A Message for Our Church Family

Welcome to Gateway Church's podcast.

Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message.

Hey Gateway Church.

That's right, we're still a church, amen.

We're still a church.

Listen, I wanna I wanna welcome all of you here, those of you that are joining us online, those of you that are part of our gateway gatherings.

We're so glad you chose to worship with us this weekend.

And listen, I wanna say as we begin today, first I just wanna say I'm sorry.

I know that many of you have come into this place in different places.

Some of you you come in today and you're heartbroken.

Some of you you come into this place and you're angry.

Some of you, you come into this place and your hope has never been more sure.

And we're all in different places, but here's what's so beautiful: we serve a God that will meet us wherever we are today, amen.

We serve a Jesus that will leave the 99 to go find the one.

He's still God, he's still king, he's still gonna be able to do that.

That you are good and you do good.

And that your presence is here, and where your presence here is hope is there, where your presence is, peace is there, where your presence is strength, is there, and so we receive those things now, today, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Give him praise one more time, amen.

Well, as we continue in the service again, I do want to welcome all of you.

And uh, today we're gonna meet with God, amen.

And uh in a few moments, one of our elders, Trey Wilbanks, is going to come and share.

But before we turn our attention to him, I want you to take a moment and just turn around.

This is family time.

We need each other right now, amen.

And so I want you to turn around, be friendly, be family, and connect with people and then have your seat.

And I'm here to speak to you on behalf of the Gateway Elders.

I really wish that I could sit down with each one of you individually and talk to you one-on-one.

Standing before you right now may be the most difficult thing I've ever had to do.

So I ask for your grace as I speak to you today, because I'm going to speak to you personally as a father, as a husband, and a non-staffel since 2014.

I'm going to try to speak to you from my heart today.

So I wrote my thoughts down to make sure I say exactly what I want to say.

My wife Shelly and I have seven children, including six girls.

As a father, what has happened is extremely disturbing.

And I'm experiencing a wide range of emotions like you.

As an elder, I did not know the truth.

And frankly, like so many of you, my wife and I are shocked, devastated, and grieving.

Firstly, I'd like to express my personal compassion for Cindy Clemenshire.

I can't imagine carrying a burden like that for so many years.

And I want to say to you, Cindy, I'm so sorry.

I'm also very sensitive to anyone else in this room or anyone who is listening who's experienced abuse.

I know that there are many in this room at our other campuses, and many watching online who have their own horrific abuse story.

And I want to speak to you.

I'm so sorry.

I'm just so sorry.

I cannot imagine the pain and the emotions that this past week has stirred inside of you as you felt betrayed.

And on behalf of the elders, we're sorry.

This past week, the Board of Elders accepted the resignation of our senior pastor, Robert Morris.

Our tagline at Gateway Church is we're all about people.

And you can't be all about people if you aren't committed to protecting people.

We are committed to protecting people.

First and foremost, children and the most vulnerable.

Simply put, abuse in any form cannot be tolerated.

And we as elders have the responsibility to do whatever it takes to learn the truth.

And I want you to know that as your elders, we are deeply committed to walking in integrity and finding the truth.

We moved quickly this week to hire an independent outside law firm to conduct a comprehensive and independent inquiry into this entire situation.

The elders and you must know the facts.

And we must enforce accountability.

Having this review completed by an independent outside organization is critical, and we will report back to you once their work is complete.

And please know that the Board of Elders is fully cooperating with this independent work which has already begun.

And I ask that we all be patient while we give them time to do their work.

Now I want to get very personal, and I apologize if I get emotional.

As I said before, I'm a father of six girls.

And this has been a difficult thing to explain to them this past week.

And our family this past week, like all of you, has shed tears, had heavy conversations, and we've been in deep prayer.

We've prayed for Cindy Clemenshire.

We prayed for her family.

We've prayed for the entire Morris family.

We're praying for you.

And we're praying for our staff and our whole church family.

Our family has been going to Gateway Church for 18 years.

We go to Gateway Church not because of a building or a person.

Our family goes to this church because we've seen the Lord move here.

