Zerubbabel The Builder

I'm going to take my script out of the book of

Zechariah, and I'm going to read a few scriptures,

eight verses there, so bear with me as we read

them. And they read in this manner. Then the

angel who talked with me returned and woke me

up like someone awakened from sleep. He asked

me, what do you see? I answered, I see a solid

gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven

lamps on it with seven channels to the lamps.

Also, there are two olive trees by it, one on

the right of the bowl and the other on its left.

I asked the angel who talked with me, what are

these, my Lord? And he answered. Do you not know

what these are? No, my Lord, I replied. Verse

6, so he said to me, this is the word of the

Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power,

but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty. What

are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel,

you will become level ground. he will bring out

the capstone of shouts of God bless it, God bless

it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, the

hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation

of this temple. His hands will also complete

it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty

has sent me to you. And I'm going to just give

it a simple... Titled, Zerubbabel, the builder.

And that's my thought for today. Zerubbabel,

the builder. Lift your hands with me. Let's go

before the Lord and open our hearts to his word.

Father, I thank you for this moment that you've

given to me. to be before your beautiful church,

God. And all those that are here today, Lord,

are here because they love you. They've come

to worship your name. Lord, I thank you for that

and the unity of worship and the song leading,

Lord God, what we have sung. We've sung it to

you, Lord. You are worthy of all of our praise,

our worship, and our sacrifices that we make,

Lord, in this life and even now here today. Lord,

it was not, Lord, I didn't pay a great price

for anything. You paid for everything. And I'm

here because of you. You said if you'd be lifted

up, you would draw all men unto you. And you

drew me unto you, Lord. It was not me. It was

you that drew me to you, Lord. I am a miracle

today because of you. Just as all that are here

today are miracles because you drew us to yourself.

Thank you, Father, for that. And we thank you

for what you're going to do in our midst, Lord,

going forward. In Jesus' name, I pray and I decree

it upon this church. Amen. Amen. Give the Lord

a hand of praise. You may take your places if

you can. Bear with me. Praise God for the next

few moments. Zerubbabel, the builder. Amen. This

part of the Old Testament history is one that

I have identified with in my own story. The experience

that I have, in fact, this year, I believe, has

marked 50 years. in the ministry this year. I

completed 50 years. As a minister ordained of

God. And believe me, it wasn't 50 years. You

might say, well, that blew by pretty fast. No,

it happened one day at a time. And in that one

day at a time, believe me, my wife and I and

our family at the time, we only had one little

baby. And it was quite an experience in where

God took us through what we experienced. in our

ministry but I have my own story but I want to

reflect on Zerubbabel's story. It is a story

of rebuilding and refocusing on a special and

unique call of God to look forward and not allow

the past to overshadow what will become. I can

personally identify with this story because for

many, many occasions in my own personal walk,

I thought that that was the end of the road.

And I felt as if though this is as far as I'm

going to be able to go. But, you know, God had

another plan for me. And just when I felt that

it was time for me to hang up the gloves, God

said, you know, put them back on. You're not

done yet. And so I have. to be obedient to the

lord though i thought different though many times

you have thought different maybe you have felt

that this was the end of the road but let me

tell you something you know i i've been i i grew

up in and you know in certain environments and

and one of the things that i used to do i was

in fact somebody just told me last night uh as

we wished her a happy birthday uh over uh my

wife and i we wish there no friend of ours a

happy birthday over the you know what they call

that FaceTime and and she's saying well I remember

you so since you were young and your mom used

to tell me let's go pray in his room and I says

you were one of those who used to go pray in

my room she said we used to go she started naming

all the ladies that used to have a prayer meeting

in my bedroom and she says and you knew it because

your mom said that when you came home you used

to say mom why were you praying in my room And

she says, but look what the Lord has done. He

saved you. Amen. So I know, I know that I'm here

because I am a miracle. Many times in my Christian

walk, I have felt like this is the end of the

road. But God had another plan for me. Thank

God that the Lord always makes a way, praise

God, and he allows us to see, you know, where

we're going. Praise God. And I thought that many,

many times I felt like this is the end of the

road. And this is the things that I, you know,

I've always been one to challenge, you know,

challenge things right to the edge. And I remember

being a little boy, and we would have these little

bicycles. And the challenge was, at the end of

the road, there was a dead -end street. And there

was a block wall. I mean, a brick wall, a big

block wall. Amen. And it wasn't chicken. I don't

know what it was called. But, amen, I was in.

Amen. And I says, let's do it. And it says, the

one that can get the closest to the wall first

is the winner. And so, I mean, we went full steam

on our bikes, man. We were looking at each other

to see who was going to quit first. I was not

going to quit. If I had to go head -on with that

wall, I was going to go head -on with it. And

I was not going to lose, and I was not going

to be a quitter. And I could see everybody laying

down their bikes just feet before, and then their

bikes would crash against the wall, and I wanted

to be last. Man, I paid the price. But I was

last. I won, but I won with bruises and busted

head and all of that. But no helmets back then,

by the way. Amen. But, man, let me tell you something.

