WEBVTT 00:00:07.690 --> 00:00:10.150 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:10.150 --> 00:00:18.429 Lifehouse Church. Thank you for participating 00:00:18.429 --> 00:00:22.510 and praying and continue to pray. We are truly 00:00:22.510 --> 00:00:24.929 blessed with children in this church. And as 00:00:24.929 --> 00:00:27.550 a church, man, I remember growing up, I had people 00:00:27.550 --> 00:00:30.570 praying over me. I remember going to the altar. 00:00:30.649 --> 00:00:32.469 I remember people pulling me off to the side 00:00:32.469 --> 00:00:35.090 and just laying hands on me and praying over 00:00:35.090 --> 00:00:37.810 me. So do that. You see kids running around this 00:00:37.810 --> 00:00:40.469 church or walking around this church, get a teenager, 00:00:40.570 --> 00:00:42.390 hug them and say, hey, I just want to pray a 00:00:42.390 --> 00:00:44.630 prayer of blessing over you and speak over their 00:00:44.630 --> 00:00:47.289 lives. It's an incredibly important thing. and 00:00:47.289 --> 00:00:50.530 it's an amazing thing to be a part of and really 00:00:50.530 --> 00:00:54.270 actually to be a recipient of those things. Well, 00:00:54.329 --> 00:00:56.229 I want to read a little article, a little something 00:00:56.229 --> 00:00:59.649 I came across this week. Dave Harvey writes in 00:00:59.649 --> 00:01:02.689 Rescuing Ambition, he says this, For the past 00:01:02.689 --> 00:01:05.049 couple decades, I've had a condition that has 00:01:05.049 --> 00:01:07.430 kept me from sleeping well. The technical term 00:01:07.430 --> 00:01:10.930 was apnea, so I went to see the doctor. The doctor's 00:01:10.930 --> 00:01:14.569 solution, I'll remove your uvula, and you will 00:01:14.569 --> 00:01:17.989 not snore anymore. You'll sleep better. I didn't 00:01:17.989 --> 00:01:21.709 even know what a uvula was. But I freaked out 00:01:21.709 --> 00:01:24.430 when he suggested removing it. And they cut it 00:01:24.430 --> 00:01:28.090 out, and now I really can sleep. But there was 00:01:28.090 --> 00:01:31.170 something that I didn't expect. When he removed 00:01:31.170 --> 00:01:35.689 it, I found my dreams. You see, because I never 00:01:35.689 --> 00:01:39.439 slept, I never really dreamed. Now, I know, he 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:41.459 says, the experts tell you that you dream all 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:44.359 the time. You just don't remember dreaming. But 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:48.780 not once do I remember a dream because I could 00:01:48.780 --> 00:01:51.540 not sleep through the night. I didn't even know 00:01:51.540 --> 00:01:55.040 I had lost my dreams until I found them, or rather 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:58.019 until they returned to me. Actually, they were 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:01.159 rescued, airlifted in from some cold, lifeless 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:03.859 crevice where dreams hibernate until the arrival 00:02:03.859 --> 00:02:06.299 of deep sleep or something like that, he says. 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:09.060 Now, I know all this may sound a bit strange, 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:13.300 but it's true. My dreams were rescued by a guy 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:18.500 with a scalpel. Outside of survival, one of the 00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:22.639 most motivating factors in all of life is a vision 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:26.780 or a dream. If you have a right vision, if you 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:30.120 have a right dream, it can change it all. A God 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:34.180 vision, a God dream will not just simply spice 00:02:34.180 --> 00:02:37.479 up your sleep time, right? A God vision or a 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:40.520 God dream will send you on missions that may 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:43.560 last you a lifetime. It'll send you on a path 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:46.759 that will shift and change. And so many of us 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:49.150 have heard the stories, right? How many of you, 00:02:49.169 --> 00:02:51.069 raise your hand if you've heard the story of 00:02:51.069 --> 00:02:53.710 somebody that got a dream or a vision. They felt 00:02:53.710 --> 00:02:55.250 like God placed something in their lives. Come 00:02:55.250 --> 00:02:57.129 on. How many of you know someone like that? Right? 00:02:57.189 --> 00:02:59.389 Maybe it was you. And they started a nonprofit. 00:02:59.789 --> 00:03:02.349 They started a business. They started a ministry 00:03:02.349 --> 00:03:05.250 somewhere because the moment in time God gave 00:03:05.250 --> 00:03:08.729 a vision or a dream. You're sitting in a church 00:03:08.729 --> 00:03:11.509 that started with a vision and a dream. God's 00:03:11.509 --> 00:03:13.129 speaking into our hearts. You're listening online 00:03:13.129 --> 00:03:16.110 this morning. You're listening to a church that's 00:03:16.110 --> 00:03:18.849 birthed out of a vision and a dream. And back 00:03:18.849 --> 00:03:23.930 in 2008, a few things, few things, very few things 00:03:23.930 --> 00:03:28.189 are more powerful than a God -given vision and 00:03:28.189 --> 00:03:31.889 a God -given dream. A holy snapshot of a preferred 00:03:31.889 --> 00:03:34.689 future, right? They come straight from the throne 00:03:34.689 --> 00:03:37.509 room of grace, right from God's house, right 00:03:37.509 --> 00:03:42.500 from God's voice. How we live, it shifts what 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:46.500 we do. It changes the direction we go in. And 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:50.479 it is the Holy Spirit who gives us those God 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.539 -sized visions and dreams. Turn to somebody right 00:03:54.539 --> 00:03:57.199 now. Tell them it's in visions and dreams today. 00:03:57.400 --> 00:03:59.360 It's visions and dreams. Come on, preach to them 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.789 for a second. If you have your Bibles, we're 00:04:01.789 --> 00:04:04.610 going to go to Acts chapter 2, verse 17. We're 00:04:04.610 --> 00:04:06.409 going to jump back and forth between Acts chapter 00:04:06.409 --> 00:04:09.469 2 and Acts chapter 1. And I'm going to pray over 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:11.169 the message and pray over the green invitation 00:04:11.169 --> 00:04:13.370 balls that we have down here. If you're new and 00:04:13.370 --> 00:04:15.490 didn't know what these are, these are invitations. 00:04:15.530 --> 00:04:17.430 We're believing for people to come into the house 00:04:17.430 --> 00:04:19.850 of God this morning. Father, we come before you. 00:04:20.050 --> 00:04:22.269 Lord, we place our lives before you. We give 00:04:22.269 --> 00:04:24.850 ourselves to you. Lord, we ask that you touch 00:04:24.850 --> 00:04:27.129 our ears and our hearts that we might be able 00:04:27.129 --> 00:04:29.529 to hear your word. And God, that it might settle 00:04:29.529 --> 00:04:31.610 in. our spirit. And Lord, that we might live 00:04:31.610 --> 00:04:34.089 out the truth of God in our lives. And we just 00:04:34.089 --> 00:04:36.389 give you praise and glory. God, we pray over 00:04:36.389 --> 00:04:38.910 these invitations. God, that have gone out, we're 00:04:38.910 --> 00:04:41.449 believing for more. God, I'm believing to fill 00:04:41.449 --> 00:04:44.250 this tank up by the end, God, of this summer. 