The Lord is in this Place

Hello and welcome to the Arise Church Podcast.

We are so glad you're here and want to thank you for joining us

today for the audio version of our Sunday morning message.

We want to invite you to join us in person at our Sunday morning

celebration every Sunday at 10 AM.

We are located on Old Jenks Rd. in Apex, NC.

Amen. Well, I am JJ Versolono.

I am one of the associate pastors here at Arise Church.

I'm also the director of the Rice School of Ministry and

Leadership, and I have the distinct honor and privilege of

bringing the Word of God this morning.

That is something that I carry with great awe.

Whenever we get to be the mouthpiece for the Lord.

That is nothing to take lightly and that is something that.

I distinctly believe will change our hearts and our lives every

time we gather if we apply our faith and our expectation to

that. And so this morning, that is my

invitation to you as we get ready to dive into the word.

First, you're going to hear a little bit about me, which I

love that. I love that we get to share our

testimonies and pieces of our stories with one another because

like it says in the Book of Revelation, we overcome by the

blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, the victory of

the tests and the trials that we have gone through and what the

Lord has done in proving His faithfulness and His goodness to

each and every one of us. There is nothing like it.

And so in just a minute, we're going to jump in and you're

going to hear a little bit of my story and who I am and where I

come from. But then we're going to jump

into the message this morning, which is entitled.

The Lord is in this place, and I believe God's got a lot of

amazing things. There's a prophetic covenant

that He has established with His people for generations upon

generations upon generations. Our motto here at Arise Church's

Discipling Generations to Arise Now Discipling Generations.

See what God has in store for you is not just for your life,

but it extends far beyond which you will ever know this side of

heaven. But in heaven you will see the

full fulfillment of His prophetic covenant that has been

made with you. All right, well, I'm going to

just share a little bit of my story because you got to hear a

lot of our story when Pastor Tim.

Shared If you didn't know, this is my wonderful husband, Pastor

Tim will be married 33 years in November.

I know mind blowing because I look about 25, right?

Oh my goodness, no. But 33 years this November.

Best best gift the Lord could have ever given me outside the

salvation gift that he gave me and saved my life with.

But. My story is wrought with legacy

and miracles. Some of you may be a first

generation Christian in this place today, and some of you,

like me, may have a legacy of faith from which you are reaping

the rewards of. Many of you, I believe, are

aware that I'm a PK, but not in your most normal sense.

While my dad, yes, was a pastor, I grew up as a president's kid.

So my brothers are five and six years older than me, and my

father pastored during during that season of their life, and

they were in. High school, but I was in

elementary school when he was invited to leave his pastor and

become the president of at the time, Life Bible College, which

we now know is Life Pacific University.

And he he moved it from Echo Park, where Amy had planted at

the school, and then moved it to San Dimas.

And so I grew up as a president's kid, which was a

very different, different scenario than a pastor's kid,

but yet still many of those same.

Wonderful, wonderful rewards of being such.

It was the greatest honor and joy to have grown up as a

pastor's kid. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't

easy, but it was holy. I grew in the things of the

Lord. My parents lived even a greater

discipleship model at home. You know, they, they weren't

different people from the platform or where wherever we

were traveling around, speaking to what was at home, it was

consistent. It was consistent.

And we were their number one ministry.

And my brothers and myself all knew that no matter what, we

were the number one ministry to my parents and we are great

recipients of a legacy of. Faith.

I'm also child of grandparents and great grandparents who were

not just believers but also in ministry on both sides.

So my great grandfather, whom I never met, he died long before I

was born. Who my daughter, who you'll meet

next week, Shay is named after. His name is Shaylin.

Her name is Shaylin, spelled a little differently, but he was a

pastor for many years and although my my grandparents on

my dad's side and my dad even until he was 18, didn't.

Live their lives for the Lord in in the same sense my dad gave

his life had a complete. Just amazing miraculous call by

God calling his name when he was in the army and in El Paso, TX

but didn't grow up in church. However, my aunt was pulling the

strings trying to get everybody to church at all, all the time

his his little sister. But on the other side my my

great grandparents. Were heavily involved in revival

and and just lots of moves of God.

My great grandmother Rosalie Chambers was the pianist for Amy

Semple McPherson and for Smith Wigglesworth and many of their

revivals in the in the early 1900s there and so worship.

Is a legacy of our of our life. It is an understanding that that

is where we, we, we have earth kiss heaven, right?

We open the gates of heaven and the glory of the Lord is poured

out upon us. And everything can change in

that moment. If we come and realize we're not

just coming to sing a simple song, but we are coming to be

transformed from the inside out, nothing can ever remain the

same. So when we come, it's not about

what songs I like, what songs move me.

It's about what the what the movement of the Holy Spirit is.

Amen. Amen.

So I've got a deep legacy, one that I cherish.

And it is it is shared with the miraculous work of the Holy

Spirit generations of my family. We've had many, many, many

miracles in our family of of life and death situations.

So, so to when people argue and say that was for a time that has

since ceased, I can say, Oh no, it's not.

Because I have lived it, I experienced it.

My dad used to always say this. The person with the argument is

subject to the person with the experience.

And I've experienced God, I've experienced his miracle working

power. My grandmother, she was sent

home multiple times when she was in her 30s to die with her body

being filled with cancer and the Lord.

