Service Date: 10.18.15 11am

if anybody tries to leave because they

know pastors in coming please block the

doors gatekeepers if we could have a

moment to pray father thank you for the

opportunity to be in your presence thank

you for visiting with us and sitting in

this room we ask that you would saturate

the atmosphere Oh God that you would

have a personal encounter with every

soul in this room that it would feel as

if you’re speaking to us and us alone

and so we ask that you would open our

hearts even the parts that we often try

to hide and that you would create shift

and change your God that we would have

an encounter with you in this moment

that forever changes our paths and as

for me father I execute would remove any

nerves that I would decrease so that you

could increase so God that your spirit

would overflow in that every word every

thought that proceeds from my mouth has

been kissed from heaven and sent to

earth in Jesus name I pray amen

I’m going to be speaking today from

Genesis 16 7 through 12 I just want to

give you a little bit of background when

we come into the scripture we find Hagar

who was the maid of Sarah and Abraham on

the run that’s the name of my message

for today it’s on the run I really tried

not to name it that just because I know

you all know about people being on the

run and other capacities but I think

when we get finished speaking you’ll

understand my intentions so Abraham and

Sarah have an Egyptian slave named Hagar

and this Egyptian slave Sarah volunteers

to her husband Abraham and she says

since I can’t have children I want to

give you my servants so that you can

have a

with her and when you all produced a

child then we will raise the child as

our own we want to use Hagar and if I’m

honest I think that when Sarah came up

with this idea and presented it to

Abraham that she was probably hoping

that he wouldn’t take her up on the

offer I mean there had to be a certain

part of her that was hoping you know

that when I asked you to you know sleep

with someone else that you would tell me

no honey absolutely not you are the only

one for me yet somehow Abraham is very

willing to adhere to his wife’s request

it’s like sometimes I xpt to help me

watch what I eat and then when he starts

knocking food out of my mouth we have a

little bit of tension because I didn’t

actually want you to do what I asked you

to do and so Abraham sleeps with Hagar

Hagar becomes pregnant and instantly she

begins to despise Sarah and Sarah

recognizes that she is being despised by

Hagar and she begins to abuse Hagar and

so Hagar runs away and the angel of the

Lord finds her and he says by its spring

of water in the wilderness by the spring

on the way to sure and he said Hagar

Sarai’s maid where have you come from

and where are you going she said I am

fleeing from the presence of my mistress

Sarah and I want to stay right there for

a moment because when the angel of the

Lord asked her this question where have

you come from and where are you going

her answer was so interesting to me

because she doesn’t really answer where

she came from she answers why she left

and she never addresses at all the

second question and it made me wonder

what is the difference between why we

left and understanding where we came

and so if you’re taking notes today

there are two questions that I want to

present to you as you’re on your journey

and evolving in Christ and that is where

have you come from and where are you

going

so Hagar answer she said I’m fleeing

from the presence of my mistress and the

angel of the Lord said to her return to

your mistress and submit yourself under

her hand you have to know that Hagar

probably was a little bit confused you

have this encounter with the Lord the

angel of the Lord tells you to return

and before he could finish the sentence

a part of her probably had to felt like

this is when the tide is going to change

for me I’m going to go back to the place

where I came from the place where I felt

misunderstood the place where I was

broken and abused and I get to go off

before before he even got to the part in

submit yourself under her hand a part of

her head to feel like if you’re sending

me back and I’ve had an encounter with

the angel of the Lord surely and so that

I can tell them that till you do right

by till you do right by me is all I’m

saying the angel of the Lord has sent me

and I’m not the one no more and I tried

to be quiet but he says and submit

yourself under her hand what do we do

when God sends us back into environments

where we have to submit ourselves when

we can’t go back equipped with the

knowledge of who we are and confidence

in what we can produce but instead we

have to learn the gift of being

controlled disciplined while we are

being groomed before she could even

reply the angel of the Lord said to her

I will multiply your descendants

exceedingly so that they shall not be

counted for multitude and the angel of

the Lord said to her behold you are with

child and you shall bear a son you shall

