Sunday Evening Worship Service

thank you praise team and musicians for leading us into his presence you can be seated across this house what a mighty motive of god that we have already experienced here tonight i love that song that great name it's not filled with a bunch of eloquent words and ristorialistic practices to try to invoke his name though we want to present his name with honor we just must simply all we must do is just call out on that name jesus christ we used to sing that song that asked the question how great is our god and truthfully the song is just consists of asking the question because we can't even truly answer that all we can do is just testify to his goodness and let our lives be proof of what he has done and that is what we are thankful for in this season of giving thanks i give honor to the greatest saints in the world to bishop and pastor and pastor whitley what a tremendous word we heard this morning let's give pastor mccool a great big hand thank you for feeding our souls for that and we are looking forward to national youth convention and it's just an honor to serve with project 180 uh the turn university of tennessee campus ministry and adultish all of these student ministries that are just making a tremendous impact on their generation and in this world and i would say are the future indeed it's not the future is on its way the future is here and i'm it's an honor to serve with them and i i learned so much from them and i respect them and so much talent and and such a desire uh to do a work for god in the day that we're living so i thank all of them and with that being said uh tonight will be released on social media a special project 180 turn an adultish fast leading up to national youth convention then we're going to have a special prayer and worship night friday night followed by ice skating so be looking for that as we collectively fast together and we are expecting god to just do what he always does the miraculous in our lives and give us fresh vision for the future if you have your bibles tonight if you would turn to the book of philippians and we're going to read one verse tonight philippians the epistle chapter 1 verse number 6. it states and this is the apostle paul writing being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of jesus christ let's read it one more time there's only one verse it bears repeating being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of jesus christ right where you're at and as we pray i want to welcome everyone online tonight as well and right where you at if you would pray with us let's pray over our word this evening mighty god we thank you for what you've done in this house we thank you for what you're going to do lord we thank you to your words for us for this time that whatever you started that you are going to finish lord we thank you and we praise you and let this word sink deep down into our hearts that we put it into practice for you in jesus name we pray i want to speak to you minister to your preached to you on the topic tonight he's still moving and he's not finished if you would look to the person to your left and say he's still moving and look to the person to your right and say he's not finished and if you're like me i'm directionally and geographically challenged i have to use the gps to get from here back home tonight so hopefully you looked in the right direction but he's still moving and he's not finished in his article the unfinished portrait of franklin d roosevelt by elizabeth charmatov professor chris christopher moscato relates the story of one of the most famous yet unfinished works of art in american history moscato writes every american president has had a formal portrait and generally this is the first image we think of with that president occasionally however there are those rare images of presidents beyond the official portraits which capture our attention and stick in our collective memories of those perhaps none is quite as chilling as the portrait of franklin d roosevelt created on april the 12th of 1945 by artist elizabeth schautemoff the painting is unfinished as you can see and was destined to forever remain that way the reason april 12 1945 is the day also that fdr died at 1 15 the president complained of a horrific headache and suddenly collapsed in his chair and he was pronounced dead just hours later through the centuries there have been unfinished works paintings books musical compositions architectural structures all were left incomplete due to a sudden and unexpected disease or death incapacitating the artist or perhaps uh keeping the author or the musician or the architect from finishing their initial project perhaps even the loss of interest or lack of motivation to complete a particular project was the cause maybe something was left unfinished due to a lack of funding or maybe there was a stoppage of work or investment on something because there was the realization that it was not going to reach the potential expectation when it was begun whatever the case it is inevitable that some individuals will begin human works and it is inevitable in our humanity that things will often be left unfinished and incomplete but i stand before you this evening that we serve a god that things that are left incomplete are never the case because god's word assures us that he will complete the good work that he has begun in us god has a scripted plan for every individual's life and because god created us as individuals with free will we can choose to ignore god's scripts for our lives and follow our own selfish inclinations or we can choose to align our lives and his