WEBVTT 00:00:02.260 --> 00:00:05.259 Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:07.660 want to thank you for joining us today, and we 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:10.179 hope you find today's sermon impacting as you 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:12.699 listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk. 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.960 To find service times and watch messages online, 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:20.100 see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now, 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:26.320 enjoy this week's message. Be back with you this 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:28.320 morning. It's great to see everybody. Welcome. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:35.200 Happy New Year. Jenny and I were privileged to 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:39.740 be able to take a couple of weeks off. And honestly, 00:00:39.979 --> 00:00:44.439 if you know me at all over these last 25 years, 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:49.619 I'm not a big take time off person. Because there's 00:00:49.619 --> 00:00:55.159 so much work that piles up when I get back. But 00:00:55.159 --> 00:01:00.079 I didn't really realize how tired I was. I'll 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.859 share a little bit of that today. I promised 00:01:03.859 --> 00:01:08.579 you that I would share about the riverbank. And 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:12.560 I'm going to try to just do my very best this 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.219 morning of kind of giving you a little bit of 00:01:15.219 --> 00:01:18.579 a summary on our journey on the riverbank, on 00:01:18.579 --> 00:01:21.799 what the Lord spoke to me during, especially 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:25.359 last week when we had just a week of nothingness 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:28.769 and just a wait on the Lord. And then... are 00:01:28.769 --> 00:01:32.189 fast. So would you pray with me and just invite 00:01:32.189 --> 00:01:34.569 the Spirit of God that I would be able to navigate 00:01:34.569 --> 00:01:40.209 as usual. I sent two messages to the, when I 00:01:40.209 --> 00:01:43.129 come back after several weeks, I send two never 00:01:43.129 --> 00:01:45.909 knowing how much I'll get to and then never getting 00:01:45.909 --> 00:01:49.250 to any of it. So hallelujah. So pray for me this 00:01:49.250 --> 00:01:54.069 morning. Father, we ask in Jesus' name, Lord, 00:01:54.150 --> 00:01:58.019 that you would Lord, you'd help me navigate. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:02.319 Lord, what needs to be shared today. Lord, the 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:09.800 incredible grace that you've had with us. Lord, 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:14.300 the deepening. Lord, now we stand on the precipice 00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:18.479 of some incredible things. But it's not without 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:21.000 faith and it's not without belief and it's not 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:25.810 without obedience. Lord, help us. To really trust 00:02:25.810 --> 00:02:30.009 you. Lord I love you. This church loves you. 00:02:30.930 --> 00:02:34.289 Lord we move into 2026. The word you gave me. 00:02:34.430 --> 00:02:38.430 This year. Was 2026 would be about prevailing. 00:02:39.169 --> 00:02:43.050 And I'm asking now. I'm asking for prevailing 00:02:43.050 --> 00:02:50.629 grace. I'm asking for prevailing grace. For this 00:02:50.629 --> 00:02:55.469 house. For every marriage. Every person's finances, 00:02:55.550 --> 00:02:59.569 their children, their jobs, their businesses, 00:02:59.629 --> 00:03:04.789 a prevailing grace. So much in the world around 00:03:04.789 --> 00:03:09.250 us. But God, we have anchored ourselves in you. 00:03:10.430 --> 00:03:14.469 We're asking you to help us see from your perspective, 00:03:14.629 --> 00:03:19.189 to call it in, to believe it, and to stand on 00:03:19.189 --> 00:03:23.469 your promises. In Jesus Christ's holy name. Amen. 00:03:24.270 --> 00:03:27.509 Amen. I first want to remind you, I know we're 00:03:27.509 --> 00:03:29.169 going to be doing this, we'll be passing these 00:03:29.169 --> 00:03:32.469 out at the end of first service through the double 00:03:32.469 --> 00:03:36.189 doors, but what a great booklet. The Prevailing 00:03:36.189 --> 00:03:42.169 Church, 21 days, and 21 different little articles 00:03:42.169 --> 00:03:46.710 on the theme. Each of the 21 days is broken into 00:03:46.710 --> 00:03:52.000 seven weeks. Or seven weeks. It's amazing. 21 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:57.879 days in seven weeks. It's broken into three week, 00:03:57.900 --> 00:04:02.159 seven day periods and 21 different authors from 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:05.979 among the church and very proud of the work that 00:04:05.979 --> 00:04:09.419 they did here. And Pastor James and Stephanie 00:04:09.419 --> 00:04:13.099 with graphics. I wanted to say, I want to give 00:04:13.099 --> 00:04:16.240 a special shout out to Pastor James, our creative 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:19.939 pastor over all video graphics. Thank you, James. 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:29.139 He graciously reminded me a couple of times as 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:31.279 I called him throughout the couple of weeks giving 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:33.120 him assignments. He goes, I thought you were 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:38.259 on vacation. I am. This is vacation mode. He 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:42.420 goes, well, try to find another mode. Anyway, 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:46.860 we are excited about that. We'll hand those out 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:52.819 after service. I want to share with you, and 00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:56.449 I'll probably... continue on this next week. 00:04:56.910 --> 00:04:59.769 But I want to just share with you a little bit 00:04:59.769 --> 00:05:02.649 of my journey because I try to do this at the 00:05:02.649 --> 00:05:06.029 first of the year, kind of get you into my, kind 00:05:06.029 --> 00:05:09.029 of open the doors a little bit on my prayer closet, 00:05:09.050 --> 00:05:12.649 just enough, not to reveal everything, but just 00:05:12.649 --> 00:05:16.189 the things that God is taking me through that 00:05:16.189 --> 00:05:19.730 I have to actually, in many times, I get to be 00:05:19.730 --> 00:05:23.089 the first partaker of everything that comes. 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:26.720 from the pulpit, right? That's the wonderful 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:30.079 part of being the lead pastor. It's the horrible 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.420 part of being a lead pastor is that whatever 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:37.319 God is speaking and going to lead Life Bible 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:40.779 Church in, I get to be first fruit partaker. 00:05:41.019 --> 00:05:45.019 He has to work it in my heart first so that I 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:48.459 can actually preach it, not from a place of not 00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:52.019 experiencing it, but a place of having walked 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:55.160 through it with him him touching the heart, touching 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.160 the mind, so that I actually can have something 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:02.740 that's anointed. It's not going to the internet 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:07.319 and just getting an AI sermon. It's actually 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:10.600 spending time with him and allowing him to actually 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:15.459 move in and put pressure on me so that I receive 00:06:15.459 --> 00:06:19.670 it, so that I can actually then feed it. That's 00:06:19.670 --> 00:06:22.290 the hardest. I mean, honestly, if I'm just speaking, 00:06:22.430 --> 00:06:25.509 that's the hardest part of senior pastoring. 00:06:25.509 --> 00:06:27.829 Of course, it's being with the people and seeing 00:06:27.829 --> 00:06:30.790 the levels of brokenness. That's the second hardest 00:06:30.790 --> 00:06:34.649 part of walking in and through the valleys of 00:06:34.649 --> 00:06:38.610 the shadow of death with people. But probably 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:41.709 the hardest thing for me is when God is dealing 00:06:41.709 --> 00:06:47.899 with subjects and always takes that leadership 00:06:47.899 --> 00:06:54.379 team usually first. And because we believe in 00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:58.500 the now prophetic word, we believe obviously 00:06:58.500 --> 00:07:01.579 the scriptures are the boundaries. They are the 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:04.740 prophetic word that's been tried and true and 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:07.920 unalterable. And we live within the banks of 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.279 those scriptures. We also believe that God speaks 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:14.639 and quickens his word for us as he's developing 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:18.800 us in the church. So in the midst of the Logos 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:22.319 word, the whole word revealed, God highlights 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:25.279 various parts of the word. He quickens things 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:28.379 through the Holy Spirit and he reveals things 00:07:28.379 --> 00:07:32.939 of what he's trying to do in the lives of congregations. 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:35.980 That's why God could speak to seven churches, 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:38.540 not the same word in the book of Revelation. 