Strengthening Your Foundation!

Joy listening to the Cross Kingdom Sermon of the Week.

We helped you enjoy this message from Justin Carpenter. Ah,

thank you for that laugh. I needed it for service

for those of you that were here. Just there was

a heaviness. It was hard. I think with the storm,

the thunder, there was some trauma still there. And yeah,

I wasn't so sure about how to present the message

that the Lord had given me, and it kind of

went in a different route than what I originally thought.

So I'm I'm praying that today now that I can

actually teach, but I want to be sensitive to the

Holy Spirit and where he wants to go and where

he leads. So so let's just start. Yeah, we're just

gonna dive in. So I think all of you know

that this has been a really hard and trying time.

I mean, we don't have to dwell on everything that

has happened to know it. You can feel it in

the atmosphere. It's heavy, and you know, life has a

way of shaking us. And so as I was praying

and asking the Lord Lord, and I know many of

you know this, I do not enjoy this. I do

not enjoy being up here. I am up here because

I want to be obedient to the Lord and my

husband needed me to so here I am. And if

you are wondering, and I didn't even introduce myself because

we do have visitors, I'm Lisa. I'm one of the

co pastors with my husband, Justin. And my husband has

been here working from morning till night. I'll wake up

in the middle of the night to the bed shaking,

and I'll roll over and it's him, sobbing. And so

he was going to cancel his trip. He was taking

my son Micah to Bethel's School of Music, and he

was going to cancel it because he had to be here.

And y'all, I put my foot down. I said, you

have to go. You have to go. So he's in

California and I am praying, please be praying that he

gets refreshed and filled up, because since June twenty second

to this day, we haven't stopped and it's really shook

us to the core, the tragedies from losing our precious

kindly to the floods, and so asking the Lord, like Lord,

I don't feel like I have anything. I'm numb. Somebody

said yesterday you have to have decision fatigue. I was like,

why do you say that? Because only a thousand questions

a day are being answered, and you know the things

that are coming at us, and we're standing and we're

trying to be strong for everyone, not just ourselves and

our families, but each and every one of you. And

so I'm asking the Lord Lord, what do you want

me to teach on? And he's like, remember your foundation.

You know, life has a way of shaking us. And

I'm telling you we as a community, not just Cross

Kingdom community, our greater community, we have been shaken. And

it hasn't been a gentle shaking. It has literally felt

like it has tested the ground beneath our feet. Does

anybody else feel that way? Yeah? But can I tell

you something. God's not shaken. He's not. We can stand

on him, we can anchor on him. He is our foundation.

He is the rock on which we stand. So being

anchored in him, I know justin spoke on that last

week I was out of town, and now more than ever, guys,

the storms aren't going to stop. I wish I could

tell you that. I wish I could say, oh, okay, who,

we made it through this one. That's it. But that's

not what the word says. And I'm not sitting here

trying to dwell on the bad news, because the good

news triumphs, and that is Jesus has overcome period. He

has overcome. So a few months ago I had spoken

on Matthew seven, and it's Jesus painting the picture of

two builders. It's one builds his foundation, his home on

a foundation of rock, and one on sand. I'm not

going to go deeply into that passage today, but I

do want to highlight this. The storm came to both

houses both and guys, it's not about avoiding the storm.

It's about withstanding the storm. We can withstand the storms.

He has promised us that he has given us everything

we need to withstand the storms of life. John sixteen

thirty three says, I have said these things to you

that in me you may have peace. In the world,

you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome

the world. It's not about life's absence of storms, because I,

like I said, they're coming, They're here. We had another

one today. But it's the foundation you've built in Christ.

When your life is rooted in Jesus, you may bend

in the storm. But you're not going to be broken.

Excuse me while I mess with this. Psalm's forty six

one through two says God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear,

though the earth gives way and the mountains be moved

into the heart of the sea. God is our refuge.

He is our strength. I want to ask a question.

I don't want to pause just for a moment. I

want to ask who in here feels like their foundation

got a little shaky? Anyone? Okay, I'm right there with you.

Who's asked the question? Where was Jesus in all of this? Yeah?

If you have been a part of search and recovery, rescue,

will you stand up? If you've been a part of

cleaning up? Have you? If you stand up, If you've

been a part of preparing meals, stand up. If you

have prayed for the flood victims, stand up. If you

have offered a hug or a kind word, or given

a bottle of water, stand up. And I want you

to look around. I see you Jesus. I see you

Jesus in each and every one of you. I see him.