And the work that you do to those who are in need and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our family goes here because of the deep relationships that we've formed with close friends who help us grow closer to Christ.

Our kids have met Jesus here.

Some of our kids have been baptized here.

All of our kids have been transformed by the students' ministry.

I'm aware that many in this room have seen their marriages saved because of the healing power of Jesus showing up in our marriage ministry.

Many in this room have overcome depression and iniquity because of Kairos.

And many of us have made it through unthinkable and painful circumstances because of our grief ministry.

So what about the future of our church?

Frankly, this past week, I've just been trying to get through each day.

And there are a lot of unknowns.

The truth is, I don't know what God's plans are.

But I know that I'm going to continue to worship the Lord.

And I'm going to worship the Lord in this place.

I want to remind you.

This is his church.

This is Jesus' church.

And the elders are humbly and firmly submitted to what he wants to do with his church.

I believe the Lord built Gateway Church.

And I believe that the Lord worked through all of you to build Gateway Church.

He worked through our altar ministry.

He worked through our marriage ministry.

He worked through our children's workers.

He's worked through our prophetic ministry.

He's worked through our parking attendants.

He's worked through our greeters.

He's worked through the staff and all of the volunteers at Gateway Church.

So my encouragement to you today is to take these upcoming days, weeks, months, and turn your hearts to our Lord and Savior.

Let us remember Jesus' specific commands that we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, with all of our strength, and that we love others.

This is our important responsibility.

And I believe he will lead us together through this.

I'm clinging to the word of God right now.

His word is a lamp unto my feet.

He will never leave us or forsake us.

He is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who crush the spirit.

And he set enthroned in the flood.

We're praying for you all.

We love you.

We appreciate you and we're thankful that you're here today.

Lord Jesus.

We worship you.

We praise you.

And we lift your name on high.

You are worthy of our praise regardless of the season.

And we worship you in this difficult time.

You don't owe us anything.

Yet you've turned your heart toward us in a mighty way through your son Jesus.

And now, Lord, we cling to you.

We cling to you in this difficult season.

Would you wrap us in your love and comfort us in the ways only you can?

Heal us, Father.

Heal us of our brokenness.

Create in us a clean heart and help us as we battle unforgiveness and doubt.

Wrap us in your love and lead us, Father.

Help us not to be given into bitterness and have your way in this place, Lord.

We love you.

Amen.

That says this is not about a person or a personality, this is about a king.

And his name is Jesus.

Amen.

His name is Jesus.

And I was thinking in Acts chapter 12, verse 5, there's this part where Peter's in trouble.

Acts 12:5

But the Bible says, but the church was earnestly praying.

Peter's in trouble, but the church was earnestly praying.

A few weeks ago, I went to visit one of my best friends' church.

And it was interesting because before worship started, he stands up and he says, Hey, I want to do something.

I want us to take a moment and I want us to pray for each other.

Worship hadn't started.

First time guests are there, and he says, Hey, everybody, we're gonna pray for each other.

And he says, Listen, I want you to turn around to your neighbor, ask them their prayer requests, and pray with them.

And I talked to him afterwards.

I'm like, What why would you do that?

And he's going, Well, first of all, the church prays that as a family, as a body of believers, we pray.

But he said, I'm assuming everybody coming in has a need.

And here's what I know in this room today.

As we listen to Trey and as we navigate what's going on, you've all come in and you're in different places.

Here at our campuses, at our gatherings online.

I want us to do something.

I want us to pray.

I want us to pray.

If you're with your family, you can circle up with your family right now.

If you're with your spouse, you can grab their hand.

If you're by yourself, find someone, don't be alone, pray with them.

But all I want you to do is just wherever you are at every single campus, just take a moment right now, and we're just going to pray.

I'll lead us, but this is corporate prayer.

And so I want you to speak out as well.

And so right now, just move, just find someone, just circle up.

We're just gonna pray, grab a hand or look at someone.

I'll like I said, I'll lead us in prayer, but we're all in different places here, and I believe God wants to minister right where you are.

