WEBVTT

00:00:15.050 --> 00:00:18.089
you just give a Life Bible welcome and just honor

00:00:18.089 --> 00:00:21.149
Frank and Sharon Damasio and Pastor Frank as

00:00:21.149 --> 00:00:29.629
he comes and brings a message. Morning. Thank

00:00:29.629 --> 00:00:35.750
you, Brad, for that warm introduction and referring

00:00:35.750 --> 00:00:44.149
to me as a grandpa. It's always great to be here

00:00:44.149 --> 00:00:48.270
and great to be with the leaders yesterday and

00:00:48.270 --> 00:00:50.670
last night with the staff and elders and today

00:00:50.670 --> 00:00:53.390
with the church and then we head back up to Portland

00:00:53.390 --> 00:00:56.229
and meander through life up there and out of

00:00:56.229 --> 00:00:59.929
there and etc. I just noticed that my wife and

00:00:59.929 --> 00:01:03.009
Jenny, where is Jen? She's coming from the back.

00:01:04.709 --> 00:01:08.950
Okay. I wanted to show the church that they matched

00:01:08.950 --> 00:01:17.189
this morning. You know, the look of importance.

00:01:23.790 --> 00:01:28.390
The church here is an amazing church, really.

00:01:28.989 --> 00:01:34.030
You're an oasis in a desert, and you have done

00:01:34.030 --> 00:01:38.230
something very incredible to do what you do in

00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:45.000
Harrisburg. around is a very significant achievement.

00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:51.480
I just again honor Brad and Jen and the team

00:01:51.480 --> 00:02:02.079
for their diligent leadership consistently. They

00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:07.920
are a cut above. I always get just a little jealous

00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:13.500
because Brad can preach. He can prophesy. He

00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:16.979
can emcee. And then he can sing the announcements

00:02:16.979 --> 00:02:22.879
if he wants. You know, he can. Me, I'm just stuck

00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:26.780
teaching. You know, I can't sing. But sometimes

00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:34.659
I do, but it's not appreciated. So I honor that

00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:37.819
gift and the whole family. It's an amazing thing.

00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:43.960
I always see coming here as part of family life.

00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:50.120
I've known Brent and their family and the beginning

00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:53.159
of this church forever. And so I'm a part of

00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:55.800
it. I'm a part of you. I'm part of the family.

00:02:56.620 --> 00:03:00.319
I am the father, I guess, for some. I'm the grandpa.

00:03:03.849 --> 00:03:06.569
For Jessie Jo, I certainly am. I gave her one

00:03:06.569 --> 00:03:10.550
of my bracelets. I do some bracelets I make called

00:03:10.550 --> 00:03:13.270
Pick Up the Pieces after I went through cancer

00:03:13.270 --> 00:03:15.689
and all the stuff I've been through. I'm five

00:03:15.689 --> 00:03:21.509
years cancer -free, by the way. And so I give

00:03:21.509 --> 00:03:24.409
these bracelets away. They're a leather bracelet

00:03:24.409 --> 00:03:26.800
that says... pick up the pieces, because that's

00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:29.080
what the doctor told me one of the last visits

00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:31.259
I had with him, and I was griping about some

00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:34.180
stuff. And she says, you're alive, and other

00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:36.060
people that took your treatments are dead. You

00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:38.360
should appreciate that you're alive. Do you appreciate

00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.080
that you're alive, Frank? Yes, I appreciate I'm

00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:44.199
alive. You know, aren't you grateful? Yes, I'm

00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:46.139
grateful. Aren't you a pastor? No, I'm not a

00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:52.020
pastor. She says, you know what I'm talking about,

00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:56.020
attitude. And I said, I do, I do. And she had

00:03:56.020 --> 00:03:59.060
told me that my nerve in my leg would never get

00:03:59.060 --> 00:04:02.039
better. My hip is cracked even right now because

00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:04.639
the bone's dead. And so getting around is a hassle.

00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:09.780
And I was a very active cyclist and golfer and

00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:13.120
always been into athletics my whole life. And

00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:15.979
so to not do that was just horrible news that

00:04:15.979 --> 00:04:18.319
she gave me. And she could tell. And, you know,

00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:21.220
we kind of embraced it. And then she had been

00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:23.939
through a lot with me. one of the four doctors

00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:28.100
that was a part of my whole entire journey. And

00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:30.779
she said something to me after I kind of was

00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:32.620
emotional about the whole thing and this and

00:04:32.620 --> 00:04:36.079
that. And she said to me, she says, Frank, you

00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:38.439
need to pick up all the pieces you have left

00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:42.199
and build something great with them. And that

00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:44.720
was like a prophetic word to me. Pick up all

00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.600
the pieces you have and build something with

00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:51.079
them. Quit whining. And so she kind of put me

00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:54.730
in my place. And she was right. She was right.

00:04:54.810 --> 00:04:57.670
And so that's what the bracelet says. And I'll

00:04:57.670 --> 00:05:00.310
pick up the pieces. I didn't have room to put

00:05:00.310 --> 00:05:02.209
the rest on, you know, build something great.

00:05:02.269 --> 00:05:04.189
I'll probably do another bracelet for that or

00:05:04.189 --> 00:05:07.209
whatever. But anyway, I gave that bracelet to

00:05:07.209 --> 00:05:10.069
Jessie Jo. So she's wearing that bracelet. She's

00:05:10.069 --> 00:05:14.689
the only one in the church that has it. And she

00:05:14.689 --> 00:05:16.910
showed it to me this morning. You know, she was

00:05:16.910 --> 00:05:20.399
very... Very proud of that bracelet. And she

00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:24.240
says, no one else has it. No one else has it.

00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:29.180
You're the woman of God. All right? Because the

00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:31.160
time's going to go and I need to kind of jump

00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:36.699
in, I want to do something that would be my impartation

00:05:36.699 --> 00:05:38.480
to the church today. What I feel, what I see,

00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:43.139
what I want to say is in this message. When it

00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:47.060
comes to the... The Word of the Lord comes to

00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:49.040
us, and this church is familiar with the Word

00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:52.959
of the Lord, as I am. I've had some significant

00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:57.259
times in my life where the Word of the Lord came

00:05:57.259 --> 00:06:00.139
to me, and that was a pivotal, what I call a

00:06:00.139 --> 00:06:04.300
pivotal prophetic moment. The Word came, and

00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:06.839
it was a pivot point. It was a turning point.

00:06:08.550 --> 00:06:11.730
At certain times, it was closing doors, opening

00:06:11.730 --> 00:06:15.089
doors, and clarifying things. And sometimes I

00:06:15.089 --> 00:06:16.829
didn't even know what the prophetic word meant

00:06:16.829 --> 00:06:20.209
until later. And that's the case a lot of times

00:06:20.209 --> 00:06:23.649
with the prophetic word. And so I enjoy the prophetic

00:06:23.649 --> 00:06:26.490
and believe in the prophetic, and I believe it's

00:06:26.490 --> 00:06:27.970
part of the church and should be part of the

00:06:27.970 --> 00:06:32.490
church. I'm going to give you today not the word

00:06:32.490 --> 00:06:34.970
of the Lord to you individually, but the word

00:06:34.970 --> 00:06:38.220
of the Lord to you as a church. And so I would

00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:40.720
like you to get excited about hearing something

00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:44.149
for your church. the same excitement you have

00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:46.089
if they were going to lay hands on you individually.

00:06:46.790 --> 00:06:49.209
If you were coming up before the prophets and

00:06:49.209 --> 00:06:51.089
it would be an exciting time for you, they laid

00:06:51.089 --> 00:06:52.870
hands on you and they gave you a word, you'd

00:06:52.870 --> 00:06:55.009
be weeping, you'd be clapping, you'd be, you

00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:56.670
know, sharing that word. It would be the great

00:06:56.670 --> 00:06:58.569
day. You go out with your friends, you talk about

00:06:58.569 --> 00:07:00.930
the prophecy. I'd like you to kind of lean into

00:07:00.930 --> 00:07:04.350
my message this morning and say, I'm going to

00:07:04.350 --> 00:07:07.069
really receive the word of the Lord for the church.

00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:10.139
Not just for me personally, but I'm part of the

00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:11.899
church and for the church. If you're a visitor

00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:13.959
and however you got here, thank you for coming.

00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:15.779
If you're new to the church, thank you for being

00:07:15.779 --> 00:07:18.459
here. If you're new to everything that church

00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:20.740
does with the worship and, you know, all the

00:07:20.740 --> 00:07:22.600
stuff that happens, maybe that's all different

00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:24.259
for you. Thank you for coming. Thank you for

00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:27.480
trying it. And the prophetic is simply when God

00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:30.120
speaks, God speaks through the Holy Spirit, through

00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:32.740
the word and through other people. And the prophetic

00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:35.600
is not something weird and mystical. It's very

00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:38.500
real and it works. and it helps the church, and

00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:40.680
Jesus gave apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor,

00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:42.620
teachers. He didn't give four. He didn't give

00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:44.379
three. He gave five, and the prophets are proud

00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:46.360
of it. That's my presupposition on the prophets.

00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:50.639
And so we need to have respect for the prophetic

00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:53.300
word and respect for that prophetic presence

00:07:53.300 --> 00:07:56.319
that comes upon a church. Now, in the Bible,

00:07:56.540 --> 00:07:58.199
I'm not going to preach on these, but this is

00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.899
my frame. In the Bible, in the book of Revelation,

00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:03.560
you have John who wrote the book of Revelation,

00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:07.439
the apostle John, the beloved apostle. that leaned

00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:09.740
his head on Jesus' chest during that communion

00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:11.899
service, that beloved apostle that wrote the

00:08:11.899 --> 00:08:14.879
Gospel of John, which is the most unique of all

00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:17.220
the Gospels, the Gospel of John. And he wrote

00:08:17.220 --> 00:08:20.899
1 John, 2 John, 3 John. And then in his latter

00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:24.060
years, last book to be written in the New Testament

00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:25.980
was the book of Revelation. It was toward the

00:08:25.980 --> 00:08:28.959
end of the century. And John was the last living

00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:32.860
apostle. And John had already been stoned. He

00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:36.610
had been boiled in oil. prison he had already

00:08:36.610 --> 00:08:39.909
been through so many physical things before they

00:08:39.909 --> 00:08:42.590
sent him to the Isle of Patmos which is an island

00:08:42.590 --> 00:08:44.490
where the prisoners would go and never return

00:08:44.490 --> 00:08:46.909
and so that was the island you would send the

00:08:46.909 --> 00:08:48.750
prisoner and they would die there and it was

00:08:48.750 --> 00:08:51.389
a it was a place for the hardcore prisoners that's

00:08:51.389 --> 00:08:54.330
the Isle of Patmos that's where John wrote the

00:08:54.330 --> 00:08:57.649
book of Revelation and so on the Isle of Patmos

00:08:57.649 --> 00:09:00.129
the heavens opened and John began to write and

00:09:00.129 --> 00:09:03.600
the Isle of Patmos is an island that faces the

00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:08.480
coastline, which would now be Turkey, faces that

00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:10.820
coastline right there, and it was just a little

00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:13.840
ways off the coast, and the main cities that

00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.960
he would be facing would be the cities that he

00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:19.460
writes to in the book of Revelation. So the setting

00:09:19.460 --> 00:09:22.919
is John is old, he's on an island, the heavens

00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:26.019
open up, and God begins to speak to him, and

00:09:26.019 --> 00:09:29.580
God speaks to him about these seven cities, and

00:09:29.580 --> 00:09:33.330
they're all lined up on a... track one two three

00:09:33.330 --> 00:09:36.149
four five six seven they were on the trade pathway

00:09:36.149 --> 00:09:40.289
of that particular era and they were all central

00:09:40.289 --> 00:09:44.509
cities and out from them many other suburbs and

00:09:44.509 --> 00:09:46.409
things would happen so they were the central

00:09:46.409 --> 00:09:49.669
cities and so he wrote to the city and to the

00:09:49.669 --> 00:09:53.370
church of Ephesus so he he begins to sit down

00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.299
and he writes this Through the Holy Spirit and

00:09:56.299 --> 00:09:58.919
by the visitation of God, he writes to the church

00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.879
of Ephesus and he gives Ephesus a message. And

00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:04.759
then he writes to the church at Smyrna and he

00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:07.480
gives that church a message. Each one of them

00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:09.259
is a little different. There's only one thing

00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:13.139
that all seven receive. In these messages, there's

00:10:13.139 --> 00:10:15.399
only one repetition that is given. Every other

00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:18.679
message for every church is different for every

00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:20.820
one of them. There's a rebuke. There's a way

00:10:20.820 --> 00:10:22.720
for them to repent. There's a way for them to

00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:24.639
set things in order. There's only one church

00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:27.399
that doesn't receive a rebuke. And so in these

00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:29.940
letters to Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamos and

00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:32.559
Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea,

00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:35.259
we would recognize Laodicea because we quoted

00:10:35.259 --> 00:10:37.460
a lot, you know, the lukewarm church. But in

00:10:37.460 --> 00:10:40.700
those seven cities, those seven churches, John

00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:42.779
writes... his letters and this is what he says

00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:45.620
over and over again he that hath an ear let him

00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:48.539
hear what the Spirit is saying to the church

00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:52.019
he that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit

00:10:52.019 --> 00:10:54.759
is saying to the church he that hath an ear let

00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:56.960
him hear what he is saying to the church come

00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:00.120
on say it with me he that hath an ear let him

00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:03.200
hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches

00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:06.299
come on everybody he that hath an ear let him

00:11:06.299 --> 00:11:09.620
hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches

00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:12.879
and so What I'm doing this morning is very much

00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.440
in sync with what happens in the Scripture. And

00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:18.340
that is, by the Spirit, God speaks to churches.

