The Field Between Here and There

Who is excited to be in the house of God? Amen. Why don't we stand on our feet? Let's get ready to worship God today. Lord, we just invite you here. Come on, we sing to Him and we say, and alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, we say, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, always. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, we say, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, always. I've got a God who is for me and He's known for making a way. And He fought the battle so I wouldn't have to. My glory belongs to His name. Oh, I've got a God who's been faithful far more than I could explain. And through every season, in spite of my weakness, He gave me a song I could sing. Oh, I came to praise. I came to praise. Oh, that's why I woke up today. Oh, I came to praise. We say, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, we say, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, always.

Oh, I've got a King who is risen and He put my shame in the grave to have it back and now I never have to. And He did it all in three days. Oh, I came to praise. Come on. I came to praise. That's why. That's why I woke up today. Oh, I came to praise. We say, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, we say, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, always. I'm singing in the morning. I'm singing at night. I'm singing in the battle. That's how I fight. I'm singing He's holy. I'm singing it twice. I'm singing He's holy the rest of my life. I'm singing in the morning. I'm singing at night. I'm singing in the battle. That's how I fight. I'm singing He's holy. I'm singing it twice. I'm singing He's holy the rest of my life. I'm singing He's holy the rest of my life. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

You get all the praise, we say, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, always. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, we say, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. You get all the praise, always. Oh, I can't get praise. Come on. Oh, I can't get praise. Oh, don't get out of my way. Come on, we say. Oh, I can't get praise. Alleluia. Come on, if you're here to praise today, lift a shout to Jesus. Amen. Yes, Lord. Oh, we cry out to Him today. Our Lord, our King, our Savior, because He reigns. Amen. He reigns. Come on, can we sing holy? Holy is the Lord. And holy is the Lord. Seated on the throne, the train of His road. It fills the temple. And worthy is Your name. And we say worthy. And worthy is Your name.

Let the heavens rejoice. Let the earth be glad. Say among the nations. Oh, our God reigns Our God reigns Forever Your kingdom reigns Oh, our God reigns Our God reigns Forever Your kingdom reigns We worship and adore Yes, Lord Oh, Jesus we adore Come on, that's what we've come here to do today Oh, the perfect Lamb was slain Risen from the grave Hallelujah, hallelujah Our God reigns Yes, He does Our God reigns Forever Your kingdom reigns Sing our God Our God reigns Forever and ever Oh, our God reigns Forever Your kingdom reigns He reigns over all So, our God reigns Over every situation Our God reigns Forever Your kingdom reigns

Oh, He reigns He reigns He reigns Over all the earth He reigns He reigns The only one true God The only one who saves Forever He will reign He reigns He reigns Over all the earth He reigns Come on, the only The only one true God The only one who saves Forever He will reign He reigns He reigns Over all the earth He reigns He reigns The only one true God The only one who saves Forever He will reign He reigns He reigns Over all the earth He reigns He reigns

The only one true God The only one who saves Forever Jesus reigns Oh, Jesus reigns Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all All thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all And the angels cry Holy All creation cries Holy You are lifted high Holy Holy forever Oh, hear Your people sing Holy To the King of kings Oh, You're so holy You will always be Holy Holy forever Come on, we say Your name Your name Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name stands above them all.

And the angels cry. Holy. All creation rise. You are holy. You are lifted high. Holy. Holy forever. Come on, hear your people sing. Hear your people sing. Holy. To the King of kings. Holy. You will always be. Holy. Holy forever. Oh, you will always be. Holy. Holy forever. Hallelujah. Come on, lift a shout of praise to the name of Jesus today. Amen. Well, who is excited to be in the house of God today? Amen. Let me say we're so glad you're here at Faith Church Orlando. We're going to put 60 seconds on the clock. Feel free to get out of your seat, shake somebody's hand, hug somebody's neck. Tell them you're excited they're here at church today. Amen. Amen. Good afternoon, Faith Church Orlando. Thank you so much for being here today. We're so excited. Listen, we're going to celebrate our first time guests in just a moment. If it's your first time in a moment, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand. But church, I want us all to celebrate, loudly clap and cheer because we have some first time guests in the room. Amen. All right, here we go. If it's your first time, raise your hand and wave at us. We want to celebrate you. We want to go crazy for you. We want to make sure we connect with you. We want to make sure we connect with you and get to know you.

We hope that you have a wonderful service today, that you're challenged and you feel welcomed here. After service, we want you to go out here. We have in the connection hub right outside these doors to your left. We're going to have some people wanting to connect with you, get to know you, give you next steps. If you want to make church, make Faith Church your home. We're so excited that you're here, church. We love you. If you have any questions, you can find me. I'll be in the lobby, man. It's such a great day. I'm so happy. We have a great word available to us today, and it's going to be amazing. So let's watch the video. Welcome to Faith Church Orlando. Here's a look at upcoming events. The middle moved on this side of town. That day was an easy decision. We're going to faith. The partnership that we've shared with the teachers here, there's just a genuine interest in getting the children the right help. Has really supported the children in terms of getting what they need academically. Spiritually, when our children are growing in an environment that is a little bit hostile, different than where I grew up. I want them to have some type of values that I know for sure, not only today. But in the future, they can go further with that. And Faith Christian Academy, from the staff to the teachers, I've seen just a genuine interest in how can we help your children grow. My daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease. And my daughter's teacher spoke over her and said, you will be healed from this. And we're going to fast for it.

And every single day from January until May, her classmates prayed for her. We did it as a family. And my daughter was healed. She doesn't have celiac anymore. That was a confirmation for us to know that we have them in the right place. All around, I have people that care for my children. The relationship with Christ is nurtured by the daily structure. On Fridays, they always have chapel. My kids love chapel. They've loved it since they were in preschool. The lessons are going to be targeted to their age level. So they're going to understand them. The pastors, the teachers are always involved. They know my kids by name. They're invested in them. It was important for me in choosing a school for my kids growing up that matched the same biblical foundations that I wanted for them to have. At FCA, it just fit all of the requirements that I wanted to support what I was teaching them at home. My kids have grown exponentially being here. In my research at different faith-based schools and also with public education, I realized that we hold to the same state standards. The education that they're learning in the world, but they learn it from a biblical point of view. And that has helped in their spiritual walk. When life happens, they just know that God is there

with them and that they have a family here that helps and supports them through. But they're also here getting a great education. FCA has been the best investment that we have made in our children to help them to grow in every aspect and area of their lives. And I wouldn't change it for a thing. I'm building my family's legacy here at Faith Christian Academy. I'm building my legacy here at Faith Christian Academy. I'm building my family's legacy here at Faith Christian Academy. Faith Christian Academy is now enrolling for the 2026-2027 school year. Spots are limited, so don't wait. Visit fcalions.org today to learn more about how to build your child's legacy. Exciting things are happening at Faith. Here's a look ahead. We encourage you to connect, grow, serve, and reach here at Faith. So stay connected through the Faith app or our website. Have a blessed week. Well, that is some great stuff. And we're so glad you're here. Why don't we do this? Why don't we put our hands together? Because it's time to give. So come on, let's celebrate that. And we are very excited to have you here.

