504: The Deposit

Pierre: It is my absolute

privilege this morning to introduce

to you Andres Spyker. He has been a

friend of Marlize and I, he and his

beautiful wife, and their lovely family,

for the last, I think, four years.

And it is wonderful when you meet

people and when you meet them it feels

like you've known each all your lives.

You know, it's like you've been

separated at birth. Then you come

together and you go like, we know

each other! I know we do!

And I've had the privilege to be at

his church twice and it is just the

most incredible experience. I am so

thankful every time we get together

with them. The residue and the

investment of what comes and flows out

of their life is so rich. It always

leaves us transformed and changed.

So I am so excited to call Andres to

come and deliver God's word.

Would you put your hands together as

we welcome Pastor Andres! (applause)

Andres: Thank you! How you doin'?

Man, this is a good day,no?!

I don't like the cold but God bless

you guys as you endure with it a few

more months. We're just real happy,

my wife, Kelly, and myself, to be here!

We live in Mexico!

Morelia, Michoacán, México.

Buenos tacos! (laughter)

Beunas enchilldas! Tortillas!

You know those words?! And we have

the privilege of pastoring a church.

Many of you were familiar with the

name, Vida Abundante, abundant life.

Now we've changed the name a little bit,

Mas Vida, more life. You know there

are so many abundant life's in Mexcio,

we didn't want to ruin their reputation

with our weirdness or something like

that! So we are opening other churches.

And please receive greetings from the

church and also from my family.

I want to show you a little picture of

my beautiful family. Kelly and I have

been married for about, almost 14 years.

And those are our three kids.

Jared is 11 years old.

And that guy, that guy is awesome.

That guy is like a theologian.

That guy just loves the word and

reads it all the time and asks

crazy, hard questions. And he is a

drummer and just an amazing, amazing guy.

And then Lucas, that guy, you know we

started fasting a few weeks ago and

Jared is like, I'm gonna fast

PlayStation. And I'm gonna fast candy.

And I'm gonna fast this and that.

And Lucas looks at me and he's like,

I don't wanna fast! You know, that guy

just doesn't. But you know he loves

Jesus. He had an encounter with Jesus

in December so beautiful and powerful.

Jared got baptized. Lucas really had

a really, just giving his life over

to Jesus in December. The most

beautiful thing that can happen in

your family is not the kind of education

or house you give them, but the kind of

spiritual life that you give them in

Jesus. And when they become followers

of God. And Sophia, Sophia Kelly.

She just turned 1 year old in December.

She's just an amazing little girl.

She is the life of our party.

And she is bright and beautiful.

We're so blessed to have three amazing,

beautiful children. I'd like you to

receive just a greeting from them all.

I want to ask you to help me thank God

for such a wonderful family He's given me.

It's a real privilege to be here.

I want to thank your pastors,

Pierre and Marlize. They are our friends.

There are really few people that we can

just open up with and be ourselves with

and count as friends in the kingdom

of God. Pierre and Marlize and their

family are just amazing examples to us

and amazing friends to us. You guys have

awesome pastors! (applause)

You guys have awesome pastors, you

really do! You guys are part of something

amazing. You know, what is happening

here at The Father's House is an

absolute miracle in upstate, cold,

freezing, Rochester, New York!

Oh my goodness! And this is happening

here, you know? And sometimes you're

part of it every week and every month

and you just loose the awe of what

God is doing. And I'm telling you,

ever be thankful and amazed and just

honor God for the amazing miracle of

The Father's House and Pierre and Marlize

all the way from South Africa. God

brought them just to bless your life

and change this region! Just be

thankful for the Lord to it and

amazed at the miracle of God that He is

doing in this place! Could I hear a

louder applause for the Lord, and just

a big thank you for God?! (applause)

Come on, that's just awesome!

Can you continue playing while I read

the verses and then you can stop?

Doesn't he play awesome? (applause)

I'm like, in offering time the jazz is

going on and I'm like, yeah! I don't

have to preach, I just want to listen

to this the rest of half hour.

So we're going to read in Exodus 3:10.

A few weeks ago Pastor Pierre talked to

you about how Moses was attracted to

the burning bush. And he took time.

He paused in his life and went to look

at what was happening there. And God

spoke to him and encountered him there.

You know, this is part of that encounter,

Exodus 3:10. It says come. The Lord is

talking to Moses. I will send you.

Why don't you touch the shoulder of

three people and tell them, I will

send you. God will send you. Tell them,

God will send you! God will send you!

