Who is the Owner? (Malachi 3) | Pastor Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.

I want us to remain standing for the reading of the word.

Today's text is going to come to us from Malachi chapter three.

As you're turning there, I want to let us know as a community that ordinarily at this time we we typically dismiss our middle and high school students, but all of our youth leaders are actually under the weather, so we're going to be praying for them.

And so, uh, youth, you guys are stuck with me today, but we're going to have some fun.

You guys are stuck with me, but we're going to have some fun.

Malachi chapter three.

And honestly, today's message is one that I'm excited for because I really think that it's going to help us.

As been mentioned earlier, today we're starting a four-week series on stewardship and generosity, and we're going to approach it from a different perspective.

Not through the lens of what does God want from us, but what does God want for us.

And I believe that today's text will set the tone for everywhere we're going to go over the next few weeks.

Starting here at verse number six, the word of the Lord says this for I, the Lord, do not change.

Therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.

Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

But you say, How shall we return?

Will man rob God?

Yet you're robbing me.

But but you say, How have we robbed you in your tithes and contributions?

Your curse with a curse for robbing me, the whole nation of you.

But bring the full tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house, and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts.

If I will not open up the windows of heaven for you and pour you down a blessing until there is no more need, I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will that your fruits will not be destroyed, your vines and fields shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.

Verse 12.

Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be in the land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

We're entering into an election cycle every two and four years, and and and it's that time.

And I don't think it's a coincidence that that every time there's election, that on the left or on the right, the primary subject matter is the economy.

Why is that?

It's because every one of us, no matter where you land politically, we we all want security, we we want safety, we want stability, we want to see our dreams come to fruition.

That's that's not greed, that's just what it means to be a human.

Some of us are doing the math at the gas pump, and some of us are doing the math when we're checking out of our groceries, and we we see that the money doesn't look the way that it used to.

So we often believe that maybe a policy or a decision in a voting booth has the ability of giving us a couple of more dollars.

And maybe it's true, but more often than not, it's not.

But what if I were to tell you that the peace that we're looking for will never be found in a politician that's sitting in office, but it's actually found in the person of Christ when we can have a different perspective on the things that He has entrusted us with.

And I believe that today's message is gonna serve as a foundation that can give us a perspective shift that will then allow us to inherit the peace that the Bible says is available to us when we understand who the owner is.

So today I want to speak to us for a couple of moments just around this topic that's very familiar, often controversial, but still incredibly important.

Around what does it mean to answer the question, and that is, who is the owner?

Let's pray and let's see what it is the Lord wants to speak to us today.

God, we thank you so much for your faithfulness.

We thank you for this community gathering that you've allowed us to have.

God, I I pray that I decrease and that you increase.

Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit is already doing a deep work on the inside of all of us, and that you confront us, that you encourage us, you challenge us, you inspire us.

So, Lord, I ask that you give us open eyes to see you, open ears to hear your truth, and open hearts to receive everything you have for us, which is found in the incorruptible seed of the Word of God.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen, amen, and amen.

As you're taking your seats, turn to someone around you and tell them that they look good this morning.

I think we need to encourage one another.

We look good this morning.

Vinny, you look good today, my brother.

We all look so good.

If you're joining us online, I don't see you, but I believe that you look, you look really good today.

I recently celebrated my my 51st birthday just a couple of weeks ago.

And um, come on, yeah?

Come on.

51 years old, and and so I I don't know what it is about, probably since I was about 48, but every year I count it as a gift, and I find myself being a lot more reflective um than in previous years, and so 51 has not has not disappointed.

I'm spending my time analyzing and thinking a lot about my family and my upbringing and my children and and and celebrating milestones from a different perspective.

And and so recently I'm I'm so filled with with pride.

My my youngest son Caleb is sitting up front and he just bought his own car in his own name.

I'm so proud of this boy.

Come on.

Grown man with bills now.

I was like, man, welcome.

But but but what I'm thinking about is I I remember when he was in high school, he was a senior in high school, um, and and he was a senior in high school and it was still in the shadows of the pandemic.

And so at the time, it was still an awkward time of of how kids were gonna get to school, and so I remember he would use um he would use my car all the time in order to go to school, to go to football practice, to hang out with friends.

That was just a part of our regular rhythm.

