March 31, 2026
I'm so glad you're here tonight. This might be one of the second greatest privileges of my life. One of the top privileges of my life to be part of something God's doing in our midst. There's nothing magical about what happens in here. There's nothing specific any one person. It's just the goodness of God and the giftings he's put in us. And it's just such a joy to be with you. And I want to thank you for coming and being here tonight and being part of it. in early July, late June, there's a couple in our Church and she specifically a lot of times can have a prophecy, which if you're new to Church, just simply means a download, if you will. That's probably good 2026 lingo, from God, with a message. And we see this gifting and we see people that would walk in the office of a prophet all throughout Scripture and throughout the Old Testament. And God would use that person to be a voice. And in this day and time in the New Testament on and in this side of this walk with the Lord, some things some gifts can be abused and mistreated and used incorrectly. But I just want to encourage you that anytime somebody ever has a Word of the Lord or a Word of encouragement for you, it should never really be directional. It's always going to be encouraging and confirming. God's going to speak to you and he can use somebody to bring a lift in your life to get you thinking a certain way or it can be a confirmation. It can be something that God's already spoken to you but you're very nervous about. You're thinking, "God, I need to know. " And sometimes somebody come along and say, "Hey, God drops in my heart to share with you. " That's that gifting.
That's that gift of a prophetic encou encouragement or confirmation to you. And so anyway, she said Jeremy, she said, "I feel like God's put something on my heart to want to share with you. " And I said, "Well, I'm very open to that. " And we met for coffee at the ranch house. And the first thing she told me is, she said, "I feel like God put in my heart that he wants you to have a habitat for him to inhabit. " A habitat for him to inhabit. And she began to say a lot of great things. And I want to share a few of them with you because they pertain to you also and the great things that God wants to do in our lives. I won't share all of it with you, but she said there are needs that God is ready to meet in regards to having our own building or our own habitat. And he said there she said what God put in her heart to share with me. There are needs that God is ready to meet and giftings he is ready to use. That's you. The giftings, the Bible says God gives gifts without repentance. The gifting, that thing that you do well that you don't understand why other people don't do on their own is gifting in your life and it belongs to the Lord. You give it back to him and we want to use it in his house. But there's giftings that God wants, he wants to use the giftings he's put in you to bring him glory. And he says, she said, the Lord said this, there are needs God is ready to meet and giftings he is ready to use. God wants to grow people with an emphasis on people that this is new for them. What we would call newbies. People that maybe didn't spend a lifetime in Church.
People that maybe are coming back to God for the first time and haven't spent their life in Church. This is new for them. And God wants to grow and and build people. God will provide the help to accomplish all that he has in the works. People will come for God's presence and the hope that they find there. God's heart is to have a place to inhabit, a dwelling place where he can rest. Covenant is a living organism and not a not a Church or religious organization. And then she read this Scripture. Anytime somebody gives you an encouraging Word, it's always good that there's Scripture that goes with it. That it's not just, too much pepperoni from the night before, but there's biblical precedence for what they're sharing with you. Ezekiel 36 8-11, it says, "But you, oh mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. For behold, I am for you and I will turn to you and you shall be tilled and sown. And that really highlight I want to highlight something I've been saying the last couple weeks that when you plant the seed of your life and the soil of God's house, it cannot not produce. And what God has put in the seed will come to full fruition and exceed your expectations. And so I found this very interesting when I was reading the Scripture that for behold I am for you and I will turn to you and you shall be tilled the soil of our hearts and the soil of this culture will be tilled and sown with seed with people and I will multiply people on you the whole house of Israel all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. And I will multiply on you man and beast and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. And here's all I want to share with you and what I want to encourage you with is that this idea, this opportunity for the building, I've shared some of it with you is a God deal.
And the reason I'm sharing this with you is number one, I want you to understand that you're part of this. This isn't some wild hair that well, Jeremy's done. No, no, no, no, no. We have purchased a building and we are moving at God's direction to be part of something because God's wanting to do something bigger in you, with you, and through you. And so what happened when I read this or when she shared this with me, we met for coffee. This was in early July. And I had my grip on what I thought the plan was. I had my grip. I don't know if you guys are like this, maybe it's just me, but I had a grip on how my life's going to go and how this project is going to go and how this initiative is going to go. And we hold on to things pretty tight. And I'm holding on to it. And all that happened in this conversation was I said, "Okay, God. " And it and I heard it and there's a couple of things she said. And it allowed me to release my grip. That's all I can tell you. That's all I can explain to you. I just let go. I my loosened my grip on what I thought it was supposed to be. And a few weeks later, the process that it's not my business. They closed their doors.
