From Bondage to Blessing: A Faith Journey || Pastor Aaron Levy

If we haven't met yet, my name is Aaron. I'm

ya homie.

I get an opportunity to be a pastor on staff

here and just counted an honor to just serve as

a part of this wonderful church.

This church saved our family's life.

It was Jesus, but it was through Patria alfc back

then that put our family on trajectory.

So we're just so grateful for this church. Hey, what

is family business?

What we're doing every year in November, we're just taking

a month to just talk about vision, talk about legacy,

talk about generosity and how generosity is for the next generation.

Remember how we opened it up and we had the

five minutes of fire by those young preachers that the

paint off the walls.

You guys remember that at the top of the month.

And I want to thank all of you for being

generosity giants because you're going to that Vision Sunday drop down.

Thank you for giving to the many projects that Pastor

Adam talked about. We're going to conclude that today. So

if you're new to this series, I would encourage you

to go back to YouTube and look at all the

details that Pastor Adam listed as relates to our vision

and our projects. Also, you can see our impact report

on twenty twenty four by going to our website.

Because we're a transparent church.

If we're going to talk about family business, we want

to lead by example by being transparent on our stewardship

with our finances.

Amen.

All right, Hey, we're gonna get right into it. So

let's go ahead and stand to our feet. We're gonna

go to Exodus chapter thirteen, Versus three through five, and

we'll just use this as a diving.

Board as a thought. Today.

I want to give you some context because I figured,

since this is family business, I wanted to talk about

God's chosen family, the children of Israel, and they're a

collection of families. We're a collection of families. We're gonna

parallel kind of like what they went through and how

God treated them, because he'll.

Treat us the same way.

For context, they've been in slavery for four hundred in

thirty years. God had declared to them that they're gonna

be free, and he's saying in this part of scripture

right now today is their moment that they're finally gonna

be free.

It'll be on the screens or it'll be in your bible.

Then Moses said to the people, remember this day in

which you came out from Egypt, out of the house

of slavery, and for by a strong hand the Lord

brought you out from this place.

No leaven bread shall be eaten. Today, everybody say today,

in the month of a beb you are going out.

And when everybody say, when the Lord brings you in.

Two the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites,

the Hittites, the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers

to give you a land.

Flowing with milk.

Say milk and honey, you shall keep this service in

this month. Let's pray God, thank you that your word

is true. Thank you that you opened our hearts earlier

through worship. And I thank you for what you'll deposit

in our hearts. Use your word to encourage us, to

uplift us, to convict us, to empower us.

In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen, you may be seated.

I want to emphasize those words that we said out loud,

because I believe they have power.

They'll be back on the screens.

Notice how it was said today you are going out,

and what that p parallels for us today is the

beginning of our faith journey. Do you remember the day

you gave your life to Christ? Do you remember the

day you felt free? You felt forgiven? I remember fifteen

years ago I gave my life to Christ. Today I

went out.

That's what that parallel.

And if you haven't experienced, we pray that today will

be your day that you experience freedom. So what's clear

many times on when we start our faith journey, because

the start line of our faith journey is forgiveness. But

notice how it was not as clear of when there

was going in two So today you're going out, But

it says when you go into. It didn't say in

two years, two weeks, two months.

It just said when.

So what God did is he showed a vision of

promise of what he's gonna give.

I'm gonna give you a lampflon with milk and honey.

But when you face the Amorites, the Jebusites, the Histes,

the appetites to cell you lightes, all the heights, all

the heightes we gotta face before we get the promise.

So I know today I've started. I'm trying to make

progress on my faith journey. I don't I know when

I'll get the promise, so I'm not sure if I'm

making progress. So what ends up happening a lot of

times in my life and may be in your life.

Instead of progressing on the faith journey, we stay.

Stuck in a sin cycle.

And if we look at Exitus fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen,

I've reduced it to one word which will be our

sermon points.

Because this is what the children of Israel.

Went through time after time after time, and many times.

This is what we go through. Let's put it on

the screens here. Exitu is fourteen.

They got help.

Generational bondage. God, do you hear me? Can't you help?

