Guest Speaker | Pastor Quinton Carter | Sunday Service

About three and a half years ago, we were in a transition in our student ministry and looking for, praying for our next leaders for student ministry, and we were praying for a couple.

And Pastor Noah and I were reaching out to anybody and everybody that we could find to get a recommendation on who would be a great fit here at Christian Life Church.

And I called a couple in Houston, Texas that I had a long-term relationship with that I knew were doing a phenomenal job leading a student ministry there.

I was calling to ask them if they knew anybody, but to be totally candid, I was fishing.

I was taking their temperature to see where they were in the place that they were serving.

I was trying to see if their season there was done because it might need to start here.

Only to find out that they had just taken a position as Youth for the Nations director at Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas.

And so they said, Pastor, if you'll give us just a little time to get settled, we love you guys, we know your church, and I'll see if I can't find a couple to send your way or to recommend.

And so a couple weeks passed, and and next thing I know, I get a call from Quentin, and he said, I think I have a couple that would be a great fit for you, and it's Caleb and Ashley Wallace, and they're newlyweds, they've been serving at Christ for the Nations for the last three years and finishing their program there.

And of course, we interviewed them and hired them.

And Quentin and Alby spoke at the weekend this past weekend and did a phenomenal job.

And I knew they were coming to town.

And church, I wanted to introduce you to the couple that is responsible for Caleb and Ashley being here.

And so I'm gonna ask you guys to come join me on the stage.

Quentin and Albi currently lead thousands of young people and youth pastors from around the country.

They have their pulse on what God is doing in this generation.

And they have been friends and really family of Christian Life Church for almost 20 years, whether they've been here in person or apart.

And so today, Quentin is going to bring the word to us.

And so, church, will you put your hands together and give them a wonderful Christian life church?

Welcome.

I think we can stand for our king, amen.

Matthew 6, verse 13.

Matthew 6:13

And I'm not sure, me, your team, you got you guys are amazing.

Thank you so much.

You guys can read along and follow along here.

It says, Now when Jesus went into the region of Seserai Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is?

And they answered, Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

Then Jesus said to them, Who do you say that I am?

Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed, the Son of the living God.

Then Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood is not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Verse 18, I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.

Can we declare that together?

One, two, three.

On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys of authority of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.

Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Anyone grateful that Jesus said he will build his church?

Come on, aren't you grateful for what the Lord is doing?

I want to read one more passage to you, Psalm 127, verse 1 through 2, says, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

Psalms 127:1–2

Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise early, to retire late, to eat bread of anxious labors, for he gives blessings to his beloved, even in his sleep.

Now, Pastor, I had no clue that you guys were in a building phase.

And I had felt this message laid upon my heart.

In fact, I believe Pastor Caleb had texted me and said, Hey, can you send your notes for the message for Sunday?

And the Lord told me to come and preach the house that God is building.

The house that God is building.

And I feel a prophetic word for this house today.

Let's pray.

Holy Spirit, I ask, Lord, that you would open our minds to understand your scripture.

Open our hearts to receive everything that you have for us, Lord, and let a mighty anointing be in this place to tear down every lie, to tear down every stronghold.

Lord, to build and edify each heart and each life.

Lord, let us be the people that you called us to be.

Let us be the church that you have called us to be.

Shape us, mold us, Lord.

We surrender to you today.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Everyone say, Amen.

Amen.

You may be seated today.

And I know I've said it already, but I just I gotta just create space because I believe honor is the kingdom of heaven.

And uh, how many of you guys love your shepherds and your leaders?

Come on, Pastor Jeremy, Pastor Meg.

One of the things that has been so impactful by your leadership in our lives is you are healthy shepherds.

Aren't you guys grateful you have healthy leaders?

Leaders that you can greatly trust, that you have shown obviously great longevity, but not only in the space of ministry, but in the health of your family.

And it was such a refreshing and strengthening and shaping it shaped our view of even how we do our marriage and raise our children to see how you have raised your children in the house of the Lord and how you have led your marriage.

It greatly impacted us even as we were school and ministry students.

So we thank you for your leadership.

I also got to shout out one more person, Pastor Noah.

I don't know if he's around at all, but how many of you guys love Pastor Noah?