They left all the things. And so I go to look at this building and of course it's way out of our price range. And then they posted it and it was still way out of our price range. And it just it wasn't really an option. And I shared with this I think with you already that I was praying about it in my living room. And as I was praying about it, just praying, God, is this a distraction? Do I need to like am I am I am I getting hyperfocused on something that's a distraction from what you're trying to accomplish? Or is this something that I need to be paying attention to and taking action and taking steps on? And what God dropped in my heart in that moment of prayer time was that he spoke to my heart and said that he's the one that makes the walls fall. He said, "I'm the one that makes the walls fall in my heart. " And I knew what that meant. If you're new to Church, it's the story of Jericho marching around the city walls when they first took the promised land. And so God caused the walls to fall. And I said, "Okay, God. I know what that means, but I need what the marching orders are. I need to know what we're how to do this. I can believe you for things. You're going to you can do supernatural. You can cause this to happen. You've caused me to loosen my grip.
You've spoken your Word. " And here's the deal. When God speaks his Word, it can't not produce. So, you get to decide if you want your giftings to be part of this. You get to decide if you want to be in this in this what God's doing. Because look, God's doing it. He's doing it for us, with us, through us, among us, whatever preposition you want to put in there. We get to be part of what he's doing. And so, he has brought this opportunity to us. And so, I said, God, he said, I'm the one that makes Walth. I said, okay. And so, some time went by and I went by and I went and looked at the building just walking around with no way of doing anything. talked to the realtor, walked around and thought, "Boy, this would be a cool building to have Church in. " And we'd look at that, you always think, "Man, I could do this with this building. I could do that with that building. " Happens a lot. Walked through, but no way of being able to physically do anything. Just walking around, just maybe somebody will hand it to me. what I'm saying? LIKE, I'M WIDE OPEN TO HOW YOU want to do this, God.
And so, I'm walking around all the things. Couple months go by and of course, we have the academy. I'm teaching chapel at the academy. I get to talking to Holly because we're in Brad and Holly's building. And I'm talking to Holly and she's talking to me about the mighty name of Jesus. The song that we've sang several times and I said, "Yeah, I can't think of what it is. " This was a while back. And so she texted to me later so I could listen to it. I'm sitting in the parking lot over here and I'm just telling you the story because I want you to be excited about this building opportunity. I'm sitting in the parking lot over here in the corner and I'm listening to the song and it's just reinforcing who we are. Can I tell you how powerful it is to let the Word wash over you, remind you of who you are that you have sometimes have to sit in your car and sit in the parking lot, sit at home, whatever it is, turn the TV off and remind yourself of who you are. And I'm sitting there and I'm listening to this and talking about the authority that we walk in and the victory we have and the impact. I'm just listening this ministering to me and I was thinking, man, I'm gonna call that lady. I'm gonna call her. I got wound up. The Holy Spirit got me wound up. what I mean? I just said, "I'm going to call her. " And so I just called her and I said, I said, "Ma'am, here's what I can offer you. " I said, "We're a young Church in a small town.
I don't know if you guys know there's a big difference between for-profit and nonprofit, okay? It's a different kind of faith that we're working with here. " And I said, "This is what this is what I said. I know it's super low, and I s I know that it that it's not what you're asking, and I know that, I know that, but I said, I just want to throw my hat in the ring. " That was it. Couple months go by, I never heard a Word. People say, "Man, did you hear anything? You heard anything? " I said, "No, as far as I'm concerned, they probably just dismissed it. Just threw it out. Threw it out. Didn't even maybe didn't even turn it in. I don't know. " And then randomly I get a text and I'm going to mess some of these details up, but I randomly get a text and says, "Hey, it was during the government shutdown in the fall. They said we want to do this d and said we'll need to fill out a new contract. " And I was like, "Oh, okay. " That was it. then like another I filled it out. Another month or two goes by. I never heard a thing.
Nothing. Never called him, never asked him. When I tell you we didn't chase it down or run after it, we didn't chase it down or run after it. And so I get another text a while back and says, "Would you be they would like a little bit more, would you be willing to offer this amount? They'd like to get this and if you would come up, I think they'd really sell it for this. " And I chirped back a few days later and said, "No, we're just going to keep our original offer. I'm not going to bid against myself. " So, what I'm saying? Common sense sometimes you Hey. And so I said I said, "No, we have to keep our original offer. " And some of it was just it's already a step of faith, let me assure you. And so some time goes by and then I got the call and said that the bank wants to sell it to us and then they went through these great efforts. I'll leave some details out to went and make it happen to retrieve it and make it feasible for us to have. And of course now that we're officially under contract. They just did the appraisal. The bank just did the appraisal for it and we are able to acquire it for less than half of what it just got appraised for after all of the auction, all the things. So, it has been a huge blessing already to us. And now I tell you that to tell you that the plan as of right now is to have an Easter service in there and have an Easter party in there. But here's what that means. I'm setting y'all up.
