Sermon

So, Go...

3Ci - Capital City Church International

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  1. Grab your Bible. I'd love for you to open up to

  2. Galatians. No, just kidding.

  3. To Genesis chapter 12. If you're going to make it easy,

    Genesis 12 chapter mention

  4. it's the first book in the Bible.

  5. If you reach the maps, you've gone way too far.

  6. Genesis chapter 12. So if you were here last week

    Genesis 12 chapter mention

  7. Sunday with Jeff and Jane, you would have heard us intro Jeff

  8. and Jane and and pushing pause on everything because we really

  9. feel it's like God is trying to get our attention back to some

  10. of the foundation stones of three CR, the calling, the

  11. prophetic unctions that have been flowing through three CR as

  12. A. Base Church over the last few

  13. years. And we're going to push pause on

  14. Galatians because I really feel like we, we shouldn't move on

  15. just yet. And this is because just in a

  16. moment, I said, hey, listen, if you don't know Jeff and Jane,

  17. why don't you put up your hand and it felt like 80% of us

  18. hadn't had an encounter with. Our previous church plant which

  19. was four years ago. 80% of the hands end up going like, yeah,

  20. we don't know these people. We don't know their story.

  21. And I thought, well, you know, obviously in the evening because

  22. they're involved in satellite, we'd have less hands up.

  23. But it was pretty much the same even in the evening.

  24. And so I went into the elders meeting on Tuesday, and I just

  25. said to RAW. I said I think we need to push

  26. pause here because I think God has put his finger on something.

  27. Because of what he's about to do.

  28. You know, when when Joshua was about.

  29. To take the Israelites. Over into the promised land, he

  30. said. In three days time we're going

  31. to cross. So get your stuffs ready.

  32. And it feels like we're in that season right now.

  33. So if you were here last week, Sunday and if you were.

  34. Stirred last? Week Sunday.

  35. And if you were to happen to come and chat to me after the

  36. meeting and go like, oh, I don't know what God is doing in here,

  37. but he's definitely stirring something of his prophetic call

  38. on three CR in and through my life.

  39. And if you had to say like. What is God up to you and.

  40. We had to go and do coffee together.

  41. I would say, well, open your Bible to Genesis chapter 12 and

    Genesis 12 chapter mention

  42. I'd have you read. Just the first bit of verse.

  43. One which says now the Lord said to Abraham.

  44. Go. So have you read that?

  45. Because that is what God is starting to.

  46. Talk to us about we've stopped going as a base.

  47. Church called to plant. Churches, We have had four

  48. years. Where it seems like we've grown

  49. silence on this. And I would have, had you read

  50. that, and then I would have spent some time just explaining

  51. the context you see if you don't know the the story Abraham is.

  52. Referred to as the. Father of our faith, He's kind

  53. of Ground Zero of what? God.

  54. Does with his people. But it's important that you

  55. understand the context. The context.

  56. There's two very distinct sides to the context, and most of us

  57. only really know the one. So he comes from ERB, the

  58. Chaldeans as part of Mesopotamia.

  59. Very influential and affluent people.

  60. But they had a very. Dark underbelly, I'll read, one

  61. historian said. They were well versed in all

  62. sorts of sorcery and witchcraft. They had multiple gods and

  63. goddesses, all kinds of wickedness, witchcraft, sorcery

  64. and sacrifices. And into that the Bible says in

  65. Genesis. 12 Yeah 12 verse one. Now the Lord said to Abraham, go

  66. from your country, your people, and your father.

  67. 'S household. To the land that I will show

  68. you. You know when when he says go,

  69. and that's the context, It's very much like Moses saying to

  70. Pharaoh, let my people go. And then he goes on to say verse

  71. two, I will make you into a great nation.

  72. I will bless you. I'll make your name great and

  73. you'll be a blessing. I'll bless those who bless you

  74. and whoever curses you. I will curse and all peoples on

  75. earth. Will be blessed through you.

  76. See if you understand the context, this sinister, wicked

  77. underbelly. You realize that this?