Jesus is here. He is with us. He is in you,

and you have activated to be the hands and feet

of our Lord and Savior. So I want to take

this time and honor you. Thank you for being the Church,

for being the body, for doing what He's called us

to do, to love one another. I couldn't be standing

here today if it wasn't for each and every one

of you. You've come from far, like we've got people

that you came from what Dallas area just to come

and set up and cook for us for this last

two weeks. We have people coming from all over the nation,

out of the country. Thank you, Thank you all. And

there's nothing too little or too big. If all you

could offer was a prayer, thank you, that's the most

powerful thing you could do. So you can be seated.

But I wanted you to see where Jesus is. He's here,

He's in each and every one of you, and I

thank you for that. So in light of these recent tragedies,

I think it's a pretty big reminder that we are

not promised tomorrow. I'm not saying that to instill fear,

because that's as a Christian knowing the Lord, we don't

have fear losing our life because our life is rooted

and grounded in him. But I know that we're human.

I know that we're hurting. I know that we are numb. Sean,

you talked about that, and that's how I felt this morning.

I was like, I don't know if I could get

up here and speak. And now I'm completely going a

little different direction. And that's okay, because we need to

give ourselves and others grace. Anyone in here feeling a

little edgy at times, a little grumpy, a little snappy.

People have tried and tested us. So Cross Kingdom has

been set up as a relief distribution center, and let

me tell you, we've had amazing people come and serve

and volunteer, and we've had some people come in that

I've tested us. There's no doubt that aren't flood victims,

but they are expecting and demanding things that are reserved

for victims and those that are serving to help. Just

gonna share a little story on Justin and I because

I love to tell on ourselves. A few weeks ago,

when we were walking with the Seiferts after that tragic accident,

Justin and I were getting in the car. It was

like we were just robotic everything we were doing. And

I don't know if you feel that way, but I

still kind of feel that way. Now. We jumped in

the car, we had a head out to meeting and

I don't know what I said. I said something, I'm

boy justin I know you're watching me. I didn't get

a response. I got a reaction and it bit my

head off and I was like oh. And in that moment,

the Lord said, take a breath, extend grace. He's not

upset with you. And I was like, oh, you're right.

So I literally he's driving. I just reached over, grabbed

his hand and I said, honey, it's okay. Then he

just burst into tears. I burst into tears. And y'all right, Now,

a lot of people are on edge, a lot of fear,

a lot of loss. We have to extend an extra

extra measure of grace to one another and ourselves. So

that moment with my sweet husband, because I can be

a little feisty myself too, I was like, Nope, not

going to do it. It wasn't about being great or

having him apologized to me or any of those things.

It literally was about extending that grace. So I want

to ask each and every one of you to give

yourself a measure of grace to extend it to others

instead of looking at the reaction, look past that into

the pain of the person and what they're dealing with.

Does that make sense, Because when you're getting reactions like that,

there's a deeper route. So extend grace to one another, y'all.

And these times we've heard it said being said over

and over, this isn't a sprint. This is going to

be a marathon of recovery. It's going to be a

long time, and we're gonna get weary. We're gonna be tired,

we're gonna be edgy, and we've got to take care

of ourselves. We've got to take a moment. I don't

know about you, but when it's Christis time, I'm in

go mode. There's a lot of us in here. I'm

looking at a few. It's go, go, go until you

can't go anymore. That's not the Lord's heart for us.

He wants us to take care of ourselves. He wants

us to get rest, he wants us to be refreshed.

So I really want to encourage you to do that.

So for those of you that have felt like your

foundation might have gotten a little shaken. I want to

talk to you about strengthening your foundation. And you don't

strengthen your foundation by trying harder. You don't strengthen your

foundation by doing more, working longer hours. That's not what

you do. I want y'all to take time. I want

you to get in the word of God. Matthew four

to four says, But he answered, it is written man

shall not live by bread alone, but by every word

that comes from the mouth of God. So now more

than ever, guys, get in the word. Take time to pray.

Speak to him. It doesn't have to be a religious

act of going down to prayer list. Speak to him

like he's your best friend. Lord, I'm hurting, help me.

I don't know what to do. I don't know what

to say. I mean, these are my prayers when I

have so many people, and I like all the people,

but there are times I get overwhelmed with like, Lord,

do I have one more encouragement to give? Do I

have the capacity to love on one more person in need?

And I'll ask him those things I'm like, help me

fill me? And he does because he's good like that,

because he's a good father. So pray, pray, get in

the word pray, and then this this one has what's

been keeping me going over the last few weeks. It's

staying connected with all of you. The body one Peter

two five. You, yourselves like living stones, are being built up

as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to

offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Guys,

it has blown me away to see each and every

one of you, from the small to the big. I mean,

we've got little kids all the way up to retired

kids showing up. And yesterday we had so many people.

