Today we start a series I am very excited about called “Courage...”

  ...2 Samuel 23:20-21 (NLT2) 

^“There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. Once, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.” 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT2) “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” Why a series about courage? I think it is pretty evident that the last two years Covid has exposed a lot about the world but even more about the church. I have been shocked by the fear in the body of Christ, especially among those who claim to be Spirit-filled. I believe it is time that we have courage and the Lord with all our hearts. If things are about to escalate in our world, shouldn’t we be prepared?

1. Courage to Face the Lion. Most of us would not have the same reaction Benaiah had when he encountered the lion on that snowy day. Our natural instinct to facing a 450-pound lion is to run. But lion chasers are wired differently. 

2. Courage to Trust God. God is in the business of strategically placing us in the right place at the right time. God is good at getting us where He wants us to go. The catch: Many times the right place seems like the wrong place, and the right time may seem like the wrong time. Encountering a lion in the wild is typically a bad thing.  Benaiah kills the lion. Romans tells us that God works all things together for our good if we love Him. Benaiah’s resume…Killed two champions, an Egyptian warrior, and a lion in a pit on a snowy day! Because God had set him up and because He was courageous, God exalted him for the service of the King.

3. Courage Brings a Blessing. Batterson, “God is always using past experiences to prepare for future opportunities. But those God given opportunities often come disguised as man eating lions. And how we react when we encounter those lions will determine our destiny. We can run in fear from the lion or Covid or our greatest challenges or we can chase our God ordained destinies by seizing the opportunity before us.” During the Black Plague of the 1300s when it came to the question, “Do we minister to people or isolate ourselves because of fear of death.” Their response and motto: “We die at our post.” Joshua 1:9 (NLT2) “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Today we end the series “Wonderfully Complex” and...

 ...I hope we have all seen how wonderful God has planned out each of our lives. We are very valuable to God and His Kingdom. Psalm 139:13-14 (NLT) “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Today I want us to see how God truly wants us to find our soul print and to be more than conquerors.  

1. In discovering you are more than a conqueror; you will have to recognize your compensatory skills. We all know that David’s defeat of Goliath was supernatural, but also his compensatory skill. Batterson “If David isn’t an expert marksman with a slingshot, there is no way he defeats Goliath; he most definitely does not become king; and he therefore never produces a royal lineage that includes the Messiah.” A skill given by God and developed by David is used to help him be more than a conqueror! 

2. In discovering you are more than a conqueror; you will have to deal with your control issues. One of Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest) powerful statements was: Chambers - “Let God Engineer.” What he was saying was that we must let God be in control. Batterson: Most of our emotional problems are symptoms of one deep-rooted spiritual problem: lack of trust in the sovereign God. It’s our lack of trust in Him that results in high levels of past-tense guilt, present-tense stress, and future-tense anxiety.” We want to be in control. We want to control others. We want to control God Himself. You do not belong to yourself; you were bought by the blood of Jesus so give up your desire to control what you do.

3. In discovering you are more than a conqueror; you will have to recognize your unconquerable-ness. 

Oswald Chambers not only said “Let God Engineer” he also coined the word “Unconquerable-ness”. Chambers – “No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God in a human spirit, it is an inner unconquerable-ness.” David had this unconquerable-ness. Batterson – “In a sense, our faith is really a by-product of God’s faithfulness. God proves Himself to be faithful, and it builds our faith as we connect the dots.”Each wild animal that David conquered...each new psalm of worship that he wrote to the Lord, each time he practiced using his sling was moving him closer to his day of destiny. Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” God is ordering your steps just like he did with David...there will be delays, there will be seasons, and there will be disappointments...that’s just life. Let God engineer and let Him build in you your inner unconquerable-ness! You are wonderfully Complex!

Today we continue the series “Wonderfully Complex...”

  ...Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT) “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Today we are going to deal with seasons and delays.

1. In discovering your soul print you will discover that God allows us to go through certain seasons on our journey. As you get older and mature you realize the battle is won long before you are on the battlefield. You win or lose based on your faithfulness to whatever season you are in. Batterson – “Every divine appointment is preceded by a season of preparation. And if we submit to the preparation, God will fulfill His promise. If we don’t, He won’t. Why? Because God never sets us up to fail. Another key to fulfilling your destiny is to recognize the season you are in and not let frustration and disappointment take over.”

2. In discovering your soul print you will discover that often there will be divine delays. Batterson – “Your dream seems like a mirage that remains the same distance away no matter how fast or how far you pursue it. You know you have a destiny to fulfill, but the elapsed time causes you to second-guess yourself.  This is what you must understand...if you arrive too early at what you think to be your destination (your destiny) you will miss the growth you would have experienced.” Dutch Sheets – “Are you struggling to get to the next stage? Don’t give up. Your struggles won’t be wasted; they may even be necessary. The key is not to quit.”  

