Who Am I?

October 6th and 7th

-This is a very important weekend in the life of this church.

-We are praying for, planning for, and making commitments for the future of this church.

-We have been implementing a Capital Stewardship Campaign for the last several months called, “FULFILLING THE DREAM”.

-Today is the day when we make a commitment telling what we plan to give over the next three years.

-If you are a visitor or new to this church we want to let you know that this isn’t for you (unless you decide to stay).

-This is very important because we aren’t talking about buildings but people who will be reached as a result of this giving.

-We have seen some videos, heard some testimonies and been challenged by the workers committing to over $800,000 so far as a challenge to us this weekend in these services.

INTRODUCE FTD LEADERSHIP (INCLUDE Mark and Karen Pellerito)

1 Chronicles 29

1 ¶ Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.

 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God--gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colours, and all kinds of fine stone and marble--all of these in large quantities.

 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:

 4 three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings,

 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?"

 6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly.

 7 They gave towards the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron.

 8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.

 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

 10 ¶ David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

 12 Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

 14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

 16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.

 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people for ever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. (NIV)

-David had called his leaders together and told of the project then he gave and challenged the leaders to lead and go first.

-He is overwhelmed and says; WHO AM I?

-That is what this celebrations weekend is all about. We are celebrating God’s calling of us to participate in His plan.

WE SERVE A WONDERFUL/LOVING GOD.

-They went on to build the temple and pay for it.

-It was a tremendous structure but more was accomplished in the people than it was in the structure.

Exodus 35  (NLT)

4Then Moses said to all the people, "This is what the LORD has commanded. 5Everyone is invited to bring these offerings to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze; 6blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen; goat hair for cloth; 7tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood; 8olive oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; 9onyx stones, and other stones to be set in the ephod and the chestpiece.
10

30And Moses told them, "The LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31The LORD has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, intelligence, and skill in all kinds of crafts. 32He is able to create beautiful objects from gold, silver, and bronze. 33He is skilled in cutting and setting gemstones and in carving wood. In fact, he has every necessary skill. 34And the LORD has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others. 35The LORD has given them special skills as jewelers, designers, weavers, and embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn on fine linen cloth. They excel in all the crafts needed for the work.

Exodus 36
1 "Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other craftsmen whom the LORD has gifted with wisdom, skill, and intelligence will construct and furnish the Tabernacle, just as the LORD has commanded."
2So Moses told Bezalel and Oholiab to begin the work, along with all those who were specially gifted by the LORD. 3Moses gave them the materials donated by the people for the completion of the sanctuary. Additional gifts were brought each morning. 4But finally the craftsmen left their work to meet with Moses. 5"We have more than enough materials on hand now to complete the job the LORD has given us to do!" they exclaimed.
6So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: "Bring no more materials! You have already given more than enough." So the people stopped bringing their offerings. 7Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project.

-It is Biblical to build from the offerings of the people.

-I am still waiting to have to call everyone and say STOP IT! WE ARE GETTING TOO MUCH FOR THE WORK!

PAST

-We need to look back at what went before.

-Many people sacrificed and prayed to get us to this place.

-Becky and I have been here for almost 17 years.

-We were married 6 months after coming here. Our reception was held in the other building.

-We had our children here. They are now 13 and 10.

-We have family in this church. Both parents attend here.

-Many of you have the same type of testimony.

-This church has meant a lot to you.

-There have been literally thousands of changed lives as a result of this church.

-God gets the credit but we were co-laborers.

-We saw a great little informational video from the past. That was put together in 1990 but some of the footage was from before that.

-We had a PREPARING TO GROW CAMPAIGN THEN.

-We are here because others sacrificed.

PRESENT

-We are in a season of growth and renewal.

-We went from 56 to 300 in 5 years.

-We then went from that to where we are now.

-There were 670 last weekend not counting the youth that don’t go to church here on the weekend or people who attend cells that don’t go to church here. There were over 700 the weekend before that. We have names for over 800 people who call this their church.

-Nothing from Wednesday night is reflected in that number.

-Those numbers don’t tell the real story.

-We are dealing with people who are committing their lives to God.

-That is your children, our bus children, youth and adults.

-We are in a position where God can work beyond all of our abilities.

-We are full. We could consider another service on Sunday but it would really strain the workers.

-Our parking lot is being expanded now.

-We are making room for increase because we are expecting increase.

FUTURE

-The future is bright for those who follow God.

-This could be the generation that sees Jesus return.

-If not, we are certainly the generation that will see HARVEST.

-Example with Lakita. We have the truth but can’t seem to connect it to a generation that needs the truth. (Talk show example.)

-I was in the Science Center with my family this week and I said to myself, “THE ATHIESTS AND UNBELIEVERS HAVE HYJACKED SCIENCE.”

-Everything is presented from a Godless point of view.

-They have pictures of Einstein and the truth is, he was motivated to look for order in the universe because he believed God put it there.

-You go to the zoo and there is Lucy even though she has been exposed as a hoax.

-We need some people who know God, love God and have the courage and brains to speak to the world.

-Our success isn’t measured by what we do in here but out there.

-I HAVE BEEN STUDYING CHURCH HISTORY, MISSIONS, AND THE END TIMES.

-Rather than study our age and what exactly is going on, I am focusing on two words:

HARVEST

CLOSURE

-Its harvest time. The husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth.

-We need to reach lost people.

-We need to focus on those CLOSEST AND THOSE FARTHEST AWAY.

-There are still people groups that have never heard the gospel.

-We are the generation to get life to them.

10% of the FTD money goes to missions. Some to reaching unreached people groups.

-You can be a part of this.

-I challenge you to stretch and give beyond your ability.

-We need you, the world needs you.

-Answer the call as a family and give big.

2 Corinthians 9

7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

 9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever."

 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.

 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!