  78. Was a pure. Act of Grace.

  79. And because of that, when you go through the New Testaments, when

  80. we look at Galatians, we often refer to Abraham and the story

  81. through that lens, the lens of grace and covenant and rescue

  82. and redemption. But it's only half the story.

  83. If you've been in three CI, you've probably heard a lot

  84. about this half of the story. But there's another.

  85. Side to the story. And this is what the historians

  86. and. Archaeologists say they say that

  87. Earl of Chaldea was basically the birth.

  88. Place of civilization and society.

  89. It was the very first place that they built cities where they.

  90. Gathered in communities, they've done some digs in and they found

  91. 14 room mansions. It makes us look a little piddly

  92. here in Pretoria. East Double Stories Libraries.

  93. Running water. Very rudimentary plumbing, but

  94. they had it, and it's into that context too.

  95. Not only the dark seedy. Underbelly, but also into this

  96. affluence Pretoria E type context.

  97. That God says go. Now if we only.

  98. Look at the rescue. Side We only see the grace and

  99. the covenant of God's interaction with Abraham on

  100. this. Side we see thy.

  101. Kingdom come, and we see his calling and this.

  102. Is where God has. Begun to put his finger on you

  103. and I. These are the whispers that have

  104. started to. Sort of make their way through

  105. the. Corridors of three CR He's.

  106. Beginning to call us again? We don't.

  107. Throw away the grace. Because this has to outwork

  108. itself through an understanding of grace.

  109. But the Bible? Very clearly.

  110. Says. And we really believe that we as

  111. a base. Church are called to go you.

  112. Know Peter Jackson, who made the movie Lord of the Rings?

  113. He said something interesting, he said.

  114. What he decided to do so it's all about.

  115. Taking in the ring of power to go and throw it in the fires of

  116. more door or something like that.

  117. But every time they're on a journey, notice it.

  118. They walk from this side of the screen to that side of the

  119. screen, so whenever they're journeying to more.

  120. Doors always like this. Always headed in this direction.

  121. And they have a battle and then they sit down and whatever the

  122. case might be. But then when they pick up and

  123. go they keep going this way. And so you got this theme

  124. running, and it's exactly the same in Scripture, right at the

  125. very beginning, The very. First word, God says to.

  126. Abraham. So he's just pitched?

  127. Up on the scene we hear his genealogy.

  128. And then the first thing God says to Abraham.

  129. Now the Lord said unto Abraham, Go.

  130. And so he turns, and he begins to go the very first thing.

  131. Jesus says to the disciples. After being raised from the

  132. dead, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.

  133. Therefore, go go make disciples. Of all nations, baptizing them

  134. into the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.

  135. And for me, I look at that and go like, you know, we had Easter

  136. and then the very first weekend after that.

  137. We hear the whispers go. And so that's very simple.

  138. If you were to sit with me, it would be one word.

  139. Underline it in your Bible. Use your wife's lipstick circle.

  140. It if you need to. Go now.

  141. Don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying you have to plant

  142. a church. If you want to count for Jesus,

  143. you have to plant a church. I've heard that gift.

  144. Scream too much going. It's just a simple turning in

  145. obedience beginning of this journey that God is for you.

  146. So for some of you, going might simply be setting that alarm 20

  147. minutes earlier and starting a quiet time.

  148. Going might joining, might be joining your wife at Life Group.

  149. Going might be dropping your kids off at youth on a Friday,

  150. or if you're younger, going to satellite as a student.

  151. That's going. That's the whispers of God

  152. saying, listen, I want to I want to take you from this side of

  153. the screen to that side of the screen, and this is where you

  154. start. This is the first step that you

  155. take. Going might be serving.

  156. Oh please. Would you join us?

  157. Remember, Jeff mentioned a few times that God wants to take us

  158. from being consumers to contributors.

  159. Charmaine was telling me that she served at Kidsman on the

  160. Easter weekend because they're low on Sunday.

  161. School teachers and one of the students sort of stuck her head

  162. and said. They're so quiet.

  163. How did you get your class to be quiet?

  164. She said. Simple.

  165. I'm a mom. I know how to put kids ease in

  166. their place. But you know what moms like to

  167. do? And.

