By My Spirit | Abundant Life Ministries

[Music]

you did it okay good

job

[Music]

job unfortunately

[Music]

hey good morning church would you come

on in we're going to get started this

morning with praise and worship it's a

good day to be together it's a good day

to be together it's a good day to

Worship the Lord so would you just come

in here we're going to prepare to praise

today we're going to give the Lord glory

in this place Lord we love you we

worship you today we set our Attention

our affection our hearts upon you cuz

you are wonderful Lord we love you so

today we just come together to honor

you we sing your praises today Lord we

love you be worshiped in this place in

Jesus

[Music]

name all throughout my

history your faithfulness has walked

beside

me the winter storms made way for

spring in every season from where where

I'm

standing I see the evidence of your

goodness all over my

life all over my

life I see your promises and

fulfillment all over my

life all over my life

help me remember when I'm

weak fear may come but fear

will you my heart to

Victory You Are My Strength and you

always will be I see the evidence of

your

goodness all over my

life all over

my I see your promises in

fulfillment all over

my all over my repeat that I see the

evidence I see the evidence of your

goodness

all over my

life all over my

life I see promises in

fulfillment all over my

life all over my life

Hallelujah I see the cross the empty

grave the evidence is

endless all my sin rolled away because

of you oh

Jesus I see the cross the empty grave

the evidence is

endless all my sin roll away because of

you oh

Jesus

W I see it I see the evidence of your

goodness all over my my

life all over my

life I see your promises in

fulfillment all over my

life all over my

life I see I

see of your

goodness all over my life

all over my

life I see promises in

fulfillment all over my

life all over my

life I see evidence of your

goodness all over my

life all over my life

I see your promises in

fulfillment all over my

life all over my

life so

why should I

fear for the

idence is

here why why should I

fear oh the

Ence is let's sing that again why should

I

fear why should I

fear oh the

evence is one more time why should I oh

why should

I

fear for the

evidence

is glory to the Lord Lord we do worship

and praise you this morning be lifted up

as mighty and strong in this place give

you glory

[Music]

thousand

Generations Falling Down In

Worship sing the song of Ages to the

L and all who have gone before us and

all who will

believe sing the song of Ages to the

land

your name is the highest your name is

the greatest your name stands above them

all all Thrones and dominions all PRS

and possessions your

name s above them all and the Angels Cry

holy our creation

comes

ho you are lifted

High

holy holy

forever if you've been

forgiven and if you've been

sing the song forever to

land take you walk in

Freedom and take you bear his

name sing the song forever to the

land we sing the song Forever when they

met and the angels come

holy

creation you are lifted

High

holy holy

forever we give you praise

today he we

s holy

the King of

Kings

holy you will always

be

holy holy

forever

Jus is the highest your name is the

greatest your name his stand above them

all we will

ours into mil all power and possessions

your

name stands above the all your name is

in your name is the highest your name is

the greatest your

name stands above them all oh Jesus

all and

dominions of ours and possessions your

name stands above the AR and the angels

cry

holy of the nation

christly you are lifted High

holy holy

forever

we

sing he people

sing

Holy to the King of

Kings you will always

be holy

holy

forever you

will you will always

be

holy holy

forever you will always

Bey holy forever

yes you are you will always

be holy

forever

Hallelujah you will always be

[Music]

worthy of every song we could ever

sing worthy of all the praise we could

ever

[Music]

pring worthy of every breath we could

ever breath we live for you

[Music]

Jesus the name above every other

name Jesus the only one who could ever

see worthy of every breath we could ever

bre we live for

you oh we live for

you

holy there is no one like you there is

none beside you open up my eyes and

wonder show me who you are and fil me

with your heart and Lead Me In Your Love

To those are around

look to

you

all worthy of every song we could ever

sing worthy of all the praise we could

ever

worthy of every breath we can ever be we

live for

you

for You

Are

Holy there is no one like you there is

none beside you open up my eyes and

wonder show me who you are in F me with

your heart and Lead Me In Your Love To

those are around

me we choose you

today will build my life upon your

it is a firm

foundation my will put my trust in you

alone and I will not be

Shen I will give my life upon your word

it is is

a

foundation now

will trust in you are Lord

and will never be

Shen I will give my life upon

your it his

a power

Foundation I will come my trust in you

oh and I will never be

Shen

holy there is no one like you there is

none beside you open up my eyes in

Wonder show

me who you are and F me with your heart

and Lead

Me him

to I

will I

will my life upon your word it is

a

foundation I will put my I trust in you

alone and I will now be

Shen I will build my life upon your

word it is a firm

foundation I will put my trust in you

you are alone and I will not be

Shen I will build my life upon your word

it is

a

foundation I will put my trust in you

alone

and I will not be sh you

are there is no one like you there is

none beside you open up my

eyes show me who you are and fill me

with your heart and lean me in your love

to

Lo holy you are there is no one else

like you no Beside You

Lord come on just magnify the Lord with

with your words today Magnify Him with

your words just worship him with your

own song Lord we praise you oh you are

wonderful we trust you you've been f

faithful faithful all the time good

you're

holy Lord lead me I follow

you so lead where you will and I will

follow I Will Follow You

Lord I'll put my trust in

you you

[Music]

alone oh yeah

sing I will build my

hand upon

your in

his where you lead I'll go I will put my

trust in you

[Music]

alone I Won't Be Shaken I won't doubt or

disbel no I will build according to your

leading Lord I will build my house on

your rock you are my

Foundation I will put my trust in

[Music]

you

will appreciate

[Music]

Lord we know you're worthy we love

you all the saints and

Angels bow

before your

Throne all the

ERS cast their crowns before the Lamb of

God and sin you're worthy of it

all you worthy of it all

for from you are all

things to you are all

things you deserve the

glory we're sing it

all glory to Your Name

Lord hallelujah we give Glory

all the saints and

Angels bow be before your

lord and all the

elders cast their crowns before the Lamb

of God and sing you're worthy of it

all isn't worthy let's sing it you're

worthy of it

all you are you

are for from you are all things into you

are all

things you deserve the

glory yes you do you're worthy of it

all you are you're worthy love it

all we love you all yeah for from you

are all things and to you are all

things you deserve the

glory let's just sing out a Melody

oh

oh we praise

oh we give you

worship all the saints all the

saints

Angels bow before your throne you're

good you're worthy all the

elders cast their crowns before the Lamb

of God and sing your worthy of it

all you are worthy you're worthy of it

all yes you are all more from you are

all things and to you are all

things you deserve the

glory let's sing it one more time all

together you're worthy of it all it's

you're worthy

worthy you're worthy of it all we love

you

Lord for from you are all things and to

you are all

things you deserve the

glory we give you glory

Lord

oh we pray prise you in this place Lord

yes we

[Music]

do oh your worthy

[Music]

worthy praise you isn't he worthy

Church isn't he

wonderful just tell the Lord how you

love

him Lord I love you I'm grateful you're

so worthy of all my praise

be glorified Among Us this morning Lord

oh

[Music]