So, Father, we thank you that this isn't about a person, this is about a king.

And your name is Jesus, and you said that we should always pray and never give up.

And so, as a body, as a family, we come together right now and we pray.

We pray, Father, for the person that's standing next to us.

We speak healing over them, we speak blessing over them, we speak strength over them, we speak release over them, we declare hope over them, we speak that to all the campuses, we speak that online, we declare in the name of Jesus Christ that you are our hope.

Father, we speak clarity to those that are confused right now, we speak strength to those that are weak.

God, and for those that are hurting, we declare that you really are close to the brokenhearted.

May they sense your nearness now.

And Father, we take a moment right now, according to Hebrews chapter two or chapter 12, verse 2.

For the scripture says that Jesus is our champion, that he is the author and the perfecter of our faith.

And therefore, just before that, it says, fix your eyes on Jesus.

And so, God, we say as a declaration in this house, we are fixing our eyes on Jesus because you are the author, the perfecter, and the champion of our faith in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's give him praise one more time.

Well, if you're standing, you may be seated.

Trey mentioned earlier the scripture out of Psalm 119.

It says, Your word is a lamp into our feet and a light into our path.

And often where we can be in a season of disorientation, we need a lamp, right?

We need a light, we need the word of God.

And I'm so excited that today we have Pastor Joachim Lungfish with us.

And he just recently spoke at our student conference, and he is not a guest here, church.

He's been here so many times.

He's family.

He and Maria, they're family here, and we're super excited because we feel like God's orchestrated this time.

He has a now word for us specifically in this season.

And so I want you to join me in welcoming Pastor Yoakum.

Amen, amen.

You may be seated.

I've never come to this church ever with a heavy heart before, but uh I do today.

And at the same time, I've never wanted to be with you more than I have this past week.

And I'm not here to comment on details or what has happened.

I'm here because the church that I love so much is hurting, and I pray that God will speak to your heart through his word, and for those of you who feel troubled and feel pain, that there will be healing through the presence of his spirit.

Amen.

First of all, in in think in times like these, there are so many voices heard.

There are voices of pain and confusion and disappointment and anger and grief, all kinds of voices.

But I just want to remind you, Kateway Church, that the most important voices that are raised right now are the voices of prayer for this church from all over the world.

All over the world.

Saints have joined in prayer.

I'm part of a global pastors network, and earlier this week I opened my WhatsApp to our group, and I couldn't even begin to count the posts from people, pastors, individuals, churches praying in Sri Lanka, in Lebanon, in uh Australia, in Russia, in Germany, all over the world, Brazil, Nigeria, everybody proclaim we love Gateway Church.

We pray for Gateway Church.

God will bless Gateway Church.

So if there are times where you might feel alone or exposed, just remember that you are covered in the prayers of the saints from all over the world.

These are churches you have ministered to throughout the years that are now turning back to you and ministers to you through their prayers and their intercessions.

Isn't it beautiful with the church?

The church is such an incredible and beautiful thing.

Now I was obviously scheduled to speak here a long, long time ago, and then with the events of this previous week, I started actually to think that maybe God orchestrated this, maybe God ordained so that you and I could be together here on this Sunday because I know your pain and I can identify with it.

Many, many years ago, when Maria, my beautiful wife, and I took our church and became senior pastors, we had a beautiful initial time of so much momentum and enthusiasm, and people were pouring into our church.

But then, like eight or nine months later, all these bombs started to blow up in our faces.

So many weird things, crises that had nothing to do with us, that was all part of the previous leadership and the founding pastors of the church.

But we were the ones that needed to take care of it, and we were the ones that needed to take the hand of our church and and gently lead it through that season of the valley of tears, step by step by step, and it was hard, and it was painful, and it involved the heartbreaking also of the dramatic and painful exit of a very beloved and respected founding pastor.

But Gateway Church, I can tell you, just because that happened to us, that there is a going in, but there is also a coming out of pain, and I can tell you not as a well-meaning hope, but from the perspective of personal experience, after death, there will be resurrection, after the darkest night, there will be a beautiful dawn, and if we take these processes like these before the Lord in humility and in the fear of God, He can actually work through them to make us better than we ever were before.