00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:20.720
God speaks to corporate communities. God speaks

00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:23.639
to the people who are in that corporate community.

00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:26.480
Ephesus is different than Laodicea. Laodicea

00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:28.139
is different than Smyrna. All of them received

00:11:28.139 --> 00:11:30.259
the word from the Lord, and they had to adjust

00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:34.179
accordingly. Now, every church is different and

00:11:34.179 --> 00:11:37.600
unique. No church receives all the same messages

00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.850
because there's a uniqueness. to the anglios,

00:11:40.850 --> 00:11:43.429
or the lead pastor, as referred to in Revelation

00:11:43.429 --> 00:11:46.429
chapter 2, 1, and the seven stars, which were

00:11:46.429 --> 00:11:48.970
the seven pastors of the seven churches that

00:11:48.970 --> 00:11:51.769
were in the hand of the Lord. And so he speaks

00:11:51.769 --> 00:11:54.269
to those seven stars, and he calls them anglios,

00:11:54.269 --> 00:11:57.409
the messengers of God. And so every church has,

00:11:57.549 --> 00:12:00.730
am I talking too fast? No, I just, I kind of

00:12:00.730 --> 00:12:02.509
have a lot to say, and I want to get on with

00:12:02.509 --> 00:12:05.110
it, because I haven't gotten to my message yet.

00:12:05.210 --> 00:12:09.750
And so... And the Anglios or the messenger, what

00:12:09.750 --> 00:12:13.169
we would call kind of a lead pastor or the overseer,

00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:18.220
the bishop. that person who oversees the church,

00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:21.080
they receive a word from God. So every church

00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:24.240
has a different gifted leader that leads the

00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:26.679
church. When I led the church up in Portland

00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:29.320
and we planted church missionaries and we built

00:12:29.320 --> 00:12:31.519
the culture of that church, I built it around

00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:33.879
my particular gifting. Why? Because that's the

00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:36.379
gifting I have. I have to build with the gifts

00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:39.419
that I have. And so being a teaching pastor was

00:12:39.419 --> 00:12:42.419
kind of my in -the -trench work that I did. And

00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:44.820
then being apostolic, and prophetic was kind

00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:47.200
of my out from the house that I did with other

00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:49.440
churches, conferences, and nations. And so I

00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:52.700
kind of wore four different hats during my time

00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:54.840
being a pastor teacher and kind of prophetic

00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:57.840
and apostle. And so being an apostle, I'm not

00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:00.399
trying to use that word in a huge way. It just

00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:02.639
means someone who has a father's heart and oversees

00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.659
things and speaks the word of the Lord to people,

00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:06.720
and if they don't obey, God kills them. That's

00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:13.639
all. So the apostolic is needed in the churches,

00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:16.200
prophetic is needed in the churches, etc. Now,

00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:20.370
every church... needs to know what God is saying

00:13:20.370 --> 00:13:22.789
to that church. Now, I'm going to talk with you

00:13:22.789 --> 00:13:24.950
about this subject, the making of a church's

00:13:24.950 --> 00:13:26.750
mantle, the making of a church's mantle, the

00:13:26.750 --> 00:13:31.070
making of a church's mantle. There are four things

00:13:31.070 --> 00:13:35.629
that are in the process of getting to this mantle.

00:13:35.669 --> 00:13:37.250
Here they are. I'm not sure what you have on

00:13:37.250 --> 00:13:38.710
the slides this morning, so I'm just going to

00:13:38.710 --> 00:13:40.590
preach, and you put up what you want, and if

00:13:40.590 --> 00:13:42.490
you don't find slides you want, just Google and

00:13:42.490 --> 00:13:46.470
put something else up, okay? The four things

00:13:46.470 --> 00:13:50.509
about churches that we would recognize and we

00:13:50.509 --> 00:13:53.769
would try to obey is, number one, we know that

00:13:53.769 --> 00:13:56.649
the church destiny is rooted in the church's

00:13:56.649 --> 00:13:58.929
relationship to the Lord of the church. And so

00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:02.559
there can be no destiny. of a church if the church

00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:05.220
is not related to the head of the church, which

00:14:05.220 --> 00:14:07.559
means the congregation has to have a relationship

00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:11.220
to Jesus. Jesus has to be the core, the center,

00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:15.019
not the perimeter of the church. Jesus has to

00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:17.480
be the core and the center to the preaching,

00:14:17.659 --> 00:14:19.700
to the worship, to the prayer, to everything

00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:22.879
you do. Jesus is the center. We have a song about

00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.759
Jesus being the center. So the church being different

00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:28.419
than any other institution, we build an altar.

00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:31.450
And when you come to the services, you encounter

00:14:31.450 --> 00:14:34.929
God. You encounter the Holy Spirit. You encounter

00:14:34.929 --> 00:14:37.450
Jesus. Why? Because we are a living organism.

00:14:37.590 --> 00:14:39.610
We're the church. We build altars. We embrace

00:14:39.610 --> 00:14:42.409
God. We talk about Jesus. We're not just another

00:14:42.409 --> 00:14:44.990
kind of a, you know, place that you can come

00:14:44.990 --> 00:14:47.090
and just go through a routine. We want you to

00:14:47.090 --> 00:14:49.210
build an altar. We want you to hear from God.

00:14:49.309 --> 00:14:51.610
We want your life to be transformed. We want

00:14:51.610 --> 00:14:54.110
you to encounter God every time you come into

00:14:54.110 --> 00:14:57.629
this building. We are a church that builds altars.

00:14:58.769 --> 00:15:01.669
Second, We know that the supernatural empowering

00:15:01.669 --> 00:15:05.029
of the church happens when the church is rooted

00:15:05.029 --> 00:15:08.019
where? In the spirit. You can't have a church

00:15:08.019 --> 00:15:09.460
without the Spirit, right? Because that's what

00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:11.759
Jesus did in Acts chapter 2. When he built the

00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:13.620
church, he poured out the Spirit. And so the

00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:16.080
pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the day of Pentecost

00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.159
in Acts chapter 2, was the foundation for the

00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.039
rest of the book of Acts, which is the only church

00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.759
book we have that we can see how Jesus built

00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.740
churches. And so the Holy Spirit is an important

00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:28.720
piece to building the church. The power of the

00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:31.080
Spirit, the love for the Spirit, staying in the

00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:33.480
Spirit, staying fresh in the Spirit. We need

00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:37.220
to have more of the Holy Spirit. not less of

00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:39.460
the Holy Spirit. We need to have more people

00:15:39.460 --> 00:15:41.679
filled with the Holy Spirit, not less people

00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:43.500
filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to have

00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:45.860
people embrace the Holy Spirit, not be afraid

00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:48.220
of the Holy Spirit. We are called to be Holy

00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:50.600
Spirit churches. We're not called just to be

00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:53.080
a structured, great institution that does everything

00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:55.820
good and we're squeaky clean and we have a great

00:15:55.820 --> 00:15:57.500
building, we have great carpet, we have great

00:15:57.500 --> 00:15:59.960
lights and we go through the service and we do

00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:02.259
it. We're not just here because we're squeaky

00:16:02.259 --> 00:16:04.740
clean and we have a great organization. We're

00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:07.409
here because... Jesus is the center and the Holy

00:16:07.409 --> 00:16:11.269
Spirit is the power. And that Holy Spirit needs

00:16:11.269 --> 00:16:13.789
to be in the life of every person in the church,

00:16:13.850 --> 00:16:16.370
not just some of the people. Every person needs

00:16:16.370 --> 00:16:18.190
to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And if you

00:16:18.190 --> 00:16:19.970
get filled with the Holy Spirit, you need to

00:16:19.970 --> 00:16:21.990
speak in tongues. Yes, I did say that. Speak

00:16:21.990 --> 00:16:25.269
in tongues. My little funny thing I say, my wife

00:16:25.269 --> 00:16:27.289
says, quit saying it, but I like it. It's if

00:16:27.289 --> 00:16:29.429
you buy the shoes, the tongues come with it.

00:16:29.509 --> 00:16:38.519
And so there's a... Why apologize for speaking

00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:41.159
in tongues? It's in the Bible. It's a powerful

00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:43.860
experience. It helps you pray better. It helps

00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:46.080
you worship better. It's part of being filled

00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:48.720
with the Holy Spirit. Don't try to make excuses

00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:50.940
about it. Don't try to become a third waver and

00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:52.840
say, be filled, but don't speak in tongues. Have

00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:54.779
the Holy Spirit, but don't worry about glossolalia

00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:56.720
because, you know, that's a Pentecostal thing.

00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:59.419
By the way, it is not a Pentecostal thing. It's

00:16:59.419 --> 00:17:02.960
a Jesus thing. It's a 12 apostle thing. And it's

00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:09.759
a Bible thing. It's not a Pentecostal church

00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:13.200
thing. It's just that that group of people happened

00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:14.759
to believe it and did it, and they got named

00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:16.980
because of Pentecost, the day of Pentecost, so

00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:20.200
Pentecostals. And so everybody now, if you speak

00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:22.240
in tongues, it simply means that you have a lot

00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:28.059
of spirit and no brains. You have great power

00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:31.160
and no doctrine. But that's not what we are.

00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:34.549
We can have both. We have spirit and brain, and

00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:37.089
we have power and doctrine. We're not settling

00:17:37.089 --> 00:17:39.490
for one side. We want everything. We are little

00:17:39.490 --> 00:17:47.029
pigs in the kingdom of God. We want it all. Third,

00:17:47.369 --> 00:17:51.170
we know that the character of the church determines

00:17:51.170 --> 00:17:55.410
the influence, longevity of the church. The church

00:17:55.410 --> 00:17:57.630
has to have character. I've been around long

00:17:57.630 --> 00:17:59.430
enough doing this to watch a lot of churches

00:17:59.430 --> 00:18:02.089
flame out. A lot of churches used to have great

00:18:02.089 --> 00:18:04.150
power and great presence and great influence,

00:18:04.230 --> 00:18:07.309
and they don't even exist anymore. I used to

00:18:07.309 --> 00:18:10.589
preach at their churches where they had thousands

00:18:10.589 --> 00:18:13.759
of people. Now they have nothing. Now some are

00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:17.079
totally gone. Some are dead. Some are split 20

00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:19.740
times. What happened? They lost their character.

00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:22.799
You can't have a good church if you don't have

00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:25.940
people of character. You have to be people of

00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:28.599
integrity. You have to have leaders of integrity.

00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:31.700
We can't sweep under the carpet things that are

00:18:31.700 --> 00:18:34.019
wrong in the kingdom of God. We can't excuse

00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:36.640
things and just act like it doesn't exist. The

00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:40.119
church has to be a clean place, a character place,

00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:43.119
a Jesus place. place, an integrity place. We

00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:45.799
have to do things right. We have to honor the

00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:48.480
rules that the Bible puts out, and we have to

00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.279
live by those, raise the church up, and if you

00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:53.299
do that, you'll be a church that goes on 10,

00:18:53.339 --> 00:18:56.240
20, 30, 40, 50. I handed our church over. Our

00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.599
church is almost 70 years old. Can you believe

00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:02.380
that? Our church is almost 70 years old up in

00:19:02.380 --> 00:19:05.539
Portland. We've only ever had three pastors in

00:19:05.539 --> 00:19:08.900
70 years. We've never had a fallen pastor. We've

00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:11.720
never had a fallen elder. We've never had a church

00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.079
split. We've never been a church that's been

00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:17.240
known for any kind of weird doctrine or heresies.

00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:19.779
We have gone on decade after decade. I'm just

00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:22.579
here to prophesy with my eyes open. You can finish

00:19:22.579 --> 00:19:25.079
this race with great character and you can be

00:19:25.079 --> 00:19:27.619
a church of influence and you can do great things

00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:31.519
for God and you will do great things for God.

00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:40.000
Keep your character. Fourth, It's the one I'm

00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.960
after. We know that each church has its own and

00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:48.259
like Bible would have your own unique destiny.

00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.740
You have a unique personality. Why? Because you

00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:56.039
have unique leaders and the blending of gifts

00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:58.799
and culture and legacy and Holy Spirit activity

00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:01.460
and things happen. The personality of the church

00:20:01.460 --> 00:20:04.279
begins to shape. That's what happens. You have

00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:07.539
a dominant distinctive. That dominant distinctive

00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:10.880
would be. Your attitude toward the Holy Spirit

00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.779
and toward the Word of God. I mean, it's in your

00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:16.640
culture. You have a heritage. And you have the

00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:19.059
thing that I'm talking about this morning. You

00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:21.839
have a unique mantle. And that unique mantle

00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:25.880
is important for us to understand and important

00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:29.740
for us to embrace. And so let's talk about mantles

00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:32.279
for a moment. Now, if you're not a Bible person,

00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:35.059
have not heard the word mantle, I'm going to

00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:37.299
frame it in so you can just walk right through

00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:40.279
it with me. The word mantle is a Bible word.

00:20:40.579 --> 00:20:43.059
Now, we use it sometimes if you're around church.

00:20:43.140 --> 00:20:45.019
A lot of people will say, well, that man really

00:20:45.019 --> 00:20:47.759
has a mantle or that guy really has a mantle.

