ALL IN Again

Put your hands together. Yeah. I've seen favor, but not like this. I've seen blessings that make no sense. So can I testify? I've seen miracles I could not buy. I've seen power I can't deny. So can I testify? I'm gonna shout it out. God the Lord is good. I've seen it all my life. God the Lord is good. He was faithful then. He's faithful now. Forevermore I will shout. Hallelujah. Yeah, the Lord is good. Can I testify? Can I testify? Can I testify? He's been with me from the very start. He's the only one who has my heart. So can I testify? He's the one who never lets me down. He's the one who turned my life around. If you believe it, come on. Can I testify? I'm gonna shout it out. Yeah, the Lord is good. I've seen it all my life.

Yeah, the Lord is good. He was faithful then. He is faithful now. Forevermore I will shout hallelujah. Yeah, the Lord is good. Can I testify? Come on. Put your hands together, church. Can you give a testimony? Can I testify? Let's testify how you've seen the glory of God. Come on, sing with me. Sing. If you only knew what Jesus saved me from. I was in the dark. He brought me to the sun. Now I'm living proof. Look what the Lord has done. Look what the Lord has done. If you only knew what Jesus saved me from. I was in the dark. He brought me to the sun. Now I'm living proof. Look what the Lord has done. Look what the Lord has done. If you only knew what Jesus saved me from. I was in the dark. He brought me to the sun. Now I'm living proof. Look what the Lord has done.

Look what the Lord has done. Yeah, the Lord is good. Yeah, the Lord is good. Come on church, sing! Yeah, the Lord is good. I've been in all my life. Yeah, the Lord is good. He was faithful then. He was faithful then. He is faithful now. Forevermore I will shout hallelujah. Yeah, the Lord is good. Shout it out! Can I just see that? Can I just see that? Can I just see that? If you've got something to be thankful for today, join us as we worship our risen king and thank him for things we can't even put into words. All my words fall short. I've got nothing new. How could I express? Oh my gratitude, I could sing this song, as I often do. But every song must end, but you never do. So I throw up my hands, to praise you again and again. Cause all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah. And I know it's not much, got nothing else fit for me. Except for a heart singing hallelujah, hallelujah. I've got one new song, I've got just one new. With my arms stretched wide, I will worship you.

So I throw up my hands, to praise you again and again. Cause all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah. And I know it's not much, got nothing else fit for me. Except for a heart singing hallelujah, hallelujah. The God that so loves us is greater than any force here on earth. He's bigger than every problem. His word speaks louder than any lie that our mind may believe. And I know it doesn't feel like much when we sing our songs to Him. But it does so much in the spiritual realm when we lift up our praises. I need you to know God doesn't need our praise. He's self-sufficient. We're angels worshiping Him 24-7, saying holy, holy, holy. The reason why we worship God is He's given us this gift of worship for us. Cause when we declare God's goodness and God's godness, it reminds us that what we're going through is just temporary. That He is bigger, that He is greater, that He's always with us, that He never forsakes us. So typically during this time, every time we gather, we pray together as a church familial. And we pray for the needs here in this church. And I want to let you know, if there's a need you have here at home, you can fill out that Connect card in the back. We pray for every request, every single week, every person by name. And right now our prayer partners are going to come forward. If there's a burden you've walked in with and you don't know what to do with it, things are heavy and you need some help, you have a church family that cares for you, that loves you. We want to pray with you. We want to lift up whatever may be going on in your life to a God who hears and will answer. Amen. I want to encourage you, if there's something you need help praying with, to come forward and to receive that prayer in just a few moments when we start praying.

But today I want to do something different. As you come forward to receive prayer for the rest of us, I want the song of our lips to be the prayer of a heart. I want us to sing a song of gratitude and pray prayers of gratitude. That it may shift our thinking, that it will change our perspective off of what is bad to our God who is good, on what seems impossible to our God who can do all things that are impossible and make them possible. Amen. In our time of familiar prayer, whatever you may be feeling, whatever you may be going through, let's turn that into gratitude. Let's thank God for the good that we see and believe that the best is still before us. Let's pray. You may come forward as we pray together, Father. There is no one like you. You are good. You are holy. You are the God of all things, including our lives. And you hold our life in your hand. And we're so thankful, Father. We give you gratitude that we have breath in our lungs. We give you praise and thanksgiving for the family that we have and the church family you've surrounded us with. We thank you for this place that we can fully be ourselves and not wear a mask and just be transparent. And you meet us here as we are. We're thankful, Lord, that your hope for us... our lives and your promise for our life will not leave us the way that we are, but transform us for your good and glory, God. We thank you, Lord, for the provision that you've given to us. We thank you for food on our table, for clothes on our back. We thank you, God, that all your promises are yes and amen in Jesus.

