WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We

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want to thank you for joining us today, and we

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hope you find today's sermon impacting as you

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listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk.

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To find service times and watch messages online,

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see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now,

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enjoy this week's message. Would you turn to

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your Bibles to, I'm going to pray in a bit here.

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I'd like you to turn to the book. of Ezekiel,

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Ezekiel chapter one, Ezekiel chapter one. Heavenly

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Father, we come before you this afternoon. Lord,

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we want to make sure, Lord, that our hearts are

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open to hear what the Spirit of God is saying.

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All through your book, you said, he who has an

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ear, let him hear what the Spirit of God is saying.

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Lord, you take the scriptures, you breathe on

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them, Lord, as you cause the scriptures to come

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to life, Lord, as it is truly Jesus is the word.

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Lord, you highlight them now to us. You remind

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us of your word and you cause us to walk in the

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surety of your truth. Lord, we thank you that

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you are the living word. We thank you. Father,

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that you sent your son, we thank you, son, that

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you sent the Holy Spirit. And now we ask, Lord,

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feed us, strengthen us, encourage us. And Lord,

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as today is a special day, Lord, as we celebrate

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and begin to celebrate 25 years, Lord, let the

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vision that you have given, Lord, this place

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for people, for ministry, for salvations, for

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the reach beyond our little community to the

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world. Lord, continue to breathe on it. In Jesus

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Christ's holy name, amen. Thank you, Tim. Appreciate

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you. I told him first service, he's not near

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as beautiful as my wife, but anyways, he's a

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good piano player, so we thank you, buddy. All

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right, well, I have the incredible, honor of

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bringing the word and it's always every Sunday

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that I'm as the main feeder here I mean we have

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other great preachers here but as the senior

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leader it's always an honor to open the word

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of God and to teach and to preach and I consider

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it a huge not only blessing but a very important

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thing that we revere God's word. This morning,

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I have a unique task of trying to, not only as

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I gave the exhortation, which had scriptures

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in it this morning, I'm gonna build and kind

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of bring you along the journey with Jenny and

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I, Pastor Jenny and I, of the 25 years. We've

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got an incredible month planned for 25 years.

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Now, this happens about every five years and

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year five and tens, we celebrate the anniversary

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in very special ways. And we started doing that

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our very first, our very first kickoff as we

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pioneered 25 years ago, we started with a barbecue.

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And I thought, you know, Old Testament was filled

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with a lot of barbecue. And in the New Testament,

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we were told to rise, kill, and eat. So hallelujah,

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I just mixed the two together with barbecue and

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eating. And so we've kind of figured that, you

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know. we have a theme in the church that is to

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widen the body of Christ and we'll do it spiritually

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and we'll do it physically. So every year come

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our anniversary time, we try to do a great barbecue.

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This year, we, because of the river bank issue

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and the loss of the bank and trying to get all

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the property back and it's coming together. Thank

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God. Come on, can we give the Lord a great big

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hand? Thank you, Lord Jesus. Brother Calvin and

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Nick and a bunch of Matt Eads, just different

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guys that have come along to help with the project.

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And then in addition to our contractors that

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have been coming in, man, what was a bad scenario

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for three years is now turning the corner and

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God is doing some wonderful things. We've got

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more to go. And of course, they keep finding

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little things along the way. And I'm like, Lord.

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No more finding bad things. It's just give us

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good things. But anyway, we are gonna take the

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picnic barbecue again and we're moving it to

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Pioneer Park in Brownsville. So that means on

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the 13th of September, we will not be having

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church here at the building. We'll take both

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services, early service and this service and

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all the other services and we will do it one

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service at the Pioneer Park. We will have a barbecue.

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I told Pastor Trent, he gets the honor of doing

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it. the barbecued chicken and Pastor Derek is

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overseeing the barbecued tri -tip. And so we

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are gonna just, we're gonna have beef and chicken

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and corn on the cob and we got ice cream and

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all sorts of good stuff. And all of that we are

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doing to celebrate God's 25 years of his goodness.

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That won't cost you anything. That's all part

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of just what we've budgeted and prepared for

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to celebrate the Lord's goodness. And if you

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think about it in the, Even though we are in

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the New Testament, some of the cool things that

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God did was three times a year they were to save

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up and be ready to meet together and to enjoy

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great food in his presence. So we're going to

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kind of just take a little slice of that on Sunday

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and enjoy that. And my job this morning is kind

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of prepare you for what is going to take place

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over this next month. And so we're starting today.

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There's a couple of things that we want to get

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you up to speed with what the Lord is doing.

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I've been, over the last three, three and a half

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years, I've been really asking the Lord personally,

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especially with this riverbank. It kind of threw

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me, the whole thing, because I was in the journey

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of asking the Lord, okay, Lord, what's the next

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season? We're over halfway of what you've shown

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me. When we first pioneered, we've I don't know

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whether you realize it or not, but those of you

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that are fairly new to Life Bible, we moved five

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different times to be in this building. It started

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out in my, as we. kind of send -off service from

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the church we were in to Pioneer. We started

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meeting in my parents' house for the first two

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or three weeks with a little team. We had a team

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of 14 that came out to plant a church, and then

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we met about five weeks, five, six weeks at a

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little country school that I went first through

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eighth grade in, and my daughter went first through

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eighth grade. My dad was the first. First grade

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class in that little school and it had shut down

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and annexed and we met there for about six weeks

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and then we moved again as the church kept growing.

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We rented on Sundays and Wednesdays the Seventh

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Day Church of God there on Diamond Hill. They

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allowed us to rent that building for about three

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and a half years and then we moved into another

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school building just south of Harrisburg about...

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three and a half miles South called Wyatt school,

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which was a double the size of what Harris was.

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And we, we rented that school for almost 12 years.

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We eventually bought it. We rented it for about

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seven years and we bought it from the school

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district. We, we had everything we did with that

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school. We did temporarily not knowing whether

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or not we would get kicked out of it or not.

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So we did everything we did for those seven years,

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the first seven years of rental, because we had

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a a 60 day lease that was it and so everything

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we did we always had to do thinking what would

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happen If in 60 days, the school board called

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or they decided to sell it to somebody else.

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And so we built the sound systems and all of

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the stuff inside that gymnasium that we could

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take off the walls. We could take out of it.

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We could clear out. And honestly, when we did,

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we took almost everything that we had put in

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there and we used it as we came then when this

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property opened up. And so we celebrate what

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God has done for 25 years, but I want to take

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you through, for those of you that are new to

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Life Bible Church, I wanted to take you through

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because you haven't, actually haven't been on

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the journey with us the whole time. We're thrilled

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that you're on the journey, but we want you to

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understand some of the things that God has spoken

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to us and has brought to us by, if you will,

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by the word of the Lord that we have responded

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to. We set out this year to actually, the elders

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had asked us in an elders meeting, they said,

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would you please compile most all of the prophetic

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words that were given over the last 25 years,

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any recordings or special meetings, would you

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compile that so that we can have a copy of the

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recorded words over the 25 years? Well, that

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was a big task. And we have had several people

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working on that for a year now. There was over

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almost 100 different words that have been spoken

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over this church over the last 25 years. And

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it's amazing when you, Jenny and I just began

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to get some of the recordings. It's amazing the

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things that have been accomplished that were

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prophesied before it ever happened and that we've

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walked in and God has done. And so that's gonna

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be part of the journey. One of the weeks coming

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up. So we'll have. This weekend that we're gonna

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unveil a couple of things that you're gonna see

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something new that the Lord is doing. We got

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next week that we'll have communion service and

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God's gonna reveal a couple of things or some

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more. Maybe you're gonna hear some words. The

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following week is our barbecue. The next week

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after that, I've got a friend that is coming

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down to minister to us from Portland. He pioneered

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a church years ago in Chehalis, Washington. Actually

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pioneered a church and then added a second campus

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in the rural area there. and then came back,

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became one of the pastors at City Bible Church

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with Pastor Frank. Then through the transitions,

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pastored alongside and eventually now the last

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couple of years just received the Manor House

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Church in Portland and how God has actually had

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to use him. His last two, three years has been...

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Pretty big journey as a church of 80 years. You

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know, when you've been a church for a long time

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and a congregation, sometimes God has to breathe

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fresh fire on it. Sometimes you find things that

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were there that shouldn't be there. And they've

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had to clean out some of the Bible college infrastructure.

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They've had to redo some stuff. And the fresh

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fire of God's presence is being caught again

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by the congregation. thrilled to see what God

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has done through Daryl and Michael. And they're

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going to be with us the third weekend in September.

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And then the last week we take our normal conference.

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We have two conferences a year that we do. Specifically,

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sometimes we end up having three, whether we

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have a marriage conference or a women's conference.

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But this year, always have two bookends. We start...

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fall with a our waypoint conference is kind of

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a marking that's why we named it that way it

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was named after the little spots in the runway

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where the waypoint is where the airplane catches

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the target of the of the runway to know the waypoint

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of how to how to take off and we named that conference

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that that's always our fall conference and then

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In the winter, as we cross into February, right

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before the Super Bowl, that's my end date just

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to keep in mind, right before the Super Bowl,

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we do our Life Conference, and that's our beginning

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of the year conference to kind of set the theme

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of what the Lord is saying for the new year.

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And so in Waypoint Conference, after we've had

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all of these celebrations, we're bringing in

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one name that's been a friend of mine that I've

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been around the world with, literally in India.

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and in Africa and in various nations of Africa.

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Dr. Jan Venter will be with us. And together,

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I'm putting him and Jim Hockaday together. Both

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of them operate. Jan's, many of you, how many

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have heard Dr. Jan Venter before? Wow, okay,

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less than half of you. Okay, his, how I met him

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was. through a variety of relationships. His

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testimony is that he actually was dead for 20

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minutes and he came back to life. He broke 47

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bones in his body. He fell from a, actually was

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working on a roof like this, only it was a little

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higher. He was a pastor at a church in South

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Africa and he was working on a church on the

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roof and as they were laying the purlins and

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spreading out the tarp over the top, one of the

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person pulled and he lost his balance and he

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fell and he landed on the concrete face first.

