WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.919 I'm going to take my script out of the book of 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:07.080 Zechariah, and I'm going to read a few scriptures, 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:09.859 eight verses there, so bear with me as we read 00:00:09.859 --> 00:00:15.320 them. And they read in this manner. Then the 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:21.940 angel who talked with me returned and woke me 00:00:21.940 --> 00:00:27.160 up like someone awakened from sleep. He asked 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:31.739 me, what do you see? I answered, I see a solid 00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:37.460 gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven 00:00:37.460 --> 00:00:41.259 lamps on it with seven channels to the lamps. 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:45.719 Also, there are two olive trees by it, one on 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:49.920 the right of the bowl and the other on its left. 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:55.020 I asked the angel who talked with me, what are 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:59.329 these, my Lord? And he answered. Do you not know 00:00:59.329 --> 00:01:04.030 what these are? No, my Lord, I replied. Verse 00:01:04.030 --> 00:01:07.609 6, so he said to me, this is the word of the 00:01:07.609 --> 00:01:13.170 Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power, 00:01:13.250 --> 00:01:18.209 but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty. What 00:01:18.209 --> 00:01:22.909 are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel, 00:01:23.090 --> 00:01:29.079 you will become level ground. he will bring out 00:01:29.079 --> 00:01:34.680 the capstone of shouts of God bless it, God bless 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:38.299 it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, the 00:01:38.299 --> 00:01:41.659 hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation 00:01:41.659 --> 00:01:46.819 of this temple. His hands will also complete 00:01:46.819 --> 00:01:50.079 it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:55.239 has sent me to you. And I'm going to just give 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:59.040 it a simple... Titled, Zerubbabel, the builder. 00:01:59.620 --> 00:02:02.939 And that's my thought for today. Zerubbabel, 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:05.819 the builder. Lift your hands with me. Let's go 00:02:05.819 --> 00:02:09.199 before the Lord and open our hearts to his word. 00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:11.659 Father, I thank you for this moment that you've 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:15.419 given to me. to be before your beautiful church, 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:18.840 God. And all those that are here today, Lord, 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:21.500 are here because they love you. They've come 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:24.919 to worship your name. Lord, I thank you for that 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:28.340 and the unity of worship and the song leading, 00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:31.400 Lord God, what we have sung. We've sung it to 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:35.439 you, Lord. You are worthy of all of our praise, 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:39.120 our worship, and our sacrifices that we make, 00:02:39.219 --> 00:02:43.020 Lord, in this life and even now here today. Lord, 00:02:43.259 --> 00:02:46.939 it was not, Lord, I didn't pay a great price 00:02:46.939 --> 00:02:49.740 for anything. You paid for everything. And I'm 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:52.560 here because of you. You said if you'd be lifted 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.800 up, you would draw all men unto you. And you 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:58.560 drew me unto you, Lord. It was not me. It was 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:01.740 you that drew me to you, Lord. I am a miracle 00:03:01.740 --> 00:03:05.840 today because of you. Just as all that are here 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:09.300 today are miracles because you drew us to yourself. 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:12.620 Thank you, Father, for that. And we thank you 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:14.580 for what you're going to do in our midst, Lord, 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:19.680 going forward. In Jesus' name, I pray and I decree 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:24.000 it upon this church. Amen. Amen. Give the Lord 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:27.659 a hand of praise. You may take your places if 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:30.560 you can. Bear with me. Praise God for the next 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:35.139 few moments. Zerubbabel, the builder. Amen. This 00:03:35.139 --> 00:03:38.319 part of the Old Testament history is one that 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:45.800 I have identified with in my own story. The experience 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:51.379 that I have, in fact, this year, I believe, has 00:03:51.379 --> 00:03:57.729 marked 50 years. in the ministry this year. I 00:03:57.729 --> 00:04:02.569 completed 50 years. As a minister ordained of 00:04:02.569 --> 00:04:08.370 God. And believe me, it wasn't 50 years. You 00:04:08.370 --> 00:04:10.330 might say, well, that blew by pretty fast. No, 00:04:10.530 --> 00:04:14.849 it happened one day at a time. And in that one 00:04:14.849 --> 00:04:18.529 day at a time, believe me, my wife and I and 00:04:18.529 --> 00:04:21.750 our family at the time, we only had one little 00:04:21.750 --> 00:04:25.689 baby. And it was quite an experience in where 00:04:25.689 --> 00:04:30.329 God took us through what we experienced. in our 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:34.370 ministry but I have my own story but I want to 00:04:34.370 --> 00:04:38.730 reflect on Zerubbabel's story. It is a story 00:04:38.730 --> 00:04:43.550 of rebuilding and refocusing on a special and 00:04:43.550 --> 00:04:48.529 unique call of God to look forward and not allow 00:04:48.529 --> 00:04:53.439 the past to overshadow what will become. I can 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:57.019 personally identify with this story because for 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:59.980 many, many occasions in my own personal walk, 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:03.000 I thought that that was the end of the road. 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:06.459 And I felt as if though this is as far as I'm 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:08.980 going to be able to go. But, you know, God had 00:05:08.980 --> 00:05:12.560 another plan for me. And just when I felt that 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:17.079 it was time for me to hang up the gloves, God 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:19.620 said, you know, put them back on. You're not 00:05:19.620 --> 00:05:23.720 done yet. And so I have. to be obedient to the 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:27.319 lord though i thought different though many times 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:29.959 you have thought different maybe you have felt 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:33.240 that this was the end of the road but let me 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:36.660 tell you something you know i i've been i i grew 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:39.920 up in and you know in certain environments and 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:42.740 and one of the things that i used to do i was 00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:46.600 in fact somebody just told me last night uh as 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.220 we wished her a happy birthday uh over uh my 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:52.500 wife and i we wish there no friend of ours a 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:55.240 happy birthday over the you know what they call 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:58.560 that FaceTime and and she's saying well I remember 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:01.639 you so since you were young and your mom used 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:05.180 to tell me let's go pray in his room and I says 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:07.079 you were one of those who used to go pray in 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:09.620 my room she said we used to go she started naming 00:06:09.620 --> 00:06:12.019 all the ladies that used to have a prayer meeting 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:15.500 in my bedroom and she says and you knew it because 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:17.899 your mom said that when you came home you used 00:06:17.899 --> 00:06:21.680 to say mom why were you praying in my room And 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.860 she says, but look what the Lord has done. He 00:06:24.860 --> 00:06:29.240 saved you. Amen. So I know, I know that I'm here 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:34.399 because I am a miracle. Many times in my Christian 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.459 walk, I have felt like this is the end of the 00:06:37.459 --> 00:06:39.860 road. But God had another plan for me. Thank 00:06:39.860 --> 00:06:42.839 God that the Lord always makes a way, praise 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:45.819 God, and he allows us to see, you know, where 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:49.560 we're going. Praise God. And I thought that many, 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:52.459 many times I felt like this is the end of the 00:06:52.459 --> 00:06:55.459 road. And this is the things that I, you know, 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:58.339 I've always been one to challenge, you know, 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:01.800 challenge things right to the edge. And I remember 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:04.459 being a little boy, and we would have these little 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:08.199 bicycles. And the challenge was, at the end of 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:10.500 the road, there was a dead -end street. And there 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:14.019 was a block wall. I mean, a brick wall, a big 00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:19.319 block wall. Amen. And it wasn't chicken. I don't 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:21.579 know what it was called. But, amen, I was in. 