call his name Ishmael

because the Lord heard your affliction

if we could go back to verse eight

please I want to talk about the journey

of understanding where we’ve come from

so that we can understand where we’re

going what the angel of the Lord

promises her is a covenant but the

Covenant can only be fulfilled when she

goes back to where she came from and for

many of us who have escaped situations

we know why we left but we don’t

understand who we were in that situation

and because we have failed to really

take inventory of who we were in that

situation we have found ourselves in the

same situation over and over again what

if until you can fully answer where

you’ve come from you’re going to be just

as lost as Hagar was when the angel of

the Lord found her yes we know we don’t

want to become like our mother we know

we don’t want to become like our father

but we don’t understand the environment

that produced them in the first place

so how then can we say that we don’t

want to become like them until we

understand how they came to be there is

a psychology called the environment

environmental psychologist and literally

they study how the environment affects

the people it holds they say that we’re

all products of our environment that in

spite of our best efforts that somehow

our environment will seep inside of us

and while many of us end up resenting

the very environments that we have come

from few of us dare to really understand

those environments the danger then is

that we end up seeking control again

so Hagar is free in this moment but

ultimately because she has no direction

she doesn’t understand where she came

from or where she’s going she’s bound to

find into a situation that controls her

again how many of us say we want to be

free but what we’re really looking for

is a different type of Master I don’t

want to be in that relationship anymore

but I found myself in a very similar

relationship a different name a

different time but it’s got the same

symptoms maybe it’s not them maybe it’s

me maybe I haven’t fully understood who

I was when I had this encounter

why would Hagar answer why she left

I am fleeing from the presence of my

mistress she left out of fear not

purpose if you came to Los Angeles from

wherever you are from because you are

afraid of what you left behind all you

can attract in Los Angeles is more fear

because you didn’t leave with purpose

you didn’t leave with a vision you left

because no one necessarily understood

you and so now you’re in a city where

you’re looking for understanding not

purpose or fulfillment and the danger in

that is that there’s always someone

willing to pretend that they understand

you long enough to get what they need

from you and then you find yourself more

lost more broken than you were before

you met them you have to know where

you’re going

more importantly than knowing where

you’re going is understanding who you

were when life first broke here we look

back on these moments in our lives that

make us cringe that make us most ashamed

and instead of dealing with them we

learn to become on the run

we don’t ever dare to figure out what

happened to the broken little boy or

broken little girl inside of us we just

know that the pain of confronting it

makes us run and then we run ourselves

until we are breathless and crying out

for help

much like Hagar was when we find her in

this text and so he said Hagar Sarai’s

maeda where have you come from he

already knew when he addressed her who

she was I know you’re Sarah is made I

know your journey hasn’t been easy I

know life for you has not been a crystal

stare I know there has been struggle and

there has been difficulty but I want to

know do you know where you’ve come from

I know where you’ve come from since the

Lord but do you know do you know why

you’re so adamant about not being like

your mother do you know why you’re so

adamant about not being like your father

do you know that there are traces of

them inside of you anyway have you dared

to look for those traits have you taken

inventory of who you are on the inside

because before we can set a plan and

determine what’s next for our lives we

have to know what we left behind so when

we go on to the next verse the angel of

the Lord says return to your mistress

and submit yourself under her hand then

the angel of the Lord said I will

multiply your descendants exceedingly so

that they shall not be counted for

multitude somewhere between verse 9 and

verse 10 it seems like the angel of the

Lord skipped a step

how do I return to the images of who I

used to be and somehow you’re going to

take that and use that to multiply my

descendants that there will be multitude

so many that they cannot be counted how

can I undergo that after being bound and

enslaved you see the issue really came

for Hagar not when she was on the run

but when she realized that she could

produce something that her superior

could not the Bible tells us that Hagar

got a little bit prideful when she