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And it was there that they prayed for him. They

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found no breath in him. And they called the ambulance.

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The ambulance came, checked him, put a sheet

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over him. And they said, call the morgue. Well,

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as the elders, they called all the elders. They

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came and prayed for him. This happened within

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the course of about 28 to 30 minutes as they

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prayed around and over him. All of a sudden,

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they saw the sheet. They had rolled him over.

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They saw the sheet move. And they freaked out

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because they were praying for resurrection, but

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they didn't actually believe it. How many know?

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How many know that you can pray for healing and

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things sometimes and just know you're supposed

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to, but then not really have an expectation that

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God's going to actually do it. And so the ambulance

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was so freaked out when they came in that one

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of his arms wasn't broken, but they didn't strap

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his arms in when they put it in. They broke his

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other arm when they put him in the ambulance

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on the way to take him. And he has a whole journey

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on that. But I got to... Go to several places

00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:55.620
with him. We did crusades in South Africa. We

00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:59.059
did crusades in Swaziland and various places.

00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:04.440
Him and I have been in India. I've been to India

00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:07.039
multiple, multiple times, but it's the only place.

00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:11.639
Everywhere I go with Dr. Venter, you have to

00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:16.820
actually face death down. He is always... on

00:15:16.820 --> 00:15:19.899
the edge. And so he preaches that way. I probably

00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:23.279
get more emails frustrated with people not liking

00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:26.259
his personality and style. And so remember, if

00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:28.519
you want to send me an email, it's pastorscott

00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:33.440
at lifebiblechurch .org. Anyways, he's a no -nonsense

00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:36.720
guy. He comes from South Africa. He's had 45

00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:41.009
years, 50 years in ministry. I will tell you

00:15:41.009 --> 00:15:44.789
that if he just, the way he ministers, he just

00:15:44.789 --> 00:15:47.929
goes for it. His relationship with the Lord is

00:15:47.929 --> 00:15:51.590
pretty straightforward. And Jim Hockaday is no

00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:54.529
different. He was actually, if you say, well,

00:15:54.570 --> 00:15:57.929
who is he? Well, he was Brother Kenneth Hagin's

00:15:57.929 --> 00:16:03.659
intercessory prayer minister at... Rhema Bible

00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:06.879
College. And so when they would get out of classes

00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:10.360
in summer or out of school and then have practicums,

00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:14.539
Jim would be teaching them at the college how

00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:18.279
to operate in the gifts of healing. And so Jim

00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:20.740
and Jan have never actually met, even though

00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:23.590
they have. cross circles around the globe. This

00:16:23.590 --> 00:16:25.669
will be their first time together. So I'm kind

00:16:25.669 --> 00:16:28.330
of interested to see how that's going to go,

00:16:28.350 --> 00:16:31.830
to be honest with you. But I will say this to

00:16:31.830 --> 00:16:35.990
you, that everybody has a different flavor in

00:16:35.990 --> 00:16:38.809
the body of Christ. We don't have the market

00:16:38.809 --> 00:16:44.870
on all of it. Amen. Does that mean we have to,

00:16:44.970 --> 00:16:47.990
listen, God had 12 tribes of Israel. They were

00:16:47.990 --> 00:16:49.730
all considered Israel, but they had different

00:16:49.730 --> 00:16:52.889
things that they were known for, even though

00:16:52.889 --> 00:16:55.730
they were all Israel. I find it important that

00:16:55.730 --> 00:16:59.110
when I find men of integrity and I find men who

00:16:59.110 --> 00:17:02.830
love Jesus and men that have been in ministry

00:17:02.830 --> 00:17:06.869
for years without failure. that the gift and

00:17:06.869 --> 00:17:09.730
graces of God that brings in them, God gives

00:17:09.730 --> 00:17:12.849
real genuine deposits to the body of Christ,

00:17:12.930 --> 00:17:18.009
that we should want that, right? Now, Jesus said

00:17:18.009 --> 00:17:22.450
something very unique. He said that wisdom is

00:17:22.450 --> 00:17:26.109
personified by all its children, meaning he was

00:17:26.109 --> 00:17:29.029
showing the difference between John the Baptist

00:17:29.029 --> 00:17:31.990
and Jesus. Remember, they were saying, well,

00:17:32.009 --> 00:17:36.829
John the Baptist came with, camel hair garment

00:17:36.829 --> 00:17:39.369
and eating locusts, you know, and kind of out

00:17:39.369 --> 00:17:41.750
in the desert and was kind of a wild man. And

00:17:41.750 --> 00:17:44.170
everybody thought he was a radical, a radical

00:17:44.170 --> 00:17:47.069
zealot. And then Jesus came and they said of

00:17:47.069 --> 00:17:49.750
Jesus, well, he, he has eats and drinks with

00:17:49.750 --> 00:17:52.349
sinners and he, he just welcomes too many unsavory

00:17:52.349 --> 00:17:55.369
people around him. And Jesus said, listen, wisdom

00:17:55.369 --> 00:17:59.390
is justified by all of her children. Meaning

00:17:59.390 --> 00:18:04.430
what? Listen, these guys are going to Act a little

00:18:04.430 --> 00:18:06.990
bit different than me. Now, some you'll say,

00:18:07.089 --> 00:18:09.549
man, I come to this church, how much more in

00:18:09.549 --> 00:18:14.509
your face can it be? A little bit more with these

00:18:14.509 --> 00:18:17.589
guys. In the fact of they know what they know

00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:20.789
that God has given them and they carry the fruit

00:18:20.789 --> 00:18:23.849
of the manifestation of Christ's healing power

00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:26.650
that's in their lives. It's a gift. The Bible

00:18:26.650 --> 00:18:30.490
talks about, in 1 Corinthians 12, the gifts.

00:18:31.180 --> 00:18:33.279
of healing. Read it. And you look in the Greek,

00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:35.700
it's not just one gift. There's multiple gifts

00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:38.599
of healing. It's more than one. And so we're

00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:41.779
bringing several streams of guys that carry the

00:18:41.779 --> 00:18:44.019
gift of healing that operate in it, which means

00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:46.900
what? We're going to, for conference sake, this

00:18:46.900 --> 00:18:49.599
is the longest conference we will have done.

00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:51.900
It means that we're going to start, normally

00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:53.640
we start on a Thursday night, but we're going

00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:55.940
to start on a Thursday morning. Why? Because

00:18:55.940 --> 00:18:58.960
every morning session two times per morning,

00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:01.279
Thursday morning, Friday morning, Saturday morning,

00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:05.420
we are going to focus on a healing school, meaning

00:19:05.420 --> 00:19:08.579
atmosphere, meaning more on the education side,

00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:11.839
meaning that Jim and Jan will each have a session

00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:14.039
in the morning and they're gonna teach on principles

00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:17.480
on how to receive from the Lord a healing, how

00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:20.180
to keep healing, how to stand in faith in healing,

00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:22.559
what happens if symptoms come back, how to stand

00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.319
in that purpose. All of those things are going

00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:28.420
to be gone over and we're doing that, for y 'all.

00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:32.619
Why? Because we want you to understand how God

00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:35.400
works in this gift. We don't get to see it a

00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:38.539
lot. And each time I talk to them, I mean, Jan

00:19:38.539 --> 00:19:40.859
just got done. I talked to him this week. He

00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:42.640
goes, Brad, you're not going to believe this.

00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:44.259
He goes, well, you'll believe it. You're supposed

00:19:44.259 --> 00:19:47.480
to believe it. He goes. I had an 80 -year -old

00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:49.759
woman come to a meeting. He goes, you know, I

00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:52.619
like praying for all people, but I like praying

00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:55.220
for the younger ones. But he says, I pray for

00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:57.559
the older ones too. He said, I'm getting, you

00:19:57.559 --> 00:19:59.980
know, I hate to think I'm gonna be in a few,

00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:02.319
you know, five, six years gonna be close to 80.

00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:05.559
But he said, this woman came up in a wheelchair

00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:09.019
and he goes, I'm just thinking, Lord, is she

00:20:09.019 --> 00:20:12.640
about ready to go home? And he said, we started

00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:14.240
praying in the meeting and he started praying

00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:17.640
and she said she had a broken foot and she had

00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:20.420
a sprained ankle and she had some other things

00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:22.970
and she couldn't stand, she couldn't walk. He

00:20:22.970 --> 00:20:25.009
goes, we got her up out of the wheelchair and

00:20:25.009 --> 00:20:27.450
we had her stand. He said, I'm telling you, I

00:20:27.450 --> 00:20:30.329
just prayed my best prayer. I know it wasn't

00:20:30.329 --> 00:20:32.789
me. He said, the power of God hit her. She started

00:20:32.789 --> 00:20:35.470
jumping up and down. He goes, she left that wheelchair,

00:20:35.630 --> 00:20:36.829
pushed it out of the way. She started running

00:20:36.829 --> 00:20:39.150
back and forth on what was supposed to have been

00:20:39.150 --> 00:20:41.829
a broken foot. And at 80 years old, he goes,

00:20:41.970 --> 00:20:44.369
I, she goes, I'm thinking she was ready for football

00:20:44.369 --> 00:20:46.829
on the football field. She was, she was ready.

00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:51.009
He goes, I am watching miracles take place. constantly

00:20:51.009 --> 00:20:53.890
this year. It's like it's gone up a whole nother

00:20:53.890 --> 00:20:57.410
level. And Jim said the same thing. I'm excited

00:20:57.410 --> 00:20:59.750
what God's going to do. I encourage you to bring

00:20:59.750 --> 00:21:02.210
friends. So morning sessions will be more healing

00:21:02.210 --> 00:21:04.829
school. Evening sessions will be praying for

00:21:04.829 --> 00:21:06.650
the sick and they'll be preaching what they feel

00:21:06.650 --> 00:21:08.690
is the word of the Lord. And I've given them

00:21:08.690 --> 00:21:10.490
freedom to do that. They'll be with us for the

00:21:10.490 --> 00:21:14.890
weekend as well. So the full September is going

00:21:14.890 --> 00:21:17.509
to be busy. Now I've got a half hour to kind

00:21:17.509 --> 00:21:20.579
of tell you. what I believe God has been speaking

00:21:20.579 --> 00:21:24.660
to me and the journey. So you all right? Okay.

