Staff Development at Life Fellowship

Hey, guys, once again, it's such an honor and a blessing to be able to speak into your life through the Pando app from Life Fellowship Church here in McKinney, Texas. We are so blessed and so honored. My name is Logan Williams. My TDC number was 1490218, I have four numbers after that. So I understand being in places that you are, being round and round and round, because I know many of you that are there, it's not your first time there. It's maybe your second time or your third time. And I understand those feelings of man, is this it? Am I ever going to get past this? Am I ever going to figure this life thing out? Am I ever going to stop coming to places like this? I understand that. And I just want to tell you that and encourage you that all things are possible with Christ. He's just looking for your yes, and he is looking for you to just get all in with him because he has a plan and a purpose for your life that you can't even fathom or imagine if you could just step in to your purpose. Everyone has a purpose on their life. They have a calling on their life. Romans 11, 29 says the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. That means they can't be taken away, canceled out, changed, omitted, edited, it's like he changes his mind. It's irrevocable. And we need to know that. We need to know that in our hearts that that thing that he has put in your heart that just gets kind of gets your juices flowing when you think about it, man, it'd be really cool to do that. Man, I really see a need right there and I'd love to do that. That's what it is for you. And it's irrevocable.

It can't be taken away by anyone because God put it in you. And so I want to just encourage everybody in that. And I want to remind you that you can have your friends and family download the same Pando app on their phone so y'all can watch the same services together. Lots of awesome stuff on the Pando app. And then you can talk about it when you see each other and you can grow together. We were never meant to do this walk alone. And even if you're behind bars, men, you can still lead your family. Women, you can still lead your children. Don't believe the lie that it's all over because I'm here. It's not. It's not. It's not. God can do anything. So I was reading Colossians this morning and God kind of put it on my heart to just talk about Colossians chapter one with you guys. And I really don't know what I'm going to say about that, but I'm looking through it and you know, it starts with a greeting. You know, Paul always just greets the people that he's writing to in an amazing way. And says, man, we always pray for you. We always give thanks for you. We've heard of your faith and your love for all of God's people. And a lot of times we feel the same way about you guys when we go and we visit facilities, you know, we like, man, it's really popping off here. And so I want to tell you the same thing, man, we pray for you. We, we, we've heard about your faith. I know that God is raising up an army behind bars, behind the wire. He's raising it up there and he's doing it in the young adults. I see it. That's where God is.

And God's going to do it, man. God's going to raise you guys up. And then he goes into verse nine. He's going to, he's going to talk about how he prays for the church. He's going to talk about how he prays for the, for the church and Colossians. So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. And so when I read verses like this, man, I want you to think born again, believer. Okay. I want you to think, am I, is this me? Do I, do I pray like this? Do I have the same heart for others that Paul has for this church? So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. It's like, are you praying that? I have to ask myself, Logan, do you, am I praying for other people to have complete knowledge of his will and spiritual understanding? Then the way you, then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord. And you will live to produce every kind of fruit. All the while you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. And we also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power. So you will have all the endurance and patience you need, man, that's a prayer. You can be praying for your brothers, your sisters, the people at your table doing Bible studies, the people that you do this walk with in, in your church there at whatever facility that you're at, that they be strengthened with his glorious power. So you will have the endurance and patience that you need because man, I know that in the, in the situation. that you're in, you need endurance and you need patience. That is a place, I say it all the time, if you can begin to practice these spiritual principles

in the place that you're at, you're gonna be miles ahead when you get out here because it's easier out here, it just is. Says, he has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people who live in the light. So am I living in the light? Is there any darkness in my heart? These are the questions I ask as I read the word. Am I in the light? Do I have something I need to confess to somebody? Do I have something that I need to confess to God? Do I have something that I need to get from the dark to the light so that God can sever it from my life? For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into his marvelous light. It actually says the kingdom of his dear son who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. He purchased our freedom. Am I free? I need to ask myself. And forgave our sins. Do I really believe that he forgave my sins? Do I really believe that my sins have been thrown in the sea of forgetfulness, that east from the west, that he remembers our sins and our lawless deeds no more? Do I believe that? Because there's lots of times that sometimes I don't. There's a lot of times that maybe in my mind I won't say, oh, I don't feel forgiven, but in my heart, in my subconscious,

I'm always kind of bringing up all those things that I've done to God. And if the word of God is true, he's saying, what are you talking about? Like, I died for that. It's gone. It's east from the west. It's in the sea of forgetfulness because I just believe with all my heart that many of you who are watching this video, you wouldn't be watching this video in the places that you're at if God wasn't drawing, trying to woo you, trying to draw you, leaving 99 to come after you, searching for you like a lost coin. Searching for you. That should give you encouragement. Like he's after you. And so there's a calling on your life. And sometimes we can get in this mindset of, yeah, there may be a calling on my life, but God would never use me after I did all those things. And what he's saying is he purchased our freedom and forgave us our sins. That's verse 14. Says that Christ is a visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. For through him, God created everything. And in the heavenly realms and on earth,

he made the things we can see and the things we can't see, such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. That's a good verse because he's saying that we are all part of one body and he is the head. And a body needs all the parts. Maybe you got some brothers and sisters there that are kind of unlovable. Maybe you just don't get along with them. Maybe they just annoy you. Maybe they're still immature and they're not, that's why they annoy you, because they're still doing immature stuff. They're still gossiping about people. They're still, whatever it is. But if they're part of the body, the body needs that. A body needs the fingernail as much as he needs the shoulder as much as he needs the foot. And so this paints on a canvas that we all need each other. And if I harm, if I take an ax and I cut myself in the leg, it affects the whole body. So if I do something to harm my brother that annoys me, that's over here, I'm really harming myself because we're all part of one body. And so if we can get that in our heart, it changes how we interact with people.

