WEBVTT 00:00:01.187 --> 00:00:03.000 wave them around, make Jesus glad and the devil mad. 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.307 I want to get into the Word with you tonight. 00:00:05.307 --> 00:00:11.000 Thank God for the Holy Ghost, thank God for miracles, thank God for healing. 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:16.129 Let's say this together say Heavenly Father, thank God for your Holy written Word. 00:00:16.129 --> 00:00:18.980 I stand on the Word. 00:00:18.980 --> 00:00:21.327 I'm a Word person. 00:00:21.327 --> 00:00:27.611 My mind is being renewed in the Word of God. 00:00:27.611 --> 00:00:30.266 I'm changing my thinking. 00:00:30.266 --> 00:00:36.427 I'm thinking more like heaven, thinking more like my Heavenly Father. 00:00:36.427 --> 00:00:52.895 I turn away from this world's way of thinking and I have my mind renewed to your way of thinking so that I can bring forth fruit to glorify you in Jesus' name, amen. 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:57.603 Let's turn in our Bibles over to the Old Testament, second Chronicles 26. 00:00:57.603 --> 00:01:09.611 Second Chronicles 26. 00:01:09.611 --> 00:01:12.602 We'll start reading with verse one. 00:01:12.602 --> 00:01:27.504 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was 16 years old, and made him king. 00:01:27.504 --> 00:01:35.251 In the room of his father, amaziah, he built Elot and restored it to Judah. 00:01:35.251 --> 00:01:36.843 I've been there, by the way. 00:01:36.843 --> 00:01:38.328 He's still there. 00:01:39.161 --> 00:01:43.629 Beautiful city, right on the Red Sea, right at the very bottom of Israel. 00:01:43.629 --> 00:01:55.558 You have to drive through miles and miles of the desert and all of a sudden you come over this hill and you look down at the bottom of this long descent. 00:01:55.558 --> 00:01:55.920 Like a valley. 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:57.394 It leads all the way down to the Red Sea. 00:01:57.394 --> 00:01:59.888 And here's a city, elot. 00:01:59.888 --> 00:02:03.147 It's ancient city, 33,000 years old. 00:02:03.147 --> 00:02:08.413 He built Elot and restored it to Judah. 00:02:08.433 --> 00:02:12.597 After that the king slept with his father, his dad. 00:02:12.597 --> 00:02:21.000 His father, 16 years old, was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:34.000 When you read the chronicles of the reigns of the kings of both Judah and Israel, the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom you don't find he's one of the top 52 years. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:35.405 He reigned a long time. 00:02:35.405 --> 00:02:39.990 He reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. 00:02:39.990 --> 00:02:49.526 His mother's name also was Jecheliah of Jerusalem and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father, amaziah, did. 00:02:49.526 --> 00:02:55.490 And he sought God in the days of Zechariah. 00:02:55.490 --> 00:03:05.906 I just read from Zechariah just a while ago Pray for rain. 00:03:05.906 --> 00:03:08.000 In the time of the latter rain, he'll bring bright clouds. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:09.224 That's Zechariah. 00:03:09.224 --> 00:03:20.110 He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God and my margin says, in the seeing of God. 00:03:20.110 --> 00:03:26.771 And as long as he sought the Lord, god made him to prosper. 00:03:26.771 --> 00:03:32.248 As long as he sought the Lord, god made him to prosper. 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:40.461 And so tonight I wanted to share a message entitled Apostolic Characteristics. 00:03:40.461 --> 00:04:00.646 Apostolic this church has been prophesied over, and the visitations that I've had from the Lord what I call spectacular guidance, which would include dreams and visions indicate that this is an apostolic house with a prophetic flow. 00:04:00.646 --> 00:04:13.384 And I want to say God's plan for all of the church when Jesus told the disciples you know, all authority in heaven and earth is given unto me. 00:04:13.384 --> 00:04:14.788 Go ye, therefore. 00:04:14.788 --> 00:04:18.343 Say Matthew 28,. 00:04:18.343 --> 00:04:19.427 Go ye, therefore. 00:04:19.427 --> 00:04:21.023 Well, so what did he do? 00:04:21.023 --> 00:04:22.067 He sent them. 00:04:23.824 --> 00:04:25.879 The church is a sent one. 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:31.771 Apostle means a sent one, so the apostolic should be a dimension of every church. 00:04:31.771 --> 00:04:36.571 It isn't, sadly, because of why? 00:04:36.571 --> 00:04:43.930 Well, because of all the fractures and the denominations you know, frankly, you know some were sent and some just went. 00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:54.980 So if I'm part of a church where the pastor just went and really isn't anointed to do what he does, he's probably now going to partake of these apostolic characteristics. 00:04:55.581 --> 00:04:56.384 Why are you preaching this? 00:04:56.384 --> 00:05:02.706 I want you to know what kind of church this is and I want to know what's in your DNA and what is available to you. 00:05:02.706 --> 00:05:09.959 It's an apostolic house with a prophetic flow. 