And if you know the story, you know that it

was a miracle that happened. And in that miracle Moses

he was using the rod which represents Jesus, split the

water they walk through and they got their miracle, they

got their help. If you know Exitus fifteen, they were happy.

Whole chapter dedicated to praise and worship. The tambourines, mimorycles

can happen like all that stuff was going on in

Exodus fifteen. But what ended up happening in Exitus sixteen.

They got hungry.

What happened is they didn't change their appetite, so their

help wanted to be on their terms. And there's a

lot of times in my life, maybe in your life,

I'm happy, but then I get hungry, and God, can

you help me?

Right?

And since we're talking about hunger, and since we're talking

about the family business, I wanted to settle a family debate.

We have a little bit of division.

In my family, and I want to settle it here

so I can show my family that we know how

to hear from God. At Patrioton, we can get on

the same page. You guys agree, Okay, let me be honest.

I really don't know how to cook. And when somebody

doesn't know how to cook, serial becomes salvation to you.

It's notn light on your way home. You don't feel

like stopping to get something neat. Oh shoot, I got

that cereal in the pantry. Here's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna put four fire cereals on the screen right now.

Now.

Don't say the best one yet, but I'm gonna put

all four. Look a look at look at the faithfulness

of God. Now one of them is the best.

One of them is.

Separated from the rest. All of them are fire, all

of them get the job done. But there's one. And

on the count of three, we're gonna see if we're

in unity. On the count of three, I need you

to yell.

Which cereal is the best? Come on, please don't let

me down. Okay? One? Two?

Three? Hey, Hey there, I mean I was hearing where

we're at. But some of you, I see your sin.

You're yelling out the wrong choice. So what I want

to do is I want to make.

This very easy for us and settle this debate.

The best cereal of all time. This is God cereal.

This is holy. When you eat this, you hear better

from God. It's a kitch your table, you get a ball,

Oh my God. But here's why this is the best cereal?

Was biblical? See y'all laughing?

Y'all read your bibles.

Go to Exodus, chapter sixteen, verse fourteen. When they were hungry,

God would are we gonna eat? Look what God did?

He said, in the face of the wil toness, A

fine flake like thing, fight us frost on the ground.

Won't he do it? Won't he do it? God gave

frosted flakes to the wilderness.

He'll give frosted flakes to you today.

Let's go ahead, and let's go ahead and preach a

little bit. Then let me parallel.

Let me parallel our faith journey, because their journey didn't

start with manna. It started with bondage, right, And this

is how our faith journey starts.

It doesn't start with us receiving the blessings in favor

of God. It starts like this. And this is our hearts.

This is the bull, and this is our hearts. And

for four.

Hundred years, choosen of Israel are in bondi, which means

anything that Pharaoh put in their bowl was good feeding

from the enemy.

How many times in our life have we been in bondage?

We try some, we don't really like it.

But the more that we try it, not only is

it messing with our natural appetite, but our spiritual appetite.

Pharaoh becomes the person who feeds us. And this is

what we read in Exodus thirteen. Today you are going

out because the Father sent Jesus on our behalf to

die on the cross for our sins, and he unlocks

us from our bondage.

And that starts our faith journey. Let me start my

faith journey. So that's how they got help. And then

they got happy.

And as they're happy, that's Exodus fifteen, Praise God. I

am free, and God gave them a seat at the table,

just like you and I. But a lot of times

it's like I'm happy, but I'm hungry because he freed me.

But what we gonna eat?

See a lot of times I start here, we start here,

and it's like I want some food, and I remember

how Pharaoh treated me.

And God has completely freed us.

We hold onto a little bit of bondage ourselves, hold

onto a little bit of familiarity because when I'm here,

I got a vision from God I'd be free. Way

over there is milk. I can't reach the milk. I

don't know if I'm saved yet. So I'm in this

tension of trying to move forward. But what are you

gonna feed me?

Pharaoh? What are you gonna feed me? Moses? Because they're

used to being in bondage in their mindset.

So if we go to Exodus chapter sixteen, verse two,

they went from saying praise and worship. Look at how

they acted when they got hungry extra the sixteen to two,

and the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled.

