This House Will Stand | Pastor Chris Kouba

Hey, grab your Bibles, open them up with me to Joshua chapter 24, Joshua chapter 24.

Joshua 24 · chapter mention Joshua 24 · chapter mention

And if you brought your journals, if you would go ahead and open those up to page 21.

21 is where we're going to be.

I think we've got a few left.

Is that right, guys?

We've got a few left.

So if you do have uh need a journal and you don't have one, would you just raise your hand?

We want to make sure we get one of these in your hands so that you can take notes.

We've been walking through this sermon series.

Just keep them up.

We'll get them to you.

We've been walking through this sermon series uh over the course of the last five weeks, which is concluding today.

And so hopefully you've been up had an opportunity to be able to not only record notes as you go along, but can use these as you begin to move forward as well in your own spiritual life.

Just keep those up and we'll make sure to get you those here in just a moment.

Um we have been talking for the last few weeks.

In fact, five weeks ago, we introduced to you uh the new opportunity that we've got as a church to be able to renovate our United Building.

I think we have some up front here over here, Billy, as well.

Um perfect.

Uh we were gonna renovated our United building, which is our building that's right over there, formerly our student building.

Uh and we've kind of had some designs and some plans and some pictures that we've been putting up the last few weeks.

We're trying to begin to show you uh what that could look like.

But I want to make sure that you know uh that whenever you go through this process, that you cannot build a building on dreams.

Okay.

Uh, this is what it looks like, by the way.

Just we can pull that up for us.

Uh this is what the uh building will look like.

By the way, if you have not been over into that building that's right over there on our property, uh, whatever time you went to it last is exactly what it looks like.

All right, it hasn't been updated.

So that was a couple of weeks ago, that's what it looks like.

And if that was 16 years ago, that's what it looks like, okay?

It's not been changed uh pretty much at all.

And so this is our idea to begin to do this, but we know putting up pictures and doing that isn't necessarily going to get the thing built because it's not like we can just decide, oh, this is really good, and then we're gonna go just kind of tear down some walls and start to build something.

That's not how it works.

Instead, what happens is there's this very detailed process that we have to go through, which we're grateful to get the opportunity to go through, where we have to go and take all of our plans, all of our blueprints, all of our engineering uh certifications and all this stuff down to City Hall in Umble, which praise God, we are located in the city of Umble and not in the city of Houston.

Let's just say that for a second, because it'd be three years from now before we'd ever do anything.

But because we're in Umble, we can move a little bit faster.

But we got to go down there, we got to present these plans to them.

We got to tell them here's the thing that we want to do.

We've got to pay them money up front, thousands of dollars, just to get permission to begin the process of actually doing anything on that building.

Okay.

And by doing that whole process, it ensures that everything is done up to code.

And here's what we found out.

If you're renovating an old building, it is serious stuff.

All right.

It is not like if you build something new, like there's even extra stuff that you got to fix and do.

And so we've done all of that.

We've got all those things ready to go to be able to take it down there.

And whenever you submit those things, the city of Umbo, you have to wait until they give you a stamp of approval before you even begin the process.

And the only way they're gonna give you the stamp of approval is when they send inspectors to go check out the work that you're gonna be doing.

They're gonna send inspectors to check out on our foundation because they know that it's important that you cannot just renovate a building if the foundation is faulty.

They know that if there's a crack in the foundation, if there's an issue with the foundation, then it doesn't matter how nice you put something on top of it, eventually it will crash in on itself.

We're grateful for the city of Humble.

We're grateful for the work that they do to make sure the buildings are safe and the buildings are put up to code.

So we gladly do that.

But by doing so, we're making a declaration.

This is what we want to do, and we're not gonna deviate from it.

Folks, I want you to take your journals out on page 20.

The main point that I want you to walk away with today is this.

What you build your life on determines what you can build with your life.

What you build your life on determines what you can build with your life.

The whole purpose of this series has been for us as a church and for you as an individual to figure out how you can build your life on a foundation that will ultimately last.

Because what we want to do today is have our declaration moment.

This is commitment Sunday.

This is when you're gonna submit your plans to say, this is how I want to build my life.