plans for us the choice is ours whichever choice we make god will be neither surprised nor thwarted in his overall plan for human life and eternity if every single individual turned away and you are the only one left serving him it would not change his plan of redemption he desires to conform to he desires us to conform to his designed script for her lives but he will allow us to go our own way if that is our choice however make no mistake choosing to follow our own selfish and human inclinations instead of following god's plan will not deter his ultimate plan rather he will utilize our decisions to work toward good outcomes for other individuals working toward the good as romans tells us to those who are called according and live to his purpose every single one of us received two calls from christ there are two calls from christ to every believer god calls all individuals to salvation first it is the most important call anyone will ever receive salvation through jesus christ repenting of our sins and turning away being baptized in his name going down and being immersed in water in the name that die in the name of the one who died for your sins and then receiving his spirit with the evidence of speaking in another tongue god's plan of redemption for our salvation we are all called to that and second every believer who accepts the salvation call also receive god's call to do an individual work of ministry within the body of christ no believer in the body of christ is without meaning or without purpose god has called every person to find his or her place within the function of the entire body the church our calling of service within the church involves a specific work for which god has created us and we are to dedicate ourselves to performing and completing that work of course we are called to win souls for christ and we all have a testimony to share with others both within and with outside the church body however beyond our general calling to reach the lost we also have a specialized work that we are to devote ourselves to and our specific work may be either a specialized area of ministry to the lost or to our fellow members of the body of christ but god has given each one of us unique talents each one of us diverse abilities and they are to be used for his glory when we yield and submit them to him the joining together of all of these differing gifts all of this diversity of gifts and abilities makes the church strong and vibrant and the ministry in its ministry throughout the earth these gifts are special these gifts are priceless and the enemy would seek to break down the church any way he can he would seek to break apart christ's body by doing every thing he can to prevent these works from being given and and used for the work of god the enemy would seek to discourage you in every type of attack possible hurdles obstacles doubt insecurity mistakes shame a lack of focus the enemy throws these things in the way of what god started in you and oftentimes the enemy will tell you that what god started with you has reached its ceiling and that you've reached your capacity in your calling and the enemy will tell you what you're doing is unimportant and it's not making that big of an impact and you know if you weren't there and you don't do it no one is going to miss it if you're not serving in your gift or maybe the enemy said things you know you had these high hopes when you turned your life over to christ and you were very passionate and you were very devoted looks like things aren't moving quite as quickly as you thought they were going to are they you know things aren't moving quite as quickly as you anticipated you know you you still haven't been asked to do that you're you're still not doing what you said you were or maybe you made a mistake and the enemy waves it in front of you every time you take a step forward saying hey you've gone just as far as you can go and maybe this mistake because it took place after your conversion because it took place in a time where you yourself and others had high exp expectations for yourself because it took place while you were perhaps being used in the church while you were in leadership in the church maybe you were in the choir maybe you were playing an instrument maybe you were teaching a sunday school class because it took place after you made a bold public proclamation of your faith and a strong unwavering commitment to god because it took place after that you feel as if you can no longer fully accomplish what god has called you to do and you've prayed for repentance but and you come to church and you sit on a pew and at times you still don't feel delivered and certain times you don't truly feel free and it's not because you're lazy and it's not because you lack passion or because you're uninterested and it's not that you lack determination and it's not that you do not have the ability but it's because you feel that you can no longer progress in your calling because you're not good enough and you feel as if you truly haven't been forgiven of the mistake you made and the mistake as you bound up from reaching your full calling and commission in christ and every time again you begin to take a step forward that skeleton in your closet starts knocking at the door and the enemy waves it in front of you and satan mocks you and scoffs you saying hey i see what you're trying to do here but how is anyone ever going to take you serious now how you were the one that was supposed to be the example how how is anyone ever going to listen to you or give okay credence to anything you have to say look what you did while you were in the house of