In fact, there was a, a book written where she is, she is one

of the persons in it in the history of the Assemblies of God

movement and grandma's in there because of the miraculous work

of the Holy Spirit. She had rectal cancer, she had

stomach cancer and she had breast cancer and she was at

that in that era. She was just sent home to die.

There was nothing that they could do.

In fact, she had had both her breasts removed and the

graciousness and the miracle working of power of the Lord is

not only did he heal her, but he also grew her breasts back.

And so just like thanks you cannot deny.

Thanks you cannot. And my grandmother lived till

she was 95. My dad, Yes, Amen.

Amen. Right.

My father was since 2000 in and out of the hospital with many,

many life, life, life, life ending diagnosis.

He had his went in for a simple gallbladder removal and when

they opened it up, his, all of his insides were gangrene.

And they said, oh, there is nothing.

We just, and we thought we were going to that was going to be

it. And that was in 2000.

And the Lord restored him and healed him and set him free.

He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which is a form of bone

cancer. They'd found it in his skull

where they went back to look at it again.

It was gone. There was nothing there.

My brother Brad was in 1991 we were at how many of you this

going to take. You way back, if you have

history in Foursquare, how many of you remember the Summit's

that we used to do with Greg Johnson?

We're coming together at Summit 8888.

That tells you kind of the year it was so.

So if you're raising your hand and you weren't even born yet,

come on. Come on.

But it's Summit 91, which was held in Dallas, Fort Worth.

My brother Brad and my brother Jeff was in another car, was

with a good buddy of theirs and they were driving.

It was before the the event had started.

In fact, I you guys went, didn't you?

Because we all went together. Because at that time I was at

Valley Community Church, and so Robin Yoli and I, we were on the

same flight headed out there. And when we got there, I was

greeted by someone at the door that that grabbed me and told

Pastors Jerry and Kimberly that I needed to go with them because

my brother was in the hospital because he had been T boned.

They've been T boned. And my brother was actually

pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

That they brought all of Summit together.

There were several thousands, I want to say about 6004 square

young people. And we came together and they

begin to intercede. And my brother Brad today has

five kids. And the Lord resurrected him,

brought him back. And he is.

An amazing, amazing brother whom I love incredibly, and I'm so

thankful to the Lord. And then there's my own life.

I'll talk a little bit more about that in a minute.

But my son also, the Lord did a miraculous work for Jackson when

he was about 7:00 or 8:00, I'm going to say.

We were pastoring in Mission Hills, CA and we were praying

for people. We were having praying for

healing. The Lord had just been doing a

real move. And Jackson came forward at the

time he had suffered severely with asthma, just not normal

asthma. He's on multiple medications

daily. He had been the year about two

years before in the intensive care unit for over a week with a

collapsed lung from a horrible asthma attack that they were

trying to get re inflated and and all of that.

And he came forward on his own. We brought all the kids in from

kids classes because we knew the Lord was doing something and

Jackson Park straight down, he said, he says.

I'm going to be healed of asthma.

And he prayed and we, we agreed with him and us great man and

woman of God and faith and power.

We went home and he marched right back this little 8 year

old to all of his asthma medications and he took him and

he threw him in the trash. And we said, what are you doing?

You know, he goes, I'm healed. I said yes, but shouldn't we

keep those just in case? He says no, I'm healed.

And he threw those medications away and and he is living

outside of sports. He lives free of asthma, you

know he'll pull it out when he's exerting on the ice, which he

doesn't do anymore. He's an ice hockey player for

many years. But God is faithful and God is

good. My life has had multiple touches

of God saving it. I'm going to get to talk about

one a little bit more in depth because it's a little more

recent, but there's stories that my parents have told me that I

was too young to remember. First one being when I was, I

was a newborn. I was just weeks old and I was

born very sick. They don't call these things

this anymore, but it was, I guess I had the London flu.

So I don't know what that was, but I had it.

I was born, my mother had it when she gave birth to me and it

was a Sunday morning and my mom will never forget it.

And she walked over to the bassinet and when she walked

over there I was just Gray and she knew I was I was dead.

And so no cell phones at the time.

Dad was preaching at church. So she picked up the phone and

called the church line and got one of our.

Ushers. So ushers, God wants to use.

You. Called one of the ushers and Don

Strail happened to answer the church phone and she he said my

mom said J JS not breathing and I think she's gone.

Don, you need to pray now and Don be prayed with her right

there in that moment. And when she turned around for

the first time since I was born, I was awake, moving and I was

pink and was fully, fully healthy from that moment on

other than myself. Had a little asthma and at 2

years old, my mom was watching PTL.

How many of you remember PTL? She was watching PTL and they

announced on that broadcast there's a the 2 year old and the

Lord's touching you and healing you of asthma.

And I was healed of asthma in that moment.

When I was in 6th grade, I got pretty sick with headache, real

bad headaches, and I couldn't see real clearly.

My hearing was getting kind of iffy.

And in that day in the in the 80s, you didn't rush your kids.

There weren't urgent cares. We just either had your doctor's

office or the emergency room. And we didn't really ever use

any of them. You know, you just didn't.

And after being out of school for about 3 weeks, my mom said I

think I probably should take you to the doctor.

And so she took me to the doctor and the doctor was doing my

exam. And I remember because my

doctor's office was right here and there was this bridge that

you walked across to the hospital, Glendale Adventist

Hospital right there. And I'm in the doctor's office

and he's he's looking, they're doing a little strep test,

things like that. And I remember when he took the

thing up and they look in your eye and he got in my right eye.