I want to share a word with you that I shared with my church back when we were hurting, and back when we passed through that valley of tears, and I pray that this word will bring you some comfort and some hope.

And if you want a headline for what I'm about to say, let's call it what to do when the unthinkable happens.

What to do when the unthinkable happens.

And I'm going to use the story of Jesus and Lazarus.

Now, when we hear about Jesus and Lazarus, we immediately, instinctively think, oh, praise God, that's a wonderful story about an amazing miracle.

And yes, it was because we know it, we know the ending.

But I want you to try to look at this story from the perspective of the people who walked through it in real time, not knowing that the resurrection will come right at the end.

And if you look at it from that perspective, this is a weird story.

This is a story of heartbreak and quite a lot of confusion.

But still, it's also a story that teaches valuable lessons about how what to do when the unthinkable happens.

Now, the setting is that we have three siblings, Martha, Mary, Lazarus, and um, they live in a village called Bethany outside of Jerusalem.

At this point, Jesus is another part of the nation, and um Lazarus has fallen ill, he's becoming very sick.

And it says in John chapter 11, verse 5 now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

John 11:5

So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, let us go back to Judea.

Did you notice that these two sentences did not match at all?

Because what we wanted to hear is Jesus loved Lazarus so he rose up immediately and he walked to him to be with him in his time of need.

You don't want to know that Jesus loved Lazarus so he did nothing, so he stayed where he was.

That's that sounds illogical.

Later on, he he actually arrives.

Verse 17, on his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

Verse 20, when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Some people might say that Martha accused Jesus, but honestly, I don't hear accusation, I hear pain, I hear hurt, I hear a heartbroken person.

And uh what Martha has to process here, really, is even more than the fact that her beloved brother is dead and she will never see him again.

She also has to process the fact that the only one who could help, the only one who could heal, chose not to.

The only one who she thought would always be there for them and release the power of God and do the impossible, chose to be elsewhere.

They asked for Jesus to come, they asked for Jesus to help, and he did not come and he did not help.

The big question is where was God in all this?

Where was God in all this?

But still, through this story and what's about to happen, we learn how to position ourselves and what to do when we're faced with similar situations ourselves.

And the very first thing that I want to point out, the most important one out of the three, stay close to Jesus.

When the unthinkable happens, stay close to Jesus.

Some people run away from him when the unthinkable happens, run to him.

Maybe he will not give you all the answers that you want, but he will minister to your heart.

And there's a beautiful segment here, verse 28.

It says, She, that is Martha, went back and called her sister Mary aside.

The teacher is here, she said, and he's asking for you.

When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.

Verse 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

That's exactly word for word, the same statement that Martha did.

They're experiencing the same hurt, they're experiencing the same heartbrokenness, they're experiencing the same questions and inner turmoil.

However, Mary brings her pain to the feet of Jesus.

And let me tell you, Gateway, crying at the feet of Jesus is completely different from crying anywhere else.

Completely different.

Coming to Jesus might not give you all the answers for all the questions that you have, but you know what?

Answers will rarely heal our hearts, but the presence of Jesus will.

So when you have question marks, when your world comes tumbling down, when the unthinkable happens, run to him, bring your pain along with you, present it to him, and let his presence start to heal and restore your heart and your soul.

You remember that story in Joshua chapter 6.

Joshua 6 · chapter mention

Joshua's just taken over the leadership of Israel after Moses.

They've crossed the Jordan, they now come into the promised land, and uh they're heading up to Jericho, the big fortified city that would be the first one for them to conquer.

And I'm sure that Joshua felt the pressure of the moment.

Moses has been a stand-up man of God, and all of a sudden now Joshua has taken the mantle, taken the baton, and he's gonna run in and start to fulfill his race, which is to reclaim Israel for God.

And right before they come up against Jericho, there's a man that appears to him.

Remember this story?

