Nick Ferreiro - Built Brick By Brick

How we feeling this morning? It's good to see you. For those that don't know, my name is Nick. I'm one of the pastors here and allow me to welcome you back to I think our seventh installment of a series that we have been journeying through all fall long titled day one, where we're learning how to gain the confidence, the wisdom and the handles to using major corporations as our illustrations, not only to learn how to start what it is that the Lord has called us to start, but learn how to start it now. 'Cause how many of you know, the tendency that we have as humanity is to shift responsibility to starting that thing, that diet, starting that business, starting counseling, starting school back up to one day in the future. But how many of you here at church by the glades can testify to the fact that more likely than not, that one day never comes? And that's why all throughout this series, we have been attempting to shift our perspective to no longer looking forward to one day in the future to start, but to making today day number one, it's time to start. Come on, somebody say it's time to start. (audience applauding) But before we continue, I do want you to understand that I am aware of how intimidating it can actually be to start something, to go back to the gym

when you haven't lifted a weight in years, if not months, to go back to school when you haven't cracked open a textbook since the late '90s or early 2000s. And now in the day and age we live in with social media, it's become as easy as ever to compare ourselves to other people and become discouraged with where we're at today by looking at what took somebody else decades to accomplish. But what you need to understand from the very outset this morning is that the life that the Lord has destined for us to step into will rarely, if ever, get handed to us on a silver platter. No, but instead, in cooperation with the spirit of God, we must build the life that the Lord has destined for us, brick by brick. And if you've got eyeballs, you can probably tell already, this is the exact business model of the company of our study today, you know them, you love them. Come on, parents, help a brother out, it's Lego. Legos, Legos, yes, when you think of Legos, you probably tend to think of those little colorful plastic bricks that kids know and love and that parents hate to see coming from a mile away. Oh, come on, you know what I'm talking about? You have nightmares about stepping on those Legos, don't you? Oh, yeah, that pain, straight from the pit of hell. Man, it's so painful, maybe you think of those, or maybe actually you think of those little yellow caricatures that come in your favorite sets that you can even customize, like how about this over here?

We got Pastor David and Lisa, we got myself and Pastor Charlie and Lego versions, it's amazing, which actually you know it's funny enough, this is exclusive to Church by the Glades, you're getting a one-on-one exclusive right here. This weekend and this weekend only, we're gonna be selling those in the lobby right after, no we're not, what am I saying? (laughing) But Legos, those little bricks that either promote imaginative play, or that come together to build some of the most well-known structures you can think of, you can use Legos to build everything from a replica of Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower to a ship from your favorite movie franchise and everything in between, but do not underestimate the reach of the Lego group simply because they are a toy company. Actually, they're more than just that, they are the largest toy manufacturer in the world. Surpassing the likes of other toy companies, Mattel and Hasbro, which have estimated valuations of at like $3.75 and $12.5 billion. And it's very hard to get an exact valuation for the Lego group 'cause they are privately owned and not publicly traded. But based off of their public profit margins, their revenue and their scalability, most financial analysts believe that the estimated value of the Lego group

is somewhere between the range of $30 and $70 billion. Legos are doing just fine if you ask me. But as is the case for all of the companies that we've used as parables in this series, the Lego group did not start out at the top of the toy industry. As a matter of fact, they did not even start in the toy industry. Founder and owner of the Lego group, Olkirk Christensen, was actually a carpenter, believe it or not. And in 1916, he started a woodworking business out of a woodworking workshop. And he built everything from homes and large structures to household practical items like ladders and ironing boards and even furniture for those homes. But everything changed for him, for the worse. In the late 1920s and early 1930s when the Great Depression hit. And it almost wiped his business out clean because no one could afford his services any longer. But in 1932, he proved to make a powerful pivot when he thought to himself, as a people group, I believe parents and children are still deserving of joy. So in 1932, he transformed his once woodworking workshop into a wooden toy workshop. And for decades on end out of that little workshop, he would create toys that would bring children joy.

