Sunday Message (2nd service) - Dr. Yan Venter (September 27, 2026) | Life Bible Church

Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We

want to thank you for joining us today, and we

hope you find today's sermon impacting as you

listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk.

To find service times and watch messages online,

see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now,

enjoy this week's message. So on behalf of my

wife, I'm so happy to have Hanley on my side,

you know, so glad to have her here. with me and

my associate, Kevin. God really did something

really big for Kevin this weekend. Just incidentally,

I just want to mention that Kevin has an amazing

testimony where God picked him up. He used to

be a chief enforcer for the mafia in one of the

big cities of our nation with very, very... Bad

reputation. And then God picked him up. So on

their behalf, just Pastor Jenny and Brad, thank

you so much for having us. And it's been such

an honor to share, you know, the platform with

Brother Jim and his wife, his lovely wife, Erin.

You know, years ago, I was thinking this morning,

you know, how many years ago I couldn't remember.

I think it was like 17, maybe 18 years ago when

I first came here. And I recall sitting there

in the back in the hotel room when God spoke

to me then that this was going to become your

facility here. And when I shared with Pastor

Brad. he proved that he was doubting Thomas.

But God quickly changed that in his mind. And

I'm so incredibly impressed and pleased to see

what God has been doing here in Harrisburg. And

in many ways, I feel part of it. I feel like

I'm... Like a spiritual family member of Life

Bible Church. Once again, you know, yesterday

or the day before yesterday, I was sitting there

in the hotel room and God gave me this word that

I wrote it down. So I'm going to read it because

it's pretty lengthy, but it's for you. And I

want to share something with you that God has

been stirring in my heart. You know, after several

years of walking with your pastors and become

more acquainted with this ministry and your eldership

too, I've been deeply impressed by what God has

accomplished here. You're situated in a small

town and yet your congregation has grown beyond

the population of the town itself, which is unusual.

You've established an additional congregation.

in another state, and now I hear about all the

mission works that you're doing in other countries.

And the work continues to advance. But what has

particularly captured my attention is the battle

you have been fighting right here on this property.

For years, you've watched that river outside

gradually take portions of your land. You've

lost valuable acreage, I know. You've lost an

entire swimming pool, which I'm really regretful

about. You've almost lost part of a building,

actually. And at one point, I was even concerned

that you may lose your hotel. But through it

all, you've continued to minister, continued

to preach the gospel, reach people, establish

churches. And I want you to recognize something

today. While the river was taking away portions

of your property, God was using this congregation

to establish ministries in other places and thus

winning more property for the kingdom. Come on,

give the Lord a hand clap of praise. Now, because

the river had been able to change the boundaries

of your property, It has not been able to and

it will not stop the advancement of this ministry.

Hallelujah. Come on, give Him another praise

offering. Now, I want you to hear something.

I believe that you're standing at a very important

moment in the history of this ministry. I believe

there's a possibility of a new season of enlargement

even before you. But I also believe that This

next season will require much preparation. And

some of the preparation may involve changes that

will affect several areas of this ministry. Not

because you've done something wrong. Not because

your passes have failed. But because what was

sufficient for yesterday is not going to be sufficient

for tomorrow. Changes will have to happen. And

I want to show you something from the word of

the Lord. You know, God gave me this verse in

Isaiah chapter 54, which says, enlarge the place

Isaiah 54 · chapter mention

of your tent. God gave me this for you. God said,

write this down for them. Enlarge the place of

your tent and let them stretch forth the curtains

of your habitations. Spare not, lengthen thy

cords. and strengthen your stakes, for you will

break forth on the right and on the left. Come

on, give him a praise offering. You know, it

will happen. While we were having coffee yesterday

morning, Hanley was sitting next to me, and she

pointed at one of the hangers that you have there

in the coffee shop, and it was this verse. You

guys have exactly already adopted this verse.

That that is going to happen. Look at somebody

and say it is going to happen. Now I want you

to notice something. God speaks here about enlargement.

But he also speaks about strengthening the stakes.

