WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980 And I'm going to invite everyone, if you can, 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:03.960 to stand. We're going to be reading the Word 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:09.080 of God today. And I know I have something special 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:12.240 to share that God has placed in my heart. And 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:13.519 I'm going to invite you, if you can, go with 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:15.960 me to the book of Genesis. We're actually starting 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:19.000 a new series today. And I know that God's going 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:23.199 to speak to us. And God has a word. How many 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:25.719 of you are ready for God to speak to your life 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:30.890 this afternoon? Amen. God has something special 00:00:30.890 --> 00:00:34.130 for each and every one of us. And our new series 00:00:34.130 --> 00:00:36.929 is called Back to the Future. Amen. Back to the 00:00:36.929 --> 00:00:39.530 future. You say, why do we got to go back? Well, 00:00:39.609 --> 00:00:41.909 we're not necessarily going back. But sometimes 00:00:41.909 --> 00:00:46.509 God restores our tomorrow by calling us back 00:00:46.509 --> 00:00:51.270 to foundational moments in our faith. And there 00:00:51.270 --> 00:00:53.090 are some things that we ought to not forget. 00:00:53.649 --> 00:00:56.509 Some places in the spirit, some places in God 00:00:56.509 --> 00:00:59.450 that we have to. Amen. Go back to sometimes. 00:00:59.670 --> 00:01:03.109 So in the book of Genesis, we find a back to 00:01:03.109 --> 00:01:06.670 the future kind of moment. Chapter 13 and verse 00:01:06.670 --> 00:01:11.230 3, I'll be reading there. It says, and he went 00:01:11.230 --> 00:01:16.450 on his journey from the south as far as Bethel 00:01:16.450 --> 00:01:21.109 to the place where his tent had been at the beginning 00:01:21.109 --> 00:01:29.670 between Bethel and Ai. To the place of the altar. 00:01:29.870 --> 00:01:33.670 Someone say the altar. Which he had made there 00:01:33.670 --> 00:01:38.609 at first. And Abram called on the name of the 00:01:38.609 --> 00:01:43.890 Lord. Lot also who went with Abram had flocks 00:01:43.890 --> 00:01:48.909 and herds and tents. Now the land was not able 00:01:48.909 --> 00:01:53.030 to support them that they might dwell together. 00:01:53.409 --> 00:01:57.510 For their possessions were so great. They could 00:01:57.510 --> 00:02:00.569 not dwell together. But going back to verse 3, 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:05.390 it says that Abram went to the place of the tent 00:02:05.390 --> 00:02:09.069 where he was at the beginning, between Bethel 00:02:09.069 --> 00:02:12.189 and Ai. So with God's help, I'm going to preach 00:02:12.189 --> 00:02:16.469 for a few moments today about the altar in the 00:02:16.469 --> 00:02:20.430 middle. The altar in the middle. Amen. You may 00:02:20.430 --> 00:02:23.430 be seated in God's presence. Thank you for... 00:02:24.810 --> 00:02:27.229 Your sensitivity to the Spirit of God today. 00:02:27.349 --> 00:02:33.330 I want to begin by presenting an idea that is 00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:37.990 a bit counterintuitive. When you talk about going 00:02:37.990 --> 00:02:41.370 back to move forward, that's a counterintuitive 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:47.810 idea. But progress does not always look like 00:02:47.810 --> 00:02:58.620 advancement. Sometimes it looks like tension. 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:04.759 Consider the bow and the arrow. An arrow doesn't 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:10.560 move forward until it's first pulled back. And 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:16.379 the greater the pull, the further the arrow will 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:20.479 go. So this gives us a picture in our mind of 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:27.039 how sometimes we must go back. in tension or 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.919 in pressure in order to be released forward. 00:03:30.139 --> 00:03:33.719 And something happens very similar in the spirit, 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:38.719 in the realm of faith. What feels like resistance 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:46.500 is often preparation. Amen, somebody. What feels 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:53.479 like a setback is actually a set up. These are... 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:57.280 pullback moments. These are moments where God 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:02.879 calls us back to a place that holds a secret 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:08.719 or holds an answer to our future. I know that 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:12.080 we are in a fast -paced world and everybody wants 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:16.459 what's next. In fact, the moment that you purchase 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:19.879 a new iPhone or a cell phone, Within a couple, 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:21.759 how many of you have ever bought a new cell phone 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:24.300 thinking, man, I got the latest and the greatest. 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:28.459 And then a month later, they announce a better 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:33.279 one's coming out. You want to go back to Apple 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:35.600 and get a refund, right? They say, sorry, sir, 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:39.240 you're in a contract now. So they got to wait. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.620 And because we live in that fast -paced world, 00:04:42.699 --> 00:04:46.579 and the idea of going back, the idea of any form 00:04:46.579 --> 00:04:49.980 of regression, any form of pulling back or retreating 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:55.360 or even delay doesn't sit well with this constant 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:59.220 motion that we have to move forward. And we must 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:03.920 move forward in life. This is not an advocation 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:07.279 for us to settle or to stay in reverse, but... 00:05:07.709 --> 00:05:11.509 But there are times such as the one in Abram's 00:05:11.509 --> 00:05:14.529 life that is illustrated to us that he was at 00:05:14.529 --> 00:05:19.329 a pullback moment. He was on the road to possessing 00:05:19.329 --> 00:05:22.430 the promised land and he came back to an altar 00:05:22.430 --> 00:05:26.110 that he had once built between or in the middle 00:05:26.110 --> 00:05:31.730 of Bethel and Ai. Something about Abraham is 00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:36.490 that he was an altar builder. He was the altar 00:05:36.490 --> 00:05:40.889 builder. And there were several, in fact, a total 00:05:40.889 --> 00:05:44.930 of four altars that Abram built throughout his 00:05:44.930 --> 00:05:49.329 lifetime. And each of those altars are significant, 00:05:49.470 --> 00:05:54.350 but the one that we're looking at today is probably 00:05:54.350 --> 00:05:59.050 more foundational to establishing his spiritual 00:05:59.050 --> 00:06:02.069 DNA than all of the others. It's the only altar 00:06:02.069 --> 00:06:07.100 that he ever revisited. The altars at Shechem 00:06:07.100 --> 00:06:13.160 and Hebron, and even the legendary altar at Moriah, 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:16.480 where he was to offer his son as a sacrifice. 