This is how I want to structure my life, this is how I want to lead our family, this is how I want to lead my individual life.

And you're gonna not just have intentions or hopes or dreams, but instead, what we want you to do is to submit your plans to the King of Kings for him to say, go for it.

It's time for you to build.

For some of you, that means you're gonna have to tear some things down.

For some of you, that means you're gonna build something new.

For some of you, that means you're gonna recommit to something that you did a long time ago, but you stopped doing, and now it's time for you to come and start doing it yet again.

Here's what I do know to be true is that intentions fade, but declarations last.

People who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them.

Those who commit to something and write down that commitment are 65% more likely to follow through whenever they make that commitment publicly.

The difference between winners and wishers is recording the decision.

That's why today what we're gonna ask you to do at the end of our service, we already had it at our first service, is to make a declaration, to make a commitment.

For you to not just say what you hope to do, want to do, wish you could do, but this is what I'm going to do.

I'm gonna read Joshua chapter 24, just two verses today, verses 14 and 15.

Joshua 24 · chapter mention

Would you stand in honor of reading of God's word with me?

Joshua chapter 24, beginning in verse 14.

Joshua 24 · chapter mention

It says, Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.

Put away the gods that your father served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your father served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land that you dwell.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

You may be seated.

I want to give you three important things about the choice that you're being called to make.

You can begin to take these notes on page 21.

First one is this everyone has to choose.

Everyone has to choose.

Joshua is at the end of his life, he had led the Israel into the promised land, and now he gathers everyone for this kind of line in the sand moment.

This isn't a suggestion, it's a choice.

And the choice is very clear.

Verse 15 tells us I'm either gonna serve the Lord with sincerity and faithfulness, or I'm gonna serve the gods of my fathers, or I'm gonna serve the gods of the Amorites.

There's no fourth option that most of us like to choose, which is this I'm gonna kind of serve God when it's convenient and I'm gonna bail when it's not.

Let me modernize this.

This is like saying, Will you serve God with your wallet?

Or will you serve the God of comfort and keep everything for yourself?

Or will you serve the God of culture and do what everyone else does?

These are your options, and you're choosing one today.

The commitment card that I have in front of you is how I'm asking you to make that choice.

It's not just about money.

I want to make sure you understand this is not about money.

We've been talking about money for five weeks, but it's not about money.

What instead it's about your allegiance.

Matthew chapter 6, verse 21 says this for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

We want you to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

We just know that you cannot do that apart from your wallet.

And so we want to talk to you about money so that you can experience a greater relationship with God.

We know Joshua says here that he doesn't give them the option to abstain, to not choose is to actually make a choice.

If you are silent, you are making a decision.

Indecision is staying where you are.

Notice the urgency to delay a choice is also a choice.

I know some of you may be thinking, well, well, I just need to think about it some more.

That's actually saying no.

Or maybe you say, well, I just need to pray about it some more, which is basically a spiritual way of saying no.

Okay?

Or maybe you say, Well, I just need some more time.

That's saying I'm choosing not to obey today when God has clearly showed me what He wants me to do.

Many of you have been delaying financial obedience, thinking that you're being wise when actually your delay is just disobedience, it's just using good PR.

And it's time for us to be honest about it.

The commitment card as well, what I want you to see is that some of you may find yourself, you know, maybe at one point you hadn't made a choice to do what God's asked you to do regarding your finances.

Maybe you experienced his blessings along the way, maybe you experienced his provision along the way, but then all of a sudden something happened and you began to make a choice to go away from that choice.

And so for you today, maybe this isn't a choice for the very first time.

Maybe for some of you this is a recommitment to do what you know you should be doing in the first place.

What I'm asking you to do is not one day, not next week, not at some point, but today you make that choice.

Second thing I want you to write down today is this your choices have consequences.

Your choices have consequences.

This choice doesn't just affect today, it affects everything that you build your life on for the rest of your life.

The choice determines whether your house will stand when trials come.

Matthew chapter 7 tells a beautiful picture of two different builders.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

And these two different builders built their houses on different foundations.