Years ago when we were here, Pastor Noah was always a part of our journey as well and has just been incredible.

Him and his family, we love so much, and I'm grateful for the leadership.

And once again, can we give it up for your incredible youth pastors, Pastor Caleb and Pastor Ashley?

Unbelievable what God is doing.

Let's go.

Weekend retreat.

Did you guys get any sleep?

No, we don't need it.

We don't need it.

We're young.

Why do we need it?

You know, I get it.

I get it.

I'm so excited today to be here.

But I want to talk to you about the significance of this house.

There are many churches all across the world.

There's many churches all across, even our region, even across Birmingham.

But there's a reason why CLC is here.

And there's churches that can be have different identities, different purposes, different missions, different direction, vision that God has for each house to reach people and to obey the Lord in the region that they've been called.

But here in this house, I felt the sense that the Lord has said over this house that this house is different because it's not just a house, it is a commissioning space.

A house is a place where people get comfortable, but you're not here to be comfortable.

You're here to be equipped.

A house is a place where people come and just take a seat and just get relaxed, but this is not just a place for you to take a seat and get relaxed.

In fact, I want to just prophesy to you: your seat is gonna need some more people in it.

You're gonna need some more seats because God's gonna start sending some more people into this house.

And this house needs to be a house of mission.

In fact, as we there's this time of worship, I got the picture prophetically of this house being a house that hosts the environment of heaven.

And that people will encounter heaven here.

What happens when heaven gets in the earth?

The whole world is desperate to know.

And I feel this being a house of the throne room of the throne room of God, a dwelling place of the Lord, that is very specific of what God is doing here and in this place.

And I felt the Lord tell me to teach to this house and the house that God is building.

Because a lot of times people think you can just teach anything.

You really can't.

You can only teach what God gives you permission to teach.

And I had felt permission to come and prophesy.

Is it okay if I prophesy some things here today?

Because I know we're right now building, but I hear the Lord say, expand those plans in Jesus' mighty name.

I know I see this, I see this facility, and I'm like, yeah, we're about to double this in the mighty name of Jesus.

That even I felt, even as you showed the graphic of the finances, and I felt this word that the Lord said there's gonna be miracle pledges and miracle donors, city-wise as well as believers.

There's gonna be, there's it's gonna come from multiple avenues that the Lord has wealth that has been stored up, the wealth of the wicked that's been stored up for the righteous for this project and what God's gonna do.

It's gonna be fully funded in the mighty name of Jesus.

I felt the Lord speak to come and speak life over dry bones, to speak resurrection over dreams that people have given up on, to declare that there's things that even God has shown you, shown your leadership early on in the vision, and there's been a where man, where's that at?

But the Lord says it is coming to speak to those things and declare for them to live in the mighty name of Jesus.

When God builds the house, he builds different.

Somebody say different.

His ways are greater than our ways, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and God is always knowing the beginning and the end.

He is He's the one that before He even starts, He already knows where it's going to end.

So because God is building, you can't follow everybody else's blueprint.

You can't build like every other space or every other ministry because that's not what God's telling us to do.

This is what God is giving us in our blueprint for CLC.

We've got to honor the voice of God in the leadership of his voice.

So if we're gonna trust that God is a builder, first of all, we must believe that God is a perfect builder.

He's a perfect builder.

Let me just put it plain and simple.

Bob the builder ain't got nothing on God.

Let me just tell you.

Chip and Joe, HGTV, they can't even come close to how God builds.

Okay?

He's off the chain.

He's incredible.

He knows the beginning, and he knows the end from the beginning.

In fact, one theologian says that God actually knows the end from the very beginning.

In fact, he already finishes something before he starts it.

That anything he starts, he has already finished.

Everything finds his fulfillment in him.

He holds all things, all things are from him, for him, sustained in him.

There's none like him.

Why?

Because we can't comprehend who God is, because he is uncreated.

He exists in a category that doesn't even make sense to our minds.

Because we are always trying to figure out where something came from or the origin or where did it begin, but there is no beginning for God, for he has always been, he will always be.

He is everlasting to everlasting.

He's beyond what we could ever fathom.

So when he speaks, we can trust what he is doing.

When he speaks, we can trust the direction that he is giving us from the very beginning.

