When God Leaves the Group Chat | Manny Arango | Social Dallas

Hey everyone, before we jump into today's message, we wanted to take just a moment and personally thank you for being a part of our Social Global family. Yes, we are standing in the future home of Social Dallas. Demolition has officially started and every day we're getting closer to making the space a place where thousands of people will encounter Jesus for years to come. And if these messages have encouraged you, strengthened your faith, or helped you grow in any way, would you partner with us? Your generosity helps us continue sharing messages like the one you're about to watch and helps us build a permanent home where lives will be changed forever. To support the Almost Home campaign, visit socialdallas.com slash give and select Almost Home in the giving options. Or you can text the word give to 469-715-3755. Whether it's a one-time gift or becoming a recurring partner, every gift makes impact and every dollar moves dirt. Thank you for believing in what God is doing through Social Dallas. Here's today's message. Can we give the King one more shot of praise this morning? Come on, can we really give the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords one more shot of praise this morning? No matter where we find ourselves, because we know he's already worthy, because we know he's already done it, because we know in the end that we win, that he's already done it, that we're fighting for victory, not for victory. Amen. We thank you, Jesus, for your presence this morning. Thank you, God. Is anybody glad they came to church this morning? Y'all, that is just the beginning. God is not done. Amen. One more time, how many new first-time, first time in a long time we got in the room? Can you lift up your hand, just wave at us? Come on, Social, you can do much better than that. So glad to have you with us today. And if you're new to the journey, you might not know, but every single year our church comes around a word, and this year that word is, but not just any trust, this year we've got confident trust. And that's not just a word that we pull out of the atmosphere, it actually comes from Hebrews chapter 10, verses 35 to 37, and every single Sunday we declare it together with unified and uplifted voices, and we're gonna do that now. But remember, like Pastor Robert always says, you don't go until I say so. Do not

remember the great reward. Patient endurance is what you need now. Then, for in just a little while, the coming one will come and not delay. Yeah! You sound good, Social! Well, hey, our pastors are away this morning, but they have left us in incredible hands, and the voice that you are about to hear from, he's not a guest here, he's actually family here, and I am so grateful for the ministry of he and his wife, Tia. They, come on, you know, they and their amazing son, Theo, have planted a church in Houston called Garden Church. He is an author, he is a doctor. Social Dallas, would you help me welcome the wonderful, amazing, Dr. Manny Arango! I'm so glad that you would honor me, but come on, how many people know that it is only by the grace of God that we are standing in his presence? Oh, can you give God some praise today? Your alarm clock didn't wake you up this morning. Oh no, the breath of the Living God woke you up this morning. God, I don't know where I would be if it had not been for your goodness, and your mercy, and your grace. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I'm gonna preach, I'm gonna preach today from the story of Noah, but can I preach before I preach? I'm gonna preach from the story of Noah and the flood. There's this little verse, it says this, that God remembered Noah. Oh, that'll preach right there. God remembered Noah. I gotta be a little nerdy just for a second, because God, uh-oh, doesn't forget. So how does a God, who's not able to forget, remember anything? God remembered Noah. As soon as you read that, you should do a double-take, which then means that for our human minds, for us, because we forget, we think that the opposite of remembering is forgetting. But for a God who's omniscient, for a God who knows everything, who has never forgotten anything, the opposite of remembering is not forgetting. Oh no, not for God. The opposite of remembering is dismembering. Which means when the Bible says that God remembers Noah, it means that although you've been through a flood, although you've been through hell and high water, although you've been through brokenness, although the things of this world have ripped you limb from limb, there is a God that is able to put the broken pieces of your life back together. He is the God who can remember you.

Oh God, let us not forget the one that has remembered us. There have been seasons that have broken you, but there's a God who knows how to put you back together. Oh God, we believe that the divorce may have broken us, but you remember us. Oh God, the bankruptcy may have dismembered us, but you, you remember us. And although we're not doing communion today, this is why Jesus can say, when you take the cup, you take the bread, do this in remembrance of me. Why? Because the one who was hung high and stretched wide, the one who was broken, was broken so that you could be whole. Oh Lord God, we thank you today that you remember us. We're not forgotten and we've never been left broken by you. So here we go. Let's pray to the living God. God, we ask that as we've worshiped you and as we've praised you, that Lord God, that your spirit would be the X factor in the room today. Lord God, I've got two fish and five loaves. I've got some notes. I've got some ideas that I jotted down in my private time, but God, it's not enough to feed the multitudes. But if you take the notes that I've got, if you break it and you bless it, then Lord God, the thousands gathered today will all eat, not just from the mouth of a man, but from the table of heaven. So Lord God, we put a demand on your supply. We don't want anybody to leave church today saying, man, Pastor Manny Arango did such a great job. No, no. We want everyone to leave church today saying the Holy Spirit spoke to me. The Holy Spirit brought clarity to me and my precise circumstance. God, I don't know every single need in the room, but you do. You are the I am that I am. So Lord God, would you help me preach and would you help us listen? Lord God, would you help me scream in public the things that you've whispered to me in private? Lord God, we love you so much. And Lord God, we pray that the worship we've offered up was a pleasing aroma in your nostrils. God, we ask that as you've breathed in worship, now God, breathe out revelation. And Lord God, breathe on us again. Remember your people. In Jesus name we pray. Come on and we all say together, Amen. Oh, come on. Amen. Can you say Amen like you got some victory today? Come on. Can you say Amen like you got some expectation today? Amen. Amen. Amen. Hey, high five your neighbor. Tell them they look good even if they don't. And you can grab a seat. Come on. We speak those things that be not as though they were at social. Grab a seat. Grab a seat. High five your neighbor, especially if you're single and ready to mingle. Come on. Just tell them they look good. This is a great time. You look good. And I am so honored. I'm beyond honored to be in the room with you today. Hey, if you're like, hey, that's a familiar face. I know that short black man. And my name is Pastor Manny Arango.

