2022 Vision Service "Build"
by Raymond Sloan
January 9, 2022 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church (Chattanooga, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Nehemiah 4:6, 2 Peter 3:9, Acts 3:19-21

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/raymond-sloan--2022-vision-service-build
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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all right just wanted to do it a bit different this year i welcome you uh to this vision service i mean he believes that without a vision people perish ask your neighbor can you see okay okay okay i was just i was wondering this is our time of reflection every year that i take first week or so of the year and i establish where we're headed as a church give me just a moment though before i talk about the future things this way that i reflect on where we've been every month in 2021 we talked about the foundational building blocks of the church god's word giving love truth salvation family trust spiritual gift and ministries holiness the second coming thankfulness and then we finished in december with the gift every one of these blocks that we talked about they proved themselves to be very very vital and important in the building of a church now every department in our church here at cornerstone we have been through a time of rescheduling re rebuilding re reconnecting redoing if you will uh this past year we have been through several changes from half of sanctuary to full sanctuary trying to figure out what to do with classrooms and so forth somebody say hey man we made it we have painted we have constructed we have put down carpet we have put down chairs we have set out chairs we built a table yeah yeah we repaired ceilings sorry sorry sorry we have grown as a church listen carefully our finances are holding steady and increasing amen that's a good thing somebody say amen we have seen growth in in each department attendance this right this one's blowing my mind our midweek bible study attendance we have averaged in the high 50s to 60. that means people are interested in learning the word of god there have been ladies outings and men's outings and youth events the children have been very busy uh we've averaged in 2021 at least one guest every weekend on average people are finding us down in this hole with the blue flag hey it's a good thing to give thanks to the lord amen now i'll say this i i have to refer to this a lot we are not where we want to be but we're certainly not where we were god is moving so many things that we could talk about today the goodness of the lord amen some of you sitting in here under the sound of my voice you are walking miracles and over the last several months god has done miraculous things in your life if you can attest to that wave your hand god has worked in my life there's so many things that we have to be thankful for but church i don't believe in sitting down and looking backwards i believe in looking forward to what god has in store the theme for 2022 is simply this build last year we we put the foundation blocks down this year we're going to go on top of those foundational blocks and we are going to build use the bible use the word of god the same spirit of god is moving in the church so we're going to stick with god's spirit not the spirit of the world somebody say amen we are believing in a renewed vision we are believing that god is not finished with cornerstone apostolic church god is not finished with our church amen we go through times of wondering we go through times of questions but god is demonstrating every day that he still wants a church in chattanooga and i'm glad to be a part of it can you say amen there's still an entire city that we need to reach with this wonderful message lives are at stake that is why we will build the church we will follow again this is my way of staying on track every month we'll have a theme that we'll focus on that's helps me to stay connected as you just saw in the video that we i presented to you there's a lot of department things happening there's going to be a need for an incredible amount of people to plug in i don't know if anybody knows this but it takes a lot of work when you begin to do more work outside the church come on we can do sunday well we can do wednesday well but when you got to get folk to go feed hungry it takes a lot of work somebody's got to commit can't just show up when you feel oh lord don't let me get on the box yet some all you departmental leaders if you're here would you stand please every department leader stand to your feet please if you're on the church board would you stand church these are the guys that are calling the shots for the departments and what we do we're going y'all stay standing we're going to pray for them right now god give our department leaders wisdom god give them knowledge understanding of the times and we come on pray for them lord honor them in the work they do help them lord as they lead their department give them passion and vision let them accomplish lord the call that you've placed in their lives in the name of jesus come on church pray for them lord you know the plans that you have for their department i pray god for open doors for them i pray lord jesus that they would find you that they would discover the path lord that leads to you lead them in the name of jesus as they leave their departments in jesus name come on somebody say in jesus name praise god thank you workers thank you so much to all of you that plug into those departments helping and leading and doing what you do thank you so much for that but