The God Who Does More

Open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20. Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20.

Ephesians 3:20 Ephesians 3:20

The Apostle Paul says, Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above

all that we ask or think according to the power.

Somebody shout power that works in us.

The Apostle Paul wrote this epistle. And I want you to notice that he writes

from the confinement of prison. Yet he describes a God who cannot be confined.

Your environment may look restricted, but your God is unrestricted.

You may feel like you have to do everything on your own, that you have no help,

no support, and you may even feel, while unintentional, like God doesn't care

or even exists. Thank you.

Maybe you even feel like your expectations are simply too big.

But I want to share something with you today. There are five points that I want

to illuminate in this passage of scripture that will be a blessing to you and I today.

Paul begins this verse by saying, now to him who is able.

Paul is reminding us of God's ability, not your ability.

God's ability, not the ability of the economy, God's ability,

not the bank's ability, God's ability.

Paul is reminding us that God is able.

God is fully capable.

And here's a plus. He is also very willing.

Not only is he able, not only is he capable, but he's extremely willing.

And since God has made the promise, he's already has the power to perform it.

So point number one, I want you to remember today that God is able.

Jeremiah 32, 17 says it this way. Oh, sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and

earth by your strong hand and powerful arm.

Nothing is too hard for you.

Jeremiah 32, 27 says, I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world.

Is anything too hard for me?

Luke chapter 137 says, for with God, nothing, somebody shout,

nothing will be impossible. With God, nothing will be impossible.

Genesis 18, 14. Is there anything too hard for the Lord?

I will return about this time next year and Sarah will have a son.

Job 42, 2. Job 42, 2. I know that you can do anything and no one can stop you.

Matthew 19, 26. Matthew 19, 26.

With men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

I have a question for you today. Who are you with?

Bernie Mac used to say that. Oh, comedian used to say, who are you with?

Who are you with? It matters who you are with. If you are with men, it's impossible.

But if you are with God, all things are possible.

I have an amazing story. I was with a particular famous guy in New York,

and he asked me to join him.

He was being interviewed for Good Morning America.

And I went with him, and somehow he had another interview at Madison Square

Garden, and we ended up walking together, he and I, and there were hundreds

of people that was outside.

And as we were walking together, somehow because of the amount of people, he and I got separated.

And as we got separated, he has a police escort and they're kind of escorting him to the car.

Well, I don't have a police escort, right?

They don't care what happens to me. And so I get far back.

And next thing I know, they're putting him in the car. I'm nowhere near him.

And he turns around and he shouts, Devon, Devon. Now there's hundreds of people

out here. Devon. And I'm in the back seat.

And I'm jumping up and down. And he tells the police officers,

he goes, hey, that guy right there, he's with me.

It matters who you with. So then they left. One of them left,

came and He grabbed me and threw me in the car and we ended up driving off.

And this scripture came alive to me because of the illustration.

It matters who you're with.

If you're with men, you're going to always see impossibilities.

You're going to always see things not likely to happen. You're going to always

come up with reasons why things will not happen.

But if you're with God, all things are possible. Miles, it's good to see you,

my brother. Good to see you, sir.

The college, he's college-bound Miles. Praise God. With God,

all things are possible.

Say that. With God, all things are possible. I like what it says in the Weiss

translation, Matthew 19, 26 in the Weiss.

It says, in the presence of men, as men look at this, it is impossible.

But in the presence of God, as he looks at this, all things are possible.

So notice, if you're in the presence of men and you and someone else is looking

at a situation, you're going to always see the impossibilities.

But when you get in the presence of God and begin to look at a situation the

way God looks at it, these things become possible.

And I want you to know that point one is God is able and all things are possible.

Point number two I want you to see is God goes beyond.

God goes beyond. God is a God of action. He doesn't just meet expectations, he exceeds them.

He goes beyond everything. He has no ceiling and no limits.

He doesn't just open doors. He opens doors you didn't even know existed.

Come on, say amen to that. He's unlimited and he opens doors you didn't even know existed.

Those secret doors you don't even know about, he knows how to get them open

for you. God goes beyond. He doesn't just meet expectations. He exceeds them.

And so point number two is God goes beyond.

Point number three in this passage of scripture, God works super abundantly.

God works super abundantly. This is excessive language.

This is not barely enough. This is infinitely more than enough.