So I want to just take us back to the very beginning of Genesis chapter 1, because I want to show you some of the ways that God builds that is different than how we would typically think.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Genesis 1, verse 1 through 5, it says, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.

Genesis 1:1–5

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be, and there was light.

And God saw that the light was it was good.

So God separated the light from darkness and uh the light from the darkness, and he called the light day and the darkness night.

And then look what it says at the end of uh verse five.

It says, There was evening and there was morning the first day.

Let's stop right there.

Um whenever we're calculating days, we don't we don't count a day like that.

For example, if we were to say a day, it starts morning, then evening, day one.

That's not how scripture calculates a day.

How scripture calculates a day is there was evening, then morning the first day.

Why is that important?

In the Jewish culture, what is believed and understood is that God, the day doesn't start when you rise, the day starts when you sleep.

Why is that important for you to know?

In other words, it means that God is doing things when you're out of the way.

Why is that important for you to know?

That means that without your energy, God is doing his best work.

Oh, that's that that sets me free.

See, while you were sleeping, God was telling stars where to go.

God does his best work without me.

And what is understood is that I actually rise to the day that he has made for me.

No wonder the scripture would say, This is the day that the Lord has made.

I will rejoice and be glad in it.

What has God prepared for you today?

What has God prepared for your family this day?

And isn't it crazy that God makes our days, but we don't talk to him about the day he has for us?

We didn't be sad that God has planned opportunities and planned connections and planned conversations and moments that are going to impact you.

But but we just go in our own way, in our own thoughts, in our own ability.

We've just, you know what?

A life that lacks prayer is a life that believes it can handle life without God.

When I don't pray, I am saying, God, I'm good.

I got this today.

And I don't know about you.

Life is crazy.

Our culture is crazy, but our God is perfect.

And if you begin to pause every day, you will find that God has peace for you that day.

Give us this day our daily bread.

It's all throughout His scripture when we begin to understand that God has framed our days while we were sleeping.

It's the rest of that Genesis account.

On day two, it says, there was evening, there was morning the second day.

There was evening, there was morning the third day.

There was evening the morning, fourth, fifth, sixth day.

In fact, the last thing that God makes, anybody knows what's the last part of creation that he makes on the sixth day?

Oh man, Sunday school, here we go.

Us.

Mankind.

So hold on.

This is what gets me frustrated sometimes.

You mean to tell me, God, that you made you made birds before us?

That's messed up.

Okay.

The one that gets me, especially being from the south, is God made mosquitoes before us.

That's that one.

I'm like, I can't believe you would do that.

But notice the picture.

Right?

He didn't make man on day one, so we don't know how he shaped the stars, we just see them.

We don't know how he made mountains, we just see them.

We don't know how he made oceans, we just see them.

What do we do?

We come in on day six and we come into a finished work.

Everything done.

Everything completed.

See, when God builds, he builds already having it finished, and now you come into what he's invited you into.

What is this picture?

This picture is greater than just creation.

This picture is actually salvation.

Because on the cross, the last words of Jesus were, it is finished.

That's where we start.

That's where our faith starts.

My faith doesn't start with me being a better person.

My faith starts with me accepting the finished work that Jesus has paid for.

It's all done.

Salvation done.

Identity done.

In other words, it takes the pressure off of thinking that we build anything.

We really don't.

We just obey what God tells us to do.

See, he anything he starts, he has already finished.

No wonder Ephesians 2.10 says, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should just walk in them.

So there's works for your life.

There's works for your family.

There's works for your children and your children's children to walk in.

That the Lord has already prepared a place for you.

He's a perfect builder.

He can be trusted in all spaces, in every space of our life.

When we look through scripture and through the Bible, we see many people building things for God.

We see Nehemiah building for the Lord.

We see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

They always built altars unto God.

We see Bezalel and Ohilead building the tabernacle of Moses.

We see Solomon building the temple of David.

But one of the very first people that we see build anything in Scripture is Noah.

Somebody say Noah.

Right?

And we've all heard of this story and this the significance of it that Noah built an ark.

He built an ark because the Lord said, It is going to rain.

So he says, Build the ark and build it this way.

Genesis chapter 6, verse 13 through 15.

Genesis 6:13–15

God said to Noah, I'm going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.