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:15.331 Another word came an apostolic vine with a prophetic river. 00:05:15.331 --> 00:05:28.333 And really, after starting our 30th year, that's been born out and I think probably my God votes is the cornerstone proof. 00:05:28.333 --> 00:05:34.687 You know, I had to stand for this when there was no proof, just God saying it. 00:05:34.687 --> 00:05:45.226 And frankly, it was hard to stand up here and talk about it because I didn't, you know, I couldn't point to very much in the way of evidence. 00:05:45.226 --> 00:05:48.375 But see, that's when you've heard from God. 00:05:48.375 --> 00:05:49.000 That's all you need. 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:52.846 You just hear from God, god said it, that's what it was. 00:05:52.846 --> 00:05:59.944 I mean, this isn't my notes, but I just feel like you know, we're in our 30th year and we've got new people just starting coming. 00:05:59.944 --> 00:06:10.000 You haven't heard what a lot of these folks have heard, but the church was, I guess, 16, 17 months old. 00:06:10.704 --> 00:06:15.012 We started in January, so June of the next year, which would have been June of 1996. 00:06:15.012 --> 00:06:24.565 We found ourselves crowded, we didn't have enough parking and we're just we're busting at the seams. 00:06:24.565 --> 00:06:36.345 The room is full on Sunday morning and our landlord was so proud I mean we'd never missed a payment. 00:06:36.345 --> 00:06:41.706 I'd just go, I'd sit in his office and I'd bring that $5,000 lease payment to his office. 00:06:41.706 --> 00:06:55.016 I think when he signed us up he just figured we wouldn't make it, but we made it and that's a $60,000 a year lease for a building. 00:06:55.036 --> 00:07:01.024 On 1960, an old building tumbled down and were roof leaked and everything else. 00:07:01.024 --> 00:07:13.084 I mean every time it rained I had the river of life running through my office and the carpet stayed wet and smelly, but anyway. 00:07:13.084 --> 00:07:16.000 So I went out and he said hey, john. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.788 He said you know what he said. 00:07:18.788 --> 00:07:20.000 Let me make a proposal to you. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:21.584 He called me and said I want to meet with you. 00:07:21.584 --> 00:07:22.144 All right, yeah. 00:07:22.144 --> 00:07:24.891 He said look, I've got a tract of land. 00:07:24.891 --> 00:07:27.769 Go pick one out, about five acres. 00:07:27.769 --> 00:07:30.000 I've got several in this area. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:37.850 Go pick a tract out, whichever one, and I'll build you a 15,000 to 20,000 square foot metal building. 00:07:37.850 --> 00:07:46.170 Now we're in 9,300 square feet, so we're going to double the size of our building. 00:07:46.170 --> 00:07:54.790 And he said if you'll sign a five year lease, I'll keep the lease payment the same 5,000 a month, 60,000 a year. 00:07:57.925 --> 00:08:00.980 Man, I mean my mouth dropped open. 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:02.987 I mean I thought that was God. 00:08:02.987 --> 00:08:06.000 You know, it just sounded like God. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:07.980 I wanted to do it. 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:09.466 I mean, man, why not? 00:08:09.466 --> 00:08:11.706 We'd have more parking. 00:08:11.706 --> 00:08:14.000 We're going to have more space. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.088 I mean we got room to grow a little bit. 00:08:16.088 --> 00:08:17.913 Why not? 00:08:17.913 --> 00:08:24.992 17, 18 months old, you know? 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:29.846 And so I went to the Lord about it and said, lord, now, what about this proposal? 00:08:29.846 --> 00:08:32.649 And I mean he shut it down. 00:08:32.649 --> 00:08:35.148 He said nope, that's not my plan. 00:08:35.148 --> 00:08:46.568 And he gave me permission to go look at the five acres and with the idea of buying the land and us building our own building on it. 00:08:46.568 --> 00:08:51.272 And so I went back and said, well, the Lord won't release me. 00:08:51.272 --> 00:09:00.206 I said you made a very generous offer and I really I was kind of aiming that way, but the Lord said no, I see, I talked to my landlord like he saved, even though I knew he would. 00:09:00.206 --> 00:09:05.924 I'd go on a missions trip and come back and tell him about all the miracles that happened on the missions trip. 00:09:05.924 --> 00:09:10.447 And so I just talked to him like he was saved. 00:09:10.447 --> 00:09:12.187 He'd just sit there, real respectful. 00:09:12.187 --> 00:09:17.990 He was not known in this area for being a very respect giving person. 00:09:17.990 --> 00:09:26.284 He was kind of rude and harsh and hard to deal with and tough businessman, but with me, god gave me favor with him from the very first moment. 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:30.730 So anyway, I said, look, I like your property. 00:09:30.730 --> 00:09:34.280 I said, what about the property have you got? 00:09:34.280 --> 00:09:36.769 Can I get a list of those properties? 00:09:36.769 --> 00:09:45.663 I wanna go around and we might wanna just go ahead and buy five acres, maybe 10 acres, maybe have you got something that maybe in the middle where we'd have an option. 