god look what you did while you were supposedly supposed to be serving him with all of your might and remember satan is the great compromiser and he is content and he is satisfied when you are stagnant in your calling when you have your calling in neutral and an idol and he's come to the realization that no weapon he throws at you it's not going to take you out of his house it's it's not going to make you proverbially backslide but he claims victory when he can just get you to throw things in neutral and sit idle by as a spectator rather than a participator when you're not truly living up to what god has called you to do and if he can oppress your mind with that mistake if he can prevent you and keep you a level below from what you know you're called to do he can prevent you from the blessings that god has not only for you but for the people that you are divinely called to minister to and lead if he can keep your life with a lid on it then he is content and he claims triumph and there are some people under the sound of my voice right now in different capacities of their life and different situations and different mistakes that tend to pop their head up from time to time and sometimes you come to church and you're able to get past it and you find joy and you feel as if it's all behind you but there's other times when things begin to accumulate in the stress of life and the hurdles come and the doubt begins to creep in one it's again and that mistake screams loud in your ear and you made a mistake and you keep beating yourself up over it but your mind is oppressed with regret and you think that if i wouldn't have done that then i could be doing this now where i could be at this point now and i i feel like if i can no longer do what god has called me to do and my ministry will now amount to anything and now i continue to take incremental steps of digression back out of his presence and out of what he has called me to do but i've got news for you tonight the next time that he brings you out is going to be greater than the last time and the next time after that is going to be greater than this one and there is no diminishing return on god's mercy and grace and no matter how bad you mess up no matter what the bondage may be no matter how many times you've made the mistake first apostolic church of knoxville has its hands open wide and there is an altar of repentance right here i'm not talking about a lascivious form of grace where you go out and do whatever you want and sweeping things under the rug but i'm talking about a god who manifest himself in flesh who died for every one of our sins who every single one of us aren't automatically saved once we get baptized and every single one of us have made mistakes after we got baptized and took on his name and there's an altar of repentance where blood just continually flows and there's repentance in this house and please listen to me tonight if the enemy is trying to deter you from your calling or trying to take you out of the house of god don't quit your calling is important you're important in your ministry matters [Applause] god started something in you and his word says that he is going to finish it maybe god called you to do something and because of insecurities and doubt you think that you're not good enough i just don't have the talent i'm not a i'm just a first generation apostolic christian and i feel like everybody else has just a leg up on me and a head start i'm the only one in my family i'm the only one at my school i'm the only one at my work and what i'm doing it just seems minuscule that is a lie straight from the enemy what you are doing is important and please don't quit because god has a plan god has a design he's the author and the finisher and you make a difference and you might be in a season right now where you're tired you might be in a season right now where doubt has plagued your mind you might be in a season right now where you feel weak but please know tonight whatever god has called you to do your ministry makes a difference and it is impacting someone else and only heaven alone is going to be accounts for the impact that you're making when stephen was stoned there was a man for which the witnesses threw down their coats in front of them and his name was saul peter preached on the day of pentecost and many souls were added to the church and we celebrate that and we even have pentecost sunday and i don't diminish the importance of that at all but he preached and the bible says he pricked the hearts of his listeners and we know the outcome stephen preached and the bible says he pricked the hearts of his listeners and the result was rocks flying at his head to the extent that it took his life maybe we should have martyrdom monday and remember the reality of what god has called us to do but what stephen didn't realize is that in the presence of the rocks flying at his head there would be a man for which the coats of those throwing the rocks would cast their coats and his name was saul and saul would become so impacted by the devotion of this young martyr named stephen preaching about jesus christ that it would be the start of a mighty conversion and we know the story of paul who went on to write approximately one third of the new testament to which our key verse and our text is derived from tonight who would walk right into athens greece and preach the gospel who would walk right into the most powerful empire of rome and preach the gospel of jesus christ all because he saw a young man who was devoted and only heaven would be able to account for the impact that stephen and his miniscule ministry made or what