It changes how we, maybe we start praying for people. These same prayers that we were just talking about, maybe we can pray those for the people that annoy us. And when we start doing that, when we start getting trained like that, man, it changes things and the church takes off. And the last verse that I really love in Colossians chapter one is verse 27. It says, for God wanted them to know the riches and glory of Christ who are for you. And this is the secret, Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing. His glory. In another version, it says, Christ in you the hope of glory. Like if you're born again, if you're a follower, if you're a believer, he's not just kind of close to you. He's not just, I don't know, for the leaders, for the pastors. He's not just close to the worship team or the people who are living right. He is closer than the breath that we take. He is in you the hope of glory. That should give us hope, man. And so I just want to encourage you guys today. Thank you for watching. God's after you if you're watching. We just began an interesting series called Kiss and Tell, and there's a lot of good information that we can learn

about being in relationship with people, about the words that we speak, how they can create or they can destroy, about how we can pray for one another, about how we can change some of our mindsets and some of our belief systems to have a better godly relationship. And so I hope you guys get a lot out of it. Thank you guys for watching. Again, man, God's amazing. Just a little bit of my testimony. I shot dope for 25 years, in and out of prison, in and out of jails, crime, and all the stuff that goes along with that. And suddenly, man, he met me right where I was at, in a hotel room, and I just surrendered. And I just walked out of there. And he's had me every step of the way. That surrender part was a difficult part because there were many more things I had to surrender as we did the walk, but that's what he's asking for. And I know that you guys are tired of being where you're at. And so man, just wave the surrender flag. And if you don't know Jesus, man, I want you to have a moment with him. I want you to cry out to him that there's nothing like what he did on that cross. That's the greatest news that we have, what he did on that cross.

There's no love, there's no forgiveness, there's no grace, there's nothing like it. And if you wanna just wave that surrender flag, you can lay all that stuff down at the feet of Jesus. You can surrender it all, and he is with you. He will be closer than the air you breathe. So Heavenly Father, I just lift up these men and women who are watching. I thank you for their hearts. I know that you love them with a love that we can't even fathom or imagine. And I thank you for the Pando app, just for the technology to be able to speak life into them where they can be edified and they can take their free time and chase after you. God, I pray that if anyone's watching that doesn't know you, that you would just reveal yourself in a mighty way to them right now. I just declare salvation. I just declare healing and freedom and bonds breaking in Jesus' name over them. God, I've seen men freer that are in prison than some of the people in the free world because they're free in their hearts because you have touched them. You have entered into them and they understand that. They understand that you, your Holy Spirit dwells within them. And so God, that's what I pray for all these men and women today.

And ask that you would bless their families as they're gone and ask that you would just continue to woo them, continue to draw them. We love you. We give you all the praise and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. You know, I just got one more question. Whose house? God's house. Let's give him some praise. It's 9.02, it's about five of us in here. I wanna trust that everyone else will come in and worship with us. But before we get started this morning, I just wanted to read a scripture with you guys. I'm really in a season of where I really, in all the areas in my life, I have to trust God. And I think as a church, we're in a season of trusting God. Personally, we're in a season of trusting God. And the scripture that the Lord gave me this morning was Proverbs three, five, and six. I'm gonna read the passage translation. And it says, trust in the Lord completely and do not rely on your own opinions. With all of your heart, rely on him to guide you. And he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do.

And he will lead you. wherever you go. And I think that the Lord is just reminding us that he has us. He has us. He will lead us. He will guide us. He will direct us. All we have to do is keep our eye on him. All we have to do is continue to trust, keep our faith in him, and he will lead us and direct us. So as we jump into this worship this morning, I just want to challenge you to trust in the Lord today. Trust in him with all of your heart and lean not to your own understanding, but in all of your ways, if we acknowledge him, he shall direct our path. Father, we thank you for this morning. We thank you for this worship. Thank you for this time together as staff. Father, we invite your presence into this room today. Come touch the hearts of your people. Jesus. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. Perfect submission. All is at rest. I know the author of tomorrow has thought of my step. So this is my story. This is my song. I'm praising my risen King and Savior. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. I trust in God. We can always put our hope and trust in you, Jesus. You will never fail. I salt the Lord. And he heard and he answered. I salt the Lord and he heard and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust him. I salt 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, I trust Him. 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. 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 my cry. I saw the Lord and He heard my prayer. We serve a God that will never fail us. We serve a God that will never leave us or forsake us. Oh Jesus, we trust You. We trust You. I trust You. I trust my life. I trust You.

I trust Him, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust Him, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. We serve a God who will never fail us. You may be walking some areas personally in your life, and you may be wondering, like, Lord, am I doing the right thing? Lord, am I making the right decisions? Know that you're trusting Jesus, and know that when you trust Him, He will guide you in every step. I trust Him, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. He will never fail. I trust Him, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust Him, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust Him, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. It's My Life ohhh ..... the love you never felt found in your tears ohhh .... found in your hands fullness of joy every fear suddenly wiped away here in your presence and all of my games now fade away every crown no longer on display here in your presence heaven is trembling in awe of your wonder the kings and their kingdoms are standing amazed here in your presence we are undone here in your presence

heaven and earth become one here in your presence all things are new here in your presence everything bows before you only in your presence show me your presence found in your hands fullness of joy every fear suddenly wiped away here in your presence all of my games now fade away every crown no longer on display here in your presence heaven is trembling in awe of your wonders the kings and their kingdoms are standing amazed heaven is trembling in awe of your wonders the kings and their kingdoms are standing amazed here in your presence we are undone here in your presence heaven and earth become one Here in your presence, all things are new. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. Everything bows before you Jesus. The fear of anxiety must bow before you. Everything bows, everything bows before you.