Can you picture them, what are we gonna eat out

of the abundance.

Of the heart.

The mouth speaks, the stomach's growling. Their heart is now

growling and modes in the wilderness. And the people said,

what we have died by the hands of the Lord

in Egypt when we sat by the meat pots and

they bread to the full, For you have brought us

out into this wilderness to kill us with hunger. Notice

how their appetite made them forget about their bondage.

They only remember the meat. So I'm hungry.

So what happens is like I'm happy because like God

has freed me, but like I want to go back

to what's familiar, right right, I'm doing good in school.

I'm not really doing good in my purity.

I'm doing good in my business. I'm not really having

results in my marriage. I'm happy, but I'm hungry. And

what ends up happening is for their grumble, God gave

them grace. And God still said, I will give you

man I, even though you're complaining.

That's the grace of God.

But the tension of us, they've made progress, because what

happens is they start doing the manner right. So they

get the manna and they're like, what is it? Because

in Hebrew manna means what is it?

Right?

No, I'm serious, So like you look it up. But

what happens is now they're trying to eat this. You

remember the movie Friday when ice Cube had all that cereal.

We didn't have no milk. Then he wanted to throw.

It away and the Father's like, you better put some

water on it. And see that's what God does with us.

Will you be content with how I help in this season?

And there's this.

Tension because I have mana, I don't have milk. Since

I have mana, I want to go back to what's familiar.

And that's the tension of the faith journey. So let's

talk about the first point.

Help. Everybody say help.

Let's continue reading to see how God would help them,

because we have to see if we're content with how

God chooses to help. Look at this In Exodus sixteen,

verse four, then the Lord said to Moses, behold, I

am about to make it rain bread from heaven for you.

This is where Lil Wayne got it from. And the

people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day,

that I might test them whether they will.

Walk in my law or not.

On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in,

it will be twice as much as they gathered daily.

Whenever I read the Bible, I look for repetition, because

if there's repetition in the Bible, then God is trying

to get our attention. And I see the word day

four times here. So let's talk about this for a moment.

Many times on our faith journey, we're saved, we've made progress,

and this right here represents God's blessing, and this is

what we pray for, A big family size blessing, pressed down,

shaken to the fool in Jesus' name.

But are we content with how God helps? Because God

didn't give them this. You know what he did. He

started him off with this.

What do you do when you pray for God to

give you a blessing this size and you windo you end.

Up getting what you prayed for. But it's like, bruh,

what is this? How am I gonna get results with this? God?

I thought you were gonna give me the promotion. I

thought the God that flirted when we was gonna be

over six feet like, why is he five to four?

Like?

God, what's going on?

Are you content with how God helps See, here's what happens.

They're in bondage for four hundred years, right, this is

what we pray for many times.

This is what we get.

Right, this is the tension on the faith journey. But

He's setting up a system to change our values.

Because he said, Hey, if you.

Come to me daily, so this is my blessing for

you Monday, here's my blessing for you Tuesday, here's my

blessing for you Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then on Saturday,

I'm gonna give you that double blessing so you can

rest and I'll still bless you. Now, if you look

at your life on the faith journey, you prayed for.

It on the front end, you stay connected.

With Jesus, you end up getting it anyway, but your

value changed as well.

That's why God is saying come to me daily.

The first perspective is he's teaching the children of Israel

because they're coming out of bondage, gather in community daily.

Here's why.

If you look at Matthew chapter six, verse eleven, It says,

give us this day our daily bread. Many times we pray,

give me my bread. So if we're gathering in community,

can you picture manna coming from heaven because God will

rain down resources for the entire community. And then you

come out with your family, and if you're tempted to

be selfish, you're taking from another family.

See what God is setting up.

So I'm gonna give you enough for today, and I'm

gonna show you that I provide for everyone, not just you.

That's acts chapter two. That's why the church would gather

and everybody's getting with their need and everybody's sharing with

other people. Why because it's all coming from God. It's

not coming from me. And I trust God for tomorrow.

You know.

The second principle in this God is teaching them to

look to their Father instead of Pharaoh. Can you imagine

them in their faith journey, because remember they were holding

onto some type of bondage, right, and then they would

get from God and they're like.