He goes. Oh.

My God, you know, he just starts freaking out and my mom and I

were like what is happening? And the immediately nurses

rushed in. They threw me in a wheelchair

and they took me right off and he saw a large mass right behind

my right eye that was causing all that and so took me over.

We had they began to do all the scans and I had a large tumor in

my brain behind my right eye that was impeding everything.

And so immediately was going to be setting up a, a series of

what the next steps were things like that, knowing eventually

they were going to 1st get in and biopsy that with surgery.

And so they did send me home and I was going to be home for, I

think it was about two days. And then I was going to come

back to the hospital. And in that two days, people

from all over the world began to pray for me.

And we have the, the scans. It's really cool.

I, I wanted to find them, but they're still in what has not

been unpacked. But we do have these CT scans of

my brain. And we went back for my

scheduled biopsy and they, they went to take me back and my dad

said it's before you touch a hair on her head, you take

another set of scans because that tumor's gone.

And they said, Sir, that is not, he goes, I don't care if I have

to pay for it. He goes, you take another set of

scans cause the tumor's gone. And they took another set of

scans, which I have two days apart, and that tumor was

completely gone. So when you tell me that God

doesn't move today, I say Oh no, no, no, you don't know my God,

'cause my God is in the miracle working business.

So it's required a lot, it's cost a lot.

There were battles we had to come against because did fear

want to end her in? Yes.

Did agreement with diagnosis want to come in, come in, yes.

Did did lies of of the robbing or abortion of future come in?

Absolutely. But what did we stand and

declared upon the word of the Lord?

That I would live and not die? Well, we got to deal with that

again in 2024 and I'm going to read.

With you, a journal entry that I wrote last year.

And it's, it's, it's a bit of a detailed part of our story that

I am still walking out today. But I want to invite you in to

see the miracle working power of our God.

And here's how my journal entry reads.

As I sit in the quiet and stillness of the midnight hour,

I find myself in awe and wonder of God.

March 8th, 2024. I went in for my first.

Colonoscopy and I wasn't concerned.

I went under the anesthesia for the procedure and what felt like

only seconds waking up to overhearing my surgeon telling

my husband in the hall that they found a large tumor in my

rectum. They both came into my room and

I told them I heard you in the hall and I don't have time for

this. My surgeon proceeded to tell me

they biopsied the mass and we would know more when the results

came back a few days or so later.

I was checking in that wonderful patient portal that we all have

where we get news prematurely, right?

I was checking my patient portal for the lab results and I saw

the biopsy results were there quietly and alone.

I read them and was Googling the words I read Colonic

adenocarcinoma. Within minutes, my phone rang

and I saw my surgeon's name on the screen and I was fully aware

of the news he was about to tell me.

But in those moments between reading the words and hearing

the words, my battle plan was made.

I was determined to face this giant slingshot and stones in

hand and the sword at my side. It was already defeated.

From the phone call on, everything began to move fast.

CT scans, Mr. is blood work, New doctors meeting with oncology

and radiology. And telling my family.

We called our kids and told them that I was diagnosed with stage

3 rectal cancer and that it invaded my lymph nodes and

broken through the rectal wall. And not one of us responded

fearfully, but filled with faith.

My son Jackson said we need to pray together as a family every

night until the doctor's. Report lined up with the Lord's

report. We also took communion on those

calls regularly. Tim and I drove 40 minutes five

days a week for six weeks while I had oral chemo and radiation

with no side effects. In 28 rounds of radiation, the

only side effect was fatigue. I finished radiation and had a

few weeks off before starting five months of chemotherapy.

In a few weeks off I had my first surgery where a port was

placed in my chest and that bothered me the most through the

whole process as it was a constant reminder of an enemy I

was waging war on. As the chemo infusions began, we

would. Spend the day at the hospital

and then I'd go home with a chemo pump which continued to

pump the toxic medications into my body for another 48 hours and

then we'd go back to the hospital to have them disconnect

the pump. The cycle repeated 8 times in

five months. Again, I had very few side

effects, Fatigue, hair thinning, and my hair turned white.

And the worst for me was a thing called First Bite Syndrome.

If you want to know what that is, I'll be happy to share with

you later. October 27th, 2024 I completed

my last round of chemo and the CT scan was ordered.

The results of the scan LED the doctors to tell me I had a

complete clinical response. However, my surgeon wanted to

confirm that nothing was hiding. So it was time for another

colonoscopy, the results of which came back having found

remnants of tumor tissue hiding in my now healthy rectum, and he

told me I needed to have surgery.

I was so disappointed as I believe that I would not need to

do that. And we made the decision to

schedule the surgery for December 18th, 2024, one day

before my birthday and all during my favorite time of the

year, Christmas time, as he. Detailed the procedure to us.

He explained the hard and lengthy recovery and the

possibility of an ostomy and I told him I don't want an ostomy

and do. Whatever it takes to avoid that.

And I went in for surgery as scheduled and I woke up and

miraculously they were able to preserve enough of my rectum and

sigmoid colon that I didn't need an ostomy.

I have to say this was a hard part.

Recovering from this resection surgery was hard.

It was an open surgery and I was in the hospital for five days,

came home in time for Christmas. I came home on Christmas Eve and

we continued every day. We had still been having this

family FaceTime call until we heard the words cancer free,

which we heard on December 27th, 2024.

