WEBVTT 00:00:02.029 --> 00:00:05.669 Hey podcast fam, CJ Janssen, the pastor of WavePoint 00:00:05.669 --> 00:00:08.089 Church. Thank you so much for joining us today. 00:00:08.509 --> 00:00:10.650 We love you and we pray that this message will 00:00:10.650 --> 00:00:12.929 build your faith and empower you to share the 00:00:12.929 --> 00:00:24.890 message of Jesus to the world. Enjoy. So this 00:00:24.890 --> 00:00:30.739 morning we are starting our series on aligning 00:00:30.739 --> 00:00:34.960 our hearts and minds. And I'm telling you, church, 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:38.299 you want to be challenged, then preach about 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.000 something. Last week, who was here last week? 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:44.780 Okay, if you weren't here, you better listen 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:47.899 to the message because it was Vision Sunday and 00:00:47.899 --> 00:00:51.820 Seja was speaking about alignment. But he spoke 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:54.420 about, he's made peace with the process of the 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:56.520 healing of his back and his leg. Do you remember 00:00:56.520 --> 00:01:01.479 that? And this week, every day he's been challenged. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:04.159 Doesn't want to take his anti -inflammatories 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:07.200 anymore. Then he thinks he can do a few extra 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.459 more stretches than what the doctors told him. 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:13.540 I said, CJ, you are being tested because you 00:01:13.540 --> 00:01:16.680 said on Sunday to the church, you're making peace 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:19.280 with the process. And now you're breaking the 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:23.340 process, right? So last night, he said something 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:25.780 else about this is the last time he's taking 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:29.510 this medication. I said, no, it's not. I'm gonna 00:01:29.510 --> 00:01:31.769 phone Dirk and I'm gonna phone Sophie who's your 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:35.709 physio and he started laughing but what I wanted 00:01:35.709 --> 00:01:37.709 to bring back to you is when we start making 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:40.790 declarations over our life bet your bottom dollar 00:01:40.790 --> 00:01:43.329 the enemy is gonna come that straight after you've 00:01:43.329 --> 00:01:45.269 said it especially if you said it in a public 00:01:45.269 --> 00:01:48.829 place and he's gonna say did you really say did 00:01:48.829 --> 00:01:52.209 you really mean and so I'm cautioning you church 00:01:52.209 --> 00:01:55.890 that as we speaking on alignment As we're positioning 00:01:55.890 --> 00:01:58.150 ourselves in alignment with the Lord and everything 00:01:58.150 --> 00:01:59.930 that He's telling us to do and everything that 00:01:59.930 --> 00:02:03.090 we have to do, you're going to be tested. Amen? 00:02:04.030 --> 00:02:08.150 So, put your army boots on. We have to get aligned. 00:02:08.469 --> 00:02:12.509 Amen? Okay. The title of my scripture today is, 00:02:12.650 --> 00:02:15.870 How long will you waver? And our key scripture 00:02:15.870 --> 00:02:20.870 is 1 Kings 18 20 to 39. We'll get to reading 00:02:20.870 --> 00:02:24.340 that now, but I want to ask, You a question as 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:28.120 we start this morning's a message. I don't need 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:32.080 an audible answer. I just want you to let this 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:36.039 question sit in your heart. And my question is 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:40.500 how long will you waver between two opinions? 00:02:42.060 --> 00:02:48.379 So let's read together in 1 Kings 18. It's a 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:50.680 long portion of scripture but it's very, it's 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:56.120 powerful. Let's go. So Ahab sent to all the people 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:59.340 of Israel and gathered the prophets together 00:02:59.340 --> 00:03:03.500 at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all 00:03:03.500 --> 00:03:07.360 the people and said, How long will you go limping 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:11.979 between two different opinions? If the Lord is 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:15.180 your God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow 00:03:15.180 --> 00:03:18.580 him. And the people did not answer him a word. 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:23.879 Then Elijah said to the people I even I only 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:27.620 am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets 00:03:27.620 --> 00:03:32.759 are 450 men Let two bulls be given to us and 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:35.879 let them choose one bull for themselves Cut it 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:38.439 into pieces and laid on the wood, but put no 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:41.599 fire to it and I will prepare the other bull 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:44.060 and lay it to the wood and put no fire to it 00:03:44.060 --> 00:03:47.340 and You call upon the name of your God, which 00:03:47.340 --> 00:03:51.120 was Baal And I will call upon the name of the 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.979 Lord. And the God who answers by fire, He is 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:58.099 God. And all the people answered, it is well 00:03:58.099 --> 00:04:01.419 spoken. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:04.780 Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it 00:04:04.780 --> 00:04:07.520 first for you are many and call upon the name 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.479 of your God but put no fire to it. And they took 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:12.500 the bull that was given them and they prepared 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:14.740 it and called upon the name of Baal from morning 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:18.819 till noon saying, Oh Baal answer us. but there 00:04:18.819 --> 00:04:22.199 was no voice and no one answered and they limped 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:25.300 around the altar that they had made and at noon 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:29.220 a larger mocked them saying cry loud for he is 00:04:29.220 --> 00:04:32.879 a god either he is musing or he is relieving 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.720 himself or he is on a journey or perhaps he is 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:39.100 asleep and must be awakened and they cried aloud 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:42.199 and cut themselves after their custom with swords 00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:45.240 and lances until the blood gushed out upon them 00:04:45.470 --> 00:04:48.350 And as midday passed, they raved on until the 00:04:48.350 --> 00:04:51.949 time of the offering of the oblation, but there 00:04:51.949 --> 00:04:54.629 was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention. 00:04:55.389 --> 00:04:57.509 Then Elijah said to all the people, come near 00:04:57.509 --> 00:05:00.509 to me. And all the people came near to him, and 00:05:00.509 --> 00:05:03.850 he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been 00:05:03.850 --> 00:05:07.290 thrown down. Elijah took 12 stones according 00:05:07.290 --> 00:05:09.870 to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, 00:05:10.269 --> 00:05:13.009 to whom the word of the Lord came saying, Israel 00:05:13.009 --> 00:05:15.790 shall be your name. and with the stones he built 00:05:15.790 --> 00:05:18.250 an altar in the name of the Lord and he made 00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:22.209 a trench about the altar as great as would contain 00:05:22.209 --> 00:05:25.910 two seers of seed and he put the wood in order 00:05:25.910 --> 00:05:28.509 and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the 00:05:28.509 --> 00:05:32.329 wood and he said, fill four jars with water and 00:05:32.329 --> 00:05:34.410 pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood. 00:05:35.810 --> 00:05:38.970 Why would you pour water on wood and an offering? 00:05:39.610 --> 00:05:42.089 Right? It's definitely not going to catch fire 00:05:42.089 --> 00:05:45.379 but you should proving a point and he said do 00:05:45.379 --> 00:05:48.079 it a second time and they did it a second time 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:50.360 and he said do it a third time and they did it 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:53.500 a third time and the water ran around the altar 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:57.560 and filled the trench also with water and at 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:01.129 the time of the offering Elijah the prophet came 00:06:01.129 --> 00:06:04.509 near and said oh Lord God of Abraham Isaac in 00:06:04.509 --> 00:06:07.649 Israel Let it be known this day that you are 00:06:07.649 --> 00:06:10.470 God in Israel and that I am your servant and 00:06:10.470 --> 00:06:12.870 that I have done all these things at your word 00:06:12.870 --> 00:06:15.970 Answer me oh Lord answer me that these people 00:06:15.970 --> 00:06:19.250 may know that you oh Lord our God and that you 00:06:19.250 --> 00:06:21.970 have turned their hearts back Then the fire of 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:25.300 the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:28.379 and the wood and the stones and the dust and 00:06:28.379 --> 00:06:31.040 licked up the water that was in the trench and 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:33.079 when all the people saw it they fell to their 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:36.560 faces and said the Lord he is God the Lord he 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.899 is God and Elijah said to them seize the prophets 00:06:39.899 --> 00:06:43.500 of Baal let not one of them escape and they seized 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:47.079 them remember there were 450 of them and Elijah 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:49.500 brought them down to the brook and slaughtered 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:54.980 them there This is a powerful portion of scripture. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:00.740 And Elijah standing before the people of Israel, 00:07:01.379 --> 00:07:04.720 and remember the question he asked, that confronting 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:07.139 question, he said, how long will you go limping 00:07:07.139 --> 00:07:12.139 between do two different opinions? He isn't speaking 00:07:12.139 --> 00:07:14.860 to atheists here. He's speaking to the people 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:19.060 of Israel. So they still believed in God, but 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:22.050 they just weren't aligned with him. Like many 00:07:22.050 --> 00:07:25.410 of us today, they hadn't walked away from the 00:07:25.410 --> 00:07:27.750 faith. They were still serving God, but they 00:07:27.750 --> 00:07:30.129 were simply trying to hold faith in one hand 00:07:30.129 --> 00:07:35.089 and comfort in the other. And if we go back to 00:07:35.089 --> 00:07:38.009 the question which says, how long will you waver? 00:07:39.209 --> 00:07:42.550 The Hebrew word for waver literally means to 00:07:42.550 --> 00:07:45.810 limp, right? When you picture somebody limping, 00:07:46.430 --> 00:07:48.730 somebody is often walking with one leg shorter 00:07:48.730 --> 00:07:53.129 than the other. It could be a picture of spiritual 00:07:53.129 --> 00:07:55.329 exhaustion of trying to walk in two different 00:07:55.329 --> 00:07:58.490 directions at once. Where I'm walking one foot 00:07:58.490 --> 00:08:01.110 toward God and one foot toward something else. 00:08:02.189 --> 00:08:04.790 And when Elijah challenged him, the Bible says 00:08:04.790 --> 00:08:07.910 the people said nothing. They didn't have anything 00:08:07.910 --> 00:08:12.329 to say. In church, there are moments where God's 00:08:12.329 --> 00:08:15.069 silence is not because he's absent. He's always 00:08:15.069 --> 00:08:18.189 present. But maybe it's because our hearts are 00:08:18.189 --> 00:08:20.189 too divided to actually hear what he's having 00:08:20.189 --> 00:08:26.009 to say. So I want to share a personal testimony, 00:08:27.189 --> 00:08:31.610 the personal cost of alignment. Nine years ago, 00:08:32.110 --> 00:08:34.649 when God spoke to my husband about coming to 00:08:34.649 --> 00:08:39.389 plant this church, we knew it would require full 00:08:39.389 --> 00:08:43.629 surrender, not partial obedience, not comfort. 