God specializes in doing more than necessary.

More peace than you need. More provisions than you planned.

More influence than you expected, more wisdom than you realize,

more energy than you require. How many of you need some more energy?

More energy than you require, more patience than you need, more counsel beyond

your years, infinitely more,

super abundantly more, beyond all measure more, more than more than enough,

more than more than enough.

God does more than more than enough. Somebody say amen.

Luke chapter 5 verse 6 in the Passion Translation says, when they pulled up

Luke 5:6

their tents, they were shocked to see a huge catch of fish and their nets were ready to burst.

Are you ready to burst with joy today?

Come on, you're ready to burst. Scripture says, let them shout for joy and be

glad that favor my righteous cause and let them say continually,

Let the Lord be magnified, who takes pleasure in my prosperity.

Come on, somebody say amen.

Come on, shout for joy. Hallelujah.

Glory to God. Hallelujah.

Kurt, that was your cue right there, brother. All right, here we go.

Let's do it again. Glory to God. Hallelujah.

Shout for joy and be glad. God's results are always overflowing.

Amen. Always overflowing. I want you to change your mind about who your daddy is.

Your daddy is God.

The father, the unlimited one.

A couple of nights ago, a couple of days ago, 530 in the morning,

the Lord woke me up and I had this on my heart. Listen to this.

And I heard this in my heart, not an audible voice, but on the inside of me.

And I heard, if there was a billionaire in your church, would you be concerned

about buying a piece of property?

I said, well, if I knew the billionaire loved me, I wouldn't be I wouldn't be concerned at all.

Right. And he said, hey, I got your back and whatever you do, I got it.

Man, I would sleep well at night and wouldn't worry about a thing.

I'll go and look for whatever it is that that that God wants us to have.

And I wouldn't try to look for the cheapest thing or I wouldn't try to dumb

it down or I wouldn't try to get the hand-me-down.

I would look for something nice, right?

And the Lord says, he spoke this tomorrow, I'm more than a billionaire. I said, glory to God.

Hallelujah. If I could put that kind of trust in a human that was a billionaire,

why can I put my trust in a God who calls me father and he loves me? He says, I got your back.

Say that. My father has my back.

Point number four, God exceeds both your prayers and your imagination.

God exceeds both your prayers and your imagination.

God exceeds what you pray for. God exceeds what you plan for.

He exceeds what you prepare for.

There's been I've heard some teaching going around that your prayers are limiting

God well this verse says he can do more than we even ask.

I need God to do more than I ask because I don't even know what to ask sometimes.

I need God to do more than I can imagine because sometimes we're in a restricted

area and it's hard for us to even imagine.

I need to have a God that can do more than I can imagine.

And so I want you to begin to understand that God is willing and fully capable

of doing more than you ask or even plan for or prepare for or even conjure up.

Glory be to God. He can do more than that. All you have to do is just believe this word.

God has blessings prepared for you that haven't even crossed your mind yet.

Are y'all listening to me today? Who am I talking to today?

God has blessings planned for you that you haven't even imagined yet. Hallelujah.

Glory be to God. God has blessings beyond what you have even considered.

There are blessings God has waiting for you that you haven't even thought about.

And God is preparing blessings right now that you don't even see. Hallelujah.

Your future includes blessings your mind hasn't even conceived yet.

Think of you. You feel like your future includes just some tragedy or or the

devil tempts me like this.

My future includes running out at some point, Adrian, we just it was just it's

just going to run out. That's what the devil tries to tell me.

You're going to run out. I'm paying, you know, we pay the bills. You're going to run out.

You're going to run out. You're going to run out and you're going to end up

homeless somewhere and and moving back home with your parents.

And all your kids, you're going to run out. No, God says we're going to run over.

God says there's going to be overflow.

God says there's more than enough.

God says there's more than, more than enough. Come on, say amen to that. Amen.

God will not only meet your expectations, but he will also exceed your imagination.

So just start thinking and realize God can do more than that.

Hallelujah. Whatever you come up with, God can do more than that.

Several years ago, I was talking to a friend of mine. He may even be watching

now. He's a pastor. And he was telling me about an airplane.

He's like, oh, you know, this particular airplane. And it was,

Paul, what's the airplane I have in my office? Say it again.

King Air. Thank you. I have an airplane. He's like, man, you should check out the King Air.