Hallelujah you're

glorious Praise You

Lord amen Well church just take your

seats this morning welcome somebody as

you find them and just tell somebody

God's good he's worthy and it's a

wonderful thing to worship him together

amen hey we've got a real treat this

morning morning um a couple from our

church just got back from the mission

field uh we have several Mission

Partners at Abundant Life Ministries and

one that we've been partnered with for

many years now is blessman international

in South Africa and uh Dr Jim and his

wife Beth blessman have been over there

for many years establishing a great

range of um of programs that really seek

to minister to the physical needs as

well as the spiritual needs of children

and and people in South Africa so

Stephen dad Fisher just got back from

South Africa and they uh asked if they

could share about what they experienced

there today so would you welcome them as

they come up and they're going to share

about blessman International and you

guys can use the right there y just push

the button and turn it

on

morning we're so happy to be back in the

frozen

tundra after spending almost three weeks

in South Africa and temperatures of 85

to 90° it was a little bit of a shock to

get home but we're always happy to be

back uh I always say the best part about

any trip is coming home and we're happy

to be home uh for those of you that

aren't familiar with blessman

International it's a ministry that's

based out of De Moine uh Dr Jim and Beth

blessman uh have been and had a presence

in South Africa for over 20 years now

and quite a few people in our church

have actually been to South Africa Bill

and Donna have been there with

family

uh uh Barb Halverson is uh well Pastor

Dave and Becky You' been there right or

Becky Dave's been and uh barbar

Halverson from our church is on the

board of directors so we've got a quite

a a background with blessman

International and it's just a wonderful

Ministry and a wonderful opportunity if

anyone ever gets the chance to go I'd

highly recommend it it's a it's truly a

life-changing experience

uh Dr Jim and his wife Beth have such a

heart for not only missions but

especially for the people of South

Africa and they not only have done

things there that are good you know

materially for the people of South

Africa but they've spread the Gospel of

Jesus there for many years now and

that's really their you know you can

just feel that in their heart that's

their main focus is they want the people

there to know Jesus we had the opport

opportunity to serve in uh with a group

it was kind of a varied group it was an

interesting group we had uh uh some

Catholics there from uh the de Mo dicese

from St Francis of aisi church in De Mo

which is the largest Catholic Church I

understand in the state of Iowa and uh

Father Ray McKenry who has led that

group for 10 years now he's gone to

South Africa and uh he brought about I

don't know half a dozen or eight people

from that church also along was the

bishop of the de Mo dicese uh Dr

William joneson Jo I always have trouble

with his last name and it it was a

really neat experience to get to know

him and uh he's just a really good guy

and just a real downto Earth guy and we

really appreciated them we also had a

lady along from uh Lutheran Church of

Hope and De Moine which is a large

Church in De Moine and she was their

Director of Missions and she was going

along to see you know how this mission

trip was so that they could start

supporting blessman as well and and uh

and bring groups she was on her 41st

mission trip and she was just amazing

she's they she actually has adopted

children from I think it was Jamaica and

uh she was a hoot to have along too so

we had a really interesting group uh did

more mass than I've ever done in my life

which was very interesting but uh very

faith-filled

people uh probably our favorite parts

were you know the feeding of children

and and the interaction with the

children that blessman serves there they

provide one good meal a day for about

60,000 kids A week and uh throughout

South Africa and that's huge and uh so

we got to help serve them and then after

we served them we had an opportunity to

uh interact with the kids and read to

them and and uh just bless them and love

on them and and allow them to love back

and that was probably my biggest

takeaway from this trip was the fact

that you know you go there thinking

you're going to make a a big difference

in people's lives and and I think you do

but the I think the biggest thing is

that you just touch people with the love

of Jes Jesus and we we were so touched

back by the people there and by Jesus

for for just the interactions and the

experiences that we had with the people

so that was probably my big takeaway I'm

sure I'm forgetting something Patty

wants to talk a little bit so I'll let

her ramble on

here I probably won't ramble on as

long um yeah I just this I've been

blessed this is my second missions trip

this year Honduras was first and then uh

South Africa so I kind of had a little

bit more of what to expect in my head um

but what I really took away from the

trip was just the heart of Jim and Beth

blessman um everywhere we went when we

went into the small um schools that are

country schools that maybe only have 30

kids and we're talking you know fourth

through seventh grade are in the same

classroom so there might be you know six

of each grade for four grades or three

three grades and one teacher um I would

always kind of walk around the property

and sure enough at the end of the

building you'd find the office with the

administrator and Mr and Doc was in

there talking what do you need you know

dis Discerning what they need and what

they can provide for the school which is

a public school but the government

doesn't provide for them um so

everywhere we went we did iare Ministry

where we got to be the optometrist for

the day and help people to see and

and usually they do this with the kids

but while we were there we went into a a

small adult community and we had people

who were 50 60 70 80 coming in and

getting fitted for glasses for the first

time that now could see things in the

distance that they couldn't see before

so that was really meaningful that I'm

we definitely were impacting their lives

and we pulled up in our van and there

were 120 of them sitting out in the

church just in front of the church

waiting for us to get there because

that's how important it was that they

had signed up ahead of time and so

hopefully when it's our month to share

about blessman Ministries we'll we'll

bring our own pictures this time instead

of their videos and stuff like that and

be able to share in detail but I just

want you to know as a church that the

support that we do for um blessm is is

well worthwhile I mean when we were out

at their the blessman farm Mountain View

Farm where they ra have the chickens

where they provide the hard-boiled eggs

for kids you know one a day to try to

see if that's making a difference having

that extra protein um when we were at

the farm he was we were all sitting

around and he was talking about his

vision and they feed between 55 and

60,000 currently but his goal is 100,000

I mean it just I was in awe of just

watching him everywhere he goes you know

people are talking to him about what

they need and he he's got such a

discernment from God on what what help

they can provide that will be ongoing

and just the he he just turned 80 and

he's still is like no 60,000 is not

enough I want 100,000 to be fed and they

just moved their feeding program up into

Zimbabwe a little bit and even a little

bit into batswana so they're you know

extending they find good partners they

make sure that they're fiduciary about

it you know they have to collect data

and make sure that the kids are coming

and checking them in and things like

that so so hopefully in in the month

that we share about bless men we'll be

able to give you a lot more in detail

but we're happy to talk about it at any

time if you want to come up because it

was just a great experience working with

the people and and uh and praying for

him doc always said you know we want to

give them eye care but the important

thing at the end of the day is that

you've talked to them and you start to

form that relationship with them and you