00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:31.099
So in 2001, when we pioneered, when Jenny and

00:21:31.099 --> 00:21:33.000
I came out to Harrisburg, and there's a whole

00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:35.420
story on that, but I can't for sake of time.

00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:39.319
We had been pastoring for about six years here,

00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:42.299
and we had just moved into the leased building.

00:21:43.019 --> 00:21:45.180
on Saturdays and Wednesday nights. And we decided

00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:48.019
to get away. That would have been in 2002, just

00:21:48.019 --> 00:21:53.680
early spring. It was like March of 2002. And

00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:56.119
we went to the coast for two nights just to pray

00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:58.359
and wait on the Lord and see what the Lord would

00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:00.759
say. And I'd never had anything like this happen

00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:03.160
before in my life. There's been a lot of first

00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:06.400
time things in God. But as I was praying, I had

00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:08.779
left the motel room. I told my wife, I said,

00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:11.119
listen, I'm gonna grab a cup of coffee and I'm

00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:14.900
just gonna take a walk down the road that leads

00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:17.440
to a beach. And I'm just gonna just spend some

00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:20.670
time just walking the beach and praying. And

00:22:20.670 --> 00:22:23.430
I grabbed my coffee and I grabbed my coat and

00:22:23.430 --> 00:22:27.369
I had a windbreaker for rain if it was there.

00:22:27.670 --> 00:22:31.250
And this is 2002 and I'm praying and just kind

00:22:31.250 --> 00:22:33.809
of waiting on the Lord, asking. And all of a

00:22:33.809 --> 00:22:37.529
sudden, as I was walking on the beach, all of

00:22:37.529 --> 00:22:40.150
a sudden I was not walking on the beach anymore.

00:22:40.710 --> 00:22:43.190
I'd had an open vision. I've never had this before

00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:45.529
in my life. I've never had one like that ever

00:22:45.529 --> 00:22:49.259
since. Literally. The whole atmosphere around

00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:52.160
me was changed. I was still looking at me. I

00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.200
could tell I was there in body and in soul and

00:22:55.200 --> 00:23:00.420
spirit. I wasn't in. In a vision or a dream,

00:23:00.539 --> 00:23:02.920
I was there, but my eyes were seeing something

00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:06.700
totally different. And as I was walking, I was

00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:10.180
walking on a property because I had the ocean

00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:13.200
to my left and I had the town to my right, but

00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:15.259
none of that was there. All I was seeing was

00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:18.920
now a building and I was seeing a river and I

00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:22.779
was walking on ground on a sidewalk. As real

00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:25.279
as I'm standing on this, I was walking on a sidewalk

00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:28.160
and I was coming around a building. I saw a swimming

00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:32.319
pool. I saw a motel. I saw a business center.

00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:37.240
I saw a restaurant. I saw a gymnasium. I saw...

00:23:37.470 --> 00:23:41.130
huge parking lot with long lines. And I, there

00:23:41.130 --> 00:23:43.750
again, as I was having this experience, I'm like,

00:23:43.809 --> 00:23:46.569
I'm trying to figure out what this is. I knew

00:23:46.569 --> 00:23:48.710
the Lord was doing something, but I had never,

00:23:48.789 --> 00:23:50.930
this had never happened to me before. And I thought,

00:23:51.009 --> 00:23:53.450
man, this must be a truck stop or something.

00:23:54.049 --> 00:23:57.769
And I had this encounter and then all of a sudden,

00:23:57.769 --> 00:24:00.069
bam, it lifted. And I was back walking on the

00:24:00.069 --> 00:24:03.250
beach. Now you need to understand something.

00:24:03.349 --> 00:24:08.279
That was 2002. What I didn't know is that it

00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:13.259
was this property. But I would not know that

00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:17.740
for another 10 years. This property was just,

00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:22.299
had no buildings on it. In 2002, it was still

00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:25.099
part of, well, originally Morse Brothers owned

00:24:25.099 --> 00:24:27.559
it. They used it to pull gravel out of the river.

00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:31.460
Then it came to Knife River. And in 2006, it

00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:35.150
was bought by some investors. To make it, it

00:24:35.150 --> 00:24:38.869
was called River Bend Hotel and RV Resort. They

00:24:38.869 --> 00:24:42.430
made 100 RV parking lots. They made the, where

00:24:42.430 --> 00:24:45.430
we have the Gen Church was the bar and restaurant

00:24:45.430 --> 00:24:48.410
and where the, it was an event center and they

00:24:48.410 --> 00:24:50.890
had a little right here where this part is. They

00:24:50.890 --> 00:24:54.329
had a little, for the coaches, they had a kind

00:24:54.329 --> 00:24:58.809
of a game center and a kind of a lounge. There

00:24:58.809 --> 00:25:01.269
was no sanctuary. There was no church buildings.

00:25:01.980 --> 00:25:05.599
That did not get built until the end of 2007.

00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:09.599
So 2002 in the spirit, I didn't know it. I just

00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:11.640
thought God gave me a vision and I wasn't sure

00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:14.960
what it was. And I actually had forgot it. And

00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:19.779
this complex of RV spots did not even get poured

00:25:19.779 --> 00:25:23.640
until 2007. So five years before this place had

00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:26.980
any development, God showed me something in the

00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:31.210
spirit. Now I didn't know it was this. I just

00:25:31.210 --> 00:25:35.450
thought God was showing me something because

00:25:35.450 --> 00:25:39.809
we were, in 2002, we were just, we were trying

00:25:39.809 --> 00:25:42.069
to just find a place to actually have church.

00:25:43.029 --> 00:25:47.069
Over the years, when we left Wyatt, or excuse

00:25:47.069 --> 00:25:49.390
me, we left Seventh Day and then to the, then

00:25:49.390 --> 00:25:51.910
to the Wyatt campus, we had started developing

00:25:51.910 --> 00:25:54.630
plans after we had been in Wyatt for a while

00:25:54.630 --> 00:25:57.220
and purchased it from the school district. We

00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:59.700
went to, in fact, Jill, it's good to see you

00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:02.680
today. We went to Jill's father and asked him

00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:06.559
if we could lease to buy 25 acres. And we were

00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:09.279
gonna work with the county and try to just add

00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:12.680
on to that property, a new sanctuary, and kind

00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:16.279
of do what Wyatt was out there and just add on

00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.920
to the campus, football fields, baseball fields,

00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:23.019
expand the school, all of that. And right in

00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:25.589
the middle of that, we had... some prophetic

00:26:25.589 --> 00:26:28.549
meetings and the word of the Lord came they had

00:26:28.549 --> 00:26:31.009
no idea I did not tell them a thing I'm very

00:26:31.009 --> 00:26:34.029
I do not tell visiting ministry much anything

00:26:34.029 --> 00:26:35.910
about our church or what we've been through in

00:26:35.910 --> 00:26:38.109
the last season because I want them if they're

00:26:38.109 --> 00:26:39.930
hearing God I want them to have no knowledge

00:26:39.930 --> 00:26:42.990
of it we're literally on the stage we're closing

00:26:42.990 --> 00:26:45.609
up for the weekend of meetings and they looked

00:26:45.609 --> 00:26:48.710
at me they said listen we see that you've been

00:26:48.710 --> 00:26:52.329
working on some plans and I kind of smiled and

00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:56.180
The eldership was laughed and I said, yes. He

00:26:56.180 --> 00:27:01.759
said, God says to throw them away. I said, and

00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:04.140
I waited after the meeting. I said, throw them

00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:06.799
away. God wants to do something extravagant.

00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:10.019
Now you need to understand something. I'm a farm

00:27:10.019 --> 00:27:13.059
kid. I was raised five generations from this

00:27:13.059 --> 00:27:15.559
area. My background is a Mennonite background.

00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:19.940
Extravagant is never in the vocabulary of a former

00:27:19.940 --> 00:27:24.279
Mennonite. That is not, you don't just say extravagant.

00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:27.839
Why? Because extravagant means expensive, okay?

00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:30.859
And we don't do things expensive. We do things

00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:34.119
reasonable and what we would call at a very frugal

00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:37.140
price, right? And that's a nice way of saying

00:27:37.140 --> 00:27:41.279
we're somewhat cheap. But anyways. In that process,

00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:43.160
what we had talked about the eldership and we

00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:46.259
knew that God told us to expand, but we were

00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:48.400
thinking about actually just building kind of

00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:51.539
some hay looking barns and build them out on

00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:53.119
the inside, but they would just have kind of

00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:56.039
a hay shed look to the school kind of gym and

00:27:56.039 --> 00:27:59.680
building. And here on the stage in live, they

00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:02.579
said, throw those plans away. You're not thinking

00:28:02.579 --> 00:28:05.640
according to the mind of God. You've brought

00:28:05.640 --> 00:28:09.099
down what's doable in your strength. God says,

00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:12.450
throw the plans away, think extravagant. And

00:28:12.450 --> 00:28:15.529
that really marked us because that was now moving

00:28:15.529 --> 00:28:17.970
us to a place where we would have to go beyond

00:28:17.970 --> 00:28:22.230
what we thought was able and move into a realm

00:28:22.230 --> 00:28:25.289
of faith that was beyond what this region had

00:28:25.289 --> 00:28:29.289
known. And really, because I was born and raised

00:28:29.289 --> 00:28:32.259
here. five generations from here, I know what

00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:35.660
this region thinks and how they view things.

00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:39.079
And I'm like, God, that will make me a target.

00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:43.559
Here's the preacher that's spending all the money

00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:45.400
on the building. Here's this and here's that.

00:28:45.619 --> 00:28:48.039
He said, what did I tell you to do? I know, but

00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:52.079
can you reconsider? Just give me the barn. No.

00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:58.779
And so in that process, we move forward. We threw

00:28:58.779 --> 00:29:01.789
the plans away. We went back to Carl. We said,

00:29:01.829 --> 00:29:03.930
listen, it's not gonna work what the county's

00:29:03.930 --> 00:29:06.329
saying, what the Lord is saying. We kept looking.