And this actually, this ability to pivot became a theme, a constant theme throughout the early years of the Lego group. They had to pivot all over the place. Of course, transitioning from a wooden workshop into a wooden toy workshop, but how about this? He had to learn how to rebuild his warehouse and his factories after they had burned down to the ground twice. Crazy. But after decades of persevering and pivoting throughout adversity, in the mid-1950s finally came the breakthrough that they are known for today, this system of little plastic interlocking bricks that can be used to build just about anything your imagination can think of. And here's what I find fascinating. As I was studying this, I learned that the set of Lego bricks that you could purchase in the 1950s did not have the same intentions as the set of Lego bricks that you could purchase today. Today, what people will do is they'll spend hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of dollars building these meticulous sets with thousands of pieces for them to then just sit on display cases on shelves never to be touched again. Which by the way, if that's your whole deal, nothing wrong with that. I'm just trying to help you understand that the Lego bricks that came out in the 1950s, that was not their intended use.

You see, the original Lego system that debuted back in the 1950s was actually designed with imaginative play in mind and for the purpose of reuse. So this original Lego system, I'll show you a picture of all the different things that the Legos could become. The first time you might build something, you might build a plane and then you'd tear it down. And the next time you'd build, I don't know, a ship and then you'd tear it down and then you might build a castle and then you'd tear it down. Maybe you'd build a train the next time and then you'd tear it down so their whole concept was. This set of Lego bricks, it did not come with an instruction manual for you to build something that you can then display for decades on a shelf. No, the intention was that you could build something again and again and again and it can become anything you want it to be. So unlike the sets that we have today, these Lego sets that debuted back in the 1950s, they were not designed for you to build something once and then display it. They were actually designed for you to build something and then rebuild something again afterwards. And I speak to people and Christians, I feel like I'm getting the understanding that a lot of people think that day one is this one time event in which you begin the process of building something that you will inevitably see success in and then once you do, you then can nicely and safely display what it is that you've worked on and built to the world around you,

never again having to touch what it is you've once labored over. But as I've studied the scriptures and in my own life, I've seen this to be true in all reality, day one is not a one time event. But as a matter of fact, it is a series of decisions that you will make throughout the course of your lifetime in order for you to continue to grow and develop and become the person that the Lord has intended and destined for you to become. Come on, day one is not just about building something, but in many ways, day one is about rebuilding something. Maybe you're here today and you once had a thriving marriage that has since become a dimly lit flame on the brink of extinguishing. Maybe you once had a job that you loved and a field that you enjoyed but have since due to factors outside of your control been let go from that job and now you're kind of left wondering what it is that you're going to do next. Or maybe you once took great care of your health and were constantly active, but due to the busyness of your schedule and of life, you've actually started to neglect taking care of your body. But what I believe the Lord has me on assignment here at Church by the Glaze this weekend to tell you is that the life that the Lord has promised us, the abundant life, the extraordinary life full of meaning and purpose, if we want this life, then we must become well-versed and capable in the art of the rebuild.

Something that the Miami Dolphins desperately need to figure out because man, whoa, it is hard as a Dolphins fan these days. You got to be joking. Pray for me, man, unless you're a Jets fan, keep your prayers to yourself. (congregation laughing) And as we are on this quest to learn what it means to rebuild well, I can't think of anyone better to study than Nehemiah. Nehemiah who rebuilt the walls in Jerusalem is homeless. the king of Persia, when he learned of the destruction in the city walls in Jerusalem, his homeland. And what this meant was the result of these walls being destroyed and broken down, what was that the people who remained in Jerusalem that were no longer in exile, they were left defenseless against their enemies. And this broke Nehemiah's heart. This burdened him greatly. So the entirety of the book of Nehemiah is actually dedicated to his endeavors to strategically and successfully rebuild the walls in Jerusalem, which by the way, he supernaturally does in only 52 days. Something that should have taken him years to accomplish. Because watch this, when you've got the power and favor of God on your life, what takes other people years to do can take you just mere days.

(audience applauds) But that's not what I wanna study today. I don't wanna look at particularly the rebuilding of the wall. I wanna look specifically at chapter number two in Nehemiah's book, because I believe embedded in this passage are some principles that we must learn how to posture ourselves in, if we really want to be people who are trusted with and capable of the beauty of building the kingdom of God here on earth through our lives. Y'all ready for the word of God this morning? Awesome. Nehemiah, chapter number two, I wanna get right to it today. Starting in verse number one, this is the reading of the word of the Lord. In the month of Nisan, in the 12th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I, Nehemiah, took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence before. And the king said to me, why is your face sad seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart, remember that. Then I was very much afraid and I said to the king, let the king live forever, why should not my face be sad? When the city, the place of my father's graves lie in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire.

