1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,400
Amen. I want to invite you to stand very quickly as we, amen, I'm not going to continue to,

2
00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,840
we're not going to continue in our series Unstoppable, but I will be reading out of

3
00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,720
the books of the book of Acts. And I want to share something with you that the Lord

4
00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:29,280
had gave to me and it's more of a gentle reminder, amen. And I, I want to say that this really,

5
00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:35,960
really tugged at my heart and it really just brought back or brought me to a place, amen,

6
00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:43,720
where I first started my ministry and it wasn't so much the location or the things that we did,

7
00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:51,000
but the desire that we had, the fire that burned inside of our hearts for the things of God.

8
00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:58,240
Man, we could say that yes, we might have been younger and might not have had as much responsibility

9
00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:05,360
as we do now, but the Word of God never changes. It's the same today for the, it's the same today,

10
00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:16,040
yesterday, today, forevermore. The task at hand never changes. The job that God has designed

11
00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:24,000
and set for us to do, set out for us to do, it never changed. We changed. And this just brought

12
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:30,520
me back to that place, amen. So if you have your Bibles, I want to read briefly in Acts chapter 1,

13
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:38,720
7 through 8. And then we're going to read, not all of it, but we'll read Matthew 28, 16 to 20.

14
00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:45,880
Amen. So starting in the book of Acts, and he said to them, it is not for you to know times or

15
00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:52,080
season, which the Father has put in his own authority, but you shall receive power when the

16
00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:57,920
Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all of Judea,

17
00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:09,480
Samaria, and to the end of the earth. And in Matthew, it reads in 28, 19, go therefore and make

18
00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:15,360
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the fathers of son and the Holy

19
00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:22,760
Spirit, which all are one, amen. Can I get amen? Teaching them to observe all things that I have

20
00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:30,720
commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen, you may take your

21
00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:41,360
seat saying amen. Amen, military gain and or loss. Our financial status is so crucial that it

22
00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:52,120
determines just how far we go and what we do. A term to identify and to determine this is known

23
00:02:52,120 --> 00:03:03,240
and called our net worth. It is an indicator of our overall financial stability and health. When

24
00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:09,440
you hear someone say that that person is worth five million, two million, ten million, twenty

25
00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:18,400
million, a dollar, whatever the amount is, it's based on their net worth. Just one thing to note

26
00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:26,160
that our net worth isn't about our income. Your income doesn't even factor into your net worth

27
00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:36,120
instead. Your net worth includes your savings, your investments, and your debts. Your net worth is

28
00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:45,000
your asset minus your liabilities. Now I just want to give you a paint a quick picture for you so

29
00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:51,360
you can understand where we're at and where we're going. An example of your assets could be your house,

30
00:03:51,360 --> 00:04:00,440
your car, your savings, your stocks, your bonds, your investments, retirement accounts. You get all

31
00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:07,880
those together, you add them up, and those give you your total assets. Your liabilities will include

32
00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:13,720
your debts, your mortgage payment, your car payment, student loans, personal loans, whatever you owe.

33
00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:22,640
You add all those up, you total it up, amen, and then you minus your assets from those liabilities

34
00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:30,840
to your true net worth. Amen, this gives you your true net worth. This lets you know what you can and

35
00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:39,680
cannot do. Whatever remains is simply what this world would indicate. Your worth is, what your

36
00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:48,480
status is. This ultimately determines our status, and this is what drives and motivates us. This is

37
00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:55,560
what pushes us. This is what causes us to do the things that we do. We work hard, we get up late,

38
00:04:55,560 --> 00:05:01,440
we get to work early, we leave late, we start a business, we hustle, we do everything we have to do,

39
00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:09,160
because ultimately we want to get to the point to where we achieve financial freedom. Amen. Once

40
00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:14,920
you obtain financial freedom, you can do what you want, go where you want, buy what you want to buy,

41
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:23,400
live how you want to live. That is the American dream. It's our blood, sweat, and tears, our minds,

42
00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:32,800
and even, amen, our most valuable resource is given to this, our time. The basis of our net worth,

43
00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:41,520
our money, is the answer to everything. If not, the Bible would not say so. In Ecclesiastics 10,

44
00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:49,840
19, it reads, a feast is made for laughter, a wine maketh merry, but money answereth to all things.

