Tonight we begin the drama “Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames”...

 ...and you can tell by the transformation of our sanctuary that a lot of work has gone into this production. What you cannot see is all the hours that volunteers have put in to making this happen. Thank God for the directors from HGHF who have guided us through every step of the way. And, of course, without them this would not be possible so we all say a great big thank you to Carl and Kathy Bath. The construction crew did a great job building the set, the drama team is working so hard to get their lines and their parts down, and everyone else on the team are working feverishly to make this happen. So, Pastor Rick, why all this work and effort? “Souls!” Jesus said in Luke 14:21&23 (NKJV) “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” So what do we need from you?

1. Pray! We need everyone praying for a great harvest of souls to be saved during this time. HGHF is one of the greatest tools for seeing people get saved but we need prayer cover. We are hearing much wonderful news about revival and that’s wonderful. How great would it be to see our revival begin with hundreds coming to Christ over the next few days? Please pray to the Lord of the harvest!

2. Pass Out Tickets! We need you to take HGHF tickets and pass them out to everyone you can. Many of you tell me that you are shy and timid about witnessing, well, here is your chance. Just hand a person a ticket and invite them to the services. One of our faithful Board Members was saved during HGHF and who knows who you will reach during this time of harvest.

3. Be Here Every Night! Pastor, I have already seen the drama years ago. Well, congratulations but we still need you here every night! Why? To be a prayer covering for “Souls” and to welcome people to our church. Just a minute conversation from a kind Christian can make all the difference in the world. Please be here!

4. Be Sensitive to Holy Spirit! Remember why Holy Spirit was sent to us. John 16:7-8 (NKJV) “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” While you are here, be sensitive to Holy Spirit and let God use you to touch someone!

Today we continue our 2023 Missions Convention...

...and we are appealing to you on behalf of Jesus to become Kingdom Builders with us. Just seconds after we enter into Heaven, we will be so thankful for every dime we have invested into the Kingdom of God and into Missions. Today we are honored to have a great Missions Pastor, Virgil Amundson, sharing with us the Word of God and about his passion for Missions. 

Helen Keller - “What’s worse than being blind? Having eye sight but no vision.” In the context of our Missions Convention I hope this quote will not apply to anyone who calls Life Church their church. We are a missions church and there are very few services, if any, that we do not share our heart and vision for the lost here at home and around the world. It is obviously Biblical...Jesus said in Matthew 28:19‑20 (NKJV) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.  He ends these verses with ‘Amen’ which means ‘let it be so.’

There appears to me to be a group of people in the body of Christ who are more troubling than those who absolutely do not see the need or the mandate to support missions and our missionaries.  It would be the group who sees the reality of the lost, who hears what the Word of God has to say about it, and yet have no spiritual vision or willingness to do something about it.  I see this principle in 1 John 3:16‑18 (NKJV)  “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” By what you do.

The opportunity is being placed before you to be able to do something about the lostness of the lost.  As you have been blessed by God with material possessions and you see the world around you lost and Christ-less, you will be able, above your tithe (Ten Percent) to bless the missions ministry of Life Church. Your faithfulness to tithe and to give to missions enables us to continue to support 220 missionaries we have now and will help us to add even more. Cheerful obedience is what I truly believe God is looking for...100% of our members and regular attenders making a generous Faith Promise for 2023.  Please do not see the need but fail to catch the vision! Amen!

Today we continue our Mission’s Convention – 2023 and...

 ...we continue challenging you to do more for missions than you have ever done. The 220 missionaries who we are currently supporting are depending on our continued support to stay on the field reaching the lost where God has called them. It is easy to look at the economy and say we can’t do as much this year but I always prefer to look at God’s Word. Romans 10:13-15 (NLT2) “For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?” Powerful questions from God’s Word. Our text asks us some pretty piercing questions that I believe are worth investigating. Four questions:

1. How can they call on him? Let me ask it another way; how can anyone be saved if they don’t know Who Jesus is? Correct me if I am wrong but doesn’t the Word say there is no other Name under heaven where man can be saved? We want them to call on Jesus and we want them to believe in Jesus so as we show them the transformation in us and we love them they will call on Him. I have always believed, like the Apostle Paul, that I am a debtor to all people to share Jesus with them. 