would the conversation be like when they got to heaven how did you get here well let me tell you stephen and someone here tonight you might be close to giving up on a prayer that you've been waiting to have answered and maybe it was the duration of time between the prophecy and the fulfillment of the promise you've become to get discouraged maybe it was for a prodigal to come home and you stopped raising your hand up to pray for that prodigal maybe you're starting to say things like it's just not in the cards for me i'm not going to pursue that anymore and i certainly don't feel like god's leading me anywhere closer to it because as soon as i made that bold public proclamation and when i started to reveal that promise it seems like i had to go through unbearable things and like my life may have even got worse but i want to tell you tonight that whatever you do do not quit your prayers are making a difference your worship is making a difference your faithfulness is making a difference and if he started it if he started it his word tells us that he is going to finish it and i've got news for you tonight though you might be experiencing a season of stagnation though you might be experiencing a season of doubt and weariness and uncertainty be ashore tonight that the god we serve is still moving and he's not finished in your situation if you believe that tonight why don't you give him a handclap of praise i wonder if somebody with faith tonight that's been praying for something would boldly stand up and say god i know you're still moving i know you're still moving i i was close to letting go of that promise i was close to stop praying for that but you know what god i'm hearing your word tonight that whatever you started you're going to finish oh i feel some faith beginning to build up in this house oh he inhabits the praises of his people oh i believe somebody's getting a fresh vision tonight somebody's getting a refreshing tonight oh god he's still moving if he started it he's going to finish it acts 23 and 10 says and when there arose a great dissension the chief captain fearing les paul should have been pulled in pieces of them commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him by force from among them and bring him into the castle and the night following the lord stood by him talking about the apostle and said be of good cheer be of good cheer paul i know you're going through some stuff right now paul i know you've been shipwrecked and i know that you've been beaten and i know that your life has you know been it's been a close calls a few times but be of good cheer paul for as thou has testified of me in jerusalem so must thou bear witness also at rome god called paul to testify at rome nothing would prevent paul's fulfillment of the calling because god was guiding paul's way towards an eventual mission in rome god said paul i'm not addressing your current situation but i'm giving you a promise for the future and let this promise for the future be proof in the presence that your current calamities are not going to destroy you what i started paul i'm going to finish and you're going to testify on my behalf and the most powerful empire at that time so be of good cheer hey paul the shipwreck isn't going to take you out because you've been called to testify in rome hey paul that viper bite that injected venom inside you it's not going to take you out because i've given you a promise that you're going to testify in rome oh yeah paul i know you've been beaten and i know your life has been on the line but listen there is a promise that you're going to testify in rome and paul i don't have time to address every one of these calamities in your life but let that proof of the promise in the future let it let you know right now that you're going to make it through every circumstance that you're having to endure because there's a divine calling on your life paul just faced an intense grilling by the jewish sanhedrin council from a human perspective paul had every reason to be discouraged but god did not leave him without an encouraging word god had a specific plan for paul's life and he would not allow that plan to be thwarted god has a grand plan for enacting his supreme will in this world and amazingly each and every one of us have a specific work to perform within that incredible plan we may not experience what the world views as success in every venture we undertake and sometimes we might feel as if we are failing however god will bring to pass his ultimate plan in the end and he will use us in the process as long as we keep ourselves compliant to his leadership and submitted to his will in the 11th century king henry iii of bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch the pressures of the kingdom pressed on him and vexed his mind daily he felt as if he didn't have the proper diplomacy to lead the people as he should he dealt with doubt and he dealt with a great deal of insecurity and he had reached a point in his life where he said i i'm done he made application to prior richard at a local monastery asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery your majesty said the monk prior richard do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience because this is going to be hard for you because you have been a king the king now wanting to stay in the monastery said i understand the rest of my life i will be obedient to you as christ leads you the monk said then i will tell you what to do he said go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where god has put you when king henry died a statement was written the king learned to rule by