We thank you that you are a healer, that you're a supplier, that you are peace and our strength and our joy, God. We thank you for all the things that you are to us and all the things that you've given to us. And I pray as we lift up our voice that we wouldn't be timid, that we wouldn't be afraid or ashamed, God, but we would lift up our gratitude. We'd lift up our praise because you are worthy and we are your children that are so loved. We lift up all of these prayers, all of these songs and thanksgiving in Jesus' name, we pray. Oh, don't you get shy on me. Lift up your song because you've got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and pray to the Lord. Come on, my song. Oh, don't you get shy on me. Lift up your song because you've got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. Oh, come on, my song. Oh, don't you get shy on me. Lift up your song because you've got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. We praise you, Lord. We praise you, Lord. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. We praise you, Lord. So I'd throw up my hands and praise you again and again. Because all that I have is a hallelujah, a hallelujah. And I know it's not much, not nothing else before a king, except for a heart singing hallelujah, hallelujah.

Oh, come on, my soul. Oh, don't you get shy on me. Lift up your song. Because you've got a lion inside of the sun. Get up and praise the Lord. Come on, my soul. Oh, don't you get shy on me. Lift up your song. Because you've got a lion inside of the sun. Get up and praise the Lord. So I'd throw up my hands and praise you again and again. Because all that I have is a hallelujah, a hallelujah. And I know it's not much, not nothing else before a king, except for a heart singing hallelujah, hallelujah. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust him. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust him. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust in God. ♪ My Savior, the one who will never fail ♪

♪ He will never fail, I trust in God ♪ ♪ My Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail, I saw the Lord, I saw the Lord ♪ ♪ And he heard and he answered, I saw the Lord ♪ ♪ And he heard and he answered, I saw the Lord ♪ ♪ And he heard and he answered, that's why I trust him ♪ ♪ That's why I trust him, I saw the Lord ♪ ♪ And he heard and he answered, I saw the Lord ♪ ♪ And he heard and he answered, I saw the Lord ♪ ♪ And he heard and he answered, that's why I trust him ♪ ♪ That's why I trust him, God ♪ Come on church, if you are grateful, that when we seek him, the Bible says we will find him when we seek him with all of our heart and that's why we're here today. You're not here for a man, you're not here for a woman, you're here to hear from the spirit of God. If that's where your heart is, would you just lift up your hands as we prepare ourselves to hear his word. Father, so grateful, you're worthy. And now as we open up your word, I pray that you would speak to us greater than any teacher could teach. It's not by might, it's not by power, it's not by the preacher, it's not by what's happened in the past, it's by your spirit and your spirit alone. So open up our ears and our hearts. Let us be fertile soil to receive all that you have for us, God.

And give us the faith to take a step forward with what you've taught us. That we would listen to what you speak and God, we would move to what you want us to do. That your will be done in this place. In Jesus' name, we thank you and pray. And all the people of God who love him said. Come on church, if you are grateful to be in the house of the Lord with the people of God, let's give him praise, amen. I'm Eric, you may have a seat. I wanna welcome you again to the perfect place for imperfect people to experience the presence of God. Today's a special day for our church family. Today is part of our vision weekend. It's the time of year where we look back at some of the things that God has done and give him gratitude for that. But it's also a time where we look forward in faith for what God has in store for us. A year ago, we started a faith journey called All In. We did this together as a church family because we believe that God had called us and created us for something greater than ourselves. So we stepped into this faith adventure with this vision that God had given us. And if you don't know what our vision is, you can write this down. Our vision as a church is to create the perfect place for imperfect people to experience the presence of God.

