1 00:00:20,510 --> 00:00:23,590 Every year has this opportunity for us to grow. 2 00:00:23,590 --> 00:00:26,150 Do you know you cannot go through a year without having 3 00:00:26,150 --> 00:00:28,190 something going on so you can grow? 4 00:00:28,830 --> 00:00:33,030 Two things are inevitable challenges and victories. 5 00:00:33,070 --> 00:00:37,200 When you follow the Lord, Amen. Because when you follow the 6 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,960 Lord, you're guaranteed that you're going to win. 7 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,880 Are you hearing me? He always causes us to triumph, 8 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,480 Amen. And aren't you glad that you are 9 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:51,760 the victor, that you're the one who has victory? 10 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:54,920 Say, well, I haven't experienced much victory. 11 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,800 Well, just stay with the Lord and you will because he's 12 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,480 victorious. He's never lost. 13 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:07,400 He's only known as a victor. Even when it seems like he lost, 14 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:13,480 he won when it looked like that the devil had accomplished 15 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,480 something. Jesus Christ on the third day 16 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:22,680 says no, no, no, no Hallelujah when it looked like we were gone 17 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:29,440 dead in our trespasses and sin. But God being rich in his mercy. 18 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:34,240 Come on because he loved us so much, die for us and man, when 19 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,720 we called on his name, we were snatched out of deaths grip in 20 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,160 that powerful. So you know, it's awesome to be 21 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,200 in the House of the Lord. But in 2024, you know, we have 22 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,200 goals, we have plans. There's things that God speaks 23 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,200 to us about doing. So I want us to run through last 24 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,520 year and show you some of the things that we have accomplished 25 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,000 as a church. We accomplish as a church. 26 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,600 I said we accomplished as a church. 27 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:02,720 And there's nothing I can stress more. 28 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,720 This is the greatest challenge that pastors or apostles have 29 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,759 when it comes to congregations. And that is this is that you're 30 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:13,400 not running the vision God's given me. 31 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,480 You're running the vision God's given you because the vision is 32 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,840 for all of us. Are you hearing me? 33 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,600 So in 2024 in our Ignite the City aspect, these are some 34 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:28,880 things we accomplished. Obviously we had our North 35 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,160 Florida Wildcat. That is a yearly evangelistic 36 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,120 opportunity that we have in our community. 37 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,480 And you understand, you may look around and say, but pastor, I 38 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,600 don't see a whole lot of people from the from from the ones that 39 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,640 I saw at the game. Listen, it's called seed time 40 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:49,040 and harvest. We just keep sowing into areas 41 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,400 and we'll reap the harvest in areas. 42 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,360 Osceola make a difference day, You know, next year I think 43 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,600 we'll go even bigger because in two hours we're always finished 44 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:00,280 with what they asked for. Amen. 45 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:04,560 And so we appreciate that investment, not only making the 46 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,440 difference of that day, but the fact that we go there on a 47 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,480 different times through the year to be a blessing to the faculty 48 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:12,320 and staff. And now we're also feeding 49 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,440 students Flagler women's basketball. 50 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:19,560 I mean, we had another extension of that outreach where Pastor 51 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,640 Mike and Angie went with the team, with the coach and the 52 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:28,320 assistant coach into in Colorado and did some team building that 53 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,040 was transforming their lives. Amen. 54 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,320 And then the fact that we can go to games and support that, what 55 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,720 it does allows us to be in a community. 56 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,400 People going to the game, they might as well see believers 57 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,520 there cheering them on so that when issues come in life, you 58 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:46,680 can, you know, be there for them, right? 59 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,440 Rick's family Christmas, once again, feeding the homeless for 60 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:51,760 Christmas. We appreciate everybody who came 61 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,280 and was a part of that. It was an awesome time. 62 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,080 We started some demo in JC Penney. 63 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,120 Hey, man. And we have some dates for this 64 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:02,400 year so that we can accomplish even more. 65 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:06,120 Last year, we did 42 total days of prayer and fasting. 66 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,400 We kicked off the year with 21. And then we in the next three 67 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,720 quarters, we did 7 days. And you know, we've been praying 68 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:20,000 currently for a peaceful transfer of power for our new 69 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,320 elected president. And so, you know, a lot of 70 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,440 things are going on in our nation. 71 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,320 We still need to pray. Amen. 72 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,240 And then we had a living faith conference here as well. 73 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,840 And so you obviously it's always great to have the Hagans come 74 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:39,280 and and infuse us with a Word of Faith, but also it brings people 75 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:42,880 from other churches in as well in in the impact the nation. 76 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:44,600 This is what we accomplished last year. 77 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,120 We did a Kingdom rise up in Valdosta, a global leadership 78 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,280 down in Kissimmee. We went to Plant City and did a 79 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:55,080 Word in Spirit conference, ministered to 3rd year pastors 80 00:04:55,080 --> 00:05:01,480 in Oklahoma, had ministry at East Coast Camp with the largest 81 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,720 amount of teenagers. They had over 600 teenagers last 82 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,160 year, the largest number all up and down the East Coast that we 83 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,240 had an opportunity to make a direct impact. 84 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:17,280 We had a Rhema South Regional conference down in West Palm 85 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:21,240 Beach and minister to to minister there, and then the 86 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:25,080 Faith Initiative in Tallahassee where we were able to go and 87 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,480 pray for those that are representatives within our 88 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,960 community that represent us. We're able to go into their 89 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,520 offices and take time to pray for our leaders. 90 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:36,760 Amen. When it comes to influence the 91 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,120 world, what do we accomplish? Well, we had training and AFC 92 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,840 because we flipped a whole church. 93 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:48,960 OK, come on my construction guys, that when y'all should be 94 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:50,240 jumping up and shouting right now. 95 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:52,600 I mean that was what a schedule right? 96 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,920 We hit the hit the ground and painted the whole facility and 97 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,200 put a Reed, did some things there. 98 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,400 It was an awesome time. We had a Mediterranean trip that 99 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,000 took us into Italy, Greece, Albania and Cyprus last year, 100 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:09,840 touching an impact in different nations. 101 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,920 Obviously, the youth did their first ever foreign mission trip 102 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,840 and went to Anchorvade Church in Nicaragua and then the Brazil 103 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,040 conference. We were able to go and be a part 104 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,960 of celebrating 10 years of what the missionaries that we 105 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:30,040 support, Joshua and Hannah Adams, man, that experience 106 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,840 alone opened our eyes to some really awesome things that God 107 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:38,440 has put in our hearts to do. And so we're just really excited 108 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,200 for that opportunity. But all of us with you sewed or 109 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,680 you went on the trip yourself. These are the things that we 110 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,240 accomplished in 20/25/24. Amen. 111 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,600 Now let's move to 2025. I'm going to give you what we're 112 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,280 going to be doing before we get into the word today because 113 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:55,160 typically, you know, we minister a word and then we come to what 114 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:57,280 we want to do. I want to deal with what we're 115 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:02,200 going to do first because this word is life changing. 116 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,840 What God is asking are speaking to us concerning this year. 117 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,360 So let's talk. Go into 2025 and ignite the city 118 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,240 for 2025. This is what the Lords laid in 119 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,320 our hearts. Obviously, there are some things 120 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:16,880 that are going to continually be there. 121 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:18,360 Why? Because we live here. 122 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,880 So the North Florida Wildcats, obviously we want to continue 123 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,800 planting seeds and watering those seeds within the community 124 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,840 that we have here in our in our city. 125 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,360 Osceola again, Make a difference Day, Flagler's women's 126 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:34,960 basketball. We want to continue our Rick's 127 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,400 Family Christmas. And this year, man, we are going 128 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,640 to pull off the Christmas parade float. 129 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:44,880 We're going to figure out where we can put this thing so we can 130 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,800 participate and do that. Obviously we had the Family 131 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,600 Counts classes now, we did those last year. 132 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,240 We have those up again. This is that initiative from 133 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,760 First Lady DeSantis, and we're going to do two classes this 134 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,400 year. It has been a profound impact on 135 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,440 the community. We have had a lot of 136 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,640 opportunities to touch people outside of our church. 137 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:12,000 And here's the thing, the people we touch, they may not all come 138 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:16,080 here, but they've still been impacted by us. 139 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:21,400 And we have to understand that Jesus himself impacts everyone. 140 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,600 The churches impact multiple people. 141 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,960 We don't always experience the specific fruit of those impacts 142 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,799 because we have no idea where these families of this family 143 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:36,679 count may end up and eventually find themselves in church and 144 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,159 fellowship. But you can trace back their 145 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:42,919 decisions to the class that they're taking and it gives you 146 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:45,400 an opportunity to be able to invest in their life. 147 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:50,080 There is such a plethora of opportunities for the Saints of 148 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,840 Anchor Faith Church to be involved, to touch someone 149 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:55,800 beyond your own personal household. 150 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,920 It's really important. The civic engagement forums, now 151 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:03,080 we call, you know, they were town halls is what we've called 152 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,520 called them in the past. But really they are a civic 153 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,960 engagement forum and we may be doing another one because of the 154 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,440 special election that's up this year based upon our 155 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,040 president-elect appointing people from our state. 