00:29:06.630 --> 00:29:10.410
In the meantime, this building got built. It

00:29:10.410 --> 00:29:13.150
started operating RVs. And then course of 2000,

00:29:13.490 --> 00:29:17.410
late eight and nine, the kind of the economic

00:29:17.410 --> 00:29:19.690
thing happened. And this property by the time

00:29:19.690 --> 00:29:23.650
it was 2010 was starting to bankruptcy. It went

00:29:23.650 --> 00:29:26.089
into bankruptcy and went back to the bank and

00:29:26.089 --> 00:29:29.809
stayed with the bank for two years. I had been

00:29:29.809 --> 00:29:32.509
on the property. We had leased this building

00:29:32.509 --> 00:29:35.670
from time to time to do women's events and men's

00:29:35.670 --> 00:29:37.630
events, but we had never thought about it as

00:29:37.630 --> 00:29:40.329
a church. And honestly, every time I came on

00:29:40.329 --> 00:29:42.210
here, I just thought, oh, it's so cut up and

00:29:42.210 --> 00:29:46.150
it's so cobbled and all this RV stuff you can't,

00:29:46.150 --> 00:29:48.369
anyway. And so I didn't even think about it.

00:29:48.589 --> 00:29:51.650
So I'm laying in bed one night and I can't sleep.

00:29:52.829 --> 00:29:55.309
And have you ever had the Lord do something where

00:29:55.309 --> 00:29:58.170
he tells you something in a riddle? Have you

00:29:58.170 --> 00:30:00.029
ever had the Lord do that where he kind of speaks

00:30:00.029 --> 00:30:02.369
to you? The Bible says, we read it in Psalms

00:30:02.369 --> 00:30:05.109
78, he says, and the Lord does it in parables

00:30:05.109 --> 00:30:08.690
or in dark sayings or another place in Proverbs

00:30:08.690 --> 00:30:11.250
says the Lord speaks in wisdom in a riddle. I

00:30:11.250 --> 00:30:14.970
hear the Holy Spirit speak to me. I'm up at 2

00:30:14.970 --> 00:30:17.670
a .m. in the morning and I hear, you'll go through

00:30:17.670 --> 00:30:23.269
a gate, it sleeps more than eight. Okay. And

00:30:23.269 --> 00:30:25.910
I said, Lord, is that you? What are you telling

00:30:25.910 --> 00:30:28.579
me? Again, I heard, you'll go through a gate,

00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:33.369
it sleeps more than eight. And we are fervently

00:30:33.369 --> 00:30:36.069
looking for property. I mean, honestly, the church

00:30:36.069 --> 00:30:39.289
eldership team, we're with realtors. We'd looked,

00:30:39.390 --> 00:30:42.069
a big shopping center had gone out on River Road

00:30:42.069 --> 00:30:44.450
and we thought, Lord, are we supposed to go to

00:30:44.450 --> 00:30:47.369
River Road before U -Haul bought that whole shopping

00:30:47.369 --> 00:30:49.130
center? Are we supposed, we started engaging

00:30:49.130 --> 00:30:53.230
with various other real estate things about maybe

00:30:53.230 --> 00:30:55.049
we're supposed to move. And the Lord was very

00:30:55.049 --> 00:30:57.710
clear to me one other prayer time. He said, I

00:30:57.710 --> 00:31:00.980
called you out to this. to Lynn County to reach

00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:04.299
all three counties. You'll reach Lynn and Lane

00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:06.900
and Benton County. You are not to move to Lane

00:31:06.900 --> 00:31:09.619
County. So we knew that was out. So now we're

00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:10.920
looking for property. I'm going, Lord, there

00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:14.519
is nothing. We have tried everything. And then

00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:17.039
I get this word, you'll go through a gate, it

00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:20.880
sleeps more than eight. The next day, a businessman,

00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:26.950
in fact is Monique, It was Monique's husband

00:31:26.950 --> 00:31:29.470
that actually called me. He says, I need you

00:31:29.470 --> 00:31:33.809
to meet me for lunch. And he called me and her

00:31:33.809 --> 00:31:36.309
husband doesn't come to church here yet. So I'm

00:31:36.309 --> 00:31:39.970
still praying that. And so in that process, he

00:31:39.970 --> 00:31:44.910
goes, what are you doing? I said, well, in what

00:31:44.910 --> 00:31:47.329
are you referencing? What am I doing? He goes,

00:31:47.349 --> 00:31:50.289
why aren't you buying that property that's been

00:31:50.289 --> 00:31:55.119
in foreclosure? I said, well, it's... I did it.

00:31:55.160 --> 00:31:57.319
That's not going to be good for the church. How

00:31:57.319 --> 00:31:59.660
am I going to fit church with all those RVs?

00:31:59.660 --> 00:32:03.019
He goes, listen to me. He goes, I know I'm not

00:32:03.019 --> 00:32:06.119
at your church. My wife is. God bless her. But

00:32:06.119 --> 00:32:08.480
the reality is, do you know how much money you're

00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:10.700
going to have to spend to make some farm property

00:32:10.700 --> 00:32:13.519
usable out there? All of the money is in the

00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:16.259
ground already. The power's there. The sewer's

00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:18.900
there. The water's there. You go look at that

00:32:18.900 --> 00:32:21.319
property. Go back to God and see what he says

00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:25.680
to you. And he goes, now, there's your prophetic

00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:31.940
word. I said, he goes, will you just tell me

00:32:31.940 --> 00:32:33.900
that you will do that? I said, I will go look

00:32:33.900 --> 00:32:38.140
at it, I promise you. Listen, I gave him a hard

00:32:38.140 --> 00:32:40.460
time. I said, listen, Balaam had to listen to

00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:43.240
a horse, to a donkey. So I said, if you're telling

00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:46.460
me to go, I'll go. And so I was kind of kidding

00:32:46.460 --> 00:32:49.680
him, giving him a bad time. And so I called the

00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:52.789
elders. I said, listen, I'm gonna, I told the

00:32:52.789 --> 00:32:55.089
guy I would go and look and just see, would you

00:32:55.089 --> 00:33:00.289
go with me and see if this is the property? And

00:33:00.289 --> 00:33:02.529
so we all decided, a few of us that could, we

00:33:02.529 --> 00:33:05.009
stepped on, as soon as we came down the driveway,

00:33:05.029 --> 00:33:10.069
I felt something. I thought that's interesting.

00:33:10.269 --> 00:33:15.470
We got out of the car. And I, it's the feeling

00:33:15.470 --> 00:33:17.390
started to get stronger. And I'm like, I don't

00:33:17.390 --> 00:33:19.029
know what this is. I've been here multiple times.

00:33:19.190 --> 00:33:22.789
This has never happened. And Bob Calhoun, who

00:33:22.789 --> 00:33:24.750
was one of the elders at the time and our head

00:33:24.750 --> 00:33:27.230
intercessor, I said, Bob, do you feel that? He

00:33:27.230 --> 00:33:32.690
goes, yeah, you'd have to be dead not to. I said,

00:33:32.730 --> 00:33:34.950
what is the Lord doing? He goes, I don't know,

00:33:34.950 --> 00:33:38.809
but his presence is here. I said, I know. So

00:33:38.809 --> 00:33:41.390
we started to walk because the sanctuary wasn't

00:33:41.390 --> 00:33:44.609
here. And we walked. right along the river, or

00:33:44.609 --> 00:33:46.890
right along the, there was a lot more property

00:33:46.890 --> 00:33:50.109
back then, along the concrete, and all of a sudden,

00:33:50.130 --> 00:33:53.470
I grabbed him, and my arms went, I said, you

00:33:53.470 --> 00:33:58.210
guys, do you remember, and some of them hadn't

00:33:58.210 --> 00:34:02.130
been at the church in the first, but Bob and

00:34:02.130 --> 00:34:05.069
a few others had, I said, do you remember the

00:34:05.069 --> 00:34:07.829
vision that I was talking about that I saw that

00:34:07.829 --> 00:34:11.239
had a swimming pool and a motel? I'm looking,

00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:12.699
I'm seeing the swimming pool and I'm looking

00:34:12.699 --> 00:34:16.840
at the, I said, this is it. This is what the

00:34:16.840 --> 00:34:22.400
Lord showed me 10 years ago. I think, are you

00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:26.739
sure? I said, well, I'm, I'm kind of sure. I

00:34:26.739 --> 00:34:30.019
said, it looked different 10 years ago of how

00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:32.119
it looks in the spirit. But as I'm walking, we

00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:36.000
walked around, I said, these lines are for RVs.

00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:39.239
I thought it was a truck stop at the time. It's

00:34:39.239 --> 00:34:43.610
actually, RV spots. I said, it has a restaurant.

00:34:43.889 --> 00:34:48.349
It's got a swimming pool. It's got a motel. I

00:34:48.349 --> 00:34:52.909
said, this is the Lord. There was a gentleman

00:34:52.909 --> 00:34:57.269
here, first service. And I knew that he was a

00:34:57.269 --> 00:34:59.949
farmer in the area and that he had banked at

00:34:59.949 --> 00:35:02.309
the bank that owned this property. And I said,

00:35:02.349 --> 00:35:05.050
listen, I know you play golf with different people

00:35:05.050 --> 00:35:08.849
at your golfer. Have you played golf with this

00:35:08.849 --> 00:35:11.559
one banker? He goes, yeah. I said, would you

00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:16.260
introduce me to him? Oh, Brad, okay. I'll introduce

00:35:16.260 --> 00:35:19.280
you to him, but it's up to you. Don't bring me

00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:21.300
into this thing. If it's God, he's gonna use

00:35:21.300 --> 00:35:23.760
you and you talk to him, do your Mennonite thing.

00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:28.179
And sure enough, over the course of time, the

00:35:28.179 --> 00:35:31.360
Lord did a miracle and we were able to receive

00:35:31.360 --> 00:35:35.460
this property. That was the beginning of the

00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:40.869
journey. to know that God was walking with us

00:35:40.869 --> 00:35:43.530
in the vision of how we would receive this property.

