DREAMING BIG 2019

INTRODUCTION

This year our little church went through a lot.

There are people that came and went.

There are people that we sent out in power and blessing.

There is Sandra, who went to be with Jesus.

Rene lost his father.

Ms. Lorraine and Pastor Bob went through a lot physically.

Though we ministered to those who were hurting, it was a bit overwhelming.

Financially

By God’s Grace we have stayed afloat.

We may be functioning tithe to tithe

We may be functioning tithe to tithe

But We have no debt.

Some of us have stayed faithful when it comes to giving

Some of us have grown in our giving

God has been providing supernaturally from outside the church walls.

But some of us have lacked faithfulness

If it wasn’t for God moving in the hearts of those outside of the church, I don’t know where we would be.

One thing I have learned this year is that God has been faithful

Sometimes we are not

Yet He remains faithful

It is in His nature to remain faithful to what He has called us to.

THOUGH WE CAN LOOK AT 2018 AS A YEAR OF LOSS AND DEFEAT.

I BELIEVE THAT THE FACT THAT WE ARE STILL HERE IS A TESTIMONY OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.

THE QUESTION IS:

HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE GOD’S FAITHFULNESS TO OUR ADVANTAGE?

HOW CAN THE TRUTH OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS EXPONENTIALLY GROW OUR FAITH TO TRUST HIM MORE?

HOW DOES THE FACT THAT WE ARE STILL HERE

EVEN AFTER THE CRITICS THOUGHT WE WOULDN’T LAST MORE THAN TWO YEARS.

EVEN AFTER THEY TOLD US THAT LONG BEACH WOULD CHEW US UP AND SPIT US OUT.

EVEN AFTER THEY TOLD ME THAT LONG BEACH IS THE PREACHER’S GRAVEYARD.

CHURCH, BY GOD’S GRACE WE ARE STILL HERE.

WITH MORE VISION THAN EVER.

LET’S TURN TO JOSHUA CHAPTER 1

Joshua 1 NKJV

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ” 12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, 13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, 15 until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD REVEAL TO US WHERE WE NEED TO GROW.

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD STIR US UP

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD SHOW US WHAT THE PROMISED LAND LOOKS LIKE

Joshua 1:1–2 NKJV

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.

ABOUT 3500 YEARS AGO, MOSES PASSED AWAY,

Though Moses had lead the Israelites through the oppression and deliverance from Pharoah in Egypt

His mistake at the Waters of Meribah in limited him from entering into the promise land.

ISRAEL HAD BEEN CAMPED OUT ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE JORDAN IN THE PLAINS OF MOAB

AWAITING THE PROMISE OF

Patiently waiting for the Word that God had spoken to Abraham to come to pass.

IN VERSE 2 WE READ THAT GOD INSTRUCTS JOSHUA TO GO TAKE HOLD OF THAT PROMISE

What would you do?

If God was finally ready to take you in

If God saw your preparation time as fulfilled

If God looked at 2018 as your Boot Camp for 2019

Notice how God is calling Joshua to participate in what He wants to accomplish

I am giving you the land

But I need you to get up

I need you to labor

I need you to cross the Jordan

I need you to lead this people

I am giving it to you, but you need to participate.

What blessings have you been praying for, but have not participated in their fruition?

What promises has He made to you, but you have not believed them?

What has He spoken to you, but you have kinda put it on the back burner?

Church, my desire is to facilitate, and help you courageously go after those promises.

If you have been dreaming of ways to make our services better, we want to hear about that.

If you have a gift that you want to activate, communicate that, we’d love to talk about what it looks like to minister it to the body of believers.

We have spent time

We want everyone one of you activated in the mission of God.

We want to see more people joyfully serving God in 2019.

We want to see people trusting Him throughout the faith process.

WHAT DOES THAT LAND LOOK LIKE?

Joshua 1:3-

WHAT WAS GOD CALLING THE ISRAELITES INTO?

Joshua 1:3–6 NKJV

3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

EVERY PLACE THAT THE SOLE OF YOUR FOOT TREADS UPON, I HAVE GIVEN TO YOU.

This is the precursor to the announcement of the land they are to take over.

Of all the borders that are about to be announced

Joshua is to keep in mind that whatever land his sole treads upon is his.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT GOD?

He is a Good God

He is a Generous God

He is a God who Blesses His People

He is a Provider

He is a Protector

He is Eternal

He is Holy

He is Faithful

He is Mighty

He is Able

SO WHY WOULD WE SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN WHAT HE WANTS TO PROVIDE?

Why would we doubt that His promises are true?

Why would we not want to see Miracles come to pass?

Why would we not trust His leading?

