Anything Is Possible Pt. 4 | Chris Gross | Radiant Life Church

Come on. Thank you, Pastor Matt.

Lots of exciting things happening and so

thankful just to be able to go after

Jesus with you all. Well, I am pumped to

be back. As we mentioned a couple times,

uh church, not having church on Sunday

is like I hate it. Some of you maybe I

don't know, you skip sometimes. I don't

know what's wrong with you, but I never

skip. And it's not cuz I'm a pastor. I

think it's because of my how I was

raised. In fact, when we are on

vacation, we generally if we can find a

church to go to, uh, solid church, we're

going to go. We're going to be a part.

Our kids are like, we want to go to

church. In fact, my kids, they go to

youth group. They find a midweek youth

group when we're on vacation. And

they'll go to youth group when we're on

vacation. Not because we make them, but

because they want to. I'm like, this is

awesome. So, I hate missing church. Uh,

but so glad to be back this morning and

be able to go after Jesus together. and

uh just so so thankful for you all.

Well, today we get to continue in our

anything is possible series as we're

walking through the book of Nehemiah.

Now, in Nehemiah, we have seen lots of

things happened. This is a book that was

all about the people of Israel returning

to Jerusalem and the walls were had been

torn down 150 years before and Nehemiah

from a word of the Lord said, "Hey,

we've got to fix this. This is not

okay." The walls being torn down meant

that basically the people were a

laughingstock. They weren't even really

a country or nation is how the people

around would have looked at them because

they didn't have walls. They didn't have

protection. They didn't have anything to

to keep them or to even be proud of. And

because of the word of the Lord to

Nehemiah, because of the people that God

put around Nehemiah and said, including

the king he was working under, these

people that were in exile, Nehemiah got

to go back, go to Jerusalem and they

built the walls. In fact, it says in 52

days, they rebuilt the walls. Now, I was

in Jerusalem a few years ago, and I

cannot imagine rebuilding those walls,

putting them back together, fixing all

the gates, doing all the things in 502

days. But that's what they did. Once

they did that, we've seen over the last

few weeks that they didn't only build

them, but then they consecrated

themselves to the Lord. They committed

themselves to the Lord. They offered

themselves to the Lord. And that's what

we see here as we get to Nehemiah

Nehemiah 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10. The earlier parts were uh

really about the covenant, about

committing themselves, about publicly

saying we will serve the Lord. They

chose obedience before offerings. They

chose surrender before sacrifice.

You can see they confronted compromise

in their nation. They committed

themselves fully to the Lord and his

priorities. This was a big moment, not

only a victory because walls were there.

And in fact is it mentions that the the

people around them were scared were

terrified because they knew that God

must be with them for what happened to

have happened.

And when we get to this moment here I

think the Lord wants to teach us and

speak a lot but specifically today about

plowing our heart. Now before we

continue a few years now more than a

decade ago I got to lead a missions team

to Swasilland Africa. It was amazing. We

got to see the work that our

missionaries, missionary Kevin was doing

all over Swasilland. They had different

feeding programs, homes. They were

putting uh they call them in church,

ICBC's in church by uh church, our

community that the community would plant

churches uh through the missions work.

They had them all over the place.

Absolutely amazing. As I mentioned,

food, but the one place that really

stuck out to me was they had this whole

city. They literally bought a city,

hundreds of homes, and they had foster

community. The the whole goal was that

this would be a self-functioning,

self-reliant city for foster kids that

people would go and they would pour into

the kids. They would be businesses that

would support the ministry. And so, they

had been working. They had over 200 kids

that were being fostered in homes, not

in like group homes, but they would have

a home with two or three or four foster

kids and a a foster parent that would be

leading them. And it was amazing the

work that God was doing. Just sometimes

you sit back and say, "Who thought to

even think about doing this? This is

amazing." But while we were in

Swasilland, maybe even more impactful

than that, is we were out in the middle

of nowhere. Uh they it's one of those

things they call it a village, but when

you look around, you don't see any

village. You just see huts there and way

over there, maybe a few. But that was

their village. Uh it was very very poor

to the point where they did not many of

them have food and the missionaries

would give them rice packs and different

things just to help them survive. It was

very sad the whole situation. But the

missionaries began to teach us and talk

to us about the fact that they had such

a scarcity mentality. They believed that

they could not really survive. So when

they got food, they would eat it. when

they got they wouldn't plant a garden,

but they would eat the seed that they

could plant a garden with because they

couldn't believe that three months or

four months down the road food could

come out of that ground. It just

wouldn't happen for them is how they

believed. They didn't have the work

ethic because they never seen it where

then to water it because where they they

had to water it which meant in their day

it wasn't a hose and a spot. Now, we've

tried a garden before and it didn't work

very well, but that was what we call

laziness because all we had to do is

turn on the faucet and just spray it.