I was on the team here for three years, all of 2022, 2023, and 2024. Me and my awesome wife, her name is Tia. She's my hot chocolate mamacita. Me and my awesome wife, we were part of this church. And we have a son named Theo. I think there's a picture. Maybe, maybe there's a picture. Maybe. I don't know. There we go. That's my beautiful bride Tia. And that's me when I had wild hair. And back when Pastor Rob was trying to get me to work out, Jesus, I've listened. I'm a little less Manny than I was back then. And that's my, that's my awesome son. Doctor said we would never get pregnant. But doctors only know the facts they don't know the truth Come on, the truth is that God can defy all the odds And so that boy is about to turn five years old this week coming up. And so We planted a church recently in Houston, Texas, and I just want to say thank you to social The the first Sunday that we'd kind of announced that we were gonna plant a church Pastor Robert and Pastor Taylor blessed us with a $25,000 check from you guys on behalf of this church And then just two months ago We launched a campaign called sponsor a Sunday. We launched a church at the House of Blues in Houston Had to get in there every morning and remove all the alcohol. Okay church planting man And pastor Robert surprised me and not only did you guys sponsor a Sunday? You guys sponsored a month of Sundays for us for the month of May and we're just eternally grateful Love this church and we were here all of 2022 23 and 24 and so hey if you're new you may not know who I am, but I'm a friend of the house and We're just we're church cousins, you know our church in Houston and this church in Dallas for church cousins Hey, can we honor pastor Robert and pastor Taylor? I I Love your pastors. I love your pastors Pastor Robert may be the most humble gifted human being I've ever met in my entire life and Pastor Taylor is the sweetest kindest person that that I know and I love your pastors to death I hope you love them as well. And it's funny before I jump into the I'm gonna read the Bible. I promise But I remember in the summer of 2022 To prove to you that I've been around for a while in the summer 2022

Social didn't have a venue for about three straight weeks. And so we were filming content at a studio And I just so happened to be one of the speakers that went to the studio to film content I filmed my sermon to a studio audience. It was awesome. And and how many people know come on Everybody got a plan until you get punched in the face. Hello That's Mike Tyson. Hello And then you got to learn how to pivot and I'm so glad that I learned the art of the pivot while I was here in my season at social and I remember one day three weeks no venue and I Remember pastor Robert were in the studio. We're filming all these sermons and he said you want to see a building I found Think the Holy Spirit's telling me this is gonna be socials home. And I said, yeah, sure. This is the summer of 2022 We go to the look cinema While it was still in operation and me and your pastor went around to the back tried to break in. Hello At that time the look cinema was still operating but the space to the left was vacant And so me Frank and pastor Robert were in the back trying to shimmy our way into don't police. Okay, never mind We Own it now, so it's okay. It's okay And I remember being in the parking lot and pastor Robert just saying can you imagine having conferences here? There's a hotel right here. There's restaurants over here Think about how many parking spots there are your pastor saw what you're currently walking in before we ever actually saw it. I Was just in the parking lot. Like I think we're trespassing pastor Robert, you know And That look cinema was still in operation and I remember pastor Robert saying this all we need Manny And just a wide-eyed full of faith. All we need Manny is for this look cinema to shut down It's what your pastor said. I Remember his words like it was yesterday. All we need is for this look cinema to go out of business And you know how you when you know that that crazy look when you are looking at somebody and you're like man I don't know that I got the faith you got but if I stay around you long enough, it'll be contagious. Oh man, I'm glad I stuck around pastor Robert long enough because it's gotten contagious and