Is this enough?

Like I'm not used to this and they're trying to

But think about their mindset from the past. Because God

will do a miracle. You got to manage your mindset

so you can sustain the miracle. So picture their past

when every day they're getting from Pharaoh, and when they

would look at Pharaoh, Pharaoh has gold, look at Pharaoh's

clean robe, look at Pharaoh's palace.

I'm on the fields man. Pharaoh's wife is beautiful. I

want to be like Pharaoh.

And see what happens is when you go from oppressed

to blessed. It's hard for you to share with the

community because that poverty mindset is like now that I'm

starting to eat, now you're gonna take from me.

So if you think about rappers today, I grew up

in the hood.

This is my story about And as soon as they

make money, gold teeth talking today, money flex in blah

blah blah, and it's like, wait a minute, enough with

the bling bling. The bling bling may be bondage in

their mindset that I want to look like Pharaoh. But

could you imagine if you go to your father every

single day. Man, my father, he doesn't whip me. My

father doesn't give me resources based upon what I do.

He just gives it to me based upon his love

for me. So he's gonna know what I need and

he's given me an appetite that I could be surrendered

to him and he's giving me generosity to share with others.

This is why I love Patreo because if you look

at what we did yesterday, feeding over three thousand families,

what it shows is that we're a multicultural, multi generational church.

Because here's the thing.

There are people in our church that on Thanksgiving, we're

thinking about, man.

How are we gonna afford a turkey? How are we

gonna go?

And we love you, so what ends up happening is

all you got to do is pull up and we'll

serve you.

And there are people that have.

Turkeys in their freezer refrigerate already, so they want to

be the hands and feet of Jesus and.

Put it in your trunk. And there are people that are.

Out of town on business watching things that are happening

at family to family. But while they're out of town

on business, they're donating financial resources to underwrite the whole thing.

That's Patriot coming together.

Now here's when the system doesn't work, because there are

seasons in my life when I didn't have a job

and what happens is.

Man, thank God that people can help.

So I drive through the Generosity Center if somebody's putting

something in my trunk, and.

Then I get a job. So when I get a job,

I need to.

Keep it paying forward by now going to the Generosity

Center and serving others. But there's been so many times

in my life and maybe in your life, where God

has blessed us, and we're listening to sermons and we're

seeing things on Instagram and we're eating our brushings. Can

you put that generosity picture back on the screen. This

is us on Instagram.

That's cool. I'm glad the church is doing that.

And as we're enjoying our blessings, you know how God

be trying to get our attention.

Sometimes there'll be a toy in size of it.

No stain to expand vision Sunday for this reason, I

bowed my head. No, I don't go time for that.

Thank you God for blessing me.

See why would God give you a family size blessing

if you don't contribute to the family.

Many times He starts us off with this to see

if we'll be generous.

Let's not say, oh, I'll start tithing once he blesses me.

No, you won't you get a dollar, you give a dime.

It's just a principle.

So it's not about how much money you have, it's

about the mindset. It all depends on what makes you happy.

Let's go to our next point, which is happy. When

I think about it, happy, I had to think about

the happy mail before that. I want to share a

quote by Billy Graham. Billy Graham says, this God has

given us two hands, once to receive with and the

other to give with.

Use both for him and find happiness.

What that looks like is us receiving from God giving

out to the community.

Receiving from God giving out to the community.

That's what that looks like. We're a vessel for God's glory.

So maybe think about a happy meal. Because I told

myself I'm not eating at McDonald's the more I'm gonna

be healthy.

And then the other day that's our testimony. Sound.

Then the other day Trinity comes home with a happy meal.

You guys, you go to McDonald's. We don't do that.

We're healthy.

And then she was like, hey, Dad, look at the

toy that's in the thing. So then I was like, oh,

look at this baby crook.

I was like, I say, Erica, let's have another baby.

I wanna get the toy, and then I find out,

oh there's white ones and red ones and gold oh

your toys, and we get and how many times do

we compromise our health to be happy?

I just want the toy.

Guess how many happy meals are sold on a daily

basis through McDonald's.

Just get say it all out.