It says God will send you to Pharaoh that

you may bring my people, the children

of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said

to God, who am I that I should go to

Pharaoh and bring the children of

Israel out of Egypt? He said, but I

will be with you. And this shall be

the sign for you that I have sent you.

When you have brought the people out

of Egypt you shall serve God on this

mountain. Then Moses said to God,

if I come to the people of Israel and

say to them, the God of your fathers

has sent me to you, and they ask me,

what is His name? What shall I say to

them? God said to Moses, I am who I am.

And He said, say to those people of

Israel, I am has sent me to you.

God also said to Moses, say this to

the people of Israel, the Lord, the God

of your fathers, the God of Abraham,

the God of Issac, the God of Jacob,

the God of Andres, the God of Pierre,

the God of (insert your name here),

has sent me to you. And this is My name

forever. And thus, I am to be

remembered throughout all generations.

Let's jump to Exodus 4:1. Then Moses

answered, but behold they will not believe

me or listen to my voice. For they will

say, the Lord did not appear to you.

And the Lord said to him, what is that

in your hand? He said, a staff.

He said, throw it on the ground.

So he threw it on the ground and it

became a snake, a serpent. And Moses

ran from it. I would've run too!

But the Lord said to Moses, put out

your hand and catch it by the tail.

So he put out his hand and caught it,

and it became a staff in his hand.

That they may believe that the Lord,

the God of their fathers, the God of

Abraham, the God of Issac, and the God

of Jacob, and the God of Andres,

and the God of Pierre, and the God

of (insert your name here) has appeared

to you. But Moses said to the Lord,

O my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in

the past or since you have spoken to

your servant. But I am slow of speech

and of tongue. And I stutter. And I'm

like that guy on the cartoons that

says, tha, tha, tha, that's is all folks!

Then the Lord said to him, who has made

man's mouth? Who makes them mute or

deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not

I, the Lord? Now therefore, go.

And I will be with you and teach you

what you shall speak. Jesus, we thank

You so much for Your cross, Your blood,

Your resurrection. Faith in You

reconciles us to God the father.

And we thank You for that life and

reconciliation and blessing and

abundant life You've given us.

And I also thank You for this morning.

I thank You for this beautiful church.

Thank You for the privilege of sharing

Your word. I pray for a fresh anointing

on my life, anointing upon my lips,

anointing for the people who are

hearing us in this place and online and

in other cities and in Africa, Lord.

I pray for anointing on the ears.

I pray that Your word would cause

the purposes for which You have sent it.

In Jesus' name. And we all said, Amen!

So here's Moses. Thank you, thank you

very much. Denis is awesome! (applause)

So here's Moses. He grew up, you know

he was born in an Israeli-Jewish home in

Egypt. And Pharaoh wanted to kill

Israeli boys. So when he was born

his mom hide him in basket, put him

in a river, and you know the story.

He gets adopted by Pharaoh's daughter,

grows up in the castle. And then one

day when he is about 40 years old he

wants to make a difference. How many of

you this morning want to make a

difference? How many of you want to

make a difference in your family?

You want to make a difference in

your work place. And make a difference

in your college. And make a difference

in your high school. And make a

difference in your neighborhood.

Moses wanted to make a difference.

And so he stood up one day, and he saw

somebody being abused by one of the

Egyptians and he tried to stand in

the way and make a difference. And he

stood in the way and he ended up killing

that Egyptian guy, and ended up being

a criminal and running from Pharaoh.

And he tried to make the difference.

He tried to make God's mission,

he tried to do God's will in his own

power, and failed completely.

How many of you have experienced that?

You know, you try to fix your marriage

and it just gets worse! You know?

You try to fix your kids and they just get

worse. Man. You know, you try to fix

things at work. We cannot do the work

of God in our strength. You know we

cannot do God's mission on man's power.

It just cannot happen. So Moses tries

to change things in his power and

fails miserably and ends up running from

justice. And he is now in a desert and

he is now working for his father-in-law.

How many of you say that's an awesome

blessing, working for your father-in-law?

And he's attending to sheep.

If you work for your father-in-law,

I bless you. I was just joking.

You know, don't feel rejected or

upset by that. And he was pastoring

this flock. And you know, an

Egyptian, the lowest job in Egypt was

to work with sheep or cattle. That was

the lowest job in Egypt. And so this

guy has the lowest job in society.

He is working for his father-in-law in

a desert, shut out from society.

Just failed miserably at being the

difference. And there he is. He just

didn't want to do anything else with

his life, just walking around and

figuring out what to do that day.