i'm here today to to focus on where we are in 2022 and to move forward in the old testament there was a story that was written about it's a very intriguing story the book of nehemiah we can draw our attention there for just a moment chapter number four verse number six this is what the bible says so built we the wall and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof listen to this for the people had a mind to work for the people had a mind to work i have said to you many times i will repeat it today because it's worth it when my wife and i came to chattanooga many years ago some almost 13 years ago now 14 years ago a small group a precious group of people we had just come off the mission field looking for a place and god began to open doors we didn't know what he had in mind but he knew somebody say amen and as we connected here in chattanooga we would gather in that little church building my wife and i when we do our prayer time i would walk the perimeter of that church inside the sanctuary and then out on the property and i would walk listen to me carefully this is my prayer what i prayed i said lord don't send us millionaires until we can receive them i pray god you would send us workers somebody that'll get up under it and carry it i'm not asking for a billion dollar offering lord i'm asking for a hundred people that'll be faithful in their giving and their time and their talent god i don't want a church that's going to spring out of the ground and die in a year i want a church that understands the value of work and god is so gracious to do that now god if it's up to you and we're ready for that million the story of nehemiah to me it's very intriguing that one man one man could feel the burden of his people one man the city walls had been destroyed nehemiah finds out about it and all he could do with this burden was say i want to do a work you know the story if you haven't read it go into the book of nehemiah it's old testament stuff you can find it here what's wrong with you nehemiah there's something about where i came from there's something about my heritage there's something about i feel that i need to do and the bible says that nehemiah went and they worked they labored to put the walls back you can read it's an incredible story one portion of the group worked on this one and then the bible says and they connected it with this portion and they connected it with this and it went around listen to what i'm telling you the fact of the matter is this god will grant vision to those who will come and work god will give vision to those who are hungry and thirsty for the things of god the original word listen to this the original is for the people had a mind to work that original is a heart to work something in their heart said i can't rest until i do something for god i can't drop the ball it's my generation i must do what i do now listen to me carefully there is something to be said about someone who will work for the lord god the coming together for a certain goal the accomplishments that we can make because we draw the resources together i'm believing in this year now listen carefully please we've already been through a building program right anybody remember the long days the sleepless nights the trying to finish the building anybody anybody recall is anybody anybody still with me yeah you remember when we tear down and put back and put back and tear down we'd vacuum and sweep and sweep and vacuum and drill and cut anybody still you may still okay and what happened to that building come on it's all right we built it in the lord for whatever reason through whatever process it was it was done away with and now we stand here in another place i'm not talking about this year building up another building that's coming in the future but what i'm talking about is god if we can build ourselves on the word and on the promise and on the on the possibilities of what this city needs god if we can one together bring our resources and bring our talents and our our understanding together i'm convinced that if we will build on faith established on the foundation of the word of god then it doesn't matter where we place a physical building god will give increase god will give increase listen to what second peter chapter 3 verse number 9 says the lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness listen this but is longsuffering to us word not willing that any should perish but that they all should come to repentance i believe it is god's desire for humanity to turn around to repent to come to a place where they can once again begin to connect with their creator 2022 this will be a year that we will build we are going to build on past experiences that we have come through we're going to build on a foundation of the word of god and the promises that are in that word we're going to build on the understanding here this that heaven is still in view we're going to build as individuals we're going to build as families and we're going to build as groups all of the effort we're going to focus together why because chattanooga deserves to have a church i am convinced this church your presence in this community is holding at bay the hand of the enemy that would like to destroy some families but because you're in the sanctuary praying or you're on the job praying or you're at home believing and you're in the word god is still keeping his spirit connected to this community listen carefully beginning tomorrow everybody say manana bigelow manana okay tomorrow tomorrow i want you to join with me we're going to begin monday through friday media and entertainment fast unplug