Then the king said to me, what are you requesting? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, if it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, the city of my father's graves, that I may rebuild it. And I said to the king, and the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, how long will you be gone and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. And I said to the king, if it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province beyond the river, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah. And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest that he may give me timber to make beans for the gates of the fortress of the temple and for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall occupy. And watch this, and the king granted me what I asked for the good hand of my God was upon me. That's a good place to put your hands together for the word of the Lord right there. (audience applauding) Here we have Nehemiah's interaction with King Artaxerxes that precedes the rebuilding of the city walls in Jerusalem. All Nehemiah had up until this point with this interaction with the king was a great burden to rebuild the city walls. A great burden to do something more than what he was currently doing,

his cup bearer to the king. And the descriptor that we get in verse number one of Nehemiah chapter two actually lets us know that it's been four months since Nehemiah learned of the city walls because in verse number one, we learned that this interaction between him and the king transpires in the month of Nissan. That's not Nissan Ultima. That's Nissan like the calendar that correlates to our calendar, which is the month of April. Okay, that's the Hebrew calendar. But if you go back to chapter number one, in chapter number one, we learned that when Nehemiah is informed of the destruction of the city walls, that that interaction transpires in the month of Kislev, which on the Hebrew calendar correlates to the month of December for us. So from December to April, for four months, Nehemiah had this great burden. He was greatly distressed to do something more than what he was currently doing. He had gotten a word and that word placed a burden on his heart and that burden he did nothing with for four months. So what did Nehemiah do? Well, obviously Nehemiah then did. What most of us would have done. And he immediately quit his job and went to Jerusalem to fix the walls. No, that's not what he did.

He then was obviously overtly and externally frustrated because he was not doing what the Lord had burdened him to do. No, he wasn't doing that either. Well, obviously he then gathered troops behind the king's back so that he could forcibly leave and rebuild the walls without the backing of the palace. No, Nehemiah didn't do any of that. While he was patiently waiting for his opportunity to approach the king with this request, Nehemiah simply kept faithfully showing up. He was distressed, but he kept showing up. like he got a word but nothing was coming to pass but he kept showing up. He was sad but he kept showing up and this is theologically so incredibly important because it proves to me that not only if you want to accomplish the purposes and plans of God in your life that you will have to persevere through trial but it also proves to me that you don't have to never act like you never go through a trial. Faith is not acting like everything is not broken even though it is. No, troubles are meant to trouble us because if they didn't then they would never adequately test our faith in our patients and would never produce in us what our trials and tribulations were meant to produce in us, our discipline, our discipling, our development, our growth, our character forming, our faith sharpening, our strength increasing because that's what the perseverance, the trials are meant to do in us. So, again, faith is not acting like everything isn't broken even though it is. But faith is acting like God still has the power to fix what is broken in your life by proving to God that you still believe it by consistently showing up day in and day out despite what may look broken in your life. It's to keep showing up in your marriage even though you've been going through a rough spot. It's to keep showing up for that child of yours that is in a rebellious phase right now in a visver off the path. It's to keep showing up to your small group even though you feel like you've got nothing praiseworthy to share. It's to keep showing up to celebrate recovery even though you feel like nobody is supporting your sobriety. It's to keep showing up to the Word of God even though you feel like God

is not speaking to you. It's to keep showing up to that business of yours even though you don't know how you're going to make it another month. It's to keep showing up day and night come hell or high water because you showing up proves that you're not giving up. The only way to properly rebuild something is to keep showing up to it even if it's broken. Because Nehemiah kept showing up sad and all sorrowful and all burdened and all eventually the king took notice and watch this. He made the resources of the kingdom available to him. Oh now I want to speak to somebody's faith in the room because I know that all you're looking at is the rubble that stands before you. I know that all you're looking at is the dysfunction and the brokenness that you feel like your life has become and you're looking at it and all you can think about is how you don't feel like you have enough resourcing or you don't feel like you have enough strength to fix it on your own. But good news for you is that my Bible tells me that there is a king, not a king of Persia, but a king of heaven who has made resources available to you that make it possible for you to rebuild what is broken in your life and it has nothing to do with your in capabilities. It has nothing to do with your weaknesses because as a matter of fact his power is made perfect in your weakness and he's made these resources available to you by the very spirit of God he has placed inside of you. But the only way for you to access these resources is for you to keep showing up. Come on somebody say keep showing up. You've got to keep showing up. You've got to keep showing up because please somebody listen to me because you've got to keep showing up because you've been bypassing the power of the king by dismissing your difficulties. I know you wish you weren't going through this right now. I know you wish this wasn't real. I know you wish this was a bad dream that you were going to wake up from but hear me. There are certain aspects and resourcing of God that are only made available to you in the middle of your trial. So even in your sadness Nehemiah, even in your sorrow, even in your difficulty, even in your pain, keep showing up. Keep showing up. Keep showing up. Now I want to be very clear today I'm not suggesting that by you showing up and by as a result of nothing more than your presence things will automatically get better because how many of you know you can show up to work tomorrow do nothing and still get fired. So no I'm not saying that you just show up and everything's going to turn out okay because if you really want to build or properly rebuild something that brings glory to God through your life then you must keep