I just want to remind you man, we've raised over four million dollars at this point and we got a ways to go and Can I tell you something your pastor has a prophetic vision for that property and properties not just property and I know okay I'm running out of time. Okay As a church planner, I got hit with a hundred thousand dollar bill. I know y'all y'all a big ball and now six million. Okay I'm six months in Frank. Okay, and Right before we launched the church we launched on February 1st. So like in January we needed to make a hundred thousand dollars worth of Production equipment or children's ministry equipment and you know our our team is like hey we're gonna swipe the card for a hundred thousand dollars i'm thinking to myself is there even a hundred thousand dollars on the card okay um and so i said what are we buying for a hundred thousand dollars and they showed me a spreadsheet of like some rugs and like some tvs and i'm like guys we i'm sure we can get that for less than a hundred thousand dollars and they're like no no no no no we're getting it from a company that does children's ministry and it's a hundred grand and as long as i focused on the what i was tempted to be stingy but then i remembered that three months prior we had met with a woman named talia and she had a four-year-old son named kennedy and all she said was i'm joining this launch team i'm joining this church because i need my son to have spiritual uncles and spiritual family and i need my son she's a single mom i need my son to be raised around the people of god and the things of god and as long as i wanted to know the what the hundred thousand dollars was going to buy i was always going to be stingy but in the middle of making a decision the holy spirit reminded me not of a what but a who that i'm not spending a hundred thousand dollars on rugs and tvs i'm spending a hundred grand on kennedy's future that we are going to create an environment so that this boy who's got a single mom can raise him in the presence of god and learn the bible and the word of god and as soon as i remembered who we were doing it for i swiped the card for a hundred grand and guess what every week at church we've got hundreds of kennedy's now and i want to remind you social we're not buying a building we're purchasing the future of ooze of people of stories of souls of individuals who need hope and who need healing who need the resurrection power of the almighty god it's never been about a building it's never been about a what it's always been about the who that the king of kings is trying to reach and if he's reached me how dare i be stinchy i need to

pay it forward oh god i'll be like harry and tuffman i got free let me go back into bondage and get some people and bring more people out of bondage i'm addicted to getting people free and i'll do whatever i need to do i'll pay the cost for other people's freedom so i'm so grateful to this church we're spiritual cousins and don't get weary in well-doing i know maybe it can feel like oh man we talk about the building every week yeah because we're passionate about people and we're on mission to rescue as many people as we can from darkness and bring them into god's marvelous light come on let's read the bible come on let's read the bible um i'm i need to behave because pastor robert's probably streaming okay come on come on come on let me behave let's go to genesis let's go to genesis i'm going to give you two verses of scripture um and i'm going to try to offer you uh an eastern worldview on one story in the bible this is the story of the flood uh how many people know that it's so easy if you don't have context to come to the bible with a western perspective and so we start asking very western questions and you don't even realize that because we just live in the western world and western civilization and uh we don't you don't even realize how western your questions really are but the bible was written for you but it wasn't written to you and the bible was written from an eastern perspective and we're i'm just going to introduce you uh to an eastern perspective today and uh i hope you got your thinking caps on uh i'm gonna preach but we're gonna think a little is that okay uh genesis chapter one uh we're gonna just start reading uh a verse that we're all familiar with genesis chapter one verse one it says this if there's a word that i don't say you can say the word that i don't say uh genesis 1 1 it says this in the god created the heavens and now the earth was formless and empty uh here we go i gotta interject uh because empty doesn't mean that it was nothing actually the next words will show us that empty doesn't mean nothing in hebrew the words here would be tohu vavohu everybody say tohu vavohu that's like mufasa you just want to say it again you know uh tohu vavohu uh that that the the it was formless and empty it doesn't mean nothing it actually means chaotic and wild and we're gonna see it in the next verse it says this darkness was over the surface of okay so it's either nothing or it's the deep remember a couple summers ago all those billionaires tried to go see the titanic And their little vessel got crunched up like a soda can, sorry. They went into the deep.

You know, 95% of the ocean is undiscovered. The deep, the deep. And if it's unclear, the Bible then gonna say that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. So we don't have nothing, you tracking with me? We've got the deep, we've got waters, and we've got darkness. Which means that God's primary mode of creating is not to create something out of nothing. Oh, I'm about to preach this. It's to create order out of chaos. I wonder if that's anybody's testimony today, that when God found you, he didn't find you as nothing. Oh, no, he found you as dysfunctional. He found you as confused. He found you as chaotic. You had a baby daddy when God found you. You had an alcohol problem when God found you, and God was not intimidated by the chaos of your life. But he rolled up his sleeves and got to work ordering your life, organizing your life, getting rid of some things that didn't need to be there, and bringing order to your chaos. Give me Genesis chapter 7. It says this, In the 600th year of whose life? Noah's life. On the 17th day of the second month, on that day, all the springs of the great, that, the deep. Didn't we just read about the deep in Genesis chapter 1? Yeah, so the springs of the great, deep, burst forth. Here we go. And the floodgates of the heavens were opened. I want to preach. I've got about 20-ish minutes, and God's gonna do a lot in the next 20 minutes. It's gonna be great. Here we go. I want to preach, just real quick. When God leaves the group chat. When God leaves the group chat. There's some of y'all need to leave some group chats, but anyway, anyway, we're not gonna talk about that. When God leaves the group chat, let's pray again. Holy Spirit, thank you for adding a blessing to the reading of your Word. Lord God, do what only you can do. In Jesus name we pray. Come on. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Ah, God, move me. God moves the creation from chaos to order in how many days? Seven days. We know that God moves the creation from chaos to order, uh, because in the beginning of the creation narrative in Genesis chapter 1, it says that the Spirit of God is