disconnect now if you have to work on a computer at work do that but if it entertains you if it amuses you you unplug from it for the week listen carefully listen carefully unplug some of you are going to freak out listen carefully some of you parents are going to get what's do you because your children have become spoiled with entertainment some of your spouses are going to pay dearly because so many have come spoiled with amusement you know what it means to amuse that's mindless entertainment you don't have to think you don't have to wonder you simply watch and it gets in and it does its thing i'm asking you please take a time of separation if we're going to dedicate over the next 21 days it's going to have to be with god's word and god's promise not with the things of this world i wish somebody would understand that and say amen every day on your app if you don't have the cac app you need to get it on your phone now the bottom of the page is pastor's desk there will be a daily blog that i will post there the first one's already in the queue ready to be posted at 4am for you early risers if you rise later than that it'd still be there um 4 am it'll hit take time to read it read the verses that are in it read the short devotion this is what i'm asking you to do if you do not yet have a prayer journal for this next 21 days i'm asking you to get one it can be this one i've been promoting this the last couple of weeks you can buy this online or you can have a notebook listen to me carefully i'm telling you if you're hoping to do it digitally you won't you won't you'll be so distracted because you don't know how to turn it onto airplane mode and when the text comes in or the facebook post pops or the cac prayer request comes up all of a sudden a rabbit just jumped and guess where you're headed i'm just telling you now some of you like me can't hardly read your writing right i'm just gonna trust that it's between me and god i'm gonna ask you to read it it'll be something my kids can have when i'm gone anyway i'm asking you write it down listen to me carefully in this generation listen to me carefully if you cannot just discern and hear the voice of god there is another voice that is speaking to you and you need to silence that voice you need to hear that you need to silence that voice mom and dad you need to teach your children how to trust god how to believe the word of god grandparents you need to be pouring that into your grandchildren before all else god before anything else god and you need to make sure they understand that are you with me write listen to god take action with what he's telling him i'm not asking you to write a book some of y'all we would all fail miserably i'm asking you to simply listen to what god is saying and write it down come up understand it now if you were to get something like this this is for three months okay 21 days you can get through and start a start a habit and then you can continue that and hopefully you will learn how to hear the voice of god listen we in this hour we have got to become sensitive to the voice of god we have got to become discerners of the intent of the heart understanding god this is where we are this is what's going on this is what's happening in our world somebody needs to hear the preacher we are at a vital point in our culture and in our society that if the church doesn't become the church that it's designed to be there's an entire world of enemies out there that will destroy humanity if it can but we've already read in second peter he doesn't want anybody to perish but he wants them to come to an about face a repentance somebody say in jesus name listen carefully consider your situation in life where you are right now mom and dad your children can participate your children can listen to me your children can learn how to sit in church they can learn to participate in worship now if they're this big i understand it but if they're this big they need to know this is what church is about come on i need some grandparents to say that's what it is come on if they're ever going to learn to respect and honor the things of god it's going to be because you as parents and grandparents have taught them otherwise the church is going to run amok you want to know why lord don't let me get sidetracked but you want to know why that jesus ran through the temple saying you have made this a den of thieves is because they did not respect the place of god it wasn't the fact of what they were doing wasn't the fact of how they were doing the fact was they disrespected the things of god man as a child if i ever touched the platform my dad had such a long arm he was not at all afraid to throw it across the room brother dan if i ever got in trouble at church y'all parents here i'm old school i know it but that's why i'm here today if i ever got in trouble at church guess what i got at home twice trouble i got talked to one time back by the pastor sit down over there i just knew lord jesus i'll never make it to tomorrow and the ride home you need to know was not enjoyable nor fun i knew exactly sister stacy was about to happen and when i walk through the dog gods i feel the holy ghost i don't care what y'all say god's trying to teach this generation your children do not run this world you give your child options i promise you every time they'll choose the wrong one you know why because it is not in them until the word of god gets in them i'm just telling you lie to yourself if you want to no my child's different right watch it'll be that child nobody wants to play with through your home through your work at your job whatever you're doing