could tell how much it meant to to them

just I mean once we fit them with

glasses and these were adults then I'd

say it would it be okay if we prayed

with you and they're like yeah you know

I mean they weren't they were expecting

glasses when they came but not that we

would care enough to pray for him so um

so just keep supporting blessman and uh

we'll hear more about it in the future

so thank you thank

you thank you very much for

sharing yeah and we are uh that on and

we are glad to have you back in the

tundra with us so we're glad you're back

and let's just pray and thank the Lord

for what blessman are doing what Doc and

Beth and uh their Ministries been used

to do for all these years and Stephen

Patty for their part in it let's just

give the Lord some praise for a moment

Lord we do thank you today you are

working all across this Earth in so many

ways because you care about the

individual Lord you care about each

person that's ever been born born or

created it's why Jesus was given to

Earth so that he could be a sacrifice to

save us Lord to bring us life and so we

thank you that you're using the church

you're using people on Earth people who

go people who send to bring the good

news forward not only in word but Lord

through through the touch of of care

through the touch of uh provision

through the touch of life through um

feeding through the eyeglasses through

missionaries that go across Seas to go

and reach a life and pray with a person

Lord I thank you that you are using your

people on Earth to build your kingdom

Lord we are privileged to be part of

that and we just agree with blessman

that their every need would be met that

every opportunity there to be a part of

would be open and made clear for them

Lord uh that you direct Doc and Beth

blessman and anyone else in leadership

so that they can fulfill the mission and

the vision that you've put on their

heart Lord that they would step into

that glorious calling and um and just

cause Harvest to come for your kingdom

we pray this in Jesus Jesus name amen

and we are grateful to partner with

great Ministries like blessman um hey

church I'm going to change up our order

a little bit this morning we're going to

give at this time if you came to give

this morning I'd ask you to uh get that

out and ready I'm going to have our

users come forward in a minute uh while

they're preparing if you need an

envelope just put your hand up they'll

come and find you um I wanted to look

just quickly this morning at Proverbs

chap 22 verse 9 as we prepare our hearts

to give you know it's so important that

we always consider in our heart why

we're doing what we do what our motive

is where where we're doing it from and

in Proverbs

Proverbs 22:9

22:9 the word says He Who has a generous

eye will be blessed for he gives of his

bread to the poor and as I was thinking

about that it's how it reads in the new

King James he who has a generous eye is

blessed for he gives his bread to the

poor it made me think about this the one

who has an eye an eye of generosity it

makes me think the the perspective

that's what this

this phrase really means the eye of

generosity it's talking about a

perspective of generosity can you say

that with me Church a perspective of

generosity okay let's all try it

together a perspective of

generosity you see what this means is

the person whose eyes have been opened

by the Lord to see the way of a generous

life that's a person that's blessed the

person who has Revelation ins sight by

the Holy Spirit about a generous way of

living is a person who is able to walk

in the blessing of the Lord as they

participate in his system of blessing

and in provision someone who sees the

principle of generosity is a blessed

person this

emphasizes the importance of having

right perception that's one of the

things I like about this verse it speaks

Beyond just an action that we take in a

service on a Sunday morning it speaks to

a heart perspective a a way of

approaching life a way of approaching

giving a way of approaching generosity

and it's this my perspective in life is

one that I see the value in a generous

life I see the value of helping in life

I see the value of giving in life and so

I want to encourage you in this church

this morning as we pray as we give ask

the Lord Lord help me to see that

perspective of generosity help me to

have like it says in Proverbs 22 a

generous eye a person who doesn't just

do something cuz it's that time on that

Sunday and this is what we do but a

person who I see it I get it I I I've

caught the truth about generosity Jesus

is the one who said it's better to give

than receive Jesus modeled for us a life

of generosity and blessing I could speak

to you from experiences and examples in

my own life of how generosity is a more

blessed way of living than that of

withholding things it's to understand

this concept of generosity

that is rooted in knowing that God is

our provider rooted in knowing that God

is our supplier that God is our blesser

you see when we have this eye of

generosity a perspective of generosity

it really transforms the way that we

live it starts with this realization and

this gratitude that God has been

generous toward me I really believe that

this perspective of generosity it just

doesn't come because one day it clicks

that I just want to be generous for any

reason it's because God has been

generous that I can be generous and it's

not to only realize that God has been

generous to me and he has supplied my

every need and he does make a way for me

to be generous and bless others you know

blessed to be a blessing but this

perspective of generosity is also one of

gratitude it's one of realizing my God

is a generous God and he's been a

blessing to me he's been faithful to me

he's provided for me and so I receive

what he's done I'm grateful for what

he's done and I'm moved by his

generosity to be gener

generous for others and so it leads to

Greater blessings in life as we

participate with God's system of supply

and work you see God sees us as a person

he can use when we have this perspective

of generosity I I heard it said before

other ministers have quoted this I I

don't know who to give it to but someone

else has the credit for this they say if

God can get it to you God will get it

through you or I I mixed that up if God

can get it through you God will get it

to you have you ever heard that before

you know that is the truth God can use

people with a generous perspective

because he knows that they get it don't

you want to be someone that gets it I do

I want to be a person that gets it when

it comes to the things of God and this

perspective of generosity this is part

of how we get it this is part of how we

operate you know we heard about Dr uh

Jim and Beth blessman they are generous

people they they get it they have that

eye of generosity and that's why God's

been able to so bless them because he

knows if I get it to them I'm going to

get it through them and into those

people in Africa and I want us to be

that kind of church I believe we are

that kind of church you know I think

about what God's able to do through our

gathering through our giving I mean to

to be a church that gives so much of uh

the funds that come through into

missions around the world that's a

generous perspective that that's a we

get it kind of thing and aren't you glad

we get to get it aren't you glad God

gives us that perspective so what I'd

like us to do this morning as we give is

just pray this God help me help me to

have that generous eye help me to have

that perspective of generosity in an

increased measure so by faith I can

cooperate with you so that by faith I

can be blessed and receive your blessing

so that others can be blessed through my

life can we pray along those lines this

morning as we give let's do it together

father I thank you for your generosity

toward us that's where it all starts

anything good that we can do lord it's

because you were first good to us so we

give you the glory for that we put our

trust in your generosity for each of us

as your children we thank you for loving

us and for providing for our needs out

of your riches and glory in Christ Jesus

Lord I pray today that you would give us

a greater perspective of generosity Lord

help us to have the eye that is generous

