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 --> 00:00:20.120
see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now,

00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:25.079
enjoy this week's message. Well, I am so grateful

00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:29.579
you're here. We have a full day. You know, I

00:00:29.579 --> 00:00:33.929
can... strategize all week I can pray I can ask

00:00:33.929 --> 00:00:37.609
the Lord what he wants to do and and the last

00:00:37.609 --> 00:00:41.509
three or four days of just trying to hear the

00:00:41.509 --> 00:00:44.109
Lord and respond and then I wake up this morning

00:00:44.109 --> 00:00:47.270
to a bunch of words and I actually said driving

00:00:47.270 --> 00:00:50.950
in as it was about 545 as I was driving in this

00:00:50.950 --> 00:00:52.450
morning I said you're not going to do anything

00:00:52.450 --> 00:00:56.460
that we talked about today are you That's just

00:00:56.460 --> 00:01:00.079
how God is. He's willing to change the plans.

00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:04.799
He allowed me to dig into a few things. And I've

00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:10.120
got two things that we need to do today. First

00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:14.560
thing is I want to give you a word from the scriptures

00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:16.819
that I believe is just, it's gonna be a shorter

00:01:16.819 --> 00:01:20.939
exhortation message on what we're doing right

00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:22.920
now in prayer and fasting. And then I'm gonna

00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:26.769
take you to some video. I'm gonna take you to

00:01:26.769 --> 00:01:29.269
what's happening on our riverbank and what's

00:01:29.269 --> 00:01:31.829
before us like I told you I would last week,

00:01:31.930 --> 00:01:34.650
okay? Would you tell the worship team they did

00:01:34.650 --> 00:01:42.670
a great job this morning? I'd like you to open

00:01:42.670 --> 00:01:45.930
your Bibles, if you would, if you brought them

00:01:45.930 --> 00:01:48.829
in the old, hopefully the leather bound, or if

00:01:48.829 --> 00:01:51.280
you have an electronic version. make sure that

00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:53.439
you open it up because we're gonna memorize a

00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:59.359
verse this morning. Psalm 119 verse 10. Psalm

00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:08.780
119 verse 10. I gotta find my message here. There

00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:10.500
it is. Put it up on the screen if you would.

00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:14.740
It's an easy one. You can do this. Ready? Say

00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:19.539
this with me. With my whole heart, I seek you.

00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:22.240
That was kind of half -hearted, so let's try

00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:24.800
it again. Let's try it again. Ready? With my

00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:28.919
whole heart, I seek you. Come on, there you got

00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:34.219
it. Psalms 119, verse 10. That is why we are

00:02:34.219 --> 00:02:39.099
setting ourself aside for a time of prayer and

00:02:39.099 --> 00:02:42.379
fasting. Why? We're dedicating our whole heart

00:02:42.379 --> 00:02:46.060
to seek the Lord. Okay, now some of you thought,

00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:50.509
well, shoot. I didn't make the 21 days. No problem.

00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:56.050
You now have 14 days. That's why I'm coming to

00:02:56.050 --> 00:02:58.849
you again. If you missed the first seven, here

00:02:58.849 --> 00:03:01.710
we go. We're ready to do 14 days. What are we

00:03:01.710 --> 00:03:04.050
doing for the fast? Well, you can do a variety

00:03:04.050 --> 00:03:06.870
of things, but what we're suggesting is that

00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:08.750
you would do a Daniel fast with us. And what

00:03:08.750 --> 00:03:10.849
does that mean? That means you put aside the

00:03:10.849 --> 00:03:14.750
sweets. That means you put aside the meats. You

00:03:14.750 --> 00:03:18.300
know, some people I know. diabetic or restrictions.

00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:21.199
Maybe you want to eat a little fish, but no beef,

00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:24.139
no pork, no bacon, Nathan. I'm just telling you

00:03:24.139 --> 00:03:28.120
in Jesus' name. Setting that aside and then all

00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:31.740
the desserts. You just hear the cry of Israel,

00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:36.960
the groan. You set those aside. Try to portion

00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.819
yourself a little bit less. You're not just Jenny

00:03:39.819 --> 00:03:42.460
Craig -ing it for Jesus. You're doing what? You're

00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:45.819
causing a leanness in your soul. And then you

00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:47.900
fill the rest of the time that you would maybe

00:03:47.900 --> 00:03:51.479
self -entertain through movies and social media

00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:55.740
and all sorts of video games, Trent. And just

00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:59.800
all those things. Sorry about that, bro. And

00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:05.539
you set those aside to do what? To seek the Lord

00:04:05.539 --> 00:04:09.319
with your whole heart. To actually create a place

00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:14.400
where... there's a hunger level inside of you

00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:19.120
that's past just what's nominal and normal. That's

00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:20.819
what we're doing the first of the year. Why?

00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:24.379
Because first of all, God wants us to pursue

00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:29.060
him, right? I will seek the Lord with my whole

00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:31.779
heart, I will seek you. How about Luke 11, 10

00:04:31.779 --> 00:04:36.069
says this, for everyone who asks receives. everyone

00:04:36.069 --> 00:04:39.769
who seeks finds, and the one who knocks, it will

00:04:39.769 --> 00:04:42.769
be opened. But see, it's not about the getting

00:04:42.769 --> 00:04:45.550
of things. It's what seek first the kingdom of

00:04:45.550 --> 00:04:48.769
God and his righteousness. He's looking for us

00:04:48.769 --> 00:04:54.329
to pursue him. And the pursuit of him leads us

00:04:54.329 --> 00:04:58.829
to what? Finding him. Now that doesn't, let me

00:04:58.829 --> 00:05:02.560
give you just a little bit of a help here. Every

00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:06.699
one of us has to go through the door of salvation,

00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:10.240
right? I mean, you cannot get to God. Jesus was

00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:13.579
very clear where he said, no man can come to

00:05:13.579 --> 00:05:17.540
the Father but through me. Not Pastor Brad, but

00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:20.620
through Jesus. I'm just a messenger. Jesus is

00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:23.660
saying he's the only way he is the truth and

00:05:23.660 --> 00:05:26.279
he's the life. He's the only way you can get

00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:28.959
to the Father. Whoever has the Son has the Father

00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:31.720
too, the scripture says. That's the door that

00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:34.000
we all have to go through. It's called the cross.

00:05:34.829 --> 00:05:38.149
We have to come to his cross and by faith we

00:05:38.149 --> 00:05:41.529
enter into relationship when we recognize he

00:05:41.529 --> 00:05:44.569
did for us what we could never do. He bridged

00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:47.529
the gap from the father who's perfect and holy

00:05:47.529 --> 00:05:51.050
became made like us so that he could die in our

00:05:51.050 --> 00:05:54.970
place and satisfy the requirement for the penalty

00:05:54.970 --> 00:05:57.709
of sin so that you and I could now walk across

00:05:57.709 --> 00:06:00.110
on the bridge of faith to be in relationship

00:06:00.110 --> 00:06:04.399
with God. That is the gospel. but you don't just

00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:07.579
open that door. I say it carefully. You open

00:06:07.579 --> 00:06:10.879
it one time to salvation, but you keep going

00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:14.360
through that door. What do I mean by that? It

00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:17.319
means that there are areas as we grow in God.

00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:22.600
Now I'm 56 years old. I have almost 48 years.

00:06:23.209 --> 00:06:25.430
of serving Jesus. Now in the first, when I got

00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:28.189
saved at eight, there wasn't this deep revelation

00:06:28.189 --> 00:06:30.990
other than I just got saved. My dad wasn't sure

00:06:30.990 --> 00:06:33.410
it actually took, but I'm telling you at eight,

00:06:33.470 --> 00:06:38.410
I got saved. Hallelujah. Now for 48 years, I've

00:06:38.410 --> 00:06:40.829
been walking with the Lord in various capacities

00:06:40.829 --> 00:06:45.060
of yieldedness. How many have experienced some

00:06:45.060 --> 00:06:48.139
gross spurts in God and some stunting spurts?

00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:50.639
It wasn't God's fault, it was our own, right?

00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:53.680
Choices that we made. How many know that even

00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:55.779
though we walk through the door of salvation,

00:06:56.040 --> 00:07:00.000
God wants us to pursue him at that door because

00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.319
there's levels in our life where we get stuck.

