July 21, 2025 • 56 mins
Have you ever felt like you're giving God your leftovers instead of your best? The Minor Prophets—those often-overlooked voices at the end of the Old Testament—speak with surprising relevance to our modern spiritual struggles.
Through the voices of three speakers exploring Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, we discover a common thread that weaves through these ancient messages: God wants our whole hearts, not our convenient offerings.
Haggai challenges us to recognize divine grace even in difficult circumstances. When the Israelites prioritized their luxurious homes while God's temple lay in ruins, their efforts were frustrated—harvests failed, wages disappeared into "bags with holes." This wasn't punishment but redirection, a loving parent narrowing options to guide wayward children home. God's response to their obedience? "I am with you"—four words of profound comfort that still echo today whenever we return to Him.
Zechariah speaks to those in low places through vivid night visions. A man standing among humble myrtle trees shows God's presence in our valleys. A high priest in filthy garments receives cleansing, not condemnation. A lampstand continuously fed by olive trees reminds us that our lives are sustained "not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit." When depression, anxiety, and grief make us wonder if God sees us, Zechariah whispers: "Return to me, and I will return to you."
Malachi delivers the most pointed challenge: God doesn't want our leftovers. The Israelites brought blind and lame animals for sacrifice while keeping the best for themselves. "Try offering them to your governor!" God says. "Would he be pleased?" We're often guilty of the same—giving God our last fifteen minutes before sleep, our spare change after all bills are paid, our remaining energy after work exhausts us. God invites us to test Him by bringing our first fruits and watching Him "throw open the floodgates of heaven."
Ready to stop giving God what falls from your table? Join us as we discover what happens when we put Him first again.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
All right, gentlemen, welcome to Prophets Anonymous.
I'm Haggai and my problem isgetting people to stop
redecorating their houses andactually build God's temple.
Apathy, pure apathy, apathy,haggai, please.
I had to explain flying scrollsof judgment and chariots with
multicolored horses.
They just stared at me blankly,then asked about their goats.
(00:26):
I had to explain flying scrollsof judgment and chariots with
multicolored horses.
They just stared at me blankly,then asked about their goats.
Try telling people they'rerobbing God with their bad
offerings, zechariah, and thattheir priests are corrupt.
I spent my whole careerbasically screaming Stop being
awful.
Seriously, my workday involvedinterpreting dreams for kings
who'd dismember me on the spotif I got it wrong.
(00:47):
Then there was the fieryfurnace incident and, of course,
the lion's den.
Just another Tuesday, lionsFurnaces, and I was upset about
a blind lamb.
Oh yes, your apathy and badofferings truly resonate.
Now who wants to hear about thefour beasts of the apocalypse,
(01:08):
next week's topic?
Why won't anyone listen to me,except Daniel, apparently?
Jason Brown (01:16):
How many people are enjoying the minor prophets?
I am, and, man, it's fun towatch these guys have their
little session together andcomplain to each other.
None of us ever do that, soit's very good to hear it.
I want to say thanks to Jeremy,who has been making these
videos for us, original everysingle week, for every video.
Man, what a skill set.
Appreciate you, man, you know.
(01:36):
Today we continue in our MinorProphets theme and we get to
hear from three different voicestoday, excited for that, and
get to hear and open up ourhearts to what God wants to
speak to us.
The first person that's sharingtoday is Miss Amy, and she is
someone who's a licensedminister working on her
ordination, has served in manydifferent places in the church,
works with us here at the office, but also leads as a life group
(01:58):
leader and beyond.
Today we're going to get tohear from her and from her voice
, but first let's listen to theprophet.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Today we're going to get to hear from her and from
her voice.
But first let's listen to theprophet.
Checks vanish into a bag withholes.
Why?
Because you focused on yourhouses while God's lay ruined.
God said consider your ways.
(02:38):
All right, fam, update.
If something unclean touchesanother, does it make that
unclean?
Yes, that's why your effortswere tainted.
All your work was affected.
But now, because you arerebuilding and turning to Him,
god promises from this dayforward, I will bless you.
(02:59):
This isn't just about wood andstone, fam.
It's rebuilding our lives, ourcommunity, and getting hearts
right with Him.
That's where real joy is.
Keep this momentum.
Let's show what happens when weput God first.
Stay blessed, jerusalem.
Aimee (03:23):
I am a cattle rancher.
I know you probably weren'tthinking she looks like she
should be driving a tractor, butit's true.