I was always one to just take it to the extreme.

And that was my life. Amen. But, you know, I

had to ask myself once I became, I was converted,

and I said, Lord, will I be the same way with

you? Well, I just take it all the way and just

trust you. If it's a cliff, I'm going off the

cliff. This is for Jesus. No, amen, but no suicides,

right? that's just been my motto that I'm going

to do everything that I can to the very end.

And I'm not going to throw in the gloves or hang

the gloves. No, I'm going to do what God has

called me to do. There's one more soul to save.

One more soul to save. I've got to reach that

one soul. I've got to tell somebody about Jesus.

Amen. And my wife and I are determined. And we've

been witnessing to people. We're not afraid to

just, my wife especially, she just opens up and

starts talking to people about God. And I say,

wow, man, she's got boldness, you know. And then

she engages me, and there we are. You know, we

talk to people about the Lord, and that is something

that is inside of us. people to Christ, praise

God, but God threw me, brought me here to unite

with City Light, and I've been contemplating

on this, praise God, and I've been contemplating,

and Lord, why did you bring me to City Light?

I was comfortable where I was, you know, I'm

okay, but the Lord says, no, I want you to go

to City Light. and be part of a powerful move

that I have prepared for City Light to build

the church, knowing that God is the owner, praise

God, and the best is ahead of us. Praise God.

City Light, I want you to know the best is ahead.

God did not bring me here, amen, to throw in

the towel. I'm going all the way for it, man,

and I'm going to be the last one if I have to

be, amen. But let me tell you, that's the spirit

that I have. I have the spirit of Caleb, amen,

the spirit of Caleb. I'm only four years away

from being a Caleb, by the way. I'm only a few

years away from being a Caleb because the Bible

says that 80 years old Caleb had new strength.

He said, give me that mountain. Praise God. I'm

only a few years away of how it came. I'm beginning

to feel like a Caleb. Praise God. I don't make

no excuses. Praise God has preserved me. Praise

the Lord. I might not be able to run like I used

to have, but I got an attitude like I used to

have. And that is that I want to win another

soul for Jesus. I want to win somebody else for

Jesus. Somebody needs Jesus. God's going to use

my life that we can lead somebody to the Lord.

The fact that the vision was held hostage. Listen

to this. The people of God, they were taken by

Nebuchadnezzar. I'm going to talk a little bit

about that. The fact that the vision was held

hostage for many years by the oppressing king,

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who had destroyed

King Solomon's temple. And by taking for himself...

The valuable vessels that were dedicated for

God's use. For God's temple. And that belonged

to God. And he took them for himself and him

alone. You know the story about Nebuchadnezzar.

It's a very interesting story. But God dealt

with Nebuchadnezzar as a prophet. Daniel interpreted

his dream and the writing on the wall. So many

things that happened to Nebuchadnezzar. And I'm

not going to go to all of the details. But God

humbled Nebuchadnezzar and brought him to his

knees and to the realization because of his pride

and for taking what belonged to God for his own

personal use. Nebuchadnezzar was mistaken in

doing all that he did, thinking that he can do

what he did and just turn his back and that God

was going to forget the temple, that God was

going to forget what was built up for him, that

God was going to forget that Solomon had built

the temple that would glorify him and that Solomon

would build a temple where the glory of the Lord

would reside in such a way. Amen. day that the

cloud was so thick that they could have ministers

and the priest could not minister. God's glory

has never left the church. God's glory will never

leave the church. You might take all the utensils.

You might take all the things that are worth

anything to man, but to God the main thing is

that nobody destroys God's temple. ball. Praise

God. You might suppress the glory, Nebuchadnezzar,

but taking the physical items of value. But in

time, he realized that God's most valuable possession

and creation is not made of gold. It's not made

of silver or precious materials such as Nebuchadnezzar

would think. But look what it says. God's most

valuable possession is here. His people. Somebody

say praise the Lord. He's his chosen generation.

His holy nation that carries the bloodline and

most importantly his spirit. You see, the enemy,

like Nebuchadnezzar, he can take whatever you

want. This is mine. That is mine. Take it, take

it, take it. Well, whatever. You know, I'm taking

charge here, and I'm going to take Nebuchadnezzar.

You know, he wanted these things for his own

use, for his own parties. And he had these parties,

and they were using the vessels that were supposed

to be, that were actually dedicated to God. Yeah,

you can take all of those things that are physical,

but the one thing you're not going to take is

the prey. that I have in my heart, the worship

that I have in my spirit. You can take the boy

out of the country, but you're not going to take

the country out of the boy. What I've got, God

gave it to me. It doesn't matter where you find

me. I'm going to worship God. If I'm on the mountain,

I worship him. If I'm in the valley, I worship

him. Why? Because we're God's people. It doesn't

matter what happens. Your boss can fire you from

your job, send you on your way, and you can say,

God's going to bless me. This all happened because

God is going to do something better in my life.