Here's what I know from this journey that even continues in

surprising ways today. God is faithful.

My word for 2024 from my son-in-law was this press in and

press on, and this was before we knew what the year was going to

hold, and I did. The Lord told me three things

for this journey that I was on. There was a plan for the

process, there was purpose in the process, and there was power

through the process. The next thing I know is God is

good. He held me and covered me.

I never connected with having cancer.

It was nothing more than a diagnosis to me that I was not

going to own. Because it was already defeated.

I also know this, that God is working.

The most unexpected thing that came was an emotional response.

Like I've never experienced before and I continue to

navigate. And this happened on on December

27th. When I heard those words,

something opened up in me that I'd never experienced.

In fact, my mother used to always you never cry.

That is a lot. And I'm like, I'm trying.

I don't know. But something began to open up

in me and I began to weep from a place within me that I never

knew existed. And it lasted for about 3 solid

days, through the night, all day long, everything.

And it was a chaotic mixture of joy, pain, abundance,

loneliness, gratitude and anger being completely and utterly

undone. And this is where I'm living

now. I am healed, yet I am still.

Healing, it's a journey and it still has effects that I have to

work on. Some parts of it have been

exacerbated and it has have reopened places even since

moving here, realizing that no, I don't have it, but there's a

fear of getting that again that I have to battle getting Tim.

I've got to get to, I've got to get a doctor established here

because I've got to get an oncologist because we got to

make sure we, we have everything.

And it's like, no. We're not going to face this

giant again. Once defeated, it's defeated.

But still battling. There's a battle that that wages

while I didn't have effects at the time of the chemo and

radiation, I battle horrific. Neuropathy now, which is one of

the side effects of the chemo in my feet and my my, the tips of

my finger from the first line up, they're much better.

I used to not even be able to put my necklace or my earrings.

I had so much struggle. But I tell to let me do it.

I'm going to do it. If you can't tell, I'm a little,

little ornery sometimes. I'm determined to do things.

But I'm healed, yet. I'm still healing in many, many

ways. And the Lord is gracious enough

to keep saying JJ. Let's take a little peek right

here. Let let's see, let's see the

fullness of the work that I want to do.

Because of that journey that I walked with you through didn't

take me by surprise and I get to see the.

Faithfulness and the goodness of God.

So that's a little bit of my story.

That's just one piece of many of the amazing things that the Lord

has done and that He continues to do.

But my hope and my heart is that you are encouraged because we

serve a God of miracles. We serve a God that says let the

blind eyes be open, let the lame man walk, and let the dead man

live again. And church, when we get a

revelation of that and we begin to live with it, everybody else

who has. The argument must bow to the

experience we have with God. Amen.

Amen. Now I'm going to jump into my

message. That was just a little bit story

about me. Oh.

Would you pray with me? Oh Father God, you are gracious,

you are good, You are wonderful and marvelous, and we declare

your works. To the generations.

That they may know you. Lord, may it not be sad of us

that there was a generation that grew that didn't know the things

of the Lord or the things of that you had done for them.

Lord, let it not be said of us that they did whatever was right

in their own eyes. But God, let it be said of us

that we know the covenant keeping God, and every

generation will know the stories of our God, and they will share

them with the generations to come.

Lord, we stand in a place of covenant with you.

We stand in a place of recognizing Your favor, Your

grace, and Your goodness. Now, Lord, as we speak, and

declare Your word. I ask that it doesn't return

void, but it accomplishes everything that you knew from

the moment you said Let there be light would accomplish this.

Day. Lord, accomplish your work in

and through our lives. Let us not leave here the same

way that we entered. Let us leave transformed,

informed, and empowered by the power of the risen Savior.

May your word be life. And health to our bones.

And Jesus, may we have a revelation of you we honor.

You and we love you and it's in Jesus name that we pray.

Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen. I want to remind us that the

word is power. The word is more than just a

historical collection of stories and account.

Romans 15 four says for whatever was written in the past was

written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through

endurance and through the encouragement from the

scriptures in second Timothy 316 and 17 continues to remind us

that all scripture is. Inspired by God.

And it's profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for

correcting, for training and righteousness.

So the man of God may be complete equipped for every good

work. And this, this is a covenant

that has been established back in the beginning, and it holds

true today for you and me. This is while the original

covenant is referenced in the coming of the promised Messiah

in the Old Testament, which was the first Advent.

We live as the disciples in the apostles did in a modern day

Advent, waiting, awaiting the. Return of our Savior, right the

King of kings and the Lord of. Lords, that is where we live,

that is where we rest. That should be every thought

that is like consuming us is the return of Jesus.

And what am I doing with this limited, limited moment that I

have this vapor of a life that I have to prepare the way for the

King, right? So that is why the word is so

important to us. It is relevant.

It is everything that you have need of for every situation in

every moment, big or small. So I'm going to invite you to to

look up at the screen as we read the main text, that of our

message today. And this message is called what

I call it the Lord is in this place.

But would you turn with me to Genesis chapter 17, Genesis

Genesis 17 · chapter mention Genesis 17:7

chapter 17, verses 7 and 8? And I'm reading this out of the

message translation, so I doubt anybody has that here with them.

If you have your. Bible app, you can pull up the

message translation or transliteration because it's not

a true translation, but it's it's just written more modern

day language so we can understand it.

But it says this. Wait, did I do that?

No, I'm not going to read it from the message.