Somebody said two million, up to three point two million

happy meals daily.

They cracked the cold.

It has nothing to do with the food, has everything

to do with the toy. So as we become adults,

we like our toys too. So sometimes, man, if I

could just keep getting these Jordans, I want the shoe collection.

Then I get an additional property. Then I get the RV,

Then I get the motorcycle. Then okay, I get this Colonne,

this perfume, I get this gold chain, and got all

these culture toys. And it is not wrong with getting

culture toys.

That's fine. But if we're.

Using all of our money for culture toys, we don't

have the capacity for kingdom toys. Let me show you

a Kingdom toy. Look at this Kingdom toy right here.

Look at that lucky climber. Look at our pickleball court.

That's happening.

Look at the shade that we're enjoying our Look at

the additional campuses. Just like how we have a desire

to go out and go out to new locations, so

does the gospel. So thank God for our generous church

that sends out orphanages and sends out of campuses to

be able to do that. And you have an opportunity

to partake in that. But it all depends on what

makes you happy. Because if you think about the boy

in John chapter six, Pastor Diego talked about this last week,

he gave up his happy meal so the entire community

could be happy. So there's two perspectives that we can give.

So I want to give two perspectives because this boy,

this is what made him happy. He gave it to Jesus.

Not only was he blessed, but everything around him was blessed.

So the first perspective is I'm happy God helped me.

That's the first perspective. I'm happy God helped me. You know.

The second perspective, I'm happy God use me to help.

That was the boy's perspective.

I'm happy, but God use me to help. Does it

make you happy to help the Kingdom of God go further.

See that's where our faith journey gets tested because God's

providing for me. And Acts chapter twenty says, it's more

blessed to give than to receive. You're blessed to receive.

You're more blessed if you give, and if you're happy.

It's depended upon what you're hungry for. So, as we conclude,

let me find my iPad if we go to hunger.

Matthew chapter five, verse six says, blessed are those who

hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

I want to share a story on a pastor and

a generous leader in the community, on how they collaborated

together to make more kingdom impact.

The generous leader, his name is Cornelius.

The pastor, his name is Peter, is found in Acts

chapter ten. I don't have the whole time to read

through it. I just want to describe their seasons and

what God will do with vision for more kingdom impact

you guys now, So Acts chapter ten, verse one through three.

Let's look at Cornelius. It describes him. He said, Assaia,

there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what

was known as the Italian Cohort a devout man. He

feared God with all this household. He gave alms generously

to the people, and he prayed continually to God. In

the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in

a vision an angel of God come in and say, Cornelius,

now this is beautiful. Let's keep this up in for

a moment. Look how this describes this man of God.

And look how he got vision. His vision is connected

to prayer and his character. So described his character it

described as prayer life.

Then he got vision. But here's what's not talked about

as much in church. You gotta read it yourself.

I've heard so much God's given me a vision for me,

and this is what He's gonna do for me. That's

not what he did with Cornelius. He is a devout man,

he's generous, he's not called yet. He doesn't have purpose

in his life yet. So his vision is, Hey, go

listen to Pastor Peter. How many times do we hear

God has given me a vision to go help Pastor Diego.

I've heard God has given me a vision for what

he's gonna do for me. But Cornelius is saying, I'm

generous I'm in my faith journey.

I'm giving, and God has given me this vision.

I need to hear from Pastor Peter. Now he's a gentile.

Now if we go over to Peter, he used to

be sinful signmon. Now he's Pastor Peter. He's in a

new season, and in this new season, and he follows

the rules, and he has a strict diet. I don't

eat like them gentiles.

No, this is how we eat. We're Jewish regardly. So

he's at the house and listen to Good Versa nine.

What happens with him The next day, as they were

on the journey approaching the city, two employees that were

coming to get Peter to take them to Cornelius. Cornelius

is a centurion, which means he has one hundred employees.

He's a military man. That's why he had the two

employees go and get them. Peter went up on the

housetop at the six hour to pray, and he became hungry.

Everybody say hungry, and he wanted something to eat. But

while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance.

This is like one of those naps you take on Thanksgiving.