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:49.159 comfort -based faith, but full surrender. And 00:08:49.159 --> 00:08:51.840 when he shared the vision with people that we 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:55.539 respected, our leaders, good men of God, they 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:58.860 rejected it. Not because the vision was wrong, 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:02.240 but because it didn't align with what they saw 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:06.559 for our lives. They wanted us to conform to their 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.720 alignment, right? And my husband stood at a crossroads. 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:15.559 Was he gonna stay? for their approval or was 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:18.799 he going to be obedient to the Lord? Was he going 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:21.879 to choose comfort or was he going to choose the 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:26.200 calling? He was told that should we leave that 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:28.419 ministry to come to Jeffrey's Bay to plant this 00:09:28.419 --> 00:09:31.440 church, thank you Jordan, that we will end up 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:36.399 with vagrants on the streets. Now, did we choose 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:40.860 to follow what God spoke or did we just choose 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:44.529 to stay So and in fear of what was being spoken 00:09:44.529 --> 00:09:49.169 over our lives But as you know because we yeah 00:09:49.169 --> 00:09:53.250 we chose to follow what God spoke To align ourselves 00:09:53.250 --> 00:09:56.789 even though it cost us everything Church when 00:09:56.789 --> 00:09:59.889 we said no to our pastor and not in rebellion 00:09:59.889 --> 00:10:03.889 like the world was told When we said no we're 00:10:03.889 --> 00:10:05.830 going to be obedient to what God has told us 00:10:05.830 --> 00:10:09.419 it cost us everything It cost us every single 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:11.840 relationship that we had been building over six 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:15.879 years. Every church in this country received 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:18.620 a letter that they must have nothing to do with 00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:21.639 CJ because he's stepping out in rebellion. It 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:25.139 cost us everything. Children in the same school 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:28.019 as my kids were told not to greet my children 00:10:28.019 --> 00:10:32.700 because we are in rebellion. Right? That is because 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:35.840 we didn't want to align ourselves with what other 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:38.980 peoples View of alignment was for our lives. 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:42.220 Do we love them? Yes. Have we seen them? Yes. 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:45.379 Do we bless them? Yes, but it's still a journey 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:51.620 that we had to walk and Seven years later CJ 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:56.240 says He is more alive than he's ever been I say 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:58.240 I'm more tired than I've ever been but nevertheless 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.879 He's more alive than he's ever been because he 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:07.580 chose obedience over approval he chose To to 00:11:07.580 --> 00:11:13.139 the cost Over comfort we could have stayed we 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:14.720 could have still been working in that church 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:17.500 But that's not what God had for us. That's not 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:21.200 the call that God had for our lives. Amen So 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:24.879 alignment didn't make our lives smaller, but 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:29.200 it made our lives come alive And we live in a 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:33.399 place Often you walk around Jeffery's Bay. What 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:35.519 is the the famous thing that we hear from people? 00:11:35.929 --> 00:11:38.789 God sent me here. Yes? Have you had conversations 00:11:38.789 --> 00:11:41.029 with anyone in Jeffrey's Bay that have told you 00:11:41.029 --> 00:11:45.230 God sent them here? But if we honest, sometimes 00:11:45.230 --> 00:11:49.269 our rhythms, our priorities and our sacrifices 00:11:49.269 --> 00:11:53.350 don't reflect that calling. We love the blessing 00:11:53.350 --> 00:11:55.830 of where God has put us. Who doesn't love living 00:11:55.830 --> 00:11:59.129 in J -Bay? But have we aligned with the purpose 00:11:59.129 --> 00:12:03.690 of why He put us here? Has comfort slowly taken? 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:08.519 the lead over our calling. I believe the question 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:11.860 Elijah asked then to Israel is the question that 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:16.279 God is asking us today. Who is shaping your decisions 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:20.539 right now? What did God speak to you that you 00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:25.740 are no longer aligned with? When obedience costs 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:28.220 you comfort, which one have you been choosing? 