I'm going to read it from this because I put it in the

translation of my Bible, which is CSB.

So I'm going to read it from the screen, but then I'm going to

read you the message. It says this.

I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your

future offspring throughout their generations.

It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your

offspring after you. And to you and your future

offspring, I will give the land where you are residing, all the

land of Canaan, as a permanent possession, and I will be their

God. All right.

Now this is what it says this way.

I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant

that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on

and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of

your descendants. And I'm giving you and your

descendants this land where you are now just camping, this whole

country of Canaan to own. Forever and I'll be their God.

That is our covenant, that is our promise, that is our our

relationship with God. He's saying, hey, I made a

permanent covenant, not one that's.

For 8 generations, as we typically saw, this is a.

Permanent covenant and you and I are recipients of that covenant.

We are living out that covenant, whether you are first generation

believer or whether you are descended.

Clear back from then every person in your family line has

loved Jesus. We are in a permanent covenant.

President Ronald Reagan once quoted Dr. Goddard, who wrote a

letter to HG Wells, and this is what Doctor Goddard said.

There can be no thoughts of finishing, for aiming at the

stars, both literally and figuratively, is a problem to

occupy generations. So that no matter how much

progress one makes, there is always the thrill of just

beginning. Oh Church, may we never lose the

thrill. May we never become complacent,

maybe never become comfortable, maybe never become apathetic.

May we never become ritualistic. But may we come to the gates of

the King, may we come to the courts of the Lord, with

expectation and the thrill of what is about to happen.

I dare say we very. Seldom do, but I challenge us

that every time we. Come and there is an action

point of coming. That we come and there, that

there's that expectation and there's that.

Oh, what is gonna happen? What is God gonna do in?

Me what is God going to do in our church?

What is God going to do in my family?

What is God gonna do in my neighborhood?

What is God gonna do through through me?

There was a a program that I was privileged to to get to be a

part of and it was where I fell in love with the word of.

God, it was this whole season back in the early, early 90s,

like literally 1990 to 92 when I was at Valley Community Church

and I fell in love with the word.

And there were two significant points that I can go back to in

that time. And it's anchored me, my life.

It's anchored me because the word has never become a, a

mushy. It's never become Nah.

It's been everything ever since. And one was a very rare rainy

day in El Monte, CA and I was one girl on staff with 12 guys

and so you can imagine the torment that was.

Mine on a daily basis working with these 12 wonderful men and

women of God. But well I was the only woman of

God but man of God and I was becoming a woman of God.

I was 17 at the time when I got hired on at the church and I

don't know how or why I got hired on favor of favor

generational favor as my parents were friends with the pastor and

but I also believe the anointing makes way.

And I remember being there and at the time we had these

Walkman's, we all had a Walkman with a cassette tape, not even

ACD Walkman with cassette tapes. And they're hooked to our thing

because our number one ministry, even the pastors, not the senior

pastors or the senior associate pastor, but from.

From him down the other eleven of us, our number one ministry

was to clean the church to to prepare the temple, to make

ready the House of the Lord and we did the ministry on our own

time. And so we were all walking

around doing our different things, and we had these tape

recorders playing everybody and anything, you know, Kenneth

Copeland and. Jerry Seville and I love Jesse

Duplantis was my favorite. And we'd listen to these things

and and we'd do that. And then we had our little

pagers and we were so. Cool.

You know I did. I wore that with honor.

I thought it was so amazing. But I can remember this one day.

I was frustrated and. One of the.

Guys on staff, his name was Gil. And I was like, I don't

understand everybody. Like there's this thing with the

word of God here. Like literally there's like an

obsession with it. Like what is that?

Like it is just, it's, it's just a boring book to me.

I don't know. And I was raised on it.

I mean, there's a few scriptures I like here and there.

I said but I don't get it. And he looked at me.

He says, JJ, it hasn't come alive to you.

He goes, I want you to do this. He goes, I want you to go in my

office and I want you to take your word, turn everything off

and don't leave the room till it breathes.

And I remember going into Gil's office and I locked that door

and he had a little skylight. And so I could hear the tapping

of the rain on that skylight. And I opened the Bible.

I laid my hand, my chin on my hands.

I said, all right, God. You say to test you, I want your

word to come alive. I want it to breathe.

And I tell you, within moments I literally begin to see that book

rise and fall, rise and fall. And I began to devour the word.

I began to I could wouldn't stop that day.

I was in that office, I tell you, probably no less than six

or seven hours. And I just every, I just would

do that whole just. Close your eyes and flip

somewhere and read. Everything was alive.

Every story suddenly related to me.

God was speaking to me and it was rising and it was falling

with the cadence of the breath of God.

And I was like. I will never be the same again.

And then there was the opportunity to be a part of a

very disciplined program. The first one it eventually

changed into what you all know, most of you would know as OSL,

but at that time was called Boot Camp.

And in that is where I learned the power of scripture

memorization. And those words, those

scriptures, are still anchors to my soul today.

They're still the very first thing that I think of.

They're the very first thoughts I have in circumstances in

situations out of the. Wellspring of my heart leaps

these scriptures. That were planted deep back when

I was just a young person. So I tell you, there is power in

the word of God. And we've got to understand that

it is rising and falling with the cadence of the breath of God

that is in synchronicity with the heartbeat that you carry.

So I invite you, I invite you to fall in love with His word.