And because Megan and I, our lives are so connected, we we we do ministry together, of course, we we do counseling together, we're always together, so we're able to, I would say 85 to 90 percent of the time, we're able to just be together.

It's a good thing that I love this woman and she's my best friend because we're together a whole, whole, whole lot.

So I remember like during the pandemic times, and her and I would just spend all of our time together, different meetings and things, we're always together.

But I remember this one day in particular where where we had to go separate directions.

I think I had a doctor's appointment, then I had meetings, and and our schedules just didn't align.

And so on this day we had to go separate ways.

This hadn't happened literally in months.

So I remember going to Caleb and saying to him, I was like, hey man, um just want to give you a heads up that on Wednesday I'm gonna be taking the car because um your mom and I have uh different routes that we need to go.

So to me, I feel like that is a complete statement, end of conversation.

I said the statement in his room and I turned to walk away, but I didn't realize that my son still has some thoughts that he wanted to share.

And so he said, he said, How long are you going to have the car?

And I said, Well, it's gonna probably be all day because I got meetings and things like that, and so I didn't give any mind.

I turn again, thinking that's the end of the conversation.

He says, Well, well, um, is there a possibility that I can just drop you off and maybe mom can come and pick you up?

Or you can catch an Uber home.

And at this point, I'm I'm I'm still trying to process through the moment, I'm trying to get to where I gotta go.

I'm like, no, it's not gonna work out.

I'm negotiating with my son.

I'm like, no, that's not gonna work out for us.

We got I got things to do, and I may have to go out a little bit later at night.

I said, so it's just not gonna work.

And as I'm turning again, this kid says to me, he says, Well, when you bring it back, can you make sure that you fill it up with gas?

At which point, I turned to him and I said, I'm looking at him right now, who are you talking to?

You remember that moment, son?

I said, Who are you talking to?

Boy, you've been driving my car for so long, you forgot that I'm the owner.

And once you get a parent started on that, you start auditing everything.

In fact, this room isn't even yours.

I'll take the doors off of it right now because this is my house, and I'm gonna allow you to occupy this room.

I will turn off the electricity to just this room alone because I paid the light.

I don't even know if it's possible, but I was gonna figure out if there was a way to drive the message home.

I'm walking away all flustered and upset, and I'm walking down the steps.

I'm that boy forgot.

He forgot that he I'm letting him use my car.

How dare he audit me about my utilization of my car when I only wanted to have a percentage of it?

Got quiet in here.

He he lost sight that he went from asking to use the keys to the keys just magically stayed in his room because he lost sight that he was not the owner.

I believe that sometimes we can lose perspective when it comes to stewarding our resources.

I think that sometimes when we come into households of faith or even other environments, and we hear things that are challenging us to participate in what it means to live a surrendered life to Christ inclusive of our resources, we begin to begin to say, God, but why do you need it?

What are you gonna do with it?

I need to have a better understanding of it, and I believe there are moments where God is using me as a vessel to say, you must have forgotten.

I am not asking you to give me 10% of what is yours, I'm allowing you to keep 90% of what is mine.

You must have forgotten that it is all mine, and I'm allowing you to use it.

This is the conversation that is happening here in the book of Malachi.

The entire premise of the book is God speaking through his prophet and and crying out for his people to return.

Let me give you a little bit of a backstory as to what's happening here, and it's a pattern for the children of Israel.

You'll see this all throughout the course of the Old Testament and even in the New Testament, even till today.

But the pattern is this we are living life on our own terms.

We drift away from God, things get difficult, we we we call out to God, God shows up, he brings us back in, he says, Listen, if you stay in this bubble, I promise you I'm I'm gonna work things out for the good.

Just stick with me.

God, I promise you, I'm I'm never gonna do that again.

And then as things get comfortable, as things get peaceful, we begin to drift.

And the things that we once said that we would always do now are done when it's convenient for us.

We we begin to drift.

And then the pattern would repeat over and over again.

And this is what's happening here in the book of Malachi in the context of this.

The children of Israel they were in Babylonian captivity for about 70 years, and they were constrained and didn't have the freedom to live and to function the way that they wanted to.

And so many of you may remember in the book of Nehemiah and Ezra that God had put it on his heart to go and inspect the city after the children of Israel released to go back home.

And when they go home, the city is desolate, the walls are broken down, there's no safety, and so God puts it on the heart of Nehemiah and Ezra and many others to rebuild the city and to create a safe space for the people of God to engage his presence once again.