Why? Because a larger tent requires stronger

support. Now you cannot simply change the tent

without considering. Whether the existing structure

can sustain the enlargement. You've already demonstrated

that you know how to build. At least pastor did.

And you've demonstrated that you know how to

preserve. You've demonstrated that you know how

to remain faithful in the face of adversity.

But perhaps the question before you now is this.

Are we prepared to carry out. What God may be

getting ready to entrust to you. See, church,

sometimes we pray for enlargement without recognizing

the responsibility that will accompany it. We

pray for more souls, but more souls require more

people who are prepared to disciple them. We

pray for more churches, but more churches require

more leaders. And really, Much more funds. We

pray for God to enlarge our ministry. But enlargement

will require us to enlarge our willingness to

serve. To get involved. Stop sitting on the sidelines.

Ask God, what should I do? What must I do? And

that brings me back to something very interesting

about what is happening right here on this property.

You're building a half inch thick steel wall

to protect this land. And I understand this wall

will reach approximately 43 feet into the ground.

43 feet. Now church, just think about that. Much

of that foundation will never be seen by the

people who visit this property. They'll only

see what is above the ground. They'll see the

buildings, the hotel, the beautiful property.

But they will not see everything that has been

placed beneath the surface that protects what

stands above it. Therefore, I've always been,

and I still am, so impressed about the way that

y 'all engage in much prayer. Let that remain.

As one of those stakes that you drive even deeper

into the ground. And they told me yesterday that

when you drove those stakes into the ground here.

Meaning to achieve 43 feet. Some places that

just couldn't happen because there was big rocks

underneath. That's a good thing. And may the

rock of ages. The rock that stands. And forever,

unshakable, remain the foundation upon which

you build. Come on, give God a hand clap of praise.

You see, we can become so excited about the visible

manifestations of God's blessings that we sometimes

overlook the importance of the foundations that

sustain them. We celebrate new crowds, congregations,

testimonies, and we should. But behind every

healthy, growing ministry, there must be strong

spiritual foundations, and they must remain.

There must be prayer, especially men and women

of prayer, and I'll get to that later on. There

must be mature spiritual leaders. They have to

remain spiritual unity. There must be accountability

to one another and to your leadership. There

must be people who are willing to serve when

nobody is watching. People who are not interested

in the limelight. There must be people who understand

that this ministry is not built around one individual,

Brad Newswander, but it's built around Jesus

Christ, the chief apostle of our faith. Come

on, give him a praise offering. Now, as you strengthen

the foundations of this property, prayerfully

consider the foundations of this ministry. Strong

leadership. Strong families, strong relationships,

strong discipleship, and more than anything else,

strong, undivided unity. We stand together, never

holding your desires or your choices in front,

but absolutely submitting to what God gives the

Moses of your ministry here. In this case, Brad

Newswander. Now, let me take you just to another

passage of Scripture in Exodus 18, where you'll

remember, you know, Moses was leading the people

of Israel. Boy, there were so many disputes,

almost drove him crazy. That's why I'm an evangelist,

not a pastor. He had to make judgment calls.

He was ministering to their needs. Now, you have

to understand, we're talking about several million

people. And he was doing all this faithfully,

but when his father -in -law, Jethro, observed

what was happening, he recognized something that

Moses himself had perhaps not even considered.

The existing leadership structure. that he had

was not sufficient to sustain the demands being

placed upon him. Just think, I want to just pause

here for a moment and bring this to your attention.

You know what is happening here? I know, and

Brother Jim will agree with me, what is happening

here is very unique. You know, to have this size

of a ministry, the quality of your leaders here,

In the midst of a very small town, who I don't

know what it's like right now, but in the beginning

when I talked to him about buying this property,

totally opposed to what is happening in this

ministry. Perhaps still is. But you have to understand

that when God is about to do something even bigger

for you, I mean, don't settle on the fact that

you think, wow, we've arrived. There's a great

work waiting for you. And as you expand and as

you grow, leave room for the Holy Spirit to speak

to you. Reach the world. Come on, give Him a

praise offering. And so, you know, the admonishment

of Jethro was good for Moses because he told

his son -in -law, What you're doing is not good.