00:12:31.059 --> 00:12:35.970 Church alignment is not good intention. Alignment 00:12:35.970 --> 00:12:40.830 is a decision. And power follows alignment, but 00:12:40.830 --> 00:12:43.809 it's never gonna follow indecision. It's very 00:12:43.809 --> 00:12:45.950 easy for us to stand in church, and I've said 00:12:45.950 --> 00:12:50.429 this before, singing, Lord send me I'll go. It's 00:12:50.429 --> 00:12:52.830 very easy to quote that scripture, ask of me 00:12:52.830 --> 00:12:56.389 and I'll give you the nations. But then when 00:12:56.389 --> 00:13:01.090 God calls us, are we gonna go? When God says, 00:13:01.350 --> 00:13:03.490 leave everything that you have built behind and 00:13:03.490 --> 00:13:06.919 go, are we gonna go? And it's not always that 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:10.720 drastic. Maybe God's asking you where you are 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:13.279 every day in your everyday life. Hey, Natalie, 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:16.879 you have to leave that second job. Are we going 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:19.240 to be obedient or are we going to align ourselves 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:21.519 and just stay where we supposed to be because 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:27.080 we don't want to step out in fear? Indecision 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:29.700 is the thief of the miraculous because it delays 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:32.690 God's move. There's certain things that God can 00:13:32.690 --> 00:13:35.230 only do in our lives, release in our lives when 00:13:35.230 --> 00:13:40.070 we step out in obedience. In Hebrews 3 .15, the 00:13:40.070 --> 00:13:43.009 scripture says today, if you hear His voice, 00:13:43.309 --> 00:13:47.710 do not harden your heart. Joshua 24 .15 says, 00:13:47.870 --> 00:13:50.990 choose for yourselves this day whom you will 00:13:50.990 --> 00:13:56.289 serve. Church delay is just a platform of disobedience. 00:13:59.470 --> 00:14:02.529 So let's look at what alignment really requires 00:14:02.529 --> 00:14:05.870 and the power that flows from it. Number one, 00:14:07.029 --> 00:14:10.909 an aligned heart. Alignment is a heart condition. 00:14:12.110 --> 00:14:16.289 Before it becomes a lifestyle change. Our hearts 00:14:16.289 --> 00:14:18.870 need to be aligned before anything will happen 00:14:18.870 --> 00:14:22.950 or take place externally. In 1 Samuel 16 verse 00:14:22.950 --> 00:14:27.210 7, the Lord looks at the heart. If we go back 00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:30.309 to our portion of scripture in 1 Kings, Israel's 00:14:30.309 --> 00:14:33.110 problem wasn't their theology. They believed 00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:36.850 in God, but it was their affection. They believed 00:14:36.850 --> 00:14:40.509 in Him, but they didn't belong to Him. Their 00:14:40.509 --> 00:14:44.049 hearts were not aligned to Him. And in James 00:14:44.049 --> 00:14:46.970 1 verse 8, just write these scriptures down, 00:14:47.029 --> 00:14:49.529 you can read them at home. A double -minded man 00:14:49.529 --> 00:14:53.110 is unstable in everything. You cannot build a 00:14:53.110 --> 00:14:57.169 stable life on a divided heart. So church God 00:14:57.169 --> 00:15:01.149 is after our heart not our performance and Alignment 00:15:01.149 --> 00:15:05.169 is always begins internally Alignment is a decision. 00:15:05.350 --> 00:15:07.710 Yes, Lord. I'm gonna align with what you've told 00:15:07.710 --> 00:15:10.090 me to do. Yes, Lord. I'm gonna align with your 00:15:10.090 --> 00:15:13.909 word Maybe God isn't calling you to something 00:15:13.909 --> 00:15:17.250 specific right now, but he's asking us for obedience 00:15:17.250 --> 00:15:21.490 to his word Simple things. Do you know that in 00:15:21.490 --> 00:15:23.470 Proverbs it says you can't call people an idiot? 00:15:24.580 --> 00:15:26.740 Align yourself with that. Don't call people idiots. 00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:32.440 Yes? Even the taxi driver, dancing, Francis Road, 00:15:32.539 --> 00:15:35.320 whatever that road is to them all. Don't call 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.320 people idiots. It's a simple thing, in obedience 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:42.980 to the word. When the Lord says, give, do we 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:46.500 have to bargain with God every month? Um, Lord, 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:51.580 well, you know. No! It's not yours to decide. 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:54.919 God says, give. He gave you that money in the 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:56.980 first place. He gave you that job in the first 00:15:56.980 --> 00:16:00.440 place. He gave you that seed, that resource in 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:03.700 the first place. Now every month we sit here 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:06.399 because let me tell you, when you up here and 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:09.320 you speak about money, you feel the church. It's 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:12.200 like breaks. Come on guys, let's get over that. 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.639 God says, let's give. Go back to the church of 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:18.779 acts. Would you sell your house because someone 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:21.600 else didn't have a home? That's what they did 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:25.340 in the book of acts. They sold what they had 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:29.460 so that everybody could have. Now we're questioning, 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:33.100 Lord should I be, I don't know, look Lord, we 00:16:33.100 --> 00:16:35.139 don't really know about this land down the road. 