00:07:38.579 --> 00:07:41.720 He could speak specifically to those churches 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:45.060 in those locations under that eldership, the 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:47.800 thing that needed. to take place in that congregation. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.500 And we still believe that God is still doing 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:53.879 that. How many would say, you would raise your 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:56.519 hand, and this is, raise your hand if you believe 00:07:56.519 --> 00:08:00.620 we're still in Bible times. Come on. We're still 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:05.560 in Bible times. The Spirit has not lifted. Jesus 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:08.199 Christ has not come back. We're still waiting 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:11.699 for the Lord to return, which means we're still 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:14.720 under the authority of God's Word. And listening 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:18.300 to him as he navigates us through until his coming. 00:08:18.339 --> 00:08:23.500 Amen. And so for me, I didn't really realize 00:08:23.500 --> 00:08:26.600 how my eldership team did. They were concerned 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:29.100 about me. They're concerned about me a lot though. 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:35.220 Just in the fact of how we do life and that process. 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.340 And they're a great team. And I've got a great 00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:41.039 staff. We have a great church. This river thing 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:46.159 has bothered me. And I don't talk about it a 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:50.360 lot. I've prayed about it. I've spent hours and 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:54.179 hours and hours in prayer. And I didn't realize 00:08:54.179 --> 00:09:03.019 how eroded I had become. I felt like the Lord 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:06.419 spoke to me. He goes, your heart is like the 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:11.019 bank of that river. You've lost significant grace. 00:09:12.649 --> 00:09:15.250 and I couldn't hear it. Actually, it took me 00:09:15.250 --> 00:09:19.370 a week of being in his presence. The one thing 00:09:19.370 --> 00:09:21.509 I did appreciate, and I thank you so much for 00:09:21.509 --> 00:09:26.210 giving Jenny and I that space. The last week, 00:09:26.289 --> 00:09:29.269 the kids came over for about five days, and then 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:32.789 the last seven days, Jenny and I got to spend 00:09:32.789 --> 00:09:36.169 hours with the Lord. She went in one place, and 00:09:36.169 --> 00:09:39.600 I went another, and we're kind of... Weird that 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:41.879 way, we love being together, but when it comes 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:44.539 to our prayer time, we don't want anybody in 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:47.720 our space. And so I would just put on my little 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:50.659 noise -canceling headphones, and if she would 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:56.379 knock on the door, I'd be like. And she was in 00:09:56.379 --> 00:09:59.059 the living room and under a blanket, and I'd 00:09:59.059 --> 00:10:01.000 try to keep a fire going, and I'm in the bedroom 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:05.799 just waiting on God. I actually got to wait sometimes 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:10.019 four or five hours a day. just to wait here. 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:12.820 And the Lord spoke some things to me personally, 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:16.159 just spoke some things. One of the things that 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:18.700 he shared with me and that I'm gonna share with 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:21.240 you, and I believe it was very, very true for 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.700 this season. He said, Brad, you're going to have 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:29.240 to learn to steep yourself. And I thought that's 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:31.480 why the word Wes gave was so important this morning. 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:36.200 You're gonna have to steep yourself in my love 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:40.200 and my faithfulness. And as I heard him say that, 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:42.659 of course, I'm not a big tea drinker, but I have 00:10:42.659 --> 00:10:47.960 seen people drink tea. And in that process, they 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:52.899 do what? They cause that, and if you're a very 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:55.039 fancy tea drinker, you have the leaves and the 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:59.340 special little grate and you've got all your 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:04.919 little stuff and whatever. But they put it in 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.740 the hot water and they let it do what? Just sit. 00:11:09.129 --> 00:11:12.990 It sits. What does it do? I love this word. It 00:11:12.990 --> 00:11:18.990 amalgamates. It begins to soften that which was 00:11:18.990 --> 00:11:22.470 put in there, and in the softening, it does what? 00:11:22.549 --> 00:11:27.769 It releases the tea. The leaves that have that 00:11:27.769 --> 00:11:31.009 thing that you want to drink cannot actually 00:11:31.009 --> 00:11:35.230 get the strength of it unless it stays immersed 00:11:35.230 --> 00:11:40.809 or steeped in that hot water. And I was seeing 00:11:40.809 --> 00:11:42.730 it as the Lord was saying it to me. And that's 00:11:42.730 --> 00:11:45.110 many times how the Lord speaks to me is that 00:11:45.110 --> 00:11:48.370 I see it as he says it. He shows me pictures 00:11:48.370 --> 00:11:52.389 to reinforce things. And he said, in this season, 00:11:52.490 --> 00:11:55.669 you and then the church are going to have to 00:11:55.669 --> 00:11:59.870 remember to steep yourselves in my love and in 00:11:59.870 --> 00:12:02.490 my faithfulness. And then he began to remind 00:12:02.490 --> 00:12:04.809 me of various things. And I'll give you a word 00:12:04.809 --> 00:12:10.350 that he spoke to me. about his ability to prevail. 00:12:12.370 --> 00:12:16.850 And so that brings us to where I left you off 00:12:16.850 --> 00:12:20.649 right at Christmas Eve services. Then Pastor 00:12:20.649 --> 00:12:24.049 Scott spoke a word and did a great job on the 00:12:24.049 --> 00:12:26.850 28th. And Pastor Trent, yeah, Pastor Scott, thank 00:12:26.850 --> 00:12:32.750 you. Pastor Trent. I watched Trent from livestream 00:12:32.750 --> 00:12:36.799 and was sending various texts. during the process 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:41.519 and uh he was right he got in trouble uh no no 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:49.139 when Jenny and I when literally we had put it 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:52.919 on the big screen tv and we're watching and she 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.139 goes what is wrong with you I don't know why 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:57.899 he said that why did he do that she just sit 00:12:57.899 --> 00:13:04.549 down and relax I can't anyways so I went to prayer 00:13:04.549 --> 00:13:07.190 and prayed for you greatly. Hallelujah. No, just 00:13:07.190 --> 00:13:09.970 kidding. I'm messing with you. I thought you 00:13:09.970 --> 00:13:13.190 did a great job. He did. He really did. It was 00:13:13.190 --> 00:13:27.149 deep and it was good. So I need to. I thought, 00:13:27.230 --> 00:13:30.059 man. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.980 He's gone over time, just like the senior pastor. 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:34.860 Hallelujah. Anyways, I was giving him a hard 00:13:34.860 --> 00:13:38.580 time. I need to bring you up to speed. I want, 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:41.039 before I get into my message today, and there 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:44.279 are two, so just stay with me. My exhortation 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:47.399 is not necessarily a message, but I need to kind 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:54.700 of bring us to what is before us. As of this 00:13:54.700 --> 00:13:59.740 morning, last night actually, we've updated our 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:04.279 website. And so that was part of this last week 00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:07.720 of things that were being done. You can go to 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:10.879 our Life Bible Church, www .lifebiblechurch .org. 00:14:10.940 --> 00:14:14.299 And as you scroll down, you'll see Riverbank 00:14:14.299 --> 00:14:17.759 updates. And when you see that Riverbank update, 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:20.559 click on that. It will give you prayer points 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:26.019 and then it will give you the summary, And it's 00:14:26.019 --> 00:14:28.940 fairly long, I'm just letting you know. The summary, 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:34.200 my summaries are always fairly long. From 2023 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:39.679 all the way to now. In fact, as we have some 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:42.740 printed at the info counter for you, if you want 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:44.519 a hard copy to be able to share with people, 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:46.700 hey, what's the journey, what's going on? We've 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:49.419 printed those off that you'll have today for 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:53.399 that to be able to share what's before us. That's 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:57.940 available. I don't want to go from 2023 on, but 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:00.200 I do want to just remind you some things that 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:03.340 what we've experienced. For the last two and 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:06.899 a half years, this river process has really changed. 