00:35:43.610 --> 00:35:46.710
I had no idea in 2002 that this property was

00:35:46.710 --> 00:35:49.309
even slated to even be built on, but God knew.

00:35:50.789 --> 00:35:54.429
Later, the developers of the property that actually

00:35:54.429 --> 00:35:59.559
lost it economically, which was terrible. several

00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:01.340
of them were wonderful Christian men. And they

00:36:01.340 --> 00:36:03.820
actually told me, they said, you know, when we

00:36:03.820 --> 00:36:06.639
dedicated the property, we had our pastors come

00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:10.380
out and they kept saying, you know, we see angels

00:36:10.380 --> 00:36:15.559
ascending and descending on this property. We

00:36:15.559 --> 00:36:17.539
don't know what that means. It's a motel in an

00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:22.000
RV place. We see that there's the presence of

00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:24.639
God is visiting this place. And they just thought,

00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:26.800
well, let's just praise God. Let us be. They

00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:30.659
had no idea. of what maybe the end use would

00:36:30.659 --> 00:36:35.679
be that was in the purposes of God. Let me say

00:36:35.679 --> 00:36:39.559
this to you as we talk about vision from time

00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:43.099
to time. You never know what God has planned.

00:36:43.199 --> 00:36:46.860
We only see through a glass dimly that what he

00:36:46.860 --> 00:36:50.460
starts, he's the author and the finisher. And

00:36:50.460 --> 00:36:52.539
sometimes we're part of the journey on the beginning

00:36:52.539 --> 00:36:55.559
and sometimes we're part of the final chapter

00:36:55.559 --> 00:36:57.780
of things, but it's amazing what God will do.

00:36:59.150 --> 00:37:02.110
In the beginning, the Lord spoke to me about

00:37:02.110 --> 00:37:04.829
what the vision of this house would be. And he

00:37:04.829 --> 00:37:08.650
said it very clearly. He said, the vision for

00:37:08.650 --> 00:37:10.570
this church, why I'm having you come out here,

00:37:10.630 --> 00:37:12.449
because there was lots of churches. And when

00:37:12.449 --> 00:37:14.670
God told us to plant in Harrisburg, I said, Lord,

00:37:14.789 --> 00:37:18.070
I don't want to go back to my hometown. You know

00:37:18.070 --> 00:37:20.170
how hard it is to pastor in your own hometown.

00:37:20.690 --> 00:37:23.710
Why are you sending me here? He said, I'm sending

00:37:23.710 --> 00:37:25.789
you here. And here's, we'll put it up on the

00:37:25.789 --> 00:37:30.710
screen. To build a Christ -centered church where

00:37:30.710 --> 00:37:35.730
God is magnified and exalted, where each person

00:37:35.730 --> 00:37:38.469
finds Christ's love and direction for their life

00:37:38.469 --> 00:37:41.550
while being trained, equipped, and empowered

00:37:41.550 --> 00:37:44.829
to serve the family, the church, the communities,

00:37:44.909 --> 00:37:49.230
and the world. Now, I could go through each one

00:37:49.230 --> 00:37:51.809
of those statements that the Lord revealed to

00:37:51.809 --> 00:37:54.010
me, but one of the big ones was where God is

00:37:54.010 --> 00:37:56.329
magnified and exalted. I'll just take that one.

00:37:56.909 --> 00:37:59.150
He literally spoke to me. He said, this is a

00:37:59.150 --> 00:38:02.469
place that will be dedicated to worship and prayer

00:38:02.469 --> 00:38:06.630
and exalting my son Jesus for his glory. The

00:38:06.630 --> 00:38:10.449
focus is to be on my kingdom, authority, power,

00:38:10.809 --> 00:38:14.969
love, grace, displayed by loving devotion and

00:38:14.969 --> 00:38:18.329
allegiance and surrender to my word, my will,

00:38:18.469 --> 00:38:22.769
and my way. This will be done by presenting your

00:38:22.769 --> 00:38:26.429
whole selves to me in a lifestyle of prayer,

00:38:26.570 --> 00:38:29.329
praise, and worshiping God as you honor the Father,

00:38:29.570 --> 00:38:32.670
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And that was one

00:38:32.670 --> 00:38:35.590
of the defining things that the Lord spoke to

00:38:35.590 --> 00:38:40.369
me, that God would, if we would dedicate this

00:38:40.369 --> 00:38:43.349
place to the preaching of the truth and to honoring

00:38:43.349 --> 00:38:46.230
him of who he really is, that he promised me

00:38:46.230 --> 00:38:49.210
that his presence would come. And without going

00:38:49.210 --> 00:38:51.329
into all of them, kind of shifting to where we

00:38:51.329 --> 00:38:54.190
need to go, there have been times where the Lord

00:38:54.190 --> 00:38:56.929
has opened up for me, just like I had that vision.

00:38:56.989 --> 00:39:00.090
I don't understand it. I know Philip, when he

00:39:00.090 --> 00:39:02.710
got translated, he had no translation training

00:39:02.710 --> 00:39:05.309
school that he went to prior to that. God just

00:39:05.309 --> 00:39:07.809
did it. And for me, he opened up a vision and

00:39:07.809 --> 00:39:10.500
I walked in something. five, six years before

00:39:10.500 --> 00:39:12.639
it was ever built, 10 years before I even knew

00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:14.480
it was supposed to be us. I don't understand

00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:16.860
it. It's the way of God. But over the years,

00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:20.760
God has opened my eyes to see things. And I've

00:39:20.760 --> 00:39:22.619
had encounters with the Lord. I've had encounters

00:39:22.619 --> 00:39:25.699
with his presence. And one of the things that

00:39:25.699 --> 00:39:28.219
I've had encounters with multiple times is what

00:39:28.219 --> 00:39:30.920
the Bible would call in Ezekiel chapter one.

00:39:30.980 --> 00:39:33.659
If you look at it, Ezekiel's ministry started

00:39:33.659 --> 00:39:37.059
where he was encountered by the presence of the

00:39:37.059 --> 00:39:41.119
Lord. you read Ezekiel chapter one and chapter

00:39:41.119 --> 00:39:44.699
10, you'll find out that Ezekiel had multiple

00:39:44.699 --> 00:39:47.679
encounters with the presence of the Lord or what

00:39:47.679 --> 00:39:52.219
we would call in a Bible term, the mobile throne

00:39:52.219 --> 00:39:56.139
and presence of God. Because it's always, you

00:39:56.139 --> 00:39:58.559
see it in Revelation chapter four and chapter

00:39:58.559 --> 00:40:01.400
five, that God's throne is always surrounded

00:40:01.400 --> 00:40:04.300
by living creatures. There's an atmosphere around

00:40:04.300 --> 00:40:07.599
the throne. Ezekiel doesn't see revelation in

00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:10.739
its fullness. He sees man sitting on the throne,

00:40:10.900 --> 00:40:13.920
the ground pavement like sapphire. He sees the

00:40:13.920 --> 00:40:16.900
living creatures and the wheels within the wheels.

00:40:17.139 --> 00:40:20.280
And he has this experience of these cherubim,

00:40:20.300 --> 00:40:23.219
two wings covered their body and two wings they

00:40:23.219 --> 00:40:26.579
flew. And as you move through the prophets, you

00:40:26.579 --> 00:40:30.380
begin to see that paving stone of Sapphire. Moses

00:40:30.380 --> 00:40:33.699
saw it as he sat with the elders. Ezekiel saw

00:40:33.699 --> 00:40:36.739
it. Different prophets saw the awesomeness of

00:40:36.739 --> 00:40:39.099
God. And they would never see the fullness of

00:40:39.099 --> 00:40:40.980
who was sitting on the throne, but the likeness

00:40:40.980 --> 00:40:43.599
was like the son of man. And they would see the

00:40:43.599 --> 00:40:46.619
atmosphere around. And why the cherubs were so

00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:49.599
important was they represented the four faces

00:40:49.599 --> 00:40:52.800
of God. And you would represent the face of a

00:40:52.800 --> 00:40:55.760
lion, the face of an eagle, the face of a calf

00:40:55.760 --> 00:40:58.300
or an ox, and the face of a man. And we would

00:40:58.300 --> 00:41:01.869
actually say the gospels take... root after that.

00:41:01.929 --> 00:41:04.690
You can see the four faces in Matthew, Mark,

00:41:04.730 --> 00:41:07.710
Luke, and John. You can see one was the lion

00:41:07.710 --> 00:41:10.190
of the tribe of Judah. One would be that lion,

00:41:10.289 --> 00:41:13.250
that conquering overcomer. Another gospel would

00:41:13.250 --> 00:41:15.949
have the gospel of a servant representing what?

00:41:16.010 --> 00:41:18.530
The ox. It was always the process of sacrifice.

00:41:18.889 --> 00:41:21.530
One would have another view, kind of a higher

00:41:21.530 --> 00:41:23.769
view, which would be the eagle, which would represent

00:41:23.769 --> 00:41:26.510
that prophetic view. Another would have one like

00:41:26.510 --> 00:41:29.610
a man representing Jesus, the man. You could

00:41:29.610 --> 00:41:33.320
even think that and we structure our worship

00:41:33.320 --> 00:41:37.119
even in that revelation model, singing songs

00:41:37.119 --> 00:41:39.480
to the one that sits on the throne, to the man,

00:41:39.639 --> 00:41:42.380
Jesus Christ, the son of man, the son of God,

00:41:42.380 --> 00:41:44.659
as he's betrayed in the scripture, thinking about

00:41:44.659 --> 00:41:47.599
the eagle, thinking about God's perspective of

00:41:47.599 --> 00:41:51.159
his glory, his honor. And we sing those songs.

00:41:51.219 --> 00:41:53.579
We think about the lion, songs that overcome

00:41:53.579 --> 00:41:56.019
by the blood of the lamb and the word of our

00:41:56.019 --> 00:41:59.480
testimony. And all the way through you can see

00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:04.260
it. And Ezekiel has this encounter with the throne

00:42:04.260 --> 00:42:08.059
and the atmosphere of the throne that had this

00:42:08.059 --> 00:42:14.239
presence that would come with a cloud and with

00:42:14.239 --> 00:42:19.960
fire and lightning. And I'm not saying my visions

00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:22.320
were like Ezekiel's. My visions are not like

00:42:22.320 --> 00:42:25.019
Scripture. Scripture is Scripture. Scripture

00:42:25.019 --> 00:42:28.519
is used as context for me to understand some

00:42:28.519 --> 00:42:30.280
of the encounters that I've had with the Lord.