To create the perfect place for imperfect people to experience the presence of God. And here's what this perfect place, here's our vision of what this perfect place for imperfect people looks like. We have a big vision as a church to see 25,000 people saved, set free, taking a next step in baptism to serve the Lord. We have a big vision as a church to see 2,500 connect groups all across our county where people are growing together, sharing life together, where everyone knows that they are not alone. We have a big vision as a church to give away $25 million to like-minded ministries in our local community so that we can care for those who need help and provide for them in ways that are very practical. And we have a big vision as a church to one day build a 25-acre city center, a hub for our local community, a place where families can gather, where students can grow, where the vulnerable can be cared for and people can experience the presence of the living God here in this place. It's a city center with a park where families can come together, an amphitheater where local musicians and artists can perform, a coffee shop where college students and moms,

they can get a cup of joe for their day or study, a place where the elderly, they can get an oil change for free, a place where single parents, they can get a delicious hot meal for their family at an affordable price, a place where teenagers don't have to be trained by the streets, but they can be discipled and learn skills for their life like production, photography, songwriting. This is our vision for the church. This is what we see clearly even when we close our eyes. But I wanna let you know, that vision didn't start last year when we started All In. That vision actually began 14 years ago at a Hilton Garden Inn in Miramar where just a few of us gathered. Most of you, you weren't there. Pablo, Alina, you guys were there. But the vision was there, 900 square feet. Some of you, your living rooms are bigger than that, right? But something good and something godly was happening in that place. People were finding hope. Not because we had extravagant resources, we didn't, but because we had a clear vision for what God wanted to do and we said we're on mission for that. Those early days weren't glamorous. Sometimes the coffee ran out and people went a little bit crazy,

so we had to run to Dunkin' and get another carafe full. Sometimes the microphone didn't work because it was plugged in and the connection was bad because it was a hand-me-down microphone. Sometimes the hotel would book the room that we were in so we'd have to go out and worship in a public park. But throughout all of that, the vision remains. People were encountering God. People were being transformed. And I remember that 900 square foot conference room and on a day like today, when I look across this room and I remember that day, it's clear that a God thing is continuing to happen here in this place. We're seeing God grow this place because of his faithfulness. That's a vision God gave us for this church. And that's a vision that we clung onto and we carried forward a few years later when we joined together with Calvary Sawgrass and we put aside our egos and our logos and we joined together as one united church familia. And a few years later, that's the vision that we clung onto in 2020 when the defecation hit the oscillation and the world shut down as we know it. We're having to learn this new language like social distancing. We never said that before. You're having to learn how to work at home on Zoom and homeschool your kids on a laptop. But even in the midst of all those challenges

and all that difficulty, God's vision did not disappear. God's plans are not canceled even when a crisis hits. Circumstances, they may change and they have changed but God, what he has spoken, it will always remain steady. Amen? If you've walked with God for some time, there's a lesson that you have to learn. And the lesson is this, that God's vision usually, almost always does not come immediately. I can't find one major lesson in God's word where God gives a big promise and then immediately it comes to pass. There's always a process for the person. Now we love the promise, don't we? We love when God gives us clarity. We love when God gives us a word and a plan. But what happens after that? It's a process. The payoff to that promise doesn't usually come immediately. There's a process, there's a season where God grows us. There's a season where God stretches us, where he develops in us patience. That is his process. And in that process, that's a time where we start asking a lot of questions like, God, did I hear you correctly? Because I don't see it happening. God, why aren't things changing? You gave me the promise. When is it gonna come to pass?

One of the hardest things about faith is not getting vision from God. If you seek the Lord with all your heart, the Bible says you will find him. One of the hardest things about our faith is waiting, is when we're in between the promise and the payoff. This is exactly what Habakkuk experienced. Habakkuk, he's living in a confusing season in Israel's history. Corruption's filled the land. It seems like nothing's changing. So what Habakkuk does is he brings his honest question to God. He cries out to God. He says, God, you said you would do it. How come it doesn't feel like it's being done? Where are you? And God answers him with these words. He says, write the vision, Habakkuk 2, 2 and 3. Write the vision. Make it plain on tablets so that he may run who reads it. I want you to communicate it clearly. For the vision awaits its appointed time. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay. God tells Habakkuk that what he wills to do, listen, it will happen.