Praise God. Don't look back. Don't become a pillar

of salt. Amen. Don't cry over the history or

what happened back there. Praise God. Look forward

and see, you know what? Let God be true. Every

man a liar. God's going to bless my life. Nebuchadnezzar

thought that by destroying the physical temple,

he would destroy the nation. But God, when he

decides to rebuild, he doesn't need physical

materials, valuable materials. All he needs is

to stir up his most valuable possession, which

is his people, to accomplish the greatest purposes

for his glory. Do you want to turn around and

tell your neighbor, God wants to use your life?

God wants to use your life. Praise God. Let him

use you. You're not done yet. God's not done

with you. God started with a prophetical word

to align the future of his people, led by a man

that he had chosen to motivate and lead his people

forward and focus on the future. During the exile

in Babylon, which... Later, Babylon was conquered

by Persia. But after 70 years, the Jewish exiles

returned, praise God, with an order to give them

all they needed to build a new temple in Jerusalem.

You see, God will not ask us to do anything without

providing the means. And the resources. Praise

God. And this is the way God, why? It's because

it's for his glory. Zerubbabel was among the

men who began the rebuilding. Seven months after

they had returned, the first thing they built

was the altar of the temple. It was built on

the same site, the same exact spot. Daily sacrifices

began again. So this is what I want to communicate

to somebody here today. If you feel that you

have lost. And you have lost some things in your

life, as if the devil has taken away from you,

and you're not privileged to have this or that.

I'm telling you, I know what it feels like to

lose a few things. I've lost some things in my

life, and I've shared this testimony with you.

I've made a really bad investment one time in

my life, and I lost it all, man. I lost everything.

I had to sell my car, sell my boat, my truck.

I sold everything, got to get rid of everything,

and ended up with nothing but an old car. And

I told my wife, that car's for old people. It

leaked when it rained, and the only thing good

about that car was the air conditioner. It was

good. But I know what it is to lose. But I told

my wife, we're going to get out of this. We're

God's people. I'm God's child here. God's going

to see me through. Somebody took advantage of

me, and I didn't see it coming, and I lost. But

let me tell you something. I told my wife, I

says, look, God's going to rebuild our life.

Something's going to happen here for us. And

she says, oh, yeah, really? Look at that car

we're driving. It's an embarrassment. I had to

sell my Mark V Lincoln cotton nettle, man, with

Corinthian leather. So that's how they used to

advertise. I've never had a car with such good

leather in my life. But you sit in that car,

you just sink in it, my God. And now we're in

this little car, you know, that, my God, it was

uncomfortable. And, well, praise God. And I said

to my family, we're uncomfortable for a season.

But God's favor is on our lives. Two years later,

we're still in that old jalopy. I came out of

a restaurant. In fact, her dad treated us to

a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant, the Mandrian

or whatever it was called. We came out, and I

seen this car. I said, wow, look at that car.

I mean, it was an Oldsmobile, you know, 98, I

mean, Regency. And I looked at it, and I says,

oh, my God. And I was walking around it. And

then my wife says, don't be looking over there.

And I says, wow, look at this car. And then I

told my wife, I says, we're going to have one

of those. Oh, really? She says, yeah, we're going

to have one like that. And let me tell you something.

I don't know if it was less than six months.

We were driving a brand new Regency. Praise God.

And the Lord began to restore us. Amen. And let

me tell you something. It's just God. Open the

windows of heaven because we remain faithful

to him in everything that we do. We serve God

with all our heart. We did everything we're supposed

to do, and God blessed. He honored us, and he

blessed. I know what it is to lose everything,

but I have news for somebody here today. This

is a valuable lesson to learn that Zerubbabel

got a word from the Lord, and he said, God. is

going to give him everything he needed to rebuild

the temple. Let me tell you something. Maybe

you're so deep in debt right now, but God's going

to bring you out of that. Maybe you've got an

issue going on in your life, but God's going

to bring you out of that. Because when God's

favor is upon you, there is nothing impossible

for Him. Nothing impossible for God. God will

bring you out. God will bless your life. This

is a valuable lesson for God's people. We must

continue, amen, with what connects us with God.

Prayer, fasting, true worship. Praise God. Sacrificial

giving of your time, your resources, your talents.

Give them to the Lord. Say, Lord, you gave it

to me. I'm giving it back. I'm serving you at

this capacity. And just watch God move in your

life. God pays attention to small things. In

the Gospel of Mark and Luke, there's a story

of a widow who gave two small copper coins, mites,

to the temple treasury, which Jesus himself praised

as giving more, praise God, than the rich who

gave from their surplus. You know, well, let

me see what's left over and you give it. She

had everything. Highlighting a sacrificial giving,

God's focus is on the heart's intentions over

the amount. You see, if that's all you got, Give

it with all your heart. If that's the only talent

you have and all you can do is slap the tambourine,

slap it with all you got, man. If that's the

only talent God has given you and you don't have

a voice to sing up here, man, sing from over

there. I'll join you, man. We're going to worship

God together. Don't make excuses is what I'm

saying. Don't make an excuse because God is not

interested in the big stuff. He wants to know

if you're doing it with all your heart. If you're

doing it with all your heart and everything you've

got and you put into it, God's going to reward

you. This person, God, he was not looking at

the amount. The amount does not matter to God.