being obedient when we tire of our roles and responsibilities it helps to remember god has planted us in a certain place and told us to be a good accountant or teacher a mother or father christ expects us to be faithful where he puts us and when he returns we'll rule together with him the monk told the king go back to where god has called you to do i know what you've got doubt and i know you have weariness but god called you to lead and god called you to be king if you're not a king then we don't have one and i believe tonight that god is calling on someone who thought about giving up and quitting and god is telling him you need to go back where i called you to do and lead like you've never done before and lead like you're obedient to everything i have to say because god wants you to serve in your calling while we can be certain god has a work for us to do in the performance of his holy will we also can be sure his enemies will do whatever they can to keep us from fulfilling them and the enemy wishes to stop every work that we try to do a group of more than 40 jews so despise the work paul was attempting to accomplish for god they mutually swore an oath to either to neither eat nor drink until paul had been killed they were intent on stopping him and stopping the message of jesus christ and his church this group conspired with the chief priests and elders in a plan to ambush paul and execute violence against him the hatred satan and his kingdom have for god and his kingdom is difficult to comprehend and consequently christians can become caught in the cross fire of satan's opposition to god in his plan but interestingly enough god turns all of satan's plans to afflict his people into potent sources of strength and potent sources of learning and spiritual growth no pain or affliction is pleasant or enjoyable when we experience it but we know that it's going to strengthen us in the end fortunately paul's nephew heard of the plot and warned paul who sent him to speak to the roman tribune god's prophecy coming into pass warning him of the plan consequently the tribune arranged for a 200-man army to escort paul to the governor felix providing him protection as a roman citizen the apostle who had had to turn away from his peers and his friends his whole life and who now conspired to take his life the apostle paul who if you will remember the roman authorities were the ones who executed out the crucifixion of jesus christ the apostle paul who had had all of these different ventures getting to where he was at beaten on the brink of starvation shipwrecked now finds himself in the pagan place of rome and what are they doing now they're giving the apostle paul a 200 soldier escort and giving him all of the rights of a roman citizen opposition to the work of god never catches the lord off god off guard god is fully aware of satan's opposition to his work in this world because he is omniscient possessing perfect knowledge of all things whatever the will and purpose of god may be we can be certain that satan is going to detract from it and bring opposition to it and he will actively oppose it on every front and by any means possible but fortunately we know that no tool formed against his people are going to prosper and as christians certainly we aspire not to have enemies we we aspire to live by without holiness and peace no man shall see the lord and we want acceptable words and show our love to this world and we indeed seek to be peaceful and kind and but there will be enemies of those who proclaim christ john 15 told us as such if the world hate you you know that it hated me before it hated you and unfortunately none of us none of us can avoid having some enemies because of what we stand for a reporter was interviewing an old man on his 100th birthday and she asked the old man what are you most proud of well said the man i don't have an enemy in this world what a beautiful thought so inspirational said the reporter he said yep the centenarian stated i've outlived every last one of them some of the attacks and some of the enemies in our life what we need to do is just out live it some of us need to outgrow it some of us need to out spiritually mature it and let that just fall by the wayside and sometimes god is just calling you to stand still in the circumstances that you have found yourself in and it will eventually pass if you will stand strong for him because what god finished started he is going to finish there will be attacks upon your life that come about for no other reason other than that you serve the lord and you have jesus matthew 2 13 tells us and when they were departed behold the angel of the lord appears to joseph in a dream saying arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into egypt and be there until i bring you a word for herod will seek the young child to destroy him joseph must have been thinking angel did did i hear you right perhaps there was a there's some miscommunication i feel like you just said take jesus and mary to egypt and stay there for an indefinite amount of time egypt has been a house of bondage egypt was a place of oppression i'm responsible for the savior of the world and this angel you're telling me to flee to egypt you know we have holidays and and feasts celebrating our freedom from this place and now you're wanting me to take god manifest in flesh the young messiah and flee to what to where [Applause] this was a trial of faith for joseph and mary but their faith being tried was found firm and said you know there was a promise and i know that god whatever god started he's going to finish they were in the crosshairs of the enemy simply