The one foundation he built his house on, it says, on the rock.

And the Bible says that the winds came and the floods came and they came up against that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock.

The other one, it said, built his house on the sand.

That same rain, that same wind came and it blew up against the house, but this house fell.

Why?

Because it had been built on a faulty foundation of the sand.

How do we know what foundation that we've been or building on?

The Bible says this in Matthew chapter 7: everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is the one who builds his house on the rock.

Meaning it's obedience.

It's not more hearing of the Bible, it's doing what the Bible says.

In the city of Umble, just like the city requires a foundation inspection, I think your life also needs one as well.

When you build your financial life on God's principles, tithing, generosity, having margin, you're building your house on the rock so that when the rains come and the floods come and the trials come in life, your house will stand.

But if you're building your house on the world's ideas and the culture's principles where you spend everything, you leverage debt, you keep it all, then you're building your house on the sand.

Both houses look great until the rain and the storms come.

You get a financial unexpected bill, you get a medical emergency, you lose your job unexpectedly.

It's in those moments when you realize, what have we been building our house on?

What I'm asking you to do today is to make a choice, recognizing that your choice has profound consequences and helps shape what you will do when those trials, not if, but when those trials inevitably come in your life.

Second Corinthians chapter 9, verse 6 through 8 says the point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.

2 Corinthians 9:6–8

And whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

Your choice today has consequences.

Choose obedience and you will reap blessing.

Choose stinginess and you will reap scarcity.

What you sow, you will reap.

What you build on determines what you can build.

Look at the end of Joshua chapter 24, verse 15.

Joshua 24:15

He says, again, choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

The final thing I want you to write down today is this make the right choice.

Make the right choice.

Notice he says there, as for me.

Joshua draws a line in the sand and declares, regardless of what anyone else does, this is gonna be my choice.

Not as for me and all Israel, not as for all of my friends.

He says, as for me.

I can't control what somebody else does, but I can control what I do.

You see, too often we have this mentality that says, Well, I'm just gonna wait for my spouse to take the lead.

I'm gonna wait for my parents to show me what this looks like.

I'm gonna wait for to see what my friends do.

I'm gonna wait to see what my small group talks about.

And instead of us having this declaration that says this, as for me, I don't care what anybody else does.

This is how we're gonna run my life, this is how we're gonna run our house.

Folks, we need men to step up and to lead and to be able to say this.

I don't care what anybody else does that I'm buddies with, as for me, this is how I'm gonna lead my family.

This is how I'm gonna go and establish things going forward.

I'm not just gonna declare that I love the Lord, but instead I'm gonna show it through the way that I actually spend my money because the Bible says that I can't do one without the other.

Notice what it also says, this is profound.

He says, as for me and my household.

I need you to understand something, that what you're doing today doesn't just affect you.

That what you're doing today actually affects generations.

For some of you parents, what I'm gonna ask you to do in just a moment is maybe have you and your whole family come on up here and have an opportunity to begin to pray and let them see you making a commitment.

Because here's the thing what I've discovered is this is even in most godly families, no one ever talks about finances.

No one ever brings up money.

It's just this weird thing that everybody's in bondage to.

And instead, what I'm asking you to do is to make a decision on a piece of paper in front of your family that allows you not only to be held accountable to it, but it more importantly allows generational bondage in the area of finances to no longer be the case, so that your kids and your grandkids and your great-grandkids only know this is what normal people do.

Can you imagine what that kind of legacy of faithfulness could look like?

Some of you are single adults right now, and you're maybe thinking, well, I'll just kind of figure this out whenever I get more money, or maybe I'll figure this out whenever I go and I find a spouse.

I would simply tell you this be the person God wants you to be right now, and that'll help you find the right spouse.

Allow God to use you right now to shape this so that you can begin to shape your current life or your future potential family all as a result of your obedience here in this moment.

As for me in my house.

I know the decisions that I make in my house are gonna have long-lasting effect, and so therefore, I want to make sure that I don't just give lip service to the Lord, but I instead allow my actions to portray it.

Notice what the end of that verse says, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Man, it was incredible just to see the worship that just took place here in this room and just it happens every single week.