I am surely going to destroy them in the earth.

So make yourself an ark of cypress wood, make rooms in it, and coat it with pitch and tar inside and out.

This is how you are to build it.

So God gives him direction, and from that point on, he lists multiple things of what Noah is supposed to do, the type of wood he's supposed to use, the cubits, how high, how wide, the length, all of it.

He lays it all out to him.

Now, I know you may be wrestling because up to this point, what we've said is God has built everything.

We don't really build, God builds.

But when we read this, we're like, Noah built that.

In fact, for me, I'm like, God, I'm gonna preach this because Noah's the one that built the ark.

And God's like, no, he didn't, I did.

I said, God, listen, I'm not arguing with you.

But Noah built the ark, bro.

He's like, bro, listen.

Yeah, he said, bro, to me.

He said, I built it, and if I didn't build it, then I would have never told Noah to build it.

He said, I already built it before it was built.

I said, Lord, you're gonna have to talk to me.

You're gonna have to show me what this means.

So, he gave me this picture, babe.

Could you hand me that amazing Lego set?

Any parents in the room that love Legos?

Okay, the fact that you shout it back is crazy.

Let's let's say this.

Any parents in the room that step on Legos sometimes?

Yeah.

Yeah, we've got a love-hate relationship, we've got two sons, and um, every day, it's not like every like week, every day.

Dad?

Yes, son, can we go get Legos?

Son, we have so many sets of Legos.

You've not even finished all the sets.

Dad, can I go get some Legos?

Okay.

So I'm always building Legos, alright?

Now, when you look at this box of Legos, which we got blessed with by the amazing Pastor Ashley helping to bless our sons, because they are gonna go crazy on this.

But here's what I know my son Zay, the youngest one, he's not gonna build this.

Who's gonna build it?

I'm gonna build it.

Who's gonna spend?

It's probably gonna take me about 40 minutes on this.

I know you're like, wow, guy, you know, you could knock that out.

I know for me, it takes 40 minutes.

Okay?

Who's gonna spend that time?

The dad is gonna spend that time.

Now, who's gonna get it once it's built and take it out to his friends and just say, hey, look what I made?

Zay.

So Zay's gonna get all the credit, but his dad built it.

Oh, you missed it.

Zay's name is gonna be on it, but his dad's the one that built it.

Furthermore, here's what the Lord showed me is that anything, and I know this is Lego, but there's there's significance here because you cannot build this unless it's already been built.

There's already a picture, there's already instruction.

Everything's been laid out, so you're really not building, you're really just obeying.

Oh, Jesus.

So, what does God do?

What does he do for Noah?

He gives them instruction, he gives them material, he tells them every bit of what to do.

Noah's really not building, Noah is just assembling what God has told him to do.

Doesn't that take the pressure off?

And I felt this today for families, I felt this for this house, but I also felt it for families, and I felt it for business owners.

Many times we can feel like we're trying to figure out everything.

No, what God has called you to, he is already built.

You just need to listen to the voice of the Lord and assemble the picture that he has given you.

And I believe, Pastor, that the Lord's giving you picture, he's giving you clarity, he's giving you instruction, and I prophesy that he's also giving you the laborers for it.

The ones that will come alongside the vision to build what the Lord is saying to build.

Anybody grateful that God is a perfect builder?

Can we give them some praise today?

So we go back to this passage, Psalm 127, verse 1 through 2.

Psalms 127:1–2

It says, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it, which makes me beg the question, what am I spending my life building that God is not a part of?

Why am I putting my energy to things that God is not in?

Why am I spending my days on things that God is not telling me to do?

It tells us to be careful with our days, right?

The word of God says that life is but a vapor.

And so for me to toil in my own striving or in my own ways versus yielding to what God has, his ways, his word, his truth, his kingdom, can I tell you why being able to serve in the kingdom of God, love people in the kingdom of God is the most important thing?

Because it is the only kingdom that is everlasting.

It will last more than the American government.

It will last more than any nation you could ever be a part of.

So every contribution you make to the kingdom is an everlasting one.

Why would I spend my days building something that God is not building?

They that labor, labor in vain.

Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.

It is vain to rise early, to retire late, to eat the bread of anxious labors.