  168. There's all grace for this. Moms love to drop their.

  169. Kids off. And run and consume.

  170. What about once every eight weeks you come and surf or AV

  171. team? We've grown so big Hazard to

  172. everyone out in the Cube and in Mulkey Lane and in Tot Zone and

  173. Smallville. We have probably another

  174. thousand people scattered across the property.

  175. They need AV gas to make sure that they've got sound and

  176. camera work and that the headphones work and that they

  177. can focus and they're not pitching up on a Sunday sitting

  178. out there. So that.

  179. Is as simple as it is when it comes to going.

  180. I don't know if you know this, but they they did a study the

  181. Barna group. They loved to study different

  182. nuances of of relationship with God and our relationship with

  183. church. And they.

  184. Published a book called. Lessons learned from the

  185. unchurched And this was their thesis.

  186. They wanted to find out are there certain things that we

  187. blindly? Do as church leaders that

  188. properly put people off. Jesus and the Church make them

  189. never want to come back again now that.

  190. There should be some pretty obvious stuff there.

  191. Or are there some things that we do that is just makes the gospel

  192. deeply attraction? And so they did the study with

  193. something like 10,000 people. And one of the things that they

  194. found out, they asked these unchurched people what made them

  195. stay. Now by unchurched means, they

  196. haven't been to church in like 10 years.

  197. They want nothing to do with it. It's not like they're

  198. backslidden or neither. They have no reference for

  199. church and Christianity. But they found that 73% of those

  200. people who darkened the door of the church, 73%.

  201. Had decided before the preacher. Even got up, whether or not they

  202. were going to come again, 73% of unsaved.

  203. People who? Had taken this massive.

  204. Courageous. Step of.

  205. Going to church on a Sunday had decided before I even stepped

  206. into the pulpit. Whether they're coming back

  207. again or not, based on the parking team and your parking.

  208. By the way. Based on how the welcome they

  209. felt, did someone notice me? Was it easy to release?

  210. My children. Did I even know where to go?

  211. Or did I happen to walk in the back door with my kiddie going,

  212. oh, sucks in the middle of worship and have to duck out all

  213. embarrassing, never come back again. 73% of unchurched people

  214. made the decision whether or not they'd come back to church long

  215. enough to date Jesus and fall in love with him and get radically

  216. saved and have the eternity changed based on whether or not

  217. you and I decided I'm not going to consume this Sunday.

  218. I'm going to contribute. I'm going to serve so Abraham.

  219. Heard the. Voice of God saying go, maybe

  220. for you it means. Go surf.

  221. Maybe it means join a mom's prayer group.

  222. Oh, Mom's. If you can join a mom's prayer

  223. group. If you've been in three CR for a

  224. while, you know our story. We nearly lost my youngest

  225. daughter over December, and there was a moment when she was

  226. eventually moved from one hospital to the other because

  227. the one hospital pretty much realized she's going to die on

  228. their watch. I've never seen fear in a

  229. nurse's eyes before, like in that moment.

  230. And so we had rushed to another hospital where they thought

  231. maybe the specialist could help there.

  232. And while we were at this other hospitals her her health had

  233. gotten worse and worse as the situation get more and more

  234. serious. And while we were there, one of

  235. the moms, I forget the details, I think it was a school mom

  236. arranged a prayer meeting in the parking lot at Unitas Hospital

  237. and I think there was like 100 and so many people.

  238. That pitched up. Let's go and pray for someone

  239. they probably never met and pray for my daughter.

  240. And pray for us. And I can clearly remember the

  241. next day. It was the first time I saw life

  242. in my daughter's eyes because moms gathered to pray.

  243. And we've had moms groups get a hold of us from Canada, from the

  244. UK, from Durban, Cape Town in Pretoria, wanting to find out

  245. how she doing, What's the latest?

  246. What can we pray for? We're praying for you.

  247. We've had food delivered and all of that.

  248. But there's one lady who just kept knocking on the door, she

  249. kept saying to my wife. She really.