00:09:45.663 --> 00:09:51.066 And he said, yeah, let me give you a list of these addresses, five or six of them around the area. 00:09:51.066 --> 00:09:55.989 And he said I'll finance the property for you. 00:09:55.989 --> 00:10:06.668 You know, if you need to buy the property and wait to get money for the building and all of that, I'll finance the property for you at two points above prime. 00:10:06.668 --> 00:10:11.847 Well, that's what I've been paying for 25 years as a homebuilder is two points above prime. 00:10:11.847 --> 00:10:15.961 That was a good interest rate, nothing down. 00:10:15.961 --> 00:10:18.309 I'll finance the whole thing. 00:10:18.309 --> 00:10:19.504 See, owner financing. 00:10:19.504 --> 00:10:24.664 I don't have to go out to the bank and the church had no credit because we'd never borrowed any money. 00:10:24.664 --> 00:10:26.523 Yeah, there's no. 00:10:26.523 --> 00:10:30.306 I knew that there's no way for us to go borrow money to buy land. 00:10:30.306 --> 00:10:33.369 They don't even loan money for land purchases. 00:10:33.369 --> 00:10:39.404 They loan money for buildings, as they you know land, as they don't want to fool with land. 00:10:39.404 --> 00:10:43.205 So here he is, you got favor, so I that's pretty good. 00:10:43.340 --> 00:11:22.384 So I went out and looking it was on shallow church road right over here between 1960 and the all and looking at a piece of five acre piece on the west side of the road, kind of close to shallow gun range, really right in that area, not have been just down the street from shallow and I'm looking at this five acre piece, you know, just praying and there was a couple with me, that from the church and they were with me and suddenly I look up and I see this circle with a star in the sky caught my eye and I look straight up in the blue. 00:11:22.384 --> 00:11:26.904 It says a beautiful day, sunshiny is about, I don't know, two o'clock in the afternoon. 00:11:26.904 --> 00:11:35.610 And I look up and I see this thing in the sky and the first thing I thought about was Marshall Dillon. 00:11:35.610 --> 00:11:38.447 He reminded me of Matt Dillon. 00:11:38.447 --> 00:11:39.471 You know the gun smoke. 00:11:39.471 --> 00:11:42.528 He's Marshall and it looked like a Marshall's badge. 00:11:42.528 --> 00:11:45.668 It's up there in the sky, big, a big thing. 00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:56.067 And then it came down in the lit right here in front of me on the five acres, and I'd estimate the size of it would be about the size of the center section, pretty big, pretty big thing. 00:11:56.067 --> 00:12:00.888 And I'm kind of chucked into myself and I knew the Lord knew what I was thinking. 00:12:00.888 --> 00:12:02.525 I thought, well, a new sheriff in town. 00:12:02.525 --> 00:12:03.248 What does this mean? 00:12:03.248 --> 00:12:04.926 You know, I'm trying to figure out what I'm seeing. 00:12:04.926 --> 00:12:07.186 Well, we got a new sheriff in town. 00:12:07.186 --> 00:12:18.793 I kind of chuckled to myself and then I was zoomed out away from it until the star became like a map and the capital on a map. 00:12:18.793 --> 00:12:28.481 And it looked like a map of Texas, where Austin would be, you'd have a circle with a star, or even Washington DC, you'd have a. 00:12:28.481 --> 00:12:34.802 Everywhere there's a capital, there's a special mark that denotes the capital of that state. 00:12:34.802 --> 00:12:46.044 And now I'm really at a loss and I'm saying, lord and out loud, just like this Lord, what are you saying? 00:12:46.044 --> 00:12:48.544 You're gonna make us a capital? 00:12:48.544 --> 00:13:03.787 And he just spoke two words regional center, regional center and say all these years later, I mean, it was true then, because that's what God called it a regional center. 00:13:03.899 --> 00:13:07.866 When I started thinking about what is a regional center, well, it's not a local church. 00:13:07.866 --> 00:13:10.246 A local church draws from a neighborhood or two. 00:13:10.246 --> 00:13:22.686 A local church, you know, if you've got like champion forest Baptist, champion forest Baptist, people don't drive across town to go to champion forest Baptist Because there's a hundred other Baptist churches, just like at someplace else. 00:13:22.686 --> 00:13:33.703 So they're not gonna drive, they're not gonna be loyal to champion forest when they can go to, you know, kingwood Baptist or, of course, now it's champion forest, but anyway, or now it's second Baptist, well, anyway, regardless. 00:13:33.703 --> 00:13:35.886 But see, our church was like Lakewood. 00:13:35.886 --> 00:13:39.269 Lakewood, people drew, they drew, they me. 00:13:39.269 --> 00:13:46.203 15 years, 28 miles each, 28 minutes each way to go to church four times a week. 00:13:46.203 --> 00:13:49.486 So that he said that's a regional center. 00:13:49.486 --> 00:13:52.129 It's, a regional center, is a destination. 00:13:52.129 --> 00:13:55.129 People come from every direction. 00:13:55.922 --> 00:13:56.945 How many zip codes? 00:13:56.945 --> 00:13:58.089 You looked this up recently. 00:13:58.089 --> 00:14:01.845 How many zip codes do we have in our giving thing, was it? 00:14:01.845 --> 00:14:02.547 How much was it? 00:14:02.547 --> 00:14:06.462 You don't have the number. 