They had to walk a half mile or a mile

or two miles to go to experience to get

water so they could bring it back,

right? They could not fathom this as a

community. And the missionaries were

teaching them. They had they had their

own farm that they would plant that the

community could then learn learn how to

do it so that they could do it

themselves. But we went to one specific

stick and mud hut and it just it's one

of those things you're like people

cannot live in this but it's normal like

for them it's just normal. And when we

went there these super amazing people

but they had nothing come out with

avocados and they are cutting these

avocados because they want us to eat the

avocados. And I'm just going to be real.

I don't like avocado. In fact I hate

avocado. I've learned to like it from

this experience because I'm like, I

should like them because you never know

when you're gonna need one. But man,

eating an avocado with a spoon, just

like eating it out of the I mean, just

eating it. That was not my idea of a

good time. But I'm sitting there, the

missionary is just beaming because this

is the first time that he's seen these

people who are part of their church do

something that wasn't for themsel, but

that was giving. That was to them a

massive step to see them not just afraid

that something bad was going to happen

or I'm going to give away, but they gave

what they didn't have enough of to other

people. Now, we didn't need it. It

wasn't about us at all, but it was about

their heart. And when their heart

changed and the missionaries like

anything's possible. They can get it in

their walk with the Lord, in their

finances, in food supply, and all these

areas. And you should have seen the

missionary when we left. He was so

excited. Not because we got avocado.

That did not matter. We had all that we

needed.

But because these people understood that

when I give, something special is going

to happen. When I step out of what's

normal, something special is going to

happen. And I would look at it as what

we're going to talk about today. They

had plowed the heart. The missionaries,

the pastors had plowed the heart. And

there became a moment when all of a

sudden they said, "It is better to

give." And what a sacrifice. Not like

when we put $5 in an offering plate if

we did those, but threw online or

however we give it in a box.

But they gave what they did not have.

And I asked, "Where do they get avocados

from?" Like, I don't haven't seen any of

them. And they said they probably had to

walk five miles to this village and they

probably gave all of what they had,

whatever it was, to trade to get these

avocados so that they could have

something special. They said, "And they

gave their special, which they didn't

have tons and tons. They probably gave

all of them to you guys." And they once

again were so excited about the heart of

these people that had changed from what

would never have done that to believing

that God can do even more in their life.

And when we look here and we look into

uh Nehemiah chapter 10,

Nehemiah 10 · chapter mention

I think we see a people that are

understanding God has so much more.

They've seen the miracle of the walls.

They've begun the the journey of

committing themselves to him, their

hearts to him, getting rid of stuff,

getting rid of things that should not be

there.

But then in Nehemiah 10:35

Nehemiah 10:35

says, "We obligate ourselves to bring

the first fruits of our ground and the

first fruits of all fruit of every tree

year by year to the house of the Lord."

And what I see here is their hearts were

plowed, their hearts were prepared,

their hearts were ready. It had been

stirred up to a point that they got

before the Lord and they didn't say,

"We'll see what happens. We'll see what

happens when our with our walk with you.

We'll see what happens in relationship.

We'll see what happens in our finances

or in first fruits of what we're going

to do. We'll see if there's enough." No,

they said we obligate. We choose. They

made a distinct choice to say, "God, I

will intentionally serve you and worship

you and even offer to you the first

fruits of our lives.

their hearts had been plowed. This

hearts being plowed is such a a

challenge. It's such a thing that I

think sometimes we may or maybe more

often don't really want to do because

plowing it's a hard thing to do. It's

difficult. The preparation, the getting

ready, the the work that it takes. Now,

my dad, he always would say something

that I I found to be amazing. But we

have heated with wood at our house. So,

we cut it, split it, we do all the

stuff. Uh, don't tell him. I mean, he

knows, but I buy mine pre-split now.

It's way easier. Way easier. But he

would do it. Cut it from the tree. Like,

cut the tree all the way through. And he

said that when you do that, you warm

yourself multiple times. You warm

yourself when you're cutting down the

tree. You warm yourself when you're

cutting the tree up. You warm the

yourself when you're splitting the tree,

when you're stacking the tree, when

you're bringing it in your house, when

you're burning your fire. There's more

times. But you warm yourself over and

over and over again. It's a job to heat

with wood. It's a job to do things that

are hard. And church, it is a job to

plow soil. I don't know if you've ever

tried to put a a garden in. And maybe

like us, you've said, "Oh, it'll be fun.