And we're so glad you're here. And we're so glad you're here. And we are very intentional about celebrating that, because it's an honor to get to fuel the ministry of what God is doing around here. And that's what our first step in giving does. It's called the tithe. And it fuels the mission, the vision, the ministry, the local church. And then that second step of giving is kingdom builders. And we fund partner, ministry partners, missions partners all over the globe. Let me just say this, the easiest way to give, there's different ways to give, and our ushers will serve you in a moment. But the easiest way, you should try it just for fun, because it's easy, but it's to unlock your phone and just touch your phone to that disc that's on the seat in front of you, and it'll open up. And that's just the easiest way. If you're gonna participate today and worship the Lord in your giving, that's the easiest way to do it. But your journey starts with the tithe. And our second step is, of course, kingdom builders. And speaking of kingdom builders, we are about halfway through the year right now. If you don't believe me, step outside. Summer is fully arrived, okay? It is, we are here in the middle of the year.

And so we wanna just give you an update of what your kingdom builder, what my kingdom builder giving has accumulated to here halfway through the year. And this puts us about a third of the way to our kingdom builder giving goal for 2026. But are you ready to hear this number? We're gonna celebrate this number. So, so far this year, 2026, you and I have given to kingdom builders. And we're funding, again, we're putting this right back out to all of these different ministries. But we have given, so far this year, $988,498.74. Come on, almost a million dollars already this year. year, and that, again, that's already, that's already allowing us to, to fund ministries and missions, organizations all over the world. One of those that we fund on the regular, on a regular basis is a Convoy of Hope. And I don't know if you've seen some of the devastation that's going on in Venezuela right now. There's been earthquakes around the globe actually the last couple of weeks, but the ones that hit Venezuela last week, it is horrific what is going on there. And when something like that happens, I want you to know that because of your kingdom builder giving, we're, we as a church, we're already there. And so Convoy of Hope is already there. They, they've been keeping me updated, and I want to show you this video that, that just kind of shows what they're already doing there on the ground in Venezuela. Check this out. In Venezuela, rescuers are racing against the clock in the search for survivors beneath crumbled buildings and debris. The window for finding missing loved ones is rapidly closing. The number of dead, injured, and missing continues to rise. Convoy of Hope is on the ground providing tens of thousands of hot meals to survivors. Our teams are also distributing water and other essential

relief supplies, showing the love of Jesus when the people need it the most. Thank you for your support as together we act as the hands and feet of Jesus. Amen. And when I began to see some of the footage and hear some of the stories out of that country, it's hard not to want to do something. You just, man, something starts to stir in you. So we want to do something extra as a church. I'm doing, Jamie and I are doing something extra as a family. And if you want to do something extra towards, we want to send some extra funds to Convoy of Hope as they are on the ground. And I'm getting updates all the time, the life-sustaining meals and supplies that they're providing in real time right now. And we over these next week or two, we want to do something extra, send something extra to Convoy. And if you want to be a part of that, Kingdom Builders would be the lane to do that. And I just encourage you to, as we pray over this time of giving, to just say, God, what would you have me do extra as part of the help for those that are hurting and going through an unimaginable season right now. And so let's pray together. I'm gonna pray for you as you, as any needs you might have as well. Father, thank you for the promises of your Word. And I do claim the promises of your Word, God. I just claim provision. I claim blessing, God, as we just operate in obedience and we operate in covenant with you in our resources. I know, God, that your resources begin to meet every single need of our life. And we just thank you for that. And, God, we give with confidence because of that. Lord, I pray for those that right now might need a job. And we just pray that the right door would open in Jesus' name. Lord, we just pray blessing would begin to follow us at new levels. And we just thank you for that. Lord, we pray for these families and these people in Venezuela and, God, around the globe who are suffering. And we just pray, God, that you would continue to send forth workers and laborers to bring relief and to bring help. And, God, thank you that we can be a part of that. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. God bless you. Thank you for your giving today. God bless you churches. You've finished giving. I want to invite you to stand to your feet. We're just gonna continue to sing songs to Jesus and worship him for

who he is. How many believe and know that Jesus is worthy today and forevermore? Amen. It says there's no one holy like the Lord. There's no one beside him. So I want to encourage you. Would you lift your hands to Jesus in this moment? Do what you were created to do, which is worship him. ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ There's no one like Him. ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ The King of Kings. ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ You are the infinite God of the ages ♪ ♪ Yet you chose to make my heart your dwelling place ♪ ♪ You healed my brokenness, showed me your glory ♪ So give Him thanks today. ♪ So I have songs of thanks, not even angels sing ♪ ♪ And who else is worthy, oh who else is worthy ♪ There is no one I know. ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ Nobody like Him. ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ Who else is worthy but Jesus. ♪ There is no one, it's only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ No one. ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ Precious Son of God. ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ Come on, tell Him He is worthy. Tell Him He is worthy.

You are worthy Lord. In view of His worthiness, we're gonna go ahead and take communion together. If you wanna grab the elements, if you still need them, you can raise your hand and Usher will find you. At faith, you don't need to be a member to partake in this moment, but biblically speaking, this is a moment for those who are already in relationship with Jesus. And so Jesus Himself was the first one who told us to do this. He administered the first communion in the Gospels during His final meal with His disciples. It said He took the bread, He broke it. He said, take, eat, this is my body broken for you. Then He took the cup and He blessed it and He said, and this is the new covenant in my blood poured out for you. And after that meal, Jesus went on to fulfill what was written about Him and Isaiah 53 generations before He was on this earth says, surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering. Yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him and afflicted. And then it says that He was pierced for our transgressions, that He was crushed for our iniquities, that the punishment that brought us peace was on Him

that the punishment that brought us peace was on Him and that by His wounds, we are healed. Obviously, church, you know that a moment like this is never to be taken casually or passively. So even as I pray for us as a congregation to take this together, man, I want you to pray on your own because this might be a moment that means something slightly different for you than the person next to you. It might be a moment of humility. It should always be humbling to remember why Jesus died. So many of us, we can get in the race of life thinking success or wealth or security is the point but then we do this and realize, oh wait, Jesus didn't die for that. Jesus died so that I'd be free from the power of sin and be able to live in communion with the Father so much so that His Holy Spirit lives in me. This might be a moment of confession and repentance for the believer. We're told to not take this cup in an unworthy manner. And so if this is a moment where you need to release a debt that you're holding against someone, if you need to confess a compromise in your life, come on church, we cannot do this and say thank you for defeating the power of sin in my life and then still have a power of sin in our life.