My husband, gil, and I are partowners in my family's cattle
business in Washington State anda couple of years ago we helped
out at Branding Day, where weherded all the cows into a chute
(03:47):
and that way we could get acloser look at them, see if they
needed any medicine and checktheir overall health.
In this photo I am with my cownumber 33, just before she was
released from the chute.
And, in case you cannot tellfrom her facial expression, I
was happier to be there than shewas released from the chute.
And, in case you cannot tellfrom her facial expression, I
was happier to be there than shewas.
(04:10):
Understandably, cows don't likebeing herded.
They don't like being toldwhere to go.
They really don't like gettingsqueezed into the chute.
Some of them resist our effortsand all of them are impatient
to get away, but we do it fortheir own good.
We are so concerned about thecow's well-being that we're
(04:33):
willing to inconvenience them,even to annoy them, because we
know it will help them in thelong run.
Sometimes that's exactly whatGod does for us.
He narrows our options,inconveniences us and even risks
annoying us all, because hewants to show us his grace.
(04:56):
My question for you today is doyou recognize God's grace?
Do you recognize God's grace?
The prophet Haggai lived inJerusalem after the Hebrews
returned from their Babylonianexile.
The four prophecies recorded inhis two-chapter book took place
(05:16):
over a span of just four months.
He and Zechariah prophesiedalongside one another and they
both lived during the same timeas Ezra and Nehemiah.
Let's read Haggai 1.1.
In the second year of Dariusthe king, in the sixth month, on
the first day of the month, theword of the Lord came by the
(05:38):
hand of Haggai, the prophet.
Scholars have been able tonarrow down the date in this
passage to August 29th, 520 BC.
These were real people livingreal lives, and God, who never
changes, treated them the sameway he treats us.
(05:59):
Let's continue.
These people say the time hasnot yet come to rebuild the
house of the Lord.
Is it a time for you yourselvesto dwell in your paneled houses
while this house lies in ruins?
Wood was scarce in the MiddleEast, so a paneled house was a
(06:20):
sign of luxury.
It was an extravagance.
The people were taking extratime and effort to care for
their personal homes while thetemple lay in ruins.
Well, they tried to rebuild itwhen they first returned from
Jerusalem, but they got nofurther than the foundation
before some nearby stopped theirprogress.
(06:41):
And there the project lay for16 years.
Verse 6.
You have sown much andharvested little.
You eat, but you never haveenough.
You drink, but you never haveyour fill.
You clothe yourselves, but noone is warm.
And he who earns wages does soto put them into a bag with
(07:05):
holes.
Do you ever feel like, no matterwhat you do, your efforts don't
work out?
Maybe you feel like you'rebeing funneled into a chute?
That's one of the ways God getsour attention.
Sometimes he narrows ouroptions until we finally turn on
(07:26):
to the path he has planned forus.
A parent does the same thingfor their child's own good.
A dad might build a fencearound the front yard to keep
his toddler from running intothe street.
A mom might tell her teen thathe can't go to a party because
there will be no adults present.
(07:47):
The temple was the place whereGod met with the Israelites, so
by not rebuilding it, they wererevealing that their priorities
were all out of order.
They put nearly everything elsebefore their relationship with
God.
At this point, god could havethrown up his hands, told them
(08:08):
they were out of chances andsent them right back into
captivity or destroyed themaltogether.
But that's not what he did.
He lovingly corrected them.
He pointed out theirshortcomings and then clearly
told them how to escape theirpredicament.
He does the same for us.
(08:28):
God loves us no matter what,but he encourages us to repent
from our sin and head in theright direction.
Do you recognize God's grace?
Verse 7, thus says the Lord ofhosts, consider your ways, go up
to the hills and bring wood andbuild the house that I may take
(08:50):
pleasure in it and that I maybe glorified.
The people obeyed the voice ofthe Lord, their God, and the
words of Haggai the prophet.
Then Haggai, the messenger ofthe Lord, spoke to the people
with the Lord's message I amwith you, declares the Lord.
I am with you.
(09:12):
Even though up to this point,the people hadn't prioritized
their relationship with God, hehad remained with them.
Even when we are in a season ofpre-obedience and aren't
prioritizing our relationshipwith God, he remains with us.
Do you recognize God's grace?
(09:35):
Verse 14 tells us that the Lordstirred up the governor, the
high priest and all the people,and they came and worked on the
house of the Lord of hosts,their God, on the 24th day of
the month.