00:20:47.819 --> 00:20:49.950
Wow, she leads worship. She has a mantle. for

00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:53.470
worship we use the terminology sometime and most

00:20:53.470 --> 00:20:55.930
people would have heard it how many of you would

00:20:55.930 --> 00:20:58.769
have heard the word mantle sometime how many

00:20:58.769 --> 00:21:01.230
of you would say i haven't i'm not very familiar

00:21:01.230 --> 00:21:05.450
with the word mantle anybody we're going to send

00:21:05.450 --> 00:21:09.450
you to a special class right now would you okay

00:21:09.450 --> 00:21:14.230
but it's in the bible and and the mantle is a

00:21:14.230 --> 00:21:19.880
significant powerful concept That is carried

00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:24.640
through scripture. The mantle is made for people.

00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:29.839
Individuals. Leaders. And it's also made for

00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:33.680
congregations and churches. So mantles are made

00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:38.220
for a person. And mantles can be made for a church.

00:21:38.460 --> 00:21:43.420
When God puts the mantle on a person. He doesn't

00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:46.519
always explain how much that mantle will cost

00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:50.660
you. He doesn't tell you the sacrifice involved.

00:21:51.220 --> 00:21:55.579
He doesn't tell you the journey to get the whole

00:21:55.579 --> 00:22:00.019
piece on you. But he promises you the grace to

00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:02.839
get through it. So the mantle of God comes upon

00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:06.259
us. And that mantle, there's two easy ones if

00:22:06.259 --> 00:22:09.220
you wanted to study it. One would be Joseph in

00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:13.160
Genesis 37 where his father makes him a tunic

00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:18.500
or a mantle of many colors. Many colors. And

00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:21.359
that mantle of many colors, when he put it on

00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:23.779
Joseph, all the other brothers went, wow, that's

00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:26.319
a beautiful coat. We're jealous. Why did you

00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:29.980
give Joseph that coat? But the coat was not just

00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:32.339
a coat. It was not just a mantle because it's

00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:35.190
the same word, the tunic. It was... many colors

00:22:35.190 --> 00:22:38.869
and it was prophetic. And so Joseph was given

00:22:38.869 --> 00:22:41.690
this mantle and he was going to live out the

00:22:41.690 --> 00:22:44.230
colors of the mantle. He was going to live out

00:22:44.230 --> 00:22:46.690
the blackness of the night. He was going to live

00:22:46.690 --> 00:22:49.049
out the redness of the jealousy. He was going

00:22:49.049 --> 00:22:52.089
to live out the gold of the supremacy that he

00:22:52.089 --> 00:22:54.849
would inherit. He is going to actually live out

00:22:54.849 --> 00:22:58.829
every single color that he's putting on. You

00:22:58.829 --> 00:23:01.210
need to watch it if God says, and I'm going to

00:23:01.210 --> 00:23:06.759
give you a mantle with many colors. Really? Yes.

00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:11.059
And you're going to live every one of them. You

00:23:11.059 --> 00:23:13.500
want to wear it? Oh, yeah, but you have no idea

00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:16.759
that it means pits and prisons and stuff and

00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:19.180
brothers that are jealous and all that's going

00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:22.240
to happen. So you wear the mantle, but the mantle

00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.880
costs. Now, when it comes to Elijah and Elijah,

00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:28.049
Elijah had a mantle. And he was a prophet. He

00:23:28.049 --> 00:23:31.809
did seven miracles. And God said to him, I want

00:23:31.809 --> 00:23:34.869
you to take your mantle and I want you to give

00:23:34.869 --> 00:23:38.829
it to another man. His name is Elisha. And I

00:23:38.829 --> 00:23:41.650
want him to carry the mantle. And so he does

00:23:41.650 --> 00:23:45.910
that. He goes down. And in 1 Kings 19, 19, it

00:23:45.910 --> 00:23:49.630
says that Elijah finds Elisha plowing in a field.

00:23:50.140 --> 00:23:52.880
And this man is not thinking about anything.

00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:55.079
He's not in the school of the prophets. He's

00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:57.019
not preparing for this. He's not thinking about

00:23:57.019 --> 00:24:00.880
it. And it says that the older prophet with his

00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:03.079
mantle. Now, remember, this mantle would have

00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:08.519
had so much in it in just the aroma of the mantle.

00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:12.539
His sweat, he had to walk 160 miles to get to

00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:16.019
the guy to give him the mantle. He had been in

00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:17.700
the cave. He had wore that mantle for years.

00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:21.980
There was an aroma to it. There was a friendship.

00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:25.099
There was something about Elijah's mantle that

00:24:25.099 --> 00:24:28.180
was very, very, very special. And God says, I

00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:30.559
want you to take it. I want you to throw it on

00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:33.700
that man. And so as he came down plowing, he

00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:36.779
throws the mantle on the younger man. And then

00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:39.279
he just keeps walking. And the younger man says,

00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:42.140
just a second. What have you done? Don't worry

00:24:42.140 --> 00:24:43.839
about it. The prophet didn't even want him to

00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:46.220
have it. Don't worry about it. I'm leaving. But

00:24:46.220 --> 00:24:48.440
the young man got it. He knew what it was. He

00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:51.180
just gave me his mantle. I got the mantle. I

00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:53.440
got his mantle. What does that mean? I'm going

00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:56.220
to go serve this man. And so he did for the next

00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:59.700
number of years. Seven years he served that man.

00:24:59.859 --> 00:25:02.400
And at the end of seven years, that mantle became

00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:05.420
his. But he was a servant before he could get

00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:07.539
the mantle. And so that's kind of the background

00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:11.240
of the mantle. Now, the word mantle. is what

00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:14.200
I want you to look at right here. The word mantle

00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:16.720
is from that Hebrew word, well, you would know,

00:25:16.819 --> 00:25:20.819
but the Hebrew word ador and ader, those two

00:25:20.819 --> 00:25:23.140
words are used throughout the scripture, and

00:25:23.140 --> 00:25:25.920
they're translated so many different ways. They're

00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:30.559
translated excellent, famous, mighty. They're

00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:37.009
translated noble, roomy. There's English words

00:25:37.009 --> 00:25:39.930
that come into your Bible, but it's the same

00:25:39.930 --> 00:25:44.190
Hebrew word over and over again when we talk

00:25:44.190 --> 00:25:46.369
about the mantle. So what is the mantle? This

00:25:46.369 --> 00:25:49.329
is what the mantle is. A mantle is the powerful

00:25:49.329 --> 00:25:56.569
anointing and call that rests upon a church.

00:25:58.130 --> 00:26:01.849
I'm talking to you, your church, to demonstrate.

00:26:04.269 --> 00:26:07.170
Something that is majestic, because that's what

00:26:07.170 --> 00:26:11.289
the word mantle means. Superior, magnificent,

00:26:11.769 --> 00:26:17.609
glorious. It's the grace that God puts on a church.

00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:22.420
grace lands on that church when that mantle lands

00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:24.579
on that church when that mantle begins to work

00:26:24.579 --> 00:26:27.740
itself into that church it begins to mold that

00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:30.799
church for the destiny that it has and you can't

00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.759
always see the breadth and the height and the

00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:35.039
width and etc of the destiny because you don't

00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:37.859
know all that the mantle means but as that mantle

00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:43.099
begins to rest upon the church there's a calling

00:26:43.099 --> 00:26:47.019
and there's a glory and there's a power and there's

00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:50.579
okay now let's drop into it in the New Testament.

00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:57.579
Acts 4 .33. Acts 4 .33. The word mantle, Hebrew.

00:26:57.779 --> 00:27:02.440
The word grace, Greek. are close to the same

00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:05.400
meaning because they have the same idea. Now,

00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:08.140
I don't have time to totally frame in this Greek

00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:11.619
word because this Greek word for grace has the

00:27:11.619 --> 00:27:14.240
idea that there's personal grace for salvation.

00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:17.640
You can't get saved unless the grace of God comes

00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:20.640
into your heart. There's no doubt about that.

00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:24.880
The scripture says that. By grace and faith.

00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:28.700
You're saved. But there's also a grace that comes

00:27:28.700 --> 00:27:31.859
on you for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And

00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:34.559
so there's a grace for salvation and there's

00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:38.940
a grace for gifting. And in the church, there's

00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:42.440
a grace for personality, power, and functionality.

00:27:42.579 --> 00:27:44.579
And that's what I'm talking about. Listen to

00:27:44.579 --> 00:27:47.619
it right here in Acts 4 .33. And with great power,

00:27:47.819 --> 00:27:51.940
everyone say great power. The apostles gave witness

00:27:51.940 --> 00:27:54.200
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and...

00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:58.279
Great grace, everyone say great grace, was upon

00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:03.799
them all. What is this? This is what I call the

00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:07.700
corporate grace mantle. The grace of God was

00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:11.039
upon them all. They were already saved. We're

00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:14.599
not talking salvation here. They haven't been

00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:17.579
taught about gifts of the Holy Spirit yet. But

00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:22.240
there was a mantle, a blanket, a canopy, a presence

00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:25.519
of the grace of God upon this church. And because

00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:29.519
of that, they had great power was working upon

00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:33.220
them all. An abundance of this grace was upon

00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:37.180
the church. All right? Now, grace levels. In

00:28:37.180 --> 00:28:42.119
understanding grace, number one, there's grace

00:28:42.119 --> 00:28:44.740
that comes on a person. Now, I'm not talking

00:28:44.740 --> 00:28:47.190
salvation. I'm talking gifting hand. mantle so

00:28:47.190 --> 00:28:50.750
grace comes on a person there's also number two

00:28:50.750 --> 00:28:56.130
grace can come on a family both natural and supernatural

00:28:56.130 --> 00:28:59.369
when you see it some families are prone to being

00:28:59.369 --> 00:29:02.670
filled with teachers Mom's a teacher. Dad's a

00:29:02.670 --> 00:29:05.210
principal. Kids grow up. They go to school. They

00:29:05.210 --> 00:29:08.069
become teachers. You're a carpenter. Your son's

00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:10.230
a carpenter. You're an electrician. He's an electrician.

00:29:11.190 --> 00:29:13.089
You're a business guy. Your daughter becomes.

00:29:13.309 --> 00:29:15.890
You're in medical. She becomes. He becomes. You

00:29:15.890 --> 00:29:18.509
watch it in families all the time. There's a

00:29:18.509 --> 00:29:21.819
grace even in the natural. that can rest on a

00:29:21.819 --> 00:29:24.339
family, and there's a grace in the supernatural

00:29:24.339 --> 00:29:27.859
that can rest on a family. My son is building

00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:30.099
a church, our son right now in Portland. His

00:29:30.099 --> 00:29:32.779
church is already almost 900 people, only 18

00:29:32.779 --> 00:29:35.720
months old, and people are looking at that and

00:29:35.720 --> 00:29:37.759
thinking, wow, this is an amazing church, and

00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:39.980
it is an amazing church, and he's right in the

00:29:39.980 --> 00:29:43.980
city. He's only 31 years old. He preaches the

00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:48.119
Bible with power and with clarity and with clear

00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:50.579
doctrine, with anointing. He moves in the gifts.

00:29:50.680 --> 00:30:03.579
Where did he get all that? Fruit doesn't fall

00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:08.660
far from the tree. And mantles don't fall far

00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:12.839
from the person. And so he has my mantle. Now,

00:30:12.859 --> 00:30:14.660
I don't rub it, and I don't even bring it up.

00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:16.599
When I preach there, I don't ever say anything

00:30:16.599 --> 00:30:23.480
like this. But in my heart, I know it. And it's

00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:27.519
true. Not everyone starts out of the gate at

00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:32.960
the same place. And legacy increases success.

00:30:34.059 --> 00:30:38.380
That's why you should protect your legacy. You

00:30:38.380 --> 00:30:41.670
protect. What you put down to the next generation.

00:30:41.730 --> 00:30:45.789
You protect what you pass on. Because not everybody

00:30:45.789 --> 00:30:48.430
starts at the same place. And we don't want the

00:30:48.430 --> 00:30:51.109
next generation to start all over again. We want

00:30:51.109 --> 00:30:53.069
them to stand on the shoulders of greatness.

00:30:53.170 --> 00:30:55.630
On the shoulders of faith. On the shoulders of

00:30:55.630 --> 00:30:58.670
grace. On the shoulders of miracles. On the shoulders

00:30:58.670 --> 00:31:03.930
of believing God for great things. The leaders

00:31:03.930 --> 00:31:06.190
coming up in this church should be standing on

00:31:06.190 --> 00:31:08.690
the shoulders of Brad and Jen and the rest of

00:31:08.690 --> 00:31:10.730
the elders and the team. And now they're in there.

00:31:10.829 --> 00:31:15.109
Are you? You're 40. You're 43. And you're 63,

00:31:15.349 --> 00:31:26.049
aren't you? No. You're 46. Oh, God. Shandai Rama.

00:31:26.549 --> 00:31:32.509
He is 50. Let it be known. that on this particular

00:31:32.509 --> 00:31:35.609
day in 2019, Pastor Frank said to the congregation,

00:31:36.069 --> 00:31:47.150
yea, thus saith the Lord, Brad is old. All right,

00:31:47.230 --> 00:31:50.569
he's 50, she's 43, and the elders of whatever

00:31:50.569 --> 00:31:52.609
age, they've been serving God for many, many

00:31:52.609 --> 00:31:55.170
years, and they have legacy in their families.

00:31:55.190 --> 00:31:57.849
Their families were families of... in my church.