so that we can see and we can cooperate

and we can agree with what you want to

do Lord bless us so that we can bless

those who you direct us to Lord provide

for us so that we can apply the work of

your kingdom in every place where you

call where you lead where you anoint

Lord use us for your glory and we pray

that what's given today would be given

with that perspective of generosity that

it would be blessed it would be

glorifying and that you would use it to

create and bring in a great harvest

because you are lord of the Harvest Lord

we love you we thank you that you are

generous to us we trust in you and pray

that you're glorified through what's

given today in Jes Jesus name amen amen

and we believe for that so we give God

the Praise church I've got uh well let's

let's go ahead and dismiss our kids at

this time if kids and teachers want to

head out to their classes as they're

going I'll just give you a few

announcements that are coming up in the

next week or so couple weeks um women of

life is this Tuesday this Tuesday so two

days from today women of life is

happening 6 o'clock at Pastor Becky's

house um there will be food there will

be Ministry teaching and um there is an

activity that is going to be going on um

I think we sent a text out this morning

that asked about bringing a blank

Valentine's Day card and and I we got

some questions about that so it doesn't

have to be blank as in nothing on it

it's just not not a signed card not a

filled out card so just bring a

Valentine's Day card that you haven't

done anything with is that a good way to

explain it does that make sense uh

ladies we're asking that you do that

just bring a Valentine's Day card with

you uh for an activity that'll be going

on at women of life and um hey we we uh

send out a sign up text for that so that

we can plan for the meal um so if you

got that text this morning and you plan

on coming would you please text back

attending uh to RSVP for women of life

and if you didn't get the text about

women of life but you would like to come

uh please just talk to Donna Sutton or

Pastor Becky after service and they will

get you taken care of all right sound

good everybody so that's women of life

um next announcement our volunteer

banquet is also happening this week that

is happening this Friday um right here

in the church I I we'll send out the

final plan we'll text it out to

everybody this week but we are planning

on having a meal um we have a game

prepared that I think is going to be a

lot of fun for everybody it'll be kind

of team building and you get to think a

little bit and it'll be social and

interactive it's going to be a lot of

fun it's going to be a great meal and

just a good time fellowshipping uh

together and so if you volunteer

anywhere in the ministry and you don't

have plans for this Friday evening

please sign up on the back table before

you leave today so that we can plan on

you being part of our volunteer banquet

and we do have child care available and

so if you've got uh kids that are

younger and you need uh someone to watch

them we we have uh somebody lined up to

do that who's going to do a great job um

and so we just we want you to be able to

come if you serve at church please sign

up and please come for that time of

Fellowship um one more announcement I'm

going to make and then uh there's one

other thing I'm going to do before we

get into the word this morning um I

announced uh several weeks back at the

annual meeting for the first time that

this year uh I envisioned and was

praying about and uh intending that if

we could do it we'd like to bring on a

Ministry assistant to help with the

different matters of the church help

with the work that is going on here and

I told you all last week that we found a

candidate and a person who has felt

Direction and and uh I feel great peace

about bringing them on in that role and

so Morgan Jasperson um has has been

she's accepted an offer to come and work

as our Abundant Life Ministry assistant

and so uh she will be coming at the end

of this month we're planning on her

being here the last Sunday of this month

will be the first Sunday she's with us

as our new uh Ministry assistant at

Abundant Life um and so I announced

about that last week I shared some about

how it all kind of came about what the

backstory what all led up to her um even

talking to me about this possibility of

coming on and so she'll be here at the

end of this month starting work

assisting just in different areas of the

ministry and um you know this is kind of

on the work side of church the

administration side of the ministry um

when you're in a a smaller local church

you just kind of have to be part of

everything that's going on that's that's

the case for um everybody really that

serves in in uh really involved

capacities here that you just kind of

get involved in all kinds of things

because um there's there's so many

opportunities to serve and to help

people and so Morgan we're intending

that she's going to be involved in a lot

of different areas of the ministry but

one of the special gifts or abilities

that she has which we're excited about

her coming and using is uh she is a

skilled pianist and vocalist and so

Morgan is going to come and get involved

with our worship team that'll be one of

the first areas that she uh gets

involved with and serves in and so um

she'll she'll come and be doing that at

the end of this month and we're excited

for that there's some other office

related things some things to assist me

with the administration of the ministry

here and some different uh Department Al

kind of things she'll be working in as

well but one of the uh big things we're

excited about with Morgan coming is to

have a piano player on our worship team

another uh lady that can be a vocalist

for us and so we're very excited about

her coming and um she sent a little kind

of Welcome video or introduction so I

told you about her last week but I

thought it'd be kind of neat to just let

her tell you a little bit about herself

so if we can play that video this is

Morgan Jasperson who will be joining us

at the end of this month family my name

is Morgan Jasperson and I'm so excited

to have the opportunity to to join the

work that the Lord has been doing at Alm

I'll give you just a few quick facts

about myself I'm 19 and I'm the oldest

of seven kids I was born and winet Iowa

but my family has moved to both Oklahoma

and Missouri for different Ministry

opportunities I was homeschooled from

5ifth through 12th grade and I recently

graduated in May of 2024 I have a huge

passion for worship I've been playing

piano and singing since I was 8 years

old and at 15 I felt God specifically

call me into worship Ministry since then

I've had several amazing opportunities

to serve on both Youth and adult worship

teams and in February of 2024 I had the

opportunity to help start a youth

worship team at my church I am so

honored and blessed that Pastor Isaac

reached out to me for the opportunity to

come and join the work that God has been

doing at Alm I've seen his hand working

behind the scenes and I feel his peace

through this entire scenario I am so

excited to see what the Lord has in

store for this next year when I come and

I can't wait to see you all hello

Abundant Life so that's Morgan so you

can all look forward to Mee meting her

at the end of this month please when she

does come just make her feel welcome you

know we're a family church and we're a

church family right we're both of those

things we're a church that values family

but uh we operate we want to be a family

here too and so welcome her in as she

comes the end of this month just plan on

saying hello and meeting her um we're

excited about her coming and and excited

for what the Lord is going to do this

year at the church I believe the Lord is

intentional about where he sends his

resources where he sends his people and

so the fact that he's uh sending

additional help to the church really

leads me to believe that there's some

things to be done in this next year

couple years and uh the Lord's making a

way for that work to happen and so we

can all get excited about that right

amen I believe it's going to be a good

thing hey before I get into the word

this morning um I told somebody I was

going to pray for them before service

and then can you believe this I got busy