What matters is the heart. What you do when you

do it, you do it with all your heart. Don't worry

about who says what, who is approving it or not.

Nobody needs to approve anything. Your worship,

your sacrifice is for God. And when you give

it to the Lord, watch God move in your life.

He's going to favor you. He's going to bless

you. And he might just surprise you one day you're

singing in the shower and you might just hit

a good note. Well, I don't know. You can record

yourself and say, Pastor, Pastor, look, I can

sing. But what's all that noise in the background?

That's the shower. God help me. Praise God. You

know, there's people that they record themselves

with a big mass choir, you know, the music in

the background all day, and they put themselves

at the front. Praise God. I don't know if anybody

does that here, but if you do, keep doing it.

One day you're going to be the choir leader.

Who knows? Let's direct our worship, our prayer,

and our sacrificial giving. And be, you know,

in our time, whether it's our resources, our

talents, our gifts, whatever it is, and so much

more to the glory of God. Give it to the glory

of God. Do it for God. Just say, Lord, this is

for you. And not your own platform. Don't look

for credit. Don't look for your name on the program

and your name here and there. No, no, no. Do

it for God. Do it for him. God is going to bless

your life. He will bless you. It doesn't matter.

Praise God, because he is worthy of the highest

praise, our worship. Give it to him, and you'll

see how the God is going to respond, amen, with

a smile over your life. The widow did not display

her sacrifice as did the rich man, amen. She

did it in humbleness and with all her heart.

In Matthew 6 and 4, it says so that... Your giving

may be in secret. Then your father who sees what

is done in secret will reward you. He's going

to reward you. Praise God. God has a way. So,

you know, whatever it is, wherever you are, whatever

you need, you need that job. You need that place.

You need that nice apartment. You need that home.

You need, you know, those transportation. Whatever

it is you need. Praise God. You do what you.

worship God in secret, and you give everything

you've got to God in secret, and you're going

to see how that God's going to reward you. That

promotion is yours. Tell your neighbor, that

promotion is yours. That's your promotion. It's

coming, brother. It's coming, sister. That promotion

is yours. God's going to give it to you. Praise

God, just like that 98 Regency. That's mine.

Praise God. Well, I got it in time. Amen. But

here's the thing. Be patient with the Lord. It's

not going to happen overnight. But if you keep

holding on, amen, you just keep holding on to

that promises of the Lord. Not because we're

so interested in material things. No, because

we want to glorify God even more. We want to

give him the glory. Look what the Lord has done.

Praise God in my life. The opposition. There's

going to be opposition in the building. The opposition

of building was fierce, and it was relentless,

according to Scripture, because of the opposition.

The temple construction project stopped and left

unfinished, and it was abandoned. In other words,

what he was saying here is that there could be

some very strong opposition that you're going

to give up on your dream. You're going to give

up on what you thought it would be. be. You're

going to give up. There was a sister that always

had a picture of her house, future home on the

refrigerator. And I said, sister, why do you

keep, every time I come over, it's the same old

picture on that refrigerator. She says, that's

my dream home. Don't get in my way. She says,

that's my dream home. I says, all right, man,

I'm backing off. That's your dream home. And,

you know, she would not let go. She was relentless.

But, you know, things came against us. Things

will come against us. There's going to be oppositions

in our lives. There's going to be things that

you're going to stop the project. You know, it's

like you say, oh, don't worry. Give it up. It

ain't going to happen. It's not for you. It's

for that. It's for them. Praise God. Not for

you. Amen. But I want somebody to know here today,

amen, the project, the dream. Whatever God has

given you, don't give up on it. You hang on to

that. And you say, let God be true. Lord, you

promised that to me. I'm yet hanging on to that

promise. But because of the opposition, according

to the scripture here in Zerubbabel, amen, the

people. They got distracted by the noise and

the oppositions and the people telling them that

they couldn't and the pressures. And they started

cutting back on their resources and the help

and whatnot. So for 17 years, it just stayed

there. Praise God. They just gave up on it. Amen.

They weren't doing it. But then God raised up.

the prophets Zechariah and Haggai. He raised

up these two prophets to challenge the people

to start building again. Come on, you got to

start building again. And Haggai exhorted many

of them. They were focusing on their own investments.

They were focusing on their businesses. They

were focusing on their homes, personal homes,

while the house of God was left in ruins. But

I want somebody to know here today, It's God's

house. Your life is God's. It's not yours. You

are not your own. Praise God. You don't belong

to yourself. You belong to God. He purchased

you with a price. You belong to God. And I'm

going to tell you something. Amen. Don't become

distracted in thinking that you're going to build

things your way. That you're going to build your

life your way. That you're going to build this

or that your way. I'm going to get educated.

