Find The Work - Pastor DawnCheré Wilkerson

Good morning.

I'm just so happy to be with you today.

Will you just stay standing?

I just want to look at my family.

I love you.

I don't deserve that introduction, but I just love this house.

This is my home.

And I love all of you a great deal.

I think that, you know, my life and my family is because of so much love poured into my life from all of you.

And I just came from North Point, and uh I've just had the most wonderful morning.

And I brought our four kids.

Rich is preaching back in Miami this morning, but um, I brought our four kids with us to Miami.

And Wyatt, my oldest, who's eight, he said, Mom, because he just, this is his favorite place in the world.

He said, When we're in Shreveport, am I a Duran?

And when I'm in Miami, am I a Wilkerson?

And I said, Well, that sounds pretty good to me.

I was like, okay, yeah.

But every time I'm home is just what I need to go back to Miami with faith in my heart for what God does over generations.

I'm so grateful for what God is doing here.

And I go back to Miami saying to myself, the best is yet to come.

Keep trusting Jesus.

And that's because of your faith.

And while you're standing, I just want to honor my brother, Denny Rodney Duran.

Denny, you're just walking in a generational anointing.

There's such a touch of heaven on you.

And Sarah, I want to honor you.

What an amazing leader you are.

What an incredible preacher of the gospel.

And you two together, you're exactly what the city needs.

The best is yet to come for Shreveport, for Bozier.

We're all behind you and we're in awe of everything that God is doing through your lives.

Come on, can you put your hands together for Denny Rodney and Sarah?

I love you so much.

And my heroes are in the house.

Mom and dad, you're my heroes.

I want to be just like you.

Thank you for your faith.

Thank you for your sacrifice.

Where's Grammy?

Grammy?

Come on, put your hands together for Grammy.

I love you.

You continue to point our eyes to Jesus, and I'm so grateful, all of you.

I could go row by row.

But before you're seated, why don't you just high-five somebody?

Tell them I'm glad I'm sitting next to you.

If you have your Bibles, I'm gonna dive in.

You can turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 3.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

And while you turn there, I don't usually show pictures of my family, but I have to do it here.

Um, we celebrated 20 years of marriage this summer, and mom and dad renewed our vows.

It was really special just with our parents, just to celebrate uh what God's done in our lives over the last two decades.

I think I have a picture of the kids at the vow renewal.

There they are.

So the oldest is Wyatt right there.

My blonde boy on the left side is wild.

He is wild.

He is six years old, he's about to be seven in two weeks.

That's my only girl, that's Wayland Wesley Wilkerson.

And then this guy, the surprise of our life at 40 years old.

He came around and we can't imagine life without him.

That's Wolfgang.

Wesley Wilkerson.

But they love evangel football.

And I think I have a picture of Wolfgang.

I think he's already like a linebacker.

He's ready to go.

It's we might have it, we might not.

But they loved every second of the game.

I think they're gonna ask to come and live with my parents.

When they get older, they're obsessed with God family football.

But I'm grateful for family.

And as I look across this room, it's really apparent that all of our families are growing.

Um, it's beautiful to see so many families and to see that God is doing so much here in Shreveport through your faith.

And I know that you're stepping into a vision season.

Dini Rodney's sharing with me some of the beautiful things that God's doing here in your community.

And so I just came here to encourage you.

I came hopefully to speak some faith over your life as you step into a season that I think is really instrumental.

You know, I think fall moves fast, doesn't it?

Like fall just gets moving.

But I think it's the perfect time to establish healthy rhythms.

Rhythms of being in God's house, of being a part of what God is doing.

For me, the fall is a recalibration every single year to go, okay, we got some things out of order over the summer.

There were some exceptions, but I'm not living a life of exceptions.

I want to live a life of excellence.

I want to have a rhythm to my faith and to my stewardship.

And so I just want to encourage you today.

Uh, 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 9 says this.

1 Corinthians 3:9

It's a very simple declaration over this house and your life.

For we are God's fellow workers.

You are God's field, God's building.

And for the next few minutes, I want to talk to you on this thought.

Find the work.

Can you say that with me?

Find the work.

Let's pray together.

God, thank you so much for today.

God, thank you for moments.