And so now when the walls are created and the temple has been restructured, Ezra has this powerful moment where he reads the word of God to the community of faith, and the Bible says they were literally cut to tears, and they said, We will do everything that God told us to do.

We will honor him, we will, we will consecrate ourselves, we're gonna live lives where we don't get caught up into worshiping idols, we're gonna live a life consecrated to God.

And wouldn't you have it?

As the years went on, they began to drift.

So Malachi is the prophet that God has chosen to once again to beckon his people to come home.

And the words that he uses, he says, return to me, and I will return to you.

That is a phrase that is repeated ten times in this short book.

Return to me and I will return to you.

Return.

It literally to read, to to return, it means to to reorient yourself, to repent, to shift your direction.

I need you to return to me because the truth of the matter is your intentions don't determine your destination, your direction does.

And I need you to return, I need you to turn back towards me.

I need you to face me because right now you're walking in the opposite direction of me, and because you're walking in the opposite direction of me, the consequence of that distance is something that you're beginning to feel.

Return to me because what was happening in that community, divorces were skyrocketing.

What was happening in that community was was that there was widows who weren't being taken care of.

What was happening in that community is that people were being taken advantage of because there was a correlation between what was happening in the culture and their proximity to God.

So he says, I need you to return, return, I need you to turn back to me.

I remember there was a time when God is speaking to his people and saying, There was a moment when you couldn't wait to come into the household of faith and worship.

There was a moment that you couldn't wait to come in and surrender the resources I trusted you with for the betterment of the community, and now you're it's just casual.

Now it's become when it's convenient, schedules are full and things are happening, and God knows my heart, but but God is saying, return to me.

And that's inclusive in the area of resources.

Malachi dedicates several words and verses to helping people to get a perspective that I think sometimes we can lose.

That we are called to be stewards, not owners.

And when we can have a healthy perspective around that, it changes the way that we respond to the things that God is inviting us to participate in.

I believe that what this text is telling us, and it was true then and it's true now, is that we have to settle who the owner is.

Because anything that God requests of us, anything that God, let me say this word, requires of us, will seem completely insane if we don't first settle that he is the owner.

Let's look at verse number eight one more time from a different perspective.

God says these words, he says, Will a man rob God, yet you are robbing me, but you say, How we robbed you in your tithes and your contributions or offering.

Let me just say this out here for those of us that that maybe are looking at some of the language.

You can't rob somebody of something that is yours.

I can't, I couldn't rob Caleb of my car.

Why?

Because it was my car.

God is using language to let them know from the very beginning of what ownership is.

You're robbing me because you're taking something that belongs to me and you're not prioritizing me in it.

Now I think it's possible that from their perspective, because this is about a hundred years removed, that they have forgotten.

This is why passing on traditions and teachings are so important for the generations to come, because it's possible that we can forget.

For that generation that was there, all they know is that they're the ones who have been cultivating the land.

All they know is they're the ones who've been planting the seeds, all they know is they're the ones who are out there retrieving the crops, they're the ones who are getting the harvest.

So, from their perspective, all they know is, Lord, I'm the one who've been putting this work in.

And for many of us, we may feel that same way.

But if they just would have turned the page a little bit, they would have gotten some perspective.

That the only reason that they have that land is because God gave them that land.

They lost perspective of when the generation that came before them marched around Jericho and the walls came tumbling down and they were able to conquer the land without having to ever lift a sword.

They lost perspective of the God that preserved them while they were in the wilderness and provided manna from heaven to sustain them because they didn't have the ability to sustain themselves.

They lost perspective of the men of battles that their family would have got wiped out through, but because of the faithfulness of God fighting on their behalf, they were able to live another day.

It's possible that we can get so far away from the miracles of God that we forget that God is the one who got us to where we are.

And so what the text is reminding us of is that don't lose perspective of the faithfulness of God in your family.

Because you're not there because you pulled yourself up by the bootstraps.

You're there because God's faithfulness and grace has covered you and put you in the position that you are in.

Deuteronomy 8 17 says it this way: it says, Beware, list you say in your heart, my power and my height, my might, and my hands have gotten me this wealth.

You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get the wealth that you have.

It is he.

Yes, you went to college, but it is he.