We'll just do it." And you buy a little

tiller thing. And you start doing it,

and you realize that the tiller that you

bought won't actually go into the ground

that you have because it's so hard. And

so you try to use whatever tool you

have. It is hard to plow the ground to

prepare for the soil for planting. And

church, is it possible if you're like me

that it is hard to plow the ground of

our heart? It's hard to change what has

been and compacted and put into place.

It is hard to get to the point where

it's not only words, but it's because of

preparation where we come and say,

"Lord, not only do I serve you or do I

give you some, but Lord, I obligate

myself to bring you my life. I choose

with a a choice that is meaningful

because I've done the work. I give it to

you. I didn't stumble into it, but I

have chosen. And I give you every part,

every bit of who I am." It's hard work.

Plowing the soil is terrible. Preparing

the tree for the fireplace is terrible.

But church, more than anything else,

when we start messing with our heart, we

start messing with what we've always

been used to. We start messing with what

we where we've come from, we start

messing with what we think. Church,

that's hard hard work. In fact, I would

say by far the hardest thing that you

can do is when you start to say, "Lord,

would you plow my heart? Would you

change my heart? Would you make me who

you've called me to do?" That Hosea

Hosea 10:12

10:12, "Break up your followow ground.

For it is time to seek the Lord." If

we're going to seek him, we must break

up the ground and let there be change

and newness that comes into our life.

Our hearts must be plowed.

What is it that we need to do to break

up the ground? But as we continue in

verse 36, it goes on to bring to the

house of our God, to the priests who

minister in the house of our God, the

firstborn of our sons and of our cattle,

and to bring the first of our dough and

our contributions, the fruit of every

tree, the wine and the oil, and to bring

to the Levites the tithes from our

ground.

They plow their hearts,

but then they have chosen to open their

hands. And I think these things go

together. We prepare our hearts for what

God has, but then are we going to truly

let God speak life and truth and the

things of his word into us? Are we truly

going to let him change us? Are we going

to truly live with our hands open before

him where we say, "Lord, my time, my

talent, my treasure, it is all yours.

Not parts and pieces and a little here

and a little there." No, but am I fully

going to give him every part of my life

and just like plowing our heart? It's

hard.

Anybody like control? Anybody prefer

things to go how you want them to go?

Anybody want things exactly that way?

And you really don't have much of a

desire to have others change it up. Or

truly, if we're being honest, we don't

want God to change it up either.

Plowing is hard. Preparing is hard. But

it's also hard to let our hands be open

and say, "Lord, now you do what you

want. Plant in me what you want. Let my

life be what you want." the people here.

It's not only about money, but what does

it say? To bring to the house of our

God, to the priests who minister in the

house of our God, the very first thing,

the firstborn of our sons.

When the Lord comes, he's not asking for

money or not asking for time or asking

for something. He's asking for all of

you. And if I think about my life, what

would be the biggest thing if Rachel and

I are like, well, what you know, what

could the Lord ask? He asked for our

kids. He asked for everything. The

biggest thing as a parent, you're like,

of all the things, I'll give up

everything, but not my kids. What he

asks for all of who we are. He doesn't

ask for pieces and parts and little bit

here and little bit there. But he asked

for us to come before him with open

hands and say, "God, you take every part

of who I am. Break up the fow ground in

me. I open my hands to you. I give you

every part of who I am."

Here are the people they were willing to

give their firstborn, their cattle, the

stuff that they had, the things that

came out of the ground. mentions the

tithes from the ground bringing to the

Levites or the pastors to the church

that they brought those things because

it was a commitment that they made. They

said, "I obligate myself. I give my life

not because I have to, but because I've

seen you at work. I've seen you move.

And therefore, I don't want compromise

in my life. I don't want to see anything

in me that does not line up with your

word, with what you're speaking, and

with who you are. My hands are open."

It's a different way of living, church.

Not a what can I get? What can I

experience? What do I have? But when I

say Lord, it's all yours.

You know, as I was thinking and praying,

I think the biggest thing that just

lines up and I'd say probably every area

of our life, but when we think of

marriages or relationships,

there's two ways to live a marriage.

One's good, one not so good. There's a

way where we open with our hands open to

our spouse. I want to serve you. What do

you need? I'm going to provide, going to

take care, I'm going to strengthen.

Whatever you need. My hands are open.

And there's another group of people that

live with a what can you do for me? And

my hands are closed because I want and

it's me and my needs and my problems.

And if you did and if you took care and

as I was thinking of my walk with the

Lord, thinking my wife, my relationship

with my wife, thinking bring in our jobs

and our parenting and any part of our

life when we walk with the Lord with our

hands open to him. We walk with him and

say, Jesus, you get every part of me. I

may not love my job, but I know it's

where you've called me. My hands are

open and I will be the minister, the

follower of Jesus, the minister of the

gospel to that place where I can't I

can't go. You can to you hands open at

your place of work. Hands open in a

difficult situation at home for a

season. Hands open where you say, "God,

anything you want, I will do."

