You know, as I've been praying for you guys and just asking the
Lord what to share, I really feel like the Lord was just
speaking to me about having obedient faith, having faith
that obeys. Today I want to share with you
in the word of God in Hebrews 11/8.
But before I do that, you know this young generation that we're
working with this, this generation that we work with is
young adults, 18 to 30 years old.
Every Friday night that we are meeting and ministering to this
young generation. That's the age group that the
Lord has mandated to us to work with.
We don't have a church. We have fellowships that meet
every Friday night where people aren't up in the clubs and doing
stuff they're not supposed to do.
But every Friday we have 4 campuses that are across Uganda
that are meeting that have a full band.
Then we have campus leaders that are ministering there and then
we have fellowship with each one of them.
But this campus, these campus students are a very, I would say
extremely the, the campus students there, they'll do
anything on a drop of a hat. And I don't know if you've heard
of this thing on YouTube, it's called yes theory.
But what these influencers will do is they will pick up someone
and they'll take them and they'll stand at the airport and
they'll say, Hey, pastor or so. And so you want to go on a date
with this person, go all the way to Italy right on the stop drop,
drop your hat, drop everything and come with me on this trip.
And we have this generation that is fearless and they do things
and they'll step out when things don't make sense.
I'm talking to you about stepping out to do things when
things don't make sense. Today the Bible says in Hebrews
11/8 it says by faith Abraham when called to go to a place he
would later receive his inheritance, obeyed and he went
even though he did not know where he was going.
So here is Abraham, the first missionary ever sent out in the
word of God. The man gets a word and he has a
simple word to step out and to go somewhere where he doesn't
even know where to go. Unknown, not known, unfamiliar,
not identified. Stepping out of his own country.
I wonder if someone today, the Lord is speaking to you about
stepping out of your own country.
Maybe stepping out of your own comfort zone.
Maybe stuffing out of the stuff that's been normed to you, the
things that's been familiar to you, the things that you know,
the things of the surroundings that are normal and comfortable
for you. What if the Lord shakes you a
little bit and says it's time to step, to do something different?
Maybe it's a nation, maybe it's a county, maybe it's a new job.
Maybe it's opening a cell group, maybe it's taking on the worship
team. What is it that the Lord is
shaking you to step out to do? Many people will have to see
things before they do and that's not the Bible kind of faith.
Stepping out into the unknown by trusting Abraham obeyed after
being called to go out to a place which God would give them
as a possession. Indeed, he went out without
knowing where he was going. God didn't even tell this man
where to go. He just said go.
My mother-in-law, Pastor Earl, she began to like pack all these
boxes. I said, what are you doing?
And at when she was living in Michigan, she began to just pack
boxes. I said, where you going, Maggie?
She says, I don't know, but I just been told I'm to go.
So she just packing boxes, getting ready.
Everyone say getting ready by faith, you see, in Ezekiel 2230,
it says he looked for someone among them who would build up
the walls and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so
that I would not have to destroy it.
But the Bible says that he found none.
One of the saddest scriptures. In all scripture I need someone
to stand in the gap and that will go for me.
In Hebrews 10, Hebrews 11/8, it says by faith Abraham, when
called to go to a place he would later receive his inheritance,
obeyed even though he did not know where he was going.
You see, Abraham was God's first missionary.
This word means sent one. He is not sent by his own plan,
his own purposes, what he wants to do.
But the Lord said, listen, I'm calling you and I'm sending you
to the nations. And I went to Raymond and I
thought I would be a youth pastor.
Go there and go back to Michigan and run this hip, cool youth
ministry. And then the Lord began to speak
to me about going to Africa. You see, Abraham was the first
missionary. What is God telling you to
pursue something that's maybe unknown in your life?
In Genesis 12/1 it says. Then the Lord said to Abraham,
go from your country, from your people, from your father's
household to the land I will show you, and I will make you
into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your
name great, and you will be a blessing.
And I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you, I
will curse you, and all the people on earth will be blessed
through you. Everyone say through you, it
says that he was called out or he was a sent one.
Maybe for you, you need to step out of a comfort zone.