realized that she could have children

and she had been able to do something

that Sarah could not that it wasn’t

necessarily that she was leaving just

because of the abuse but because she

discovered something inside of her that

she deemed better than what was inside

of Sarah what do you do when you

recognize that you are more gifted than

the people are around you yet those

people still control you what do you do

when you realize that you can do

something that no one else in your

family can do that you are gifted beyond

measure yet some kind of way they’re

still in the mix can you submit yourself

even when you’re the one who produces or

well your production make you so

prideful that anyone who doesn’t embrace

it you shine and run away from can you

handle the discipline of being gifted

that you recognize that everyone’s not

going to understand you everyone’s not

going to get you but you’re ok with that

because to be chosen often means that

you end up lonely

and so at this point Hagar is free free

from Sarah’s hand free to chart life

however she desires but what the angel

of the Lord presents to her is that

freedom has a cost that you have to know

the answers to the questions where have

you come from and where are you going

there’s this illusion when you’re a

child that when you grow up you’re going

to be free you know like when you’re

really young this just might be my

testimony will seem and you would be

driving and you would see those golden

arches and you would say to your mother

mom first of all you look beautiful

today and church was good can we go to

McDonald’s though and then your mother

just drove right by McDonald’s like she

never even heard you like you cleared

your throat to make sure you wasn’t

dreaming she just kept driving or if

you’re like my sister now we got these

Nextel cellphones when we were like in

middle school and you couldn’t tell us

nothing because we had the chirp and the

cell phone line but then when we got in

trouble they would turn the cell phone

line off so all you had was the chirp

and nobody really had Nextel so all we

could do was chirp them and I thought to

myself when I get grown

I’m going to turn my cellphone on I’m

going to eat all the McDonald’s I want

to and then I get groan and I realized

that that even freedom has a cost and in

adulthood that cost comes in the words

of bills that like you can you’re free

to go wherever you would like but it

ain’t free to go wherever you like

and so the angel of the Lord is trying

to tell Hagar that you’re free now

you’ve made it you broke away good for

you

but if you don’t know where you’re going

then you’re never going to realize that

freedom has a price and for adulthood

that price often looks like discipline

and self-control but nobody likes the

words discipline or self-control God has

this funny way of until we can fully

recognize that we need discipline and

self-control he surrounds us with people

who restrict us and if we aren’t careful

we end up resenting the restriction

instead of recognizing that the

restriction is there to protect us the

angel of the Lord doesn’t send Hagar

back to Sarah’s hands because he wanted

her to be abused he doesn’t send her

back because he felt like it was in her

best interest to be hurt and broken but

he knew that there was the Covenant and

where she left that could not be

fulfilled until she went back until she

was leaving out of purpose instead of

out of fear then that there was no point

in her leaving at all that she had to

believe that what was waiting on the

other side of the pain was worth more

than what she would have to go through

to leave and until she came to that

place he sends her back but he sends her

back with a promise and that promise is

that I’m going to multiply your

descendants that means your ability to

survive your ability to go back in and

untangle the mess that you’ve major

ability to confront the person who ended

up in these terrible situations I’m not

asking you to go back and recount your

past in your history so I can make you a

shame

of yourself or so that I can make you

feel judged or so that you can cover up

but so that you can understand that even

those moments had a purpose and that

becomes the turnoff with the church

because we often find ourselves afraid

to go into communities where we feel

like we may be judged because we don’t

really want to have to fully see

ourselves we just want to see like the

highlight reel don’t talk about my

struggle don’t talk about my issues

don’t talk about my wounds just talk

about the promise and the fairy tale and

when I’ll get to cloud nine but don’t

get in my business what do you do when

the spirit insists that you confront the

demons that you’ve learned to hide what

do you do when when you sing these

incredible worship songs and then you go

home and you’re tormented by by your

past and so you you become religious

because you don’t want to deal with your

past you just want to live in the praise