And this last part says, for he gives blessings to his beloved in his sleep.

Another translation would say he gives rest to his beloved.

That while I was resting, God has plans for me, purposes for me, and I simply yield, surrender to the voice of God and his direction.

God, I don't just want to build, I don't want to waste my time, I don't want to waste my effort, I don't want to waste my years.

I want to build in participation, in partnership with your spirit.

I want to build alongside you, Lord.

Which therefore we have to ask the question: what is the house that God is building?

I want to take you to one last scripture, Matthew 21, verse 12 through 14.

Matthew 21:12–14

This is the house that God builds.

Jesus entered the temple, and he drove out all who were buying and selling birds, animals for sacrifice in the temple area.

He turned over the temp the tables of the money changers, and the chairs of those who were selling doves.

And Jesus said to them, It is written, My house.

Somebody say, My house.

God says, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it into a den of thieves.

Verse 14, and the blind and the lame came in to him, to the temple area, and he healed them.

What is the house that the Lord is building?

A house of prayer.

A house of prayer.

What is prayer?

Prayer is not just simply the communication with God.

Prayer is the space where we invite heaven into the earth.

That this is the house that the Lord is building.

He's building CLC to be a house that can host the environment of heaven.

What's in heaven?

There's no sickness in heaven, so why should there be sickness here?

What's in heaven?

There's no anxiety in heaven, so why should there be anxiety here?

That we have an environment, a space, hearts and lives that are surrendered and postured before God to say we want what God has, we want the presence of God.

We want to have a house of prayer, a place where God dwells.

You know, sometimes I think in ministry we can get so focused on making people comfortable that God isn't even comfortable.

We don't want people to get confronted, so we just we we actually more make a house for people instead of God.

No, we want a house for God and let the people get used to it.

We want God to be at home.

I see it all the time, you know, whenever we're worshiping, because people will say, Oh man, here we go.

I'm gonna get in trouble.

I don't know.

We'll talk about it after, I guess.

People will say, Well, I don't I don't know, I don't like that song.

Guess what?

That song's not for you.

We're not singing a song for you.

You didn't die on the cross for us.

We're singing a song for him.

Well, I don't know, I just don't, I just don't connect.

It's not about if you connect, is it the body?

Oh man, okay.

Okay.

I'll go back to the notes.

I'm gonna keep reading.

What have we done?

We've done in our American culture.

We've made consumer church.

If I like it, if I like the way small groups are, if I like the okay, cool.

We'll we'll settle here.

It's not about if you like it.

It's about is he here?

Is he here?

Is the word of God preached?

Is he honored?

That's the house I want to be in.

I want to be in the house where the Lord is on the throne.

The house that the Lord is building is the house where the blind can see, where the lame can walk, where the sick are healed, where the lost are found, where the confused.

You see what's going on in our next generation?

The confusion, the sexual confusion, that they come into the right mind and they understand exactly who they are, that they are a man, they are a woman created in the image and the likeness of God.

That's the house that God is building.

He's building a house where the weary are refreshed, the dead are made alive again.

Could that be this house?

So if I'm going to participate in what God is building, then I have to first lay down what I've been building on my own.

I have to lay down the things that I the way I think things should go.

My preferences.

I think a lot of times our preferences get in the way of obedience.

I was talking with the students last night because we were talking about my best friend called the Holy Spirit.

And we were talking about how Holy Spirit is not weird, people are weird.

Amen.

You should get a t-shirt for that one.

Okay?

Holy Spirit isn't weird.

But Holy Spirit will do things that you sometimes don't understand.

He will do things that don't always make sense to you.

And let me tell you this: if God can only move in a way that makes sense to you, then you worship your mind, you don't worship God.

If God can only move in the confines of how you prefer, then your worship is how you like it, not the God of the universe.

So there are times Holy Spirit will do things, speak things, call you to things that you're like, man, I don't this feels so different.

Yes, because he's stretching you and stretching your there's so many things along my journey that I didn't even know God could do that I've seen him do.

That can't cancer leaving bodies.

Praise God.

That God can do things beyond what doctors can do, physicians can do, beyond what the government can do, beyond what any man can do.

So we want to be a people that are yielded to the voice of God.