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:19.839 These were all what I would call one -hit wonders. 00:06:20.420 --> 00:06:22.860 These were all altars that were significant, 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:26.480 but you never read in Scripture of Abraham ever 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:30.560 going back to them. They served a purpose, and 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:32.800 once that purpose was accomplished, he moved 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:35.439 forward. and never went back to those altars. 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:38.540 But there's something about this altar in the 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:44.639 middle of Bethel and Ai that drew him back. It 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:48.220 was a place that you encounter not just once 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:51.779 and leave behind and forever seal it somewhere 00:06:51.779 --> 00:06:55.540 in a vault, never to be revisited again. This 00:06:55.540 --> 00:06:59.279 was the place that you returned to. It was a 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:02.689 place that forms you. It was a place. that shapes 00:07:02.689 --> 00:07:06.569 who you are and aligns you and brings you back 00:07:06.569 --> 00:07:11.649 to your spiritual center. This was a rhythm in 00:07:11.649 --> 00:07:15.769 this man's life and a place that would ultimately 00:07:15.769 --> 00:07:19.709 determine his future. And I want to tell you 00:07:19.709 --> 00:07:22.629 today, church, friend, and guest, that we all 00:07:22.629 --> 00:07:25.629 need a place like that. Somebody say amen today. 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:29.699 We all need an old altar. Do you hear me? An 00:07:29.699 --> 00:07:35.480 old altar that never loses its power. Never loses 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:39.560 its purpose or its priority in our life. We need 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:44.310 a place to go back to. We need a place. to rediscover 00:07:44.310 --> 00:07:47.629 what it is that God is doing in our life. We 00:07:47.629 --> 00:07:50.709 need a place where we can get alone with God 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:54.170 on a consistent basis. We need a place that we 00:07:54.170 --> 00:07:57.769 don't just seal away in a spiritual memory vault 00:07:57.769 --> 00:08:00.329 somewhere and bury under our house, never to 00:08:00.329 --> 00:08:03.810 be revisited again. But we need places in our 00:08:03.810 --> 00:08:07.009 spiritual journey that every once in a while, 00:08:07.110 --> 00:08:10.050 every now and then, at a certain juncture in 00:08:10.050 --> 00:08:13.300 our faith, we can go back to. revisit whatever 00:08:13.300 --> 00:08:16.860 foundational truth or element of God that we 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:19.819 experience so that we never forget who we are 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:23.199 and what God has called us to do somebody give 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:28.040 God a hand praise today amen we need a place 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.509 like that A place that we never grow beyond. 00:08:31.589 --> 00:08:34.389 A place that no matter what season you're in 00:08:34.389 --> 00:08:36.870 in your life, no matter what stage or what phase 00:08:36.870 --> 00:08:41.190 you're in, no matter where life takes you, you 00:08:41.190 --> 00:08:43.909 know, financially, relationally, in your family, 00:08:44.029 --> 00:08:47.649 we need a place like that. And Abraham, Abraham 00:08:47.649 --> 00:08:51.429 found that place. It was an altar between two 00:08:51.429 --> 00:08:55.629 very different places, two different extremes, 00:08:56.350 --> 00:09:01.830 Bethel and Ai. Two extremes. Someone say two 00:09:01.830 --> 00:09:07.889 extremes. Two very different places. Bethel means, 00:09:08.350 --> 00:09:11.389 it has a meaning, it means the house of God. 00:09:11.970 --> 00:09:19.490 And Ai means heap of ruins. So clearly, he set 00:09:19.490 --> 00:09:24.070 up this altar between polar opposites. One represents 00:09:24.070 --> 00:09:30.289 the extreme of joy. and fulfillment of God. And 00:09:30.289 --> 00:09:34.370 the other, Ai, represents probably the furthest 00:09:34.370 --> 00:09:38.429 place from God. A heap of ruins. A heap of trouble 00:09:38.429 --> 00:09:44.049 and problems. And this is where Abram set up 00:09:44.049 --> 00:09:48.330 this altar. One, on one extreme we see the promise 00:09:48.330 --> 00:09:51.429 of God and on the other we see pain. And it was 00:09:51.429 --> 00:09:54.409 in the middle of that place, between these two 00:09:54.409 --> 00:09:59.190 extremes, between promise Between his future 00:09:59.190 --> 00:10:04.740 and his past. Between his promised land. Between 00:10:04.740 --> 00:10:07.679 the house of God and between a heap of ruin. 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:11.639 Between two extremes. Between where he once was 00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:15.460 and where he is going. He builds an altar right 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:18.820 there in the midst of those two places. And he 00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:22.799 establishes a spiritual rhythm for his life right 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:25.580 there in the middle. And this is what I love 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:28.860 about this altar. Is that Abraham doesn't wait 00:10:28.860 --> 00:10:32.370 to build an altar until he gets to Bethel. He 00:10:32.370 --> 00:10:35.529 doesn't wait to erect this altar until he gets 00:10:35.529 --> 00:10:39.250 to his ultimate fulfillment in life and in his 00:10:39.250 --> 00:10:41.990 calling. And I want to tell somebody today that 00:10:41.990 --> 00:10:44.649 you cannot wait until you have it all together. 