this year is a great year to reestablish the foundations as you build for the things of god the goal here listen carefully the goal over the next 21 days is to pray ourselves into a position god get us to a place god take us to a place to where we can hear you daily as we progress through the journey as every day we find another way to connect with the lord as every day we love him we live for him we honor him the things will happen in our lives because we are allowing the promises of god to unfold and to work within us here what i'm saying in the book of acts notice something that happened in acts chapter 3 verse number 19. this is what was said repent you therefore and be converted everybody say converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the lord and he shall send jesus christ which before us preached unto you whom the heaven must receive unto the times of restitution of all things which god has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began notice this if you'll get into the context of this particular series of scriptures you'll find out that it was after the outpouring of the holy ghost these brethren they went into the church to pray and lo and behold silver and gold i don't have but what i got i give to you they are standing in the presence of the miraculous and everybody's looking at them scratching their heads saying what just happened and they he begins with this and he tells them you need to understand you need to repent you need to be converted you need to change your mentality and your way of thinking things out why because there is a refreshing there is a restitution there is a time when the word of god will speak and it will breathe life into your circumstance and you can stand up on your own two feet in the power and the presence of god and you'll be able to say it is only because i made right choices and good decisions that i'm able to stand where i am some of you wonder today how is it that you have the job that you have that you live in the house that you live in that you have the vehicle you're driving that your bank account has money and i'm here to tell you why is because god has been good to you because you understand the power of serving a risen savior every day every week when we pray that prayer when we give our offering some of you are actually believing that he multiplies things that he blesses in hebrew you're taking him at his word you are grasping the concepts that his word is true what would it be like on your job to begin to declare the whole counsel of god i've come to tell you business that i work at god is still god and he's still in control you can try to silence me on the floor of congress if you want to he hasn't put me on the floor of congress but on the street corner where i live i can talk about the goodness of the lord i can declare it in walmart in publix and anywhere else i can stand at the counter or the checkout and i can say it a good day to love the lord ain't it a good day to serve him you can be on your job sitting at your desk on the line in your truck whatever it is and you can talk of the goodness of god and i'm telling you the power the holy ghost can envelop that place where you are why because the spirit of god has no boundary it has no limit it has no place to stop it'll work on death's bed it'll work in a king's palace it'll work under a bridge it'll work in the church house it'll work where you are it'll work where you're not it'll work in any language it'll work in any culture why because there is a refreshing that comes when jesus comes on the scene we have got to align ourselves in this hour with the things of god that's what we're building for that's what we're moving towards we are repair we are putting back together what nehemiah saw god moved the early church had revival it brought us to where we are in 2022 but the gaps in the places that have become vacant we've got to put people there to shore it up and to realize the enemy's trying to come in like a flood it's not a trickle it's not a splash it's a flood but when that happens the standard that's raised says this is mine you have no place here brother duran would you please come and help me for a moment we will do in this hour what must be done we will listen carefully we will continue to pray we will continue to give we will continue to search for the will and the power of god we will continue to believe him for the miraculous as people walk through the door we want them to feel the glory of the lord as we generate an atmosphere of worship and praise has anybody ever done a study of the old testament tabernacle yeah one of the coolest things you can ever take time to study out is why was it necessary to have an altar why was it necessary to have a labor of water why was it necessary then to pass through a curtain to get into a place where there was provisions in the light why was it necessary then for the high priest on that once a year to push yourself into the holy of holies i come to tell you today that same pattern is still in effect today you've got to bring bring sacrifice you've got to bring commitment you've got to bring with you your children let them see the hand of god worthy let them understand the purpose and the utensils let them understand the power and the smell if you will of the sacrifice as it's given let them understand the bloody nasty water as as washing happens let them grasp the reality listen to this of the unknown dad mom what's happening now they're killing the sacrifice at the altar they're stripping it now the blood is being captured it's going to be used it's going to be ugly child it's