00:14:06.462 --> 00:14:12.883 Well, it was over 50, I know, yeah, how? 00:14:12.883 --> 00:14:20.750 About a hundred zip codes of people that give offerings to this church, 100. 00:14:20.750 --> 00:14:33.547 So I remember when we applied for the loan in this building, they wanted that number, they wanted to know a list of our donors, not the names, but they wanted the donors and they wanted the zip codes of the donors. 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:39.768 And the loan officer called me back, says there gotta be some kind of mistake. 00:14:39.768 --> 00:14:44.205 I mean, we've never seen a church with this many zip guides. 00:14:44.205 --> 00:14:50.860 Unnerved them, it unnerved them and they kind of got cold feet. 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:54.495 They thought, well, you know, that's kind of I kind of risky. 00:14:54.495 --> 00:14:55.895 I said, well, I'll do respect. 00:14:55.895 --> 00:14:59.700 I would think it's a lot more risky to loan a bunch of money to church. 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:05.356 It's got two zip codes because you don't know how quick that neighborhood is gonna go down the tubes. 00:15:05.356 --> 00:15:06.279 I live in Houston. 00:15:06.279 --> 00:15:12.839 I see places that I wouldn't wanna live in, that 10 years ago were pretty nice and now they're not. 00:15:12.839 --> 00:15:21.554 I said, when you've got this many zip codes, you're talking about a destination, you're talking about a church that's tapped into a large area. 00:15:21.554 --> 00:15:24.056 I would think that would be lower risk. 00:15:24.056 --> 00:15:34.119 With all due respect, sir, I guess it made an impression because we got the loan, but anyway, everybody say regional center. 00:15:34.119 --> 00:15:36.796 So a regional center is more. 00:15:36.796 --> 00:15:47.658 You know when we're gonna talk about these characteristics and I think you'll see that a regional center has more impact in a larger area than a typical local church. 00:15:47.658 --> 00:15:54.878 You have a different emphasis Local church, you just care about your little neighborhood. 00:15:54.878 --> 00:15:58.438 You know what have you done for our little neighborhood? 00:15:58.438 --> 00:16:00.096 Well, no, we've got a bigger neighborhood. 00:16:00.096 --> 00:16:05.278 Yeah, we care about this neighborhood, but we've gotta keep our eyes on a bigger area. 00:16:07.929 --> 00:16:17.527 And so, january 11th 2016, I went away for a little rest. 00:16:17.527 --> 00:16:22.955 Gladys and I rented a condo in Galveston for I don't know eight or 10 days. 00:16:22.955 --> 00:16:25.374 We hadn't been on a vacation, I don't even know how long. 00:16:25.374 --> 00:16:38.774 We rented a condo and got away and the kids came, you know, to see us while we were there and we just it's January, I don't mind going to the beach in January, I just I don't care about the beach anyway, I just like to look at it, I like to look at the water. 00:16:38.774 --> 00:16:48.414 We were up on the I think the condo was on the 10th floor, it was nice and I was out there and it was kind of chilly, the wind was blowing out. 00:16:48.414 --> 00:16:53.578 You know it was cold that morning in January and Galveston it's not always that comfortable. 00:16:54.029 --> 00:16:56.870 But I had my Bible and I was reading and I came. 00:16:56.870 --> 00:17:03.177 I was reading in 1 Corinthians I'm gonna get to my notes sooner or later. 00:17:03.177 --> 00:17:03.731 I don't know. 00:17:03.731 --> 00:17:11.792 I've taken a long and a rabbit trail Hope it's not a rabbit trail, all right. 00:17:11.792 --> 00:17:13.018 1 Corinthians 11. 00:17:13.018 --> 00:17:18.478 I was reading my normal reading. 00:17:18.478 --> 00:17:28.332 1 Corinthians nine, excuse me, 1 Corinthians nine. 00:17:28.332 --> 00:17:29.993 I get the right one. 00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:49.498 And so he's making a case about the apostles and so forth and how they travel, and don't they have power to eat and to drink? 00:17:49.498 --> 00:17:57.960 Have we not power to lead about a wife, a sister, a wife as well as other apostles, as a brethren of the Lord and Cephas, and so forth. 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:03.520 And then, in verse seven, he says and who goeth a warfare anytime at his own charges? 00:18:03.520 --> 00:18:08.199 Who planted the vineyard and ate it's not of the fruit thereof. 00:18:08.199 --> 00:18:11.398 Who feedeth a flock and ate it's not of the milk of the flock? 00:18:11.398 --> 00:18:12.750 Who? 00:18:12.750 --> 00:18:19.800 So the verse seven, the very first phrase who goeth a warfare at his own charges? 00:18:19.800 --> 00:18:25.422 Who goeth a warfare at his own charges? 00:18:25.422 --> 00:18:30.700 The NLT says what soldier has to pay his own expenses? 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:37.078 The message Bible are soldiers self-employed. 00:18:40.490 --> 00:18:49.335 And so God began to speak to me about this church and had basically had shown me that we had gone to war at our own expense. 00:18:49.335 --> 00:18:58.217 We would take the tithe that you bring, which is for the ministry, and we spent it on missions. 