But it's hard.

It's difficult. When things are

difficult, we want to go the other

direction. But when it's with the Lord,

Lord, I'm going to plow my heart. Lord,

it's hard at work, but Lord, I'm going

to keep being consistent and faithful

until you call me somewhere else. Lord,

my marriage, it may be as difficult, but

Lord, I'm going to serve and my hands

are open. I love and I'm going to care.

It's not about what I can get, but it's

about what I can give and who I can be

in power of God. And when we serve one

another, church, that's when all of a

sudden marriages are so much fun. It's

what it should be. It's what the design

has been. It's when our jobs all no

longer do I hate my job because hey, I

might not even love what I'm doing, but

I love serving Jesus. And when I love

serving Jesus, I have my hands open.

Lord, if you've put me here, you move in

me. Student, at whatever age you are in

this room. I don't like school. Well, I

didn't like school when I was in school

either. But if it's your worship to the

Lord, if he's called you there, then you

have hands open to him. You say, "Lord,

use me right here, right now." And

something I tell my kids all the time is

if you just do the work, if you just

accomplish the task, if you turn in

every assignment, if you do what's been

placed before you because you've been

called to go do this, so now you do it,

then you're going to do really well at

school, at life, in marriage, I'm going

to keep serving, I'm going to keep

following you. And when we come before

the Lord and we say, Lord, what do you

want to do? Let your word be real in my

life and my hands are open. I'm not

trying to put the word inside of my

clenched fist. I'm not trying to get it

to work inside of what I want, but

instead, Lord, you move in me. And as

you move in me, I will do what you've

called me to do. That's someone who is

walking with a plowed heart. You've

broken up the fow ground. You're walking

with open hands. Lord, you can have my

kids.

Lord, you can have my talents, my time,

my treasure, every part of who I am,

the first fruits.

Lord, you take every part of me. And you

know, when I look throughout the word, I

love just jumping back to the early

church. Jesus has just been here. He

went to heaven. Now, the early churches,

there 3,000 people. In Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

come to know the Lord. In Acts 2:45, it

Acts 2:45

says they were selling their possessions

and belongings and distributing the

proceeds to all as any had need. It's

like, why would they do this? They had

just been with Jesus. They had just been

then filled with the Holy Spirit because

they waited for 10 days. They plowed

their hearts. They walked with open

hands. 3,000 people on the day of

Pentecost gave their lives to him. And

now there's all these people. And those

3,000 would have been most likely from

all over the place that had come for

this the the the uh feast that they were

having, Pentecost. They were coming for

this day. Their lives were changed and

radically transformed. And the church

said, "We'll even sell the stuff we have

to take care of the people around us. We

have plowed our hearts. We've opened our

hands and we'll do whatever it is.

There's something about the power of God

and who he is that we all of a sudden

say, "Lord, anything is yours. All of

it's yours.

It's no longer mine. It's no longer my

stuff or my kids or my family or my life

or my job. But Lord, you've put me here

and I walk in your plan. It's yours. I'm

yours."

when our hearts are plowed, when our

hands are open, and then as a church

family, it brings us to a place where

our steps can be united. Nehemiah then

10:39 says, "For the people of Israel

and the sons of Levi shall bring the

contribution of grain, wine, and oil to

the chambers where their vessels of the

sanctuary are. We will not neglect the

house of our God." They went from

individually plowing they heart. They

went from individually having open hands

and their sons and the things to a place

where they said we're going to come

together corporately. We're going to be

united in the things of God. This is a a

moment where we realize it's not us

only. But like the early church, they

came together and they were willing to

go after God and amazing things took

place. They will not neglect the house

of our God. It's a collective ownership.

It's a unity that is uh together here

with the people of Israel in our day

with the church, the body of Christ.

We're united. We're connected. We're

moving forward.

When our steps are united, we become a

kingdom building movement.

Not just a consumers of religious

content. We don't come to church just to

get and to to ask for stuff and to ask

for content. know we come and say,

"Lord, we are open to your changing.

We're open to your heart. We're open to

your move. Whatever you want to do, you

do it in us.

Show us your way. Open our hearts." I

pray church that when we come on a

Sunday or a Wednesday and then when

we're walking with the Lord throughout

the week that our hearts are being

plowed, that our hands are open and we

come and say, "Lord, what do you want to

challenge me in today? Lord, what do you

want me to do? Do I need to come to the

altar? Lord, do I need to spend some

extra moments in prayer before I leave?

Because our hearts are open to the Lord.

It's not a religious thing that we do.