00:31:57.970 --> 00:32:00.089
Both of their families were in my church in Eugene,

00:32:00.230 --> 00:32:02.589
and they were Christian families who had Christian

00:32:02.589 --> 00:32:05.089
faith, who had prayer, who had anointing, and

00:32:05.089 --> 00:32:07.690
they pass it on to their kids. And I'm watching

00:32:07.690 --> 00:32:10.430
Jessie Jo this morning, and she's standing right

00:32:10.430 --> 00:32:13.049
in front of my wife, and she kept looking at

00:32:13.049 --> 00:32:15.109
me. I know she wanted to sit on my lap, but I

00:32:15.109 --> 00:32:17.670
didn't have her come over because I knew I could

00:32:17.670 --> 00:32:21.250
never get rid of her again. And so I'm just joking.

00:32:21.309 --> 00:32:23.549
I'm just joking. Don't you tell her that. And

00:32:23.549 --> 00:32:31.890
so here she is. She's worshiping. Long hair,

00:32:32.130 --> 00:32:36.069
long hair, dressed perfect, dressed perfect,

00:32:36.230 --> 00:32:43.690
singing, moving. Who is she like? Hello. It runs

00:32:43.690 --> 00:32:55.789
in the family. She's not like Brad, no. And number

00:32:55.789 --> 00:33:00.069
one daughter, leading worship, prophesying, meandering

00:33:00.069 --> 00:33:03.140
in the spirit. Naturally, does it any time she

00:33:03.140 --> 00:33:05.720
wants. She could sing the song of the Lord at

00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:11.799
a funeral. And she might. Okay, what am I saying?

00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:16.700
Mantles come on people. Mantles come on families.

00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:23.640
Don't criticize mantles on families. Natural,

00:33:23.759 --> 00:33:28.299
supernatural. And mantles come on churches. And

00:33:28.299 --> 00:33:33.400
churches are made up. of the multi -level gifting

00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:37.440
of the leadership team. That's why you need all

00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:41.599
five of the Ephesians 4, 11, and 12 leaders.

00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:46.700
Jerusalem church. What was Jerusalem church like?

00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:53.619
Preached only to the Jews. Let it be known, if

00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:57.049
you don't know history, the first church... In

00:33:57.049 --> 00:34:03.890
Acts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Only preached to

00:34:03.890 --> 00:34:08.090
the Jews. And it took a sheet with a bunch of

00:34:08.090 --> 00:34:10.150
funny looking animals coming down in the dream

00:34:10.150 --> 00:34:16.110
for Peter. And God says, up, eat. Peter says,

00:34:16.170 --> 00:34:19.909
I am not going to eat those animals. That's against

00:34:19.909 --> 00:34:23.619
the law. And I am a... I am a pure Jew. No, I

00:34:23.619 --> 00:34:26.380
will not. God says, no, it's not about eating.

00:34:26.659 --> 00:34:33.900
Peter was always getting things wrong. So he's

00:34:33.900 --> 00:34:37.500
reacting, I will never eat that stuff. God says,

00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:40.360
geez, and you're the first pope. And so Peter,

00:34:40.500 --> 00:34:48.920
that was a joke too. God was saying to him, go

00:34:48.920 --> 00:34:51.179
outside, go outside, go outside what you're doing.

00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:55.239
House of Cornelius. God fell. And Peter says,

00:34:55.320 --> 00:34:56.960
I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. I

00:34:56.960 --> 00:34:58.980
was just there. And in the middle of the preaching,

00:34:59.059 --> 00:35:01.099
Holy Spirit fell on some of these Gentiles. And

00:35:01.099 --> 00:35:03.000
they got filled with the Holy Spirit. I heard

00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:04.699
them speak in tongues. I didn't mean to do it.

00:35:04.760 --> 00:35:06.780
I didn't try to do it. I didn't do anything about

00:35:06.780 --> 00:35:09.300
it. Honestly, guys, I was preaching in the middle

00:35:09.300 --> 00:35:12.179
of a sentence. God just interrupted me, overtook

00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:14.719
them. And I was just there saying, wow, wow,

00:35:14.820 --> 00:35:17.320
wow. Oh, what am I going to say to the church

00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:21.070
in Jerusalem? They were a one. One generation,

00:35:21.190 --> 00:35:28.250
one ethnic race focused people. Jerusalem. So

00:35:28.250 --> 00:35:32.670
what does God do? Okay. How many are enjoying

00:35:32.670 --> 00:35:36.090
this? How many feel you're getting something

00:35:36.090 --> 00:35:39.050
out of it? Okay, good. It's good for you to raise

00:35:39.050 --> 00:35:42.769
your hand. It makes me feel good. Okay. Corporate

00:35:42.769 --> 00:35:46.949
grace on the church is this. This is corporate

00:35:46.949 --> 00:35:50.139
grace. Next slide. Corporate grace. is a God

00:35:50.139 --> 00:35:53.340
-given deposit in a local church. Now, this is

00:35:53.340 --> 00:35:57.539
what you have in this church. And I'm doing this

00:35:57.539 --> 00:36:00.300
because I'm begging you to guard it, acknowledge

00:36:00.300 --> 00:36:04.019
it. understand it and it's not just some good

00:36:04.019 --> 00:36:06.760
idea that happened here in Harrisburg or somehow

00:36:06.760 --> 00:36:09.400
you know Brad was raised here so he came back

00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:11.880
here there's a sovereign peace there's a linkage

00:36:11.880 --> 00:36:14.199
here there's a God thing there's a plan there's

00:36:14.199 --> 00:36:16.619
a destiny there's something going on and you

00:36:16.619 --> 00:36:18.980
get to be a part of it and it's an awesome thing

00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:22.000
to have a church that has a grace deposit in

00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:25.820
it A local church that is empowered to serve

00:36:25.820 --> 00:36:29.000
God together in a special way. And so the church,

00:36:29.099 --> 00:36:32.019
your grace deposits your gift in whatever you

00:36:32.019 --> 00:36:34.300
have, whatever you do, whatever you serve. You

00:36:34.300 --> 00:36:37.579
deposit into the church, and the church actually

00:36:37.579 --> 00:36:42.300
helps develop your grace. And your grace actually

00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:46.219
helps develop the church. And so your life and

00:36:46.219 --> 00:36:49.719
the church's life get interwoven. And so before

00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:53.599
you know it, You are now blended. The mantle

00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:57.139
the church carries is the mantle you start carrying.

00:36:57.400 --> 00:36:59.940
So if you're a business person, you start doing

00:36:59.940 --> 00:37:03.119
business with more faith. You start doing business

00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:06.760
prophetically. You say, what are you doing? What

00:37:06.760 --> 00:37:08.719
are you doing over there? I'm getting the word

00:37:08.719 --> 00:37:11.019
of the Lord for this decision. What are you talking

00:37:11.019 --> 00:37:13.539
about? It doesn't matter. Just wait. Okay, this

00:37:13.539 --> 00:37:15.579
is what the Lord wants us to do. And they do

00:37:15.579 --> 00:37:17.440
it, and it works. It's not weird. It's not funny.

00:37:17.460 --> 00:37:19.440
It works. Next time they say, why don't you sit

00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:23.400
over there and do that again? They don't even

00:37:23.400 --> 00:37:28.119
know. Why? Because the church has a deposit of

00:37:28.119 --> 00:37:31.860
faith and the prophetic and miracles and an acknowledgement

00:37:31.860 --> 00:37:34.480
that the Holy Spirit speaks to you in every arena

00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:39.760
of life. And so even... How you do business is

00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:46.059
affected by the church you're in. How you raise

00:37:46.059 --> 00:37:51.619
your children. How you pray. How you go through

00:37:51.619 --> 00:37:56.219
a crisis. How you pray for miracles. Oh, you

00:37:56.219 --> 00:38:01.019
have cancer? Geez, I'll be at your funeral. I

00:38:01.019 --> 00:38:02.920
really feel bad for you. You're leaving so much

00:38:02.920 --> 00:38:05.630
behind. You're so young. Man, I don't want that

00:38:05.630 --> 00:38:09.289
person talking to me. At least I want them to

00:38:09.289 --> 00:38:14.510
say, we're on it. We will pray. And we will believe.

00:38:14.510 --> 00:38:17.130
And God could work in this situation. We're going

00:38:17.130 --> 00:38:18.889
to believe that he can because miracles still

00:38:18.889 --> 00:38:23.650
exist. I want someone to tell me God could. I

00:38:23.650 --> 00:38:25.949
don't want them just to bury me prematurely.

00:38:26.650 --> 00:38:30.409
Tell me that God can do a miracle. The church

00:38:30.409 --> 00:38:33.139
you're in. begins to shape the way you pray,

00:38:33.380 --> 00:38:35.960
the way you do money, the way you think about

00:38:35.960 --> 00:38:38.340
business, the way you raise kids, the way you

00:38:38.340 --> 00:38:41.099
do everything. There's a corporate mantle that

00:38:41.099 --> 00:38:46.340
affects the individual. All right. Are we there?

00:38:48.340 --> 00:38:52.599
Now, every mantle, and this is not on a slide,

00:38:52.780 --> 00:38:54.820
so if you're taking notes, you just have to keep

00:38:54.820 --> 00:38:57.880
writing if you want. If not, just listen. Every

00:38:57.880 --> 00:39:01.630
mantle has what I call... On the church. We're

00:39:01.630 --> 00:39:03.289
talking about the church mantle. Every mantle

00:39:03.289 --> 00:39:14.150
has grace marks. Grace marks on it. Like what?

00:39:15.110 --> 00:39:20.190
One, birthmarks. In the natural spiritual, there's

00:39:20.190 --> 00:39:26.170
birthmarks. A visual mark on how the church was

00:39:26.170 --> 00:39:29.110
started. Why it's so important to start churches

00:39:29.110 --> 00:39:33.800
right. The struggle, whatever happens in those

00:39:33.800 --> 00:39:38.679
early days, is what begins to birthmark that

00:39:38.679 --> 00:39:41.980
church. If you start a church in unbelief, it

00:39:41.980 --> 00:39:45.239
puts a mark on you. If you start a church with

00:39:45.239 --> 00:39:47.920
a low level of integrity, you'll struggle maybe

00:39:47.920 --> 00:39:51.179
for a long time. if you start every church has

00:39:51.179 --> 00:39:53.420
a birthmark this church has a birthmark and the

00:39:53.420 --> 00:39:55.900
birthmark in this church is that it had faith

00:39:55.900 --> 00:39:59.219
it had vision it had prophetic it started with

00:39:59.219 --> 00:40:01.659
a bang it started with people that knew how to

00:40:01.659 --> 00:40:04.639
pray they had great vision there were marks on

00:40:04.639 --> 00:40:07.219
this church from the very beginning that they

00:40:07.219 --> 00:40:09.659
were going to believe God for great things not

00:40:09.659 --> 00:40:11.800
little things and they were going to push through

00:40:12.269 --> 00:40:16.710
In intercessory prayer and prayer walking, maybe

00:40:16.710 --> 00:40:18.690
you, you know, today when Brad said that we're

00:40:18.690 --> 00:40:23.050
going to meet at 8 o 'clock, 9 o 'clock, what

00:40:23.050 --> 00:40:25.389
did you say, 10 o 'clock? 8 to 10, the first

00:40:25.389 --> 00:40:27.150
shift, 10 to 12, the second shift. If you're

00:40:27.150 --> 00:40:29.510
a visitor, you're thinking, what is he talking

00:40:29.510 --> 00:40:33.210
about? Prayer walking, what's a prayer walk?

00:40:33.670 --> 00:40:35.550
Should we go to the prayer walk? No, it's very

00:40:35.550 --> 00:40:39.710
long, hon, 8 to 10. What do they do at the prayer

00:40:39.710 --> 00:40:41.429
walk? I don't know, but it sounds like they do

00:40:41.429 --> 00:40:47.690
something. Are they outside? Are they going after

00:40:47.690 --> 00:40:51.789
the demons in Halloween? Oh my God, what's going

00:40:51.789 --> 00:40:54.130
on in this church? If you don't understand it,

00:40:54.150 --> 00:40:56.929
it might sound funny, but in a very real sense,

00:40:57.230 --> 00:41:00.090
prayer walking is simply taking your prayer on

00:41:00.090 --> 00:41:05.920
a walk. And it is... When we bought the property

00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:08.800
in Eugene, way back, you know, I'm just a young

00:41:08.800 --> 00:41:12.380
guy, I prayer walked that property every single

00:41:12.380 --> 00:41:16.059
day before we ever bought it. I prayer walked

00:41:16.059 --> 00:41:20.340
every inch of it, acres. And I would, step by

00:41:20.340 --> 00:41:23.980
step, claim the property, bless the property,

00:41:24.179 --> 00:41:27.440
see buildings on the property. See prosperity

00:41:27.440 --> 00:41:30.340
on the property? See people coming? See the cars

00:41:30.340 --> 00:41:32.860
driving in? I would close my eyes and I would

00:41:32.860 --> 00:41:35.500
prophesy to myself, this place will be filled

00:41:35.500 --> 00:41:37.599
with the presence of God. This place will be

00:41:37.599 --> 00:41:39.840
filled with people coming to this building. This

00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:42.159
place will be filled with the anointing and miracles.

