Join John and Brandi Belt as they share how to present yourself to God in every season.
The Transcription
Hey, friends, it’s Brandi and John Belt, we are so excited to get to spend a couple of minutes with you tonight, to really talk about presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice, you know, we are in this amazing time in history right now. And in the midst of all the shaking, one of the biggest blessings is that we have this opportunity to rest, we have this opportunity to kind of slow down. And yesterday we talked a little bit about the importance of just re engaging with God recommitting yourself to personal intimacy, you know, it’s really the foundation of your Christian walk. It’s just personal relationship with him. But you know, I was recently on the, on the phone with a friend John. And one of the things that my friend mentioned is she said, You know, I normally work from home, she’s fairly newlywed, and she just said, you know, even though I normally work from home, and I’m pretty driven and dedicated, she said, it really has been a difficult time to just get focused. And she said, I feel like I’ve been sleeping a ton. And when I leave my house, I can feel the oppression and things like that. And one of the things that I really feel like God is doing in the season is not only drawing us back to him, but it’s also a time of preparation. When you agree that we’re now being prepared for the next step.
Yeah, I feel like we’re in a short season here, I don’t think this thing is going to be very prolonged. But I think you want to take it as a rest and the gift from God really is and also is the time to receive revelation, to receive revelation and blueprints for yourself, say, Okay, God, what kind of shift Do you want to make in my life, because there might be a shift that he wants to make. And I think he’s wanting to do something in this season, that’s really going to bless you and help you in this coming season, I think we got a really short period of time with this whole thing. And I think it’s going to be gone before you know it. And so just take this time to relax and rest and prepare, you know, enter into that rest of faith and just trust in the Lord. Because doing anything else is not going to help that if you worry if you fall into fear, it’s not going to help you a bit. You know, Jesus said, You’re not going to add a day to your life, you know, Today has enough trouble of its own. Just be faithful where you are, and do what you know to do. And God will do the rest. All you need to know is the next step.
For sure. I want to take just a minute and read Romans 12. Because I think it’s so important, just the first two or three verses, but it says, I urge you brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto the Lord. You know, we talked again about that a little bit, just the importance of intimacy, and really, you know, turning away from the world system and even talks about that it’s your reasonable service of worship, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Again, you’ve got to take some time and just cut off what’s going on in the world around you. But then it goes on and it says that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God. You know, just like we’re talking this preparation, I have a different friend her and her family recently went through a transition out of the church that they were at, you know, and they have been seeking God’s you know, diligently for the last couple of weeks. Lord, what are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go? And really, God had been giving them promises the in the natural made no sense, but the way the Coronavirus has kind of shut everything down, it actually supernaturally opened up a door for their family to relocate it increase in finance, you know, touch different areas. And so all of that is just to say, you know, it doesn’t matter what it is that you’re seeking God for, when you spend time with Him. And when you really take the time to reset. It’s like the will that He has for you almost gets illuminated.
And I’m reminded of the verse that God works all things together for the good to them that love him and are called according to His purposes. You know, so just surrender your life. Yeah, surrender your heart every day, every moment. And trust in him because he’s gonna make all this work out for your good because he loves you. Yeah, believe it or not, he actually does. He loves you. He loves me. He loves all of us, you know, and he cares about us. And because He loves us, that means he’s going to take actions to help us. You know, he’s here to help us not to hurt us. And so he’s gonna work, all this stuff that’s going on in the world. This is all peripheral. And so don’t get distracted by it. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Focus on Jesus. Turn your eyes upon him.
Most definitely. And one of the things even God has been challenging me personally is our kids are now home from school and we just found out that that school will probably not be resuming for the foreseeable future, probably the remainder of the school year and so that means we surprise surprise get the blessing of being homeschooled. Parents, which is some gift for certain people, it’s not necessarily my gift or John’s gift, but some people have the gift and we’re blessed, just to have the opportunity with our kids, you know, a little extra time. But anyway, all of that is to say, you know, it’s been easy to get caught up in just almost taking things as they come versus being proactive. You know, and I really over the last couple days have really felt challenged, like the Lord saying, you know, Brady, you get up early to spend time with me, but you’re gonna have to really dedicate yourself in this time, because you you don’t have any personal time, you know, you’re with your family this entire time. And so I have found myself trying to withdraw from certain things that normally I would love to do, you know, John loves some funny food shows where they, you know, it’s almost like going grocery shopping right now, right, you go and you find three random things that the grocery has left and see what you can make out of it. But um, you know, sometimes it would be fun to just watch that seventh kind of laugh where they come up with. But now I realize, you know, I only have so much time in a day, and I only have so much time that I can really spend with God. And so I found myself almost just disconnecting from so much of that. And I would just really encourage you, again, make sure that this time you’re letting God prepare you for what’s coming. You’re letting God really just get into your heart and love on you and refresh you and really even transform you, you know, it’s a great season of having your mind renewed. A lot of times when you get squeezed, is when you find out what’s in there. And if during the season, as you’ve been getting squeezed, what’s coming out is not something that you’re happy with, now’s a great time to work with God on fixing that and changing that and letting him really conform you into His image.