going to be it's going to be nasty there but if we'll do this and we've been working on this all year to make sure it was a spotless without blemish without tarnish without problems now what are they doing dad they're carrying it over to wash it now why is he washing his arms because all that blood and snot and guts and stuff's on him and he can't he can't go any further till he gets that clean listen to this but then he would go behind the curtain into the holy place they couldn't see anything going on in there the oil lamp was there for the light the bread was there for sustenance you'll hear this the altar of incense burned as a reminder to cover what had just been done and now the children are standing at the door with mom and dad and dad saying buddy watch for the glory watch for the glory brother ethan it was that time of year when the high priest would go into the holy of holies that the entire camp would stand at their tenth door and they would watch for the fire they would net listen to me there would never be a doubt where the presence of god was never no child would say what happened no parent would say i'm surprised no grandparent would say how'd that work they all knew because they developed a pattern of building for the things of god stand with me please all over the place i'm watching the clock we're okay church i don't want you to fall prey to the lies and the things of this world be careful the voices you're listening to watch have an understanding if people are speaking in your lives that don't have the holy ghost you better be careful i'm just telling you i'm not saying that they i'm just telling you if they don't have spiritual guidance and direction they will send you backwards 100 miles but if you'll ask somebody who's in tune and connected well y'all let me be very honest with you just a second the pastor can be a source and not just a resource i'm a guy just like you just like you mean i i struggle i move i do i i smash my thumb i jump up and down i sleep in you know do what i i drink two cups of coffee instead of all that stuff i want you to listen to me throughout the week there's a lot of really interesting things that the lord allows me to understand he does when i come into church i know some of y'all are nervous if i'm looking at you in fact i i've looked around before so and some of y'all's eyes make mine you also if you think i'm still watching you'll do this oh he'll let him now i'm holding see i see how that worked out he got over here and shouted see now he won't come i'm not i'm not i'm not looking for any of that tell you what i am doing i'm saying lord i might not get another chance might not have another week so lord don't let me miss it if i can speak into their lives and make a difference god i want to be sensitive to that some of your parents have depended on television and media and stuff for so long to develop your children no they need to get that from you my wife and i decided when our babies were born there ain't no way that i'm gonna let school system and people tell them about the things of life they're gonna get it from me and as forward as i had to be at six years old seven years old eight years old i'd have to tell them about sexual things and about drugs and alcohol and things like that try to help them understand there are no way i was gonna let somebody out in the world tell them it was uncomfortable but i let them know this is what it is and if it didn't come from here you better question that's what i tell them if it don't come from that lady right there kids you better question it you come home and you ask us is this true hey that's how we go some of your parents are not listening that's how we got the list of curse words i didn't have to reprimand my children when they brought curse words off the playground home because it wasn't in their heart to be wrong they simply needed to learn and so what did i do no i'm just giving an example what i did have you ever heard your dad say that word no daddy then you don't do you ever hear your mom say that word then that you don't come on some of y'all wonder why your kids are doing some of the stuff they're doing what are you doing how are you going to tell them not to drink alcohol if you're drinking alcohol how are you going to tell them not to do drugs if you how are you going to tell them how to live right if you're doing what do you think is going to happen what do you think is going to happen do you think that you have much more control over things than anybody else that's ever lived in life no hell will be full of people who said i didn't realize heaven's going to be full of folk that say i chose you we're going to build guys 2022 we're going to build some of us may have to have big ol backhoes come in and move some trash out of the way but we're going to build that's what i'm going to ask you if there's anybody in this room today who's ready to build i want to ask you to get a hold of your family if they're willing and i want you to bring them to this altar because this is where it will begin for this year come on get out of your chair bring them to the altar now if you're not committed to you stay where you are but i want you to come i'm inviting you to come to this all there's plenty of room it goes 270 degrees plenty of space up here come on and i want you to get a hold of god get a hold of the hand of god call upon the name of jesus come on mom and dad you need to be praying over your children come on if you're here by yourself that's fine you make the decision yourself this is what i will do this is how i will do it this is what i am going to declare i