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hey family i’m pastor torre

i’m pastor sarah and listen you’re

getting ready to hear an incredible word

for the lord i believe it’s going to

bless you

i believe it’s going to be timely do me

a favor

share the message if it moves you share

the message and then also you have an

opportunity to be a part of

not only helping to spread this message

but to be a part of our outreaches

we’re doing a lot of practical things to

be a blessing to someone so feel free if

god so moves you

to use the information here in the video

to support what we’re doing we’re being

a blessing not just people spiritually

we’re being a blessing to people

practically we love you get into this

message

and change your life

hallelujah god i’m so grateful that your

word

is good you don’t mince words there’s

there’s nothing in between you

say what you mean you mean what you say

and you’re not a man that you should lie

and you’re not the son of man that you

should repent

when you speak it it’s good and so we

thank you for your word and we’re going

to get into it right now and

and i just want to greet you in the name

of the lord jesus

once again and and just say again happy

new year this is

incredible this is our first sunday in

the new year and

and you’re doing the right thing i’m

telling you you’re getting into the

presence of god and you’re

you’re seeking out his word it’s going

to be a lap until your feet a light into

your path this is the best way

to kick off the year and i’m so excited

to begin

this new series called starting over and

we’re going to unpack a lot of things

i’m excited about today’s installment of

the word i believe it’s going to bless

you

get your pen get your paper ready if you

love somebody you need to text them and

let them know it’s going down

right now and they need to experience

this word because i believe it’s going

to be rich and powerful and i want to

get right into it

i want to draw your attention to haggai

chapter 2 and verse 9. we scratched the

surface just a little bit

on this anchor passage on our new year’s

eve service if you didn’t see that

conversation between

myself and pastor sarah and it was just

an amazing time

if you didn’t experience it it’s on

youtube you can find it

uh right here on the channel right here

on the feed if you’re

listening via podcast then then you know

it will be there as well but again you

want to

experience that word because i believe

that it sets

up uh this year and i’m just so excited

and we made it hallelujah do me a favor

just put it right there in the feed if

you’re thankful to god that you

made it just say i made it thank you god

just give him a little bit of praise

this morning a little bit of honor a

little bit of glory

just come on just say i made it i made

it i

made it i made it thank god i’ve

made it hallelujah

and i still believe that the best is yet

to come in fact that’s always true

because it says that we go from glory to

glory hallelujah and speaking of glory

to glory

haggai 2 and 9 and it reads like this

the glory of this latter temple

shall be greater than the former says

the lord of hosts who cannot lie

he says and then and in this place i

will give peace

says the lord of hosts let’s pray

almighty god we thank you so much for

your word it is truth

it is enlightening it builds us up it

edifies us it

it shows us the way and we’re so

grateful and father i’m thankful for

your sons and daughters who have

gathered around the table that you have

prepared today hallelujah

and you’re going to feed us all to the

full you’re going to bless us

you’re going to enlighten us you’re

going to encourage us

you’re going to give us clarity where

there was cloudiness

clarity where there was confusion

hallelujah

and we’re going to be better because of

this time we spent here in your courts

and in your presence

we love you we bless you we thank you

in the mighty name of jesus we pray amen

hallelujah amen amen this this series is

called

starting over and i believe that we are

in a time

of rebuilding if you tuned into our new

year’s eve service i talked about how i

believe that this pandemic

was similar to a play in having

the curtains close for a season you know

when you go into intermission

so that the stage could be rearranged

and i believe that this

next act will exceedingly excel

the former and the worst thing

that you and i can do in this season

is to wait around for normal

to return because here’s the thing

we are actually what we are calling

normal

no matter how good it was is the former

that’s why paul said forgetting those

things that are behind and reaching

forward to those things that are ahead

so the best is not behind you

the best is always in front of you look