Lord, where we can just reflect on your faithfulness.

God, what you've done in the past, it astounds us.

We could be here all day telling stories of the miracles you've birthed through the faithfulness of the men and women in this room.

But God, we believe wholeheartedly that the best is yet to come.

And God, that even this morning, you're stirring our hearts with expectation, God, of what you have already started.

You're not starting it now, it's already in motion.

So give us eyes to see, oh God.

Give us ears to hear.

We love you and we celebrate you in Jesus' name.

And everybody said, Come on, one more time, everybody said.

Amen.

So this passage that we just read, this short declaration is from the Apostle Paul.

He's speaking to the early church and he's saying, Hey, you're not ready for solid food.

There's still like a lot of division in your camp.

There's still some hypocrisy.

Um, you're still an infant.

But he's writing to the church not to condemn them, he's writing to bring clarity of the process of sanctification.

What does it actually look like to follow Jesus?

He's saying this.

Hey, you're not a finished product.

You are a construction site, you are a work in progress.

And I know as I'm speaking to Shreveport Community Church, that there are some people in this room that have been following Jesus longer than I have been alive, but I want to speak some faith to your soul.

You are not a finished project, you are a construction site.

Your life is being built by the hands of God.

And so he says to them, Hey, we're God's fellow workers.

You are God's field, you are God's building.

In other words, you're not a monument, you're a movement, you're not static, you are under construction, and until you see Jesus face to face, you always will be.

I remember walking with papa and Grammy from the old sanctuary to this sanctuary the first time those doors were opened.

How many of you were there?

Will you just wave your hands and we okay?

So we all have this shared experience of watching this building being built and then having the moment where all of a sudden we got to inhabit it.

And now in Miami, um, we're having the experience of building our very first building.

It's in South Miami and we're halfway through the build.

We'll be done by next fall.

But the property was an older church that was falling apart.

We could no longer meet there.

So we had to demolish much of the property.

But what stands is the chapel, the small chapel that we gathered in for multiple services for five years from 2020 to 2025.

And I went to the work site not too long ago, and as I walked into the chapel, honestly, I was taken aback because it didn't look like the church that we had worshipped in for so many years.

It looked completely different.

Every chair was out of the place, everything had been ripped out on the stage.

There were blueprints taped on the walls of the chapel.

There was a little plastic table popped up in the middle of the room.

There were workers, construction workers gathered around the table looking over blueprints.

There was a stack of hard hats, and then there was a little sign from one of the bathrooms that had been brought into the chapel in the corner.

I still have the picture I took on my phone.

It just said, the best is yet to come.

And as I stood there, I just really felt impressed.

Okay, God, this is a picture of my heart.

Because I know that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I know my heart is the place that your presence dwells.

But God, you also tell me that my heart is a construction zone where you are building, where you have blueprints that you planned before I ever took my very first breath.

Jesus, the master builder, has a plan.

He has a plan for your life.

He has a plan for this community.

He has a plan for the generations to come out of your faithfulness.

And every one of those plans flows where?

From the sanctuary of your heart.

Proverbs says says it this way, chapter four.

Guard your heart, for everything that you do flows from it.

See, the sanctuary is not just where God meets us, the sanctuary of our heart is where God builds us.

And that's really encouraging to me.

I hope it is to you.

Because to me, I can understand that, and I can just take a deep sigh of relief to go, okay, Lord, I can be holy and a hot mess at the same time.

God, I can lift up holy hands and know that I am not a finished product, and I will not be finished until I see you face to face.

And I'm not just waiting around for you to show up and build my life.

You say that I get to build with you.

We are God's fellow workers.

This is what Paul wants to get across to us.

That you are partnering with the one who spoke the earth into existence.

You are God's fellow worker when you lead your small group this season.

When you showed up early this morning to serve and to be on a team, you are God's fellow worker as you raise those children, as you carry that child, as you care for the needs of children that are not your own.

You are God's fellow worker as you live a life of integrity in the workplace, as you seek to hear the voice of God.

You are working with God for life.

Somebody say for life.

Ruth Graham, the wife of Billy Graham, who had incredible influence herself, but also spent her life raising her children and faithfully stewarding what God had given to her.

