On Earth As - Week 1

I want to start a brand new series with you

today called On.

Earth As.

On Earth As Is in Heaven. That's a hard sentence

to say. You know, I think for a long time,

we've had somewhat of an upside-down thinking when it comes

to heaven and the purpose of heaven. In Matthew chapter six,

verse nine, it says, in this manner, therefore pray. Now

Jesus has given us the model prayer. He's saying, listen,

when you pray, here.

Is the model.

Don't pray these exact words, but pray in this formula,

pray in.

The way this is laid out.

But he opens it and he says something significant right

there in the opening of this prayer. He says, in

this manner, therefore, pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be

your name.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as

it is in heaven. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word. It's the only

change agent on the face of the planet. And I

pray that today we're changed. That we begin to see

ourselves in the kingdom differently than we ever have. That

we begin to see your work in us in a

different way than we ever have. Lord, I pray that

you work and move like only you can.

In Jesus' name, amen. You know, for a.

Long time, the church, we have lived and we have

acted and we have preached and we have sang and

we have programmed as if the goal of our Christian

life is to get to heaven. But getting to heaven,

that's not actually the goal. Heaven is on the other side.

Of what the goal is. But we have....

Adopted a mindset of almost survival so that as we

push ahead, as we pioneer ahead, that somehow we're just

trying to last until I get there.

Come on, somebody. You know, when we track all.

Of those songs that made such an impression on our

minds about heaven, I'm talking about, you know, the hymns

that we all sang growing up, the really good ones.

You know, like I can't do it.

You know, like when we all get to heaven, what

a day of rejoicing it will be. When we all

see Jesus, what a day. And then my favorite, I

sang it at one of my daughter's bird's funerals one time,

I'll fly away. We sang these songs and there was

a season in time where everything was pointed and focused

on going to heaven, getting to heaven. That was the goal.

And let me tell you about the time period in

which these things were written. All of these hymns, all

of these songs.

Were written right at the end of the Civil War.

When there was so much death and uncertainty and unstableness

and there was so much disease rampant that heaven just

seemed like the only alternative to.

Where we were going.

And then there was another series of hymns that were

written during the Great Depression where.

It just was a.

A position that everybody was looking ahead because they didn't

want to deal with the current situation and circumstance of

life the way it was right here. And when we

look through church music all throughout church history, even though

those songs are theologically correct, they're more swayed by what's

happening in culture rather than actually what the Lord is

calling us to do because it is a response to

the pressure or the joy or the freedom that humanity

is feeling in the moment.

Come on, somebody.

And then those songs were so catchy, man. Oh, victory

in Jesus. You know, it was like written for a

Pentecostal to sing.

I mean, you know what?

I mean, it was just like... You know, you want

to stop in Roatan. They can't pronounce these. So they

sing victory in Jesus. And even though it's a different word,

it still carries that same energy. And those things really

created our theology about heaven and the kingdom.

But for a long time.

We have lived in an upside-down world where the point

of our life was to get to heaven, but the

reality is that the point of our life is to

establish God's kingdom on earth.

Some of y'all ain't quite buying in yet, but it's okay.

We'll get there.

See, the thing that I want to impress upon you

is it's not... Heaven is not the goal. Heaven is

the reward for a life well lived.

Heaven is the reward.

It's not the focal point of my life. You know,

you don't play the game to get the trophy. The

trophy just feels good at the end when you win.

The reward is something that comes after you've done what

you were supposed to do. And I don't even know

that we should get a reward when we just simply

do what we're supposed to do.

Amen?

You know, I remember one of my daughters saying, Hey,

I got straight A's on my report card. Are you

going to give me money? And I thought, that's what

you're supposed to do. Why would I give you money

for doing something you're already supposed to do? I mean,

that's just the natural response of life. The natural response

of the kingdom life is.

Not about the payoff in heaven.

The natural response of the kingdom life is the payoff

right here that we're doing what God has called us

to do. And we're energized by the anointing and the

purpose that God has called us to and set us for.

And we're making gains right here on earth. See, one

mindset says surviving until the end. The other says serving

right now. And if we live a life that's pointed

towards serving.

Right now, we live a life of impact.

In Genesis chapter 1, verse 28, it says, then God

Genesis 1:28

blessed them.

Now, who is them? The man and the woman. The

man and the woman. Adam and Eve.

God created them. Adam, he reached down and built him

out of mud and he breathed the breath of life.