156 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,000 And so there is an election actually coming up on January 157 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:21,920 the 28th. You're going to need to be 158 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:23,640 informed. We'll get some information to 159 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,320 you. But we have some additional the 160 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,960 constitutional officers, we've done some tours with them. 161 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,960 We have the the judge that overseas, all the judges of St. 162 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,280 Johns County is going to be with us, I believe it's in March, so 163 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,280 that he can communicate how the judicial system works in our 164 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,720 county, he said. Pastor, why would we want to sit 165 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,000 and listen to that? Well, don't you want to make an 166 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,840 impact on the community in doing so? 167 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,200 Do you understand these? One of the judges when Pastor 168 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,520 Angie went down there for another particular deal, Not 169 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:01,040 personal, just something else to be involved. 170 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:06,480 They asked her, said would you write a curriculum that would 171 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:11,200 help in Co parenting? When the judicial system is 172 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,280 asking the church, we need to step up to the plate. 173 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:21,120 Now in order to do that, it requires some things, right? 174 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:27,040 So if the world is asking, well, it takes more than just people 175 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:31,520 on staff to accomplish it. It takes all of us saying, wait 176 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:33,920 a minute, there's mine. Let me jump into that fit. 177 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:38,400 Let me help be a part of that. So you want to be a part of of 178 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,600 what's going on in our county all the way across the board. 179 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,600 We are going to paint the exterior of mall 2121. 180 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:47,240 Amen. We're definitely going to hit 181 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:49,200 the front of the interior of the mall. 182 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,200 I don't know, I'm going to touch JC Penney yet and I'm not really 183 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,680 touching belt currently. That's a negotiation to tear 184 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:58,520 down a wall. So with that being said, these 185 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,040 are some projects. Obviously we want to completely 186 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:06,480 demo JC Penney and actually start some remodel next year and 187 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,440 we are extremely close of finalizing our plans. 188 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,080 Every time we get a little close, something else adjusts, 189 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,520 but we're close again. The larger the space, the more 190 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:19,680 time things take, all right, the larger the space, the more 191 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:23,040 finance take. But at the end of the day, I 192 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:25,280 really don't want to have to go to two services. 193 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,440 So if we want to get somewhere, then we're going to have to sew 194 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:35,600 and believe with us because it's really easy to get on autopilot 195 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,600 when you're in an air conditioner or heat environment 196 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,440 in comfortable seats. When our architect was helping 197 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,320 us with it, he said, now Pastor Earl, you understand why we have 198 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:49,560 no problem with you preaching an hour or more because the seats 199 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:52,000 are so comfortable. I said we'll make sure we'll 200 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,200 have comfortable seats in the next one because we need to be 201 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,600 able to infuse the word of God into everyone's life because in 202 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,680 168 hours a week, man, you know, there's a lot of things we have 203 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:05,840 to get out to get in so that we can live this stuff. 204 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:07,840 Amen. Also, we're going to start on 205 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,920 another nonprofit organization called I3 Reach. 206 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:15,800 I3 is Ignite impact influence. That's what that stands for I3 207 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:17,960 Reach. And this is allowing us to be 208 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,880 able to tap into grants. You understand the wealth of the 209 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,040 wicked is laid up for the and you know there's some grants 210 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:26,200 that they're just not going to give to the church. 211 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,520 So we're being wise and we're going to create our own non 212 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:36,440 profit I3 reach so that we can tap into additional grants to 213 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:40,160 further advance what the Kingdom of God has asked us to do. 214 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:41,960 Then this is what I'm really excited. 215 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,640 Our Sunshine State Athletic Association. 216 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,120 This is for Washington. We are bringing Washington into 217 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:52,240 its into a athletic league because as the students get 218 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,640 older, you know, we've not have been able to have a good 219 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,320 organized athletics and we've always wanted that. 220 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:00,800 So we've already started that this year. 221 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:04,560 And so, you know, we're looking forward to continuing to build 222 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:06,520 that program. That way as our students 223 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,320 continue to grow and get into the upper grades, they can do 224 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,000 athletics with us. Amen. 225 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,400 And then the last thing in like the city is Governor Ron 226 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:16,520 DeSantis. We are still talking with the 227 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:18,560 office for him to come and speak at the church. 228 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,040 All right. And so we're just be in faith 229 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:22,960 that that door continues to open. 230 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,120 It's still there and it would be a blessing to us. 231 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,520 It would be a blessing to our community because God is is is 232 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:34,320 is causing every sector of society to tap into the church. 233 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,040 When we get into impact the nation. 234 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,800 Look at this. We're going to do a Kingdom rise 235 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,400 and Putnam correction this year again, Amen. 236 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,720 Hallelujah. We have a ministry in Plant 237 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:49,360 City. We're doing a Word and Spirit 238 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,640 conference. Go to Moundsville, Alabama to do 239 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:54,400 another one. Third year pastors at Rhema. 240 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,680 Again, we'll be going to East Coast Camp with our youth. 241 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,880 We have a Rhema district meetings. 242 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:02,400 I'm not doing a regional this year. 243 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:06,080 We're just going to focus on the district, specifically Global 244 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:08,000 Leadership Conference. And then again, when we say 245 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:13,600 Sunshine State Association, what we're talking about is the other 246 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:19,240 cities within our nation that we can play in sports. 247 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:23,440 So there you understand when your fan base shows up, you can 248 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:26,200 make an impact. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 249 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:28,800 So with that being said, you know, we're really going to want 250 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,120 to unpack the nation to this point. 251 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:34,560 Let me show you this particular map of Florida. 252 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:44,440 These are the coasts of Florida. OK Anchor Faith Church. 253 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:46,360 St. Augustine is on the First Coast 254 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,280 now. I remember years ago, actually 255 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:56,080 it was 1715 years ago, a conversation happened concerning 256 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,680 Valdosta become an Anchor Faith church. 257 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:06,520 Now I never in my wildest imagination thought I was 258 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,880 planting other churches. I had one directive and that is 259 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,440 I was coming to Saint Augustine, I was planting a church and 260 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:18,320 that's what we were doing. Then the next thing you know, it 261 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,520 surprised me when the Lord said ask if they want to be an Anchor 262 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:26,880 Faith Church, of which they said yes, 18 months later, only that 263 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,640 they're not going to stay there. Which was perplexing to me 264 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:33,560 because I thought, well, why did we do this in the 1st place? 265 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:38,760 So after traveling there for nine months, in essence giving 266 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:43,640 birth to the church so that it would be healthy and move 267 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,800 forward, God said that my children's pastor, Pastor Mark 268 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:53,440 and Ashley Brady, that I should plant them in that location of 269 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:58,160 which they answered the call and they've been there for 13 years 270 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,720 now. Hallelujah, Amen. 271 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,680 Well, after that experience, you know, and, and they were moving 272 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:06,640 and obviously, you know, we have this connection. 273 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:13,040 The next thing you know, all of a sudden Pastor Pedro in 274 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:17,800 Nicaragua has a brother named Pastor Ramon and he could not 275 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,160 pastor his churches with the Assembly of God because he had 276 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:25,280 been divorced. And he's and Pastor Pedro says, 277 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:29,600 Pastor Earl, you should start an anchor faith church here. 278 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:34,000 And I believe my brother would be a great one to do, you know, 279 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,880 so that minds, you know, you're like, wow, Lord, are you saying 280 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,720 something? And so, you know, I had a 281 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:44,080 conversation with him. But during that time, before we 282 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,080 actually officially launched Anchor Bay Church in Nicaragua, 283 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,600 my wife and I, as we travel the coast, you know, we love to 284 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:53,720 camp. We have camped on the Space 285 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:55,120 Coast. We've camped on the Treasure 286 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:56,240 Coast. We've camped. 287 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,240 I've camped on the Gold Coast. We've camped on Lee Island 288 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:00,520 Coast. We've camped over in the 289 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:02,320 Forgotten Coast and the Emerald Coast. 290 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,119 And we began to realize, I mean, if I was really planting 291 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,880 churches, I'd want to plant on all the coasts in Florida. 292 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:17,720 That's what I was getting, that I would plant here. 293 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,880 Well, lo and behold, you know, next thing you know, Pastor 294 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,839 Ramon shows up one year thinking we had a Kingdom rise, which was 295 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,160 full force Kingdom conference at the time and we were not doing. 296 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,520 We started to offset them every other year. 297 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:34,920 And here he is and next thing you know, we're having a 298 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:39,000 conversation and here's a church becoming anchor faith. 299 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,760 Then the next thing you know, he had some others that were kind 300 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,440 of in his sphere of influence that the next thing you know, 301 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:49,640 without our kind of knowing, we had two more. 302 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:58,920 We're like, OK, so church plants for us have been reactive, to 303 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,000 say the least. Everything else that we've done 304 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:02,880 as a ministry has been proactive. 305 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,960 I mean, we're like lining it out, administrative, getting 306 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:07,960 everything down and we're moving forward. 307 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,320 There's one church I was proactive in planting. 308 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,760 It was this one. Everything else, I'm reacting. 309 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,080 We're reacting. Next thing you know, this 310 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,120 thing's growing so much that you're like, we're going to have 311 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:21,560 to do something different. Then Pastor Jay comes and says, 312 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:23,200 I think I should be in Anchor Faith Church. 313 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:27,000 You're like, what is happening at that point? 314 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:31,440 Pastor Mark and IA year ago came together and we realized, well, 315 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:33,720 if this is happening, we're going to have to organize Anchor 316 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,560 Faith Ministerial Alliance, which we are not. 317 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,840 We have not touched, we have not done anything hardly with it's 318 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:41,960 in name only. There's no real guidelines. 