at what it says hang out 2 and 9 again

the glory of this

ladder temple shall be greater

than the former that’s powerful so that

means that

the reason why i cannot be waiting for

normal to return watch this

is because now the former normal

is lesser now the latter shall be

greater than the former the former

is lesser but the challenge is we can’t

see it yet

because the latter that’s coming hasn’t

fully come

it hasn’t been developed i want to draw

your attention to another passage of

scripture that is

that correlates well it’s actually at

the same time haggai is prophesying

during the time of the rebuilding of the

temple and

the book of ezra speaks about that

process and there is an

interesting bit of revelation that i

want to show you i’m going to read a

little bit

and you can track with me it says then

all the people shouted with the great

shout

when they praised the lord because the

foundation

of the house of the lord was laid

but many of the priests and levites and

head of the father’s houses

old men who had seen watch this who had

seen the first

temple wept with a loud voice

when the foundation of this temple was

laid before their eyes

so so watch this and i’m going to keep

reading just a second but watch this

so so they are rebuilding the temple

because the

former had been destroyed and

and they’re there and and the people

started praising god

and shouting but there were some in the

camp

who were weeping because they were still

thinking about

the first temple it says old men who had

seen the first

temple wept with a loud voice when the

foundation of this temple this new

temple

was laid before their eyes so so they

were having

they were seeing two things they were

seeing

the past or the former and what was and

they were also seeing what was to come

but

it was in the beginning of what was to

come and so oftentimes

we struggle with with letting go

of of the idea of normal

based on the former because the fullness

of what is to come has not yet been

revealed but let’s keep reading because

there’s something interesting

and i’m going to show you a discipline

that we must have in order to move

forward properly in this new season

and lay hold of everything that god has

called us to do so it says now

so so the old men wept we see that with

the loud voice when the foundation of

this temple was laid before their eyes

yet many shouted allowed for joy so

you’ve got these two things happening

you’ve got the weeping for the former

and

the the shouting allowed for joy

of that which was on its way it says now

it gets interesting

it says so these two things are

happening so that the

people could not discern

the noise of the shout of joy from the

noise of

the weeping of the people for the people

shouted with a loud shout and the sound

was heard afar off what does this mean

this means that we are going to have to

navigate watch this we’re going to have

to navigate

the mourning of the former and the

merriment

toward the future you got to catch what

i just said

we are going to have to learn how to

navigate the fact that we’re sad about

some things that we lost

and there’s some things that used to be

normal to us that we had

grown accustomed to and we’re gonna have

to learn how to navigate

the morning over those things with the

merriment

and the the mirth the excitement the joy

about what is to come and and and and

the interesting thing is

not only are we going to have to

navigate that outside of us

but we’re going to have to navigate that

inside of us we’re going to have to

navigate

navigate that dichotomy in the world

and also in the world of our own lives

are you tracking with me

because it’s going to be noisy in this

rebuilding season

it’s going to be noisy both inside and

outside

but when we learn to manage that

conflict well

we’re going to succeed i feel like

preaching i want to help you to

understand that

so you’re going to be sad at times but

you got to learn how to be sad and glad

you can’t be overcome so overcome with

sadness about the former that you don’t

celebrate with gladness that the god

who cannot lie and who cannot fail whose

word is true

is gonna bring the latter glory to pass

if you receive that put it in there

right now

just put i receive the latter glory yes

i might have to cry

yes things may take a while for them to

be rebuilt again

but i just believe by faith that my

ladder is going to be so much greater

than my former and since i believe it

i’m not going to be overcome with

darkness i’m going to praise god for the

light that’s on the way

if that’s your word so that’s me pt i’m

going to bless him at all times

i’m going to thank him at all times yes

it’s difficult but i believe that i’m

going from

glory to glory the best is yet to

i feel god on that

[Music]