But when will it happen? Turn to your neighbor, tell him, in the appointed time. Turn to the other person next to you, tell them, in the appointed time. God's vision has an appointed time. In other words, God's vision unfolds in God's timing. We love the promise, but God wants to grow us in the process. And if you're in process right now, if God has given you a promise and you are waiting for it to come to pass, here's what I wanna encourage you with today. Even if you don't see it happening, it doesn't mean that God isn't working. Even though you don't see it working out right now, it doesn't mean that God isn't working it out for your good and his glory. We'll talk more about that next week, but today, here's what I believe God wants to teach us. Write this down. God gives the vision. That's what God does. God gives the vision. God's people live out the mission. We live out the mission. From the very beginning, God's vision has been for people to know him and to experience the life that comes through Jesus. That's been God's vision from the very beginning, that we would know him and we'd experience life,

life abundantly that comes from Jesus. And before Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection, he made it plain and clear how this vision would come to pass. Matthew 28, 19. This is the great commission. This is God's final words for us. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. This wasn't just a good suggestion from Jesus. This was God's mission for his church. This is what he's created us, his people, his church to do. And when the church, when God's people, we live out the mission that he has given us, then we begin to see the vision unfold clearly. Then we begin to see clearly God's preferred future for humanity. And this is exactly what we see in Acts chapter two. Jesus, he ascends. He says, I want you to wait on the Lord. I'm gonna give you my spirit. The Holy Spirit falls upon all the disciples. He empowers them to be witnesses and listen to the fruit of that. Acts 2, 44 through 47. And all who believe were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings

and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with the people. Listen, and the Lord added to their number day by day by day, those who were being saved. The result of the church living on mission was a church that changed the world. Day one, 3,000 people surrendered themselves to Jesus and joined the mission. And day by day by day, the church kept on growing. What happened in this early church had never been seen up until this point before. People from different backgrounds, different stories, different beliefs, all coming together, uniting under the vision and the mission of God. The reason that the early church grew so powerfully and grew so quickly was simple. The people said, we're all in. God, whatever you want for me, whatever you ask of me, I will do it whenever, I'm all in. And today, today we're gonna declare the same thing again. Turn to your neighbor, tell him, we're all in again. We're all in again over the next several weeks as we head toward what is historically the largest attended services of the year, Easter weekend. A time where people who typically don't come to church, they'll find themselves in church.

A time where we're almost eight out of 10 people, if you invite them, you say, hey, I'm saving a seat for you, will you come with me to church? They will come. And on that weekend, we have one goal. We have one priority. It's not to preach a good word. It's not to sing good songs. It's to primarily point people to the good news that's found in Jesus. And we give them an opportunity to surrender and respond to Jesus as we head. Toward that day, here's what I want to do over the next several weeks. I want to prepare us. I want to give us a clear vision of who God is and who He's called to be as the local church. Of why this is the perfect place for imperfect people to experience the presence of God. I want to give us a clear vision why. So we can live together on mission to seek and save and see set free the ones that are lost in our lives. Amen. So we have three big ideas today and I want you to write them down. First one is this. When we say all in, we're all in again. All in means I'm part of something bigger than me. It means I'm part of something bigger than me. Acts 2.44 says and all who believed they were together and they had all things in common. Before Luke talks about the early church's strategy or systems, what he mentions is their togetherness. They were all what? Together. They had all things in common. When Luke says they had all things in common, he doesn't simply mean that they all like the same type of food and they all dress the same way. That's not what it means. I say this with love in my heart because I grew my roots as a follower of Jesus in the church I grew up in. It was a Korean church. And I'm not poking fun of them but every week felt the same.

Every week felt the same. Everyone looked the same. That's not an Asian joke, all right. You can't say that. I can say it. But I'm not meaning it the way you think I'm saying it. Every woman had the same haircut. Shoulder length. That was it. It wasn't long, it wasn't braided, it wasn't blown out. Every woman had the same haircut. Every man wore the same blue or gray suit with the brown belt and the brown shoes. They didn't wear black shoes, they wore brown. I don't know why. I couldn't read the book because I didn't understand Korean. Every potluck, same food. You didn't have to look at the menu or the table. You knew there's going to be rice, there's going to be kimchi, there's going to be some soup or stew, there's going to be some marinated meat. And if it was a very special weekend, then we'd have fruit cut out in the shape of flowers. Everyone had their own seat. Same order of service. 15 years growing up in that church, we sang the same songs. Never introduced a new song. Same songs for 15 years. Now, they loved Jesus deeply. They loved one another profoundly. But if everything always feels the same. If everyone looks the same. If everyone dresses the same and likes the same. Listen, you find a person that has similar interests in you, marry them.