00:10:44.870 --> 00:10:47.690 You can't wait until things get better before 00:10:47.690 --> 00:10:51.169 you build an altar. If that is your mindset, 00:10:51.370 --> 00:10:53.970 that I'm going to wait. Well, pastor, I'm waiting 00:10:53.970 --> 00:10:56.769 until I get that one job. When I get that job, 00:10:56.889 --> 00:10:59.350 I'm going to be the best Christian. No, you can't 00:10:59.350 --> 00:11:02.210 wait until they really put me. I get on the platform 00:11:02.210 --> 00:11:04.570 then I'm really gonna sing hello somebody why 00:11:04.570 --> 00:11:07.110 don't you sing right where you are why don't 00:11:07.110 --> 00:11:09.730 you build an altar right where I feel like I 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:12.309 gotta tell somebody you can't wait till things 00:11:12.309 --> 00:11:15.450 get better you can't wait for tomorrow God said 00:11:15.450 --> 00:11:19.429 I'm calling you to build an altar of prayer sanctification 00:11:19.429 --> 00:11:23.870 consecration and service unto the Lord hallelujah 00:11:33.610 --> 00:11:38.049 And you know, it never ends. It never ends. You 00:11:38.049 --> 00:11:40.350 get on top of that one thing, and then here comes 00:11:40.350 --> 00:11:42.669 another. And so you just got to make up in your 00:11:42.669 --> 00:11:45.370 mind that I'm just going to serve God right here 00:11:45.370 --> 00:11:50.230 in the middle. I'm not who I used to be, thank 00:11:50.230 --> 00:11:52.549 the Lord, but I'm not yet who I'm called to be. 00:11:52.669 --> 00:11:54.850 But I'm not going to wait until I've perfected 00:11:54.850 --> 00:11:58.669 my life to build an altar and to serve God with 00:11:58.669 --> 00:12:01.190 everything that I have. Don't wait until you're 00:12:01.190 --> 00:12:05.309 perfect to try to live a holy life. You say, 00:12:05.350 --> 00:12:08.870 well, I can't do it. No, sir, do your best. Do 00:12:08.870 --> 00:12:12.490 what you can do and consecrate your life before 00:12:12.490 --> 00:12:15.950 you decide, you know, just to give up. Right 00:12:15.950 --> 00:12:18.649 there where you are. In the middle. Someone say 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:22.990 in the middle. If you're going to possess the 00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:25.129 promises that God has for your life, you got 00:12:25.129 --> 00:12:27.690 to learn how to consecrate. And build an altar 00:12:27.690 --> 00:12:30.370 in the middle of your transitions. Hallelujah. 00:12:30.909 --> 00:12:33.529 I feel like I'm talking to somebody already in 00:12:33.529 --> 00:12:35.889 this place. In the middle of where God is taking 00:12:35.889 --> 00:12:39.490 you. In the middle of the next step. In the next 00:12:39.490 --> 00:12:42.529 level. I've got to make up in my mind that I've 00:12:42.529 --> 00:12:45.149 got an altar in my life. I don't have everything 00:12:45.149 --> 00:12:47.549 quite figured out. I'm still a work in progress. 00:12:47.610 --> 00:12:51.759 How many of you are a work in progress? Oh, I'm 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:53.240 going to ask you again. How many of you are a 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:57.039 work in progress? I'm a work in progress. I don't 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.080 know about you. You know, we got a lot of Christians 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:00.700 out there acting like they're already, you know, 00:13:00.700 --> 00:13:04.019 they already have arrived. I have not arrived 00:13:04.019 --> 00:13:08.220 yet. I am still under construction. I got scaffolding 00:13:08.220 --> 00:13:10.899 around my life. I got things that are still being 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:13.480 worked on. I'm not perfect. Don't you dare put 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.039 me up on a pedestal and think that pastor's got 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:18.759 it all together and he got no problems and nothing 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:21.980 happens to him. I'm just like you. And then I 00:13:21.980 --> 00:13:24.340 got to fight my own devils just like you got 00:13:24.340 --> 00:13:26.740 to fight. I got to deal with my flesh just like 00:13:26.740 --> 00:13:29.080 you got to deal with yours. But I made up in 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:32.519 my mind that until I get there and until I arrive, 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:35.700 I'm going to serve God with everything that I've 00:13:35.700 --> 00:13:44.759 got. I'm going to build my altar. I'm going to 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:47.480 not allow the circumstances of my life dictate 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:51.250 my level of consecration. My level of commitment 00:13:51.250 --> 00:13:54.669 to God. And as we are entering into a new season, 00:13:54.710 --> 00:13:58.570 a new era, a new year as a church, as the body 00:13:58.570 --> 00:14:01.389 of Christ, we've got to take inventory. How is 00:14:01.389 --> 00:14:04.110 my altar? What is the condition of the altar 00:14:04.110 --> 00:14:07.289 in my life? Because it's the altar in the middle. 00:14:07.350 --> 00:14:10.669 Not the altar all the way at Bethel. But it's 00:14:10.669 --> 00:14:13.370 the altar in the middle that shapes. Number one, 00:14:13.429 --> 00:14:15.970 let me give you this first point. It shapes who 00:14:15.970 --> 00:14:21.559 you become. God wants you to become something. 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:26.580 He wants you to become someone. Amen. Abram's 00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:30.980 altar seems out of place at first. You know, 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:34.820 and it doesn't quite look right because here 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:37.720 he is building. It would make more sense, Abraham, 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:41.500 to build an altar and wait until you get to Bethel. 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:44.899 It would make more sense to wait for you to get 00:14:44.899 --> 00:14:48.299 to the house of God. And that's usually what 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:51.049 we want to do. We want to wait until we get to 00:14:51.049 --> 00:14:53.269 the top of the mountain. We want to wait until 00:14:53.269 --> 00:14:55.870 we get to the other side. We want to wait until 00:14:55.870 --> 00:14:57.750 we arrive. We want to wait until everything has 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:02.889 been set in order. And then build our altar. 00:15:03.210 --> 00:15:05.350 And say, I'm really going to serve God once I 00:15:05.350 --> 00:15:07.490 get to the top. I'm really going to give it my 00:15:07.490 --> 00:15:09.529 all. I'm really going to worship when I get there. 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:12.879 And just stay there. And I don't know about you, 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:15.679 but I love Bethel moments. Amen. How many of 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.120 you love Bethel moments? I love being in the 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:20.220 house of God. I love going to, I don't know, 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:22.340 we've got a generation today, you know, virtual 00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:24.500 church. That doesn't do it for me. I need to 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:27.539 be in the house of God. Come on now, somebody. 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:30.960 I need to be in the house of God. I need to be 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.580 among the saints. I need to be in the presence 00:15:33.580 --> 00:15:35.919 of the Lord where there's fullness of joy. I 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.600 need to be here. And there's nothing like the 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:41.019 presence of God. I love it here. But you know 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:44.320 what? I don't live here. I got to go back home. 00:15:44.580 --> 00:15:46.879 Amen. And in a little while, I'm going to lock 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:48.279 those doors. And if you don't want to leave, 00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:49.580 we're going to have to flick on the lights and 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:53.039 tell you it's time to go. God bless those brothers 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:55.860 that just flicked the lights on. Time to go. 