WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:03.049 It's so good to be home. That's how it feels 00:00:03.049 --> 00:00:10.609 when I come here. Lord, we just pray for your 00:00:10.609 --> 00:00:15.890 presence to be near, so near. Lord, that my words 00:00:15.890 --> 00:00:18.050 wouldn't be mine, but they would be your words 00:00:18.050 --> 00:00:20.910 to your people. Encourage hearts tonight, Father. 00:00:21.570 --> 00:00:25.429 Refresh hearts. Speak to your people. We just 00:00:25.429 --> 00:00:27.769 invite you to linger, Holy Spirit. We don't want 00:00:27.769 --> 00:00:29.550 to be in a hurry when we're in your presence. 00:00:30.489 --> 00:00:33.729 Would you stay and linger with us? Linger with 00:00:33.729 --> 00:00:41.149 us, Lord. I'm just curious. How many of y 'all 00:00:41.149 --> 00:00:44.450 were here last year when we were here? Okay. 00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:51.570 Okay. I want to have a little confession to make. 00:00:52.590 --> 00:00:57.530 The Lord began to stir my heart. Coming to Illinois 00:00:57.530 --> 00:01:00.649 was one of the first ministry trips I took with 00:01:00.649 --> 00:01:04.730 dad or otherwise last year. And he began to stir 00:01:04.730 --> 00:01:06.969 my heart when I was here about altars and wells. 00:01:09.049 --> 00:01:10.769 Half the time, I don't remember what I've said, 00:01:10.790 --> 00:01:12.329 so I don't expect you all to remember, but there 00:01:12.329 --> 00:01:14.870 was this word that the Lord gave about re -digging 00:01:14.870 --> 00:01:17.409 wells. I think someone made a t -shirt. Cammie 00:01:17.409 --> 00:01:20.450 messaged me after I left, and one of the interns 00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:23.069 had made a t -shirt of, dig another well, dig 00:01:23.069 --> 00:01:30.290 another well. And the Lord has not let me go, 00:01:30.409 --> 00:01:37.060 has not let that go since last year. And I don't 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:42.359 want to be redundant or try and, you know, there's 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:45.040 a saying about in Texas, everything's about horses 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:47.000 in Texas. But, you know, we don't want to run 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:49.540 that horse too far. But when I tell you the Lord 00:01:49.540 --> 00:01:52.040 hasn't relented all year, speaking to me about 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:54.920 altars and wells and altars and wells. And there 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:58.500 have been the coolest testimonies and signs that 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:01.180 have come. I was speaking at a church in Cleburne, 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:04.040 Texas, back in November. And I was speaking, 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:06.599 but the Lord gave me this word for the pastor 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:07.939 and his wife. And all of a sudden, I looked down 00:02:07.939 --> 00:02:11.280 from the pulpit. I began to prophesy from that 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:16.419 same word about Rehoboth when Isaac is redigging 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:20.159 the wells of his father. And they keep being 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:21.960 contentious, and he has to dig another well, 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:25.439 and he has to dig another well. And I looked 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:28.000 at him and I said, and there's going to be a 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:30.979 broad place and it's time to dig another well. 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:34.280 And the pastor's just looking at me. And I'm 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:35.819 thinking, okay, you know, the Holy Spirit's touching 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:37.900 him or something. But he just looked like, and 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:40.039 he looks at his wife and he says something and 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:42.460 he looks back at me. And I'm like, what's happening? 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:44.319 We had lunch after. He said, you don't understand. 00:02:45.979 --> 00:02:48.400 We just came into this property. We just came 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.300 to this building. And we're on well water. And 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:55.229 we share a well with our neighbors. And legally, 00:02:55.330 --> 00:02:57.990 the well is ours. But our neighbors came this 00:02:57.990 --> 00:03:01.969 past week angry and contentious with us, angry 00:03:01.969 --> 00:03:05.909 about the water in the well. And legally, it's 00:03:05.909 --> 00:03:07.569 ours. And I was thinking of fighting them over 00:03:07.569 --> 00:03:09.889 the well. And as you were prophesying, I leaned 00:03:09.889 --> 00:03:11.409 to my wife and I said, honey, we're just going 00:03:11.409 --> 00:03:14.030 to dig our own well. And so they're now literally 00:03:14.030 --> 00:03:17.030 digging a well. I had no clue what was going 00:03:17.030 --> 00:03:20.050 on. So I tell you, like, the Lord has not let 00:03:20.050 --> 00:03:23.719 this thing go. And we were also in Nebraska a 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:27.780 couple months after we were here. And I won't 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:29.680 go into all the details, but there has just been 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:34.620 these redemptive wells, particularly across the 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:37.840 Midwest, that I feel the burning and burden of 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:42.000 the Lord to redig. There are revival wells hidden 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:45.199 in the plains that the Lord is redigging. And 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:47.460 there are altars of sacrifice and worship that 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:54.409 the Lord is rebuilding. I'm going to go through 00:03:54.409 --> 00:04:00.569 several scriptures, but y 'all thought y 'all 00:04:00.569 --> 00:04:02.370 finished the reading through the Bible today. 00:04:02.430 --> 00:04:04.469 You didn't know it was just practice for me tonight. 00:04:05.610 --> 00:04:11.250 I have a few messages, but I mean a few scriptures 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:17.750 to get through. But I want you to hear this message. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:21.259 not just as an expository on the word, but as 00:04:21.259 --> 00:04:25.379 a prophetic message to your church, to the Church 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:28.879 of Lincoln, to the Church of Illinois, that the 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:38.560 Lord is looking throughout the earth. He's seeking 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:41.279 those that will stand in the gap. He's seeking 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:44.459 those who will rebuild the ancient altars and 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:48.000 re -dig the ancient wells. It's a time of rebuilding 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.819 and redigging, rebuilding and redigging, rebuilding 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:54.199 and redigging. So hear it in your spirit tonight. 00:04:55.220 --> 00:04:59.279 The word does not return void, but hear this 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:03.720 as a prophetic commission, if you will. If I 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:06.160 had to title this message, it would be Altars 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:09.720 and Wells, How Do We Steward Heavenly Encounters? 