Then he put him to sleep. He took a rib

and he did the same thing for Eve. Now they're

standing there and this is the first blessing. The first

blessing that God says. God blessed them and said to them,

Now listen, I want you to hear what the first

blessing is. Because we think the blessing is God sending

us a check. God doing something for us. Watch what

the Bible actually says that the very first blessing is.

Then God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful

and multiply. Not here's something, go do something is what

God said. Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and

subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea,

over the birds of the air, and over every living

thing that moves. The very first blessing was not what

we think about as blessing. It was God empowering us

to go and subdue the earth and have dominion over

the earth.

Very different blessing.

Thought process than the way we think about blessing now,

because when we ask God for a blessing, what we

usually mean is, God, bail me out of my mess.

Whether I caused it or whether it's not my fault,

we just say, God, bless me. I got to have help. God,

I got to have.

Right?

I was standing right over here, and listen, I know

you may not be able to see it, but there's like...

If we read the dust particles in the air right now,

there's more dust than oxygen.

I can feel it right now.

And I drank a whole bottle of water before I

even got up here to preach, just trying to wash

the dust out of my throat. And I got over

there in my spot and I always pray the same

thing every Sunday. Pray the same thing every Sunday in

the same spot every Sunday. I pray Lord anoint my

feet for your word says beautiful are the feet of

he that carries the gospel Father anoint my knees that

they would stay bent in humble submission to you Father

anoint my hands that they would carry the anointing of

healing and miracles creating me a clean heart and a

steadfast spirit Let me.

Hear what nobody else hears. Let me see what nobody

else sees. Give me the mind of Christ.

And let me speak your word boldly with no fear

of the repercussions of man. Then I ended it today

by saying, and Lord, just let me be able to

preach without choking and crying because my throat's so dry

from all the dust. You know, normally when I pray

that prayer, God doesn't say anything back, Jeff. He's just like,

I said that, I said, you know, just let me.

And I just really felt the Holy Spirit say, I

don't care if you choke, just go preach.

I was like, well, Ernie, get me another bottle of water.

It's on me and you, buddy. You know, sometimes we think.

That blessing is about God doing something for us when

God is blessing us to do something for Him. It's

about the giftedness and the anointing and the talent and

the opportunities.

That He surrounds us with.

That's what true blessing is.

It's not about Him just mailing something.

It's about us going and putting on the stamp so

that it reaches somebody else. It's the difference between looking

to go to heaven and realizing that I'm responsible for

helping God establish His kingdom on earth. How much different

would the world look if we were pulling the precepts

and the principles and establishing them on earth?

Just a thought.

In Matthew chapter 16, we see the same principle In

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

the New Testament, this whole go and have dominion and subdue.

The earth and go and just do what God's called

you to do.

In Matthew 16, verse 16, it says, Simon Peter answered

Matthew 16:16

him and said, you were the Christ, the son of

the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, blessed

are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood is not

revealed this to you, but my father.

Who is in heaven.

And I also say to you, that you are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my church, and

the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Right there.

That's the first time the word church is used in

the New Testament. Jesus says, here's the thing I'm establishing.

We translated it in English as the word church. But

the actual word that's there in the original Greek is ekklesia.

And when we say that word in church, how many

of you have ever heard that word said before in church?

Ekklesia. Ecclesiastical call, the gathering.

But literally in Jesus' day, it had no spiritual meaning whatsoever.

An ekklesia was a gathering of men for the purpose

of shaping the culture of a city.

Listen to that.

A gathering of men for the purpose of shaping the

culture of a city. That's what an ecclesia was. An

ecclesia was a town council, if you will. It was

someone who would have input into the culture around them

and that they would be architects of culture rather than

just simply respond to culture. Jesus is saying, not come

together and sing songs and preach, but I'm calling you

to be the culture builders and the culture shapers of

the areas in which you live. I'm calling you to

so much more than just existing. I am equipping you

and empowering you to make a difference in such a

way that government and the world takes note of who

you are and what you're doing. Sounds a lot like

the same Genesis mandate to me. Go subdue it and

have dominion over it. Let's set some standards and let's

raise some bars and let's just stop letting everything go

and passing it off. Now listen, you've got to come

for the whole series. I'm about to finish this passionate statement.

You're going to leave here and you're going to be like,

oh no, he fell off the deep end. I guess

we're going to have Kool-Aid next week. Don't... We live

and we survive and we pass that off as okay

and we're okay with everything that happens in the world

and everything that's going on and we.

Just huddle up in our own little corner and.