You are wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. Matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. Matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. Matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. Matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. Matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. You're matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. You're matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. You're matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. You're matchless in every way, wonderful, you're beautiful, you're glorious. You're matchless in every way. Here in your presence, we are one. Here in your presence, we are one. Here in your presence, all things are. Here in your presence, everything falls before you. Wonderful, beautiful, glorious. Matchless in every way, wonderful, beautiful, glorious. Matchless in every way, wonderful, beautiful, glorious. Matchless in every way, wonderful, beautiful, glorious. Here in your presence, we are one. Here in your presence, heaven and earth becomes one. Here in your presence. All things are Here in your presence Where it was before Take a couple more seconds and just behold the beauty of our Father Just behold the beauty and the majesty of him The holiness of him we behold you Jesus Behold your majesty Jesus So beautiful in all his ways

So radiant, so radiant, you're beautiful Gaze at your face, gaze at your face Gaze at your face Tatum, I'm not sure we have enough Kleenexes today I'm so incredibly grateful for a God who is with us Who does not leave us, who does not abandon us, who does not forsake us This morning when Nathan kicked off and he was, I think I heard you say You're in a place in your life where you have no other choice but to trust And he said that and I thought, well, I thought it was just me But the truth of the matter is it's all of us Sometimes your eyes see one thing, your head tells you something else And your heart tells you a third thing And you've got no other choice but to trust I think today could look a little different I think that's okay Because I think there's power when we lock arms together and say It's not just you, it's not just me We're going to do this together So I wonder if we could, I know it's silly Can we take two minutes? Did you get twos and threes? Pray for each other Encourage one another Speak life over one another It doesn't have to be super formulated, it doesn't have to be super You don't have to quote the whole Old Testament The God is we, seek your face together today We just ask that you would speak life over us today I think today could look a little different I think that's okay

Because I think there's power when we lock arms together and say It's not just you, it's not just me We're going to do this together So I wonder if we could, I know it's silly Can we take twos and threes? Pray for each other I'm ready to pull one or two out right now, but this time I'm holding out the elastic so it won't snap. Make sure to layer your bodies pretty well. I feel it is going to measure. I make sure it massages properly. Leave a little tape area for a while. You can use a dry towel. In between this, pull apart one by one old fabric. Layer by layer. Layer by layer. Layer by layer. Start with a layer of your favouriteートeinup top. Best out of 4! If you don´t like your chocolate too dark, put some egg wash on top. Crumble into small balls. Add colourant to suit your how I, but I prefer this colour. I did not have it, but then another friend did. Very distant from me, from the moment I saw him. I didn't have it but then another friend did. Standing next to me. Unfazed and excited, but also scared. And before I knew it, it was facing the other way but within an instant, it turned back.

Well, that's how he is— Huh? Well, that was nice of you to say. He's a leader, you know, If it wasn't for him even this would've been fine. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Well, here we are. Whoo! Bring me down just a little bit. I'll try to talk a little lower. It's still early 2026. We just finished the 21 days of prayer and fasting. In most years, Kathy and I start each year out. You can keep playing, but you don't have to if you want to take a break. I'd love you doing it, but I don't feel like you have to. You can come back in a minute, whatever you prefer.

We start out each year just reflecting a little bit on the past year. And this year is obviously 2026. So most years, the way we do that is we start the year with... It's either just she and I talking and reflecting a little bit. I go through, as most of you all know, if we've talked any amount of time at all, I go through a mental checklist for almost everything that needs to be a pattern in my life. So I go through what was right about 2025, what was wrong, what was confused, what was missing. So it's just a process that I run through in my crazy mixed-up brain. And we did that in certainly in 26 and look back on 25 and some of the things we got to celebrate. One of the biggest ones is Kathy is cancer-free. Whoo. Yes. Yeah, certainly on a personal note. That was a huge win. Also unknown to 2025, but the Assemblies of God decided, hey, we've got a building for you in Howe, Texas that we'd love to put a life-giving church in. We just happen to have a campus happening in Anna. So we reflect on some of the amazing things that God has done. We also look at some of the things that God that has happened that necessarily we may not want to necessarily remember. But we try not to let that hold us back. We try to look at those things and learn from them, but then put them out. And we had a meeting not too long ago called a kill meeting. We killed things that we needed to let go of. Well, I go through that each year in my life. I want to look at what did I need to learn from this past season? What did I need to learn from this past year? But after learning, I don't want to live in it. I want it to be behind me. I want it to be done. I don't want to look in the rearview mirror. You know, the enemy keeps us tied up there many times. He'll keep us reflecting on where we messed up instead of looking ahead at what God has for us in the future. Don't let that happen in your lives. But 2025 was an interesting year. 2025, let's back up a year. In 2025, January of 2025, it was January the 5th. So Kathy and I actually started our prayer and fasting on January 1st last year. So we were five days into into the fast already and we're praying God and reflecting what is what is 2024 look like? What do you have for us in 2025? As we're reflecting on 2024, many of you know,