45
00:05:49,840 --> 00:06:02,160
Without money, you can't eat, you can't buy, you can't go, you can't do. We work hard to gain and

46
00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:07,120
capture, like what I mentioned is called the American dream. We understand the importance of

47
00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:14,400
our net worth here on earth. We work hard to achieve this. We do all that we can, and there's

48
00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:20,200
nothing wrong with that. I'm in agreement with that. I want that for myself too. I want that for

49
00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:25,160
my family, and if that's you, well then praise God. May God give you the strength, the wisdom,

50
00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:30,680
and the knowledge to do so, because while we live here on earth, we all want to live a good life.

51
00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:39,600
Amen. Amen. We all want to have, or eventually one day, we'll reach financial freedom. We'll be to

52
00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:44,440
that place where we can do and go and do all the things that you ever wanted to do, everything

53
00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:51,880
that you ever dreamed of doing. This is why we work. This is why we push ourselves. This is why

54
00:06:51,880 --> 00:07:01,680
we invest our time, our money, and our effort. There's nothing wrong with any of those things. The

55
00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:08,920
only thing is that we have to be careful of is that we don't fall in love with the idea of the

56
00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:16,480
American dream, that we don't allow it to consume us, to consume our hearts, our minds, our thoughts.

57
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:25,680
Amen. And in 1 John 2, chapter 2, 15 through 17, it says, do not love the world or anything in the

58
00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:32,080
world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world,

59
00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:37,120
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, your achievements, your goals,

60
00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:44,920
comes not from the Father, but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever

61
00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:56,160
does the will of God lives forever. As someone say, amen. So what about the will of God? This logic

62
00:07:56,160 --> 00:08:02,920
of the network that I explained to you, this idea of what it is and the value that it brings,

63
00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:10,680
and what it determines has no value in his kingdom, because the basis of money and our

64
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:18,320
achievements are neither one translated or used the same way according to God, his word and his

65
00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:28,520
will. As a matter of fact, money has no value whatsoever when it pertains to God. Let me remind

66
00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:36,440
you that heaven is paved with streets of gold. Heaven's gates are decorated and adorned with

67
00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:43,760
precious gems, jewels, and pearls. You see, because what we value so much here on earth and what we

68
00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:52,880
strive so hard to obtain here on earth in heaven, God just uses it to walk on and mirror decorations.

69
00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:59,240
How many of you, when you decorate for the holidays or you decorate for a party or whatever you

70
00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:03,520
decorate your house with when people come over, when it's all said and done, what do you do?

71
00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:11,080
Pack it right up, put it away. Sometimes you forget where you put it. Sometimes you forget where

72
00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:18,360
it's at. It breaks, it loses its value, it loses its shine over time, the color fades, just like the

73
00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:24,480
word of God said, it fades away, it goes away. But how many you know when you invest your time into

74
00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:29,320
the things of God? How many you know that when your treasures are not here on earth, but they are

75
00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:34,920
in heaven, amen, that they will last for an eternity, amen, that the work that you do is not

76
00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:41,400
in vain, amen, it'll never come back void, amen, but that everything you do for God and unto God,

77
00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:51,520
amen, will last for a lifetime. You see, God did not come down from heaven to endure the pain

78
00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:59,920
that he endured to die on a tree, to bow his head to die for us to live a lavish life. He did not

79
00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:07,200
come down, amen, to die on a cross so that we can live a life that we can call a beautiful and

80
00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:14,000
wonderful life because we have this and we have that. He didn't die for us so that we can take

81
00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:20,920
account of our own abilities, our own achievements and live the life that we chose and live the life

82
00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:29,800
that we want to live. That's not why God died on the cross, this is not why, amen, he hung on a

83
00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:38,280
tree, this is not why he died and he was nailed to a tree because he loved you and I, this is not

84
00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:44,040
the love that pierced him in his skin, the love that pierced him in the nails that pierced his

85
00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:49,240
skin was the love that oozed out for you and I because the Bible says that when he hung on the

86
00:10:49,240 --> 00:11:03,280
tree, you and I were on his mind. Let me propose a question and let me ask you something because

87
00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:09,880
we just read in Matthew what is known and what is called to be the Great Commission. It is what

88
00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:17,040
we are called and commanded to do, correct, amen? It is for us to go out and make disciples of all

89
00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:24,520
nations, baptizing, teaching and leading them to salvation, baptizing in the name of Jesus. This