  250. Feels she needs to lay hands on my daughter and I don't really

  251. feel so. She shouldn't.

  252. I'm like, lady you are weird. Time out.

  253. I know we live in a fishbowl. She's not a Guinea pig.

  254. Thank. You.

  255. I really appreciate it. But you know, Jesus can hear

  256. your breath, you know? And so my wife thought, well,

  257. let me just meet with the lady, put her hearted rest, you know,

  258. because we are so deeply. Grateful for this.

  259. She came home and she said, listen, there's something about

  260. this lady and there's something about her request.

  261. So I'm like, OK, let's go meet. She can pray for my daughter,

  262. lay hands on my daughter. So we went on Saturday, not

  263. yesterday, week ago Saturday, and she walked us into the house

  264. and into the room where. She would sit.

  265. Every night have communion with her husband and then pray for my

  266. daughter. She's not in three CR, never met

  267. her before. She's in Doxa, a faithful

  268. servant and Doxa for 40. Years.

  269. And she prayed for my daughter every single night, and it was

  270. the most remarkable experience to be able to meet someone who

  271. had so faithfully. Served so.

  272. Faithfully obeyed a simple. Request of God, why don't you

  273. go? And pray for her.

  274. And as we were wrapping up, she noticed me noticing something.

  275. There was funny little black mark on on the wall.

  276. And as I look up, there's. A whole bunch of plaster that

  277. had been knocked out of the wall and it and it was blackened.

  278. It looked like the wall had been licked with fire.

  279. And I noticed that she noticed me and I was like, oh, I'm so

  280. sorry. The room was struck by

  281. lightning. Like what?

  282. Struck by lightning. And what had happened was there

  283. was so much power that hit that room that.

  284. All the electrical. Cables are melted in the wall.

  285. They had like proper issues. Now Placid blown out and the

  286. bulbs exploded but melted. Exploded.

  287. You know glass melts at 1600°C in an instant, heated up,

  288. exploded and and when she mentioned that I suddenly

  289. started noticing it looked like black freckles all over the room

  290. because this glass was on fire as it was just.

  291. Like Pixie dust. Sprinkled across the room,

  292. burning holes in the furniture. And I went cold because this

  293. lightning struck that room between inviting us to come and

  294. be prayed for and her praying for my daughter.

  295. And I don't know if you know this, but in Revelation 5 and

  296. again in Revelation 8, the Bible talks.

  297. About this, It's this heavily. Vision that God gets that John

  298. gets given of the throne room of God and the prayers of the

  299. Saints, and it talks about an Angel who takes this bowl and

  300. gathers the prayers of the Saints, and the incense of the

  301. altar pours it into this bowl. When the bowl is full, it's

  302. thrown down as answered prayer with lightning and peals of

  303. Thunder. I get goosebumps because I sit

  304. in a room. I firmly believe received that.

  305. Bowl of your. Prayers and her prayers and the

  306. praying mum's group's prayers for my daughter, that was on the

  307. Saturday, on the Tuesday we go to the doctor and my daughter's

  308. in full remission. The Lord said to Abraham Go.

  309. Maybe going means praying for each person in your department

  310. by name. Maybe going means starting that

  311. business. Do it.

  312. Start that. Business.

  313. Or maybe it's close that business resign from that job.

  314. Or maybe it's praying for someone that you've never met by

  315. name. We were going church and our

  316. Heavenly Father's calling us to turn and begin to take steps of

  317. obedience. In this maybe going means

  318. staying I. Don't know if you've ever

  319. thought of that. For me it was once we planted a

  320. church into Canada many years ago.

  321. Lyndon and Laurie on eldership here in three CR.

  322. They were getting their team together.

  323. We had pre meetings and I just. Felt the stirring.

  324. Are you? Oh Lord, are you calling me kind

  325. of like I've felt not to go? Of the law, but felt I could

  326. hear us like the. Whispers of God saying go.

  327. And so I said to my wife. Let's let's subscribe.

  328. To newspaper in Canada and we look for jobs in Canada and

  329. let's see, maybe God is calling us to go and we sat with Heinz

  330. and Long story short, at the end of the conversation, he said.