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:02.740 Hallelujah. Amen. We don't live here. It would 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:04.659 be nice. Sometimes we go to a spiritual retreat. 00:16:04.899 --> 00:16:07.740 We go to a camp. Man, it feels so good right 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:10.279 here. I don't want to leave. But the reality 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:12.740 is you got to go home. You got to go back to 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:17.740 work, right. Back to those unbelieving and difficult 00:16:17.740 --> 00:16:20.080 people at work and a toxic work environment. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:23.620 And we got to go back to houses that still need 00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:26.039 repairs, amen, and bills that need to be paid. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:29.679 But it would be nice. I remember the three disciples 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:32.419 that Jesus took with him on Mount Transfiguration. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:35.080 Oh, they were so caught up in the glory and in 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:37.639 the wonder of God. They said, Jesus, why don't 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:42.399 we build a temple right here? Bend for themselves. 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:45.659 This is where it's at, man, right here. And Jesus 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:47.539 said, no, this is not. There's more that I got 00:16:47.539 --> 00:16:49.340 to do. And lots of times that's what we want 00:16:49.340 --> 00:16:52.059 to do. We want to set up the temple right there 00:16:52.059 --> 00:16:54.980 in Bethel and say, man, I don't want to go anywhere 00:16:54.980 --> 00:16:59.500 else. But that's not reality. It's not reality. 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:04.480 You got to learn how to pray in the middle. Hallelujah. 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:07.539 You got to learn how to worship in the middle. 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:11.279 You got to learn how to praise God in the middle. 00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:17.160 How to serve in the middle. Hallelujah. And then 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:20.200 you got the other extreme. Then you got the people 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:22.839 who only know how to serve God when they're in 00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:29.539 AI. In a heap of ruin. Only pray when they're 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:32.960 in a heap of ruin. Only worship and only ask 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:35.380 for prayer when they only visit an altar when 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:37.569 they have a need. You know anybody like that? 00:17:37.650 --> 00:17:42.430 Hallelujah. Don't look around, praise God. Amen. 00:17:43.369 --> 00:17:47.650 For many people, the altar is only a place you 00:17:47.650 --> 00:17:51.269 come to when you're in trouble. When you're sick. 00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:56.670 When you're broke. That's when people, certain 00:17:56.670 --> 00:18:00.670 people go to church, right. I need something. 00:18:00.970 --> 00:18:10.339 And then the moment they get their miracle. only 00:18:10.339 --> 00:18:14.180 have an altar in ai when time goes they get laid 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:17.460 off work man they're the most faithful the church 00:18:17.460 --> 00:18:21.900 you know as soon as they get that promotion what 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:25.819 happened where'd they go and and and that's not 00:18:25.819 --> 00:18:29.920 a good extreme either these extremes we can't 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:32.940 stay there as much as we'd like to stay in bethel 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:35.640 and just set up camp and build a little community 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:38.400 up there in the mountains and live in a monastery 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:40.700 and say hey i don't want i I don't have time 00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:42.759 to deal with the world. This is too good. That's 00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:45.400 not reality. And as much as, you know, we can 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:47.599 pray and cry out to God from the bottom of the 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:51.319 pit in AI, and that's not reality because you're 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:52.839 going to have good times, you're going to have 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:54.940 bad times. There's going to be ups, there's going 00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:57.819 to be downs. So you need to learn how to serve 00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:02.940 the Lord in the middle. Come on, somebody. I'm 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:05.680 trying to help you today. Abraham shows us the 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:12.160 power of building an altar between those. or 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:14.420 Christian, and one day you're up and one day 00:19:14.420 --> 00:19:17.359 you're down. What, now you see me, now you don't. 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:21.740 The devil is a liar. In 2026, I'm going to serve 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:25.119 God in the middle. I'm going to pray. Is there 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:28.220 somebody right now who can stand up on your feet 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:31.359 for about 30 seconds and say, I'm going to give 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:46.660 God a... to receive all the glory and all of 00:19:46.660 --> 00:19:55.700 the honor. Hallelujah, hallelujah. This is what 00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:58.460 God is looking for. This is the type of people 00:19:58.460 --> 00:20:00.720 that he wants to build in this hour. City Light 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:02.799 Church, hear me loud and clear. If we're going 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:04.880 to have revival, if we're going to reach the 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:07.200 lost, if we're going to move forward and expand 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:09.539 in the kingdom of God, we've got to learn how 00:20:09.539 --> 00:20:14.819 to serve in the middle. It's not going to be 00:20:14.819 --> 00:20:17.640 flashy. It's not going to be trendy. It's not 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:20.180 going to be in vogue in this style. No, when 00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:23.039 you're in the middle, it's not attractive. But 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.400 let me tell you, that's where God wants to meet 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:28.839 us. And that's where the glory of God will be 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:31.119 waiting for us in the middle. Somebody shout, 00:20:31.339 --> 00:20:34.400 in the middle. That's where God is. He's in the 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:37.640 middle. He's in the middle. And the greatest 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:40.299 works of God are in the middle. Look at the cross. 