90
00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:34,200
will also require us to invest our time, our energy, our money, our love, patience to do what is

91
00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:41,560
required of us to fulfill the Great Commission will require for us to remain flexible and to

92
00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:50,880
accept the will of God for our lives and then to submit to it. So here's a question, could your

93
00:11:50,880 --> 00:12:02,080
net worth in the kingdom of God be based on the Great Commission? How many people will we reach

94
00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:09,000
before we hear that trumpet blow? How many people would we have spoken to and shared the good news

95
00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:19,480
with before time is up? Could it be that the Great Commission, amen, that the net worth would not

96
00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:30,720
be based on money but on people? Because salvation is for everyone and we are responsible for telling

97
00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:38,320
everyone someone say amen. So now money, financial, investments, achievements are now replaced with

98
00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:46,000
people are now replaced with making disciples our investment and baptizing in the name of Jesus is

99
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:54,560
now our achievement. Let me say that again, people are substituted now for money, financial

100
00:12:54,560 --> 00:13:06,760
investments are now substituted, amen, are now substituted for making disciples our investments

101
00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:14,320
and baptizing in the name of Jesus are now our achievement. And if we take the word net in the

102
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:23,240
term net worth and use it as a tool in its literal term, what is a net used for? It's used to capture,

103
00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:33,320
to gather, to gain a hold of something. In this case, someone. So this gives us a whole new meaning

104
00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:41,400
on the term net worth, correct? But it also leads us to the meeting in Mark chapter one verse 17,

105
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:48,960
where it says, come follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. I will

106
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:57,440
make you become fishers of men. So after this brief explanation and modification, we now need to

107
00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:10,800
ask ourselves in the kingdom of God, what is my net worth? You're following me? What is my net worth?

108
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:17,440
And for just a few short minutes, if we're a shoot for a few short minutes, excuse me, I want to

109
00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:26,600
speak on this topic, my net worth and briefly, I just want to point out three different types of

110
00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:31,960
nets. Because remember, we're speaking about nets in the literal form and what they are used for,

111
00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:39,080
three different types of nets that we need to become ourselves to create and increase our net

112
00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:47,400
worth in the kingdom of God. The first one being is we need to be nets of flexibility. Someone say

113
00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:59,040
nets of flexibility. Okay, a few more, say nets of a flex, a flexibility. In Acts one through

114
00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:03,000
seventh through eight, it says, but you shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon

115
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:07,680
you. And the Lord is speaking to the disciples and he tells him that they shall receive power

116
00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:12,120
when the Holy Ghost has come upon them, essentially giving them everything they need,

117
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:18,480
amen to fulfill the task at hand. Then it says, we shall be witnesses in Jerusalem,

118
00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:25,680
all of Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth. And this is very specific and in literal

119
00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:34,240
interpretation when we apply God's word in physical sense, in terms of distance, it is a charge to

120
00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:42,080
share the gospel with our cities, which includes our neighborhoods, our neighbors, and our local

121
00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:51,640
communities. And when we look at people in the wider region, we then, and that reside within the

122
00:15:51,640 --> 00:16:00,520
wider region, we're also considering the country that we live in. So we're talking about the people

123
00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:05,760
that live within our communities, then we're talking about our communities when we transfer

124
00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:10,240
this into the literal sense. And now we're talking about the people that live around our

125
00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:19,520
surrounding communities. And then finally the global perspective as we continue into the

126
00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:24,480
nations of the world. So this would make sense since the disciples were given directions to

127
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:31,440
take the gospel to the city of Jerusalem, where they were already were, to the familiar region

128
00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:38,160
of Judea that surrounded Jerusalem, to the geographically further and culturally different

129
00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:47,960
region of Samaria, and to the unfamiliar, the far ends of the earth. For us to do this, to reach

130
00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:53,520
our communities, the surrounding areas and the areas we are unfamiliar with, we must be willing

131
00:16:53,520 --> 00:17:00,040
to be flexible. We must be willing to allow God to place us in the places that we need to be placed.

132
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:06,600
We must be flexible and allow God to take us to the places that he wants to take us. We need to

133
00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:24,040
be flexible and allow God to do and have his will in our lives. We cannot depend on a department.