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:42.360 I want to say something. You're going to come 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:45.240 into that new building and sit on a chair. Make 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:47.019 sure you were obedient to the Lord and what He 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:49.559 told you to give. If He tells you to give two 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:51.850 rent, give two rent. If it tells you to give 00:16:51.850 --> 00:16:55.950 200 ,000 rand, give 200 ,000 rand and do not 00:16:55.950 --> 00:16:58.970 delay in your obedience to the Lord. If you walk 00:16:58.970 --> 00:17:01.029 out here today and God tells you to bathe lunch 00:17:01.029 --> 00:17:04.769 for somebody, be obedient. And don't go to shop 00:17:04.769 --> 00:17:11.150 rat. No Lord. No! If the Lord says go out here 00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:13.309 and bathe somebody KFC, go and bathe them KFC, 00:17:13.690 --> 00:17:17.589 it's not your money to begin with. Church obedience 00:17:17.589 --> 00:17:21.109 to the fullest degree. Or are we gonna choose 00:17:21.109 --> 00:17:23.769 comfort? No Lord, okay, so you said I must buy 00:17:23.769 --> 00:17:25.950 Gary lunch, but let me quickly just buy him a 00:17:25.950 --> 00:17:28.230 50 yen lunch so that I make sure I have a 50 00:17:28.230 --> 00:17:31.430 yen. What happens if on the other side of your 00:17:31.430 --> 00:17:34.009 obedience God is gonna give you the greatest 00:17:34.009 --> 00:17:42.170 blessing? You know I was reminded We for four 00:17:42.170 --> 00:17:45.349 months listen here listen. We also have gone 00:17:45.349 --> 00:17:48.150 through tough times Okay, we didn't just arrive 00:17:48.150 --> 00:17:52.480 in Jeffries Bay We had to walk a long road. So 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.339 even in our obedience, there was still a lot 00:17:55.339 --> 00:17:58.819 that had to go. Water under the bridge, so to 00:17:58.819 --> 00:18:01.599 speak. There were four months that we didn't 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:04.680 have a car in Jeffries Bay. We were running a 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:10.140 church. And we didn't have a car. One day I'm 00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:12.640 walking home. down the Gomer Road and I've got 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:15.319 my checkers bags and it starts raining and it's 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:17.359 raining in direction of my face. I'm like Lord 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:19.759 are you serious? Can you just turn the direction 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:24.680 of the rain? Please! And I'm mad! And I get home 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:27.000 that afternoon and now my washing's wet and I'm 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:28.740 pulling my washing off the line and I'm very 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:31.500 frustrated with the Lord. And the Lord shows 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:35.420 me a car key. I was like okay Lord, I'm really 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:38.400 upset. Now please, not a carrot in front of me. 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:44.000 And that night, CJ has a dream. And the Lord 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.180 says to him, CJ, you need to phone that pastor, 00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:50.200 the one I just spoke about. And you need to say 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:53.799 thank you to him. The next day, CJ had to pick 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:55.859 up the phone. He hadn't spoken to that pastor 00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:59.440 for five years, picked up the phone. And he said, 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:01.839 I just want to say thank you for everything you 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.619 taught us. Thank you for everything you did for 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:07.940 my family. Do you know what happened that Friday 00:19:07.940 --> 00:19:12.609 evening? Do you want to know? We got given a 00:19:12.609 --> 00:19:19.589 car. So church, on the other side of your obedience 00:19:19.589 --> 00:19:22.529 could be the breakthrough that you trust in God 00:19:22.529 --> 00:19:26.150 for. But are you willing today to align yourself 00:19:26.150 --> 00:19:29.849 with what God is telling you to do? Are you willing 00:19:29.849 --> 00:19:33.329 to be obedient and align yourself to what God 00:19:33.329 --> 00:19:36.970 is telling you to do? It costs this Christian 00:19:36.970 --> 00:19:41.779 life. It's not easy being a disciple of Jesus 00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:47.259 is not easy It's not a bunch of roses that people 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:50.579 want to make us believe it costs to be a disciple 00:19:50.579 --> 00:19:59.380 of Jesus. Amen Number two with alignment We need 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:02.819 to have a repaired altar and what is that it's 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:06.319 a posture of surrender Elijah didn't just pray 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:12.039 but he repaired the altar first. And fire didn't 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:16.900 fall until the altar was restored. The altar 00:20:16.900 --> 00:20:20.259 represents our devotion church. Is our altar 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:24.180 broken down by the busyness of life? Is our altar 00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:27.380 just broken down because we're just pursuing 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:31.299 stuff? And I'm not talking just about material 00:20:31.299 --> 00:20:34.000 stuff. Sometimes we get so consumed with just 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:38.730 daily living. God didn't come and fix the fire 00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:43.089 problem. He fixed the altar problem first. And 00:20:43.089 --> 00:20:47.349 fire only falls on what is fully laid down. So 00:20:47.349 --> 00:20:49.950 spiritually speaking, the altar wasn't just broken 00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:53.730 stone. It was a broken heart posture. And that's 00:20:53.730 --> 00:20:55.630 what needed to be repaired. That's what needed 00:20:55.630 --> 00:20:57.950 to come back into alignment before the fire could 00:20:57.950 --> 00:21:02.890 fall. And number three, remember we talking about 00:21:02.890 --> 00:21:06.809 what alignment really requires? It requires the 00:21:06.809 --> 00:21:12.009 right time. In 1 Kings 8 36 we read, at the time 00:21:12.009 --> 00:21:15.710 of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah 00:21:15.710 --> 00:21:19.509 the prophet came near and prayed. Church, there's 00:21:19.509 --> 00:21:22.730 Kronos time. That's time that we used to. It's 00:21:22.730 --> 00:21:24.730 the clock. It's the minutes. It's the hours. 