He didn't have any more ambitions of

doing any great things with his life.

And you know, God shows up to him one

day. And He says, I have a mission

for you. I want to send you to go

rescue people, rescue My people from

slavery in Egypt. And I want to tell

you something today. God not only sent

Jesus to forgive your sins. God not

only sent Jesus to reconcile you to

the Father. God not only sent Jesus

to give you eternal life and abundant

life. God sent Jesus to give you an

eternal mission! Got has sent you on

a mission. And you know, the thing is,

we cut the gospel short.

Jesus loves you.

Jesus forgives you.

Jesus restores you.

Jesus has a ticket for you to heaven.

And we stop right there.

But when Jesus ended his commandments

to His disciples before he ascended,

He said, go and make disciples into

all nations. And make disciples in

Rochester. And go and make disciples

in New York. And make disciples in

Africa. And make disciples everywhere.

And the problem is, since we cut the

gospel short, we only experience part

of the gospel, when we are to experience

the full gospel! We need to understand

there is a mission for our lives.

And the mission for your life is to

make disciples. I didn't hear anybody

say Amen right there! You don't know,

brother. God has called me to just

be a mom. God has called me to be

a business man. God has called me

to be a college student. God has

called me just to be a soccer player.

No, God has called me just to sing in

the choir. God has called me to open

the door at your church. No, that is

your place of service. That is your

place of vocation. But your mission

is to make disciples in that place.

You are to make disciples of your

children, that your children would

become disciples of Jesus Christ.

Maybe you're a young guy and you're the

only Christian in your home.

And you're like, well my parents should

make disciples of me. No, no. You

can make disciples of your parents of

Jesus Christ! I didn't hear too many

young people convinced of that.

You know, young people can love and

obey and honor their parents in such

a way that would shake their parents

up to want to follow Jesus. If God

can make my kid into an obedient,

faithful, loving, honoring kid, sixteen

years old. Doesn't argue with me,

doesn't overspend my credit card,

works to clean my car every week,

honors me all the time, obeys.

Jesus has to be doing something in that

kid's life! So a kid can actually

make a disciple of his dad and make a

disciple of his mom to follow

Jesus Christ. Is somebody here today?!

And so the mission for your life is

not what you do at work or what you

do at home or what you do at church.

That's your place of service.

Your mission is to make disciples in

every place that you live and work and

play and study and do life. So your

mission is to make disciples of your

neighborhood, not just live there.

Your mission is to make disciples in

your work place, not just work there.

Your mission is to make disciples of

people in your home, not just to live

there and eat there and use a toilet

there. Your mission is to make

disciples in your school. It is not

just to study there. Is there somebody

following this or not? So Moses is

just going about, around his life.

And he's like, everything is fine.

And I can do life without God.

And the problem is, in America we can

do life without God. You know, you

can have a good job and work and do

life and pay for your kid's education,

and just do normal. Everybody can

do life without God. But you cannot

serve God without God! You cannot

accomplish God's mission without God.

So when God tells Moses, Moses, I don't

just want you to do life, I want you

to rescue people. Then Moses says,

oh man, who am I to do that?

You know my past.

You know where I came from and

what happened to me and how people

tried to kill me. And them I'm adopted.

And then this. And then I tried.

And then I killed someone.

Now I'm running. You know who I am!

Who am I? And I love the answer of

the Lord, because God does not

psychoanalyze Moses. He doesn't say,

well, let's take you back to your

past. Remember the time you were in

that basket. Is your inner child crying?

You know? He doesn't psychoanalyze him.

He says Moses, I know who you are.

But if you read it, it says but

I will be with you! It is irrelevant

where you've been or what you've done

or how you've done it. I want to use

all that as part of my plan, but that is

no problem for Me. I am with you!

So as we're talking about the deposit

today, I'm telling you the first thing

you need to make disciples in your

home and your work and the place where

you study and you play and you live,

the first thing you need is a deposit

of God's presence in your life!

It is irrelevant if you've messed up

or failed or if you're a great or a

bad businessman, or a great or a bad

mom. All that stuff has already passed.

It won't help you to make disciples

of your children or of your friends

or co-workers. What you need is a

deposit of the presence of God in

your life! You need to know that He

is dwelling within you. Is somebody

here today?! That's why Jesus told

His disciples, you will receive power

when you receive the Holy Spirit. And

you will be feeling butterflies on

Sunday morning. You will feel nice

and warm and fuzzy when you put

worship music on. That's not what,

God will make you feel like that,

your body has reactions to supernatural

power. When you touch a plug in the

wall, you're gonna get reactions!