319 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:46,280 There's nothing again, reactive, and at that point, a process of 320 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,920 true prayer, spending time looking at and examining it. 321 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,360 What would it look like? And then God sent me to Brazil. 322 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:55,760 And when he was sent me to Brazil, I saw the model. 323 00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:01,920 It was amazing what Pastor Joshua and Hannah have done in 324 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:06,800 proactive church plants. They went down to Brazil with 325 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:12,320 the intent to plant, not with a afterthought, but with the 326 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,040 intentionality. And aren't you glad that God 327 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:17,520 puts you in relationships so that you don't have to start all 328 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,960 over again or they have to do everything from scratch? 329 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:25,400 I'm so excited about that. So you know, Pastor Mark and I 330 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,800 are looking at this and you understand at this point then 331 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,440 everything we're having to run a gamut of things. 332 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,360 I mean, from what's the legal ramification of this and how do 333 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,120 we this and what's our attorney going to have to see here? 334 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:40,840 And then next thing you know, Pastor Jay, you have to legally 335 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,960 organize that. Then Pastor Rick comes and says, 336 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:49,560 hey, Pastor Earl, after a summer for he was my Indiana Jones of 337 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:51,920 Washington, he would go away from the summer old mission 338 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:53,400 trips and come back and teach the students. 339 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,600 It was pretty amazing. And so he would come back and he 340 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,200 said, I believe that the Lord wants me to plant a church and 341 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,520 the Dominican Republican, it should be an anchor faith 342 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:04,000 church. Again, I'm reacting. 343 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,640 The good news is there wasn't 1. So it's not like we're 344 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:12,720 remodeling something or we're having to change over a culture 345 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,120 of something. All we are. 346 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:15,880 We're going to be at a planet right out the gate. 347 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,720 So I said, OK, we're going to do this one right. 348 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:21,760 From the beginning, you know, we're not going to have to 349 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,920 backtrack. And so he has legally, we have 350 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:30,320 our paperwork. We can now officially get a bank 351 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,160 account and have pastor Jay has one. 352 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,000 Now there are these aspects we're like, this is awesome. 353 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,680 So when we were down in Nicaragua, Pastor Mark and I and 354 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:42,320 we were talking about the anchor faith minister Alliance and what 355 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:43,960 it would do. We realized there was a couple 356 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,960 of legs that would happen. One that people because we have 357 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:52,640 had pastors come to us based upon things we're doing that 358 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,160 they're like, Hey, I, they tell me, I I sense the Lord wants me 359 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,240 to connect with you because of things you're doing. 360 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,880 Now they have their own churches, but just like me, not 361 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,480 only am IA Rhema pastor, I'm licensed with Rhema, but I'm 362 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:10,200 also with Pastor David Huffman, I mean Darryl Huffman's victory 363 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,240 ministry international. So every time I redo my 364 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,360 application for Rhema, they say, are you with any other 365 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:18,320 organization? I say yes, Victory Ministry 366 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,520 International, Darrell Huffman, he's on my board and I'm 367 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:23,440 connected to both entities. Why? 368 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,000 Because there's something that I draw from Pastor Darrell that 369 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,720 God has placed in my life. Although he was New Life Church, 370 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,760 I'm Anchor Faith Church, right? So the organization definitely 371 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,960 needs to have a Anchor Faith Minister Alliance where 372 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,040 potentially people could get involved just from a ministerial 373 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,000 level. But then there's another place 374 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,840 where it would be an Anchor Faith Minister Alliance plus 375 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:48,560 Anchor Faith Church. And if it's going to be Anchor 376 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,360 Faith Church, then the model has been given to us, or we're 377 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:55,120 seeing it based upon what Brazil has done. 378 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,440 So through the year, Pastor Mark and I were talking about it. 379 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:02,480 We're having conversations about this thing and along the wild, 380 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,360 obviously many things have. So I went to Valdosta last week 381 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,880 because these are some things that has taken time for us to 382 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,280 realize what we should do moving forward. 383 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:17,480 And then moving forward, we realized that if I'm going to 384 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,840 plant Anchor Faith Churches proactively, then the 385 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,640 organization has to look different. 386 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,200 And in order for it to look different, you know, there's 387 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:28,600 some things we have to do different. 388 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,520 But when we look at anchor faith Valdosta, they're thriving, 389 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:36,880 they're moving and they have vision. 390 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,120 In fact, Pastor Mark and Ashley has vision. 391 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:43,920 It was when I said, did God call you to Texas? 392 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:47,440 And he said, well, no. I said, well, I believe the Lord 393 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:52,160 wants you to take Valdosta. And so he has vision for the 394 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,320 location. And we began to ask questions 395 00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:01,600 and it seemed right that we release Valdosta and let them 396 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:05,560 run their own vision. So last week I was up there 397 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:11,480 announcing that because we're always advancing and they have 398 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:13,720 vision for that location. Never was going to be in 399 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:18,040 Valdosta. I always saw this once I 400 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,760 realized God wanted us to plant. And so Pastor Mark last week 401 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,440 says, you know what, God gave us the organization and the 402 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,240 foundation to launch. But there's some things in our 403 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:32,000 heart that we want to do that it seems that we've come together 404 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,520 in agreement. And I came and echoed that. 405 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:37,160 Now he's not here on the stage to hug my neck for you to see 406 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,200 this as I was on his last week. Right now today, they're 407 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,120 launching a new vision, new name. 408 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:47,280 Come on now, you should get excited. 409 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,280 I mean why would we ever want to hold back what's going on in 410 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,200 peoples lives? You understand that? 411 00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:58,680 I mean I would never want a relationship to go South just 412 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:02,960 because somebodies hearing God to do something when God's doing 413 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:04,200 stuff. Do you understand He's a big 414 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,960 God? And so I went and championed 415 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,120 that and I'm like, listen, they're going they've you've 416 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:12,240 always been ignited the city impact the nation, influence 417 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,000 world. You've kind of already done 418 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,120 stuff very specific to your community. 419 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:17,720 You're just going to change the name. 420 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,840 You're going to have the burdens on them to actually rebrand. 421 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:22,440 Not us. We are anchor faith. 422 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,440 It's what we are. And so I'm excited for them. 423 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,280 So let's pray for them and for their congregation right now as 424 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:32,960 they are releasing this new vision for them. 425 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,640 Amen. Let's pray, Father, in the name 426 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,920 of Jesus. I pray for Pastor Mark and 427 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:40,680 Ashley. I pray for the, the, the, the 428 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,080 vision, the things that you've shown them to do. 429 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,760 Very specific to that location. We recognize that a local body 430 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:51,160 has very strategic things to do. And Lord, they have been there 431 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,680 planted in that community for 13 years. 432 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:58,160 Lord, really, it's easy to release them to some things that 433 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,960 you've given them. I kind of look at it this way, 434 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,280 Lord. You know, my children started 435 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:05,760 kindergarten and then they graduate from high school. 436 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:08,880 It's a 13 year journey. And man, when I look at them, 437 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,520 man, have they gone from the beginning of a church that 438 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,040 they've been able to graduate on to some new things. 439 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,840 And Father, we're blessed to be a part of that now. 440 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,400 Lord, we thank you that you continue to bless them, bless 441 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,520 the work of their hand. We thank you, Lord, for the 442 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:24,480 divine connections that have been there. 443 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:26,240 And we thank you, Lord, that you're going to continue to 444 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,240 prosper that location because Lord, all that they're going to 445 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,640 be doing, we're excited about, just as the things you're doing 446 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:36,760 in us, because you've allowed us to release things into people's 447 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:41,080 lives, not only in Valdosta, but in other states already. 448 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,200 And Lord will continue to increase. 449 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,320 But when it comes to planning anchor faith churches in our own 450 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:51,920 nation, then Father, we're going to follow your format because it 451 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,600 best protects the ministry as a whole. 452 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,360 And we praise you and thank you for it in Jesus name. 453 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:02,000 And all God's people said Amen. So when you look at our future, 454 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,440 it's bright. But here's the thing, I've been 455 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:08,160 eyeballing the forgotten coast for quite some time and there's 456 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:13,640 already opportunities. But here's the thing, you cannot 457 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:19,280 launch out and have multiple locations if the foundation or 458 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:24,680 the headquarter, the planting church is not as strong as it 459 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:26,880 needs to be. When I mean by strength, we need 460 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:31,600 to move to the next level. We can't be thinking about that 461 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,760 in this space. We need to get to the next 462 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,280 space. And so we really need to be 463 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:41,400 deliberate for that next level of what God's asking us to do 464 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:47,320 because it that area starts to produce this. 465 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:50,920 And if the Lord is showing this, you know what that tells us? 466 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:53,680 There's probably some people in this room right now. 467 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,160 You're called the ministry and you need to get up off of it. 468 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:07,760 You can't stay comfortable here. It's time because the time has 469 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:11,800 come for you to be deployed and there's a place for you. 470 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:16,920 There are others that haven't even come yet that God's called 471 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,920 the ministry and will be instrumental in equipping, 472 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,520 strengthening, and deploying. Don't you want to be a part of 473 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:29,320 that to where this message of the Kingdom is going into 474 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,800 multiple locations within our state that they can be deployed 475 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,200 through our nation in the world. And God has given us that divine 476 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,520 task, and I'm so excited about it. 477 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,440 Let's look at our influence the world, All right? 