00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:17.670 I want to go first to... Elijah in Mount Carmel. 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:24.790 So I'm going to go. Lord bless Nick. We just 00:05:24.790 --> 00:05:28.569 bless Nick. I have my falling apart binder with 00:05:28.569 --> 00:05:32.709 scribbled notes, and he was very gracious to 00:05:32.709 --> 00:05:36.769 try and put them up here in a second. But in 00:05:36.769 --> 00:05:43.810 1 Kings 18 and 30, when I tell you, let me just. 00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:48.100 Let me just preface what I'm about to read. I 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:51.339 looked for a good week. And when I tell you I 00:05:51.339 --> 00:05:55.019 love a good bunny trail, rabbit hole, whatever 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:58.120 you want to call it, sometimes you follow them 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:01.420 and sometimes you fall in them. I have friends 00:06:01.420 --> 00:06:05.139 in this room who can vouch for that fact. I was 00:06:05.139 --> 00:06:08.319 like a dog with a bone, as they say. I wanted 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.959 to find out. Did I hit something? What am I doing? 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:16.720 Okay. why the altars were torn down in the first 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:20.100 place. We all know the story. I'm probably going 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:24.920 to read it somewhat quickly, but I believe we're 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:26.879 all familiar with the story. I don't want to 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.899 take that for granted necessarily, but knowing 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:33.680 many of you in the room, I'm confident. So turn 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:40.579 with me to 1 Kings 18. And, you know, we've got 00:06:40.579 --> 00:06:45.339 Jezebel and Ahab. It's not a good season in Israel's 00:06:45.339 --> 00:06:51.079 history. They're worshiping Baal. They're worshiping 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:53.720 idols. They've torn down the altars of the Lord. 00:06:54.459 --> 00:06:59.319 And Elijah challenges Ahab. He says, bring your 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:02.199 prophets. Bring the prophets of Baal. Bring all 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:06.319 these to Mount Carmel. Meet me there. And bring 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:09.740 all the assembly of Israel. Call everyone, all 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:13.019 the nation, all the people. Bring them. And we're 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:16.060 going to see who's God, the God of Israel or 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:19.540 Baal. And we're going to put it to a test, right? 00:07:19.620 --> 00:07:25.300 We're familiar with the story. And I love the, 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:30.879 how can I say this? I love the feisty confidence 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:35.180 of Elijah. He is literally teasing the prophets 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:39.420 of Baal. Oh! Maybe your God's napping. Maybe 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:41.759 he's gone on a journey because they're crying 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:43.779 out. They're doing all the things. Again, we 00:07:43.779 --> 00:07:47.100 know the story. Baal does not answer. He's not 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:50.339 a living God. We serve the living God. Amen? 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:55.680 Amen. So I'm just giving a brief review of that 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:58.120 for us to bring us back into the context of the 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:02.870 story. But I want to start in verse 30. So after 00:08:02.870 --> 00:08:05.970 Baal has failed to answer, Elijah's taunted the 00:08:05.970 --> 00:08:09.850 prophet, says, then Elijah said to all the people, 00:08:09.870 --> 00:08:14.269 come near to me. Again, hear this in the spirit. 00:08:14.569 --> 00:08:17.430 So all the people came near to him, and he repaired 00:08:17.430 --> 00:08:22.589 the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And 00:08:22.589 --> 00:08:27.170 Elijah took 12 stones for each tribe, excuse 00:08:27.170 --> 00:08:29.990 me, of Israel, and he rebuilt the altar of the 00:08:29.990 --> 00:08:36.299 Lord. I spent more than a week trying to find 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:41.500 out when and why was this altar torn down? Lord, 00:08:41.539 --> 00:08:43.840 how did these things happen? And I don't know 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:47.620 why I was so fixated on it. I was Googling. I 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:51.179 was asking biblical scholar friends with 40 -plus 00:08:51.179 --> 00:08:54.120 years in the Word and MDiv. And I'm just, what 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:56.320 is it? And the Lord, all of a sudden, it was 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:59.100 like he just came up to me in my quiet time and 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:01.899 he said, I'm more worried about the rebuilding. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:05.240 than why they were torn down. And I suddenly 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:09.480 had this moment of realizing how often do we, 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:13.860 I can speak for myself, but I feel like in America, 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:17.120 in the church, we We're watching the news, and 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:19.679 we're trying to analyze. I see parents, they're 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:22.200 so worried about their kids and trying to figure 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.519 out, what happened to my kids? How did they walk 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:26.700 away from the Lord? What should I do? How can 00:09:26.700 --> 00:09:29.200 I fix them? Why has America turned from the Lord? 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.879 Why is this happening? And there's wars and rumors 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:35.299 of war, and we get so caught up in, Lord, what 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:37.480 has happened to our nation? We were built on 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:40.000 biblical principles, and we get so caught up 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:43.620 in... Why was the altar torn down? What's happened 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:49.860 to our society? What's happened? And I had felt 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:51.799 that in my spirit all week. I'm like, I want 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:53.659 to find out. If I'm going to preach on rebuilding, 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:56.740 what happened in the first place? And it was 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:58.379 like the Lord was like, honey, that's not the 00:09:58.379 --> 00:10:03.139 point. It's the rebuilding. So again, I want 00:10:03.139 --> 00:10:06.139 to challenge us to look up, to look forward, 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:09.669 to look onward. There's a rebuilding taking place. 