but as much as Kathy is cancer free in 2025, 2024, that wasn't the story. 2024 had lots of challenges, lots of surgeries, lots of late nights, lots of doctor's appointments, lots of sitting in waiting rooms, lots of tears, lots of questioning. God, what? Why? I mean, of everybody. It's the most healthy eating person I know on the Earth. Maybe other than Des is my wife, Kathy. And in the logical brain that I have, I'm like, how does this happen? So we were reflecting on 2024 again, putting it behind us and imagining what 2025 could look like. The title of this message today is moving forward. You know, it's interesting to me. This is actually the week of the Super Bowl. And this very message, the first time I spoke, this message was at a church in New Jersey the week of the Super Bowl. Also, it's not lost on me that today is. February 3rd, Pastor Nathan somewhere. So I see. Sorry. He obviously opened talking about Proverbs 3. The last time I was on the platform was January the 4th. And during that service, I referenced Proverbs 3. It just so happens I try to read a proverb, the proverb for the day yesterday. Today is is obviously the 3rd of February. So today's proverb is Proverbs 3, 5 and 6. My word for 2026 is trust, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding and all your ways. Acknowledge him and he will direct your path. I started this by saying I spoke this first time, the first time moving forward while I was in New Jersey. And it's relevant to the Super Bowl for a couple of reasons. But as we start, if you have your phone or a Bible, if you would go ahead and mark 2 Samuel 5 and 6. As you're doing that, let me describe what fall Saturdays look like in the Boyd house. Fall Saturdays. I wait all year looking forward to college football.

I love most sports. My wife will tell you if there's sports happening. I'm trying to find some way to pay attention to what's going on. By the way, the Olympics start this week. I will be paying attention. The opening ceremonies are Friday. I will pay attention. But I love college athletics. So a typical Saturday in the Boyd household for the past several years. We wake up, the alarm goes off. fit, oh my goodness, 445, maybe five o'clock if we sleep in. We take out, we drive to Plano, we go for a run, we meet up with our running group in Plano, we run some distance, usually a bunch of miles. We finish those miles, then we go to breakfast with some friends and hang out, we share stories. Honestly, it's a great time for Kathy and I to love each other and love others. So many times, it's interesting, many people don't know that I'm a pastor, so I hear all sorts of stories until I get an opportunity to put my hand on their shoulder and pray for them, and then they discover that there's something different, not just about me, but what God is doing in and around me. So we typically do that, then we head home, usually have a few honeydews to do, some homework to get done, some housework to get done. Speaking of which, one of my jobs is vacuuming, and the wonderful thing about that is I recently bought a Roomba, so while I'm drinking coffee, I'm vacuuming, because the Roomba is taking care of it for me. But that's what we do Saturday mornings, and I'm honestly, everything is pointing towards what is the first game that's going to be on. What's the first college football game that's going to happen on the TV that I'm going to enjoy? So I'm getting ready, Kathy's usually fixing me some of my favorite snacks, something to just hang out in front of the TV, probably for too long, but I hang out there for a while, ready to watch some amazing college football. In football, the quarterback is the leader, and for those of you that don't know football, I'll describe a little bit, but the quarterback is the leader. So before they get ready to run a play, everybody comes together, the leader calls a meeting, if you will, and you know how I love meetings. The leader calls a meeting, and

everybody comes together, all the team stands around him, and he tells everybody this is the plan, or this is the play that we're going to run this next play. So the leader tells them the plan, and then he sends them to go execute the plan. So I'm equating college football to the way leadership works, and the way it works at Life Fellowship. We execute, we send the team to execute. When we get at the, when the quarterback gets to the line of scrimmage, everybody's standing up, everybody's looking around, and they're trying to determine if we run this play, if we run this plan, this is the obstacle that I have against me. This is what's going to come against me to try to prevent me from accomplishing what we're trying to accomplish, and what they're trying to accomplish is moving forward. They want to take new ground, they want to accomplish what their goal is, and it's no different in our lives. God has a purpose and a plan for each of us. We're all moving forward. When the football analogy, the quarterback is standing up, he's looking around at all the other players that are trying to prevent them from accomplishing that, and all of the team is doing the same thing. They're all standing up and looking, but only one person has the authority to either run this play or do something different, to either proceed with this plan or do something different, and that's the quarterback. The quarterback is the leader. Everybody else on the field may see something, and they may see something completely different. If everybody on the field starts calling out something, there's confusion, but there's a plan, there's a process. That plan is the quarterback's going to assess what needs to happen, and many times the quarterback will get to the line of scrimmage, it's called, getting ready to run the play, and he'll decide, oh, the plan we were going to run is the wrong plan. What the defense is trying to prevent us from doing, if we run this plan, we won't be successful, and our goal is to take new ground, to move forward. So the quarterback, many times, will call what's called an audible. He'll change the play. He'll change the plan. It's called an audible. One of the reasons I like this story, Peyton Manning is a retired quarterback now. He was with the Indianapolis Colts, the Denver Broncos, but the word he used when he

wanted to call an audible, when he wanted to change the plan, was he used the word Omaha. So he'd come up to the line of scrimmage, everybody would look, all the players would be looking at the defense facing them, and if he saw a different play that would be more effective for him and his team to be able to move forward, he would say the word Omaha. Omaha. When moving forward is important, it's important to consider the opposition of the past, the struggles that you've faced, the unexpected things. One of the things that Peyton Manning and any quarterback does as he comes to the line, he looks at the opposition, he says, oh, I've seen this before. Last year when we played this team, they did this exact same thing. How does that equate to us in our lives? You know, for me right now, and many times in my life, quite honestly, I've gotten in my life, and I think, man, I'm going to run this play. I know what the next play is. I get to the line of scrimmage, and honestly, I hear God say, Omaha. I'm like, what? Did you see the plan? Did you see my play? This is the plan, the play that I was going to run. Did you see that? And God said, yes, I saw that, but he said, Omaha. Sometimes when we're in the game of life, we can see what's immediately in front of us, and we think that we're perfectly positioned to move forward, and that's me. When I came here nine years ago, almost nine years ago, man, the transition for me from Gateway where I was to get here, it was an Omaha moment. It was me in a seat that I loved, getting to do the things that I loved, and God said, Jeff, Kathy, Omaha, I've got something different for you. I've got another plan for you. I said, okay, what do you have, God? And amazing things happened. What was that? I won't tell you the whole story. I'll tell you parts of the story. As I was leaving Gateway, every place I went, I interviewed a few different churches. Every place I went, this isn't patting Jeff on the back, please hear that. Every place I went offered me the job,