So of course you're going to have

reactions to supernatural power.

But the main point is not for you to

have a reaction to a supernatural

power. The point is that the supernatural

power will help you accomplish a

supernatural mission! And until you

understand that you are put on this

earth to make disciples, you won't have

any need for a strong deposit of

the presence of God. But the moment

you understand, man, I just can't live

in my home. I just can't feed my kids

and take them to school. God has

called me to make them disciples of

Jesus. God, I need You! I don't

know where to start. I need You!

Who am I? You know my past and my

broken life and my dysfunctional

family. Who am I to make disciples of

my kids. God says, don't worry about it.

I will be with you! My presence will

be with you! And the deposit of God's

presence will help you accomplish that

which He has called you to do.

Is somebody here this morning?!

So Moses says, who am I?

And God says, irrelevant! I will give

you My presence. The deposit of

presence. Somebody say it with me,

the deposit of presence. And then

Moses says, okay, well, who are You then?

Who do I tell them sent me? You are

with me, but I don't know You.

They don't know You. Who are You?

Because Moses understood he didn't

only need a deposit of God's presence,

he needed a deposit of the knowledge

of God. He needed a deposit of that

covenant with God. And listen to what

I am going to say. I am amazed at

the answer of God when Moses asked Him,

what is Your name. God tells Moses,

I am who I am. And that doesn't

help anybody. Okay, You are. I get it.

You're too big for a name. You just are.

But who are You? He says, I am

the God of Abraham, of Issac, of Jacob.

The eternal, uncreated, all-powerful

God linked His name to broken people.

He says I am the God of Abraham.

Have you ever read the story of Abraham?

That guy, that guy was a fearful, little

man. They would come to a kingdom,

and he's like, you're not my wife,

you're my sister. You're not my wife,

you're my sister, okay? You too

beautiful. They will kill me if they

think you're my wife. You're my

sister, okay? Okay. But Abraham

had a covenant with God. Abraham was

fearful. He had all kinds of problems

with his life. He was walking and

living the life God had for him.

He wasn't living his own life.

That is why in Corinthians, Paul says

in II Corinthians 5, he says, in the

life we live we live now for Him.

He says we don't live for us.

We live for Him who died for us and

was raised. Many of us just want

God to fix the lives we live for

ourselves. But we gotta live for God.

And that's why Abraham is linked to

God's name. The God of Abraham.

Because Abraham stopped living for

himself and started living for God.

You know, having a covenant with Jesus

is not just believing that He died on

a cross for you. That's why when

Peter preached to the people who were

listening to him in Acts 2, he didn't

say, O repent, and He will forgive you.

He said, repent and be baptized.

Repent and follow Jesus.

Because a covenant requires the blood

of Jesus and requires your full and

total commitment to Jesus Christ.

You know, you can be a broken person

but you can be following Jesus, you know?

God somehow has to not just be the

God of Abraham and the God of Pierre

and the God of those people who God

uses. God has to be YOUR God, the

God you depend on, your personal

covenantal God. I remember when we

were going to start ministry and my

grandparents. You know, my grandmother

came to the mission field back in 1948.

And my grandma and grandpa, they started

orphanages and churches. And they

saw massive miracles. Many times they

wouldn't have food to feed the kids

except for a few beans and a few

tortillas. And my grandma tells me,

you know, I saw how God multiplied the

food right before my eyes. And we fed

dozens of kids everyday. Miracles!

And I saw miracles happen for my dad.

We were a 250 member church. And God

told my dad, buy that piece of land

on the outskirts of town. It was worth

like the value of 32 midsized homes.

I mean, impossible. 250 people for

millions. We were like, how are we

going to do that? That is crazy!

But God came through. You know?

Kids sold toys and people sold their

bikes and their cars and their houses.

It was just amazing. So all of the

sudden, now Kelly and I are going to

become pastors. And I'm like,

O Lord, You were with my grandparents.

You were with my parents and Kelly's

parents. But I need You to be my God

now. Because now I've got a mission.

When you realize that you in school

are just there to be a nice Christian

and see no evil, hear no evil,

speak no evil, protect yourself.

The kingdom is not a protected kingdom.

It is an offensive kingdom.

That's why the gates of hell

will not prevail! Gates aren't an

attack. Gates are defense. The devil

is defending. You are attacking.