Yes, you were able to make good decisions with your stocks.

It was he.

It was he that allowed you to function the way in which you operate, because there are people that have made the exact same decisions that you've made and they don't have the favor that you have.

It is he who has made these things possible.

But but the beautiful thing that this Bible reminds us of is that when you can recognize that God is the owner, it also creates responsibilities for him, but also for us.

There's some promises with that.

I remember when we had our house in Jacksonville and we decided to rent it out, there was a moment when we had signed the contract.

And the contract was very clear on what was the owner's responsibility and what was the tenant's responsibility.

And written into the contract, and I didn't realize this at the time, that into the contract, the refrigerator was our responsibility.

And I still remember when um our tenant had reached out to us through the property manager and said that the refrigerator wasn't working.

And initially I was like, why are y'all calling me about this?

I don't live there and y'all hardly pay on time.

Good luck.

But then I had to read the contract and I saw that it's the owner's responsibility to make sure that the refrigerator was working.

Watch this.

So many of us, we're dealing with burdens when it comes to our finances, and we're treating the stress we feel because we're acting like owners.

But when you're a steward, you understand I have a responsibility to care for the environment that I'm in, but God is ultimately the owner and he's the one that's going to ensure that if the roof has a leak in it, he's gonna ensure that it's covered.

The beautiful thing about the way that we look at our resources is that when you can settle who the owner is, you can begin to recognize what God's promises say about what an owner will do.

The Bible actually says that God says, I will rebuke the devourer for your sake when you recognize that I am the owner.

The Bible says, I will open up windows of heaven to bless you when you recognize that I am the owner.

Many of us are carrying so much stress because we're still thinking that we're owners when we're God has called us to be stewards.

We have to take care of it, but God is the owner, and with that ownership comes a covering.

Once we can settle that, then it allows us to look at what God requires of us next.

And that is to bring the full tithe into the house of God.

Tithe means a tenth.

It's not a tip, but it's it's a tenth, and it's it's the best portion as Scripture calls it.

Leviticus chapter 27, verse 30 says that every tithe of the land, whether it be seed of the land or fruit of the tree, is the Lord's, it is holy, it is set apart.

Leviticus 27:30

It's the Lord, it's it's it's blessed, it's consecrated, it's recognizing that it is his.

Notice in the language it says that we bring the tithe, not give.

Once again, for my grammar people, bringing means I'm bringing something that's yours, I'm giving something that's mine.

The Bible says you bring it because it's not yours.

If I'm giving it, then it's mine.

But the Bible is very clear in making sure that you're bringing something that belongs to God.

Now, I understand as a person who is academically trained, and I think sometimes there's a part that happens inside of me, just a full disclosure, where there's a war going on inside of my body because there's the there's a deeply spiritual Pentecostal side of me, and then there's an academically trained scholar inside of me.

And sometimes these moments are fighting for attention.

Because when you look at the principle of tithing, the academic side will often say that this is something that was exhausted in the Old Testament.

But then there's a space where I'm forced to look at the full council of scripture and see that the concept of the first or tithing.

It actually predates the law.

The Bible tells us of Abraham when he came from a battle that before the law was ever written, he gave a tenth of his proceeds to Melchazedek, a high priest.

Speaking of that, Sean, I saw your text about the Melchizedek.

I'm going to reply to it, brother.

Just thought about that just now.

I got you.

He gave him the best portion because he saw someone that was greater.

The Bible also says that Jacob, when he was running for his life and he found a rock that served as a pillow, and once he recognized that it was the presence of God that was there, the Bible literally says in Genesis 28 that he turned that place into the house of God.

He called it the house of God.

And then he makes a statement, he says, And I will forever give you a tenth of everything that I have as a way of honoring you.

This predates the law.

So when Malachi is speaking to the children of Jacob, he's telling them to bring a full tithe.

In other words, do what your forefather said he was always going to do.

And he's telling them that the order absolutely matters.

Numbers 18, 29 says this: Be sure to give the Lord the best portions of the gifts given to you.

Order absolutely matters.

What would happen at that time when a harvest would come in is that they would take the produce from that harvest, they would bring it to the household of faith, the priest would take it, they would pray over it, they would bless it, they would have a bunch of things that they did, but when they did it, they didn't know what the remaining harvest was going to be.

It was an act of faith that we're going to do this with an expectation that we're going to put God first.