showing up yes but as you do you must keep showing up with excellence. Owner and founder of the Lego group Olkirk Christensen was dedicated to quality and excellence in his toy so what he would do is he'd buy the best beachwood there was air dry it for two years kill him dry it for three weeks then he would cut shape Sand polish and then finally put three coats specifically three toys that would last them for years and years and years. But one day, his son, Godfred Christensen, came to him after delivering a consignment of wood and ducks to the local railway station with an idea on how to save the company money and as a business owner, Old Kirk Christensen was like, "Absolutely. Sign me up. How can we save money, son? Please tell me," and the son goes on to say, "Well, you know those wood and ducks that we sell? I just sold them to the railway station. I only put two coats of paint on them as opposed to the three that you are so meticulously dedicated to painting them with. And without missing a beat, Old Kirk Christensen responds to his son by saying, "You are too immediately going fetch every single one of those ducks that you just sold to the railway station. You're going to bring them back to the warehouse. You are going to paint them with the final coat of paint that they deserve, then you're going to re-deliver them back to the railway station. And oh by the way, you're going to do it all by yourself, even if it takes you all night long." And his son learned a valuable lesson that night that I am hoping and praying that is imparted unto us today. Why did he do this? Because as a God-fearing Christian man, Old Kirk Christensen understood something we must understand as believers here in the 21st century. God often gets glory, not simply through our declarations, but through our deeds.

Isn't that what the Scripture says? That our Father in heaven gets glory by this, that we bear much fruit and so prove to be His disciples. What did the Apostle Paul say? That whatever you do, do it all unto the glory of God. So us as Christ followers, we ought to be the hardest working. We ought to be the most capable. The most valuable, the most excellent workers that there are, because if we're really representing King Jesus Christ to the world around us, then we are called to reflect His very nature and character to the world around us. And let me tell you right now, God is not lazy. God does nothing half-heartedly. God is inherently excellence in who He is and everything that He does. In her famous essay titled, "Why Work," arguing for excellence as a form of Christian worship, Dorothy L. Sayers notes this about Jesus' work here on earth as a carpenter. She says, "No crooked table legs or ill-fitting drawers ever, I dare swear, came out of the carpenter's shop at Nazareth, nor if they did could anyone believe that they were made by the same hands that made the heavens and the earth." Christian, everything Jesus put His earthly hands to was excellence. Just like everything Jesus put His heavenly hands to was excellent. He numbered the hairs on your head. He made you a masterpiece. He knit you together in your mother's womb. He breathed the cosmos into existence. Everything that was created was created through Him and it was deemed as good. And if that's our Lord, if that's our King, if that's our model, if that's our Messiah, then don't you think we ought to reflect the very nature of our excellent God by doing excellent work to the people around us? Come on, your excellence honors God. Your excellence brings glory to God.

Your excellence opens doors for you. Your excellence brings opportunity to you. Your excellence gets you noticed and watch this. Your excellence can even become evangelistic because as people notice you through your excellence, you can then point them to the excellent God that gave you every excellent gift you have to begin with. So let everything you do be done with excellence unto the glory of God. If you make spreadsheets for a living, you better believe you're going to make the very best spreadsheets you possibly can. Come on, if you're a student, you better study like your life depends on it. If you're a business owner, do not stop until you have the very best version of your product out on the market. If you're a teacher, teach those third graders with passion and energy. If you're a stay at home mom, come on, make the best lunches you possibly can and make every other kid jealous at the lunchroom because it's more than just work, it's worship. And while we're on the topic of excellence, I just have to get this off my chest. Some of you need to take a class on how to be excellent in your handwriting. Last weekend here at Church by the Glades, Pastor David challenged us to do some comment cards on the next step that the Lord has us to take. Some of you as a step of obedience or some of you as to attend, join a life group, tie or serve in some capacity. And we promised you that we were going to reach out to you at some point this past week. Thank you for filling those cards out, but if you did not get reached out to, it's not 'cause we don't love you. It's 'cause we can't read your handwriting. Let me show you some examples of what I'm talking about. Like, what is this? What is that? Dude, look at this one.