We had three ladies that showed up from Fort Worth

just in a van. They said, we're here, how can

we serve? We had a group from Lakeway Church in Austin.

They brought probably twenty thirty people to help us pack

up the church, get everything out there and clean up

so that we can have church or service here this morning.

People are showing up, they are getting connected. I feel

like our family, the Body of Christ, our family has

like grown. I mean, I've always known, yes, we are

the Body, but I'm telling you there is a connection

with people that I have never had before that I

feel like I truly have brothers and sisters that I

could call at these churches. I could find them on Facebook.

I could reach out to them and they would be

there for me, and they've never met me. That is

so beautiful. That is being the hands and feet of Jesus.

And I'm so honored and thankful, and my heart is

full of gratitude for all of you. I am hesitant

because this morning I shared some things that I'm not

so sure I want to share on the live stream,

just to be sensitive to those that might be watching.

You know, a big question that we've been getting is

where was he? Where was he in all of this?

That's a heavy one. The Lord doesn't expect us to

have those answers. We can't. I can try to give

you an answer, and I will fail. But I will

tell you this, Isaiah forty three to two. When you

pass through the waters, I will be with you, and

through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you

walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the

flame shall not consume you. I don't know about you,

but when I read that, it was like a physical,

gut wrenching response. Our community has lost a lot and

it's heavy, and there's still people missing. But he was there.

He was there, He didn't leave them or forsake them.

I can't tell you why some were rescued and saved

and others were not. I'm not going to even attempt that.

But what I am going to tell you is our

God is good. I'm not going to share the dreams

on live stream, but maybe after. I'm just going to

pray and see if the Lord leads me to do so.

But I do want to share cool will you bring

this painting to me? So? I guess it was Wednesday,

justin and I had gone to City West to meet

with a group of pastors here and I was sitting

in the room and seeing the unity of the pastors

just literally overwhelmed me. Because the Lord promises he will

work all things together for our good Romans eight twenty eight.

And it's hard and times like this to go, well,

how can he work all things together for our good?

In this right? It feels like, well, yeah, in most things,

but in this how And I'm I still don't have

that answer, but I do have pieces and snippets. The

unity of the Body of Christ is stronger now than

I've ever seen in my life. So I'm sitting there

in that meeting with all these other pastors and I

don't know for you, many of you, you know, have

been in Cross Kingdom and you know about our events

called Worship without Walls. The whole heart behind that event

is to get beyond the walls, to tear down the denominations.

And I'm this church, I'm that church. No, we're We're

the church. And so it's been a struggle getting other communities,

you know, church communities, to want to gather and be unified.

But that's what he's calling us to. We're one body, y'all,

one body. I don't care which church you go to.

You're my brother and sister. And I'm so grateful. So

after the meeting, one of the other pastors came up

and had shared they had a missionary come in two

weeks ago, and in the middle of her presentation, she

stopped and she said, a flood's coming. A flood's coming here,

and there's going to be a lot of people in

that river, she said, but don't worry. The Lord is

in it and is catching them. And I was like,

oh my gosh, Lord, Okay, let me process that. I

get back here in Laura Puchek, a friend who lives

in Medinas. She comes up. She's an artist. She goes Lisa.

The Lord gave me a vision. This is literally right

after that meetings. The Lord has given me a vision.

It's of Jesus in the water, in the floods with

the people. So when I read this, when you pass

through the waters, I will be with you, and through

the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk

through the fire, you will not be burned, and the

flames shall not consume you. His promise remains. He is

with us. He is with us. He is with us

in the lows, he is with us in the highs.

He's with us in birth. He's with us in death.

He is with us in our marriages, he's with us

in our divorces. He is with us no matter what.

Many times we want to think that God is with

us when things are going well, that's not truth, y'all.

He's with us at all times, but we can feel

distant from him. Have you ever heard those of you

that are married, and maybe you've gone through a hard

time in your marriage, and you're sitting next to your

husband or wife and you're like, I feel disconnected. I

feel like they're not there, but they're sitting right there.

Has anybody ever felt that way? They're still with us,

but maybe we feel that disconnection. The Lord's not distant

from us ever. He's present in the chaos. He walks

through the waters with us. He walks through the fires.

So I want to encourage all of you that are

feeling this heaviness, maybe feeling the numbness, wondering, God, are

you close? I don't hear you. Where are you? It's okay,

he understands, but he's right beside you. He's cheek to cheek.