Surely this is a moment of healing. By His stripes we are healed is not a metaphor. If you came in here mind, body, broken, bruised, battered, man, claim your healing in Jesus' name by His blood. Let's pray over His body. Let's pray over the bread and thank Him. Jesus, thank you Lord, that you could have stopped it. You could have spoken up. You could have called down angels and they would have saved you from the suffering Lord but for the joy set before you. for you which was us being free you endured the cross thank you for your body that was broken so that we could be healed god we pray healing over bodies that are broken today jesus we curse cancer we curse autoimmune diseases i come against migraines in jesus name my god by your stripes we are healed and we claim that healing right now lord go ahead and partake of the bread and you can peel back that next layer as we pray for the cup lord thank you for your blood that was shed so that we could be forgiven lord thank you god that because of this blood you will present us one day a spotless bride thank you lord that you cover us in your blood until the day that we see you again lord our soon and coming king jesus we partake of this and we say come quickly father go ahead partake in the cup let's continue to worship jesus son of god we worship you we thank you we thank you he is the lamb of god anointed one who was and is and is to come seated on the throne above holy holy righteous one who shed his blood you prove to us the father's love jesus christ he lifted up he's holy come and behold him the lamb of god anointed one who was is so who else is worthy there is no one only you jesus who else is worthy only there is

no one else is worthy come on one more time can you just give him praise jesus we we are so grateful to be in your presence today we don't have to wonder or try to figure out who is worthy you are worthy you've been so good to us god we fix all of our attention on you in this moment say god have your way in this service continue to reshape our lives or we invite your blessing but also your correction your wisdom and your strength into our lives and as we open your word god i pray that you would speak to us in a powerful way in jesus name i pray and if you have a little bit of faith in here can you say amen come on can you clap because the lord is good this morning yeah amen you could be seated in the presence of the lord man we are so grateful and so thankful that you would worship with us today one more time today can we clap it up for our first time guest in the room so super grateful that you are here uh today and man today's a special because it is Serve Sunday. We're gonna talk about serving today. But before we get into all of the things that I feel like the Lord has prepared for you, I want you to check out this video. Your little ones today are the future of Faith Church. They'll be greeting you. They'll be brewing your coffee. They'll be serving your food. Well, trying to. They'll be keeping you safe. And leading worship. They'll be taking care of the next generation. So don't wait to invest in the Faith Kids team today, because someday soon your little ones in Faith Kids will be leading the church.

Invest in the church of tomorrow today in Faith Kids. Come on, that's worth clapping for. Yeah, what a great way to start this service, man. We are just so grateful for our Faith Kids ministry and the team. They are tremendous. This past week, they did their camp and they had 527 campers in camp this week. And then here's even better news is they had over 200 salvations. Come on, that is worth clapping for. Man, I would say that is a great ministry to invest your life in, Faith Kids. It's incredible what God is doing there. Honestly, all around our church, the Lord is just continuing to transform us and what we're doing. And I'm so grateful today because I have a word on serving today that I've titled the field between here and there. The field between here and there. And I read this story this past week that kind of stirred my spirit and made me laugh at the same time. But I read this story about this kid that was a graduate, 18 years old, and his mom bought him a brand new 2026, a Honda. And she bought, come on, some of us are like, we would trade in our car right now for a new Honda. You know what I mean?

And so bought him this Honda. And you would think that this young man would be excited, but he saw the car and texted his mom because she wasn't home. He said, hey, mom, I actually don't want the car. And the mom said, well, why don't you want the car? And he said, it's just weird to me that you drive a BMW, but you only got me a Honda. I know, right? I see some of y'all parents in here. You're like, I wish somebody would. You know, like, that's crazy, right? And then the mom proceeds to tell him, well, sweetie, I work hard and I've had to wait a long time to get myself a BMW. So that's why I drive that. But I got you this brand new Honda and I want you to enjoy it. And he said, you know what, mom? I don't even want the car. Just go ahead and return it, okay? Now here's what I wish today is I wish I knew that young man so I could just kick him in the forehead and be like, do not realize what the Lord, what is in front of you. Do not realize the gift that is in front of you. And as I was kind of unpacking that story, digging into the details of it, I realized that this isn't discourse

between a son and a mom. This is the disposition of the church at large because God is saying to every single one of us, look at what I put in front of you, an opportunity in front of you, a gift in front of you. And we're going, God, I didn't know if this is what I actually want to do. Like, I felt like I was going to be a lot further along. I feel like this is just like, no, I'm too big for this. And I feel like that's the position that the church has approached heaven with today. And so today I just kind of want to center us back around this idea of what does it actually mean to serve and what has God called us to do at a time where we might be asking Lord, what do you have for me next? Ruth chapter two is where I'll be preaching from today. And the book of Ruth is a powerful book. And the big idea from the text today is this, is that I believe that God often hides destiny within serving. He often places the things that we don't even know about ourselves on the other side of serving him faithfully. God often hides destiny in service. This is why we're not shy as a church about asking people to serve. Because we understand that serving is, this is our call to build the kingdom of God. And we also understand that serving doesn't just bless the church, serving blesses you.