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:09.440 And I don't know why, I don't claim to know why, 00:15:09.539 --> 00:15:13.039 but I think just being a good little farm boy 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:16.299 all these years, I kind of... Didn't go to school 00:15:16.299 --> 00:15:19.220 for hydraulics or water engineering or any of 00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:21.860 that. But what I can tell you is when rock gets 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:24.320 deposited in the middle of the river and they 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:26.720 don't dredge the river and they change the course 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:29.740 of flow, it changes and it's pushed against our 00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:34.259 bank. And that's why we've lost almost 50 feet 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:42.000 in some places in two and a half years. We, that's 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:43.700 kind of the story of the two and a half years. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:46.879 I tell you the story of how we went to the Army 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.879 Corps of Engineers, how we tried FEMA, how we've 00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:53.960 tried every possible thing we know to do. I wanna 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:57.059 give a big thanks to our County Commissioner 00:15:57.059 --> 00:15:59.700 in Lane County, David Loveall. I wanna give thanks 00:15:59.700 --> 00:16:02.460 to Will Tucker, our County Commissioner in Linn 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:05.879 County. They have been incredible helping to 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:08.899 connect us with state legislators, senators. 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:13.200 We have sent information. all over the state. 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:18.720 We've sent information even to the White House 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:21.019 and to the House of Representatives and the Senate. 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.700 Even as I speak, there is a summary that is being 00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:27.940 put in front of one of Trump's cabinet even now 00:16:27.940 --> 00:16:32.000 this week. Life Bible Church and the various 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:36.600 entities of how we have... shaken the ground 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:39.500 for the last two years trying to get some help. 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:43.559 I try to lay that out in that summary that you'll 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:47.159 read on the website and today. We've had some 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:50.500 incredible people along the journey partner with 00:16:50.500 --> 00:16:55.379 us. Unfortunately, many of the things that have 00:16:55.379 --> 00:16:59.100 kept us from doing immediate remedy, and that 00:16:59.100 --> 00:17:01.159 was our big issue. And so if you remember when 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:04.259 the oak tree fell in the ground in June, and 00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:06.369 then we thought we were gonna get a breakthrough 00:17:06.369 --> 00:17:09.950 in the meeting in August where we had five, six 00:17:09.950 --> 00:17:12.549 agencies and county commissioners on the line 00:17:12.549 --> 00:17:17.109 and we were still denied what we had spent and 00:17:17.109 --> 00:17:19.569 engineered drawings that they all told us that 00:17:19.569 --> 00:17:22.609 they would approve. And so from that point in 00:17:22.609 --> 00:17:25.289 August, then you remember God awoke me and I 00:17:25.289 --> 00:17:28.009 shared just a little bit about the scarlet cord. 00:17:29.069 --> 00:17:32.710 And not only have we taken communion on the riverbank 00:17:32.710 --> 00:17:35.289 several times, but we went out and we stretched 00:17:35.289 --> 00:17:38.650 that 500 feet plus of cord and we prayed for 00:17:38.650 --> 00:17:40.509 it and we've been standing in faith with that. 00:17:40.569 --> 00:17:43.150 From that moment on, let me just say that, from 00:17:43.150 --> 00:17:45.829 that moment on, not that communion didn't break 00:17:45.829 --> 00:17:47.369 through, there was things that happened when 00:17:47.369 --> 00:17:50.150 we were taking communion, but from the moment 00:17:50.150 --> 00:17:53.170 that the church gathered on that Tuesday and 00:17:53.170 --> 00:17:56.849 we stretched that cord, something shifted in 00:17:56.849 --> 00:18:02.380 the spirit. And so I'm gonna try to do this without 00:18:02.380 --> 00:18:10.460 crying, but here we go. After that, we had an 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:14.660 engineering firm and a gentleman that came to 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:17.619 this church and had been sitting in the church 00:18:17.619 --> 00:18:21.480 for a while and came to us and came to me and 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.900 then came to the administrator and then we brought 00:18:23.900 --> 00:18:27.240 him into the eldership meetings. And he offered 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:31.039 a solution that, We had two or three different 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:35.339 engineering firms could not pinpoint specific 00:18:35.339 --> 00:18:38.920 things. It was always, we'll do the drawings. 00:18:39.059 --> 00:18:41.000 We know these people. We're connected to the 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:45.180 Corps. We're connected to the Marine Board. Anyway. 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:53.559 Anyways, he said, I think I have a solution. 00:18:55.180 --> 00:19:02.369 He said, let's just see. TVP Engineering. And 00:19:02.369 --> 00:19:06.789 we began to hear what he was thinking, began 00:19:06.789 --> 00:19:09.450 to, what his team had developed, and we really 00:19:09.450 --> 00:19:11.630 believed that it was an answer from the Lord. 00:19:11.650 --> 00:19:14.809 Because at this point, the Corps, the Army Corps 00:19:14.809 --> 00:19:16.630 of Engineers told us we couldn't do anything 00:19:16.630 --> 00:19:19.549 on the water's edge. We could not put riprap 00:19:19.549 --> 00:19:23.589 in, we could not put rock in. Same with the Oregon 00:19:23.589 --> 00:19:27.190 Department of State Lands, DEQ, I mean, you name 00:19:27.190 --> 00:19:30.740 it, you name it, everybody, Said no. And we're 00:19:30.740 --> 00:19:37.319 watching our property go down the stream. So, 00:19:37.339 --> 00:19:44.500 in the process of trying to figure out what is 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:50.059 going on with the bank, it's actually, there 00:19:50.059 --> 00:19:52.380 is a silver lining here, but let me just take 00:19:52.380 --> 00:19:56.039 you down to where the river is. It's worse than 00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:00.710 what you see on the top. And of course, I'm only 00:20:00.710 --> 00:20:02.630 looking at things from a topical perspective. 00:20:02.690 --> 00:20:07.230 We've had some drones and Nathan Keeney, who's 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:09.750 on our staff, has a little drone. And I'd say, 00:20:09.829 --> 00:20:13.190 Nathan, fire up the drone. And he was happy to 00:20:13.190 --> 00:20:17.349 do so. And film the bank in that kind of thing. 00:20:17.450 --> 00:20:19.650 And they would put, I don't even know what, measure 00:20:19.650 --> 00:20:22.049 the bank. And what we have is we've got some 00:20:22.049 --> 00:20:27.170 pockets under there that have... are deeper than 00:20:27.170 --> 00:20:30.769 others along the river, meaning the river doesn't 00:20:30.769 --> 00:20:34.710 just have a steady bank. It's washed out some 00:20:34.710 --> 00:20:38.690 places in 10, 12 feet in pockets underneath and 00:20:38.690 --> 00:20:42.809 angled at such a rate that's angled back under. 00:20:43.190 --> 00:20:45.829 And so you can't see that. And so we were able 00:20:45.829 --> 00:20:49.349 to hire a, and the technology today is amazing, 00:20:49.450 --> 00:20:55.079 a sonar that would read the ground. push it to 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:59.259 the bank, and show us the images of that which 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:02.720 is concaved, images that are pockets. And what 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.220 I thought was our most dangerous area, which 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:08.900 it still is, is the area by the gen church and 00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:12.799 by the kitchen area and the motel. Actually, 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.619 the biggest underwashing current is right by 00:21:15.619 --> 00:21:19.119 the fireplace on the new construction. We thought, 00:21:19.140 --> 00:21:22.670 surely that isn't the case, but it was. And so 00:21:22.670 --> 00:21:26.450 in this process of evaluating as TVP and the 00:21:26.450 --> 00:21:29.410 engineering teams and working with various other 00:21:29.410 --> 00:21:32.869 engineering things, I've learned more about engineering 00:21:32.869 --> 00:21:36.049 terms than I forget, but I'm glad people have 00:21:36.049 --> 00:21:37.769 gone to school for this and know what they're 00:21:37.769 --> 00:21:41.329 doing. Because I certainly don't, and you wouldn't 00:21:41.329 --> 00:21:44.559 want me building anything. As you realize, we've 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:47.220 lost all the concrete decking around the pool. 