Okay. What that means is because they've already the people have already approved the appraisal. They've already done that. They've already ordered the title work, there's a very good chance it could be officially be closed and we could have the title work and have the keys and all of that. That said, we'll only have a few days to have a work day. The first of many for your giftings to shine. Okay. And and so that's the plan as of right now and we're going to continue to press for it. you can continue to believe for it. Go ahead and get preparing yourself for those few days before Easter to be able to have a a work day. I'm going to do my best to get the electricity on and all of that. And we want to be there. If it doesn't work out, we're going to come back to this ratty old place. That's a joke. That's not a joke. Okay? I'm just teasing. I'm just teasing. If it doesn't work out, we're going to be right here for a great Easter service. Okay?
But that's the plan. And I and I say all that to communicate our plans, but also to get you excited because listen to me. This is something God's doing with you and God's going to use you and you're going to be a part of it in hand. And listen, listen, a little bit of financial support, a little bit of opportunity. This is you saying, "I'm going to buy in to what God's wanting to do in this place. I want to be a part of it. I'm going to take ownership of it. " Okay? I've said it many times. If if we're a ball team and I'm playing quarterback, let me tell you something. It doesn't work if that left guard doesn't do his job. And it doesn't work if that receiver doesn't do their job. And it doesn't work if the defense doesn't show up and play. Everybody's got a part to play. Some of you, some of you might even be the towel guy., we got any towel guys in here? Any what I'm saying? You might be the towel guy. You might be the laundry person. But let me tell you something.
That's how teams win championships. Everybody takes ownership and says, "Man, this is what we're going to do and what we're going to accomplish. " And so, be excited about that. Be praying about that. Be believing God for that. Be getting your heart ready for the roles that you can play in it., because I'm confident that God's wanting to do something really, really great there. And, are you guys okay if God does some amazing stuff in your heart, and your life, and through your life, and other people's life. So, we have some fun ideas if we get to be there and we'll get after it. Are y'all ready to get in the Word? Three people are ready to get in the Word. It's good. How many of you guys know that the Word will change your life? You guys believe that? So, how many of you guys are ready to get in the Word? You excited about the Word? Okay., I want to I want to start in Luke 15. And I spent the beginning of the year talking about this story, the Prodigal Son. And the Prodigal Son is a parable that Jesus told.
And all the parables that Jesus told are equal in value because they're all God's Word and God's promises and stories that Jesus told. This particular parable though just has a little extra weight. I think we can all relate to the person who chose to be Prodigal and chose his own path only to find that it didn't really work out. And so in this story, this Prodigal Son is the younger of two brothers and he lives in his Father's house. And his Father house is blessed. It's great. It's healthy. They have servants. They've done well. And he comes to the Father and he says, "I want I want my inheritance. " Now, what's funny about an inheritance is it is his, but it's not his. You with me? it's his because the Father's going to leave it to him, but it's the Father's leaving it to him. And he comes to me, he says, I want what's mine. And this is an attitude that a lot of us can take is that I know I didn't pick being born. I know that this is a gift. I recognize it. But then we start saying goofy stuff like this is my life and this is my situ and this is my thing. And so what happens is he comes in here says to the Father and he says, "I want my inheritance. " And then he takes off and he leaves and he goes and he spends it on what's called Prodigal living.
And we don't know exactly everything he did, but he did a lot of dumb stuff. Anybody here done dumb stuff? Okay, good. We can relate to him. He did some dumb stuff. And he got to the point where he was so desperate. He'd gotten himself in such an awful place that he found himself trying to feed the pigs and starving so badly that he was willing to eat the pods that were for the pigs. And the Bible says that when he came to his senses, when he kind of like had this epiphany, this moment like this is goofy. Even the servants in my Father's house are better than this. I'm going to return home. He had to make the choice to return home. Here's what I want to tell you. Nobody ever sets out on this place, on this journey, separating yourself from God, saying, "This is going to be my agenda. I don't need you anymore. I want what's mine. I'm going to take my life that you've given me and I'm going to go do what I want to do with it. Nobody sets out to end up in a pig pin. He did not leave God's house or the Father's house for the destination of a pig pin. This is where he ended up. And anytime you separate yourself from God, you're going to find yourself at a place of just emptiness, of void, of desperation, of something that goes, man, this is goofy.