It actually builds something on the inside of you. Now, some people will go, well, isn't there other ways to figure out what God has put inside of me? Absolutely there is. But I just think that serving is the way that God has intended for you and I to see what he's placed really on the inside of us. Some of you are like, well, how can you make that claim? And I'll tell you how I can make that claim is over and over in the scriptures, we see people who, what God had put in them. was unlocked after they begin to serve. Like the story of David, we know the account of David and Goliath and how remarkable David was as a hero and as a leader of Israel eventually. But that story of David and Goliath, it doesn't start with a kid slaying a giant. It starts with a young man who's being obedient to the voice of his father. Here's what happened is David's father, Jesse, said, hey, David, your brothers are marching with King Saul. They're marching, and here's what I need you to do. I need you to go deliver cheese and bread to them, right? Like I need you, the 2026 translation, hey, DoorDash isn't working and we need you to go take a pizza hut, right? That's 2026 translation. And so David's like, okay, dad,

because you told me to do so, I'll go ahead and I'll do it. And he finds himself in front of his brothers serving them. And that's where he hears Goliath for the first time taunting the army of Israel, right? And that's where David goes, wait a minute, who is this person taunting the army of the living God? And he slays the giant and it's a victory for the kingdom of Israel. How did that destiny moment happen for David? He started serving the voice of his father. You see that today? Dude, there's a story in the Bible of a man named Noah. God asked Noah to lend him 120 years. What do I mean by that? God asked Noah to build him a structure that Noah had never heard of in his life. It was this massive ark. Noah begins to construct what God had spoken to him in efforts to serve and obey the word of the Lord. And he builds this ark. And then the story says this at the very end of it. After the flood had ceased and Noah was walking on dry ground, the Bible says that he gave his sons each a third of the earth. And I think that's remarkable. How did he get to that moment where he was literally distributing the earth to his sons? Easy, his destiny moment,

he got there by getting on the vehicle of serving. And because he served what God had spoken to him, he found himself walking in his destiny. There's a story about a young man named Gideon and it's a really powerful story. At the end of his life, he is a strong warrior, like a military conquest machine. But that's not how the story starts. Gideon is a young man who is hiding, yes, hiding in a winepress threshing wheat. He's not just hiding from the call of God, he's hiding from people because he's nervous about who he is. And the voice of the Lord shows up to Gideon and goes, hey, mighty warrior. And Gideon's probably like, who are you talking to? Oh, he's talking to me. Gideon begins to become this man of God and the Lord strengthens him, affirms his call. And then Gideon sees God do great things in his life. How did that happen? Because he was obedient to the voice that he heard when he was by himself. Okay, even this one, the most hated man in the Bible, besides Judas, is this guy named King Saul. Now King Saul becomes the first king of all of Israel. I mean, remarkable honor. The people begged for a king, God gave them a king,

his name is Saul. Here's what the Bible teaches us, is that Saul, how did he become the first king? How did he get into that moment? Well, he was actually obeying his father. He had a father and his father's name was Kish. We don't know much about Kish, except he had that cash. That's all you need to know, okay? Kish had cash. And so the Lord begins to tell, no, I'm sorry, Kish tells his son Saul, he's like, listen, I lost two of my donkeys and I need you to go find them. They're not gonna find my iPhone anymore. I need you to find two of my donkeys, right? And so Saul begins to go out to look for his father's donkeys and he finds himself in proximity to the prophet Samuel. And Samuel says, the Lord told me that you're gonna be the next king of Israel. Friends, I'm just saying, how did he get there? He was serving his father and he ran into his destiny. That's what happens, is you and I begin to serve. We begin to connect to the things of God. And then as we're engaging, God begins to pull things out of our life. Now, here's what I wanna say today. Can you imagine if all of those people said no to the serving moment in front of them? Can you imagine if they were like,

yeah, this is not that big of a deal. Dad, go find your own donkeys. Imagine if David was like, I killed lions and bears. You want me to go deliver food? That's below me. Imagine if Noah was like, God, you want me to build an ark for what? What am I gonna do? That doesn't make any sense. That's 120 years of my life. Yet God blessed every single one of these men because they were faithful to serve. And when they served, they ran into their destiny. I believe God has something special for our church this morning. And so I just wanna pray, amen. I just wanna pray that the Lord will make our heart tender for a moment so we can receive what he's trying to say to us. Father, thank you for your word. I pray that as we go into your word, your word would go into us. May we hear exactly what you're trying to say and obey swiftly and quickly in Jesus' name. And the church said, amen. I don't know about you, but have you ever been in a moment where you are no longer where you used to be, but you're not yet where God is taking you? Some of you are like, I don't remember that.

Yes, I'm talking about BCU, before Christ you, okay? All you gotta do is go on Instagram or Facebook and scroll back to 2008. It'll tell you exactly who you were. You know what I'm saying? Okay, so I did that the other day. I was like, I don't know. You don't even know who this person is, delete, okay? And so I've been in the seasons of my life where I don't feel like I'm where God has called me to be yet, where the old chapter is over, but the new one necessarily hasn't begun. We're like, I'm too far ahead to go back, but I'm not yet where I feel like I need to arrive. This is where Ruth is in the story we're about to read today. Ruth has lost her husband and she's lost her homeland. And so she's not living in a place where she feels welcome or where she knows a lot of people. She has no connections, no job, and kind of feels like she has no purpose. And what I see is Ruth is standing in what I like to call the field between here and there, because here is where I am, but there is where I want to be. Ruth is standing in this spot between here and there, where she's kind of between loss and breakthrough. Do you know what I'm talking about? She's in pain, but she's close to her purpose. She's in the space between prayer and fulfillment.

And if I'm being honest with everyone today, I feel like that's where a lot of us are today. We're asking God, God, what do I do when I don't know what to do next? What do I do when I don't know what to do next? And so I want to read this story of Ruth today, because I feel like God has some insight for us through this story. The Bible says it like this, Ruth chapter two, verses one through 14. That's a lot of verses I'm going to read. So if you're gonna read your Bible this morning, you're welcome. Okay, here we go. It says, now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz. Come on, and all the single ladies said? Yeah, identify yourself. Let them know, amen. I'm trying to throw you the oop here. You could have caught that, okay? Identify yourself, be bolder next time. Okay, now there was a wealthy and influential man named Boaz who was a relative of Naomi's husband, Elimelech. One day, Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, let me go out into the harvest field to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who was kind enough to let me do it. This is why I love Ruth.

Ruth's like, listen, I'm okay taking the leftovers. Somebody else's leftovers, I'm good with it. Because here's what Ruth understands. Ruth is a scrappy Christian. I don't really see a lot of scrappy Christians in 2026. Ruth is not waiting for someone to give her the princess treatment or somebody's just gonna serve me magically, something's gonna happen. No, no, Ruth's like, I'm gonna take initiative. Come on, I'm gonna take initiative and I'm not just gonna wait for somebody to tell me it's okay to go out and take action. Ruth is here and I love this about Ruth. Ruth is the kind of person that's going, no, no, no, God has given me strength and because he's given me strength, I'm gonna move forward. Isn't it so funny? When you are ready to take initiative, Ruth's going, yeah, they might be your leftovers, but it's my blessing. Come on, Ruth's like, God, I don't need a brand new thing. I'll take whatever you're willing to do it if it's going to enrich my life. I love that about Ruth. So here she is, she's going, God, I'll even take the leftovers. And then Naomi goes, she replied, all right, my dear daughter, go ahead.