but the beauty of worship comes in our

vulnerability but no one’s really

willing to be vulnerable anymore I have

to tell you I have left the church twice

the first time I left I was a teenager

and we had finally gotten cars and you

know we went to so much charge growing

up that I felt like I had Church on

credit you know like

you know you go to three services on

Sunday one on Saturday and Wednesday

night Bible study so when you get to an

age where you don’t have to go anymore

it’s like I’ve gone for so long that

surely I have a balance I would just

like to apply that to my balance please

and so I would sit at home being worldly

you know sleeping in and having brunch

on the weekends instead of going to

church but I never made a provision for

my spirit up until that point I got to

piggyback on someone else’s praise

someone else could lead us into worship

and I got to benefit from their hearts

being opened and so when I decided that

I had you know had enough church and

that I could do what I needed to do at

home

I couldn’t tap in I couldn’t feel the

presence the way I wanted to and so

you’re torn then between I need to go to

church but I don’t really care for

church people I don’t really care for

the judgment or the shame or the way

they make me look at myself when I think

about all of the things that I’ve done

wrong it feels like they can see it too

and so I don’t really like the

conviction of Church and so I stayed

away from it until I realized that there

are things more dangerous than sitting

in church that there are circles that

are certainly willing to accept you but

even that comes at a different cost and

so while I ran from church because I was

afraid when I had to go back to church

it was because I needed a purpose

because I couldn’t be like Hagar just

sitting by the spring anymore that I

needed to believe that life was bigger

than me what the angel of the Lord

promises Hagar in the text is that your

pain

is bigger than you that there is a

multitude connected to you and if you

are willing to survive and confront

where you’ve come from then where you

are going can be that much more

beautiful and so for me it was in the

sanctuary of the Potters house in Dallas

that I felt equipped with a purpose and

a mission believe it or not your current

first lady didn’t like speaking in

public or praying in public or like if

people said you know can you pray for me

I would be like at home when I close my

eyes in my head not right here like

one-on-one still going to the same place

just a different type of delivery but

when I begin volunteering at the church

and I realized that there were some

people who were in such desperate need

of someone just understanding where they

came from

I realized to act like my life was

solely about what made me comfortable to

act like my life wasn’t one of service

but one of selfishness was a disservice

to the people who were connected to my

voice and so I wonder in this room when

you think about where you’ve come from

do you ever stop to think about the

people who need you to survive

while you’re praying that your family

can change and that your mother would

get it together or that the job would

come through or that the child would be

a better environment have you ever

stopped to consider that you could be

the change factor that while you’re

waiting for someone else to stand up

that they’re all waiting for you hey

guards multitude her descendants don’t

exist unless she goes back to the place

that haunted her and for some of you

this may be a physical location going

back to the cities that you may have

left in disarray or mess or because you

know when you find out that you are

actually going to be able to leave you

have a little bit of a different

attitude than when you aren’t sure like

when I finally realized I didn’t have to

go to church anymore I got to tell the

deacon what I really thought about him a

little bit like don’t talk to me anymore

I don’t like your spirit

and then you have to go back

cuz life then run you out you broke your

empty you left feeling like you could

produce something that was better than

all of them around you but then you have

to go back and though you could produce

it you didn’t really have enough time to

develop it and so what you produce

didn’t yield any fruit yeah there’s a

development that comes when we allow

ourselves to be guided and directed and

if we could stop long enough stop

resenting it long enough to recognize

that even that restriction is temporary

that it’s until God can trust you with

the influence you’re praying for until

God can trust you with the finances

you’re hoping for I’m going to restrict

you a little bit some of you praying for

million dollars don’t really need a

million dollars you’re not going to

tithe

when you if you won’t tithe off a

hundred dollars let me tell you what’s

even more difficult a hundred thousand

dollars like lord do you really need

this many zeros but it’s not about what

the Lord needs it’s about what you’re