because they had jesus but joseph knew that their earth was the lord's and the fullness thereof and though egypt therefore was a land of idolaters though egypt was a type and shadow of sin and oppression and though he had no visible way of substance there when he received a world from the lord none of these things made him hesitate he said even though i don't understand even though it makes no sense with well logical reasoning even though it's absurd to think that i would take this young messiah and flee into the place that you delivered your people out of if you told me to do it i'm going to do it because i know that whatever you started you are going to finish and i want you to know tonight the land of oppression can become a land of refuge and safety he can overturn nations and kingdoms if he so chooses to protect you he can make the worst of places serve the best of purposes and the lord assured joseph that you're not going to die in egypt and the reason you know you're not going to die in egypt because that baby boy that you have right there his mission has not yet been accomplished so you know what every situation you find yourself in though i'm calling you to go down to egypt no that place is not going to take you out joseph because jesus has not yet filled his commission in your life and i want you to know right now under the sound of my voice you might feel like you've had to go down to egypt you might feel like you made a step forward and you've heard from an angel and you found yourself in worse circumstances than you've ever found in your life but know tonight his mission is not done and because his mission is not done then you're not done and you're going to come out of it because there's a promise there's a prophecy in the book of hosea it says out of egypt have i called my son there was a prophetic promise that was coming to pass and there's a promise over your life and don't you get discouraged because the duration of time seems longer than what you expected don't you get discouraged because the circumstances around you might be at a climax right now there's a promise in your future and if god started it oh but i've made mistakes you don't know what i've done if god started it oh you don't understand i don't have the talent i don't have the ability if god started it well it's been three years and that person still hasn't told me they're sorry that prodigal still hasn't come home i've been praying for it for four years yeah i think god promised it but it's been it's been four years if god started it he is going to finish it and he is still moving he's still moving in this place he's still moving in order for the prophecy over your life to be fulfilled sometimes you might have to go through egypt but don't you worry remember the promise that he gave you and whatever the current situation is of the current circumstances are remember what the promise is and remember that your future destination is proof that you're going to make it through what you're going right now despite whatever enemies one may have in life and whatever opposing forces one must face the believer may have complete assurance of ultimate success within the purpose of god god will complete his work within every believer god does not abandon the works he begins there's not going to be an unfinished building there's not going to be an unfinished piece of art there's not going to be an unfinished musical composition he's not going to run out of funding he's not going to become uninterested because you made a mistake he's ready to do something greater than he did the time previously and if you'll understand and realize that god needs what you have and god wants to use what you have for his glory he's going to finish it noah built the ark and god showed up and shut the door he's the author and he's the finisher he's the alpha and he's the omega not only was god not surprised by those who opposed paul's works and their plans to destroy him god already had a plan in place to assure paul's safe passage although the romans certainly were not friends of jesus christ and his church god used them by putting his plan into their hearts and consequently they arranged for and use of an army of 200 roman soldiers to provide paul's safe passage to caesarea their conveyance of paul to the roman governor in caesarea was only one component of god's plan for guiding paul safely all the way to rome although it was not quite time for him to go to rome god was reassuring paul that i've got you you're gonna be okay i know you're in prison and i know you're shipwrecked but you're going to testify in rome and i'm going to use these people to protect you i'm going to use egypt who i called your people out of to keep the messiah safe i'm going to use the situation you're going through as protection for you to fulfill your promise god will finish what he started god had an encompassing plan for the life of paul which included his eventual trek to rome where he would testify and preach the gospel of jesus christ we must understand tonight and give thanks and give gratitude and make a joyful noise as we heard preached about this morning to know god's plans for us will succeed in the work which he has called us he does not call us to fail he has called us to perform the ministry of his church and he will empower us to successfully fulfill that call paul wrote of god performing his will through us in our key text tonight being confident in this very thing whatever you're going through tonight whatever the circumstance whatever the situation if you're thinking about giving up or quitting or stepping back be confident in