So Ruth went out to gather the grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in the field that belonged to Boaz. And the Bible says like this, as it happened. Now we know, as it happened, might seem like a random occurrence to some people in this room, but in the kingdom of God, how many of you know, there are no random moments, there are no coincidences. Our God is a deliberate God, right? She happened to be in the field, why? Because God had a purpose and a plan for Ruth to be in that field. The Bible says it like this, man makes his plans, but it's the Lord who orders his steps, right? Ruth thought she was there on random. She wasn't there for random. She was there because God had ordained it. God had designed it. God had intended it. God was making Ruth's future a reality right in her midst. So I'm just saying to the church today, nothing that God is doing in your life or that you're hearing about is random. He's putting it all together. Okay, so it says this, the relative of her father-in-law, Lemelick, while she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, greeted the harvesters. The Lord be with you, he said.

The Lord bless you, the harvesters replied. Then Boaz asked the foreman, who is that young woman over there? Obviously, Boaz has eyes, okay? So he said, who does she belong to? And the foreman replied, she's a young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes of rest in the shelter. Now, I love this. The thing that identifies Ruth, even though I'm joking, is not her beauty. The thing that identifies Ruth is not her struggle. The thing that the foreman realized about Ruth is her effort. And let me say this today, if you are working with the right spirit and the right attitude, your effort will announce who you are. You don't have to. Yeah, yeah. Have you ever met these people in the church? You ever met these people where you meet them for the first time? I'm like, what's your name? I'm like, I'm Peter. I'm like, I'm prophet apostle from the Genesis tribe of Ezekiel.

I'm like, what's your name? Philip? Your name's Phil, brother. Phil, good to meet you. You know what I'm talking about? Like people be like, I'm like, hey, how you doing, Pete? Nice to meet you. They're like, Pete, I am the prophet from the West gate of Dashiki. And I'm like, I don't care. Your name is Brian. Okay, good to meet you. Right? But why do we feel like we need to give ourselves a title because we feel like what God has called us to is inferior, but that's not the thing. Can I say it like this today? If you feel like you need to have a title to serve Jesus, you're serving something, it's just not Jesus. So we serve out of the abundance of the overflow of our lives. And if he gives us a title, great. And if we have no title, we're cool with that too. Our savior washed feet. Why do we need a title? Okay, so here's Ruth and she's like, she's been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes of rest in the shelter. Boaz went over and said to Ruth, listen, my daughter, stay right here with us while you gather grain.

Don't go to any other field. Stay right beside the young women working in my field. See which part of the field they are harvesting and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you're thirsty, help yourself to the water that we've drawn from the well. Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. What have I done to deserve such kindness, she asked. I'm only a foreigner. He said, yes, I know. Yes, I know, Boaz replied, but I also know everything you've done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I've heard that you left your father and your mother and your own land to live here amongst complete strangers. May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you've come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you've done. I hope I continue to please you, sir, she replied. You have comforted me by speaking to me so kindly, even though I'm not one of your workers. At mealtime, watch this, Boaz called her. He said, come over here and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine. They're at Olive Garden, okay? They're dipping bread in wine, okay? And so she sat, come on. And so she sat with her harvesters and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat.

She ate all she wanted and she still had some leftover. Man, what a beautiful story, a lot to unpack, but I want you to understand this from the beginning of the message, is that Ruth is not walking into this field from a position of victory. She's not walking into this field of strength, she's walking in carrying grief. She just buried her husband and she just left the homeland that she was so accustomed to. She has no guarantee that tomorrow will be any better than yesterday was, but here Ruth is. She's not inspired, she's not chasing destiny. She's only doing this because her and Naomi have to eat. She's trying to survive. Have you ever been there before? Have you ever been in a season where you're just trying to survive? Come on, I know in church, we act like everything's going good. They're like, how are you doing? I'm going from glory to glory to glory. That's good for you, I'm just trying to survive. You know what I mean? Like brother, I'm blessed and highly favored. I wish I felt that way, but I'm just trying to survive. Ruth is in that season of her life and she finds herself wandering into the field. She thought she was wandering, but it was God's divine design,

into a field where Boaz is there. And guess what I'm saying is, Ruth is probably thinking to herself, what do I do next? And I just want to answer that question for us today. What do you do when you don't know what to do next? I think the story of Ruth has some answers for us. And I think the revelation of this whole story, it exists as we pay attention to the characters that are in the story. So number one is Naomi. Naomi is Ruth's mother-in-law. And Naomi is an interesting character in the story because really this is weird because Ruth has no obligation to Naomi. Here's why, because Ruth has lost her husband, which meant that biblically, the contract was severed between Naomi and Ruth and Ruth could have stayed amongst her own parents and among her own family and she could have been well taken care of. But for whatever reason, she decides to stay loyal to her mother-in-law. So let me say it like this today. Whenever you don't know what to do next, find someone to be loyal to. Find someone to be loyal to. You're like, what do you mean someone to be loyal to? I am here today as a testimony of people in my life, in church, not from the stage, people who they found someone to be loyal to,

they were loyal to me. Like Mr. Neal, he's a man I talk about often. Mr. Neal didn't wanna serve in our children's ministry or our youth ministry, but for whatever reason, Mr. Neal said, he felt like God had called him to me and he wanted to invest in my life. And my youth pastor said, you can totally invest as long as you're a volunteer in our ministry. And so Mr. Neal became a volunteer for our entire ministry because he wanted to invest in my life and he ended up changing countless lives of the people in our student ministry. But I'm so thankful that in his season of retirement, he didn't decide to sit back. He said, no, I'm going to find someone to be loyal to and his faith in Jesus changed my life. So here's Naomi and she's looking, she's going, man, I don't know what to do, but I know I'm supposed to stay faithful to that woman. Now, I'm sorry, here's Ruth. She's saying, I need to stay faithful to Naomi. Now here's where it gets complicated is Naomi is a tough character in this story. a person who knows God, but can't understand what he's doing. You ever been there before? She knows God, but she's unsure of what the Lord is doing. I mean, this woman has just lost her husband

and lost her sons, right? A mother is never supposed to bury her sons, yet here is Naomi. She's grieving. The Bible says she's bitter. As a matter of fact, when Naomi shows up in Bethlehem, and they're like, hey, who are you? She's like, my name is Naomi, but actually it's Mara. And they're like, why is it Mara? She's like, because it means bitter. And they're like, whoa, chill out, girl. You just need a trip to Starbucks and Target, you're gonna be all right. But that's how she feels. And so she's like, I'm bitter, I'm frustrated, I'm angry. And here's why. It's because she's lost everything. And I know exactly what she feels like. I know some people will act like they don't have difficult moments in their faith, but I know exactly what she feels like. Naomi is on the front side of bitterness. But I've been on the backside of bitterness, especially recently. Me and my wife, when we were in Michigan, we had these foster babies in our home that we loved. We thought that we were gonna be their parents. We had them for three years. And in 2019, we were sure they were gonna be a permanent part of our family.