She had written on her tombstone these words.

End of construction.

Thank you for your patience.

That's pretty good, right?

Can anybody testify?

I might have to take that.

That's pretty good.

Patience is the hardest part.

Because none of us want to wait for God to complete the plans that he has created for our life.

My son Wolfgang, he saw him.

He's got this red curly hair, a lot like Denny Rodney, actually.

I had D-Rod take a picture.

I said, Man, you look like his dad.

And Wolfgang is huge and he gets impatient with me.

I don't think I can shove food down his throat fast enough for him to be satisfied.

I cannot cut the meat fast enough for him to be satisfied.

And when he gets impatient with me, he does this thing.

He shakes.

I think it looks a lot like us with God.

Oh, school's gonna take another year.

The kids got in trouble.

This season didn't go as planned.

And here we are.

Who needs the storm of life on the outside when we're shaking ourselves within?

God doesn't want to shake you.

God wants to shape you.

He wants to use even the obstacles of life to build you, to steward what he's placed inside of your hand.

But we don't like to wait, do we?

We don't like to wait.

How do we respond?

When the building project takes a little longer than we planned.

I want to encourage you today.

Stability comes from the inside.

Somebody say, inside.

The construction is an ending.

That's the whole point.

It is not a season.

This project is for life.

And there's a lot of work that you don't see.

As I was walking the construction site with the builder, he said something really interesting to me.

He was like, Okay, Don Sheree, here's the deal.

The first few months are gonna be so exciting.

The walls are gonna go up.

First, we're gonna dig the foundation, but then this thing is gonna pop up.

And every day I think you should be here because you're gonna be amazed by how quickly things changed.

And I don't go every day, but my husband goes every single day.

And it's been phenomenal to watch how quickly it changes.

But he told me this.

He said it's gonna be so exciting.

The first few months, you're gonna be astounded how quickly we get this thing up, and then it's gonna look the same for a really long time.

Said, but there will be a lot of work going on on the inside, and I just think that's such a beautiful parallel for our lives as we follow Jesus.

Many times when we first meet Jesus, it's very exciting at the beginning.

I gave my life to Jesus, I have a brand new start.

Old things have passed away.

Behold, all things are new.

I just got baptized.

Let's celebrate.

Oh, I'm joining a crew.

I've got a brand new community of believers that are speaking faith over me.

And then as we live a disciplined life of following Jesus, all of a sudden.

Wow, it looks a lot the same from the outside.

But how many of you know that it is not the same on the inside?

That God is building something instrumental for the story He is telling in Shreveport, in Louisiana, and beyond.

And you know where it starts?

It starts on the inside of you.

And so I just want to stir your faith because maybe you've been following Jesus for a long time.

I believe the best is yet to come.

I believe that this fall is not gonna be like last fall.

I believe God is gonna open up the floodgates of heaven in this community, and it's gonna be through you being aware of what God is doing.

It's an inside job, it's hidden work, it's structural work.

Just because it looks the same doesn't mean the work is the same.

And so the question we have to ask ourselves is the obvious.

Why do we have to find the work?

Because there's work that you cannot see.

You think about even a child.

Like all a child needs to do pretty much is eat and sleep, and they're naturally gonna grow.

But as a child turns into an adult, all of a sudden we have to start finding the work, right?

Okay, wellness, vitality, working out, counting calories, how much sugar, how much exercise, I'm counting my steps.

You're finding the work.

Whereas my son Wilde, he just jumps from couch to couch and he's naturally growing.

But it comes to a place in following Jesus where we have to have eyes to see, where we have to have ears to hear, we have to have a heart that longs for more of God.

When it's an inside job, the change isn't documented where everyone sees it.

God is not releasing a blog on what he's doing on the canvas of your heart.

It's happening deep in your soul instead.

When it's an inside job, you're choosing to forgive and you're walking into freedom that you've never known.

When it's an inside job, you're choosing to tithe, and you're not doing for anybody else's applause.

You're doing it with a cheerful heart, thankful that God gave you more than you could ever imagine.

When it's an inside job, nobody but you and the Holy Spirit knew that you held your tongue today, and you built some self-control today.