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:24.240 Amen. And I says, let's do it. And it says, the 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:27.660 one that can get the closest to the wall first 00:07:27.660 --> 00:07:32.560 is the winner. And so, I mean, we went full steam 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.139 on our bikes, man. We were looking at each other 00:07:35.139 --> 00:07:37.300 to see who was going to quit first. I was not 00:07:37.300 --> 00:07:40.720 going to quit. If I had to go head -on with that 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:42.959 wall, I was going to go head -on with it. And 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:45.139 I was not going to lose, and I was not going 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:49.019 to be a quitter. And I could see everybody laying 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:51.759 down their bikes just feet before, and then their 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:54.579 bikes would crash against the wall, and I wanted 00:07:54.579 --> 00:07:59.860 to be last. Man, I paid the price. But I was 00:07:59.860 --> 00:08:06.199 last. I won, but I won with bruises and busted 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.019 head and all of that. But no helmets back then, 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:11.579 by the way. Amen. But, man, let me tell you something. 00:08:11.660 --> 00:08:15.279 I was always one to just take it to the extreme. 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:19.439 And that was my life. Amen. But, you know, I 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:23.540 had to ask myself once I became, I was converted, 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:25.980 and I said, Lord, will I be the same way with 00:08:25.980 --> 00:08:29.490 you? Well, I just take it all the way and just 00:08:29.490 --> 00:08:32.929 trust you. If it's a cliff, I'm going off the 00:08:32.929 --> 00:08:37.750 cliff. This is for Jesus. No, amen, but no suicides, 00:08:37.750 --> 00:08:43.039 right? that's just been my motto that I'm going 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.460 to do everything that I can to the very end. 00:08:46.539 --> 00:08:50.480 And I'm not going to throw in the gloves or hang 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.899 the gloves. No, I'm going to do what God has 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:55.700 called me to do. There's one more soul to save. 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:59.259 One more soul to save. I've got to reach that 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:02.740 one soul. I've got to tell somebody about Jesus. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.000 Amen. And my wife and I are determined. And we've 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.710 been witnessing to people. We're not afraid to 00:09:09.710 --> 00:09:12.350 just, my wife especially, she just opens up and 00:09:12.350 --> 00:09:16.370 starts talking to people about God. And I say, 00:09:16.429 --> 00:09:19.929 wow, man, she's got boldness, you know. And then 00:09:19.929 --> 00:09:22.269 she engages me, and there we are. You know, we 00:09:22.269 --> 00:09:25.970 talk to people about the Lord, and that is something 00:09:25.970 --> 00:09:30.519 that is inside of us. people to Christ, praise 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:35.840 God, but God threw me, brought me here to unite 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:38.279 with City Light, and I've been contemplating 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:41.620 on this, praise God, and I've been contemplating, 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:43.720 and Lord, why did you bring me to City Light? 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:46.299 I was comfortable where I was, you know, I'm 00:09:46.299 --> 00:09:48.960 okay, but the Lord says, no, I want you to go 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:52.000 to City Light. and be part of a powerful move 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:55.460 that I have prepared for City Light to build 00:09:55.460 --> 00:10:00.159 the church, knowing that God is the owner, praise 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.879 God, and the best is ahead of us. Praise God. 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:07.419 City Light, I want you to know the best is ahead. 00:10:09.229 --> 00:10:13.110 God did not bring me here, amen, to throw in 00:10:13.110 --> 00:10:16.549 the towel. I'm going all the way for it, man, 00:10:16.610 --> 00:10:18.990 and I'm going to be the last one if I have to 00:10:18.990 --> 00:10:22.029 be, amen. But let me tell you, that's the spirit 00:10:22.029 --> 00:10:25.789 that I have. I have the spirit of Caleb, amen, 00:10:25.889 --> 00:10:28.250 the spirit of Caleb. I'm only four years away 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:32.110 from being a Caleb, by the way. I'm only a few 00:10:32.110 --> 00:10:34.070 years away from being a Caleb because the Bible 00:10:34.070 --> 00:10:37.330 says that 80 years old Caleb had new strength. 00:10:37.450 --> 00:10:40.889 He said, give me that mountain. Praise God. I'm 00:10:40.889 --> 00:10:43.330 only a few years away of how it came. I'm beginning 00:10:43.330 --> 00:10:47.299 to feel like a Caleb. Praise God. I don't make 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:50.179 no excuses. Praise God has preserved me. Praise 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:53.039 the Lord. I might not be able to run like I used 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.600 to have, but I got an attitude like I used to 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:58.259 have. And that is that I want to win another 00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:01.799 soul for Jesus. I want to win somebody else for 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:05.500 Jesus. Somebody needs Jesus. God's going to use 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:08.860 my life that we can lead somebody to the Lord. 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:13.700 The fact that the vision was held hostage. Listen 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:19.120 to this. The people of God, they were taken by 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:22.179 Nebuchadnezzar. I'm going to talk a little bit 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:25.039 about that. The fact that the vision was held 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:28.559 hostage for many years by the oppressing king, 00:11:28.740 --> 00:11:32.600 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who had destroyed 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:37.899 King Solomon's temple. And by taking for himself... 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:42.080 The valuable vessels that were dedicated for 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:45.700 God's use. For God's temple. And that belonged 00:11:45.700 --> 00:11:48.840 to God. And he took them for himself and him 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:51.820 alone. You know the story about Nebuchadnezzar. 00:11:52.250 --> 00:11:55.269 It's a very interesting story. But God dealt 00:11:55.269 --> 00:11:58.850 with Nebuchadnezzar as a prophet. Daniel interpreted 00:11:58.850 --> 00:12:03.070 his dream and the writing on the wall. So many 00:12:03.070 --> 00:12:04.889 things that happened to Nebuchadnezzar. And I'm 00:12:04.889 --> 00:12:07.190 not going to go to all of the details. But God 00:12:07.190 --> 00:12:10.549 humbled Nebuchadnezzar and brought him to his 00:12:10.549 --> 00:12:16.009 knees and to the realization because of his pride 00:12:16.009 --> 00:12:19.750 and for taking what belonged to God for his own 00:12:19.750 --> 00:12:23.659 personal use. Nebuchadnezzar was mistaken in 00:12:23.659 --> 00:12:27.779 doing all that he did, thinking that he can do 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:30.720 what he did and just turn his back and that God 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:34.000 was going to forget the temple, that God was 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:37.460 going to forget what was built up for him, that 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:40.759 God was going to forget that Solomon had built 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:44.299 the temple that would glorify him and that Solomon 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:47.240 would build a temple where the glory of the Lord 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:52.029 would reside in such a way. Amen. day that the 00:12:52.029 --> 00:12:55.330 cloud was so thick that they could have ministers 00:12:55.330 --> 00:12:59.549 and the priest could not minister. God's glory 00:12:59.549 --> 00:13:04.129 has never left the church. God's glory will never 00:13:04.129 --> 00:13:08.230 leave the church. You might take all the utensils. 00:13:08.250 --> 00:13:11.470 You might take all the things that are worth 00:13:11.470 --> 00:13:16.450 anything to man, but to God the main thing is 00:13:16.450 --> 00:13:22.500 that nobody destroys God's temple. ball. Praise 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:25.480 God. You might suppress the glory, Nebuchadnezzar, 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:29.840 but taking the physical items of value. But in 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:35.740 time, he realized that God's most valuable possession 00:13:35.740 --> 00:13:41.759 and creation is not made of gold. It's not made 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:45.960 of silver or precious materials such as Nebuchadnezzar 00:13:45.960 --> 00:13:49.019 would think. But look what it says. God's most 00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:54.559 valuable possession is here. His people. Somebody 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:58.240 say praise the Lord. He's his chosen generation. 