00:21:24.930 --> 00:21:27.250 It's the years. It's time that can be measured, 00:21:27.670 --> 00:21:31.089 right? It's very methodical. We know after 10 00:21:31.089 --> 00:21:35.230 comes 11. But today I want to speak to you about 00:21:35.230 --> 00:21:39.170 Kairos time. And this is God's time. This is 00:21:39.170 --> 00:21:41.910 an opportune moment. It's a season of visitation. 00:21:42.890 --> 00:21:46.849 Kairos is very different to Kronos. Kairos is 00:21:46.849 --> 00:21:50.589 about moments, not about minutes. Often it is 00:21:50.589 --> 00:21:53.809 used to refer to the right moment, the opportune 00:21:53.809 --> 00:21:57.609 moment, or a defining moment. And Kairos is time 00:21:57.609 --> 00:22:01.809 judged, not by its duration, but by its importance 00:22:01.809 --> 00:22:05.920 and its value. Karras also refers to a period 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:08.460 of time that is significant and therefore is 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:12.019 sometimes translated to season. Isn't that Christianese? 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:16.480 It's my season. It's not my season. Right? But 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:20.160 we're talking about Karras' time. And Karras 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:23.000 is a window of time that requires an intentional 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:26.920 purposeful response. It is a time in which life 00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:29.819 -shaping decisions are made. It's a defining 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:33.710 moment. Why is people recognize and respond to 00:22:33.710 --> 00:22:37.569 Kairos moments? Because we know what kind of 00:22:37.569 --> 00:22:43.029 time it is. In Luke 19 .44, Jesus wept because 00:22:43.029 --> 00:22:46.269 the people did not recognize the time of their 00:22:46.269 --> 00:22:50.910 visitation. So the truth is, Kairos moments demand 00:22:50.910 --> 00:22:54.910 discernment and alignment. It's not accidental. 00:22:55.509 --> 00:22:58.609 Kairos is not accidental. It's encountered by 00:22:58.609 --> 00:23:02.319 aligned hearts. When our hearts are aligned to 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:08.180 it, we cannot see When our hearts are not aligned 00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:11.000 We cannot see the seasons and moments that God 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:13.960 is leading us into Because we too busy with everything 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:17.339 else that is happening around us In this season 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:19.440 that we walked through when God called us to 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:23.059 Jeffrey's Bay We were going through the mole 00:23:23.059 --> 00:23:27.660 rat in one meeting both post season I lost our 00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:30.369 jobs And so for six months we had no employment. 00:23:30.730 --> 00:23:33.369 It was wild. And all because we were saying yes 00:23:33.369 --> 00:23:38.730 to Jesus. And in this time, I was called into 00:23:38.730 --> 00:23:41.769 a meeting and it was said to me, well, you don't 00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:46.650 have to go with your husband. Red flag. Like, 00:23:46.730 --> 00:23:49.670 sorry. If your husband is stepping out and rebelling, 00:23:49.769 --> 00:23:52.309 you don't have to follow him. I'm like, sorry. 00:23:53.210 --> 00:23:56.390 And that night we went home. And I didn't even 00:23:56.390 --> 00:24:00.630 tell CJ about this. But he had a dream. And in 00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:02.710 the dream we were standing in this massive warehouse. 00:24:03.329 --> 00:24:06.250 And the pastor had called me aside and he was 00:24:06.250 --> 00:24:10.549 trying to convince me of something. And as Parseje 00:24:10.549 --> 00:24:12.609 looked to the left, he just saw roller doors. 00:24:12.829 --> 00:24:14.589 You know these garage doors that make so much 00:24:14.589 --> 00:24:17.150 noise? Coming down, doof, doof, doof, and they 00:24:17.150 --> 00:24:20.130 were closing. And he grabbed me in the dream, 00:24:20.410 --> 00:24:23.309 Amber and Josh, and we started running. And we 00:24:23.309 --> 00:24:26.170 made it out the smallest door that was left. 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:28.119 on the right hand side there was just one small 00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:30.759 door we made it out and the door closed behind 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:33.700 us and we were standing at the zebra crossing 00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:37.140 in front of the tasty table so the next morning 00:24:37.140 --> 00:24:44.519 he woke up and he said to me we need to go church 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:51.150 I want you to understand that God can lead you 00:24:51.150 --> 00:24:54.630 to significant things, but if you miss the Cairo's 00:24:54.630 --> 00:24:56.430 moment, you're gonna miss what he's wanting to 00:24:56.430 --> 00:25:02.029 do. Had passed the siege and I in that moment, 00:25:02.250 --> 00:25:04.910 God was showing us this was our last chance to 00:25:04.910 --> 00:25:09.009 get out. If we were not obedient to God in that 00:25:09.009 --> 00:25:11.910 moment, I promise you, we would not be standing 00:25:11.910 --> 00:25:17.400 here today. I don't to credit the success of 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:21.940 Waypoint Church to us. I don't. But God asked 00:25:21.940 --> 00:25:28.660 us to come. We were His second choice. There 00:25:28.660 --> 00:25:30.880 was somebody He asked before us and they said 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:35.299 no. Had we said no, would you be sitting here 00:25:35.299 --> 00:25:38.480 today? Would countless lives have encountered 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:42.720 Jesus? And so I'm encouraging you church today. 00:25:43.230 --> 00:25:46.690 Do not just get lost in time and making life 00:25:46.690 --> 00:25:49.849 happen. Align your hearts with Jesus today completely. 