And many of you were singing along and you were expressing the living hope that we have in God.

Can I please tell you that one of the main ways that you also can worship is not only through song, but it's through your giving?

It's a declaration of your intent.

It's not just a financial statement or financial thing that you're writing down.

It's instead saying, I am gonna serve the Lord.

At our house, this is what we're gonna do.

We're gonna all be about serving the Lord.

I want you to pull your commitment cards out.

Everybody pull these out for me.

Pull your commitment cards out for me.

What I want you to do is there should be a pen that's in the seat back in front of you.

Uh if you're on the front row, maybe you could grab one of those, or you could just, if you've got a pen, do me a favor, and if you would, please just begin to fill out the top portion of this card.

Your name, phone number, email.

Put that on there.

And you notice we've been talking about this.

If you've been with us for a while, then you know we've been walking through this.

If you need one, by the way, raise your hand, we'll get these to you.

Hopefully you had them in your seats.

We've got five different, what we would call paths of giving.

Okay?

Uh you got your spontaneous giving, continuous giving, priority giving, strategic giving, and legacy giving.

What I'm asking you to do today is not to write where you are.

I'm asking you to write where the Lord is leading you to be.

And then I'm asking you to sign the card here at the end, and I'll give you some instructions in just a moment as to what to do with it.

I want to walk you through, though, a little bit of what this actually looks like, what these categories really are.

The first one is spontaneous giving.

Spontaneous giving.

Spontaneous giving is whenever you're at an event, uh, maybe you're at the church, maybe you've been over the course of the past few weeks in the service, and you're kind of listening to something and you're hearing somebody talk about the need to give or the desire to give, and you're like, man, that'd be kind of cool.

And so you've maybe never done it before, so it kind of feels super risky.

Like it feels like it's kind of like a really, really kind of out there thing, but you're like, I don't really know how how much I'm supposed to do, I just know I'm supposed to do something.

And so maybe you go online, or maybe you get your checkbook out, or maybe you kind of empty your wallet, whatever it may be, but you give spontaneously because you feel kind of led in that moment to be able to give towards something, which by the way, for some of you, that's a huge step.

Some of you may have no foundation whatsoever about finances.

And so, to be honest with you, your life's kind of just a wreck when it comes to the finances, or maybe you're just not good at it, or maybe you're find yourself in a lot of debt unexpectedly or because of bad choices, whatever it may be.

One, I just want you to know this.

We have Financial Peace University happening at 11:30 today in the Growth Track room.

And what I'm gonna ask you to do is after this service, go over to Growth Track and immediately go in there and participate in that.

I think we've got only 45, 50 people that are already signed up to be a part of it.

You can go in there, and the whole purpose of that is designed to help you get to that place.

But for some of you, it may be a massive deal to be able to give for the first time.

And I want to tell you, that's awesome.

And I want you to visualize this.

Like basically, that's like you getting a tire.

This is a Schwinn tire, it's a nice tire.

All right.

Uh, it's a great tire.

It's a tire that that is uh it's big, it's got uh some ability to be able to obviously move, it's got air in it, all that kind of stuff.

But here's the thing, this ain't gonna get you very far.

Like if I'm thinking through my spiritual life, this is awesome that I'm starting here, but I'm not gonna be able to like go from here towards anywhere else with just the tire.

But that being said, some of you need to get in the game and just get a tire.

That's awesome.

That can be your first thing.

Second thing, though, I want you to see in the progression of giving is the idea of continuous giving.

Continuous giving.

This is where you move from just like a spontaneous, I feel inspired in a moment, to now I'm gonna move to a position to where I'm gonna begin to be to put some things together.

So I'm gonna give a little bit more regularly.

Okay.

So I uh it's not gonna be really strategic or anything like that.

It's just kind of like when well, I felt led to give here, so I'm gonna give a little bit over here.

And then I give a little bit here and I give a little.

It's just kind of this constant normal thing.

And so uh, let's actually move these over if we can a little bit.

Um perfect.

Yep.

Uh, this is one of those things that at the end of the day, I'm giving, but I'm not giving, I'm giving with regularity, but I'm not necessarily giving with any strategy.