That's like five numbers. We can't call you. What even is that? So, I'm not trying to call anybody. I just want you to know, we really wanna connect with you. We wanna help you to take that next step in your faith. So watch this. We've taken all the guesswork out of it. We're not letting you write no more. We've got to display out in the lobby that we are going to digitally collect all of your information. So, if you did not get reached out to this past week, we would love, we'd love to reach out to you and connect with you so that we can help you to take that next step of faith in your God journey, amen? So write in the lobby after service. We've got our team out there. They'd love to help you, help you. Please, God, to fill out your information so we can connect you this week. Anyways, that being said, all this excellence talk, I want you to understand. I'm not pulling this out of left field. This isn't in just the scripture at large. This is in the scriptures that we just read in Nehemiah chapter two because Nehemiah's desire to do something more than what he was currently doing as cut bearer to the king did not diminish his desire to faithfully accomplish and fulfill the duty he had to the king with meticulous care and attention to detail.

How do I know this? Well, I know this because of his precision and diligence in building the wall of Jerusalem in future chapters, but I also know this because the king wanted him to return back to Persia when he was done. Think about this for a moment. Do you remember what Nehemiah was, his occupation? Cut bearer. Thank you, one person listening to this sermon today. Are you kidding me, guys? He was cut bearer to the king. And as cut bearer, his only job was to drink wine before the king drank it because if it was poisoned, he would die, not the king. That feels like a pretty disposable job to me if you ask me. But despite his disposable job, he had worked so well before the king. He had built such a good relationship and rapport with the king that the king not only afforded him the opportunity to do something he would have never allowed anyone else to do to go and rebuild another city's walls. But then he wanted him to return back to the palace after he was done even though his job was easily replaceable. Oh, making no mistake, Nehemiah showed up with excellence. And I believe the only reason he was able to do this is because he made sure to pray and prepare, to pray and prepare. If you were to read the entirety of the book of Nehemiah, all 13 chapters, you would realize that Nehemiah was a man who was constantly in prayer,

constantly in prayer. In the four months waiting to rebuild the wall, he prayed, while rebuilding the wall, he prayed. When he was facing opposition, he prayed. When he needed protection, he prayed. When he needed guidance, he prayed, watch this business leaders, in his success, he prayed. Nehemiah was a man of prayer. Could it be possible if the reason this endeavor you are facing right now lacks the power and fruit and success you would have hoped it would have had by now is because you have neglected to position yourself in a posture of prayer. I'm not saying you need to spend five hours a day on your knees in prayer before the Lord, though we should make intentional time on a daily basis to spend time with the Lord in the Word of God and in prayer, absolutely. Nehemiah certainly spent sincere time in prayer before the Lord for extended periods of time. But through his example, we also see that he sent short, quick prayers up to heaven as well. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Go back to verse number four. This is the Bible, y'all. In verse four, the king said to me, what are you requesting? So look at this, so I pray to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, if it pleases the king, let me go and rebuild the wall, yada, yada, yada.

This is not to be viewed as a pause in the conversation so that Nehemiah could go and seek the Lord in prayer. No, 'cause if he had done that, the king probably would have had him arrested for treason 'cause he thought a coup was coming. Instead, this is to be viewed as almost like a parenthetical statement, letting us know that mid-conversation with the king. Nehemiah sent up a quick prayer to heaven, asking the Lord to give him the words to say, to give him the wisdom that he might find favor in the sight of the king as he requested what it is. He needed to request. This is so important because so many of us think that prayer is this practice that we must spend hours a day in on our knees before the Lord, Lord save me holy spirit guide me holy spirit give me the words to say cuz I don't know what to say right now God give me favor in the sight of these people in this meeting in this context. Lord. I need your help I need your help Now, of course, we can't reduce or limit our time and prayer to just this. No, of course not. Nehemiah Because he had such a fervent prayer life in private. That's the reason that these short quick shotgun prayers up to heaven were so effective Simply what I am suggesting and trying to get your attention to is that If you really want to be a person of power and you really want to be effective in the kingdom of God We must constantly remind ourselves who the builder source and guide of our life is by remaining in constant Communication with him and relying on his power his strength and his guidance to lead us into every endeavor We must undertake If we want to be effective powerful and packed full people for the kingdom of God, we must be people of prayer However, there's always a but Prayer alone is not enough