00:25:50.450 --> 00:25:53.309 Full obedience. Yes Jesus, here I am. What are 00:25:53.309 --> 00:25:58.029 you calling me to do? And do it. Who is on the 00:25:58.029 --> 00:26:04.390 other side of your obedience today? I stand this 00:26:04.390 --> 00:26:07.519 morning and I look around this church. I'm humbled. 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:10.660 I am so humbled. I look at this worship team 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:13.460 and I say, Jesus, this is what we prayed for. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:18.059 Dear Lord, is who's past CJ prayed for? Chantal 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:20.740 is who past CJ prayed for? She keeps us on her 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:25.799 knees. Jordan, could it send to say every single 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:28.259 one of you sitting here are people that we prayed 00:26:28.259 --> 00:26:31.079 for? There's some of you sitting here today in 00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:33.180 my heart breaks because the first time I met 00:26:33.180 --> 00:26:37.210 you, to where you are now it's just alignment 00:26:37.210 --> 00:26:40.609 to get back to the person that I know who God 00:26:40.609 --> 00:26:43.210 has called you to be I know the anointing that 00:26:43.210 --> 00:26:46.970 rests on your life you're out of alignment can 00:26:46.970 --> 00:26:50.109 I say to you as your pastor today get back into 00:26:50.109 --> 00:26:52.529 alignment get into everything that God has called 00:26:52.529 --> 00:26:56.549 you to it's not worth the disobedience it's not 00:26:56.549 --> 00:27:00.450 worth the yes Lord I'll do it but when if let 00:27:00.450 --> 00:27:05.650 me just catch one more serve Lord Church, who 00:27:05.650 --> 00:27:08.490 is on the other side of your obedience today? 00:27:17.829 --> 00:27:21.609 Ephesians 5, 15 to 16 tells us to love wisely, 00:27:22.329 --> 00:27:26.390 making the most of every opportunity. Let me 00:27:26.390 --> 00:27:30.130 read it, look carefully, then how you walk, not 00:27:30.130 --> 00:27:33.700 as unwise, but as wise. making the best use of 00:27:33.700 --> 00:27:36.559 the time because the days are evil. Therefore 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:39.200 do not be foolish, but understand what the will 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:48.200 of the Lord is. Church, if we align ourselves, 00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:53.259 if we align the posture of our hearts, if we 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:56.579 repair the altars, if we step into the chorus, 00:27:57.140 --> 00:28:00.480 time of the Lord, the result is the fire is going 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:04.009 to fall. And in scripture fire is never random. 00:28:04.250 --> 00:28:08.990 It's God's signature. It represents God's presence. 00:28:09.630 --> 00:28:12.670 We look at the burning bush in Exodus 3. His 00:28:12.670 --> 00:28:17.049 approval. It's the consuming the sacrifice in 00:28:17.049 --> 00:28:21.849 Leviticus 9. His holiness. He's refining us all 00:28:21.849 --> 00:28:25.690 the time and his power. If we go back to this 00:28:25.690 --> 00:28:29.400 scene here on Mount Carmel. The contrast is that 00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:32.599 Bol's prophets, they were shouting, they cut 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:36.200 themselves, they made noise, they tried to manufacture 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:39.819 fire through human efforts, noise and manipulation. 00:28:41.099 --> 00:28:44.279 But Elijah, what did he do? He simply aligned 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:48.200 the wood, he repaired the altar and he prayed. 00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:52.480 And then church, he waited for the revealed fire 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:57.539 through alignment and surrender. The lesson here 00:28:57.539 --> 00:29:00.240 is we cannot manufacture what only alignment 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:05.940 brings. So stop trying to work for what you just 00:29:05.940 --> 00:29:12.579 need to align yourself with. Fire falls after 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:19.500 alignment, not before. So church, let me be honest 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:22.960 with you, alignment is not easy. It often costs 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:27.859 something. It's not always comfortable. It will 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:31.859 cost you the approval of people. Because they 00:29:31.859 --> 00:29:36.359 aren't going where you're going. I've shared 00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:38.400 our testimony and so we know what that feels 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:41.460 like. When we first stepped into this director 00:29:41.460 --> 00:29:44.319 from the Lord, he called us to full surrender. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:49.400 It's scary. It's scary to say, okay Lord, we'll 00:29:49.400 --> 00:29:52.299 leave. We'll pack up our lives in Joburg. We'll 00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:56.119 leave our family. We'll take my 12 and 13 year 00:29:56.119 --> 00:29:58.960 old. Joshua had just been announced the prefect 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:00.960 for grade seven, and here I'm having to tell 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:04.079 my son, it's okay, we're going to Jeffrey's Bay. 00:30:05.700 --> 00:30:10.339 Because we're a family on mission. And I shared 00:30:10.339 --> 00:30:13.839 with you that had we come later, or even earlier, 00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:17.220 we would have missed the chorus moment for what 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:22.519 God was calling us to. And church, the only thing 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:27.000 that we had in that moment was the Lord. You 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:28.819 know, no matter what happened with that church, 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:30.839 no matter what happened with those leaders, as 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:34.660 