You know the story, I've told it to you before. A lot of things happened, 2020 COVID happened. It shifted all the rules. So those babies who came quickly into our home were removed quickly from our home. And me and my wife were incredibly bitter. We were frustrated at God. We were disappointed with the Lord. I remember asking Joy, and I'm like, should we pray? She's like, I don't wanna pray. I was like, yeah. You know, like, I know you would never do that. You walk on water. But we were bitter. We were frustrated. And so I remember being so angry at God during that season, coming out of that bitterness though, and being like, all right, Lord, this is on you. And just a few weeks ago, our foster daughter actually came to stay with us. This is remarkable. Her grandma, who absolutely despised us, reached out to us and said, hey, I'm coming to Florida, and Tiffany would like to see you if possible. And so here's what happened, is my wife got a little bit of courage, and she said, hey, if possible, can she stay with us for a few days? And so, shocking to us, the grandmother who hated us said, absolutely.

And so here we are with her coming to stay with us, this little girl that we love, never thought she was gonna be a part of our life. I mean, I was so excited when we got her, you understand? Looks so different from me. She has blonde hair, blue eyes. I was calling all my friends. I was like, I got a white daughter, call me back. You know, like, I was so excited. I was so pumped, right? And now she's not in our house. And she came and she stayed with us for a couple of days this past month, and we were so excited. I literally came home from Denver after a trip. I came home, I didn't know how to greet her, so I just stuck my hand out like she was a woman. I was like, hello, young lady. And she was like, daddy! And I was like, oh! She was like, dad, I wanna go bike riding, and I wanna do this, and I wanna blah, blah, blah. Dad, can you buy me a pool? And like, just all this stuff. And I was so blown away, and the Lord spoke to me and said, Peter, see, you allow the bitterness to take root in your life, for you know I'm a God who blesses. Come on, don't allow bitterness to form you

when you have a God that wants to bless you. Naomi in the story represents disappointment. Naomi represents disappointment. And here's my plea to the church today. Don't allow disappointment to develop you. Don't allow disappointment to shape you and to form you. Don't allow disappointment to make you into somebody you're not. Here's why Naomi matters. Is she matters because Naomi's that person that she's in the story, and we know she loves God, but she just doesn't understand the season she's in. She expected one story, but life handed her another. And when you're feeling like that, friend, I'm begging you, don't let disappointment disciple you. Don't let disappointment disciple you. Another person we gotta pay attention to in the story is Ruth. And Ruth represents obedience or faithful service. Ruth is obviously the hero of this chapter, but I want to give you some insight into Ruth really quick. Ruth is poor, but she still serves. Ooh, you know how many people were like, you should serve. They're like, first I gotta get this money, and then I'll serve the church. Eh, it's not gonna happen. You know what I mean? Ruth is poor, but she still serves.

She's vulnerable, but she still serves. Some of us are like, listen, I can't serve, because if somebody asks me if I'm okay, we're on both sides of the spectrum. We're like, either I'm gonna cry if they ask me if I'm okay, or I'm gonna cut them if they ask me if I'm okay. And I can't do either, so I won't serve. But here is Ruth, and she is vulnerable. She still serves. She still serves. She's unknown, but she still serves. She's foreign, but she still serves. She refuses, here's the thing, and I know this is gonna be, some people are gonna get mad, but it's okay. We still got the cafe open, so you can get a meal. But here's the thing. It's like this. Ruth refuses to be a victim. I know that's a harsh word for a church, for a people who, as Christians, let's be honest, we love to be the victim. Woo, we love to connect with people over what we hate more than what we love. And this is what I figured out recently, that people actually don't wanna get delivered in their life. Because as they get delivered from the pain, they're healed from the brokenness, renewed from whatever they were going through,

then they'll have nothing to talk to people about. And so they'd rather not get healed, because if they get healed, then they got to be real with who they are. But here's Ruth, and Ruth is going, I'm not a victim. I'm not afraid. You can't put a label on me. My situation isn't good right now, but my God is. And so Ruth is, she's in the field. She's hustling, she's working. And here's what I want to say to you today, is if you're a Christian, you're on the quest to become more like Jesus. If you're a Christian, you're on the quest to become more like Jesus. And you are no more like Jesus than when you start serving. You're the most like Jesus when you're serving. You want to be more like Jesus? Serve. Open up your life. Figure out what God has deposited on the inside of you. You'll never know if you don't find someone else to serve. You'll never find out if you don't open up your life. There are so many spaces in our church to be a part of what God is doing here. I'll be honest with you. So many people think that it's about what happens here from the stage. And our pastor is phenomenal, and it's a great opportunity to ever speak from this stage.

But what is happening on this stage is not more important than what's happening in the parking lot. Come on, how many of you know, sometimes people come to church and they are utterly hopeless. They have no vision for their life. And they get out in the parking lot, expecting to walk in the church. And you're the first face that they see. I pray that it's the face of almighty God shining through your life. And here's what the Lord is doing, is he's helping us understand that all of us have a role and they're all equally important and we're called to do it. Nothing is below us and nothing is above us. And here's the deal. If you are too big to serve, you're too small to lead. Now let's use context clues. If you're one of those people, you're like, my face is just like this, this is who I am. We're like, well, don't greet people, you see? Like, welcome to fake church, Orlando. You know what it is, gang, gang. No, we are not interested in whatever you're trying to do, sir. We are, we got, we will, you can serve over here, behind the scenes, we're comfortable. You know what I mean? But at the same time, I want you to know that there is a place for you.