So you're not at school defending

yourself. You are at school taking

over that school for Jesus!

You're taking that workplace for Jesus.

You're at home taking that home.

And so that requires, when you say

my goodness, I have a mission to change

my world, then you're like, God,

I need You! I need to know You!

I need the deposit of Your presence.

I need a deposit of the knowledge of

who You are. You need to be my God.

I want to live for You!

I want to see the miracles in my

life also! Does this make sense or no?

So Moses gets the deposit of the

presence of God, the deposit of the

knowledge of God throughout his life.

You see later on, if you read Moses'

story, God says, Moses is My friend.

He knows Me. You know? I speak to

him face to face. He is the meekest

man on earth. And Moses figures out

his identity, not because he's

psychoanalyzed himself, but because

he met God. Moses figured out his

identity because he accomplished

God's mission and got a deposit of God.

So somebody say with me, a deposit of

the presence of God. A deposit of

the knowledge of God. God has to be

my God. Why don't you tap three people

on the shoulders and say, God has to

be your God. God has to be your

personal covenantal God if you're going

to change your world. I just want to

hear again, is there somebody in the

room who wants to change their world

around them? Does somebody here want

to change their world in their family

and in their workplace and in the place

where they study? So then Moses asked

another question. He says, how will

they believe me, that You sent me?

Okay, you know? You're with me.

I'm gonna be knowing You.

I know You. I'm gonna live for You.

I'm gonna leave my family behind.

I'm gonna know You.

But how will they believe me,

that You sent me? And God says, well,

what is in your hand? He says, a staff.

So he threw it to the floor and it

became a snake. Put your hand in

your cloak. He took it out and

he had leprosy. His fingers were

falling off and stuff. Put it back

in and it was healed. And if that

doesn't work, He says, I'll give you

other signs like water turning into

blood and other stuff like that.

And so how many guys here would

think it would be cool at their workplace

to call your friends into the office.

Or maybe you do construction and call

them onto the site, the construction

site, and grab a 2 x 4 and say, guys,

I want to talk to you about Jesus, guys.

See this stick? Bam! A big cobra.

Or maybe 2 out of the 10, whoa!!

I believe, I believe.

You pick it up again. You guys didn't

believe? Okay, now your hand is all

full of leprosy. How many of you

think that would be at least cool?

Right. That would be pretty cool.

So Jesus comes along and He doesn't

give us sticks to turn into snakes or

water to turn into blood or hands

to be full of leprosy. He says, heal

the sick, deliver the oppressed.

He says, but above all, let me give

you a sign, he says. And it's right

here in John 34. It says, Jesus says

a new commandment I give to you, that

you love one another just as I have

loved you. How much more do you and

I have to learn to love if we are

supposed to love people the way Jesus

loves us? He says, you are to love

one another. By this, verse 35, by this

all people will know that you are My

disciples. If you have love for one

another. The main sign that Jesus has

given us to show people that He is

real is when we love one another.

A healthy, loving marriage is a sign

more powerful than cancer being healed.

I've had people be healed of cancer and

they fall away from the Lord.

Because a healing will impress you

for awhile, but love will change you

forever. A loving, faithful marriage

is a sign. A loving family is a sign.

A son who honors his dad.

A dad who honors his son.

A mom who loves her kids.

And kids who love mom.

A guy who rejects criticism and slander

and talking bad about people at work

that loves and embraces people.

A loving church as you are in.

Not a perfect. Because love cannot

be proved if there is not hurt.

So we hurt each other and there is

junk that goes on and stuff.

But love forgives all things.

Love heals all things.

Love expects the best out of us,

even when we have done our worst

in the past. And a loving church

and a loving family and a loving

college student and a loving kid

and a loving mom, that is the sign

that Jesus is real! No?!

My dad grew up in a missionary

pastor's home, a very dysfunctional

home. My grandfather left his family

when my dad was 13 years old. And he

left and hung out with, I don't know,

5, 8, 10 more ladies. I don't know.

And broke my dad's heart. My dad was

so angry he wanted to kill my

grandfather. That was his life's mission

at 13 years old. This 13-year old kid is

living to kill. And at 16 the Holy Spirit

visits my dad, baptizes him with love.

My dad says, I felt the love of God

running through my body, literally,

he says. At that moment I was healed.