00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:07.379
Now, don't have to raise your hand or don't raise

00:07:07.379 --> 00:07:10.560
your neighbor's hand, right? But how many know

00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:15.350
in your own life that there are some places that

00:07:15.350 --> 00:07:18.829
you would like some breakthrough that in the

00:07:18.829 --> 00:07:23.069
course of life, in seasons of life, things got

00:07:23.069 --> 00:07:27.810
stuck. This is where God wants to pursue us.

00:07:27.850 --> 00:07:30.850
That's why in every one of his journeys, he's

00:07:30.850 --> 00:07:33.709
not saying, okay, well, I'm the Lord of death

00:07:33.709 --> 00:07:36.470
over those areas, but I'm the Lord of life over

00:07:36.470 --> 00:07:40.790
this area. He's the Lord of life over every area.

00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:44.439
And what we came to the altar call today of getting

00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:47.199
rid of rocks of offense and an agreement with

00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:50.199
lines of judgments and the sentences where we

00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:51.680
said, well, there's nothing we can do about that.

00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:55.600
That's just it. That's not who he is. All things

00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:58.240
are possible. The scripture says all things are

00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:02.100
possible to those who what? Believe. The enemy

00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:05.560
comes to get us to believe in what we see and

00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:09.480
feel versus what he has said and how he thinks

00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:13.160
about things. So the goal of pursuing him, whether

00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:16.500
we just start with the door of salvation or when

00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:19.439
walking with the Lord, like maybe me, 48 years.

00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:22.800
AJ, how many years? You should know this. Okay,

00:08:22.980 --> 00:08:26.089
24 years. How many minutes and hours? No, I'm

00:08:26.089 --> 00:08:29.250
just messing with you. Okay, the fact is, AJ's

00:08:29.250 --> 00:08:31.829
been walking with the Lord for 24 years. How

00:08:31.829 --> 00:08:35.950
many doors have he took you through through that

00:08:35.950 --> 00:08:39.830
salvation door over those 24 years? A lot. And

00:08:39.830 --> 00:08:41.889
he's still taking you through doors. He'll still

00:08:41.889 --> 00:08:45.389
take you to doors of that place of the cross

00:08:45.389 --> 00:08:48.870
as you pursue him until you leave this earth

00:08:48.870 --> 00:08:52.190
or he comes back. That's the goal of growing

00:08:52.190 --> 00:08:55.580
in God. So when we say, well, why are we fasting

00:08:55.580 --> 00:08:57.580
and praying? It's not just because we've got

00:08:57.580 --> 00:09:00.659
a massive issue that's facing us on the riverbank.

00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:04.039
That helps. That rallies us together and says,

00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:07.379
oh God, help now. Or we're going to get swept

00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:11.960
away in the flood. But that's secondary. Primary

00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:16.710
is that what? you pursue him personally and areas

00:09:16.710 --> 00:09:19.610
that have been stopped up and held the line and

00:09:19.610 --> 00:09:24.450
held against you, you would seek God of what

00:09:24.450 --> 00:09:28.289
he wants to do with that area. He can move that

00:09:28.289 --> 00:09:31.250
boulder. He can cause you to dig that boulder

00:09:31.250 --> 00:09:33.750
out. He can do a lot of things. He can cause

00:09:33.750 --> 00:09:37.139
you to jump over that boulder. You might have

00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:39.740
the same jump height as I do, about two credit

00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:43.200
cards, but he can still, he can still, he can

00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.480
still cause you to leap. Through God, I can do

00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:51.120
great accomplishments. The principle is, am I

00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.240
pursuing him in those areas? And what fasting

00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:58.259
and prayer does is it brings it down to a level

00:09:58.259 --> 00:10:02.340
to where now I get raw and vulnerable with a

00:10:02.340 --> 00:10:06.610
disappointment and I'm willing to unwind cover

00:10:06.610 --> 00:10:09.350
that brick wall that I said I'm not going to

00:10:09.350 --> 00:10:12.350
pursue there anymore. And I allow him to speak

00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:16.330
to me. Now, let me give you one verse before

00:10:16.330 --> 00:10:20.149
I move to the second. This is a two part message.

00:10:20.269 --> 00:10:22.669
So just think of it. Most of the time we're a

00:10:22.669 --> 00:10:24.809
rifle, but today we're a shotgun. I got both

00:10:24.809 --> 00:10:27.830
barrels loaded. Okay. So this is the part of

00:10:27.830 --> 00:10:30.450
the first barrel. We'll get to the second barrel

00:10:30.450 --> 00:10:33.110
in a second. I want to give you a word that the

00:10:33.110 --> 00:10:37.399
Lord spoke to me. Last week, I gave you some

00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.100
of the things that the Lord spoke to me while

00:10:39.100 --> 00:10:41.679
I was away and some of the vision that the Lord

00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.500
spoke to me. But he gave me a word on January

00:10:44.500 --> 00:10:47.659
7th for this congregation. It was for me, but

00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:49.940
it was for this congregation. And he said it

00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:53.720
this way. He said, look to me and lift up your

00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:58.080
eyes and your heart to see what I set before

00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:03.779
you. For the world sees dark. The world welcomes

00:11:03.779 --> 00:11:07.110
fear. and hopelessness, chaos, and destruction

00:11:07.110 --> 00:11:12.230
surround it. But I am the light of life. I am

00:11:12.230 --> 00:11:16.649
light and I am truth. I am hope and I am peace

00:11:16.649 --> 00:11:22.309
and love. I reward faith and those who stay in

00:11:22.309 --> 00:11:27.570
faith. And then he switched as he was contrasting

00:11:27.570 --> 00:11:29.809
the world and all of its things versus who he

00:11:29.809 --> 00:11:33.190
is. And then he said something very funny to

00:11:33.190 --> 00:11:36.480
me. in that he used a sports analogy. Now I'm

00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:38.960
not, I played sports all through high school

00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:42.120
and a little in college, but I'm not a super

00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:46.240
sports fan. But God does speak to me. When he

00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:48.600
speaks to me, I have visions as he speaks and

00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:51.379
pictures that come to my mind to affirm what

00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:55.139
he's saying. And he said this, he said, I'm the

00:11:55.139 --> 00:12:00.179
one who breaks determined plays, scrambles plans,

00:12:00.500 --> 00:12:06.240
and chooses to bust the thought out plans of

00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:08.980
man. And all I saw was a broken football play

00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:12.519
where all of a sudden you couldn't read the defense.

00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:15.080
The offense had a play that they were going to

00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:18.019
do. And all of a sudden everybody was going into

00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:20.559
an audible and it was just a scramble and there

00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:23.299
was no design into it. And that's what the Lord

00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:25.519
was saying. He said, listen, man, man has a lot

00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:27.519
of things that he tries to put in play. He has

00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:30.279
a lot of programs, but the scripture says what?

00:12:30.809 --> 00:12:33.169
Man has a way that he thinks he should go, but

00:12:33.169 --> 00:12:35.950
it's the Lord that establishes the path. And

00:12:35.950 --> 00:12:37.909
so he was speaking that to me. He says, I'm the

00:12:37.909 --> 00:12:40.470
one. And he said it very clearly. He said, I'm

00:12:40.470 --> 00:12:43.490
the one that determines the correct path. I'm

00:12:43.490 --> 00:12:47.330
the one that has preordained plans and purposes

00:12:47.330 --> 00:12:51.309
from your beginning. And then he shifted again.

00:12:51.350 --> 00:12:55.590
He said, I am the prevailing, prevailing God.

00:12:56.210 --> 00:13:01.480
I am. I am the prevailing one. I have prevailed.

00:13:01.820 --> 00:13:06.440
I am prevailing and I will prevail. It is tied

00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:09.779
to my eternal nature. The one who was, the one

00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:13.120
who is, and the one who is to come. I am the

00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.759
prevailing one. And then he spoke. He said, there's

00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.919
no one like me. There's none to compare with

00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:21.639
me. I am the Lord most high and the almighty.

00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:24.179
Now take your stand. And this is what he was

00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:26.460
saying to me. And I knew he was saying it to

00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:28.399
the church. He said, now take your stand with

00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:33.490
me. Stand with me, stand with me, and stand in

00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:37.429
faith. Watch and see my prevailing power, grace,

00:13:37.649 --> 00:13:40.769
and provision be released. Walk with me in faith.