00:04:44.350 --> 00:04:47.329 And Lord, God, to see souls and lives come in, 00:04:47.370 --> 00:04:50.069 represented in these orange balls. In Jesus' 00:04:50.149 --> 00:04:51.949 name, we believe this. And everybody said together, 00:04:52.230 --> 00:04:57.009 amen and amen. Well, following Pentecost, 120 00:04:57.009 --> 00:04:59.089 believers. I preached about this last week. If 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:00.449 you want to hear more about that, go ahead and 00:05:00.449 --> 00:05:02.269 back and listen to next week when you get home. 00:05:02.509 --> 00:05:05.889 But 120 believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit. 00:05:06.209 --> 00:05:09.170 The Holy Spirit is poured out. And these 120 00:05:09.170 --> 00:05:11.629 believers that are in the upper room, they pour 00:05:11.629 --> 00:05:14.110 out into the streets of Jerusalem. They begin 00:05:14.110 --> 00:05:17.230 to preach. They begin to speak. The name of God, 00:05:17.310 --> 00:05:21.089 the word of God, they begin to worship. And Peter 00:05:21.089 --> 00:05:24.329 is one of these individuals who pour out into 00:05:24.329 --> 00:05:27.240 the street. Peter is one of Jesus' closest disciples. 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:30.240 And as they go into the street and people begin 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:32.839 to listen to the noise and what's taking place 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:35.680 as the Holy Spirit is poured out, Peter sees 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:38.379 a crowd begin to gather, and he thinks this is 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:41.540 an awesome time to preach. And he ends up preaching, 00:05:41.699 --> 00:05:45.399 and 3 ,000 people come to know the Lord. And 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:48.279 they begin to listen to prophetic words that 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:49.500 he speaks, and that's what we're going to pick 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:53.269 up in Acts 2 .17. And it says this. And it shall 00:05:53.269 --> 00:05:55.930 come to pass in the last days. Now, I don't know 00:05:55.930 --> 00:05:57.829 if you know this or not, but I believe we're 00:05:57.829 --> 00:05:59.689 in the last days. If you know Bible prophecy, 00:05:59.930 --> 00:06:02.110 if you're looking and listening in any kind of 00:06:02.110 --> 00:06:04.930 way, this is true. This is relevant for us right 00:06:04.930 --> 00:06:07.709 now. It says it shall come to pass in the last 00:06:07.709 --> 00:06:11.329 days, says God, that I will pour out my spirit 00:06:11.329 --> 00:06:15.629 on all flesh. Holy Spirit on all flesh. Your 00:06:15.629 --> 00:06:18.509 sons and your daughters shall prophesy. That's 00:06:18.509 --> 00:06:21.180 what it says. That means that your sons and daughters 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:24.060 will become spokesmen for God, that the word 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:26.660 of God will begin to come from our sons and our 00:06:26.660 --> 00:06:29.519 daughters. That should get you excited for any 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:31.360 of the teenagers in the house, even children, 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.300 right? And it says your young men shall see visions. 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:38.319 Say visions. Young men will see visions. Your 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:41.300 old men shall dream dreams. The young men are 00:06:41.300 --> 00:06:43.139 going to see visions. The old guys are going 00:06:43.139 --> 00:06:45.860 to dream dreams. Amen? I thought about that for 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:48.180 about 30 seconds, and I thought. Why are the 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:50.560 old guys have to dream the dreams? And then it 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:54.180 dawned on me, they sleep a lot more, right? God's 00:06:54.180 --> 00:06:56.040 like, don't wake them up. Just talk to them while 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:57.939 they're sleeping, right? They're going to dream 00:06:57.939 --> 00:07:00.180 dreams. And young men are going to see visions. 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:02.839 And verse 18, ladies, he doesn't leave you out 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:05.379 either. He says, on my menservants and on my 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:08.839 maidservants, same for you, I will pour out my 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:12.800 spirit in those days and they shall prophesy. 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:16.430 They will speak God, right? One of the reasons 00:07:16.430 --> 00:07:19.449 that the Holy Spirit was sent to them and to 00:07:19.449 --> 00:07:23.430 us is so that we experience God -sized visions 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:28.889 and God -sized dreams personally. Now this morning, 00:07:28.949 --> 00:07:32.050 I'm not talking about pizza dreams. How many 00:07:32.050 --> 00:07:33.870 of you have ever had a pizza dream? You know 00:07:33.870 --> 00:07:36.310 what I'm talking about. A pizza dream is one 00:07:36.310 --> 00:07:38.829 of those weird dreams about people and places 00:07:38.829 --> 00:07:41.589 you may or may not know. I had one of these the 00:07:41.589 --> 00:07:43.529 other night. I didn't know the people in the 00:07:43.529 --> 00:07:45.470 dream. I didn't know where I was in the dream. 00:07:45.589 --> 00:07:47.790 It didn't make any sense. I think I ate too much 00:07:47.790 --> 00:07:50.110 food before I went to bed. It was just strange, 00:07:50.170 --> 00:07:52.550 random information. And if you don't know anything 00:07:52.550 --> 00:07:55.310 about what happens when you sleep, your brain 00:07:55.310 --> 00:07:58.290 kind of recategorizes all the information from 00:07:58.290 --> 00:08:00.310 the day. Things that you took in consciously 00:08:00.310 --> 00:08:03.470 and subconsciously, your brain will recategorize 00:08:03.470 --> 00:08:06.149 and organize. It kind of drops into your memory. 00:08:06.550 --> 00:08:07.949 That's what happens in the middle of the night. 00:08:08.009 --> 00:08:10.129 I'm not talking about those kind of dreams this 00:08:10.129 --> 00:08:11.990 morning. I'm talking about the kind of dreams 00:08:11.990 --> 00:08:14.069 that God gives you. They're different kind of 00:08:14.069 --> 00:08:16.149 dreams. When God gives you a dream, you're going 00:08:16.149 --> 00:08:19.529 to know it's him, right? It's not a random bunch 00:08:19.529 --> 00:08:21.949 of information that's flying around. When God 00:08:21.949 --> 00:08:24.970 gives you a vision, when God gives you a dream, 00:08:25.269 --> 00:08:29.009 it's not just... cataloging information. It is 00:08:29.009 --> 00:08:31.670 something that God births in you. It's something 00:08:31.670 --> 00:08:35.490 that settles in your head, your heart, and your 00:08:35.490 --> 00:08:38.990 soul. I've only had this happen a few times in 00:08:38.990 --> 00:08:41.330 my life, but I could tell you every one of them. 00:08:41.389 --> 00:08:44.610 I could tell you in detail what God dropped into 00:08:44.610 --> 00:08:48.870 my spirit. It's God bringing a dream alive. He's 00:08:48.870 --> 00:08:51.429 birthing a plant. It's one of the ways God talks 00:08:51.429 --> 00:08:54.710 to us. It's Holy Spirit communing with our spirit 00:08:54.710 --> 00:08:58.549 so that we hear God. So we see him. It's one 00:08:58.549 --> 00:09:02.570 of the ways God speaks. Visions and dreams. God 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:05.309 is amazingly creative when it comes to communication. 