I've done everything. Maybe you've had everything. Maybe you've lost everything. Both of them end up empty and we go, "This is goofy. " We come to our senses and want to RETURN HOME. HERE'S MY question for you. Why did he leave? What was he looking for that he didn't already have at home? Why would you Let's put it Let's put ourselves in the story for a minute. Why would you distance yourself from God and go do your own thing? What are you seeking when you left? Were you seeking the approval of other people? Did you leave for another man or another woman trying to please them and put your hope in somebody else? And so you're like, "God, I got this. I know what I'm doing, and I'm looking for the hope that he provides, the covering and shelter he provides, and I'm looking for someone else to provide that for me. " Or maybe it's the cheap thrills of life., the Bible says in Proverbs that stolen water tastes sweeter. There's just something about the thrill of getting away with it, right? You guys know what I'm talking about? When you were younger and maybe even as you're older, that thrill where you drive past the speed limit, but then you saw a patrolman, but they didn't get you, so you felt like you got away with it.
You still do it. We still live on the edge. That little bit of stolen water tastes sweeter, man. You got that tax break. WOO! I DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY THOSE TAXES. I beat them. There's a thrill in it, right? That little bit of thrill. So why DID THEY LEAVE, MAN? WAS IT THE PURSUIT OF MONEY? Was it Was it the pursuit of friendship? Was it the pursuit of some sense of achievement? What was he leaving for? Watch. What was he leaving for that he didn't already have in the home? They were a very welloff family. He had an inheritance. There were resources there. Watch this.
When he came home, the Father runs out to meet him, throws him a party. And the older brother's upset and he says, "You didn't even kill a goat for me, for me and my friends. " So in the house, there's money. There's friends. There's a sense of purpose. They have a job to do. What did he not have in the house that he left to go get? If he left for money, they had money. If he left for friends, they got friends. There's nothing that the world can offer you that God doesn't already have in his house for you. And so what we do is we choose to distance ourselves from God for the same things that we already have with God. We just want to do it our way. And what happens is we didn't set out to end up in a pig pin. It just became the destination because we left God behind. We chose it our way. Let me make it as simple as I can. My heart is either surrendered to God or it's selfish. My heart is either service to him or it's service to me. There is no in between. And so when I'm in the Father's house, the Father is the one who writes the checks.
The Father is the one whose house it is. It's his covering. And when I leave it, I'm leaving it because I want to do what I want to do. And I think that I'm a big boy and I don't really need him anymore. And this Church stuff is kind of silly and I don't really need God and I can keep it in because I know where he lives. I know who my Father is and I know where his house is, but I don't need to walk with him and live with him. I can go do it my way. And what happens is at some point you run out of your money and then a famine hits that's out of your control and you find yourself with the pigs and then you have to come to your senses. And if we're not willing to humble ourselves enough to say I'm willing to come home, then we never get to experience coming home. And here's what my point is with this is that when we talk about Easter coming, we talk about the idea of what Easter is God's rescue or pursuit of you. What I want you to understand is what God's will for you is in your life. Listen to me please. This is a huge, huge doctrinal problem for a lot of people. There is a person that was in our midst, not in service, but in my midst, who made the comment the other night about work said, "Well, whatever God's will is for work tonight, I'm good with it. " And that's not exactly how the person said it, but it's very, very, listen to me, very sloppy and very lazy. Let me tell you what God's will is for your life. God's will is not the pig pin. Listen to me. That's not his will. You say, "Well, God used it in my life.
" Yeah, that's God's grace. It was never his will for you to have to go there. He didn't have to leave the Father's house. He chose to leave the Father's house. He found himself in a pig pin and the Father welcomed him home when he came home. Listen to me. God's will for you. The Bible says in Romans 12:2 says that God's will is good, perfect, and pleasing. What God wants for you in his life is the goodness of God. His promise, his character, who he is. He wants to shower you with his mercy, with his grace, with his forgiveness, with his love, with his peace, with his purpose, with his joy. He wants you to experience all that he is. This is the way the design was in the garden. And the Bible says that the Devil, Galatians, or not Galatians, Genesis 3:1, it says that the serpent was the most cunning of all of them, of all the creatures. He was the most cunning. He was the most shrewd. He was the most deceptive. That's why the Bible says he's the great deceiver. He manipulates and he lures. Watch.