  331. Listen, I don't want to tell you yes or no.

  332. God's got to speak, but, he said.

  333. Everything you're saying sounds very much like 3 CR's context

  334. and not so much like Canada's context.

  335. And we sat in silence. For all I said, I think you're

  336. right. This sits well with me.

  337. We're going to plant, but we're going to plant in three CI.

  338. We're going to sink our roots here and maybe you're going

  339. means plant plant into this local church, plant into this

  340. lampstand plant your life and your relationships and your

  341. marriage and your children and your finances.

  342. I heard a story of four or five couples who decided to stay for

  343. 40 years. They made this little covenant

  344. with one another. They said we are going to stay

  345. in the suburb for the next 40 years of our lives and we're

  346. going to pray over the streets and the people by name.

  347. We're going to get to know our neighbors.

  348. We're going to share the Intel and what is needed and who needs

  349. to be looked after and who got the, you know, 6 distinctions in

  350. my trick And we're going to celebrate and we're going to

  351. make sure our kids go to the school and we're going to

  352. enculturate our suburb with the Kingdom, Lord said to Abraham

  353. Go. And that's what they decided to

  354. do. Two more I'm going to read

  355. these. To you, psychologists will tell

  356. you that the biggest threat to your child's.

  357. Development. Self worth.

  358. Emotional health and spiritual integrity a bigger threat than

  359. porn, drugs, TV, violence, gaming, phones, behind doors,

  360. etcetera. The.

  361. Biggest threat to your child? Is that you neglect the table.

  362. Eating meals with them is the most formative moment of their

  363. lives and the number one factor in a Christian home that leads

  364. to overall Wellness regarding self worth, emotional health and

  365. spiritual integrity. Maybe when the losses go, he

  366. thinks, go to the. Table just close that laptop,

  367. just switch off that. Phone.

  368. Go. And see what that does for your

  369. family men. A Swedish study on the effects.

  370. Of the Father's. Attendance in church on their

  371. kids. Show that if a father does not

  372. go. To church.

  373. No matter how faithful the mother is at showing up, only

  374. one in 50 children will become a regular worshipper down the

  375. road. If a father does go to church,

  376. If your heavenly father says Sir, go.

  377. And if a father? Does go to church.

  378. Not just visiting, but engaging, serving, participating.

  379. Regardless of what? The mom does.

  380. Almost 75% of the children will become.

  381. Regular churchgoers. Dating Jesus long enough to fall

  382. in love with him and get saved, We're at going.

  383. Church, What are the whispers? Of God and your.

  384. Heart to go. What is he putting his finger

  385. on? Where has he begun to stern?

  386. How is it that he has turned you to wrath and we're going to walk

  387. from this side? To that side.

  388. This is the journey because. That's what Jeff said.

  389. My first question to him, it's like, how does anyone get to the

  390. point where they decide to plant a church?

  391. Very simple answer, he says. You just say yes in the little

  392. things. That's what it looks like to be

  393. a church. That goes, and that's what I

  394. would have told you, would have told you that there are people

  395. waiting on the other side of your obedience.

  396. So go, go through CR, go through CR, Go.

  397. And then I would have looked at the time and seen, well, I've

  398. got 10 minutes left with you, so I'm going to fill the last 10

  399. minutes, not with Go. But with so.

  400. Take a look at the next. Verse.

  401. This is verse. 10 So verse 1212 verse one God says go 12 verse

  402. 10 there was a famine in the land.

  403. So. Abram went to.

  404. Egypt to stay for a while because.

  405. The famine was severe. There was a famine in the land.

  406. So. Whenever there's a go, there's

  407. always a So I actually think there's more collateral damage

  408. on the soul with God than the go.

  409. God's romantic. I'm going to plant a church.

  410. God's romantic. I'm going to pray for that

  411. little girl for the next six months.