It's not just something that's a part of

us, but it is who we are as people to

say, "Lord, anything is possible with

you. I've seen you work. And Lord, I

give you every part of me. My heart is

plowed. My hands are open. Move in my

life."

We get the opportunity to unite our

steps so we can move forward together to

see one more for Jesus both here and

around the world. That is our call

church. We get to come together in the

power of God. Experience his goodness.

Walk in his power.

And when we come united, anything

is possible.

And I'm thankful here what we've seen in

Nehemiah, what we see here in the

beginning parts of Nehemiah chapter 10

Nehemiah 10 · chapter mention

and that here when it's talking more

about possessions and tithe and our our

maybe what we have including our kids

but our whole entire life is we realize

that anything is possible that anything

can change when the church the body of

Christ here the people of Israel come

together

and I believe when we do the future can

be changed. In fact, the future is

changed when his church comes together.

Matthew 6:21 mentions more the the money

Matthew 6:21

side, if you want to say, the treasure

side. Says, "For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also." And when

I think about the the walk that we have,

when I think about what he is calling us

to, when I think about my own life, he

does not ask once again for certain

areas and parts, but he asks for all of

you. He wants every part of your life.

He wants you to walk in him. And money

is an interesting thing when we think of

the Bible because Jesus spoke of money

more than he spoke of anything else. the

parables that were on money or finances

or what to do with money, how to handle

money, how difficult money can be when

we have it in large amounts, all of

these areas. But there's something that

happens when we come and understand that

my money has a big impact on the rest of

my life because he says where your

treasure is, your heart is. And when my

treasure is not mine anymore, but it's a

part of the disciplehip process of my

life that I've given it to the Lord,

just like my children and my job and my

heart and my past, every other part.

Then I begin to realize that my future

can be changed in such a dramatic way

when my finances align with what he's

doing in every other part of my life.

Nehemiah's generation changed their

future through covenant generosity.

there and be obedience ensured God's

work would not stall. They would bring

the tithe, the 10% to to the Levites, to

the the pastors, to the church. They'd

bring it to the temple to let God show

up.

And when I think about this thought of

my time and my talent and my treasure as

a church family, we don't function

without people that are serving. This

morning, I just looked right before

coming up. I think there's 90 kids and

leaders that have been on the other side

on the other side of that wall in kids

church today. That's a good solid amount

of kids, right? It takes leaders who are

a part of making that happen. When you

came in, hopefully people were smiling

at you and saying hello. In fact, I saw

them doing it. I talked to somebody

after the first service who said, "We've

been to a lot of churches and they're

visiting from Georgia." And she's like,

"This was so much fun. the spirit just

of being in this place like she just was

beaming. I was like, "Come on, this is

what we like to hear, right?" Why?

Because it takes the church. You know

who didn't talk to her until she came up

to me was me. It was you. It was It was

volunteers. It was people who just love

people that made her feel so welcome. It

was those worshiping around her that

made her feel connected. It takes the

unity of the body of Christ. It takes

the unity of the body of Christ to see

disciplehip happen.

We grow a little bit. We're pushed in

the same direction. The vision is pushed

on a Sunday morning. But church, we grow

way more on a Wednesday night when we're

sitting around a table and hearing

stories and sharing stories. When we get

in life groups and we're in men's group

on Monday night or our ladies group on

Thursday morning and we're we're

spending time in the presence of Jesus

with our church family and someone

starts to talk and sometimes we might

even be like, I'm not sure if that's

correct. And we get to talk about it and

we get to grow through it and we get to

figure we grow in disciplehip when we're

together united moving in the same

direction in God. And church we see

steady incremental growth and in

finances sometimes that might even be

the hardest. I think that's why Jesus

talked about it so much. Where our

treasure is, our heart is.

Your obedience changes lives now and for

eternity. And if you uh by chance grab

these on the way in, great. If not, be

sure to grab them on the way out on the

little tables in each of the hallways.

But this last year, this sheet talks

about what we got to be a part of in

2025. On the other side, it talks about

what our plan is for 2026, believing to

connect both right here at the Radfam in

local ministries and outreaches and then

to our global missionaries around the

world. We get to do something special

when we do it together. And when we do

it, united.

I think about this church and I think

about from the very first day that

Pastor David Kay started, there were

four people in their living room. They

took an offering with four people. I

don't know if that's awkward or not.

I've thought about that a few times.

Like, you know, there's four of us. I'm

like, "Your turn to give.

Like, do you stare at them or like do

you, you know, I don't know. It'd be

weird to pass it back." But I've thought

about it. From the very first offering

that was taken, they said we're going to

give 10% to the Lord to missions. They

started supporting this uh year. We got

to give over 18% to missions in 2025.