And I want to tell Pastor Brad that if you don't

have men playing golf, that's not good. I'm kidding.

You know, church, I want you to understand something.

Sometimes remaining faithful to the vision requires

us to change. the methods through which that

vision can and will be accomplished. Because

we become accustomed to things a certain way,

we become comfortable with familiar structures.

And then, before you know it, you develop routines.

And sometimes, without realizing it, we begin

to believe that the methods God used yesterday

must remain intact for tomorrow, and that's a

fallacy. The purpose of this ministry is to fulfill

the calling of God. And as this congregation

now continue to grow, there may be areas in which

your pastors will need to develop other methods,

additional leaders. There may be responsibilities

that needs to be delegated differently. And there's

no room for suspicion, neither jealousy. Now,

I want to encourage you to embrace that possibility

because when God raises up additional leaders,

it doesn't diminish the calling of those who

have already gone before them. In fact, it will

increase your responsibilities. Now, there's

something else I want to share with you before

I close. And I want you to listen carefully.

For here's the congregation that had to invest

considerable time, money, energy. to protect

this property. Your pastors have had to deal

with government authorities. They've had to make

difficult decisions. They had to consider financial

implications of what needed to happen. And all

the while, they've committed to carrying the

responsibility of this ministry. But I want to

encourage you here today with something important.

And I want to emphasize it. Do not allow yesterday's

battles to consume tomorrow's opportunities.

Don't become so accustomed to fighting for what

you already possess that you lose sight of what

God may yet place before you. There's a difference

between maintaining a ministry and preparing

a ministry for multiplication. Both are important.

Both require wisdom. But they're not the same

thing. And I believe this congregation has an

opportunity to prayerfully consider what the

next stage of this ministry may look like. And

for that, Do not forget to remember your leadership

in much prayer and dedication of your life to

back them up. Perhaps there are young men and

women sitting right now in this congregation

today who've never considered that God might

use them to establish a work somewhere else,

but that may happen. Perhaps there's people here

who have gifts and abilities that have not yet

been fully developed. Perhaps there's families

here who will play an important role in the future

of this ministry. And perhaps there are opportunities

before you that have not yet been recognized.

But I'm standing here and I'm going to close

with this. There's more on this, but I've given

Pastor a copy of this so that you guys could

frame it and then I'll sign it. But I'm encouraging

you to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And

that you remain sensitive to what God has already

planned for your future. And I'm going to encourage

you here today that you remain sensitive to the

Holy Spirit and willing and able. To respond

when he directs you. Because sometimes the greatest

obstacle in our future is not adversity. Yes?

Adversity that you haven't experienced yet. But

together with any problem the enemy may throw

your way, there's a treasure trove of solutions

that the Holy Spirit has in all his wisdom. Come

on, give God a praise offering. I'm so honored

to have shared the platform here with Brother

Jim. And he himself referred to his blonde hair.

And the reason I'm mentioning that is because,

you know, the last time I spoke to Kenneth Hagen,

he talked to me about a blonde -haired young

man that he tried to get to come to church, but

he just never could get him to come. I mean,

he just absolutely tried everything possible.

And then all of a sudden, this young man started

coming to church. He wouldn't miss any meeting.

There's a prayer meeting. He was there. He was

even surprised when there were board meetings

and he showed up for that. So Kenneth Hagin asked

him, what changed your mind? I mean, this blonde

-haired, beautiful, good -looking, attractive,

young quarterback, once again with the blonde

hair, told him, he said, well, it really happened

after I bought my car. Your car? He said, yeah.

Salesman told me that if I miss any service,

my warranty will be canceled. I'm just kidding.

What a great honor to be with this man. I did

not speak to Kenneth Hagin. Last night, I really

feel that something happened here. How many of

you agree with that? Yeah, go ahead. I told Brother

Jim that I believe that a spirit of intimidation

was broken off of the ladies. And I want to challenge

you ladies more than ever before. Rise up to

the occasion. Dig your heels in. Square your

shoulders. And come up to the front and say,

Lord, I am here to pour out my alabaster box

upon you. Come on. Give him a great praise offering.