Now before you leave our church label me as a heretic and never come back Let me explain what I mean because there's a certain ideology among certain Christians that believe that stepping out in faith Means that you must step out without a plan Because you believe that God will simply take care of you every step of the way and by the way Theologically speaking I also believe that if God has has sent you to it Then I believe he will get you through it and equip you for it So God will absolutely take care of you every step of the way if it's coming from him But the example we get from Nehemiah is not of one that steps out in faith with no plan No, Nehemiah had a plan. He had a plan. How do I know this? Well, the king asked him some very specific questions, didn't he and he was able to answer back with very specific well thought out and carefully crafted answers He was able to let the king know approximately what time the work would be done He was able to let the king know approximately what time he'd returned back to the kingdom He was very careful to make sure that he did not dismiss But actually honored the authority of the palace and he made sure to think through how to ask for safe passage and Resourcing for his endeavors. Nehemiah was prayed up. Absolutely, but make no mistake Nehemiah was prepared He did not act like his prayer alone was enough to solve the issue because had he done that the wall would have never been rebuilt No, our prayer must be coupled with meticulous preparation if we want the will of God to be accomplished in our lives Our prayer is what helps us to understand the will of God Our prayer is what aligns us to the will of God, but watch this it is our preparation That helps us to craft how to execute the will of God Both are necessary because vision and alignment mean nothing if execution is non-existent So the work began Because Nehemiah showed up excellent the work began because Nehemiah had prayed and prepared But the work only was accomplished because the king gave the green light for the work to be accomplished I'll say it this way the work began because of Nehemiah's efforts but the only reason the work was accomplished was because he used the king's authority now I Just want you to see what I'm talking about because what did what did Nehemiah ask for when when he was asking to rebuild the wall

Back in Jerusalem. He did not ask to do so all by himself No, he asked the king for a couple of very important things in verse 7 He says if it pleases the king let letters be given me unto the governors of the province beyond the river that they may Let me pass through until I come to Judah and that's access and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the kings for us that He may give me timber to make beans for the gates of the fortress of the temple and the wall of the city in the house that I shall occupy That's resourcing So Nehemiah was very careful to ask the king for access to the lands and Resourcing to repair the lands both of which he never would have gotten on his own Because when you have the king's authority, oh You have access to places and spaces you would have never had access to on your own When you've got the king's authority doors open for you You could have never opened for yourself when you've got the king's authority You are resource not based off your own riches or what you can scrape together But you are resource based off of the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus when we are effectively serving the Lord and the Lord. here on this earth. We have the full backing of heaven and are given the king's authority. And with his authority we have access to wisdom, access to healing, access to discernment. We are resourced with strength, resource with courage, resource with boldness. We are clothed in humility, clothed in righteousness. We are given dominion over everything the Lord is destined for us. And then we are sealed with the very spirit of God who equips us with the same power that rose Jesus Christ from the grave so that we can do the work that the Lord has destined for us to do. That's the authority that us as believers have today. But the only people who operate with his authority are first people who operate under his authority. You must have proximity in a relationship with the king if you want access to the authority that his kingdom possesses. So if you've never given your life by faith to Jesus Christ, the king of all kings, the Lord above every other Lord, the name above every other name, the name at which every tongue shall confess and knee shall bow the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the author and perfecter of our faith, the one who created the

universe hung the stars in their place, the one who numbers every hair on your head and knit you together in your mother's womb, the one who bled and died for you on the cross if you've never given your life to Jesus. In a moment there'll be some pastors and prayer partners that would love nothing more than to help you navigate how to make Jesus Christ leader, Lord and king of your life and do it today because the only way to operate with his authority and his power is to operate under his authority and power. Father, we bless you today. Thank you for your word, thank you for your guidance, your leadership, Lord, help us to put it into practice today, help us to be the people you've called us to be doing the will that you've called us to accomplish and Lord, let us remember that we need to invite you into every moment of our lives. We love you, Lord, it's in Jesus mighty name we pray as the church said, "Loud be together."