This man introduces himself as the commander of the army of the Lord, and immediately when this man of God appears, Joshua asks him, What is the message from the Lord to his servant?

And I recognize myself in Joshua so many times.

I've done that so many times.

As soon as the presence of God comes, oh, here are my wish lists, and here are my uh you know, uh need lists, and okay, I need this answer, I need this message, I need this solution, I need this instruction, I need the house, I need the answers, I need the A B C's and the one, two, threes.

But I love the response from this man of God because he doesn't answer a single question, he doesn't even have a message, he just simply says, take off your feet.

I was about to say, take off your feet.

He did not say that.

That would be a morbid request, actually.

That that would be that would be very, very special, okay.

Sorry, English second language, struggling still sometimes, but doing my very best, okay?

He said, take off your shoes.

Nothing else, nothing else.

Shoes is fine.

Let's just stop at shoes, okay?

Let's not go any further than that.

Take off your shoes, for this is holy ground.

And Joshua did so, and then this it stops.

There is no conversation, there is no message, there is just a holy ground.

And I do believe this encounter is in the Bible because we need to be reminded time and time again.

Sometimes we don't need the answers, sometimes we just need his presence.

Sometimes we will never find out why or how and when, but we just need his presence to fill us and to restore us and to get us ready to stand up again and keep walking into our destiny.

Can we say amen in Gateway Church?

Stay close to Jesus.

The second thing that we need to do when the unthinkable happens, stay close to your family, stay close to your community, stay close to your church.

There are some beautiful verses in the passage of Lazarus right here.

Verse 19 says, Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.

Verse 31 when the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out.

That was when Jesus arrived, they followed her, supposing she was gonna go to the tomb to mourn there.

How beautiful.

I see church right here.

If there is one house who suffers, if there is one house who hurts and is heartbroken, all these other people come and join.

They come together and they're gonna be there to mourn and to comfort and to encourage.

This church is family, and in times of need, families do not dissolve, families come together.

Families come together.

Families come together.

This group of people, I'm so touched by this group of people, this nameless group of people that just spontaneously runs to the comfort and the ministry of those who hurt.

And even when they see Mary leave the house, they assume oh, she's gonna go to the grave and mourn.

Okay, she's not gonna go anywhere by her own.

No one is gonna be hurting alone on my watch.

So all these people were ready and prepared to go with her and make sure that as we go through this, we're gonna go through it together.

I've heard Christians sometimes who have been let down by church or disappointed at failing preachers and pastors.

And they might say things like, Okay, that's it.

I'm fed up with church.

From now on, I'm just gonna read my Bible and pray at home.

I don't want to be disappointed again.

Now I respect the hurt that brought you to that conclusion, but it is the wrong conclusion.

We are not called to be alone, we are called to be parts of a body that is called the body of Christ, that is the church, and then and only then will we find our destiny.

And um without that body, without that church, we lose balance, we lose focus.

We see that even in the life of the prophet Elijah.

Remember 1 Kings chapter 18, the story of the miracle on Mount Carmel.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

Fire comes from heaven and all of Israel sees it and proclaims the Lord is God, the Lord is God.

But the very next day, Elijah is shaken to the core because of a Jeffrey from Queen Jezebel.

And he says he left his servants behind.

And he walked all alone a day's journey into the desert.

And out in the desert.

And all of a sudden he says, Lord, every single one in Israel has left you.

And there's only me left.

Take my life.

And we go, hey, Elijah in the chapter before, actually, all of Israel proclaimed the Lord is God.

The Lord is God.

That is what loneliness will do to you.

That is what will happen if we don't have other people around us.

So I praise God for the church.

I praise God for fellowship.

And I praise God for family.

Number two, stay close to your family when the unexpected happens.

And the very last thing I want to share with you number three.

Keep believing in the resurrection power of Jesus.

Keep the gateway church.

Keep believing in the resurrection power of Jesus.

There will be resurrection power.

There will be a new day.

There will be a new chapter.

There will be a new dawn.

There will be a new momentum.

The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.

And whoever lives by believing in me will never die.

Do you believe this?