00:13:40.909 --> 00:13:44.009
Stay in faith. Believe and respond to me in faith.

00:13:44.090 --> 00:13:49.929
For as I prevail, so you too shall prevail. And

00:13:49.929 --> 00:13:54.070
this house will prevail as each prevails in me

00:13:54.070 --> 00:13:59.440
and stands with me, says the Lord. Now that I

00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:02.980
believe with my whole heart is a now word for

00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:07.600
this house. And so as I was waiting on the Lord

00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:14.519
and he spoke to this to me, I was drawn to the

00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:20.179
book of 1 John. And John obviously was the apostle

00:14:20.179 --> 00:14:24.340
that we would call him in kind of, oh, in just

00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:28.129
kind of. summarizing the apostle John's life,

00:14:28.169 --> 00:14:31.190
we would call him the apostle of love. Because

00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:35.730
in the gospel of John, he writes in the third

00:14:35.730 --> 00:14:39.490
person, he writes in first person, he talks about

00:14:39.490 --> 00:14:42.730
the one whom Jesus loved. That's who he's talking,

00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:46.710
he's writing about himself as though. And as

00:14:46.710 --> 00:14:51.250
John writes, he's always putting the reality

00:14:51.250 --> 00:14:54.190
of his relationship with Jesus so much so that

00:14:54.190 --> 00:14:57.779
Jesus asked, his own mother to come under John's

00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:00.559
house and care as the eldest son as Jesus died.

00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:06.620
And so I was drawn to his latter book, which

00:15:06.620 --> 00:15:08.820
he wrote toward more the end of his life as he

00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:13.179
is representing an apostolic, not from his time

00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:15.480
with Jesus and the gospels, but his time now.

00:15:16.009 --> 00:15:18.950
after persecution his time now writing to the

00:15:18.950 --> 00:15:21.789
church of of how to operate in this thing and

00:15:21.789 --> 00:15:24.509
first john has an incredible truth here and i

00:15:24.509 --> 00:15:26.809
i want to release this in the next seven minutes

00:15:26.809 --> 00:15:29.669
and i want to get to the next part i i want you

00:15:29.669 --> 00:15:31.789
to turn in your bibles if you will to first john

00:15:31.789 --> 00:15:36.529
chapter one verses one through four because john

00:15:36.529 --> 00:15:39.529
ties something in the in the very first part

00:15:39.529 --> 00:15:42.330
of his this there's three books first second

00:15:42.330 --> 00:15:45.049
and third john at the very end of your bible

00:15:45.559 --> 00:15:49.340
Not the gospel of John that's part of the gospels,

00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:52.519
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But John who wrote

00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:54.700
the gospel is the same John that wrote these

00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:57.879
three books at the end. And if you know your

00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:00.620
Bible, or even if you don't, I'll share a little

00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:05.440
bit. John starts his gospel unlike any of the

00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:09.460
other gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, I mean,

00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:13.690
Luke kind of starts with the birth of... John

00:16:13.690 --> 00:16:16.330
the Baptist and Jesus. Matthew starts with the

00:16:16.330 --> 00:16:19.809
genealogy. Mark starts with John the Baptist.

00:16:20.049 --> 00:16:23.129
There are kind of all angles that come in the

00:16:23.129 --> 00:16:26.190
beginning with birth and Jesus and John and the

00:16:26.190 --> 00:16:29.889
forerunner and how this whole thing was the Messiah

00:16:29.889 --> 00:16:34.049
would be born. John doesn't start with shepherds

00:16:34.049 --> 00:16:39.029
or wise men or genealogy. John starts with in

00:16:39.029 --> 00:16:42.149
the beginning was the word of God. and the word

00:16:42.149 --> 00:16:46.370
was God, and the word was with God, and God sent

00:16:46.370 --> 00:16:50.169
the word to the earth, and the word became flesh,

00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:54.549
and we beheld him, and we handled him, and I'm

00:16:54.549 --> 00:16:57.009
not the message, but I'm just the messenger that

00:16:57.009 --> 00:17:00.309
I beheld the son of God. So he starts with the

00:17:00.309 --> 00:17:03.429
fact that Jesus was the eternal word who came

00:17:03.429 --> 00:17:06.349
from God, and he was made in the likeness of

00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:09.150
men. That's how John starts his gospel. Then

00:17:09.150 --> 00:17:13.460
he moves to, What does he move to? He moves to,

00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:18.140
in his book, the very first opening line. Listen

00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:21.279
to what he says. That which was from the beginning,

00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.859
which we heard, which we've seen with our eyes,

00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:27.359
which we looked upon, which we touched with our

00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:32.339
hands, concerning the word of life. Stop. Again,

00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:35.799
he's reiterating how important you understand

00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:44.789
that this word. is not a dead word. This word

00:17:44.789 --> 00:17:48.589
doesn't originate from the soul of a created

00:17:48.589 --> 00:17:54.349
being. The word that is now the one who is with

00:17:54.349 --> 00:17:59.170
us is the eternal word, the word of life that

00:17:59.170 --> 00:18:03.349
is still living and power is still emanating

00:18:03.349 --> 00:18:07.269
from that word. And that's radically important

00:18:07.269 --> 00:18:10.289
that you get that. That's what sets apart the

00:18:10.289 --> 00:18:14.410
word of the Lord from every other word out there.

00:18:14.490 --> 00:18:19.410
It comes from an eternal, ever living, ever loving,

00:18:19.609 --> 00:18:24.069
ever light giving source. And he said the life

00:18:24.069 --> 00:18:27.390
was manifest and we saw it and we testify to

00:18:27.390 --> 00:18:31.470
it. And we proclaim to you that the eternal life.

00:18:32.089 --> 00:18:34.630
which was with the Father, was made manifest

00:18:34.630 --> 00:18:38.410
to us. And that which we have seen and heard,

00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:42.589
we proclaim to you. Now here we go. This is my

00:18:42.589 --> 00:18:47.849
exhortation to you. That you too may have fellowship

00:18:47.849 --> 00:18:55.269
with us. And indeed, our fellowship is with the

00:18:55.269 --> 00:18:59.049
Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. I wanna

00:18:59.049 --> 00:19:02.190
point out this word and I'll maybe talk about

00:19:02.190 --> 00:19:08.410
it more next week, fellowship. It's gonna be

00:19:08.410 --> 00:19:10.390
really, really hard for me not to preach this

00:19:10.390 --> 00:19:12.390
because it's in me, but I'm gonna do my very

00:19:12.390 --> 00:19:16.190
best just to try to lay it out. We do really

00:19:16.190 --> 00:19:18.630
good with an understanding of fellowship this

00:19:18.630 --> 00:19:24.049
way. Fellowship is the word in the Greek koinonia.

00:19:24.990 --> 00:19:29.140
And koinonia has at its root system, The ability

00:19:29.140 --> 00:19:35.380
to participate, to share, and to have social

00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:41.019
interaction. It's why we have small groups. It's

00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:43.460
why we have ministry groups. It's why we have

00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:47.299
places of connection to where we share life together.

00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:51.279
And when we rejoice, we rejoice with one another.

00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:53.279
When one suffers, we suffer with one another.

00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.160
It's about the place of doing fellowship. in

00:19:57.160 --> 00:20:00.539
the body of Christ and having that around the

00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:05.119
fact that Jesus loves us, that Jesus paid for

00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:08.579
us, and that Jesus wants you and I to actually

00:20:08.579 --> 00:20:12.740
engage with one another around him. That's one

00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:15.000
part of fellowship. But notice what it says here.

00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:18.279
It says that you may have fellowship with us.

00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:21.380
So he's talking about this way. But then he says,

00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:26.950
and our fellowship. is with the father and the

00:20:26.950 --> 00:20:32.170
son. It's the same word. It means what? Participation.

00:20:32.869 --> 00:20:38.589
It means having something that you're contributing

00:20:38.589 --> 00:20:44.369
and that there is interaction, not just receiving

00:20:44.369 --> 00:20:48.920
an order. It means that there's discourse. Right

00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:50.940
from the beginning, this is one of your key scriptures

00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:54.740
to know that God is not a God to get prayed at

00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:58.460
as though you were just plugging a quarter in

00:20:58.460 --> 00:21:03.500
a machine. He's saying, if you know who we are

00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:07.380
talking to, if you understand this is the word

00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:11.079
of life, himself that's living, and he has sent

00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:13.720
his Holy Spirit and he's joined you to Jesus

00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:18.880
and the Father, he now is asking you, To actually

00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:21.559
have fellowship. We can have fellowship with

00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:24.400
us. But our fellowship now. Where we get the

00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:28.200
us. Comes from the fellowship with him. And this

00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:31.099
is the part that God is actually working on.