I'm not sure if I'm the only person, but if I ever go to a potluck, and if I don't make it within the first rotation, I'm not eating any picked over food.

Like we we've seen the ones that look like somebody picked it up, put it back down.

Like we've seen those.

I'm like, man, I'm good.

I'm fasting today, actually.

Thank y'all for the invite.

The Lord has called me to do something different.

So why, if in our own flesh we don't want things that are picked over and left over, why would we think it's appropriate to give God the leftover from what he's already blessed us with?

The text tells us for us to give him the best portion of it.

Now let me get back to my academic side because what does Jesus say about this in the New Testament?

Truth of the matter is, Jesus doesn't talk about the tithe a whole lot.

It's only mentioned one time from him, and he doesn't denounce it.

He just says, yes, it's good that you're tithing, but there's other things that I need you to do as well.

But I believe a principle that we can pull from this that sometimes can make us feel a little uncomfortable is that Jesus never lowers the standard, he actually increases it.

When you read the Sermon on the Mount, you actually see where he says, anger is dangerous because it can lead to murder, he raises the standard.

When he talks about lust, he said that can lead to divorce, he actually raises the standard.

What you'll recognize in the context of the New Testament is that the standard never gets lower, it actually gets higher.

So even if we were to take this from a principle of what Jesus is saying, Jesus is not requiring less of us, he's requiring more from us.

Under grace, the tenth is where a steward starts to learn how to be generous.

The Bible says in Proverbs 3, 9 and 11, honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all of your produce.

Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

When's the last time your vats were bursting with wine?

That's a that's that's provision language.

That's blessing language, that's order language.

Honor God, then there's a blessing that comes with it.

This is not transactional prosperity, but this is when I can orient myself to face God, then I can receive the blessing that He makes available to us.

When order is restored, blessing is released.

And when I am able to bring the tithe into the storehouse, it sets the table.

He says so that there may be meat in my house.

From the tabernacle to the temple, to the synagogue, to the church that's on every corner.

The thread never breaks.

The gathering was always a place where we could be in the presence of God, where the word is declared, where needs are met, and the community gets stronger.

It's a place of faith and hope that we all collectively contribute to.

We see this in the New Testament with the birth of the church.

It says that they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers, and the Lord added daily to their numbers.

There was not a need amongst them because people brought their resources into the house of faith.

The word of God, the presence of God, the community of faith needs being met, and God was bringing strength because the table was set.

When people come to church, we all come hungry for different things, but the beautiful thing is the table has been set.

There's somebody that walked in here today and they need encouragement, and the table has been set because people have been giving.

Because people have been giving.

That church had been in existence for probably 10 to 15 years.

It was a storefront church with red carpets, next to a laundromat and a Chinese restaurant.

And I remember walking into those doors broken because my cousin had got killed in a car accident.

Confused, hopeless.

But the table was set.

Bishop Eric D.

Reynolds, my spiritual father, he preached a message that I don't remember the title of, but I remember a thing, it seemed like he was talking just to me.

And I couldn't help but to respond because the table was set.

I found myself at the altar and lifting my hands, which is something I'd never done in church.

Someone came and laid their hands on me and began to pray with me, and I felt this fire that shut up in my bones that began to rise up because the table was set.

I received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and I looked over, and my wife was having the exact same experience, completely unplanned, and I could see that God was doing something in the two of us because the table was set.

I remember being in this Holy Spirit fog and God speaking to me for what I perceived to be the first time, saying, You are my son, and I've called you to do a great work with that woman.

Steward that relationship and watch what I do through you.

And the table was set.

There were pastors and elders and mentors who walked alongside of us because the table was set.

My life was transformed in a church environment.

My calling was activated.

I was challenged.

I was corrected.

I was sharpened because I was in an environment where people years before were sewing into a work and the table was set.

Today I am so grateful to share this message with you because in times past I would have wrestled with delivering a message like this.

There's first-time guests here.

There are people that have perceptions about church and finances.

I've been on the other side of mismanagement, but I'm tired of the devil keeping us from talking about something that God talks about and getting God's mind around it, the table has been set.

And at Celebration Church of Orlando, we have a singular focus, which is to reach the lost, to equip the found, and to help the hurting.

And because of your giving, the table has been set.

There are people that have said yes to Jesus just this year alone.