134
00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:31,080
We cannot depend on city groups and we cannot depend on community events. We cannot depend on

135
00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:36,560
just one or two people to do this church. We cannot say, well it's so-and-so's job and it's

136
00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:42,480
so-and-so's ministry and so-and-so's doing this and so-and-so's doing that because it's not just

137
00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:48,760
for that brother and it's not just for that sister. It's for me, it's for you, for us to go out and

138
00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:55,920
to do our part to seek the loss and to spread the good news, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

139
00:17:55,920 --> 00:18:01,760
We have to stop handing it off to someone else. We have to stop handing the baton to somebody else

140
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:07,160
and say, hey that's their problem. Let them figure it out. No my friend, when we get to heaven,

141
00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:13,600
we will be charged with the same responsibilities. We will be charged with the same task. Once God

142
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:19,000
opens up the book of life and he says, okay brother David, you achieved this and you did that

143
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:24,220
and you went there and you did this but let me check down in the kingdom of God what your

144
00:18:24,220 --> 00:18:34,880
net worth is. Let me see what, oh that must be a typo. It says you only talk to five people. Oh wait,

145
00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:39,280
wait, hold on, I think there's a, there must be another typo. It says that when I asked you to

146
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:45,160
go here, you, you, you said you couldn't because of your job. Oh wait, hold on, hold on. It also

147
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:49,800
says here that while you were at that, that that person's else who needed prayer and they were sick

148
00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:54,880
and I sent you so that you can pray for them, you made an excuse that you had to leave early.

149
00:18:54,880 --> 00:19:02,280
We need to understand that it's not for us to take in our own accountability of what we are

150
00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:08,160
doing in this life but to remember the accountability that heaven is holding us to each and every day

151
00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:13,360
to go out to our neighbor, to go out to our neighborhoods, to go out to the surrounding

152
00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:21,240
areas and to tell and to share this good news. Someone say man, this is why I feel that our

153
00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:26,960
church is so unique. Our church, City Light Church is so unique because sometimes we focus on

154
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:32,280
distance and sometimes we focus on the fact that maybe we all don't live, amen, in the same area

155
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:37,720
and the Lord spoke to me, amen, this week and say you know what, that's not a disadvantage,

156
00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:44,080
that's actually an advantage. This is how I birth City Light Church because if you look at the map

157
00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:51,640
in which we come from, we come from places like Vallejo, Palo Alto, Sonnyvale, Cupertino,

158
00:19:51,640 --> 00:20:00,080
San Francisco, and Salinas and you know what I envision when the Lord spoke to me about this?

159
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:11,120
That's a pretty large net. That's a pretty large net. That net expands not only from city to city

160
00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:17,960
but from county to county. Do you realize that if we tap into this and if we just start to work

161
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:23,840
the fields that the Lord has placed us in and we start to teal the fields where we live,

162
00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:32,240
we won't have to wait for this place to be filled because we always say one day, one day,

163
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:42,200
one day, well why can't that day be today? But it takes for us to get to work in the place in

164
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:50,360
which God has called us to. We have our own Jerusalem to save. We need to get involved and

165
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:57,200
stay involved. The commission is not just for one. It is for all. We must allow it to consume us

166
00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:04,480
in Hebrews 12 28 to 29. Therefore, since you are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,

167
00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:12,480
let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably and reverence in all for our God is a consuming

168
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:21,680
fire. How many believe and know that His word is also consuming and when we hide it in our heart,

169
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:28,560
we cannot run from it. When we hide it in our heart, His word begins to burn up every single

170
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:34,640
aspect of our lives. His word, the Holy Ghost begins to remind us when we're in a certain place,

171
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:41,440
in a certain area, the Bible hallelujah says that He will take us out to these places and the

172
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:47,240
Holy Ghost will speak to you and tell you go talk to Him. Go pray for them. Go tell her I love her.

173
00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:52,920
Go tell her it's gonna be okay. Go pray for those children. Hey, that homeless guy that you keep

174
00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:57,920
walking by. You keep ignoring him because you don't want to give him any money. Why don't you do

175
00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:03,000
what Peter and Paul did and why don't you tell them to get up and give them what you have?

176
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:15,780
We have to be consumed with the spirit and his will. We have to have 10 like faith like

177
00:22:15,780 --> 00:22:21,720
Pastor mentioned last week when God says go that we would pull up our stakes and go and move on

178
00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:27,960
and do what God tells us to do. Those things that he mentioned last week about where he started in

179
00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:32,840
his ministry while I was sitting there. This is what I was referring to at the beginning when

180
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:37,840
I started. It didn't remind me of the places that I went, the things that I did when I was younger.