We say, oh, we just have to love everybody into

the kingdom.

Love's a big part of it. But it's not the

only part of it.

And what we have been What we have been conditioned

to mean when we say love is not what the

Bible actually talks about. What we're conditioned to mean is

love is saturated in this word that's a pretty modern

word called tolerance. Tolerance. that we should just tolerate everything

and we love everything. But do you know that the

word tolerance or some variation of the word tolerance is

mentioned six times in the New Testament and every single

time it's mentioned, Jesus is criticizing and being critical of

it and tearing it down because it's not something.

We're ever called to do. We're called to be salt

and light.

We're called to make a difference, to take a stand,

to draw that proverbial line in the sand and say,

this is what I believe and I'm not going to

cross it. And we can engage and I can love

you and I can have a conversation with you, but

you're not going to cross it either.

Come on, somebody. See, real love has boundaries.

Real love causes us to discipline our children. Real love.

Real love causes us to sometimes look at our spouse

and say, baby, I know you want a $ 180, 000 car.

We don't even live in a $ 180, 000 house.

Come on now.

I mean, we're lucky right now that my vehicle has

more wheels than my home. I mean, we're just blessings

of God, right?

I mean, we're just going.

Because love has parameters that keep us safe. Love have

parameters that call us up, that call more out of us.

But call people into the greatness of God, not the

mediocrity that the world presents them and says, oh, all

you need to do is just hang on until you die.

And when you die, it's going to be so much better.

Now, it will be. Listen, Becca, when you were just,

I mean, preaching.

The house down, I'm going to be honest with you,

I was a little bit jealous of your mom because

she's already there with Jesus.

When you sat, I was just like, man, what did

I do?

I remember Mama Osteen looking at me one time. She

was walking out.

She looked at me one time and she said, I

don't know what I've done to make the Lord mad.

I said, well, I don't think you've ever done anything

in your whole life to make Him mad. You're the

godliest woman I've ever met. She said, no, I have

to have made him mad because he don't want me. Said,

I've been trying to get to him. I've been trying

to go home and he just will not. He just

will not take me. And I said, because that means

you still got something to do.

She said, what? I said, lay your hands on me

and pray for me right now. I want what you've got.

We've set this. This ideology that the end goal is

to be with Jesus when Jesus says the end goal

is for you to be like me.

Come on, somebody. I want you to be like me.

I want you to walk and signs and wonders happen

around you. I want you to make a difference everywhere

you go. The spiritual climate changes when you walk into

a room because of the anointing that's only inside of

you and the power of Holy Ghost.

That's on side of you.

And I'll give you kingdom connections and divine appointments when

you start walking in faith and you start walking in purpose.

I'll put people in your path that you need and

that need you.

And he said, on this rock, on the truth, that.

I'm the only one.

I will build an army of cultural architects to shape

the world.

And I believe we need it more now than we

ever will. ever have.

Now I just want to be plain with you for

just a moment, okay? I hope everybody in this room

realizes that history is not going to be kind to

our generation.

That when they.

If the Lord waits long enough to come back and

they write about us in history books, we're going to

be the generation who had literal political wars over whether

men could use women's restrooms or not. That we can't

define what a man or a woman is. Do you

know how ridiculous that's going to sound in a hundred years?

My oldest daughter has a family that she's really close with.

And she went to the.

Listen, I don't know why she went to somebody. It

was the friend of the family she's close to....

She went to a birthday party of this kid, okay?

Let me just say it that way. She went to

a birthday party of this kid. I couldn't explain it.

I got myself in a box there, Pastor Gary. You've

ever done that before? You know, you're just like, can't

explain it that way. So we'll just back up and

close the box. She went to this kid's birthday party

and she was overhearing this conversation. And the little boy

looked at his friend and said, oh, you got a

new baby.

And the little boy looked back and said, yeah. Mommy

had him How long? Had baby is what he said.

Had baby.

Is it a boy or a girl? This four-year-old boy said,

we don't know yet. Now listen, this is the brain

of a four-year-old working. I'm just telling you, this is

how the brain of a four-year-old works. So the little

boy looks at him and says.

don't you change his diaper? And they're like, yeah.

And he says, well, does he have girl parts or

boy parts? He said, yeah, but he's going to get

to decide. We're going to write about that. That's going

to be written about that. And you know what, Dennis,

you're in that generation, bro. That's how your great, great, great,

great kids are going, golly, grandpa.

Didn't even know the difference. How did I even get here?