and I forgot to go and pray for them

before worship started and so would you

all is it okay twil if I share a little

bit it's fine this is twia twia NOS

she's our sister in the Lord and um twia

she recently had injured her ankle like

four months ago like four months ago

yeah and so she told me just this last

week you know we we've prayed some we've

talked some and just been agreeing for

healing and she told me that the doctor

told her this last week that there has

been no healing in her

ankle and I I don't accept that report

no because that's not what the Lord says

the the word says by Jesus Stripes you

were healed the word says that the holy

spirit is in you quickening your

physical body making you well this Same

Spirit that brought Jesus back to life

from the dead and so if that's true then

I I I reject no healing I refuse no

healing will you agree with me for

twila's ankle to be healed and whole you

know the word says where two or three

agree it is done for them in the name of

the Lord so we're all going to agree

together would you just reach your hand

out toward twia I'm going to lay my

hands on her ankle and we're going to

agree for the power of the Holy Spirit

to work Lord I Thank you for your power

I thank you for your word that is true

it is the foundation on which we live

the foundation on which we experience

your goodness Your Grace your life and

so I speak life into this ankle in the

name of Jesus that by his stripes

healing was bought it was worked it was

available to Twilight and so right now

in Jesus name I speak healing to go into

this ankle healing into the bones

healing into the senu healing into the

muscles that the blood of Christ flows

through this ankle and works healing

power in it in Jesus name Lord I Thank

you that by the power of the Holy Spirit

who brought Jesus back to life from the

dead this ankle would be brought back to

strength from weakness brought to back

to wholeness from Brokenness back

brought back to health Lord that there

would be healing in the name of Jesus

that the report of no healing cannot

stay in this ankle that that is a word

that has come against the word of the

lord lord your word is true no word no

weapon nothing that is formed against

what you have said will ever prosper and

so I thank you that in Jesus name this

ankle would be healed as a testament to

your Your Glory a testament to your

power a testament to your faithfulness

and so in Jesus name we speak healing

healing healing by the power of the Holy

Spirit we speak healing healing healing

in Jesus name we call it done and so

Lord we give you praise and we give you

glory just lift your hands up to heaven

and thank the Lord that healing is ours

in Jesus name and Lord your word is

complete it is final and it is enough

and so we give you the praise and glory

for healing power in twia ankle it is

done it is finished we call her healed

in Jesus name can you say Amen church

amen we agree for it and so we're

expecting a wonderful testimony I expect

a great testimony and a report that

healing has come amen because healing

has come can you say Amen to that church

we believe it we believe for it

Hallelujah Well church uh if you would

open your Bibles up with me this morning

I'd like to go into the Old Testament to

get started and uh look into the book of

Ezra if you you uh have a hard time

finding that find Chronicles go to the

end of Chronicles and then it's right

there all right so that's after second

chronicles it's in the Old Testament

it's before uh before Psalms and

Proverbs and so Ezra if you could find

that this morning um leading up to this

Sunday I've just had a couple verses

we'll look at this morning rolling

around in my heart and um I wasn't

really sure how this was all going to

come together and be a message at first

I wasn't really sure if it was even a

message message uh but as I I just

meditated on the verses that were on my

heart this week uh there was this great

this great piece of truth that I was

remembered I remembered the Holy Spirit

brought back to my memory and and uh I

really felt direction to share this

message this morning because I do

believe that God is preparing some

things preparing some people preparing a

work to be done in different parts of

the body of Christ different parts of

our body and um I believe that this is a

word that's needed to to strengthen our

hearts and and to bring a boldness and

to bring a a an endurance so that that

work can can come to pass you know um

the word says men shall not live by by

bread alone but by every word that

proceeds from the mouth of the Lord and

what I just thought on as I prepared

this message for you this week is that

we need this word of the Lord so that we

can we can grow into this life that we

could build into establish the life that

God has for us the callings that God has

has for us the plans that God has for us

and so um we're going to get to this

verse in a minute but the title this

morning is is simply by my spirit by my

spirit and that comes from Zechariah 4:6

Zechariah 4:6

where the Lord speaks and says not by

power not by might but by my spirit and

we'll look at that this morning but

before we go there I'd like to start by

telling you and looking together at the

story of a man in the Old Testament

whose name are you ready for it was

zerubabel can you all say that this this

morning with me zerubabel and you're

like is that a good guy or a bad guy I

don't know he's a good guy zerubabel was

one of the heroes of the faith in the

Old Testament maybe a lesser known

person definitely not one of the Bible

characters that people in America name

their kids after but he was a mighty man

of God who was used to do incredible

things in the Old Testament and we find

zerubabel at a very unique time in

Israelite history see zerubabel lived

kind of after the the what you might

call the Glory Days of the nation of

Israel and the tribe of Judah zerubabel

lived after they had already had great

Kings and great wealth and had gone and

conquered the land and had experienced

the Miracles of Moses he lived after the

time where Wicked kings were reigning

and Prophets like Elisha and Elijah were

on Earth doing amazing things Miracles

and speaking the word of the Lord he

even lived after the time where Daniel

and his friends Shadrach Meshach and

abedo stood against a wicked King in the

land of Babylon and held to the truth

and their lord see zerubabel is someone

that lived after the Captivity and then

the release of the tribe of Judah to go

back into the nation what's interesting

about this time in Israel's history is

that they were not doing a new thing so

to speak but they were actually entering

a time of restoration actually entering

a time you could say of Revival

where something that had been was being

restructured reestablished restored once

again revived once again and so

zerubabel as I see in the word we'll

look at his story this morning was one

of the revivalists of the Bible not so

much used to do a new thing but used to

reestablish something that God had

already done

zerubabel he's a descendant of King

David in the lineage of Christ zerubba

was one of the uh forefathers of of

Jesus's

lineage he's identified in the Bible as

the governor of Judah who served under

King Cyrus II of Babylon and zerubabel

if you look through the whole book of

Ezra he was a leader that brought

42,3 60 Israelites from the tribe of

Judah this is where Israelites started

to be called Jews because no longer was

it the whole tribe of or the tribes of

Israel but it was just the tribe of

Judah the other parts of Israel had been

disbanded and spread throughout the

world but the tribe of Judah remained

intact as they were taken off to Babylon

and so as they came back were sent back

and zerubabel led them back to

Jerusalem they were returning to rebuilt

returning to restore and so zerubabel

led the charge of these 42,000

Israelites that returned to the land of

Judah to begin rebuilding Jerusalem and

this was in about 500 and uh 30 BC

that's approximately 538 is the

approximate year that they returned back

to this land let's pick up in Ezra if

you look at chapter 3 with me I'd like

to read the first 11 verses of Ezra

Ezra 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 to see what zerubabel started