00:42:30.360 --> 00:42:34.980
But what I do know is that in that process, the

00:42:34.980 --> 00:42:38.500
Lord began to highlight to me as I was... asking

00:42:38.500 --> 00:42:40.900
the Lord, Lord, reveal yourself of what you're

00:42:40.900 --> 00:42:43.099
saying to me. And this was about three and a

00:42:43.099 --> 00:42:45.559
half years ago. Cause I was asking him, God,

00:42:45.679 --> 00:42:48.619
why does it seem like I've seen your presence?

00:42:48.760 --> 00:42:51.840
I've seen some of your glory. Why does it seem

00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:55.280
like in certain church settings, we have this

00:42:55.280 --> 00:42:59.159
incredible presence of God. That's where I've

00:42:59.159 --> 00:43:01.880
seen the activity and you've opened my eyes just

00:43:01.880 --> 00:43:04.599
to get a glimpse. And then at other times, I

00:43:04.599 --> 00:43:07.940
know you're here. I know you're here in my heart.

00:43:07.980 --> 00:43:10.380
Your word says that you're always with me, but

00:43:10.380 --> 00:43:13.980
sometimes it's high and sometimes it's not as

00:43:13.980 --> 00:43:18.199
powerful. And I was seeking the Lord on this.

00:43:18.199 --> 00:43:23.440
Let's say, God, is it us? Is it you? What's the

00:43:23.440 --> 00:43:27.860
difference? Why sometimes are you here where

00:43:27.860 --> 00:43:31.800
it's almost, we experience it in a tangible level

00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:36.090
and other times it's by just. Straight faith

00:43:36.090 --> 00:43:40.650
and trust in your word. Have you ever asked yourself

00:43:40.650 --> 00:43:43.690
that question? Well, for a pastor, it's important

00:43:43.690 --> 00:43:49.170
because I'm a presence guy. I've kind of told

00:43:49.170 --> 00:43:52.829
the worship team, here's the rule. Until we break

00:43:52.829 --> 00:43:56.429
through in the atmosphere, I don't preach the

00:43:56.429 --> 00:43:59.610
word. Why? The word is better received when the

00:43:59.610 --> 00:44:02.170
atmosphere has broken through so that people

00:44:02.170 --> 00:44:06.050
can receive it. Why would I preach in a hardened

00:44:06.050 --> 00:44:08.489
atmosphere when the whole point is to invite

00:44:08.489 --> 00:44:11.090
the presence of God so his word actually touches

00:44:11.090 --> 00:44:15.329
my heart and their heart? So that's why we contend

00:44:15.329 --> 00:44:17.530
for the presence, not in addition to what he's

00:44:17.530 --> 00:44:20.010
told me. And the Lord began to speak to me. He

00:44:20.010 --> 00:44:23.030
said, I want you to look at Ezekiel again. And

00:44:23.030 --> 00:44:26.389
when I looked at it, I realized that verse 12

00:44:26.389 --> 00:44:30.110
was kind of the key. Chapter one, verse 12, it

00:44:30.110 --> 00:44:34.230
says this. And every way they went, they went

00:44:34.230 --> 00:44:38.130
straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go,

00:44:38.349 --> 00:44:44.289
they went without turning as they went. Now,

00:44:44.349 --> 00:44:46.630
I don't have time to go into the passage. I wish

00:44:46.630 --> 00:44:51.090
I did. But basically, everywhere the throne of

00:44:51.090 --> 00:44:54.050
God went with the cherubim and with the wheels

00:44:54.050 --> 00:44:57.989
within the wheels, God says was straight. They

00:44:57.989 --> 00:45:00.349
could go to the side. They could go backwards.

00:45:00.909 --> 00:45:03.269
They could go forwards. They could go up. They

00:45:03.269 --> 00:45:05.630
could go down. Everywhere they went, the Lord

00:45:05.630 --> 00:45:08.170
says, you read it in the scripture, they went

00:45:08.170 --> 00:45:11.349
straight. They didn't turn. Because why? They

00:45:11.349 --> 00:45:15.730
have four faces. Every direction they go is what?

00:45:15.829 --> 00:45:19.650
In accordance to the will of God. It's important

00:45:19.650 --> 00:45:22.050
you understand this because we've been teaching

00:45:22.050 --> 00:45:26.380
on John chapter four. God is looking for those

00:45:26.380 --> 00:45:29.219
who will worship him now in spirit and in truth.

00:45:29.380 --> 00:45:31.519
And you have to understand something that before

00:45:31.519 --> 00:45:34.460
he got to John 4 with the woman at the well,

00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:39.260
he had to explain spirit to Nicodemus in John

00:45:39.260 --> 00:45:46.360
3. John 3 is connected to Ezekiel 1 and 10. Why?

00:45:46.519 --> 00:45:49.820
What did Jesus say? Jesus said, listen. Unless

00:45:49.820 --> 00:45:52.739
you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom

00:45:52.739 --> 00:45:56.300
of God. John 3, 3. John 3, 5 through 7 says this.

00:45:56.460 --> 00:45:59.619
Truly I say to you, unless one is born of water

00:45:59.619 --> 00:46:02.219
and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of

00:46:02.219 --> 00:46:05.800
God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, but

00:46:05.800 --> 00:46:09.019
that which is born of spirit is spirit. Do not

00:46:09.019 --> 00:46:11.960
marvel that I say that you must be, and the Greek

00:46:11.960 --> 00:46:16.000
rendering is, be born from above. Born again

00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:20.829
is actually born from above. John 3, 8 is the

00:46:20.829 --> 00:46:25.170
kicker here that ties into Ezekiel 1. The wind

00:46:25.170 --> 00:46:28.989
blows where it wishes. Every commentary will

00:46:28.989 --> 00:46:31.510
tell you he's not talking about the wind on the

00:46:31.510 --> 00:46:36.110
earth. It's what? The wind of the spirit. The

00:46:36.110 --> 00:46:40.289
wind of God's spirit goes where he wills, right?

00:46:40.750 --> 00:46:44.349
Man does not direct God's spirit. God's spirit

00:46:44.349 --> 00:46:51.789
directs where God goes. Read 1 Corinthians 2,

00:46:52.309 --> 00:46:55.550
verses 10 and following. It says, only the Spirit

00:46:55.550 --> 00:46:58.429
knows the deep things of God and the things of

00:46:58.429 --> 00:47:00.969
God. He reveals what's in the heart of the Father.

00:47:01.090 --> 00:47:04.070
The wind of the Spirit reveals the will of God.

00:47:04.829 --> 00:47:08.570
Notice, the wind blows where it will. You hear

00:47:08.570 --> 00:47:11.969
its sound, but you do not know where it comes

00:47:11.969 --> 00:47:17.130
from or where it goes. So it is. Can you say

00:47:17.130 --> 00:47:22.050
that with me? So it is with everyone who is born

00:47:22.050 --> 00:47:26.329
of the spirit. Why is that important? Because

00:47:26.329 --> 00:47:28.949
Jesus was saying, if you've been born from above,

00:47:29.250 --> 00:47:32.449
you're going to know how to partner with the

00:47:32.449 --> 00:47:36.070
spirit of God. Your spirit will want to be led

00:47:36.070 --> 00:47:39.809
by the very Holy Spirit and everywhere you're

00:47:39.809 --> 00:47:45.809
led will be under his will. Are you there? Now,

00:47:45.809 --> 00:47:49.150
this is important because as I was reading that

00:47:49.150 --> 00:47:52.210
and asking God, God, why does it seem like there's

00:47:52.210 --> 00:47:55.289
highs and lows? And yet all of this process,

00:47:55.329 --> 00:47:57.969
all of a sudden, this is three and a half years

00:47:57.969 --> 00:48:01.570
ago, I was also asking him, God, it's going to

00:48:01.570 --> 00:48:04.590
be 25 years in about three years. We're going

00:48:04.590 --> 00:48:08.110
to, we have a big 25 year celebration. What are

00:48:08.110 --> 00:48:11.039
you wanting me to do? I mean, is it time for

00:48:11.039 --> 00:48:13.460
my transition? Is it time? Should I be looking

00:48:13.460 --> 00:48:15.820
for a different pastor? I was starting to think

00:48:15.820 --> 00:48:18.539
about when we did last year, we put new elders

00:48:18.539 --> 00:48:21.460
on. I was asking the Lord, show me, highlight

00:48:21.460 --> 00:48:23.760
to me who you've kind of highlighted that might

00:48:23.760 --> 00:48:27.679
be an eldership team in this house to add to

00:48:27.679 --> 00:48:31.019
it. And I'm asking all these questions. And as

00:48:31.019 --> 00:48:33.920
I'm asking questions of the Lord, I'd been thinking

00:48:33.920 --> 00:48:36.960
about Ezekiel. I'd been thinking about John.

00:48:37.199 --> 00:48:39.679
All of a sudden, and I I'm sitting in this room

00:48:39.679 --> 00:48:41.820
back here. This is three and a half years ago.

00:48:41.880 --> 00:48:44.880
All of a sudden, in March, now I know that's

00:48:44.880 --> 00:48:47.739
springtime. All of a sudden, this single hummingbird

00:48:47.739 --> 00:48:51.360
comes up to the window. And now there are no

00:48:51.360 --> 00:48:53.320
flowers. You need to understand. We're back here.

00:48:53.460 --> 00:48:56.619
All we have is shrub bushes. There are no flowers.