  412. God's romantic. So.

  413. There was a famine in the land. That's a very.

  414. Different story. I think we have a.

  415. Lot of people who've left church because of Sir.

  416. My wife bumped into a friend that we hadn't seen since youth

  417. days. You know, one of those guys when

  418. you're like, oh, when I grow up, I want to be like him.

  419. And she's. Like, hey Stewart, it's so good

  420. to see you. He's like.

  421. Who are you? No Youth Days.

  422. Church there because of a Sir. David, you're going to be king.

  423. Go. So King Saul wants to kill you.

  424. How's that working out for you, Joshua?

  425. The Promised Land Mook and Honey.

  426. Go. You know the land also has

  427. giants and. Jericho.

  428. So what? Are you going to do about that,

  429. Esther? You.

  430. Gorgeous thing you You're going to be queen.

  431. Queen Esther. You need to put your neck on the

  432. line to save the entire nation of Israel.

  433. So you know what, God? Uses these So's.

  434. It's not because he's going like sure.

  435. A RAM looks. Like, a good choice, you know?

  436. But this, this will help me know.

  437. Just like where's this fear of faith levels?

  438. You know he doesn't do that, he allows.

  439. A. So, because the so reveals.

  440. Us to ourselves. I can tell you Jeff and Jane

  441. planting church into Lisbon, Portugal is like, oh, we're

  442. here. And then the so COVID lockdown

  443. suddenly realize you're here. Abraham.

  444. Probably the same we read about him building altars and

  445. worshipping gods and monuments to his faithfulness, but

  446. suddenly when he gets tested. The so he realizes.

  447. My faith is down there. That's his coping mechanism.

  448. It gets exposed in full, he rushes.

  449. Off to Egypt? Egypt.

  450. Figuratively in Scripture is always looked on as an alliance.

  451. With the world worldly. Systems.

  452. So he comes thinking he's. Abraham, the father of faith.

  453. Finds out like, oh, he's got some explaining to you, and God

  454. does it 1 so that we recognize exactly where we are, where our

  455. faith. Is but two.

  456. So that he can take us into a season of growing and maturing

  457. in him, understanding his will and his ways.

  458. Understanding that he can be trusted and his character

  459. deepening our faith in our relationship so that we can

  460. actually walk out the call. That he has for us.

  461. But it requires this and so whenever he says go, he will

  462. always say. So.

  463. What's he going to do now? Why?

  464. Because whatever is not transformed is transferred.

  465. You see, I don't know if you know this.

  466. But God is not the God of Iran. He's the God of.

  467. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so when you and I have a.

  468. Go. Recently navel gazing and

  469. impressed with ourselves and who you know is like laugh and so

  470. on. And God is going no, no, no, no,

  471. no can can I just turn you. It's going to talk your

  472. generation. And I'd wanted to tip into your

  473. children's generation and your children's children's

  474. generation. You know that to the Jew, it was

  475. only considered a blessing if it influenced your children's

  476. children, which is why you find out throughout the Old Testament

  477. that those who neglect. Well, sorry.

  478. Those who do not. Protect what God is doing.

  479. If we do not tend to the sow having heard.

  480. His go. If, we don't tend to it, if.

  481. If we don't protect it. The next generation will neglect

  482. it, and the generation after that will reject it.

  483. So why? You can go from a missionary,

  484. pastoral grandparents to an atheist, broken grandchildren?

  485. Because. We don't tend to the.

  486. Sow. And God wants us to be aware.

  487. When you face the sow. That you allow God into this

  488. conversation. You learn and you grow.

  489. You drop anchor. You say, OK, I'm not running off

  490. to Egypt. I'm going to trust you.

  491. Show me. You help me grow in you.

  492. In my daughter's experience, I have never appreciated.

  493. Scripture like I have. Having gone through that.

  494. Because that's what God dealt. With us in and through.

  495. That so, he says. Go and then he says so.

  496. And this is what Jeff said the following I actually.

  497. Typed it out, it was. It blew me away, he says.

  498. Parents took him out dealing with the SO parents don't

  499. forfeit your children's inheritance because of the

  500. inconvenience it causes. You don't forfeit their

  501. inheritance. Because it's easier to stick.

