. So: "Stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness." Remember Jesus coming — a band of gold around his waist. Interesting. "And having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation to face the enemy with a firm-footed stability and readiness produced by the good news. Above all, lift up the protective shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all of the fiery darts of the enemy. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Interesting. So just coming back shortly to the "above all."
Then it says: "With all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and with this view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition for all of God's people. And pray for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth and proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news, for which I am an ambassador in chains, and pray that in proclaiming it I might speak boldly and courageously as I should."
So I'd appreciate your prayers as I do that now. That last part is very applicable. I need prayer when I'm proclaiming the Word of God, and anyone who's doing that needs prayer — which means all of us, right? Put up your hand if you're proclaiming the Word of God. You need prayer from the saints.
Honouring Your Parents
So, a quick segue before I start. The Lord has been so impressing on my heart the matter of honouring your mother and your father. So important in this season. We know from the book of Exodus that this is one of the Ten Commandments, and it's a commandment that carries a promise. You don't have to agree with them, but you do have to honour them according to the Word of God — respectful and honouring of them. And if you're really struggling and you need help and you can't find your way through to honouring parents who might have caused pain or whatever, come along to any of the team here and we will help you and encourage you and pray with you, because this is a command that actually has a blessing on it. It's a spiritual principle.
So just a couple of days ago, we're at the supermarket, and we go into the car park, and our car's backed onto another car. I just find this a little bit amusing — probably shouldn't have, but anyway. There's a little girl standing on one side of the car and another little girl on the other side. They're both twins, about ten years old, and the mom is whipping around the car saying, "Stop, get into the car, get into the car now." And she's like, "No, no, no." She's shouting. And her mom says, "Stop and get into the car now." And she says, "No, you're going to smack me." Honestly. So you're like, oof, alert. Is there a problem here? Start praying, praying in the Spirit. And then she's running, and the mom's like, "Stop now and get into the car." "No, you're going to smack me," she says. And the mom says, "Yes, I am going to smack you. If you call me the C word, and if you're rude and disrespectful towards me, you will get a smack." And we're like, thank you, Jesus. Children should listen to their parents. They should not swear at their parents, and they should be respectful to their parents.
So we prayed there, but I was like, okay, it was not going well for that little girl. Not going well for her. She was going to end in a little bit of discipline and a little bit of sanctification.
So, children, honour your parents. And I'm talking about all of us here who are children. We need to honour our parents. I get to go and visit with my mom, and it's going to be an awesome time to be with her. And part of that is actually to honour her. Now, I'm not going to see her to get a blessing, but I know that if I love my mom well, I will be blessed. Amen?
The Father Heart of God
And then fathers as well. There's a real father heart of God resurgence again in community. It's always there — nothing's new under the sun — but there's a resurgence of the father heart of God, and fathers learning how to be good fathers. Our society, we heard from Todd a number of quite shocking things, but our society is left wanting because fathers are not stepping up to be godly fathers and are abandoning their children. And we have a lot of fatherlessness, and we have a lot of societal problems because of it. So God's really calling us into that space.
I don't want to just run over that, but I thought I wanted to say that the father heart of God is very strong towards community and to seeing people healed. And it's a beautiful thing to see. We're seeing it in community and in all sorts of different places. So the father heart of God.
Above All — The Shield of Faith
But today I'm speaking about faith, and we found that in the full armor of God. And it says this: above all. Did you catch that in Ephesians 6? Above all. So it's quite a lot to think about. You put on all these other things, but above all, it says, lift up the protective shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Lift up, go up, bring up the protection of faith, the shield of faith. It's not just a small shield — it's a large shield. And then it says that we could extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one. Is that some? Is that a few? How crazy is that? All. So as you lift up the shield of faith, you can extinguish all of them. That is quite something to think about.
With faith, we believe and we agree with the Word of God. It's agreement. The Word is clear: agree with God and be at peace. Agree with God. We can be in peace and we can be warring at the same time.
Ephesians 2:8 and 9, one of my favourite scriptures, says: "For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith." We heard from Rory just a few seconds ago — the blood. Nothing you can do is going to earn you salvation. No works, no goodness, none of that — the blood of Jesus. So that's His grace. But you have to have the faith to believe, and you get that choice on a daily basis. Do I agree with God? Do I believe in what His Word says wholeheartedly?
So there is a co-labouring. Todd was talking last week about the co-labouring with God. Through faith, God is drawing mankind to Himself. He is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh like He promised to do in the book of Joel — unsaved and saved alike. Did you see just recently some of the testimonies about the Muslim people who are having encounters with the living God? This man with white hair and a sword out of His mouth, flaming fire. It's amazing what God is doing on the planet today.