00:10:09.850 --> 00:10:12.970 And he rebuilds the altar and the Lord answers 00:10:12.970 --> 00:10:18.850 with fire. I think we get immune to some of these 00:10:18.850 --> 00:10:21.009 stories if we've grown up in the church. The 00:10:21.009 --> 00:10:25.490 Lord answers with fire. And I just want to say 00:10:25.490 --> 00:10:29.149 he's still the God who answers with fire. My 00:10:29.149 --> 00:10:32.649 God, our God, the living God is still a God who 00:10:32.649 --> 00:10:40.240 answers with fire. And I've seen him do it. And 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:50.320 you can't convince me otherwise. He's a God who 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:56.200 answers with fire. Now, I want to point one thing 00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:01.070 out before I move to the next scripture. When 00:11:01.070 --> 00:11:03.289 we're fixated on the problem, we want to lay 00:11:03.289 --> 00:11:05.929 blame and we want to do all the things and we 00:11:05.929 --> 00:11:07.690 want to find our own solutions and we'll look 00:11:07.690 --> 00:11:10.889 later at how that does not work. But it does 00:11:10.889 --> 00:11:17.769 say that Elijah called the people. There's something 00:11:17.769 --> 00:11:20.110 to be said about the people in our sphere of 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:24.519 influence that witness our lives. We don't just 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:27.299 contend for breakthrough closeted away. Yes, 00:11:27.299 --> 00:11:29.440 we pray in the secret place, and he who hears 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:31.580 in the secret place will himself reward you openly. 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:34.320 I'm not contradicting that point, but there is 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:37.820 a place of holy moment, of holy boldness that 00:11:37.820 --> 00:11:40.659 comes in moments of history on the body of Christ, 00:11:40.820 --> 00:11:43.860 and I believe we're on the threshold, and there's 00:11:43.860 --> 00:11:45.879 this call of the Lord and the Spirit for us to 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.720 be bold once again and say, no, come watch what 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:52.820 my God can do. It's not a time to hide away in 00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:57.019 the caves. It's not a time to tuck tail and run. 00:11:57.259 --> 00:12:00.019 It's not a time to simply survive. It's a time 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:03.200 to call the people and say, oh no, I am so confident 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:08.019 God is going to come. I am so confident he is 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:11.740 going to answer. Come watch him do it. Won't 00:12:11.740 --> 00:12:22.029 he do it? Won't he do it? I want to say one other 00:12:22.029 --> 00:12:31.490 thing. Elijah, in this instance, he did this, 00:12:31.549 --> 00:12:36.429 but he got a little bit in his head after. Sometimes 00:12:36.429 --> 00:12:39.210 we have these bold moments, and then all of a 00:12:39.210 --> 00:12:41.549 sudden, we realize, what did I just say? What 00:12:41.549 --> 00:12:43.629 did I just do? Jezebel's pursuing, he's going 00:12:43.629 --> 00:12:46.409 to die. And he gets a little in his head, and 00:12:46.409 --> 00:12:50.340 he goes and he's hiding. And he's convinced he's 00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:53.440 the only one left. And the strategy of the enemy, 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:56.100 when God wants to pour out breakthrough, one 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:58.120 of the strategies is always to try to isolate 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.539 us. And if there's ever a time for unity in the 00:13:01.539 --> 00:13:03.879 body of Christ, it's now. We have to model that 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:05.539 for the world. Where else are they going to see 00:13:05.539 --> 00:13:08.139 it but in us? And when we try to isolate ourselves, 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:11.659 when he was hiding and being fed by ravens, and 00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:13.799 the Lord comes and speaks to him, and it wasn't 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:15.259 in the fire, it wasn't in the wind, it was the 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:17.700 still, small voice. We know the story. He said, 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.139 Elijah, what are you doing? He said, well, I've 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:23.240 been zealous for your name. I've been zealous. 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:27.559 The people, they tore down the altars and they've 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:29.879 killed the prophets and I alone am left and they 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:32.659 seek my life. The enemy can get us so trapped 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:34.379 in our thinking that we literally think we're 00:13:34.379 --> 00:13:39.120 alone. God does not call us alone. He sets us 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:45.019 the orphan in families. So if anywhere in your 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:47.200 life, I just, I feel this in the spirit. I don't 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:48.879 know who this is for, but I think there's a few 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:50.320 people in the room that need to hear this. This 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.539 was not in my notes. Well, some of it, but not 00:13:53.539 --> 00:13:58.299 this part. You're not alone. I feel the Lord 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:00.500 wanting to break isolation off people tonight. 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:02.720 You're not alone. Because when we get in that 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:05.460 place, it renders us in hiding, fearful, and 00:14:05.460 --> 00:14:08.799 is often accompanied by a self -righteous, escapist 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:15.080 mentality. If we were to have a list of the churches, 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:20.240 I could say in America or the globe, and you 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:22.620 wanted to put a checkbox by how many that described, 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:27.379 I believe it grieves the heart of God. We are 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:31.039 not meant to survive and hide away in isolation. 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:33.460 We are not called to walk this life of faith 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:36.019 alone. So I encourage you, plug into community, 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:42.840 plug in, reject the lie that you're alone. Okay. 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:49.500 I gotta keep moving, because yes. The other thing, 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:52.940 is though that when we build altars, it affects 00:14:52.940 --> 00:14:57.899 nations and generations. It doesn't say that 00:14:57.899 --> 00:14:59.480 the people that he called to watch helped him 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:01.460 build it. He obeyed the Lord and he built it. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:04.000 Though none go with me, still I will follow. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:07.120 But they saw it and it drew an entire nation 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:10.740 back to the Lord. The simplest, smallest acts 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:13.720 of obedience are always met with a heavenly response 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:16.039 and an outcome beyond what we could ever expect. 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:19.080 It's not about us. It's about God working through 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:22.600 us. And when we walk in obedience, great things 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:25.799 can happen, and it affects nations and generations. 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:31.580 All right. I want to look in also in Genesis 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:36.580 chapter 26. Now, I know I shared part of this 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:41.259 scripture passage last year, but I want to revisit 00:15:41.259 --> 00:15:54.120 it again. In Genesis 26, I'm going to start in 00:15:54.120 --> 00:16:03.679 verse 15. You guys still with me? It's too quiet 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:05.720 in here for me. See, I'm from the South. We like 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:08.460 interactive preaching. So if I get an amen, sister, 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.139 I will feel right at home, okay? All right, there 00:16:11.139 --> 00:16:18.240 we go. Okay. All right. The Philistines had stopped 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:20.360 up all the wells which his father's servants, 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:23.519 so this is Isaac. He's going to be re -digging 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:28.559 the wells that Abraham dug. Again, this is multi 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:32.159 -generational, altars and wells. It affects generations. 00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:35.759 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now the 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.120 Philistines had stopped up all the wells which 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:39.960 his father's servants had dug in the days of 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:42.059 Abraham his father, and they had filled them 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:44.799 with earth. And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:47.860 from us, for you are much mightier than we. Then 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:50.159 Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:52.600 in the valley of Gerar and dwelt there. And Isaac 00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:57.139 dug again the wells of water, which they had 00:16:57.139 --> 00:17:00.399 dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:02.620 Philistines had stopped them up after the death 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:06.039 of Abraham. He called them by the names which 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:10.799 his father had called them. I want to pause. 00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:15.720 I grew up traveling all across the Midwest with 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:19.140 my family. I have personally seen miracles in 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:22.900 this state. I have personally watched more miracles 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:26.539 and salvations and deliverances than I literally 00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:29.059 have. If we took the rest of tonight and tomorrow, 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:32.720 there are more than I could convey to you. And 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:35.500 I have seen it. I have touched it. I have witnessed 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:37.640 it from my earliest years. I think I was about 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:40.740 five years old when we started coming to Illinois, 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:43.900 and I am now 36. So 30 years of miracles I've 00:17:43.900 --> 00:17:48.900 witnessed in your state. And the enemy would 00:17:48.900 --> 00:17:53.819 love nothing more than to fill those up with 00:17:53.819 --> 00:17:58.710 the things of this world, with the earth. And 00:17:58.710 --> 00:18:00.829 the wells and the rain and the water and the 00:18:00.829 --> 00:18:02.990 river that Pastor Darren was singing about earlier, 00:18:03.130 --> 00:18:05.829 the move of the Spirit of God all throughout 00:18:05.829 --> 00:18:08.529 Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, we see 00:18:08.529 --> 00:18:14.730 water used as analogy, if you will, by God of 00:18:14.730 --> 00:18:17.970 a moving of his Spirit and of his presence. And 00:18:17.970 --> 00:18:20.690 the enemy would love nothing more than to stop 00:18:20.690 --> 00:18:24.599 at the wells. In my own soul, spring up, oh well, 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:28.039 David says. We each have a well of living water 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:30.940 inside of us. I don't care if that sounds crazy 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:32.700 and Pentecostal or whatever to you. It is in 00:18:32.700 --> 00:18:35.039 scripture, so you cannot argue with me tonight. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:39.539 Okay? You have a well of living water in your 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:43.599 belly. Look at your neighbor and say, you have 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:47.759 a well of living water living in your belly. 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:52.390 Now just look at them and say, spring up. Spring 00:18:52.390 --> 00:18:56.089 up a well. Spring up a well. Speak to your city. 00:18:56.130 --> 00:18:59.430 I encourage you regularly. Speak it as a declaration 00:18:59.430 --> 00:19:02.630 over your schools, over your city, over your 00:19:02.630 --> 00:19:05.349 family, over your place of business. Spring up 00:19:05.349 --> 00:19:08.190 a well. Spring up a well. There are redemptive 00:19:08.190 --> 00:19:14.009 wells that the Lord has in you, but also we know, 00:19:14.109 --> 00:19:18.819 again, through Scripture, there are... If the 00:19:18.819 --> 00:19:21.559 blood of Abel can cry to him, the blood of innocence, 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:26.519 how much more the redemptive well of the spoken 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:29.920 promises and covenant of God, how much more are 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:32.759 his ears listening and attending that cry of 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:36.759 the things that he has been waiting decades to 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:40.920 break loose in your heart, in your family, in 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:48.829 your state? So he called them by the names which 00:19:48.829 --> 00:19:51.569 his father had called them. So see, when we dig 00:19:51.569 --> 00:19:55.869 wells, we don't rebrand it and say, oh, renewal 00:19:55.869 --> 00:19:59.930 was wonderful. I'm saying nothing against the 00:19:59.930 --> 00:20:01.609 things that happened in the past, but we're not 00:20:01.609 --> 00:20:07.309 going to just live in an old wine scale, an old 00:20:07.309 --> 00:20:10.430 wine skin and slap a new label on it. What does 00:20:10.430 --> 00:20:11.990 scripture say about that? Does it work out? Well, 00:20:12.029 --> 00:20:16.089 no. He called them by the names his father called 00:20:16.089 --> 00:20:23.549 them. We honor the testimony, but the testimony 00:20:23.549 --> 00:20:27.250 of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Last time 00:20:27.250 --> 00:20:30.829 I checked, the prophetic moved forward, not backwards. 