181
00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:48,200
What it reminded me of was a desire that I had. I didn't hesitate to get up and go. I didn't hesitate

182
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:52,880
to pick up my phone at 2, 3 in the morning to go pray for someone and I'm not saying I do that now

183
00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:59,360
because I don't. I might have a family and I might have responsibilities but I also know the

184
00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:04,720
greatest responsibility that God has placed on my life is to help others. The greatest

185
00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:10,560
responsibility that God has placed on my life is to serve others but it just took me back to that

186
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:18,040
place and I'm wondering today if you allow God to take you back to that place. That place when

187
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:23,920
you first fell in love. That place when you first said hey if they don't want to go I'll go. If they

188
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:29,200
don't want to do it I'll do it. I'll call in sick. I'll do what I gotta do but I'll be there.

189
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:39,080
And now we live in a day and age where we're late for dinner. We're late for everything because

190
00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:48,240
everything's a priority. What about God? What about God? Go therefore. This is a call to

191
00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:54,880
action. Jesus tells his followers to carry his workout forward. He sends his close disciples

192
00:23:54,880 --> 00:24:00,360
out in pairs and towns throughout Israel. He doesn't tell them simply to talk about him but to

193
00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:05,960
carry out his works. To demonstrate his works. He tells them to perform their own healings and

194
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:12,160
their own expressions of spiritual abundance through the authority of his Holy Spirit. He is

195
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:18,360
telling us today to continue his works. To continue through the spirit and the authority that he has

196
00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:25,600
given us. To continue to teach and to preach and to baptize in the name of Jesus. And for some

197
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:30,840
folks this is very uncomfortable. For some folks this is where they tune out the preaching because

198
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:36,480
nobody likes to be made uncomfortable. Nobody likes to be told that they have to do more than

199
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:41,560
what they have to do especially in the day and age that we are living now. One thing that

200
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:46,320
Pastor said and he mentioned last week that you know we celebrate when we do the things that

201
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:51,480
we're supposed to be doing. You know what I call that? You know that we need to stop celebrating

202
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:58,040
mediocrity. We need to stop cheering on mediocrity. Those are the things we're supposed to be doing.

203
00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:02,800
We're supposed to be getting up to pray. We're supposed to be fasting. We're supposed to be

204
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:07,200
reading our word. We're supposed to be in church on Sundays, Tuesdays. Whenever you have church,

205
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:17,280
you are supposed to be there. And for some this is very uncomfortable because the priority is not

206
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:22,920
God. The priority is everything else that they're doing. The priority is what they feel is it

207
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:35,560
that it's important to them. But when we're in trouble, but when we need him, but when we need

208
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:42,640
an answer, when we need him to make a way, who's the first one we dial up? Remember that's all.

209
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:52,360
Call him up, call him up, tell him what you want. What about God? We have to understand that this is

210
00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:57,760
not about us. It's not about fulfilling our own desires, our own accomplishments, but fulfilling

211
00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:02,880
his will, the great commission. And when we do this and we understand this, we will finally feel

212
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:09,680
comfortable with being uncomfortable. This is why we must remain flexible. The call to action,

213
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:15,480
if you will, requires movement in our lives. It is for us to possibly be placed and then plucked

214
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:21,280
up and then placed again. This will challenge our experiences, our intellect, and even our

215
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:28,840
own will because this will take work and work will take sacrifice. Someone ask yourself,

216
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:35,720
what is my net worth? When someone says they made a decision because it was easier.

217
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:47,440
When they make a decision they say because it was easier. It was convenient. I'm sorry my friend,

218
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:52,440
but they made that decision based on their own feelings and their own comfortability.

219
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:59,640
Because that decision was based for them and not for God. Because living for God is not easy.

220
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:08,120
Life is not easy in itself. And if it was so, God wouldn't say in John 1633, He says,

221
00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:13,200
these things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace in the world. You will have

222
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:19,200
tribulation. You will have trials. You will have troubles. But be of good cheer. I have overcome

223
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:26,760
the world when we now depend and rely on God for each and everything that we do. It is Him that

224
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:31,880
we depend on and not our money. It is Him that we depend on and not our own intellect. It is

225
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:40,160
Him that we depend on and not our own experiences. And it is only through Him why this life,

226
00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:46,520
a man, why this race, a man, why this life and living for the Lord is made easy in Matthew 11,

227
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:52,440
28 to verse 30. It says, come to me all thee who are weary and burdened. And I will give you rest.