Our goal is 18% here in 2026. Uh Jay,

who led worship this morning, asked in

our vision meeting two weeks ago, what's

the goal? I'm like, I don't know. I

mean, ideally, I guess we could give

100%. But 20%, like I think 20 is a

place we're working towards. We're going

to give 18 at least this year. And we

want to see more that we give away that

doesn't do anything here but goes to the

nation seeing Jesus to people around us

to our local partners and our global

partners. We're going to give away 18%

because we believe in the power of God.

And how do we do that?

We do that by a church family who plows

our hearts, who opens our hands, and

gets united in the things of God.

We want to challenge you that two weeks

from today, we're going to have a

celebration Sunday. We're going to bring

these cards that we're going to we're

going to fill out. My my prayer and ask

would be that every person in this room

would fill it out. This year, a little

bit different maybe than in years past

is we're asking you a few things.

There's some questions, four different

categories. Maybe you're here and you

say, "I don't really do that church

giving thing." Well, I want to encourage

you to pray. Ask God what he would have

and maybe commit to at least do

something. say, 'Lord, I'll give an

offering. I'll give a gift maybe once or

twice or every once in a while. And we

would put that in a learning category, a

learner category. Learning obedience by

taking your first step, right? Sometimes

that's where we start. And we celebrate

that. We're like, come on. When we take

a step of disciplehip, it's a big deal.

The second group today might be uh we

call a partner that you start to give

consistently as a way of partnering with

God and his work here at Radiant Life

Church. What does that look like? You

say, "I'm going to give a percentage,

1%, 3%, 7%, 9%. I'm going to give some

percentage to the Lord. I'm going to

partner consistently with the work God

is doing to see people in Southeast Asia

and to see our kids right on the other

side of that wall come to know Jesus."

The third is the tithe. We would call

this the biblical starting point of uh

obedience and giving. What we see here

in Nehemiah and Malachi, other places

throughout the word, they would bring

the tithe, the first fruit, the 10% of

their finances, what God has blessed

them with. Maybe you're here and you

say, "That's me. I can jump to a tithe."

Or maybe you're like, "There's no way."

Pray about what the Lord would have.

There's something that happens. There's

a blessing that comes when we say,

"Lord, I'm going to take a step of

faith." And in fact, we believe so much

in the tithe. We have this little

section. It's green on this side that if

you say, "I'm never tithed, but I want

to start." If you say, "I'm going to

commit to the Lord. I'm going to do it

with a joyful heart." If after 90 days,

you say, "I can't. We can't survive."

We'll give you your money back.

Literally, we'll give it back. We've

never had anybody ask for it back, but

we'll give it back because we believe in

the principle of the tithe so much.

We're not worried about it. God's going

to take care of it. He's going to take

care of you.

And then the fourth area is kingdom

builders.

that you'd say, "I want to be like

Pastor Chris and Rachel. Our goal is to

give 15% of what the Lord would give us

in 2026 back to him." You might be like,

"What?" You know how we did that is we

started lower. We started tithing. And

the Lord has called us to more and to

more. And every time we pick up a

missionary at Radiant Life Church, every

time we join together and see a new

person, a part new project, we know

we're giving because we're kingdom

builders. We're going to pour into what

God has done. And you know what? If the

Lord would ask us in the middle to do

more, to do something extra, we're going

to say yes because we want to live with

our lives open to him. And maybe you'd

say today, I've tithed, but I I don't

know, maybe I'll pray about jumping to

that kingdom builder level.

I want to encourage us as a church

family, if you're a part, if this is

your home, don't just come. And when I

say that, don't just come and leave.

Come serve. Get in a group. Be a part

with people. Let this be a true family

around you. Walk a disciplehip journey,

but don't start or stop with just other

areas or other parts, but also let

finances be a part what Jesus talked

about so much. And when we do, church,

anything is possible. And this year,

we're doing something a little

different. I'm super excited about it.

Uh this last year we had over four well

over $400,000 that came in that went to

missions that we gave away that we got

to pour out. Uh which is awesome. I am

so pumped about it. This next year our

goal is more than last year. But we are

changing to what we'd call a one fund

approach which means when we look at the

card and I mentioned percentages it's

not a percentage for missions or a

percentage for a project or a miss a

percentage for our tithe and offering

but it's all in the same category. So

when we give to our tithe, we give that

10%. We give we're going to give 18% of

that to missions, right? As a church

family, if we go over above in kingdom

builders, we're going to give to that

pot to what we do. And the church is

going to give 18% of that, which means

you're giving to missions. You're giving

as a church, we're giving. But this

year, we're going to just go to a one

fund approach, which means maybe you've

given in the past tithe and offering and

you've given to missions or what we call

our every nation, every soul. Uh this

year there's going to be one fund every

nation, every soul, which is from here

and around the world. Giving out is

going to be exactly the same as always.