i feel the lord but we’ve got much

ground to cover

it’s going to be noisy but we’re going

to have to manage that inner conflict

because it’s going to be a part of you

that wants what was

and and that’s that’s normal that is

natural i’m not i’m not you know

i’m not mad at you for that i’m not

condemning you or judging you for that

i’m just saying that you can’t be

overtaken by that

you’ve got to be like the people you got

because there’s going to be those two

sounds there’s going to be the two

sounds outside of you

and some people around you are not going

to be able to handle your optimism

they’re not going to be able to support

your optimism so from the inside

out you are going to have to manage

those two realities are you tracking

with me if you’re tracking with me put

it right there in the comments i’m

tracking with you pt i’m tracking i’m

tracking with you pt

and so as it relates to this rebuilding

we are called you and i the church the

body

of believers god’s children everywhere

we’re called to create and establish

this greater normal this new normal the

latter

in fact if you will hear me clearly

we are in the formative stage of what we

will one day call normal

in other words we’re not waiting for

normal

normal is happening and god has called

you and i to create it

to build it we’re not waiting for it

we’re building it right now

like we talked about a couple of weeks

ago go through the gates prepare the way

for the people remember that

build up clear out the highway

normal is not back there normal is upon

us

and we must seize watch this this

opportunity

to set the stage this is not the time

to be timid nor the time

to procrastinate this is our moment

there are spots to be filled

there is a place for you in this

rebuilding that god is doing

and more specifically hear me we’re

charged with the task

of discovering and playing our role

in the rearranging of the stage that god

is setting

i’m giving you a new job right now

you’re a set designer

you’re a set builder this is your new

job but before i tell you

how to start this process of starting

over

and how to start this process of

building the new

and the better normal i need us to be

clear on what it is we’re building

you say what are we building pt i’m

gonna tell you straight out

we are building temples

we’re building temples write that down

we’re building temples

temples yes temples we’re building gods

and ours we’re building temples we’re

temple builders

so let’s talk about that god’s and ours

what is god’s temple

god’s temple is his kingdom

his kingdom is not a physical

location it is bigger than that we have

physical locations

we do things in the physical but his

kingdom is so much bigger

it is his reign and his rule it is his

love

it is his power it is his peace

it is what he is perpetually

increasing and consistently and

constantly

increasing in the earth until the whole

world is filled with the knowledge

and the glory of the lord and we are

temple builders

we are kingdom builders we are building

god’s temple

and we also are building ours

god’s temple is his kingdom our temple

is our life it’s our lives and

both both both must be built

and it will happen simultaneously and

automatically

if our priorities are intact can i teach

you today

see that’s what the word means in

matthew 6 33 when it says

seek first the kingdom and his

righteousness

and all other things shall be added unto

you

did you know that everything that you

need is in god’s house

it’s in god’s kingdom it’s in god’s

temple and he knows that

and he is developing us in the

discipline

of prioritization god if i

put your temple first if i put your

kingdom first

if i put your agenda first

then you would take care of my my little

agenda you’ll take care of my little

life

i believe that god hear me is building

a leaner and more effective

and impactful church i feel the lord let

me say it again

i believe that god is building a leaner

and more effective and

and impactful church and i also believe

that god is building a

leaner and more aligned you oh god

two temples his temple his church his

body his kingdom leaner more effective

and more impactful but he’s also

building a leaner

and more aligned you and here is the

thing

the more evolved the more aligned and

the more

whole your temple the better you reflect

his glory

did you catch it it is a two for one

when i grow my expression of god grows

when i become more like jesus the world

gets better

when i evolve and begin to take on his

form and his likeness

i begin to build bridges from god to man

incredible bridges that meet every

single need in the world gets better

so god wants us to be temple builders

building two temples his temple

and our temple are you attracted to me

even scripturally the temple

oftentimes is referred or our bodies

rather

are referred to as the temple are you

tracking with me

and when one grows the other grows when

i get

better i reflect god’s better i reflect

the lord better

and these two happenings are

inextricably

connected are you track it with me

let’s look at haggai again i want to

unpack some things can i teach today

right will you let me just not not shout

or whatever but just just teach you i

promise it’ll make sense to you

so in haggai one of the things i love