But Holy Spirit is not weird, but he will stretch your understanding.

He will go beyond the confines.

You cannot put God in a box.

You put God in a box, the only person that's gonna be there is you.

This is a house where where we can send a generation to a weekend retreat and see their lives transformed, see God fill them with the Holy Spirit, see them recognize and understand their destiny and their identity in God.

Some of them dominated me though in volleyball.

I I will be honest about that.

Yeah.

That was that was that was embarrassing.

Okay, okay, I'm moving on.

Maybe worship team could come join me here.

This is a house for the Lord.

But if we're gonna be a house of the Lord, it is not just a house on Sundays.

In other words, that I'm not just worshiping God when there's a worship team.

That I'm not just encountering God whenever I'm in a service.

No, I walk with the Lord every single day because the truth is, yes, this is a beautiful building, and I believe God is expanding it.

But did you know that you are the temple?

You are the house that God is building.

You're the temple of the Holy Spirit.

That He wants to lead you every single day of your life, every day.

People say sometimes, man, I have a hard time hearing God.

I I don't actually believe anyone has a hard time hearing God.

I think a lot of people have a hard time listening to him and doing what he says.

But he wants to give you wisdom on that job, he wants to give you wisdom on those decisions that you're having to make.

I feel this for parents.

He wants to give you wisdom as your child is growing and maturing, and you're like, I don't know what's going on.

Yes, the Lord knows exactly what's going on.

If we'll seek him, sometimes we can parent and lead our even our marriage or our home out of our own emotion instead of out of the voice of God.

But God wants to speak to you, he wants to give you, he wants to impart unto you.

And I know we've been talking about this building, but let's talk about your house.

What is God wanting to establish in your home, in your very home, in your living room?

Is it a house of worship?

Uh-oh.

Or is it a house of Netflix?

Uh-oh, man.

Don't get mad at me.

Okay.

Is it a house of peace or is it a house of strife?

Is it a house of unity or is it a house of division?

God wants to build your home.

He wants to build your marriage.

See, me and my wife, we both came from divorced homes.

So when we got married, and we got married here in this church, and as I said of Pastor Jeremiah.

Sorry, I got many words going through.

Pastor Saylor.

Your marriage has shaped our lives.

Because we didn't see what a marriage looked like to be healthy.

And now to this day we do.

Because of your voice in our lives, even in that instrumental season.

And for many of us, we've had pictures or other voices or other influences.

Some of us, we can lead our marriage the way we've always seen them done, versus the way that God made them.

You know, America didn't start marriage, but God did in a garden.

He knows how it works.

He knows what how family works.

He's got instructions, he's got blueprint.

We simply yield to him.

So across this place, I just want to take a moment to pray for us.

If you would join me just by closing your eyes today.

But Lord, that you will build the house, you will build your church.

Give us the picture of how to build.

We yield to you, Holy Spirit, today.

I'm going to invite our prayer team to come join me here towards the front, and across this place, would you stand to your feet?

Thank you, Holy Spirit.

Before I go a bit further, I don't want to miss a moment.

And I feel the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit here today.

That maybe you're here and there has been stress, there's been anxiety, there's been fear in your life, because you've yet to surrender to Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

You've yet to trust Him in His ways and in His truth and trust His His love for you.

But you're ready to yield and surrender to Him today.

It's as simple as a decision, right where you are, that you can pray this prayer with us today.

So across this place, can we just close our eyes for a moment?

And if you're here today and you're done building your own way, you're done fighting against what God is saying and how He is speaking, and you say, I want to surrender to Jesus as my Lord, as my builder, as my Savior.

I want you to lift your hand to the Lord here today across this place.

Thank you, Holy Spirit.

Yes.

Thank you, Father.

Thank you, Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

Listen, and you're not lifting a hand to Quentin Carter, you're lifting your hand to the King of Kings.

You're saying, Here I am, Lord.

Here I am, Lord.

Thank you, Father.

Right now, Holy Spirit, I thank you, Lord, for freedom over every heart and over every life.

I thank you, Lord, that he who the Son has set free is free indeed.

And we thank you, Lord, that as we set our eyes on you, Lord, that you order our steps, that you direct us every place in every space, Lord, we yield to you today.

Could we pray this out loud today?