All the Alexanders can get in the King Air. Well, listen, I like to talk to

people that, you know, are thinking bigger than me. I mean, we're talking about airplanes.

You know what I'm saying? He's like, you need a King Air. And so I went online,

and I was looking at some pictures, and I thought, man, that King Air looks

like, he goes, man, all the Alexanders can get in there.

You can get as much luggage as you want, and it can travel.

It's a good plane. It's not a jet. It's a turboprop, but it's a good plane.

And I said, man, that's really nice. That King Air looks really, really good.

I even bought a model King Air just to put it in my room, right? Like it looks so good.

I had never been in one until one day a friend called me.

And he said to me, hey, I'll be in town. Do you want to go to Raleigh with me?

And I said, yeah, I told Stacey, he's like, it'll be overnight trip or something.

I told Stacey, I said, you know, so-and-so said he'd be in town and you go to

Raleigh. She said, yeah, I don't care, you know, go.

And so he's like, meet me at my hotel at like four o'clock, Sterling.

And so I said, OK, I drove to his hotel. I thought, you know, we was going to Raleigh.

And so he hanging out in the room a little bit. And then we come downstairs

and there's this big black, you know, Yukon suburban type truck.

We get in, I said, oh, wow, we're going to Raleigh in style.

All right, this night, there was a driver. I said, all right.

And so then we started going. I was like, wait a minute.

He's not going to the freeway. I'm thinking, we're going to get caught in traffic.

He's not going to the freeway. No, we went to the airport.

I said, OK. And then next, you know, we got dropped off alley at the private section of the airport.

I said, OK. And I said, well, I thought we were going to Raleigh.

He said, we're going to Raleigh.

I said, oh, he said, we flying.

I said, oh, praise God. We flying to Raleigh. I said, all right.

Glory to God. That's exciting.

And then I said, well, how did you get my information and stuff?

He said, when you fly private, we don't need all that stuff.

You just get on the plane.

I said, what? I said, all right. I said, okay. And so we get on the plane.

And as I'm stepping on the plane, I start talking to the pilots.

I said, man, what kind of plane is this? What kind of plane was it?

A King Air. I said, I was just talking about this plane like a year ago or so.

And he was like, yeah, these are really nice planes and so on and so forth.

And we flew to Raleigh. I got some video of that, too. And we flew back the next day.

And the Lord said, listen, you was looking at King Airs. I'm going to do even one better.

I'm going to let you fly in one. Hallelujah.

And guess how much that trip cost me? Somebody shout it out.

Zero dollars. I paid nothing for that whole thing. Glory be to God.

God can get it to you. He saw me looking at the plane and said,

you know what? I love you so much. I'm going to let you fly in the thing.

And don't look at me crooked-eyed because I might buy one one day. Hallelujah.

Hey, glory to God. Hallelujah.

God exceeds both your prayers and your imagination.

Somebody say amen. Point five, point five, God's power is already working in you.

God's power is already working in you.

Active power, not dormant power, active power.

Operative power, operative power. The power's working in you right now.

Working power, not will work, is working.

Right now, present tense, the power of God is working in you.

His power is active in your life, present tense, right now.

You are not waiting on God.

God is waiting on you to step out in faith.

Let me say it again. You're not waiting on God. God is waiting on you to step out in faith.

I'm going to pause there. Anything that I have ever done in my life as a pastor,

I can say this as a pastor, anything I've ever done, God was never waiting on me.

I, I'm sorry, I was never waiting on God. God was waiting on me.

I've never had everything I needed to step out and do something.

I mean, I've had to step out and then see the faithfulness of God.

I've had to make the move first under the unction of God, not making moves just

to make move, because God has said it, and I've stepped out,

and God has always met me.

Y'all know that my testimony, working a six-figure job at the bank.

The Lord asked me to step out, leave it, resign, and go into full-time ministry. That sounds foolish.

Some of my friends said, what in the world are you doing?

But God has always met me right there.

Look, you can look at me. I haven't missed a meal. You can tell God has always

met me because he's not waiting or we're not waiting on him.

Well, I'm just waiting on the Lord.

There is a time and place for that but more

often than not God is waiting on you to obey what

he's commanded you to do somebody say amen to that

the same power that performs the promise lives

inside the person who received the promise the same power that performs the

promise lives inside somebody say inside he lives inside you who has received

the promise not around you but in you.