about haggai it says and the glory of

this latter temple shall be greater than

the former

says the lord of hosts watch this and

then he says and

in this place

i will give peace says the lord

of hosts in this place i love that in

this place

i will get faith now here’s what’s

important it’s important to recognize

that god is rebuilding in the same spot

if if we take it back to the temple for

context

he is not the temple has been destroyed

but god has not chosen somewhere else

to rebuild he’s building in the same

spot which means that watch this and

this is important for you

god hasn’t given up on his original

intention

the idea was good it’s just that what it

had become

didn’t look quite like the idea i feel

that

that’s a word for you god hasn’t given

up on you

i don’t care how much

loss you care i care about you but what

i’m saying is

he hasn’t given up on you in the same

spot and in the same life

god’s going to build this new thing for

you are you tracking with me

the idea was good it’s just that

what it had become didn’t look quite

like god’s plan you know the word says

that

before i formed you in your mother’s

womb i knew you

got in essence is saying before you got

here i saw you and

and life becomes the place of shaping

life becomes the potter’s wheel and if

you think about

clay or something on the potter’s wheel

it is constantly

perpetually and consistently being

shaped and molded

and sometimes there are moments in the

process

of that spinning where it looks like

whatever is created is beginning to take

form

and you’re like oh i’m almost done and

then all of a sudden there’s

some sort of a shift on the axis and it

gets kind of loosey again

and yet god is still spinning it

bringing it more to

the perfect idea that he had now god’s

gonna build

in this place in the same spot

same spot new construction

same body new insides

same brain new vision

same tools new mission

are you tracking with me however

there’s something that we all need

before we can rebuild and set the stage

something that we all need we can’t

start without this

before we run full steam ahead towards

building we have to take a beat

and that thing that we need is

reflection

is reflection the first step

in starting over and building the

greater normal

the latter and the better temple

is reflection here’s

why otherwise if we don’t stop to

reflect before we build

otherwise we run the risk

of rebuilding what we built

in the past remember which is now

lesser you have to understand that we

have more

history with what was

than we do with what is coming

you got to catch that so so our rhythm

already you have to understand when god

is doing a new thing

our rhythm has to be reestablished

and i know we’re excited oh it’s a new

year and

oh 2021 is all new but let me tell you

something

you ain’t wired for new yet you’re still

wired for the former and so until you

and i

stop and have a serious

season of reflection we run the danger

in going back to because of rhythm

to building the lesser

are you tracking through me put it right

there put it in the comments i’m

tracking with you i’m tracking with you

yeah we got more history see see we have

to first before we move forward

we have to first seek to figure out

what was unprofitable about the old

season

or what needs to improve

we need reflection put it in the feed

right there i need reflection i need

reflection

because reflection is the doorway

to perspective and perspective

going forward is a must-have

perspective is a non-negotiable and the

only way

that you and i can get to a clear

perspective

is through reflection

and i want to give you your own

personal reflection exercise

that i want you to employ between now

and next week when we’re together

and we continue in this series these are

eight

reflection questions that you need to

ask yourself are you ready

you got your pen write these questions

down

what did i learn

what did i learn in the last season

sometimes we are constantly learning

but never applying what we learned i

feel that

that’s the difference between wisdom and

understanding

wisdom is learning understanding

is applying what you learn so that you

can experience the fruit

of what the last season taught you what

did i learn that’s the first question

for your reflection exercise the second

thing is

what did i gain hallelujah let me tell

you something

as much loss

there was in 2020 baby

we gained some things we gained

endurance

we gained faith we gained perspective we

learned

some things in 2020. we didn’t come out

of 2020

empty sometimes what you gain was

intangible

but you and i need to figure out what am

i

bringing into 2021 that i did not have

in 2020

because i’m telling you we are better

now

even though we’ve been broken by so many

things what did i gain

what did i learn first what did i gain

what did i lose

let’s be real what did i lose

and really unpack what you lost because

one of the things that i’m learning is

watch this

some things i lost so that i can gain

i wish you checked that see what i’ve

learned about life

is that we only have a certain amount of

spots for things in our lives and

sometimes when god wants to bring you

better he removes lesser

and we’re like oh my god i’m going to

die i didn’t know i could make it

without this i didn’t know i could oh my