Yeah, and plans are a good thing says in Proverbs that a man plans in his heart. So a man plans in his heart. So you should be planning in your heart making plans, it’s good to make some plans, and says also that the Lord will order your steps in those plans. And so it kind of initiates with us. And those are our steps of faith is creating a plan. You create a plan by faith, right? You create that plan. And then God orders the steps. He says, Okay, I see that you’re doing something here, I’m gonna come in and order your steps and rearrange it, you have a great plan here, and he’s going to come in and change your plans a little bit. He’s going to change them around, and he’s going to order your steps and he’s going to perfect it. He takes the imperfect person like us, and He uses us with His perfection. It says perfect power that flows in us, it says perfect purposes that are manifest in us as imperfect people. It’s only in Christ that we’re made perfect. But as imperfect as our plans are, he still comes and he makes them work for us. Yeah, because He loves us.
Definitely, you know, and make sure that you’re dreaming with God during the season. It is so easy to think Man, the world is ending the economy is crashing, you know, there’s severe famine in the land, all that, you know, don’t limit the vision and the dreams that God’s put in your heart to what you can see in the natural, or what even seems possible, you know, even for ourselves, God relocated us a little over six months ago. And the promises and the vision that God gave us and the prophetic words. I mean, there’s so many, so many of those in the natural made absolutely no sense. And we have been laughing over the last couple of days almost because there are so many things that only this could bring about them in the natural would absolutely not have Mahathat Coronavirus, and I’m not saying that God wants to the Coronavirus. God is not in this it is from the pit of hell. This is not of God, you know, but he can use it. He takes what’s from the pit of hell and uses it for your good.
Exactly. And so don’t limit him and don’t limit your dreams in the season. Because we’re walking into the greatest days of the church. I mean, we’re literally Arise and shine, it is time. And we’re going to see this amazing harvest come in and God’s not going to just supernaturally do it. From some mist coming up from the ground. The glory of the Lord is covering the earth because you are so full of his glory, that you’re transforming everything around you. So we’re just happy with all that God’s doing. Obviously, we want to continue to pray for you whatever needs that you have. But we want you to have joy in the midst of this season. We really feel like it’s so easy to lose your joy, lose your peace, lose your hope, lose your vision. But you know God has more in store for you than what you can imagine. And all of this is a big setup so that God can shine through you in a new way.
And I also want to say to those of you who are in touch with people who are suffering from this virus or you are closely connected with people that are in that situation, that God wants to use you in that situation. Don’t underestimate your prayers, the prayers of a righteous man availeth much. So don’t underestimate the small things that you may be able to do in that situation, you know, and, and present yourself as a vehicle of hope to the Lord, that He would use you in those situations, whatever they may be, to bring healing and to bring health and blessing to people. That’s why you’re here.
Yeah, and I mean, even if you don’t have someone you’re connected to, if you just feel inspired and in faith to do something, you know, drive your car to the parking lot of the of the hospital and just sit and pray for a while. You know, you never know what God might have you do that in the natural doesn’t make sense. But you’re changing and shifting atmospheres, and you’re carrying a level of breakthrough that the world doesn’t have. So we just want to pray for you tonight. Lord, we just thank you so much for every person watching God, we thank you, Jesus, God, that you want to spend greater time, God and just draw on a place of intimacy with your people that they have not known for their I thank you that this is a time and a season of renewing. It’s a time and a season of being transformed and conformed into your image. And Father, we thank you that as we are presenting ourselves, as we’re choosing to not be caught up with the idols of the world, but even the idols of religion and ministry, Lord, we thank you that every person, God is getting conformed into your image and in process God, you are giving vision and hope for the future. Lord, I just thank you for just even a spirit of revelation, and understanding being released God, the prophetic, just bubbling up in a new way dreams and visions from you. So Lord, we just thank You, Father, and we thank you that people are putting action to their faith. You know, faith is always moving. So you need to be putting action to what God is challenging you with and speaking to you through.
I just want to agree with that. And so God wants to pour a fresh wind in the spirit. I just thank You, Father for fresh wind, inspiration, a fresh wind of revelation in your people, Lord, the light coming on, where it may seem dim and people, Lord that you would reignite that fire. reignite that light in the name of Jesus, let the breath of your spirit come or Jesus and and just bring that light of revelation in the name of Jesus and inspiration, to have a plan and inspiration to have your plans your blueprints in this time in the name of Jesus and that you give your people rest. You give your people rest. And this time it is a pause. It is a rest right now. And we just thank You Father in this time they see it as an opportunity to prepare, not to fear and be paralyzed by that we break off anything that would paralyze a demonic spirit that we try to paralyze you in the name of Jesus and shut you down and just break that off. In the name of Jesus Christ and we just lose freedom. We lose joy. We think that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Lord, I thank you for fresh joy in your people in the Holy Spirit. That is strength. That is strength for inspiration and Revelation Father, we release the joy and the peace of God, the kingdom of God righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit right now in your people in Jesus name and we thank You Father.