00:41:42.440 --> 00:41:44.880
As I prayer walked, there was nothing but a piece

00:41:44.880 --> 00:41:47.960
of dirt out there. But in the visible realm,

00:41:48.139 --> 00:41:51.000
you might see dirt. But in the invisible realm,

00:41:51.219 --> 00:41:53.980
I was prophesying things that are not as though

00:41:53.980 --> 00:41:57.179
they were. Speak in the word of the Lord even

00:41:57.179 --> 00:42:00.179
over dirt and rocks. Why? Because that's what

00:42:00.179 --> 00:42:04.239
we believe. That we're not just natural. We're

00:42:04.239 --> 00:42:08.199
supernatural. We're people of the Spirit. Okay,

00:42:08.219 --> 00:42:14.280
number two, there's unusual marks. Church miracles.

00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:16.619
I could tell you a bunch that I had down there

00:42:16.619 --> 00:42:18.699
and up there in Portland, but no need. Third

00:42:18.699 --> 00:42:24.820
is a trademark. A trademark is some kind of a...

00:42:25.150 --> 00:42:28.650
A stamp that goes on you that's distinguishing

00:42:28.650 --> 00:42:31.849
something that God stamps onto the church. If

00:42:31.849 --> 00:42:34.929
you had to say, if you've been around one year,

00:42:35.010 --> 00:42:38.190
two, five, seven, whatever, and someone would

00:42:38.190 --> 00:42:40.030
say, what do you think are the unusual marks

00:42:40.030 --> 00:42:44.349
on Life Bible? What would you say? If someone

00:42:44.349 --> 00:42:46.829
said to you, what's the distinguishing characteristic

00:42:46.829 --> 00:42:53.750
of that church? Well, you know, they're a church

00:42:53.750 --> 00:42:59.760
that, They're a happy church. And they love the

00:42:59.760 --> 00:43:04.599
Holy Spirit. And they preach and they prophesy.

00:43:04.980 --> 00:43:11.019
And it's just the place is alive. And I like

00:43:11.019 --> 00:43:14.820
it. Can somebody shout hallelujah? There's a

00:43:14.820 --> 00:43:19.099
trademark on it. Number four, there's a logo

00:43:19.099 --> 00:43:24.400
in the spirit realm. identifying statement that

00:43:24.400 --> 00:43:27.739
you begin to make your vision. Your vision is

00:43:27.739 --> 00:43:30.420
usually the outworking of your faith and your

00:43:30.420 --> 00:43:33.960
journey and your whole experience in God making

00:43:33.960 --> 00:43:36.880
you in the church. And so what is the logo? What's

00:43:36.880 --> 00:43:38.780
the statement that you make about this church?

00:43:39.219 --> 00:43:41.800
Well, again, Brad talking about giving money

00:43:41.800 --> 00:43:44.039
and you clap when he said we're going to give

00:43:44.039 --> 00:43:47.539
money to the Palestinians. Did you say Palestinians?

00:43:47.659 --> 00:43:52.309
And to the Jews. Messianic Jews, and we have

00:43:52.309 --> 00:43:55.010
churches over there. And you start clapping.

00:43:55.030 --> 00:43:56.829
You might not even understand everything that

00:43:56.829 --> 00:43:59.250
that means, but it sounds right to you. It sounds

00:43:59.250 --> 00:44:01.090
right that we're trying to reach some other people

00:44:01.090 --> 00:44:03.429
and give first fruits away and money away. What

00:44:03.429 --> 00:44:05.190
kind of a church do you have? We're liberal.

00:44:05.349 --> 00:44:07.809
We're generous. We reach beyond our borders.

00:44:07.929 --> 00:44:10.369
We give. We help. We build churches. We bless

00:44:10.369 --> 00:44:12.949
pastors. We send missionaries. We're not just

00:44:12.949 --> 00:44:15.030
about ourselves. We're about the kingdom of God.

00:44:15.150 --> 00:44:17.269
Can you shout a big hallelujah out there? We're

00:44:17.269 --> 00:44:21.110
not just about ourselves. Our tithe is not just

00:44:21.110 --> 00:44:23.889
about keeping this building open. Our tithe is

00:44:23.889 --> 00:44:26.710
to extend the kingdom of God. Our tithe is to

00:44:26.710 --> 00:44:29.650
extend the mission program. Our tithe is to help

00:44:29.650 --> 00:44:32.329
young people get trained and help everything

00:44:32.329 --> 00:44:35.869
that's going on. You have a logo, a trademark,

00:44:36.250 --> 00:44:41.570
and you have, number five, a brand. A brand that

00:44:41.570 --> 00:44:47.050
begins to happen. A reputation. A following.

00:44:47.599 --> 00:44:50.139
And people recognize the brand. When people say,

00:44:50.260 --> 00:44:52.920
where do you go? I go to Life Bible. Oh, yeah.

00:44:53.139 --> 00:44:56.940
Life Bible. I heard about it. Yeah. Life Bible.

00:44:57.059 --> 00:44:59.960
That beautiful building down there looks like

00:44:59.960 --> 00:45:04.699
a Sun River resort, right? Yeah. That's our building.

00:45:04.980 --> 00:45:07.760
Well, why did you build it so nice? Because God

00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:14.960
builds nice things. Well, why did you build it

00:45:14.960 --> 00:45:18.300
so big? Because everyone is going to get saved,

00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:23.519
including you. And there's room for you here.

00:45:23.619 --> 00:45:26.119
We made room. Why would you build something like

00:45:26.119 --> 00:45:27.519
that in the middle of Harrisburg when there's

00:45:27.519 --> 00:45:30.059
only so many people outlining Harrisburg? Because

00:45:30.059 --> 00:45:34.360
we don't look at the dirt and the fence and the

00:45:34.360 --> 00:45:36.440
grass, although you look at the grass seed farmers

00:45:36.440 --> 00:45:38.639
because they are great givers and we bless them

00:45:38.639 --> 00:45:42.400
in the name of Jesus. We look at the potential.

00:45:44.199 --> 00:45:46.980
And even though we can't see all the neighborhoods,

00:45:47.139 --> 00:45:50.039
God says there's enough people to fill this place

00:45:50.039 --> 00:45:55.860
five times. But if you have no vision, if you're

00:45:55.860 --> 00:45:58.300
not brought into this brand, this logo, this

00:45:58.300 --> 00:46:01.099
trademark through miracle and faith, you might

00:46:01.099 --> 00:46:03.579
also be on the other side of the, what are we

00:46:03.579 --> 00:46:08.800
doing? But after a while, you get it. Wow. A

00:46:08.800 --> 00:46:13.909
lot of people here. So. Where did you drive from?

00:46:13.929 --> 00:46:21.690
How many here from Elmira? How many from Junction

00:46:21.690 --> 00:46:27.650
City? How many from Eugene? Ooh, Shandarama.

00:46:31.329 --> 00:46:39.610
How many from Salem? How many from Stanton? I

00:46:39.610 --> 00:46:41.409
met a woman yesterday who drives every service

00:46:41.409 --> 00:46:43.889
from Stanton. That's on the other side of Salem.

00:46:44.090 --> 00:46:48.630
I said, what's wrong with you? I said, don't

00:46:48.630 --> 00:46:51.989
you know there's churches in Salem? She says,

00:46:52.030 --> 00:46:57.289
I do, but not like this one. And God put me here,

00:46:57.409 --> 00:47:00.730
and what is an hour drive? Well, some people

00:47:00.730 --> 00:47:03.449
don't even drive 10 minutes. And I bet you she

00:47:03.449 --> 00:47:15.500
drives an hour, and she's on time. Okay. Remember,

00:47:15.599 --> 00:47:21.659
I'm family. I'm family. The sixth term is DNA.

00:47:22.380 --> 00:47:27.420
Every biological human race people have this

00:47:27.420 --> 00:47:31.099
thing called DNA. It's how we find things now.

00:47:31.159 --> 00:47:33.500
It's greatly developed in all kinds of crime

00:47:33.500 --> 00:47:35.980
fighting, but it's in our family. It's in our

00:47:35.980 --> 00:47:39.639
peoples. It's a, what is it? It's a genetic code.

00:47:42.000 --> 00:47:43.860
And even if you don't like the genetic code,

00:47:43.920 --> 00:47:46.400
you can't change it. It's your code. It's your

00:47:46.400 --> 00:47:53.300
DNA. Every church has a genetic code, a DNA.

00:47:53.719 --> 00:47:57.559
Every church. Our church, I can remember as a

00:47:57.559 --> 00:48:00.119
pastor in both. I only pastored Eugene in Portland

00:48:00.119 --> 00:48:04.960
40 years worth. I can remember at times thinking,

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:11.400
I wish I could simplify the service. because

00:48:11.400 --> 00:48:14.639
we would grow more, and we were a sizable church.

00:48:15.159 --> 00:48:19.500
We would grow more, and I would have visitors

00:48:19.500 --> 00:48:23.340
say, why do your people lift their hands? Well,

00:48:23.340 --> 00:48:29.239
because it's a Bible. It bothers me. I don't

00:48:29.239 --> 00:48:33.079
think you need to lift hands to worship. Well,

00:48:33.079 --> 00:48:37.159
no. You might also say you don't need to breathe

00:48:37.159 --> 00:48:45.159
to live. But it's not true. And I can remember

00:48:45.159 --> 00:48:48.860
thinking, if I could clean this service up, not

00:48:48.860 --> 00:48:51.760
have so many people doing funny things like coming

00:48:51.760 --> 00:48:55.079
to the front or prophesying or lifting their

00:48:55.079 --> 00:48:57.719
hands or dancing or clapping or carrying on.

00:48:58.760 --> 00:49:01.750
I could clean it up. And we could reach more

00:49:01.750 --> 00:49:05.050
people. But in my heart of hearts, we had a DNA

00:49:05.050 --> 00:49:08.690
that said, we are Holy Spirit people. We are

00:49:08.690 --> 00:49:11.909
worship people. We clap our hands. We lift our

00:49:11.909 --> 00:49:14.530
hands. We dance. We come to the front. We lay

00:49:14.530 --> 00:49:17.750
down sometimes at the altar. People weep. People

00:49:17.750 --> 00:49:21.530
carry on. As soon as you try to domesticate the

00:49:21.530 --> 00:49:24.550
Holy Spirit, you end up chewing him right out

00:49:24.550 --> 00:49:35.030
the door. Our DNA is not to apologize for lifting

00:49:35.030 --> 00:49:39.929
hands. Not to apologize for clapping, dancing,

00:49:40.309 --> 00:49:44.789
singing loud. Not to apologize for people that

00:49:44.789 --> 00:49:47.710
are at the altar. Not to say, well, you know,

00:49:47.750 --> 00:49:49.989
I know that. Just say, that's the way it should

00:49:49.989 --> 00:49:53.110
be. People are passionate. People love church.

00:49:53.349 --> 00:49:55.469
People love God. And you need to tell people

00:49:55.469 --> 00:49:57.429
when you invite them to the church, hey, our

00:49:57.429 --> 00:49:59.909
church is different. I'm just going to warn you

00:49:59.909 --> 00:50:02.809
before you come. What do you mean, how different

00:50:02.809 --> 00:50:04.690
is it? Is it a cult? No, no, no, it's nothing

00:50:04.690 --> 00:50:09.369
like that. But our church is really loud. Because

00:50:09.369 --> 00:50:12.090
I had visitor after visitor, and we forget, they

00:50:12.090 --> 00:50:16.969
would say, your church is so loud. Really? We

00:50:16.969 --> 00:50:20.190
get used to it. And then my response would be,

00:50:20.449 --> 00:50:23.210
well, if you're going to go to heaven, you better

00:50:23.210 --> 00:50:27.250
get used to it, because heaven's loud. I try

00:50:27.250 --> 00:50:29.730
to joke with them, but the fact is, Our churches

00:50:29.730 --> 00:50:32.329
are loud. We turn the sound up. We have a bunch

00:50:32.329 --> 00:50:34.289
of instruments. They're used to maybe something

00:50:34.289 --> 00:50:36.769
really quiet and 30 minutes. And then they would

00:50:36.769 --> 00:50:40.869
say, your services are really long. Really? 90

00:50:40.869 --> 00:50:43.929
minutes is long? And I would say to them, when

00:50:43.929 --> 00:50:49.570
was the last time you went to the theater? And

00:50:49.570 --> 00:50:51.449
they would look at me kind of like the cow looking

00:50:51.449 --> 00:50:55.530
at the fence post. What's that have to do with

00:50:55.530 --> 00:50:58.969
it? With the movie more than two hours? Oh, yeah,

00:50:59.070 --> 00:51:02.090
yeah. Then why would you be asking me about a

00:51:02.090 --> 00:51:05.670
church that goes 90 minutes? It's because their

00:51:05.670 --> 00:51:08.690
concept of church is it's dead. It's boring.

00:51:08.849 --> 00:51:11.809
Get in and out as fast as you can. Keep your

00:51:11.809 --> 00:51:14.230
hand on your wallet. Keep your hands in your

00:51:14.230 --> 00:51:17.409
pockets. Don't let anything happen. Don't let

00:51:17.409 --> 00:51:20.269
emotionalism take over anything. And just get

00:51:20.269 --> 00:51:21.889
in there and get out of there because that's

00:51:21.889 --> 00:51:24.010
what church... Not for us. Church is a place

00:51:24.010 --> 00:51:27.050
to rip. It's a place to let go. It's a place

00:51:27.050 --> 00:51:30.809
to enjoy God. It's a place to worship with passion

00:51:30.809 --> 00:51:34.309
and pray with passion and sing with passion.

00:51:36.090 --> 00:51:39.739
That's... our DNA. So you need to say to people,

00:51:39.860 --> 00:51:45.440
we're loud. Well, I don't think I mind that.