Do you believe this, Martha?

Even though you don't have the answers, even if your world is shaking right now, even if everything that you thought you knew is shaking and you're questioning it all.

You don't have to have it all together.

You don't have to have all the answers.

You can be sad, you can be hurt, you can be heartbroken.

The only thing he has is do you trust that he is in control?

That's all.

That's all.

Even though you're passing through the valley of tears, even though all the things that you thought you knew have been proven wrong, do you trust that he is in control?

Do you trust that he is the Alpha and the Omega?

Do you trust that he is the resurrection and the life?

That's all you need to answer.

That's the question that is everything that needs an answer, really.

And what an amazing attitude in a woman that has had her whole reality, her whole life completely turned upside down.

She says, Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who has come into the world.

Keep believing in the resurrection power of Jesus.

Verse 41.

So they took away the stone.

Then Jesus looked up and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

I thank you that you always hear me.

But I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you have sent me.

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out.

The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, Take off the grave clothes and let him go.

If we stay close to Jesus, if we stay close to one another, and if we keep believing in the resurrection power of Jesus, death will always be followed by new life.

Night will always be followed by a new day.

Sorrow will always be followed by joy.

Gateway, can we say amen to the word of God?

Can I just say before I pray for you?

You have been given a mission from God.

You have been given a race to run.

You have been given a job to complete, and you have done good.

You have touched the world, but you are not done yet.

You are not done yet by any means.

Jesus loving, passionate, hungryful dog teenager.

This entire church, full of the next generation gateway, they are part of your next chapter.

They are part of their next chapter.

They're ready to be mentored, they're ready to go out and change the world.

But in order for that to happen, they need a house, they need a home, they need a greenhouse where all the seeds that God has planted in their hearts will grow.

They need a generation of fathers and mothers.

They are part of your future.

And there is so much else that God is gonna add in the days to come.

A vision is not the property of a specific individual, a vision is the property of a local church.

Men will come and men will go, but God will always remain in the center of his church.

Men will fall and women will fall, but you know what?

Jesus will never fall off his throne.

And that Jesus will complete the good work that he has begun at Gateway Church.

Can we say amen in the house of the Lord?

He will complete it.

He will complete it.

He will complete it.

Stop down through faith.

Stop down through the valley.

Stop down to the valley of fear.

But he will complete it.

Every one of them is punched, will be up and coming to reality.

None of it will fall to the ground.

The enemy might try to come and steal and kill and destroy.

But Jesus will give you life and life in abundance in Jesus' name.

As you stand, would you just come into the presence of the Lord?

Gonna take some time in worship in just a while and step into that presence that I talked about.

And if you're hurting, you can bring that pain to Jesus and start to allow his presence to heal you.

Father.

And we bring our pain to the feet of Jesus.

Father, we ask that your healing presence will touch every heart.

We pray that as we die, our heart and our soul and our trust will be rebuilt and restored.

Father, heal this church.

Father, comfort this church.

I pray that you will take every single member, every single part of this beautiful body of Christ into your beautiful healing, restoring embrace.

Make them one like never before.

As they stay before Jesus, near Jesus, I pray that they will come together like never before.

Be there for one another, mourn with one another, encourage one another, and comfort one another.

And Father, we believe that you are the resurrection and the life.

We believe for a new day, we believe for a new chapter, we believe for a new season.

And what was born out of pain will triumph into new outpourings of the spirit, new holiness, new humility, new fear of God, new purity.

Gateway church, the Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord will lift up his countenance to you and give you peace.

Peace.

Peace that passes all understanding.

And may the Lord Jesus, who sits solidly and firmly on his throne, complete the good work that he has begun in this church.

Not for the glory of a man or a church or a movement, but for the glory of the beautiful, wonderful, eternal name of Jesus Christ from Mastodon.

Let's give him glory.

Let's lift up our voice and give praise and honor and worship to the name of our whole name.

Hallelujah.

We worship you, Jesus.

We worship you, Jesus, we worship you, Jesus, to say that we must have a black one.

Come on, let's worship together.