00:13:58.259 --> 00:14:02.960 His holy nation that carries the bloodline and 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:08.490 most importantly his spirit. You see, the enemy, 00:14:08.710 --> 00:14:12.070 like Nebuchadnezzar, he can take whatever you 00:14:12.070 --> 00:14:14.210 want. This is mine. That is mine. Take it, take 00:14:14.210 --> 00:14:16.990 it, take it. Well, whatever. You know, I'm taking 00:14:16.990 --> 00:14:19.529 charge here, and I'm going to take Nebuchadnezzar. 00:14:19.610 --> 00:14:21.909 You know, he wanted these things for his own 00:14:21.909 --> 00:14:24.529 use, for his own parties. And he had these parties, 00:14:24.570 --> 00:14:26.990 and they were using the vessels that were supposed 00:14:26.990 --> 00:14:29.710 to be, that were actually dedicated to God. Yeah, 00:14:29.870 --> 00:14:32.330 you can take all of those things that are physical, 00:14:32.409 --> 00:14:35.350 but the one thing you're not going to take is 00:14:35.350 --> 00:14:38.539 the prey. that I have in my heart, the worship 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:44.519 that I have in my spirit. You can take the boy 00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:47.279 out of the country, but you're not going to take 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:50.440 the country out of the boy. What I've got, God 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:53.039 gave it to me. It doesn't matter where you find 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:55.940 me. I'm going to worship God. If I'm on the mountain, 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:59.279 I worship him. If I'm in the valley, I worship 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:04.559 him. Why? Because we're God's people. It doesn't 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:07.879 matter what happens. Your boss can fire you from 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:11.460 your job, send you on your way, and you can say, 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:16.440 God's going to bless me. This all happened because 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:19.000 God is going to do something better in my life. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:21.980 Praise God. Don't look back. Don't become a pillar 00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:25.580 of salt. Amen. Don't cry over the history or 00:15:25.580 --> 00:15:28.019 what happened back there. Praise God. Look forward 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:30.820 and see, you know what? Let God be true. Every 00:15:30.820 --> 00:15:35.169 man a liar. God's going to bless my life. Nebuchadnezzar 00:15:35.169 --> 00:15:38.750 thought that by destroying the physical temple, 00:15:38.889 --> 00:15:42.799 he would destroy the nation. But God, when he 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:46.779 decides to rebuild, he doesn't need physical 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:51.940 materials, valuable materials. All he needs is 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:56.500 to stir up his most valuable possession, which 00:15:56.500 --> 00:16:00.700 is his people, to accomplish the greatest purposes 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:04.700 for his glory. Do you want to turn around and 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:07.879 tell your neighbor, God wants to use your life? 00:16:08.779 --> 00:16:12.220 God wants to use your life. Praise God. Let him 00:16:12.220 --> 00:16:16.419 use you. You're not done yet. God's not done 00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:19.820 with you. God started with a prophetical word 00:16:19.820 --> 00:16:25.100 to align the future of his people, led by a man 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:29.879 that he had chosen to motivate and lead his people 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:34.019 forward and focus on the future. During the exile 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:40.450 in Babylon, which... Later, Babylon was conquered 00:16:40.450 --> 00:16:46.250 by Persia. But after 70 years, the Jewish exiles 00:16:46.250 --> 00:16:51.809 returned, praise God, with an order to give them 00:16:51.809 --> 00:16:57.110 all they needed to build a new temple in Jerusalem. 00:16:57.549 --> 00:17:02.029 You see, God will not ask us to do anything without 00:17:02.029 --> 00:17:06.599 providing the means. And the resources. Praise 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:10.400 God. And this is the way God, why? It's because 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:14.660 it's for his glory. Zerubbabel was among the 00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:18.579 men who began the rebuilding. Seven months after 00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:21.779 they had returned, the first thing they built 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:25.299 was the altar of the temple. It was built on 00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:32.460 the same site, the same exact spot. Daily sacrifices 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:37.960 began again. So this is what I want to communicate 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:41.380 to somebody here today. If you feel that you 00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:46.730 have lost. And you have lost some things in your 00:17:46.730 --> 00:17:50.329 life, as if the devil has taken away from you, 00:17:50.390 --> 00:17:53.609 and you're not privileged to have this or that. 00:17:53.829 --> 00:17:56.250 I'm telling you, I know what it feels like to 00:17:56.250 --> 00:17:59.109 lose a few things. I've lost some things in my 00:17:59.109 --> 00:18:02.430 life, and I've shared this testimony with you. 00:18:02.470 --> 00:18:05.950 I've made a really bad investment one time in 00:18:05.950 --> 00:18:09.619 my life, and I lost it all, man. I lost everything. 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:13.259 I had to sell my car, sell my boat, my truck. 00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:15.539 I sold everything, got to get rid of everything, 00:18:15.660 --> 00:18:18.740 and ended up with nothing but an old car. And 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:23.700 I told my wife, that car's for old people. It 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:27.039 leaked when it rained, and the only thing good 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:30.599 about that car was the air conditioner. It was 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:34.460 good. But I know what it is to lose. But I told 00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:37.309 my wife, we're going to get out of this. We're 00:18:37.309 --> 00:18:40.450 God's people. I'm God's child here. God's going 00:18:40.450 --> 00:18:43.269 to see me through. Somebody took advantage of 00:18:43.269 --> 00:18:46.069 me, and I didn't see it coming, and I lost. But 00:18:46.069 --> 00:18:47.970 let me tell you something. I told my wife, I 00:18:47.970 --> 00:18:50.890 says, look, God's going to rebuild our life. 00:18:51.109 --> 00:18:53.650 Something's going to happen here for us. And 00:18:53.650 --> 00:18:56.109 she says, oh, yeah, really? Look at that car 00:18:56.109 --> 00:18:59.630 we're driving. It's an embarrassment. I had to 00:18:59.630 --> 00:19:03.990 sell my Mark V Lincoln cotton nettle, man, with 00:19:03.990 --> 00:19:08.240 Corinthian leather. So that's how they used to 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:10.980 advertise. I've never had a car with such good 00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:14.559 leather in my life. But you sit in that car, 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:17.519 you just sink in it, my God. And now we're in 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:19.920 this little car, you know, that, my God, it was 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:22.920 uncomfortable. And, well, praise God. And I said 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:25.640 to my family, we're uncomfortable for a season. 00:19:26.299 --> 00:19:31.220 But God's favor is on our lives. Two years later, 00:19:31.380 --> 00:19:35.019 we're still in that old jalopy. I came out of 00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:38.799 a restaurant. In fact, her dad treated us to 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:42.859 a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant, the Mandrian 00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:45.680 or whatever it was called. We came out, and I 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:49.160 seen this car. I said, wow, look at that car. 00:19:50.040 --> 00:19:54.680 I mean, it was an Oldsmobile, you know, 98, I 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:57.880 mean, Regency. And I looked at it, and I says, 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.960 oh, my God. And I was walking around it. And 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:02.640 then my wife says, don't be looking over there. 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:04.920 And I says, wow, look at this car. And then I 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:06.980 told my wife, I says, we're going to have one 00:20:06.980 --> 00:20:10.700 of those. Oh, really? She says, yeah, we're going 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:13.940 to have one like that. And let me tell you something. 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:16.079 I don't know if it was less than six months. 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:22.059 We were driving a brand new Regency. Praise God. 