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:50.200 The only thing that's left is the pool frame 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:52.599 itself. Everything has been filled in and around 00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:55.099 it. As you've noticed, if you actually looked 00:21:55.099 --> 00:21:57.980 out there today, and we'll get to this, but right 00:21:57.980 --> 00:22:02.500 after Christmas, we started work. And why could 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:04.460 we do that? Well, I shared with you right before 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:10.460 we went on vacation that in six miraculous weeks 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:13.519 since we... Matt started meeting with the eldership, 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:15.940 tried to finalize, tried to get some idea of 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:19.440 what it's gonna be. They submitted the plans 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:23.579 and within six weeks we received plans. Now how 00:22:23.579 --> 00:22:27.299 did we receive the go -ahead, the permit? It 00:22:27.299 --> 00:22:31.940 was because we bypassed doing something in the 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:35.579 water and we are now trying to do something on 00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:40.079 our little land that's left. And I cannot say 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:43.990 this with as much emphasis that you hear me, 00:22:44.089 --> 00:22:52.029 we are within a gnat's hair of not being able 00:22:52.029 --> 00:22:56.170 to do this. We are right at the moment. We've 00:22:56.170 --> 00:23:00.750 received permits. Let's just put it this way. 00:23:01.369 --> 00:23:04.589 There is a zone called the riparian zone that 00:23:04.589 --> 00:23:08.589 is normally 75 feet from a river. The city has 00:23:08.589 --> 00:23:11.329 worked with us and given us approval to work 00:23:11.329 --> 00:23:15.089 20 feet from the river. That was what we needed. 00:23:15.569 --> 00:23:20.049 And so what you need to understand is we are 00:23:20.049 --> 00:23:24.589 working to keep everything within 20 feet. The 00:23:24.589 --> 00:23:26.730 machine that we're bringing in, and I'll talk 00:23:26.730 --> 00:23:31.150 about that in a bit, is about 275, 300 ,000 pounds. 00:23:32.849 --> 00:23:41.430 It's a big boy. it's got to drive 56 feet of 00:23:41.430 --> 00:23:45.349 metal into the ground. So we're doing what they 00:23:45.349 --> 00:23:48.990 call a Z pile. And what it is, is we're going 00:23:48.990 --> 00:23:53.269 to build a wall that goes the 500 feet of our 00:23:53.269 --> 00:23:56.069 property distance. And we're getting as close 00:23:56.069 --> 00:23:58.309 to the river as we possibly can that they'll 00:23:58.309 --> 00:24:00.990 legally allow us and not tear any of our buildings 00:24:00.990 --> 00:24:05.710 down to do it. And we're going to drive 56 feet 00:24:05.710 --> 00:24:09.660 of Z -piling connected one to another into the 00:24:09.660 --> 00:24:14.819 ground to form a river wall. You know how many 00:24:14.819 --> 00:24:20.039 feet we have left on the building? On that side, 00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:23.660 we have 54 feet, which means that we've got to, 00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:25.720 in order to get those pilings in, we've got to 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:30.579 cut a few trees and be able to get the steel 00:24:30.579 --> 00:24:33.680 back here. We don't have any room back here on 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:36.509 this side. to even get the steel pilings in. 00:24:37.230 --> 00:24:39.950 Everything, so we've had to build a gravel road 00:24:39.950 --> 00:24:43.789 and structure to hold the machine and the steel. 00:24:44.490 --> 00:24:46.789 That's why you see gravel all the way around 00:24:46.789 --> 00:24:48.750 the parking lot, all the way out here, because 00:24:48.750 --> 00:24:51.529 that's what we've been doing for the last 10 00:24:51.529 --> 00:24:55.089 days. As soon as we got the go -ahead, by faith, 00:24:55.170 --> 00:24:58.029 we said, here we go. And so I don't even know 00:24:58.029 --> 00:25:00.109 yet, I don't know if we've got all the invoices, 00:25:00.170 --> 00:25:03.849 I just keep, in Jesus' name, I just keep. praying 00:25:03.849 --> 00:25:07.250 over it, and they keep ordering rock, and Carrie 00:25:07.250 --> 00:25:09.690 called me. She goes, I don't want you to look 00:25:09.690 --> 00:25:14.549 at anything. Well, that's like saying, here's 00:25:14.549 --> 00:25:19.309 a fresh batch of cookies. Don't eat any. What 00:25:19.309 --> 00:25:23.009 do you mean? She goes, well, we've had about 00:25:23.009 --> 00:25:25.250 50 trucks of rock load, and there's way more 00:25:25.250 --> 00:25:31.450 coming in. Just don't worry about it. Ah! Anyway, 00:25:31.690 --> 00:25:35.220 so. Lots of time in prayer trying to see it in 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:39.460 the spirit. But anyway, so that's what's happened. 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:44.299 We've removed, in order to get this done, we 00:25:44.299 --> 00:25:47.319 could not do any digging. We could not do any 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:50.339 digging in the riverbank. Literally, guys, the 00:25:50.339 --> 00:25:54.539 window of opportunity and the, if you want to 00:25:54.539 --> 00:25:57.960 call it, the scale of what is being designed 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:02.410 and done, this is our one chance. This is our 00:26:02.410 --> 00:26:04.170 one chance to save the property. If we don't 00:26:04.170 --> 00:26:07.430 do it this winter, we will lose our structure. 00:26:07.490 --> 00:26:11.309 We've lost 40 feet in some places in one year, 00:26:11.450 --> 00:26:15.490 50, 55 feet in other places in two years. So 00:26:15.490 --> 00:26:20.250 what does that mean? Well, it means we are all 00:26:20.250 --> 00:26:26.789 in. It means that we have, by faith, written 00:26:26.789 --> 00:26:32.079 checks. And I mean, We've had some to cover it. 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:35.059 By faith, we are stepping out as an eldership, 00:26:35.059 --> 00:26:37.880 as a church. We've had to make a decision and 00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:39.519 we've prayed about it. I mean, we've had two 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:41.380 years of praying and interceding. We said, Lord, 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:45.660 you've sent somebody that's been a God sent to 00:26:45.660 --> 00:26:48.640 us that has brought us palpable solutions that 00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:50.480 no one else would offer. Let me just tell you 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:55.640 this. The solution that's being offered is in 00:26:55.640 --> 00:26:59.569 many cases. a third of what was being offered 00:26:59.569 --> 00:27:03.369 to us by other engineering firms. The project 00:27:03.369 --> 00:27:05.890 that we were looking at was between six and $8 00:27:05.890 --> 00:27:09.869 million from everybody else. At six to $8 million, 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:14.809 it was impossible. I was getting ready to just 00:27:14.809 --> 00:27:16.950 say, Lord, show me where the next piece of property 00:27:16.950 --> 00:27:20.309 is. We're gonna let it go. Because folks, we 00:27:20.309 --> 00:27:24.970 still owe about 750 ,000 on the original note. 00:27:26.219 --> 00:27:30.579 And that we borrowed 3 .5 million when we first 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:34.559 got in here 10 years ago. And so here we were 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:37.579 and I'm like, six million. Lord, I believe you, 00:27:37.619 --> 00:27:41.180 but I don't have, I literally said, Lord, I don't 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:43.279 have the faith for six to eight million. I've 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:45.640 lived with three and a half million for 10 years. 00:27:45.819 --> 00:27:49.539 We just got it down to about 750 ,000. This is 00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:53.599 beyond us. This is beyond us. You've got to do 00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:58.349 something else. person we know in state funding, 00:27:58.609 --> 00:28:01.509 in private trusts, in private things that give 00:28:01.509 --> 00:28:04.329 money as philanthropy, every one of them have 00:28:04.329 --> 00:28:08.410 says, we don't do non -profit churches. And we've 00:28:08.410 --> 00:28:12.250 been pounding the pavement for a year. I've sent 00:28:12.250 --> 00:28:16.029 information out to people that I know are heads 00:28:16.029 --> 00:28:19.349 of VPs and national corporations. All of them 00:28:19.349 --> 00:28:23.829 do not want to give money to a church. So I said, 00:28:23.849 --> 00:28:27.279 Lord, what do we do? And with this solution, 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:33.299 we are right at $2 million. That is a miracle. 00:28:33.380 --> 00:28:35.480 You need to thank God for that. That is a miracle. 00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:44.859 Now, we'll talk more about this next Sunday as 00:28:44.859 --> 00:28:49.259 well. But that, between about 2 .25 to finish 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:51.539 everything up and to put it back to what we think 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:55.440 is normal. But the key is going to be... Construction 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:59.880 started right after Christmas. The machines arrive 00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:02.720 on Monday. Monday, they start bringing in their 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:05.839 machines. By the end of the week, we should be 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:07.839 putting steel in the ground. Is that correct? 00:29:08.119 --> 00:29:10.500 Yeah, we should be putting steel in the ground. 