and every place, after they would offer me the job, I would pray. Kathy and I together, we said, God, is this the place? And he'd say, no. And he got to the place where I was like, okay, I missed it. I'm supposed to stay at Gateway. I'm not supposed to leave. And many of you may have heard this story. Randomly, not randomly at all, Pastor Chris reached out to another person at Gateway. And one of his goals for the next year was to hire an executive pastor and some other things on that list. So that other pastor called me and said, hey, do you want to talk to this church in McKinney, Texas? I'm like, no, I'm done. Everywhere I've been, I thought I was supposed to leave. I keep asking God. He says, no, I don't want to do this anymore. I'm just going to stay. I love where I'm at. I love what I'm doing. But I have a wife who's saying, hey, God said Omaha. And that wasn't her word specifically, but she did say, hey, let's go. Let's go talk to, I didn't know his name was Chris. Let's go talk to this church in McKinney. God's Omaha. He said Omaha. So we did. And my goodness, what an amazing, amazing journey it's been. I equate this to another story that I really, really, if you heard me talk any amount of time at all, that my two favorite stories are the story of Obededim and King David sending to get the ark and Ezekiel walking out of the temple and the water flowing out of the temple, my two favorite stories in all the Bible. So today I'm going to share a little bit from the story of King David. So in second Samuel chapter five, we'll start with chapter six, even though it's after King David's deciding that, hey, I'm going to go get the ark and the Philistines have the ark. You can look up the story. It's an amazing. And one of the reasons I love it is it's an amazing story. It's a great life story,

a great life story about change, a great life story about God's provision, his, his protection, his accomplishing what he wants to accomplish. So as David is first knows that he's going to be King, the Philistines also discover that they hear, Hey, this guy named David, who by the way, happened to kick our butts many times is going to be King. So they began to rally. We got to come against this guy. We got to take him out. What did David do? He said, I need to pray. I need to ask God, what does he have to say? So there's going to be three points in this message. The first point is here. King David went to the, went to pray and he asked God, he said, God, what, what do you have for me? What are we supposed to do? What am I supposed to do? Actually before that in verse 17 of chapter five, the Bible records that the Philistines heard that David had been appointed as King. So they developed a plan to destroy him. And as I said earlier, you know, David and the Philistines have some history. Verse 17 also records that David heard that the Philistines were coming after him. So it's important that first thing we have to do in anything that we're pursuing God for is here. Second, Samuel five 19 says, David inquires of the Lord. Why did he ask God? Because they needed to hear from him. And later in verse 19, it says, the Lord said to David. So he did here go up and I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand. So David didn't just make a plan and go. He made a plan. He took it to God and said, God, what do you have to say? Am I supposed to do this? to go take control? Am I supposed to go defeat the Philistines? And God said, yeah, go do that. 2 Samuel 5 goes on to record David having several successful battles with the Philistines each time he asked the Lord and each time he heard instructions from the Lord. Verse 23 says, David inquired of the Lord.

Well, 2 Samuel 6 begins with David gathering all the choice men of Israel and he went up to get the Ark. And the Ark was with the Philistines. He gathered 30,000 of his closest friends and he said, hey, let's go get the Ark. So he had a couple huge successes against them, against the Philistines. So now it was time to go get the Ark of the Covenant. And you all recognize the Ark of the Covenant at this time represented the very presence of God. It was a holy thing. It was a holy place. And they didn't have it for years. And David said, we're gonna get it back. David takes a group of men to get the Ark and on the way back, you all probably have heard the story, you know the story, but on the way back they're traveling and they step across a creek. And I just always try to put myself in these situations. If I'm walking with this group of 30,000 people and they're carrying the Ark and all of a sudden they get to this creek and they're trying to step through the water, stepping on some slippery rocks and different things happening. And all of a sudden the Ark starts to fall. What is every person in this room going to do? You're gonna put your hand out to try to stop it. You're gonna try to keep it from falling. Well, that's exactly what happened. And as soon as the person did that, he dropped dead. Instantly, he's dead. David's in this group and he's like, oh my goodness, what is this? So what does he do? He said, hey, we need to pause right here for a moment. One of my favorite words, again, if you've heard me talk much at all, pause. We don't stop much, we pause a lot. So David says, hey, I need to figure this out. What are we gonna do? We can't just leave the Ark here in the creek. It didn't fall. They stopped it from falling. But we have to do something with it. Well, they found a guy's house really close to the creek named Obededim. The wonderful story about Obededim is that he was available. In my view, he was likely sitting at his house. He was a farmer. And again, this is Jeff filling in. This is the new Jeff version. He was a farmer hanging out in his house and all of a sudden, he hears a knock on the door. And the king wants to leave the Ark of the Covenant at his house. And whether that's actually the way it happened, I