Be aware of his power in you.

He lives in you. His power is operating and effective in you.

The source is internal, not external.

It's internal, not external, because he lives in you.

The Devon translation. You like this? Here we go.

The Devon translation of Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20.

Ephesians 3:20

Not a him who was able to do beyond all things, super abundantly,

more than what we ask or imagine, according to his power that is actively working in us.

1 Corinthians 2, chapter, 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9 says it this way.

1 Corinthians 2:9

This is why the scriptures say things never discovered heard of before,

things beyond our ability to imagine, these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers.

Look at this again. Things never heard of before. God has some things in store

for you that you've never heard of before.

Think about that. You know, you don't know everything.

And there's some things he's got planned for you that you never heard of before.

It can even be little things.

They're like, man, I never heard they had that.

I bought this little knick-knack on Amazon. I didn't even know they had it.

And I'm like, well, that's what I need. I need that little knick-knack right

there. God has it for me, praise God.

Things beyond your ability to imagine.

Glory to God. God has it planned for you. These are the many things he has in store for you.

God has plans for your life that you don't even know about yet.

Glory to God. plans that you don't even know about yet. Now,

I want to make an announcement to you. Are you ready?

All right, this is a special day. Today is not just another Sunday.

Today is a defining moment in the history of our church. There are Sundays when

God speaks to individuals.

And then there are Sundays when God speaks to a house. These are one of those moments.

Because today we are officially stepping into what I believe is a God-ordained season.

A season to possess what God has promised.

A season to possess what God has promised.

Numbers 1330 says it this way. Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said,

let us go up at once and take possession.

Somebody say, take possession.

Say it like you mean it. Take possession for we are well able to overcome it.

You remember in that story there were spies 12 spies went out to scout the land

10 came back and said we can't do it The scriptures call that an evil report,

When they came back with lack of faith said we can't overcome there's giants

in the land We're grasshoppers in our sight and their sight scripture says that's

an evil report and they died They couldn't even get to the land,

but there were two people Caleb and Joshua that said let us go up at once and take possession,

for we are well able to overcome it. Notice the language.

God did not say, go look at it.

Go look at it. No, no. He said, possess it. Somebody say, possess it.

Because there's a difference between waiting for a promise and possessing a promise.

There's a difference between waiting for a promise and possessing a promise

for years we have been faithful now I'm talking to you as a church today we have been faithful.

We have served. We have sacrificed.

We have been flexible, adjustable, and what else?

Adaptable. We have set up and tore down.

We have rented.

We have and are sharing a church facility. We have services Sunday afternoon.

And I just want to take a moment. I appreciate you. Stacey and I were praying for you last night.

You guys are truly flexible, adjustable, and adaptable, saying,

hey, pastor, we're with you.

We're going through a transition season. We're on a journey.

We're with you. Well, hey, guys, we're going to share a church with somebody.

Hey, doesn't matter. We're with you. Hey, guys, we're going to meet Sunday at

3 o'clock. Well, that doesn't matter either.

We're with you. I appreciate that. Thank you.

I have not heard one complaint. come

on yeah put your hands together for that now you you

might complain to Natasha but I have not heard one complaint I've not heard

any grumbling I've even heard people like LaPortia say I wish we just keep it

at three o'clock right not one complaint we have been on a journey we've shared churches.

We have Sunday afternoon services.

No one is meeting Sunday at 3 o'clock, but we are.

And now God is saying, it's time to possess.

I said, it's time to possess. One more time, it's time to possess.

God has opened a door for us to pursue a permanent home.

Not just a building, not just a building, but a place for lives to be changed.

A place for families to be restored.

For children to encounter Jesus.

For generations to be impacted. This will be a house of hope.

A house of healing. A house of true life.

And today I want to announce that we are starting a capital campaign today.

Come on, give the Lord some praise for that.

We're starting one today You know why because it's time to possess It's time

to possess and this would be our true life home campaign.

Listen, I'm not waiting on the banks.

I'm not waiting on the banks. We have to move forward now.

I thought I'd get some amens on that. I said, I'm not waiting on the banks.

We have to move forward when? Now.

The banks rarely provide what's needed as we move toward closing.

How do you know? Because I'm on the phone all day with them.

They rarely are going to provide what we need for closing. but God funds his

purposes through his people.