228
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:58,960
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. And I am gentle and humble in your heart. You will

229
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:06,600
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. We've got to understand

230
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:12,680
that this is going to take sacrifice. This is going to take sacrifice to carry out the will of

231
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:21,160
God. It is going to take sacrifice because service comes through sacrifice. In Romans, it says,

232
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:26,560
therefore I urge you brothers and sisters in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living

233
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:34,400
sacrifice. Holy and acceptable and pleasing to God. How do we come before God through our sacrifice?

234
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:41,840
How do we please God through our sacrifice? How is our worship true and proper? It is made through

235
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:51,840
our sacrifice. There is no way around it. Sacrifice is imminent. What will we do for our brother and

236
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:57,680
our sister? What will we do, our worker, our family, our cousin, our grandma, our grandpa,

237
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:03,120
our friend, our relative that doesn't know God? What sacrifices are we willing to make to take

238
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:11,400
them to heaven with us? Will you sacrifice your time? Will you sacrifice your money? Will you sacrifice

239
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:18,640
and invest in someone that needs to know and needs to hear that the kingdom of God is theirs also?

240
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:30,840
We need to become net, nets that gather, nets that capture, nets that hold on, and nets of

241
00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:38,680
acceptance. We not only need to become flexible to the will of God, but we also need to accept the

242
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:45,360
will of God. In Isaiah 55, 8 through 9 it says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are

243
00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:50,600
your ways. My ways declare the Lord as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher

244
00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:57,000
than your ways. My thoughts higher than your thoughts. The first thing we need to do is we need

245
00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:03,920
to understand that it is not our will, but God's will. And that needs to be accepted and that needs

246
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:11,000
to be held on to. And it's ironic that we're speaking of nets and capturing and fish and fishermen

247
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:18,280
because the example that the Lord led me to was Jonah. Y'all remember the story of Jonah when the

248
00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:23,040
Lord came to him and spoke to him and told him to go to Nineveh because wickedness has rose up

249
00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:28,720
and they were speaking against God so he goes and he tells Jonah get up and go. And what does Jonah

250
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:36,000
do? Jonah gets up but he runs the other way. He takes off the other way. How many of you are

251
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:43,120
running today? How many of you are running from exactly what God has called you to do? Maybe

252
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:47,160
because you're self-doubt, maybe because you don't think you're good enough, maybe because you don't

253
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,560
think that you have all that you need. I'm here to tell you that you have everything you need.

254
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:57,720
That the devil's a liar and the only way that he can get you from fulfilling the will of God is to

255
00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:04,040
continue to lie to you because that's exactly what he did to Jonah. He ran the other way. Jonah then

256
00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:10,560
goes down to Tarshish. He finds a boat and he heads out. He says I'm gone. Jumps on the boat and

257
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:16,960
unbeknownst to those men that were minding their own business by the way. They just started off

258
00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:22,800
their day like any other day. Jumped in the boat, got to work, they were fishing, they were probably

259
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:26,400
transporting goods. I don't know what they were doing but they were on the boat just living their

260
00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:32,520
lives and then all of a sudden the Bible said a strong wind comes. A storm is brewing and things

261
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:37,800
start to change. Things start to shake up and these men become fearful and the captain they don't

262
00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:42,400
know what to do so they start tossing things off the boat and then finally he goes down to the

263
00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:47,520
bottom of the boat and he finds Jonah and he tells Jonah how could you sleep? Don't you know what's

264
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:52,600
going on? Don't you know what's happening? Jonah wakes up and they're still trying to figure out

265
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:59,920
what's going on. What disturbed? There seemed to be normal day so they decided to cast slots,

266
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:04,640
they drew straws and Jonah was the one that drew the shortest straws so they all look at Jonah and

267
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:17,200
say what did you do? And Jonah told him I ran and this is God that is doing this because of me. We

268
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:21,880
have to be careful when we don't accept the will of God and we decide to turn and run the other

269
00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:28,960
way because we can actually cause storms for strangers. We can interrupt other people's lives,

270
00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:34,280
unbeknownst to them. They say hey you're here, you go to church that's great but they don't know