In First and Second Samuel, the Holy Spirit has given us a

graphic century long look at one of the most significant and

pivotal times in the history of the children of Israel.

We're going to be living in First and Second Samuel for the

rest of this message. The record of First Samuel

begins with a barren woman desperately seeking God, who

sings a song of praise for his action of grace and blessing

because of her supplication. Second Samuel ends with David

the king buying the threshing floor of one of his subjects to

build an altar of worship on the future site of the temple.

And in between our numerous episodes of Failure and VV, we

are much like these stories glean from these books as we

begin as barren and lifeless individuals who call out for

God's salvation through Jesus and upon receiving it, we sing

the song of our Lord. Our destiny is to be a temple of

God. In between, there are ups and

downs and how we navigate those moments determine if we are a

hero or a coward. As we look at these spellbinding

books, we will navigate the path of the maturing prophet that

Samuel specifically took and the actions that made way for his

anointing. And as we do.

We will see Jesus, the trusted prophet, was the one fulfilling

His word through Hannah, Samuel, Saul and David as he continues

to do through you and I today. So my first point is this praise

is the gateway for prophetic promises.

Praise is the gateway for prophetic promises.

I'm going to tell you the story of Hannah.

The story of Hannah is wrought with emotion and tugs at the

heart of the reader. Hannah's marriage to Alkana is

filled with love. However, she is tormented that

she is childless. Alkana affirms his love for her

even though they were childless, He says in First Samuel 18.

AM I not better to you than ten sons?

Things seemed even worse by others perceptions that God had

abandoned her rather than isolating and feeling.

Sorry for herself, she goes to worship God and she makes

covenant with him that if he would give her a son, she would

give that child, the one she longed for, back to him.

She received the prophetic promise of God as Eli answered

her saying, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the

request you've made of him. Hannah later returned with her

son Samuel Shmuel meaning. Heard by God and she leaves him

with the with Eli the priest, fulfilling her vow to the Lord,

and she is blessed with five more children.

When Hannah presents Samuel to the priest, she breaks forth in

the song of prophetic praise as she praised these words.

Now remember, this is her praise.

This is a song she breaks out in my heart, rejoices in the Lord.

My horn is lifted up by the Lord.

My mouth boasts over my enemies because I rejoice in your

salvation. There is no one holy like the

Lord, there is no one besides you, and there is no rock like

our God. Do not boast so proudly or let

arrogant words come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of

knowledge, and actions are weighed by Him.

The bows of the warrior are broken, but the feeble are

clothed with strength. Those who are full hire

themselves out for food, but those who are starving hunger no

more. The woman who is childless gives

birth to seven, but the woman with many sons Pines away.

The Lord brings death and gives life.

He sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.

The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth.

He humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts lifts the needy from the trash heap.

He seats them with nobleman and gives him a throne of honor.

For the foundations of the earth are the Lords.

He has set the world on them. He guards the step of his

faithful ones. But the wicked perish in

darkness, for a person does not prevail by their own strength.

Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.

He will Thunder in the heavens against them.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

He will give power to his King, and He will lift up the horn of

his anointed. What a song of.

Praise. Oh, could you imagine if our

church responded in that way to the answered move and the

answered prayers of God in our lives?

Could you imagine if we begin to boast our praise to the Lord

without being even to restrain or withhold anything back, but

realizing like, Oh God my soul, everything within me can't

contain, that You fulfilled your promise to me, and in return the

very promise that you gave, I give right back to you?

Oh, her words celebrate these unalterable truths in verses one

and two. God is powerful and holy in

verse. Three, God silences the critics

of His people in verses 4 through a God reverses

circumstances verse 9 God provides for his people and in

verse 10 God defeats his adversaries and exalts the

anointed king. We hear the echo of this

prophetic praise by another woman who releases her first

born son for the purpose of. Redemption, the redemption of

humanity. And that woman is Mary, and that

son is Jesus, and it is a song. That she joins with the echo of

the generations from Hannah's original song.

And she said, Oh, oh God, oh Father, be it unto me, according

to your will, would you do such a.

Thing and should you do it, He is yours, Jesus is.

The anointed king eternal .2 contending and not compromising.

Cultivates prophetic courage, Contending, not compromise,

cultivates prophetic courage. And this is the story of that

son, Samuel. Samuel was raised in the ways of

the Lord by Eli the priest in Shiloh, which was the central

place of worship. This should have been the most

wonderful place, but Eli's sons were wicked even though.

They were priests, they were corrupt, they were greedy, and

they were sensual. Talks about that in First Samuel

1 Samuel 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. The most chilling fact about

this time is found in these words written in First Samuel

31. The boy Samuel served in the

Lord served the Lord in Eli's presence in those days.

The word of the Lord was rare. And prophetic visions were not

widespread. But in spite of this culture of

compromise, Samuel develops into a man of God.

Because he is the He was a promise, right?

He was a son of Covenant, right? So he was already set forth, as

we all are, with purpose and destiny.

But we got to come into agreement, right?

We got to come into agreement with.

What God says As a young boy, Samuel learns to recognize and

acknowledge the voice of God. He speaks a prophetic word of

the Lord with courage and clarity, and this spearheads A

revival that overthrows the worship of idols.

Samuel's intercession and effort brings about the victories over

the Philistines, and it memorialized it with a stone

called Ebenezer, meaning the Lord helped.

US. Samuel travelled most of his

life as the judge of Israel, speaking the word of the Lord

and leading them in worshiping God.