00:09:05.730 --> 00:09:08.970 And this is a big deal. Because pre -Pentecost, 00:09:09.009 --> 00:09:12.750 right? Pre -Jesus coming out of the grave. Pre 00:09:12.750 --> 00:09:15.769 -Pentecost, the way God spoke was through prophets 00:09:15.769 --> 00:09:19.070 and prophetesses, right? Prophets, men and women 00:09:19.070 --> 00:09:21.549 who were prophets. Men and women who were sent 00:09:21.549 --> 00:09:25.169 by God to be messengers of God. Basically, before 00:09:25.169 --> 00:09:28.110 Jesus and before the Holy Spirit, when you heard 00:09:28.110 --> 00:09:31.309 the word of God, it was kind of third hand. God 00:09:31.309 --> 00:09:33.830 will speak to a prophet and then the prophet 00:09:33.830 --> 00:09:35.870 would come and speak to the people. It was kind 00:09:35.870 --> 00:09:38.809 of like YouTube, but more reliable, right? More 00:09:38.809 --> 00:09:42.840 holy, more actually true. Right? That's how it 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:46.299 worked back pre -resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:50.940 Pre -Pentecost. Pre -baptism of the Holy Spirit. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:53.559 The Holy Spirit being poured out. Prophets would 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:56.840 speak. One of the reasons that Jesus said, when 00:09:56.840 --> 00:10:00.059 I leave, it's expedient that I go away. He told 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:02.419 his disciples, the followers, he said, when I 00:10:02.419 --> 00:10:05.000 leave this earth and I go back to be with the 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:07.259 Father, it is expedient that I go. Because if 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:10.519 I go, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit back. 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:12.919 And he's going to speak to you. He's going to 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:14.799 give you dreams. He's going to give you visions. 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:16.659 He's going to speak in your heart. He's going 00:10:16.659 --> 00:10:20.379 to bring the word of God alive. And every one 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:22.980 of us have the opportunity. Holy Spirit comes 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:25.919 to every one of us in Christ, right? And if we 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:29.080 get immersed in God's presence, we have the opportunity 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:34.190 to hear from God personally. You can experience 00:10:34.190 --> 00:10:37.789 hand -delivered visions, hand -delivered dreams 00:10:37.789 --> 00:10:40.830 from heaven. It's not a third -party spokesman 00:10:40.830 --> 00:10:43.210 like the prophet. It's direct mail from heaven, 00:10:43.309 --> 00:10:46.149 right? How many of you like getting mail? Everybody 00:10:46.149 --> 00:10:48.169 likes getting mail, especially if it's lumpy 00:10:48.169 --> 00:10:49.590 mail. You ever get that mail that's got a pen 00:10:49.590 --> 00:10:52.370 in it? You have to open it. Amen? It's true. 00:10:52.950 --> 00:10:56.590 A direct connection through the Holy Spirit. 00:10:57.090 --> 00:10:59.389 He's the third person of the Trinity who comes. 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:02.700 And so many people, you know, especially in Christian 00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:05.159 circles, so many people are, you know, going 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:07.500 and chasing after prophets, people that call 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:09.720 themselves prophets, modern day prophets. And 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:11.860 I'm cool with a modern day prophet. Sometimes 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:14.120 God speaks through the word, but usually when 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:16.039 a prophet comes and speaks over you, it should 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:17.759 be something that the Holy Spirit's already speaking 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:20.100 into your spirit. Usually it's just a confirmation 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:21.840 of something that God's already saying to you. 00:11:21.940 --> 00:11:25.960 We've got a direct line to God. Holy Spirit came 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:29.149 back. The word of God tells us came to dwell 00:11:29.149 --> 00:11:31.909 in each one of us at salvation, so we hear from 00:11:31.909 --> 00:11:34.210 God personally, and then we can have the experience 00:11:34.210 --> 00:11:37.610 of being immersed in the Spirit. If you want 00:11:37.610 --> 00:11:40.070 to hear and see the Holy Spirit, you want to 00:11:40.070 --> 00:11:42.769 get God -sized vision and dream, I want those 00:11:42.769 --> 00:11:45.950 messages, you want those messages, a direct line 00:11:45.950 --> 00:11:49.649 from God. I want a snapshot of God's preferred 00:11:49.649 --> 00:11:53.509 future for my life. Amen? It's true. It's always 00:11:53.509 --> 00:11:56.740 so much better than mine. I know we all got our 00:11:56.740 --> 00:11:58.899 own snapshot of what God's preferred future is, 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:02.940 or what our preferred future is, but God's is 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:08.279 always so much better. Seek him out. Seek for 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:12.220 this. And the Lord does not just give us visions 00:12:12.220 --> 00:12:15.279 and dreams through the Holy Spirit, but he provides 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:18.450 what I call complimenting empowerments. This 00:12:18.450 --> 00:12:21.090 comes along with Holy Spirit. This comes along 00:12:21.090 --> 00:12:24.009 with the Holy Ghost. Visions and dreams, and 00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:26.690 then he gives complimenting empowerments. Now, 00:12:26.690 --> 00:12:28.110 I want you to go in your Bibles, jump back to 00:12:28.110 --> 00:12:30.470 Acts chapter 1, verse 4, and I'm going to read 00:12:30.470 --> 00:12:32.389 that. It says, being assembled together, and 00:12:32.389 --> 00:12:34.470 I read this last week for you, with them, he 00:12:34.470 --> 00:12:36.149 commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, 00:12:36.230 --> 00:12:38.110 he's talking to the disciples, but to wait for 00:12:38.110 --> 00:12:40.309 the promise of the Father, which he said, you've 00:12:40.309 --> 00:12:42.690 heard from me, for John truly baptized with water, 00:12:42.809 --> 00:12:45.610 but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, 00:12:45.730 --> 00:12:48.629 not many days from now. Therefore, when he had 00:12:48.629 --> 00:12:51.029 come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, 00:12:51.230 --> 00:12:53.429 will you at this time restore the kingdom to 00:12:53.429 --> 00:12:57.809 Israel? He said to them, it's not for you to 00:12:57.809 --> 00:12:59.870 know the times or the season, what the Father 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:03.250 has put in his own authority, but you shall receive 00:13:03.250 --> 00:13:08.250 power. Say power. Power. When the Holy Spirit 00:13:08.250 --> 00:13:09.929 has come upon you. Come on, say that like you 00:13:09.929 --> 00:13:12.539 mean it. Power. Come on, get it down deep. There 00:13:12.539 --> 00:13:14.539 it is, all right. Use some deep voice, right? 