don't know. But he did leave the Ark of the Covenant at his house. So in my view, Obededim's hanging out at his house and all of a sudden, he's getting ready to be a farmer. He's getting ready to do things that farmers do. And all of a sudden, he hears Omaha. God said, I've got a different plan for you today, Obededim. He told David that before when the Ark started to fall. God was telling David, Omaha, I've got a different plan for you, David. I want you to leave leave the Ark and I want you to go talk to me. You know, one of the things that David didn't do before he went to get the Ark, he didn't ask God. Not only did he not ask God, he didn't do what God had already told him to do. There were specific instructions for the way to carry the Ark. And David's like, again, the Bible doesn't say this. This is Jeff's interpretation. David's like, I've already beaten the Philistines so many times. I don't have to ask God about that. I'll just go do it. We'll go get the Ark. It's an old, old contraption that we had to carry it. Let's get something new. It'll hold up a little better. We got to carry it a long way. So let's create this new way of carrying the Ark. He didn't ask God about that. So he went to do it. He went to grab the Ark. On the way back, sure enough, somebody puts their hand out. They drop dead. They leave the Ark with Obededim. Obededim, the word says, is blessed. David goes back to the City of David. He finally gets a report from his advisors. He's asking. He's asked God now. God, what am I supposed to do? Took three months of, the Bible does record this, three months that he was asking God, what do you want me to do? And God finally tells him, I want you to go get the Ark. His advisors say, he asked the advisors, hey, what's going on with the Ark? How's Obededim doing? And they report, oh my goodness, Obededim has been incredibly blessed. Incredibly blessed. Great things are happening for Obededim. And why is that important? Because Obededim was, that day was getting ready to be a farmer. He was getting ready to do farmer things, do what farmers do. And all of a sudden, he heard the knock on the door. And God said, Omaha. He could have continued. He didn't have to allow the, I don't know that you can refuse the king, but he could have not allowed the presence of God to be in his

midst. he may have missed a blessing he would have missed the blessing that God had for him if he wouldn't have said God here I am Let me do what you want me to do so David took three months to wait and to hear But then he chose to believe so the first point is here. The second point is believe 2nd Samuel 6 11 the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obadiah them to get tight for three months and the Lord Blessed Obadiah them and all his household Obadiah them had experienced the presence of God 2nd Samuel 6 12 Now it was told King David saying the Lord has blessed the house of Obadiah them and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God Can you see how this is moving forward David needed to learn David had some experiences. He leaned on those past experiences He thought I've already kicked the Philistines butts. I can go get the Ark of the Covenant. I don't have to ask God I know how to do this. He's and oh my goodness. How many times do I do that? I know in my life many times if I've experienced something in the past and I've figured out a way to accomplish what needs to be Accomplished when that same situation rises again, I'm not asking God again I should but I'm just being being transparent. I don't many times. I'm like I did it this way last time it worked So I'm gonna do it that way this time so I don't fault David But God was calling Omaha for David. He was saying hey, I need you to do a different way I need you to ask me about everything that you're gonna before you're going to do it And if you know, there's a rule of how things should be done in the Old Testament Follow that rule do what I've told you to do in the past Until I tell you to do it different David didn't do that. Same for Obadiah them He was gonna be a farmer until God said, oh, oh ma so Here's number one then believe what God says and last point is obey obey

Maybe the hardest part Hearing is amazing Believing is yeah, that's good. Okay, I can believe it. Oh wait now I got to do something with that Obey 2nd Samuel 6 12 says so David went and brought up the ark from the Ark of God from the house of Obadiah them to the city of David with gladness So because David was faithful and chose to hear God to believe what he said and then obey David actually went from mad Angry, which he was when the guy put his arm out and and steadied the ark and died the word records. He was mad he went from that to being Sad and then ultimately to being glad Because he did what God told him to do The word goes on to say we talked I talked about David but Obadiah them was also blessed in First Chronicles 15 18. It says that Obadiah them was a gatekeeper. So what did he do after he was a farmer? David came and got the ark and took it to the city of David But Obadiah them and had an experience he had something that he had never had before He wasn't willing to let that get away from him So he was going to continue to be obedient. He was going to continue to do what God asked him to do He was going to continue to do anything he had to do in order to be in the presence of God So Obadiah them was also faithful. He became a gatekeeper. He became a musician He did whatever had to happen in order for him to be in the presence of God You This last section is I want to be I Want to be specific? So I'm gonna read a little more of this than I did with the first part just because I don't want to miss

This is important Part of my season being here for eight and a half years. I've learned a ton and God has a purpose and a plan in that And I don't want to I don't want to leave anything any pertinent thing out here So can we stop just by start by stopping for a moment and look around the room? Look at the people in this room As I look around I see all of you, of course But I'm reminding it reminded of a few pretty cool stories. All the stories are cool, but I'm just reminded of a couple I Think of pastor Leandro and Danny and I think oh my goodness But it started with Sister Danny being a part of life fellowship but then Leandro and Danny go through a challenging time of ministry leading a church and and You know anytime people are involved we have an opportunity to mess things up so they experienced some some church hurts some challenges some very difficult times but God's all fit to say hey I want you to come to life fellowship I want you to be loved on I want you to be healed I want you to be I want you to remember who I called you to be who I created you to be and I'm gonna allow you to do that at life fellowship thank you for being here also look around and I think of pastor Matt one of the first when I first heard of pastor Matt I learned of his story a little bit and the church that he was coming from Cross Timbers Church we started having some conversation and as we had conversation I discovered that maybe similarly to a lot of us he's had some wonderful wins in ministry some great experiences but has also had some challenges and he was actually living out one of those challenges when we first started talking but because of God because of him putting the pieces together because we were willing to together to be able to hear to be able to believe and to be able to obey pastor Matt joined the team and now is obviously a key key member of all the