Maybe you need to step out of the current situation that
you've been in because the Lord is leading you out into
something different. In Romans 10/14 it says how can
them that they call on the 1:00 they have not believed and how
can they believe in the one whom they have not heard and how can
they hear without someone preaching to them?
Verse 15 says and how can the anyone preach unless they are
sent That is it is written beautiful are the feet who bring
good news. You see, we got to get out of
our country. What are the things that maybe
you need to get out of so that you can get into what are the
things in your life that you need to get out of so that you
can get into what God wants you to do with your life.
You know, there's areas of our lives that were entrapped by the
flesh and they feel good. But if God really told us to do
something, could we do it or we bound or held back by those
things, simple things. Oh, you have a car payment, You
have a house payment. If God really called you to go,
could you let go of that stuff to go do what God called you to
do? And it's OK to have stuff.
And I know Pastor preaches excellent with in how we're
supposed to prosper, but we don't need things to keep us and
to hold us from what the will of God is to do when we're called
to go. And it might be called to go
just to a county over. It might be called to go to a
state over. But pastors going to be sending
people out that this is a sending church, that we're not a
holding church, but we're equipping people and we're
sending you and we're getting you ready to go to the places
and the highways and the byways that the Lord has for you so
that you can make a impact and God can work through you.
Amen. So we're not sitting down and
just getting fatter and listening to other more messages
and more messages and getting fat on the word and follow
around Joyce Meyers again and again and again until we hear
another message and say, well, that message didn't have enough
revelation for me. Well, what are we doing with the
revelation that the Lord has given to us?
How are we using it? What are we doing with the
mandate of the Lord has given to each one of us?
Should we just preach this like we're in Africa?
Amen. So my first point is we must
have faith to obey. The first thing that Abraham had
to have is he had to have faith to obey.
I had to have faith to give me to Raima, had faith to leave
Raima. There's still people living in
Tulsa, OK. There's still people in Saint
Augustine. There's still green seats.
Well, Abraham still didn't know where he was going.
He didn't know what God was up to.
It doesn't tell him where to go, it just tells him to go.
Do you have an ear to hear what God is saying enough to know
when he's speaking to even get that revelation?
There's so many things that are buying for our attention, and
they're great things, but we've got to have an ear to hear what
God is saying to do Hallelujah, obey.
And he went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Sometimes all we have is a word. All we have is a word that was
spoken by God. The Lord told him to gather all
of your belongings, gather your household, gather all of your
workers, all your employees, get them together.
Load up the the tractor, load up the animals, load up everything.
Get ready to go. Where we going, boss?
We don't know we're going. God always does the right thing,
even if it seems absurd or it doesn't make sense.
You know the Bible says to lean not to your own understanding.
It doesn't lean not to your thinking.
Don't lean to your way of thinking.
Don't lean to what your mind says to do.
Lean to into what the Holy Ghost is saying to do.
And I didn't even know where Africa was on the map.
I mean, I knew Africa, but I didn't know where Uganda was.
We were in South Africa serving and doing things, and then we
felt like our time was off. I had to look on the map, where
is Uganda? And my wife grew up in Kenya.
I thought we'd go back to Kenya. We went to Zambia to visit the
Sures, thought maybe it'd be Zambia.
We went to Botswana. Wasn't that?
And then the Lord says that Uganda is the place God always
does the right scene thing when it seems absurd.
Abraham got a single word. He did not get a paragraph.
He didn't get a chapter. He didn't get a book.
He didn't have to know the whole revelation.
Well, what about this or how much about this, or what do I
got to do to do this or what about that?
No, he stepped out on a word. Hallelujah.
The second thing I want to share with you is what you do first
determines what God does next. We don't get to 2nd grade until
you pass first grade, right? I had these new shoes given to
me. Pastor Earl sent in all the way
from America. I mean, we only can go to the
resale shops there and, and, and buy used stuff.
So I had these new shoes sent next to me and I was like, Lord,
these are nice. Lord told me right when I'm
opening the box, give those away to someone.
Amen. What he says first will
determine what he says next. It meant if you can't give away
your shoes, how you going to get to the nations?
What you do first determines what he does next.