You cannot be mad at God going, I don't know what you're doing in my life. If you don't allow him to work through you in the area of serving, where he can begin to show you what's there. Man. And so, you're most like Jesus when you're serving. Here's why I love Ruth. Ruth represents the believer who doesn't know what God is doing, but chooses faithfulness anyway. I'm unsure of what he's doing. That's not a bad statement to say, but she chooses faithfulness anyway. Ruth is living proof that you don't need clarity to obey. You know what I found out in 2026? That Christians crave clarity more than they crave Christ. God, just make it clear for me. If God made it abundantly clear that you wouldn't need faith to do what he called you to do, it would actually be to your detriment if God gave you ultimate clarity, because then you would have no dependence. Ruth is proof. You don't need clarity to do what God has called you to do. I spent time with my friend, Sam, who's a church planner recently. And Sam basically told me about the genesis of his church. And they started in 2019, beginning of 2020. Obviously, everything was going on.

And I said, Sam, how did you do it? He said, every day I found somebody to serve. We couldn't gather our church. We couldn't, we didn't have a job. We weren't being blessed. He said, but here's the deal. Every day I figured out how to serve someone and God continued to build his church. I don't just think that's instructions for a church planner. I think that's a word for the people of God. Man, God, I want you to move. This is what I feel like God is saying. We're like, God, you need to start moving in my life. And God's like, no, why don't you move and say yes to the call of God right in front of you. And then when you move, I'll move just like that. Okay, so I'm just saying though, God is waiting on you and I to be the type of people that see what he's put in front of us. Like what's in front of us? Easy, the kids ministry needs a lot of help. Anointed people who know not how to babysit kids, but anoint apostles who know how to raise up spiritual giants, we need you. What's in front of us? We need people who are greeters at the door, who have a friendly face and a warm smile and a great disposition, who will welcome people into the house of God.

We need people who will serve in mainstream, which is our student ministry. Come on, you have little ones and now you need to get around the older ones. You're like, I'm gonna. invest my life in them. We need help in our faith, kids. And you're going, well, I don't do kids. Can I tell you something right now? You have no idea if you're speaking or raising up or loving on the next pastor of this church. You have no idea. And most importantly, we know that when you start to serve, it doesn't just strengthen our church, it strengthens you. It strengthens you. The next character is this, and this is the last one, it's Boaz. Boaz represents God's provision. And I'll say this today, maybe it's controversial, but I believe it to be true. God's provision is often on the other side of serving. That's the story of many people in this space today who are going, hey, God, would you show up and provide? And God's like, I want to, but first you gotta take your eyes off you. The best way to take your eyes off of you is to serve. His provision is on the other end of serving. And so here's Boaz.

Boaz is wealthy, he's respected, he's influential, he's generous, but here's the most important thing about him is Boaz is in the story before Ruth even knows that she needs him. She didn't even realize how much she needed him, but he's in the story. Boaz is a picture of Jesus because eventually at the end of the story, you should go read the book of Ruth, Boaz is going to redeem Ruth. He's her kinsman redeemer, meaning that he would bring Ruth under the covering of his own family, which is exactly what Jesus does for you and I. He redeems our sin. He redeems us from brokenness. He redeems, man, he is our kinsman redeemer. And the Bible says about that kinsman redeemer that one day, every single one of us, no matter who you are, will stand before almighty God. And I don't say this to make you afraid, but we'll stand before God and he will either say, depart from me, I never knew you. Depart from me, I never, what are we gonna say? I wore Christian t-shirts, buddy. What do you mean depart from you? I had a scripture verse in my Instagram bio. You know, it's like, depart from me, I never knew you,

or well done, thy good and faithful servant. Well done, thy good and faithful servant. That's what God's called us to do. It's what unlocks what he's put on the inside of us. Well done, thy good and faithful servant. I remember being the young person who was afraid of that day. I remember, like, because they tried to trick us or scare us into faith back in the day. So we used to watch this series called Left Behind. You know what I'm talking about? Come on, wave at me if you know what I'm talking about. Left Behind, okay, a lot of people in this room. We were terrified, okay? If you don't know what it is, it was this series where it was simulating the rapture, okay? So two people be working in a field, one was gone, you know what I mean? And then you were the one, you put context clues together, you were the one left behind. I remember coming home one time from school. My mom was home every day at five o'clock. I remember coming home one time, and I was like, okay, where is she? She wasn't picking up the phone. Pager wasn't working. I concluded, she gone, and I gotta figure this out. I'm left behind. Terrified.

And here's what I'm saying, I'm joking, but at the same time, it's like, that moment is for real. I pray you could stand before God and say, everything you set apart for me to do, I did it. I did it. Destiny, God hides it in service. Okay, last thing I'll say today is, I'm so grateful that the people around me, including my mother, pushed me to realize that God has called us to serve. I remember one time I was like preteen, maybe 10 or 11 years old, and I'm trying to relax before bed, and I'm gonna reveal my age, but excuse me, I was watching Jimmy Neutron, hello, and my mom came in, and she's like, pizza, she turned off the TV. There was no pausing the TV in these times, okay? She turned it off, and I was like, look, I just missed the brain blast moment. You have no idea, okay? And so my mom would say to me, she'd go, what are you doing to build the kingdom of God? And I was like, that's a heavy question for a 10-year-old. You know what I mean? I was like, I don't know. And she's like, you better figure it out. I'm like, wow, you're aggressive. And so here I am as a 10-year-old, 11-year-old, whatever, figuring out how to contribute to the kingdom.

And so first I signed up for the nursery, because I was like, that's gonna be easy. Then they started charging diapers, and I was like, and for this reason, I'm out. You know what I mean? Like, I can't be a part of this. This is demonic in here. That diaper is from the devil, you know? So, like, I can't do it. And so I joined this thing called Chosen 300, and it was this ministry where our church would go into the city, and we would serve homosexuals. give them dignity, bless them with food, teach them about Jesus. And I remember one time I went, my mom's like, you better go. And so I'm there and I'm with my youth pastor and he's like, Peter, you got a word? And I was like, no, sir, I don't. And he's like, great, get up there. I was like, and do what? He's like, get up there and testify. Now here's what happened, church. I got up there to testify and I'll be honest with you, I didn't do good, it was terrible, but it unlocked something in me. I didn't want to do it, but it unlocked something in me. What I'm believing for everyone in this room is whether you're serving, I need to maybe take it to another level,

or you're not serving at all and you decide to join today, that as you begin to serve, the Lord will begin to unlock some things on the inside of you that you didn't know. I'm praying that the Lord will release provision to you like you didn't know, because as we build God's house, here's a promise I can make, he will build your house. That as we commit to building the things of God, as we commit to being a servant, as we commit to being faithful, imagine what God would do amongst us. Now I got these people in the crowd too, I know you're rebels, you're like, why does it have to be here? It could be in the city too, I guess. Serve where God has called you to serve. He has something on the inside of us that he wants to unlock. So my prayer today is this, is that as you listen to the still small voice within, you will hear the Holy Spirit calling you to serve in some area of our church. We wanna be those, not just that consume, but that contribute to what God is doing. And if this house has blessed you, I know it's blessed me tremendously. I pray that you will prayerfully consider, God, what are you calling me to do?