And he causes you, listen to me, he causes you to drift from the Truth. There's a book called Outwitting the Devil. It's written by Napoleon Hill, the same guy that wrote Think and Grow Rich or whatever it's called. I think it's called Think and Grow Rich. He wrote a book called Outwitting the Devil. And he talks about drifting. I don't have the definition on here because I changed computers, but it simply means when a wind blows, it will blow you and cause you to drift. The Bible refers to every wind of doctrine that comes along. Listen, YOU ARE SUBJECT TO THOUSANDS of winds of doctrine that come across your social media feed. Thousands of winds of doctrine through your YouTube shorts and your YouTube videos and your news media and your TV shows trying to tell you how to think and trying to rearrange your values and trying to change your priorities. And what happens is that wind of doctrine blows in and you go, "Well, that makes sense and that makes sense. " and you're just blowing around like a ship at sea with no anchor because there's no anchor for your soul. So, you're just blowing around with every wind OF DOCTRINE AND YOU FIND YOURSELF, YOU'VE DRIFTED AND YOU'RE ALL THE WAY OVER HERE IN A PIG PIN AND YOU'RE LIKE, "HOW DID I GET HERE? I DIDN'T SET OUT FOR THIS, BUT I LISTENED TO ALL THESE OTHER VOICES AND ALL THESE OTHER WINDS OF DOCTRINE AND I drifted from the Truth and didn't real IT WAS SO SUBTLE. IT WAS SO SLOW. THIS IS NOT WHAT God wanted for me. I LOST MY FOCUS. I TOOK MY EYES OFF THE Truth AND I SAID, "Give me what's mine and let me do what I want to do. I can figure this out. I can do it.
" And then we have the nerve and the audacity to say, "It's God's will for these things in my life. " NO, NO, NO, NO. Jesus didn't die on THE CROSS SO THAT IT COULD serendipitously just happen to you. We live in a broken system. We live in a broken world. But God's will for you is to be renewed and restored back to him to live God's promise. This is why the Bible says in this world you face tribulations. Be of good cheer. He's already overcome it. This is WHO YOU ARE. YOU'VE ALREADY OVERCOME WHAT THE WORLD'S GOING TO THROW AT YOU. You're seated in Heavenly places with Christ. THE Creator OF ALL things knows your name, keeps you on his mind, and has rescued you because his will for you is to know him and live with him. He has secured your future. He has redeemed you from your past. He has made you a new creation. His will is for you to do the good works that he predetermined for you to walk in. But the cunning, the most cunning of them all, wants to cause you to drift or lure you away just like he did. Well, you're not going to die. Well, you you just can go have a little bit of fun.
It's just you. It's your it's your money. Go do what you want to do. And he causes us to separate and keep God from becoming and staying the priority in our life. I take my eyes off the Truth and put my eyes on the wind and the waves all around me. What God wants for you is to live and to be who he's called you to be. This is the Gospel message. Jesus did not come to bring you a religious option. Jesus watch who is God. The one true living God comes in the likeness of creation to restore you back to him. And you choose to answer that call. You choose to come back home. You choose to receive this gift and take advantage of it. I choose, listen, to let him love me. He loves you. He values you. And what he wants to do is to heal your heart. What he wants to do is heal your mind. This is why the Bible says to sanctify me by your Truth. When I sit under the Word, his Truth comes in.
It's healing. It's restoring. It's it's renewing my mind. It's putting me in position. It's reminding me of who he says I am. It's a very important very big deal that you understand this because listen even Jesus had to surrender his personal will to the will of the Father. He surrendered his will which was I don't want to deal with the cross to the WILL OF God. WATCH. WHICH WAS good for you. God's will for you was for you to be restored, to be forgiven, to be redeemed, to be healed, to be invited back to the a restoration relationship with God. That's why Jesus is your righteousness. Jesus is your sanctification. Jesus, who is God, dips in his pocket and pays for you. WHY? Because his will for you is good. We process the goodness of God and the awesomeness of his promise through our oh my gosh through this goofy tiny little finite stupid brain that I have my little bitty I'm not calling myself stupid. I'm saying I how I know I know this much about everything. How did how did how did the galaxies get created? I don't know how to fix my toilet. I had to have a plumber this week.
You understand? God, I And so now I'm going to process the goodness of God and his will for my life through my tiny little bit of knowledge and experience that I've had right here in Carter County. It doesn't make any sense. I need to get outside of my little Carter County bubble and recognize the vast life of God that I get to live in. Wait a minute. This is way bigger than me. This is way bigger than us. God is eternal. See, what you're dealing with, listen to me, are temporary things. How many of you guys How many of you guys, particularly older ones, you got pictures of yourself when you were 12 and 14 and 15 years old, and you showed them somebody, you go, I look at look at this. I cannot believe my mama let me wear this. I cannot look at my look at my teeth. Look at my hair do. Look at my I can't believe my makeup was like that. what I'm talking about? Look how scrawny I was. You look at things from then and you laugh about it. Why? But you don't still look like that. Cuz it was cuz it was temporary.