So I'm in a black family. I'm black, my wife's Mexican,

and it's like, baby, why are we doing Thanksgiving?

So lo eight black people we do a little earlier.

And now I got a black son.

We're kind of negotiating how we're gonna talk to our

Hispanic wives.

Just trying to make it a little earlier. Because what

happens is this is I feel Peter's pain.

He's hungry, he smells all this food, and then he

goes to sleep with.

Food in his mind.

It's like when I wake up, I'm gonna eat, but then.

He feels like he's having a nightmare. You gotta read

it acts chapter ten yourself. He sleep and all of

a sudden, barbecue ribs, wait, Lucille biscuits? What the to

my list? A bunda? Gush check it? Afraid of what's shrimp? Oh?

Oh oh God, I repent. I don't even know if

I don't know who Lucille is.

I repent God, and God is like, hey, stop calling calm,

and what I'm calling clean.

And what God is trying.

To do is get rid of his religious palate for

more kingdom impact. Because what's gonna happen is He's gonna

go to Cornelia's house. He don't want him to get

triggered by the ir immaterial things. So he's on his

way to Cornelius and God gives him the breakthrough.

It's okay, Lucials is fine.

After church, so he goes to Cornelius's house. Remember Cornelius,

here's the vision. Hear the vision from Pastor Peter. Pastor

Peter has to get his palate cleans so he can

have the openness to share the gospel for more people.

And when they collaborate, Cornelius ends up being the first

gentile convert. I'm using my holy imagination to think about

Acts chapter one, verse eight, when Peter would hear the

gospel's gonna go to Samaria, Judea and all the world.

And this conversation is part of it because now he

has kingdom resources for.

More kingdom impact. We need more pastor Pauls.

And centurions coming together saying I hear the vision of

the pastor, I see what's going on, and I want

to use my resources to make a difference. And when

he pastors in the community saying I don't care about

your religion, your background, and so forth.

Here is the gospel for you.

God has blessed you to be a means to get

the Gospel to go out further. You read it for

yourself for the sake of time. But it's a beautiful

example on how God will use the vision of the

leader and the collaboration of the generosity.

In the community for more kingdom impact.

Pastor Adam has said it this way, it's the pastor

that shares the vision. It's the community that gives the

pace of the vision. You've heard what's on our minds

for family business this month, and we know that you

have been praying. The question is what are you gonna

do with the resources that God has given you? Are

they for you? Are they for the family? We have

a new family member in our household. His name is Simba.

He's a dog and this morning I'm trying to hear

from God and I wake up, he throws up, he poops.

I's like, hey, if you're gonna have to take.

Care of this.

But I don't even know why I said that, but

it was just on my mind. I was mad, No,

because we take care of this dog right.

Oh for Simba for Simbah, Simba toys symbol of this

symbol of PlayStation five symbol everything right, So we get

so we go to this organic store for Simba. So

Eric is like, he needs the best, right, Why am

I getting leftovers? Right? So, so Simba's eating this duck

bone or whatever, and I start walking over the simbus.

And was like, like, what's going on? I get closer

to remember I pet you. Remember I bought that bone. Remember.

So then my wife said, don't scare him. I'm listening

to podcasts and we're gonna work this out. Like, I'm

a father, I'm not gonna have my daughter scared of

a dog. So I looked online. This is called resource

guarding where dogs, yeah, they like you taking care of them,

but when they're eating, they guard their resources and they

forget who gave it to them. So so Erica Erica

goes away to the women's cruise.

Now me and Simba having some quality time.

Hey, all I did is said the picture and the

text message to my wife.

Simba's healed. He don't resource guard no more.

He has to be reminded that the father put that there.

Why are you trying to guard something that the father

gave you. But as I'm trying to train Simba, God's

getting at me.

Aaron, Why are you trying to guard so closely? Would

I put in your hands? How many times have you

done that? Church? How many times have I done that?

Thank you God for the blessing.

And as soon as we get the blessing, Hey, God,

could you bless them?

Could you? Could you help them? In Jesus' nay what

God is saying. He wants to give you a family

size blessing, but he wants you to contribute to the family.