hovering over the waters. Hovering over the waters. Everybody say hovering. Over the. So as long as creation is chaotic, God will not rest. God hovers when there's chaos and over the next seven days, we know that creation has been properly what? Ordered because by the time Adam and Eve are in the garden, it says that God is doing what? Walking with them in the cool of the day. I think a lot of us need that word right there because we have an expectation that God's going to rest in our mess. We have this expectation that God, I want your presence, I want your power, but as long as there's chaos, God does not rest. When there's chaos, he hovers and he speaks and commands it to take shape. Oh, there's some of us in the room. You haven't experienced the resting power of God yet because there's still chaos in your life and God is gracious and merciful enough to hover above your chaos and start to speak things into order. He hovers above the chaos and he starts saying things like be generous. He hovers above the chaos and says break up with them. He hovers above the chaos and says stop lying. He hovers above the chaos and says start being honest and vulnerable. He hovers above the chaos in the same way that he hovered above the chaos and said let's separate waters from waters and he hovered above the chaos and said let there be light. Oh, there's many of us today. I wonder if maybe it's your today or your past where God was gracious enough to hover above your chaos and roll up his sleeves and speak words to you that begin to organize and order your life. We know that God then rests once the creation gets to a place where it's been properly ordered, where the waters have been separated from the dry ground, where the heavens have been separated from the earth, where things are in their proper place. Once it's been ordered then God what? He inserts himself as the final ingredient in the creation. Because God knows that if his presence is not in it that the order that he has created will not be sustained without his power. So God begins to walk in the garden in the cool of the day. This is where I'm going to throw you a curveball. I need you to put your thinking caps on which means that the original state of creation is what chaos God moves it into Order which means in the story of the flood the story of the flood is not a story of God's wrath It is a story of reversal

Because the only thing that actually happens in the story of the flood is not an angry wrathful Sending thunderbolts and lightning and rain But a God that says if chaos is what they want then I am gonna remove Myself from the situation and chaos is what they are gonna get ain't it crazy that when God takes his hands off the wheel Everything in your life unravels. Isn't it wild that God does not have to use his active wrath, but his passive wrath This is why Roman says he gave them over to their sinful The only thing God has to do to shipwreck your life is to remove himself from the situation I wonder is there anybody that can testify that God I Didn't realize that you were the one keeping me from danger seen and unseen I did not realize there was a hedge of protection around my life until I lost the hedge of protection I didn't even appreciate what you were doing in my life until you stopped doing the stuff That you was doing. It's funny. It's funny. It's funny. You know, I'm that I hire people now Wasn't on my bingo card to hire people, you know I'm saying I hire people now and so, you know Sometimes when you hire people you can just start doing math like we pay them this amount of money and what do they do? And In pastor Elijah he runs the operations, you know for Arma and Manny Rangel ministries in the garden And so one day I was frustrated at a certain employee and I was like, but what did they even do? You know say we pay them X amount of money What do they do and I was like I sat down with pastor light is like we need to fire this person cuz what? Do they do and pastor lodges like well pastor Manny with all due respect you did 75 speaking engagements last year You're not really in the office day-to-day. Would you like me to tell you what they do? Because I'm in the office with them day-to-day. I know what they do Would you like a list of what they do and he said they do email support. They answer people in your DMS They do customer service and I said, oh I didn't know that they did all that We shouldn't fire them we need them ain't it crazy how you can assume that God is up to nothing And then you come into a room like this and we start singing stuff like even when you don't feel it I'm working and then you begin to realize the God that I took for granted is actually working behind the scenes Doing stuff that I don't even appreciate Oh God We're sorry that you've been ordering our steps and ordering our life and you've been keeping chaos at bay So God moves the creation. Here we go from what from chaos to order he then inserts himself