He said, get out, don't stay. Then I'll show up.
Genesis 12, seven says then the Lord appeared to Abraham and
said, I will give you the land to all your descendants.
Now he's beginning to give him a little bit more revelation
because Abraham took that first step.
Now he's like, listen, I'm going to give you some land.
Let me try this side. I'm going to give you some land.
Who needs some land? Maybe Hallelujah, a land of our
own, a place. But if you can't give that extra
$50 away, you can't sew into the missions, you can't open the
cell group. You can't do the little thing.
If you don't do what's first, you can't get to 2nd.
The guy didn't even know where he was going.
He's just loading up his his camels and all of his donkeys,
everything. He's heading out.
Me and Angela went to Africa with two bags of luggage each.
That's it. Being obedient to do the will of
God, Amen. And I know that you want to do
the will of God as well, Amen. And you will fulfill that.
You know, we had this girl Tracy, that's in our ministry.
She came up to the to the front of the church and she's waiting
for pastor to give her this big revelation in his word because
she's like, I need some tuition, pastor and I haven't been able
to meet my school fees and pay for my college.
And, and I said, well, what do you have, Tracy?
And she basically had 2000 shillings.
It's probably about $3 at the time.
And I said, you need to sow that seed.
So she waited till yesterday or the next day and then she went
to school and she found someone to, to give that person just a
little bit of chapati, as we call it, or flat bread.
And she bought him a nice little lunch.
She said, pastor at the evening someone called me a member of
Parliament and they paid for all my college tuition.
Let me all of her college tuition was paid for because she
bought a piece of flatbread. She bought a little chapati for
someone, a Panera Bread, Hallelujah.
She was able to sow a seed and do something out of obedience.
I wonder what the Lord is asking you to do and to be obedient
with. Are you holding on to that 100
so tight? Are you holding on to that
thousand so tight? Are you holding on to that house
when you're supposed to sew it? How many of you have sewed cars
before? I've sewn a couple cars before
just giving away cars. Hallelujah.
We want to get to a place. Pastor was encouraging me.
We're getting to a place where where with Jairus, he was saying
it's, it's not about that him, it's about the servant, right?
What you do first determines what God does. 2nd.
After he does the first instructions, then you'll get
the next step and you're like, well, Lord, I don't know.
I don't know what what's the will of God or and you're
praying and you're praying about stuff, but you haven't done what
he told you to do. You haven't opened that that
that cell group. You haven't taken that job that
you were supposed to take because you're doing what you
want to do. You put in the flesh first.
The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, Amen.
And we've got to push down some things, Amen.
It's not about your comfort, it's about your obedience.
And, and America is all about our comfort.
And I love it when we come. But when Uganda, when we're
there and the power is going out and the electricity is not
working and the water is broken and, and, and the water is not
running, you haven't showered in a month and traffic's coming at
you sideways because the third world country, it's not easy.
But it's not about me, it's about the nation.
After he does the first instructions, he gets a second.
He does not give the 2nd until he fulfills everyone.
Say, fulfill, Say what has he spoken to me about?
Say what has he spoken to me about?
What is he speaking to you about doing?
Are we in the motions? We come in, go out, come in.
Are we in the motions? Are we doing the will of God?
I don't want to come to be this her pastor.
Most people want to understand everything.
They want to see the complete end and not walk by faith, not
step out, not take the first step.
If you could see it, touched it and feel it.
And pastors teaches you this, that's not faith, right?
If you want to feel your healing before you're healed, that's not
how it works. We stand and we rejoice even in
the midst of how our body feels like, Amen.
No matter what our circumstance looks like, no matter what we're
going through, we stand in front of it and we, we rejoice, Amen,
Because we know it's done. You know, one of our girls, her
name was Agnes. She started with us in the
ministry and she was going into the schools and reaching a
thousands of students with us. She was teaching about 100 every
every three days and teaching the purity program and doing an
amazing job at it. And then pastor, she was
faithful over the little and she came to me at the end of her
school year after university said, I, pastor, I think I'm
going to have to quit, you know, I need an internship.
And I said, no, no, no, let's wait and see what the Lord does.