That's going to be a good marriage. We have a lot of things in common. But if everyone has everything in common, that's like a dystopian futuristic movie where we're all wearing silver and we eat little space packs. That's not what Luke meant that they had all things in common. What he meant, what he's saying is they were aligned around Jesus. The things that mattered to God is what mattered to them. They were united around something bigger than themselves. This is why I love this place. We don't agree on everything. How do I know that? Because sometimes I get e-mails with suggestions. I don't know if we'll do that in this church. Good idea. We don't agree on everything. We have our own opinions on what things should look like and how we should respond. But the major thing is our major, amen. We are all united. We keep the main thing the main thing. That Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. We are united around this idea that's bigger than ourselves. That we exist to connect people to Jesus and to one another. It's bigger than us. First Corinthians 12.27. This is how big it is. It says, now you are the body of Christ. And individually you're members of it. This language matters. It says that we are a body. That we are interconnected. That we are interdependent.

That every part matters. You matter to God. You matter to us. Every part matters. And every part doing their part matters. You experience something in your body not doing its part. If everything is doing its part in your body except for one body part, what does that equate to? Pain. Doctors visits. Testing. Bed rests. We're part of something bigger than ourselves. Meaning God didn't gift you, God didn't give you those desires, God didn't give you those gifts, those talents, those skills for you just to sit on the sidelines. He wants you to be part of something bigger than yourself. He wants to use you to do things that are bigger than yourself. And how that's possible is when we place ourselves into something that is bigger than us. How big is it? Jesus said in Matthew 16.18. He says, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. When Jesus spoke those words, he wasn't saying them in any random place. He was saying them in a specific location called Caesarea Philippi. I went to Israel last year and I got to stand where Jesus spoke those words to Peter and the disciples. I have a picture of it.

This picture doesn't do it justice, okay. Like this is Indiana Jones and the last crusade type of scale. This is a massive sprawling stone cliff. And that's a cave right there. I mean, I'm tiny around that cave. In those times this was known as the gates of Hades. This was a cave stronghold in this massive cliff where they would have pagan rituals. Where they would sacrifice to the God Pan. And in this place, this is where all the movers and the shakers and the power brokers. After they would sacrifice and after they would have their pagan ceremonies. They would make business deals. They would make military conquest plans. It's not the type of place where you think Jesus would build this church, right. It's the very place where Jesus says, I will build my church. And that will not stand against it. What is he saying? Think about gates. Do gates attack people? No. Gates are defensive. We're very familiar with gated communities in South Florida. They keep people from coming in, right. What Jesus is saying is that we're not called to cower and to whine and I hope the world doesn't get more wicked. No, we are called to advance against the gates of hell. We are called to come against it with the light of the world and

the name of Jesus and to expose darkness wherever we go. This is our mission. Jesus is saying that no scheme of man, no plan of hell, no spiritual power, nothing will ever be able to stop the church he's building. Kingdoms have risen and fallen since Jesus spoke those words. Rulers have come and gone. The culture has changed significantly where today we say what is bad is good and what is good is bad. And in the midst of all of this, the church still stands. The church doesn't just stand, the church is growing. The church is advancing. Why? Because it's his church. It's not our church. It's not dependent on our power. It's not dependent on who is preaching that weekend. Jesus says, this is my church. He's basing it on his promise. He's basing it on his power. He's guaranteeing it himself. My church and I'm going to build it. And nothing will ever be able to stop it, amen. It's bigger than us. So when we say we're all in, we're not just talking about coming to an hour's service maybe every three out of five weeks. No, when we say we're all in, we're stepping into something that is so much bigger than us that will last the test of time. The second truth we see in Acts chapter 2 is this.