he goes without my presence humans are not going to be able to sustain order and Then there's a generation Noah's generation that says these rules who? These regulations that God's put in place we don't like God's order Ain't it crazy how we all want peace, but hate order Ain't it crazy how we all want the benefits of order, but don't like order Ain't it crazy how everybody wants peace, but peace is a byproduct of God's order in your life There's a lot of us in this room. You may not like this. You don't have an anxiety problem. You have an order problem And you could come down here at the front and and we pray for people at the garden, too I was telling JP who's traveling with me. He said everything about our church in Houston makes sense now that I've seen social I was like, yeah In our huddle guess what we say we get to do this In our services guess what we do. We pray for people at the front. We do everything y'all do we church cousins. Okay, and And it's funny because I Believe in the altar ministry I believe in prayer teams, but I believe in it and we can clap for that We I believe in the power of God to do miracles in your life when you bring your burdens down to the front But can I be honest with you? I'm a little hood. I'm sorry. I'm the hood cousin We could pray for you and you can have peace for a week or You can stop letting your baby daddy hit and you can have peace for a lifetime at some point You're gonna have to stop sabotaging your peace By allowing chaos to rule and reign in your life Order order order that God brings order into your life But for so many of us order doesn't feel like freedom and I want to help you today because here's the truth a train Is the most free when it's on the tracks Discipline is freedom order is freedom and the Christian does not define Freedom the same way that the world defines freedom the world defines freedom as what I'm free to do But the Christian defines freedom as what I'm free from doing. I'm not free to drink. I'm free from drinking I'm not free to smoke. I'm free from smoking. I'm not free to hook up. I'm free from hooking up I'm not free to buy whatever I want

I'm free from the need to buy stuff for affirmation and validation from people who don't even know me I'm not free to I'm free from free from So here we go God Simply here we go. The story of knowing the flood God simply removes himself Removes himself if you want chaos, I'm gonna give you what you want You want chaos? You don't like my rules. You don't like the regulations. You don't like order. Okay, cool Let's see if you like it when the fabric of the universe unravels So if you have this image of this angry God who's raining down wrath on Noah's generation You actually have it twisted because this is not a story of wrath. It's a story of Reversal. Here's what happens. The creation goes right back to Tohu Vavohu It's original state because order is not something you're entitled to It's something that you get to steward as a gift from God Isn't it wild how the very thing we're called to steward can be the very thing that we have an attitude about Can't believe I got to tithe. No, no. No, you don't got to tithe you get to tithe You don't have to I can't believe I gotta serve no, no, no, you don't gotta serve you get to serve None of us deserve to serve God's great kingdom in his church none of us do but God gives us the privilege to Because order is not something we're entitled to it's something that we get to steward and it's delicate and here we go We're gonna do a praise break. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go Because the story of the flood is simply God. Here we go leaving the group chat God leaves and what happens Tohu Vavohu Everything returns to its original state because the original state of creation is what chaotic I don't want to do a praise break right here Cuz I wonder is there anybody in the room who when your sin and your rebellion gave God a reason to leave Somewhere in his grace. He stayed anyway and held it all Together, I don't know about you, but that's the testimony of my life. I have not always been perfect There are times that my disobedience and my sin warranted God's departure But instead of him leaving and allowing chaos to have its way with me the grace of God

Simply held it all Together God. Thank you for not leaving me or forsaking me Thank you for being like a friend who sticks closer than a brother Thank you Thank you Even when I didn't have the wherewithal to thank you while you were holding it together You held my business together. You held my family together. You held my marriage together You held the money together while I was in rebellion and sin you were holding it down Oh somebody give God a shot of praise God thank you. Thank you There was a bright exit sign that God could have used But he didn't here we go. Now. God is gonna give Noah a heads up Can you imagine being the guy who no pressure? Everybody gonna die Can you imagine me and Noah God be like hey Noah heads up brother everybody gonna die But if you build this boat just right then everybody won't die no pressure You would think that if God is gonna have a boat That is gonna be the thing that's a stopgap between everybody dying and humanity being able to rise And humanity being able to rise recreate itself, reorder itself, then you would think that we would have extensive instructions from God to Noah. This is laughable, because if Noah don't get this right, everybody die, everybody die. Here's the verses that God is gonna give Noah for instructions on how to build the ark. This gave me tons of peace in the church planting phase. Here we go. Not y'all, y'all aren't like this at all. Only the people in Houston.

Pastor Manny, but like, what's the plan? And I'm like, do you know what kind of God is talking to me? Has he ever given you plans? What made you think that the God that speaks obscurely to you is speaking clearly to me? I'm on a rollercoaster, baby. Buckle up, let's go. Either you wanna be on the rollercoaster or not, because this is the kind of God that says to Abraham, hey, leave and go to a place I will show you. But how about you show me so I can go? And God's like, mm-mm, you go first, then I show. But that don't make no sense. Should I start walking this way or that way? What way should I walk? Guess. If you go the wrong way, I guess I'll turn you around. And there's so many of us, you know what, you just don't know how. And not knowing how keeps you from doing the what. But God is saying, I don't need your understanding, I need your obedience. Just have some faith and go, and then I'll show. God's no different, give me Genesis chapter six. This is God telling Noah how to build a boat. And no one's ever built a boat. This is worse than Ikea instructions. I don't know anybody else got a wife who buys stuff from this place called Ikea?