Let me say it again. God funds his purposes through his people and we are well

able to possess this property.

God has already given us confirmation. Listen to this.

He's already moved on a family's heart in a significant way.

I got a call from an anonymous person,

he said my wife and I have talked he said I'm fully invested in what the Lord

is doing in true life in their new facility,

he says I want to commit to matching any gift given up to $250,000 glory to

glory to God Hallelujah!

You got to step out in faith. You got to move. Provision doesn't come until you move forward.

And so this anonymous family says that he's going to match dollar for dollar

whatever we give into this campaign. Somebody say amen.

Every thousand dollars we give becomes two thousand.

Every five thousand we give becomes ten thousand.

Every ten thousand you give becomes what? 20,000.

Every 50,000 you give becomes what? 100,000.

Every 100,000 you give becomes what? 200,000.

God wants you to stretch to give and God wants to match it.

Now listen, these kind of things that I'm talking about should stir you up.

This type of gift is a gift of credibility.

It's a gift saying, I'm in this with you.

I want to be a part of what God is doing where this future home is concerned.

God's saying, I want you to give big. The bigger you give, the bigger the match.

God gives seed to the sower.

Every sacrifice will immediately be multiplied.

This is not addition this is multiplication this is not a coincidence this is confirmation.

Say amen to that. This is confirmation. This is confirmation.

When God gives vision, he releases provision.

What does this mean? This means we're not starting at zero.

We're starting with multiplication already in motion.

This is an opportunity for each and every one of us to be a part of something

that is doubling as we build.

This means your gift carries twice the impact. Your obedience carries twice the weight.

Your sacrifice carries twice the influence.

Every seed you sow will be doubled.

Say amen to that. Every seed you sow will be doubled.

And every harvest shall manifest suddenly.

Not because of man, but because God has arranged it this way.

I believe that this is God's way of saying we're not doing this alone.

I am breathing on this. I am multiplying this.

I am accelerating this. We are not stepping into this alone.

We're stepping into this with God.

And so let me tell you our first goal. Our first goal is to match the full $250,000 in 60 days.

You're like, oh my Lord, How is that possible?

With God, all things are possible.

I didn't ask you to match it by yourself. I asked you to participate.

Because with God, all things are possible.

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask

or think according to the power that works in us.

Our first goal is $250,000 in 60 days so that we can unlock the entire gift

and turn it into $500,000 for our future home. How many are with me today? Come on.

This is our opportunity as a church family to sow into the future of this house.

This is not about equal giving.

This is about equal sacrifice.

This is not about equal giving. This is about equal sacrifice.

This is about obedience.

This is about participation.

Every person who gives becomes a part of the story.

Years from now, people will walk into our building and encounter God,

and you'll be able to say, I helped make this possible.

Hallelujah. I said, hallelujah. Do you believe God can do this in 60 days?

We're already halfway there. Hallelujah.

He can do it in 60 days. You do your part.

You do what God's telling you to do and let God do the rest. You sacrifice.

You give. You sow. You get seed in the kingdom of God.

Seek first the kingdom of God. Seek first the house of God.

And his righteousness and all these things shall be added and in this case, multiplied unto you.

Now, I want to be very clear. This is not about pressure.

This is about faith and obedience.

Will you pray? Will you pray? Will you obey?

Will you trust God? This church was built on faith and obedience.

And the same God who brought us this far will take us the rest of the way.

Over the next 60 days, I'm asking every person to consider prayerfully what is my part?

What is my part? Not what is someone else's part. or what someone else should do.

But what is God calling you to do?

I had a situation where I, this particular famous friend I have,

and it wasn't him by the way, but this particular famous friend I have,

he said, another guy said, I wonder what he's going to do. I looked at him and

said, I wonder what you're going to do.

Don't worry about what somebody else does. What are you going to do?

What is your part what is God telling you to do and all you have to do is believe God,

you just got to trust Lord bring in the extra whatever number he puts in your

heart it'll be matched and you'll get the full harvest of both some will give

large gifts Some will give sacrificial gifts,

but every gift matters because every seed will turn into a major harvest.

I believe with all my heart, family, we are stepping into our next level.

This is not just expansion. This is establishment.

Like Wayne said, I've never been

a part of a church that owned its own building. This is establishment.

This is not just growth. This is possession.

And we declare today, God will do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask

or even think. Thank you.