00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:19.460 That's incredible. Let me say this. The eldership 00:29:19.460 --> 00:29:26.910 team is an incredible stewardship team. So far, 00:29:27.009 --> 00:29:31.410 we have invested $800 ,000 into this project 00:29:31.410 --> 00:29:37.109 because for the last two and a half years, we 00:29:37.109 --> 00:29:39.089 knew that God was going to do something, but 00:29:39.089 --> 00:29:41.049 we didn't know what, and we have done everything 00:29:41.049 --> 00:29:45.809 we know to do to tighten everything and to put 00:29:45.809 --> 00:29:48.769 everything that we believe was for this. We're 00:29:48.769 --> 00:29:52.230 now... We're now at that point where we've got 00:29:52.230 --> 00:29:55.170 to do something beyond. And we know that God 00:29:55.170 --> 00:29:57.390 is going to meet us because we've been good stewards 00:29:57.390 --> 00:30:01.230 of it. We've lived always under our means. And 00:30:01.230 --> 00:30:03.390 maybe that's just because I'm a former Mennonite 00:30:03.390 --> 00:30:06.230 kid and I was taught you never spend everything 00:30:06.230 --> 00:30:09.029 you have, right? And so I have that philosophy 00:30:09.029 --> 00:30:12.119 in the church that we don't. ever spend everything 00:30:12.119 --> 00:30:15.440 that comes in. Why? Because there's always projects. 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:18.319 There's always needs. There's always things that 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:21.099 we're supposed to do. So you don't eat everything. 00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:26.059 You keep some back to sow. And we've been able 00:30:26.059 --> 00:30:28.759 to do that. I want you to give God glory for 00:30:28.759 --> 00:30:35.779 being able to already sow $800 ,000. That's incredible. 00:30:38.300 --> 00:30:40.759 So that's where we're at. Next week we're gonna 00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:44.880 talk a little bit about, yes, come on up. In 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:50.220 Jesus' name. Thank you for allowing me the interruption, 00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:51.960 but the Spirit of the Lord could not let me just 00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:53.839 sit in my chair with you doing this on your own. 00:30:53.880 --> 00:30:55.740 I wanna tell you that this morning I read Luke 00:30:55.740 --> 00:30:57.960 chapter 11 when the friend's beating on the guy's 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:00.700 door for bread, right? And the word says that 00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:03.059 he, just because he's your friend, because he's 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:04.539 in a relationship with you and you know him, 00:31:04.579 --> 00:31:06.359 doesn't mean he's gonna get out of bed and give 00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:09.339 you bread. your persistence is what makes them 00:31:09.339 --> 00:31:13.539 get out of bed. So Carrie and the eldership team 00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:16.460 and this pastor and all, none of our relationships 00:31:16.460 --> 00:31:18.940 as commissioners and elected officials did really 00:31:18.940 --> 00:31:22.960 any good. It just was the persistence of that 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:26.180 spirit of power and authority to command the 00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:27.819 solution. So I want you to extend your hands 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:30.500 of grace towards your pastor. I'm going to get 00:31:30.500 --> 00:31:36.640 emotional because this is where The Spirit of 00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:39.579 the Lord takes men like you and me who hate to 00:31:39.579 --> 00:31:43.359 lose. We hate to lose. And we'll lay our neck 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:46.019 on the line for others so that they don't lose 00:31:46.019 --> 00:31:49.140 either. And the power of persistence is a gift. 00:31:49.460 --> 00:31:51.559 And so, Lord God, I praise you for this man. 00:31:51.660 --> 00:31:54.220 I praise you for the leadership. I praise you, 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:57.339 Lord God, for the power of persistence that yields 00:31:57.339 --> 00:32:00.859 the power of the glory of who you are and makes 00:32:00.859 --> 00:32:05.789 impossible problems. and the solutions come and 00:32:05.789 --> 00:32:08.109 the word of the Lord is more powerful than it 00:32:08.109 --> 00:32:12.630 ever will be because the faithful few lead the 00:32:12.630 --> 00:32:15.430 masses in persistence and power. And I pray that 00:32:15.430 --> 00:33:02.099 in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, thank you, sir. Thank 00:33:02.099 --> 00:33:16.680 you, Father. Thank you, Father. I'm crying more 00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:18.640 than my dad did when I got married. Hallelujah. 00:33:23.579 --> 00:33:39.440 Thank God he's gone. No, anyways. I was talking 00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:47.400 to Pastor Tim Karskadin this week, last week, 00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:55.059 I guess. And he goes, Brad, he goes, he goes, 00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:59.240 you know, you guys are getting ready for a breakthrough. 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:05.420 I said, well, I gotta have you pray for me because 00:34:05.420 --> 00:34:07.900 I said, I... And that's why I wanted to talk 00:34:07.900 --> 00:34:10.980 a little bit about prevailing faith. I said, 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:16.699 my faith feels like it's been eroded over this 00:34:16.699 --> 00:34:20.820 last couple years. He goes, well, that's why 00:34:20.820 --> 00:34:24.320 you're waiting on the Lord, right? I said, yeah. 00:34:25.860 --> 00:34:29.880 He goes, Brad, he said, I really do believe. 00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:31.900 He said, I know you need a miracle and you're 00:34:31.900 --> 00:34:35.030 facing something you've never faced before. He 00:34:35.030 --> 00:34:37.969 says, but I'm telling you, you're gonna watch 00:34:37.969 --> 00:34:40.329 this thing and it is going to happen. God's people 00:34:40.329 --> 00:34:42.989 are gonna rise up. He said, you know that God 00:34:42.989 --> 00:34:45.309 can bring things from other places, but he said, 00:34:45.309 --> 00:34:47.369 you've got to go through what you're going through 00:34:47.369 --> 00:34:51.889 in order to break you into the other promises 00:34:51.889 --> 00:34:57.909 that are all backing up on this situation. And 00:34:57.909 --> 00:35:04.550 I believe that. I do believe that. And I'll talk 00:35:04.550 --> 00:35:07.670 about, if you're okay with that, I'll talk about 00:35:07.670 --> 00:35:11.929 the finances next week a little bit of what we 00:35:11.929 --> 00:35:17.389 need to do. I do believe we've settled on a theme 00:35:17.389 --> 00:35:19.789 that the Lord has put in our heart out of Nehemiah 00:35:19.789 --> 00:35:29.510 chapter two. It's called arise, rise and build. 00:35:31.230 --> 00:35:34.929 Arise and build. And the fact is I have it here. 00:35:35.469 --> 00:35:39.570 Let me just get to it. Nehemiah 2 .18. Here's 00:35:39.570 --> 00:35:44.610 the theme. Raise the wall. Not to sound like 00:35:44.610 --> 00:35:51.030 Trump, but anyway, if it works. There's something 00:35:51.030 --> 00:35:53.909 about that wall thing. But anyway, raise the 00:35:53.909 --> 00:35:58.670 wall, arise and build. Nehemiah 2 .18. So I told 00:35:58.670 --> 00:36:01.489 them, the hand of my God, which has been so good 00:36:01.489 --> 00:36:04.730 upon me. and also of the king's word that had 00:36:04.730 --> 00:36:08.710 spoken to me. So we said, let us raise up and 00:36:08.710 --> 00:36:11.869 build. And they set their hands to do this good 00:36:11.869 --> 00:36:18.650 work. That is our verse. That is our verse. And 00:36:18.650 --> 00:36:20.849 I believe the king that we're talking about is 00:36:20.849 --> 00:36:25.010 King Jesus. He's spoken his word to us. He's 00:36:25.010 --> 00:36:28.210 spoken to this congregation. He's granted people 00:36:28.210 --> 00:36:31.429 that I didn't know were in the congregation that 00:36:31.429 --> 00:36:34.320 have been that have come, that have partnered 00:36:34.320 --> 00:36:38.780 with us. If I had the engineer come up here and 00:36:38.780 --> 00:36:43.000 share, he could take the rest of the time telling 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:46.739 you how many miracles have already taken place 00:36:46.739 --> 00:36:49.940 in this process. So I'm standing up here giving 00:36:49.940 --> 00:36:54.059 you kind of this last several miracles that we 00:36:54.059 --> 00:36:56.639 need out of a list of probably seven or eight 00:36:56.639 --> 00:36:59.579 that have already taken place already. And so 00:36:59.579 --> 00:37:01.840 when I stand here and say the good word of the 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:05.199 king has gone before us, and I said to the people, 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:10.079 God's good hand has been upon us, I believe that. 00:37:10.219 --> 00:37:13.800 We now need to allow the love of God, the trust 00:37:13.800 --> 00:37:17.840 to him, and faith, supernatural faith, to come 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:20.099 upon us in this season and prepare ourselves 00:37:20.099 --> 00:37:26.400 as we do in this fast, not just alone for the 00:37:26.400 --> 00:37:30.949 church and for spiritual, awakening, although 00:37:30.949 --> 00:37:34.090 fasting, that's what it does. We need to pray 00:37:34.090 --> 00:37:38.050 for supernatural breakthrough that the promises 00:37:38.050 --> 00:37:40.730 that were promised, not just to this church, 00:37:40.829 --> 00:37:45.250 but to you that have been backlogged, start breaking 00:37:45.250 --> 00:37:48.590 through. And I believe that. I believe that. 00:37:48.630 --> 00:37:51.369 As I was on the phone with Tim, as he was speaking 00:37:51.369 --> 00:37:55.650 to me, he said, Brad, you know, he goes, you've 00:37:55.650 --> 00:37:57.630 told me, he says, I'm just to remind you what 00:37:57.630 --> 00:38:00.940 you've said. And he said, I'm declaring it. He 00:38:00.940 --> 00:38:03.920 said, the Lord said this was the year that things 00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:06.260 that have been stalled for two or three years 00:38:06.260 --> 00:38:09.519 are going to break through. Now, I didn't get 00:38:09.519 --> 00:38:11.820 that type of language from the Lord, but I heard 00:38:11.820 --> 00:38:14.199 that things that have been backlogged, I didn't 00:38:14.199 --> 00:38:16.280 know the number of years. He had specifically 00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:19.239 heard the Lord say, the two to three years worth 00:38:19.239 --> 00:38:22.260 that have been stolen and backlogged will break 00:38:22.260 --> 00:38:25.480 through in this moment of overcoming. And so 00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:28.019 I believe that. And I believe what we have standing 00:38:28.019 --> 00:38:31.219 before us as we have machines on the ground that 00:38:31.219 --> 00:38:36.300 represent God's answer this coming week. We've 00:38:36.300 --> 00:38:38.420 been so grateful for those that have helped out 00:38:38.420 --> 00:38:40.980 and different contractors that are helping in 00:38:40.980 --> 00:38:44.400 the process. We're now moving to that final stage 00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:47.199 to say, okay, God. We're now putting this wall 00:38:47.199 --> 00:38:50.679 in the ground that the river will not destroy. 