Come on, put your hands together if you feel the Holy Spirit doing an inside job in your life in this season.

God is working beneath the surface.

The invitation today, and as you step into vision season, is this will you join him?

Because God wants you to find the work.

Now I come from a family of athletes.

I'm very proud of my brothers.

I was at every one of their football games.

I watched them throw those touchdowns.

And friends, I'm so proud of how athletic they are, but I gotta admit today, I just started working out in my 40s.

I'm sorry, that is a that is, but hey, it's never too late.

It's never too late, and it's more important than ever.

I I I when I say work out, I don't mean doing the Iron Man like your pastor.

Dinny Rodney is the most disciplined, focused athlete I have ever met.

What I mean is I work out twice a week with a trainer.

And if I didn't have a trainer, I wouldn't show up.

She's there for the accountability.

But one thing she says to me when I'm working out, when I go early in the morning, I'm working out in her garage and I'm doing weights and doing the whole deal, she'll look at me sometimes and she'll say, Don Sherry, stop, find the work.

And what does she mean?

She means, hey, you can't just mindlessly go through the movements if you want to actually see some fruit in your life.

You can't zone out, you gotta focus and you gotta find the work.

She's saying you're being passive, lean into the heart.

It's deeper than this, but you gotta actually look for it.

It's not gonna just come to you.

And I love it because Matthew chapter 7, verse 7 through 8 tells us, ask and it will be given to you.

Matthew 7:7–8

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives.

The one who seeks finds.

And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

So what is Jesus saying?

He's saying, Find the work.

If you'll look for it, you'll find it.

Let me tell you, there's more purpose than you could ever dream this fall.

God's calling us as the people of God to find the work, as fellow workers with the creator of all.

And here we are.

And instead of seeking and finding, knocking and seeing the door open, asking and receiving, we spend our lives hiding.

This goes all the way back to Genesis.

There they are, they're hiding, and God is the one who is seeking.

And you can spend your life until your very last breath hiding in your comfort, hiding in your insecurity, hiding in your shame, hiding in your comparison, hiding in all the reasons that culture gives you to stay in apathy, or you can say, okay, no more hide and seek.

It's time to live a life of seeking and finding.

There's work for me, there's a mission for me, there's a calling for me right here, right now.

Find the work.

And what is our work?

It's the work, first of all, to remember.

Somebody say remember.

We forget so quickly who God is and what He's done, don't we?

We forget so quickly God's countless faithfulness in our lives.

We forget who we are in God.

We conform to the patterns of this world.

We start to look to the right and left and think that the priorities of culture are the priorities that we should carry.

But God calls us back again and again, all throughout scriptures, to remember, remember, remember.

See, we're called to remember the price that Jesus paid.

I'm not remembering my mistakes.

I'm remembering that God has forgotten them.

I'm remembering that his blood gives me the authority to declare healing over my body, renewal over my mind, restoration over my family.

I'm remembering that he is enough.

How about remembering where we belong?

I'm called to remember, do the work of remembering that this house is not just some place I attend.

This is the place that I dwell.

This is the place that I flourish.

This is the place that the roots of my family dig deep.

I don't have to go find new values.

The values of this house are the values of my home.

The priorities of this house are the priorities of generations that will follow me, but we have to work to remember.

That's why we're commanded.

Hey, don't forsake Sundays.

Don't forsake this gathering.

Why?

Because quickly we forget.

You could be out of church two weeks and all of a sudden the patterns of your mind start to go down an entirely different route.

We work to remember.

And then what else do we work to remember?

We work to remember that God is doing a new thing.

That God is not just looking back, going, Oh, I did some good things in Miami.

I did some good things in Shreve.

No, God is looking ahead, going, where's the man?

Where's the woman who will be wholeheartedly surrendered to me?

I've got good things in store for this community.

And it's not our miraculous power.

That's not our work.

We just have to remember who he is and remember who we are in him.

That's what I love about communion.

It's a moment of remembrance, of awareness, and it transforms us as we remember.

But not just the work to remember.

Secondly, the work to realign.

Someone say, realign.

I love this word.

And honestly, Dad, I've used this word, I think, since I left for Nashville because every time I come home, I feel my heart realigned.

It's powerful when you feel God realign your heart.