You know, in the book of James, and I'll read

this, in James 1, James admonishes the people

of his time. Be ye doers of the word, and not

only hearers, deceiving your own self. Now, you

know, I want you to just go with me on just a

short journey because When you read the words

like in this case here, James, you know, who

was one of the disciples of the Lord. And, you

know, oftentimes we would look at the people

in the Bible as these great heroes forgetting

where they actually come from. What actually

happened in their lives before they. And as you

sit here today, I know, as I minister around

the world, I know how oftentimes people feel

inferior. People feel intimidated because of

what is wrong in their lives. And therefore,

they remain distant, aloof, missing out on the

opportunity to work side by side, hand in hand.

With the power of the Holy Spirit. Because there's

no greater honor. Than to walk in the anointing.

And no matter what happened in your past. And

no matter how many times you failed. But as I

said to absolutely. Dig up the old foundations

and say. If God can do it for Jan. If God can

do it for Brad. If God can do it for Jim. God

can do it also for me. Come on praise him. I

was here on Wednesday night and listened to Pastor

Brad speak, and he was teaching on one of my

favorite subjects in 1 Samuel 3. When God spoke

to a little boy, 12 -year -old boy, I think,

who responded, and after that, Israel was never

the same again. But it happened at a precarious

time when Israel had not heard the voice of God

for almost 400 years. There was nothing happening

until a 12 -year -old boy heard the voice of

God. And as you sit here today, my prayer has

been during this conference, I told my wife and

I prayed this week. God, please don't let it

end by just people wanting something for themselves.

Is it possible that we could have somebody or

a number of you who would rise up to the occasion

and say, I'm not here what the ministry can do

for me, but I'm here to find out, God, what can

I do for you? Some time ago I expounded on the

lives of these disciples. Boy, what great exploits

they achieved. I mean, Peter with his very first

sermon had 3 ,000 people saved. But then you

cannot help but to remember who he was before.

A struggling fisherman. But one who, right there

in the beginning already, made his boat available

for the master to use. But when you analyze their

lives, every one of them, like I said earlier

in the week or over the weekend, we talked about,

you know, labeling people. And we're so prone

to do that. You know, you look at somebody and

you label them. That's the divorced people. And

those are the smokers. And those that are on

whiskey, we label them like we labeled Peter

and we labeled Thomas. But when you analyze their

lives, every one of them, you go through, and

I don't have time to go there, but if you go

home and just go and see, when you go through

verse by verse in Mark 16, Mark 16 was the event

that followed the crucifixion and the promise

of the master to appear with them on the third

day, but not a single one of them believed him.

They gathered there to come and embalm his body.

Why did they want to embalm his body? To keep

it from rotting. They gathered there mourning.

I mean, they were sitting together mourning and

weeping. Why did they mourn and weep? They didn't

believe he was going to be resurrected. And I

mean, you can just go on and on through the entire

chapter. And then at the end, you know, Jesus

finally appeared to all of them and reprimanded

them about their unbelief. And did a strange

thing following that. A real strange thing, you

know, these unbelieving men and women who did

not believe the master, even though they walked

with him for three and a half years, saw miracles,

saw people rise from the dead, saw lepers cleansed,

you know, blind people seeing. But the most important

thing was that when the master needed them, They

failed him. But then Jesus told them after he

reprimanded them, your life, I'm paraphrasing,

he said, your life will change after the Holy

Ghost comes upon you. Go and wait. Wait on the

Holy Spirit. Until you be endued with power from

on high. And boy, oh boy, how their lives changed.

You know, coming right out of the upper room.

I mean, when they found that lame man on the

way to the temple. I mean, it was so clearly

visible that it was not even possible for them

to even give it a thought that they may still

be failures. That they may still be weaklings.

No, sir. When they saw the lame man asking for

alms. They answered without hesitation, silver

and gold have we not. But what I have received

and what we do have, in the name of Jesus, rise

up and walk. And you understand, we are at a

time right before the second coming of Christ.

And with emphasis, the rapture. Which Pastor

Brad may miss. You know. May God find you. May

Jesus arrive here. Finding you busy. Involved.