And I'm going to go after this. I got to start

doing this. And I'm going to go to the gym. gym.

And I'm going to do all these other things thinking

that you're going to build up something for yourself.

In other words, you're trying to do God's work

in your own life. I got to suppress these feelings

of anxiety. I'm going to start taking these pills.

I'm going to go to the doctor. I'm going to take

this. I'm going to take that. And we try to do

things for ourselves to build up ourselves. And

let me tell you something. The Lord is sitting

there waiting for you to submit to him. Let him

do the building of your life. Let him do the

building of his church. Don't you try to be the

general contractor of your own life. Give yourself

to the Lord. Say, here I am, Lord. Lord, I give

all myself to you. I mess up my own life. I said

things and I did things that I shouldn't have

done, shouldn't have said. And I was just trying

to build up my life myself. But Lord, I give

it all up to you. Don't try to do life by yourself.

Let God build you. Let God invest in you. Let

God make you who you should be and should become.

Praise God, somebody. Amen. Haggai exhorted them

and says, man, you're focused on your own stuff.

You think that you can do all of this by yourself?

And instead of building up what is going to bring

glory to God, you're building up things about

yourselves, amen, that is going to bring glory

to yourself. Look what I did. You're not going

to be able to sing that song that says, look

what the Lord has done. You're going to sing

the song that says, look what I did. No, you

don't want to do that because if you do that,

you're going to shortchange yourself of what

you can really be in God. You're wanting to.

You fashion yourself. You say, well, this is

what I want to be. This is how I should be. This

is how I should be respected. This is what I

should have. Well, really? Well, that's nice.

But don't do it like that because if you try

to do it yourself, praise God, it's going to

end. There's an end to that. But if you let God

take charge of the building, to build not only

your life, but also the church. Praise God, many

times we want the church to be what we want it

to be. And if we had this, oh man, I know the

souls would come. Let's get air conditioning

for the summertime. They're all going to come.

Really? You're not going to get them out of their

condition home to come here. Praise God. It's

not. It's not in the amenities. We'll put stained

glass windows on this side too. And I know souls

are going to come down. Really? You know, we

can't change the cosmetics or the things that

man can do and expect the glory of God to move

powerfully. We got to let God build the church.

How do we let God build the church? We worship

God. You know, unconditionally, we say, Lord,

here I am. If you can use anything, you can use

me. I give all myself unto you. Build the church,

God, with me. I want to be part of it. It doesn't

matter. It's just like one of my granddaughters,

you know, not Chloe, but every year she wants

us to go to the church drama, you know, where

she goes to a Christian church, a Christian school.

And every year I say, are you going to be that

bush again? Or the sheep or something? And no,

this year she's going to be Mary. Wow. She graduated.

You know why she graduated? Because she remained

faithful as a tree, as a lamb, as whatever else

there was on the scenery, nativity. But now she's

going to be Mary. I said, wow, you're the main

person other than Jesus now. But she's so excited

because she stayed faithful on the little things.

You know what I'm saying? Faithful on the little

things. God's going to give you the platform

one day. Praise God. So I had to put her on my

calendar. I didn't go last year. It's going to

be the same thing as the year before. But boy,

when she said, I'm going to be married, I put

it on my calendar. I'm going to be there. Praise

God. She got a promotion. Praise God. And God

wants to promote us. He wants to promote you

to a greater work in him. It's not about us.

It's about him. You know, God is amazing at what

he wants to do in our lives and how he's forming

us for the greater good of his church. Praise

the Lord, somebody. Amen. The prophets then were

stirred up, Zerubbabel, and also the priest Joshua,

a man who received encouragement to build the

temple in spite of the opposition. Listen, Zerubbabel

is the leader here. He is the leader, and God's

going to raise up leaders. We have Pastor Jacob

here. We have ministry here, the Jeshuas, the

priests. You're the leaders of the church. You're

the Joshua's. You're those that are going to

be supportive, and you're going to intertwine

and be supportive of the vision. But they received

an encouragement from the prophets. Praise God.

Now, I believe God sent us a prophet. You might

say, ooh, was I there? Yeah, you were probably

here, and that was Bishop Frank Romo. I mean,

remember, he was here just last month. He was

here, amen, who God used in the three days that

he was. I was only able to make a Saturday and

Sunday, I believe, but wow, what I heard that

was spoken over the congregation, the message

was clear. and that we should honor the first

family. How many remember that? Respect the pastor,

honor the first family, and follow the pastor's

vision. And, you know, that is the Zerubbabel.

That's how God works. I don't see any other way

in Scripture. Believe me, I don't see it. He

also said to follow biblical order and submit

to God's spiritual authority over the congregation,

praise God, and to build the church. We've got

to build this way. There's only one way to build,

and that's God's way. It was also said that if

we unite, we will see the glory of the Lord.

and god was going to multiply the church oh my

lord and that is i that i'm hanging on to i'm

hanging on to that because i know what god can

do in a short time i know i've been placed in

situations I've been placed in many difficult

situations. I've been asked to be a supervisor

of districts that were just not happening. And

they sent me as a last resort. And I went to

the district of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon.