Church, if you want to settle for less than what God has for you, this faith thing is going to be boring, and you will probably stop going to church within the next year.

I believe there are Christians who are bored with their faith.

Boredom begets idleness

It is actually keeping them bored.

It is enabling them to stay bored with their faith.

They have sunk into a routine

They are now trying to maintain the machine

Idle hands are Satan’s greatest tool

Not on my watch

I want us to be excited

I want us to be excited

Idle hands created the Golden Calf

The best way to do this, is to live by faith and not by sight.

Idle hands caused David to sleep with Bathsheeba

Idle hands cause us to complain

Idle hands cause us to neglect what God is doing daily

In the trial of the Wilderness

The people began to complain about God’s daily provision

They thought they were going to die in the wilderness eating Manna and Quail

Manna which appeared on the ground without them having to work for it

Quail that just showed up a little before dinner time.

They

The people were so caught up in the situation that they were in, that they forgot where God wanted to take them.

They forgot the Word of the Lord because they weren’t in God’s Word

Church, the last thing I want us to do is forget what God has spoken to us in times past.

Look, I know what the promise land looks like

We need to hold on to His Faithfulness

We need to regrip His Promises.

But I don’t want to go alone.

We need to remind ourselves of the Promise Land that He wants us to take a hold of.

I want to take my family there.

I want to take my family there.

I want it to be an exciting journey.

I want to show my girls what being “All In” looks like.

Joshua was willing to get up, and show the Israelites how He believed in God.

Even though he may have been weak and fearful

He activated the promises of God

He took what God told Him and believed it Fully

Though Joshua began the journey into the promise land, the generations after that settled for less than what God had spoken.

CHECK OUT THIS MAP.

CHURCH, THIS GOES TO SHOW US HOW OUR NATURE WORKS AGAINST THE WILL OF GOD.

WE ARE OUR BIGGEST ENEMIES

OUR THOUGHTS, OUR FEARS, OUR WEAKNESSES, ALL HAVE THE CAPACITY TO WORK AGAINST THE WILL OF GOD

EVEN IN OUR GREATEST FEARS AND BIGGEST DOUBTS

The Father doesn’t run away

The Father doesn’t retreat

The Father presses in

The Father reinstates His promises.

He reminds us of how much He has for us

HE SAYS:

IM STILL HERE

I HAVEN’T GONE ANYWHERE

I AM STILL WITH YOU

DO NOT FEAR THE UNKNOWN OF TRUSTING ME

DO NOT LET YOUR WEAKNESSES STOP YOU

GET UP. ARISE. GET AFTER IT.

RUN BY FAITH!

WHAT IS HE REMINDING YOU OF TODAY?

WHAT IS HE REMINDING YOU OF TODAY?

WHAT PROMISES IS HE BRINGING BACK INTO REMEMBRANCE?

IN TIMES PAST, GOD HAS SPOKEN THROUGH THE PROPHETS

BUT HE NOW SPEAKS THROUGH JESUS

IF JESUS’ BLOOD SPEAKS A BETTER WORD

IF JESUS CONQUERED THE GRAVE

IF HE IS THE WORD THAT BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US

THEN HIS WORD MATTERS. FOR HE IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE

THEN LET THE FOLLOWING VERSES ENCOURAGE YOU:

THIS IS WHY GOD THEN POINTS BACK TO HIS WORD.

Joshua 1:7–9 NKJV

7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

ONLY BE STRONG AND VERY COURAGEOUS

There are only two levels for the Christian

Strong and Very Courageous

IT IS THESE TWO THINGS THAT WILL HELP YOU WALK IN HIS WORD

Why is His Word important?

However He

Because it is the channel through which He communicates

It is the confirmation that we so desperately need

It is the ingredient that brings us peace that surpasses all understanding.

It is what builds us up and gives us strength

To stay ONLY STRONG

To remain VERY COURAGEOUS

If you are weak, its probably because you are malnourished when it comes to the Word of God.

DO NOT TURN FROM IT, TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT

THAT YOU MAY PROSPER WHEREVER YOU GO

THIS BOOK SHALL NOT DEPART FROM YOU

BUT YOU, CHRIST FOLLOWER, ARE TO MEDITATE ON IT DAY AND NIGHT

THAT YOU MAY OBSERVE ALL THAT IT IS SPEAKING TO YOU

FOR THEN, YOUR WAY WILL BE PROSPEROUS

THEN YOU WILL HAVE SUCCESS

AGAIN, HAS HE NOT SAID

BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE?

DO NOT BE AFRAID

DO NOT BE DISMAYED

FOR GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO

WHEN GOD IS WITH YOU

WHO OR WHAT CAN CAUSE YOU TO FEAR?

Psalm 103:2 NLT

2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.