will not give up and quit on god i am going to focus on him he will be first in my life i will allow him to work come on in the name of jesus it's another year lord is another opportunity forgive me lord if i've made wrong choices bad decisions but right now god i declare your glory in my heart in my home in my family i declare the blessing come on come on turn loose of all the negative and all the junk that the word of god begin to work in your life come on mom and dad you plead the blood of jesus over your babies you plead the blood of jesus over your spouse in the name of jesus there is power in the name of the lord jesus there is power to be an overcomer there is power come on devil leave my family alone i rebuke you in the name of jesus i rebuke you in the name of jesus i will make heaven my home i will turn loose of what's got a hold of me and i will grab ahold of the things of god i declare the word of god will be powerful in my life in my heart in my home in my family i declare devil get out of my house get out of my home get out of my family i declare i am building upon the word of god i am building upon the promises of god come on come on some of you need to plead the blood of jesus over your family plead the blood of jesus over your home great god do a word lord we declare we are standing for you lord god we are standing for you jesus oh come on somebody lift your voice to the lord let your children hear you call on the name of jesus let your spouse hear you call on the name of jesus that's right god of glory anoint them raise them up jesus oh god deliver them lord for what has been bound deliver them from it let them find truth on the inward part god i pray for it come on that's right press into it run into his presence run into his presence i've come to declare your glory i've come to declare your power and your presence that's right in jesus name in jesus name now follow the spirit of the lord go pray for somebody that's right put your hand on somebody's hand and pray for them put your hand on somebody's family pray for them that's right come on let the gifts of the spirit work in you right now come on run into his house run into the presence of the lord i come hungry for you i conversely for you i come looking for you jesus i'm sorry lord for my sins i'm sorry lord for the transgressions i've met come on in the name of jesus there is power in repentance there is power and forgiveness is power in the word of god oh come on that's right in jesus name in jesus name you cannot make it without him you need the church in your life that's right go pray for somebody else i love you jesus i believe in you i trust you my heart lord is fixed on you jesus have mercy on us today in the name of jesus come on that's right come on church press through the doubt step over the fear go past the unknown let the word of god work right now oh god we will build for you we will labor for you we will do according to your word we will pursue you jesus hallelujah hallelujah the name of the lord in the name of the lord that's right in the name of the lord in the name of the lord come on if you need the holy ghost today lift your hand of the lord the spirit of the lord is in this house he can fill you in the spirit right now in the name of jesus if you need forgiveness of sin right now pray god please cleanse and forgive me help me to make right choices and good decisions oh come on that's right come on linger in his presence come on spend some time in his presence jesus jesus come on stand in his presence holy is your name lord holy is your name jesus is your name you're a healer you're a waymaker you're a lifter of our heads you make a way lord god yes you do let our vision be clear today together lord we will build together lord we'll move forward oh that's right come on in the name of jesus in the name of jesus in the name of jesus that worshipers arise right now claim victory in the name of jesus we declare your glory in this place today jesus we declare it oh god yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah great is your name great is your name great is your name holy is your name holy is your name holy is your name spirit of the lord spirit of the lord jesus have your way in us jesus have your way jesus come on let the world of god move in here right now yeah yeah jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus we serve you we praise you oh aren't you glad you know him today before you go home right now lift a voice of celebration lord i am thankful that you let me come to church today thankful lord for the vision of the church thankful lord that i'm part of something that's bigger than i am thankful lord god to know you to be able to speak your name jesus the name above every name blessed be the name of our god blessed be the name of our savior jesus as we leave this place today lord go with us everyone please as we spend this week lord unplug from entertainment amusement media god help us lord to hear your voice that the things of this world grow dim lord let us hear from you as we spend our quiet times with you god in the morning or evening or night i pray lord your voice would speak as we as we move forward lord lead and guide us we're going to come back tomorrow night for all church prayer lord believing for an outpouring and manifestation of your spirit glory wednesday night back for bible study lord next week we're back for more of you i plead your blood lord right now over the church they're sick lord god touch them those hurting lord comfort them those looking for you god reveal yourself i pray in jesus name somebody say amen come on say amen