Amen. We began to pray together and
there was this couple from California that was out in
Uganda making these sandals that kind of wrap around your ankle
like gladiators. And I knew as soon as I released
Agnes to them, she was gonna probably be gone forever.
And then 'cause she was one of our great leaders, but she began
to be faithful over those few steps and, and she would.
Do you know, some people, Pastor, I'm sure you experienced
that. Some listen and don't, some
don't. Amen.
But everything that I would share with her to do, she would
do. And her life just got so
blessed. Now she's the CEO of this
company and and overseeing all these sandals in Uganda and
connected with the president. She spoke at Willow Creek in
front of 5000 people at the at the conference there.
These sandals are in Macy's and Nordstroms.
But God did it through the faithfulness of obeying the
number one word right of doing what is right for the first
thing Hebrews 4/2 it says unto us was the gospel preached as
well as unto them, but the but the word preached did not profit
them not being mixed. Everyone say mixed with faith in
them that they heard it. You see, you got to mix it.
You got to what you hear. You got to step out to do what
God told you to do Amen. Amen.
Everyone say that's me, that's me.
He did not just say he did not stay in his prayer closet.
The in Uganda, they do these things, they're called
overnighters that you stay in the church all night long and
just Hyundai, Hyundai it all night long and you pray and I'm
like, you need to get out and get a job, bro, not be in the
church all night. Amen.
So we're just not staying in our prayer closet.
No, he had to obey Abraham's like, no, no, I got to pray this
one out. I got to spend some time in
prayer. I got to intercede.
I got to see if no, the man began to step out and do He
mixed it with faith. Everyone say mix.
You see, most people don't like to be out on the edge because it
scares them. They're in fear.
If I told you God called you to go to Africa, you would look at
me. What that that you got the wrong
man because of fear. But when we walk by faith, we're
not in fear, Amen. Because we're of a different
spirit. Amen.
You know, some people get nervous because of the they've
never experienced something before it.
You know, they've never done this before.
Are you with me today? You know, I always told my my
daughters, just do what I say, Amen.
I'm sure you're teenagers might be the same way.
But Alexis, just do what I say. Just do what your father says
and you'll eat the benefits. You'll reap the benefits.
If you're willing and obedient, you'll eat the good of the land.
Amen. Just do what your father says.
What is he asking you to do first so that you can get to the
second thing? Matthew 1929 It says in everyone
who has left house, brothers or sisters, father and mother or
wife or children or fields, for my sake will receive 100 times
as much and will inherit eternal life.
Amen. Because you stepped out to do
the will of God, you push down the desires of your own to do
your Heavenly Father's will, whatever that might be.
And not everyone is called to be a missionary, but you're called
to be obedient. He's not called you to comfort,
He's called you to obedience. Amen.
The third thing that we can see through Scripture, verse 2, it
says I will make you into a great nation and I will bless
you. I will make your name great and
you will be a blessing. You see, God wants to make you.
He wants to make you into what He's called you to do.
When we went to Africa, we didn't know what we're doing,
but God is making us. He's refining us into what He
wants us to be and He's still making us say, you see, God
doesn't call these that are qualified, but He qualifies the
people that He calls. Let me say that again for you.
God doesn't call these that are qualified, but He qualifies the
people that are called. He's making you in first
Corinthians 127 says, but God has chosen the foolish things of
the world to put to shame the wise, and God chose has chosen
the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which
are mighty. You see, He's making you.
You don't have to have it all together.
All you have to do is be obedient to do what he's called
to you to do every step. Hallelujah.
We had this guy that was he just got born again in our ministry
and he said, pastor, I don't know any scriptures.
I said, that's fine. You can just come and pass out
hot dogs, Amen. Jesus learned through the things
that we suffered, right, serving in the Kingdom of God.
Everyone say serving, serving is what refines us, Amen.
Every part of this church you should be involved in serving in
some capacity. That should maybe your first
step, that's maybe kindergarten for you, is to join the Archer
team. Hallelujah.