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:26.200 And the Lord began to restore us. Amen. And let 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:30.019 me tell you something. It's just God. Open the 00:20:30.019 --> 00:20:32.339 windows of heaven because we remain faithful 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:35.200 to him in everything that we do. We serve God 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:37.859 with all our heart. We did everything we're supposed 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:41.039 to do, and God blessed. He honored us, and he 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:44.160 blessed. I know what it is to lose everything, 00:20:44.299 --> 00:20:47.440 but I have news for somebody here today. This 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:50.920 is a valuable lesson to learn that Zerubbabel 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:55.099 got a word from the Lord, and he said, God. is 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:59.599 going to give him everything he needed to rebuild 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:03.019 the temple. Let me tell you something. Maybe 00:21:03.019 --> 00:21:06.240 you're so deep in debt right now, but God's going 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:09.200 to bring you out of that. Maybe you've got an 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:11.920 issue going on in your life, but God's going 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:14.680 to bring you out of that. Because when God's 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:18.519 favor is upon you, there is nothing impossible 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:23.519 for Him. Nothing impossible for God. God will 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:27.849 bring you out. God will bless your life. This 00:21:27.849 --> 00:21:30.130 is a valuable lesson for God's people. We must 00:21:30.130 --> 00:21:34.470 continue, amen, with what connects us with God. 00:21:35.049 --> 00:21:39.869 Prayer, fasting, true worship. Praise God. Sacrificial 00:21:39.869 --> 00:21:43.849 giving of your time, your resources, your talents. 00:21:44.009 --> 00:21:46.829 Give them to the Lord. Say, Lord, you gave it 00:21:46.829 --> 00:21:50.109 to me. I'm giving it back. I'm serving you at 00:21:50.109 --> 00:21:53.430 this capacity. And just watch God move in your 00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:58.880 life. God pays attention to small things. In 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:01.980 the Gospel of Mark and Luke, there's a story 00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:06.240 of a widow who gave two small copper coins, mites, 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:11.480 to the temple treasury, which Jesus himself praised 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:16.160 as giving more, praise God, than the rich who 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:19.299 gave from their surplus. You know, well, let 00:22:19.299 --> 00:22:25.509 me see what's left over and you give it. She 00:22:25.509 --> 00:22:30.509 had everything. Highlighting a sacrificial giving, 00:22:30.690 --> 00:22:35.430 God's focus is on the heart's intentions over 00:22:35.430 --> 00:22:39.619 the amount. You see, if that's all you got, Give 00:22:39.619 --> 00:22:43.099 it with all your heart. If that's the only talent 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:46.740 you have and all you can do is slap the tambourine, 00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:50.819 slap it with all you got, man. If that's the 00:22:50.819 --> 00:22:53.259 only talent God has given you and you don't have 00:22:53.259 --> 00:22:56.440 a voice to sing up here, man, sing from over 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:58.799 there. I'll join you, man. We're going to worship 00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:02.269 God together. Don't make excuses is what I'm 00:23:02.269 --> 00:23:04.769 saying. Don't make an excuse because God is not 00:23:04.769 --> 00:23:07.150 interested in the big stuff. He wants to know 00:23:07.150 --> 00:23:10.410 if you're doing it with all your heart. If you're 00:23:10.410 --> 00:23:13.329 doing it with all your heart and everything you've 00:23:13.329 --> 00:23:16.190 got and you put into it, God's going to reward 00:23:16.190 --> 00:23:22.170 you. This person, God, he was not looking at 00:23:22.170 --> 00:23:24.910 the amount. The amount does not matter to God. 00:23:25.230 --> 00:23:29.109 What matters is the heart. What you do when you 00:23:29.109 --> 00:23:32.069 do it, you do it with all your heart. Don't worry 00:23:32.069 --> 00:23:36.390 about who says what, who is approving it or not. 00:23:36.470 --> 00:23:39.430 Nobody needs to approve anything. Your worship, 00:23:39.450 --> 00:23:42.589 your sacrifice is for God. And when you give 00:23:42.589 --> 00:23:45.130 it to the Lord, watch God move in your life. 00:23:45.230 --> 00:23:47.329 He's going to favor you. He's going to bless 00:23:47.329 --> 00:23:50.470 you. And he might just surprise you one day you're 00:23:50.470 --> 00:23:52.170 singing in the shower and you might just hit 00:23:52.170 --> 00:23:55.869 a good note. Well, I don't know. You can record 00:23:55.869 --> 00:23:57.990 yourself and say, Pastor, Pastor, look, I can 00:23:57.990 --> 00:24:01.549 sing. But what's all that noise in the background? 00:24:01.650 --> 00:24:06.180 That's the shower. God help me. Praise God. You 00:24:06.180 --> 00:24:10.200 know, there's people that they record themselves 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:12.759 with a big mass choir, you know, the music in 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:14.740 the background all day, and they put themselves 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:17.220 at the front. Praise God. I don't know if anybody 00:24:17.220 --> 00:24:19.519 does that here, but if you do, keep doing it. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:22.599 One day you're going to be the choir leader. 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:26.660 Who knows? Let's direct our worship, our prayer, 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:32.210 and our sacrificial giving. And be, you know, 00:24:32.289 --> 00:24:37.170 in our time, whether it's our resources, our 00:24:37.170 --> 00:24:40.670 talents, our gifts, whatever it is, and so much 00:24:40.670 --> 00:24:43.190 more to the glory of God. Give it to the glory 00:24:43.190 --> 00:24:45.970 of God. Do it for God. Just say, Lord, this is 00:24:45.970 --> 00:24:49.250 for you. And not your own platform. Don't look 00:24:49.250 --> 00:24:53.450 for credit. Don't look for your name on the program 00:24:53.450 --> 00:24:56.990 and your name here and there. No, no, no. Do 00:24:56.990 --> 00:25:01.299 it for God. Do it for him. God is going to bless 00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:04.529 your life. He will bless you. It doesn't matter. 00:25:04.730 --> 00:25:08.950 Praise God, because he is worthy of the highest 00:25:08.950 --> 00:25:11.910 praise, our worship. Give it to him, and you'll 00:25:11.910 --> 00:25:15.190 see how the God is going to respond, amen, with 00:25:15.190 --> 00:25:18.829 a smile over your life. The widow did not display 00:25:18.829 --> 00:25:23.069 her sacrifice as did the rich man, amen. She 00:25:23.069 --> 00:25:26.890 did it in humbleness and with all her heart. 00:25:27.029 --> 00:25:31.759 In Matthew 6 and 4, it says so that... Your giving 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:36.779 may be in secret. Then your father who sees what 00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:39.880 is done in secret will reward you. He's going 00:25:39.880 --> 00:25:43.079 to reward you. Praise God. God has a way. So, 00:25:43.140 --> 00:25:45.700 you know, whatever it is, wherever you are, whatever 00:25:45.700 --> 00:25:48.299 you need, you need that job. You need that place. 00:25:48.420 --> 00:25:52.680 You need that nice apartment. You need that home. 00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:56.000 You need, you know, those transportation. Whatever 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:00.420 it is you need. Praise God. You do what you. 00:26:00.859 --> 00:26:03.319 worship God in secret, and you give everything 00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:05.859 you've got to God in secret, and you're going 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:08.039 to see how that God's going to reward you. That 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:11.059 promotion is yours. Tell your neighbor, that 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:14.500 promotion is yours. That's your promotion. It's 00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:16.819 coming, brother. It's coming, sister. That promotion 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:19.640 is yours. God's going to give it to you. Praise 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:24.029 God, just like that 98 Regency. That's mine. 00:26:24.309 --> 00:26:27.890 Praise God. Well, I got it in time. Amen. But 00:26:27.890 --> 00:26:30.670 here's the thing. Be patient with the Lord. It's 00:26:30.670 --> 00:26:33.130 not going to happen overnight. But if you keep 00:26:33.130 --> 00:26:36.190 holding on, amen, you just keep holding on to 00:26:36.190 --> 00:26:38.690 that promises of the Lord. Not because we're 00:26:38.690 --> 00:26:40.970 so interested in material things. No, because 00:26:40.970 --> 00:26:43.930 we want to glorify God even more. We want to 00:26:43.930 --> 00:26:46.750 give him the glory. Look what the Lord has done. 00:26:47.009 --> 00:26:51.259 Praise God in my life. The opposition. There's 00:26:51.259 --> 00:26:54.740 going to be opposition in the building. The opposition 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:57.859 of building was fierce, and it was relentless, 00:26:57.940 --> 00:27:00.900 according to Scripture, because of the opposition. 00:27:00.900 --> 00:27:05.680 The temple construction project stopped and left 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:08.799 unfinished, and it was abandoned. In other words, 00:27:08.819 --> 00:27:12.079 what he was saying here is that there could be 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:15.380 some very strong opposition that you're going 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:17.839 to give up on your dream. You're going to give 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:20.900 up on what you thought it would be. be. You're 00:27:20.900 --> 00:27:23.240 going to give up. There was a sister that always 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:26.460 had a picture of her house, future home on the 00:27:26.460 --> 00:27:28.799 refrigerator. And I said, sister, why do you 00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:31.640 keep, every time I come over, it's the same old 00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:34.420 picture on that refrigerator. She says, that's 00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:38.019 my dream home. Don't get in my way. She says, 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:40.640 that's my dream home. I says, all right, man, 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:43.759 I'm backing off. That's your dream home. And, 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:46.140 you know, she would not let go. She was relentless. 