478 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:43,160 Yeah, influence the world real quick. 479 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:44,360 And then let's get into the word. 480 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,280 We're going to be doing training in Anchor Faith, India this 481 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:48,880 year. In fact, the Lord spoke to me 482 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,160 and I am doing a Congo trip on Thursday. 483 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:54,720 I will be teaching at Raymond Bible Training College in Congo 484 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,760 and I'll leave on Thursday. It is the only trip outside of 485 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:00,640 Anchor Faith Church I will do this year. 486 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:04,840 The Lord spoke to me and says you focus entirely on Anchor 487 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,000 Faith Churches the rest of the year. 488 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,280 And so we're going to be here doing all that we need to do to 489 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,160 continue to push the things we need to push forward in this 490 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:14,800 location. But we're going to be doing 491 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,360 training in India. We're going to be doing training 492 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:20,520 and potentially construction and Anchor Faith Churches in 493 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,080 Nicaragua. We're going to be doing 494 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:28,880 launching an Anchor Faith Church in the Dominican Republic, which 495 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:33,080 means when we find the day it launches, could we take a team 496 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,480 with us to help with the launch day? 497 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,160 All right, we want to be able to develop an Anchor Church pastor 498 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:41,240 retreat because again, if you're going to be an Anchor Church 499 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,120 pastor, then we're going to have to really be connected on annual 500 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:45,520 basis. Obviously the Anchor Faith 501 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:49,040 Ministerial Alliance, it's global initiative needs to 502 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,000 occur. You understand, being in other 503 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,560 nations legally or one thing being in our nation, that's a 504 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:57,000 whole nother ball game. And then obviously there's the 505 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,440 Congo one trip. This is what we did not do last 506 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,440 year that I've brought it into this year because we still need 507 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:05,360 to do so. And that is purchase a vehicle 508 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:10,040 for Pastor Roman in Nicaragua and for Pastor Fought Meer in 509 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,160 Albania. Now Pastor Fought Meer, had a 510 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:17,760 heart attack. He had a blockage, they had to 511 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,640 put a stint in. He was having some chest pains 512 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,440 for hours, so much so that he finally went to the hospital and 513 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,440 they were shocked that he was alive. 514 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,520 Aren't you glad for the Holy Ghost, the sustainer of life? 515 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,240 He's recovering. Everything is good as far as 516 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:36,360 that's concerned. There were some things he wanted 517 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,440 to do in 2025, and I said I'm not coming. 518 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,120 I said I have focus here that I need to do. 519 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:46,760 I said let's plan that for 2026. He want a citywide men's 520 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:50,720 conference, OK. And so, but we need to get them 521 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,320 a vehicle again. He has this awesome looking 522 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:57,280 Ford, red Ford station wagon that has over 500,000 523 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,080 kilometers. The thing looks brand new. 524 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,920 I mean, he really takes care of his vehicles, but we need to get 525 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:05,200 him another one. Why? 526 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,480 Because we're in the nation where we can have the resources. 527 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,520 And so we're going to be getting you those numbers here pretty 528 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:14,760 soon. I can tell you right now 20K is 529 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,480 easy for both. I think they're going to be 530 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:21,120 probably a little bit more, but 20K easy for both. 531 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:23,840 And so we'll make some things available for you to be able to 532 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:25,920 open up and see that. Amen. 533 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:28,480 Aren't you glad that we are progressing? 534 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,800 You want to hear what the Lord spoke to us concerning 2025? 535 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,800 Last year we came off the reigning spirit. 536 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:43,400 Wow, the reigning spirit. And the theme of that is there's 537 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:47,920 many spirits talking. Now you need to understand this. 538 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:52,000 If the Lord has us minister in these areas anytime a message 539 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:56,960 comes, anytime, say anytime, anytime we preach any message, 540 00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:02,040 healing, faith, prosperity, deliverance, forgiveness, any 541 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:06,240 subject we ever preach, the minute you walk out that door, 542 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:10,720 the devil's going to try to steal that from you by creating 543 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,560 a scenario to determine will you apply that or not. 544 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,320 Now we emphasize the reigning spirit and that there were other 545 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:21,400 spirits. Guess what the other spirits are 546 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:25,760 doing a lot of talking. You've been equipped to hear 547 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:31,720 correctly, but you need to fine tune your hearing because again, 548 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:40,840 the other spirits will come as an Angel of light to try to get 549 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:44,200 you off, get you out of your purpose, get you away from what 550 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:47,240 you're called to do if you don't. 551 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:50,400 And I'm not surprised when the Lord spoke to me about this year 552 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:57,040 for 2025 is the reigning church. It's the reigning church. 553 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,640 Now The thing is, is that we're going to need to see exactly 554 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:08,920 what God meant when he talked about church because in the 555 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:15,440 Western world as a whole, especially now does not is not 556 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:20,240 technically modeling what Jesus said he would build. 557 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:26,440 And so we are going to have to dive into the author of the 558 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:33,720 church and his Word in order for us to be able to see what his 559 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:35,800 church looks like. And I'm not surprised because, 560 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:39,320 you know, last year one of our key verses was that in the last 561 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:42,040 of the last days there will be seducing spirits and doctrines 562 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:47,120 of demons and some will fall away from the faith, right? 563 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:49,600 And be pulling. And then as you keep on reading, 564 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:54,320 it said that in these last days that Saints will heed to 565 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:59,080 themselves teachers. In essence, they will say, why 566 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:03,080 don't you build a church that teaches this and will come to it 567 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,560 will come and assemble if you will have this content. 568 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:14,600 And they will heap teachers to themselves so that they can hear 569 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,280 the content that they want, not necessarily what God wants. 570 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:23,360 And again, we saw where Paul told Timothy, he said, now 571 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:26,200 listen. And when it comes to the to the 572 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:29,760 Saints, you're going to give instruction, you're going to 573 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:33,360 give reproof and you're going to rebuke. 574 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:37,360 And I like what Doctor Rodney Howard Brown said. 575 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:41,600 He says, Saints, that means 2/3 of my preaching are going to 576 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,560 have a corrective tone. But you understand, we have a 577 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:50,440 generation that doesn't want to hear correction and they really 578 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:51,840 don't even want to hear instruction. 579 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:57,000 They want to hear things that are only telling them nice 580 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,960 things. Which again, this is the 581 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:00,160 problem. That's why we're preaching a 582 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:04,160 message on the negative mindset. Correction is the most positive 583 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,560 thing you could ever hear 'cause it's life. 584 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:12,080 I said it's life and if we'll change our thinking, then we'll 585 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:14,080 never have an issue with correction ever again. 586 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:16,280 We'll never have an issue with repute rebuke. 587 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,800 In fact, we will fall on our knees and say, thank God you 588 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:22,080 rebuke me from the path I was heading down. 589 00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:27,120 Whoo, glory to God that make you want to run and shout Amen. 590 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,120 I mean, we're going to correct this kind of thinking so that we 591 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:33,560 can enjoy all that God has for his church. 592 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:39,560 Why is it that we can accept we were wrong for salvation, but 593 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:43,320 refuse to accept wrong thinking after we're born of God? 594 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:46,600 Amen. But we're talking about the 595 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:49,480 reigning church because he says, listen, there are going to be 596 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:52,920 pockets of assemblies that are going to rise up everywhere, 597 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:56,159 everywhere, not just in the US, all around the world that are 598 00:34:56,159 --> 00:35:00,200 going to have congregations where the Saints determine what 599 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:06,160 is being preached. Are you hearing me? 600 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:12,800 God's not deciding. The Saints are deciding because 601 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:16,040 he says they will heap teachers to themselves. 602 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:19,680 This is what we want to hear. And if you'll do it, we will 603 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,440 financially support you. We'll financially do whatever 604 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:26,160 you want to be done. Just do what we need you to do. 605 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:30,200 Hallelujah. But that's not the church he's 606 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:31,800 building. You know where it's at. 607 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:34,760 Matthew chapter 16, verse 18. Let me press through. 608 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,240 And I said, and I also say to you that you are Peter, and on 609 00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:42,800 this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell 610 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,720 shall not prevail against it. You want to be a part of the 611 00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:48,800 church where the gates of hell doesn't prevail because the one 612 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:53,720 that Saints caught, they bring their teachers in to tell them 613 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:56,600 what they want. Then the gates of hell will 614 00:35:56,600 --> 00:36:01,200 prevail against those locations. But if you won't, you do not 615 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,800 want hell to prevail against you in your life. 616 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:06,800 Then you're going to have to be the one that Jesus is building. 617 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:11,960 In fact, the Passion translation gets this right when it says I 618 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:17,280 give you the name Peter a stone. And this truth of who I will I I 619 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,760 am will be the bedrock foundation on which I build my 620 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:25,160 church, my legislative assembly and the power of death will not 621 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,320 be able to overpower it. Jesus came to establish a 622 00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:32,760 legislative assembly a called out once in essence, the King. 623 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,840 The church is like an embassy where the ambassadors come 624 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:40,320 together to hear from the home country so that they can walk 625 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,640 out in the policies and procedures and the directive of 626 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:47,200 the home country, The Kingdom itself, God Himself, who sits on 627 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:50,760 the throne and communicates what God wants to see done in the 628 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,200 earth because it is a global takeover. 