00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:43.240 It was suspended between heaven and earth in 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:46.099 the middle. This is where God wants to show us 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:48.779 his glory and his power. It's in the middle. 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:51.000 And if that's all you hear today, then you have 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:53.019 heard enough. But there's something else I want 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:55.640 to show you about the altar in the middle is 00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:58.900 that number two, it clarifies who can go with 00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:03.819 you. Oh, you should have shouted when you had 00:21:03.819 --> 00:21:07.869 the chance. I gave you an opportunity, but now 00:21:07.869 --> 00:21:09.849 I'm going to make you uncomfortable. Because 00:21:09.849 --> 00:21:13.630 when Abraham went back to this altar, God began 00:21:13.630 --> 00:21:16.650 to clarify some things in his life. Started opening 00:21:16.650 --> 00:21:21.589 up his eyes to some growing and to some problems 00:21:21.589 --> 00:21:24.210 that were brewing beneath the surface of his 00:21:24.210 --> 00:21:27.170 life that he had not been paying attention to. 00:21:27.329 --> 00:21:32.750 Such as his nephew Lot. This young man whom Abram 00:21:32.750 --> 00:21:35.950 had taken under his wing and allowed him. to 00:21:35.950 --> 00:21:40.329 take this journey with him. And Lot was, he was 00:21:40.329 --> 00:21:43.630 somebody who benefited from the blessing that 00:21:43.630 --> 00:21:47.049 was on Abraham. You never hear about Lot building 00:21:47.049 --> 00:21:50.970 an altar, but you sure hear about him following 00:21:50.970 --> 00:21:53.869 in the footsteps or in the shadow, I should say, 00:21:53.970 --> 00:21:57.210 of Abraham. And he was connected to Abraham. 00:21:57.450 --> 00:22:01.490 I bet you he was because that was his paycheck 00:22:01.490 --> 00:22:03.869 right there. That's how he was going to make 00:22:03.869 --> 00:22:07.759 it. He knew that if I stay close to him, you 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:09.539 know, everything is going to be all right. And 00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:12.619 he wasn't dumb and he did that. But here's the 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:15.299 thing is that he was connected to him but he 00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:20.559 wasn't committed to him. Somebody tell me to 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:22.799 go ahead and preach. Hallelujah. You got to look 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:24.980 for those people in your life that are just connected 00:22:24.980 --> 00:22:28.000 to you but they're not committed to you. They're 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:30.180 connected to your life. They're connected to 00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:32.259 your ministry. They're not committed to your 00:22:32.259 --> 00:22:35.019 ministry. They're not willing to go. And the 00:22:35.019 --> 00:22:37.859 reason why we know that they were not committed 00:22:37.859 --> 00:22:41.460 to Abraham is that while Abraham was being blessed 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:44.640 with herds and tents and herdsmen and cattle, 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:48.440 so was Lot. And they started to brew tension 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:51.299 among them, and they couldn't get along. And 00:22:51.299 --> 00:22:54.559 the right thing for Lot to do would say, maybe 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:57.519 I should subtract some things from my life. so 00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:00.500 that I can stay connected to this man of God. 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:04.140 But instead he allowed himself to build up greater 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:06.420 wealth and greater wealth and greater things 00:23:06.420 --> 00:23:08.759 to the point that maybe, and this is just my 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:12.059 speculation, that he thought, well, maybe he 00:23:12.059 --> 00:23:17.440 needs me more than I need him. And somewhere 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:20.259 in the back of his head he got this crazy. weird 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:23.420 idea that he was the answer. He was the key to 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:25.960 all this. But he would just be able to make it 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:28.579 out on his own. But something began to happen. 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:32.299 And Abraham was being dealt with by God. And 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:35.480 it was time for these two to separate. And it 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:39.039 was at this altar, from this altar, God began 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:42.720 to deal and show him it's time to separate. And 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:45.380 the tension is beginning to brew. And it's making 00:23:45.380 --> 00:23:48.920 Abraham uncomfortable as he is dealing with this. 00:23:49.390 --> 00:23:51.970 Maybe this ungrateful person in his life. This 00:23:51.970 --> 00:23:54.589 person who has taken advantage of him. This person 00:23:54.589 --> 00:23:58.829 who is a taker and not a giver. This person who 00:23:58.829 --> 00:24:02.670 has been leeching off of him. And bleeding him 00:24:02.670 --> 00:24:06.230 dry. And not putting any skin in the game. And 00:24:06.230 --> 00:24:08.789 he said, I've got to remove. I'm coming to tell 00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:11.450 somebody today. You've got some people around 00:24:11.450 --> 00:24:14.210 you in your life. I don't know where they are. 00:24:14.470 --> 00:24:17.410 But you've got some associations and some connections. 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:21.019 that you've been walking with, you need to ask 00:24:21.019 --> 00:24:24.180 God. Hear me in the Holy Ghost. You need to ask 00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:28.359 God to give you greater discernment. God, I am 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:30.119 at a point. I don't know who I'm talking to right 00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:33.019 now. You are at a place in your life, my friend. 00:24:33.140 --> 00:24:35.920 You don't have time to mess around and play games. 