It's not about us, guys. If I can go all the way to
Africa, you can put on that blacks, that black, black, black
shirt, right? God picks the foolish things to
be Kingdom builders. We had this guy Pastor, his name
is Easton and he was a part of our team for a little bit and we
usually celebrate everyone's birthday.
So we got him a birthday cake at staff meeting.
We began to put it in front of him and he began to weep
profusely. How old was he?
Like 20-3 years old, 22 years old and he's like Easton, what
is going on? What's your problem?
He said, this is the 1st birthday cake that I ever
received. Pastor, you don't know, but I've
been, I'm an orphan and I'm sleeping in the closet at the
church. We're talking about God using
the foolish things. And now he's our camera guy.
And now he's working with graphics and, and now God is
shifting his life around because he's able to step into the
things that he's supposed to do for the kingdom's sake.
He made us into missionaries. You see, there's a lot of
believers, but there's not a lot of disciples that will go.
I wonder what God is asking you. I wonder what sector God is
asking you to be a part of. I wonder where He's calling you
to go today or to get into or get out of.
And Isaiah 6-8 it says, then I heard the voice of the Lord
saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us?
And I said, here am I send me. The next thing that we can see
about Abraham. Our fourth point for you today
is that he lived on a promise. Hebrews 11/9 says by faith he
made his home in the promised land.
Like a stranger in a foreign country.
He lived in tents and as Isaac and Jacob to heirs of him of the
same promise. Everyone say he was living on a
promise. Do you see the word of God that
I am living on to be in Uganda is the word of God that he spoke
to me to go to Uganda, the word of God and it said Matt and
Angela, I Commission you, I tell you, I ordain you, I send you to
go to the nations and I open up Uganda for you.
I am living on a word. I am standing on a spoken word
that was spoken to me when my kids have malaria, when I'm my
my house is robbed, when my car is damaged, when motorcycles,
they steal the whole sound system.
I am living on a word that was spoken to me to be in Uganda.
I wonder what word you've been living on for 21 years.
Or you get in a bigger boat, or you redo it in your kitchen for
the third time. You got your benzo now, and
those are cool things. What word are you living on?
Abraham was living on a single word to go Hallelujah.
Stretch forth your faith, my people.
He wants to bless you, but we have to be obedient to live upon
His Word. Amen.
Genesis 12/2 it says I will make you into a great nation and I
will bless you and I will make you into a great nation and you
will be a blessing. You see, you're to be a blessing
for someone else. You're blessed and you step out
for someone else. Thousands of kids, I can't
believe it, have been blessed through us because of my small
obedience to go to Uganda from Rhema.
We had this guy named Nicholas Pastor in our ministry and he,
he, I didn't know, but Nicholas was walking 30 minutes to get to
our discipleship classes. He said I was chasing after you
because you are a Bazoomgu, a white guy.
They say because you're white. I thought you were rich.
You give me money, but you gave us so much more.
You gave us the word of God. So then Nicholas, after he went
through our discipleship class, he went back to the village
about 6 hours away where you can't even see your hand in
front of your face at night, it's so dark.
And he's like, I'm going to put a school there.
There's no schools there. And he built a school out of cow
dung and thatch with thatch roof, cow dung and bricks.
He put it together. He has 100 students in it, in
the middle of the woods in Nowhereville.
And then because he did that, he stepped out.
There was another school that was started living on a word.
I wonder what the word is that He spoke to you to do.
Is this speaking to anybody? The next thing that He says #5
One of my last points for you says I will bless you.
You see, God is in the blessing business, Amen.
Genesis 12/2 it says, I will bless you and I will make your
name great and you will be a blessing.
Hebrews 1035 it says and but my righteous one will live by
faith, and I take no pleasure in one who shrinks back.
He's going to bless you when you don't shrink back.
That David ran to Goliath. God makes His promise good where
He is, not what not where you want to be.
But He makes His promise good where He wants to be, where He
commanded you to go. Are you with me today?
He makes His promise good where you're supposed to be, not where
you are. You see, when I throw the
football and I get ready to throw a touchdown, I'm not
throwing it to the receiver where he is.
I'm throwing it to where He's going to be and when he hits
that intended spot, he's going to catch that.