I supervised that district for two years. And

they told me, if you come back and say we need

to shut it down, we're going to shut it down

and merge it with another one. I said, oh, Lord,

that's heavy, man. And they said, no, that's

the mandate. So I went with my wife and I. We

were there for, we supervised that district for

two years. Well, I need to report that in two

years, we planted five churches. Praise the Lord.

We came back. In fact, one of the churches that

we planted was in Wyoming. And in Evanston, Wyoming,

when my wife and I went out there, the only thing

that was out there roaming around was buffalo.

Hey, this is where the buffalo roam. Look at

that buffalo everywhere. And then I went to this

little community in the middle of nowhere. And

we went out there. I think this is where the

brother lives, and he wants to start a work out

here. Well, let's do it. We went out there and

it was him, his kids, and one other brother or

so, one other person was there. We inaugurated

him there. My wife remembers that in this little,

real humble little space there that the community

loaned them. And we inaugurated it. And I said,

when I come back, brother, I want to see progress.

Praise God. Progress. And he said, Bishop, you're

going to see it. I went back this year. They

own a building now, a big building, a nice property.

And he gave me a tour, and he says, Bishop, I

did what you said. We got to work. We got to

work here. And they united, and the Lord blessed

them, and now they're planting another church.

And he called me the other day. I need somebody

to come send me somebody. I said, well, I'm not

in charge of that, but I'll look for somebody.

It's out there in Wyoming as well and up in the

mountains. I planted another young man that I've

seen at the convention. Praise God. And he graduated

with the School of Planters. And my wife knows

him well. And his name is Tino Monreal. And I

planted him in Utah in a little town called Sandy.

And I planted him there. I went and inaugurated

him. He was in a little basement. Now he's grown

so much that he's... planted another church.

He's already planted another church. And I says,

you barely graduated from the school of planters

and you're already planting another. What's going

on? He says, the Lord's been good to us. I'm

going to tell you something. I know what it is

to go somewhere where there's, well, challenges.

But I've seen it flourish. Are you hearing what

I'm saying? And I know what that feels like.

And I want City Light to know. I know that this

city is a, man, there's a lot of opposition out

here. A lot of spiritual warfare going on. But

I've already made up my mind. And this is my

commitment. My commitment. I've already been,

I'm not going to tell you where, but I've already

went around marching around another church building.

I've already made my rounds there, and I'm going

to go back, but I'm going to be fasting and praying,

and I'm going to speak out loud, and I'm going

to say, Lord, give it to us. Give it to us. And

at the convention, Pastor Jacob knows that a

young man approached us. A young man approached

us, and he says, I feel led to help. City Light

Church. And I said, how are you going to help

us? He says, well, I'm an investor. I just got

half a million dollars for another church down

here. I says, get a little closer. I said, get

a little closer here. And I says, well, what

are you talking about? He says, I, Lord wants

me to bless your church. And I says, hello, praise

God. Look what the Lord is going to do. Amen.

He wants to meet with us right away. He says

God's going to do something for City Light. I'm

telling you, God's opening doors. God's going

to open doors. This is what God will do. When

we put our mind and our heart, our sweat and

our tears into it and believe God. Amen. And

I'm going to keep marching around the facilities

that I know that God's going to give City Light

because I'm not settling for nothing less than

the glory of God to be upon the church. Bless

God. Amen. Somebody get encouraged right now.

Amen. We might even just put a little parking

spot there with your name. Lead worship leader.

Your own parking spot, brother. No, no, no. Get

all big headed. Come on, brother. Be humble.

Zerubbabel trusted in the Lord and continued

the work in the face of great opposition. Zechariah,

the prophet, said, I see. A solid gold lamp stamp

with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it

with seven channels to the lamps. We read this

earlier. Also, there are two olive trees by it,

one on the right of the bowl and the other on

its left. And then God gave Zechariah a vision.

Of the golden lamp stem that was meant to stand

in the temple. This is a lamp stem that's supposed

to stand in the temple to give light. Zacharias

saw something that was never in the temple before.

It was never there. We've never seen it. It's

never happened. But I want City Light to know

this is what God is up to. He said he saw two

olive trees that supplied the seven lamps with

oil through seven pipes. Amen. One of the most

tedious duties of the temple service was the

constant care of the lamps, meaning they had

to be continually refilled with oil. over and

over and over, refilling with oil. We got to

fill it with oil again. We got to fill it with

oil again. We got to clean it. We got to clean

it. And then we have to trim the wicks over and

over to maintain it. In other words, to keep

the light on, there were many challenges such

as cleaning, dealing with the residue that accumulated

and tarnished the lampstand. Then, he says, the

cutting of the wicks, which is a typology of

cutting away all that hinders the light this

was a constant challenge for the priest the light

will only be as bright as the wick would permit

praise the lord somebody this is a serious problem

even if there's oil anointing if the wick is

not cut the light was dim are you getting me

it says that god cuts away What hinders his light

to shine, the cutting is most always painful.