We always give way more than comes in

for missions. And we're going to keep

giving, keep pouring out. And we believe

that as Jay's question was, I'm

believing the 18% goes to 19% goes to

20% and who knows where the Lord will

take us as a church family as we come

united, as we come bound together, as we

come saying, "Lord, plow my heart. Open

my hands. Let us be united and we know

that the future is going to be changed

as the church comes together united and

we get to be a part fam right here

supporting 76 missionaries and mission

organizations supporting what God is

doing here in kids church this

afternoon. In fact, our youth start fine

arts festival practices which means they

get to be here have to be I don't know

they can think of however they want all

day Sundays from, you know, show for

teams 9:00 all the way until after youth

group. Uh parents, this sounds like a

great opportunity for some time just for

you if you have teenage kids. I'm just

saying we have five kids. All five going

to be here all day. So we have a whole

day for the next three months just for

us. It's going to be pretty great. Uh

and we're going to miss our children so

much at home.

They're right there. So, I had to say

that. But, um, right, we're going to do

these things. Kids, youth, young adults

all around the world, we get to see the

gospel move forward. So, once again, I

want to ask you, would you pray about

what do you want me to do? If you've

been giving faithfully, thank you. If

you're just figuring it out, thank you

for being a part. It's all a journey.

We're all on the journey to let God

move. Our hearts plowed, our hands open,

our steps united, our futures changed.

Let's take a step together. You know,

before we leave this morning, I just

want to uh encourage you if you're here

and maybe you'd say, you know what, I've

never given my life to Jesus. I've never

made him the Lord of my heart. And when

you're talking about this, I I just feel

like my heart is being plowed. And I

want to open my hands to Jesus. The one

who died on a cross. The one who came

and took your pain, your shame, your

sin. He took the things that maybe you

don't want anybody else to know about.

Well, he sees them, but he forgives you

and he welcomes you. And if you say, "I

want that Jesus to be the Lord of my

life for this day and for the rest of my

life," then we want to give you the

opportunity to say yes to him.

right now if we could just put our

ourselves in a position a posture of

prayer maybe that's closing your eyes or

bowing your head or whatever it doesn't

matter but that you say Lord would you

speak to me and right now if you say I

need to know Jesus I want a relationship

with him I don't want to be who I have

been but I want to be a child of God and

freed in him I want to open my hands to

him if that's you then I'm going to ask

you in a moment just to raise your hand

so I and see it. If there's one, we're

going to pray together. We're going to

ask God to move in this house. Cuz

nothing more important than one more for

Jesus. So on my left, your right hand

section, if that's you, say, "I need

Jesus." I'm going to ask you, would you

just raise your hand so I can see it? I

want to be able to pray with you,

believe with you, ask God to do

something special in your life. Anybody

in this section? I don't want to miss

anybody.

Awesome. What about the your left

section, my right section? As I look

out, anybody over here, you say, "That's

me. I need Jesus. I need a relationship

with him to rededicate my life to him.

Come on. Nothing more important. I don't

see any hands. Maybe you're at home.

Maybe you'll listen to a podcast if

that's you. Maybe you go home and you

say, "I need to give my life. All you

have to do is ask him, Lord, forgive me.

Make me new.

I make you the Lord of my life. I repent

of the past, of the sin of my life.

I serve you forever." And in your own

words, it doesn't have to sound like

that. whatever it is, but just I need

you. Forgive me. I repent. He welcomes

you as a son or daughter. The number one

thing we can do. And then we get to walk

the journey that we've been just been

talking about, plowing our heart. Lord,

move in me. Get rid of things that don't

line up with the word, which means we

must be in the word of God. We must be.

And we let him move.

We open our hands more and more in every

area of our life. and all of a sudden

anxiety and worry,

depression,

anger, stuff that I don't want.

We give it to the Lord and say, "God,

you've got it. It's yours. I don't have

to carry the weight. I don't have to

carry the load anymore." And that's what

he does. That's what disciplehip is. Is

knowing him, trusting him, loving him

more. And I want to encourage us as a

church family today, not only to pray

about what can I do, how can I be a

part? Am I going to jump into the

learner, the partner, the tither, the

kingdom builder level? I I don't know.

Pray about that. But also, would you

pray, Lord, is there any other area of

my life that needs to be broken up? The

fow ground needs to be broken up because

he doesn't want to leave you where you

were. He wants you to grow and to step

into him and walk towards the things of

his kingdom. He loves you so much. In

fact, if you're able today, if you're

able, if we could stand to our feet

today, or those that can't just to put

your heart in a position before the

Lord, I want to pray a prayer of

blessing over you today, church family.