Okay.

I would tell you, based upon the statistics that we know of our finances from giving last year, the majority of the folks who gave to our church last year live in this category.

61% of those who give to United City Church give on average$45 a month.

I realize there's a lot of different situations, and$45 a month may be absolutely tithe and giving big and a lot of ways.

I have to guess for the majority of the people though, the large majority of the people,$45 a month is not anywhere close to what an actual tithe would look like.

$45 a month, to give you some context, is going to visit Starbucks one time a week, every week for a month.

That's about$45 a month.

$45 a month is what you probably pay for two streaming services right now that you have at your house of the five that you own, right?

Kind of a thing.

What I want you to see is this it's great that you're in the game.

And a lot of you are in this category.

Here's the problem: you've got some pieces, you've got a tire here, and you've got some handlebars, and you've got a frame, but you know what you can't do?

You can't drive this bike, you can't get anywhere.

And so some of you find yourself stuck when it comes to your spiritual life.

Why?

Because you've just got pieces to a puzzle, but you hadn't put anything together.

Let me show you what the next one is, which is the idea of priority giving.

Priority giving.

You guys remember how fun it was whenever you were growing up and you got one of these bad boys?

Take a look at this here, huh?

Got you, got you a little.

Yeah, this is the best, is it not, huh?

Do you remember how great this was?

Think about this.

Remember the very first time whenever you got a bike and you got your little bike with training wheels?

And remember how one scared you were when you first got on that bike?

Like it was kind of scary because, like, you'd seen other people ride a bike, but you weren't really sure if it was gonna be able to hold you up.

And so therefore, you finally got on it.

And then what happened?

Your parents had to go with you and they had to basically kind of walk with you and make sure that you weren't gonna fall off.

And then after a while, they begin to let go, all the while realizing all along they knew this, but you didn't believe them that these training wheels were gonna keep you up the whole time.

But you didn't know that.

And then what happens?

What happens whenever you're a kid?

If you're a parent, you've experienced this as well.

Whenever your kid begins to get on that bike and they begin to ride and they realize that even if they do fall, which by the way, you do every once in a while, because of the training wheels, it's not that bad of a fall.

It's not that big of a deal.

And so what happens?

You get back on it, and guess what?

You begin to ride it, and you see the joy that comes in the life of a child, the joy that maybe you had whenever you were a child, when you got on that bike and you were pedaling as fast as you could, and in your mind you were going 150 miles an hour in that moment.

And in that moment, there's like nothing greater in life than being able to ride on that bike.

Okay.

But I also know that as I rode out here on this thing, you guys laughed at me because it looks a little weird for me as a 45-year-old guy to be riding a bike with training wheels.

I want you to visualize this as priority giving.

This right here represents tithing 10% of your income, which I believe, I know people are gonna be like, well, I I don't I don't know.

I argue that you shouldn't have to tithe to the church, or I argue that the tithe is not an old testament principle.

It's a look, I agree with you.

So let me tell you why I would tell you this.

I think tithing is never meant to be the end.

Tithing is meant to be the training wheels.

So that's where I totally like we can we can go back and forth.

Oh, people use that argument to give less.

I'm arguing for the same thing so that you can actually give more.

Because I want you to experience the fact that look, as great as it is to ride on training wheels, can I tell you it's a whole different thing whenever you actually ride a real bike?

But guess what?

Some of you, what you need to do is move from a place of giving a one-time, first-time gift to all of a sudden beginning to go step out here.

Is it gonna be scary?

Yes, but here's what you're gonna discover: God's faithfulness in these training wheels always holds you up.

Always.

And it doesn't mean there's not gonna be trials, and it doesn't mean there's not gonna be struggles and difficulties, and no question.

But here's what you're also gonna learn.

Even when you fall, it's not that bad.

Why?

Because the training wheels help soften the flow.

So what I'm encouraging some of you to do is to yes, be risky, but I'm also encouraging you to step out in such a place where you also don't get here.