Where are you calling me to serve? Stand with me today. Thank you, Jesus. With every eye closed in this place today, maybe you're in the room and you go, I wanna serve Jesus like you're talking about, but I just feel so far from God. Friend, if you feel far from God, I wanna let you know today, every single person in this room who walks with Jesus has been at that point at one spot or another, where we felt far from him. And today can be your day of the Lord redeeming himself back to you. He could be your Kingsman redeemer, just like Ruth. He could be your peace today if you need him. He could transform your life. You're like, man, I feel far from Jesus, but I don't wanna be. Today can be your day. There's nothing to be ashamed about. He loves you. He's for you. So with every eye closed in this place today, if you say, I feel far from God, but I don't wanna be. I don't care if you prayed this prayer once or you've prayed it 10 times. Today's your day. When I count to three, if that's you,

you say, I feel that way. I want you to lift your hand up in the air because I wanna pray with you today. Come on, one, two, three. Is there anybody like that? Wave at me so I can see. Wave at me. Yeah. Anyone over here? Wave at me. Hallelujah. Okay, I'm gonna ask you to make another bold step. I really am. If you waved your hand at me like that and you say, man, I feel far from God, but I don't wanna be. I want you to meet me down at this altar because I wanna pray a prayer of faith over your life. We're gonna pray together, but Jesus died publicly for you. So I pray, man, have a little boldness today. And if you have a friend that raised their hand, I want you to walk down here with them so they're not alone. Come on, let's today begin to believe that God can transform lives as he's always done. Come on right now. If that's you, you waved at me, I want you to come down here right now. Come on.

Don't even hesitate. Let's go. Come on. We wanna pray a prayer of faith with you today. Yeah, hallelujah. Come on, church, clap for him. Yeah, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Yeah, we'll wait for you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. He's for you today. The Lord, I wanna just be the first one to tell you this. You're in a house that believes that no one is too far gone. We literally exist to help people encounter Jesus. That's why the doors are open to this church. We believe in what God is doing in your life and we'll take you on the path. It's really simple. Connect, serve, grow, reach. It's what Faith Church Orlando is all about. It's who we are. And we are so honored that we get the opportunity to pray with everyone who's at this altar today. Actually, everyone in the room, pray this prayer of faith with me. Say Jesus.

Come on, everyone in the room, say Jesus. Jesus. I believe that you are good and I believe that you are God. Believe you have the power to save me. That you died on the cross for my sins. Jesus, you gave your life for me, so I give my life to you. Everything that I am, all that I hope to be, now belongs to you. Thank you, Jesus. Come on, just stay here for just one second. Hallelujah. God, have your way in the church today. And for everyone who is in their seats, though, you're a part of this moment, here's what I want us to begin to do, because we called the church to serve, here's one of the most powerful ways you can serve right now. Make up your mind right now. Let's just begin to intercede for our church and for our city. Come on. Come on, if you could just stretch those hands to heaven, if you don't mind. Come on, let's begin to pray in the name. Father, we thank you right now for our church. Lord, you have strategically planted us. You filled our pastor with vision. Lord, we ask God that you would give us insight on where we're supposed to go. Lord, we pray that you would help us connect, grow, serve, and reach all over this city. Lord, we thank you for the thousands of people that are going to say yes to Jesus. We thank you for the thousands of marriages and families that will be forever changed. We thank you, God, for what you're doing amongst us, and we say, Holy Spirit, have your way. Let every person in this room land directly where they're supposed to be, strategically where they're supposed to be. Pull the gifts of God that are on the inside of their lives, out of their lives, and make

them bold for the glory of God. Lord, we pray that you begin to shape families right now, and that you begin to renew our spirits right now. In Jesus' name. Come on, 30 more seconds. Hallelujah. If we can actually get our prayer team to connect with all of these people that have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Church, can we celebrate the victory? People have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, so I can get my prayer team to make sure that they connect. Okay, before you leave, super, super practical, because it would be a disservice to you if we inspired you and we didn't give you a practical next step. And so, before you leave, I want to make sure, Pastor Peter talked about serving, and serving being a part of God's provision and God's blessing over our life and strengthening us. And so, don't walk away today without considering becoming a part of our volunteer teams. We have these brochures all over the building, everywhere. They have a QR code on the inside for a volunteer application. Also up here, there's a QR code for a volunteer application. You can find it on our website, faithchurchorlando.com slash serve. Also, before you leave, out these doors to my left, and down this way, when you walk out to your left, there's going to be people available to connect with you, answer questions about all the different teams that we have. We have representatives from Mainstream, from Faith Kids, Guest Experience, Connect Teams, Care, all of it. We have people that want to meet you and talk to you and let them know about the teams and how you can be a part of them. But a very practical next step today for everyone is to fill out the volunteer application today, or grab a pamphlet, scan the QR code, fill out the application. We'll follow up with you on all the steps, and we'll walk you through it all.

But don't walk away without considering becoming a volunteer. We love you guys. Let's pray, and let's get out of here. Lord, we love you. We thank you because you are faithful to us, Lord God. Even when we are unfaithful, Lord, we pray that you would move in our hearts, Lord, that we would be bold enough to serve the local church, that we would be bold enough to trust you, my Jesus, in serving the local church. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would stir our spirits, that we wouldn't be able to walk away at peace knowing that we're not serving, that we would not be able to walk away, Lord God, knowing and being okay with not being a volunteer and not serving you and not serving your church. Lord, be with us. Stir us. Let there be divine conversations this week, Lord. I pray that we would draw closer to you. Lord, move us. We thank you for your faithfulness. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen, amen. Church, you're officially dismissed. Don't forget to connect with us right out here in the lobby. Also, if you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior online, you can scan the QR code. We want to connect with you. We want to get to know you, give you some resources on what to do next. We have a devotional. that we want to give to you we want to pray with you and so if you feel like that we'll be able to get in contact with you church we love you we'll see you next week