things that happen here at life fellowship not just in next-gen but as a strong voice and everything that happens here pastor John's not with us but I remember Matt I think of pastor John can you imagine an army ranger I mean the stories he tells I'm like only God right only God can take this guy who is jumping out of airplanes to do unthinkable things in other parts of the world and say hey that's not lost on me I want you to I want you to use who I created you to be but I want you to use it to advance the kingdom now the same tenacity the same strength the same stick to itiveness that that he had to learn in order to be an army ranger he brings to what he's doing at life fellowship as our campus pastor he loves people he's chasing hard he'll move heaven and earth he'll do whatever it takes to advance the kingdom I'm reminded pastor Nathan again super cool that God decided I'm gonna tie all these pieces together so that life fellowship somehow some way has a connection to CF and I and I know it started back years ago with Nathan Otwell and ultimately with pastor Vinny and other pieces but all those things happened for a purpose so that somewhere in the journey of Nathan's journey God says hey I want you to spend some time at life fellowship pretty amazing things as we look around this room Theodore Roosevelt says far and away the best price that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing ministry is work worth doing it's holy work it's hard work it's a gift this moment it's not rooted in sadness or disappointment it's rooted in trust trust I think most of you know is obviously what we're talking about today but trust is my word for 2026 this isn't an ending it's a handoff it's God continuing his story he's just turning the page as I'm looking at it man it's easy for me to think I didn't finish and I don't like not finishing most of you know I'm fairly competitive so much so that well I'll just tell you a running story I read we've run several races I was running a half marathon 13.1 miles and I it was Kathy's first half marathon we were in California running at Disneyland so her first race I'm gonna finish with her because it's her first race there's a friend of mine Thomas

Miller some of you may know Thomas he was the worship pastor at Gateway for a bunch of years great friend of mine he's from West Virginia also he's also running this race so we're running the race not together Kathy and I are running it together Thomas is somewhere else we finish we cross the finish line we're holding hands it's like celebrate yay and I celebrate for about five seconds and then I look over at her and I said I love you and I'm glad we finished together but Thomas Miller will never beat me in a race again and good news is he never has hasn't beat me again so I'm crazy competitive I like to finish you know I train hard I run a lot and I do that because I want to get to the finish line there's no other options getting to the finish line is the only option in my brain and that's what I was that's what I'm doing here I love the sign that's in here I love the sign that's on pastor Chris's wall it says finish like yes that's what I'm going to do and you know this has rocked me a bit because now it doesn't feel like I'm finishing but God said Omaha he's not saying you're finished Jeff he's saying I want you to run the race that I have for you but you know what now it's time to hand the baton to somebody else and as much as I don't love that because I like to finish because I know that depends on me and you know that's a control issue that I have because I know that depends on me my wife will tell you that's a it's one of one of my many issues is control I like to control and I know I can do that there but God's saying Omaha I've got a different plan for you Jeff you know there are leaders many leaders in this world many leaders in this church leaders either lead by position or lead by presence can I tell you that Chris Lindbergh leads by presence he's not just the senior pastor by position he leads by presence John Maxwell said a leader is one who knows the way goes the way and shows the way and that's Chris Lindbergh pastor Chris that is him I've loved seeing his integrity his humility his conviction talk about stick to itiveness this guy he's like a in West Virginia we'd say a hound dog on a ham bone he gets a hold of something he's not letting it go he's gonna hang on to it and not not to anybody else's negative but only because he knows what God tells him to do one

of the greatest gifts that Chris has given the life fellowship is trust he empowers leaders he protects culture and he cares deeply about spiritual health Andy Stanley said leaders who don't listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say pastor Chris listens he invites feedback he wants to hear he doesn't think he's the only guy who can accomplish what's happened what needs to happen here at life fellowship he invites those things that's uncommon most leaders are very strong and they only want to do it their way that's not pastor Chris he wants to hear from you pastor Chris thank you for your friendship thank you for your trust thank you for letting me run my race here you know Paul said he ran the race he finished the course and Paul wasn't saying he's completed he's done he's saying I trusted God I trusted God ministry is not about perfection it's about persistence it's not about control it's about obedience now I want to speak a little bit to the staff the team you guys you guys are amazing some of the best times of my life have been these last eight years you're not just staff you're minister of the gospel your friends your co-workers your shepherds your prayer warriors mother Teresa once said not all of us can do great things but we can do small things with great love that's ministry your emails are out you you take great care when you send emails your conversations are handled with grace I hear you whisper prayers under your breath for others and for yourself I've watched you navigate change without losing heart growth without losing culture and pressure without losing integrity Galatians 6 9 says let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up don't grow weary don't lose your why protect your soul guard your joy stay close to Jesus and close to each other healthy teams build healthy churches you know there's another story Elijah and Elisha in the Bible and I want to talk take a few minutes and talk a little bit about that story you know Elijah was a powerful man of God he called down fire from heaven he was powerful

Eli Elisha was also a farmer the word records that he was in a field plowing so again I'm always imagining what does that look like so I can see Elijah wakes up on Monday goes out grabs a plow hooks it up to the ox and he starts plowing and he's walking and his view never changes All he sees is the butt of the ox and he's plowing his hands on the plow. He keeps going He finishes he starts the next day gets the plow. He starts he's plowing same thing the next day same thing the next day until God says Omaha The word records Elijah was he was had a powerful ministry he confronted Kings But Elijah wasn't meant to do it forever In second Kings 2 we don't see panic we see preparation Elijah is preparing. He's supposed to hand off his mantle to Elisha Elisha doesn't rest rush the moment. He stays faithful. He watches he learns and Scripture tells us something powerful and this is what I want us to get here today Elijah started the the ministry Elisha's ministry was multiplied Because he was faithful because Elijah was faithful and because Elisha was faithful that's not loss. That's legacy John Maxwell says a leader's lasting value is measured by succession This transition is not about replacement. It's about continuation It's continuing what God has already begun and I want to say clearly God had a purpose and a plan in all of this and while I don't fully understand I trust I have to choose to trust Sometimes sometimes I feel it. Sometimes I choose it But I trust God orchestrated this long ago, but I can see evidence of it starting in 20 early 2025 God orchestrated this long ago, but I can see evidence of it starting in 20 early 2025 Not just for me, but even in as as Trent and I have talked His journey to get to this place and my journey have been very similar Different but very similar Over a year ago. God spoke to him about stepping down from his role in his business Made no logical sense. Why would I do that? Makes no sense. Don't do that