You know what I do? Don't tell my wife, don't tell her, it's our secret. She drops stuff off, I'll be like, girl, here's some money, go get a mani, go get a pedi. And then while she's gone, I hire someone on TaskRabbit to come to the house and build this stuff. Because I'm like, I'm not doing this. Here we go. So make yourself an ark of what? Cypress wood, make rooms in it. How we jump to rooms? Wait, hey God, back up, what's an ark? God's like, it's gonna rain, what's that? Make yourself an ark of cypress wood, make rooms in it, coat it with pitch inside and out, okay? If you're Noah, you're like, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool. I'm taking notes, okay, okay, okay. What else you got, God? Okay, God hits you with the next thing. The ark is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits high. Okay, God's into cubits, okay, cool. I got it, God, okay, cubits. Here we go, make a roof for it. So we got rooms, we got cubits, and now we have a roof. It sounds like we're jumping around a little bit. Okay, make a roof, leaving below the roof, here we go, some more cubits, and opening one cubit high. All around, oh yeah, Noah, put a door. Put a door in the side of the ark.

Here we go, and make lower, middle, and upper decks. If you're Noah, you're like, okay, cool, all right, cubits, okay, rooms, pitch, lower, middle, okay, so we got decks. I need to go to Home Depot. You know, what is it? Okay, God, what's next? And God's like. Came out of me, Noah, hey, God, just to remind you, everybody's gonna die. It's kind of important that you give me some more instructions, because if I don't build it right, your people are gonna die. These are your people. Oh, can you tell, this is talk therapy for a church planter, hello. God, how you got me out here? Planting a church, and all my volunteers are like, so what's the plan for children's ministry? I'm like, God hasn't gotten to that part yet. All he said was cubits. and roof and rooms and it's funny how it doesn't matter how much you as a leader tell your team what God said the team is like but give us more clarity I'm like I wish I had clarity the guy that I'd be talking to he just be talking about cupids in rooms and roofs and decks I'm so sorry I'm now apologizing for God pastor what the service times gonna be I don't know Asia our children's director she was like well past many I've never been a children's director and I was like I've never been a senior pastor sweetheart we both out here giving it our best shot you don't know what you doing I don't know what I'm doing roof rooms decks cubits

and if we don't do it right people die no pressure here we go here we go here can I be nerdy can I be nerdy can I be nerdy happy nerdy there are seven clues that this is more than a boat because what we just read is confusing to the Western eye but to the Eastern person they are gonna see all the breadcrumbs that this is more than a boat give me the first clue we're gonna go through these clues pretty fast here we go number one the instructions for building the ark are completely dictated by God the voice of God to the ears of Noah there are only three times in the entire Bible where the building or the construction of something are dictated by God directly to the person who's in charge of building it do you want to know what the next time is the tabernacle of Moses which is going to be a dwelling place for the Most High God and the next place after that is the temple of Solomon which means that maybe just maybe this is a boat or it's more than a boat because the thing that the people lost was the presence of God and if we need to get order back then maybe we don't just need a boat maybe we need a place for the presence of God to dwell with people again so that's the first clue give me the second clue clue number two let's look at the cubits can we compare the cubits do we have that slide here we go this is Genesis 6 15 this is how you ought to build it 300 cubits is the okay next 50 cubits it's 30 cubits it's okay so cubits cubits cubits uh-oh uh-oh can I throw a curveball I got three yeses okay never mind I'll throw a curveball can I throw a curveball the arc that God tells Noah to build uh-oh is a box I'm not trying to trick y'all we all know how to read dimensions oh I'm gonna get in trouble cuz you know there's the people in Kentucky that have built this ark but they made one mistake this doesn't say to curve the bottom this is a box oh I'm about to preach this like I feel it because it does not take faith to build a boat and then get in it and think it's gonna save you from the rain what takes faith is for God to tell you to build a box and this makes no logical sense why would a box be able to keep me safe from the storm but God says it's not the structure that keeps you safe it is obedience and my word that keeps you safe you better build it like I told you

to build it if I said build a box your faith is not in what you built your faith is in the one who told you how to build it and if God told you to build your business a certain way you better build that business the way that he told you to if he told you to build your family a certain way you better build it the way he told you to if he told you church planter to build that church a certain way there are so many church conferences where you can learn all the systems but sometimes you can come to a temple and be upset that it's not the boat you came from and as a church planter I've had to set everyone's expectations there are lots of churches in Houston but there are not lots of gardens in Houston and you've got somebody who heard some obstruct weird signals from heaven and I'm just trying to build it the way God told me to build it and I remember being here at social and man at the time I'm doing boat math Pastor Robert based on the attendance I think we should do a third service and I'm so glad I sat under a pastor who wasn't trying to build a boat but trying to build a temple for the Holy Spirit a place where God can dwell and him looking at me and saying I know we can do a third service but that doesn't mean we should do a third service because manny and this is the language he used but man it's the language i've adopted i'm not building a boat god's asked us to build an ark here we go give me the give me the cubits for the temple oh you're gonna love this i'm just on clue number two i need to move faster first king six two the bible tells us that the house this is the temple that king solomon built for yahweh was 60 cubits in it 20 cubits in it and 30 cubits in it you see the same pattern height length width because the clue in the story in genesis is that noah is not just building a boat but noah's building a temple for the living here we go give me clue number three we're gonna move quick lower middle upper decks lower middle upper decks that the ark that noah noah builds is three in one three in one kind of like an outer court an inner court and a holy of holies because the boat ain't just a boat the boat is actually a type and shadow of the temple that moses is going to build give me the next clue give me the next clue pitch inside and out when god tells moses how to build the ark the ark of the covenant that's going to dwell where in the tabernacle he says get acacia wood and pitch it with gold inside and out which