Here's what I've noticed: a lot of people along the way that maybe grew up in church, they continue to grow in their prayer life, they continue to grow in sharing their faith, they continue to grow in their Bible reading, they continue to grow in all other areas of their life, but they arrive here and they think they're done.

And I would tell you, I don't believe that's what the scriptures teach.

Tithing is the training wheels.

There you should never do more or less under the law, under the grace than we did under the law.

I believe God's just trying to basically use this.

Hey, here's a starter kit, and then I'm gonna tell you how we do some real good stuff later.

Which, by the way, is the next one, which is strategic giving.

Strategic giving.

Man, take a look at this thing right here.

This thing looks awesome, okay?

Here I go.

I got my uh I got my mountain bike.

All right, this thing's pretty great.

I've got my I can change my gears on here.

I don't know if I have enough room up front.

This is gonna be interesting, okay?

All right, yep, yep, it's pretty good.

I got double brakes, I can break on both.

It's pretty sweet, right?

This thing is pretty awesome, huh?

By the way, how many of you thought I was about to rod off of the uh deal there?

Yep, okay, good deal.

Uh, this thing right here is a great mountain bike.

One, it just shows that it's been used.

It's not a mountain bike, it's meant to be able to go through tough terrain.

A mountain bike is meant to be able to go through the difficulties and the challenges that come along with an actual bike ride, okay?

And this mountain bike, what it's got is it's got all these various gears.

You know what I love about all of these gears is these gears allow me to adjust based upon what I'm dealing with in the moment.

So, for instance, if I got the wind behind my back, if I'm going downhill, you know what I can do?

I can shift that bike into a little bit easier of a ride, and boom, I can fly and love it.

But you know what also happens?

There's certain times whenever I'm going, and maybe the wind is in my face.

Maybe I'm going uphill.

And what this bike gives me the option of doing is changing those gears around so that then I have a little bit of help when I'm dealing with those difficulties, but man, I gotta just kind of slog and get through it.

Folks, I believe this is what strategic giving looks like.

I'm already giving 10%.

I'm already coming and making it a recurring gift.

I'm already making a priority in my life, but now I'm in a position to where I'm realizing God is faithful.

So I'm not only gonna ride without the training wheels, I'm gonna ride in such a way where I'm gonna start being strategic in how I'm gonna be able to give.

This may look like you giving above and beyond to certain things.

This may be you begin to give to the United building.

This may be whatever it may be, you're able to give above.

And here's the thing for some of you, you may go through seasons where guess what?

All of a sudden now I've got the wind behind my back.

God's been pouring out blessings on me, God's been giving me things I didn't expect.

Instead of having just to say, oh wow, now I can splurge, I've already pre-decided, oh, now I can bless.

I can enjoy the blessings God has given me, and I can also give those things away for more.

And guess what?

I'm gonna be able to give even more generously strategically.

But then there's other times and all of a sudden I'm gonna have unexpected losses, I'm gonna have difficulties that come up.

And you know what I'm gonna do?

I'm gonna need to put the gears a little bit different.

I may not gonna be able to give at the same level that I was before.

I'm never going less than what God wants from me, but I may not be able to go as high as I was before.

But guess what?

I realize God is faithful in those moments just like he always has been.

And it's strategic in the way that I can give and I can respond to him.

Let me show you the last one.

This is when it gets really fun.

We got an e-bike, folks.

Okay.

Here we go.

I'm not about oh, I'm scared to death to push the button on me else with you.

Okay.

You see one of these things?

You've probably seen them all over the place now.

These are coming a lot more popular.

What the idea of an e-bike is this what actually happens is not only do you get to ride the bike, but while you're riding the bike, what's happening is that it's actually creating energy that's allowing the bike to basically work in addition to the work that you're doing.

So much so that there could be a point where you no longer are peddling, but the bike is still going.

Folks, I think way too often when it comes to our finances, we think about things week to week or month to month, and what God wants to do is give us a vision for five years from now, ten years from now, fifty years from now.

To where we begin to structure our current living and structure the way that we put our finances in such a way to where guess what?

Not only am I getting to be a blessing in my life, but I'm also getting to be a blessing in my death.