A year later. God tells John Don't do that A year later. God tells Jeff step down from your role of life fellowship. I'm like heck no I'm putting I did for a year. I put my fingers in my ear serious true story I told Kathy over and over again. We're not leaving. I'm not done. We're not i'm not finished Don't you know i'm supposed to finish thomas miller's not gonna beat me again i'm gonna finish But God kept saying okay Jeff i'll get you there and that's a loving God He's not done with life fellowship. He's not done with Jeff. I don't love that He's decided that hey, Jeff doesn't need to be here anymore, but I trust The pride in me is like I could have finished But God says yeah, okay, but I need you over here I think I told most of you the word I got in january january 5th It started this journey and i'm not gonna go through the whole journey together again, but january 5th the the leading part of this word was You've been planting and expecting a harvest in one field and I need you in a different one And I was like that's dumb I'm, not doing that Actually initially I thought that's okay. Okay. I'm just going to slow down I'm going to be in a different role at life fellowship sooner than I thought that's all right We can do that. And again, that's me trying to fit God into the box of of what I can understand But back to trent he's stepping into his calling Trent i've watched your steadiness your humility your wisdom and your deep love for this church and its people You carry weight without ego You will protect culture you lead with incredible integrity Good leaders craig rochelle says don't just lead. Well, they build something that lasts beyond them staff hear me This is not a setback. It's a setup This is not a pause. This is propelling This is spirit-led continuation Trent's not called by me and that's a good thing. He's called to be exact called to be me. That's a good thing He's called to be exactly who god created him to be

So I released this role with peace Confidence and deep trust in what god is doing through trent and through you all You know, I referenced a minute ago kathy's cancer-free One of the amazing things that I experienced at life fellowship one of the many amazing things and one of the greatest gifts that you could give kathy and I Was when we stood in the growth track room holding hands and said Life's throwing us a little bit of a curveball And we're gonna navigate through life Life's throwing us a little bit of a curveball and we're gonna navigate this thing they call cancer Well you know after every surgery, after almost every appointment, one of the first texts or calls I got was from Chris or Tatum saying, hey how are you? How can we help? What can we do for you? And that wasn't because he's only my pastor. It wasn't because he's only my friend. And he wasn't the only one that did that. Everyone in this room and those even not in this room did that. Because you're family. It's one of the greatest gifts that we've experienced here. You guys are family. I want you to keep doing that. I want you to love people like you are called to love people. That never will change. Keep being all who God created you to be. I love that you all, many of you call Kathy, mama Kathy. She doesn't have the opportunity to speak here right now but she loves well. You don't know the prayers, the tears that she sheds for you guys. We're thankful we've got to spend this time with you guys. So I want to finish well. As I step into what God has next, I want to leave you with this charge. Stephen Covey said strength lies in differences not in similarities. And that's a good thing. Stay unified even when you don't agree. Stay humble especially when things go well. Stay dependent on God. Remember that this church belongs to Jesus. The mission is eternal. Obedience is always worth it even when you don't understand. So let's pause here for a moment. I want to pray and as we're praying I want you to ask God, God where are you saying Omaha in my

life? Where do you want me to do something different? And I'm not suggesting leaving. That's not it at all. God speaks to me all the time Omaha. This time it happens to be that I'm supposed to leave. But most of the time it's hey I need you to spend more time with me in the mornings. I need you to love your wife better. I need you to love your team better. I need you to serve Pastor Chris better. I need you to serve me better. I need you to stop and listen to me. So let's pause here for a moment and ask God, God what do you want me to do different? What do you want me to do? Lord we give you permission, authority to say Omaha to us. To call an audible, to change our direction, to refocus us, to recalibrate us, to keep us paying attention to what you want us to pay attention to, to not get caught up in the past, to not only lean on what we've understood but to chase hard after you. Say Omaha to us Lord. We want to hear your Omaha. The best days for life fellowship are still ahead because God is faithful. Let me pray. God I thank you for life fellowship. Thank you for this staff. Thank you for this these leaders and Lord thank you mostly selfishly for this season. This season. Lord I know you've got a plan to prosper us and not harm us. We're gonna trust you with that. Lord I ask that you protect life fellowship, you unify them, you guide them. May they finish well. May they trust you completely. May they love people without reservation in Jesus name. Amen. God bless you guys. I sure love you. Yes I get the opportunity to hug every one of your necks. Actually you can come up here and hug me now. That would be awesome. I do love you guys. Thank you so much. This has truly been the joy of my life being a part of what God is doing here. Pastor Mike, do you want to join us? Thank you. Lunch Lunch I don't like this part. Break. All right, we'll be back here at 1033.

All right, we'll be back here at 1033. All right, we're going to give you guys a few minutes here to kind of refresh yourselves. And then we're going to break to first step will be in here. Next step will be in growth track. Then we're going to break for lunch after that. And so if you guys want, you can spend some extra time loving on Pastor Jeff and Kathy. And the good thing is, is that we still got another, what, three more weeks. Yeah. So this, this is not, this is not the end. And to what Hayden said a second ago, this is not a funeral. All right.