  502. To your rhythms and routines rather than being inconvenienced

  503. or stretched. You just like.

  504. I'm not going to handle this, so they want to go.

  505. To youth so. They are the ones who.

  506. Suffer. See if we don't.

  507. Protect it. They'll neglect it.

  508. The younger generation wants to be a part of something great,

  509. but don't want to carry the responsibilities that come with

  510. it. It does not be the cause of

  511. another generation. Let us not be the cause of

  512. another generation that will not carry the cost of following.

  513. Jesus, because we selfishly sheltered.

  514. Them for the inconvenience of saying yes.

  515. To the call of God. When we first came to three.

  516. CR There was a couple. With five children and that five

  517. children were there at everything, sleeping on the

  518. floor. But now those five children are

  519. involved in ministries all around the globe when we LED

  520. youth. I really felt that.

  521. We needed someone to step in and lead youth because it was.

  522. Down to 12 people. And all the young oaks just

  523. didn't want to step in. So I said, OK, well, maybe,

  524. maybe we can help. We had three kids.

  525. I think the oldest was like 5 and they slept on my office

  526. floor every Friday night and they weren't allowed out because

  527. it's really uncool going to youth and there's these tongue

  528. little kiddies running around, so they were stuck in my office.

  529. But if you look at their. Relationship with their heavenly

  530. Father now, and this is what he's saying, this is what Jeff

  531. is going after. I mentioned it in marriage.

  532. Course apologies if I'm. Repeating if you heard this.

  533. Before, but there was a guy, Greg Haswell, He's preached.

  534. Here from time to time many years ago, he spoke at the court

  535. conference and he he was just sharing sort of off the cuff on

  536. an experience he had. Just had with his daughter.

  537. He's a South African guy. Had planted a church into the.

  538. US and. In America, you can drive at the

  539. age of 16. License to kill.

  540. And he was terrified. I mean, he'd seen how his 40

  541. year old wife drives. Now his 16 year old daughter,

  542. this is sleeping on the couch and so she's 15.

  543. She's wanting to do her learners and she says to her dad one

  544. morning he's dropping off at. School and said Dad, why don't

  545. you pray? Said I get a car for my 16th

  546. birthday and please pray because I know.

  547. You know you're a pastor, so you don't have the budget.

  548. God. But God can.

  549. God can. He's like God.

  550. Better not. So that's school just before she

  551. she. Gets dropped off.

  552. He's like puts his. Hand on the leg and and he says.

  553. He prayed a ghost of the shadow, of a whisper, of a prayer.

  554. No faith, no heart. Wink, wink, you guys.

  555. During the day, he gets a phone call from A.

  556. Couple and he's a pastor. Someone in the church in trouble

  557. goes to their house. They hand him a key.

  558. Car key, we feel, God said. We must give you our.

  559. Car Ford Mustang. Said you said.

  560. You not my daughter? So he takes it, but he puts his

  561. keys aside for his daughter's birthday.

  562. They have a car. Goes to church on the Sunday and

  563. on the seat that he normally sits and there's this envelope.

  564. Stuffed with dollars and a. Little note.

  565. That says there this is for your daughter's fuel for the first

  566. year. He's doing Edmond the next

  567. morning and he gets an e-mail from his sister living in South

  568. Africa and she said. We just feel.

  569. That we want to contribute. To first years with the

  570. services. Ties, wear and tear.

  571. And he's like, what first did I quote?

  572. Says, OK Lord, you have got my attention, so I want to hear

  573. what are you saying? And this was his conclusion, he

  574. said. He sat down there and it was

  575. like this nanosecond conversation with God suddenly

  576. reminded him of all the times that they had been generous with

  577. cars, all the times they'd given away 'cause there were moments

  578. when people came to buy a car. But he could just tell.

  579. They can't afford this. And then asking, it dropped a

  580. couple $1000 worth. Off the car's price.

  581. And then God. Said this, he said.

  582. Because. You've won this victory now.

  583. You've. Finished your So what has been

  584. transformed now be transferred, and your daughter and your

  585. children will ride it on the back.