So in Job 22:21, I've just quoted it: agree with God and be at peace. Thereby good will come to you. Now Job had every excuse not to agree with God. Every excuse. Satan's gone up and had a bit of a challenge to God, and He's like, yep, go ahead, sift him, do whatever you want with him. Like, wow, really? Is that the God that we serve? Sure is. Sift him. Go through all of that pain. Loses his family, loses his health, loses his assets, loses everything. And yet he does not deny God. He agrees with God. So even in the worst of it, he can be at peace. He might be raging against God, but he still believes in the Word, right? So yes, we'll have suffering. Yes, we'll have difficulty. But when you agree with God, it takes you to a different place. It takes you out of your own suffering into a place of victory. Victory. Amen.
We Must Believe God Is Who He Says He Is
So we have to believe that God is who He says He is. Romans 3 says: "Let God be true and every man a liar." God is truth. And then it goes down in verse 21: "But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed and being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ — through faith, to all and on all who believe." We must believe that He is who He says He is. "For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We've been hearing this quite a lot recently. There's not one in this room who has not sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is Jesus Christ, whom God sent forth as a propitiation." That means that Jesus Christ served as a sacrifice on the cross, absorbing God's divine judgment for us, so that God's justice is satisfied and that His mercy can be extended to all of humanity. "By His blood, through faith — always through faith, by faith, through faith — to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance, God has passed over all the sins that were previously committed."
Doesn't that just make you go, phew, thank you, Jesus. Not one sin that you have previously committed is set as a judgment against yourself. All completely gone. Amen. "To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ." Faith. We've got to have faith.
Hebrews 11 — The Substance of Faith
We know Hebrews 11 — I'd encourage you to go and have a read of it. We have all these different testimonies of faith, because faith, the Word of God says, gives you a good testimony. Amen. So it says this: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen." Todd spoke last week about substance. Faith is an actual substance. Don't forget what he said.
Then it goes on: "By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice. By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death. By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear and built an ark." Never been built before. Doesn't even know what it means. He still just does exactly what God tells him to do. Not a small thing — a huge, massive thing. He steps out in faith, right? And he gets a lot of flack for that. But hey, the man with faith — all good.
So faith pleases God, and God rewards faith. God rewards quite a few things in the Word. We've just got to find out where the rewards are. If you want rewards on earth and in heaven, there are places you can find those things. Amen. Faith. God rewards faith.
And I think we heard Todd's story last week. They, as a community, needed $500,000. He took $5,000, prayed to the Lord. The Lord said, sow $5,000 into another ministry. He sowed $5,000 into another ministry and prayed and said, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. What did he say? Like 15 months later, $500,000 came in. We've got to have faith. Faith does things very differently to how the world does things, very differently. And you're not going to find what those things are without having the substance of faith.
The Two Substances of Faith
So those two substances of faith — primarily, there are a few others — are the Word of God and the Holy Spirit: presence, time in His presence. You're not going to find solutions in the natural. You're going to find them in the Spirit. Because you can pray until you're blue in the face about the fruits of a circumstance, but if you don't hit that root, it's not going away. The situation's not changing. And the place that you'll find the keys and the clues for the roots of a situation is in a higher place.
Todd spoke to us about this last week — praise, exalt the name of Jesus, hallowed be your name, Father — and then hearing from what He said.
Just recently, there was a situation and I was praying fruit. I was praying, cutting off little bits of fruit, cutting off the flowers, cutting off the leaves, just labouring in prayer. I was like, oh, shush. What about that good idea about going up higher and spending a bit of time with Jesus and finding out what He actually is saying about the situation? I went up higher and He just showed me what the core issue was in the Spirit. I would never have picked it. Not anywhere close to being that clever. Not anywhere close. He just gave me this word and I just started to pray this word and just started seeing a shift in the situation. So I want to encourage you: go to the higher place. Presence. Find the substance. Because the substance for faith is found in His presence.
Even though you might have a prophetic word, a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, a sign, a wonder, a number plate, whatever it is — you are going to find the substance for your faith when you spend time with God in the Spirit and He gives you different things to do.
The Vision of the Shield
So back to the encounter that I was having. This encounter was me just lying down, relaxing. And what happens with me — so it might be very different from you, and it probably is most likely different for you — but I'll be in the Spirit and the Lord will give me things to do. So it's like little obediences: go and stand up, go and lie down, put your hands out, sing a song, do a dance, whatever it is. And it's just like, yep, off you go. You do whatever He says. Whatever He says, do that.
And so I'm there and He says, hold this, and there's like this metal bar in the Spirit in front of me. So I hold the bar, and then He says, lift it up. But before this, He's saying to me, above all, above all, above all. Now I'm linking, because the day before we were reading the Scriptures in Ephesians 6. I'm like, oh, above all. Here we go. It's got something to do with the shield. It's like word searches or treasure hunting.