2. How can they believe in Him? Again, it comes down to personal responsibility. I have found in my restaurant ministry, if I am honest, loving, and transparent I have a much greater possibility of getting them to believe in Christ. Just a news alert from someone who loves you…sinners can see a fake or a hypocrite from a mile away. We want them to see Jesus in us. 

3. How can they hear about Him? I truly believe one of the many reasons God will have to wipe away our tears when we get to heaven is because we have had this treasure in earthen vessels and we kept it to ourselves. And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? You know what is funny? No one told me I had to go tell people about Jesus when He totally changed my life. I couldn’t wait. I personally believe the greatest motivation to be a great witness for Christ is love that is propelled by Holy Spirit power! 

4. How will anyone go? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? I want to challenge you in 2023 to join with God and with us in helping missionaries to be sent to the countries of their calling. Make out a new Faith Promise card or increase yours from last year. Isaiah’s vision…Lord, send me!

Missions 2023! Mission’s Faith Promises! Missionaries speaking in so many services!...

...Challenges to give to Missions…challenges to give more every year! Challenges to pray for our missionaries and to support the General Missions of Life Church! Pastor Rick, all we hear is Missions Missions Missions! Why? Why is this such an emphasis at our church and why does there seem to be an obsession with Missions at Life Church? What a great question and I could give you all the reasons I believe Missions should be a priority but let me defer to the One Who has greater authority and wisdom about reaching the world with the Gospel…Jesus!

Jesus said in John 3:16-17 (NKJV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” The reason Jesus wants to reach the world and we should want to reach the them is because God so loved the world that He gave Jesus! Jesus went on to say that the purpose of His coming was to be obedient to His Father. If we will be Christ-like, if we will be Christians, shouldn’t we have the same heart that Jesus had? Jesus loved people and cared about their eternal destiny. Shouldn’t we do the same? Mark 16:15 (NKJV) “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Sounds like to me, Jesus was serious! 

Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV) “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.” How much more do we need to be motivated to emphasize Missions than what Jesus has said here? He said “Go!” We can’t all go. True. In Romans 10:14-15 (NKJV) “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" We can’t all go but we can send missionaries all over the world!

Finally, Jesus said in Luke 19:10 (NKJV) “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." If that was what Jesus was doing, shouldn’t that be what we are doing? Enough said! Amen!

Our 2023 Mission’s Convention, can you believe it?...

 ...I would have thought Jesus would have returned by now but it appears He is giving us more time to reach the lost here and around the world. Isaiah 54:1-2(NKJV)
"Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman," says the LORD.
"Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.” I preached these verses for La Vida Church’s 10 Year Anniversary, and as I was preparing this, God spoke to me about preaching this for our convention. I have been the Lead Pastor here for a little over 32 years and I have challenged you every year to support the Mission of the Church which is the Great Commission. Mark 16:15 (NCV) “Jesus said to his followers, “Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone.”  Go where? Everywhere! Tell who? Everyone! It does not get any simpler than that. It is not a suggestion but it is a command.                                                                                                                                    

1. Enlarge the Place of Your Tent. God is saying to you from His Word. Get ready for growth. For souls to be saved here and around the world. Just from one of 220 missionaries that we support…in 17 years – led 110,000 people to Christ. Jesus said He will build His Church. Who will build His Church? He will build His Church. He just wants us to work with Him and watch what He does. Life Church, La Vida Church, and Village Campus, enlarge the place of your tent and lengthen your cords. 

2. Do Not Spare. Isaiah 54:2 (NKJV) "Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare;” Isaiah 54:2 (NLT2) ^“spare no expense!” What do you believe this is saying to us? Do not spare…spare no expense? One of our Distinctives as a church is “Generosity.” Be givers! Be faithful in your tithing! Support the Mission’s Program of the church! Be givers every time an opportunity is presented. Do not spare. Spare no expense.