Say that word. Involved. In fact, my title for

this message this morning is From Complacency

to Action. Instead of just sitting here, instead

of just, you know, being here, you know, come

for the next meeting, and the next meeting is

just, wow, I'm here for a blessing. How about

becoming a blessing? You know, I looked at the

lives of the... Of the apostles and the disciples.

And oh there's so many of them. I'm going to

just mention the 12 that was there. But there's

so many of you. If you want to really read something

great. Just go to Fox's book of martyrs. And

just see how people totally dedicated themselves.

No matter what the opposition is. And look where

the gospel actually reached. And still is reaching

today. And it concerns me. You know, when I was

in China several years back, I found so many

people. I mean, honestly, found, Jenny, I found

so many people in the streets in China that have

never heard the name of Jesus. And the Bible

says that this gospel must be preached, you know,

in all the world, and then the end will come.

We have a job to do. We have a job to do here

in Oregon in this very liberal state. Now, I

look at the lives of the Apostle Peter. You know,

history tells you he was crucified in Rome and

he was crucified upside down by his own choice.

Andrew, crucified at Petras in Greece. In that

familiar X -shaped cross. James. The son of Zebedee.

He was killed by Herod Agrippa. But none of these

guys died in defeat. You know they died in absolute

victory. With the seed of their ministry continuing.

And still continuing today. Come on praise him

again will you. Glory to God. And John. The beloved

John, they say that he died a natural death after

he escaped through a pot of boiling oil. To him,

God gave the book of Revelation. And then in

the life of Philip, he died as a martyr. We don't

know where. Bartimaeus, he was flayed. I mean,

his skin was taken, was skinned off of him, and

then they beheaded him. Matthew, he died a martyr

in Ethiopia or in Persia, somewhere there. Thomas,

I was there where they pierced him with swords

in India. The only one I couldn't find anything

about was James, the son of Alphaeus. Thaddeus,

Judas' son, son of James, I mean, he died a martyr.

Simon the Zealot died, you know, as a martyr.

And some says that history wasn't really sure

about him. Matthias, we don't know. And then

Paul, as you know, he was beheaded. But you look

at, you know, I'm including Paul because although

he wasn't one of the disciples, boy, how his

life changed when he heard the gospel like you

are here this morning. What will it actually

take? To get you to change. What will it take

for you. To absolutely embrace the promise of

the father. And say to yourself. If God can use

all those men. I can be used also. Come on give

him a shout of praise. Glory to God. You know

we look at. You know. From complacency to action.

Ordinary people like you and me. Whose lives.

Never were the same after that. I picked a few,

you know, to just present to you here today.

People we know in our time. Catherine Kuhlman.

Boy, what a great general she became for the

kingdom. Yes? How many of you have heard of Catherine

Kuhlman? Let me see your hands. I mean, you know,

she was one of those real chief warriors for

the cross. But boy, when you look at her life.

You know, she was pastoring a small little church

when an evangelist came by there by the name

of Burroughs Walgrip. He was a married man with

two children, and then she developed a relationship

with him. Almost devastated her life. She married

him in 1938, but six years later she divorced

him, and actually the marriage was declared,

what do you call it? It was annulled. But instead

of running away because of her failures, she

ran to God. She repented. She went to Brother

Waltrip's wife, apologized, repented, and then

picked up the cross. And God recognized her genuine

repentance and made her one of the stalwarts

of the gospel and of healing here in the United

States and the rest of this world. Give the Lord

a praise offering. It's worth it. You know what

I summarized about her life? She got up. Look

at somebody and say, you've got to get up. There's

not a single one here that cannot identify with

what I just mentioned. Somebody who failed. And

then got up. Next, she obeyed God. And then she

moved forward. And then her obedience to follow

the master opened a door that ultimately touched

millions of people. She decided to move from

complacency into action. I had the privilege

of being at Smith Wigglesworth home in England,

in Bradford, England. What a remarkable man that

was. And when I looked at Brother Jim's ministry

here this week, slapping people on the head and

punching women in the stomach. What a brave man

he is. But honestly, you know, that's the way

Wigglesworth ministered. He used to be a plumber.