00:51:46.099 --> 00:51:51.219
We're emotional. I think that's fine. We cry.

00:51:53.880 --> 00:51:59.539
Does every visitor have to cry? No. I'm just

00:51:59.539 --> 00:52:02.960
telling you, we cry. And we do a couple of things.

00:52:03.019 --> 00:52:08.559
We clap. We lift hands. You want to try it with

00:52:08.559 --> 00:52:10.639
me right now? Let's do it. Let's just lift. I'm

00:52:10.639 --> 00:52:14.280
not telling you to do it. You know, get them

00:52:14.280 --> 00:52:15.900
into it. Just lift your hands. See, there's no

00:52:15.900 --> 00:52:18.619
problem with it. Just lift your hands. Do it

00:52:18.619 --> 00:52:20.519
one more time before we get to the service. Just

00:52:20.519 --> 00:52:33.139
lift your hands. Okay, now you're ready. We have.

00:52:37.610 --> 00:52:43.630
Church with marks on it. And what got you here

00:52:43.630 --> 00:52:46.610
was those marks. Don't remove them to try to

00:52:46.610 --> 00:52:51.170
go on further. A lot of churches get rid of the

00:52:51.170 --> 00:52:57.030
very mark that got them where they are. And we

00:52:57.030 --> 00:53:01.170
start pastoring and doing church from the people's

00:53:01.170 --> 00:53:03.030
mindset. Well, the people don't want a long service.

00:53:03.090 --> 00:53:04.960
We're going to have to cut it short. I would

00:53:04.960 --> 00:53:07.059
say to our church, I don't really care what you

00:53:07.059 --> 00:53:10.199
think. I said, because you're not the pastor

00:53:10.199 --> 00:53:15.440
I am. And I said, your choice is to stay or leave.

00:53:16.119 --> 00:53:23.079
I don't have a choice. I have to stay. And because

00:53:23.079 --> 00:53:27.340
I have to stay, it's going to be like this. Because

00:53:27.340 --> 00:53:30.119
you might not stay, make me change it, and then

00:53:30.119 --> 00:53:37.019
leave. just going to build it the way I see it,

00:53:37.039 --> 00:53:41.460
biblically, and live with it. Because I think

00:53:41.460 --> 00:53:45.260
that the marks that God gives a church are distinctive,

00:53:45.300 --> 00:53:48.300
dominant marks that you better pay attention

00:53:48.300 --> 00:53:58.079
to. Okay. Are you all right? I want to read another

00:53:58.079 --> 00:54:03.380
scripture. Are you ready? Acts 11 and 23. Acts

00:54:03.380 --> 00:54:10.409
11 and 23. Now, Acts 11 is the most important

00:54:10.409 --> 00:54:14.530
pivotal chapter in the book of Acts besides Acts

00:54:14.530 --> 00:54:18.969
2. So the history of the church, the church we're

00:54:18.969 --> 00:54:20.989
all trying to build, is in the book of Acts.

00:54:21.070 --> 00:54:22.849
Everybody goes there because that's the history

00:54:22.849 --> 00:54:25.510
of the church, and you can see the church. Acts

00:54:25.510 --> 00:54:27.610
2, outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Jerusalem starts.

00:54:27.730 --> 00:54:32.550
That was a pivotal beginning of church. Acts

00:54:32.550 --> 00:54:41.300
11. actually belongs in Acts 8. I don't know

00:54:41.300 --> 00:54:44.539
why Luke did this. But Acts 11, I'm going to

00:54:44.539 --> 00:54:48.340
ask him when I get there. When Luke wrote this,

00:54:48.420 --> 00:54:53.420
Acts 11 is a continuation of Acts 8, verse 4,

00:54:53.559 --> 00:54:59.440
is a continuation of Acts 11, verse 19. So if

00:54:59.440 --> 00:55:03.659
you put Acts 8, 4, read it. Stoning of Stephen

00:55:03.659 --> 00:55:08.860
and the people were scattered to preach. Then

00:55:08.860 --> 00:55:13.800
put Acts 11, 19. It starts right there. And they

00:55:13.800 --> 00:55:15.559
were scattered, and they went to preach in all

00:55:15.559 --> 00:55:17.219
the regions, and it starts going through the

00:55:17.219 --> 00:55:19.679
history of it, and part of the regions is Syria,

00:55:19.760 --> 00:55:21.619
and part of the regions in Syria is Antioch,

00:55:21.699 --> 00:55:23.219
and then it starts going through the cities.

00:55:23.239 --> 00:55:27.539
Acts 8 -4, Acts 11 -19 belong together historically.

00:55:27.860 --> 00:55:30.840
That's the continuation there. And so what happens

00:55:30.840 --> 00:55:36.059
in Acts 11 happens right after the first martyr.

00:55:37.280 --> 00:55:40.900
It happens right after, again, one of the most

00:55:40.900 --> 00:55:44.969
pivotal and the New Testament was what Stephen

00:55:44.969 --> 00:55:47.530
did, what he preached, what happened. And remember,

00:55:47.670 --> 00:55:53.849
who was at the stoning of Stephen? Paul. He was

00:55:53.849 --> 00:55:59.030
a rascal. Paul held the coats while they threw

00:55:59.030 --> 00:56:02.949
the rocks. That's what it says. So Paul was there.

00:56:03.050 --> 00:56:05.429
Give me your coat so you can throw harder. Give

00:56:05.429 --> 00:56:07.980
me your coat. Okay, I'll hold all the quotes.

00:56:08.039 --> 00:56:10.199
Go ahead, kill the guy. He shouldn't be living.

00:56:10.260 --> 00:56:15.659
He's preaching erroneous. Paul was there. What

00:56:15.659 --> 00:56:20.280
happens in Acts 8, pivotal to Acts 11. And in

00:56:20.280 --> 00:56:23.760
Acts 11 and verse 19, you get into the verse

00:56:23.760 --> 00:56:26.380
and it starts talking about the people that went

00:56:26.380 --> 00:56:29.199
to preach at all the different places. And some

00:56:29.199 --> 00:56:33.179
people went to preach at Antioch, the city of

00:56:33.179 --> 00:56:41.190
Antioch. Acts 11, 23. Barnabas goes there because

00:56:41.190 --> 00:56:42.809
the apostles say, hey, there's something going

00:56:42.809 --> 00:56:46.769
on in Antioch. I think we better check out. So

00:56:46.769 --> 00:56:51.130
they send Barney. Why? Because he was such an

00:56:51.130 --> 00:56:54.309
encourager, pure -hearted guy. They say, why

00:56:54.309 --> 00:56:58.269
don't you go look at it? He goes, Acts 11, 23,

00:56:58.489 --> 00:57:04.360
and he came. Barnabas. And he saw the grace of

00:57:04.360 --> 00:57:12.099
God. Mantle. And he was glad and he encouraged

00:57:12.099 --> 00:57:19.559
them all that with purpose of heart they should

00:57:19.559 --> 00:57:25.920
continue with the Lord. So in Acts 11, Barnabas

00:57:25.920 --> 00:57:32.010
runs into this new church. This new church. is

00:57:32.010 --> 00:57:36.269
now going to equal Jerusalem church. It's going

00:57:36.269 --> 00:57:40.590
to be Jerusalem and Antioch, the two centers.

00:57:41.820 --> 00:57:44.039
Jerusalem is actually now going to be affected

00:57:44.039 --> 00:57:46.940
by Antioch, but nobody knows what's going on

00:57:46.940 --> 00:57:49.260
here. Barnabas goes, and he goes, I can't believe

00:57:49.260 --> 00:57:51.159
it. I saw the grace of God, the mantle, the corporate

00:57:51.159 --> 00:57:53.260
grace, stuff going on. People are being saved.

00:57:53.320 --> 00:57:56.139
People are praying. They live with purpose. And

00:57:56.139 --> 00:58:00.539
so he says, I have to go find Paul. Well, Paul

00:58:00.539 --> 00:58:04.500
had gone home after the council meeting. He had

00:58:04.500 --> 00:58:08.519
gone home back to Tarsus. It says Barnabas travels

00:58:08.519 --> 00:58:13.059
to Tarsus. Paul's hometown, finds Paul, says,

00:58:13.139 --> 00:58:16.860
you got to come with me. Paul says, sure enough,

00:58:17.019 --> 00:58:21.179
I'll do it. They go back to Antioch. And Paul

00:58:21.179 --> 00:58:26.639
goes, whoa, what is happening here? Barnabas

00:58:26.639 --> 00:58:30.800
says, I told you. He says, and Paul, you have

00:58:30.800 --> 00:58:34.480
to understand, they're preaching to the Gentiles.

00:58:35.420 --> 00:58:38.340
And Gentiles are being saved by the hundreds.

00:58:39.230 --> 00:58:43.650
And they're a multi -race church. They're a multicultural

00:58:43.650 --> 00:58:47.610
church. They're a multi -everything church. They're

00:58:47.610 --> 00:58:50.050
a melting pot. They're doing something no church

00:58:50.050 --> 00:58:52.309
has ever done before. And so it says in your

00:58:52.309 --> 00:58:57.550
Bible, Paul and Barnabas spent a year teaching

00:58:57.550 --> 00:59:00.969
at Antioch. How many of you would like to be

00:59:00.969 --> 00:59:06.150
in Paul's class at Antioch? Man, I would. I would

00:59:06.150 --> 00:59:10.880
love to hear what he taught. for a year in Antioch.

00:59:11.059 --> 00:59:18.380
Now, everyone say out loud, we receive the mantle

00:59:18.380 --> 00:59:25.900
that God has for us. What would that mantle look

00:59:25.900 --> 00:59:28.960
like? I'm going to tell you what I think it looks

00:59:28.960 --> 00:59:32.920
like. I think you're called to be an Antioch

00:59:32.920 --> 00:59:37.320
church. I think your purpose and your anointing

00:59:37.320 --> 00:59:41.780
is in the Antioch category. And I think the mantle

00:59:41.780 --> 00:59:46.219
that is on you is in Acts 11. And I think if

00:59:46.219 --> 00:59:49.260
you would read Acts 11, you will find the points

00:59:49.260 --> 00:59:52.139
I'm going to give you. I'm going to give you

00:59:52.139 --> 00:59:54.639
a few right now. Are you ready? Here's the mantle

00:59:54.639 --> 00:59:59.139
that we want to recognize and keep on this church.

00:59:59.380 --> 01:00:03.969
Number one, supernatural empowering mantle. We

01:00:03.969 --> 01:00:06.030
want the hand of the Lord to stay on this church.

01:00:06.789 --> 01:00:09.250
And we want the supernatural power of God to

01:00:09.250 --> 01:00:11.969
be released in this church. And it says in Acts

01:00:11.969 --> 01:00:14.469
chapter 11, 21 about the Antioch church. And

01:00:14.469 --> 01:00:17.510
the hand of the Lord was with them. And that

01:00:17.510 --> 01:00:19.550
phrase, the hand of the Lord with them, is the

01:00:19.550 --> 01:00:22.429
idea of favor and blessing and supernatural and

01:00:22.429 --> 01:00:24.269
that the hand of the Lord being upon it. You

01:00:24.269 --> 01:00:27.090
cannot buy the hand of the Lord. You cannot beg

01:00:27.090 --> 01:00:29.570
the hand of the Lord. You cannot manipulate the

01:00:29.570 --> 01:00:31.690
hand of the Lord. The hand of the Lord goes where

01:00:31.690 --> 01:00:33.630
the hand of the Lord wants to go. And when the

01:00:33.630 --> 01:00:36.010
hand of the Lord comes upon a church and blesses

01:00:36.010 --> 01:00:38.269
that church, you need to be the people that stand

01:00:38.269 --> 01:00:41.010
up and worship and praise God and say thank you

01:00:41.010 --> 01:00:43.389
for the hand of the Lord upon this church. It

01:00:43.389 --> 01:00:46.619
affects me and my family and my business. and

01:00:46.619 --> 01:00:49.300
my future, and everything about me. Matter of

01:00:49.300 --> 01:00:52.260
fact, I want everybody, I'm not done, so don't

01:00:52.260 --> 01:00:54.780
you try to sneak out. If you do, God will judge

01:00:54.780 --> 01:00:58.539
you accordingly. I want everybody in this room

01:00:58.539 --> 01:01:02.239
to jump up on your feet right now. Jump up on

01:01:02.239 --> 01:01:05.519
your feet. Are you there? Like toast out of a

01:01:05.519 --> 01:01:13.380
toaster, jump up. Have your hands free. Are you

01:01:13.380 --> 01:01:16.300
ready? Let's give the Lord a shout and a clap

01:01:16.300 --> 01:01:27.159
this morning. Come on. Come on. Thank you, Lord.

01:01:31.239 --> 01:01:35.119
For your hand, for your hand, for your hand,

01:01:35.260 --> 01:01:38.599
for your hand, for the supernatural. Thank you,

01:01:38.599 --> 01:01:41.719
Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. For invitation

01:01:41.719 --> 01:01:58.800
and deposit. Blessing, favor, don't you. Take

01:01:58.800 --> 01:02:03.800
it for granted. Don't you just say, well, we've

01:02:03.800 --> 01:02:06.260
been in this church. This is a church raised

01:02:06.260 --> 01:02:10.639
up by God. And the very thing that most churches

01:02:10.639 --> 01:02:14.900
want, you have. The hand of the Lord is on your

01:02:14.900 --> 01:02:20.239
church. Okay, be seated. Number two part of this

01:02:20.239 --> 01:02:23.909
mantle. is Acts 11 21 a great number believed

01:02:23.909 --> 01:02:28.329
and turned number two is the passion for the

01:02:28.329 --> 01:02:34.329
lost mantle and a great number I want you to

01:02:34.329 --> 01:02:37.610
say out loud great number now I'm going to say

01:02:37.610 --> 01:02:39.949
some things and you can weigh it you can do whatever

01:02:39.949 --> 01:02:44.610
you like with it this church is destined to grow

01:02:44.610 --> 01:02:48.969
a lot more And you're going to add another service.