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:17.340 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:19.340 has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:22.620 to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:27.539 and to the ends of the earth. At the genesis 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:30.840 of the church, as Jesus completes the work of 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:34.639 salvation that the Father sent him to do, in 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:38.059 Jesus' final words to his disciples, right before 00:13:38.059 --> 00:13:40.960 he would leave them, he said, you shall receive 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:44.360 power. power when the Holy Spirit comes upon 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:47.539 you and you'll be my witnesses, right? You'll 00:13:47.539 --> 00:13:50.759 witness of me. One of the complimenting benefits 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:55.899 of Holy Spirit is God's power in my life. Holy 00:13:55.899 --> 00:14:00.580 Spirit is sent. to empower the God -sized vision 00:14:00.580 --> 00:14:03.399 and dream in your life. Holy Spirit was sent 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:07.480 to empower the believer in your walk and in your 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:10.320 talk. One of the reasons, right, the Holy Spirit 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:13.059 is sent to reside inside of you is so that the 00:14:13.059 --> 00:14:16.039 power dwells with you. One of the reasons, right, 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.559 that Jesus said, I will baptize you, I will immerse 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:22.659 you in Holy Spirit so that the power of God is 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:29.250 at work in me, in me. Now, listen, church, it 00:14:29.250 --> 00:14:34.169 has become abundantly clear to me over the years 00:14:34.169 --> 00:14:38.330 that I have very little power on my own to change 00:14:38.330 --> 00:14:41.809 anything. Actually, that my power just on my 00:14:41.809 --> 00:14:45.490 own power is ridiculously limited in so many 00:14:45.490 --> 00:14:49.759 ways. Physically. Limited, right? We were working 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:51.799 on a roof this weekend. How many know it was 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:54.159 hot this weekend? We were working on a roof this 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:57.340 weekend, and at the end of the day, I felt like 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:00.220 a wrung -out dishrag, man. I felt powerless, 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:03.179 you know, physically. I know that it's just that 00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:06.259 God gives me some power, but it's limited, right? 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:09.080 Mentally, how many times have I felt mentally 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:12.000 exhausted at the end of the day? Emotionally, 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:15.620 socially, financially, relationally. How many 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:17.620 of you have ever felt powerless in a relationship? 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.559 You want the other person to change. You want 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:23.320 something to shift, and you try everything in 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:26.279 your power, and nothing turns. Nothing changes, 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.320 right? Because you can't change the person that's 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.360 sitting beside you. Only God can, and only if 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:34.639 they yield to him. Or maybe powerless in a social 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.159 setting. I've watched crowds of people lose their 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:43.019 minds, right? Get violent, begin to smash things. 00:15:43.549 --> 00:15:46.809 It could be financially. You might be limited 00:15:46.809 --> 00:15:51.570 financially. One of my teenage kids, when my 00:15:51.570 --> 00:15:53.070 kids were teenagers, they're all adults now, 00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:54.509 but when they were teenagers, one of them used 00:15:54.509 --> 00:15:57.029 to say, Dad, I'm broke as a joke. That's what 00:15:57.029 --> 00:15:59.149 they'd say. I'm broke as a joke. I don't really 00:15:59.149 --> 00:16:00.429 know what that meant, but I knew it was pretty 00:16:00.429 --> 00:16:01.929 broke, all right, because they were coming to 00:16:01.929 --> 00:16:04.690 get money. I was broke as a joke. You might be 00:16:04.690 --> 00:16:06.429 financially, you might be broke as a joke right 00:16:06.429 --> 00:16:09.429 now. You might be thinking, I'm so powerless 00:16:09.429 --> 00:16:12.019 right now. Sometimes we're powerless spiritually. 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:16.519 We feel so low. We feel so inadequate. We feel 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:18.879 like the enemy's running rip shot over top of 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:23.659 us. We need power that I do not possess to overcome 00:16:23.659 --> 00:16:27.559 what I face in the world. You need power that 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:30.799 you do not possess within you to overcome what's 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:33.620 in the world. Significant power, life -changing 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:38.679 power, power that is not sourced from me. Because 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.379 I don't have the goods. I really don't. It's 00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:43.759 why Jesus said, but you shall receive power. 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:46.639 He told this to his disciples, the ones he trained. 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:49.100 When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:52.740 receive power. One of the complementing benefits 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:57.059 of the Holy Spirit is power to live. It is power 00:16:57.059 --> 00:17:00.600 to overcome. And more of him and less of me. 00:17:00.860 --> 00:17:02.980 That's how it works in the kingdom of God. I 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:05.259 don't know if you ever realized, the world will 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:07.039 tell you the complete opposite. Reward of you, 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:09.460 go find yourself, all those kind of things. But 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:11.700 I found out that the less of me and the more 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:13.779 of him, the better things go, the more power 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:16.579 I've got at work in my life. It's true. It's 00:17:16.579 --> 00:17:19.519 true because I am powerless. I'm powerless compared 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:22.599 to him. I really am. If you put God and I side 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:25.500 by side and you had to give us a rating of power, 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:28.759 mine wouldn't even hit the charts. I'm one horsepower. 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:33.319 He's a jet engine right on turbo charge. No horsepower 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:37.579 here. I need him. I need him. Do you need the 00:17:37.579 --> 00:17:42.200 power of God in your life? I do. I do. Why would 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:46.140 I not want? God's power at work in my life. Why 00:17:46.140 --> 00:17:48.740 would I not want to be immersed and baptized 00:17:48.740 --> 00:17:52.579 in the one he sent to empower me? Why would I 00:17:52.579 --> 00:17:55.640 not want to live and grab a hold of all that 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:59.160 God's given me to overcome? I don't know what 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:01.579 power you're tapping into or what power you're 00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:04.180 trying to tap into. Maybe you're coming up empty, 00:18:04.299 --> 00:18:06.700 right? Maybe you tried all the self -help stuff. 