working on once they got back to

Jerusalem and so I'll read off the

screens in New Living Translation with

you it says in Early Autumn when the

Israelites had settled in their towns

all the people assembled in Jerusalem so

these 42,000 and zerubabel their leader

and there was Joshua another leader who

was a high priest they all came together

in Jerusalem with a unified purpose

isn't that important that we come

together with a unified purpose let me

tell you if you want to see something

established restored built by the Lord

there's got to be unity in it amen and

so they came together in Jerusalem with

the sameness the union of purpose and

jeshua Son of jehos joined his fellow

priests and zerubabel Son of shti with

his family in rebuilding the altar of

the god of Israel they wanted to

sacrifice burnt offerings on it as

instructed in the law of Moses the man

of God so the very first thing they do

in Jerusalem is they rebuild the altar

now that's significant because in their

Covenant in the old Covenant the altar

was necessary to worship and so when

they came back to Jerusalem their very

first priority was we need to worship

God but to worship God we've got to

build this altar we've got to build this

this structure so that we can offer our

sacrifices to the Lord we ought to come

to the Lord in worship that must be our

first position you know we're going to

talk this morning about what zerubabel

ended up building and how God did this

amazing work through him but but it

started with worship when he first came

to this place where there was a work to

be done he began with worship and you

can never discount the power of going to

God and worship first God desires our

worship he desires our praises our

acknowledgement our our honoring of him

and so start with worship I'll tell you

if you if you want to do great things

for the Lord and his kingdom start by

being a worshipper first I think about

King David you know he was a worshipper

long before he was ever a king long

before he ever slayed a giant he was a

worshipper first and so we cannot

discount the the priority of worshiping

God we have to develop a Heart of

Worship and spirit and truth so that God

can use us to do great EXP exploits for

his kingdom we can get so wrapped up I

even think about the uh Ephesus Church

who they left their first love which was

God and worshiping him they just loved

the Lord first but they got so wrapped

up in doing things for God that they

stopped worshiping God we ought to

always lead in our relationship with the

Lord with worship we ought to worship

him first and so even though the people

were afraid of these local residents the

people surrounding them cuz cuz no

longer was it a conquered territory now

there were all these enemies in and

among them the the locals the pagans had

intermixed and taken over this promised

land and so they're afraid now of the

people that are around them they rebuilt

the altar at its old sight they began to

sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar

to the Lord each morning and evening

they celebrated the Festival of shelters

as prescribed in the law sacrificing the

number of burnt offerings specified for

each day of the festival they also

offered offered the regular burnt

offerings and the offerings required for

New Moon celebrations and the annual

festivals as prescribed by the Lord the

people also gave voluntary offerings so

they're giving all these offerings all

this worship all this sacrifice and then

it says 15 days before the Festival of

shelters began the priests had begun to

sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord

this was even before they had started to

lay the foundation of the Lord's Temple

so none of the temple had been built yet

but there was an altar and there was

worship and they were worshiping God

before anything had really been

constructed yet before any restoration

really had happened they were worshiping

and so not even a foundation have been

laid yet then the people hired Masons

and carpenters and bought brought Cedar

Logs from the people of Ty and Sid and

paid them with food wine and olive oil

the logs were brought down from Lebanon

mountains and floated along the coast of

the Mediterranean Sea to japa for King

Cyrus had given permission for this the

construction of the temple began in mids

spring during the second year after they

arrived in Jerusalem the workforce was

made up of everyone who returned from

Exile so everyone that went back to

Jerusalem they were there for what

purpose to rebuild the Temple to restore

the temple including zerubabel the son

of

shitali jesua son of jehos and his

fellow priests and all the Levites the

Levites who were 20 years old or older

were put in charge of rebuilding the

Lord's Temple the workers at the temple

of God were supervised vised by jeshua

his sons relatives Cel and his sons all

descendants of hodia and they helped in

this task by the Levites the family of

Hanid when the builders completed the

foundation of the Lord's Temple the

priests put their robes on took their

places to blow their trumpets and the

Levites descendants of Asaf clashed

their symbols to praise the Lord just as

King David had prescribed with praise

and with thanks they sang this song to

the Lord he is so good his faithful love

for Israel endures forever then all the

people gave a great shout praising the

Lord because the foundation of the

Lord's Temple had been

laid so let me summarize that zerubabel

comes back to Jerusalem with these

42,000 people of the tribe of Judah and

they began worshiping God and for a year

and a half they just worshiped God for

the first you know it was in the second

year they were there that they actually

began building this Temple Foundation

once again and so they worshiped God for

a time and then they began the work of

building and laying the foundation and

and preparing for this construction of

the temple and then they get the

foundation laid and at that Milestone

they give God praise and they worship

and they thank him they say he is good

he's faithful to Israel forever and ever

and they give a great shout they praise

the Lord because this construction this

restoration has begun now to summarize

what happens next I I'll just tell you

um it's not until 22 years later that

this second building of the temple is

complete it was in Ezra 6:15 after much

Ezra 6:15

political stop and start and after

enemies had come against them and the

people had grown weary of the work and

get gotten inspired again it wasn't for

22 years that this Temple was finished

and when it was it was finally dedicated

with much joy and celebration and

greater worship what's interesting about

this second temple so zerubabel built

the second temple in Jerusalem this is

the temple which would stand until the

year 70 AD when the Romans came and

leveled it from the earth once again

this was the temple in which Jesus was

shown as a baby to uh Simeon and Anna

this is the temple in which Jesus sat

learning as a child while his parents

journeyed on without him this is the

temple in which Jesus would go in with

whips during the festival the week

before he was crucified and drive out

the money changers this was the temple

which Jesus said would be destroyed when

he was talking about his resurrection

that 3 days later he would rise and

build this Temple once again and so I

see zerubabel story that God did

something amazing something connected to

Jesus something that prepared for the

Messiah to come and he did it in a time

when it seemed like much was stacked

against him a time when it wasn't

something new and exciting but it was a

Reviving of something that had already

been done zerubabel is one of the

revivalists in the Bible and so let's

look today for a few minutes at what it

took for this Temple to be revived you

know we read through these passages and

it takes us all of five minutes 10

minutes you know to read about the whole

story we get his whole life just in

these short little readings but let's

not just Breeze over the fact that it

took 22 years to see this purpose

accomplished it took 22 years from start

to finish that's not even speaking of of

the time where zerubabel had the vision

for it the the desire for it making the

moves and preparing the way for it to

happen this is just from the very first

brick that was laid to the time that it

was complete 22 years zerubabel put his

life into Leading the People of God to

see this Temple restored for 22 years he

fought challenges he faced obstacles and

he overcame so that this Temple could be

revived throughout the books of Ezra

Hagi and Zechariah we see obstacles he

faced during the building process during

these 22 years can you imagine 22 years

of obstacle after Obstacle of setback

after setback some of you probably hear

that and think yeah I can relate to that

a little

bit such is life working for the kingdom

if I'm not trying to be Bleak but that's

the reality you know we live in a world

with an enemy that wants to do

everything he can to stop the work of

the Lord from happening that wants wants

to stop God from establishing something

meaningful in your life that wants to

stop a Reviving of anything good

anything lifegiving anything that gives

glory to God and so no wonder there's so

many challenges that for 22 years for

however many years you're living for the

Lord of course there's going to be

challenges of course there's going to be

setbacks but there's promise that we can

stand on there's word of the Lord to

carry us through as well and so over