Listen to me. It was temporary. How many of you guys are still driving THE SAME CAR YOU got when you were 16 or 18 or 20? Your first car. You're not. How many of you guys are still living in the same house that YOU BOUGHT? YOU'RE NOT. And if you are, you've done remodels to it. Everything changes. Everything is temporary. The season that you're in is temporary. The world that you live in is temporary. God is eternal. And our focus is on temporary things. And we are interpreting the goodness of God who is eternal through my little temporary knowledge. You're looking at your temporary frustrations and your temporary successes and your temporary challenges that change. You were used to be in trouble, you're not in trouble anymore. You used to be lost and you're not lost anymore. You used to be single and now you're married. You used TO BE MARRIED AND NOW YOU'RE SINGLE.
I DON'T KNOW, BUT THINGS CHANGE. AND WHEN I PUT MY HOPE in temporary things, I'm cooked. My hope and my focus is on things that are eternal. Everything that I look around and see is temporary. But now, let me help you with this. that really stupid thing that you did before you got to Church today, five years ago, 10 years ago, you made a mistake. You made a poor choice and maybe there was ramifications. Maybe there was maybe there were some consequences. Can I help you? It was temporary. It was then. Yes, you made the mistake. Yes, you were an idiot. Yes, you were selfish. Yes, you would go back and do it differently. Yes, but let me tell you something. You made A POOR CHOICE, BUT IT WAS TEMPORARY. Today is a new day for you in your life. YOU SERVE AN ETERNAL God WHO HASN'T CHANGED and the future that he has for you is good. the one of the most popular verses in the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11.
Most of you can quote it for me. I know the thoughts that I have for you, says the Lord. I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, to give you a future and to give you a hope. Do what verse 10 says? Verse 10 says this. You're going to be in exile for 70 years because of your own foolishness and your own stupidity, your own rebellion because you wouldn't repent. There's going to be a consequence. And verse 10 says, you're going to be in exile for 70 years. Watch this. But then I'm going to bring you home because I know the plans I have for you. See, you keep thinking God's trying to make up and salvage what's left in your life. God's plans for you, God's will for you. What God wants for you has always been him and he's good. He has always wanted you to enjoy the goodness of him. That doesn't mean you're not going to have hard days, it means in spite of hard days, you're still living in the goodness of him. And even though you made dumb choices and there's consequences and maybe you're cleaning up some of that or whatever it is, doesn't change that he hasn't changed. The things that are temporary change. He doesn't change. That's why he's the anchor to your soul. That's why I come back to the Truth.
I found myself in a pig pin, but I'm coming back to the Truth. I found myself drifting by a wind of doctrine and some goofy teaching or somebody's opinion or trying to be approved by people. And I came to my senses and I'm returning back to Truth. I'm returning back to God's Word. I'm returning back to God who God says I am. I'm coming back to God. He's never moved. He's never changed. His will for you never changed. That's why Ephesians 2:10 says this, that you're his workmanship, his masterpiece, created a new in Christ Jesus to do the good things that he predestined or predetermined for you to do. He's always wanted you to do these things and be part of these things with him. But we were off in our own world pigpin and we return home born again made a new so that we can be a part of what God's doing. God'S STILL DOING WHAT HE'S always been doing. God's still healing people's. God's still providing for people. God's still saving people. God's still loving people. God's still forgiving people. God hasn't changed. I'M COMING BACK TO God.
So now I'm part of what God's doing in people's lives. You're part of what God's doing in people's lives. Your hospitalityality, your friendship, your forgiveness, your words, your submission, your growth. Second Corinthians chapter 4, it's on the computer says this is why verse 16, this is why we never give up. DOG GONE IT. WE NEVER GIVE UP. We're not people that give up. We don't quit. WE DON'T LOSE HEART. MAN, you fell down. You skinned your nose. Get up. We don't quit. We press forward. We overcome. THIS IS WHY WE DON'T give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed. Watch your body temporary. Your Spirit eternal. Your body is dying.