He built an altar of worship in his hometown and he returned

there often. And when he got old, the people

of Israel came to him wanting a king, which was unthinkable to

him because they had just, he just walked through his whole

life about this, the elevation of the priest being the leader,

right? And now here comes the people.

They know the corruption that they've all lived under with the

historic kings. And they're saying we want a

king, Samuel, we want a king. And he's like, like, what?

Are you kidding me? It was unthinkable.

And his own son, Samuel's own sons were.

Corrupt and the people still desire to leader all of them.

He was just like, ah, I thought we dealt with this.

I thought we got. Rid of this The Bible tells us

this idea displeased Samuel, But rather than debating the people,

he prayed. How many of us love a good

debate? Those comment sections on posts

don't engage people don't engage.

I mean it. You're debating with with an

enemy that you you that enemy loves.

He's Prince of the power of the air.

It's going to get twisted, man. Let Jesus make Ray.

Let Jesus make room. He's very good at speaking for

himself. He's.

Very good at that. God told Samuel to give the

people what they wanted, but it would be hard and harsh and

still the people were determined so.

Samuel courageously obeyed God and satisfied the request of the

people, and two men at two different times were anointed by

Samuel. Saul, who was the choice of the

people, and David, God's choice. Samuel remained the conscience

of the people until the day he died, encouraging them to follow

the Lord always. And he lived to see the failure

of Saul and see David's rise to leadership.

Samuel lived a life of integrity.

He lived a life of courage in the face of various forms of

pressure to compromise. Like Samuel, Jesus knows the

voice of God, and we see Jesus as the trusted prophet who

speaks the Word of God with boldness and courage.

The revival of Jesus continues today in the heart of everyone

who responds to his invitation, and the Word tells us that Jesus

is seated at the right hand of the Father and is always

interceding on our behalf. Jesus is the voice in the night,

the faithful judge and the trusted prophet.

I tell you what people, if you ever say thank you don't have

time to pray, take a. Take a page from Jesus's

playbook, because not only did he pray as man, but he praises

God sitting next to his Father to this very day.

And your name? And my name is the name on his

lips, whispering into the ear of his Father.

We've. Got to pray, we have got to be.

We want to see a move of God, Then we have got to get down and

get dirty. We've got to get on our knees

and we've got to sacrifice things that we think we want

because to receive the thing that we truly desire requires

everything from us. It may require things that you

are doing that you don't think are that big of a deal.

It may require things that are soaking up your schedule that

keeps you from being able having the ability.

To say yes to God. Parents, that's a big one.

Our kids schedule dictate more about our lives than our own

schedules. You got to find the balance.

You got to find the balance. The things of the Lord are

uncompromised. The things of the Lord are

without conflict. The commitments to the Lord are

not secondary. You are setting the pace, how

they respond to you and how they see.

You respond is how they will respond to the Lord and trust

me, I get the sports life and I know it's a hard one to hear but

you don't understand what is it? Less than 1% become pro

athletes. We had three who travelled

nationally playing sports. I'm not talking just local

around LA. There was one weekend we talked

about it. Tim went to New Orleans or

Minneapolis with Casey for volleyball.

I was in Vegas or Arizona. I was in Phoenix, AZ with

Jackson for hockey. What a random place to play

hockey. What?

And Shay had to fly by herself to Florida for competitive cheer

nationals. But we get like, I get it.

But you can ask my kids there wasn't a Wednesday night that

they missed. Youth Group.

There wasn't a practice that was allowed to be interfered with

with being in the House of the Lord.

And when there was a game and Jackson was the only one that

had this conflict, the Sunday morning game, wherever we were,

Jackson and I found a House of the Lord and we were in church

that Sunday night. And then he also had to watch

what happened in big church and take notes and show them to his

dad and I. Because that wasn't going to be

compromised. Nothing is more important than

the House of God. Nothing is more important than

gathering together with the people of God.

Because it. Is in that place that He

commands a blessing when we dwell in unity.

Says where two or three gather, he is there.

Does that not mean when we're alone and all that, that God's,

God's presence is with us? It's with us always with the

temple of the Holy Spirit, right?

He's indwelling. But there is something that

multiplies of multiplication that happens when we come into

agreement with other believers. And I tell you, this generation

has got to see the move of God. I would dare say the last two

generations have got to see the move of God because we haven't

seen a big move of God in a in a good while.

I was birthed into the Jesus People movement and I remember

little things about it but not very much.

Our church was grew from 50 to over 1000 overnight.

During that time, I was part of what God was doing in the 90s

through Brownsville and Toronto and and this move of God.

Where were you seeing his his outpourings, these these

whispers of what he wants to do? But I tell you, I would dare say

we haven't seen something in two to three.

Generations and that is unacceptable and that has been

our responsibility or lack thereof.

We need a move of God because it's where faith meets action.

And then we can say, oh, I know God, ha, you can't argue with me

about that. And finally.

Prophetic obedience opens the door for overwhelming

opportunity. And this is the story of David.

And before we dive into his story, we must understand what

happened with Saul. There was no one in Israel who

had more potential than Saul. He was from a wealthy family,

incredibly good looking, trusted, and lived with a sense

of humility. But through a series of events,

Saul is anointed as King of Israel and the Spirit of Lord

comes upon him and begins to prophecy.

After his first year as king, things go downhill fast and he

becomes impatient and presumptuous.