00:48:56.659 --> 00:48:59.750
There are no feeders. There's no nothing. And

00:48:59.750 --> 00:49:01.809
I'm kind of just pondering the gaze. I'm looking

00:49:01.809 --> 00:49:03.550
at the river. I'm looking at the destruction

00:49:03.550 --> 00:49:05.929
of it. I'm looking at the water. Three years

00:49:05.929 --> 00:49:07.849
ago, the water levels were high. I'm watching

00:49:07.849 --> 00:49:09.929
it. And all of a sudden this hummingbird comes

00:49:09.929 --> 00:49:12.570
up and it does this thing back, forth, back,

00:49:12.789 --> 00:49:15.650
forth, back, forth. And I don't think anything

00:49:15.650 --> 00:49:17.429
of it. And about five minutes it's doing this

00:49:17.429 --> 00:49:19.969
thing. I'm still praying and I don't make the

00:49:19.969 --> 00:49:24.309
connection about the spirit of God moving in

00:49:24.309 --> 00:49:27.210
truth, being guided by what he's doing and getting

00:49:27.210 --> 00:49:30.559
the connection. So I come back the next day.

00:49:30.599 --> 00:49:32.380
That was on a Tuesday. I come back on Wednesday.

00:49:32.960 --> 00:49:36.360
I'm praying and I'm discouraged now about the

00:49:36.360 --> 00:49:38.960
river. I've tried Army Corps of Engineers. We'd

00:49:38.960 --> 00:49:40.760
reached out to them. We were getting on the phone

00:49:40.760 --> 00:49:42.380
with FEMA, see if we could get any help there.

00:49:42.579 --> 00:49:45.179
And I am before the Lord and I am pouring out

00:49:45.179 --> 00:49:48.079
my frustration with God. And then all of a sudden,

00:49:48.159 --> 00:49:55.340
and I'm like, what is this bird doing? And I

00:49:55.340 --> 00:49:57.690
honestly, sorry I said this, but I was like,

00:49:57.789 --> 00:50:02.650
this bird has got brain damage. There is no flowers

00:50:02.650 --> 00:50:06.610
on this bush. There's nothing this hummingbird

00:50:06.610 --> 00:50:10.010
can get. And it did its thing. And I'm just,

00:50:10.130 --> 00:50:13.590
I'm still not getting. I'm telling you now, I

00:50:13.590 --> 00:50:15.909
understand now why God had to lower the sheet

00:50:15.909 --> 00:50:20.949
three times for Peter. The third time, the next

00:50:20.949 --> 00:50:24.110
day, I'm in the prayer room again and I am complaining.

00:50:24.530 --> 00:50:28.099
God, When are you going to do something? How

00:50:28.099 --> 00:50:31.980
am I going to do this? This is too much for me.

00:50:32.119 --> 00:50:34.519
What are you going to do about this river? This

00:50:34.519 --> 00:50:37.880
was not in the plan. You showed me the 40 -year

00:50:37.880 --> 00:50:41.599
vision. There was no river taking all the buildings.

00:50:44.619 --> 00:50:49.960
Hummingbird comes back. And this time, the hummingbird

00:50:49.960 --> 00:50:53.690
catches my attention and... looks directly in

00:50:53.690 --> 00:50:57.329
the window and just flies up above the bushes

00:50:57.329 --> 00:51:01.090
and looks at me. And for a moment, I had this

00:51:01.090 --> 00:51:05.210
thought run through my head. Oh no, I'm going

00:51:05.210 --> 00:51:07.389
to be like one of these weird prophetic people

00:51:07.389 --> 00:51:13.769
that hears a bird speak to them. And I got a

00:51:13.769 --> 00:51:17.010
little scared to be honest with you. I said,

00:51:17.050 --> 00:51:22.949
Lord, no. And the bird looked at me, did his

00:51:22.949 --> 00:51:26.010
front back thing and moved on. And I heard the

00:51:26.010 --> 00:51:31.130
Holy Spirit said to me, he goes, I'm not speaking

00:51:31.130 --> 00:51:34.849
through the bird. I've used the bird as a sign.

00:51:36.010 --> 00:51:40.849
I spoke to you and I'm saying it again. Reread

00:51:40.849 --> 00:51:46.050
Ezekiel one and reread John. Every way I move

00:51:46.050 --> 00:51:52.000
is forward in my will. In following me, you must

00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:55.380
understand I will always move you in a forward

00:51:55.380 --> 00:51:59.880
direction. You might think it's retreat or backtrack,

00:52:00.079 --> 00:52:04.800
but it is never retreat for me. I never back

00:52:04.800 --> 00:52:09.619
down. I always move forward. Now you need to

00:52:09.619 --> 00:52:12.599
understand that. And that's important for our

00:52:12.599 --> 00:52:14.380
lives, not just for the church, but for your

00:52:14.380 --> 00:52:17.019
life personally, because everywhere God moves

00:52:17.019 --> 00:52:24.889
you, remember? Eagle, man, lion, ox. Sometimes

00:52:24.889 --> 00:52:28.110
it's service. Sometimes you get a vision and

00:52:28.110 --> 00:52:31.150
a perspective. Sometimes it's moving forward

00:52:31.150 --> 00:52:34.190
and overcoming. Sometimes it's just about standing

00:52:34.190 --> 00:52:37.110
and recognize your limitation and that God must

00:52:37.110 --> 00:52:40.210
do what he does. But everywhere he moves you,

00:52:40.250 --> 00:52:44.610
just like his presence, sometimes you do it by

00:52:44.610 --> 00:52:48.369
faith. Sometimes he comes and he overwhelms you

00:52:48.369 --> 00:52:50.469
with his goodness and his experience and his

00:52:50.469 --> 00:52:58.449
love. As I'm doing that, and this hummingbird,

00:52:58.510 --> 00:53:03.670
I heard the Lord say, now, it's a sign. I want

00:53:03.670 --> 00:53:05.630
you to go study what a hummingbird is about.

00:53:06.650 --> 00:53:10.670
I go, really? Now you have to understand something.

00:53:11.090 --> 00:53:13.530
I'm not like many people that are animal lovers.

00:53:14.619 --> 00:53:20.920
I like to eat them. And I enjoy shooting things.

00:53:22.079 --> 00:53:24.199
I was raised a hunter. I'm just telling you,

00:53:24.239 --> 00:53:25.699
I was raised a hunter kid. I went duck hunting

00:53:25.699 --> 00:53:28.239
my first time at nine years old with a shotgun.

00:53:28.420 --> 00:53:30.320
I mean, that's just kind of how I was raised.

00:53:30.619 --> 00:53:35.400
And we ate what we hunted. And so when God says,

00:53:35.480 --> 00:53:38.039
go study the hummingbird, I think, Lord, I can't

00:53:38.039 --> 00:53:44.239
eat this thing. Okay. So against protest, I went

00:53:44.239 --> 00:53:47.239
and I studied the hummingbird. Now let me give

00:53:47.239 --> 00:53:48.719
you, I'm keeping you a little bit past time,

00:53:48.800 --> 00:53:51.079
but let me give you why it's so important. Number

00:53:51.079 --> 00:53:56.820
one, hummingbirds, their nature is to consume

00:53:56.820 --> 00:54:02.460
as much nectar as possible. Meaning they were

00:54:02.460 --> 00:54:07.820
designed to get to the very center of the presence

00:54:07.820 --> 00:54:12.420
of the flower, the sugary goodness. Number two,

00:54:12.619 --> 00:54:16.559
hummingbirds remember every time there was a

00:54:16.559 --> 00:54:20.559
place of nectar and abundance and they always

00:54:20.559 --> 00:54:24.179
visit that place because they remembered it was

00:54:24.179 --> 00:54:29.139
good. Number three, hummingbirds move in all

00:54:29.139 --> 00:54:32.980
directions. They're the only one in God's creation

00:54:32.980 --> 00:54:37.530
made to do that. They're the single most unique

00:54:37.530 --> 00:54:41.309
bird of all creation and their ability to move

00:54:41.309 --> 00:54:46.250
in all directions is in proportion to receiving

00:54:46.250 --> 00:54:52.869
nectar. Next, they have incredible vision. Not

00:54:52.869 --> 00:54:55.369
only can they see, they can see in the spectrum

00:54:55.369 --> 00:54:58.250
of ultraviolet light showing the distinctions

00:54:58.250 --> 00:55:03.130
of color. Next, they're tiny in size. but they

00:55:03.130 --> 00:55:07.429
are aggressive in nature. They will protect the

00:55:07.429 --> 00:55:12.869
nectar source and their nests. Number six, hummingbirds

00:55:12.869 --> 00:55:17.110
can actually sing. Some sing in some species,

00:55:17.250 --> 00:55:19.989
some chatter in some of the species, and some

00:55:19.989 --> 00:55:23.210
just squawk. Boy, if that doesn't represent the

00:55:23.210 --> 00:55:26.670
church, I don't know what it does. Hummingbirds.

00:55:27.449 --> 00:55:30.510
heartbeat up to 1 ,200 beats per minute, and

00:55:30.510 --> 00:55:34.090
their wings can flap up to 80 flaps per second.

00:55:34.670 --> 00:55:38.170
Now this is the final one. Hummingbirds are unique

00:55:38.170 --> 00:55:41.409
in their ability, as God designed them, to stand

00:55:41.409 --> 00:55:44.909
in one place receiving nectar as their wings

00:55:44.909 --> 00:55:51.989
operate in a figure eight pattern. As the Lord

00:55:51.989 --> 00:55:55.010
was speaking to me, after I had studied it and

00:55:55.010 --> 00:55:58.130
I was waiting on him, he said, This is why I'm

00:55:58.130 --> 00:56:03.329
showing you this. You and this house are to consume

00:56:03.329 --> 00:56:06.210
as much of Jesus and his presence as possible.

00:56:07.150 --> 00:56:10.090
I made you for fellowship and communion with

00:56:10.090 --> 00:56:14.690
him, his word, and his presence. I want you to

00:56:14.690 --> 00:56:18.349
keep remembering all of the goodness and recall

00:56:18.349 --> 00:56:21.590
every time I've come and visited you in this

00:56:21.590 --> 00:56:24.530
next season. You'll need it for what you're about

00:56:24.530 --> 00:56:28.369
to enter and move into. Like the hummingbird,

00:56:28.469 --> 00:56:32.010
you must move by the spirit in all directions

00:56:32.010 --> 00:56:35.190
that I lead you because the path that I'm leading

00:56:35.190 --> 00:56:39.130
you will not be straight just through it. I'm

00:56:39.130 --> 00:56:41.849
teaching you to follow me to be able to move

00:56:41.849 --> 00:56:44.849
in and around what the next season will offer.

