My Prayer for You

Departing people you care for and love for the next stage of your ministry and God’s purposes in your life is a not an easy thing.

For the past 8 1/2 years Kimberly and I have invested our lives, sweat, tears, prayers and hopes in Destiny Church.

We have seen some amazing things - great growth, unity, giving, expansion, salvation, water and spirit baptisms, healings, and provisions.

We have experienced some losses through death, moving away, falling away, the Covid-19 season, etc.

Nonetheless we believe we leave the church stronger, and better than when we found it, having built upon previous foundations of others, and moving things forward and not backward.

More than that, we pray we leave your lives enriched by our ministry and teaching both in praise and in the Word, and the need to be outwardly focused toward reaching the community.

Before Jesus departed the earth for the cross, death, resurrection and ascension - he made a big long prayer for His disciples, one section of this stands out in what is my parting prayer for you...

John 17:14–18 NLT

14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.

I am NOT Jesus, I am like you - but we do not belong to this world, AND I have given you HIS WORD!

Here are few thoughts of mine for you...

1. Have Maturity in the Word

1 Corinthians 3:1–5 NLT

1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world? 5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.

and

Hebrews 5:12–14 NLT

12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

A COUPLE of things are going on in these two passage...

There is an effort to point out the necessity of Christians - especially those who have been in the church for a little bit of time - to be digesting the meat - or the deeper things of God’s Word, the harder things of God’s Word.

Both passages point out the need to not remain on the fluffy, light, and easy passages of Scripture. We all need milk as babies, but even a six year old with a bottle in their mouth looks ridiculous!

In Corinthians Paul points us that it is because of a love of the sinful nature that some are still drinking milk - in other words he is saying it is time to grow up and take responsibility for your own spiritual maturity.

To accept not just what goes down easy, but those things that take a little bit to digest!

I pray, that if you have sat under my ministry for more than a month or two, that by now you have grown and are chewing the WORD FOR YOURSELF!

I have endeavored to not just give the fluff, but to present you with means to grow spiritually.

I want to have left a foundation as Dale Stout did for me, for the next Pastor to build on!

2. Be Doers of the Word You Heard

James 1:19–25 NLT

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

I included verse 19 because I was made aware some were mad at our leaving --- anger does not produce the righteousness God desires!!!

We cannot help that God has called us into the mission field for a new work.

We must all look within and recognize what the Lord wants to do in each of our lives.

I began this year with the theme of PURSUE - pursue what God wants YOU TO DO!!! HOW TO MATURE

The only way to do that is to obey the Word that you have heard!!!

I must say, some have heard me preach the truth for almost 9 years and still are festering in sin today, the same sin --- God does not want you to just hear, HE WANTS YOU TO DO!!!

Let His word REVEAL what needs to be fixed in your lives!

My desire has always been for God’s blessing on your lives because of your obedience to HIM!

3. Be United by the Word

In John 17:9

John 17:9 NLT

9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.

and

John 17:20–23 NLT

20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

The prayer for them to know the WORD is so the church would have unity and be one with each other.

Destiny - your church community and its UNITY is critical to your future and your testimony.

This has been a very peaceful church for us to pastor these last almost 9 years. However, the community of the church and its oneness still has more growth to experience.

In the years before Covid we saw a glimpse of strong community emerging, and the enemy tore that down, distracted and discouraged as many were, it was hard to regain that focus --- however, we were not saved to an INDIVIDUALISTIC IDEAL, but to a COMMUNITY OF CHRIST!!! Individually surrendered, and voluntarily joined together — the example of the TRINTITY played out in the CHURCH — ONE!!!

My prayer is for this community to come together in a more powerful way than ever before to be ONE, united in Christ to point the direction for this region to see JESUS!

CONCLUSION

We are aproaching the CHristmas season - we celebrate the WORD that became FLESH and dwelt among us...

My prayer is that same WORD - JESUS and the example of living in righteousness would permeate your lives.

Rise to Maturity

Be Doers of the Word

Allow that Word to Unite your hearts as one in Christ

so you might be safe from the evil one and glorify God!!!