00:20:31.329 --> 00:20:35.289 Are you hearing me? We are, when we lean into 00:20:35.289 --> 00:20:37.630 the testimonies, when we re -dig the wells of 00:20:37.630 --> 00:20:39.670 what he's done, we're saying, God, do it again. 00:20:40.329 --> 00:20:43.210 We're not going back to relive in the past and 00:20:43.210 --> 00:20:47.690 call it the present. So he called them what his 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:50.809 father had called them. Also, Isaac's servants 00:20:50.809 --> 00:20:54.569 dug in the valley and found a well of running 00:20:54.569 --> 00:20:58.910 water. It's significant. It's living. It's living 00:20:58.910 --> 00:21:01.009 what is running water. When water doesn't move, 00:21:01.150 --> 00:21:04.410 it becomes filled with disease. Water was meant 00:21:04.410 --> 00:21:10.029 to flow. I served under a pastor. And he said 00:21:10.029 --> 00:21:11.529 something I'll never forget. He said, you know, 00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:13.930 in the more charismatic things, we always like 00:21:13.930 --> 00:21:15.730 to talk about the river of the Lord, the river 00:21:15.730 --> 00:21:17.950 of the Lord. Most of us are just sitting in jacuzzi. 00:21:19.369 --> 00:21:24.130 So we just like it to stir the waters around 00:21:24.130 --> 00:21:26.869 us and come and hit. Oh, that's the spot. Oh, 00:21:26.890 --> 00:21:30.109 yes, Lord. Just come. Just come move on us. Move 00:21:30.109 --> 00:21:32.730 on me, Lord. Oh, move on my friend here that 00:21:32.730 --> 00:21:34.730 I like and actually get along with. Oh, and then 00:21:34.730 --> 00:21:36.809 come move on me again. And then, oh, that felt 00:21:36.809 --> 00:21:39.400 so good. Would you do it again, Lord? and there's 00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:43.180 not an outflow. We are meant to be rivers of 00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:49.160 living water, not stagnant jacuzzis called churches. 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:54.779 I might not be back next year, so love y 'all. 00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:00.960 Okay, good, there's laughter. I might see you 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:03.880 again. Okay, all right. I get a little feisty 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:09.759 sometimes, just a little. It was running water. 00:22:10.140 --> 00:22:14.339 But herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac. It's 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:15.759 a good thing I wasn't here this week. I can't 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:18.619 pronounce stuff. Quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:22.140 saying, the water is ours. I'll never be able 00:22:22.140 --> 00:22:23.599 to read this without thinking of Cleburne again. 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:28.440 So he called the name of the well Essek, which 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:31.220 means quarrel, because they quarreled with him. 00:22:31.460 --> 00:22:33.599 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:35.500 over that one as well. So he called its name 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:40.230 Sitna. which means enmity. And he moved from 00:22:40.230 --> 00:22:42.970 there and dug another well. And this is what 00:22:42.970 --> 00:22:44.529 I was hearing the Spirit last year, it's time 00:22:44.529 --> 00:22:46.269 to dig another well. It's time to dig another 00:22:46.269 --> 00:22:48.890 well. See, when disappointment happens, we dig 00:22:48.890 --> 00:22:52.390 another well. When offense comes, and surely 00:22:52.390 --> 00:22:54.670 they will come, that's one of the promises of 00:22:54.670 --> 00:22:57.170 the word that you don't hear preached very often, 00:22:57.250 --> 00:23:00.910 we are warned, we are told, offenses will come. 00:23:02.170 --> 00:23:05.430 We dig another well. When church hurt happens, 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:10.500 we dig another well. When we don't, when there's 00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:13.740 contention, when the enemy tries to still kill 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:18.019 and destroy, which is his very purpose, do we 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:19.880 get distracted? Do we get discouraged? Do we 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:22.640 stop and just be satisfied? Well, we'll just 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:25.779 survive with what the generations before us. 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:29.759 We'll just settle. We'll survive. There's enough 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:33.599 water. If I just get a little taste of his presence 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:37.980 every two, three months, I'll survive. We're 00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:42.880 not meant to survive. He kept digging wells. 00:23:46.339 --> 00:23:49.819 Hear me in the spirit. When Isaac came back to 00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:54.410 this place, the generations had multiplied. What 00:23:54.410 --> 00:23:56.970 was enough for generations past is no longer 00:23:56.970 --> 00:24:00.369 enough. If you want more than just you to survive, 00:24:00.529 --> 00:24:03.890 if you want the well of God, the move of God 00:24:03.890 --> 00:24:06.450 to stop with you, if you are satisfied with that, 00:24:06.950 --> 00:24:11.109 then be prepared to watch as the generations 00:24:11.109 --> 00:24:15.750 fall. I'm not trying to speak doom and gloom 00:24:15.750 --> 00:24:17.509 here. I'm just telling you what is at stake. 00:24:18.329 --> 00:24:22.230 He needed more wells because there was more need. 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:27.880 Nothing in the kingdom of God ever shrinks. Of 00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:31.119 the increase of his government and peace, there 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:35.980 shall be no end. If it's not increasing, test 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:39.099 it and see if it's real. If it's not increasing, 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:43.519 is it really God? If it is stagnant and there 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:47.259 is no life in it, if it is stable and survivist, 00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:51.640 test it. Test it for life. Check for a pulse. 00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:58.680 Is this really God? God is always, he is triune 00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:01.319 in nature and he is the God of generations. He 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:04.200 is always so far beyond what we could think or 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:09.019 imagine. He's thinking 10 steps ahead. He's thinking 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:14.599 a thousand years is but a day to him. He sees 00:25:14.599 --> 00:25:17.640 the bigger picture. And we have to, if we're 00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:20.039 going to partner with him, we have to expand 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:25.089 our hearts and our vision. And he moved from 00:25:25.089 --> 00:25:26.990 there and dug another well, and they did not 00:25:26.990 --> 00:25:29.869 quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, 00:25:29.950 --> 00:25:32.990 which means a wide or broad place. Because he 00:25:32.990 --> 00:25:35.130 said, for now the Lord has made room for us, 00:25:35.170 --> 00:25:38.650 and we shall be fruitful in the land. Then he 00:25:38.650 --> 00:25:41.960 went up from there to Beersheba. And the Lord 00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:44.039 appeared to him on the same night and said, I 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:46.240 am the God of your father Abraham. Do not fear, 00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:49.240 for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply 00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:51.460 your descendants for my servant Abraham's sake. 00:25:51.859 --> 00:25:55.039 So he built an altar there and called on the 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:57.339 name of the Lord. And he pitched his tent there. 