But the oil, which had to be freshly prepared

daily, was an enormous task for the priest. Constantly,

constantly. The oil, the anointing, the oil,

the anointing. But in this vision, Zechariah

sees what is called a self -filling lambs. That

fed directly from two olive trees. One on the

left and one on the right. The two olive trees

are symbolic of the continual flow of the Holy

Spirit of God and His glory in the church. City

Light, God's Spirit will continually flow through

this church. There is no end to the Spirit. It

will flow continuously. And I want somebody to

know that I had an entirely different message

for today. Pastor knows. I told him, what do

you think? I was thinking about speaking on this.

Well, yeah, yeah, that's good. And I says, all

right, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the Lord spoke

to me and says, tell him this. If we allow the

spirit to flow through us, we will indeed be

a light. to the city oh church in your home wherever

you're in your workplace I know what it is to

be in your workplace and not win one soul Not

when one's sober. Everybody's pegging and cussing

and swearing all around you. Back then, they

can smoke. They would smoke in my face. It's

just a lot of stuff, man, in that environment.

But I told the Lord, enough is enough. I want

souls, Lord. Let me win a soul here. Well, you

all know the story, my testimony, but amen, I

began at my desk. I said, and the Lord says,

oh, you want souls? We'll see if you want souls.

And I came in one morning, and I was praying

at my desk, and the Lord says, okay, now get

up and dance around your desk seven times. And

I says, Lord, you know, got my blue suit on,

and folks are dignified here, man. Important

people here. He says, you want souls or not?

Okay. So I got up and started walking around

slowly, kind of quietly. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus,

bless your name. And the Lord said, that's not

loud enough. Okay, Lord, took the next octave,

you know, and got a little louder. And I went

around about three or four times. Then I heard

somebody say from way over there, it says, I

think Joel's going crazy. And I heard that. And

then the Lord said, well, yes or no? I said,

yes, Lord. Okay, go around, make it louder. And

I went around, man, by my sixth time around,

I was shouting, God, you're so good. And I was

dancing. By the seventh time, I was dancing around

my desk like this in the Holy Ghost. Let me tell

you something. That was the first day of a revival

in my workplace. I won 21 people from just that

little area. 21 people I won to the Lord. filled

with the Holy Ghost. And then when I go into

work, praise the Lord, Brother Joe. Praise the

Lord. Instead of cussing and swearing and smoking,

praise the Lord. Praise the Lord everywhere.

Walking down the hallway, praise the Lord. Praise

the Lord. There was this young guy. He was a

martial arts guy. He took cooking, man. He was

Filipino. I'm figuring his name. Do you remember?

What was his name? Yeah. He was like, you know,

I was walking down the hallway one day, and I

made a turn, and he goes, he says, I almost took

you down, he tells me. I says, oh, really? Give

me a little wine, and I'm going to take you down.

I'm going to take you down in the Holy Ghost.

My wife is my witness. I won him to the Lord.

He became karate for Jesus, man. I said, did

I take you down or not? His name was Donnie.

I said, did I take you down, Donnie? He said,

yeah, you did, man. You didn't even touch me.

God did. I said, I took him down. He brought

his girlfriend that became his wife. He carried

his dad up the stairs, baptized his father. Amen.

In Jesus' name. People were coming, coming, coming,

coming, coming, getting baptized. I'm going to

tell you, City Light Church, when you make up

your mind that you're going to be a witness for

God, if you make up your mind that you're going

to win somebody for the Lord, God's going to

give you that soul. You've got to believe it.

So you've got to believe it. Praise be to God.

Because that's what God does. He honors. Don't

settle for a drought. It's not happening. The

people are calling me names at work. Oh, stop

it already. Stand up for Jesus. Praise God. How

many of you commit to win somebody from work?

Lift your hand. Come on. Come on. More hands.

More hands. Okay, it's happening. Somebody from

your work, you're going to win them to the Lord.

Praise God. See there? It's going to happen.

It's going to happen. God's spirit will continually

flow through his church. Don't worry. It's about

2 .15 right now. My God, I'm not even halfway

down here, but that's okay. City Light Church.

God's spirit will continually flow through his

church. There's no end to the spirit. With the

two olive trees. That lamp is going to continue.

God has. He put special pipes. From the tree.

To the lamp. That is wow. That's what God was

saying. I'm going to have continuous flow. Of

my spirit. My glory in the church. Because it's

my church. Praise the Lord. There's no end to

it. It flows continuously. God will allow it

in our lives. So not by mind, not by power, but

by my spirit, says the Lord God Almighty. That's

why he said it. Praise God, somebody. We do not

accomplish great things for God because of our

great skills, our talents, our abilities, but

rather because of our dependence on him. Let's

depend on Jesus. Let's not. Amen. Make excuses

anymore. Let's stand up and believe it. And with

that, I want you to stand with me. I'm going

to close with you standing just so it might look

like we're going to be done. He who promised

is faithful. He will surely bring it to pass.