629 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:58,400 At the end of the day, Jesus Christ is coming back and there 630 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:03,040 will be no alternative thinking. Are you hearing me? 631 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:07,560 Because His thinking is life. Martin Luther King said this. 632 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:09,440 Martin Luther King Junior, He says this. 633 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,480 There was a time when the church was very powerful. 634 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:16,400 It was during that period that the early Christians rejoiced 635 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,480 when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. 636 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:24,680 In those days, the church was not merely a thermometer that 637 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:28,120 recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion. 638 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,720 It was the thermostat that transformed the Moors of 639 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:34,640 society. Wow. 640 00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:38,560 Think about it. When Jesus launched the church 641 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:43,560 in the book of Acts, it was not listening and hearing the world 642 00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:47,000 and trying to identify with the world so that it could impress 643 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,960 the world to try to win the world. 644 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:54,200 It was the the power of God that was being demonstrated in 645 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,800 communities that caused all whole communities to give up 646 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:01,600 their idolatry, give up their witchcraft, turn, throw down 647 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:07,400 their idols and run to Jesus. It was casting out devils, it 648 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,520 was healing the sick, it was raising the dead, it was 649 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,760 speaking the word uncompromised and full of power. 650 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:19,880 It was amazing, this birth of a church and man. 651 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:23,640 Where has it gone? It was never God's intent for 652 00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:27,080 the church to not have power. In fact, Colossians chapter one 653 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:30,360 verse 13 to 18 says, For he rescued us from the domain of 654 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:33,520 darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his beloved Son, 655 00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:36,040 and whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin. 656 00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:39,040 He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all 657 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:41,240 creation. For by Him all things were 658 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:45,240 created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, 659 00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:48,280 whether Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, All 660 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:53,000 things have been created through Him and for Him. 661 00:38:53,680 --> 00:39:02,200 You've been created for Him. He did not die for you, you were 662 00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:06,520 created for Him. He died so that you could come 663 00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:09,560 back, because He, you were for Him. 664 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:15,720 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together, 665 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:17,120 man. If you're not with Him, you 666 00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:20,680 can't stay together. He is also the head of the body, 667 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:26,400 the church, and he is say He is the beginning, the first born 668 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:29,240 from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first 669 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:36,840 place in, in, in, in, in everything. 670 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:45,200 Those who are sold out to Jesus as Lord knows man, He has my 671 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:53,160 everything he says we are to love him with all of our and and 672 00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:57,920 mind and stream. He gets the whole man, the 673 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:01,160 threefold nature man. Not only does he change your 674 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:05,120 spirit that you couldn't do, but then because you yield to him 675 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:09,080 and his spirit in you, you renew your mind because he gets your 676 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:12,320 mind, he gets your soul, he gets your affection. 677 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:17,120 He he deserves your emotional attachment, then he deserves. 678 00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:20,360 Because your body, because your body's not your own, you can't. 679 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,200 Your body shouldn't tell you you're too tired to do the work 680 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:26,280 in a ministry or what God's called you to do, because it is 681 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:29,400 the Lord's. So He should get you straight. 682 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:32,840 Your strength should not go to your employer. 683 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:37,800 Your strength should not go to your business. 684 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:41,160 Your strength should go to the Lord. 685 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:46,440 Hallelujah. Your thoughts, your emotions, 686 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,480 your minds, your will, your intellect, all that you do 687 00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:53,000 should be surrounded. There was a time when people 688 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,040 were so passionate about the things of God that they were 689 00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:59,880 willing to die for it. You understand, if we don't 690 00:40:59,880 --> 00:41:02,960 watch out and I listen, we're going to do some really creative 691 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:06,120 things this year with different things we'll bring on the stage 692 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:07,600 and different things we want to do. 693 00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:13,240 I plan to do another mud run to do an example illustrated 694 00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:15,120 sermon. Again, I love those things. 695 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,480 I mean, how many enjoyed Christmas when we did the Doctor 696 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:21,000 Seuss, Seuss Christmas? I mean, those are great. 697 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:26,240 However, have we lost the ability or willingness to have 698 00:41:26,240 --> 00:41:29,560 the persecution? Do you understand the very 699 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:33,600 English Bible that you're reading today cost somebody 700 00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:41,200 their life that they were willing to go against the norms 701 00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:49,480 of religion and be considered a heretic so that every St. could 702 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:55,720 have the right to read the word, The word that we are always 703 00:41:55,720 --> 00:41:59,040 admonishing you every year to read cover to cover. 704 00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:03,840 But you know as well as I do there's a lot of Saints that 705 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:08,440 aren't reading the book that someone poured out their blood 706 00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:12,080 to make it in a language they could read. 707 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:19,920 Have we lost the cost? Have we failed to remember that 708 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:26,120 the church was not designed to be a social service, but to 709 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:30,400 bring the power of God? And there were people Steve and 710 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:36,720 died for his belief, many others that we had on the screen prior 711 00:42:36,720 --> 00:42:38,760 to service. If you were looking, you could 712 00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:41,320 have read them. And when we end this thing, 713 00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:43,800 we're going to let you scan AQR code so that you can get our 714 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:47,840 vision book digitally where you can read the timeline of what 715 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:50,880 the church went through and the persecution that went on in 716 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:53,160 different places just so they could assemble. 717 00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:57,880 I mean, again, Amos Wong, he, he, he flew into China to be 718 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:01,280 able to meet with a group of people that were waiting for 719 00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:06,440 him. If they started to come in from 720 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:09,680 from so far where they couldn't ride in trains, they had to, 721 00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:13,800 they had to come in different directions into a warehouse that 722 00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:17,440 had no air, no heater, no air condition in the middle of 723 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:18,880 winter. And they would wait and they 724 00:43:18,880 --> 00:43:22,480 would deploy them an hour at a time because if they had that 725 00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:28,160 kind of movement and there were those sitting that had been 726 00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:37,040 there for 12 hours waiting for Amos to come preach, they 727 00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:43,320 brought him in and he minished for three hours, 3 hours. 728 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:47,000 Because they don't know when they'll get to assemble again To 729 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,320 hear the things that we have a great liberty. 730 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:53,200 Now, I'm not saying this so you feel bad. 731 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:56,160 I'm just saying in our world, there's a cost. 732 00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:00,320 I mean, I thank God for the comfort we have. 733 00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:03,200 I thank God for the conveniences we have. 734 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:06,840 But I don't want to lose the passion of God's church. 735 00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:11,440 And I believe that the Lord is saying to the westernized 736 00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:15,320 church, especially to the American church, wake up and see 737 00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:19,880 the seriousness of my church and what I needed to be doing in the 738 00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:24,520 last days. He wants his church to reign. 739 00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:29,880 And so when he preached in this freezing warehouse with 740 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:33,000 thousands of people who had already been there, some for 12 741 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:37,520 hours, then they took him out, and then for the next 12 hours, 742 00:44:37,520 --> 00:44:40,680 they had to slowly start being deployed away. 743 00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:47,320 Right now in the world, people are being persecuted, still 744 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:51,640 martyred for their faith. There are multiple nations where 745 00:44:51,640 --> 00:44:53,960 you just can't come and freely assemble. 746 00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:59,760 And we debate on Sundays. I mean, when we put it in 747 00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:08,200 perspective, William Tyndale became what was considered a 748 00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:10,040 heretic. Was he the one burned? 749 00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:17,960 Burned for translating the Bible so you could read it in English. 750 00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:26,200 I hope we haven't become so callous of comfort, of being 751 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:38,640 comfortable because the reigning church can handle pressure or 752 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:41,160 more importantly, you're being so conscious of others that 753 00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:45,520 don't have the comfort we have that we're driven to say how in 754 00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:48,080 the world can we help those in those nations? 755 00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:54,560 It will not hinder us from the things that we have nor the 756 00:45:54,560 --> 00:45:59,680 things that we get to enjoy. But the reality is there are 757 00:45:59,680 --> 00:46:02,360 still those today. We even have some martyrs that 758 00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:07,600 we have. That is early as the end of the 759 00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:10,200 20th century. In fact, there was another 760 00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:13,960 particular man that was basically translating the Bible 761 00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:16,080 in that in his language. And what was that? 762 00:46:16,080 --> 00:46:23,800 Cameroon or And he was murdered for it because he just wanted 763 00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:26,520 the language in his native tongue. 764 00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:36,520 The church that we're in is victorious and powerful, but 765 00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:40,880 it's victorious because we're not afraid to face opposition 766 00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:44,960 nor to go into places that are oppositional. 767 00:46:47,880 --> 00:46:51,200 And when you've been given the freedom, then you want to be the 768 00:46:51,200 --> 00:46:54,720 catalyst that can help those that aren't in the same freedom. 769 00:46:56,600 --> 00:47:01,160 Ephesians 117 to 23 says in God the Lord Jesus Christ the Father 770 00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:02,480 glory. May He give us a spirit of 771 00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:04,400 wisdom, revelation and the knowledge of him. 772 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:07,200 I pray that the eyes of our heart will be in light so that 773 00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:08,960 we would know what is the hope of his calling, What are the 774 00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:11,000 riches of the glory of his inheritance in the same? 775 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,120 What is surpassing greatness of his power towards it? 776 00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:15,600 Who's believed? This obviously is not just 777 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:18,320 salvation so that we know where we're going when we die. 778 00:47:20,280 --> 00:47:22,240 These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His 779 00:47:22,240 --> 00:47:25,880 might, which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from 780 00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:28,200 the dead and seated him in his right hand in heavenly places. 