And as you contribute to the family, I want to

pray Psalm thirty seven to four.

Over your life, delight yourself and the Lord. He'll give

you the desires of your heart.

And delighting ourself in the Lord means God, I want to.

Bless what you're already blessing.

And as I get on God's team and I bless

what He's already blessing, you know what God's gonna do.

He's reading what I'm writing in my journal. He's reading

the desires in my heart, and he's.

Seeing since you're on teen Jesus, and since I can

trust you with resources, you don't guard your resources.

I'm gonna put more in your.

Hands, because when they're in your hands, the Kingdom of

God is blessed.

Why would God just put something in our hands and

just for us to be blessed? Father God, I feel

like that's a.

Appropriate time to just pray right there and just let

that settle in our souls. Forgive us for resource guarding.

Forgive us for asking for you to put stuff in.

Our hands and having such a tight grip on it.

When you ask for us to be a blessing to others,

will you teach us.

How to be more.

Like you. We don't want to look like Pharaoh. The

only way that Pharaoh was blessed is because he had

a system of slavery. And we don't want to withhold

from others. So thank you that this word has challenged us,

but it's also freed us.

So God, let that settle for a moment.

How are you challenging each and every one of us

as we conclude this family Business service series?

How are we contributing to the family business? And I

thank you for the generosity giants.

In our community right now that you are speaking to

them like you spoke to the Sincere and like you

spoke to Pastor Peter, you're giving us amounts. Thank you

for the sacrifice of giving, and thank you for us

being obedient and what you're prompting us to do.

In Jesus name, we pray Amen. Amen.

Hey, before we conclude, what's more important in family business

is inviting you to the family and this is not

just marketing to try to fundraise. We care about your

soul more than we care about you serving. My question

to you is where are you in the faith journey?

For some of you, you may still be right here,

and that's okay because just like what the Father did

for the Israelites.

He wants to do for you.

The israel did nothing to contribute to them being free,

but they had to walk forward and what God already provided.

God the Father sent his son Jesus to live the

perfect life.

We couldn't live and die the death we deserve.

And what he's asking us to do, like the children

of Israel, remove your bondage. I've set you free, walk forward.

What was beautiful about the children of Israel When they

walked forward?

They turned around and all they saw was water.

Because all the tracks of their past are now dead.

So for those of you that are plagued by your past,

just look at Exodus chapter.

Fourteen, all the enemies that were chasing them dead, all

their tracks gone. God wants you to be free today.

But as you progress on your faith journey, there is warfare.

He did warn them, the Hvites, the Jedbisides, the Amurites.

There were so many people on their faith journey they

encountered that were worshiping false gods. And we enjoy the

forgiveness of a savior, and sometimes we don't trust him

as lord because money is still our lord. Relationships may

still be our lord, our job may still be our lord.

And this is a moment that we progress in our

faith journey by saying, I leave all that aside. I

trust you to be my lord. I trust you with

my decisions. So I would love to pray for you

right now.

I would ask for us all to bow our heads

and close our eyes. I'm not asking if you have

a relationship with church. I'm asking if you have a.

Relationship with Jesus. There are two different things.

Judas had a relationship with church operations. Judas would have

been wearing Dream Team Polo. So I'm not asking about

your service, I'm asking about your soul. I'm gonna invite

everyone to repeat this prayer after me to encourage those

that are praying this prayer for the first time. You're

gonna give your life to Jesus for the first time.

And I believe there's a second group in here. You've

already given your life to Jesus as your savior. You're

gonna trust him as lord. You're gonna include him in

your decisions, You're gonna rededicate your life to him. And

there's a final group in here I want to pray for.

You're gonna trust him with your finances.

For some of you. That means you're gonna be a tither.

For some of you, that means you're gonna give twenty

dollars a week.

For some of you, that means you're gonna give fifty

thousand dollars.

I don't know.

I just know that God frees you.

Repeat after me.

Please say, dear Lord Jesus, I believe that you died

on the cross for all of my sin. Thank you

for forgiving me. From this moment forward, you are my

savior and my Lord. Teach me to trust you with

my life, with my responsibilities, and my finances.

In Jesus name, we pray