And many of you aren't living in the blessing is because you're
not at the place called there. He has a place that's called
there for you where he wants you to be and that you will live a
blessed life if you get there. God makes his promise good.
He'll make his provision good there too.
And God is supplying and we've been able to only be in Uganda
21 years is because God's faithfulness and that's his will
of God for his life. Every time I come back to
America, Lord, I ask Pastor Earl, is that Lord, am I gonna
get to go back 'cause I can't do it on my own.
I can't go there in my own flesh.
I can't even live a day there without the, the anointing and
the, the grace of God upon my life.
It's dangerous people to, to be out of the will of God.
It's dangerous when you're not in the place that God has called
you to be. Sometimes we have to pray and
say, Lord, is this even the vacation that we're supposed to
do? And we one time we went up and
people kicked in our doors and stole everything 'cause it
wasn't where we're supposed to be.
We thought, well, that's the enemy.
Yes, it's the enemy, but He gives us wisdom to be in the
right place at the right time, intersecting the blessings of
God, and He wants to bless you. Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Am I speaking to some people? Some of you are not experiencing
supernatural provision because you're not at the place called
the unknown. I never thought that I would be
in Uganda, but we're obedient to do the will of God, and I will
make you into a great nation and I will bless you.
If Abraham would have stayed there, he could have prayed, he
could have begged, he could have asked the Lord, he could have
threw ashes up. He could have done this over and
over again and he could have. But that was the place he could
have remained because each one of us have a free will.
I didn't make my wife come down the altar.
It meant she has a free will, and you have a free will to
either say yes or no to whatever the instructions are that God is
instructing you to do. Amen.
You know, we have this guy named Franklin that's a part of our
ministry. And, you know, he was going to
medical school at the time and he was playing drums for us.
And he, he kept on trying to get to Australia.
And I said, Franklin, I really don't feel like you're supposed
to go to Australia as his oversight.
And I was like, just stay here in Uganda.
Everyone wants to go to America, wants to go to Australia, wants
to go to England, going to get to the place.
The green is not always, the grass is not always green,
right? I said, you just stay.
And he began to stay and study for two years and three years.
And the Lord gave him this open vision.
He was able to buy land to put a hospital now and he built a
hospital there in Uganda. He said, Pastor, I'm going to
build a hospital where where the women can't.
They have no place to deliver babies and they're dying.
I'm going to put a hospital in the middle of nowhere.
Franklin began to build that hospital.
We had some friends come over from San Antonio.
They built a hospital in another area of Toro in the north.
And they said, you know, we need someone good to help us.
And Franklin began to help them and began to get them medicine
and doctors and facilities and stuff.
And they, they had to go back after six years and that what
did they do? They turned over the hospital to
Franklin. He's got 2 hospitals now.
Amen. Being obedient to sow into one
man over and over and over again that we are pouring into
Franklin's life, Amen. Now he's reaching hundreds and
thousands of people in Jerusalem, Judea, the uttermost
parts, Amen. I'm not in the uttermost parts.
I'm right in the city ministering to the campus
students who are then reaching the Bush.
You see the powers in the little, the small things, the
one soul, the one person that you're supposed to bring along
and disciple. The one person that you're
supposed to baptize in the Holy Ghost that you haven't stepped
out to do. The one person that you're
supposed to invite to church. The one person that you're
supposed to walk through that book with one soul at a time.
Amen. God made a promise to Abraham
and he's living on a promise. Amen.
The last thing I want to share with you today is the most
powerful thing that I could see about this scripture that I read
with you is basically that Abraham went in a family and he
came out a nation. Hear me today, Abraham went in a
family and came out a nation because of his obedience to do
the will of God. He went in with four or two kids
and a wife. He went in and then thousands of
students are being impacted. What did Abraham, What was it
the Lord told him? Look up to the sky.
As many as the stars that you can see will be your descendants
because of your obedience not to stay, but to go where I've
commanded you to go. You're going to come out a
nation who's ready to to change Saint Augustine, who's ready to
change this area, who's ready to see something happen in this
city Because of your obedience, Hallelujah, because of your
obedience. Because of your obedience,
thousands of people can be impacted.
It's not about you.