Aren't those moments holy?

Aren't they life-changing?

They're purifying, they're strengthening, they give you direction.

But we must, as co-workers with Christ, we must work to realign.

Jesus speaks about realignment.

He said this: He said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

What is he saying?

He's saying this is integration, this is alignment.

Jesus, the master builder, knows that we don't build anything that stands without precise, focused alignment.

Love the Lord your God with every part of your being, the physical body that you see, and the part of you that will last eternally.

Align it all for the glory of God.

You know, as I work out with my trainer, it's funny because I notice how strong my genes are.

Sometimes I'll be working out early in the morning with my trainer, and I I have this ability, it's Duron DNA, to space out.

I can be working out and I can be in a completely different place in my mind.

I'm doing my laundry, I'm having that conversation I have to have at work.

I'm somewhere else.

And sometimes my trainer will come in front of me and she'll be like, hello.

Where are you right now?

Like, where did you just go?

And then she says, Don Sherry, I need you to find the work.

I need you to focus on your breathing.

Your breathing should be aligned with your movements.

I need your vision, your focus, where you're looking.

I want you to look right there and don't look anywhere else.

I need your posture to be in alignment as you do these drills.

I need everything to be in alignment so that you can grow the way that you're supposed to grow.

And that just speaks to me.

Because I think in the house of God, sometimes we need people that love us to look at us and go, hello.

Where are you?

I know that your body's here, but like, where's your heart?

Because we need the vitality of your life to come through right now.

We don't need your movements, we don't need just your presence, we need your spirit to be engaged, your faith to be ignited, for every part of you to be aligned.

Growth won't just come to you.

Jesus makes that very clear.

In fact, Jesus doesn't teach that, that growth just comes to you.

Jesus teaches that we participate in our growth.

It's not just what we do, it's how we do it.

I I love Nike, but the kingdom doesn't work when we just do it.

It's how we do it.

It's when we do it, it's how we trust the Lord.

Paul says we train like athletes, focused, disciplined, intentional.

He says, I don't run like someone running aimlessly.

And when we get off of our center, when we lose focus on the mission that God has called us to, without realignment, you're gonna hit a target that you never intended to hit.

Align your life again and again with the body of Christ as we follow Jesus.

See, we have the work to remember, we have the work to align.

But third, we have the work of return.

Somebody say return.

Now I'm not talking about just returning like the one leper did.

That's one of my favorite stories.

He's the only one who came back and gave thanks.

And I think that's powerful.

And I never want to forget that I give God my best, that he has the priority, and that I don't just come back to thank him, but I bring everybody I can with me to get close to Jesus.

But this is a different return I'm talking about.

I'm talking about that we work to return what God has invested in us.

We read the parable that the master gave the talents and one hid it, the others multiplied it, and the one who hid it and didn't multiply, it was taken from him.

As followers of Jesus, we're not called to just coddle and keep what God has given to us.

There's a return expected when we face Jesus face to face.

And so we're to invest our time, our talent, our treasure.

And I just want to encourage you in this fall season, it's time to invest.

It's time to see God multiply what He has put in your hands.

God wants to move in your life.

But freedom comes when you realize I'm not the owner.

I'm the steward.

Everything I have in my hands is yours.

Lord, my children are not yours.

My business, it's not yours.

My bank account, it's not yours.

My influence, my gifts, my talents.

Oh Lord, I am a steward.

And what does it do?

It awakens you.

Okay.

I am God's fellow worker.

I'm gonna see a return because of the grace of God on my life.

As I simply invest.

As we remember, realign, and return, supernatural thing takes place.

Something that we could never do ourselves.

We receive.

Someone say receive.

At the South Miami site where we're building, I saw deep foundations being dug.

And then I saw rebar rising up to the sky.

And the builder said to me, Hey, this rebar, and I think we have a picture of it, but he said, Hey, this rebar, it's really exciting because this week we have a big pour.

And for the first time, I saw a pillar as a vessel.

When it's filled, it becomes load-bearing.

Alone, the rebar can't handle the weight.

In other words, even if we remember, even if we realign, even if we return, alone that rebar could never hold the weight of what is going to be poured out on it.