means that the boat that noah is making is pitched with tar inside and out the very same way that the ark of the covenant is going to be pitched with gold inside and out give me the next clue only one door one door hold up this is where i gotta talk to all the boat builders all the people all the accountants we have a fraction of cfo at the garden and there are times where i say to the cfo hey we're gonna give away 15 000 and he goes well that's not wise and i'm like it's not wise if you're building a boat i'm not building a boat i'm building a temple for the holy ghost and i'm sorry that i'm not going to do math the way you do math and i'm not saying that systems don't matter we love systems we got to have systems but systems don't grow a church the spirit of the living god grows a church and i've had to put my foot down as a leader and just say we're always gonna do stuff that doesn't make sense and what we don't need is everybody gossiping about the decisions that are being made maybe just maybe i've got instructions you have not heard yet the most honoring thing to do for the leader is to say i cannot bring boat expectations when the leader has heard from god about a temple that they're building and i should just be happy that we're getting the presence of god back instead of nitpicking about all the details that don't math for me just because the math don't math for you does not mean the math don't math for noah one door come on if it's me i'm saying to god can we at least get four doors come on let's get giraffes through one door come on let's get the amphibious animals through one door how are we gonna have one door but here we go here we go there's only one door because the ark that noah built was a type and shadow of the temple and the temple only had one door why because the temple was a type and shadow to jesus and jesus is gonna say i am the way i am the truth and i am the light i'm not away oh no i'm the gate for the sheep and anybody who enters through any other way is a thief and a robber let me make it very clear buddhism is not a door to god hinduism is not a door to god your humanistic intellect is not a door to god there's one door to the father and it is the of his son jesus if jesus is not the way then i don't know what to tell you there's one door general righteousness is not a door what you can understand is not a door i don't know if people have lied to you and told you well all religions are essentially the same no no no allah is not god buddha is not god no no he is the king of kings he is the lord of lords there's only one door next clue Noah gets out the boat, box, temple, boat, box, temple, a boat that's more than a

boat, a temple hiding in plain sight, and Noah performs one of the largest whole burnt animal sacrifices in the entire Bible. You realize he brings two of every animal to preserve animal life, but then he brings seven of all the clean animals and he gets out of the boat and performs what? One of the largest whole burnt animal sacrifices in the entire Bible. Why? Who performs whole burnt animal sacrifice? Come on Bible nerds. Who performs whole burnt animal sacrifice in the Bible? Priests. Why is Noah operating as a priest? Because he's managing a temple. That is why Noah is operating as a priest, because this is not just a boat. It's a boat, box, temple. Give me the last clue and then we're gonna end service and everybody can go eat fried chicken. Let's go. Noah's name. Everybody say Noah. You got to say it like a good Hebrew, like Noah. There you go, Noah. His name means rest. Rest. You remember that the God who was hovering above chaos went from hovering above the chaos to resting in the creation once it was ordered. And Noah's name actually signifies his very purpose is to get the rest of God back. The very thing that chaos cost you is the very thing that the temple of the living God wants to bring you. Why should I come to church every Sunday? I think every other week is enough. No, no, no, no, no. You need the presence of God. You need the power of God. You need the manifest glory of God. It is not just enough to have a relationship with God and my relationship with God is my relationship with God and yours is your... No, no, no, no, no. You need to be in God's house. This is a house of prayer, a house of presence, a house for people. We're building a house here. It's why we would say if it costs six million to even break ground, we'll give it gladly because we want a temple of the Holy Ghost to be in that community. God, we need a temple. We don't just need boats to save us. We need temples to honor you. We want to be the kind of people who are excited about your presence. We want to be the kind of people who gather with expectation. If you don't show up, we won't move because we want you. Last thing I'll say and we're done. One of the rules that I've given the servant leaders at the garden is simple. Hey, boat builders save seats. Temple builders hold doors. Your job is not to get into the service early so you save a