I mean, he worked as a plumber. His wife was

actually the pastor. She was a pastor of the

Salvation Army. And a couple of times, he tried

to speak a little bit, but then he became overwhelmed

with the fear of man. He decided not to do it

anymore. But in 1907, when he was 48 years old,

he received the mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Come on, give God a praise offering. That'll

change you. And he became one of the generals

of our time. And even still today, his teachings

and his ministry is reverberating around the

world. Kenneth Copeland, I checked his life out

also. You know, he was born in 36. And, you know,

they say that Kenneth Copeland had already experienced

success as a recording artist with the song Pledge

of Love that reached the billboards in the top

20 in 1957. But in 67, he decided to receive

the call of God. He joined Arnold Roberts University.

And they say that when he went there to register,

he didn't even have enough money to pay for that.

In fact, according to Copeland's ministry, he

arrived deeply in debt and without money, as

I said, to even register. But this is what he

did. He acted like you're supposed to do here

today. Make up your mind. You know, I could still

be who I am. I could still work where I am, but

I want to get involved in these last years to

be part of a thrust for the Holy Spirit to bring

people into the kingdom of God as I'm supposed

to be. Amen? They said that his experience as

a pilot suddenly opened up unexpected doors and

he became Arnold Roberts' co -pilot. Within months,

Kenneth Copeland and Gloria stepped out to become

What became Kenneth Copeland Ministries. And

let me tell you something. You may not agree

with some of the things that people say that

he did. Go to that ministry. Meet the man. And

see how genuine him and his wife is. And then

stand back and admire what God has done in that

ministry. The point being, he didn't wait until

he had enough money. He didn't wait until everything

made sense. He didn't wait until he felt completely

prepared. No, he moved, and the provision and

the opportunity met him on the road of obedience,

and that's where he is today. Come on, praise

the Lord. Glory to God. This week, we heard much

about Kenneth Hagin, and here we are, and we

have a man who is really, in a great way, the

product of that ministry. And they say that Kenneth

Hagin was seriously ill and largely bedridden

when at a very young age, you know, he decided,

I'm not staying in bed any longer because he

read and studied Mark 11 and found out that I

don't have to be sick. I don't have to remain

where the enemy says I should remain. And so

finally he dragged himself out of that bed and

started to do the ministry that became so world

famous right around the world. And he acted.

Listen, this is what it says about him. He acted

on what he believed. Not just to hear it, not

just to read it, but to say, Lord, I'm changing

my ways starting this morning on September 27,

right here in the year 26. My life is going to

count for God like never before. Come on, give

him a shout of praise. Glory to God. Come on,

just shout for the Lord. And, you know, the point

with him being, you know, he had received the

promise. He believed the promise. And then came

the moment when he acted on that promise. He

could have stayed in that bed, you know. But

he said to himself, you know, if I walk with

Christ, that means sickness dies in my body.

And he got up healed at the age of 16. You know,

Reinhard Bonnke, I was one of the first pastors

in South Africa that received him in my church.

Came there as a very exciting young man to come

and preach for me. And, I mean, in those days,

I had no idea, you know, where God was going

to take that young man. Very few people showed

up for the meetings. He was unknown. largely

unknown, came from the country of Lesotho where

he ministered and pastored a very small mission

church. And I'll tell you what actually happened

with Reinhard. God spoke to him and said, Africa

will be healed. And so he decided to have a meeting

such as Pastor arranged here today, a healing

conference. And he organized one of the great

men of faith to come and minister there. Everybody

was excited. I mean, the word went out and he

advertised quite greatly. And on Sunday morning

when the meeting was supposed to start, he went

there to go and pick up the evangelist. And the

evangelist was in a pair of shorts with a sun

cap on, ready to go and play golf. And he asked

him, where are you going? No, God said, I mustn't

preach for you. He was so disappointed. I mean,

I'm just giving you a very short, you know, bit

of news about him. He was so disappointed. And

then on the way back to his church, he asked

God, what am I going to say to my people? God

didn't give him an answer. When he got to his

elders, he told them what had happened. The man

had a sun cap on. He's going to go and play golf

and then he goes back to South Africa. And one

of the men said to him, what about you? Why don't

you preach? And then God spoke to him and said,

don't you know that my word in your mouth. He's

as powerful as my word in anybody else's mouth.