271
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:39,400
that you're running and all of a sudden their days starts to shake up a bit and things start to go

272
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:46,360
wrong and they start to scratch their head and they think to themselves what's going on? And we

273
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:50,760
think we're there, we're hiding and we're helping and that's not what we're doing. What we did is we

274
00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:56,400
allowed a storm to come into their life because we decided to run because we did not accept the

275
00:32:56,400 --> 00:33:01,480
will of God and Jonah tells them hey you know what, toss me off the side of the boat, it's my fault

276
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:08,440
that you're going through this. Do you know that we can unintentionally hurt people that we are

277
00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:15,560
intentionally set to help? Jonah didn't mean to hurt them, Jonah didn't mean for the storm to scare

278
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:20,360
them, Jonah didn't mean for any of those things to happen, Jonah immediately knew that he was the

279
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:25,320
fault and he was at fault, they tossed him out, the belly of the whale, everybody knows the story.

280
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:32,840
But this is to my point, the Bible says that it wasn't until Jonah was in the belly of the whale

281
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:41,240
that he finally prayed. It isn't until we are in the dark that we see the light, it's not until we

282
00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:46,120
actually go through something church and we experience hardship where the light goes on, the

283
00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:53,080
focal turns on and we start to think to ourselves wait a minute am I doing what God told me to do?

284
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:59,240
Have I accepted the will of God because see it's not, everything's not going wrong because you're a

285
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:03,960
bad person, it's not going wrong because you don't have a good heart, it's not going wrong because

286
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:10,680
God doesn't love you, sometimes things are shaken and distorted or alive because we're not accepting

287
00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:17,000
what God wants us to do, we're not advancing, we're not growing, we're not developing, we're

288
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:22,200
not moving and we're trying and we're trying and we're trying and we go back to the drawing board

289
00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:31,880
and is it this and is it that and no, it's none of those things, it's because we have not accepted

290
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:45,640
the will of God for our lives. Some storms are self-afflicting, some storms occur because of the

291
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:53,880
choices that we make but I'm here to tell you the good news and I'm here to let you know that if we

292
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:59,800
can just find a place, if we can just find that place where we say God you know what I recognize

293
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:04,760
the air of my ways, I recognize what I've been running from, I recognize what I haven't been

294
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:11,080
doing, you know what God, I'm gonna accept your will today, I'm gonna accept your will today,

295
00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:16,680
I'm gonna receive it, I'm gonna carry it through and I'm not only gonna do that but I'm going to

296
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:26,760
delight myself in the Lord because in Psalms 40 in verse 8 it says, delight yourself, I delight to

297
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:32,680
do your will, oh my God, your law is within my heart, God did not know, he did not come to

298
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:40,520
abolish the law but he came to fulfill it, do you and I, it is our job, amen, it is our responsibility

299
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:45,720
to save a dying and lost world, amen, stand with me.

300
00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:58,920
Amen. The last night, amen, that we need to become and the last night that we need to, amen,

301
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:04,920
to be flexible,

302
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:15,720
to be accepting is one thing but we cannot do either if we don't submit to it,

303
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:27,160
we have to be nets of submission, we will not accept flexibility nor will we accept the things of

304
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:35,320
God if we don't accept, if we don't submit to what God is calling us to do, there are places that God

305
00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:44,280
wants to take us, there are people that God will bring before us, there are people that God will

306
00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:55,640
use us to save and there is a harvest that God is waiting to bring but we've got to submit to this,

307
00:36:55,640 --> 00:37:03,640
I want to leave you with this, when the Lord sat in the boat at the lake of Galilee, the Bible says

308
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:12,120
that Simon Peter was out fishing, toiling all night and God had just got done to speak to the

309
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:20,440
multitude and the Bible says that as he spoke that there were doubters in the crowd and so he

310
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:27,240
was speaking to them and when he got done speaking he turned around and he said hey Simon Peter,

311
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:38,520
get your nets ready again, get ready for a launch into the deep, get ready for another catch

312
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:47,160
and Peter being the experienced fisherman that he was, I could imagine him standing at the

313
00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:54,360
boat, the boat is saying what are you talking about, we just got to toiling all night, we didn't catch

314
00:37:54,360 --> 00:38:05,160
anything, Peter at that moment he was challenged, Simon Peter excuse me, he was challenged with the