willing to sacrifice but if I give you

this will you give it back to me not

because I need it not because I want it

but because you recognize that you

wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t for me as

I was preparing for today’s message

you know Hagar when we find her is on

the run she’s a runaway slave and so I

had to do a little bit of history one of

the most well known runaway slaves in

our history is Harriet Tubman she’s a

bad girl home girl escaped slavery I can

tell you about me in my life if God

would have brought me into the world

during that time and I escaped I don’t

know if I was coming back for y’all you

know like

I told you I was leaving at five o’clock

you here at 5:01 I send you a letter

from up north

Harriet Tubman returns to the slave

states 19 times 19 times she risks being

caught

and because she went back 19 times she

brought more than 300 slaves to freedom

she went back to the place that once

held her bound but she had a different

perspective on it when she went back

when she went back to that place it

wasn’t because she had this mentality of

brokenness she went back because she

knew where she was going was more

important than where she was coming from

and not only that she understood where

she was going she understood where she

was coming from she understood the slave

states she understood the politics she

understood the danger she understood the

mentality you have to have to survive

certain abuse she recognized surely she

could have been the victim but instead

she decided that she was going to go

back not so that she could be held

captive but so that she could remind

someone else that there’s freedom on the

other side of this it dawns on me then

that that is the beauty of church as I

had to return myself that it wasn’t

about my nerves or my fears when

interacting with other people it wasn’t

even about the judgment or or the

perception that I thought people would

have of me it was about letting if it

were only just one person know that

there’s freedom on the other side of

this

and that when we come into rooms like

this it’s not so that we can see what

you have won or to see what you’ve been

doing all week or to see if you still

have on your club clothes it’s not about

any of that it’s about letting you know

that though you may be bound in this

moment that the life may have gotten the

best of you when you fear that you may

not be able to overcome this mess this

time that because I made it up north

because I was able to find freedom that

you can too but it is also to tell you

that freedom comes at a cost

the beautiful part of Harriet Tubman

even though she went back 19 times and

was able to save over 300 slaves home

girl was obviously a gangster but this

is the truest part of it all

Harriet Tubman had a shotgun with her

not just so that she could have a

defense if someone tried to capture her

but because when she went to capture the

slaves to bring them to freedom that

somewhere along the journey they would

begin to lose heart and want to run back

to the place that held them bound and

she would point the shotgun at them to

remind them that freedom doesn’t come

easy that you might have to get a little

bit dirty you might have to confront

your demons you may have to wonder if

you’re going to make it or not but it’s

worth it on the other side of it

now I am from Texas and I don’t have my

shotgun on me today today but I am here

to tell you being gifted and granted by

the Holy Spirit to remind you that no

matter how bound you are in this moment

no matter how much you’re questioning

yourself or no matter how much

difficulty you have confronting where

you’ve come from that where you’re going

is more precious than where you’ve come

from and that you won’t fully appreciate

where you’re going until you make peace

with where you’ve come from

so many people in this room are chosen

they have been called and set aside and

set apart to do great works but we’re

too afraid that where we come from will

keep us from fulfilling where we want to

go and because that fear is constantly

tormenting us and haunting our every

move in every decision we have created a

prison that exists in our own mind a

prison that keeps us from believing that

we are even worthy of the success we’re

praying for a prison that makes this

shun away from the opportunities that

stretch us and grow us because we’re

afraid that we won’t fit the task when

the angel of the Lord sends Hagar back

to Sarah’s hand he does so with a

promise that there are people connected

to your voice people connected to your

purpose and your anointing and the worst

thing you could do is make this about

you this moment ladies and gentlemen is

not about you this encounter this

relationship that you have with God it’s

not about you it’s not about your

nervousness it’s not about your shame

it’s not about your unworthiness that

has already been paid for the true cost

of freedom when walking with Christ is

whether or not you will trust him to do