00:18:07.420 --> 00:18:09.680 Maybe it's some lesser power that you grabbed 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:12.500 a hold of that's out there in the world. Maybe 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:14.460 you're trying to get the force to be with you, 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.160 right? Star Wars person of some kind. I'm telling 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:20.619 you, God sent the Holy Spirit, and he has unlimited 00:18:20.619 --> 00:18:24.140 power to empower your life and to move you forward. 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:26.730 It's true. Last complimenting empowerment. I'll 00:18:26.730 --> 00:18:29.710 give you another one. It's in Acts. It says that 00:18:29.710 --> 00:18:32.390 the Holy Spirit adds this, again, to our God 00:18:32.390 --> 00:18:37.789 -side vision and dream. And we see this, to get 00:18:37.789 --> 00:18:39.509 you a picture of what I'm going to talk about 00:18:39.509 --> 00:18:41.890 here, this empowerment for the visions and dreams 00:18:41.890 --> 00:18:44.710 in your life that God places. You've got to take 00:18:44.710 --> 00:18:47.470 a look at the disciples. Pre -Holy Spirit baptism 00:18:47.470 --> 00:18:51.109 and then post -Holy Spirit baptism. Pre -Pentecost. 00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:53.380 Post -Pentecost. So I'm going to take you to 00:18:53.380 --> 00:18:55.500 Acts 2, verse 1. I told you we were jumping around 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:57.819 today. Right? And the day of the Pentecost, when 00:18:57.819 --> 00:18:59.880 the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:02.099 all in one accord in one place, and suddenly 00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:04.039 there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:06.220 wind, and it filled the whole house where they 00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:08.839 were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:11.900 tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of 00:19:11.900 --> 00:19:13.680 them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:15.680 and began to speak with other tongues as the 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:17.829 Spirit gave them utterance. And they were dwelling 00:19:17.829 --> 00:19:20.869 in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men from every nation 00:19:20.869 --> 00:19:23.069 under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the 00:19:23.069 --> 00:19:25.470 multitude came together and were confused because 00:19:25.470 --> 00:19:28.329 everyone heard them speak his own language. And 00:19:28.329 --> 00:19:30.150 they were all amazed and marveled, saying to 00:19:30.150 --> 00:19:32.930 one another, Look, are not all these who speak 00:19:32.930 --> 00:19:35.490 Galileans? How is it we hear each one in our 00:19:35.490 --> 00:19:37.950 own language, in which we were born, Parthians 00:19:37.950 --> 00:19:41.069 and Medes and Alamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia 00:19:41.069 --> 00:19:44.049 and Judea and Cappadocia and Pontus and in Asia? 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:48.140 Pergamon and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya 00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:50.960 adjoining to Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:54.259 Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs. We hear 00:19:54.259 --> 00:19:56.519 them speak in our own language the wonderful 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:59.799 works of God. So they were all amazed and perplexed, 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:03.460 saying to one another, whatever could this mean? 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:08.680 When Pentecost takes place, the 120 believers 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:11.339 that are in the upper room waiting for the promise 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:14.500 for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, when it takes 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:17.640 place, they go out into the streets and they 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:24.039 boldly begin to proclaim Jesus Christ. Pre -baptism 00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:27.700 of the Holy Spirit, these same disciples were 00:20:27.700 --> 00:20:31.019 hiding out. They weren't speaking in the streets. 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:35.380 And if you read on, Acts 2 .13 says, others mockingly 00:20:35.380 --> 00:20:37.900 said their full new wine. How many know somebody's 00:20:37.900 --> 00:20:40.640 always going to mock the work of God? But 14 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:43.920 says, but Peter's standing up. Peter, standing 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:47.119 up. Peter's the same guy who previously did this, 00:20:47.140 --> 00:20:50.680 not too many days before this, denied even knowing 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:54.539 Jesus. When Jesus was being arrested, Peter's 00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:57.480 the guy that three times before the roaster crowed, 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:01.079 right, denies that he even knows Jesus. He curses 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:03.500 and pretends he doesn't even know Christ. He 00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:06.720 goes and runs off. He hides. This is the same 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:09.900 guy. And it says Peter standing up with the 11, 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:12.579 right, raised his voice and said to them, there's 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:15.319 a crowd around. He's preaching to thousands of 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:18.440 people, men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem. 00:21:19.339 --> 00:21:22.240 He's preaching the same place that he was hiding 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.160 out previously, the same place that Jesus gets 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:27.700 crucified, the same place that he was worried 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:30.559 about the Roman leaders and the religious leaders 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:34.059 who crucified Christ, crucifying him. That's 00:21:34.059 --> 00:21:37.140 why he was hiding out, is now in the streets 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:41.640 boldly proclaiming Christ. And he says, for these 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:44.059 are not drunk as you suppose, since it is only 00:21:44.059 --> 00:21:46.299 the third hour day, but this is what happened, 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:52.269 which was spoken by the prophet. Joel. Peter. 00:21:53.289 --> 00:21:57.150 Preaching in the streets. Holy Spirit baptism 00:21:57.150 --> 00:22:01.150 embolds us in the God -sized vision and dream. 00:22:01.670 --> 00:22:04.640 It makes us bold for the witness. It makes us 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:07.880 walk into life boldly in whatever God has placed 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.980 before us. We go with an emboldened vision and 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:13.839 an emboldened dream and passion in our hearts. 