781 00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:31,560 Far above all rule and authority and power and demean in every 782 00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:35,440 name that is named, not only in this age but also the one to 783 00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:39,720 come. This act of Jesus is so powerful 784 00:47:39,880 --> 00:47:44,360 that it goes to the next age and then eternity. 785 00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:50,000 Glory to God where he's far above all rule and authority. 786 00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:56,960 This church that he's building is powerful and he put all 787 00:47:56,960 --> 00:47:59,800 things in subjection under his feet and gave him his head over 788 00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:03,200 all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him 789 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:05,680 who feels All in all. Eds have also said this. 790 00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:10,320 He said the 1st century ecclesia or ecclesia introduced a radical 791 00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:14,680 and revolutionary social agenda that launched a process that 792 00:48:14,680 --> 00:48:18,440 literally changed the world. With the subsequent 793 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:20,760 institutionalization of the church. 794 00:48:20,760 --> 00:48:26,240 However, what was a lifestyle that implemented Jesus agenda 795 00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:30,520 became programs of good deeds that fall short of transforming 796 00:48:30,520 --> 00:48:36,080 societies. You know what I have realized 797 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:39,600 more and more is that when I hear Saints say where are we 798 00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:41,920 going to see the miracles? Where are we going to see the 799 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:44,000 power? When are we going to see this? 800 00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:48,320 It's not that they're actually wanting to see the what they're 801 00:48:48,320 --> 00:48:52,880 really asking is where's the powerful church that was there? 802 00:48:54,320 --> 00:49:01,640 They if it's misplaced direction, we're not transformed 803 00:49:01,880 --> 00:49:07,520 just because someone's healed. We're not transformed just 804 00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:09,440 because someone's raised from the dead. 805 00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:13,840 Jesus did this so much in his lifetime that he eventually 806 00:49:13,840 --> 00:49:16,960 says, I'm not even going to do miracles in this city anymore 807 00:49:17,560 --> 00:49:20,560 because you've rejected the thing that had the power. 808 00:49:20,680 --> 00:49:25,840 It was my word because it's the word that transforms. 809 00:49:26,080 --> 00:49:30,920 And you understand, if we would just go back to the passion of 810 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:36,480 wanting to live His Word and do His Word and let His Word be our 811 00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:39,840 lifestyle, then the miracle signs and wonders are easy. 812 00:49:39,840 --> 00:49:42,080 Why? Because they follow the 813 00:49:42,080 --> 00:49:45,120 preaching of His Word. And I'm not saying me from the 814 00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:48,440 pulpit as much as you preaching it with your lifestyle. 815 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:54,880 Martin Luther King junior said it this. 816 00:49:54,880 --> 00:49:58,640 He said the church must be reminded that it is not the 817 00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:03,920 master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscious 818 00:50:04,600 --> 00:50:07,760 of the state, the conscience of the state. 819 00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:12,440 It must be the guide and the critic of the state and never 820 00:50:12,440 --> 00:50:16,480 its tool. If the church does not recapture 821 00:50:16,480 --> 00:50:21,000 its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club 822 00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:23,320 without moral or spiritual authority. 823 00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:26,680 Martin Luther King junior said this. 824 00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:32,200 Why could we have gone through a whole time period of the 825 00:50:32,200 --> 00:50:38,440 Emancipation Proclamation and it still be decades, centuries 826 00:50:38,440 --> 00:50:45,760 later before we are addressing a civil rights issue when the 827 00:50:45,760 --> 00:50:52,880 church should have been the proponent of every tongue tribe, 828 00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:57,280 a nation? And if we don't watch out, we'll 829 00:50:57,280 --> 00:51:01,120 go back to that. And don't think it's not in our 830 00:51:01,120 --> 00:51:08,780 own nation. There's no such thing as a white 831 00:51:08,780 --> 00:51:14,020 church, a black church. It doesn't exist in the Bible. 832 00:51:16,040 --> 00:51:21,320 Every congregation should have something that looks like us and 833 00:51:21,320 --> 00:51:26,760 we can still do better. Are you hearing me Sunday? 834 00:51:26,760 --> 00:51:30,840 Adelaide said this. The church, a once respected 835 00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:34,200 institution of truth and integrity, has lost her respect 836 00:51:34,560 --> 00:51:38,920 due to ignorance of purpose and lack of insight into God's 837 00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:44,280 original plan for His church. And you know, we're all about 838 00:51:44,520 --> 00:51:48,120 original intention. We want the original plan. 839 00:51:49,480 --> 00:51:53,680 Colossians chapter one verse 28 to 29 says this King James 840 00:51:53,680 --> 00:51:58,800 Version, whom we preach, whom we what preach, warning every man 841 00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:03,480 and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present 842 00:52:03,520 --> 00:52:07,480 every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 843 00:52:07,680 --> 00:52:12,920 Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which 844 00:52:12,920 --> 00:52:16,560 worketh in me mightily. You'll understand why I use the 845 00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:19,800 King James here momentarily. Look at the amplified classic 846 00:52:19,800 --> 00:52:21,160 version. It says it this way. 847 00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:26,720 We preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and 848 00:52:26,720 --> 00:52:29,760 instructing everyone in all wisdom, comprehensive insight 849 00:52:29,760 --> 00:52:33,280 into the ways and purposes of God, that we may present every 850 00:52:33,280 --> 00:52:39,880 person, say every person mature, fully grown, fully initiated, 851 00:52:40,200 --> 00:52:43,840 complete and perfect in Christ the anointed one. 852 00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:48,360 Verse 29. For this I Paul says, laborers 853 00:52:48,360 --> 00:52:54,160 unto weariness, striving with all the superhuman energy which 854 00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:57,800 he so modelly and Kindles, and works within me. 855 00:52:58,720 --> 00:53:03,960 I must read an excerpt from Rick Renner, Sparkling Jim concerning 856 00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:07,400 this passage of Scripture. It is very important for you to 857 00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:10,040 understand as the reigning church what this means. 858 00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:14,360 He says the word perfect or the amplified says mature in this 859 00:53:14,360 --> 00:53:17,520 verse. In the Greek, Paul uses only 860 00:53:17,520 --> 00:53:22,320 five times in the New Testament. Each time describes full grown 861 00:53:22,400 --> 00:53:25,600 adults. It describes how a person 862 00:53:25,600 --> 00:53:28,760 develops. He or she transitions from being 863 00:53:28,760 --> 00:53:32,800 youthful and immature to an individual who is full grown and 864 00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:37,000 mature. In addition, Paul uses this word 865 00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:41,160 twice to denote spiritually mature individuals who are 866 00:53:41,160 --> 00:53:43,240 living in accordance with the will of God. 867 00:53:43,840 --> 00:53:47,520 For this reason, the more recent translation, the Amplified says 868 00:53:47,520 --> 00:53:50,360 that we may present every person mature, fully grown, fully 869 00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:52,800 initiated, complete, and perfect in Christ. 870 00:53:52,800 --> 00:53:55,840 Thus we see the word perfect that Paul referred to in 871 00:53:55,840 --> 00:53:59,640 Colossians 128 as one who is spiritually mature and 872 00:53:59,640 --> 00:54:03,520 endeavoring to live out his or her life in accordance to God's 873 00:54:03,520 --> 00:54:07,200 perfect will. It tells us that we are not just 874 00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:11,440 called to win masses to Christ and then leave them beside 875 00:54:11,440 --> 00:54:16,200 behind as spiritual infants. Rather, our God-given task is to 876 00:54:16,200 --> 00:54:20,440 help people walk out of immaturity while leading them 877 00:54:20,440 --> 00:54:26,360 onward into spiritual maturity. Bringing people up to this level 878 00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:30,560 of maturity is an undertaking so huge that Paul acknowledged it 879 00:54:30,560 --> 00:54:32,880 could only be done with the power of God. 880 00:54:33,040 --> 00:54:38,280 He said, Where unto I also labor, striving accordingly to 881 00:54:38,280 --> 00:54:41,280 his working, which worketh in me mindedly. 882 00:54:41,880 --> 00:54:44,720 Now before I finish reading this, you understand there came 883 00:54:44,720 --> 00:54:49,760 a time after World war that some denominations came together and 884 00:54:49,760 --> 00:54:53,640 said, Let us take the gospel to its simplest form. 885 00:54:55,040 --> 00:54:58,800 And from there we began to preach you must be born again 886 00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:01,360 alone. And that the role of the church 887 00:55:01,360 --> 00:55:06,760 then became to win the lost and to win the lost really at all 888 00:55:06,760 --> 00:55:10,880 cost, at the cost of his identity, at the cost of his 889 00:55:10,880 --> 00:55:13,520 purpose, at the cost of spiritual growth. 890 00:55:13,840 --> 00:55:17,320 We get so excited when we go into places and people get born 891 00:55:17,320 --> 00:55:21,280 again but we have no idea where they're at after their new birth 892 00:55:21,280 --> 00:55:26,800 experience. We come and tout in our great 893 00:55:26,800 --> 00:55:30,440 assemble halls of all the people that were born again over a 894 00:55:30,440 --> 00:55:33,680 particular outreach, yet we have no concept of where they are. 895 00:55:33,680 --> 00:55:36,800 No follow up plan to be able to feed them, grow them, disciple 896 00:55:36,800 --> 00:55:39,560 them or change them. In fact, Jesus literally said go 897 00:55:39,560 --> 00:55:44,120 into all the world and make disciples, not converts. 898 00:55:44,800 --> 00:55:47,440 In order for you to be a disciple, you must be converted. 899 00:55:47,440 --> 00:55:50,480 You must be born again. But he never intended you just 900 00:55:50,480 --> 00:55:52,560 to know that you're going to heaven when you die. 901 00:55:52,680 --> 00:55:55,640 He expected you to grow up, look at your neighbor and say it's 902 00:55:55,640 --> 00:55:59,560 time to grow up because Jesus Christ is coming back for the 903 00:55:59,560 --> 00:56:01,120 church. That's mature. 904 00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:07,960 He expects us to grow up. Paul goes on to say it this way. 905 00:56:07,960 --> 00:56:11,240 He said the word labor here in Colossians 129 in the Greek 906 00:56:11,240 --> 00:56:13,800 word. This Greek word describes the 907 00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:17,560 most physically and mentally exhausting type of Labor. 908 00:56:19,560 --> 00:56:23,120 OK, let me help clarify this verse 29 has to do with what 909 00:56:23,120 --> 00:56:28,760 Paul's assignment was, which is my assignment, and he is saying 910 00:56:28,760 --> 00:56:33,440 this is the most physically and mentally exhausting type of 911 00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:37,760 Labor. By using this word, Paul 912 00:56:37,760 --> 00:56:41,320 reminded us of the extremely hard work that is required to 913 00:56:41,320 --> 00:56:45,160 help a person attain spiritual maturity. 914 00:56:45,640 --> 00:56:48,520 According to this, Paul worked very hard to bring people from 915 00:56:48,520 --> 00:56:51,000 spiritual infancy into spiritual adulthood. 916 00:56:51,240 --> 00:56:54,400 In fact, the next word he choose, the word striving, 917 00:56:54,480 --> 00:56:57,760 drives this point home. It comes with another Greek 918 00:56:57,760 --> 00:57:00,920 word, which was the word we get, the English word agony. 919 00:57:02,920 --> 00:57:04,760 This is why you should pray for us. 920 00:57:11,200 --> 00:57:14,120 The use of these two words, labor and striving, tells us 921 00:57:14,120 --> 00:57:17,160 that the task of helping individuals move from spiritual 922 00:57:17,160 --> 00:57:22,000 empathy to spiritual adulthood requires focus, effort, and hard 923 00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:23,840 work. And it can be all. 924 00:57:23,840 --> 00:57:28,640 And it can often be as agonizing as raising a natural child to 925 00:57:28,640 --> 00:57:32,680 become a level headed adult. And we're not just spiritually 926 00:57:32,680 --> 00:57:37,200 raising one person, but many people at one time. 927 00:57:38,600 --> 00:57:42,160 This would be humanly impossible if it were not for his working, 928 00:57:42,320 --> 00:57:45,280 which as Paul said works in US mightily. 929 00:57:45,400 --> 00:57:48,600 The word working here in the Greek word means is where we get 930 00:57:48,600 --> 00:57:51,640 the word energy. Furthermore, the word mighty is 931 00:57:51,640 --> 00:57:54,600 the word dunamis which Paul used to describe Christ divine 932 00:57:54,600 --> 00:57:57,760 ability that resides in each true believer. 933 00:57:57,920 --> 00:58:01,760 So Paul was acknowledging that it is only possible to present 934 00:58:01,760 --> 00:58:07,480 every man perfect or mature in Christ of of his divine because 935 00:58:07,480 --> 00:58:10,360 of his divine super natural energy that works within us. 936 00:58:10,360 --> 00:58:13,240 We are insufficient in ourselves for such a task. 937 00:58:13,400 --> 00:58:23,080 We can only accomplish it because of the infusion of 938 00:58:23,080 --> 00:58:25,400 Christ's mighty dunamis power that works in US. 939 00:58:25,400 --> 00:58:28,560 Hence, the task of helping someone grow from spiritual 940 00:58:28,560 --> 00:58:32,960 empathy into spiritual adulthood is a supernatural feat that can 941 00:58:32,960 --> 00:58:36,200 only be accomplished in cooperation with Christ's mighty 942 00:58:36,200 --> 00:58:38,640 power that works in US and through US. 943 00:58:39,600 --> 00:58:42,720 And I can tell you from first hand experience why it would be 944 00:58:42,760 --> 00:58:50,240 mighty tempting as an apostle and pastor to only communicate 945 00:58:50,640 --> 00:58:57,000 the salvation message. Why it's tempting. 946 00:58:57,320 --> 00:59:00,920 In fact, I remember one time in the beginning stages of Anchor 947 00:59:00,920 --> 00:59:03,640 Faith Church, because there's all kinds of models out there. 948 00:59:05,280 --> 00:59:08,440 And I and I had people coming to the church say, Pastor Earl, you 949 00:59:08,440 --> 00:59:12,880 know, if you just did this, you double and he they were right. 950 00:59:13,600 --> 00:59:16,560 If all I did was talk about where you going to go when you 951 00:59:16,560 --> 00:59:21,200 die, If I left off the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 952 00:59:21,760 --> 00:59:24,920 If I didn't talk about moving on so that the fruits of the Spirit 953 00:59:24,920 --> 00:59:29,000 can be possessed in your life. If I let you just live in your 954 00:59:29,000 --> 00:59:32,320 carnality. And let's just all rejoice when 955 00:59:32,320 --> 00:59:36,720 somebody who's out of God's household comes into God 956 00:59:36,720 --> 00:59:39,720 household with the rest of the dysfunctional kids that are 957 00:59:39,720 --> 00:59:44,680 assembled together. Amen. 958 00:59:45,400 --> 00:59:51,320 Because many of you know the price you've had to pay, the 959 00:59:51,320 --> 00:59:56,160 things you've had to put down in order for you to attain. 960 00:59:56,360 --> 00:59:59,760 But here's the thing, you can attain the spiritual maturity, 961 00:59:59,840 --> 01:00:04,520 but if you do not stay there, you can digress back to 962 01:00:04,520 --> 01:00:10,320 immaturity. Paul said this. 963 01:00:10,320 --> 01:00:13,520 If you feel that you have failed to stick it out to the end with 964 01:00:13,520 --> 01:00:15,840 the individuals you've been called to help mature, take 965 01:00:15,840 --> 01:00:17,440 heart. Yield to the Holy Spirit's 966 01:00:17,440 --> 01:00:20,560 present in your heart for the task. 967 01:00:21,040 --> 01:00:24,360 He ends this ends it by saying this as believers, we should 968 01:00:24,360 --> 01:00:27,640 always be It should this should always be our purpose. 