god i got another

next year you know god upgrades you

sometimes god has to to to cause you

to lose in order to win are you tracking

with me

what did i learn what did i gain what

did i lose

here’s a here’s an interesting one what

did i love

and did it love me back no we’re going

to dig

in and really begin to reflect what

did i set my heart upon

and was it a worthy investment

we’re going deep what did i learn what

did i gain

what did i lose what did i love and did

it love me back watch this here’s

another one

this is important where did i find value

and was it healthy

where did i find value where did my

value come from

did it come from likes or comments

or views or followers or

attention from those that

were attracted to you where where where

come on we’re going to dig deep

where did i find value

and let’s be real when did i feel alive

and was it healthy or was it not healthy

what did i learn what did i gain what

did i lose

what did i love and did it love me back

where did i find value and was it

healthy

watch this what were my priorities

and were they profitable uh-huh

i didn’t come to play because we’re

gonna get this thing right

yeah these are the questions i’m

learning that reflection they’re more in

just a second but i’m learning

that reflection has to do with the hard

questions

that you’re willing to ask yourself what

were my priorities

and were they profitable what did i put

first did i put others first or did i

put me first

what what did i i give the majority of

my time and my attention to and that it

profit me

or simply distract me confuse me

we’ve got to answer these questions

what did i learn what did i gain what

did i lose what did i love and didn’t

love me back

whether i find value was it healthy

what were my priorities and were they

profitable here’s the

biggest question you gotta ask who am i

now

you’re not the same person that you were

on january 3rd

2019. you’re somebody different

and this was the point the ladder is

going to be so much greater than the

former you’re not that same person

and you have to dig into the presence of

god and dig into yourself

and dig into the wisdom of god and look

in the mirror

and ask yourself who

am i

now hallelujah

what did i learn what did i gain what

did i lose

what did i love and did it love me back

what did i find value

was it healthy what were my priorities

and were they profitable who

am i now and last but not least and

we’re going to dig

further into this next week but what do

i

need to do daily to maintain that

new identity and live out that destiny

oh you got some homework ahead of you

but

god gave me this and i believe

that as you ask these questions and

analyze the answers i believe that god

is going to reveal to you his strategy

for building his temple

and your own as you dig into this it’s

about reflection

you know i had i’ve got so much to tell

you about

vision and and connection and all these

things we’re going to talk about in the

coming weeks but god said hold up

it’s not the time to run out there there

will be

a trumpet there will be a starter pistol

coming soon

and when that starter pistol goes off

carpe diem seize the day it’s coming yes

yes yes yes yes it’s coming

but i don’t want you to run fast in the

wrong direction

running fast is only an asset it’s only

valuable when you’re running towards the

goal

when you’re running towards the mark

because you can run fast and go nowhere

and this is too critical of time it’s a

time for rebuilding and as i mentioned

before

you are a part

of the crew that’s resetting the stage

that god is building and he’s

getting ready to reveal and as you do

this

as you as you ask yourself these

questions as you dig deep

as you sit with god as you sit with god

he’s going to rebuild these things to

you

yeah no no i was speaking as some of you

i was even tempted

on the first of january to just run out

there and

and god says hold up

swell up he didn’t say that

he said take a minute son

rest get in my presence

seek my face you have never been this

way before

oh believe me you you will have plenty

of time and opportunity

to run forward and to run ahead but but

you need to reflect

and this is a deep reflection and it

takes time

but i believe that if you will do the

work

that i’ve laid out here with the

understanding this is a message you got

to listen to over and over and over

again

i’m not trying to shout you up right now

i’m trying to bring you to an

elevated place because you are part of

god’s plan he is rebuilding you

and he’s going to use you to rebuild

his temple and we’re going to continue

next week

and we’re going to get even more

practical and it’s going to become even

more powerful and here’s the beautiful

thing

you’re going to be clearer by this time

next week

you’re going to have so many notes and

it’s going to be so much insight and so

much understanding that comes to you

and and and this new version of you is

going to begin to take form and you’re

going to learn

that new rhythm and you’re gonna learn

how to walk in and i’m gonna teach you

and i’m gonna show you and i’m gonna

lead you

well i’m doing the same thing for myself

and 2021

it’s going to be a year of great victory

and great triumph

ta-da is still headed

in your direction i want to pray for you

[Music]