00:25:57.480 --> 00:26:03.200 And there Isaac's servants dug a well. Surprise. 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:05.799 I'm not through with this passage yet. There's 00:26:05.799 --> 00:26:09.220 more. But wait, there's more. So he digs another 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:13.450 well. And then we see through verse, I'm not 00:26:13.450 --> 00:26:17.569 going to read it all, but from verse 26 down 00:26:17.569 --> 00:26:22.609 through about 30, 31, Abimelech, the king that 00:26:22.609 --> 00:26:24.609 had said, get out from here, you're mightier 00:26:24.609 --> 00:26:26.910 than us, go out, go out. The same king whose 00:26:26.910 --> 00:26:29.990 servants had filled those wells comes and says, 00:26:30.029 --> 00:26:32.390 make a covenant with us because you're mightier 00:26:32.390 --> 00:26:34.170 than us and we don't want you to destroy us. 00:26:34.859 --> 00:26:37.660 The Lord will set a table before us in the presence 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:39.859 of our enemies. But they come and they say, oh, 00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:42.279 cut covenant with us because we now fear you've 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:45.259 become a great nation. But here's what I want 00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:52.339 you to hear. At the end of verse 25, it says, 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:54.380 and there Isaac's servants dug a well. After 00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:57.980 his enemy comes and is like, hey, you're more 00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:00.980 powerful. Then they come back. After that, he 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:04.920 finds out. that they say in verse 32, at the 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:06.759 end of verse 32, it says, we have found water. 00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:09.299 And so he called it Sheba. Therefore, the name 00:27:09.299 --> 00:27:18.380 of the city is Beersheba to this day. The Lord's 00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:20.940 already providing more resource before we even 00:27:20.940 --> 00:27:28.140 recognize it happens. When our enemies are like 00:27:28.140 --> 00:27:33.190 recognizing, wow. God is with you. Don't hurt 00:27:33.190 --> 00:27:37.170 us, please. The Lord's already, when he was faithful 00:27:37.170 --> 00:27:39.230 to start digging again, the Lord was already 00:27:39.230 --> 00:27:42.049 ready with more and more and more wells, waiting 00:27:42.049 --> 00:27:45.410 before he even had a chance to see them. Okay? 00:27:48.789 --> 00:27:54.670 I'm not going to turn there for time, but I just 00:27:54.670 --> 00:27:58.009 want to say, back in Genesis 46, verses 1 and 00:27:58.009 --> 00:28:17.339 5, I've been looking at so many scriptures, and 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:19.299 I just want what I feel prophetically to come 00:28:19.299 --> 00:28:23.220 across right, so bear with me. But Abraham, when 00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:29.549 he first dug those wells, before they had been 00:28:29.549 --> 00:28:43.789 stopped up. This is scriptural proof that the 00:28:43.789 --> 00:28:46.269 Lord can use dysfunctional families because Abraham 00:28:46.269 --> 00:28:48.970 lied about Sarah being his wife and Abimelech. 00:28:50.250 --> 00:28:52.309 There was a whole issue of it and he says, you 00:28:52.309 --> 00:28:54.190 know, get out from us. And he goes and he digs 00:28:54.190 --> 00:28:58.869 wells. And Abimelech again says, You're too great 00:28:58.869 --> 00:29:01.450 for us. Hey, cut a covenant with me. And he cuts 00:29:01.450 --> 00:29:05.569 a covenant with his enemy. Then Isaac does the 00:29:05.569 --> 00:29:07.589 same thing. He goes back and he's there with 00:29:07.589 --> 00:29:10.890 Abimelech. He lies about his wife. Gets in trouble. 00:29:10.930 --> 00:29:14.049 He gets kicked out again. Okay, so what's my 00:29:14.049 --> 00:29:18.950 point? My point is we can pass on generational 00:29:18.950 --> 00:29:21.769 sins or we can pass on generational wells and 00:29:21.769 --> 00:29:28.240 altars. If we don't, if we cut unrighteous, If 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:33.480 we get friendly with sin and tolerate it and 00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:35.519 make friends with it, okay, you don't hurt me, 00:29:35.539 --> 00:29:38.619 I won't hurt you, we'll just live in this stalemate, 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:41.619 it's going to come back to the next generation. 00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:46.720 And even if we, in our own strength, try and 00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:49.619 dig a few wells, if we're not willing to deal 00:29:49.619 --> 00:29:52.019 with the things that God wants us to deal with, 00:29:52.140 --> 00:29:54.059 they're going to keep coming back and haunt our 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:59.890 children. So Isaac had to work double hard to 00:29:59.890 --> 00:30:03.109 re -dig those wells and then dig more because 00:30:03.109 --> 00:30:06.529 they had been making friends with the enemy. 00:30:07.789 --> 00:30:15.109 Are you hearing me? And an interesting thing, 00:30:15.150 --> 00:30:19.190 too. It says Abimelech and the commander of his 00:30:19.190 --> 00:30:22.950 army, Philco, came the first time. When they 00:30:22.950 --> 00:30:25.150 come back to visit, with Abraham, when they come 00:30:25.150 --> 00:30:28.789 back to visit Isaac, they bring another friend. 00:30:31.109 --> 00:30:33.670 So what do you want to multiply in your legacy? 00:30:36.730 --> 00:30:45.089 Enemies or wells? Again, I'm not trying to be 00:30:45.089 --> 00:30:47.630 doom and gloom tonight, but I feel this word 00:30:47.630 --> 00:30:50.769 so strong in my spirit because my dad's a gardener. 00:30:50.789 --> 00:30:54.150 I grew up doing weeds with him. And every spring, 00:30:54.250 --> 00:30:58.069 we have, it's always a surprise and a joy to 00:30:58.069 --> 00:31:00.769 see what blooms again. Oh, it lasted the winter. 00:31:00.829 --> 00:31:03.970 It came. Its roots are deep. We've nourished 00:31:03.970 --> 00:31:05.789 the soil. It's good. It's come back. There's 00:31:05.789 --> 00:31:08.609 fruit that's coming back. There's also weeds. 