01:02:48.989 --> 01:02:50.610
Have you told the church about the other service?

01:02:55.170 --> 01:03:08.510
They might be adding another service. Why? You

01:03:08.510 --> 01:03:13.449
want to make room for people. Why? Because a

01:03:13.449 --> 01:03:19.869
great number will turn and believe. But even

01:03:19.869 --> 01:03:23.170
God does the math. God knows how many chairs

01:03:23.170 --> 01:03:26.190
you have, how many rooms you have for children's

01:03:26.190 --> 01:03:29.389
ministry, how many parking spaces you have. God

01:03:29.389 --> 01:03:32.909
is practical. He's no dummy. He understands exactly

01:03:32.909 --> 01:03:35.989
where you can go, how much you can have, and

01:03:35.989 --> 01:03:38.130
how many people he can send here. And if you

01:03:38.130 --> 01:03:40.190
don't have the faith to make room for it, or

01:03:40.190 --> 01:03:42.690
the faith for more parking spaces, or the faith

01:03:42.690 --> 01:03:45.510
for more whatever, or even multiple services,

01:03:45.829 --> 01:03:48.110
then you stay where you are like a lot of churches

01:03:48.110 --> 01:03:50.610
do. Because they don't want to do the work of

01:03:50.610 --> 01:03:52.409
adding another service, another campus, another

01:03:52.409 --> 01:03:54.989
whatever. But I'm prophesying to you with my

01:03:54.989 --> 01:03:57.449
eyes open this morning. When you add another

01:03:57.449 --> 01:04:00.710
service, you will make room for people. New families

01:04:00.710 --> 01:04:03.909
will come. New visitors will come. New miracles

01:04:03.909 --> 01:04:11.630
will happen. Because you made room for it. Every

01:04:11.630 --> 01:04:16.500
single time we started. multiple services on

01:04:16.500 --> 01:04:19.380
every campus. We were up to 20 services a week,

01:04:19.420 --> 01:04:24.480
weekend. And I would be nervous. Okay, we're

01:04:24.480 --> 01:04:28.059
going to start Sunday 9. We had 11. Now we're

01:04:28.059 --> 01:04:30.219
going to go to 9. But that's early. You know,

01:04:30.260 --> 01:04:37.059
in the pulpit, we are mighty men of God. In prayer,

01:04:37.239 --> 01:04:43.880
we beg the Lord. Is that right? That is exactly

01:04:43.880 --> 01:04:46.949
right. Because you're out of the boat in front

01:04:46.949 --> 01:04:50.010
of everybody. So you're saying, and God will,

01:04:50.110 --> 01:04:52.110
and God can, and I'm believing. And you're thinking

01:04:52.110 --> 01:04:54.349
to yourself, please, God, for the people's sake,

01:04:54.510 --> 01:05:00.170
don't let me down. Starting every service, I

01:05:00.170 --> 01:05:03.110
would think, oh, I hope some people come. Jesus,

01:05:03.389 --> 01:05:06.409
it would be so bad. And sure enough, start filling

01:05:06.409 --> 01:05:09.079
up, filling up, and I'm thinking. Then I would

01:05:09.079 --> 01:05:11.039
get them to pull up and say, what were you thinking

01:05:11.039 --> 01:05:13.820
this morning? I told you the people were on their

01:05:13.820 --> 01:05:22.239
way. But I didn't know. When you make room for

01:05:22.239 --> 01:05:29.719
the lost. For their families. For their cars

01:05:29.719 --> 01:05:34.159
to park. For them to have a chair to sit in.

01:05:35.400 --> 01:05:38.500
For them to be in a service where they can experience

01:05:38.500 --> 01:05:41.860
what you've experienced all these years. Thank

01:05:41.860 --> 01:05:45.880
God there's a church in the middle of Harrisburg,

01:05:45.940 --> 01:05:48.320
in the middle of, I'd like to say nowhere, but

01:05:48.320 --> 01:05:49.980
that's offensive to everybody that lives here.

01:05:50.019 --> 01:05:54.079
You're somewhere. And it's an amazing place and

01:05:54.079 --> 01:05:56.400
it's a beautiful place and people are scattered,

01:05:56.519 --> 01:05:58.900
but they'll drive. I think people are going to

01:05:58.900 --> 01:06:02.340
drive from many places to taste the presence

01:06:02.340 --> 01:06:13.250
in this place. The woman from Stanton, an hour

01:06:13.250 --> 01:06:20.150
drive. Why? When you find presence, you get addicted

01:06:20.150 --> 01:06:28.949
to it. And the drive doesn't mean anything. Why?

01:06:29.130 --> 01:06:32.269
Because you want that on your life. You want

01:06:32.269 --> 01:06:36.750
it on your life. Of course, there's many churches,

01:06:36.849 --> 01:06:40.050
and there's many great churches. But there's

01:06:40.050 --> 01:06:46.269
only one of you. Only one of you. This unique

01:06:46.269 --> 01:06:53.030
DNA. Number three, the powerful grace mantle,

01:06:53.210 --> 01:06:58.030
which is verse 23. I've read it to you already.

01:06:59.190 --> 01:07:02.329
And the grace mantle was upon them. And if you're

01:07:02.329 --> 01:07:05.230
listening to me, just hear the wording, a grace

01:07:05.230 --> 01:07:12.000
atmosphere. A quality of graciousness. I think

01:07:12.000 --> 01:07:15.800
this church is very gracious. I think the people,

01:07:15.900 --> 01:07:18.639
the cafe people, the people that park your car,

01:07:18.800 --> 01:07:20.780
they park my car, they're probably not parking

01:07:20.780 --> 01:07:25.480
your car. The people, yeah, people that park

01:07:25.480 --> 01:07:27.659
cars, yeah, yeah, they're out there. You find

01:07:27.659 --> 01:07:32.360
them. But there's graciousness in the door greeters

01:07:32.360 --> 01:07:34.780
and the cafe people and the worship teams and

01:07:34.780 --> 01:07:37.400
the pastors and the leaders. And people are smiling

01:07:37.400 --> 01:07:39.639
and laughing and hugging and enjoying themselves.

01:07:40.000 --> 01:07:43.719
And people are walking. Because there's a graciousness

01:07:43.719 --> 01:07:48.920
on this church, which is an attractiveness, favor,

01:07:49.159 --> 01:07:53.860
kindness. Number four, the unified purpose mantle.

01:07:54.139 --> 01:07:56.320
There's something clear here that's going on.

01:07:56.679 --> 01:07:59.199
There's a unity of purpose. There's an urging

01:07:59.199 --> 01:08:01.940
you to press into that vision, press into that

01:08:01.940 --> 01:08:04.699
purpose, and remain faithful to what the Lord

01:08:04.699 --> 01:08:07.539
is doing in your midst as you build and as you're

01:08:07.539 --> 01:08:10.320
a part of it. Who knows? what you will be doing

01:08:10.320 --> 01:08:13.320
in this house and in other services. And who

01:08:13.320 --> 01:08:16.420
knows if you start other campuses. And I don't

01:08:16.420 --> 01:08:18.619
know that Brad is going to do that. I'm not telling

01:08:18.619 --> 01:08:20.539
him to do that. I'm not prophesying him to do

01:08:20.539 --> 01:08:22.760
that. I'm just saying sometimes you need to take

01:08:22.760 --> 01:08:24.579
the service where the people are, not bring the

01:08:24.579 --> 01:08:26.979
people where the service is. And sometimes there's

01:08:26.979 --> 01:08:28.859
communities that could really blossom with a

01:08:28.859 --> 01:08:30.939
service like this and a church like this and

01:08:30.939 --> 01:08:32.819
a preacher like this and the worship like this

01:08:32.819 --> 01:08:34.760
and the presence like this. And I'm just saying

01:08:34.760 --> 01:08:36.899
there's a lot of areas around here that probably

01:08:36.899 --> 01:08:40.779
could really use. a campus and a service, but

01:08:40.779 --> 01:08:50.199
I'm not saying you should do that. No pressure.

01:08:53.020 --> 01:08:56.939
Number five, a faith leadership mantle. It says

01:08:56.939 --> 01:08:59.779
they found good leaders who were full of the

01:08:59.779 --> 01:09:03.300
Holy Spirit, controlled by the Holy Spirit, enthusiastic

01:09:03.300 --> 01:09:05.979
with the Holy Spirit, and they were men of great

01:09:05.979 --> 01:09:09.510
faith. I thank God. I thank God for Brad and

01:09:09.510 --> 01:09:12.229
Jennifer. I thank God that you have a pastor

01:09:12.229 --> 01:09:16.869
and pastors that have faith. I'm glad they're

01:09:16.869 --> 01:09:18.829
not saying, well, you know, we can't, you know,

01:09:18.850 --> 01:09:21.010
we don't need to build anything else. You know,

01:09:21.069 --> 01:09:23.310
I'm 50 years old. It's time for me to kind of

01:09:23.310 --> 01:09:26.270
unwind a little bit. You know, it's time for

01:09:26.270 --> 01:09:28.770
us to, we would probably just, you know, stay

01:09:28.770 --> 01:09:31.109
with what we have and I'll get on my motorcycle

01:09:31.109 --> 01:09:41.850
and do more writing. And so... No. Faith never

01:09:41.850 --> 01:09:48.550
stops pressing. Right up until I had cancer,

01:09:48.630 --> 01:09:51.909
I was starting another campus. Right after I

01:09:51.909 --> 01:09:55.710
got out of the hospital, I was thinking of enlarging

01:09:55.710 --> 01:09:57.770
our vision to do this and this and this and this.

01:09:57.869 --> 01:10:00.069
And that's why I realized I'm not the guy to

01:10:00.069 --> 01:10:01.789
do it because I can't pull that off. I need to

01:10:01.789 --> 01:10:03.409
pull something else off and let someone else

01:10:03.409 --> 01:10:08.180
do this. And so I think faith. never stops taking

01:10:08.180 --> 01:10:14.479
ground. As a business, when you stop taking ground,

01:10:14.659 --> 01:10:20.819
you stop taking money. As a church, when your

01:10:20.819 --> 01:10:24.159
vision becomes only about this, why would God

01:10:24.159 --> 01:10:27.800
give you miracles? Why would God provide more

01:10:27.800 --> 01:10:31.119
money for you? Why would God give you things

01:10:31.119 --> 01:10:34.640
you can't use? It's when you're out of the boat

01:10:34.909 --> 01:10:38.970
that the water has to work. It doesn't work if

01:10:38.970 --> 01:10:41.430
you're a boat person. If you're a boat person,

01:10:41.449 --> 01:10:44.149
not a water walking person, it doesn't matter.

01:10:44.210 --> 01:10:45.770
You don't need a miracle. You can sit in the

01:10:45.770 --> 01:10:47.590
boat all day long and say, I want a miracle.

01:10:47.729 --> 01:10:51.409
I need a miracle. Oh God, give me a miracle.

01:10:51.449 --> 01:10:53.729
I'm in the boat. I want to walk on the boat.

01:10:56.050 --> 01:10:58.770
I'm walking on the boat. What a miracle. I didn't

01:10:58.770 --> 01:11:00.829
dump it out. I didn't tip it over. I'm walking

01:11:00.829 --> 01:11:02.829
on the boat. And you go, man, I had a miracle.

01:11:02.949 --> 01:11:05.689
That's not a miracle. It's just living life routinely.

01:11:05.989 --> 01:11:08.829
It's being safe. It's staying in the boat. You

01:11:08.829 --> 01:11:11.649
don't get the miracles until you get out of the

01:11:11.649 --> 01:11:18.550
boat. That's where miracles have to happen. Bible

01:11:18.550 --> 01:11:30.180
says, as they went, God worked with them. Faith.

01:11:30.180 --> 01:11:34.100
Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible,

01:11:34.359 --> 01:11:40.560
and receives the impossible. Faith. I used to

01:11:40.560 --> 01:11:43.039
quote this to my staff and leaders all the time.

01:11:43.079 --> 01:11:46.460
It's one of the fun things I did. Francis of

01:11:46.460 --> 01:11:49.979
Assisi in the back third, fourth century, you

01:11:49.979 --> 01:11:52.100
know, he is a monk and a writer and a great man

01:11:52.100 --> 01:11:53.819
of God, actually. He established a lot of things

01:11:53.819 --> 01:11:58.250
we're still doing. Francis of Assisi. Found a

01:11:58.250 --> 01:12:01.609
monk who was cooking in one of the monasteries.

01:12:02.010 --> 01:12:04.869
And he wanted to take the monk with him and go

01:12:04.869 --> 01:12:08.270
start more monasteries where there weren't any.

01:12:09.069 --> 01:12:11.649
And the monk said to him, I can't go. I'm cooking

01:12:11.649 --> 01:12:17.590
for the other monks. Francis of Assisi said to

01:12:17.590 --> 01:12:22.090
him, give up your small ambitions. Come save

01:12:22.090 --> 01:12:25.109
the world with me. And I would say that to my

01:12:25.109 --> 01:12:27.149
staff all the time when they would give me their

01:12:27.149 --> 01:12:29.869
low -level excuses. I would say, give up your

01:12:29.869 --> 01:12:31.789
small ambitions. Come save the world with me.