00:18:58.217 --> 00:19:04.740 We spent it on $100,000 trips to the Philippines and to India. 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:08.198 That money never came through missions. 00:19:08.198 --> 00:19:10.276 It never was enough money in a. 00:19:10.276 --> 00:19:31.798 We had missions giving, but there was no kind of any sort of giving that equaled what we spent going to the mission field, and so that started a whole long, because in 2016, I remember now 2016, see, that's beginning a Trump's campaign. 00:19:31.798 --> 00:19:37.178 I mean, they're out there, they're having the debates and he's slaughtering the rest of the field. 00:19:37.178 --> 00:19:43.157 There were 16 people running for the Republican nomination and he just chopped them all up one by one. 00:19:43.157 --> 00:19:49.557 I mean they were dying like flies until all that was left was him and Cruz. 00:19:49.557 --> 00:19:51.534 That was in March. 00:19:51.534 --> 00:19:53.936 This is January. 00:19:54.750 --> 00:20:04.038 So God is talking to me about the church and we have come up against because of the Obamas and what they did, the Democrats being in charge so long. 00:20:04.038 --> 00:20:08.733 That's that last year of Obama, I don't know if you remember. 00:20:08.733 --> 00:20:10.560 I still remember it was tough. 00:20:10.560 --> 00:20:12.849 It was tough. 00:20:12.849 --> 00:20:15.356 And money I mean everybody. 00:20:15.356 --> 00:20:41.373 It was, you know, my lender that was so generous before they started sending out signals that they had hired outside underwriters that are not preachers, that have nothing to do with the church, and they're bringing them in to and so, look, our loan papers mean they can take this church away for almost any. 00:20:41.373 --> 00:20:48.277 If they just wake up and they've got a hang nail, they can call the loan, they can put a demand on the loan. 00:20:48.277 --> 00:20:54.692 I mean we had no protection, even though we had all this huge amount of equity in the thing. 00:20:54.692 --> 00:20:59.478 I mean they only loaned us something like 25% of the loan to value. 00:20:59.478 --> 00:21:04.601 When you go buy a house, it's 80%, 75%. 00:21:04.601 --> 00:21:06.477 This church was 25%. 00:21:06.477 --> 00:21:14.714 That meant we had massive amounts of equity that was gonna be gone if they decided some morning that we didn't do everything. 00:21:14.714 --> 00:21:17.557 Just right, there was a pressure on us. 00:21:17.557 --> 00:21:19.193 Are y'all with me now? 00:21:19.769 --> 00:21:25.053 I wasn't really planning on saying all this, but anyway, here we go, all about miracles, and he's told me. 00:21:25.053 --> 00:21:39.338 He said your nation's hair's on fire, america's hair is on fire, and you've spent a whole lot of money and you took it out of the tithe and you took it out of you know, out of being able to pay the loan down, and you took it and you spent it in missions. 00:21:39.338 --> 00:21:42.098 And I'm here to tell you I don't want any more of that money going out. 00:21:42.098 --> 00:21:48.238 I want you to readjust all of your missions giving and I want you to concentrate on America. 00:21:48.238 --> 00:21:50.654 That sounds kind of crazy. 00:21:50.654 --> 00:21:55.237 If you went to a church and that's what they started saying, oh, you mean, you're getting bought in politics too. 00:21:55.237 --> 00:21:58.157 You know, the light shines further, shines brighter, as at home. 00:21:58.210 --> 00:22:01.876 If this country goes down the tubes, where do you think the missions money's gonna come from? 00:22:01.876 --> 00:22:04.798 Besides that, we were going to India and the Philippines. 00:22:04.798 --> 00:22:09.579 They don't need any more gospel preach, they've got listen, I mean Stevens from India. 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:10.010 They got. 00:22:10.010 --> 00:22:11.154 They got Steven. 00:22:11.154 --> 00:22:13.473 Wave at me Stevens on, stevens from India. 00:22:13.473 --> 00:22:18.521 I love India, but listen, they've been evangelized a thousand times over. 00:22:18.521 --> 00:22:23.499 Yeah, I know they still got lots of Muslims and Hindus that need, but they've got enough Christians there to do the job. 00:22:23.499 --> 00:22:25.175 We don't need to keep going to India. 00:22:25.175 --> 00:22:27.196 We don't sure don't need to go to Philippines. 00:22:27.196 --> 00:22:28.713 Are y'all with me now? 00:22:30.353 --> 00:22:48.375 Thank God, we're in places I won't even on this we're not live streaming but I don't even want it out for anybody to hear but we're places where the churches are underground and the people that are getting the Bible, getting the teaching, are people who have never heard the name of Jesus. 00:22:48.375 --> 00:22:52.596 That's who we're invested in and I feel so great about that. 00:22:52.596 --> 00:22:55.892 And then, besides that, then we can support Brother Mark and Trenacus. 00:22:55.892 --> 00:22:57.834 They go everywhere and they're doing a lot of. 00:22:57.834 --> 00:23:04.493 They're doing a lot of good to wake up the church and get the church on fire and get ready for this next great awakening, amen. 00:23:04.493 --> 00:23:07.557 So our soldiers are self-employed. 00:23:07.609 --> 00:23:13.338 So God said you know you need to get back to what I called you to be a regional center. 