these 22 years zerubabel he faced

from the people of the land that they

were all afraid of he faced ulterior

motives and corrupt agendas at one point

the Samaritans who were kind of kind of

people of Israel but kind of not they

had intermixed with the pagans of the

world and they came in and said well we

want to be part of this we we want to do

it our way we want to help you decide

how these things are going to be we want

to make this thing God's doing our thing

too ulterior motives corrupt agendas

zerubabel had to deal with that he had

to stand strong can you imagine being

one of the 42,000 people thinking we

could use some help we could use some

other people to get in on this thing but

being zerubabel just standing there

saying no we cannot let in something

that is going to taint what God is doing

here we cannot let this happen if it's

going to mislead the work that God wants

to do zerubabel had to stand and face

that for 22 years he faced political

turmoil varying allowances by the

authorities of Babylon there were

different kings that came and reigned

and there were po politicians that

postured against that work oh you

shouldn't let zerubabel keep building

because then the people did you know

Jerusalem is a place where Kings have

have been um you know people have

rebelled against Kings from Jerusalem

all its life and the King listens to

this and he says okay well let's shut

the work down then but then there was

advocacy for it and the Lord made a way

for it to start up again there was all

of this political change but zerubabel

stayed the course zerubabel stayed

consistent zerubabel did not lose the

vision for what God had put in his heart

he was committing to continuing the

building there were those among

zerubabel in the 42,000 that had heard

the stories of the Temple's former glory

maybe some who had even seen it because

it was only in 5 like 83 BC just about

50 years earlier that that Temple had

been destroyed as Babylon took Jerusalem

captive and there were some who

remembered the good old

days zerubabel this thing is so pathetic

why would we put our time and energy

into this it's nothing like what we had

before or there were those who just

wanted to go back to the past instead of

looking forward to what God was doing

and building in the time ahead and there

were those who were just flat out

complacent they got back to Judah and

they got their food and their wine and

they got the Comforts of life and they

said hey we've got enough we don't need

to revive this thing we don't need this

this thing God's put you here to build

and do we can just take it easy let's

just enjoy the Comforts of this life

that we're living without without

experiencing restoration or Revival and

so these are some of the challenges the

written challenges we see through the

word that zerubabel faced but God is so

faithful through all of these challenges

that the building of his kingdom the

restoring of his work faced God spoke

through the prophets haii and Zechariah

words that brought life words that

brought strength words that brought

inspiration to zerubabel and the people

around him in haii chapter 2 verse four

and five the Lord says Be Strong

zerubabel be strong jesua son of jehos

the high priest be strong all you people

still left in the land and now get to

work for I Am with You says the Lord of

Heaven's armies my spirit remains among

you just as I promised when you came out

of Egypt so do not be afraid we draw our

strength from recognizing that the Lord

is with us that his Spirit remains in

US knowing this is what makes us strong

knowing this is what inspires and moves

us to work for his kingdom it's knowing

that the holy spirit is within me that

moves me to do the work he leads to be

done and then we see in Zechariah 4: 6

and7 I love I love this passage of

scripture the prophet spoke or the Lord

said to the Prophet this is what the

Lord says to

zerubabel it is not by force you could

say not by power it is not by strength

you could say

might not by force not by strength but

by my spirit says the Lord of Heaven's

armies nothing not even a mighty

Mountain will stand in zerubbabel's way

how would you like to be zerubabel when

that was

spoken that's some reassurance for you

not by power not by might but by the

spirit of the Lord not even a mighty

Mountain will be able to stand in

zerubbabel's way in your way it will

become a level plane before him when

zerubabel sets the final Stone of the

temple in place the people will shout

may God bless it may God bless it I like

this promise it was first zerubba but I

believe it's for us today too not by

power not by might the Lord says by my

spirit by his Spirit it will be done by

his Spirit it will be established by his

Spirit the mountain will move the enemy

will be defeated by his Spirit the sin

will be overcome by his Spirit the the

Captivity you will be set free by his

Spirit you will be healed it's by his

spirit his power his work that it's done

and you could say well Pastor Isaac

that's Old Testament that's that's an

Old Testament prophecy for zerubabel

what does that have to do with us well

all I can say is not by power not by

might but by my spirit sounds a whole

lot to me like say unto this mountain be

removed and cast into the sea and he who

believes in his heart and does not doubt

it will come to pass it reminds me a

whole lot of if God is for me who can be

against me it reminds me a whole lot of

at the name of Jesus every knee shall

bow and every tongue shall

confess and so if it was for zerubabel

not by power not by might but by my

spirit I believe it's for the church

today not by power not by might but by

my spirit I believe it's for Revival

today not by power not by might but by

my

spirit and see the issue for us probably

like it was for zerubabel is we need a

constant reminder that it's not by

anything we can do but it's by the holy

spirit's power that God's plans are

established amen it's not by us it's not

what we can do it's not our methods it's

not our history with it it is what God

is doing that enables his work to be

established you see this word of the

Lord not by power not by might but by my

spirit it's sustained zerubabel it

encouraged zerubabel it inspired

zerubabel and it moved the people people

to go with him into this place of

restoration and so I just felt this this

week inclined to share the word of the

Lord this word of the Lord not by power

not by might but by my spirit it will be

done because zerubba will faced a battle

to build what God had put in his heart

and you are facing a battle to build

what God has put in your

heart you don't have to shout amen at

once but it's the truth there is a

battle every day trying to stop you from

building what God has called you to

build maybe I say that and you think

well Pastor Isaac I don't know what

God's called me to

build well there's a whole lot of word

that paints this picture of a life that

probably looks a whole lot different

than the life that I've known up to this

point that's something that's built day

by day Brick by Brick Choice by choice

word by word and it's not by your power

it's not by your might but it's by the

holy spirit that that life God's

promised you is available yes it's by

his spirit that those people that have

been on your heart that you want to see

their lives changed for all eternity

it's not by what you can do it's all by

the holy spirit that that can

happen not by power not by

might the Revival and Awakening that we

talk about the move of the Holy Spirit

we want to see not by power not by might

it's by the Holy Spirit and only by the

holy spirit it's all about him

and so

power not by power this word power is

talking about strength it's talking

about mental fortitude you are you ever

one of those people that say well I I

can just tough it out I can just get

through anything that's what this is

talking about it's not it's not through

that however tough you think you are

however thick you think your skin is

however much abuse from the devil you

think you can take it's not through

that it's not through being the devil's

punching bag for 20 years that you build

the kingdom of God it's by the power of

the holy

spirit it's not by our

wisdom our great insights our control of

things it's by the holy spirit it's not

by might what is that word talking about

it's talking about well one image is a

strong Army might an army that could

overcome any other Army it's talking

about great wealth it's it's speaking of

resource

not by our might what does that mean not

by my resources not by the capacity that

I have not by the supply that I have not

through the reinforcement that I've got

to give you know I think about the

Church of Macedonia talking about not by

might think about the church in

Macedonia this is spoken about in 2

Corinthians I think it's chapter nine

Paul talks about how the church in

Macedonia excelled in the grace of

giving despite their lack what is that

not by might but by the holy SP Spirit

the church at Macedonia they were

considered one of the poorest churches

in the region they didn't have anything

to give they didn't have any resources

and yet by the power of the Holy Spirit

and God's grace working in them they

were considered one of the most generous

churches in the area how's that possible

not by power not by might but by my

spirit

amen makes me think of the book bear

hunt this is just a little side note for

you but you ever read that book we can't

go over it we can't go under it we got