3. Strengthen Your Stakes. Isaiah 54:2 (NKJV) “And strengthen your stakes.” When you set up a tent, what holds the tent in place? The stakes. It is time to go deeper. Some want to shout louder and jump higher and that’s okay as long as you are going deeper. There are way too many shallow Christians in the church. The first wind, or storm, or test, they are blown away. Go deeper my brothers and sisters…strengthen your stakes. Get connected to Jesus like never before and be filled with Holy Spirit so you can be witnesses around the world. 

Enlarge the Place of Your Tent. Do Not Spare. Strengthen Your Stakes.

Today we continue the series on “Courage”...

 ...Last time we talked about unlearning our fears and today we will talk about re-thinking our prayers. 2 Samuel 23:20-23 (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. An Honest Assessment of Our Prayers. We would probably be amazed to discover how many of our prayers are aimed at simply reducing our problems. We pray God will keep us out of a pit with a lion on a snowy day. We pray that God will help steer clear of Egyptian warriors with spears. Also, if we have to fight against the Moabites, please let the numbers be on our side. What if these problems are just opportunities in disguise? Our prayers are misdirected. At the end of our lives I believe we will thank God for the lions, bears, and giants in our lives. We will even thank God, like Benaiah, for the pits we end up in. Someday we will thank God for the bad things that have happened to us.

2. The law of Unintended Consequences. C.S. Lewis – If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where would I be now? Lewis went on to say that there will come a day that we will be more grateful for the prayers God did not answer than the ones He did. Why? Many of our prayers are misguided. We pray for comfort instead of character. We pray for an easy way out instead of strength to make it through. We pray for no pain, when the result would be no gain. Batterson – “Maybe prayer is less about changing our circumstances than it is changing our perspective. Most of our problems are not the by-product of our circumstances but of our perspective on our circumstances. Maybe we need to quit praying safe prayers.” 

3. Worship is Our Way of Escape. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NCV) “But when you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it.” Think about Paul and Silas (Acts 16) being in stocks in a Philippian dungeon. Circumstances truly can’t get much worse and Paul and Silas’ reaction is remarkable. If it had been you or me the text would have read, “Around midnight Rick was complaining.” Not these guys. Acts 16:25 (NLT2) ^“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” Quote – “Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God.” It restores the joy of your salvation. 

During our week of prayer,...

 ...the night Pastor Dwaine was speaking, God took me to this passage of scripture. I said, Lord, if you want me to share this tonight have Pastor Dwaine ask me. He didn’t. The next morning Pastor Aaron came to my office and asked if I thought it would be good to have a time of worship today, January 22, 2023. He said you could share a quick devotion and we could worship. Immediately God spoke to me that this was the time to share this word. A man brought his demon possessed son to the disciples and they could not help him. Jesus said bring him to me and he cured him. His disciples asked why they couldn’t help him. Matthew 17:14-21 (NKJV) “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

1. Say to This Mountain. What is your mountain? Kids away from God, a sickness (you or someone you love), a job situation, or whatever your mountain is. Someone needs to talk to your mountain today. Jesus said, if you have just a little faith (as of a mustard seed) , you can speak to your mountain and your mountain will listen. Has anyone gotten angry enough to say something to the mountain you are facing? Be angry and do not sin!

2. Move from Here to There. It sounds like to me that Jesus was telling the disciples and He is telling us that it is time to pray with authority and to speak to our mountain, our prodigal, our sickness, our need. Pray or say what? Move from here to there! Move from here to there! Your prodigal may be here (away from God) but it is time for them to move there (right with God). Your body or your loved one may be here (overwhelmed with sickness) but it is time for them to move there (well and whole). Your finances may be here (struggling) but it is time for them to be there (blessed). It is time to say to our mountain, move from here to there, and Jesus said, it will move. 

3. This Move (Miracle) happens by Prayer and Fasting. What have we been doing for the last 21 days? Praying and fasting. Jesus said we can speak to this mountain. Jesus said we can tell it where to go (from here to there). Why? We have been praying and fasting. Do you have a little faith? Come and worship and speak to your mountain and it will move. Worship God and the mountain will move! Amen!