That morning he saw blind eyes opened and his

ministry started. Where are you going? What is

going on in your life? I'm out of time. I was

going to talk to you about John G. Lake. I was

going to talk to you about William Seymour, you

know, the Isuzu revival. But I thought I'd rather

bring it home where we are here right now. I

want to talk to you about Brad Neuswander. I'm

serious. More than a century ago, Peter Neuswander,

one of the grandparents of this great pastor.

They started the Mennonite church, of whom there's

still great influence financially in the life

of this young man. He's a Mennonite through and

through as far as finance is concerned. I almost

said something else now, but I better not. But

you know, Brad, that's why I love him so much.

Brad grew up as the son of Roger and Sherry Newswander.

At the time, a very successful grass seed farmer.

Brad had a great future ahead of him. Studied

finances. But at a particular time in his life,

Brad heard the call. and decided to break away

from success, financial success, family, business

success, security, opportunity, a future he could

really see in his eye because God showed it to

him. As I'm speaking about this, it is not necessary

for you as you sit there and you say, well, am

I supposed to give up everything I'm doing right

now? No, you can do everything you do right now

and still walk hand in hand with a call of the

master and see what God will do for you. And

you can do great exploits also for the master.

Come on, praise him, will you? Glory to God.

At 18 years of old, Brad made a decision. He

would leave the security of what he knew and

give his life to serving God. He could have stayed

with what was comfortable for him, but he acted.

And years later, in 2001, Brad and Jenny pioneered

what became Life Bible Church. And I was right

there in the beginning, almost in the beginning

with you, Brad, when you were in that small little

schoolhouse. You know, having school there. And

even then, he shared with me his vision. What

God was going to do in this very small little

town of Harrisburg. And because I know the history

or some of the history of some of the leaders

that was around him at that time. Some who have

stayed and some who have left and some who have

gone. He never, him and Jenny, never allowed

the experiences and the influence of others to

deter him from what God told him is going to

happen. And here you are today, many of you,

the product of somebody's decision that said,

I am here to serve the Lord and whatever he wants

me to do. Glory to God. Come on, just stand on

your feet and praise him. Glory to God. I have

about 10 minutes, about five or 10 minutes. You

may be seated. Let me just wrap this up. You

see, in Romans chapter 10 speaks of the word

Romans 10 · chapter mention

is nigh thee, even in your mouth, but it has

to move to your heart. The word is nigh even

in thy mouth and in your heart, for with a heart

we believe. But then it has to move somewhere

else. In this case, into your mouth where confession

is made. And what you need to do here today is

you need to bring that conviction here this morning.

You know, when last night, I mean, I almost cried

when I watched how the Holy Spirit moved through

Jim. to challenge the ladies. And boy, what a

great thing. What a great moment when I watched

them jump and bounce up and down, ending up on

the floor on their faces and absolutely dedicating

their lives. And I was wondering, my God, what

kind of fruit is going to come out of this? Because

I believe that if you will submit, God is going

to do great exploits in this area. Come on, give

Him a great praise offering. Now, you know, conviction

must move into commitment. You know, it's always

been like that. You know, people will receive

and then very few will turn around. You remember,

you know, the 10 people that received their healing

and only one came back. I'm sure you remember

in numbers. when 10 spies went out there to go

and check how nine of them came back with adverse

propositions and suggestions. But one man, Caleb,

became one of the towers of our history when

he boldly declared, we can't take that enemy.

And here today, with the river still trying to

swallow up your property, Let that not be a consideration.

Let the consideration be for you and I. I too

will rise up to the occasion. And if others can

do it, I too want to stand and make my voice

available. That if God can do it for those of

the past, if God can do it for a Shadrach, a

Meshach, and a Abednego, for a Brad Newswander,

for a Jan Venter, and for a Jim Hockaday, God

can do it for me also. Stand on your feet and

give the Lord a praise offering. Glory to God.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to this

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