Write this down. All in means I invest in what matters most. When we say we're all in, what that means is I'm investing in what matters most. Acts 2.45. They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. I remember reading that when I was 16 years old and thinking, why would they do that? Because the early church was so generous. Why would they do that? Why would they sell the stuff that they have and give it to other people and not put it in a savings account or invest it somewhere else. They're putting it into people. Why would they do that? Were they guilted? And I thought that's what happened. Because in the church I grew up in, we were guilted. It wasn't as bad as the ASCPA where they put images of dogs and have Sarah McLachlan music. But it's similar, it's like, if you just give a dollar a day, then our students, they can have air conditioning in their building, and they can have hula hoops for after school. It's like, were they guilted to give? Is that what happened? No, the answer's simple. They weren't pressured, they weren't guilted. They weren't compelled by any person.

They saw God's vision, and they said, I wanna be part of that. They saw what God wanted to do, what God could do, and they said, count me in for that mission. Familia, listen, when something matters to you, you invest in it, right? When something is important to you, you put your time into that. You put your talents into, let me add to that. You put your treasure into something that you care about. Many years ago, someone told me that your bank statement is a theological document. Why is that? Because it shows what you worship. I was like, oof, that's tough, that's hard, but it's true. I'm not talking about your expenses that are necessities. I'm not talking about hospital bills. I'm saying what you invest in willingly, what you say, I wanna be a part of this, and you put in your time, you put in your talent, you put in your treasure, that's what you worship. You don't even have to say a word. That's what you worship. Jesus actually said it this way. Matthew 6, 21, he says, "'Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.'" Jesus saying that wasn't to shame us. He was telling us a truth about the human heart. He says, where you put your treasure,

that's where your heart will be. Notice the order. He doesn't say where your heart goes, your money follows. He says, where you put your treasure, your heart follows. Meaning, what I pay for, I pay attention to. Isn't that true? My kids' school, we pay for school. Now, I don't care about school. I graduated, I'm done. I don't ever wanna do homework again. My kids ask me questions. I'm like, ask mom or chat GPT. They're both the same. Don't ask me, I'm done with school, okay? But I pay for my kids' school. So I'm invested. I wanna know their teachers. I wanna know what they're teaching them. I wanna know if my kids are learning and growing. I wanna know if they sing the ABC song the new way or the right way. The right way is L-M-N-O-P is one letter, amen? This whole L-M-N-O-P-Q. What is that? That's psychopath. Like, what? Who sings like that? I'm invested, why? Because I give to the school.

And we do this with all sorts of things in our life. We'll open up our app multiple times a day. Did it go up? Did it go down? Am I positive? Am I negative? We will follow a cardboard box across the country like it's the most important thing in our life. Oh, it left the delivery center. Oh, it's in Opelika now. Eight more stops and then it's home, right? It's so easy for us to pay attention to temporal things that do not matter and lose sight of what is eternal. But Jesus says, if we start giving to godly things, all of a sudden, we start investing in the kingdom of God. All of a sudden, we start caring about whether people are being saved or not. It's not whether, do they sing the song that I like? Was it the preacher that I liked? Did someone encounter Jesus today? That's all that matters to me. We start caring about the things that God cares for when we invest, because where our treasure is, our heart follows. I get this question a lot when I sit down with people for counseling, like the few weekends ago when we have our Connect Week, and people are saying, I wanna get more connected here. How do I do that? I wanna be more connected to God.

I wanna grow my relationship with God. How can I do that? There are several ways we can do that, but for the sake of today's teaching, can I share this with you? You may not like this, but this is true, and this will set you free if you live it out. If you want to be connected to the things of God, give to the things of God. You wanna be connected deeper and deeply to what God is doing in this church? Give to this church. Invest in what matters to God. He cares about his church. He says, I'm building my church. My church is the hope of the world. I'm going to use my church to change the world. You want to be connected to what God is doing? Give to what God is doing. And hear this carefully, okay. If not here, somewhere. Find a church where you and your family feel comfortable to give of your time, your talent and your treasure. Why? Because God wants to use you to do things bigger than you can imagine. And how he does that is when you become part of something bigger than yourself. I hope it's here. I hope you and your family can grow together and serve