what he said he is going to do that even

when the scenario doesn’t look ideal

that you’re you’re trusting that he’s

going to bring you through because

that’s what he said he would do and when

he does so that you don’t have to become

prideful or high and mighty when he does

it because you recognize that it really

wasn’t your will or your strength but by

his Spirit alone that you were able to

survive

and I want to take a moment to pray with

you and before everyone starts grabbing

their bags to get to their cars I want

to say this this is old school church

girl I didn’t understand why they didn’t

want you to move during altar call

because if they saw the parking lot they

would understand why you would want to

get out before everyone else did or if

they knew the line that was going to be

waiting at the restaurant they would

understand why you wanted to get your

name on there first like I got what I

came to receive now I need to move on to

the next part of my day and then I

realized that you’re moving could be a

distraction that there’s someone who’s

about to make a life-or-death decision

in this room and because you just have

to go you convinced them that they might

as well stay seated and so while I don’t

mean to fully convict you I’m going to

ask that if you don’t have to go that

you would please honor the sanctity of

this moment that someone’s going to have

an encounter with God right now that

they’ve been praying for and that you

have no place to go that is more

important than where they need to be

headed

and so if you have found yourself stuck

in the in-between too afraid to confront

who you used to be and not enough

knowledge of who you could become I want

to have a moment to pray with you

not that you would instantly have your

eyes opened and and be empowered to go

forward but that you would have the

courage to take inventory of where

you’ve come from because the clues to

your destiny lie in your history because

the pain you have endured is it is a

glimpse of the purpose that is ahead of

you and until we confront those demons

until we confront those shameful secrets

then we can’t fully be used and the

people who need us will never really

have us the way they deserve if this

message has spoke to you in any way

would you please meet me at this altar

please stand

we stand to give reverence not just to

the spirit and the move of God that’s

taking place in this room but for the

people who’ve had the courage to finally

admit that they’re in need of a touch

from God that they’ve been thirsting for

his touch that they’ve been hungry and

they’ve been dying and somehow he found

a way to let them know that that he’s

heard them in the last verse verse 11 it

says that Hagar is going to have a son

and she’s going to name that son Ishmael

because the Lord has heard your

affliction if you’re at this altar if

you’re in this room it is because the

Lord has heard your affliction that you

were crying in the middle of the night

and wondering if he even saw you and he

had you in mind on this Sunday and you

don’t have to be afraid anymore and you

don’t have to be ashamed anymore because

you haven’t done anything more wrong

than anyone in this room and the same

grace that is accessible to us is

accessible to you and we have created

this opportunity this church to reach

back and let you know that the spirit of

bounds’ that His grace is sufficient and

like Harriet um and willing to go back

to remind the people who were still held

in bondage pastor and I want to remind

you that chains can be broken that every

stronghold must come down

and even right now in this moment when

you feel bound that all God sees their

crowns on your head all he sees are

crowns yes he sees what happened to you

he sees the rape he sees the molestation

he sees the broken relationships and the

broken hearts and yet he still placed

the crown on your scars because he

thinks you’re that beautiful no one in

this room is perfect your first lady

pregnant at 13 years old divorced I

broke all the church rules daddy’s still

found a place for me

and having found that place I can assure

you that there are still seats available

and there is a place for you in the

kingdom and there is a people connected

to you in the kingdom who’s waiting for

someone who had a struggle very similar

to theirs to voice it in a way that they

can express so that they can understand

that freedom though it comes at a cost

is worth every tear they’ve ever cried

and if I’ve done nothing else this 11

o’clock service my prayer is that you

have been reminded that you can afford

the price of freedom that you can afford

the discipline and control and the

restraints that you can handle the

pressure that comes with freedom and

your willingness to do so is going to

teach a multitude how to do the same and

so I don’t see just a couple hundred

people at the altar I see the millions

of people connected to you I see the

echo effect that takes place over the

nation because of the commitment you’ve