Let's respond.

I dare not trust the sweetest phrase, no no, but wholly trust in Jesus' name.

Corner, come on, sing it out.

Weak, big, strong in the save as a love through the storm.

He is alone, Lord.

Yes, he is darkness seems to hide his face.

Oh fought to stand before the throng.

Thank you, King Jesus.

Come on, let's just stretch our arms high and worship and honor to the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.

You alone are worthy, you alone are worthy, King Jesus.

You are our firm foundation.

And Lord, we turn our eyes to you because in you we trust, you are our hope.

Thank you, King Jesus.

With every voice lifted high, declaring this Christ our cornerstone.

There is no like you alone with every taste I get Jesus I came in more than the ever that I wish my beer all the beach Yes you are yes you are I be all that I am a young feat you pour out my loving to praise you We pour out our love on each Jesus The more the key The more the key we pour our love on you Jesus The worthy white The worthy white the more the more I know you the more one to until I can get the more I know you the more Want to until I can get the more know you want to sit down Yes you all see you deserve Yes you do Yes you reign above it all you reign above it all over the universe Over every heart There be so high in name Jesus you reign above it all Then all of heaven and the earth erupts in song We sing hallelujah to the everlasting one There be so high in name Jesus you reign above it all we say you reign above it all you ain't above it all over the universe over every heart there be some high Jesus you reign above it all then all you have it the earth there are six song We see hallelujah to the everlasting one beast no high Jesus you rain up it all across the world crispies got you born out July Just to give us new life Now from the lips to the forgiving she has to rise Jesus your life she made a body all the best we are seeing so I just over everything you ain't about it all sit the darkness to run out of fit I see the only glory it's thrown on the highest place you sit the darkness to run out of fit in the sea I see the only glory it's thrown on the highest place the darkness out of the way on the highest breakfast can we give up some place he reigns all he reigns over the circumstances he reigns over every situation he reigns over it all Jesus we declare your name is above every other name we serve a God who reigns above it all amen I was thinking while we were worshiping Hosea chapter 2 verse 15 in the New Leaving translation the Bible says that which is God speaking to and through the prophet Hosea he says there I will give her vineyards back to her which is a promise of restoration and then he goes on to say and I will transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope I don't know about you but I feel that happening tonight amen that God is taking the low place he's taking the the dark place and he's saying listen I'm gonna turn it into an entryway a doorway a gateway of hope amen this is a place of hope God's not done with us gateway he's not done with us amen amen listen as we get ready to wrap up I want to invite our prayer team to come forward and as they are making their way forward I do want us to honor Pastor Joachim wasn't that a powerful message church such a good word thank you thank you thank you for speaking life over us today such a powerful word I want to let you know that we are still all about people and as a part of that we know that many of you are in different places and our heart is to care for you and to walk with you and so when you leave today out in the lobby in an area called Connect Central which is between these two main doors there's actually going to be a sign up sheet for anybody that wants to sit down and meet with a pastor.

Hosea 2:15

You can just walk out of these doors sign up there and we'll follow up with you we want to be there to pastor you and to walk with you through this so make sure you do that.

Also we want to pray with you tonight.

You see our leaders here at the front if you have a need today if you're walking through something going through a difficulty maybe you're triggered by everything that's going on maybe you're just wrestling maybe you need physical healing whatever it is in a moment I'm just going to pray a blessing over you out of Numbers chapter six but when I say amen as people leave if you have a need today any need whatsoever you can just start making your way forward we'll stay here as long as we need to because we want to pray for you we believe that God answers prayer.

Amen so if you feel comfortable would you just turn your hands upward like this this is just an outward expression of the inward posture of our hearts and that is to receive I'm just gonna echo the prayer Pastor Yellicom spoke over us out of number six.

Because it's really what God spoke to Moses to tell Aaron to bless you.

So Father I just speak over my brothers and sisters the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Amen God bless you we love you if you have a prayer need you can come forward thanks for joining us today.

If you'd like to connect with us connect to 71010 or visit gatewaypeople.com we hope you have a great week