But you know why we're where we are?

Because the church hasn't done what God has called the

church to do and establish culture and be a strong

foundation of life. Simple fact of the matter is that

it's not a failure of government. It's not a failure

of the secular world because the secular world and government

will always lean towards the proclivity of fallen man.

It's just natural.

It's just the natural inclination of who we are as

broken humans. We always slide away, not closer if we

don't make the purposeful decision to go after. It is

so important that we understand that the purpose is to

establish God's kingdom here. That in the very back of

the book, we have this picture of how important it

is to God.

Now, I don't know why He chose earth. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know why he didn't choose

Mars or Pluto or some other whatever place somewhere else.

Not that smart. I don't know all the other places.

Listen to what it says in Revelation chapter 21, verse 9.

Revelation 21:9

You guys can get ready. Then one of the seven

angels who had seven bowls filled with the seven last

plagues came to me and talked with me saying, come,

I will show you the bride, the lamb's wife. That's you.

Listen to me, that's you. The bride of Christ, that's you.

That's the people in this room. You're the object of

Jesus' affection. Verse 10. And He carried me away in

the Spirit to a great and high mountain. And He

showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out

of heaven from God. having the glory of God, her

light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone,

clear as crystal. Here is how he ends up the book.

He says, listen, I'm going to bring the new Jerusalem

and I'm going to establish my kingdom right.

Here on earth. Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth as it is in

heaven because the ultimate goal is for a collision of

the two in the end anyway. So we should live

like we're part of the solution and part of the

process every single day and begin to shape things in

a godly way around us.

Listen, some of.

You, some of you need to run for political office.

Somebody's laughing because they must have had a dream about

it or something. I'll tell you who would be just

a crazy local government official.

They can't afford me. I'm not trying to give him away.

That's not what I'm trying to do.

Just trying to say he's so hard headed that there,

I mean, nothing would ever get settled. He'd just keep

it in limbo.

Some of you, God's calling you out of comfort. Start

your own business.

Some of you, God's calling you into a place to

put you in the presence of people every single day

because He has gifted you with a testimony that changes lives.

God positions us perfectly in time and space. And you

are here now because God has something special. God has

got something special. Not to cower down, to be a

second-rate citizen, but to rise up. live your faith out loud.

You know, there's another thing about that city. That city

that God establishes is only filled with His bride. People

that have surrendered their life to Him. He asked them

to forgive them of their sins and made him the Lord.

Of their life.

The Bible says that there's a place outside that city.

It's called the outer darkness. We call it hell. If

you're not in the city, that's the only other place

you can be. And it's eternal torment.

So you're either in or you're out.

There's no in between. There's no straddling the fence. It's

a clear cut line.

In or out. And I think we need to start

presenting the real choice to people.

In or out. Every head bowed and every eye closed.

With the understanding that you're either going to heaven or hell.

There's no in between. Those are the only two destinations.

Heaven with Jesus or hell and you'll.

Feel all.

Alone.

Posed with those two. If you've never accepted Jesus as

your Savior, hell.

Is where you're headed. So if you're here today.

And you want to ask Jesus to forgive you of

your sins and be the Lord of your life, You

want to change your eternal destination.

If that's you, slip up your hands and say, that's me, Pastor.

Pray for me. I want to be saved. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Is there another? Amen. Is there another? I'm going to

wait just a moment.

Amen. Amen.

You have a choice. It affects your eternal destination. But

you end up putting it right back down. Just ask me, Pastor,

pray for me.

Just me, pray for me.

Just me, pray for me. Just me, pray for.

Me.

Amen.

Every eye open, every head looking around. As a matter

of fact, everybody stand with me all over the room.

Give me some of my altar team, please. Now, if

you raised your hand, I'm going to count to three.

Now is not the time to change your mind. Now

is the time to persevere in faith. This is what

the Bible says. Confess me before men and I'll confess

you before my Father in heaven. Deny me before men

and I'll deny you before my Father in heaven. Jesus

is clear. This is here in this church how we

make that public profession. We ask you to come down.

I'm going to count to three. When I get to three,

if you raised your hand, come. If you need to

push people out of the way, push them out of

the way. It's the most important thing you'll ever do

in your whole life. You raised your hand because there

was at least hesitation about where you would end up.

Now it's how you seal the So on the count

of three, I want you to step out and come.

One.

Two.

Three.

Step out and move right now. Come on. Come on.

Come on. If you raise your hand, come on.

Come on.

Don't wait. Come on.