In the sixth month in the secondyear of Darius the king, or on
September 21st.
It took them just 23 days tomobilize and obey.
(09:59):
They finally set asideeverything and prioritized what
mattered to God.
Let's move on to Haggai,chapter 2.
In the seventh month, on the21st day of the month, or on
October 17th, the word of theLord came by the hand of Haggai,
the prophet who is left amongyou, who saw this house in its
(10:19):
former glory.
How do you see it now?
Is it not as nothing in youreyes?
The first temple, the one thatSolomon had built, had been
legendary for its opulence.
People had come from all overthe world just to see it for
themselves, and once they saw it, they realized it was every bit
(10:42):
as amazing as the stories thatthey'd heard.
So when it was painfullyobvious that this new temple was
a mere shadow of the old one,the people got understandably
discouraged.
But the Lord encouraged them.
Be strong, all you people ofthe land.
Work, for I am with you,according to the covenant that I
(11:04):
made with you when you came outof Egypt.
My spirit remains in your midst.
Fear not, I will fill thishouse with glory.
The latter glory of this houseshall be greater than the former
, and in this place I will givepeace.
This is a messianic prophecy.
(11:25):
This very temple that theHebrews were constructing was
the same one Jesus would entermore than 500 years later.
He was the glory that wouldfill the temple, and he is the
prince of peace.
So if you ever feel as thoughyour efforts aren't good enough
(11:47):
and your best attempts don'tmeasure up, remember this.
How you feel doesn't matter.
The important thing is doingwhat God has told you to do.
He is more than sufficient andhe will fill in the gaps, making
something amazing out of yourbest efforts.
(12:09):
God doesn't want or need yourperfection.
He wants your heart.
In these verses, god remindedthe people again of his presence
, and he's reminding you of hispresence today.
You need to walk on the pathhe's called you to and let him
(12:31):
take care of the rest.
Haggai delivered his final twoprophecies on December 18th.
In the first one, he used theconcept of ceremonial cleanness
and uncleanness to help thepeople understand that, because
their hearts weren't clean,everything they did came to
nothing.
God caused their efforts tofail in order to help bring them
(12:55):
back to him.
This is also how he guides ustoday.
He guides us today.
Sometimes he works throughdiscomfort.
That's the best way to promptus to move out of our sin and
into his much better plan.
God is gracious and he'll doeverything he can to encourage
(13:20):
us to change.
The rest is up to us.
Do you recognize God's grace?
Haggai's final message was toZerubbabel, the Israelite
governor and a direct descendantof King David.
In 2 Samuel 7.16,.
God had promised David yourhouse and your kingdom shall be
(13:42):
made sure forever before me.
Your throne shall beestablished forever.
Since that time, a lot of waterhad flowed under the bridge.
The people had repeatedlyrebelled.
God had finally allowed them toexperience his corrective
judgment, and now they werehaving a bit of a rocky start as
(14:02):
they tried again to be peopleworthy of his name.
Verse 23,.
I will take you, o Zerubbabel,my servant, the son of Shealtiel
, declares the Lord, and makeyou like a signet ring, for I
have chosen you.
God reminded Zerubbabel that healways keeps his promises and
(14:25):
had not abandoned his covenant.
Zerubbabel himself would beGod's representative because God
had chosen him.
Today, god is reminding you ofhis promises In the past.
If you refused to obey andfound yourself being funneled
into a narrow space, know thatit was God's grace taking you
(14:49):
there.
He wants a loving relationshipwith you.
Do you recognize God's grace?
Jason Brown (15:05):
What a great word.
What a great challenge to us.
This next speaker we have is MsSerena, and she is our kids
director here at Cornerstone.
It's a blessing having got achance to know her.
She's grown up here in thischurch and God has used her and
refined her and continues to doso.
She's finishing up to get herministry credentials.
We're excited to hear from herand what God has to share today.
(15:28):
But first let's listen to theprophet.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
What's up, visionaries?
Prophet Z here back with aquick divine download.
You guys ready for some serioustruth bombs?
First, I saw mysterious horsespatrolling a dark valley,
reporting back to God.
God sees everything happeningon earth.
Next, four horns scatteredGod's people.
Then four blacksmiths appear tosmash those horns.
(15:50):
Justice is coming for those whooppress us.
Then a man measuring Jerusalem,but the city was too vast.
God himself will be a wall offire around us, protecting us
without walls.
I then saw Joshua, the highpriest, accused in filthy rags.