00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:53.539 And that's the promise of the scarlet cord will 00:38:53.539 --> 00:38:56.559 not destroy what was destined to be destroyed, 00:38:56.679 --> 00:38:59.800 but it will be preserved. The bank will be stabilized. 00:39:00.179 --> 00:39:04.239 There'll be preservation and ministry will continue 00:39:04.239 --> 00:39:08.099 now and for future generations because of it. 00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:13.840 And when it's in the ground, and when it's in 00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:21.349 the ground, We won't even see it. We'll have 00:39:21.349 --> 00:39:23.829 walked through a phase for the last three or 00:39:23.829 --> 00:39:26.489 four years, and when that's in the ground, you 00:39:26.489 --> 00:39:29.590 probably won't even know it's there except we 00:39:29.590 --> 00:39:32.510 put a cyclone fence over the top of it, and you 00:39:32.510 --> 00:39:36.690 won't see 56 feet of wall and preservation on 00:39:36.690 --> 00:39:40.530 this side. You will see, though, how God chose 00:39:40.530 --> 00:39:44.230 in the midst of everything. And this is the crazy 00:39:44.230 --> 00:39:48.050 thing. And I can't say everything because I'm 00:39:48.050 --> 00:39:51.670 on the internet and I've got to be careful what 00:39:51.670 --> 00:39:55.110 we say. But if you knew the people that came 00:39:55.110 --> 00:40:00.130 to me and that came to the church and said, forgive 00:40:00.130 --> 00:40:04.769 us for not praying for you. City officials, state 00:40:04.769 --> 00:40:08.750 officials, various places that have come and 00:40:08.750 --> 00:40:13.090 said, this project, everybody knows. And you're 00:40:13.090 --> 00:40:15.809 on the map. Everybody is watching you. Now, I 00:40:15.809 --> 00:40:23.750 don't want anybody watching us. Right? I don't 00:40:23.750 --> 00:40:26.809 like that. But what I'm saying is, we couldn't 00:40:26.809 --> 00:40:31.570 do this. God has done this. And now our job is 00:40:31.570 --> 00:40:34.489 to partner with him in finishing and seeing what 00:40:34.489 --> 00:40:35.989 the Lord would do. Would you agree with that? 00:40:36.269 --> 00:40:45.829 All right. Amen. All right. Can I talk to you 00:40:45.829 --> 00:40:48.789 a little bit about this fast? Is that all right? 00:40:48.869 --> 00:40:54.090 Can we transition just a little bit? Okay. Well, 00:40:54.289 --> 00:41:04.110 get that off of here. Our theme is the, oh shoot, 00:41:04.190 --> 00:41:07.929 wrong one. Hang on. That's next week's. Hold 00:41:07.929 --> 00:41:16.659 on. Where am I at here? That's what happens when 00:41:16.659 --> 00:41:20.579 you have a person that doesn't understand his 00:41:20.579 --> 00:41:39.659 iPad. Amen. Oh, Jesus, help me. Huh. Huh? Yeah, 00:41:39.719 --> 00:41:51.420 I need that. That's where it's at. Yeah, there 00:41:51.420 --> 00:41:58.880 it is. Thank you. I'm getting all sorts of help 00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:02.000 today. Thank you, David. Thank you, Jackie. Hallelujah. 00:42:02.380 --> 00:42:12.280 All right. 21 days of fasting. All right. literally 00:42:12.280 --> 00:42:16.800 mentioned fasting out loud. As long as I kept 00:42:16.800 --> 00:42:22.320 it in my head, I didn't manifest. As soon as 00:42:22.320 --> 00:42:28.800 I said 21 days of fasting, I got hungry and I 00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:38.260 got cold. Why would we fast? Well, you might 00:42:38.260 --> 00:42:42.900 say, well, I can tell you why you would. But 00:42:42.900 --> 00:42:47.840 the principle of why we would fast is spiritually. 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:51.340 Now there are some natural benefits, but spiritually, 00:42:51.380 --> 00:42:56.760 we would fast for several things. Always developing 00:42:56.760 --> 00:43:03.880 spiritual hunger. Jesus said in the Beatitudes, 00:43:03.920 --> 00:43:06.659 right there in his famous Sermon on the Mount, 00:43:06.900 --> 00:43:13.440 those who are hungry, And thirsty shall be filled. 00:43:14.500 --> 00:43:20.139 You cannot say you're hungry when you're satisfied. 00:43:23.480 --> 00:43:28.559 You can't say it. There actually has to be something 00:43:28.559 --> 00:43:34.929 on the inside. That hungers. Just like there's 00:43:34.929 --> 00:43:38.190 a pain or an uncomfortability of hunger after 00:43:38.190 --> 00:43:41.349 a while, there has to be something on the inside 00:43:41.349 --> 00:43:44.989 that moves you from status quo, that moves you 00:43:44.989 --> 00:43:48.269 from the place of just where you've gotten into 00:43:48.269 --> 00:43:53.510 routine, that breaks you into another level that 00:43:53.510 --> 00:43:55.849 you are quickened and awakened. Pastor Scott 00:43:55.849 --> 00:43:59.650 spoke to this on the 28th. He talked about the 00:43:59.650 --> 00:44:02.170 awakening process, that we have to come into 00:44:02.170 --> 00:44:04.489 a place where the church needs to be awakened 00:44:04.489 --> 00:44:06.829 or we as the church, if we just put it on us, 00:44:06.869 --> 00:44:09.570 we need to spiritually be awakened, which means 00:44:09.570 --> 00:44:13.210 what? We don't look at other people and go, compared 00:44:13.210 --> 00:44:16.010 to everybody else, we're, no, no, no. That's 00:44:16.010 --> 00:44:19.500 the problem that needs to be broken off. Because 00:44:19.500 --> 00:44:22.599 when we begin to look at others with those filters, 00:44:22.739 --> 00:44:26.659 we've already shown ourselves the hard heart 00:44:26.659 --> 00:44:30.539 and the plaque that's built up by not actually 00:44:30.539 --> 00:44:34.940 just taking inventory in our heart first. And 00:44:34.940 --> 00:44:38.579 so fasting is a spiritual practice that helps 00:44:38.579 --> 00:44:43.019 create space, margin as we seek God for more 00:44:43.019 --> 00:44:44.960 intentionally through prayer. It's not about 00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:49.250 perfection or deprivation. It's about turning 00:44:49.250 --> 00:44:53.190 our attention toward God in a focused way. Our 00:44:53.190 --> 00:44:56.630 shepherding and pastoral teams of Life Bible 00:44:56.630 --> 00:44:59.949 Church want to encourage all of us that you would 00:44:59.949 --> 00:45:03.389 seek the Lord with us during these 21 days for 00:45:03.389 --> 00:45:07.630 direction, for guidance, for provision, for miracles, 00:45:07.750 --> 00:45:11.469 and for protection in this new year. Seeking 00:45:11.469 --> 00:45:13.750 God is something that he always asks us to do, 00:45:13.789 --> 00:45:17.789 right? His heart toward us. is he knows what 00:45:17.789 --> 00:45:23.829 level we're at personally. The Bible is filled 00:45:23.829 --> 00:45:27.309 with that. I sat down to just write this last 00:45:27.309 --> 00:45:30.349 week and waiting on the Lord, and I was just 00:45:30.349 --> 00:45:33.829 looking at the number of verses about seeking 00:45:33.829 --> 00:45:37.010 God. Let me just give you a couple of them. Psalms 00:45:37.010 --> 00:45:40.929 105 .4 says this, Seek the Lord and his strength. 00:45:41.809 --> 00:45:46.699 Seek his presence continually. How about Jeremiah 00:45:46.699 --> 00:45:50.179 29? We know this. For I know the plans I have 00:45:50.179 --> 00:45:52.539 for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness 00:45:52.539 --> 00:45:55.480 and not evil. That's what Pastor West was saying 00:45:55.480 --> 00:45:58.219 this morning. To give you a future and a hope. 00:45:58.599 --> 00:46:03.559 Then you will call on me and come to me and pray 00:46:03.559 --> 00:46:08.820 and I will hear you. If you will seek me, you 00:46:08.820 --> 00:46:12.159 will find me. When you seek me with all your 00:46:12.159 --> 00:46:15.599 heart, I will be found by you, declares the Lord. 00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:19.039 Notice, when you seek me with all of your heart, 00:46:19.219 --> 00:46:23.539 I will be found by you. So the Lord knows what 00:46:23.539 --> 00:46:25.880 his plans are for us. He knows what the plans 00:46:25.880 --> 00:46:28.119 are for LBC. He knows what the plans are for 00:46:28.119 --> 00:46:31.519 you individually. And in order to keep our soul, 00:46:31.639 --> 00:46:35.699 our mind from just forming logical. conclusions 00:46:35.699 --> 00:46:38.860 about what we think. That's probably our biggest 00:46:38.860 --> 00:46:42.300 nemesis in the Christian faith is the longer 00:46:42.300 --> 00:46:46.079 you grow as a Christian, you automatically try 00:46:46.079 --> 00:46:51.000 to use wisdom gained generically for the circumstance 00:46:51.000 --> 00:46:55.860 that faces you right now. And the point is that 00:46:55.860 --> 00:46:59.440 you've got to keep sharp and keep awakening. 00:47:00.219 --> 00:47:02.699 So that you're both taking the wisdom that you've 00:47:02.699 --> 00:47:06.559 received generically from reading the word, praying 00:47:06.559 --> 00:47:10.539 and fellowship with Jesus to also his now voice 00:47:10.539 --> 00:47:13.480 in your life in what you're facing in this season. 00:47:13.579 --> 00:47:16.159 There has to be both. That's why Jesus said what? 00:47:16.239 --> 00:47:20.300 A good steward or a good householder takes out 00:47:20.300 --> 00:47:23.860 both the old. And the new. Meaning what? You 00:47:23.860 --> 00:47:26.900 have to have that which is wisdom. And receive 00:47:26.900 --> 00:47:29.659 that. But you've also got to walk in places. 00:47:29.739 --> 00:47:33.900 That requires God speaking a now word. And a 00:47:33.900 --> 00:47:37.239 good householder. Or what? A righteous householder. 