00:56:46.670 --> 00:56:50.309
Like a hummingbird, continue to be fervent in

00:56:50.309 --> 00:56:54.809
spirit of prayer and worship and boldly move

00:56:55.610 --> 00:56:58.869
in aggressive faith with kingdom authority to

00:56:58.869 --> 00:57:01.710
that which I have promised you. And when I heard

00:57:01.710 --> 00:57:04.469
him speak, I just laid my pen down. I said, oh

00:57:04.469 --> 00:57:09.269
God, give us that heart. Now, why is this important?

00:57:10.369 --> 00:57:13.750
Because the team came to me, I'd forgot just

00:57:13.750 --> 00:57:18.389
really quiet for me. And then you can build up

00:57:18.389 --> 00:57:23.960
to aggressive hummingbird status. Team came to

00:57:23.960 --> 00:57:25.860
me and they said, listen, we have an idea. This

00:57:25.860 --> 00:57:27.639
was a year and a half ago. Now this had been,

00:57:27.659 --> 00:57:29.360
God had been working on me for about three and

00:57:29.360 --> 00:57:32.480
a half years. This river bank has been part of

00:57:32.480 --> 00:57:36.260
this process. But year and a half ago, they came

00:57:36.260 --> 00:57:38.860
to me as we plan about 18 months out. We know

00:57:38.860 --> 00:57:41.420
that as we plan, things can change, but we have

00:57:41.420 --> 00:57:43.079
to get stuff on the calendar. And they said,

00:57:43.119 --> 00:57:46.420
we have an idea for the 25th anniversary. I said,

00:57:46.440 --> 00:57:50.889
what's that? We'd like you to change. the logo.

00:57:50.989 --> 00:57:54.369
We've had the logo since you've moved here. We'd

00:57:54.369 --> 00:57:57.389
like you to change the logo and get another generation's

00:57:57.389 --> 00:58:00.769
perspective. I said, wait a minute. I love that

00:58:00.769 --> 00:58:03.389
compass. We're not telling you you have to leave

00:58:03.389 --> 00:58:06.789
the compass, but we just think you need a new

00:58:06.789 --> 00:58:11.829
design and allow a younger generation to build

00:58:11.829 --> 00:58:15.590
the logo. Yeah, you're right. You're telling

00:58:15.590 --> 00:58:18.110
me it's old? I'm telling you it's old. I looked

00:58:18.110 --> 00:58:20.949
at them. I said, do not give me some woke Cracker

00:58:20.949 --> 00:58:25.550
Barrel crap. I literally said that. I said, do

00:58:25.550 --> 00:58:28.889
not. If we're going to change the logo, do not

00:58:28.889 --> 00:58:32.230
give me that. And they laughed. They said, we

00:58:32.230 --> 00:58:35.809
won't. I said, but I need you to incorporate

00:58:35.809 --> 00:58:38.210
that compass because God gave me that vision

00:58:38.210 --> 00:58:41.730
of we are to pursue true north. He is, the Bible

00:58:41.730 --> 00:58:44.090
says he sits on the sides of north. He is the

00:58:44.090 --> 00:58:46.829
only one that's true center. So I said, somewhere

00:58:46.829 --> 00:58:49.449
you preserve that. They said, well, do you want

00:58:49.449 --> 00:58:53.070
fields or wheat or grass seed or river? I said,

00:58:53.090 --> 00:58:55.429
we are not doing river. I'm doing enough river

00:58:55.429 --> 00:59:01.880
right now. I said, so no river, no fields. I

00:59:01.880 --> 00:59:03.940
said, they said, well, how would you describe

00:59:03.940 --> 00:59:06.460
the church? So we meet with the people that are

00:59:06.460 --> 00:59:08.280
doing it and they're asking all these questions.

00:59:08.360 --> 00:59:10.739
How would you describe your church? I said, well,

00:59:10.800 --> 00:59:14.139
Pacific Northwest feel, Pacific Northwest colors.

00:59:14.320 --> 00:59:16.360
I said, that's why we built the fireplace the

00:59:16.360 --> 00:59:18.340
way we did. I wanted it to feel like you went

00:59:18.340 --> 00:59:21.340
into a Cabela's, but only God was in Cabela's,

00:59:21.340 --> 00:59:24.940
hallelujah. And I said, I want you to feel like

00:59:24.940 --> 00:59:28.079
you're coming into a kind of a Central Oregon,

00:59:28.099 --> 00:59:31.369
but Pacific Northwest feel with the colors. And

00:59:31.369 --> 00:59:32.929
he said, well, what else is it? I said, well,

00:59:32.949 --> 00:59:36.969
Tabasco. I said, what do you mean Tabasco? I

00:59:36.969 --> 00:59:41.389
said, we're like Tabasco. We're spicy. We're

00:59:41.389 --> 00:59:45.030
hot in faith and in fervency. So I said, when

00:59:45.030 --> 00:59:47.869
you think logo, think Tabasco. And as soon as

00:59:47.869 --> 00:59:50.349
I said Tabasco, to try to give him a reference

00:59:50.349 --> 00:59:53.250
point, I said, oh yeah, and the hummingbird.

00:59:54.849 --> 00:59:57.570
You want us to put Tabasco and hummingbird in

00:59:57.570 --> 01:00:00.230
a logo? I said, I don't know, but I'm telling

01:00:00.230 --> 01:00:02.210
you that's the parameters you have to work with.

01:00:03.130 --> 01:00:06.730
Tabasco, fervency, and a fighting hummingbird.

01:00:06.889 --> 01:00:12.329
Aggressive. So folks, and the Lord spoke to me.

01:00:12.369 --> 01:00:14.750
He says, I want you to update your mission statement.

01:00:17.230 --> 01:00:21.820
He goes, For years, we've had one verse that's

01:00:21.820 --> 01:00:23.559
kind of been our theme. It's been 2 Corinthians

01:00:23.559 --> 01:00:26.920
5 .17. And it's an incredible verse. We're going

01:00:26.920 --> 01:00:29.059
to keep it, but we're adding a couple more verses

01:00:29.059 --> 01:00:32.300
to it. 5 .17 says, if any person is in Christ,

01:00:32.519 --> 01:00:35.360
they are a new creation. The old is gone and

01:00:35.360 --> 01:00:40.099
the new has come. Right? The Lord spoke to me.

01:00:40.340 --> 01:00:44.719
He goes, I want you to include Hebrews 13 .21.

01:00:46.119 --> 01:00:50.139
May the Lord equip you. with all that you need

01:00:50.139 --> 01:00:53.860
for doing his will. May he produce in you through

01:00:53.860 --> 01:00:57.820
the power of Jesus Christ every good thing that

01:00:57.820 --> 01:01:02.019
is pleasing to him. And may all glory be given

01:01:02.019 --> 01:01:05.320
to him forever and ever. Our new mission statement

01:01:05.320 --> 01:01:10.940
for the next 25 years is this, to do his will

01:01:10.940 --> 01:01:16.929
by his power for his glory. That's what the Lord

01:01:16.929 --> 01:01:20.309
is leading us to, to do his will by his power

01:01:20.309 --> 01:01:24.010
for his glory. And there's the fighting hummingbird.

01:01:25.210 --> 01:01:27.130
There's the fighting hummingbird and there's

01:01:27.130 --> 01:01:29.510
the new logo has a life that's got growth to

01:01:29.510 --> 01:01:32.570
it. It's got the compass all behind the pattern

01:01:32.570 --> 01:01:36.250
and the diamond pointing the way to God is breathing

01:01:36.250 --> 01:01:39.150
on the church afresh, giving direction. Would

01:01:39.150 --> 01:01:49.150
you give the creative team a big hand? Would

01:01:49.150 --> 01:01:54.289
you stand with me this morning? Do his will in

01:01:54.289 --> 01:01:57.610
his power for his glory. Can you say that with

01:01:57.610 --> 01:02:03.869
me? Do his will in his power for his glory. I

01:02:03.869 --> 01:02:06.469
say that is a fantastic mission statement that

01:02:06.469 --> 01:02:10.130
sums up what God wants to do in the next 25 years

01:02:10.130 --> 01:02:13.750
for Life Bible Church. And I want us all to be

01:02:13.750 --> 01:02:17.679
able to say, Lord, we want your will. We want

01:02:17.679 --> 01:02:20.260
your love and your power. And we want you to

01:02:20.260 --> 01:02:21.900
receive it. We don't receive it. You receive

01:02:21.900 --> 01:02:25.139
the glory for what you would do with flawed vessels.

01:02:25.400 --> 01:02:30.280
Amen? Can we pray? Father, in Jesus' name, Lord,

01:02:30.400 --> 01:02:33.500
we thank you. We thank you as Trent is coming

01:02:33.500 --> 01:02:37.079
up. Lord, we thank you this morning, Lord, for

01:02:37.079 --> 01:02:41.219
vision. We thank you for encounters. And we thank

01:02:41.219 --> 01:02:44.739
you for your holy word. You've already marked

01:02:44.739 --> 01:02:49.159
our days. Now let us walk in them as you've purposed

01:02:49.159 --> 01:02:53.199
us to do. We love you and we bless you. Bless

01:02:53.199 --> 01:02:57.059
these precious people who will do your will by

01:02:57.059 --> 01:03:01.579
your power for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.

01:03:04.019 --> 01:03:06.820
Thank you for taking the time to listen to this

01:03:06.820 --> 01:03:09.440
week's message. We are so grateful for those

01:03:09.440 --> 01:03:12.159
who tune in each week and have given generously

01:03:12.159 --> 01:03:15.380
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01:03:15.679 --> 01:03:17.780
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01:03:17.780 --> 01:03:21.019
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01:03:24.239 --> 01:03:27.300
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01:03:27.300 --> 01:03:32.980
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01:03:32.980 --> 01:03:33.179
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