00:24:36.059 --> 00:24:38.440 You are not in high school anymore. You're not 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:40.799 in junior high. This ain't element. You have 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:43.599 got a time in your life. You cannot afford to 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:45.700 be messing around with the wrong jokers. Are 00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:47.940 you hearing what I'm saying? You don't got time. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:51.920 time to be connected, associated, locking arms 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:54.740 with people who don't share the same vision and 00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:57.380 the same passion and the same commitment to the 00:24:57.380 --> 00:25:00.839 things of God. God, I need you to show me who 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:04.359 are the lots in my life so I can begin a process 00:25:04.359 --> 00:25:09.119 of separation. I need to separate myself from 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:11.519 this lot. And you say, well, how important is 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:13.880 it? You've got to separate. Someone say separation. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.799 Let me tell you, your separation is part of your 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:20.920 preparation. Hallelujah. I got to say that again. 00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:24.220 Your separation is part of your preparation. 00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:29.480 Come out from among them and be. If God's going 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:32.059 to do something in your life this year, you got 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:35.319 to be willing to separate from some things, from 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:38.900 some people, from some strange and weird ideas. 00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:42.079 You got to separate from these things so that 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:45.140 God can take you on forward into your future. 00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:48.240 Hallelujah. Can I preach just for a little bit 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:50.940 more on this point? Not everybody who is walking 00:25:50.940 --> 00:25:53.740 with you right now is assigned to your destiny. 00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:58.039 You may have certain things in common. You may 00:25:58.039 --> 00:26:00.579 like certain things the same. That doesn't mean 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:03.119 that they're assigned to your destiny. If they're 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:06.319 not willing to grow, my God, if they're not willing 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:08.900 to grow up, if they're not willing to mature. 00:26:09.289 --> 00:26:11.609 If they're not willing to, oh, my God, I feel 00:26:11.609 --> 00:26:13.609 something right now. If they're not willing to 00:26:13.609 --> 00:26:16.609 submit, if they're not willing to give, if they're 00:26:16.609 --> 00:26:18.970 not willing, if they, I've said it before, if 00:26:18.970 --> 00:26:21.670 they can't grow with you, they can't go with 00:26:21.670 --> 00:26:24.710 you. If they're not going to, hallelujah, if 00:26:24.710 --> 00:26:27.210 they're not going to grow up, put their big boy 00:26:27.210 --> 00:26:30.309 pants on and say, let's serve the Lord with everything 00:26:30.309 --> 00:26:42.349 that we have. got the same friends you've always 00:26:42.349 --> 00:26:44.589 had and nothing has ever changed, something is 00:26:44.589 --> 00:26:50.549 wrong. Because as you grow, there ought to be 00:26:50.549 --> 00:26:52.950 some separation that takes place. I'm not telling 00:26:52.950 --> 00:26:55.269 you to block them and do all that. I'm not saying, 00:26:55.369 --> 00:26:57.890 unless you have to, praise God. But I'm not saying 00:26:57.890 --> 00:26:59.690 that you just become some hateful person. Pat, 00:26:59.730 --> 00:27:01.589 you said we're supposed to be loving. Yeah, you're 00:27:01.589 --> 00:27:03.890 supposed to love them. But not to your own demise. 00:27:05.869 --> 00:27:09.539 Huh? Not to your own demise. So God is working 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:11.799 some things in us. Can I go a little deeper into 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:14.259 that right there? Because I wonder, why didn't 00:27:14.259 --> 00:27:17.460 Lot separate from him sooner? Or why didn't Abraham 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:20.079 separate from Lot sooner? Why did he let this 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:25.200 guy hang around? You know, Abraham was a man 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:28.359 of discernment and knowledge and wisdom. And 00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:30.819 I'm sure he knew what was going on. I'm sure 00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:32.940 he knew that this guy is just, you know, he's 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:36.119 just living off the gravy train here. You know, 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:38.160 he's getting while the getting is good. Why did 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:41.299 he let him hang around? I think I found the answer. 00:27:41.420 --> 00:27:43.640 I think the Lord showed me what it was as to 00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:47.539 why he let him hang around. The answer is because 00:27:47.539 --> 00:27:53.440 he loved him. And he loved him, but it was a 00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.539 different type of love. What he loved was the 00:27:56.539 --> 00:27:59.319 idea. Not just that he loved him. He loved the 00:27:59.319 --> 00:28:03.619 idea of him. Oh, what is that? We're going to 00:28:03.619 --> 00:28:05.730 get something right now. Just follow me. Because 00:28:05.730 --> 00:28:08.910 Abraham was waiting on a promised son. He was 00:28:08.910 --> 00:28:11.990 waiting on an heir to inherit the promised land, 00:28:12.089 --> 00:28:14.410 to inherit all the blessings that was coming 00:28:14.410 --> 00:28:18.509 his way. And because he had not produced an heir 00:28:18.509 --> 00:28:22.670 yet, there is this possibility that he looked 00:28:22.670 --> 00:28:25.170 at his nephew and said, well, maybe he's it. 00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:29.779 And so he loved him that way. And we see other 00:28:29.779 --> 00:28:33.500 times in their life where he interceded for Lot. 