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:16.099 It's one of the complimenting effects of the 00:22:16.099 --> 00:22:19.980 Holy Spirit is to remove the fear in our lives, 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:23.599 right? And embolden us in him. Now, I got to 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:26.059 clarify something here because the Holy Spirit 00:22:26.059 --> 00:22:29.720 boldness in our life is not arrogance in my life. 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:33.710 Amen. I need to clear that up because sometimes 00:22:33.710 --> 00:22:36.589 people take boldness and they mix it with arrogance. 00:22:36.829 --> 00:22:39.369 I don't care what you wrap arrogance in, it's 00:22:39.369 --> 00:22:42.069 a sin. You can try to wrap it in anything, even 00:22:42.069 --> 00:22:44.589 if it sounds spiritual, it's sin. That's not 00:22:44.589 --> 00:22:46.529 what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about 00:22:46.529 --> 00:22:49.210 spiritual arrogance. I'm talking about boldness, 00:22:49.230 --> 00:22:52.829 right? And boldness, arrogance is self -confidence 00:22:52.829 --> 00:22:55.680 on steroids. Boldness is confidence in Christ 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:59.819 on steroids. It's a whole different thing. And 00:22:59.819 --> 00:23:01.940 I heard somebody use this term and I like it. 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:04.480 So I use it. I kind of stole it from him. It 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:06.500 plagiarized, borrowed, whatever you want to call 00:23:06.500 --> 00:23:08.880 it. All right. But I heard this thing. You know, 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:10.900 if you want to understand boldness in Christ, 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:14.180 it is not self -confidence. It is Godfidence. 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:19.160 It is God -fidence. That's what makes you bold 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:21.700 in Christ. It's not that I'm self -confident. 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:25.480 It is that I have God -fidence. I got confidence 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:28.220 in God. I got confidence in the Holy Spirit. 00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:31.400 I got confidence in His power. My reliance is 00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:34.039 on the one who cannot fail, not on the one who 00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:37.359 fails regularly, right? It's all in with Him. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:41.240 Boldness, confidence. It's one of the residual 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:44.799 effects of Holy Spirit filling my life. Peter 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:50.019 hopped up and began to preach fearlessly. Thousands 00:23:50.019 --> 00:23:52.880 of people listening had no idea how they were 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.359 going to react, had no idea if he was going to 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:57.740 get arrested, had no idea if they would do to 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:00.000 him the same as they did to Jesus Christ, and 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:03.680 he did not care. He came out boldly and began 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:05.400 to preach. And that didn't happen because he 00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:07.920 sat off to the side somewhere after he failed 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:11.339 and did deep, introspective work in his life. 00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:14.460 That's not what happened. It was after he was 00:24:14.460 --> 00:24:18.240 filled with the Spirit. There's a boldness that 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:23.200 comes. It comes. I'll never forget. Way back 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:25.259 when I was a youth pastor, I refer to that about 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:27.440 to 100 years ago because that's what it seems 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:29.829 how long ago it was. But I remember when I was 00:24:29.829 --> 00:24:31.829 doing youth pastor work, I remember getting a 00:24:31.829 --> 00:24:34.589 call from a pastor of another church. And he 00:24:34.589 --> 00:24:36.210 called me up and he said, hey, I know you're 00:24:36.210 --> 00:24:37.569 heading on this youth trip. You're going to take 00:24:37.569 --> 00:24:39.289 a bunch of teenagers. You're going to this youth 00:24:39.289 --> 00:24:41.069 conference. I said, yeah, I am. And he said, 00:24:41.130 --> 00:24:43.089 could you take a couple more? I got a couple 00:24:43.089 --> 00:24:45.170 of kids from my church and, you know, they want 00:24:45.170 --> 00:24:47.180 to go. And I'm like, sure. Because back then 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:50.099 I'd be like, yeah, I'll do anything. So I said, 00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:52.259 sure. So these kids show up. There's like four 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:54.940 of them. And three of them get out of the car. 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:57.380 And then this one kid gets out of the car. He's 00:24:57.380 --> 00:24:59.700 got a cigarette tucked behind his ear right here. 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:03.099 He's got a cigarette tucked. He's wearing punk 00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:06.380 clothes. And I'm like, oh, man, it's going to 00:25:06.380 --> 00:25:11.180 be a long weekend. He gets on the van. And I'm 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:13.319 like, oh, this is going to be a long weekend. 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:16.759 That person came with all the attitudes. You 00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:19.160 could stuff in the clothes that they were wearing. 00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:21.440 And, you know, you could tell they didn't want 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:23.380 to be there. Somebody made them go on this trip. 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:26.319 You know, they challenged me at every turn. Every 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.539 time I'd say do this, they wanted to do something 00:25:28.539 --> 00:25:31.140 else. There was this kind of thing that was going 00:25:31.140 --> 00:25:32.920 back and forth. They'd be getting church, right? 