00:21:31.339 --> 00:21:35.119
In these now. What used to be 21 days. Now 14

00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:37.980
days that we're all together on. Now in these

00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:41.380
next 14 days. What are we working on? We're working

00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:45.720
on the fellowship here. And what does fellowship

00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:50.250
mean? It means. That I have to be willing to

00:21:50.250 --> 00:21:57.210
actually get vulnerable. It's prayer made in

00:21:57.210 --> 00:21:59.789
vulnerability. Think about it in natural fellowship.

00:22:01.049 --> 00:22:04.990
There's no connection if you stay locked down.

00:22:07.529 --> 00:22:10.410
And somebody asks you, hey, how's it going? Good.

00:22:12.549 --> 00:22:17.970
Anything going in your life? No. You doing anything

00:22:17.970 --> 00:22:23.349
fun lately? Not really. Are you enjoying this

00:22:23.349 --> 00:22:31.109
life group meeting? I guess. At that point, there's

00:22:31.109 --> 00:22:35.329
no vulnerability. You are a bummer for Jesus

00:22:35.329 --> 00:22:41.569
right there. Okay. The point is, it's when I'm

00:22:41.569 --> 00:22:45.759
willing to let go of the shields. I'm willing

00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:50.259
to let go of what you might think of me and I'm

00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:54.400
allowing myself to enter into a place of some

00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:58.640
dialogue that reveals vulnerability or at least

00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:01.720
truth and honesty of how things are really going

00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:08.460
in my life. At that point, I begin to do fellowship.

00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:14.140
Does that make sense? That's why I wrote prayers.

00:23:15.320 --> 00:23:20.940
Or prayers of repetition over and over. That's

00:23:20.940 --> 00:23:23.920
not what God is looking for. He's not looking

00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:26.420
for how fast you can say the Lord's Prayer. Our

00:23:26.420 --> 00:23:27.799
Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom

00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:29.279
come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:30.779
Hallowed be thy name. Forgive us our trespasses.

00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:32.539
Forgive those who trespass against us. Give us

00:23:32.539 --> 00:23:34.359
our daily bread. Lead me not into temptation.

00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:35.900
Deliver us from evil. Yours is the kingdom, the

00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:40.380
power, the glory, the favor. Amen. And then over

00:23:40.380 --> 00:23:46.559
and over and over. That is. Ridiculous. That

00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:50.519
didn't even get above my hairline, which is...

00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:56.460
Okay, what is he looking for? He is looking for

00:23:56.460 --> 00:24:01.819
when you step into that place of my father, that

00:24:01.819 --> 00:24:05.400
automatically begins to roll back your heart

00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:09.220
and say, my father, you're in heaven, but you

00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:12.990
see everything. And even though you know what's

00:24:12.990 --> 00:24:15.490
going on in my life, I want to honor your name.

00:24:16.150 --> 00:24:18.269
And I begin to come to you this morning. I'm

00:24:18.269 --> 00:24:20.589
not talking about professionalism. I'm talking

00:24:20.589 --> 00:24:23.269
to you about getting vulnerable. And I'm asking

00:24:23.269 --> 00:24:25.009
the Lord, you see everything that's going on.

00:24:25.029 --> 00:24:28.190
I didn't do it right yesterday. And even though

00:24:28.190 --> 00:24:31.269
you're in heaven, I come to draw near to your

00:24:31.269 --> 00:24:33.789
throne of grace. It's a starting point to begin

00:24:33.789 --> 00:24:36.970
to pray through. It's a place of vulnerability.

00:24:37.130 --> 00:24:39.930
It's a place of spiritual connection. It's a

00:24:39.930 --> 00:24:42.390
place where I learn to open up to the Father,

00:24:42.470 --> 00:24:45.289
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To a God who loves

00:24:45.289 --> 00:24:48.569
me is full of compassion, mercy, grace, truth,

00:24:48.750 --> 00:24:52.650
and light. And if I miss the key of drawing near

00:24:52.650 --> 00:24:56.309
in vulnerability of fellowship, I guess what?

00:24:56.430 --> 00:25:00.390
I am hindered in other prayers. Let me tell you

00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:03.779
how this works. If I can't, I'm going to pick

00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:06.940
on this side because AJ's over there. If I can't

00:25:06.940 --> 00:25:13.319
get vulnerable with the father and he deal with

00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:16.240
me of areas that I didn't know I was stuck in

00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:19.920
and he take me through, then when AJ needs a

00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:23.900
prayer of healing or breakthrough, I am praying

00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:27.279
more out of knowledge than I am out of relationship.

00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:33.460
And now my prayer of real relationship and God

00:25:33.460 --> 00:25:36.960
coming in with power actually hinders me from

00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:39.740
actually seeing some things break through because

00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:42.819
I've hindered myself from the one who is the

00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:45.740
answer, the word of life, the authority of life,

00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:48.559
the light and the truth and the grace. Does that

00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:51.500
make sense? That when I'm praying for healing

00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:54.160
or I'm praying for provision or I'm, sorry, I

00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:55.980
just happened to work that way. I'm praying deliverance

00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:58.559
or I'm praying, I can't, or I'm praying whatever

00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:03.440
I'm praying. The reality is it becomes more real

00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:07.160
and becomes more tangible. Why? When I've touched.

00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:09.740
the heart of the Father, and been real with me,

00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:13.000
and I recognize he is the answer and the only

00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:17.259
answer of any power and any freedom and any life

00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:20.299
and any healing that can roll through. I am just

00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:24.259
the messenger. He is the source. And that's why

00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:27.920
we have to take time to fast. Why? It peels back

00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:31.059
the layers so it removes blinders in our own

00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:34.759
life so that he can actually use you in the things

00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:38.130
that you want to be used in. That's a good word,

00:26:38.170 --> 00:26:43.430
preacher. Can we put a pin in that? Okay, we

00:26:43.430 --> 00:26:49.150
are. I wanted you to at least be able to have

00:26:49.150 --> 00:26:53.970
a couple of verses that we could dig into this

00:26:53.970 --> 00:26:57.569
morning and that for the next 14 days, we start

00:26:57.569 --> 00:27:01.789
getting vulnerable with the Father. And we begin

00:27:01.789 --> 00:27:04.029
to realize that the most important thing is drawing

00:27:04.029 --> 00:27:07.160
near to him. In this time of prayer and fasting,

00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:10.140
yes, we've got things to pray for, but the first

00:27:10.140 --> 00:27:13.819
thing that you pray for is to draw near and to

00:27:13.819 --> 00:27:18.880
get vulnerable to him. Okay, we're gonna do that

00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:23.259
together, amen? All right, now, let me shift.

00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:26.720
And as I'm doing that, I'd like, Pastor James,

00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:29.960
if you are able to, wherever you're at, I'd like

00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:32.509
you to. Church, I'd like you to turn your attention.

00:27:32.589 --> 00:27:34.890
We're gonna talk about the riverbank here and

00:27:34.890 --> 00:27:36.950
I'd like you to watch this video that I made

00:27:36.950 --> 00:27:40.509
this week for our family and the churches that

00:27:40.509 --> 00:27:46.430
we're in fellowship with. Church family, MFI

00:27:46.430 --> 00:27:49.609
family, Brad Neuschwander from Life Bible Church

00:27:49.609 --> 00:27:53.230
here coming to you right on the bank of the Willamette

00:27:53.230 --> 00:27:56.650
River. What you're seeing behind me is a massive

00:27:56.650 --> 00:28:00.230
pile driving machine and crane. that is getting

00:28:00.230 --> 00:28:02.990
ready to start operating tomorrow morning as

00:28:02.990 --> 00:28:07.630
we are putting in a 500 foot steel wall z pile

00:28:07.630 --> 00:28:11.190
to save the buildings in the riverbank all of

00:28:11.190 --> 00:28:14.029
the geologists and people we've had out said

00:28:14.029 --> 00:28:17.609
if we don't do something within this year we

00:28:17.609 --> 00:28:20.069
won't have any buildings as you can say this

00:28:20.069 --> 00:28:23.720
is our youth It has our commercial kitchen and

00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:26.500
the motel that we purchased this property 12

00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:29.740
years ago is all being threatened on this end.