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:11.640 And when you pluck up weeds, you don't break 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:15.779 off the head, you pull it up from the root. And 00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:19.299 there's things that as we dig, the Lord wants 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:34.359 to uproot. Yeah. So, I'm going to come in for 00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:36.380 a landing, but a beautiful thing that we see 00:31:36.380 --> 00:31:40.829 is So we see Abraham dug the well, Isaac redug, 00:31:40.890 --> 00:31:43.569 he dug more. And at the end of Jacob's life, 00:31:43.750 --> 00:31:47.589 when Joseph has called his father from Egypt 00:31:47.589 --> 00:31:51.329 and he's bringing him home, the Lord speaks to 00:31:51.329 --> 00:31:57.210 Jacob, Aga Israel, and says, hey, stop, stop, 00:31:57.289 --> 00:32:01.509 he stops at Beersheba. And the Lord begins to 00:32:01.509 --> 00:32:04.299 speak to him. It says in a night vision, your 00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:06.400 young men will have visions, your old men will 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:09.099 dream dreams. He began to dream a dream, and 00:32:09.099 --> 00:32:11.759 the Lord began to speak promises over the generations 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:17.900 after him. So by the time that generation had 00:32:17.900 --> 00:32:21.940 come, there was just living water coming out, 00:32:21.980 --> 00:32:24.380 and it was a place of life and encountering the 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:28.019 Lord, and where generations past then would be 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:33.680 blessed. Yes. Thank you, Lord. How are we doing? 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:36.200 I meant to bring my phone up here for a time. 00:32:37.059 --> 00:32:38.579 All right. So I'm going to blow through just 00:32:38.579 --> 00:32:42.400 really fast a couple more. So are y 'all still 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:44.740 with me? We got 10 more minutes? Five more minutes? 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.619 Okay. Okay. All right. I told y 'all the whole 00:32:49.619 --> 00:32:51.099 reading through the word. It was just practice 00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:58.019 for tonight. Really quickly, in Genesis 28, I'm 00:32:58.019 --> 00:32:59.339 going to breeze through this one because, again, 00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:02.559 I believe we know the story. When Jacob comes 00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:08.380 to Bethel. Oh, I just saw it there. Sorry. Thank 00:33:08.380 --> 00:33:10.619 you, Nick. Thank you. Because y 'all can't see 00:33:10.619 --> 00:33:14.440 this, only I can see my messy notes. He's fleeing 00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:18.759 for his life. He's deceived. He's lied. He's 00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:23.359 fleeing for his life. This is for someone here 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:26.180 tonight. If you think you need to go to Bible 00:33:26.180 --> 00:33:28.759 college and have your life together and then 00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:31.960 come, have had the perfect day, your coffee tasted 00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:35.640 perfect, everything worked out, no one cut you 00:33:35.640 --> 00:33:38.059 off in traffic, and you're going to come and 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:41.759 the Lord's going to meet you. I don't see that 00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:45.279 very often in Scripture. Every single one of 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:49.880 the places I've referenced so far. The Lord meets 00:33:49.880 --> 00:33:54.920 us at our most desperate. And it's raw and it's 00:33:54.920 --> 00:34:00.380 messy and it's counter to our mind. But he meets 00:34:00.380 --> 00:34:03.759 us at our worst and our most desperate and he 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:07.119 encounters us with his presence. He's a God of 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:11.239 redemption. He's the God of the but. But God, 00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:16.460 nothing of our own merit. We are saved by grace. 00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:19.980 He comes and he encounters us with love when 00:34:19.980 --> 00:34:22.179 he knows we need it most, before we even know 00:34:22.179 --> 00:34:28.619 we need it. So he meets Jacob, later to be called 00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:32.800 Israel, there at Bethel. And one of the words 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:35.019 that stuck out to me that Jacob says is, I was 00:34:35.019 --> 00:34:37.900 unaware. Surely this is the house of God and 00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:42.750 the gate of heaven, and I was unaware. Now, watch 00:34:42.750 --> 00:34:45.190 with me how this grows in our walk of faith. 00:34:45.269 --> 00:34:46.730 I want you to think about your own walk with 00:34:46.730 --> 00:34:49.530 the Lord. I can look back at when the Lord first 00:34:49.530 --> 00:34:52.210 encountered me. I can tell you the story of when 00:34:52.210 --> 00:34:54.389 I gave my heart to Jesus as a seven -year -old 00:34:54.389 --> 00:34:56.889 girl. I can tell you when I got filled with the 00:34:56.889 --> 00:34:59.269 Holy Spirit. I can tell you how the Lord encountered 00:34:59.269 --> 00:35:02.130 me in water baptism. I could tell you, I could 00:35:02.130 --> 00:35:05.210 spend days, we could have a week -long conference, 00:35:05.429 --> 00:35:08.710 not have enough time for me to tell you the ways 00:35:08.710 --> 00:35:13.340 the Lord has encountered my heart. In deep brokenness, 00:35:13.340 --> 00:35:17.960 in deep sorrow, in deep joy and blessing. In 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:21.940 every moment of my life, he is faithful. He's 00:35:21.940 --> 00:35:26.739 faithful to encounter us. But he's always moving 00:35:26.739 --> 00:35:30.860 forward. And so he said, I was unaware, I was 00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:33.559 in awe. And he names the place Bethel, which 00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:37.199 in Hebrew means the house of God. And we know 00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:39.820 he flees to his uncle Laban. He gets married, 00:35:39.940 --> 00:35:43.099 he works. Again, dysfunctional family. He works 00:35:43.099 --> 00:35:45.679 14 years, gets married twice. It's a whole thing. 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:50.380 And then the Lord visits him in Genesis 31, and 00:35:50.380 --> 00:35:54.719 he says, I am the God of Bethel. Get out of this 00:35:54.719 --> 00:35:58.840 land. And the Lord will speak to us. I've had 00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:02.340 the Lord speak to me of, hey, remember, remember, 00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:07.219 I'm the God who sees you. Remember. Lean back 00:36:07.219 --> 00:36:09.159 on that testimony because I want to launch you 00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:15.719 from it. Remember. Remember. You love me because 00:36:15.719 --> 00:36:18.340 I first loved you. Remember how I first loved 00:36:18.340 --> 00:36:23.500 you. Yeah. I just want you to be aware this coming 00:36:23.500 --> 00:36:25.400 week. I believe the Lord has encounters waiting 00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:29.380 for all of us. For so many of you, I feel specifically 00:36:29.380 --> 00:36:32.159 just like it's heavy in the atmosphere. He wants 00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:35.400 to encounter you. So just be aware. Be attuned. 