Over 300 people said yes to the gospel because the table has been set.

We've sent missionaries to Zimbabwe because the table has been set.

We see people walking in their calling and purpose and getting baptized because the table has been set, and the table is set when we bring our tithes into the storehouse.

Absolutely, I give to nonprofits and other organizations, but there's only one entity on all of earth that God has commissioned to preach the word of God, and that is the local church, which is why he says, Bring it into my storehouse so that there's meat in my house, because this is the place where people are looking for hope and the table needs to be set.

There are people that are looking for the name of Jesus, and this is the place to get it, so the table has to be set.

This is the part that we play.

So let me answer what I perceive to be the most important question.

Do you have to tithe?

Truth of the matter is, no, you don't.

You don't have to tithe, but you also don't have to come to church.

You also don't have to read your Bible, you don't have to worship.

You can live theoretically the same way that the children of Israel were in the time of Malachi, having a form of godliness, but having no power.

Or I can be a disciple of Christ, I can turn to him, and I can see what happens when I recognize that I'm a steward and not an owner.

I'm a steward of my time, not an owner.

I'm a steward of my gifts, not an owner.

I'm a steward of my resources, not an owner.

Something happens when I recognize that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

I want to say something before we go into worship.

We're gonna wrap up.

I realize that in a room like this, maybe people who are joining us online or even in a family lounge, that this subject matter is hard because we live in a reality where sometimes we have more month than we have money.

And I don't want anyone to feel convicted in a way that you that you're doing something that you can't do.

When Megan and I said yes to full-time ministry, I took a$35,000 pay cut.

If you're doing a math, you feel that every two weeks.

That's a big enough number that you you notice it.

And I remember struggling with how do we honor God when we just don't have the means to do it.

And so I began to audit everything.

And Caleb, you were a little young, but maybe you remember this.

But I remember, man, like we cut off cable, we we turned off, we turned off the internet.

I was hijacking my neighbor's internet.

Real talk.

We would go down to Panera so that the kids could do their homework.

Because I had such a conviction that I said, I don't want to sustain a lifestyle that removes my ability to be faithful to God in it.

So I remember talking to Megan.

I said, hey babe, we're gonna we're gonna start at 5%.

And that was a step of faith.

Then we we got to six percent.

Then I remember we got to eight percent, and I still remember the day when I said, Hey, we're doing 10%.

You would have thought we hit the lottery.

It's not because 10 is a magical number, but it's because I know that the Bible says that if I can orient my life around the things of God, and it's gonna require faith, that there is a blessing that is with it.

It's not a magical transaction, it's about positioning.

Let me position myself.

If this is where God is pouring out his blessings, then I just want to position myself to receive it.

If if you're in here and and you're in a financial situation, unemployed, underemployed, hear me.

We want to help.

Now, practically we can't help everybody because there's limited resources, but but that's what community is.

And and I I I long for the day that our church can be like the book of Acts, where we can genuinely say there's not a need amongst us.

But it starts when we choose to participate together.

Lord, I thank you so much for your faithfulness.

I thank you for your kindness, God.

I thank you for the generosity that you've poured out for us.

So, Lord, even now as I think about those who are struggling financially, God, unemployed, underemployed, doors closing, Father, I preach to them.

Lift their heads, encourage them.

Father, in the name of Jesus, Father, I do pray for open doors.

God, I do pray for job opportunities, God.

I do pray for provision and resources to be established in their lives, God.

So, Lord, I'm praying for the anxiousness that keeps us up at night, God, the the struggles, the the running short.

God, I see it, I've been there, I know it, Father.

I pray from the depths of my soul for those people, God.

My heart breaks for them.

And Lord, I know that you are faithful.

God, I know that you are you are true and you are just.

And so, in the same way, God, when Megan and I were in seasons where we just didn't have it, you allow manna to show up.

Father, I pray for miracles, just unsustained, unqualifiable mirrors of things just showing up, bills being met, God, resources, food on tables, and allow us to celebrate those moments, knowing that there are still more to come.

Father, I pray for us that we can have a change of perspective, knowing that we don't want to give you what's left over, but God, you deserve the best because it's all yours and you entrust us to be faithful stewards and to be conduits of your blessing.

So, God, I pray over your people.

I pray over your church and ask you to help us to make room for what you want to do in our lives.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.