Which leads to disobedience, and it ultimately leads to God's

rejection. He becomes angry and explosive,

a man who takes out his rage on the closest to him, Jonathan his

son, and David his servant. He ends his life consumed with

jealousy and fear. The man who once prophesied in

the name of the Lord was found to consult a witch and

eventually committed suicide. What a tragic ending to a life

with such promise. We must be careful to not fall

into the same trap as soul and think because of the power of

God is present, we can live any way that we want.

That is a deception that will lead you to a day of reckoning

before the Lord. Beginning well is good.

Finishing well is better. Tim, I'm going to invite you up

as I begin to wrap this up. David is one of the most beloved

people in the Bible, and David's life is best summed up by the

words God spoke over him. He was a man after God's own

hearts, because he. Did the will of God.

No matter the situation, David kept his heart tender before

God. It was when Samuel anointed

David that the Bible records these words.

So Samuel took the. Horn of oil and anointed him in

the presence of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came

powerfully on David. From that day forward, the rest

of First Samuel is about. David and Saul and their

interactions and then Samuel. First Samuel 17 One through 58

we find the famous Bible story of David and his defeat of

Goliath and shortly after this is when Saul's rage turns

towards David and he goes and hides in the caves as a

fugitive. This is a time where he composed

many of the songs that became the book of Psalms.

It was also during this time that David was able to put to

test what he valued most and it was not the throne of Israel but

it was the approval of God. This is what made him a great

king. He trusted God and had patience

for his plan. The relationship that God and

David have results in the covenant that God's Son, the

anointed, redeemed and the Messiah will come through

David's family line. David is a model of what

repentance and humility of repentance and humility as he

faced the failures of adultery and murder and the treason of

his son Absalom. David demonstrates that it's not

power position, but he illustrates that subjection to

God in all things is what can make the most common king a

servant. This royal reality is

accomplished through Christ, the Son of David, who loved us and

washed us from our sins in his own blood and made us kings and

priests to God and his Father. First and Second Samuel ends

with an insightful account of David facing another failure

that had an impact on the whole nation.

As David is offered a way to remove the plague of judgement

from the Lord, he proves once again that he has learned a

valuable life lesson from the crushing experience.

And he builds an altar of worship where he performs an act

pledging allegiance to the king of kings.

And this act has prophetic implications, for this is where

his son Solomon will build the temple, and it will be filled

with the glory in the presence of God.

This threshing floor where David offers this sincere offering is

a symbolic picture of how like the weed is on the ground, is

ground down to its nutrients. Our lives can be crushing and

when our flesh is removed. We can offer our lives poured

out as a living sacrifice to Jesus, which is our reasonable

act of worship. So I conclude with this, the

prophetic covenantal promise. There's power in living in

obedience to Jesus, the trusted prophet.

We see through the. Lives of Hannah, Samuel, Saul

and David that praise makes way for the promise.

Contending for the promise cultivates courage and

obedience. In the process opens the

opportunity of the promise. Jesus is the fulfillment of

every promise, and He has been and continues to be and will

always be our trusted prophet. And it is because of this that

we must live committed to the covenant, the permanent covenant

that is established from generation to generation to

generation to generation to generation until the day our

Lord returns. It doesn't matter if like me,

you can, you can take it back. But today can be the first day.

Today is where it can start. I'm stepping into covenant.

I'm stepping in to be one who. Reaps the rewards of those

prophetic promises that have been declared.

And I'm going to say I'll take that.

And that's mine for my family, that's mine for Arise Church,

that's mine for my city, that's mine for my life.

But my question is, are you willing to pay?

See, what we have through Jesus will cost you.

What I have through Jesus has cost me.

Hoping I'm ready to pay it again and again and again and again

every day. I want to grab a hold of that

cross and take it upon my back and say whatever you would

require of me, I want to do that.

I'm disciplining myself to do that.

I'm still working towards doing that.

But see, part of this promise is wherever you are at in the

middle of this, He's never leaving you.

You're not in it alone. See, not only is the Lord in

this place, but the Lord is in this place.

The Lord is in this place. So walking through a cancer

journey, I wasn't alone. The Lord is in this place,

walking through fear and doubt and.

Lack walking through abundant reward and joy.

The Lord is in this place. And I live cognizant of that,

fully aware of that, and because of that kindness of God, I can

run to the space of repentance again for the moments that I

fall short. He greets me each morning with

the kiss of mercy. His abundant love for me

satisfies every place of abandonment, rejection, and

loneliness. See, He fulfills all.

I'm the one who is withholding. Oh Father God, we come to you

this morning as your people, as your people who once again are

in a place to say Ioffer my life to you, Jesus.

Oh, I choose covenant with you, the permanent covenant.

I choose to lay down my will for yours.

Thank you, Jesus, for your faithfulness to us.

We love you. We.

Honor you be the salt and the light of the earth, for He has

gone before you in everything that you do.

You are the head. And not the tail.

You are above and not beneath. You are blessed and not cursed.

And whatever you set your hands to will prosper in Jesus name,

Amen. Amen.

We want to thank you again for joining us for the Arise Church

podcast. We hope you were encouraged by

what you heard today. You can find us online at Arise

Church n-c.com and on Instagram at Arise Church NC.

If you need prayer or support or are interested in learning more

about Arise Church, we encourage you to connect with us online or

in person at our Sunday morning service.

Thank you and God bless.