00:47:37.260 --> 00:47:41.000 Is drawing from both. That which is the logos. 00:47:41.300 --> 00:47:44.360 And that which is hearing the Lord's voice. For 00:47:44.360 --> 00:47:49.039 a now season. And by nature. We fill our time. 00:47:49.099 --> 00:47:53.489 Our minds. Our appetites. We satisfy our souls. 00:47:53.969 --> 00:47:56.909 There's not one person in here that by nature, 00:47:57.010 --> 00:48:02.989 that isn't how we live. Now, I'm not saying you 00:48:02.989 --> 00:48:05.170 do it in excess. I'm not saying any of us do 00:48:05.170 --> 00:48:08.150 it in excess. But what I'm saying is we live 00:48:08.150 --> 00:48:13.449 in a place of wanting to be comfortable. There's 00:48:13.449 --> 00:48:17.150 nobody in this room that says consistently, I 00:48:17.150 --> 00:48:21.090 desire to live. on the edge of uncomfortable 00:48:21.090 --> 00:48:26.230 all the time. It's not who we are. Even when 00:48:26.230 --> 00:48:29.429 we do great exploits with God in faith that he 00:48:29.429 --> 00:48:35.170 helps us do, we pull back from the edge. And 00:48:35.170 --> 00:48:37.710 we end up finding ourselves in a place of just 00:48:37.710 --> 00:48:41.349 life being comfortable. Nobody wakes up in the 00:48:41.349 --> 00:48:45.130 morning and goes, man, I want a turbulent day. 00:48:46.530 --> 00:48:51.360 Jesus, please. Release turbulence in my life. 00:48:51.900 --> 00:48:57.659 If you're praying that, see Pastor Scott. Because 00:48:57.659 --> 00:49:02.980 you need some help. But what prayer does is it, 00:49:03.000 --> 00:49:06.860 and fasting does, is it moves us past the crust 00:49:06.860 --> 00:49:12.360 of just baseline comfortability where we get 00:49:12.360 --> 00:49:15.369 in our routines. And with prayer and fasting, 00:49:15.429 --> 00:49:17.809 it brings us into a new dependence on the Lord 00:49:17.809 --> 00:49:20.650 for his voice, his words, his faithfulness, his 00:49:20.650 --> 00:49:22.909 guidance, his counsel. Remember what Matthew 00:49:22.909 --> 00:49:27.829 6 .13 or 33 says? We're gonna know it because 00:49:27.829 --> 00:49:30.130 we're starting a new ministry, but 6 .31 starts 00:49:30.130 --> 00:49:33.250 it this way. Do not be anxious for what you'll 00:49:33.250 --> 00:49:35.309 eat, what you'll drink, what you'll wear, for 00:49:35.309 --> 00:49:37.829 the Gentiles seek after all these things and 00:49:37.829 --> 00:49:39.949 your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 00:49:40.590 --> 00:49:44.570 But 6 .33 is what? But seek first the kingdom 00:49:44.570 --> 00:49:47.409 of God and his righteousness and all these things 00:49:47.409 --> 00:49:49.869 will be added unto you. I've preached this verse 00:49:49.869 --> 00:49:54.429 multiple times. Why? It is the key to living 00:49:54.429 --> 00:49:57.829 as a disciple of Jesus Christ is that the kingdom 00:49:57.829 --> 00:50:02.309 become first. Sometimes we actually cause ourselves 00:50:02.309 --> 00:50:06.980 to get into a place to where we... reignite the 00:50:06.980 --> 00:50:10.139 passion and allow the Spirit of God to restore 00:50:10.139 --> 00:50:13.539 to us the virtue of what we can't do when we're 00:50:13.539 --> 00:50:19.420 comfortable. Luke 11. This verse has been in 00:50:19.420 --> 00:50:22.139 my heart for weeks and it was sent to me again 00:50:22.139 --> 00:50:24.659 this morning from someone else. Luke 11, nine, 00:50:24.820 --> 00:50:27.500 I tell you, ask and it shall be given. David 00:50:27.500 --> 00:50:30.380 came up with it. Seek and you shall find. Knock 00:50:30.380 --> 00:50:33.179 and it shall be opened to you. Everyone who asks 00:50:33.179 --> 00:50:36.599 receives and everyone who seeks finds and to 00:50:36.599 --> 00:50:40.260 the one who knocks, it will be open. He's telling 00:50:40.260 --> 00:50:46.219 us that he's asking us to ask, to seek and to 00:50:46.219 --> 00:50:51.500 knock. Those principles of asking, seeking, and 00:50:51.500 --> 00:50:54.260 knocking, if I could say it this way, are not 00:50:54.260 --> 00:51:00.400 out of comfortability. Let's just think of this 00:51:00.400 --> 00:51:05.679 in an illustration. What's the difference of 00:51:05.679 --> 00:51:08.980 when your child asks for something when they're 00:51:08.980 --> 00:51:12.099 already satisfied and you know there's no depth 00:51:12.099 --> 00:51:19.480 there? You hear it. But you kind of just go, 00:51:19.579 --> 00:51:23.539 well, we'll see. Is there anybody like me as 00:51:23.539 --> 00:51:25.320 that as a parent or am I the only Mennonite parent 00:51:25.320 --> 00:51:28.519 in the room here? Okay, I mean, the principle 00:51:28.519 --> 00:51:31.000 of when they ask in a complacence of fullness, 00:51:31.739 --> 00:51:39.059 Dad, it should be great to have that. But when 00:51:39.059 --> 00:51:44.880 all of a sudden it keeps coming around. And there's 00:51:44.880 --> 00:51:49.840 explanations. And I can see now the need is beginning 00:51:49.840 --> 00:51:53.739 to now, it's the desire for something that will 00:51:53.739 --> 00:51:57.159 change their life, that they really have faith 00:51:57.159 --> 00:51:59.960 for and believe. That all of a sudden moves me 00:51:59.960 --> 00:52:03.659 to a different level as a father. It moves from 00:52:03.659 --> 00:52:06.559 something that's complacent to now something 00:52:06.559 --> 00:52:10.400 that I sense there's depth. There's passion and 00:52:10.400 --> 00:52:13.820 desire for it. It's not just a whim of the wanter. 00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:16.820 It's now something that's going to build their 00:52:16.820 --> 00:52:20.599 life. That moves me as a natural father into 00:52:20.599 --> 00:52:24.900 a realm to bring change. The same is true with 00:52:24.900 --> 00:52:29.960 God. It moves us past the level of prayers of 00:52:29.960 --> 00:52:34.050 want. And moves us into something that we believe 00:52:34.050 --> 00:52:37.690 we actually need. And we persistently begin to 00:52:37.690 --> 00:52:41.150 ask. And that kind of asking is not comfortable 00:52:41.150 --> 00:52:45.090 asking. Because we are already. in our minds 00:52:45.090 --> 00:52:47.369 thinking we've asked for this and it hasn't happened. 00:52:47.429 --> 00:52:50.849 It now moves us into a realm where I'm almost 00:52:50.849 --> 00:52:54.449 uncomfortable in myself asking, but he's asked 00:52:54.449 --> 00:52:57.849 me to do so because he's wanting to know if that 00:52:57.849 --> 00:53:01.389 need is something that I believe and that I'm 00:53:01.389 --> 00:53:06.190 drawing down on. That's why we could say in John 00:53:06.190 --> 00:53:09.889 4, when Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman, 00:53:10.050 --> 00:53:13.500 he's saying, listen, you... She said, you Jews 00:53:13.500 --> 00:53:15.639 worship on this mountain and we worship on this 00:53:15.639 --> 00:53:17.900 mountain. And Jesus stopped. He said, the day 00:53:17.900 --> 00:53:20.300 is coming when you neither worship here nor in 00:53:20.300 --> 00:53:23.780 Jerusalem. But now those father is looking for 00:53:23.780 --> 00:53:27.360 those now who will worship him in spirit and 00:53:27.360 --> 00:53:30.539 in truth. Meaning what? He brings the answer. 00:53:30.679 --> 00:53:33.760 He'll look for that which is wisdom that has 00:53:33.760 --> 00:53:37.860 been said and for now moments of encounter with 00:53:37.860 --> 00:53:40.900 him. That's what he says in spirit and in truth. 00:53:41.139 --> 00:53:43.400 Why? Because the spirit is going to bring to 00:53:43.400 --> 00:53:45.800 mind everything that God has said and he's going 00:53:45.800 --> 00:53:48.099 to quicken God's word to you in a now moment 00:53:48.099 --> 00:53:50.599 in addition to what you know he's already said 00:53:50.599 --> 00:53:55.420 and you have understanding of. Psalms 119 .10 00:53:55.420 --> 00:53:58.960 With my whole heart I will seek you. Luke 11 00:53:58.960 --> 00:54:03.420 .10 Everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who 00:54:03.420 --> 00:54:06.190 seeks, finds. And the one who knocks, it will 00:54:06.190 --> 00:54:08.989 be opened. As I was reading those verses afresh, 00:54:08.989 --> 00:54:12.030 the pursuit of the Lord through prayer and fasting 00:54:12.030 --> 00:54:16.070 unlocks the promise to, the pursuit of the Lord 00:54:16.070 --> 00:54:18.409 unlocks his promise to give what? Here's what 00:54:18.409 --> 00:54:20.929 he gives in prayer and fasting. He gives answers. 00:54:22.889 --> 00:54:26.050 Answers to things that have been locked up that 00:54:26.050 --> 00:54:29.889 you don't know how to get around, to go over, 00:54:29.989 --> 00:54:35.550 to go under. He gives them. Number two. Prayer 00:54:35.550 --> 00:54:37.769 and fasting yields what? It yields insights. 00:54:39.670 --> 00:54:45.130 Number three, it gives you strength. Remember, 00:54:45.349 --> 00:54:48.030 we talked about it as serving. It's the upside 00:54:48.030 --> 00:54:51.449 down kingdom. We think strength comes from eating 00:54:51.449 --> 00:54:54.369 and protein and working out and weights, and 00:54:54.369 --> 00:54:56.869 that does in the natural, but not in the spiritual. 00:55:00.829 --> 00:55:05.039 I'm gonna just drop back here, Jenny. Whoever's 00:55:05.039 --> 00:55:08.599 come to the piano, come. As I was waiting on 00:55:08.599 --> 00:55:10.760 the Lord this week, I said, Lord, I've lost my 00:55:10.760 --> 00:55:15.460 joy. I don't have my joy. I said, this would 00:55:15.460 --> 00:55:19.460 be 25 years. I said, this river thing, Lord, 00:55:19.559 --> 00:55:25.820 I'm really having to work at joy. And then the 00:55:25.820 --> 00:55:28.300 Lord just reminded me of a verse. He said, the 00:55:28.300 --> 00:55:32.800 joy of the Lord is your strength. I said, God. 00:55:33.280 --> 00:55:37.500 I need my strength back then. Give me joy and 00:55:37.500 --> 00:55:40.099 strength back. And that's when he showed me the 00:55:40.099 --> 00:55:42.219 picture of the riverbank and he said, that's 00:55:42.219 --> 00:55:44.340 been your heart, that's why I called you here. 00:55:45.820 --> 00:55:50.900 I will tell you one thing. I started, before 00:55:50.900 --> 00:55:55.500 this fast happened, I started actually fasting 00:55:55.500 --> 00:56:00.559 for his presence before the 21 days. Because 00:56:00.559 --> 00:56:04.360 I knew for me, In order to come to this fast 00:56:04.360 --> 00:56:07.480 in 21 days, I was going to have to make sure 00:56:07.480 --> 00:56:11.019 that I actually heard God and I was convinced 00:56:11.019 --> 00:56:15.480 in both faith and in total belief that what I 00:56:15.480 --> 00:56:17.820 would stand up and say, there would not be any 00:56:17.820 --> 00:56:21.800 doubt in my heart. I wasn't there a couple of 00:56:21.800 --> 00:56:27.519 weeks ago. I wasn't there. We had exhausted all 00:56:27.519 --> 00:56:31.960 resources. We had cleared the accounts and I'm 00:56:31.960 --> 00:56:35.699 like, Lord, we're down for the count. You got 00:56:35.699 --> 00:56:46.179 to do something or something. And what the hardest 00:56:46.179 --> 00:56:48.500 thing for me is, and maybe it's because of the 00:56:48.500 --> 00:56:50.380 way I was raised or the way I think, I don't 00:56:50.380 --> 00:56:57.840 know. I kept looking. What more can I do? What 00:56:57.840 --> 00:57:02.340 more can I do? And to where I exhausted everything 00:57:02.340 --> 00:57:06.159 I knew to do. Every person, every system, every... 