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:34.740 We'd have church service. They'd just cross their 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:37.779 arms. Right, and sit in this seat and just like, 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:39.680 go ahead, try to make me move. It was kind of 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:42.180 the whole thing, the whole vibe. And I remember 00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:45.640 the whole weekend, this kid, you know, just with 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:50.279 this. and attitude the whole way. And it wasn't 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:52.779 until the van ride home, I'd like to say something 00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:54.980 happened amazing in one of the services, and 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:57.039 they broke down. It didn't happen that way. It 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:59.500 wasn't until the van ride home that I finally 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:01.400 got a chance to talk with this kid, this long 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:04.500 van ride, and they opened up. They finally began 00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:06.519 to break down. The walls began to break down, 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:08.859 and I got into this conversation, and I'll never 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:11.029 forget what they said. Because they went and 00:26:11.029 --> 00:26:13.549 watched a bunch of teenagers worship God and 00:26:13.549 --> 00:26:15.829 connect with God. I remember this kid sitting 00:26:15.829 --> 00:26:17.210 in the seat and looking me in the eye and he 00:26:17.210 --> 00:26:19.470 said, they were honest as can be, they said, 00:26:19.529 --> 00:26:23.289 I have never seen so many teenagers with no fear 00:26:23.289 --> 00:26:27.769 in their eyes. Never seen anything like it. This 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:30.789 kid who had no experience with God, no experience 00:26:30.789 --> 00:26:32.730 with the Holy Spirit, he said, I've never seen 00:26:32.730 --> 00:26:35.789 anybody, I've never seen it. No fear in their 00:26:35.789 --> 00:26:39.539 eyes. It's because God was moving. that weekend. 00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:42.839 And these kids were pressing in to Holy Spirit 00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:45.819 and all that God had for them. And there was 00:26:45.819 --> 00:26:49.680 this boldness that came, not arrogance, but boldness, 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:52.859 the love of God, the peace of God, boldly in 00:26:52.859 --> 00:26:55.599 their lives. And it blew this kid away. They 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:57.579 didn't know what they were looking at. They couldn't 00:26:57.579 --> 00:27:00.799 get their head around it. And I saw the wall 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:03.799 begin to come down. As we journey through the 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:06.619 book of Acts, you're going to be blown away by 00:27:06.619 --> 00:27:11.190 God's power. and boldness and what God accomplishes. 00:27:11.970 --> 00:27:15.910 Worship team, if you'd come. Just a few weeks 00:27:15.910 --> 00:27:18.269 ago, we got the opportunity and the privilege, 00:27:18.289 --> 00:27:20.710 honestly, to go to Guatemala, to Casa Shalom 00:27:20.710 --> 00:27:24.490 Orphanage. And there, as a short -term missions 00:27:24.490 --> 00:27:27.329 team, just one week being there in that country, 00:27:27.490 --> 00:27:32.329 we got the opportunity just to minister and do 00:27:32.329 --> 00:27:36.089 some small slice in the kingdom, right? To be 00:27:36.089 --> 00:27:38.690 part of a dream, actually. be part of a vision. 00:27:39.009 --> 00:27:41.549 We have a team right now that's currently, this 00:27:41.549 --> 00:27:44.230 weekend, is in Tangier Island, and they are down 00:27:44.230 --> 00:27:47.289 there working as well. But I'm here to tell you, 00:27:47.309 --> 00:27:51.049 it is the Holy Spirit who emboldens you, who 00:27:51.049 --> 00:27:55.730 empowers you, who raises you up. It's the one 00:27:55.730 --> 00:27:58.130 that God sent. And I want you just to hear and 00:27:58.130 --> 00:27:59.730 see a little bit, if you turn your attention 00:27:59.730 --> 00:28:01.869 to the screens, and then we're going to talk 00:28:01.869 --> 00:28:05.630 about your vision and your dream. What if losing 00:28:05.630 --> 00:28:09.630 your family wasn't the end of your story? At 00:28:09.630 --> 00:28:12.509 Casa Shalom in Guatemala, children who have experienced 00:28:12.509 --> 00:28:15.450 loss, hardship and uncertainty are finding something 00:28:15.450 --> 00:28:19.829 many never thought possible. A home, a family 00:28:19.829 --> 00:28:25.369 and the hope of Jesus. For 40 years, Casa Shalom 00:28:25.369 --> 00:28:28.289 has provided a safe place for children to grow, 00:28:28.569 --> 00:28:33.289 learn, heal and discover God's love. Every meal 00:28:33.289 --> 00:28:37.319 served. Every lesson taught, every prayer offered 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:40.240 is helping shape a new future for these children. 00:28:41.420 --> 00:28:45.240 But like many ministries around the world, there 00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:48.099 are real needs. This year, one of the greatest 00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:51.140 needs was replacing a roof that helps provide 00:28:51.140 --> 00:28:54.160 safety and shelter for the children who call 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:59.200 Casa Shalom home. Through the generosity of our 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:01.559 church family, the funds were raised to make 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:05.609 this project possible. Then our team traveled 00:29:05.609 --> 00:29:09.589 to Guatemala to help bring it to life. Together, 00:29:09.829 --> 00:29:13.670 we weren't just building a roof. We were investing 00:29:13.670 --> 00:29:16.630 in the lives of children and in the future of 00:29:16.630 --> 00:29:24.670 this ministry. One of the ways I saw God move 00:29:24.670 --> 00:29:27.650 was through the unity of our team, each person 00:29:27.650 --> 00:29:30.740 using their gifts to serve. While the courage, 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:33.619 love, and faith of the Casa Shalom community 00:29:33.619 --> 00:29:37.039 challenged me to see God's calling in a whole 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:43.059 new way. While on our project with the roof, 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:46.299 I got to experience God's protecting hand in 00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:49.920 a way I'll never forget. But I am very grateful 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:52.920 on how faithfully he watched over not only me, 00:29:53.099 --> 00:30:00.069 but over our team as well. Even though heavy 00:30:00.069 --> 00:30:03.970 rain was in the forecast, God gave us exactly 00:30:03.970 --> 00:30:06.410 the time we needed each day to work on the roof, 00:30:06.609 --> 00:30:09.210 holding back the rain during the most critical 00:30:09.210 --> 00:30:12.650 moments and reminding us that he was faithfully 00:30:12.650 --> 00:30:16.890 providing every step of the way. It's easy to 00:30:16.890 --> 00:30:19.569 believe the lie that what we have to offer is 00:30:19.569 --> 00:30:22.470 small and doesn't really matter. But during our 00:30:22.470 --> 00:30:25.609 mission trips to Casa Shalom, I've seen firsthand 00:30:25.609 --> 00:30:29.230 the impact each person can have. Each year, God 00:30:29.230 --> 00:30:31.730 doesn't assemble a random team. He brings together 00:30:31.730 --> 00:30:33.829 the right team for the work he's called us to. 00:30:34.049 --> 00:30:36.930 And each person's role reveals itself along the 00:30:36.930 --> 00:30:41.670 way. One of the things that impacted me the most 00:30:41.670 --> 00:30:45.529 on the trip was the unity of our team. Spending 00:30:45.529 --> 00:30:48.529 a week serving alongside people who love Jesus 00:30:48.529 --> 00:30:52.789 and were united by the same mission deepens my 00:30:52.789 --> 00:30:55.970 relationship, strengthens my faith, and reminds 00:30:55.970 --> 00:30:59.900 me of the beauty of the church. Well, another 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:03.440 roof is complete, but the story isn't over. Casa 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:06.480 Shalom continues to provide hope, healing, and 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:09.740 a future for the children every single day. And 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:11.880 as a church, we invite you to partner through 00:31:11.880 --> 00:31:15.119 prayer, generosity, and a future mission opportunity. 