00:23:13.338 --> 00:23:20.796 I called you to get involved in your nation, and we made that adjustment. 00:23:20.796 --> 00:23:21.673 I'm gonna tell you something. 00:23:21.673 --> 00:23:25.740 I mean, you know, one of our own people stepped up to the plate. 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:33.142 He said for instance, you haven't told your people that your payments are $35,900 a month. 00:23:33.142 --> 00:23:41.099 You've gone to war at your own expense and they don't even know how much money the church is spending. 00:23:41.099 --> 00:23:48.319 I'll never forget the Sunday when I stood up and said how many of you wanna know how much our mortgage payment is. 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:51.076 I mean the air went out of the room. 00:23:51.076 --> 00:23:54.409 You might have said what? 00:23:54.409 --> 00:23:58.421 $35,900 a month. 00:23:58.421 --> 00:24:06.397 And, by the way, we're paying the loan down, paying the loan down, paying the loan down, and they're not releasing any of the property. 00:24:06.397 --> 00:24:08.837 We don't have any more property released. 00:24:08.837 --> 00:24:16.603 They gotta lean on all the property so we can't sell a piece of it. 00:24:16.603 --> 00:24:21.688 Are y'all with me now? 00:24:21.688 --> 00:24:24.318 Well, I mean, you know I made this adjustment from the scriptures. 00:24:24.318 --> 00:24:40.157 I got back to the regional center, which is an apostolic vine with a prophetic river, and when I made that adjustment, I'm telling you, one of us stood up, not publicly, but came in my office and said we wanna make the payments and we wanna add something to children church. 00:24:40.157 --> 00:24:40.872 And we wanna. 00:24:40.872 --> 00:24:42.116 And they did. 00:24:42.116 --> 00:24:52.397 And as soon as they started doing that, the pressure left us and it reared very shortly there After we got a bonafide buyer for the rest of the acreage and we've sold it and we've paid that loan off. 00:24:52.397 --> 00:24:53.771 We're debt free. 00:24:53.771 --> 00:24:54.854 Glory to God. 00:24:54.854 --> 00:24:59.242 All right. 00:24:59.242 --> 00:25:03.394 Everybody say regional center. 00:25:06.690 --> 00:25:09.159 So yeah, we're not going to war at our own expense. 00:25:09.159 --> 00:25:13.255 We let you know what money we're spending, what stuff is coming in. 00:25:13.255 --> 00:25:22.797 We told you this morning but I'm gonna tell y'all tonight is not all of you were here, but our first inaugural banquet for my God votes was last Friday night, friday week ago. 00:25:22.797 --> 00:25:27.480 Many of you helped us set it up and worked hard on it. 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:29.054 We thank you for that. 00:25:29.054 --> 00:25:36.698 We raised $82,000 plus dollars for my God votes and most of that money came from outside the church. 00:25:36.698 --> 00:25:42.258 It came from people who consider themselves partners and they couldn't have been more excited to get involved. 00:25:42.258 --> 00:25:44.236 And I know there's a lot more money. 00:25:44.236 --> 00:25:49.376 Now we've got something in our war chest where we're not going to war at our own expense. 00:25:49.376 --> 00:25:54.978 Well, I have to confess we went to war at the state Texas state capital. 00:25:54.978 --> 00:25:57.739 We financed all of that out of the church. 00:25:57.739 --> 00:26:00.558 We let you know, we told you that we were doing it. 00:26:00.558 --> 00:26:16.317 But now that we're going to Oklahoma and it's going on to be the third service tomorrow night, and then we're waiting for Louisiana to get taken care of and we'll have that state on up and running. 00:26:16.317 --> 00:26:25.536 Well, we've got a little war chest now that we can front the cost of starting that up, and then each state can raise their own money. 00:26:26.798 --> 00:26:27.480 Are you with me now? 00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:30.955 So, uzziah, let's get back to the. 00:26:30.955 --> 00:26:32.621 Where am I on time? 00:26:32.621 --> 00:26:33.894 Oh, I got plenty of time. 00:26:33.894 --> 00:26:35.473 Has anybody got an appointment? 00:26:35.473 --> 00:26:36.657 They need to leave right now. 00:26:36.657 --> 00:26:38.153 Go ahead and leave. 00:26:39.089 --> 00:26:44.901 No, I don't think that Uzziah is one of the good Kings. 00:26:44.901 --> 00:26:55.038 52 years he reigned, he did that which was good and right in the sight of God, and he had the mighty prophet Zechariah to advise him. 00:26:55.038 --> 00:26:58.057 Somebody that had some seasoning. 00:26:58.057 --> 00:26:59.993 You know you're 16, you don't know squat. 00:26:59.993 --> 00:27:01.773 And here's the King. 00:27:01.773 --> 00:27:04.997 So you know you gotta have somebody. 00:27:04.997 --> 00:27:08.076 And of course, you know we've got Biden. 00:27:08.076 --> 00:27:13.354 He's 87 or 80, whatever he is, 110 or whatever he is, and he doesn't know anything. 00:27:13.354 --> 00:27:16.917 So it doesn't matter how old you are, young, you are All right. 00:27:18.509 --> 00:27:39.517 So, as long as he sought the Lord, as long as he was hot and devout, as long as he made in treaty, as long as he worshiped, as long as he was searching and questioning God, humility, depending on God, the Lord made him to prosper. 