together and give together here. But I'm telling you, if you want to be more connected to the things of God, give to the things of God and see how God grows your heart, amen. That's my challenge for you today. And that's how the early church grew. They were invested. They saw God's vision for what it could be. They said, I want to be a part of it. I'm all in no matter what. And they invested in what mattered most. And church, can I tell you, the same thing is happening here. The same thing is happening right here in this place. A year ago we stepped into this all in faith adventure and we said we're going all in. We're going all in. We want to see 25,000 people saved and set free. And the Holy Spirit convicted us. Before you see 25,000 people, will you go in for the one? We said, Lord, put the one on our heart. Just one more. And over 1,000 of us as we prayed, God, would you give us 1,000 more ones. We put their name, we wrote their name down. We put it on that all in wall. And we prayed for them every time we walked past that wall, Lord, would you just put that one on my heart and would you help me to step in faith for whatever it means so that one can come to know you like I know you. And because we saw the vision and because we said, God, I'm

all in for the mission. Over the past year since we started all in, we have seen 296 people come to faith in Jesus. Of those 296 people that have come into a relationship with Jesus, 194 of them took a next step of obedience in public baptism. Come on, church. If you are more excited about the Amazon delivery that's coming to your house at 2 p.m. than Jesus delivering 296 people, we got a problem, right. Psalm 126 says, the Lord has done great things for us. Great things for us, amen. And we are filled with joy. Not happiness. Not something dependent on things, having joy. Deep rooted unshakable happiness that no one can take away. Why? Because the vision that God has given and the mission he invites us to be part of. He's done so many great things. And not because of one person. Every single one of us doing our part is how this came to pass. Every time someone walks into this place searching for hope. Every time someone says yes to following Jesus. Every time the baptism waters are stirred, we all are part of that. You played a part in that. Inviting your friend. Praying for the people.

We all play a part. We are all part of something bigger than ourselves. And as we are part of what is bigger than ourselves, God knows that he can trust us with what is most important with him. People. And he grows us. And because of that, because we have seen growth, we need to make more room. And not just room in our hearts for what God wants to do. We were praying that and continue to do that. But we need to make physical room in this place for the people that God will entrust us with as he fills this place. As we stepped into this all in faith adventure a year ago to enclose our property and expand our auditorium so that more people could see and know the love of Jesus in a real way. Our hope is that we will be able to expand and enclose our property and break ground on this in the next few months. Church Familia, pray. Town of Davie is so close to approving everything. We hope to have this done before the summer. We can break ground and celebrate. But again, the reason why all of this is possible is because of everyone doing their part. With the normal giving that people typically give week to week. And because of the commitment financially of 136 families over the next two years, starting last year. We have committed $7,343,818. People have made sacrifices. People have sold their property and donated it to the mission of

God. People, whether it's large or small. Whether it's large or small. We are doing our part in seeking the Lord, saying, Lord, what do you want from me. I am all in whatever it takes, what are you asking specifically of me and my family. We are 12 months into this and we are only about $261,000 beneath where we need to be if we schedule the giving equally over 24 months. We know that's not how giving works. We know a lot of people give a large portion at the end of the year or some of the property deals that have been going on. People have to wait until all of that takes place. Here's the good news. We see the vision, amen. We are saying, God, we are all in for the mission. And more than anything, here's what I am confident of. That God will do it. Turn to your neighbor and tell them, God will do it. Say, God will do it. Put the emphasis on the right syllable, right. Leads to our third truth that we see in Acts. All in means the best is still before us. When we say I am all in, we are saying, man, God is going to do some great things coming up. Acts 4.32 tells the believers that they were in one heart and one mind. Verse 33 says that they continue to testify of great power of the resurrection of Jesus.

And then Acts 5.14 says that more and more and more people were added daily to the number of people being saved. The church was growing. The mission kept on expanding and lives kept on transforming. All because 120 people were in an upper room smaller than 900 square feet. I stood in that room. I said, how can 120 people be in this tiny little room for 40 days? But it all started because 120 people believed God's vision. And said, I want to be part of this. And they went on mission together. The church grew. We are here today. Because of those faithful people. Philippians 1.6 reminds us of this promise. I am sure of this, Paul says. I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. His promise will come to pass at the day of Christ Jesus. Are you confident of that? Are you certain that God who gave you a vision will fulfill that in his timing? Amen. I love this promise that Haggai gives us. A powerful picture of what God loves to do. And in Ephesians 2.9 it says... You don't have to worry. I'm going to do it. Not only am I going to do it but what I have in store is greater