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:38.259 And he loved him like a son. And Lot filled a 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:42.279 void in Abraham's life. He filled a void in his 00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:45.700 heart because Abraham wanted a son. And I think 00:28:45.700 --> 00:28:52.140 that he had high hopes. He was banking on maybe 00:28:52.140 --> 00:28:55.400 he might be the one that's going to take over. 00:28:55.849 --> 00:28:57.710 These blessings. The one that's going to take 00:28:57.710 --> 00:29:00.490 this to the next level. He had high hope. But 00:29:00.490 --> 00:29:03.210 here's the crucial lesson for us today. Is that 00:29:03.210 --> 00:29:06.990 sometimes what holds us back, it's not sin. It's 00:29:06.990 --> 00:29:12.730 settling for less than what God intended. I'm 00:29:12.730 --> 00:29:14.630 not just preaching about sin. If the shoe fits, 00:29:14.789 --> 00:29:17.529 praise God. But I'm talking about settling for 00:29:17.529 --> 00:29:22.869 less. And sometimes it's not sin. It's that we 00:29:22.869 --> 00:29:27.809 have fallen in love. With an idea. We have fallen 00:29:27.809 --> 00:29:31.230 in love with something that we hope is going 00:29:31.230 --> 00:29:33.309 to work. And we hope is the answer. And we hope 00:29:33.309 --> 00:29:39.190 this is it. But it's not God ordained. It isn't 00:29:39.190 --> 00:29:43.450 with God. So it's holding on to people and things 00:29:43.450 --> 00:29:46.990 that we think are the key to our future. We think 00:29:46.990 --> 00:29:49.230 this is the best it's ever going to get. Let 00:29:49.230 --> 00:29:52.309 me tell you something today. God has something 00:29:52.309 --> 00:30:01.119 better for you. I want to tell you something. 00:30:01.180 --> 00:30:04.640 You're worth more than that. You're worth more. 00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:07.259 This is all they're going to pay me. No, no, 00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:11.420 no. You're worth more than that. Hello, somebody. 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:19.680 He's the only one showing interest. Are you settling? 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:24.880 Oh, it got quiet. She's the only one that likes 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:31.599 me. But is she the one? I wonder how many times 00:30:31.599 --> 00:30:33.819 we have, whether it's in relationship, whether 00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:36.059 it's in life, work, ministry, we're settling 00:30:36.059 --> 00:30:39.920 for less than what God had ordained for our lives. 00:30:40.059 --> 00:30:44.720 But because we're so, we want what we want. And 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:47.559 what we want is not for the God to give us his 00:30:47.559 --> 00:30:53.539 plan. We want God to bless our plans. But God 00:30:53.539 --> 00:30:56.000 is telling Abraham and he's telling all of you 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:58.710 here, every one of us here today. I've got something 00:30:58.710 --> 00:31:01.569 greater in store for you. But you've got to be 00:31:01.569 --> 00:31:05.490 willing to separate. You've got to be willing 00:31:05.490 --> 00:31:07.910 to say, but if I let that person go, who else 00:31:07.910 --> 00:31:09.950 is going to love me? Hello, somebody. You don't 00:31:09.950 --> 00:31:13.529 think God's got somebody else. Is that, come 00:31:13.529 --> 00:31:17.049 on now, somebody say amen. Nobody else is going 00:31:17.049 --> 00:31:19.089 to hire me. You don't think God owns the cattle 00:31:19.089 --> 00:31:22.230 on a thousand hills. What have you been holding 00:31:22.230 --> 00:31:24.809 on to that God said, you've been holding on to 00:31:24.809 --> 00:31:27.759 the bronze and I've got gold. You've been holding 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:30.700 on to the silver and I got gold. The moment that 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:33.299 you let that thing go, the moment that you believe, 00:31:33.460 --> 00:31:36.500 I will show you what I've really been wanting 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:39.160 to do in your life. Somebody give God some hand. 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:47.720 Hand praise today. Hallelujah. These are things 00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:51.440 that God's been dealing with me about. Lots that 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:55.480 I have to separate myself from. And things that 00:31:55.480 --> 00:32:03.480 are just holding me back. There's just one more 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:07.240 thing that this altar that Abraham had in the 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:10.900 middle. Someone say, it's in the middle. It's 00:32:10.900 --> 00:32:13.579 in the middle. It's in the middle. One more thing 00:32:13.579 --> 00:32:16.640 it shows me is that altar in the middle, what 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:23.740 it does is it positions you for dominion. Dominion. 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:27.460 What is dominion? Dominion is authority over 00:32:27.460 --> 00:32:32.400 something or territory. Once the altar was restored, 00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:37.460 separation was complete. God spoke to Abraham 00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:42.779 again. Watch what he says in verse 14. He says, 00:32:42.859 --> 00:32:46.700 lift your eyes now. Someone say, lift your eyes. 00:32:48.500 --> 00:32:53.500 And look from the place where you are. Northward, 00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:58.519 southward, eastward, westward. In other words, 00:32:58.539 --> 00:33:05.700 look. gets ready to come up. He says, look in 00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:10.500 every direction for the land which you see I 00:33:10.500 --> 00:33:14.160 give to you and to your descendants forever. 00:33:15.539 --> 00:33:20.880 Now, why couldn't God just have told him this 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:25.299 at the beginning? Because he wasn't ready for 00:33:25.299 --> 00:33:30.640 it yet. Sometimes we want God to show us a preview. 00:33:31.130 --> 00:33:34.109 of our destiny, our future. We want God to lead 00:33:34.109 --> 00:33:38.309 us into his promises without having gone through 00:33:38.309 --> 00:33:42.769 the process. But when you submit to the process, 00:33:42.930 --> 00:33:45.890 I'm going to say it's a process, you prepare 00:33:45.890 --> 00:33:50.589 yourself for the promise. Now he has gone through 00:33:50.589 --> 00:33:55.329 a process of an altar in the middle, of separation 00:33:55.329 --> 00:33:59.289 from the lots in his life. And at that moment, 00:33:59.349 --> 00:34:06.289 the Lord says, Lift your eyes. From the place 00:34:06.289 --> 00:34:11.170 where you are. And look out as far as the eye 00:34:11.170 --> 00:34:17.369 can see. That this land belongs to you and to 00:34:17.369 --> 00:34:23.829 your family. Up until now, he has only focused 00:34:23.829 --> 00:34:28.210 on what's right around him. Up until now, Abraham 00:34:28.210 --> 00:34:34.389 was looking down. managing tension, managing 00:34:34.389 --> 00:35:13.130 people. vision. I've come to tell somebody today, 00:35:13.190 --> 00:35:17.170 church, God wants to restore your vision to see 00:35:17.170 --> 00:35:21.090 his promises like you have never seen them before. 00:35:21.309 --> 00:35:26.369 God wants to restore your spiritual eyes to see 00:35:26.369 --> 00:35:30.489 as far as they can see that this land is not 00:35:30.489 --> 00:35:34.369 just any land. This promise is not just any promise. 00:35:34.449 --> 00:35:54.210 If God said it's yours, then it's yours. in the 00:35:54.210 --> 00:35:57.050 sight of God. Somebody give the Lord some praise 00:35:57.050 --> 00:36:07.949 today. Recently, recently, I'm done now. Recently, 00:36:08.010 --> 00:36:10.969 the Holy Ghost woke me up the other day. The 00:36:10.969 --> 00:36:13.809 Holy Ghost alerted me. And he said, Jacob, he 00:36:13.809 --> 00:36:17.530 said, he didn't call me Pastor Jacob. Sometimes 00:36:17.530 --> 00:36:25.539 this is like Jay. Jacob, he said, lift your eyes. 00:36:26.820 --> 00:36:30.219 I said, Lord, what do you mean? I'm looking. 