this very thing if you think you lack in talent if you think you lack an ability if you have insecurities and doubt and weariness be confident in this very thing oh but i made a mistake oh and i made a mistake once i turned my life over to him be confident in this very thing that he which has begun a good work in you is going to perform it until the day of jesus christ oh praise team of musicians come up here and stand with me across this house the god we serve if he started it in you he's going to finish it he's going to finish it look at your neighbor and say he's going to finish it he's going to finish it oh what would happen if you start hearing yourself say that out loud he's going to finish it oh and he's still moving yeah i stopped praying for that yeah i thought that might not be in the cards for me but be confident in this very thing if he started he's going to finish it he gave me a promise oh he didn't lay out all of the specs and all of the information and all the details how i'm going to get through every single circumstance but he gave me a promise and that promise is proof that my current calamities they're not going to take me out my current hardships are not going to take me out sometimes i just got to survive through it sometimes i just got to outlive it be confident in this very thing the god we serve if he started it he's going to finish it god will complete his work of salvation in us and salvation is not a momentary event in our lives it's not boom i'm baptized and now i'm in the promised land no baptism could be compared to the israelites when they crossed the red sea it was an amazing miracle but they still had a journey to the promised land likewise when we're baptized and received his spirit we have a journey to our heavenly home and salvation is not a momentary event in our lives the apostle who i'm preaching about tonight said i have to die out daily our own stubborn human will is the only force that can interrupt or derail god's work of redemption within us as long as we remain faithful to him though he will continue his work of salvation in us god will bring completion the work he is doing through our lives to reach the lost to testify to the world and to minister to others outside the body of christ and whatever our individual ministry may be god will use it for his glory and bring to a successful conclusion before we take our final breath i i just uh i don't know if it's if it's me i i don't know if it's there's too much pressure go back and get to the throne you've called you've been called to be a king go back and serve where god called you if he started it he's going to finish it as we bow our heads this evening sometimes we can become discouraged because we're unable to see the big picture of god's perfect perfect plan sometimes we think we are failing in the work which god has called us to do and sometimes indeed we do however as long as we will remain faithful and have a submissive repentant attitude toward god's supreme will over our life he will continue to lead us he will continue to guide us and there's no weapon in this world that can conquer you and there's nothing in this world that can separate you from his love circumstances of life will bring certain opposition for believers there will be pains and they'll be suffering and they'll be setbacks oh but if we could see what god is orchestrating behind the scenes and the pieces he's putting into place and the roman pagan government giving me a 200 army convoy into the governor's presence taking the young messiah to egypt and that would be the place of a safe haven until god gave me another word our perspectives of victory human and divine perspectives of victory are different humans often think of nothing but strength and speed and being the first to cross the finish line god's perspective of victory is quite different as great as the message that pentecost was and again don't misinterpret me that i diminish that in any capacity but stephen giving his life was the initial flame that would ignite the apostle paul to turn his life over to jesus christ and the rest of the stories i'm told your ministry matters your ministry is important you get discouraged by numbers you see on the internet don't you get discouraged by the vanity of this world noah saved his family and that's our greatest audience tonight as well whatever god has called you to do you're important and your ministry is making an impact in this world and only heaven is going to be able to account and you're going to get to heaven one day and there's going to be somebody walk up to you and you didn't know it in this life but they're only going to have eternal salvation because of the ministry that you so faithfully fulfilled weekend and weekend with all heads bowed and every eyes closed i would like to invite someone to this altar tonight i've given a wide range of different circumstances that we all face a wide range of human emotions that we all deal with and feel from time to time but i wonder if somebody with boldness tonight would step out and say i've been having some doubts and i've been having some uncertainties and yes quitting has even crossed my mind but through your word tonight i know that i can be confident in this one thing that the god i serve if he started it he's going to finish it and he's still moving oh i wonder if somebody would step forward tonight and say god i know you're still moving in my life oh i might have gone through a season of dormancy oh but he's ready to rekindle that fire tonight oh i think there's still a flame there i think there's still something there that can be used oh yes jesus