Listen to what the scripture says. Then the Lord

said, what are you, mighty mountain? This mighty

mountain represents all opposition. Though it

may be great, the prophet said, if God be with

us, who can be against us? Sometimes it may be

all we see is just... You know, young man, young

lady, maybe all you can see is an enormous opposition

to where you would like to be in God, in life.

Maybe that's all you see. It's too big. Wow.

It's too big. It's enormous. It's visible from

a distance and from up close. It's very overwhelming,

very intimidating. But God said to Zerubbabel,

as I say to City Light, God will level the mountain.

He's going to bring that mountain down. And we're

going to be able to see the glory of God. God's

going to lower. He's going to level it. God will

level the mountain. Then listen to this. Then

he will bring out the capstone to shouts of God

bless it, God bless it. You know what capstone

is in typology, biblical typology? It is the

last harvest of souls. Jesus is the chief cornerstone.

The church is built through time. But the capstone

is the last stone that seals it, the church.

At that time, the Lord comes. That's the capstone.

And he told Zerubbabel. Then he will bring out

the capstone to shouts of God bless God, God

bless God, God bless it, God bless it. It is

a typology of an end time revival of souls. It's

a revival that God's bringing our way. We cannot

deny it. And Zechariah prophesied and said to

Zerubbabel, He said, the hands of Zerubbabel

had laid the foundation of this temple, and his

hands will also complete it. Pastor Jacob, this

is a word for you. Your hands have started the

building of God's church in Mountain View. And

God is confirming that your hands will complete

it. God leaves nothing half done. Nothing. Then

Zacharias said, then you will know that the Lord

Almighty has sent me to you. God's prophetical

word and promises is with you. City Light. To

fulfill his purpose in this city. We ain't done

yet. We ain't done yet. God has promised it.

Now I want you to put the last scripture up.

Put it up. Back. Verse 4. Back 4. Right there.

Thank you. No. Chapter 2 verse 4. I'm sorry.

Haggai. There you go. Thank you. Thank you. You're

right. But now the Lord says, be strong. Somebody

say be strong. Be strong. Zerubbabel. Pastor

Jacob, God's word to you today is to take up

courage. Be strong as he leads you through to

a miraculous and a powerful revival. that will

result in many souls coming to Christ. That is

Haggai's word to Zerubbabel. Be strong. Then

it says, Be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak,

the high priest, city -like ministry and leadership.

Be strong. And courageous. Focus and support

the vision God has given your pastor. And know

that God is the God of breakthroughs. Your ministry

will grow for the glory of God. God is able to

do more with less. This is his church. Let's

work united. Next. Be strong, all you people

still left in the land, members of City Light

Church. You are important to God. He has a plan

for every one of you. Catch the vision and follow

with a determination that just ahead, we will

see the glory of God as we've never seen before.

If you have family members that have not yet

been baptized, your eyes will behold it. Keep

the faith. Let's march forward as an army on

a mission. But listen, but let's do what God

said. And what did he say? And now... Get to

work. Somebody say, get to work. Turn around

to your neighbor and say, now let's get to work.

And then tell him, for God is with us. Says the

Lord of heaven armies. Verse 5 says, my spirit

remains among you just as I promised when you

came out of Egypt, so do not be afraid. Your

beginnings was not in vain. It's not how we start.

It's how we finish that matters. For this is

what the Lord of Heaven's army says. And just

a little while, I will shake, again shake, the

heavens and the earth and the oceans and the

dry land. I will shake all the nations. And listen

to this. And the treasures of all the nations

will be brought. To this temple. In other words,

God will provide all the resources needed to

fulfill his purpose with City Light Church in

Mountain View. We will lack nothing. This is

God's investment. I will fill this place with

glory, says the Lord of Heaven's armies. God's

glory will be with us, and it's always with you.

It will be with you, every one of you. His promise

will fill his house with glory. City light, the

glory of God is in our midst. And then he says,

the silver is mine, the gold is mine, says the

Lord of heavenly armies. God owns a cattle in

a thousand hills. There's a fish still in the

sea. That God has prepared to supply our every

need. I want to speak a word to somebody here

today. If you are struggling financially, if

you have a mountain before you, if it seems like

you're regressing instead of progressing, let

me declare this day that things will change for

you very soon. You are part of God's plan for

City Light Church. And he will open the windows

of heaven open to you. Your best days are ahead

of you. God will bless your investment and he

will prosper you. And in this place, listen,

Pastor Jacob, and in this place, I will bring

peace. I, the Lord, heaven's armies, have spoken.

Your focus is to lead his people and build his

church. We are not proclaiming that Christ was

born on December 25th, but we take advantage

of any opportunity to celebrate his miracle birth.

As we enter the season of celebrating Christ's

birth, may the light, you can put that up there,

mijo. I think it's the last slide. Maybe, maybe

not. There it is. Let's all read that together.

Are you ready? May the light that came that holy

night. Fill our hearts, our families, our homes,

and city -like church with his peace. God bless

you.