father i thank you so much thank you god

for

bringing us through

and god although the former things have

passed away

and we’re still trying to wrap our arms

around in our mind around

what the new normal is we’re grateful

that you are with us

and you’re for us and you’ll never

forsake us

and father i’m praying right now for all

that are under the sound of my voice

lord hallelujah

that as they move into this time of

reflection glory

as they move into this time of

soul-searching and seeking and seeking

your face

lord that you would meet them with

wisdom meet them with revelation

meet them with insight meet them with

understanding

hallelujah meet them in a deep way and

then god

i thank you that you’re going to reveal

them

to them you’re going to show us who we

are

now and then as you did with david

you’re going to teach our hands to fight

hallelujah you’re going to teach us how

to move and what to do you’re going to

teach us

where to go and what to pursue you’re

going to teach us what to

embrace and what to refrain from embrace

embracing you’re gonna teach us what to

love and what not to love hallelujah

you’re gonna teach us

what to give our hearts to and and what

to take our heart back from

you’re gonna teach us how to be great

it’s gonna be amazing thank you god

for doing this for us

your sons and daughters so that

as we evolve and as we grow

and as we build our temple we will be

brilliant expressions

and reflections of yours

thank you god for doing this in jesus

name

[Music]

now listen as some of you and you

haven’t been

to church and in god’s house and in this

type of

experience in a long time and i don’t

want to take anything for granted

god is real jesus is real he is the

truth and

i don’t i don’t

i’m not moved by sadly some of the

poor representations of what it means to

be a believer what it means to be a

christian that

sadly is prevalent in our world but one

thing you got to remember

is that a counterfeit is only profitable

if there’s a real thing

and there is a real thing and there is a

real life

and there is a real journey and there is

a real faith worth

laying your life down to pursue

there are people both great and small

who have tasted and seen that the gospel

which means good news of jesus is worthy

of laying

everything down and embracing

as a parable in the scripture about a

man who was

shopping in a field he was he was a a

merchant who

amassed treasures he would seek out

treasures and and he went into this one

field and he found a pearl of great

price

and he sold everything he had and bought

it

it’s like that imagine

being loved so

incredibly and so thoroughly and so

entirely that

all you want to do is spend the rest of

your life in the presence of the author

of that love

it’s real and anything

that you would have to give up so to

speak

in order to walk with god god promises

to multiply it 100 fold in this life

and afterwards experience the great gift

of eternal life

so if that’s you and you just

maybe you stumbled across this or maybe

someone invited you to this

and you say i feel something special and

something different

and something unique and

i want to open up my heart to it i want

to open up my spirit to it let me tell

you something

god doesn’t want from you he wants

for you jeremiah 29-11

for i know the plans that i have for you

says the lord they’re good and not evil

plans to prosper you and not to harm you

to give you a future

and a hope if that’s you and you’re

watching

and you say pastor i want to open up my

heart to jesus i

i want love like that i want love that

that

delivers me from loneliness i want

love that heals my insecurity i want

love that heals my mind and heals my

body i want

i want love that that that breaks

depression off of my life

i want love that that makes me excited

to get out of the bed in the morning to

journey to experience what might god

have for me

on this day if i want to be loved

unconditionally if i want to

not be judged by where i’ve been or what

i’ve been through or what i’m struggling

with but to be loved

[Music]

unconditionally if that’s you

and you say i don’t want to step into

this crazy year i don’t want to step

into this crazy time

without being connected to that love

and i want to open up my heart and

receive that love today

i just want you to write there just say

i receive it

just say it say i receive it to say i

receive god’s love put in the feed i

receive god’s love

i receive god’s love and the manifest

expression of god’s love is jesus

[Music]

john 3 16 for god so loved the world

that he gave his only begotten son jesus

is the perfect expression of the love of

god

and he will love you so good if that’s

you i receive

jesus i receive

jesus i receive the love of god

hallelujah

and i believe that as you receive see

receiving is everything

as you receive and as you have the

capacity to receive

he comes the greater watch this the

greater your ability to open up and

receive

the greater the measure of the love that

comes from god that you get to

experience

hallelujah and there’s so much more

i only scratch the surface of the life

that the christ comes to

secure for us keep putting it there i

receive jesus

i receive it put it there that’s me

that’s me

i’m not going into 2021 without jesus

and if you’re already connected with

jesus but you’ve

strayed away and you’re coming back home

just put it in the

feed put it in the comments hit us up

send us an email do whatever

and say i’m coming home i’m coming home

i’m coming home and to all of you

i say welcome home

you