00:27:39.517 --> 00:27:44.458 Prosper is an apostolic term. 00:27:44.458 --> 00:27:49.782 Prosper is part of the tool chest, of an apostolic work. 00:27:49.782 --> 00:28:09.402 Really, you know, I don't have time to teach all of it, but it's pioneering, it's trailblazing, it's breakthrough, it's gathering, it's assembling, it's distribution. 00:28:09.402 --> 00:28:12.428 That's apostolic. 00:28:12.428 --> 00:28:18.117 As long as he sought the Lord, god caused him to, god made him to prosper. 00:28:18.117 --> 00:28:19.400 Listen to what prosper means. 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:32.839 It means to break out, to push forward, to come mightily, to go over, to be profitable and to make wealth or to send wealth. 00:28:32.839 --> 00:29:07.301 As long as he sought the Lord, as long as he didn't forget who put him in place, as long as he knew and was connected to God Kind of talked about that this morning, about having your prayers answered, and so the results of his fervent inquiry, his pressing in just think about somebody. 00:29:07.342 --> 00:29:14.233 I mean we're going to read about some of the things that he got involved with and you know, my goodness, I mean it seems like he could just sit back. 00:29:14.233 --> 00:29:14.895 He's the king. 00:29:14.895 --> 00:29:15.817 What does he have to do? 00:29:15.817 --> 00:29:23.411 But when we start reading about all the things that he accomplished, it's because he sought the Lord and the Lord put these things on his plate to get it to accomplish. 00:29:23.411 --> 00:29:30.424 I mean, you can't just sit back and drink wine and have your feet sitting on the stool and hold court all day long. 00:29:30.424 --> 00:29:32.107 I want you busy. 00:29:35.034 --> 00:29:37.719 By the way, god never wanted Israel to have a king. 00:29:37.719 --> 00:29:40.525 That wasn't his perfect will for that nation. 00:29:40.525 --> 00:29:42.669 He wanted to be Israel's king. 00:29:42.669 --> 00:29:49.480 He did not want people in this position to where they would get so filled with power that it would go to their head. 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:54.787 And it did go to his head eventually, unfortunately so. 00:29:54.787 --> 00:30:04.500 But the results of his fervent ministry and the anointing on him, the king anointing, say only three anointings in the Old Testament the priest, the prophet and the king. 00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:11.997 The king couldn't do what the priest did, the priest couldn't do what the king did, and the prophet stood for God. 00:30:11.997 --> 00:30:13.519 The prophet spoke for God. 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:23.316 When they wanted to hear from God, they had to hear the prophet speak, and so those did not interlock, they did not cross. 00:30:23.316 --> 00:30:26.278 You couldn't be both. 00:30:26.278 --> 00:30:31.792 So apostolic characteristics. 00:30:31.792 --> 00:30:36.851 Let's pick it up now Back in the second Chronicles 26. 00:30:36.851 --> 00:30:39.214 Go back there. 00:30:39.214 --> 00:30:44.525 I turned over to 1 Corinthians, but second Chronicles 26. 00:30:44.525 --> 00:30:56.441 And we'll start reading the verse six at some of the results of his seeking the Lord and the fact that he was anointed to be the king of Israel. 00:30:56.441 --> 00:30:58.990 All right, verse six. 00:31:00.313 --> 00:31:03.721 So talking about Uzziah, pastor, I don't understand. 00:31:03.721 --> 00:31:04.362 He's a king. 00:31:04.362 --> 00:31:05.525 How can it be apostolic? 00:31:05.525 --> 00:31:09.353 Well, he's a, he's a type and a shadow of the apostolic. 00:31:09.353 --> 00:31:11.699 You see, the king was that. 00:31:11.699 --> 00:31:14.525 You know we already read those words with God prosperity. 00:31:14.525 --> 00:31:15.987 All right. 00:31:15.987 --> 00:31:16.808 So verse six. 00:31:17.369 --> 00:31:34.559 So Uzziah, he went forth and warred against the Philistines and he broke down the wall of Gath and he and the wall of Jabani and the wall of Ashdod See, gath was where the giant was from. 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:37.407 These are cities of giants. 00:31:37.407 --> 00:31:41.673 He broke the wall down. 00:31:41.673 --> 00:31:42.375 What does that mean? 00:31:42.375 --> 00:31:44.979 It meant it took away their defense. 00:31:44.979 --> 00:31:51.574 When a city lost its walls, it could not protect itself and that meant it perished. 00:31:51.574 --> 00:31:54.898 The enemy would come and overflow the city. 00:31:54.898 --> 00:32:04.179 The only way the city could survive was behind walls, where you could shoot from the top of the wall and you had to have an impenetrable wall. 00:32:04.525 --> 00:32:21.907 And I went all over Israel and I had a Moshe I can't think of his last name, but he was a former general in the IDF tank commander, colonel excuse me, colonel in the IDF, as wounded in the Six Day War. 00:32:21.907 --> 00:32:37.218 His tank was stuck in one of the gates and the gates are not designed for tanks, they're designed for camels and when he was stuck in that gate, the Arabs shelled his tank and he was in a coma for like six months. 00:32:37.218 --> 00:32:38.866 It was a miracle that he survived. 