It's temporary. Your Spirit is eternal. It's being renewed day after day after day. The life of the eternal true one living God lives in you. AND YOU HAVE THE ETERNAL LIFE OF God IN YOU. AND EVEN THOUGH YOUR BODY'S temporary and perishing, my li my Spirit man is alive. It's renewed. I'm full of hope. I'm full of expectation. My heart is healed. My mind is renewed. My soul's been restored. I see Truth. I see God. Verse 17. Our present troubles are small and they won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. This could not be any more clear for you and me. Verse 18. So we don't look at the troubles we can see.
Listen, we serve, listen to me, we serve the one true living God. And the world is cursed and under the curse because it is unholy. It became unholy. God who is Holy. He's the one that makes us Holy, sanctifies us. His Truth comes in and now I'm Holy like he's Holy. We live in this cursed world and there is the God of this world and we listen listen we spend more time focusing on the challenges that the God of this world is giving you and not focused on the reward and the benefits and the promises that the one true superior all powerful all authority God who demonstrated his love for you instead of focusing on his promise in spite of the challenges We're giving the God of this world all the glory for the challenges that we're dealing with. It's a focus. So now watch the irony in this verse. He says we don't look at the troubles we can see now. Now troubles now. Anybody here got some troubles now? We don't look at those. Rather we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. That's a crazy line. It tells you to fix your gaze, fix your focus on things that cannot be seen because God is Spirit. Our focus is on the temporary body. Our focus is on the temporary situation. Our focus is on the temporary world. Our focus is on the temporary hurdle we're climbing.
My focus is to be on the thing I cannot see, which is the one true living God and the victory that he won for me. The position that I'm in, the mindset of his promise and his Truth that I can hear this Word that I share with you and go, that's mine. I'm going to live that. I'm going to walk that. I'm going to I'm going to stay in that. I'm going to put my gaze on that and not on the obstacles in front of me. Do how much work there is to cross the bridge at that building? Do how handy I am? Do how many buildings, commercial buildings I've bought in my lifetime? Do how many churches I've led? Do HOW FREAKED OUT I AM? But I'm not focused on that because watch what happens in the next few months, in the next few years. YOU WATCH WHAT HAPPENS. Mark MY WORDS. WRITE IT DOWN. GET IT TATTED ON YOUR NECK. I DON'T CARE. YOU WATCH WHAT HAPPENS. AND YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK AT ME AND GO, "GOLLY, how in the world did he get to be a part of that? If God can use him, he can use me.
" I promise you. Cuz God's going to be Listen, cuz God's going to be faithful to his Word. And all you have to do is go, "Okay, I'm in. I want to go, too. I receive it. I believe it. I believe it. " Watch. We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things that we see now, the things that we see right now will soon be gone because they're temporary. But the things we cannot see will last forever. The thing that's been happening in your heart since you came to this Church and God's been healing and doing stuff, we can't see it. We can see the fruit of it, but we can't see what God's been doing. But listen, what's happened in your heart is going to last forever. This building that we're moved into, temporary. There was a building over there that was temporary. It burned. Buildings burn. Buildings crumble. Buildings are buildings.
They're temporary. The way it looks right now is temporary. It's about to get an overhaul with your help. And it's going to serve a new purpose. The New King James version of this says, "For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. " Let me leave you this verse and I'm out of here. John chapter 10:10. Everybody's knows it. If you don't get it, God's will for your life, God's purpose for your life, listen to me, has never changed because he's never changed. And so what happens is you've been ate up with your carnality, your flesh, your offenses, your disagreements, your opinions, all the junk that you were taught and all the things that you were taught in error. All the all the junk that clutters your mind and your heart, all the hurt, all the things that people have told you, and it robs you from being able to see. It clutters your vision. It clutters your heart. It clutters your mind. And you can't see the Truth of God's Word. You can only see what's right in front of you. And this is why I have to see with my eyes of faith. I have to see God. I see your heart. When I see, listen to me.
When I see Jesus, I see God's heart. I see his love. I see his devotion. I SEE HIS SACRIFICE. AND I KNOW THAT I'M NOT QUALIFIED. AND I KNOW HE GAVE ME CHANCE after chance. And when I focus on Jesus, I FEEL HIS LOVE. I SEE HIS LOVE. I receive his love. AND I'M LIKE, "OH MY GOSH, YOU WANT ME. I see your purpose. Your purpose was to rescue me. " And here's what it says in John 10:10. The thief's purpose, he's got a purpose is to steal and to kill and to destroy. And this is everything you've been dealing with in this temporary world. All the all the mistreating that people have done to you, all the things that people have said to you, all the words that have been spoken over you, all the foolishness, all the selfishness, all the drunken stupers, all the all the drug induced stupid behavior, all the stuff, or just opening your mouth and saying something so cutting, so hurting that destroyed somebody else. OR MAYBE NOT HELPING SOMEBODY WHEN YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP somebody because it was going to inconvenience you. Let me tell you something. We've been in every and everybody's been in one of those situations and maybe more than one. And the purpose that the Enemy had with those things in your life, the God of this world, his purpose is to blind you from the purpose of God.