00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:34.359
And just south of us, we have lost over 40 feet.

00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:37.539
There used to be a giant oak tree, a full patio,

00:28:37.700 --> 00:28:41.140
fire pit. You can see sidewalks gone, landscaping,

00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:44.339
of course. Those all can be replaced. But buildings

00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:47.819
and property and land can't be replaced as over

00:28:47.819 --> 00:28:52.170
the last... 18 years, we have lost almost 100

00:28:52.170 --> 00:28:58.089
feet of property. We're standing on a $2 .25

00:28:58.089 --> 00:29:02.170
million project that I'm just presenting now

00:29:02.170 --> 00:29:05.309
to our congregation because we were told no for

00:29:05.309 --> 00:29:08.329
two and a half years. Our city finally has intervened

00:29:08.329 --> 00:29:11.369
and said, we'll give you a window and you have

00:29:11.369 --> 00:29:14.250
to be within 20 feet of the river. I want to

00:29:14.250 --> 00:29:16.970
thank you for partnering in prayer. Your prayers.

00:29:17.420 --> 00:29:19.519
Your contacts of people that you might know.

00:29:19.619 --> 00:29:23.019
We've tried legislators, senators. We've gone

00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:26.299
from the state houses even to our national houses.

00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:29.839
We're just believing God to do a miracle through

00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:33.000
his people and bring resources that we know not

00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:35.759
of. Thank you. Thank you for partnering with

00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:38.700
us. Thank you, church family and MFI family,

00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:41.880
for being willing to partner with Jenny and I

00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:43.720
and our whole church eldership team and church

00:29:43.720 --> 00:29:47.049
body in this moment of crisis for us. We love

00:29:47.049 --> 00:29:55.029
you. Thank you very much. Amen. All right. You

00:29:55.029 --> 00:30:00.390
can tell it's not very professional as my cameraman

00:30:00.390 --> 00:30:02.750
did not tell me that my mustache was crooked.

00:30:02.890 --> 00:30:06.869
Hallelujah. Silly thing I can see in that whole

00:30:06.869 --> 00:30:12.210
thing. Anyway, had the wings off just a little

00:30:12.210 --> 00:30:15.069
bit. Anyway, all right. The point being, you

00:30:15.069 --> 00:30:20.119
can see. That started on Tuesday. We filmed that

00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:23.799
on Tuesday. I'm gonna show you in just a little

00:30:23.799 --> 00:30:26.400
bit, a little more drone footage of what now

00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:29.839
has already gone in the ground in just a little

00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:34.359
bit. What stands before us is, and I said it

00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:37.420
last week, I'm saying this week, is a $2 .25

00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:45.740
million project. I don't even know hardly what

00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:50.700
to say because it has come so fast that it has

00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:55.660
been exceedingly difficult to plan for. I'm a

00:30:55.660 --> 00:31:02.880
good little, I'm a farm kid, German, Swiss background,

00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:06.980
a little, you know, I was raised ultra conservative.

00:31:07.259 --> 00:31:12.319
And so for me, planning and strategic planning

00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:20.279
is what I do I I I work a plan God gives me strategy

00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:24.000
and I just bite by bite by bite take it out now

00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:26.720
sometimes that drives my wife crazy because I'm

00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:29.140
like okay this is going to take us seven years

00:31:29.140 --> 00:31:31.500
so I need you to take this month every month

00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:34.359
put this in the account you cannot spend it this

00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:37.190
is our goal here in seven years We just finished

00:31:37.190 --> 00:31:39.410
a seven -year goal in our personal life with

00:31:39.410 --> 00:31:42.609
a roofing project. So this is how I live personally.

00:31:42.970 --> 00:31:45.750
It's also how I live for the church and the fact

00:31:45.750 --> 00:31:48.369
of I want to know where our budgets are and we're

00:31:48.369 --> 00:31:51.269
constantly planning little accounts for things

00:31:51.269 --> 00:31:53.269
so that we're not coming to the congregation

00:31:53.269 --> 00:31:56.529
all the time nickel and diming people. It's part

00:31:56.529 --> 00:31:59.509
of the process of what we do is very strategic

00:31:59.509 --> 00:32:01.450
and to say, God, we want to be great stewards.

00:32:02.430 --> 00:32:05.720
However, When you keep getting told no over and

00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:09.720
over and over and prices are fluctuating, it

00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:13.160
is really, really hard to try to plan. Imagine

00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:16.440
me coming to you two years ago and say, we don't

00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:19.559
have a solution. We know we have a problem. I'd

00:32:19.559 --> 00:32:22.660
like you just to give. You don't need to know

00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:27.960
about it. Just give. Well, that may sound funny,

00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:29.380
but I'm going to tell you what you would do.

00:32:30.380 --> 00:32:35.220
No. because we don't have a plan. You don't have

00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:38.000
a strategy. And so that's why this has been very

00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:41.500
difficult for us because we have had multiple

00:32:41.500 --> 00:32:46.000
bids. This project started at a $10 million price

00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:50.720
tag. Now that was staggering to me. When we,

00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:53.160
they started, engineers started, when we started

00:32:53.160 --> 00:32:55.440
the process and you, you can go to the website

00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:57.819
and read the four pages of history that I've

00:32:57.819 --> 00:33:00.000
put there on the Riverbank update. You can go

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:02.779
to the information counter and get the full summary

00:33:02.779 --> 00:33:05.460
of what we've been through, the number of denials

00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:08.019
and stuff that we've been through to get the

00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:11.480
answer that we've given, been given. And the

00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:16.240
bottom line was this answer has changed. What

00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:18.950
we thought was going to be a maybe a million

00:33:18.950 --> 00:33:21.150
point two, million point four at the highest

00:33:21.150 --> 00:33:26.569
because the ground has given way more than we

00:33:26.569 --> 00:33:30.690
thought. We're having to almost double the depth

00:33:30.690 --> 00:33:33.109
that we're going down in the ground. So what

00:33:33.109 --> 00:33:37.289
we thought we could do with 25 to 30, 28 to 30

00:33:37.289 --> 00:33:40.910
feet, now we're having to go potentially 55,

00:33:41.150 --> 00:33:46.529
56 feet deep. And so the price of steel doubled

00:33:46.529 --> 00:33:50.279
on us. What we thought would be maybe 800 ,000,

00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:56.500
you know, six to 700 ,000 of steel is now doubled

00:33:56.500 --> 00:34:00.259
that. And so that is part of the issue that we're

00:34:00.259 --> 00:34:04.640
having to drive steel, what they call Z pile

00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:07.539
steel pieces. And you're going to see it in just

00:34:07.539 --> 00:34:09.679
a little bit on this next video. We're having

00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:12.760
to drive that into the ground to make a wall.

00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:18.170
Think of it like a W. kind of an inverted W.

00:34:18.269 --> 00:34:20.989
They'll come together, two pieces come together

00:34:20.989 --> 00:34:23.769
to form a flat line and then they'll form a curve

00:34:23.769 --> 00:34:26.610
from that flat line out and then another one

00:34:26.610 --> 00:34:29.469
will connect in and it'll just continue to do

00:34:29.469 --> 00:34:33.050
a webbing W all the way down the line and we

00:34:33.050 --> 00:34:40.369
have a 500 foot plus riverbank. So with the permit

00:34:40.369 --> 00:34:44.510
that the city of Harrisburg gave us, it bypassed

00:34:44.510 --> 00:34:48.070
a lot of the The requirements that we were trying

00:34:48.070 --> 00:34:52.170
to get. We were trying to get rock. Big rock

00:34:52.170 --> 00:34:54.889
over the river bank into the water side. And

00:34:54.889 --> 00:34:57.389
because of all the environmental regulations.

00:34:57.949 --> 00:35:01.030
No one would give us permits to put in quarry

00:35:01.030 --> 00:35:03.989
rock. So now in order to save the river bank.