As a family, there are a couple of hands all across the auditorium that we want to pray together.

Can we say this?

Say, Jesus, thank you.

You are perfect in all your ways.

Forgive me for choosing to build in my own way.

Forgive me for choosing other things over you.

I surrender to you today.

Be the Lord and Savior of my life.

Would you pray this with me?

Say, Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God.

I believe that you died on the cross for my sins.

And I believe that you rose from the grave with all power and that you are alive today, and that you love me and you want a relationship with me.

Forgive me of my sins.

Would you place a hand on your heart?

Say, Holy Spirit, make my heart your home.

Father, right now in the mighty name of Jesus, I just declare, Lord, that he who the Son has set free is free indeed.

Every life, Lord, that has surrendered to you.

I thank you, Lord, that chains are broken.

I thank you, Lord, that fear and depression is falling off of hearts and lives.

I thank you, Lord, that confusion is falling off of minds today.

And I thank you, Lord, for liberty in the Spirit of God.

I thank you, Lord, that you would fill every heart with a burning passion for your name.

Lord, that we are the dwelling place, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, come and make your home in us.

Lord, we love this building, but Lord, we love more that you dwell in us.

Lord, you made a way by the precious blood of Jesus that we could be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus' mighty name.

The second call I feel is very specific for families, for marriages.

I also feel it potentially even as a business owner, but specifically families and marriages.

That God wants to give you your picture.

That I stop repeating family history.

And say, no, Lord, teach me how to how to lead my family.

Teach me how to lead my marriage.

Teach me how to speak life instead of death.

And I feel a spirit of unity.

So I want to just create a space that our prayer team is here and available, that you can come and they can pray with you.

But also if you are here and you're with your spouse, or if you're married, maybe your spouse isn't here, you still begin to open your heart.

If you are single, that you begin to pray and receive because God has a blueprint for you, direction, wisdom, that you're not swayed to the left or to the right, that God will give you conviction and clarity and vision for your life.

Whatever space you're in, God knows exactly where you are and He has something for you.

So across this place, if you have your spouse, why don't you grab their hand?

I want to pray over families, and then we're just gonna open the altars, and Pastor can take it from there.

And would you would you open your hands together?

Father, we just thank you, Lord, Lord, that every marriage, Lord, would be blessed in this place.

Lord, a generation has been suffering from fatherlessness, from motherlessness, Lord, from the loss of the family image.

But we declare that this is a house where families are restored.

We declare that this is a house, Lord, where families, Lord, are celebrated.

We declare, Lord, that this is a house, Lord, where your image is seen in and through us.

And I pray it, Lord, over generations today, Lord, we bless them, Lord.

We bless every marriage, every home that is represented.

Lord, we bless every single person here today.

Lord, that they would walk in the conviction of your spirit.

Lord, that they would walk in the wisdom of your understanding.

Lord, that they would not choose things of this world or convenience, but they would choose to pursue you.

And I thank you, Father Lord, for this next generation.

Can we pray for the next generation just for a moment?

Would you guys extend your hands?

Lord, we thank you, Lord, for this next generation.

And as a house, we cover them today.

We thank you, Lord, that they that the enemy can't have them, the world can't have them, suicide can't have them, depression can't have them, Lord, that they belong to you.

And we thank you, Lord, that they are home in your presence, Lord.

We declare destiny.

We declare, Lord, for generations, Lord, everything that's happened in their lives would go for generations, Lord.

That the way they will be parents, the way they will lead, Lord, is forever changed because of your presence, Holy Spirit.

We thank you in this place, Lord, that the sick are healed and the dead are made alive.

And we give you glory and praise today in Jesus' mighty name.

Come on, would you give the Lord some praise today?

Thank you, Holy Spirit.

We just wanted to lastly just offer this resource for parents.

Uh, this is a 22-day devotional that we've seen families actually walk through this, even uh uh as married couples or even with their children.

Um, it's called Clean.

My wife wrote this book, and it's about how to live a lifestyle following the Lord.

Our whole lives, we are discipled in the culture, and so when we come to Christ, we don't what does that look like?

This is a great starting place and resource, so that's available, and we'd love to connect with you if you were interested at all in that.

Can we give the Lord some praise today for what he's doing?