00:27:46.380 --> 00:27:48.880 But, you know, things came against us. Things 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:51.480 will come against us. There's going to be oppositions 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:53.660 in our lives. There's going to be things that 00:27:53.660 --> 00:27:56.579 you're going to stop the project. You know, it's 00:27:56.579 --> 00:28:00.079 like you say, oh, don't worry. Give it up. It 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:02.440 ain't going to happen. It's not for you. It's 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:04.700 for that. It's for them. Praise God. Not for 00:28:04.700 --> 00:28:08.299 you. Amen. But I want somebody to know here today, 00:28:08.539 --> 00:28:13.539 amen, the project, the dream. Whatever God has 00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:18.039 given you, don't give up on it. You hang on to 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:21.700 that. And you say, let God be true. Lord, you 00:28:21.700 --> 00:28:25.079 promised that to me. I'm yet hanging on to that 00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:29.880 promise. But because of the opposition, according 00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:33.279 to the scripture here in Zerubbabel, amen, the 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:37.019 people. They got distracted by the noise and 00:28:37.019 --> 00:28:40.079 the oppositions and the people telling them that 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:43.279 they couldn't and the pressures. And they started 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:45.759 cutting back on their resources and the help 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:50.200 and whatnot. So for 17 years, it just stayed 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:55.579 there. Praise God. They just gave up on it. Amen. 00:28:55.980 --> 00:28:59.859 They weren't doing it. But then God raised up. 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:04.720 the prophets Zechariah and Haggai. He raised 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.700 up these two prophets to challenge the people 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:10.700 to start building again. Come on, you got to 00:29:10.700 --> 00:29:14.660 start building again. And Haggai exhorted many 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:18.079 of them. They were focusing on their own investments. 00:29:18.460 --> 00:29:21.119 They were focusing on their businesses. They 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:23.740 were focusing on their homes, personal homes, 00:29:23.960 --> 00:29:27.900 while the house of God was left in ruins. But 00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:31.309 I want somebody to know here today, It's God's 00:29:31.309 --> 00:29:36.319 house. Your life is God's. It's not yours. You 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:39.119 are not your own. Praise God. You don't belong 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:41.579 to yourself. You belong to God. He purchased 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:44.819 you with a price. You belong to God. And I'm 00:29:44.819 --> 00:29:47.279 going to tell you something. Amen. Don't become 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:50.299 distracted in thinking that you're going to build 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:52.799 things your way. That you're going to build your 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:55.420 life your way. That you're going to build this 00:29:55.420 --> 00:29:58.420 or that your way. I'm going to get educated. 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:01.579 And I'm going to go after this. I got to start 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:04.079 doing this. And I'm going to go to the gym. gym. 00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:06.200 And I'm going to do all these other things thinking 00:30:06.200 --> 00:30:08.680 that you're going to build up something for yourself. 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:12.859 In other words, you're trying to do God's work 00:30:12.859 --> 00:30:17.099 in your own life. I got to suppress these feelings 00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:19.720 of anxiety. I'm going to start taking these pills. 00:30:19.819 --> 00:30:21.900 I'm going to go to the doctor. I'm going to take 00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:23.779 this. I'm going to take that. And we try to do 00:30:23.779 --> 00:30:27.039 things for ourselves to build up ourselves. And 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:29.660 let me tell you something. The Lord is sitting 00:30:29.660 --> 00:30:34.240 there waiting for you to submit to him. Let him 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:37.619 do the building of your life. Let him do the 00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:40.599 building of his church. Don't you try to be the 00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:45.259 general contractor of your own life. Give yourself 00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:49.369 to the Lord. Say, here I am, Lord. Lord, I give 00:30:49.369 --> 00:30:53.150 all myself to you. I mess up my own life. I said 00:30:53.150 --> 00:30:55.450 things and I did things that I shouldn't have 00:30:55.450 --> 00:30:58.029 done, shouldn't have said. And I was just trying 00:30:58.029 --> 00:31:00.910 to build up my life myself. But Lord, I give 00:31:00.910 --> 00:31:05.410 it all up to you. Don't try to do life by yourself. 00:31:07.369 --> 00:31:12.829 Let God build you. Let God invest in you. Let 00:31:12.829 --> 00:31:15.869 God make you who you should be and should become. 00:31:16.349 --> 00:31:20.890 Praise God, somebody. Amen. Haggai exhorted them 00:31:20.890 --> 00:31:22.910 and says, man, you're focused on your own stuff. 00:31:22.950 --> 00:31:25.950 You think that you can do all of this by yourself? 00:31:26.109 --> 00:31:30.150 And instead of building up what is going to bring 00:31:30.150 --> 00:31:33.769 glory to God, you're building up things about 00:31:33.769 --> 00:31:36.349 yourselves, amen, that is going to bring glory 00:31:36.349 --> 00:31:40.529 to yourself. Look what I did. You're not going 00:31:40.529 --> 00:31:42.730 to be able to sing that song that says, look 00:31:42.730 --> 00:31:46.589 what the Lord has done. You're going to sing 00:31:46.589 --> 00:31:50.319 the song that says, look what I did. No, you 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:52.339 don't want to do that because if you do that, 00:31:52.579 --> 00:31:56.680 you're going to shortchange yourself of what 00:31:56.680 --> 00:32:00.579 you can really be in God. You're wanting to. 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:03.640 You fashion yourself. You say, well, this is 00:32:03.640 --> 00:32:05.319 what I want to be. This is how I should be. This 00:32:05.319 --> 00:32:07.359 is how I should be respected. This is what I 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:09.720 should have. Well, really? Well, that's nice. 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:12.680 But don't do it like that because if you try 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:15.740 to do it yourself, praise God, it's going to 00:32:15.740 --> 00:32:19.740 end. There's an end to that. But if you let God 00:32:19.740 --> 00:32:23.660 take charge of the building, to build not only 00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:27.400 your life, but also the church. Praise God, many 00:32:27.400 --> 00:32:31.279 times we want the church to be what we want it 00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:34.740 to be. And if we had this, oh man, I know the 00:32:34.740 --> 00:32:37.759 souls would come. Let's get air conditioning 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:40.779 for the summertime. They're all going to come. 00:32:41.059 --> 00:32:44.990 Really? You're not going to get them out of their 00:32:44.990 --> 00:32:48.009 condition home to come here. Praise God. It's 00:32:48.009 --> 00:32:51.670 not. It's not in the amenities. We'll put stained 00:32:51.670 --> 00:32:54.029 glass windows on this side too. And I know souls 00:32:54.029 --> 00:32:56.990 are going to come down. Really? You know, we 00:32:56.990 --> 00:33:00.690 can't change the cosmetics or the things that 00:33:00.690 --> 00:33:04.710 man can do and expect the glory of God to move 00:33:04.710 --> 00:33:07.930 powerfully. We got to let God build the church. 00:33:08.730 --> 00:33:11.289 How do we let God build the church? We worship 00:33:11.289 --> 00:33:15.109 God. You know, unconditionally, we say, Lord, 00:33:15.210 --> 00:33:18.269 here I am. If you can use anything, you can use 00:33:18.269 --> 00:33:21.910 me. I give all myself unto you. Build the church, 00:33:22.170 --> 00:33:27.000 God, with me. I want to be part of it. It doesn't 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:29.420 matter. It's just like one of my granddaughters, 00:33:29.539 --> 00:33:34.240 you know, not Chloe, but every year she wants 00:33:34.240 --> 00:33:36.539 us to go to the church drama, you know, where 00:33:36.539 --> 00:33:38.940 she goes to a Christian church, a Christian school. 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:41.539 And every year I say, are you going to be that 00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:49.380 bush again? Or the sheep or something? And no, 00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:55.230 this year she's going to be Mary. Wow. She graduated. 00:33:55.529 --> 00:33:58.029 You know why she graduated? Because she remained 00:33:58.029 --> 00:34:01.710 faithful as a tree, as a lamb, as whatever else 00:34:01.710 --> 00:34:05.150 there was on the scenery, nativity. But now she's 00:34:05.150 --> 00:34:07.710 going to be Mary. I said, wow, you're the main 00:34:07.710 --> 00:34:12.690 person other than Jesus now. But she's so excited 00:34:12.690 --> 00:34:15.289 because she stayed faithful on the little things. 00:34:15.429 --> 00:34:17.309 You know what I'm saying? Faithful on the little 00:34:17.309 --> 00:34:19.289 things. God's going to give you the platform 00:34:19.289 --> 00:34:21.869 one day. Praise God. So I had to put her on my 00:34:21.869 --> 00:34:24.840 calendar. I didn't go last year. It's going to 00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:28.719 be the same thing as the year before. But boy, 00:34:28.780 --> 00:34:31.000 when she said, I'm going to be married, I put 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:34.300 it on my calendar. I'm going to be there. Praise 00:34:34.300 --> 00:34:37.460 God. She got a promotion. Praise God. And God 00:34:37.460 --> 00:34:40.739 wants to promote us. He wants to promote you 00:34:40.739 --> 00:34:43.860 to a greater work in him. It's not about us. 