00:35:04.190 --> 00:35:06.989
Because there's restrictions on how close you

00:35:06.989 --> 00:35:09.409
can do work to the river bank. We've come to

00:35:09.409 --> 00:35:14.880
the last. I mean to the last. God comes. Always

00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:19.079
through, but always at the last moment. And so

00:35:19.079 --> 00:35:23.840
now at the very last, when we have 20 feet, which

00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:27.420
is the bare minimum, we got the permit and we're

00:35:27.420 --> 00:35:30.179
starting this. So I'd like us to just roll the

00:35:30.179 --> 00:35:32.300
drone footage if we could, so you can see a little

00:35:32.300 --> 00:35:34.519
more, a little bit of double shots, but take

00:35:34.519 --> 00:35:44.239
a look at it again. About a 200. 40 ,000 pound

00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:47.699
machine that vibrates with hydraulics to drive

00:35:47.699 --> 00:35:53.980
those pieces in. As you see right there, you

00:35:53.980 --> 00:35:57.500
can see where one, two, three, four, five, six,

00:35:57.639 --> 00:36:01.659
seven pieces have been driven in so far as we

00:36:01.659 --> 00:36:07.659
started on this far north end. Then you see the

00:36:07.659 --> 00:36:10.599
crane. Even now he's lifting up on the right

00:36:10.599 --> 00:36:13.639
hand side, lifting up a piece of metal. That's

00:36:13.639 --> 00:36:19.320
a single sheet to create one Z pile put together.

00:36:19.780 --> 00:36:22.239
Now they put two pieces together and they're

00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:27.139
moving it into place. You can see where the river

00:36:27.139 --> 00:36:31.300
is eroded. And there is a partial driven wall

00:36:31.300 --> 00:36:33.239
right there. That's how it will look all the

00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:35.599
way down. It will go further in the ground in

00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:40.829
Jesus name. Is that the it? Was that it? Okay.

00:36:40.929 --> 00:36:44.329
All right. So there it is. There's up close and

00:36:44.329 --> 00:36:47.769
personal. Each, as you can see, two pieces come

00:36:47.769 --> 00:36:50.650
together and then it makes that W. And once they

00:36:50.650 --> 00:36:53.369
get them all driven at the same place, it will

00:36:53.369 --> 00:36:56.889
kind of form a corrugated wall all the way around.

00:36:58.949 --> 00:37:09.599
Why the urgency? In October, when we believe

00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:12.639
that God actually started to bring our answer,

00:37:12.739 --> 00:37:17.039
when we changed engineering firms and a person

00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:19.460
that represented that engineering firms came

00:37:19.460 --> 00:37:22.480
to our eldership and said, I believe God has

00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:26.900
a plan and we want to be part of it. That was

00:37:26.900 --> 00:37:29.019
an answer to prayer for our eldership team in

00:37:29.019 --> 00:37:32.860
our church. And the direction of having some

00:37:32.860 --> 00:37:38.849
real ability. Although our plans changed from

00:37:38.849 --> 00:37:42.449
the style and shape because of the depth, and

00:37:42.449 --> 00:37:45.170
though our plans went from 1 .4 now maybe to

00:37:45.170 --> 00:37:49.869
a finished product of 2 .25 million, the fact

00:37:49.869 --> 00:37:52.630
that we have an answer that was going to be 6

00:37:52.630 --> 00:37:56.050
to 10 million is a third of the price of what

00:37:56.050 --> 00:37:59.949
would be anywhere else. And I want to thank God

00:37:59.949 --> 00:38:02.710
for that miracle. That is a miracle. Come on,

00:38:02.710 --> 00:38:12.440
would you just thank him? In doing so, we had

00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:16.219
to sign some contracts immediately. We had to

00:38:16.219 --> 00:38:18.099
just say, hey, we're not going to hold you liable.

00:38:18.159 --> 00:38:20.800
We understand that insurance is the biggest thing

00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:25.400
on this, that why costs go so high. So we believe

00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:29.059
that with design and with truth and integrity

00:38:29.059 --> 00:38:32.559
and our relationship that we're going to trust

00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:35.480
the engineering, but we've got to. It's more

00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:37.800
important for us to have a price that our congregation

00:38:37.800 --> 00:38:40.619
can do. Because if we can't do this, we lose

00:38:40.619 --> 00:38:44.920
the buildings. And so we said yes and we signed

00:38:44.920 --> 00:38:46.940
some contracts right away to get things moving.

00:38:47.420 --> 00:38:50.960
That means that at the first of around the middle

00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:53.460
of December, we had to start writing checks.

00:38:53.940 --> 00:38:56.260
And we've been writing checks by the grace of

00:38:56.260 --> 00:38:59.659
God. That means that now in every 30 days for

00:38:59.659 --> 00:39:03.019
the next 90 days, I'm going to be writing checks

00:39:03.019 --> 00:39:08.579
in excess. of $650 ,000 to $700 ,000 in the next

00:39:08.579 --> 00:39:11.119
30 days, and then again in the next 30 days,

00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:15.980
and then, no, not forever, thank God, okay? But

00:39:15.980 --> 00:39:20.300
in that process, it means that we haven't had

00:39:20.300 --> 00:39:24.380
time like 15 years to start storing up for this.

00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:27.300
When we bought this property originally, for

00:39:27.300 --> 00:39:28.920
those of you that are in second service that

00:39:28.920 --> 00:39:31.019
have come to the church along the journey as

00:39:31.019 --> 00:39:33.739
we're going to celebrate 25 years. When we bought

00:39:33.739 --> 00:39:37.260
this property, the Lord spoke to me in 2002.

00:39:39.619 --> 00:39:42.800
This property was not even developed by the previous

00:39:42.800 --> 00:39:47.449
owners until 2006. In 2002. The Lord gave me

00:39:47.449 --> 00:39:49.989
a 40 -year vision. I didn't know it was this

00:39:49.989 --> 00:39:53.789
property. I saw parking lots. I saw RVs and semi

00:39:53.789 --> 00:39:57.769
-trailers. I saw a motel. I saw a cross on top

00:39:57.769 --> 00:40:00.389
of a church and a swimming pool. I had no idea

00:40:00.389 --> 00:40:02.369
what it meant. I thought I had bad pizza the

00:40:02.369 --> 00:40:05.969
night before. Because there was nothing around

00:40:05.969 --> 00:40:11.150
here that had that look in 2002. In 2006, they

00:40:11.150 --> 00:40:13.780
took out building permits. to build the motel

00:40:13.780 --> 00:40:18.039
and to build the RV pad. It was only in 2010

00:40:18.039 --> 00:40:21.639
and 11 when I walked on this property again after

00:40:21.639 --> 00:40:25.960
the 2008 financial crisis where the RV industry

00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:28.679
took a severe turn. And then I was walking on

00:40:28.679 --> 00:40:30.860
this property and somebody introduced me to the

00:40:30.860 --> 00:40:32.840
vice president of a bank that now was holding

00:40:32.840 --> 00:40:35.340
the note. And I heard the Lord say to me, this

00:40:35.340 --> 00:40:41.639
is what I showed you 10 years ago. We bought

00:40:41.639 --> 00:40:46.280
this property in faith. But from 2001 to 2012,

00:40:46.440 --> 00:40:50.099
the eldership teams that were with us at Life

00:40:50.099 --> 00:40:52.719
Bible Church all along the leadership, God had

00:40:52.719 --> 00:40:55.099
spoken to me. He said, I want you to put money

00:40:55.099 --> 00:40:59.360
aside every month. You give 10 % to missions

00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:02.599
to go over the wall. And I want you to put 10

00:41:02.599 --> 00:41:05.480
% to the future storehouse of your property.

00:41:05.539 --> 00:41:10.929
So for 12 years. We lived on only 80 % of what

00:41:10.929 --> 00:41:14.789
came in. We gave 10 % away and we stored 10 %

00:41:14.789 --> 00:41:16.730
so that when it came time to buy this property,

00:41:16.889 --> 00:41:21.090
we had cash money available that I never had

00:41:21.090 --> 00:41:24.090
to go to the congregation and say, hey, we need

00:41:24.090 --> 00:41:26.269
money to buy this property. We had already been

00:41:26.269 --> 00:41:29.010
at together stewards of what had been given.