But the builder looked at me and said, This week we've got a big pour.

Because that rebar is gonna be filled with cement and it's gonna become a load-bearing pillar that everything else is going to be built upon.

And that just got all over me because I came here to remind you that 2,000 years ago there was a big pour that Jesus poured out his blood on Calvary so that your foundation of life could be safe and secure, every pit, every hole, everything that you're ashamed of, suddenly wiped clean, your feet on solid ground.

This is the power of the blood of Jesus.

And not only that, how many of you know that after Jesus gave his life on Calvary, he said, wait in the upper room for me?

And so those disciples who were afraid and scared, they remembered the words of Jesus.

They realigned their fear as they began to intercede in the upper room.

They took what God had given and they brought a return of obedience and honor and trust.

And the Holy Spirit came in like a mighty rushing wind.

It was a big pour of the Holy Spirit, it filled them with the courage, filled them with the power, filled them with the passion that they didn't have just moments before.

Peter had denied Jesus three times, but Galatians calls Peter a mighty pillar of God.

And Peter stood out on those steps and he prophesied and he declared the good news of Jesus completely transformed.

Why?

Because there was a big pour.

The Holy Spirit, in the last days, I will pour out my spirit.

You say, Don Shree, how high does God want to build?

Well, he wants to build as high as you'll let him.

You know how God builds story after story after story after story.

Your testimony is not 50 years old.

He's building it high for the glory of God.

You are the light of the world, you are a city on a hill.

You are God's fellow worker.

It's time to find the work.

Would you stand to your feet all over this room?

I just want to pray for you.

I believe with all of my heart that God is doing a new thing in this city.

The miracles that God has done in this house are what fill me up with faith for Miami.

You've seen more miracles than you can ever imagine.

It's phenomenal, but I just know that the best is yet to come.

I know that.

I know God is gonna do things this year that people are gonna be talking about 40 years from now.

I just know that God is gonna provide in ways for your family and for this house in ways that we're gonna be talking about it 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now, because God is always doing more than we think.

But it starts with an outpouring of the Spirit of God.

And I just wanna pray over every one of you in this room.

I love you so much.

My heart, I'm going back to Miami with big faith for what God can do as we simply humbly and obediently trust him.

But I just sense that God is doing so much this fall in this house.

And if you say, Don Cherie, I need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, I just want you to lift up both of your hands because we came here to receive from him.

I'm declaring his words.

Oh God, pour out your spirit in this house.

Lord, we pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in ways, Lord, that we've never experienced.

God, I pray for a deep renewal.

God, deep down in our souls.

God, I pray for faith to stir.

Lord, I pray that you would unite the generations for the glory of God.

Lord, I pray that you would awaken destiny, that God ideas would be given in this moment.

God, I pray that you would give gifts of the Spirit, prophecy, serving, teaching, encouragement, giving, leadership.

God, I pray that people would receive mercy, words of wisdom.

God, I pray people would be given the gift of healing.

God, miracles, discerning spirits.

God, that people would speak in their heavenly language right here, right now.

Pour out your spirit, oh God.

Prepare us for the work that is ahead.

God, enlarge our vision, enlarge our territory, enlarge our faith, God.

There is no limit, there is no lack with you, Lord.

And I speak Zechariah chapter 10, verse 3 through 5 over you today.

Zechariah 10:3–5

God of the angel armies will step in and take care of his flock, the people of Judah.

He'll revive their spirits, make them proud to be on God's side.

God will use them in his work of rebuilding, use them as foundations and pillars, use them as tools and instruments, use them to oversee his work.

They will be a workforce to be proud of, working as one, their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud, courageous and vigorous because God is with them.

Oh, come on, if you believe it, put your hands together.

Let's respond in worship, let's respond in praise.

He deserves it, amen.

Thank you for connecting with us today.

The first step to a new life in Christ is receiving the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

If you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, repeat this prayer after me.

Jesus, I believe you died on a cross and rose again for me.

I ask that you come into my heart and be the Lord of my life.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

Whether you committed your life to Jesus for the first time today or are already on your journey of faith, we would love to stay connected with you.

Please visit SCchurch.com and follow SCchurch on all social media platforms.

And remember, the best is yet to come.