3. In discovering your soul print you will discover that without a crucifixion there is no resurrection. The days between death and resurrection are long and dark but that is often when a miracle is about to happen.

Batterson – “You never know how or when or where a dream will be resurrected, but if it’s God ordained, then God Himself will bring it back to life somehow, somewhere, sometime.” Don’t short circuit God’s plans for you by taking short cuts and by doing what so many have done by compromising...there is a price to pay for forcing your desires and wishes. God is setting you up just like He was setting David up...His day of destination was coming and what he had to do in the meantime was to be faithful where he was. One of the fastest ways to mess up what God has for you is to not trust Jesus and to try to help Him fix your situation.

Life Church and Board of Deacons, thank you so much for honoring our wonderful pastors…

  ...you’re the best! Romans 13:7 (NLT2) ^“Give respect and honor to those who are in authority.” 

Elders of Heart --Years ago I was at the altar begging God for His help and His blessings. I told Him how I needed help here at Life Church (Then Leesburg First A/G). He spoke to me and told me that He had already sent the help I needed and I just needed to acknowledge them and allow them to minister along side of me. Lord, can you be a little more specific? He said, I have sent all these retired ministers to help you and to hold your arms up, you just need to ask them and they will gladly help you. Really? They are retired! Yes, they are, but they want to still be used for Me. These Elders of Heart (retired ministers) are worthy of your honoring of them because of how they have followed righteousness and mercy. They have truly been a blessing to me for many years. Let’s celebrate them!

Pastoral Staff -- I am sure you are aware that it is absolutely necessary for the success of a church to have a pastoral team that has the same heart and the same spirit. We must be one as we serve together. Psalm 133:1-3 (NKJV) “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.
It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing-- Life forevermore.” My philosophy of ministry is servant leadership and my pastors must be here to serve God and serve people. Being a pastor simply means you are responsible to serve more people. We honor:                   

 Mark and Christie Ann – Pastor Mark has become more than a children’s pastor, he has become my associate pastor, a confidant, a sounding board, a brother who listens to my frustrations and still honors me. He has become a very dear friend. Aaron and Tatyana  – These guys have taken our worship to the next level. Our music department was struggling when they came…they turned it around. A team of about 35 is now a team of around 140. Dwaine and Elaine  – These guys were extremely successful and loved in the ministry before they came to us. They help us with pastoral care, communion, and have gifts of encouragement. Marty and Faye – Senior adult ministers, altar ministry, Village campus, and many other things that bless Life Church. Pastor Neftali and Sheila – Our great Spanish pastors with La Vida Church. Pastor Jose and Gramir and changing lives in youth. Joseph and Jan Diaz – Oversees our CG and Village Campus worship leaders. God bless you all so much!

Today we continue the series “Wonderfully Complex...”

  ...taken from Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT) “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.” Again, I want to challenge you to be who God created you to be.

1. Because you are God’s child your heredity and destiny are from Him. Your identity is part heredity. When you have been in the same church as long as I have you see how much children look and act like their parents...scary! Here is some wonderful news for you today spiritually...the image of God is both your heredity and your destiny. So what is my point...there is just no way to calculate how unique you are...that’s exciting…you are one of a kind. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

2. Why is it that we all start out as “one of a kind original” but too many of us end up as carbon copies of someone else. Instead of celebrating our uniqueness, and the uniqueness of others, we are too often threatened by it. Instead, we should  do 1 Peter 4:8-9 (NKJV)  “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.” Batterson: We forfeit our uniqueness because we want to fit in. Instead of daring to be different, we sacrifice our soul print on the altar of conformity.

3. If we will have God’s uniqueness for us, and if we will be who we are, we must be willing to take Saul’s armor off. What? There comes a point in every person’s life when they realize that imitating someone else is detrimental ...we must take ourselves for who we are for better or for worse. David did when he prepared to fight Goliath. David could have gone into battle like a king (Saul)...tempting! Thankfully David said I cannot go into battle with this armor...I have not tested them and they definitely do not fit...Saul was head and shoulders taller. David was a shepherd...for better or for worse...That was who he was and what God had destined him to be up to that point in his life. David was at a cross road in his life...like so many of us...He had to make a choice...This choice would determine his destiny. Be myself or try to be someone else. It is the rarest form of courage...it is the courage to be yourself. That is what I will give account to God for...being who God called me to be. Soren Kierkegaard: The deepest form of despair is to be another than oneself.