made it this altar and I’m just honored

to hold my spiritual shotgun at you and

tell you you can’t lose heart and you

can’t turn back now what it’s ahead of

you it’s way more important than what

you’ve left behind you Pastor would you

pray

pester says I can pray I want to give

you one more opportunity if you’re still

standing to join with us at the altar I

know it’s already full in the same

anointing but there’s something about

the action of stepping out of where you

came from and into where you’re going

that makes a difference we’re not trying

to embarrass you we just want to embrace

you and let you know you’re not alone

and just as you physically make the act

to come from where you came from that in

the spiritual realm that you’re making

the movement today when you’re at this

altar to say I know you know where I’ve

come from now show me where I have the

potential to go where I’m from they will

say is there one is there anyone left

who wants to join in this corporate

prayer we’re going to have father I

thank you so much for the ability to

hear your voice that in spite of all of

the things that threaten to drown us

from hearing from you that you cut

through it all and got to the heart of

the matter to prove not just that we can

hear your voice but that you hear ours

thank you Father that you have heard us

now take us deeper and show us who we

are

show us who we’ve been Oh God show us

what we’re leaving behind so that we

don’t recreate our past trying to run

from it show us our potential and our

strength God give us courage to undergo

the restrictions that are around us

recognizing that even those won’t last

always and for those of us I just

declare right now that many of us are

coming out of those restrictions that

even as I pray that chains are being

broken off of these your sons and

daughter Oh God and I declare freedom

over them right now in the name of Jesus

loosed them like never before Oh God

let us roam free in your kingdom and in

this city to prove that you will come

back for us like one lost sheep that you

will come searching for us father and so

I thank you for our afflictions yes I

thank you for our struggle not because

it felt good but because you produce

something inside of us in that struggle

that made us fighters Oh God that made

us understand that we can survive Oh God

and so we’re asking that you would take

us to the next dimension from survival

to thriving or God to becoming evidence

that you hear the voice of your broken

people Oh God

may we be your evidence here on earth

and in the safety of your spirit Oh God

would you move us into our destiny would

you lead us into our purpose Oh God will

you help us to take the steps that you

order and to understand that our hearts

have to be in alignment with your word

and so we’re asking that you strip away

anything that’s not of you any

relationship any opportunity that our

insecurities gain release it right now

what God for we understand that only

what you give us will last and so we’re

willing to let go of the temporary

pleasures of this world so that we can

have permanent pleasure and permanent

joy in your kingdom Oh God

give us the ability to be stable in your

word Oh God to trust you even when our

circumstances would dictate differently

and I thank you Father for the leaders

and the movements that are going to be

birds from this moment that years from

now someone will talk about an encounter

they had on 6:14 North LaBrea

that equipped them to be overcomers Oh

God that we use the bricks that life

threw at us and we built a bridge and

got over it Oh God and so I thank you

for the construction taking place in

their hearts O God for the monuments of

your kingdom that

being built right now oh god

righteousness fall on your people like

never before

allow it to take root Oh God in to

produce fruit that the world benefits

from the influence of you Oh God

not from us not our gifts or our talents

but the influence of a Heavenly Father

who calls us beautiful and so I thank

you for every soul represented and for

the opportunity to be used conformist as

ever however you see fit in Jesus name I

pray amen

wow what a loving awesome God we serve

thank you so much for slaying

family before we go we’ve got one last

thing to do God has chosen us to build

something so beautiful in this city you

talk about failing to go back you think

about the great things that the God has

used as people to build and to create in

the earth there was one thing as it

relates to mentality that those people

had they had the mentality of a sense of

responsibility that what was being built

was not something that somebody else was

going to build are you hearing me it

wasn’t a deferred responsibility well

well the pastor’s going to do a first

lady is going to do it or everyone else

is going to do it know the people who

were hearing that word who were blessed

to be in that moment took it upon

themselves to say it’s my job to build

this thing

let me tell you it’s not even about what