315
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:14,600
command and he was at odds with the command that came from God, it was a pivotal moment there at

316
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:22,920
that time in Simon Peter's life because when God says to launch out into the deep and let down your

317
00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:29,960
nets for a catch, Simon Peter had to submit the following, he had to submit his experience,

318
00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:38,680
he was an experienced fisherman, he had years of experience of fishing and faced with this dilemma

319
00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:45,400
and challenge, what would he do with these instructions from God, how could it be that a carpenter

320
00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:54,360
gave a fisherman instructions and a command on how to fish and where to fish,

321
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:03,480
this challenge Simon Peter's intellect and he had to submit

322
00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:11,160
it because he says, the scripture says that he caught nothing and because he was experienced,

323
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:16,520
I'm sure this wasn't his first time that he came up with nothing, this wasn't the first time that

324
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:22,600
he exhausted all his options, this wasn't the first time that he called to quiz and says you know

325
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:31,480
what, wrap it up guys, we'll try again tomorrow, this wasn't his first go-around, so this command

326
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:40,520
challenged his intellect and it also challenged his will because when God, amen, sent forth the command,

327
00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:47,560
he said nevertheless that your word, I would let down my net, he submitted to it the instructions

328
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:55,400
of Jesus and by doing so he acted supernaturally, Peter proved that at that moment he did not want

329
00:39:55,400 --> 00:40:02,280
to remain only an admirer of Jesus Christ, he showed that he was also prepared to obey and to submit

330
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:10,520
to him, he disregarded his own ego and he refrained from doing what he could only understand,

331
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:17,160
he made his own truth subordinate to the divine truth and will of God

332
00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:26,200
and what God is saying today, God is saying I know that you're trying, I know that you're doing,

333
00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:33,800
I know your heart, I know you desire to save a dying world, I know you want to save your co-worker,

334
00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:40,680
your friend, your family, on and on and on but you've got to be flexible,

335
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:52,120
you've got to accept my will and you've got to submit to my will, the Bible said that after

336
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:57,880
Peter, Simon Peter submitted that he had to call over the other boat because when he pulled up his

337
00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:05,240
nets, his nets were bursting with fish, his nets could not hold the harvest, his nets could not hold,

338
00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:10,280
amen the fish, he had to call over the next boat and he drew the fish and he shared it over with

339
00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:19,560
the next boat and the Bible said that both boats begin to sink, when I stand before you and I tell

340
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:27,000
you in my spirit that I see this church full, when I stand before you and tell you that we've got 30

341
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:34,120
to 40 kids in our Ignite Kids group, when I stand here and tell you that I envision a church three,

342
00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:41,080
four or five times as large as this, it's not because it makes for good preaching and it's not

343
00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:48,200
to get you to say amen, it's because I believe that if we submit to the will of God and if we

344
00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:53,240
submit to the great commission and what we are supposed to be doing only time,

345
00:41:53,240 --> 00:42:04,760
time, God wants us to reap a harvest church, God wants us to reap a harvest but it's not going

346
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:11,960
to be done with one or two people, it's not going to be done with the group or an apartment, each

347
00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:23,320
and every one of us have to submit today, we can't care about the deeds of this world anymore,

348
00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:32,280
you know that God loves you so much and each and every day he's going to provide, each and every

349
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:37,400
day it's going to be there, the lights are going to be turned on, there's going to be food on the

350
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:45,480
table but you know why God is so good to you, so that you don't have to worry and focus on those

351
00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:52,040
things and you can worry about what you're supposed to be doing, you can focus on who you're supposed

352
00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:57,960
to be saving, you can focus on who you're supposed to be giving and providing Bible studies to,

353
00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:03,400
you can focus on that person on the street corner, you can focus on your friend, your family member

354
00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:08,040
is why are your nets empty,

355
00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:21,080
why are our nets empty, why aren't our churches bursting at the seams with people,

356
00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:34,520
why hallelujah are our church not packed in full of fish, so much so that the boats

357
00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:42,840
were starting to sink, where are we ever going to get up to a place where our only concern is

358
00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:49,640
where do we go to next because we don't fit here anymore and it's not for our glory church,

359
00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:54,840
it's not so we can say that we have this and we have that, it's not for our glory

360
00:43:54,840 --> 00:44:18,840
but it's to give God all the honor and all the glory that he would be glorified.