I forgave my dad. Now my dad, from

being a hateful, 13-year old kid, is a

loving man. My mom has suffered from

mental illness, depression, bipolar

and other stuff that I don't wish on my

worst enemy. And for those who live

close to a person like that, it is a

challenge. And my dad has stood by

my mom like a rock. He has loved her

more than loving ministry. He has

loved her and stood by her. Now in

my grandfather's later years of life,

he's dying. Nobody wants to care

for him because he was such a mean guy.

Now my dad cares for him.

My dad has brought him back to the Lord

and has cared for him for the last

few years, and takes him to the doctor,

and pays his bills and makes sure he is

getting watched over. And I'm telling

you something. If someone can help

me on the piano. I could argue with

my dad about God. I used to argue

about his mistakes and his flaws

when I was running from the Lord.

But I could never argue with the

love of God in his life. I could

never argue with the faithfulness

he showed to my mom and the love he

showed to us and to other people.

Because you might not have a powerful

gifting, but you have a powerful

God that lives within you. And the

deposit of God and the deposit of the

knowledge of God, and the deposit of

the love of God will help you change

your world. When your kids see the

way you love, when your parents see

the way you love, when your co-workers

see the way you love, you will start

making a difference. Tell the three

people next to you, the deposit of

the love of God. Come on, tell

somebody. We need the deposit of the

love of God. You know, I just want

to briefly mention the last question

Moses asked. Moses said, how will I

speak. Say it with me. How will

I speak? You know, we sometimes think

that talking about Jesus or evangelism

is just learning how to say,

Jesus loves you. Or it is learning

the Roman's Road. Or learning how

to lead somebody step by step into

receiving Christ. But really,

evangelism has more to do with what

we say in our everyday lives.

Because we've adopted the language

of hate and the language of criticism

and the language of negativity and

the language of disbelief and the

language of suspicion. But when you

and I study the word of God, and this

is the deposit of the word of God.

God tells Moses, I know that you are

slow to speak. You are not the best

to talk. But let me tell you

something, I will be with your mouth.

And I will teach you what to say.

One of the biggest and greatest

deposits of God in someone's life is

the way that they submit their voice

and their words to Jesus. When

somebody talks like Jesus, you know

they've got a deposit of Jesus in

their life. You know Jesus wasn't

always talking about him being the

savior. He was talking about

different things about life. But his

language was a language of faith,

a language of love, a language of

truth, a language of righteousness,

a language of hope, a language of

positive faith in God. And His

language impacted people. People said,

this guy doesn't talk like the

scribes and the pharisees who just

talk religion. This guy has authority

when He talks about stuff! When He

talks about marriage, He has authority.

When he talks about kids, He has

authority. When he talks about

government, He has authority.

His language is different.

His words are different.

And that's why it is not just about

21 days and fasting and coming to

chapel, which is so awesome.

But that is just the doorway into

a greater deposit of God all this

year, every day, every week, every

year. It is just a doorway, you know?

I don't know how many of you are

married here today. Do you remember

when you carried your wife to the

entrance of that honeymoon room?

That was a little delayed.

I'll give you another opportunity, guys.

How many of you remember carrying

your bride to that honeymoon room?!

Whatever. You know, you didn't just

go like, Bam! Throw her in there and

ooh, this is a nice door.

I'll wait here at the door.

What a beautiful room.

This door is nice. No, you had

to get in through that door and

have fun. You know, the stuff that

we experience at church is not the

fullness of Jesus. It is an invitation

to Jesus. The word on Sunday is an

invitation to study the word.

That is why we take notes and that is

why we try to dig in deeper.

Because it is only the door.

You don't want to live at the door.

You want to live inside!

Fasting in this beginning of the year

is not the fullness. It is part of

the fullness, but it is just the door.

It is just the beginning.

So I'm calling this body today to

change your world in Jesus' name.

But you can't change it in your own

strength. You need a deposit from God,

a deposit of the presence of God,

a deposit of the name of God,

a covenant with God.

You need a deposit of His love

and a deposit of His word in your life.

And Lord, I pray for this awesome body

today, where those have come for the

first time or have never given their

hearts to You. I pray today You

would grant them faith and repentance,

that they would follow You today,

knowing that You forgive them.

And You give them a new start.

And for all of us here, Lord, I pray

for a fresh deposit of Your presence,

a fresh commitment to our covenant of

following You and living for You,

a fresh deposit of Your love,

and a fresh deposit of Your word.

That this year would be a year of

diving into the word. Give us grace

to know more about You that our

words would be seasoned with grace.

We want to change our world.

Make disciples of Jesus.

Change our families, our schools,

our city, one by one.

And we can't do that on our own.

We need You.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

God bless you!