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:18.579 Because when we say yes to God's call, lives 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:26.940 are changed, both theirs and ours. God will give 00:31:26.940 --> 00:31:30.400 you a dream. He'll give you a vision. He'll give 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:32.420 you an opportunity to be part of somebody else's 00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:34.839 dream and somebody else's vision. When we go 00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:37.799 on these missions works, we're part of a different 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:39.700 vision that's taking place, a different dream. 00:31:40.460 --> 00:31:43.099 Part of the body of Christ, part of all over 00:31:43.099 --> 00:31:46.500 all what God's doing. And God empowers us by 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:50.039 the Holy Spirit to go do these things. There's 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:53.480 a... deepening that comes. There's a power that 00:31:53.480 --> 00:31:56.759 comes when we are immersed in God's spirit so 00:31:56.759 --> 00:31:59.279 that we can go do what we normally cannot do. 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:01.779 We all went this year and we weren't a bunch 00:32:01.779 --> 00:32:03.740 of roofers, I can tell you that, but we got it 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:07.599 on as a team. And those who went will tell you, 00:32:07.660 --> 00:32:10.940 God equips, he helps you. And I'm going to ask 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:15.680 you to stand this morning. He's doing this very 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:18.700 thing with those who are currently in Tangier. 00:32:19.130 --> 00:32:22.009 on Tangier Island serving this morning. I'm sure 00:32:22.009 --> 00:32:24.549 in a place of worship at this very same time. 00:32:26.490 --> 00:32:31.410 But God said in Acts, Jesus said in 217, it shall 00:32:31.410 --> 00:32:33.569 come to pass in the last days, says God, that 00:32:33.569 --> 00:32:37.329 I will pour my spirit on an all flesh. Your sons 00:32:37.329 --> 00:32:39.269 and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young 00:32:39.269 --> 00:32:41.990 men will see visions and your old men will dream 00:32:41.990 --> 00:32:45.069 dreams. And on my men servants and on my maid 00:32:45.069 --> 00:32:47.950 servants, I will pour out my spirit in those 00:32:47.950 --> 00:32:53.779 days. and they shall prophesy. We believe in 00:32:53.779 --> 00:32:58.500 the power of the Holy Spirit. God sent Him. Jesus 00:32:58.500 --> 00:33:04.299 sent Him to us. And if you have a desire to be 00:33:04.299 --> 00:33:08.119 full, to be immersed, to be baptized in His Spirit, 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:10.970 to further serve God, We wanna give you that 00:33:10.970 --> 00:33:12.609 opportunity. We have the prayer team over here. 00:33:12.750 --> 00:33:14.630 They're poised and ready to pray with you if 00:33:14.630 --> 00:33:17.089 you want to. As they go into this last song, 00:33:17.170 --> 00:33:19.410 you can just slide over there. They'll pray with 00:33:19.410 --> 00:33:22.650 you. They'll begin to, all the prayer team members, 00:33:22.730 --> 00:33:24.430 I'm gonna slip around there and I'll pray with 00:33:24.430 --> 00:33:28.079 you as well if you want to. But we. I want you 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:30.319 to have vision. I want you to have a dream. I 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:34.220 want you to see what God has for your life. And 00:33:34.220 --> 00:33:37.380 not only just to step through, but to thrive 00:33:37.380 --> 00:33:40.559 and to move to what God is speaking in your spirit. 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:44.160 And that might be a dream or a vision that he 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:46.960 gives you individually to start. That might be 00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:49.859 joining in on a dream or a vision. I believe 00:33:49.859 --> 00:33:52.750 we're all part of that here at LifeHouse. a dream 00:33:52.750 --> 00:33:56.930 and a vision to see God move in our lives, to 00:33:56.930 --> 00:33:59.329 become biblically healthy, to see people come 00:33:59.329 --> 00:34:02.470 to Jesus Christ. So with your heads bowed and 00:34:02.470 --> 00:34:04.789 your eyes closed at this moment, I'm going to 00:34:04.789 --> 00:34:08.070 ask you, do you desire the power of God in a 00:34:08.070 --> 00:34:10.889 greater way in your life? Do you want God to 00:34:10.889 --> 00:34:14.289 move and speak in and through you in ways that 00:34:14.289 --> 00:34:17.449 you've never experienced before? Do you want 00:34:17.449 --> 00:34:20.210 immersed? in the presence of the Holy Spirit. 00:34:20.349 --> 00:34:23.190 It is something that we can continue to do, but 00:34:23.190 --> 00:34:25.789 there is a separate experience. Holy Spirit comes 00:34:25.789 --> 00:34:28.670 to dwell in us at salvation, but there was a 00:34:28.670 --> 00:34:31.110 separate experience. The disciples were given 00:34:31.110 --> 00:34:33.489 that separate experience. God gives that still 00:34:33.489 --> 00:34:36.869 today. This is the last days. He said, I will 00:34:36.869 --> 00:34:39.869 pour my spirit out on all flesh. You're all flesh. 00:34:40.429 --> 00:34:43.650 So if that's you, don't talk yourself out of 00:34:43.650 --> 00:34:47.429 this. Don't try to, you know, I'll do this another 00:34:47.429 --> 00:34:49.889 time. I want you to do something this morning. 00:34:49.989 --> 00:34:53.250 When they begin to play and sing, when they begin 00:34:53.250 --> 00:34:57.389 to worship, I want you to make your way over 00:34:57.389 --> 00:34:59.690 to the prayer team. I want you to slide over 00:34:59.690 --> 00:35:03.409 there. You may have another need as well. If 00:35:03.409 --> 00:35:05.849 you want to know more about the baptism of the 00:35:05.849 --> 00:35:07.389 Holy Spirit, as your eyes are closed and your 00:35:07.389 --> 00:35:10.250 head's bowed, I got something. I got a gift for 00:35:10.250 --> 00:35:13.750 you. I got something that will be a minor investment 00:35:13.750 --> 00:35:16.630 for you, a $5 investment that will change your 00:35:16.630 --> 00:35:18.409 heart. You might say, I don't know that much 00:35:18.409 --> 00:35:20.190 about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If you 00:35:20.190 --> 00:35:21.829 want to know more, I'll give you something that'll 00:35:21.829 --> 00:35:26.030 make it so clear if you engage and read. But 00:35:26.030 --> 00:35:27.489 we want to pray with you. But if you're ready 00:35:27.489 --> 00:35:29.469 this morning, we want to pray that you're going 00:35:29.469 --> 00:35:32.929 to receive. So Father, I thank you, God, for 00:35:32.929 --> 00:35:35.329 each one in the house. Lord, as you prepare hearts 00:35:35.329 --> 00:35:37.949 and minds, God, for those, God, who want more 00:35:37.949 --> 00:35:41.250 power in you. God, they want more confidence 00:35:41.250 --> 00:35:43.570 than they've ever had in their lives. God, they 00:35:43.570 --> 00:35:45.929 want to know the dream or the vision. God, maybe 00:35:45.929 --> 00:35:48.030 you've spoken the dream or vision. And Lord, 00:35:48.110 --> 00:35:50.429 they need clarification. Maybe they just need 00:35:50.429 --> 00:35:52.489 prayer this morning. God, I pray that you give 00:35:52.489 --> 00:35:54.909 them a heart to move, God, so that they can be 00:35:54.909 --> 00:35:57.630 ministered to. And Lord, we ask this in Jesus' 00:35:57.769 --> 00:36:28.500 name. And amen. Visit our website at www .lifehousecog 00:36:28.500 --> 00:36:29.460 .com.