to go through it I read that our

2-year-old it's kind of like that we

look for all these other ways to do

things that would be

easier that that would feel better this

would be more

comfortable I've got experience with

this but none of those things are the

answer it's by my spirit God says it's

only by going where he leads

us going where he leads us is how we

succeed in

establishing what God wants to build in

our life you see the issue with power

and might is when we have some of it

we're tempted to try using

it right when I've got some power when I

have some strength when I have some

wisdom some

ability I defer to that oh I know how to

deal with this I've done this before but

what if what if God has a different way

to handle it today what if he's got a

more glorious way to build today it's

not by might you know oh I've got some

resources I can just handle this I can

just take care of this I can just do

this but I never even pray about it

because well I've got the resources to

handle it that's my

might God says not by power not by might

but by my spirit it's all too easy to

defer to our strengths and our abilities

and our resources to look there first

I'm not even saying that it's God will

at times use your power and use your

might to do things it's not that God

never uses it but it's the question of

do we look to that first for the answer

or do we look to the spirit first for

direction well

anyway it's by God's spirit mountains

are leveled it's by God's spirit things

are established things are revived

things are done for his glory and we're

told this is New Testament Galatians

Galatians 5:25

5:25 since we're living by the spirit

let us follow the spirit's leading in

every part of our life and so if we're

going to live not by power not by might

but by the spirit of the Lord then we

must follow his leading in every area of

our life and the truth is this we can

follow him in every area because there

is no part of your life that the Holy

Spirit does not have power does not have

wisdom does not have direction that will

help you can you say Amen to that church

do you believe that God is good enough

the spirit is big enough to take care of

any part of your life that he really

knows from beginning to

end he does

and so the Holy Spirit can help in every

part and to walk by the spirit it means

to rely on him

completely to Look to Him entirely you

know I think about when I travel I use

IMAP and Siri gives me directions I am

100% dependent on

Siri Siri steers me wrong I'm going

wrong because I don't know unless it's

like to church where I come all the time

then I know but if I'm using sir I am so

dependent I'm so dependent not not my

direction not my internal compass and

sense of navigation no I don't have that

no it is totally by the direction of the

helper and our life as a Believer is

meant to be the same way totally

dependent on the direction of our helper

who is the Holy Spirit totally dependent

on the holy spirit's leading in our life

and it's only by relying on the Spirit

looking to the spirit cooperating with

the Holy Spirit this is the only way

that God's Building God's Reviving God's

establishing plan for our life will be

done I'm not giving you this is good

news it is good news but but here's the

reality check it's not by power not by

might but by my spirit let me I'll make

it even simpler it's not by me it's by

him it's not it isn't about me at all

other than I just follow I just do what

he says I'm just here's a here's a dirty

word in our culture I'm just

obedient and Through The Obedience he

does something miraculous not because

I'm earning power through obedience but

because where he leads me is where the

power is he leads me where he is and

where he is there is power and so if we

want to experience this ability that's

beyond our power beyond our might far

beyond us and receive his help it's it's

found in considering ourselves weak and

cons considering him strong I think

about Romans 8:

26 you know the emphasis of this verse

is really in the first you know eight

words the Holy Spirit helps us in our

weakness now the verse goes on to give

an example of that we don't know what

God wants us to pray the Holy Spirit

prays for us with groanings which cannot

be expressed in words and that's good

and that's worth studying out but you

know really the point of the verse is to

draw your attention to the fact that the

Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness yes

that's really the point the Holy Spirit

wants to help you where you're

weak and to operate by his

Spirit we have to recognize our

need if I'm going to receive the help

and strength of the Holy Spirit I have

to recognize that I need help that I

need strength that I don't have all the

answers I don't have it all together I

don't have the power or the resources to

do everything God's called and asked me

to do

but through his

help he will strengthen

me you see one of the reasons I will

just speak of myself one of the reasons

I have missed out on things the spirit

wanted to do in my life is

because I'm too sure of my own power too

sure of my own might I'm too focused too

interested in what I can do that I miss

out on what he wants to do

see we kind of live in this

culture that treats Independence like

it's one of the most valuable things you

can have to be self-sufficient to Able

all the do do-it-yourselfers in the room

I'm talking to you right now I'm one of

them I've tried do it yourself some

things go okay and some stuff goes

really bad like if I thought of it I

should have taken a picture of the

basement that I recently did drywall in

because you can see everything seam and

it's it's not nice if you don't know

what I'm talking about look up later bad

drywall and you will see what my

basement looks like and uh I just I say

that to say this sometimes we get too

sure of our own ability too sure of our

own power and might and we miss out on

something so much better what could have

been in the glory and power and help of

God because we refuse to acknowledge our

weakness who likes being

weak probably nobody I I don't like

being weak I don't like acknowledging

weakness it's one of my least favorite

things if you ever ask me hey you want

to just get together and talk about our

weaknesses I'm gonna be like no no I do

not that doesn't feel good it it it it

doesn't you know make me make me assured

of

myself and if I was it I I wouldn't be

able to ever admit weakness but the fact

that I have a helper who wants to come

in where I'm weak and Supply me with

strength see this is the this is the

shift we've got to make not seeing

weaknesses as a detriment in our life

but seeing weaknesses as an opportunity

for the glory of God to come in and work

see if if we hear the word weakness and

we

think and we we recoil from it and we

push back on it don't tell me where I'm

weak we're going to miss out on by my

spirit because we're stuck in power and

might of oursel you know I was going to

save this for later but if you want to

open in 2 Corinthians 12: 8-10 this is

Paul writing and Paul's talking about a

struggle that he had through his life

about a challenge an obstacle that he

was facing and this is what Paul said

three different times I begged the Lord

take it away you ever done that Lord I

bet zerubabel did that in his 22 years

building that Temple I bet there were

times where he was like Lord can you

just rain fire down from heaven and wipe

them out again you know Lord Lord could

you just you know make them I'm not even

going to say the ideas that I have cuz

they're bad okay like the way we want

God to just deal with things take it

away get the enemy get the problem out

of here just remove the problem from me

and you know why it's a problem for you

it's because you're

weak that kind of hurt to say that it's

true though it's a problem for us

because we're weak

there if I could deal with it I would

just deal with it right I mean if Paul

could just handle this thing he would

have just handled it right I I think he

would of he says three different times I

asked the Lord I begged the Lord take it

away and each time this is what the Lord

said to him my grace is all you need my

power works best in weakness oh isn't

that good and so Paul says this so now

I'm glad to boast about my weaknesses

man that's like an anti-American thought

isn't it that I'm going to boast about

my

weaknesses I'm going to be proud of

where I'm weak why because where I'm

weak he's strong amen where I'm poor

he's

Rich where I'm foolish he's

wise God's grace is all you

need you don't need power that's that's

sometimes what we ask for isn't it Lord

give me the power give me the resource

give me the ability to deal with it on

my own but he he doesn't want to just

give you something so that you can

ignore him he wants you to rely on his

Spirit by my spirit

by my spirit you see the only way we

could take pleasure and boast in our

weakness is by recognizing that we have

a helper who is powerful and able to do

all things who is a able to overcome all

enemies as much as we may value our

independence we have a day about that

don't we Independence Day okay moving on

um the Lord doesn't call us to

self-sufficient see he he calls us he

calls us to dependency on him he calls

us to rely on him he calls calls us to

look to our helper at all times you see

God does not use the people who are wise

and strong in the world he uses those

who are willing to lay themselves down

and walk by his Spirit

instead God isn't looking for the strong