What he's trying to do is get you so offended and so hurt and so confused and so frustrated and so annoyed and so guarded and so insecure that there's no way that God's purpose could prevail like that in my life. He came to steal, kill, and destroy. What? The purpose of why Jesus came. The purpose that God has always had for you. When he saw you, when he formed you, when he knew you, when he picked you, he came to steal God's will for you in your life, which is good, perfect, and pleasing. God's promise to prevail in you. And even now, you're listening to me preaching. Some of you are going, "Well, it's too late for me. Stop it. This is the purpose of God. Jesus said, "This is my purpose that you would have life, a rich and satisfying life, a life of abundance. Don't get selfish and greedy with your CARNAL MIND. " I'M NOT TALKING just about worldly success. I'm talking about a life of fulfillment, contentment, peace, forgiveness, purpose. Because now YOUR PURPOSE IS ABOUT HIS PURPOSE. I'm here to provide you a rich and satisfying life. I'm not Jesus, but it's Jesus in me. I'm just sharing his Word, and you're being blessed and touching the hymn of his garment, getting his rich and satisfying life because it's in me, and I'm a vessel for you. And then you're going to bring it to somebody else.
Every Church, I'm gonna be so tired after tonight. Every Church, most every Church I've ever heard or ever known started in a basement, started with six people, started in a firehouse. They'd pull the trucks out and pull up, set up some chairs, started with 10 people, five people, three couples, and some of them are 20,000 people now. Churches, every Church starts with this handful of people, and then it BEGINS TO GROW. WHY? BECAUSE IT'S THE BODY OF Christ. IT'S HIS DESIGN THAT THE PURPOSE OF God WOULD INFILTRATE YOUR heart and you go, "Dolly, I want more of that. Sign me up. How do I get involved? I want to come more. Can we sing more songs? Can you talk longer, Jeremy? " Nobody said that. Because why? This is God's plan for you. It's his Church. It's his people and he Let me leave you this verse. It's not on here. Zechariah 4:10. I've been sharing with Ryan and John.
The Bible says this. Watch. It says that the Lord, it says, "Don't despise small beginnings. " Watch. It says, "The Lord rejoices to see the work begin. " When he sees the work begin, the Bible says he's faithful to finish that which he started. This is the purpose of this gathering and it's growing and will continue to grow because it's his design. He's excited to see it begin because he knows what he can do in your life because we're willing vessels to help share it. That's why he's excited to see it begin because he's going to bless it. He's going to work it. He's going to do his thing. If you make room for him, he's going to do his thing. Let's pray. Father God, thank you for the privilege to know you, to serve you, to honor you. God, thank you for this Church and these people. God, thank you that them, that they're on your mind, that them. And God, I thank you that you're eternal in their hearts. And God, we choose now in Jesus name, right where you're sitting, Church, listen to me. We choose now to turn our focus off of the temporary troubles and we will put our focus on the Truth of God's Word. We will put our focus on the victory that he won.
We will put our focus on his way of doing things. We will choose to make Jesus the Lord of our life. To make his Word the authority in our life, to make his Truth the center of our heart. The Bible says that God sent his Word to heal us and deliver us from our own destructions. My question to you tonight is, can you receive God's Word? Can you receive God's promise? Can you receive God's love? God loves you. It's not cliche. He stands nothing to gain by it. He just loves you and he wants you to know him. It's simple. Number one, you believe in your heart that God absorbed all the evil the world could throw at him and died on a cross and then he conquered it. I believe that in my heart that God raised him from the dead. And then I confess with my mouth that Jesus is God unto salvation. Man, I believe in my heart that God loves me and he saved me and I confess with my mouth who he is. I acknowledge him. And in doing that, he becomes your righteousness. He becomes your holiness. He becomes your qualification.
He becomes your invitation to the Father. He gives you the right and the privilege to be called friends of God. Now, he gives you insight to know God, to walk with him, and to talk with him. So, right where you're sitting, you make Jesus Lord of your life. One more time tonight. Father, we thank you for the beginning of a new day for people in here. God, that you're doing a new work and you're faithful to start to finish what you started. God, you rejoice to see the work begin. God, I declare a new beginning in people's hearts and in people's lives tonight for the glory of the eternal Creator of all things. We give you praise for it now in Jesus' name.