01:12:32.409 --> 01:12:34.750
We all have small ambitions that we just get

01:12:34.750 --> 01:12:37.810
so wrapped up in. But, you know, I want you to

01:12:37.810 --> 01:12:54.960
understand, your life really matters. Fine, you

01:12:54.960 --> 01:13:03.079
won't get what God is saying to you. I'm really,

01:13:03.100 --> 01:13:06.159
I'm really naughty. I apologize for my humor.

01:13:06.739 --> 01:13:11.460
No, I don't at all. All right, we want faith.

01:13:11.560 --> 01:13:14.760
Number six, we want the apostolic equipping mantle

01:13:14.760 --> 01:13:18.359
to stay on this church. The apostolic equipping

01:13:18.359 --> 01:13:21.060
mantle. thinks about training leaders and pipeline

01:13:21.060 --> 01:13:24.100
and doing everything for the next generation.

01:13:24.199 --> 01:13:29.640
It's an apostolic mindset. The apostolic equipping

01:13:29.640 --> 01:13:32.539
that goes on here already needs to be multiplied

01:13:32.539 --> 01:13:36.720
many more times. Number seven, the prayer worship.

01:13:36.939 --> 01:13:40.819
You can play, I don't mind. Just as long as the

01:13:40.819 --> 01:13:50.590
organ's off. The prayer, worship, and counter

01:13:50.590 --> 01:13:54.510
mantle, you have it. Chapter 13, verse 2, while

01:13:54.510 --> 01:13:57.069
they were ministering to the Lord and worshiping,

01:13:57.069 --> 01:13:59.329
the Lord said, the voice said, the prophetic

01:13:59.329 --> 01:14:01.590
came. That's a unique thing. Not all churches

01:14:01.590 --> 01:14:03.630
do that. Not very many churches do that at all.

01:14:05.229 --> 01:14:08.770
The prayer, worship. Number eight, the prophetic

01:14:08.770 --> 01:14:17.289
voice mantle. Where we believe in prophets and

01:14:17.289 --> 01:14:20.430
prophetic and voice, Not just from the pulpit,

01:14:20.510 --> 01:14:22.670
but in the people, for the people, around the

01:14:22.670 --> 01:14:26.550
people. The prophetic mantle rests upon the church.

01:14:26.689 --> 01:14:31.689
And prophecies that come. I kept all the prophecies

01:14:31.689 --> 01:14:35.369
that came over our church in a journal. And I

01:14:35.369 --> 01:14:37.350
would go back to them. Why? Because I believe

01:14:37.350 --> 01:14:40.630
that God's going to talk. I might as well listen.

01:14:41.789 --> 01:14:45.350
And so I would go back and read those. And the

01:14:45.350 --> 01:14:48.920
ones that came to pass. I would check them off

01:14:48.920 --> 01:14:51.640
and say, that's happened. That word of the Lord

01:14:51.640 --> 01:14:55.880
was fulfilled. This one has not happened. Every

01:14:55.880 --> 01:15:00.319
prophecy has a rhythm. The prophecies over the

01:15:00.319 --> 01:15:04.140
church has a rhythm and a course that they fulfill.

01:15:05.880 --> 01:15:08.340
In 1 Corinthians 13, it says, and where there

01:15:08.340 --> 01:15:11.460
be prophecies, they shall cease. And the Baptists

01:15:11.460 --> 01:15:14.279
have used that to say, we no longer need prophecy

01:15:14.279 --> 01:15:16.319
because they have ceased. That's not what that

01:15:16.319 --> 01:15:21.359
Greek word says at all. That Greek word is kataargo.

01:15:22.119 --> 01:15:24.920
And where it says, and prophecies have ceased,

01:15:24.979 --> 01:15:28.819
it simply means kataargo, to finish their course.

01:15:30.000 --> 01:15:33.539
That's what the word means. Something that finishes

01:15:33.539 --> 01:15:37.260
its course. And where there be prophecies, they

01:15:37.260 --> 01:15:39.119
will finish their course. And when they finish

01:15:39.119 --> 01:15:42.119
their course, you better get a new word to continue

01:15:42.119 --> 01:15:44.460
for the next season because the word for the

01:15:44.460 --> 01:15:46.840
last season doesn't work for the season you're

01:15:46.840 --> 01:15:49.800
moving into. And so you need to get a catargo

01:15:49.800 --> 01:15:52.239
for the church to make sure you're in the right

01:15:52.239 --> 01:15:56.319
rhythm to move the church into the future. Can

01:15:56.319 --> 01:16:01.180
I hear an amen? Number nine, a God -sized vision.

01:16:02.720 --> 01:16:06.090
So we're never going to limit this thing. It's

01:16:06.090 --> 01:16:08.810
going to be God -sized vision. It's going to

01:16:08.810 --> 01:16:14.689
be the purpose and the mantle mixing together

01:16:14.689 --> 01:16:20.189
to fulfill that vision. It says in the book of

01:16:20.189 --> 01:16:23.970
Joshua, a scripture that I've used a lot, and

01:16:23.970 --> 01:16:26.789
I'm going to put it on your church, Joshua 17,

01:16:27.250 --> 01:16:31.689
14 through 17. I won't read the whole context,

01:16:31.729 --> 01:16:36.789
but this scripture is about vision. And it's

01:16:36.789 --> 01:16:40.310
one of the most, for me, one of the most shaping

01:16:40.310 --> 01:16:43.250
scriptures that got me to think about vision.

01:16:44.109 --> 01:16:48.369
Because Ephraim and Manasseh were people that

01:16:48.369 --> 01:16:51.329
were born dreamers because of Joseph. They were

01:16:51.329 --> 01:16:55.510
Joseph's children. So they had dreaming in their

01:16:55.510 --> 01:16:59.789
spirit, in their genes. And it says they came

01:16:59.789 --> 01:17:03.609
to Joshua and they said, why have you only given

01:17:03.609 --> 01:17:10.989
us one lot? We are a great people and you have

01:17:10.989 --> 01:17:18.090
limited us. And Joshua said to them, the mountain

01:17:18.090 --> 01:17:22.989
country is not enough for you. Then what you

01:17:22.989 --> 01:17:27.470
should do is go clear out the mountain country,

01:17:27.569 --> 01:17:32.529
clear a place for you, take care of the parasite,

01:17:32.590 --> 01:17:36.600
the giants. in the mountains of Ephraim where

01:17:36.600 --> 01:17:39.539
they have the warriors that keep that. I want

01:17:39.539 --> 01:17:42.340
you to go and take those. It's not that you don't

01:17:42.340 --> 01:17:44.920
have enough country. It's you won't take the

01:17:44.920 --> 01:17:49.140
hard country. I didn't give you one lot. I gave

01:17:49.140 --> 01:17:52.020
you plenty of lots, but you won't clear the lot.

01:17:55.319 --> 01:17:58.039
And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph. This

01:17:58.039 --> 01:18:00.560
is in your Bible. I'm not making this up. Ephraim

01:18:00.560 --> 01:18:04.239
and Manasseh, dreamers, faith people. You are

01:18:04.239 --> 01:18:08.380
great people, and you have great power, and you

01:18:08.380 --> 01:18:11.659
should not only have one lot, but the mountain

01:18:11.659 --> 01:18:14.439
country is still going to be yours. I'm not going

01:18:14.439 --> 01:18:16.659
to give you the plains. You're going to have

01:18:16.659 --> 01:18:18.760
to do the mountains. You're going to have to

01:18:18.760 --> 01:18:21.420
clear it. And he gave them four phrases. He says,

01:18:21.439 --> 01:18:26.180
I want you to go up. Everyone say, go up. Cut

01:18:26.180 --> 01:18:32.420
down. Drive out. Take possession. Now that's

01:18:32.420 --> 01:18:34.119
the word of the Lord to this church this morning.

01:18:34.180 --> 01:18:40.359
Go up, cut down, drive out, and take possession.

01:18:41.579 --> 01:18:44.859
Why? Because you have a great vision in front

01:18:44.859 --> 01:18:46.779
of you. You've only just begun. The best is yet

01:18:46.779 --> 01:18:49.079
to come. I don't care how many years it took

01:18:49.079 --> 01:18:51.340
you to get to where you are. This is only first

01:18:51.340 --> 01:18:53.739
base to actually round the bases. This is only

01:18:53.739 --> 01:18:55.859
the beginning of something great. There's a new

01:18:55.859 --> 01:18:58.819
season, and God wants you to go up, cut down,

01:18:58.920 --> 01:19:01.560
drive out, take possession. Why? Because there's

01:19:01.560 --> 01:19:12.039
a great mantle on this church. That's God. Now,

01:19:12.279 --> 01:19:16.500
put your... Bibles and stuff down again. Stand

01:19:16.500 --> 01:19:30.239
to your feet. Are you there? All right. Now,

01:19:30.239 --> 01:19:32.659
let's give the Lord another shout and another

01:19:32.659 --> 01:19:38.340
clap and say, we receive. We receive. We receive.

01:19:51.340 --> 01:19:55.960
Bow your head. Close your eyes. And let me prophesy

01:19:55.960 --> 01:20:00.619
to this church. For I have set before you an

01:20:00.619 --> 01:20:06.859
open door and no one can shut it. For you have

01:20:06.859 --> 01:20:11.000
sufficient strength because you honor my word

01:20:11.000 --> 01:20:13.439
and will keep my word. I will give you my word.

01:20:13.979 --> 01:20:18.619
Take notice. Mark it. I've set before you today

01:20:18.619 --> 01:20:22.039
a brand new open door. and it shall continue

01:20:22.039 --> 01:20:25.020
until you are able to enter it. And when you

01:20:25.020 --> 01:20:28.840
enter it, sooner than you think, at that moment,

01:20:28.920 --> 01:20:32.260
opportunity will spring forth, and there will

01:20:32.260 --> 01:20:34.819
come a newness to your strength and a newness

01:20:34.819 --> 01:20:37.939
to your vision. For I have put favor on this

01:20:37.939 --> 01:20:40.520
house, and I have opened doors that you can't

01:20:40.520 --> 01:20:43.699
even imagine. I will provide for you the people

01:20:43.699 --> 01:20:45.920
you need, the leaders you need, the finances

01:20:45.920 --> 01:20:49.460
you need. I need you to go up. I need you to

01:20:49.460 --> 01:20:52.920
cut down. I need you to expand your vision because

01:20:52.920 --> 01:20:56.939
there's coming new open doors, a new season for

01:20:56.939 --> 01:21:00.159
this church and this congregation. I need you

01:21:00.159 --> 01:21:03.439
to step up in faith and extend the vision and

01:21:03.439 --> 01:21:06.439
let the kingdom of God move forward. This is

01:21:06.439 --> 01:21:08.859
a time, this is a time where the Lord will put

01:21:08.859 --> 01:21:10.880
a mantle upon this church that you will feel,

01:21:11.039 --> 01:21:13.939
a mantle upon this church that you will own,

01:21:14.140 --> 01:21:17.119
a mantle upon this church that will change you,

01:21:17.180 --> 01:21:20.680
your family, and your future. God, is going to

01:21:20.680 --> 01:21:24.520
do mighty things through this congregation. And

01:21:24.520 --> 01:21:26.899
he's going to anoint you with that mighty mantle.

01:21:27.020 --> 01:21:30.180
And this is a turning point day, a marking day,

01:21:30.380 --> 01:21:33.579
an open door day. Come on, lift your hands, everybody

01:21:33.579 --> 01:21:36.300
in the room. And just, I want you to imagine

01:21:36.300 --> 01:21:41.479
that I was the Elijah walking by, and I threw

01:21:41.479 --> 01:21:48.399
the mantle right onto you. I threw the mantle.

01:21:49.280 --> 01:21:52.880
Right on to you. And you received it with the

01:21:52.880 --> 01:21:56.340
great effectual work and door that God has for

01:21:56.340 --> 01:21:59.220
your church and what he's going to do with you

01:21:59.220 --> 01:22:02.060
in the name of Jesus. Now, I want you to look

01:22:02.060 --> 01:22:03.720
at me. Put your hands down. Just look at me.

01:22:03.760 --> 01:22:06.220
And I want you to say these words with me. We

01:22:06.220 --> 01:22:08.680
agree together and ask for a double portion.

01:22:12.359 --> 01:22:16.739
We pick up the mantle and we stand in our place.

01:22:18.060 --> 01:22:24.819
with faith and expectancy. We declare, we believe,

01:22:25.020 --> 01:22:30.420
that the mantle rests on us. And the mantle on

01:22:30.420 --> 01:22:35.840
us will open the rivers that are in front of

01:22:35.840 --> 01:22:41.279
us. We will seize the miracles, we will overcome

01:22:41.279 --> 01:22:48.779
the challenges, and we will let this mantle Make

01:22:48.779 --> 01:22:53.720
a new future. We will carry it. We will honor

01:22:53.720 --> 01:22:59.840
it. We will keep it. For us, our children, and

01:22:59.840 --> 01:23:02.939
our children's children, we wear this mantle.

01:23:03.479 --> 01:23:06.819
In the mighty name of Jesus. Come on, now let's

01:23:06.819 --> 01:23:32.579
give the Lord a real clapping shout. Call us

01:23:32.579 --> 01:23:35.819
at 541 -995 -8282.