00:41:30.909 --> 00:41:33.889
Same thing happened when we began to build this

00:41:33.889 --> 00:41:36.949
sanctuary. Because of First Fruits and because

00:41:36.949 --> 00:41:40.989
of stewardship, over 50 % of what actually built

00:41:40.989 --> 00:41:43.750
this building was the faithfulness of your First

00:41:43.750 --> 00:41:46.369
Fruits giving. And that we only did two years

00:41:46.369 --> 00:41:49.030
of a building program. Do you realize that only

00:41:49.030 --> 00:41:51.530
three quarters of a million dollars out of a

00:41:51.530 --> 00:41:55.230
total $7 million project came in through raising

00:41:55.230 --> 00:42:00.289
building funds? That's it. Today, I'm coming

00:42:00.289 --> 00:42:02.590
to you different because I haven't had time to

00:42:02.590 --> 00:42:05.289
process. We've still had time. Obviously, we've

00:42:05.289 --> 00:42:07.309
been good stewards and we've been able to write

00:42:07.309 --> 00:42:10.630
the checks all along, but I am asking you with

00:42:10.630 --> 00:42:12.949
urgency. I don't like doing this. It's not my

00:42:12.949 --> 00:42:16.230
style. I'm a planner, but sometimes God makes

00:42:16.230 --> 00:42:19.710
you do things outside your comfort zone. How

00:42:19.710 --> 00:42:23.250
many have experienced that before? I'm going

00:42:23.250 --> 00:42:26.889
to ask the ushers to begin to come and we've

00:42:26.889 --> 00:42:29.849
prepared some cards. We're calling this, what

00:42:29.849 --> 00:42:33.650
we're doing is rise. Raise the wall, arise and

00:42:33.650 --> 00:42:39.710
build. And I know Calvin's got a word that I'm

00:42:39.710 --> 00:42:41.309
gonna have him share in just a bit. I'm gonna

00:42:41.309 --> 00:42:46.010
have him come forward. I wanna have James, if

00:42:46.010 --> 00:42:49.650
you would, would you put up the screen on the,

00:42:49.750 --> 00:42:52.010
as you're getting these cards, I know it's gonna

00:42:52.010 --> 00:42:54.230
be tempted to read them and stay focused on them,

00:42:54.289 --> 00:42:55.969
but just give me a little bit, just more time.

00:42:56.210 --> 00:43:05.320
Could you put up the graph? All right. You can

00:43:05.320 --> 00:43:09.340
see James did a great job here. I was gonna do

00:43:09.340 --> 00:43:16.599
a pencil drawing. He goes, ah, no. But what you're

00:43:16.599 --> 00:43:19.119
seeing here is you're seeing the total goal of

00:43:19.119 --> 00:43:22.940
fundraising of 2 .5 billion. You're seeing 100

00:43:22.940 --> 00:43:28.000
little iron steel plates there. Now, they're

00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:30.599
supposed to be 500, so we scaled it by one fifth.

00:43:31.639 --> 00:43:35.119
What you see there, Is the amount of money that's

00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:37.659
already come in. Without us even announcing this.

00:43:37.699 --> 00:43:41.800
From last week. To this week. People have seen

00:43:41.800 --> 00:43:45.860
it. People from our church. Some people from

00:43:45.860 --> 00:43:49.900
other churches. I've had three donations given

00:43:49.900 --> 00:43:52.619
to us. Some in the four figure. Some in the five

00:43:52.619 --> 00:43:55.400
figure. That have come in to Life Bible Church.

00:43:55.519 --> 00:43:58.039
On behalf of our friends in the community. That

00:43:58.039 --> 00:44:00.099
have donated to help us. So what you see there.

00:44:00.670 --> 00:44:05.070
Is almost at $80 ,000. And there's more than

00:44:05.070 --> 00:44:07.489
three. If there's 500. But according to the one

00:44:07.489 --> 00:44:11.650
fifth scale. $80 ,000 has come in already. Can

00:44:11.650 --> 00:44:14.409
we give God a great big thank you. Thank you

00:44:14.409 --> 00:44:22.789
Lord. Because I am just. A simple guy. That likes

00:44:22.789 --> 00:44:25.269
things very straight forward. Just think this

00:44:25.269 --> 00:44:30.889
through with me. Each. 56. foot piece of metal

00:44:30.889 --> 00:44:35.590
is a foot. By the time you put the bend in it,

00:44:35.630 --> 00:44:38.409
it's just, it's a foot of land that it occupies.

00:44:38.409 --> 00:44:41.329
It's about two feet, but by the bend, it ends

00:44:41.329 --> 00:44:46.969
up being one foot. So you need 500 pieces of

00:44:46.969 --> 00:44:52.409
steel for a 500 foot river bank. And the goal

00:44:52.409 --> 00:44:56.530
is 2 .25 million. That includes the steel, the

00:44:56.530 --> 00:44:59.969
labor, the rock. All of the construction costs,

00:45:00.030 --> 00:45:02.949
the removing of the concrete, the welding, the

00:45:02.949 --> 00:45:05.650
fabricating, and all the coil backs that have

00:45:05.650 --> 00:45:09.030
to go under the building to tie the top in and

00:45:09.030 --> 00:45:13.769
replacing the sidewalks and trying to get the

00:45:13.769 --> 00:45:16.889
property back to where it's usable for us. That's

00:45:16.889 --> 00:45:21.070
2 .25 million, which means what? Every piece

00:45:21.070 --> 00:45:26.969
of steel represents $4 ,500. 4 ,000, if you want

00:45:26.969 --> 00:45:32.750
just a simple number, $4 ,500. We need 500, $4

00:45:32.750 --> 00:45:37.070
,500 pieces of steel. That's what we're believing

00:45:37.070 --> 00:45:42.210
God for. Now on those cards that you have, I'm

00:45:42.210 --> 00:45:43.590
going to ask you to do something. I'm going to

00:45:43.590 --> 00:45:46.510
ask you to pray, number one. I'm going to ask

00:45:46.510 --> 00:45:48.929
you to do what God puts on your heart to do.

00:45:48.989 --> 00:45:53.650
We are in a now moment of faith. We're in a now

00:45:53.650 --> 00:45:57.289
season where I wish I could have brought something

00:45:57.759 --> 00:46:00.699
forward sooner but i'm i'm in the same boat that

00:46:00.699 --> 00:46:03.420
you are i just know that in the next 30 days

00:46:03.420 --> 00:46:06.079
i've got to write a check that's almost seven

00:46:06.079 --> 00:46:08.880
hundred thousand dollars and i am believing god

00:46:08.880 --> 00:46:10.960
to say lord i don't know how it's going to come

00:46:10.960 --> 00:46:13.300
in but you got to bring it in i know it's going

00:46:13.300 --> 00:46:16.099
to come in through us but it's also going to

00:46:16.099 --> 00:46:18.460
come in from people around us because you're

00:46:18.460 --> 00:46:20.860
the god of great supply you're going to bring

00:46:20.860 --> 00:46:26.119
it in but we've got to do our part amen Calvin,

00:46:26.179 --> 00:46:29.000
would you come on up? Calvin shared this word

00:46:29.000 --> 00:46:31.639
first service. He got it in the prayer room.

00:46:32.019 --> 00:46:34.260
And I just said, listen, that is a word of the

00:46:34.260 --> 00:46:36.820
Lord. We've had a lot of great words today that

00:46:36.820 --> 00:46:40.420
I believe are absolutely true. But as Calvin

00:46:40.420 --> 00:46:44.619
is part of our church, I want you to hear what

00:46:44.619 --> 00:46:46.539
God spoke to him this morning in the prayer room.

00:46:46.559 --> 00:46:51.519
Go ahead, sir. So as God was poking at me this

00:46:51.519 --> 00:46:56.889
morning in a good way, He began to show me that

00:46:56.889 --> 00:47:00.849
out of all the years that this project has been

00:47:00.849 --> 00:47:08.210
on his mind and in the works, that isn't it amazing,

00:47:08.369 --> 00:47:12.929
son, that I've put this wall, literally, it's

00:47:12.929 --> 00:47:15.809
a three -week estimated time to drive the piles,

00:47:15.909 --> 00:47:18.670
and he said, isn't it amazing that I've put this

00:47:18.670 --> 00:47:22.449
wall smack dab in the middle of a fast week?

00:47:25.070 --> 00:47:27.630
And then the Lord showed me a picture in my mind.

00:47:28.050 --> 00:47:30.550
I was in the airport this week and he flashed

00:47:30.550 --> 00:47:32.730
back to that, the sign in the airport that I

00:47:32.730 --> 00:47:38.650
saw. And it said, currency exchange. I said,

00:47:38.670 --> 00:47:43.250
hmm. And the Lord said, Calvin, this season,

00:47:43.329 --> 00:47:48.690
we're not building a wall. I'm building a bridge.