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:48.489 It's about him. You know, God is amazing at what 00:34:48.489 --> 00:34:51.530 he wants to do in our lives and how he's forming 00:34:51.530 --> 00:34:54.909 us for the greater good of his church. Praise 00:34:54.909 --> 00:34:58.550 the Lord, somebody. Amen. The prophets then were 00:34:58.550 --> 00:35:03.710 stirred up, Zerubbabel, and also the priest Joshua, 00:35:04.170 --> 00:35:07.489 a man who received encouragement to build the 00:35:07.489 --> 00:35:13.579 temple in spite of the opposition. Listen, Zerubbabel 00:35:13.579 --> 00:35:19.050 is the leader here. He is the leader, and God's 00:35:19.050 --> 00:35:21.889 going to raise up leaders. We have Pastor Jacob 00:35:21.889 --> 00:35:24.570 here. We have ministry here, the Jeshuas, the 00:35:24.570 --> 00:35:27.570 priests. You're the leaders of the church. You're 00:35:27.570 --> 00:35:30.030 the Joshua's. You're those that are going to 00:35:30.030 --> 00:35:32.789 be supportive, and you're going to intertwine 00:35:32.789 --> 00:35:37.150 and be supportive of the vision. But they received 00:35:37.150 --> 00:35:40.449 an encouragement from the prophets. Praise God. 00:35:40.530 --> 00:35:45.900 Now, I believe God sent us a prophet. You might 00:35:45.900 --> 00:35:49.679 say, ooh, was I there? Yeah, you were probably 00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:52.280 here, and that was Bishop Frank Romo. I mean, 00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:55.099 remember, he was here just last month. He was 00:35:55.099 --> 00:35:59.619 here, amen, who God used in the three days that 00:35:59.619 --> 00:36:03.340 he was. I was only able to make a Saturday and 00:36:03.340 --> 00:36:09.039 Sunday, I believe, but wow, what I heard that 00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:12.119 was spoken over the congregation, the message 00:36:12.119 --> 00:36:17.510 was clear. and that we should honor the first 00:36:17.510 --> 00:36:20.670 family. How many remember that? Respect the pastor, 00:36:20.789 --> 00:36:23.829 honor the first family, and follow the pastor's 00:36:23.829 --> 00:36:28.590 vision. And, you know, that is the Zerubbabel. 00:36:28.730 --> 00:36:31.809 That's how God works. I don't see any other way 00:36:31.809 --> 00:36:34.170 in Scripture. Believe me, I don't see it. He 00:36:34.170 --> 00:36:38.269 also said to follow biblical order and submit 00:36:38.269 --> 00:36:41.269 to God's spiritual authority over the congregation, 00:36:41.730 --> 00:36:45.829 praise God, and to build the church. We've got 00:36:45.829 --> 00:36:48.369 to build this way. There's only one way to build, 00:36:48.530 --> 00:36:52.730 and that's God's way. It was also said that if 00:36:52.730 --> 00:36:57.369 we unite, we will see the glory of the Lord. 00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:02.559 and god was going to multiply the church oh my 00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:08.280 lord and that is i that i'm hanging on to i'm 00:37:08.280 --> 00:37:12.079 hanging on to that because i know what god can 00:37:12.079 --> 00:37:16.980 do in a short time i know i've been placed in 00:37:16.980 --> 00:37:19.860 situations I've been placed in many difficult 00:37:19.860 --> 00:37:22.639 situations. I've been asked to be a supervisor 00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:27.699 of districts that were just not happening. And 00:37:27.699 --> 00:37:32.440 they sent me as a last resort. And I went to 00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:37.039 the district of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon. 00:37:37.179 --> 00:37:40.139 I supervised that district for two years. And 00:37:40.139 --> 00:37:43.340 they told me, if you come back and say we need 00:37:43.340 --> 00:37:46.019 to shut it down, we're going to shut it down 00:37:46.019 --> 00:37:48.469 and merge it with another one. I said, oh, Lord, 00:37:48.610 --> 00:37:51.429 that's heavy, man. And they said, no, that's 00:37:51.429 --> 00:37:53.690 the mandate. So I went with my wife and I. We 00:37:53.690 --> 00:37:55.989 were there for, we supervised that district for 00:37:55.989 --> 00:38:01.630 two years. Well, I need to report that in two 00:38:01.630 --> 00:38:07.230 years, we planted five churches. Praise the Lord. 00:38:08.070 --> 00:38:11.349 We came back. In fact, one of the churches that 00:38:11.349 --> 00:38:16.190 we planted was in Wyoming. And in Evanston, Wyoming, 00:38:16.409 --> 00:38:19.389 when my wife and I went out there, the only thing 00:38:19.389 --> 00:38:21.329 that was out there roaming around was buffalo. 00:38:23.190 --> 00:38:25.690 Hey, this is where the buffalo roam. Look at 00:38:25.690 --> 00:38:29.110 that buffalo everywhere. And then I went to this 00:38:29.110 --> 00:38:35.250 little community in the middle of nowhere. And 00:38:35.250 --> 00:38:37.829 we went out there. I think this is where the 00:38:37.829 --> 00:38:39.710 brother lives, and he wants to start a work out 00:38:39.710 --> 00:38:42.570 here. Well, let's do it. We went out there and 00:38:42.570 --> 00:38:46.730 it was him, his kids, and one other brother or 00:38:46.730 --> 00:38:49.150 so, one other person was there. We inaugurated 00:38:49.150 --> 00:38:52.230 him there. My wife remembers that in this little, 00:38:52.269 --> 00:38:56.210 real humble little space there that the community 00:38:56.210 --> 00:39:00.070 loaned them. And we inaugurated it. And I said, 00:39:00.090 --> 00:39:03.489 when I come back, brother, I want to see progress. 00:39:03.590 --> 00:39:07.889 Praise God. Progress. And he said, Bishop, you're 00:39:07.889 --> 00:39:12.380 going to see it. I went back this year. They 00:39:12.380 --> 00:39:16.579 own a building now, a big building, a nice property. 00:39:17.480 --> 00:39:21.139 And he gave me a tour, and he says, Bishop, I 00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:25.780 did what you said. We got to work. We got to 00:39:25.780 --> 00:39:29.360 work here. And they united, and the Lord blessed 00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:31.800 them, and now they're planting another church. 00:39:32.179 --> 00:39:34.820 And he called me the other day. I need somebody 00:39:34.820 --> 00:39:38.079 to come send me somebody. I said, well, I'm not 00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:40.000 in charge of that, but I'll look for somebody. 00:39:40.909 --> 00:39:43.570 It's out there in Wyoming as well and up in the 00:39:43.570 --> 00:39:46.650 mountains. I planted another young man that I've 00:39:46.650 --> 00:39:49.829 seen at the convention. Praise God. And he graduated 00:39:49.829 --> 00:39:53.030 with the School of Planters. And my wife knows 00:39:53.030 --> 00:39:57.050 him well. And his name is Tino Monreal. And I 00:39:57.050 --> 00:40:00.570 planted him in Utah in a little town called Sandy. 00:40:00.889 --> 00:40:03.530 And I planted him there. I went and inaugurated 00:40:03.530 --> 00:40:08.130 him. He was in a little basement. Now he's grown 00:40:08.130 --> 00:40:11.269 so much that he's... planted another church. 00:40:11.869 --> 00:40:15.610 He's already planted another church. And I says, 00:40:15.670 --> 00:40:18.030 you barely graduated from the school of planters 00:40:18.030 --> 00:40:19.690 and you're already planting another. What's going 00:40:19.690 --> 00:40:22.530 on? He says, the Lord's been good to us. I'm 00:40:22.530 --> 00:40:25.730 going to tell you something. I know what it is 00:40:25.730 --> 00:40:30.510 to go somewhere where there's, well, challenges. 00:40:31.269 --> 00:40:34.710 But I've seen it flourish. Are you hearing what 00:40:34.710 --> 00:40:37.780 I'm saying? And I know what that feels like. 00:40:37.860 --> 00:40:41.199 And I want City Light to know. I know that this 00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:44.780 city is a, man, there's a lot of opposition out 00:40:44.780 --> 00:40:48.440 here. A lot of spiritual warfare going on. But 00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:51.659 I've already made up my mind. And this is my 00:40:51.659 --> 00:40:55.159 commitment. My commitment. I've already been, 00:40:55.260 --> 00:40:56.800 I'm not going to tell you where, but I've already 00:40:56.800 --> 00:41:00.159 went around marching around another church building. 00:41:01.190 --> 00:41:03.190 I've already made my rounds there, and I'm going 00:41:03.190 --> 00:41:05.289 to go back, but I'm going to be fasting and praying, 00:41:05.449 --> 00:41:09.289 and I'm going to speak out loud, and I'm going 00:41:09.289 --> 00:41:15.670 to say, Lord, give it to us. Give it to us. And 00:41:15.670 --> 00:41:19.170 at the convention, Pastor Jacob knows that a 00:41:19.170 --> 00:41:22.590 young man approached us. A young man approached 00:41:22.590 --> 00:41:26.380 us, and he says, I feel led to help. City Light 00:41:26.380 --> 00:41:28.619 Church. And I said, how are you going to help 00:41:28.619 --> 00:41:33.920 us? He says, well, I'm an investor. I just got 00:41:33.920 --> 00:41:36.739 half a million dollars for another church down 00:41:36.739 --> 00:41:40.340 here. I says, get a little closer. I said, get 00:41:40.340 --> 00:41:44.119 a little closer here. And I says, well, what 00:41:44.119 --> 00:41:46.900 are you talking about? He says, I, Lord wants 00:41:46.900 --> 00:41:50.860 me to bless your church. And I says, hello, praise 00:41:50.860 --> 00:41:54.920 God. Look what the Lord is going to do. Amen. 00:41:54.960 --> 00:41:57.900 He wants to meet with us right away. He says 00:41:57.900 --> 00:42:01.000 God's going to do something for City Light. I'm 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:05.400 telling you, God's opening doors. God's going 00:42:05.400 --> 00:42:12.409 to open doors. This is what God will do. When 00:42:12.409 --> 00:42:15.010 we put our mind and our heart, our sweat and 00:42:15.010 --> 00:42:18.750 our tears into it and believe God. Amen. And 00:42:18.750 --> 00:42:20.949 I'm going to keep marching around the facilities 00:42:20.949 --> 00:42:23.789 that I know that God's going to give City Light 00:42:23.789 --> 00:42:27.210 because I'm not settling for nothing less than 00:42:27.210 --> 00:42:32.409 the glory of God to be upon the church. Bless 00:42:32.409 --> 00:42:35.130 God. Amen. Somebody get encouraged right now. 00:42:35.820 --> 00:42:37.940 Amen. We might even just put a little parking 00:42:37.940 --> 00:42:41.500 spot there with your name. Lead worship leader. 