00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:43.550 Let him remind you. and then dig new wells. In 00:36:43.550 --> 00:36:46.530 Genesis 31, he encounters him, and he says, I 00:36:46.530 --> 00:36:48.670 am the God of Bethel. Get out of this land. And 00:36:48.670 --> 00:36:51.769 then he meets him again. He meets him again, 00:36:51.889 --> 00:36:55.050 and when he wrestles with God, again fleeing 00:36:55.050 --> 00:36:59.070 for his life, worried about Esau coming, he's 00:36:59.070 --> 00:37:01.429 meeting his brother again. He's walking back 00:37:01.429 --> 00:37:04.289 into the same scenario he was in before, but 00:37:04.289 --> 00:37:07.030 he's now a different person. Still a little freaked 00:37:07.030 --> 00:37:09.960 out. Still walking in a bit of fear. But he's 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:12.420 moving forward in obedience to the same thing 00:37:12.420 --> 00:37:15.019 he ran from before because God has transformed 00:37:15.019 --> 00:37:20.159 him. Transformed him. And I promise I do speak 00:37:20.159 --> 00:37:27.440 English. And he wrestles with God. See, we need 00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:29.940 to never stop wrestling with God. Because as 00:37:29.940 --> 00:37:35.920 long as there are things in us that resist, that 00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:38.400 need to be melted away, we have to keep wrestling. 00:37:39.239 --> 00:37:41.980 He wrestles with God and God changes his name 00:37:41.980 --> 00:37:46.400 from Jacob, deceiver, to Isaac. And after he's 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:48.719 changed his name, after he's brought him his 00:37:48.719 --> 00:37:51.059 own personal transformation, he brings him back. 00:37:51.739 --> 00:37:57.760 In Genesis 35, he comes back to Bethel. And do 00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:00.719 you know what the man whose name God changed 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:05.880 does at that place? He changes the name of the 00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:10.739 place. from Bethel to El Bethel. And there's 00:38:10.739 --> 00:38:13.079 a transformation the Lord continually wants to 00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:17.039 do in our hearts from, oh, this is the house 00:38:17.039 --> 00:38:20.519 of God to the God of the house of God. El Bethel 00:38:20.519 --> 00:38:23.199 literally means the God of the house of God. 00:38:24.329 --> 00:38:27.150 He wants to take us from a place of being unaware 00:38:27.150 --> 00:38:29.230 of his presence to being aware of his presence. 00:38:29.510 --> 00:38:32.170 And he wants to take us from being aware of his 00:38:32.170 --> 00:38:35.130 presence to how his presence can transform us 00:38:35.130 --> 00:38:38.440 to change our very identity. He wants to change 00:38:38.440 --> 00:38:40.539 our identity and then let us walk in obedience 00:38:40.539 --> 00:38:43.559 to go where he says to go regardless of circumstances 00:38:43.559 --> 00:38:46.079 and whether it was painful the last time and 00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:48.599 whether or not we're still fearful. He wants 00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:50.760 to call us into obedience. And in that place, 00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:52.840 then he wants to fix our eyes on him and say, 00:38:52.880 --> 00:38:55.440 it's not about just my presence and coming in 00:38:55.440 --> 00:38:57.159 and feeling my good presence and being aware 00:38:57.159 --> 00:39:00.519 the Lord is moving. Seek the God of the movement. 00:39:04.139 --> 00:39:07.380 As he transforms us, our focus should ever more 00:39:07.380 --> 00:39:11.360 be transformed to seek the God of the house of 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:16.860 the Lord. There's continual, continual transformation 00:39:16.860 --> 00:39:32.159 on offer. There's more I want to share, but we 00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:35.909 have. We have tomorrow. So I'm going to bring 00:39:35.909 --> 00:39:38.329 it in because I feel in my spirit that this is 00:39:38.329 --> 00:39:45.570 what the Lord wanted to do tonight. To remind 00:39:45.570 --> 00:39:53.690 you that you're not alone and that he's the God 00:39:53.690 --> 00:39:58.469 that transforms. And it's the God that transforms 00:39:58.469 --> 00:40:02.190 hearts. If he can change a single heart, why 00:40:02.190 --> 00:40:16.429 not a city? Why not a nation? God, we just want 00:40:16.429 --> 00:40:22.670 to say we're open and we're hungry. We want to 00:40:22.670 --> 00:40:26.909 rebuild and re -dig, but we don't want to do 00:40:26.909 --> 00:40:35.719 it. For ourselves or for survival, we want to 00:40:35.719 --> 00:40:41.639 do it. We want to become ever more just captivated 00:40:41.639 --> 00:40:47.820 by this God who changes names and changes nations. 00:40:53.940 --> 00:40:56.900 Lord, would you shift our eyes off of ourselves 00:40:56.900 --> 00:41:00.539 and onto you enough that we could be catalysts 00:41:01.119 --> 00:41:06.599 That we would be confident catalysts in a nation 00:41:06.599 --> 00:41:15.059 that is so hungry for transformation. God, I 00:41:15.059 --> 00:41:16.880 ask that you would speak to each heart here. 00:41:18.599 --> 00:41:23.860 Speak identity, God. Speak identity, Father. 00:41:29.579 --> 00:41:31.820 Your word says that our lives are hidden in Christ 00:41:31.820 --> 00:41:37.099 as we become ever more captivated and in love 00:41:37.099 --> 00:41:40.739 with you. Would you tell us more of what our 00:41:40.739 --> 00:41:47.900 purpose is here on this earth? Lord, would you 00:41:47.900 --> 00:41:50.380 share the secrets of your heart with us and let 00:41:50.380 --> 00:41:52.820 us run with the message and proclaim it boldly 00:41:52.820 --> 00:41:57.019 in whatever sphere you call us to, whether it's 00:41:57.019 --> 00:41:59.929 our next door neighbor. or a nation we don't 00:41:59.929 --> 00:42:07.769 even know how to find on the map. There's transformation 00:42:07.769 --> 00:42:11.769 on offer tonight. I just, if it's all right, 00:42:11.869 --> 00:42:18.670 I just want to say, if you're, if you want to 00:42:18.670 --> 00:42:21.710 build an altar tonight afresh, an altar of consecration, 00:42:24.619 --> 00:42:27.099 I just want to invite you to deal with God wherever 00:42:27.099 --> 00:42:29.059 and however that looks like for you. If you want 00:42:29.059 --> 00:42:36.500 to come to the altar, the altar's open. And you're 00:42:36.500 --> 00:42:39.559 saying, where do I even start? What do I begin? 00:42:39.639 --> 00:42:42.320 What do I do? What David said, who is said to 00:42:42.320 --> 00:42:45.980 be a man after God's own heart, he says, I will 00:42:45.980 --> 00:42:49.039 not give to the Lord that which cost me nothing. 00:42:50.679 --> 00:42:52.360 If you want to know where to start, ask God. 00:42:53.090 --> 00:42:55.510 What in me has any value that I can give to you? 00:42:55.570 --> 00:43:00.849 What cost me something? If it's my reputation, 00:43:01.230 --> 00:43:04.449 you can have it. If it's my trust, you can have 00:43:04.449 --> 00:43:07.429 it. If it's my money, you can have it. If it's 00:43:07.429 --> 00:43:11.630 my obedience, you can have it. What cost you 00:43:11.630 --> 00:43:15.730 something tonight? It might be the widow's might, 00:43:15.889 --> 00:43:23.139 but God sees it. Moses had a stuttering lisp 00:43:23.139 --> 00:43:30.260 and a staff in his hand. God used it. The widow 00:43:30.260 --> 00:43:33.679 had a little oil and a little flour. God used 00:43:33.679 --> 00:43:39.980 it. We don't hold anything back tonight, Father. 00:43:41.059 --> 00:43:45.539 Papa, we trust you. You're a good father. You 00:43:45.539 --> 00:44:09.079 only have your glory and our good in mind. We 00:44:09.079 --> 00:44:11.639 don't have anything of value that we could barter 00:44:11.639 --> 00:44:19.159 with you, but we just have, what we have is on 00:44:19.159 --> 00:44:21.679 offer. It's not that it has any value, but to 00:44:21.679 --> 00:44:25.679 you, it's just the sacrifice that matters. The 00:44:25.679 --> 00:44:28.639 five loaves, the two fishes, we bring it, Lord, 00:44:28.699 --> 00:44:36.659 we bring it freely. God of transformation, would 00:44:36.659 --> 00:44:40.389 you meet us at the altar? and transform our simple 00:44:40.389 --> 00:44:44.130 sacrifices, the little bit we have to give, and 00:44:44.130 --> 00:44:47.829 would you make it something that honors and glorifies 00:44:47.829 --> 00:44:48.550 you, Lord?