00:57:06.159 --> 00:57:11.380 And the thoughts in my mind are, well, what if 00:57:11.380 --> 00:57:13.960 they think we haven't been good stewards? What 00:57:13.960 --> 00:57:15.619 if they think we haven't turned over every rock? 00:57:15.719 --> 00:57:18.300 And finally, the what if they, the Lord said, 00:57:18.380 --> 00:57:22.900 how about what I think? Well, that's important. 00:57:24.980 --> 00:57:27.460 But you also put me in front of sheep that have 00:57:27.460 --> 00:57:31.019 lots of questions. He goes, well, I think you 00:57:31.019 --> 00:57:32.860 better be concerned more about what I think right 00:57:32.860 --> 00:57:37.320 now. Okay. So I had to do a lot of repenting, 00:57:37.320 --> 00:57:40.159 to be honest with you. The first three days were 00:57:40.159 --> 00:57:43.719 repenting. It took three days of just steeping 00:57:43.719 --> 00:57:48.780 myself in his love and faithfulness to realize 00:57:48.780 --> 00:57:53.019 how much of this I took on myself. So much so 00:57:53.019 --> 00:57:56.139 that I was having heart pain. Jenny wanted to 00:57:56.139 --> 00:57:59.630 schedule me to go into the doctors. And we've 00:57:59.630 --> 00:58:01.329 had this before. When we did the last building, 00:58:01.489 --> 00:58:04.690 I had a heart attack and I didn't go in. I know, 00:58:04.710 --> 00:58:09.449 stupid. But anyway, I'm kind of that way. Stupid. 00:58:12.010 --> 00:58:14.869 But when I did go in eventually, they said, yeah, 00:58:14.889 --> 00:58:17.550 you had a heart event, but nothing's broken, 00:58:17.670 --> 00:58:20.389 nothing's wrong. And I looked at the woman, I 00:58:20.389 --> 00:58:22.469 said, you know how much that cost me in deductible? 00:58:23.210 --> 00:58:29.900 Anyway. I felt it happen again. I felt it happen 00:58:29.900 --> 00:58:32.820 again about a month ago. And I go, Lord, it's 00:58:32.820 --> 00:58:38.159 gonna kill me. I can't, I can't, I can't go on. 00:58:38.199 --> 00:58:41.559 I can't go through this again. And I finally 00:58:41.559 --> 00:58:43.159 just had to get to the place and say, okay, God, 00:58:43.219 --> 00:58:45.460 I've done everything I know to do physically 00:58:45.460 --> 00:58:48.599 within my power and in the scope of what you've 00:58:48.599 --> 00:58:51.880 laid before me. And this last week, I heard the 00:58:51.880 --> 00:58:56.650 Lord say, okay, now, you'll stand up. And you'll 00:58:56.650 --> 00:59:00.730 declare my words and the people will respond 00:59:00.730 --> 00:59:04.849 to me, not to you. And so I said, that's what 00:59:04.849 --> 00:59:06.730 I'm going to do. I'm going to walk away from 00:59:06.730 --> 00:59:09.949 this Sunday saying what I promised I would give 00:59:09.949 --> 00:59:13.210 the congregation and to declare that you are 00:59:13.210 --> 00:59:15.349 in this from beginning to end and it's not my 00:59:15.349 --> 00:59:19.849 job to make it done. It's yours. And so that's 00:59:19.849 --> 00:59:23.980 what fasting does. fasting removes areas that 00:59:23.980 --> 00:59:27.519 you don't even see. And for me, it was the burden. 00:59:27.739 --> 00:59:31.460 It was the pressure. It was the responsibility. 00:59:31.480 --> 00:59:35.199 Yes, I'm still lead pastor. I'm still head of 00:59:35.199 --> 00:59:38.139 the eldership team. I'm still responsible for 00:59:38.139 --> 00:59:42.800 what God is speaking and leading. But the claws 00:59:42.800 --> 00:59:47.179 of the weight that I couldn't see, it took me 00:59:47.179 --> 00:59:50.079 in times of getting away and having nothing else 00:59:50.079 --> 00:59:53.760 and just. leaning my soul out, not eating what 00:59:53.760 --> 00:59:57.380 I wanted to eat, just to eat to exist, to do 00:59:57.380 --> 01:00:03.159 what? To hear what was my issue so that I could 01:00:03.159 --> 01:00:06.039 hear him better. That's what the Lord wants to 01:00:06.039 --> 01:00:08.500 do in all of us. That's what the Lord wants to 01:00:08.500 --> 01:00:13.059 do in all of us. Now listen, I got 10 pages of 01:00:13.059 --> 01:00:19.760 notes here. I'm not gonna get to them. And I'm 01:00:19.760 --> 01:00:24.219 okay with that. Somebody said, well, you better 01:00:24.219 --> 01:00:25.639 be because you've been okay with that for the 01:00:25.639 --> 01:00:29.380 last 24 years. But anyway, maybe we'll get to 01:00:29.380 --> 01:00:34.900 it next week. Maybe not. The reality is that's 01:00:34.900 --> 01:00:38.519 what we're entering into. A season to clear out 01:00:38.519 --> 01:00:43.079 whatever kind of fast you decide to do. For most 01:00:43.079 --> 01:00:45.420 of us, we're going to do what we call a Daniel 01:00:45.420 --> 01:00:50.019 fast, which is what? A form of eating, but Not 01:00:50.019 --> 01:00:53.679 eating the things that, at least for me, that 01:00:53.679 --> 01:00:57.139 I would like. Meaning what? Trying to give up 01:00:57.139 --> 01:01:02.219 meat? All sorts of meat? I'm going to give up 01:01:02.219 --> 01:01:19.019 desserts. I know. I'm going to. eat some eggs. 01:01:19.159 --> 01:01:22.000 I'm going to eat some vegetables. I'm going to 01:01:22.000 --> 01:01:29.420 eat some nuts. I'm going to eat like I don't 01:01:29.420 --> 01:01:33.199 want to. Let's just put it that way. And I'm 01:01:33.199 --> 01:01:35.599 going to do that. Why? And I'm probably going 01:01:35.599 --> 01:01:40.960 to miss a meal or two a day in addition. Why? 01:01:42.039 --> 01:01:44.000 I'm going to replace. I'm not just going to give 01:01:44.000 --> 01:01:47.719 up something. I'm going to then turn that 45 01:01:47.719 --> 01:01:51.619 minutes or hour that I would just spend maybe 01:01:51.619 --> 01:01:55.940 scrolling through my phone, having my coffee 01:01:55.940 --> 01:01:59.159 and breakfast, that's gonna now turn to, because 01:01:59.159 --> 01:02:01.360 I have time for prayer, that's gonna turn into 01:02:01.360 --> 01:02:04.960 extended time without the other. I'm gonna replace 01:02:04.960 --> 01:02:09.639 my lunchtime meals and fellowship with spending 01:02:09.639 --> 01:02:13.480 time with the Lord. I'm gonna replace. TV time 01:02:13.480 --> 01:02:15.360 or whatever if you have that. I don't normally 01:02:15.360 --> 01:02:17.619 have that just because we're so busy. But if 01:02:17.619 --> 01:02:20.559 I did, I'm going to replace that with getting 01:02:20.559 --> 01:02:23.860 away with the Lord. Not only creating a little 01:02:23.860 --> 01:02:28.119 bit of dissatisfaction with my palate and my 01:02:28.119 --> 01:02:31.539 stomach, but I'm going to turn that dissatisfaction 01:02:31.539 --> 01:02:36.800 into God speak to me. Let me just spend time 01:02:36.800 --> 01:02:40.400 in your presence. Let me honor you. Show me where 01:02:40.400 --> 01:02:44.349 things That have crept in where I've become complacent. 01:02:44.369 --> 01:02:47.829 Or satisfied. And I should still have hunger. 01:02:48.349 --> 01:02:51.150 And there should be passion. And there should 01:02:51.150 --> 01:02:53.989 be a return of joy. And strength and virtue. 01:02:54.309 --> 01:02:58.030 That's what this 21 days is for. In addition. 01:02:58.309 --> 01:03:01.329 I'm laying this project before you. And saying 01:03:01.329 --> 01:03:07.110 God. We can't do it. Unless you do this. You 01:03:07.110 --> 01:03:09.849 do it through people. You bring it through people 01:03:09.849 --> 01:03:13.340 some way. It doesn't just fall out of heaven. 01:03:13.780 --> 01:03:18.559 It moves through people. You touch hearts. You 01:03:18.559 --> 01:03:21.380 touch people I don't know. You take it beyond 01:03:21.380 --> 01:03:24.019 these church walls. You do whatever you need 01:03:24.019 --> 01:03:26.260 to do, but I trust you to do it. That's what 01:03:26.260 --> 01:03:28.260 we're gonna begin to pray for, that God would 01:03:28.260 --> 01:03:32.039 move on us and he'd move on others. Can you stand 01:03:32.039 --> 01:03:34.980 with me and do that? Can you stand with me and 01:03:34.980 --> 01:03:40.170 let's just pray as Pastor Jenny comes? I know 01:03:40.170 --> 01:03:41.909 the ushers are getting ready to hand out those 01:03:41.909 --> 01:03:44.469 booklets at the end of the service. But let's 01:03:44.469 --> 01:03:51.309 pray. Come on. Father, in Jesus' name. Lord, 01:03:51.389 --> 01:03:54.309 we stand before you. Lord, as your children. 01:03:56.010 --> 01:04:01.969 We have need of you. And Lord, this coming Monday, 01:04:02.070 --> 01:04:05.429 we begin to set aside these 21 days before our 01:04:05.429 --> 01:04:08.809 life conference. Lord, that you would awaken. 01:04:09.680 --> 01:04:14.139 hunger, and thirst in us like never before. God, 01:04:14.219 --> 01:04:18.400 we would truly get an impartation of the God 01:04:18.400 --> 01:04:23.500 who prevails. The one who prevailed before he 01:04:23.500 --> 01:04:27.739 came, the one who prevailed in his coming, and 01:04:27.739 --> 01:04:32.059 the one who prevails till eternity. God, I'm 01:04:32.059 --> 01:04:34.920 asking for that grace. I'm asking for that joy. 01:04:35.119 --> 01:04:38.690 I'm asking, Lord, for your guidance. for your 01:04:38.690 --> 01:04:43.050 provision, for your miracles, and Lord, for a 01:04:43.050 --> 01:04:49.650 breakthrough 2026. I'm asking it. Go deep in 01:04:49.650 --> 01:04:55.690 us. Go deep in us. Remove every hardened place 01:04:55.690 --> 01:05:01.030 that our hearts would be alive and awakened to 01:05:01.030 --> 01:05:04.670 your voice, your counsel, your wisdom, and your 01:05:04.670 --> 01:05:31.389 guidance. In Jesus' name. Amen. Lastly, if you 01:05:31.389 --> 01:05:33.610 are in need of prayer send us a text message 01:05:33.610 --> 01:05:39.269 at 541 -625 -1365 We would love to pray with 01:05:39.269 --> 01:05:39.469 you.