seat for yourself. No, no, no, no. Your job is to hold the door. Let another one in. Let another one in. Let another one in. Let another one in. We're trying to save as many people from the flood that is coming as humanly possible. Tomorrow is not promised. Of course I'll jump on a team. Why? Because I'd rather be a door-holder in the house of my God than dwell amongst the wicked. God, let me just hold, I'll hold the door for your lost sons and daughters who are coming back home. I want to be somebody who will build, not as a boat to save me. There's some of us, even though the Bible never calls it a boat, you see a boat because the talking tomato told you it was a boat. And I hope I didn't confuse you by offering an Eastern perspective. It is a boat because it served a functional purpose, but it was way more than a boat. And I get it. You're trying to build a business for a functional purpose, but could you maybe think to yourself, this isn't just a business. It's more than a business. I want this business to be a temple of the Living God. Hey, this is a marriage and it serves a functional purpose, but maybe just maybe it's more than a marriage. Hey, we're starting a family. I get it. Functional purpose, but maybe it's more than a family. We need to buy a house. I got you. You need to buy a house. But maybe it's more than just property. Maybe it's more than real estate. Hey, we're praying that Look Cinema shuts down so that God can actually own space. Hey, we're not just praying that it would be another church building. No, no. We're praying that it'd be more than a building. That it'd be a place. Where God dwells If you're in the room today, and you're saying you know what? I've got this practical thing that I've got maybe it's a business. Maybe it's my job Maybe it's my cubicle at my job, and I need to turn that cubicle from a cubicle of gossip to a cubicle of worship God I need a car is it a car or is it a place where the Lord can meet you? While you're on your daily commute because you can turn anything into a boat But you can turn any boat into a temple if you are mindful about what God would have you use it for If you're in the room today, and you're like you know what Pastor Manny

Preaching to me The very job I complain about is actually a space I can transform the very Business with the employees that I want to fire. What if it's not as a job? What if it's a place for me to disciple young men and women? What if it's a temple if you're in the room today, and you're saying you know what? I've always seen the story of Noah as a boat But I need to see it as a temple and I actually need to apply that to my life I need to stop seeing mundane things as boats And I need to see them as temples so that I can Steward what God's placed in my hand properly if that's you just wave your hand at me wave your hand at me God I thank you right now God. I thank you for all of the boats Represented in the room that Lord God you are gonna take the two fish and the five loaves that all of us have and you Are gonna transform it into something that can do way more than we ask think or imagine God take our families take our children take our businesses take our resources God take the boats that we've built and turn them into temples of the Holy Spirit We ask for God that you would sanctify us right now. Give us a renewed passion for holiness Lord God help us to not just be boat managers But to be priests over the temple of the Holy Spirit that you've given us God We're gonna pray for these kids instead of complaining about them We're gonna pray not just about our spouse, but for our spouse. We declare our homes are holy ground We declare our cubicle is holy ground. We declare our car is holy ground Lord God If we haven't seen it as holy we declare right now what we have seen as mundane Would you begin to mark again as holy as unto the Lord and God if we've compromised and built things in a way That is based on human logic We repent right now and we ask that you would give us a heavenly blueprint again To build according to your plan and your will and your way in Jesus name We pray come on and all God's people said amen Amen Did you hear a word today

You hear a word today. Hey with all heads bowed and all eyes closed. I got a question for you Maybe you know that you and God are not in reconciled relationship What that means? Is that you need grace and forgiveness and mercy from God? Can I tell you something you came to the right church? Because we want to give you an opportunity To start a new relationship with God. Here's the gospel. It's actually pretty simple It's this God treated Jesus like a sinner so that he could treat sinners as if we were perfect That's the gospel God treated the only one who's ever been perfect like a sinner so that he could treat all of us who are sinners as if We're perfect. It's a deal of a lifetime If you're an entrepreneur and you were doing business, you would take that deal every time So what's the catch? I'll tell you the catch Although salvation is free. It will cost you your life It's gonna cost that you repent of your sins and that you confess not just that Jesus is Savior But that he's Lord and then give him control of your life If you're in the room today, and you know, you're far from God. You've made decisions that are chaotic that have ruined Your peace and your own life. Maybe you've sabotaged your life with sin. I want to be clear today. You don't have to pay the penalty of your sin There's a God who loves you who didn't just die for you. He died as you He took your place on the cross with all heads bowed and all eyes closed If you know I'm talking to you and you know that you need to get on this boat Because there's a flood coming and you want to be inside not out. If you know I'm preaching to you today Can you just slip your hand up right where you are? I see your hand. I see your hand I see your hand. I see your hand. There's hands going up all over the room. Can you pray this prayer with me? Actually, I don't want anybody to feel singled out. I see dozens of hands, but how about we all say this prayer together say Jesus Thank you for loving me. Thank you for dying on the cross in my place. Today I confess with my mouth and I believe in my heart that you are Lord. You are King.

You are boss and I give you my life. Lord Jesus I belong to you from this day forward. I am a new creation in Christ. The old is gone and the new has come. In Jesus name. Oh if you just prayed that prayer for the first time or the first time in a long time I think that's a good place to rejoice because the Bible says that there's rejoicing in the presence of the angels right now. Even that one person would come home. So can you give Jesus some praise today for every person that's gave their life to Jesus. Come on give him some praise. Hey come on and stand with me one more time. Can we make some noise for those people that gave their life to Jesus today.