So here it is, and then He says, lift it up. And I'm like, okay, because it's just like a metal bar. So I lift it up, and then all of a sudden in the vision I start to see what it is that I'm lifting up, and it is a shield of huge proportions. So I'm here, like in the middle — I'm actually lying down at this point — but I'm lifting this up, and the shield I can see in front of me just goes high up, and then it just goes low, like right down in the Spirit. It's massive. I'm like, oh. And then I look to the side and I see that it's enclosed on this side, and then in my head I'm like, what about the back? And as I'm thinking that, I see this shield behind me, and it's like I'm encapsulated inside this massive shield. And it's red and it's pewter silver. And the red is the blood of Jesus, and the pewter is the Word of God. And it's like, wow.
God is so mindful that we should be in faith, because faith speaks a better word than the natural word. Faith speaks to what God has for us that has not yet been seen. It says the worlds were formed by things that were not even comprehended or seen. It's a mystery. It's not supposed to be logical. I want to really just encourage you that if you're trying to logicize or intellectually understand God, you're going to make yourself go crazy, because you're never going to find it. Rory's like, good luck with that. Absolutely.
So be in the Spirit. Find the substance of what God's saying to you. God is declaring Himself all the time. We've just got to be believing in what it is that He is declaring. Amen?
God Is a God of War
So in the Revelation scriptures that I read in the beginning, we kind of get this idea that God is actually a God of war. There's been a lot of talk about war recently. There've been prophecies about war. There's talk in the media about war, etc., etc. So do we all just go loco and freak out? No, we don't. We actually find out what God is saying in the midst of all of the situations. And so in Revelation there, it says that God judges and He makes war. What? God makes war? He actually does. Yep. This is God.
So Todd spoke about what is happening in our nation on the Sunday morning — some of the crazy things that are happening. And then just at lunch, we went to a leaders' lunch together, and there we saw the bill that Moira Deeming put forward that was voted down for the safety of children. It's like, no, we don't want that. We don't want children to be safe in very vulnerable environments. It's like, what? This is like the war that we are fighting. It's a war for family. It's a war for the children. It's a war for the nation.
So yes, we are in a war place and God wants us to fight. We are to fight. And it says we are to fight in actuality — so actually put legs on it — but we are also to fight in prayer. It's the both and. It's not a time to sit back.
We know that Hans prophesied from this pulpit in September of last year — so like a year ago — there is a seven-year season of springtime. Do you remember that? That's what he prophesied over our community. And in the Word of God, it says in the springtime, when men go out to war, there is time to fight in the Spirit. It's not time to relax and sit back. It is time to get your faith on and start proclaiming the Word of God. That's for your own family. That's for your children. That's for your future. That's for your finances. But it's also for the community. It's for Logan City and it's for the nation and the nations that we live in.
Faith Is Counter-Cultural
So faith is counter-cultural. Completely counter-cultural. Amen? Faith is positive and faith is not logical. I want to encourage you: if you are not being positive, you need to step into the Word of God. If you're not being positive, you're being a negative Nellie and a Debbie Downer — you need to go and read the Word of God and you need to get into the Spirit.
I have to say that there's nothing more unattractive than somebody who's always negative. It's a repelling thing, because God is attractive. He attracts people. He draws people to Himself. So if we're always bleating and whinging, we're not drawing people to ourselves. In fact, people are like, I really like you, but I don't know if I can spend any more time with you because you're just pulling me down every time I meet with you. I love you, I want to pray with you, but hey, you've got to do what the Word of God says. You can't just be rinse and repeat on negative Nellie. Sorry for that.
God is always positive. Sometimes difficult, but always positive. Amen?
Okay, so you might say, well, those faith people are crazy, Wendy. Yeah, they are a little bit crazy. We are a peculiar people. We are aliens on the planet, the Lord tells us, right? So we are a bit peculiar. Abraham, Noah, Sarah, Esther, John the Baptist, Peter, Mary — all a little bit different. So be different. Why fit in when you can stand out, right?
What Faith Says
So today I started with Revelation, and we know who we are having faith in. So I'm going to read this because I really want this to hopefully land in people's hearts.
When the circumstance says you can't, God says you can. When the world says it's impossible, faith says it is still possible with God. When your bank account says there are no funds for the mission, faith says my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches and His glory. When your ill health says you have to bow to the condition, faith says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Amen. When the world says you have to have every luxury and asset, faith says don't store up for yourself riches on earth, but riches in heaven, where they're not going to get eaten. When your people say you shouldn't go, faith says God goes before me and He is already there. When the enemy keeps reminding you of your past, faith says I will remind him of his future. When people mock you for your belief, faith says if I'm wrong, I have nothing to lose. But if you're wrong, you have everything, including eternity, to lose. Amen?
When the doctor says it is finished, faith says God is the author and the finisher of my faith, not the medical system. When you are persecuted for your faith, faith says that doesn't upset me or touch me at all. Of course, it might be a little bit painful for a moment, but faith says it is not me being persecuted. Because I know in the Word of God, it says you will be persecuted. And it says, don't worry, it's not you that's being persecuted — it's Christ in you that's being persecuted. Amen?