Folks, we're gonna give you opportunities to get to sign up, to be a part of some uh uh events to try to help you structure your finances in such a way or one your estate can give.

We want to set up ways for you to begin to learn what it looks like for you to put your life in a position.

Some of you have been blessed.

You don't have to be supremely blessed to be able to do this.

This is just a mentality and a thinking that says this.

I don't just want to experience and ride with the Lord, but I also want to experience that to go and bless other people even long after that I may not see and I may not have the opportunity to be able to personally meet myself.

Let me tell you something.

If you just have a tire, you're not gonna get very far.

And what God desires is that we move from a tire.

For some of you, what you need to do is move immediately to training wheels.

For some of you, what you need to do is move from training wheels, which praise God, you've experienced his faithfulness to now all of a sudden put yourself in a position where you're gonna be strategic in the way that you give.

For some of you, what you need to do is you need to start having conversations and meet with people and go through the classes and things like that to be able to help me be in a place where I not only just give strategically, but I start thinking through okay, how can I give exponentially?

How can I give and multiply my giving far beyond what it could have ever possibly imagined?

I want you to get your cards out for me.

If you would.

Everybody get your cards out.

We've dedicated some time at the service here for you to respond.

Here's what I want you to do.

The first thing is this number one, fill out the card.

Fill out the card.

Not where you are, where you believe the Lord wants you to be.

Maybe for you, you need to write in the margin there what specifically that looks like.

For Hillary and I, we're in that strategic giving space.

What we need to do is we're we want to give a gift to the United Building this year.

We did one last year, we want to do another one this year.

We also want to go through those classes that they're offered to figure out what it looks like to begin to see how we can kind of begin to think about the future.

It seems so weird to do that right now.

I'm just trying to figure out how to get through the present, but I want to have an eternal vision for my life and my finances.

Um fill out the card, whatever it looks like for you.

Second thing I'm gonna ask you to do is I want you to pray over it.

You can pray up front, you can pray right where you are in your seats, maybe as a family.

Talk through it and pray.

What I've found is that whenever you pray about it, here's what's gonna happen.

For some of you, this may be a prayer of confession.

God, we have not done what we know we should do, and we've not trusted you.

And I choose today to no longer do that anymore.

For some of you, that prayer needs to be a prayer of provision.

God, I'm gonna make this commitment, but I have no idea how we're gonna do it.

That's fine.

God is not offended by that prayer.

He invites you to pray for provision.

God, would you meet me?

Would you be where I need to be?

For some of you, what you need to pray is that God would break down some walls of sin and insecurity or maybe bondage or past problems that have caused this to be a struggle in your life.

God can do those things.

I just want to ask, though, not that you just fill it out, rush up here.

We're not gonna, otherwise, we just have you pass it down to the end of the aisle.

That's not what we want to do.

We believe the third thing, which is this.

I want you to come forward.

You've got all these cards from the first service up here.

What we're asking you to do is to literally make this like a declaration.

This is you coming to the city of Umble to give them your plans.

What we want to do is just pray over you and pray for these things, but we believe there's something sacred about taking a public next step that just solidifies the decision in your heart.

So, what I'm asking you to do is fill out the card.

I'm asking you to pray over it, whether you pray in your seat or whether you come forward.

I'm asking you to come forward publicly to be able to put it up here up the front.

And then the last thing I want you to do is I want you to go public.

I want you to go public.

Hebrews 10 40 uh 10 24 says this.

It says that let us not forsake meeting with one another, but let us encourage and spur one another on with love and good works.

I'm convinced that the enemy wants nothing more than just for you to keep this quiet.

Tell this to your small group.

Tell this to a trusted friend, tell this to somebody in your ladies' group, whatever it may be, and allow God to be able to not only use that as a place of accountability, but also as a place of encouragement as you do it.

Father, I pray you'd move in these moments we have left.

God, as people make these declarations before you, these commitments before you, I pray, God, you would encourage, strengthen, help them, and walk with them.

In the powerful name of Jesus that I pray.

Amen.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We can't wait to see you next week for any of our services at 8 30, 10, 11 30, or Espanol at 1 o'clock.