Our God is good and he loves you. He

loves you. He loves you. So, Lord, this

morning, I'm just thankful for this

group, for this church, for the rad fam.

Lord, I know many Lord, I know our

desire is we want the to plow our

hearts. We want hands open. We want to

be united. And Lord, we don't want to

just live, but we want the future

changed because we walked in a room

because our church was here in Dublin.

We want the future changed, not because

of us, but because you used us and we

were just open to you. And so, Lord, I

pray that every person in this room,

Lord, would have the opportunity this

week to take some time to plow their

heart, to ask you, Lord, to move, to

show yourself. Maybe it's an addiction

or a problem or something we don't want.

Maybe it's a sin that's blatant, but

we've just struggled with it. Lord, take

those things by the power of your

spirit. We pray Lord that the ground

would be plowed, the hands would be

open, and there would be unity with you

and your spirit. Lord, even a

supernatural release of things that

should not be maybe that has been a

struggle for a long time. Lord, we pray

maybe those that struggle with their

tongue or with anger or anxiety or

worry, things that can be uh hurtful to

themselves or to others, Lord. And we

ask that you would let them be able to

release that. Maybe their power, their

strength isn't enough, but Lord, it's

you. It's your strength. It's your power

that we rely on today. Lord, let us plow

our hearts and Lord, would you work

plant what should be there? We open our

hands to you, Lord. Lord, as a church

family, we ask you, Lord, that you would

challenge us. We're thankful that last

year we were able to serve and to see

100 plus people, Lord, give their lives

to you. It's 32 people baptized in

water. But Lord, we're asking for more

in 2026. We open our hearts. We plow our

hearts. We open our hands to you, Jesus.

Let us be united.

And Lord, I pray that even when it comes

to finances, Lord, you spoke so much,

Lord. Would you help us, Lord, that all

of us are in one of these categories,

Lord? If we're learning, help us take a

first step. Take a step that gets a

little more consistent. If we're jumping

into partner, maybe one or two or three

or seven or eight or 9%, Lord, we're

working towards the tithe. Maybe today,

Lord, we're we're going to believe,

Lord, we're going to do it. We're going

to start tithing. We're going to

continue that journey.

Lord, we're going to maybe step up to

kingdom builder going beyond. Lord, we

ask you to let us know, challenge us,

Lord. The faith you give, that's what

we're going to step out in today, Lord,

in every area of our lives, including

the finances that you've blessed us

with. Lord, we love you. We need you,

Lord. Let our hearts be open to you. And

Lord, we believe that the only the

beginning is where we're at as the Rad

fam. We may have been here for 46 years

or so, but Lord, it's just the

beginning. There's new things that you

have. And as we're united in you, Lord,

anything is possible and the future will

be changed. And so, Lord, use your

church. Use us. Our time, our talent,

our treasure, every part of who we are.

We give it to you. We offer it to you.

Take us, mold us. Let us be who you've

called us to be. We love you, Jesus.

Speak to us this week. Speak to us

through your word, through your spirit.

Let us focus on you. We love you. In

your name we pray. Amen. Amen. Come on,

church. Our God is good this morning. I

want to encourage you if you Yeah. Come

on. God is good. Come on.

If you didn't pick these up, I encourage

you as you exit in the small hallways on

the table, grab one of each. Uh you can

take you can pray about uh in two weeks

from today, we're going to come and

we're going to bring these cards back

and we're going to say, "Hey, Lord, I

commit before you. I've chosen just like

the people did. Uh I'm obligating

myself. I'm choosing Lord. I'm going to

do this before you just between God and

you. But I believe God is going to do

something. Maybe a a first fruits

offering. You say, "This is it. I'm

going to come and bring that beginning

of what God is going to do this year."

So, two weeks. But let's continue to go

after Jesus this week. I want to

encourage you two things one more time.

Women's Gallentine's Friday night.

Ladies, come on out. It's the the

biggest event for our ladies we have

every year. Don't miss it. Sign up

today. So Melissa and Matt and all the

team, they'll know what to do and no

preparations. Be sure to sign up today.

It's going to be a great time Friday

night. And then Saturday 8:00 a.m. to

Sunday at 8 a.m. is our 24 hours of

prayer along with our global prayer time

Saturday evening. Come on out. Let's

pray together. That's our first Saturday

prayer this month is 6:30. Uh our global

prayer time on Saturday night. Join us.

Maybe you never been to a prayer time.

This is the most fun prayer time. maps,

things all over the place to be able to

literally see with our eyes who we're

praying for, what we're praying for. God

is good. Radian life, I love you all.

I'm so proud of you. Keep going after

Jesus. Keep walking that journey with

him this week. Be careful what you

watch. Be careful what you listen to. Be

careful what you talk about. Savor the

presence of Jesus. Have a great week.