00:42:43.099 --> 00:42:47.159 Your own parking spot, brother. No, no, no. Get 00:42:47.159 --> 00:42:51.179 all big headed. Come on, brother. Be humble. 00:42:52.579 --> 00:42:56.300 Zerubbabel trusted in the Lord and continued 00:42:56.300 --> 00:43:01.500 the work in the face of great opposition. Zechariah, 00:43:01.519 --> 00:43:06.440 the prophet, said, I see. A solid gold lamp stamp 00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:10.119 with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it 00:43:10.119 --> 00:43:12.539 with seven channels to the lamps. We read this 00:43:12.539 --> 00:43:15.980 earlier. Also, there are two olive trees by it, 00:43:16.039 --> 00:43:19.940 one on the right of the bowl and the other on 00:43:19.940 --> 00:43:24.619 its left. And then God gave Zechariah a vision. 00:43:25.369 --> 00:43:29.210 Of the golden lamp stem that was meant to stand 00:43:29.210 --> 00:43:31.769 in the temple. This is a lamp stem that's supposed 00:43:31.769 --> 00:43:34.449 to stand in the temple to give light. Zacharias 00:43:34.449 --> 00:43:37.949 saw something that was never in the temple before. 00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:41.380 It was never there. We've never seen it. It's 00:43:41.380 --> 00:43:44.320 never happened. But I want City Light to know 00:43:44.320 --> 00:43:48.880 this is what God is up to. He said he saw two 00:43:48.880 --> 00:43:53.920 olive trees that supplied the seven lamps with 00:43:53.920 --> 00:43:58.840 oil through seven pipes. Amen. One of the most 00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:02.260 tedious duties of the temple service was the 00:44:02.260 --> 00:44:05.519 constant care of the lamps, meaning they had 00:44:05.519 --> 00:44:09.090 to be continually refilled with oil. over and 00:44:09.090 --> 00:44:11.989 over and over, refilling with oil. We got to 00:44:11.989 --> 00:44:13.849 fill it with oil again. We got to fill it with 00:44:13.849 --> 00:44:16.050 oil again. We got to clean it. We got to clean 00:44:16.050 --> 00:44:19.130 it. And then we have to trim the wicks over and 00:44:19.130 --> 00:44:21.809 over to maintain it. In other words, to keep 00:44:21.809 --> 00:44:25.809 the light on, there were many challenges such 00:44:25.809 --> 00:44:29.530 as cleaning, dealing with the residue that accumulated 00:44:29.530 --> 00:44:33.670 and tarnished the lampstand. Then, he says, the 00:44:33.670 --> 00:44:36.269 cutting of the wicks, which is a typology of 00:44:36.269 --> 00:44:39.119 cutting away all that hinders the light this 00:44:39.119 --> 00:44:42.559 was a constant challenge for the priest the light 00:44:42.559 --> 00:44:46.619 will only be as bright as the wick would permit 00:44:46.619 --> 00:44:49.739 praise the lord somebody this is a serious problem 00:44:49.739 --> 00:44:53.539 even if there's oil anointing if the wick is 00:44:53.539 --> 00:44:59.000 not cut the light was dim are you getting me 00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:04.039 it says that god cuts away What hinders his light 00:45:04.039 --> 00:45:08.079 to shine, the cutting is most always painful. 00:45:09.480 --> 00:45:13.159 But the oil, which had to be freshly prepared 00:45:13.159 --> 00:45:17.460 daily, was an enormous task for the priest. Constantly, 00:45:17.579 --> 00:45:20.340 constantly. The oil, the anointing, the oil, 00:45:20.380 --> 00:45:23.500 the anointing. But in this vision, Zechariah 00:45:23.500 --> 00:45:28.829 sees what is called a self -filling lambs. That 00:45:28.829 --> 00:45:33.309 fed directly from two olive trees. One on the 00:45:33.309 --> 00:45:36.909 left and one on the right. The two olive trees 00:45:36.909 --> 00:45:41.570 are symbolic of the continual flow of the Holy 00:45:41.570 --> 00:45:46.210 Spirit of God and His glory in the church. City 00:45:46.210 --> 00:45:50.710 Light, God's Spirit will continually flow through 00:45:50.710 --> 00:45:54.469 this church. There is no end to the Spirit. It 00:45:54.469 --> 00:46:01.070 will flow continuously. And I want somebody to 00:46:01.070 --> 00:46:03.849 know that I had an entirely different message 00:46:03.849 --> 00:46:08.190 for today. Pastor knows. I told him, what do 00:46:08.190 --> 00:46:09.670 you think? I was thinking about speaking on this. 00:46:09.909 --> 00:46:13.230 Well, yeah, yeah, that's good. And I says, all 00:46:13.230 --> 00:46:15.469 right, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the Lord spoke 00:46:15.469 --> 00:46:23.369 to me and says, tell him this. If we allow the 00:46:23.369 --> 00:46:28.389 spirit to flow through us, we will indeed be 00:46:28.389 --> 00:46:35.409 a light. to the city oh church in your home wherever 00:46:35.409 --> 00:46:38.530 you're in your workplace I know what it is to 00:46:38.530 --> 00:46:42.519 be in your workplace and not win one soul Not 00:46:42.519 --> 00:46:46.099 when one's sober. Everybody's pegging and cussing 00:46:46.099 --> 00:46:49.559 and swearing all around you. Back then, they 00:46:49.559 --> 00:46:53.119 can smoke. They would smoke in my face. It's 00:46:53.119 --> 00:46:56.980 just a lot of stuff, man, in that environment. 00:46:57.260 --> 00:47:03.000 But I told the Lord, enough is enough. I want 00:47:03.000 --> 00:47:06.900 souls, Lord. Let me win a soul here. Well, you 00:47:06.900 --> 00:47:09.719 all know the story, my testimony, but amen, I 00:47:09.719 --> 00:47:12.900 began at my desk. I said, and the Lord says, 00:47:13.000 --> 00:47:14.860 oh, you want souls? We'll see if you want souls. 00:47:15.079 --> 00:47:16.920 And I came in one morning, and I was praying 00:47:16.920 --> 00:47:19.679 at my desk, and the Lord says, okay, now get 00:47:19.679 --> 00:47:23.820 up and dance around your desk seven times. And 00:47:23.820 --> 00:47:27.880 I says, Lord, you know, got my blue suit on, 00:47:28.039 --> 00:47:32.769 and folks are dignified here, man. Important 00:47:32.769 --> 00:47:35.429 people here. He says, you want souls or not? 00:47:37.789 --> 00:47:41.309 Okay. So I got up and started walking around 00:47:41.309 --> 00:47:45.630 slowly, kind of quietly. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, 00:47:45.750 --> 00:47:48.170 bless your name. And the Lord said, that's not 00:47:48.170 --> 00:47:52.929 loud enough. Okay, Lord, took the next octave, 00:47:53.150 --> 00:47:57.530 you know, and got a little louder. And I went 00:47:57.530 --> 00:48:01.980 around about three or four times. Then I heard 00:48:01.980 --> 00:48:04.880 somebody say from way over there, it says, I 00:48:04.880 --> 00:48:14.019 think Joel's going crazy. And I heard that. And 00:48:14.019 --> 00:48:17.880 then the Lord said, well, yes or no? I said, 00:48:17.920 --> 00:48:22.019 yes, Lord. Okay, go around, make it louder. And 00:48:22.019 --> 00:48:24.800 I went around, man, by my sixth time around, 00:48:24.980 --> 00:48:31.679 I was shouting, God, you're so good. And I was 00:48:31.679 --> 00:48:34.559 dancing. By the seventh time, I was dancing around 00:48:34.559 --> 00:48:38.360 my desk like this in the Holy Ghost. Let me tell 00:48:38.360 --> 00:48:41.900 you something. That was the first day of a revival 00:48:41.900 --> 00:48:51.039 in my workplace. I won 21 people from just that 00:48:51.039 --> 00:48:56.820 little area. 21 people I won to the Lord. filled 00:48:56.820 --> 00:48:59.400 with the Holy Ghost. And then when I go into 00:48:59.400 --> 00:49:01.340 work, praise the Lord, Brother Joe. Praise the 00:49:01.340 --> 00:49:03.420 Lord. Instead of cussing and swearing and smoking, 00:49:03.679 --> 00:49:05.460 praise the Lord. Praise the Lord everywhere. 00:49:05.719 --> 00:49:07.840 Walking down the hallway, praise the Lord. Praise 00:49:07.840 --> 00:49:11.340 the Lord. There was this young guy. He was a 00:49:11.340 --> 00:49:17.500 martial arts guy. He took cooking, man. He was 00:49:17.500 --> 00:49:20.780 Filipino. I'm figuring his name. Do you remember? 00:49:20.860 --> 00:49:30.989 What was his name? Yeah. He was like, you know, 00:49:30.989 --> 00:49:34.289 I was walking down the hallway one day, and I 00:49:34.289 --> 00:49:39.130 made a turn, and he goes, he says, I almost took 00:49:39.130 --> 00:49:44.190 you down, he tells me. I says, oh, really? Give 00:49:44.190 --> 00:49:45.769 me a little wine, and I'm going to take you down. 00:49:46.590 --> 00:49:48.449 I'm going to take you down in the Holy Ghost. 00:49:52.309 --> 00:49:56.079 My wife is my witness. I won him to the Lord. 00:49:57.920 --> 00:50:01.639 He became karate for Jesus, man. I said, did 00:50:01.639 --> 00:50:04.219 I take you down or not? His name was Donnie. 00:50:04.239 --> 00:50:05.739 I said, did I take you down, Donnie? He said, 00:50:05.780 --> 00:50:08.079 yeah, you did, man. You didn't even touch me. 00:50:08.119 --> 00:50:11.300 God did. I said, I took him down. He brought 00:50:11.300 --> 00:50:14.940 his girlfriend that became his wife. He carried 00:50:14.940 --> 00:50:18.559 his dad up the stairs, baptized his father. Amen. 00:50:18.599 --> 00:50:21.099 In Jesus' name. People were coming, coming, coming, 00:50:21.159 --> 00:50:23.099 coming, coming, getting baptized. I'm going to 00:50:23.099 --> 00:50:25.320 tell you, City Light Church, when you make up 00:50:25.320 --> 00:50:27.400 your mind that you're going to be a witness for 00:50:27.400 --> 00:50:29.719 God, if you make up your mind that you're going 00:50:29.719 --> 00:50:32.039 to win somebody for the Lord, God's going to 00:50:32.039 --> 00:50:36.760 give you that soul. You've got to believe it. 00:50:37.300 --> 00:50:41.360 So you've got to believe it. Praise be to God. 00:50:41.880 --> 00:50:47.300 Because that's what God does. He honors. Don't 00:50:47.300 --> 00:50:50.480 settle for a drought. It's not happening. The 00:50:50.480 --> 00:50:53.380 people are calling me names at work. Oh, stop 00:50:53.380 --> 00:50:58.460 it already. Stand up for Jesus. Praise God. How 00:50:58.460 --> 00:51:00.219 many of you commit to win somebody from work? 00:51:00.960 --> 00:51:04.000 Lift your hand. Come on. Come on. More hands. 00:51:04.039 --> 00:51:06.320 More hands. Okay, it's happening. Somebody from 00:51:06.320 --> 00:51:07.599 your work, you're going to win them to the Lord. 00:51:07.699 --> 00:51:10.730 Praise God. See there? It's going to happen. 00:51:10.949 --> 00:51:13.949 It's going to happen. God's spirit will continually 00:51:13.949 --> 00:51:18.909 flow through his church. Don't worry. It's about 00:51:18.909 --> 00:51:25.030 2 .15 right now. My God, I'm not even halfway 00:51:25.030 --> 00:51:29.730 down here, but that's okay. City Light Church. 00:51:29.829 --> 00:51:33.170 God's spirit will continually flow through his 00:51:33.170 --> 00:51:36.869 church. There's no end to the spirit. With the 00:51:36.869 --> 00:51:41.030 two olive trees. That lamp is going to continue. 