  586. Of your victories. And when God calls us, when He

  587. says go, it's not just this grandiose.

  588. Well, I'm going to go serve on a Sunday.

  589. It's not just this intimate, super spiritual.

  590. I'm going to have a quiet time and memorize the entire book of

  591. Ephesians. No, what you're doing is you're

  592. obeying God so that he can transform us, so we can transfer

  593. it to the next generation in three CR that comes along so

  594. that they're not starting from scratch again, but they are

  595. standing on the shoulders of giants.

  596. The American men's 1 by 4 by 100 relay race is notorious for

  597. dropping the baton. I've got this beautiful

  598. photograph. At the Olympics the.

  599. Last leg they're. In the lead, Yeah, Some of those

  600. men were only at the Olympics for the 4 by 100 relay, given

  601. their lives to athletics meetings every Saturday and.

  602. Early at school. In the morning, staying late in

  603. the afternoon, eating kale and lettuce leaves and going to bed

  604. early and not partying all for that.

  605. Race and. Then the baton is dropped.

  606. And so God says. I want you to be transformed.

  607. I want. The soul to be.

  608. Applied, I want you to allow me to.

  609. To. Woo you and win you so that

  610. when? We as three CI today.

  611. In two, three, 1020 years time when we pass the baton.

  612. That they hit it. Full tilt.

  613. You know how many mega churches are standing as empty?

  614. Caves because of the baton. Change so I call you men and

  615. women of faith. Be people who go.

  616. Be people who tend. To the sow last verse.

  617. Abraham is dead. Isaac is now leading his family

  618. and in Genesis chapter 26 says now there was a severe famine in

    Genesis 26 chapter mention

  619. the land beside the previous famine.

  620. Sound familiar? Beside the previous famine in

  621. Abraham's time, Abraham had a famine and a.

  622. So Isaac has a. Famine and a So verse 2 The Lord

  623. appeared to Isaac and said, do not go down to Egypt like your

  624. dead. Live in the land where I tell

  625. you to stay in this land, and I will be with you, and I will

  626. bless you. For to you and your descendants,

  627. I will give all these lands and we'll confirm the earth.

  628. I swore to your. Father Abraham, I'll make your

  629. descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and we'll give

  630. them all these lands, and through your offspring, all

  631. nations on Earth. Will be blessed.

  632. It's exactly the. Same.

  633. That was. Spoken of Abraham.

  634. Abraham had to sow, but Abraham allowed God to close this gap

  635. between. What his faith really was.

  636. And what his faith needed to be, Abraham allowed God to take that

  637. faith and take that relationship that seemed to be shallow and

  638. seemed to. Have.

  639. Been Glosshoff Phil. Cynical, and allowed him through

  640. a number of famines and and fortunes to form him into the

  641. man of God that he wanted him to be, and what was transformed was

  642. transferred. So we found Isaac.

  643. In verse 6, Sir Isaac stayed. And verse 12 That same year year

  644. of the famine, Isaac planted crops in the land and reaped.

  645. A hundredfold, because the Lord had blessed him.

  646. If you want, if you sit and had coffee with me and you were

  647. wondering like what is going on here?

  648. I would have had to tell you it's a.

  649. Generational call upon three CI upon you and I, for something

  650. far greater than we could ever imagine.

  651. It begins with a simple go. And if you respond, if you turn

  652. in obedience, however small or however sacrificial it is.

  653. You will face us so. And in and.

  654. Through what you go through, every valley you walk through.

  655. Every mountain you climb, God will show himself to you.

  656. We'll deepen your relationship with him.

  657. We'll give you crowns and jewels of reward in heaven, that says.

  658. But most importantly, we will transfer this move of God into

  659. the next generation and the next generation and the next

  660. generation. Until the city is saturated with

  661. Saints. And God can look over Pretoria

  662. and say, truly my Kingdom is gone on a close and pray.

  663. I want to ask you to pray this prayer out loud with me.

  664. If you're comfortable enough, take your hands and just say

  665. this off to me. Speak, Lord.

  666. Your servant is listening. Amen.