00:32:38.866 --> 00:32:40.088 He was an interesting guy. 00:32:40.630 --> 00:32:57.770 He came and visited, sat right there in our section one time, but he taught us about walls and about gates to the city and how gates originally were easily breached and once the gate of the city was breached, the city was gone. 00:32:57.770 --> 00:33:01.358 And we went to city after city, nothing but the ruins. 00:33:01.358 --> 00:33:19.471 And he would describe why because this gate wasn't, it was old, and so they went through this whole convoluted thing where they I mean, you know, if you've got a gate like this and you've got this big tree and you've got a bunch of guys running toward that gate, you can break right through with a big old tree on your shoulder. 00:33:19.471 --> 00:33:25.848 That's what they would do Once they broke through the gate that was over, the army would go in and wipe them out. 00:33:25.848 --> 00:33:37.201 So they turned the gate to where it was sideways Now you can't get a running start, see and they made it narrow, so you'd have to go through like this. 00:33:37.201 --> 00:33:44.277 You have to go through the front of the gate of the city, you'd have to go serpentine, and that way that took away all the power to get in there. 00:33:44.277 --> 00:33:45.519 It was interesting. 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:50.651 So so here in verse six, he had warfare. 00:33:50.651 --> 00:33:59.080 He warred against cities and then he built cities about Ashdod and among the Philistines he built cities. 00:33:59.765 --> 00:34:04.230 So apostolic characteristics is warfare. 00:34:04.230 --> 00:34:10.119 In the New Testament I read out of 1 Corinthians, chapter nine who goes to warfare? 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:11.961 Who goes to war at their own expense? 00:34:11.961 --> 00:34:18.188 Warfare is really apostolic, really apostolic lifestyle. 00:34:18.188 --> 00:34:33.541 It implies danger, it implies persecution, it implies confronting principalities and powers and rulers of darkness of this present age and wicked spirits in heavenly places. 00:34:33.541 --> 00:34:39.974 Think about us opening worship in a state capital where we don't live. 00:34:39.974 --> 00:34:44.106 Think about opening. 00:34:44.146 --> 00:34:45.969 See, that's what God showed me capitals. 00:34:45.969 --> 00:34:47.329 He showed me a capital. 00:34:47.329 --> 00:34:49.192 He said regional center. 00:34:49.192 --> 00:35:00.146 I'm telling you, we are living out what God said to me 29 years ago Come on, lift your hands right now. 00:35:00.146 --> 00:35:02.550 I mean, we could go home right now, probably should. 00:35:02.550 --> 00:35:09.646 It's getting late, but I didn't plan this. 00:35:09.646 --> 00:35:10.847 I had no idea. 00:35:10.847 --> 00:35:13.251 In fact, if I'd have known, I probably would have run the other way. 00:35:13.251 --> 00:35:18.338 To be honest with you, he knew I couldn't take it, so he hid it. 00:35:18.338 --> 00:35:34.186 So the defeat of enemies, the breaking down barriers, occupying territory, releasing regions for the kingdom of God by confronting demon powers, that's exactly what we're doing and that's what he did. 00:35:34.186 --> 00:35:42.813 He broke down the walls, he confronted demonic powers and he claimed property. 00:35:42.813 --> 00:35:44.213 He built cities. 00:35:44.213 --> 00:35:46.356 I mean, he went forward. 00:35:46.356 --> 00:35:47.456 Are y'all with me now? 00:35:47.456 --> 00:35:53.668 Building cities, places of habitation, churches and ministries? 00:35:55.940 --> 00:35:59.023 I think about the work we've done in Malawi, man, just this one church. 00:35:59.023 --> 00:36:00.108 We've been 16 years. 00:36:00.108 --> 00:36:03.059 We've been 16 years involved with that ministry. 00:36:03.059 --> 00:36:04.905 They were about to fall apart. 00:36:04.905 --> 00:36:10.367 When we first met them, I mean it was in bad shape. 00:36:10.367 --> 00:36:11.503 They couldn't hardly. 00:36:11.503 --> 00:36:16.900 The children were so malnourished that they could barely learn anything. 00:36:16.900 --> 00:36:25.429 And the first year after we started sending them the meals, I mean they perked up and they started scoring at the highest levels of Malawi, the country of Malawi. 00:36:25.429 --> 00:36:37.385 They're the smartest kids in the whole country and we've been over there so long that now their kids, when they graduate, some of them come back, and now they come back to work in their own orphanage and they're running the place. 00:36:37.385 --> 00:36:39.987 They had their last pastor's meeting. 00:36:39.987 --> 00:36:42.182 They had last, I don't know when it was. 00:36:42.182 --> 00:36:46.226 They had something like 500 pastors at their pastor's meetings. 00:36:46.226 --> 00:36:50.230 They never had a pastor's meeting before. 00:36:51.619 --> 00:36:52.344 Are y'all with me now? 00:36:52.344 --> 00:36:55.322 All right, verse seven. 00:36:55.322 --> 00:36:58.445 I'm not gonna finish this, but I just wanna give you a flavor. 00:36:58.445 --> 00:37:09.971 And God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurabel and the Mahunim's were giants. 00:37:09.971 --> 00:37:12.106 God helped him. 00:37:12.106 --> 00:37:21.014 God helped him See supernatural aid against regional powers. 00:37:21.119 --> 00:37:22.666