00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:33.659 No, no, no, no, no. Lift your eyes. Lift your 00:36:33.659 --> 00:36:38.280 eyes. And what I felt God say to my spirit is 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:42.139 lift your eyes. Like he told his disciples, lift 00:36:42.139 --> 00:36:47.539 up your eyes to the fields which are already 00:36:47.539 --> 00:36:51.940 white for harvest. Get your eyes off. of where 00:36:51.940 --> 00:36:55.219 you stand. Anybody can look at where they're 00:36:55.219 --> 00:36:58.000 standing. You don't need to be a prophet to tell 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:01.679 me where you are. Hallelujah. We got all kinds 00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:04.079 of people prophesying today is Sunday. No duh. 00:37:05.039 --> 00:37:07.699 You don't need a prophet to tell you what color 00:37:07.699 --> 00:37:10.420 tie you have on and what day it is. You don't 00:37:10.420 --> 00:37:13.039 need me to tell you where you are. You know exactly 00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:15.559 where you are and it's time to stop looking at 00:37:15.559 --> 00:37:18.159 where you are. This is just where I am. It is 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:22.230 what it is. It's time for you to lift up your 00:37:22.230 --> 00:37:25.869 eyes. Hallelujah. In fact, I want somebody, if 00:37:25.869 --> 00:37:27.769 you could begin to stand up with me right now. 00:37:27.949 --> 00:37:33.510 I feel the Holy Ghost. Yes. Yes. God is saying, 00:37:33.630 --> 00:37:37.809 get your eyes off of people. Get your eyes off 00:37:37.809 --> 00:37:40.949 of your problems. Get your eyes off of your past. 00:37:41.230 --> 00:37:44.710 Get your eyes off of where you are. And I want 00:37:44.710 --> 00:37:49.010 you, Abraham. I want you, man and woman of God. 00:37:49.210 --> 00:37:53.630 I want you, child of the living God who owns 00:37:53.630 --> 00:37:57.730 the cattle on a thousand hills. I want you to 00:37:57.730 --> 00:38:04.510 lift up your eyes and see that I called you not 00:38:04.510 --> 00:38:08.639 just to be a hurt. I call you not just to be 00:38:08.639 --> 00:38:12.000 another shepherd in the field, not just to go 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:36.539 along with everybody else and do... Lift your 00:38:36.539 --> 00:38:39.039 eyes. Lift your eyes and look at Mountain View. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:43.820 Look to your eyes and look at Sunnyvale and Santa 00:38:43.820 --> 00:38:52.780 Clara. Lift up your eyes. And look around you 00:38:52.780 --> 00:38:56.480 and see new possibilities. New fields that are 00:38:56.480 --> 00:38:59.260 white with harvest. I speak this in the name 00:38:59.260 --> 00:39:18.469 of Jesus. And when people say stuff like that, 00:39:18.510 --> 00:39:21.590 oh, pastor, there's not nothing I've seen. I've 00:39:21.590 --> 00:39:27.130 seen it all. Have you really seen it all? I've 00:39:27.130 --> 00:39:29.090 been listening. I've been longer than I can count. 00:39:29.130 --> 00:39:31.130 I slept under the pews. That's how long I've 00:39:31.130 --> 00:39:33.610 been. I've seen them all. I've seen evangelists 00:39:33.610 --> 00:39:36.369 come and go. I've seen miracles. I say, oh, that's 00:39:36.369 --> 00:39:39.929 wonderful. But I've got a question for you. When's 00:39:39.929 --> 00:39:44.190 the last time you've lifted your eyes? Because 00:39:44.190 --> 00:39:47.170 I don't serve a God that is limited by what he 00:39:47.170 --> 00:39:51.230 did yesterday. I serve a God of greater things. 00:39:51.670 --> 00:39:55.670 Greater things shall you do, he said, in my name. 00:39:55.730 --> 00:39:58.130 You're going to cast out devils in my name. When's 00:39:58.130 --> 00:40:01.289 the last time you saw a devil get cast out? Oh, 00:40:01.409 --> 00:40:03.429 come on. I think there are some new devils that 00:40:03.429 --> 00:40:05.889 need to get cast out. You're going to tread upon 00:40:05.889 --> 00:40:07.769 them. You're going to lay hands on the sick. 00:40:07.829 --> 00:40:31.320 I don't want to hear about the healing God. many 00:40:31.320 --> 00:40:36.400 of you want to hear New Testament? I want to 00:40:36.400 --> 00:40:38.780 see what God's going to do. Right there where 00:40:38.780 --> 00:40:42.079 you are. I invite you to close your eyes for 00:40:42.079 --> 00:40:45.039 a second. I feel something happening right now 00:40:45.039 --> 00:40:47.780 in the Holy Ghost. This was a divine appointment 00:40:47.780 --> 00:41:02.550 with God. I have preached. This service is over. 00:41:02.949 --> 00:41:05.530 But there is another phase. There's another dimension 00:41:05.530 --> 00:41:08.809 that God is calling somebody to. But you're not 00:41:08.809 --> 00:41:11.269 going to get there by some, I can't drag you 00:41:11.269 --> 00:41:13.750 across the finish line, brother. I can't drag 00:41:13.750 --> 00:41:18.110 you to the altar in the middle. I can't pull 00:41:18.110 --> 00:41:22.190 you there. I can't force you there. You got to 00:41:22.190 --> 00:41:24.849 have in your own mind, in your own faith, you 00:41:24.849 --> 00:41:27.829 got to be determined to get there. Oh, this is 00:41:27.829 --> 00:41:32.750 part of growing up. Oh, this is part of. take 00:41:32.750 --> 00:41:35.550 a whole lot of faith to worship and praise and 00:41:35.550 --> 00:41:39.170 serve in Bethel and it even doesn't take a lot 00:41:39.170 --> 00:41:42.230 to do it in the heap of ruin AI because when 00:41:42.230 --> 00:41:44.429 you're on the bottom and you hit rock bottom 00:41:44.429 --> 00:41:47.510 all you can do is look up I'm concerned about 00:41:47.510 --> 00:41:49.650 those of you that are in the middle right now 00:41:49.650 --> 00:41:53.590 oh that's where danger is lurking it's in the 00:41:53.590 --> 00:41:56.769 middle oh the worst place to be on the battlefield 00:41:57.710 --> 00:42:01.210 It's in the middle somewhere. You're likely to 00:42:01.210 --> 00:42:04.489 get hit by friendly fire. Are you hearing me? 00:42:04.570 --> 00:42:06.550 You're likely to get hit not only by the enemy, 00:42:06.690 --> 00:42:10.570 but by friendly fire. You're in the middle somewhere. 00:42:10.869 --> 00:42:13.909 Ooh. But that's right there is where you got 00:42:13.909 --> 00:42:16.590 to build an altar and say, you know what? I've 00:42:16.590 --> 00:42:19.380 got to connect with God. I've got promises. How 00:42:19.380 --> 00:42:21.599 many of you God has made you a promise? How many 00:42:21.599 --> 00:42:23.739 of you God has established something in your 00:42:23.739 --> 00:42:28.019 faith? I'm ready for it. I'm ready. But right 00:42:28.019 --> 00:42:31.230 now. under the sound of my voice. There are some 00:42:31.230 --> 00:42:33.590 things that God is going to show you, but you've 00:42:33.590 --> 00:42:37.469 got to be willing to lift your eyes. In the name 00:42:37.469 --> 00:42:40.630 of Jesus, I speak over every person in this building 00:42:40.630 --> 00:42:43.989 right now, over everyone that might be watching 00:42:43.989 --> 00:42:48.550 on YouTube, on Facebook at some point. I prophesy 00:42:48.550 --> 00:42:52.190 over you. I prophesy over every one of you right 00:42:52.190 --> 00:42:57.039 now. And I speak. I speak life. I speak purpose. 00:42:57.260 --> 00:43:01.960 I speak restoration. I speak salvation. I speak 00:43:01.960 --> 00:43:06.980 healing in the name of Jesus. Oh, I speak revival. 00:43:07.139 --> 00:43:10.559 I speak it now in the name of Jesus.