969 01:00:27,640 --> 01:00:32,160 We must not only win people to Jesus, but also disciple them to 970 01:00:32,160 --> 01:00:37,080 maturity so that they can live the balance the the balance of 971 01:00:37,080 --> 01:00:40,440 their lives as fully mature spiritual adults who live to do 972 01:00:40,440 --> 01:00:42,360 the will of God. Don't you want to look back on 973 01:00:42,360 --> 01:00:45,200 your life and say that I live the majority of it mature? 974 01:00:48,840 --> 01:00:54,360 Because the Scripture indicates that a person can arrive to 975 01:00:54,360 --> 01:00:58,480 spiritual maturity within 4 three to seven years. 976 01:00:59,760 --> 01:01:04,400 So it doesn't take long to attain to maturity or to arrive 977 01:01:04,400 --> 01:01:08,200 there and then you can live the rest of your life in it. 978 01:01:09,720 --> 01:01:12,680 And that would be amazing. Are you hearing me? 979 01:01:13,760 --> 01:01:16,840 So he goes on. Then let me say this. 980 01:01:16,960 --> 01:01:20,280 Then This is why we have Ephesians 411 and 13. 981 01:01:20,880 --> 01:01:24,920 And he gave some of the apostles and some of his prophets and 982 01:01:24,920 --> 01:01:28,120 some of his evangelists and some of his pastors and teachers for 983 01:01:28,120 --> 01:01:30,040 the equipment of the Saints, for the work of service to the 984 01:01:30,040 --> 01:01:33,240 building up of the body, until we all attained to the unity of 985 01:01:33,240 --> 01:01:36,760 faith, of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, to 986 01:01:36,760 --> 01:01:39,640 the measure of the statue which belongs to the fullness of 987 01:01:39,640 --> 01:01:43,200 Christ. Any babe in Christ can say, 988 01:01:43,200 --> 01:01:51,480 that's my daddy too, because when the Father's your dad, he's 989 01:01:51,480 --> 01:01:58,920 your dad. But babies say that verse 16 990 01:01:58,920 --> 01:02:02,320 from whom the whole body being fitted and held together by what 991 01:02:02,320 --> 01:02:04,640 every joint supplies according to the proper working of each 992 01:02:04,640 --> 01:02:07,160 individual part calls of the growth of the body for the 993 01:02:07,160 --> 01:02:10,160 building of of itself and love the keyword here that we've seen 994 01:02:10,160 --> 01:02:12,560 in these past two scriptures, the Colossians now here in 995 01:02:12,560 --> 01:02:15,280 Ephesians is the word mature. Mature means brought to 996 01:02:15,280 --> 01:02:18,080 completion, fully accomplished, fully developed, full grown. 997 01:02:18,280 --> 01:02:21,600 Sunday Adelaide said this people are supposed to come to church 998 01:02:21,600 --> 01:02:24,160 and be aware that they are being trained and recruited. 999 01:02:26,000 --> 01:02:29,480 The church is supposed to be a place like a classroom or a war 1000 01:02:29,480 --> 01:02:33,680 room where you have been equipped to go out from Monday 1001 01:02:33,680 --> 01:02:36,400 to Friday and fight for the cause of the Kingdom. 1002 01:02:37,400 --> 01:02:40,840 Not like fighting demons that have been defeated thousands of 1003 01:02:40,840 --> 01:02:45,520 years ago, they've already been defeated, but fighting to bring 1004 01:02:45,520 --> 01:02:49,440 the righteousness and rules of the Kingdom of God into your 1005 01:02:49,440 --> 01:02:53,280 sphere of influence. Sunday went on to say it this 1006 01:02:53,280 --> 01:02:55,000 way. The Church of Jesus Christ was 1007 01:02:55,000 --> 01:02:58,560 planted in this world to be a change agent for the 1008 01:02:58,560 --> 01:03:02,720 transformation of the world and of the particular society where 1009 01:03:02,720 --> 01:03:06,440 the church is located. And the reason why every town, 1010 01:03:06,520 --> 01:03:09,760 every city, every community should have a local church 1011 01:03:09,760 --> 01:03:13,920 somewhere in its surrounding territory where a local church 1012 01:03:13,920 --> 01:03:18,840 is present, is because it's there to transform that society. 1013 01:03:19,480 --> 01:03:28,640 Not to assimilate to it, but to be so different that only two 1014 01:03:28,640 --> 01:03:31,200 things can occur in that community. 1015 01:03:31,480 --> 01:03:35,960 Major opposition and persecution to those that hate the things of 1016 01:03:35,960 --> 01:03:39,920 God and righteousness, and those who run to the church because of 1017 01:03:39,920 --> 01:03:43,640 its integrity and the life of those who live it out day-to-day 1018 01:03:43,640 --> 01:03:48,920 victoriously. Hallelujah. 1019 01:03:49,720 --> 01:03:54,120 I have no problem being at opposition in our community to 1020 01:03:54,120 --> 01:04:00,640 those who do not want to follow God because we are the light of 1021 01:04:00,640 --> 01:04:05,000 the world and the Bible tells us Jesus says light has come in, 1022 01:04:05,080 --> 01:04:07,040 but they love their darkness instead. 1023 01:04:07,480 --> 01:04:09,160 And there are people in our community is going to love their 1024 01:04:09,160 --> 01:04:11,680 darkness, which means they'll hate our light, but there will 1025 01:04:11,680 --> 01:04:13,840 be many drawn to the light and be transformed. 1026 01:04:13,840 --> 01:04:17,680 Hallelujah, just like you have been transformed. 1027 01:04:17,880 --> 01:04:19,440 Aren't you glad you've been transformed? 1028 01:04:20,320 --> 01:04:21,800 What are the sector of societies? 1029 01:04:21,800 --> 01:04:24,760 One, religion, two family, 3. Government, 4. 1030 01:04:24,760 --> 01:04:27,080 Business, 5. Education, 6. 1031 01:04:27,320 --> 01:04:30,120 Arts, entertainment, sports and seven the media. 1032 01:04:30,240 --> 01:04:33,080 These are the sectors of society we are to infiltrate with the 1033 01:04:33,080 --> 01:04:35,520 Kingdom of God. When you get into your place of 1034 01:04:35,520 --> 01:04:37,320 business, you should be the light of the world. 1035 01:04:37,360 --> 01:04:40,480 You shouldn't be an ambassador. You should reflect the ideals 1036 01:04:40,480 --> 01:04:42,000 and lifestyles of the Kingdom of God. 1037 01:04:42,120 --> 01:04:43,880 When people are sick, they should come to you. 1038 01:04:44,080 --> 01:04:46,080 For you'll pray. So you'll pray from when they're 1039 01:04:46,080 --> 01:04:48,480 in trouble, they should come to you and you would pray for them 1040 01:04:48,480 --> 01:04:50,080 because they know you just don't pray. 1041 01:04:50,080 --> 01:04:53,440 You have answered prayers. Hallelujah. 1042 01:04:54,080 --> 01:04:58,040 This is the reigning church. But equally, when you go to 1043 01:04:58,040 --> 01:04:59,800 work, people are going to persecute you. 1044 01:04:59,960 --> 01:05:01,280 They're going to talk bad about you. 1045 01:05:01,400 --> 01:05:03,160 They're not going to let you get promotion. 1046 01:05:03,200 --> 01:05:04,600 They're going to stand in the way. 1047 01:05:04,720 --> 01:05:07,680 They're going to do all kinds of things to try to hinder you. 1048 01:05:07,760 --> 01:05:11,720 But you stay with God. And if God's for you, who can be 1049 01:05:11,720 --> 01:05:15,560 against you can't be compromising. 1050 01:05:16,080 --> 01:05:20,120 You can't compromise an ideal for more money or more prestige. 1051 01:05:20,200 --> 01:05:24,200 How could you be more known than be known by Jesus Christ? 1052 01:05:26,800 --> 01:05:29,040 A title and promotion doesn't make you greater. 1053 01:05:29,040 --> 01:05:32,200 You're already great because the greater ones on the inside of 1054 01:05:32,200 --> 01:05:35,080 you, He's called you a son. He's called you a daughter. 1055 01:05:35,160 --> 01:05:41,120 I'm known by Jesus. Everything else is less than. 1056 01:05:42,760 --> 01:05:47,480 Any relationship I have outside of that is less than because I 1057 01:05:47,480 --> 01:05:51,120 know the King, and the King knows me. 1058 01:05:51,440 --> 01:05:55,520 Hallelujah. He knows my name, I said. 1059 01:05:55,520 --> 01:05:57,840 He knows my name. He knows your name. 1060 01:06:00,680 --> 01:06:03,720 In first Corinthians 1420 it says, brethren, do not be 1061 01:06:03,720 --> 01:06:05,840 children. Immature in your thinking. 1062 01:06:06,200 --> 01:06:09,120 Continue. Continue to be babes in matters 1063 01:06:09,120 --> 01:06:12,920 of evil if you want to be. If you want to be immature, then 1064 01:06:12,920 --> 01:06:14,440 get immature in evil. Amen. 1065 01:06:15,440 --> 01:06:17,840 If you want to be a babe, then do it in evil. 1066 01:06:19,120 --> 01:06:24,680 But in your minds, he says, be mature men Psalms 1/3 the 1067 01:06:24,680 --> 01:06:28,760 amplified says, and he will be like a tree firmly planted and 1068 01:06:28,760 --> 01:06:31,800 fed by the streams of water, which yields his fruit in its 1069 01:06:31,800 --> 01:06:34,160 season. Its leaf does not wither, and in 1070 01:06:34,160 --> 01:06:37,040 whatever he does, he prospers and comes to maturity. 1071 01:06:37,160 --> 01:06:39,680 The reason why most Saints can never get to maturity, 1072 01:06:39,760 --> 01:06:41,960 especially in the Western Church, is because they don't 1073 01:06:41,960 --> 01:06:46,760 stay planted because again, they they believe the lie of the 1074 01:06:46,760 --> 01:06:48,160 devil. Well, that's the pastor's 1075 01:06:48,160 --> 01:06:49,680 vision. He's trying to get you to do 1076 01:06:49,720 --> 01:06:52,440 what he's heard from God. No, this is not my vision. 1077 01:06:52,440 --> 01:06:59,840 This is our vision. How do I know this is true? 1078 01:07:01,720 --> 01:07:10,720 Did you save yourself? The Father had a vision. 1079 01:07:11,680 --> 01:07:14,840 I'm going to send my son. He's going to die on a cross. 1080 01:07:14,840 --> 01:07:18,320 He's going to pour out his blood for all your wrongdoing. 1081 01:07:19,360 --> 01:07:23,920 And he says, I see you in the vision, but if you're going to 1082 01:07:23,920 --> 01:07:26,160 be in the vision, you're going to have to make it your own. 1083 01:07:27,920 --> 01:07:30,560 Well, I'm only born again because it's God's vision. 1084 01:07:31,560 --> 01:07:35,560 No, you're like, I see myself a child of God because before the 1085 01:07:35,560 --> 01:07:38,880 foundation of the world, He had a plan for me, a purpose for me. 1086 01:07:38,960 --> 01:07:42,760 He always designed for me to be with dominion and rulership, and 1087 01:07:42,760 --> 01:07:45,720 I had fallen out of that. But He has a vision to bring me 1088 01:07:45,720 --> 01:07:49,240 back, and I'm going to be a part of that vision because that 1089 01:07:49,240 --> 01:07:52,440 vision is my vision. My vision is to be a child of 1090 01:07:52,440 --> 01:07:54,720 God, one who rules and reigns with Christ. 1091 01:07:54,800 --> 01:07:58,880 That's my vision, not just his. Well, if that's the case, then 1092 01:07:58,880 --> 01:08:02,040 guess what? The local body, it shouldn't be 1093 01:08:02,040 --> 01:08:05,960 mine that you're following. It should be yours you're 1094 01:08:05,960 --> 01:08:12,440 following and you are finding your fit in that vision, which 1095 01:08:12,440 --> 01:08:18,319 means you should drive, thrive, run again. 1096 01:08:18,439 --> 01:08:21,760 I use athletics all the time. Not everyone's the quarterback. 1097 01:08:24,279 --> 01:08:29,120 Not everyone, but those that are in their positions when they 1098 01:08:29,120 --> 01:08:34,279 function as they were designed can defeat the opposition and go 1099 01:08:34,279 --> 01:08:37,760 on to the next round and eventually be crowned champion. 1100 01:08:43,040 --> 01:08:46,960 Don't you know when Ohio State beat Texas that the quarterback 1101 01:08:46,960 --> 01:08:50,560 didn't say concerning that one defensive player who scooped the 1102 01:08:50,560 --> 01:08:52,760 ball up and ran down for a touchdown? 1103 01:08:53,080 --> 01:08:55,000 That he didn't say, look at him showing off. 1104 01:08:56,200 --> 01:08:58,319 You know, when I broke through that hole and nobody touched me, 1105 01:08:58,319 --> 01:09:02,080 I fell down at the 20 yard line. I mean, he could have fell down, 1106 01:09:02,080 --> 01:09:03,479 not look like he was showboating. 1107 01:09:08,000 --> 01:09:10,720 I mean, he's a defensive player. What's he think he's doing? 1108 01:09:12,120 --> 01:09:14,319 But we don't talk like that with athletics. 1109 01:09:14,840 --> 01:09:16,840 But why do we talk like this in the church? 1110 01:09:17,680 --> 01:09:24,279 Immaturity talks like that. No, when you get planted and you 1111 01:09:24,279 --> 01:09:27,319 quit running around, then you're going to finally hit maturity. 1112 01:09:28,319 --> 01:09:31,600 No plant in the natural can mature if it doesn't stay 1113 01:09:32,080 --> 01:09:36,520 planted. And again, people will say all 1114 01:09:36,520 --> 01:09:38,000 the time, oh man, I grew so much here. 1115 01:09:38,000 --> 01:09:39,680 I'm growing here, I'm growing here and I'm growing here. 1116 01:09:39,680 --> 01:09:43,359 They're not growing because the Bible doesn't support that kind 1117 01:09:43,359 --> 01:09:46,479 of growth to maturity, Nothing at all. 1118 01:09:47,800 --> 01:09:52,120 It doesn't support that kind of movement to maturity. 1119 01:09:56,160 --> 01:09:58,600 So when you find a place, you need to stay somewhere. 1120 01:09:59,360 --> 01:10:01,200 In fact, this is what I love about Pastor Mike. 1121 01:10:01,200 --> 01:10:03,960 Pastor Mike, stand up. Pastor Mike was born again. 1122 01:10:03,960 --> 01:10:04,520 What? What? 1123 01:10:04,520 --> 01:10:05,680 How old were you when you were born again? 1124 01:10:05,680 --> 01:10:12,040 9797, He's born again. He was planted in that church, 1125 01:10:12,840 --> 01:10:17,360 Apostle Scales Church. He only left that church because 1126 01:10:17,360 --> 01:10:21,320 God called him the ministry of which then he needed training. 1127 01:10:22,440 --> 01:10:26,280 Then he went to Oklahoma and he was went to Bible school. 1128 01:10:26,280 --> 01:10:27,720 But he didn't just go to Bible school. 1129 01:10:27,960 --> 01:10:31,960 He was planted in the local Church of the Bible school 1130 01:10:31,960 --> 01:10:36,200 called Rhema Bible Church. And he stayed there. 1131 01:10:37,600 --> 01:10:42,320 And then the Lord said, go to Saint Augustine and he's only 1132 01:10:42,320 --> 01:10:50,040 been in his whole life as a believer in three churches, only 1133 01:10:50,040 --> 01:10:53,400 three. And I would surmise if he would 1134 01:10:53,400 --> 01:10:56,960 not been called to ministry, he most likely would be an Apostle 1135 01:10:56,960 --> 01:11:02,960 Scales church still today. And man, he can grow there 1136 01:11:02,960 --> 01:11:06,640 because Apostle Scales is amazing, amazing teacher. 1137 01:11:08,200 --> 01:11:10,680 You know, Pastor Hagen would say this concerning Pastor. 1138 01:11:10,680 --> 01:11:12,600 Thank you, Pastor Mike, who graduated from Rhema. 1139 01:11:12,760 --> 01:11:14,840 And they become say, well, I've done 20 years of ministry, yet 1140 01:11:14,840 --> 01:11:17,600 they've only been in locations 3 years at a time. 1141 01:11:18,480 --> 01:11:20,640 They go in, start a church or take over a church, you know, 1142 01:11:20,640 --> 01:11:23,360 and then the honeymoon, 18 minutes, 18 months is over. 1143 01:11:23,520 --> 01:11:24,880 And now they're dealing with problems. 1144 01:11:24,880 --> 01:11:26,720 And then they say, well, the Lord's called me. 1145 01:11:26,720 --> 01:11:28,800 And then they find another church and they go somewhere 1146 01:11:28,800 --> 01:11:30,240 else. And Pastor Hagen says, don't 1147 01:11:30,240 --> 01:11:31,640 tell me you've been in ministry for 20 years. 1148 01:11:31,640 --> 01:11:34,440 You've only been in ministry for three years because you've only 1149 01:11:34,440 --> 01:11:36,680 experienced what three years will give you. 1150 01:11:38,200 --> 01:11:41,960 That's wisdom talking. Well, I'm spiritually mature. 1151 01:11:42,080 --> 01:11:45,320 No, you've only grown based upon how long you've stayed planted. 1152 01:11:45,520 --> 01:11:48,800 And if you've been planted, then are you staying in attainment? 1153 01:11:49,120 --> 01:11:52,320 Philippians chapter 3, verse 12. We are about to drive this thing 1154 01:11:52,320 --> 01:11:56,000 home, he says, not that I've already obtained it, that I've 1155 01:11:56,000 --> 01:11:59,000 already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold 1156 01:11:59,000 --> 01:12:00,840 of that which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 1157 01:12:00,840 --> 01:12:02,960 Brethren, I do not regard myself as laying hold of it yet, but 1158 01:12:02,960 --> 01:12:05,440 one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward 1159 01:12:05,440 --> 01:12:08,480 to what lies ahead, I press on to the goal, towards the goal 1160 01:12:08,480 --> 01:12:11,320 for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 1161 01:12:11,480 --> 01:12:15,040 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude, and 1162 01:12:15,040 --> 01:12:18,080 if in anything you have a different attitude, God will 1163 01:12:18,080 --> 01:12:22,120 reveal that also to you. However, let us keep living by 1164 01:12:22,120 --> 01:12:25,240 the same standard to which we have attained. 1165 01:12:26,720 --> 01:12:30,600 Rick Renner says this concerning the word I press on is the Greek 1166 01:12:30,600 --> 01:12:35,080 word which translates as I Follow after is a fiercely 1167 01:12:35,160 --> 01:12:39,640 aggressive word in historical Greek literature. 1168 01:12:39,800 --> 01:12:44,680 It means to hunt, pursue, to chase, to track down and kill. 1169 01:12:45,040 --> 01:12:48,360 It is the picture of an outdoorsman who is so determined 1170 01:12:48,360 --> 01:12:52,000 to hunt down an animal that he will stop at nothing to pursue, 1171 01:12:52,000 --> 01:12:54,760 chase, track down, and ultimately get the game. 1172 01:12:58,240 --> 01:13:05,520 That is a driven individual. That means complacency should 1173 01:13:05,520 --> 01:13:13,480 never be in the mind of a believer that the minute you 1174 01:13:13,480 --> 01:13:16,760 were born again, you have this determination. 