than what you have seen. In other words, the best is still before us. We get to experience the goodness of God. We get to help connect people to Jesus in one another. We get to lift up the good news and we get to baptize people. We get to serve the hungry and help those who are in need. We get to be part of something bigger than ourselves. And as we continue to do that, God's word says that what is in our future will surpass even all the great things he's done in our past. Does that excite you, Church Familia? Today as we conclude, I want to ask the same question that David asked the people when they were beginning to build the temple. A place where the presence of God would dwell and the people could experience his presence. He asked this question in 2 Chronicles 29, verse 5, he says... Who then will offer willingly. Not out of conviction. Not out of compulsion. Not out of guilt. Not out of because the pastor asked of it, I guess I got to do it. Will offer willingly. Consecrate. Setting themselves today to the Lord. If you continue reading, the Bible says that people responded with joy. They said, we want to be part of it. We see what our God can do. And we want to be part of what our God is doing.

And they responded with joy. Today, Church Familia, today we can do the same. We can respond with joy. For some of you, today is just a recommitment saying, I'm all in again. You made a commitment and maybe you haven't consistently prayed for the one. Maybe you haven't consistently asked the Lord, God, what more would you have me do. Today is a day of recommitment. For some of you, you joined this church, you experienced the presence of God over the past year. And today may be the beginning of you saying, I see what God can do. and I want to be a part of it, I want to be all in. Over the next several weeks as we head toward Easter, we'll talk more about what that commitment looks like through prayer and serving and financially, but today, like we did in our familiar prayer, I want the song of our lips to be the prayer of our hearts. Would you stand to your feet right now? Now's not the time to go pick up your kids or to beat the crowd so you can get avocado toast at a cafe nearby for brunch. We're gonna worship God with one more song. And that song, I pray that it's the prayer of our heart, that we say, God, there's no one like you. You're good, you're great, you're building your church, the gates of hell will never prevail against it. You're bigger than anything we could imagine.

And then we start to ask him, give me your eyes, give me your heart to those around me that you love. God, make it clear who the one is that you've called me to reach in this season while I'm waiting. And I believe that as we worship him, that he'll begin to work that out in our lives. Father, I'm so grateful that you're not done, that the best is still before us, that you have great plans, not for destruction, but for a hope and a future for all of us, your sons and daughters and for this church. And I pray that you would speak to us as we declare your goodness, as we worship you for your goodness and your Godness, your unchanging ways, your powerful nature, your incredible deep love for us, that your love would flow from us to those that you love. Help us to have your heart. Help us to be all in for the ones. In Jesus' name we pray. Let's continue to worship. ♪ Worthy of every song we could ever sing ♪ ♪ Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring ♪ ♪ Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe ♪ ♪ We live for you ♪ ♪ Jesus, the name above every other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, the only one we could ever sing ♪ ♪ Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe ♪

♪ We live for you, oh we live for you ♪ ♪ Holy, there is no one like you ♪ ♪ There is none besides you ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who you are ♪ ♪ And fill me with your heart and lead me in your love ♪ ♪ To those around me ♪ ♪ Worthy of every song we could ever sing ♪ ♪ Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring ♪ ♪ Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe ♪ ♪ We live for you, oh we live for you ♪ ♪ Jesus, the name above every other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, the only one who could ever sing ♪ ♪ Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe ♪ ♪ We live for you, oh God, oh we live for you ♪ ♪ Oh God, oh we live for you ♪ ♪ Holy, there is no one like you, there is none besides you ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who you are ♪ ♪ And fill me with your heart and lead me in your love ♪ ♪ And I will build my life upon your love ♪ ♪ It is a firm foundation and I will not be shaken ♪ ♪ And I will build my life upon your love ♪ ♪ It is a firm foundation and I will not be shaken ♪ ♪ I will put my trust in you alone ♪ ♪ And I will not be shaken ♪ ♪ Holy, there is no one like you, there is none like you ♪ ♪ I will open up my eyes in love for you ♪ ♪ And show me who you are and fill me with your heart ♪ ♪ And lead me in your love to those around me ♪