00:47:50.250 --> 00:47:55.880
And that bridge. Is to span the gap between the

00:47:55.880 --> 00:47:59.000
season where the kingdom is now. And the church

00:47:59.000 --> 00:48:02.739
is now. And a new season that I see that I'm

00:48:02.739 --> 00:48:08.760
calling for in my spirit. And in this season

00:48:08.760 --> 00:48:13.320
of fasting. That I'm opening the walls of the

00:48:13.320 --> 00:48:16.420
currency exchange. Of the kingdom of heaven.

00:48:19.699 --> 00:48:24.309
And the exchange rate is really good. The exchange

00:48:24.309 --> 00:48:27.369
rates are up this month, guys. The exchange rates

00:48:27.369 --> 00:48:30.909
up. And in this season, God is going to, as he

00:48:30.909 --> 00:48:33.969
drives the wall deep, he is going to be releasing

00:48:33.969 --> 00:48:38.969
us into a new season as his people and as his

00:48:38.969 --> 00:48:42.429
church that he has intended before we were born,

00:48:42.550 --> 00:48:45.409
that he's going to scrape off any little thing

00:48:45.409 --> 00:48:49.070
that's left on us. As they drive those piles,

00:48:49.250 --> 00:48:52.670
it just polishes the steel. Because the pressure

00:48:52.670 --> 00:48:55.130
just scrapes everything off. And he said, I'm

00:48:55.130 --> 00:48:59.329
going to use this season as a bridge from what

00:48:59.329 --> 00:49:05.250
is now to what I want in the future. And I'm

00:49:05.250 --> 00:49:09.869
going to be exchanging your time for my presence.

00:49:10.610 --> 00:49:15.699
Come on. Your silver and gold. for power and

00:49:15.699 --> 00:49:18.940
provision. And church, I'm just saying that the

00:49:18.940 --> 00:49:23.280
Lord has put on my heart so heavily that this

00:49:23.280 --> 00:49:27.960
is a currency exchange season for us. And anything

00:49:27.960 --> 00:49:32.300
we deposit in the physical is going to bear fruit

00:49:32.300 --> 00:49:36.619
five and 10 and a hundred fold in the spirit.

00:49:38.219 --> 00:49:42.159
So I just want to encourage you, partner with

00:49:42.159 --> 00:49:45.500
him in this season. Not just silver and gold,

00:49:45.619 --> 00:49:49.039
in presence, in your fasting, in your seeking

00:49:49.039 --> 00:49:55.760
after him. And let him move us into a crazy,

00:49:55.840 --> 00:50:03.139
amazing new season. That's right. Amen. Amen.

00:50:07.860 --> 00:50:11.780
Exodus 35, 21 and 22 as we get ready to close.

00:50:13.579 --> 00:50:16.619
As God decided to do something in the midst of

00:50:16.619 --> 00:50:18.599
the children of Israel that had never been done

00:50:18.599 --> 00:50:22.719
before, he began to put it on the hearts of the

00:50:22.719 --> 00:50:25.940
people. And the scriptures say this, and all

00:50:25.940 --> 00:50:30.320
whose hearts were stirred and those whose spirits

00:50:30.320 --> 00:50:33.920
were moved brought their sacred offerings to

00:50:33.920 --> 00:50:37.920
the Lord. Both men and women came whose hearts

00:50:37.920 --> 00:50:41.639
were willing. I'm asking you in this season,

00:50:41.659 --> 00:50:45.329
in this moment, To see what the Lord would say

00:50:45.329 --> 00:50:49.610
to you and your family. Jenny and I have prayed

00:50:49.610 --> 00:50:52.730
about it. We've received a number of what we're

00:50:52.730 --> 00:50:57.389
supposed to do. We passed the cards out this

00:50:57.389 --> 00:51:00.090
morning. We've asked the church to, if they're

00:51:00.090 --> 00:51:03.050
ready, you could certainly do that now. We'll

00:51:03.050 --> 00:51:05.389
have ushers at the back that will have some buckets

00:51:05.389 --> 00:51:07.949
that we can put the card and whatever gift in,

00:51:08.010 --> 00:51:09.909
or you can do it electronically on our website.

00:51:11.559 --> 00:51:14.440
Yes, time is of the urgency, but the most important

00:51:14.440 --> 00:51:17.099
thing is that you pray and you stand in faith

00:51:17.099 --> 00:51:19.900
and that we do something together. I said at

00:51:19.900 --> 00:51:22.519
first service, I'll say this. I felt like the

00:51:22.519 --> 00:51:25.420
Lord challenged me. He said, Brad, will you take

00:51:25.420 --> 00:51:30.039
any gift that's brought to me and use it? And

00:51:30.039 --> 00:51:33.460
I said, yes, Lord. And he said, remind the people

00:51:33.460 --> 00:51:38.360
that silver, gold, precious metal, even the crypto

00:51:38.360 --> 00:51:41.659
that people have bought into. The Lord said,

00:51:41.840 --> 00:51:45.179
isn't there a reason why things have gone up

00:51:45.179 --> 00:51:48.800
so drastically in the last season? Would you

00:51:48.800 --> 00:51:51.800
consider even some of that from your own resources?

00:51:51.820 --> 00:51:54.340
Say, you know what? I may not have tangible cash,

00:51:54.420 --> 00:51:57.000
but I've got something. We'll figure out how

00:51:57.000 --> 00:52:00.860
to get you a tax return, charitable contribution,

00:52:00.920 --> 00:52:03.239
and receive that. I had someone this morning

00:52:03.239 --> 00:52:06.380
say, I'm bringing a vehicle. I want you to sell

00:52:06.380 --> 00:52:10.949
it. Whatever it is, here it is. I've had... Just

00:52:10.949 --> 00:52:15.269
this morning. I don't know how the Lord's going

00:52:15.269 --> 00:52:17.389
to bring it in. I see up here we've got some

00:52:17.389 --> 00:52:20.309
nickels and dimes and quarters. Let me tell you

00:52:20.309 --> 00:52:23.429
something. All of it's going into the raise the

00:52:23.429 --> 00:52:26.670
wall. I'm not going to take any, nobody's taking

00:52:26.670 --> 00:52:29.949
anything from this. This is a thing where we're

00:52:29.949 --> 00:52:33.929
all pouring in because God is giving us a moment

00:52:33.929 --> 00:52:37.170
to stand in faith. And yes, it's going to cost

00:52:37.170 --> 00:52:39.980
us. But the reward of it is going to be so much

00:52:39.980 --> 00:52:43.440
more than what it was ever given. Would you allow

00:52:43.440 --> 00:52:45.599
me to pray for you as Tiffany comes? Father,

00:52:45.679 --> 00:52:50.019
in Jesus' name, Lord, I know this was a longer

00:52:50.019 --> 00:52:54.440
service and I thank you. I don't know how you're

00:52:54.440 --> 00:52:57.519
going to do this, Lord, but my faith trusts you.

00:52:58.300 --> 00:53:02.099
And I'm doing my part today. We're doing our

00:53:02.099 --> 00:53:06.260
part today to hear you and to respond in obedience.

00:53:07.159 --> 00:53:09.579
Lord, we know that you're doing a quick work

00:53:09.579 --> 00:53:13.239
and we thank you now that heaven's resources

00:53:13.239 --> 00:53:18.420
are available. Speak to us, stir us in Jesus

00:53:18.420 --> 00:53:24.079
Christ's holy name. Amen. Thank you for taking

00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:27.059
the time to listen to this week's message. We

00:53:27.059 --> 00:53:29.460
are so grateful for those who tune in each week

00:53:29.460 --> 00:53:33.019
and have given generously to this ministry. If

00:53:33.019 --> 00:53:35.380
you would like to give... click the link in the

00:53:35.380 --> 00:53:38.400
episode description below you can also help us

00:53:38.400 --> 00:53:40.840
by subscribing to this podcast and sharing it

00:53:40.840 --> 00:53:44.139
with your friends and family lastly if you are

00:53:44.139 --> 00:53:47.119
in need of prayer send us a text message at 541

00:53:47.119 --> 00:53:52.000
-625 -1365 we would love to pray with you