1175 01:13:17,040 --> 01:13:22,720 I will become all that my king saved me to. 1176 01:13:23,920 --> 01:13:28,320 He saved me from something to something, and I will obtain 1177 01:13:28,320 --> 01:13:31,160 that. And then when the whole body 1178 01:13:31,160 --> 01:13:37,360 gets that kind of drive, there's not a gate in hell in any sector 1179 01:13:37,360 --> 01:13:41,360 of society that can stand against that reigning church. 1180 01:13:41,520 --> 01:13:44,880 Can't happen. I said it can't happen because 1181 01:13:44,880 --> 01:13:48,520 you will not let those sectors of society impede you. 1182 01:13:48,680 --> 01:13:54,320 You will be so driven to hunt down and do exactly what you're 1183 01:13:54,320 --> 01:13:58,000 called to do in your community. The amplified says this. 1184 01:13:58,000 --> 01:14:02,080 So let those of us 1st 15 and 16 of First Timothy 3. 1185 01:14:02,440 --> 01:14:05,120 So let those of us who are spiritually mature and full 1186 01:14:05,120 --> 01:14:07,360 grown have this in mind and hold these conviction. 1187 01:14:07,520 --> 01:14:11,440 And if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God 1188 01:14:11,440 --> 01:14:13,120 will make that clear to you also. 1189 01:14:13,120 --> 01:14:18,400 Only let us hold true to what we have already obtained and walk 1190 01:14:18,400 --> 01:14:22,640 and order our lives that way. You understand in three to seven 1191 01:14:22,640 --> 01:14:25,960 years you can attain to spiritual maturity, but you must 1192 01:14:25,960 --> 01:14:28,840 maintain the standard you have come to. 1193 01:14:29,080 --> 01:14:33,000 I'm always perplexed how a believer can grow in the things 1194 01:14:33,000 --> 01:14:36,400 of God within a church, can go from salvation to the baptism of 1195 01:14:36,400 --> 01:14:38,520 Holy Ghost to the authority of the believer in healing and 1196 01:14:38,520 --> 01:14:41,120 prosperity and all the things that are associated with who you 1197 01:14:41,120 --> 01:14:43,240 are in Christ. And then go all the way back to 1198 01:14:43,240 --> 01:14:44,880 a denomination that only only preaches. 1199 01:14:44,880 --> 01:14:46,120 Where are you going to go when you die? 1200 01:14:48,160 --> 01:14:50,640 And to think that they're going to be spiritually mature in that 1201 01:14:50,640 --> 01:15:00,620 area. Another translation says it this 1202 01:15:00,620 --> 01:15:02,700 way. Therefore, let us who are 1203 01:15:02,700 --> 01:15:05,940 perfect again, mature. Embrace this point of view. 1204 01:15:06,260 --> 01:15:09,420 If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your 1205 01:15:09,420 --> 01:15:12,380 ways. In essence, He's saying what I'm 1206 01:15:12,380 --> 01:15:15,660 saying. You need to accept His truth and 1207 01:15:15,660 --> 01:15:20,560 don't think that you should not fiercely pursue that which God 1208 01:15:20,560 --> 01:15:25,360 has apprehended you. Then he says in verse 16, 1209 01:15:25,360 --> 01:15:29,360 Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard that we have 1210 01:15:29,360 --> 01:15:35,240 already attained that we have already attained. 1211 01:15:36,280 --> 01:15:39,120 You know, that's what I love about God's mercy and compassion 1212 01:15:39,760 --> 01:15:42,400 because This is why he told, he said a righteous man may fall 7 1213 01:15:42,400 --> 01:15:46,760 times, but he, he gets back up. Do you understand? 1214 01:15:46,880 --> 01:15:50,400 We can have bumps along the way, we can make wrong choices along 1215 01:15:50,400 --> 01:15:52,760 the way and most of the time we make those wrong choices. 1216 01:15:52,760 --> 01:15:57,760 We say this, I know better, God will forgive you and let's move 1217 01:15:57,760 --> 01:15:59,720 on. But for some, they will allow it 1218 01:15:59,720 --> 01:16:03,160 to entirely derail their life. You know what I've seen? 1219 01:16:03,160 --> 01:16:05,120 You know, the one of the quickest ways that I've watched 1220 01:16:05,760 --> 01:16:09,240 spiritually mature Saints go to immaturity is when they see 1221 01:16:09,240 --> 01:16:17,200 someone who is spiritually mature fail and then the same 1222 01:16:17,200 --> 01:16:20,600 mercy and compassion they want in their lives. 1223 01:16:20,600 --> 01:16:24,880 When they fail, they don't extend it to the one that they 1224 01:16:24,880 --> 01:16:28,640 have held and esteemed as a spiritually mature person. 1225 01:16:30,000 --> 01:16:31,600 And they get so offended by that. 1226 01:16:35,880 --> 01:16:38,960 I've seen it through the years, they walk out of church, walk 1227 01:16:38,960 --> 01:16:42,000 out of fellowship, walk out away from God because someone they 1228 01:16:42,120 --> 01:16:45,160 thought were spiritually mature didn't make it, didn't do 1229 01:16:45,160 --> 01:16:47,520 something right. Now many times there they 1230 01:16:47,520 --> 01:16:50,200 repent, get right with God, go on as if it never happened. 1231 01:16:50,480 --> 01:16:53,520 Some of that's even in a relocation for some based upon 1232 01:16:53,520 --> 01:16:55,160 who whatever they were called to do. 1233 01:16:55,320 --> 01:16:59,160 But the reality is then that other person holds that to them 1234 01:16:59,240 --> 01:17:03,920 and holds on to that, and won't forgive them and justifies their 1235 01:17:03,920 --> 01:17:09,120 new flesh life. But yet we'll tell you Scripture 1236 01:17:09,120 --> 01:17:11,040 because they know it. Do you understand? 1237 01:17:11,760 --> 01:17:17,320 Once you attain knowledge of some things, you can retain 1238 01:17:17,320 --> 01:17:22,000 knowledge even though you're no longer applying the knowledge 1239 01:17:22,000 --> 01:17:29,800 you have retained. Which brings us our last two 1240 01:17:29,840 --> 01:17:33,840 passages of the Scripture. It's the reigning church and 1241 01:17:33,840 --> 01:17:37,400 Ephesians 5, 27. It says that he might present to 1242 01:17:37,400 --> 01:17:44,280 himself the church and all her and all her what having no spot 1243 01:17:44,560 --> 01:17:49,040 or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and 1244 01:17:49,040 --> 01:17:55,800 blameless. Now Pastor Angie and I tag team 1245 01:17:55,800 --> 01:17:59,720 this message years ago concerning the latter rain. 1246 01:18:00,920 --> 01:18:03,520 In fact, when you read that account, James, that the Lord is 1247 01:18:03,520 --> 01:18:10,040 patient as a farmer for the early and latter rain, that the 1248 01:18:10,040 --> 01:18:15,280 reality is the majority interpret that passive scripture 1249 01:18:16,000 --> 01:18:19,880 as harvest. And I'm not going to lie, it is 1250 01:18:19,880 --> 01:18:23,800 harvest. It is harvest. 1251 01:18:24,480 --> 01:18:29,480 OK, However, what is the latter rain for? 1252 01:18:30,320 --> 01:18:38,920 When we say harvest, what are we harvesting now? 1253 01:18:38,920 --> 01:18:42,640 Listen to me. You were dead in your trespasses 1254 01:18:42,640 --> 01:18:50,840 and sin, which means you were something different than what 1255 01:18:50,840 --> 01:18:57,120 you are today. All of us were a seed, and when 1256 01:18:57,120 --> 01:19:01,840 you farmer plants a seed, a seed has a potential in it, but the 1257 01:19:01,840 --> 01:19:06,880 only way that what's in it can come out or be seen is it must 1258 01:19:06,880 --> 01:19:11,080 die, Paul said. Unless a grain of wheat falls 1259 01:19:11,080 --> 01:19:15,160 into the ground and dies, it cannot produce after its own. 1260 01:19:16,800 --> 01:19:23,600 So when you plant yourself the word in you, you die to 1261 01:19:23,600 --> 01:19:26,960 yourself. Then the new person comes out. 1262 01:19:26,960 --> 01:19:35,320 Conversion is a plant. The the early rain comes so that 1263 01:19:35,320 --> 01:19:42,600 this new growth that has come out of a seed that has died is 1264 01:19:42,600 --> 01:19:48,440 there so its roots can get grounded and so that the plant 1265 01:19:48,440 --> 01:19:55,000 itself can grow for the purpose of producing fruit. 1266 01:19:55,960 --> 01:20:00,240 So the fruit is not the law saved. 1267 01:20:01,040 --> 01:20:08,320 The fruit is the believer showing its fruit it's 1268 01:20:08,320 --> 01:20:13,000 producing. The latter rain is so that the 1269 01:20:13,000 --> 01:20:18,840 fruit can get to maturity. In my backyard is a banana tree, 1270 01:20:18,960 --> 01:20:22,400 and I've been going out looking at it because there's an 1271 01:20:22,400 --> 01:20:25,520 indicator that lets me know those bananas are ready to 1272 01:20:25,520 --> 01:20:28,440 harvest and it hasn't gotten there yet. 1273 01:20:28,440 --> 01:20:30,960 Didn't know that plan before, didn't know how that worked 1274 01:20:30,960 --> 01:20:32,360 before. There they were. 1275 01:20:32,360 --> 01:20:34,320 They were never turning yellow. I'm like, why didn't it turn? 1276 01:20:34,320 --> 01:20:37,000 Maybe I need to cut them off. So I cut those things off, 1277 01:20:37,760 --> 01:20:40,040 brought them into the house, and sure enough, they started to 1278 01:20:40,040 --> 01:20:41,400 turn yellow. I'm like, there it was. 1279 01:20:41,520 --> 01:20:44,440 I peeled that banana. I ate that banana and all the 1280 01:20:44,440 --> 01:20:46,320 moisture in my mouth got sucked out. 1281 01:20:46,360 --> 01:20:50,400 I thought I was going to choke. It was the worst taste of banana 1282 01:20:50,400 --> 01:20:52,680 ever had in my life. I'm like, this is disgusting. 1283 01:20:53,200 --> 01:20:55,120 What in the world is going on with this fan? 1284 01:20:55,200 --> 01:20:58,080 It looked great. It it turned yellow. 1285 01:20:58,200 --> 01:21:02,240 It looked like you could, but it was so bitter. 1286 01:21:03,800 --> 01:21:07,800 It was bitter. It sucked all the moisture out 1287 01:21:07,800 --> 01:21:11,360 of my mouth. Well, I didn't realize that 1288 01:21:11,360 --> 01:21:15,560 there's this piece of it that has to completely fall off and 1289 01:21:15,560 --> 01:21:20,000 die, which is an indicator. Now it's ripe and I'm close. 1290 01:21:20,000 --> 01:21:22,840 I got about this much left of what's supposed to fall off that 1291 01:21:22,840 --> 01:21:26,000 I can cut that thing. Then you cut the top out of it 1292 01:21:26,000 --> 01:21:28,160 so that it would produce fruit again the next time you have to 1293 01:21:28,160 --> 01:21:31,120 prune it. OK, that's a different serves. 1294 01:21:31,520 --> 01:21:35,640 All right. I learned that I harvested it at 1295 01:21:35,640 --> 01:21:38,880 the right time. Then it went from green to 1296 01:21:38,880 --> 01:21:40,400 yellow. And when I they were the 1297 01:21:40,400 --> 01:21:46,120 sweetest bananas, the sweetest. So the latter rain is for the 1298 01:21:46,120 --> 01:21:51,320 maturing of the crop. The latter rain is not so much 1299 01:21:51,320 --> 01:21:55,040 for the loss to be saved as much as it is for the church to 1300 01:21:55,040 --> 01:21:57,960 mature. Now don't get me wrong, when the 1301 01:21:57,960 --> 01:22:01,040 church is mature, it'll change the world. 1302 01:22:01,200 --> 01:22:05,200 It'll all of a sudden become a transforming society again. 1303 01:22:05,280 --> 01:22:09,160 It'll be this massive moving force that walks in the power of 1304 01:22:09,160 --> 01:22:13,360 God that is only wanting to seek the purpose and plan of God. 1305 01:22:13,440 --> 01:22:16,720 When we receive this latter rain, it will cause the fruits 1306 01:22:16,720 --> 01:22:20,040 of the Spirit to be able to mature in such a way that when 1307 01:22:20,040 --> 01:22:23,200 we walk around, when we walk through the places, it'll be as 1308 01:22:23,200 --> 01:22:26,640 Miss Wigglesworth said one day when someone got on the bus and 1309 01:22:26,640 --> 01:22:30,000 says, your mere presence convicts me of my sin. 1310 01:22:30,080 --> 01:22:34,560 The glory of God will be in such full display as the outpouring 1311 01:22:34,560 --> 01:22:38,640 of the Spirit in the latter days for the maturing of the church. 1312 01:22:41,600 --> 01:22:45,640 And we want the latter rain, but in order to have the latter 1313 01:22:45,640 --> 01:22:48,400 rain, you're going to have to position yourself. 1314 01:22:49,120 --> 01:22:51,120 You're going to have to start producing fruit. 1315 01:22:51,120 --> 01:23:00,240 Now, glory, means of high repute, free from sin, a most 1316 01:23:00,240 --> 01:23:03,040 glorious condition, most exalted state. 1317 01:23:03,200 --> 01:23:06,080 There's another state of the Church that has yet to be seen 1318 01:23:08,640 --> 01:23:14,960 and it's not just falling on everyone because all you have to 1319 01:23:14,960 --> 01:23:18,240 do is read the book of Revelations to realize that that 1320 01:23:18,240 --> 01:23:24,720 not every church that Jesus was building did he continue some he 1321 01:23:24,720 --> 01:23:26,960 said if you don't repent and get this right, we're talking about 1322 01:23:26,960 --> 01:23:30,360 believers. I'm a pull the lamp, the one he 1323 01:23:30,360 --> 01:23:32,600 says I'm about to spew you out of my mouth. 1324 01:23:35,840 --> 01:23:38,800 Are you hearing me? So second Peter chapter 3, verse 1325 01:23:38,800 --> 01:23:41,800 14, we'll close with this. So beloved, since you are 1326 01:23:41,800 --> 01:23:43,800 looking forward to these things, be diligent. 1327 01:23:43,800 --> 01:23:50,520 Make every effort to be found by Him at his return, spotless and 1328 01:23:50,520 --> 01:23:54,200 blameless, in peace that is inwardly calm with a sense of 1329 01:23:54,200 --> 01:23:57,640 spiritual well-being and confidence, having lived a life 1330 01:23:57,720 --> 01:24:02,320 of obedience to Him. When the greatest things that I 1331 01:24:02,320 --> 01:24:06,080 get to do every day is to wake up and know that I'm obeying my 1332 01:24:06,080 --> 01:24:10,480 Heavenly Father, it gives me the greatest peace to know that I'm 1333 01:24:10,480 --> 01:24:14,080 doing His will. I'm in lockstep with Him. 1334 01:24:14,400 --> 01:24:16,560 I'm I'm doing exactly what He's asked me to do. 1335 01:24:16,560 --> 01:24:18,120 And it doesn't matter the opposition. 1336 01:24:18,120 --> 01:24:20,680 Because when I look at the ones that have gone before me and 1337 01:24:20,680 --> 01:24:23,760 endured much trials and tribulation but finished the 1338 01:24:23,760 --> 01:24:27,080 course, it encourages me to continue to press on. 1339 01:24:27,680 --> 01:24:31,520 And I can't help but press because I'm driven to accomplish 1340 01:24:31,520 --> 01:24:33,400 that which God's called me to do. 1341 01:24:33,640 --> 01:24:36,120 And I want to take a whole group of people with me. 1342 01:24:36,120 --> 01:24:40,440 In fact, God desires us as fivefold ministers to do just 1343 01:24:40,440 --> 01:24:43,320 that. And it is a lot of effort. 1344 01:24:44,360 --> 01:24:51,040 It is to weariness. Pastor, are you under a lot of 1345 01:24:51,040 --> 01:24:56,520 pressure? Always, But by the grace of God, 1346 01:24:57,240 --> 01:24:59,560 I said by the grace of God, I'm not complaining. 1347 01:24:59,560 --> 01:25:02,800 I'm just telling you like it is for what purpose? 1348 01:25:03,200 --> 01:25:09,720 To mature you so that when you attain to it, you'll retain it 1349 01:25:10,240 --> 01:25:14,320 and you'll walk in it. And man, when the next wave of 1350 01:25:14,320 --> 01:25:17,560 new believers come in and the next wave of new believers, you 1351 01:25:17,560 --> 01:25:19,800 know, what I've loved about Anchor Faith Church through the 1352 01:25:19,800 --> 01:25:24,000 years is that we create this layer of people that grow so 1353 01:25:24,000 --> 01:25:26,840 that then when the next layer comes, there's more than myself, 1354 01:25:26,840 --> 01:25:29,040 my wife, and a few others that are walking in spiritual 1355 01:25:29,040 --> 01:25:31,400 maturity. There's so many Saints doing it, 1356 01:25:31,520 --> 01:25:35,160 and it just keeps filtering out that the base of maturity keeps 1357 01:25:35,160 --> 01:25:37,880 to getting larger and larger. What's so awesome about a base 1358 01:25:37,880 --> 01:25:40,760 of maturity? It can sustain a larger base of 1359 01:25:40,760 --> 01:25:46,640 immaturity. If we want a larger harvest of 1360 01:25:46,640 --> 01:25:52,240 babes, then we must develop a stronger foundation of maturity. 1361 01:25:52,680 --> 01:25:55,840 That way, when they start to struggle, you'll be able to say 1362 01:25:56,120 --> 01:26:00,520 what does the word say? And they'll call you a cult 1363 01:26:00,520 --> 01:26:02,480 because you'll all say the same thing. 1364 01:26:02,720 --> 01:26:06,200 It is a culture. We live in a Kingdom and we say, 1365 01:26:06,200 --> 01:26:08,440 well, what does the king say about this? 1366 01:26:09,000 --> 01:26:11,160 What does the king say about this? 1367 01:26:11,320 --> 01:26:13,920 What does the word say? Well, how come everybody says 1368 01:26:13,920 --> 01:26:16,400 what does the word say? What else is there? 1369 01:26:17,560 --> 01:26:21,080 Peter says you have the words of life. 1370 01:26:24,600 --> 01:26:30,120 So this year's the Reigning Church and I want to kick this 1371 01:26:30,120 --> 01:26:36,720 year off because the most attacked organization on the 1372 01:26:36,720 --> 01:26:43,280 planet is in this building. This is why you're attacked, 1373 01:26:43,840 --> 01:26:50,760 because you house the power of God and the only way that we 1374 01:26:50,760 --> 01:26:59,080 survive and thrive is we are intentional to say I will never 1375 01:26:59,080 --> 01:27:01,920 let someone Take Me Out of my fit. 1376 01:27:02,640 --> 01:27:08,360 I will pursue it with passion till he returns or I go to be 1377 01:27:08,360 --> 01:27:14,840 with him. And I will be in unity with the 1378 01:27:14,840 --> 01:27:19,520 brethren. I'll be in unity. 1379 01:27:19,920 --> 01:27:24,360 I'm going to find my fit, do my part, because the people in this 1380 01:27:24,360 --> 01:27:30,360 room depends on it. They depend on me coming all the 1381 01:27:30,360 --> 01:27:34,080 time, showing up, doing what God's called me to do.