I said, love and bless him. But I believe that 00:30:34.660 --> 00:30:38.180 was a setup from the Lord, because no man can 00:30:38.180 --> 00:30:41.740 take glory for what God has done. We had to be 00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:48.380 on our own, fully dependent on him. And you know, 00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:53.240 as much as our hearts were breaking, as much 00:30:53.240 --> 00:30:56.519 as it was like, We're stepping into the complete 00:30:56.519 --> 00:31:00.779 unknown. There was a settlement on the inside 00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:05.400 of us because we know God to be faithful. So 00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:07.240 I can promise you, church, that when God has 00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:09.440 called you to something, it's going to cost you, 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:14.619 but he is faithful on the other side. So today 00:31:14.619 --> 00:31:16.579 I want you to take a real look at your life. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:21.839 Look at this year ahead. We're already into the 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:26.029 second month. But what has God spoken to you 00:31:26.029 --> 00:31:31.089 that you've lost your way on? Not because you 00:31:31.089 --> 00:31:35.789 don't love Him. Where have you started to limp 00:31:35.789 --> 00:31:39.769 because the comforts have crept in? Compromise, 00:31:40.569 --> 00:31:43.869 bad habits, or the noise of others has pulled 00:31:43.869 --> 00:31:50.250 you into? I believe today, church, is a carous 00:31:50.250 --> 00:31:55.220 moment. Stop shouting like the prophet of all 00:31:55.220 --> 00:31:57.799 trying to make things happen in your own strength 00:31:57.799 --> 00:32:03.619 Instead repair the altar Step into alignment 00:32:03.619 --> 00:32:08.200 and submit to the process It's your moment to 00:32:08.200 --> 00:32:12.859 align or maybe for some of us to realign It's 00:32:12.859 --> 00:32:15.539 a moment to let heaven respond to the posture 00:32:15.539 --> 00:32:20.960 of our hearts So my question remains how long 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:24.500 will you waver? Today, you need to make this 00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:28.160 choice. When your heart is aligned, heaven is 00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:31.960 going to respond. The fire is going to fall and 00:32:31.960 --> 00:32:36.660 the multiplication will begin. Ask yourself today, 00:32:37.339 --> 00:32:44.160 am I truly obedient? Am I willing to surrender 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:49.839 the opinion of others? And follow Jesus in all 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:54.819 that he is asking of me. Make that choice today. 00:32:55.539 --> 00:32:58.740 Let alignment be your path and watch what God 00:32:58.740 --> 00:33:03.660 will do. Can you just bow your heads where you 00:33:03.660 --> 00:33:12.660 are? I'm gonna pray for us. Father, we stand 00:33:12.660 --> 00:33:17.480 before you today. Not as people who are perfect, 00:33:18.180 --> 00:33:23.180 but father people that are hungry. We thank you 00:33:23.180 --> 00:33:27.640 for the confrontation of your word, Lord. Because 00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:30.940 your correction is a sign of your affection and 00:33:30.940 --> 00:33:35.380 your love for us. Lord, we repent for the limp. 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:40.200 We repent for the moments we've tried to balance 00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:46.359 your calling with our own comforts. We repent 00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:49.519 for seeking the approval of man while drifting 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:54.569 from the assignments of heaven. We recognize 00:33:54.569 --> 00:33:57.569 that our indecision has been a barrier to your 00:33:57.569 --> 00:34:01.869 move. And today, Father, we bring that indecision 00:34:01.869 --> 00:34:09.210 to an end. Right now, we repair the altar. In 00:34:09.210 --> 00:34:13.190 the quiet of this room, we lay down the broken 00:34:13.190 --> 00:34:17.750 pieces of our devotion. We lay down our J -Bay 00:34:17.750 --> 00:34:22.130 comforts, our excuses, and our divided loyalties. 00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:26.480 We bring our hearts into alignment with you, 00:34:26.659 --> 00:34:30.900 Holy Spirit. We declare that you are not just 00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:33.039 a God that we believe in, but you are the Lord 00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:37.940 that we belong to. Holy Spirit, fall like fire. 00:34:41.380 --> 00:34:43.940 Not because we've earned it and not because we've 00:34:43.940 --> 00:34:46.639 manufactured it, but because we're aligned with 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:52.880 you. Let your presence consume every compromise 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:58.860 father Let your fire purify our hearts our vision 00:34:58.860 --> 00:35:04.679 and refine our purpose today Father I pray for 00:35:04.679 --> 00:35:07.059 every single person standing at a crossroads 00:35:07.059 --> 00:35:11.559 today Give them the courage to choose obedience 00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:16.940 Full obedience Lord full surrender over approval 00:35:19.469 --> 00:35:22.449 Let the vagrant spirit be broken and let the 00:35:22.449 --> 00:35:25.389 spirit of sonship let the spirit of purpose arise 00:35:25.389 --> 00:35:32.289 As we leave this place father, we don't just 00:35:32.289 --> 00:35:34.829 leave with a sermon but we leave with a mandate 00:35:34.829 --> 00:35:40.690 And may our lives be so aligned that your power 00:35:40.690 --> 00:35:43.769 becomes visible in our homes in our families 00:35:43.769 --> 00:35:49.440 in our businesses in this town Lord Father we 00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:53.019 step out of Kronos and we step into a Kairos 00:35:53.019 --> 00:35:58.880 moment with you We will waver no longer Lord 00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:03.539 Today we choose we choose we choose to align 00:36:03.539 --> 00:36:09.599 with you and today we follow In the mighty name 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:12.400 of Jesus we pray Amen