So when the culture of the day says that you are defined by your trauma, faith says I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old has passed away, the new is come. Amen? Let's not let the enemy, the pain, the hurts define who we are. Let's believe in who God says we are and who God created you to be.
We have an identity crisis in the first world because the systems of the world have taken high-end cases and just slathered them around everybody. And so now you've got lifelong complex trauma — you cannot ever be okay, it's all right for you to continuously be in a mess. That is not what the Word of God says. It is not the testimony of the kingdom of God. Amen? You are not defined by what somebody did to you or what you did to somebody whenever. You are defined by who God says you are, what the Word of God says you are. Your identity is found in Christ Jesus.
You were created by Him. He found you, it says, in the earth. He found you in the deep places of the earth, and then He planted you in your mother's womb. And according to the book of Jeremiah, He knew you before you were in your mother's womb. He gave you a name. He gave you a purpose. He solidified your identity. He gave you gifts and callings. And of course the enemy is going to try and steal that away. Of course he's going to. But hey, whose camp are we in? We be of the camp of the fiery one. We be of the camp with the sword coming out of the mouth. That's whose camp we are in. And He is the victor. He is already victorious. We just have to actually walk in that.
So when the skeptics and negative Nellies say, Wendy, you are living in denial, I say no. God has delivered me from Egypt. I do not hang out at the Nile. I have been brought out of the land of Egypt, and the land of Egypt, through a lot of His goodness, has been brought out of me. Amen? And I am in the promised land. As born-again believers, we crazily get to live every day in the promised land. And the promised land is not feet up in Fiji. The promised land is: fight for your territory. Fight for your territory. That's what we've got to do. We've got to fight with the Word of God, with the sword of the Spirit, with the shield of faith that quenches every fiery dart. Every single one. Every fiery dart. Amen? Hallelujah.
Building Yourself Up in Faith — The Call to the Spirit
So we know Hebrews 11 — where's the substance? Word of God. Spirit of God. Presence. I was coming through yesterday to just do a few tweaks on my message, and I was cranking up the music, which is my MO, and here comes that song by Josiah Queen that maybe some of the young people will know. And I'm going to try and sing it, but my daughter's just going to be like, oh Jesus, Mom, please don't do that. But it says this: we've got dust on our Bibles, brand new iPhones, no wonder why we feel this way. Dust off your Bibles, people. Thank you. So go and listen to that song, because it's like a young person saying, no wonder our society's in this mess, because everyone's got these flashy devices, but actually the Word of God is gathering dust. And that's like your best device. Your best device is the Word of God. Amen.
So let us land this plane. That might be a little bit early this week. However, that pilot who is courageous — and thank the Lord is still alive if you've been watching the news — how cool is that? How did he survive that? Because he already knew what to do. He already knew what to do. He's in a critical condition, but he knows: I have to open that door. And whether it's a false flag or not, the principle is applicable. Know what to do before you fly the plane. Know how to keep yourself safe in the Spirit before you walk out of your house. Amen?
So in the book of Jude, which is just 1:20, it says: "But you, beloved, building yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and to eternal life."
So it says this: building yourself up on your most holy faith. How? By praying in the Holy Spirit.
I'd like us all to stand, please. Ephesians 6 says this, in verse 18: "With all prayer and petition, pray at all times, on every occasion, and in every season. How? In the Spirit. And with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition and prayer for all of God's people."
We've heard a lot about faith. We've heard about the Word of God. We've heard about who it is that we have faith in. But I don't want us to leave this place without having the tools and the weapons that we need to be able to build ourselves up in our most holy faith.
I'm going to ask Dave and Rory to come and stand up. And I'm going to ask Aaron, Jason, and Sarah, if you guys could come up as well. And this could be a general call, but it also could be quite specific for you personally.
Without the power of the Holy Spirit, as a Christian, you are done. Again, you must have the power of the Holy Spirit. You must be able to pray in the Spirit. God has given us the ability to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. He's also given us the gift of speaking in tongues — speaking in a heavenly language — so that you can build yourself up. Because that's your responsibility. That's not God's responsibility.
So this morning, I want to make a call. If you have never been baptised in the Holy Spirit, I would highly suggest that you come forward and have these amazing leaders pray for you to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. If you at this stage have not received the gift of speaking in tongues, I would encourage you to come forward so that this team can pray for you and you can begin a whole new journey. If you are not confident in speaking in tongues, please don't miss this opportunity to come and to be prayed for and receive impartation to fuel you up.
Because we are entering into a very different season. We are entering into a powerful God season. We have actually already entered in. But to hold the line, to take ground, and to be powerful, you need both the Word and the Spirit. Amen?