you give toward it because they’re going

to be many ways to give right now the

greatest need is finances but it’s not

even about the amount because sacrifice

is is correlated

to the individuals ability to give so

the giving is not it’s not about equal

giving right because I know some people

and and and many of you have already

begun to give and some of you giving

$100 was literally a significant

sacrifice and and so it’s not even about

what you give

it’s not about equal giving it’s about

equal sacrifice and the only way that

we’re going to get it accomplished is if

we sacrifice on our level for some

people a significant sacrifice will be

ten dollars and that will be like whoo

and there’s no shade in that because god

looks at that and he honors that as if

you were the person that gave 10 million

I mean it is what it is

but the reality of it is there are

people whose sacrifice is on another

level and your sacrifice would be a

hundred thousand dollars it would be the

same thing in God’s eyes and so what I’m

saying is we’re going to bring an

offering a project welcome-home offering

to the altar as a family and I want us

to sacrifice again all of us had to

sacrifice my wife and I sacrifice was

celebrating one year next month we’re

supposed to be in Maui we’re not going

because we’re going to take that money

that we would have been in Maui we would

have used towards Maui and we’re going

to sew it into this building we’re gonna

get a cupcake in a candle and sit in our

house and reminisce on some of those

some of those things we did to get this

going but but anyway that Oh what I’m

saying is

reel it in reel it in you took my

shotguns and stuff I surely I but what

I’m saying is make it a sacrifice I

believe it’s already done

but it’s only going to happen when the

people that God is assigned to be a part

of it sacrifice and I can guarantee you

this I guarantee you what you sacrifice

what you give up what will happen on the

other side of your sacrifice is beyond

anything you would have even known to

pray for I guarantee you that this is an

opportunity for those of us of low

estate or high estate doesn’t even

matter to God to come together and the

partner and to build something in this

city and as we stretch to build God’s

going to stretch us and we’re going to

be different and we’re going to see

increase in prosperity happen in our own

lives as we sought the prosperity of

this church I’m telling you something’s

going to happen to you as you take a

front-row seat of watching God do what

we couldn’t do ourselves it doesn’t make

sense it’s rich stupid that we should be

going after what we’re going after it we

ought to be slapped but I didn’t get

here without that I promise you from

faith to faith and level the level I

should have been slapped many times but

here we are standing then we’re going to

keep going from glory to glory so what I

want you to do is I want you to pray and

we’re going to bring sacrificial

offering sacrificial offerings that we

pray to God about and we’re going to

bring that until we put the final brick

on this opportunity this God is laid

before me do have any people who are

committed to seeing the vision of God

that’s a sign of our church realize and

so we’re going to bring worship back up

and just pray about what your sacrifice

is and leave it at the altar and when

you leave it at the altar

just pray what do you want to see you

know god I want to see my neighborhood

changed I want to see my family changed

I want to see this city change I want to

see another continent change just just

put your seat down there scripture says

to ask of me and I’ll give you the

nation’s for your inheritance and do it

bigger than yourself I promise you God’s

got you

he’s got you covered but when you saw

this seed so for something that’s beyond

you and I believe that God’s gonna let

you see the fulfillment of it right

before your eyes so let’s just pray and

then we’ll give as we leave father thank

you so much for this rich word that you

have spoken into all of our hearts the

healing God that has taken place and we

thank you for this altar God Lord

thousands of people got hundreds of

thousands through technology have been

so blessed by this altar and God now

you’re looking to expand this all to

expand the reach of the church to to

create a capacity for the harvest that’s

assigned to this church and God so where

we want stood receiving from you we’re

going to come bringing to your vision

and God I pray for every prayer that’s

prayed as we bring the offerings to this

altar God even those who are watching

via livestream or are experiencing it

Lord God spiritually as we bring these

gifts in these altars God show us

miracles signs and wonders in our lives

we love you so much thank you for this

opportunity bless your people richly and

multiplied a hundredfold which are sons

of God daughters sacrificially so in

Jesus name Amen amen god bless you we

love you so much

let’s give sacrificially to this project