00:51:41.829 --> 00:51:46.050 God has. He put special pipes. From the tree. 00:51:46.389 --> 00:51:52.409 To the lamp. That is wow. That's what God was 00:51:52.409 --> 00:51:54.989 saying. I'm going to have continuous flow. Of 00:51:54.989 --> 00:51:58.710 my spirit. My glory in the church. Because it's 00:51:58.710 --> 00:52:01.579 my church. Praise the Lord. There's no end to 00:52:01.579 --> 00:52:04.340 it. It flows continuously. God will allow it 00:52:04.340 --> 00:52:07.300 in our lives. So not by mind, not by power, but 00:52:07.300 --> 00:52:09.659 by my spirit, says the Lord God Almighty. That's 00:52:09.659 --> 00:52:13.039 why he said it. Praise God, somebody. We do not 00:52:13.039 --> 00:52:16.199 accomplish great things for God because of our 00:52:16.199 --> 00:52:19.219 great skills, our talents, our abilities, but 00:52:19.219 --> 00:52:23.820 rather because of our dependence on him. Let's 00:52:23.820 --> 00:52:28.139 depend on Jesus. Let's not. Amen. Make excuses 00:52:28.139 --> 00:52:32.099 anymore. Let's stand up and believe it. And with 00:52:32.099 --> 00:52:33.619 that, I want you to stand with me. I'm going 00:52:33.619 --> 00:52:35.739 to close with you standing just so it might look 00:52:35.739 --> 00:52:43.519 like we're going to be done. He who promised 00:52:43.519 --> 00:52:49.559 is faithful. He will surely bring it to pass. 00:52:52.429 --> 00:52:55.610 Listen to what the scripture says. Then the Lord 00:52:55.610 --> 00:53:00.469 said, what are you, mighty mountain? This mighty 00:53:00.469 --> 00:53:04.849 mountain represents all opposition. Though it 00:53:04.849 --> 00:53:10.750 may be great, the prophet said, if God be with 00:53:10.750 --> 00:53:15.170 us, who can be against us? Sometimes it may be 00:53:15.170 --> 00:53:20.599 all we see is just... You know, young man, young 00:53:20.599 --> 00:53:24.079 lady, maybe all you can see is an enormous opposition 00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:28.139 to where you would like to be in God, in life. 00:53:28.360 --> 00:53:33.860 Maybe that's all you see. It's too big. Wow. 00:53:34.699 --> 00:53:41.300 It's too big. It's enormous. It's visible from 00:53:41.300 --> 00:53:44.980 a distance and from up close. It's very overwhelming, 00:53:45.199 --> 00:53:49.429 very intimidating. But God said to Zerubbabel, 00:53:49.610 --> 00:53:57.429 as I say to City Light, God will level the mountain. 00:54:00.289 --> 00:54:06.389 He's going to bring that mountain down. And we're 00:54:06.389 --> 00:54:11.550 going to be able to see the glory of God. God's 00:54:11.550 --> 00:54:15.429 going to lower. He's going to level it. God will 00:54:15.429 --> 00:54:20.250 level the mountain. Then listen to this. Then 00:54:20.250 --> 00:54:26.670 he will bring out the capstone to shouts of God 00:54:26.670 --> 00:54:30.989 bless it, God bless it. You know what capstone 00:54:30.989 --> 00:54:37.610 is in typology, biblical typology? It is the 00:54:37.610 --> 00:54:47.309 last harvest of souls. Jesus is the chief cornerstone. 00:54:49.289 --> 00:54:55.710 The church is built through time. But the capstone 00:54:55.710 --> 00:55:03.389 is the last stone that seals it, the church. 00:55:04.050 --> 00:55:10.610 At that time, the Lord comes. That's the capstone. 00:55:11.130 --> 00:55:16.230 And he told Zerubbabel. Then he will bring out 00:55:16.230 --> 00:55:20.110 the capstone to shouts of God bless God, God 00:55:20.110 --> 00:55:25.289 bless God, God bless it, God bless it. It is 00:55:25.289 --> 00:55:32.269 a typology of an end time revival of souls. It's 00:55:32.269 --> 00:55:36.250 a revival that God's bringing our way. We cannot 00:55:36.250 --> 00:55:42.170 deny it. And Zechariah prophesied and said to 00:55:42.170 --> 00:55:47.570 Zerubbabel, He said, the hands of Zerubbabel 00:55:47.570 --> 00:55:51.150 had laid the foundation of this temple, and his 00:55:51.150 --> 00:55:58.190 hands will also complete it. Pastor Jacob, this 00:55:58.190 --> 00:56:04.309 is a word for you. Your hands have started the 00:56:04.309 --> 00:56:09.289 building of God's church in Mountain View. And 00:56:09.289 --> 00:56:14.289 God is confirming that your hands will complete 00:56:14.289 --> 00:56:25.119 it. God leaves nothing half done. Nothing. Then 00:56:25.119 --> 00:56:30.239 Zacharias said, then you will know that the Lord 00:56:30.239 --> 00:56:39.940 Almighty has sent me to you. God's prophetical 00:56:39.940 --> 00:56:44.940 word and promises is with you. City Light. To 00:56:44.940 --> 00:56:48.199 fulfill his purpose in this city. We ain't done 00:56:48.199 --> 00:56:55.139 yet. We ain't done yet. God has promised it. 00:56:55.719 --> 00:56:57.780 Now I want you to put the last scripture up. 00:56:57.840 --> 00:57:08.360 Put it up. Back. Verse 4. Back 4. Right there. 00:57:08.420 --> 00:57:12.400 Thank you. No. Chapter 2 verse 4. I'm sorry. 00:57:13.619 --> 00:57:16.380 Haggai. There you go. Thank you. Thank you. You're 00:57:16.380 --> 00:57:23.059 right. But now the Lord says, be strong. Somebody 00:57:23.059 --> 00:57:27.340 say be strong. Be strong. Zerubbabel. Pastor 00:57:27.340 --> 00:57:32.559 Jacob, God's word to you today is to take up 00:57:32.559 --> 00:57:38.159 courage. Be strong as he leads you through to 00:57:38.159 --> 00:57:42.110 a miraculous and a powerful revival. that will 00:57:42.110 --> 00:57:47.010 result in many souls coming to Christ. That is 00:57:47.010 --> 00:57:55.289 Haggai's word to Zerubbabel. Be strong. Then 00:57:55.289 --> 00:58:00.349 it says, Be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, 00:58:00.590 --> 00:58:06.829 the high priest, city -like ministry and leadership. 00:58:07.849 --> 00:58:13.510 Be strong. And courageous. Focus and support 00:58:13.510 --> 00:58:18.230 the vision God has given your pastor. And know 00:58:18.230 --> 00:58:22.750 that God is the God of breakthroughs. Your ministry 00:58:22.750 --> 00:58:27.789 will grow for the glory of God. God is able to 00:58:27.789 --> 00:58:33.869 do more with less. This is his church. Let's 00:58:33.869 --> 00:58:40.179 work united. Next. Be strong, all you people 00:58:40.179 --> 00:58:47.059 still left in the land, members of City Light 00:58:47.059 --> 00:58:52.780 Church. You are important to God. He has a plan 00:58:52.780 --> 00:58:57.599 for every one of you. Catch the vision and follow 00:58:57.599 --> 00:59:02.880 with a determination that just ahead, we will 00:59:02.880 --> 00:59:06.000 see the glory of God as we've never seen before. 00:59:07.280 --> 00:59:11.260 If you have family members that have not yet 00:59:11.260 --> 00:59:17.539 been baptized, your eyes will behold it. Keep 00:59:17.539 --> 00:59:23.840 the faith. Let's march forward as an army on 00:59:23.840 --> 00:59:28.840 a mission. But listen, but let's do what God 00:59:28.840 --> 00:59:35.949 said. And what did he say? And now... Get to 00:59:35.949 --> 00:59:38.789 work. Somebody say, get to work. Turn around 00:59:38.789 --> 00:59:40.570 to your neighbor and say, now let's get to work. 00:59:41.630 --> 00:59:45.809 And then tell him, for God is with us. Says the 00:59:45.809 --> 00:59:52.150 Lord of heaven armies. Verse 5 says, my spirit 00:59:52.150 --> 00:59:54.909 remains among you just as I promised when you 00:59:54.909 --> 00:59:58.949 came out of Egypt, so do not be afraid. Your 00:59:58.949 --> 01:00:03.750 beginnings was not in vain. It's not how we start. 01:00:04.719 --> 01:00:09.179 It's how we finish that matters. For this is 01:00:09.179 --> 01:00:12.659 what the Lord of Heaven's army says. And just 01:00:12.659 --> 01:00:18.880 a little while, I will shake, again shake, the 01:00:18.880 --> 01:00:22.500 heavens and the earth and the oceans and the 01:00:22.500 --> 01:00:27.380 dry land. I will shake all the nations. And listen 01:00:27.380 --> 01:00:31.880 to this. And the treasures of all the nations 01:00:31.880 --> 01:00:38.280 will be brought. To this temple. In other words, 01:00:38.420 --> 01:00:43.739 God will provide all the resources needed to 01:00:43.739 --> 01:00:46.960 fulfill his purpose with City Light Church in 01:00:46.960 --> 01:00:52.679 Mountain View. We will lack nothing. This is 01:00:52.679 --> 01:00:57.719 God's investment. I will fill this place with 01:00:57.719 --> 01:01:04.159 glory, says the Lord of Heaven's armies. God's 01:01:04.159 --> 01:01:06.400 glory will be with us, and it's always with you. 01:01:06.440 --> 01:01:09.400 It will be with you, every one of you. His promise 01:01:09.400 --> 01:01:13.800 will fill his house with glory. City light, the 01:01:13.800 --> 01:01:19.380 glory of God is in our midst. And then he says, 01:01:19.639 --> 01:01:23.019 the silver is mine, the gold is mine, says the 01:01:23.019 --> 01:01:28.079 Lord of heavenly armies. God owns a cattle in 01:01:28.079 --> 01:01:32.099 a thousand hills. There's a fish still in the 01:01:32.099 --> 01:01:35.739 sea. That God has prepared to supply our every 01:01:35.739 --> 01:01:39.460 need. I want to speak a word to somebody here 01:01:39.460 --> 01:01:44.380 today. If you are struggling financially, if 01:01:44.380 --> 01:01:48.179 you have a mountain before you, if it seems like 01:01:48.179 --> 01:01:51.699 you're regressing instead of progressing, let 01:01:51.699 --> 01:01:55.480 me declare this day that things will change for 01:01:55.480 --> 01:02:00.460 you very soon. You are part of God's plan for 01:02:00.460 --> 01:02:04.159 City Light Church. And he will open the windows 01:02:04.159 --> 01:02:10.579 of heaven open to you. Your best days are ahead 01:02:10.579 --> 01:02:15.260 of you. God will bless your investment and he 01:02:15.260 --> 01:02:20.920 will prosper you. And in this place, listen, 01:02:21.119 --> 01:02:28.460 Pastor Jacob, and in this place, I will bring 01:02:28.460 --> 01:02:36.190 peace. I, the Lord, heaven's armies, have spoken. 01:02:39.849 --> 01:02:45.070 Your focus is to lead his people and build his 01:02:45.070 --> 01:02:51.869 church. We are not proclaiming that Christ was 01:02:51.869 --> 01:02:56.130 born on December 25th, but we take advantage 01:02:56.130 --> 01:03:00.889 of any opportunity to celebrate his miracle birth. 01:03:01.960 --> 01:03:06.159 As we enter the season of celebrating Christ's 01:03:06.159 --> 01:03:11.119 birth, may the light, you can put that up there, 01:03:11.119 --> 01:03:15.719 mijo. I think it's the last slide. Maybe, maybe 01:03:15.719 --> 01:03:21.059 not. There it is. Let's all read that together. 01:03:21.860 --> 01:03:28.440 Are you ready? May the light that came that holy 01:03:28.440 --> 01:03:34.730 night. Fill our hearts, our families, our homes, 01:03:34.849 --> 01:03:42.269 and city -like church with his peace. God bless 01:03:42.269 --> 01:03:42.530 you.