He's as close as your breath. That's how close he

is to you. So one thing I really want to

make clear. I do not believe the Lord caused this storm.

I don't. He's a good father. He didn't cause it,

but he was in it. Y'all. The world is watching.

The world is watching how we as Christians are going

to respond in times of trials and guys, there's more

storms coming. Build your foundation. Make sure it's strong, rooted

and grounded in Him on the word. The world is

looking for answers. It's hurting, and like I said, We

don't have all the answers, but what you do have

are His truths and his promises, and you can stand

on that and you can share that. So I just

want to encourage you. You're not disqualified. If you're struggling.

I'm struggling. You're not weak because you're weary. You're human

and God is meeting us right where we are, and

it's okay to drop your phone. Psalms thirty four eighteen.

It says the Lord is close to the broken hearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit. One of

the most powerful ways we experience God's nearness is through

one another. So when each one of you stood up

and I said, I see you, I see Jesus. When

you're feeling alone, get with someone, give a hug, an

encouraging word, a prayer. God's near to the broken hearted.

He draws near, and he does that through us because

we get to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

And you know, this has been such a beautiful act

of the acts to church. I cannot believe, like I

if there is a need in our community, literally we

can put it on one text, do one Facebook live

and we have four or five trucks showing up with

all kinds of supplies. There isn't a need yet that

isn't being met. That's being the Church and the Body,

and it is so beautiful. It has just absolutely blown

me away. So now what? And we're going to close

a little early, and Seana might have you not write

this minute, but come up, and I want to spend

some time in prayer. But the question is, well, what now?

I know my life is turned upside down at the moment.

The next three weeks, maybe longer, we're probably gonna be

here seven days a week from nine am till seven pm.

And that doesn't include setting up and tearing down. What

does it look like when the waters received, when everybody leaves,

it starts getting quiet. What do we do? We keep standing,

That's what we do. We keep standing on our foundation

who is Christ. We keep showing up for one another,

we keep being present, we keep extending grace, we keep

being the hands and feet of Jesus. That's what we do,

because that's who we are. So, Sean, if you wouldn't

mind coming on up in prayer teams, do we have

any prayer teams? If y'all would come up, I know

it's a little different today. A lot of people needed

to stay home. Roads were flooded, and it just this

morning it was pretty intense with the rain. So I

want to ask you and invite you to reflect, what

is your life built on? Which house are you? Are

you on the rock? Are you on the firm foundation

or do you feel like it's sifting and you're on

the sand. Today's the day to re engage and build

on a firm foundation. Today. Don't wait until tomorrow. We're

promised today. So I want you just to take some

time alone with the Lord and ask him, Lord, what

am I built on? And if you feel like there's

some cracks in that foundation, it's okay. He can shore

him up for you. All he's looking for is for

you to surrender, to engage, to get real with him

and say, Lord, I need you, I need help, and

he'll meet you in that. He will strengthen you in that.

So I just I want everybody just to take a moment,

close your eyes, ask the Lord, so heavenly, Father, Lord,

we come to you as a people who have been shaken.

We are bended, bent but not broken. We're weary, But Lord,

you refresh us. Lord, I see you in those around me,

and Father, I thank you so much. I thank you

for my brothers and sisters in Christ that have come

and stood with us. Lord, I thank you for their prayers.

I thank you for those that are near and far

that have petitioned you on our behalf. Lord. Lord, you

are a good father, and you are near us. You

are with us, you have never left us. Father, I

thank you that we can trust you in these times,

and it is hard. There's so much destruction, so much

loss of life. But even in the midst of all

of that, you are good and I choose to stand

on that no matter what. So Father, I ask that

you continue to go before those that are going out

and searching and recovering and cleaning and helping. Lord, go

before them prepare their way. Lord Lord, I ask and

declare that everybody that is missing will be found in

the name of Jesus, every single one. Lord, I thank you,

But you did not cause this storm, but you are

in the middle of it. Lord. We are the joy

that was set before you that you endured the cross. Lord,

this wasn't your heart or your will. You love us

unto the death of Jesus Christ. So Father, I thank

you that you are a good father. I thank you

that we can come to you with our pain, with

our anger, with our fears, and you don't condemn us,

you don't judge us. You love us right where we are,

and you lift us up, you hold us, You give

us strength. So Lord, if our foundation has been weakened

in the midst of this storm, help us. Lord, I

thank you that we are anchored and rooted in you.

So Lord, I lift up my brothers and sisters to you.

Give them strength, give them peace that surpasses understanding. And Lord,

I thank you that we get to be your hands

and feet. In Jesus' name, I pray. Thank you for listening.

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