God cleansed him, giving himclean robes, full forgiveness
and purification.
Next, a beautiful lampstand fedby two olive trees Not by might
(16:13):
nor by power, but by my spirit,says the Lord Almighty.
Then a giant flying scrollappeared, carrying a curse.
It showed God's judgment forstealing and lying, his
seriousness for holiness andtruth.
I saw a woman named Wickednesssealed in a basket and carried
far away by winged figures.
God will remove evil from theland completely.
Finally, four chariots burstfrom mountains, patrolling the
(16:36):
whole earth, ensuring God'sjudgment and peace reach
everywhere.
So, visionaries, what's the bigtakeaway from all these
incredible insights?
God is active, he has a planand he is powerfully with us.
He promises restoration,protection and his spirit's
power to finish what he starts.
So keep the faith, keepbuilding and stay visionary.
Sarina (17:02):
Have you ever had a season in your life where you
just didn't feel like yourself,when the joy is quiet, when the
anxiety is loud and you start towonder God, do you see me?
(17:23):
I've been walking through aseason like that myself Grief,
mental fatigue, battles withfocus, anxiety, inadequacy and
(17:43):
just a lingering heaviness.
I came to Zechariah notexpecting much, but what I found
was God's heart wide open.
Even when we feel lost,forgotten or stuck in the ruins
of life, god still speaks.
Still speaks.
Zechariah 1.3 says therefore,tell the people this is what the
(18:08):
Lord Almighty says.
Return to me, declares the LordAlmighty, and I will return to
you, says the Lord Almighty InZechariah.
It's not saying we got to proveourself.
It's not saying we have to getit together.
It's just saying that we justneed to return to him, and
(18:31):
that's something that we all cando.
We can just come as we are.
It's God's invitation to brokenpeople.
See, zechariah spoke to peoplejust like us.
They had just come out of exileand they were home, but the
temple was half finished.
Life wasn't what they thoughtit was going to be.
(18:53):
They were grieving their past,they were overwhelmed in their
present and they were unsureabout their future.
Zechariah sends this person or,I'm sorry, god sends this
person, zechariah, which hisname means the Lord remembers,
(19:21):
and he sends him with a messageof hope that God remembers.
He remembers his promise and heremembers his people, and he
remembers you in your messyplace.
Return to me.
It's an open door.
God speaks to his people throughZechariah in eight night
visions, and the overarching ofwhat he's saying is I still
(19:42):
working, even when it feels likeeverything is falling apart.
We're going to look at threevisions today.
The first is the myrtle trees.
Zechariah 1, 8 through 10 saysthis I saw in the night and
behold a man riding on a redhorse.
(20:04):
He was standing among themyrtle trees in the glen, and
behind him were red, swirl andwhite horses.
Then he said what are these, myLord?
The angel who talked with mesaid to me I will show you what
they are.
So the man who was standingamong the myrtle trees answered
these are they whom the Lord hassent to patrol the earth.
(20:27):
So in this scripture we see aman that's the angel of the Lord
and that represents God, andhe's among the myrtle trees,
which are humble and low,fragrant shrubs.
So we have these myrtle trees,trees and myrtle trees often
represent peace and restorationand humility.
(20:51):
So this scripture is depictingGod's presence in that low place
.
Are you in a low place today?
God is there with you.
He isn't afraid of a low place.
Today, god is there with you.
He isn't afraid of your lowplace.
He meets you right in themiddle of it and you're not
(21:13):
alone in it.
You may feel like you'redrowning in finances and
drowning in stress.
God is right there with you.
The second vision we're going tolook at is the cleansing of
Joshua the high priest.
Zechariah 3, 1 through 4 saysthen he showed me Joshua the
(21:39):
high priest, standing before theangel of the Lord and Satan
standing at his right hand toaccuse him.
And the Lord said to Satan theLord rebuke you.
O Satan, the Lord who haschosen Jerusalem, rebuke you.
Is not this a brand pluckedfrom the fire?
Now, joshua was standing beforethe angel clothed in filthy
(22:00):
garments, and the angel said tothose who were standing before
him remove the filthy garmentsfrom him.
And he said behold, I havetaken your iniquity away from
you and I will clothe you inpure vestments.
Just, joshua is standing infilthy clothes, which is a
symbol of sin and shame andfailure.
(22:23):
And God says remove his filthyclothes.
God was not there to condemn,but he was there to cleanse.
He meets us in our sin, hemeets us in our shame and he
meets us in our failure.
(22:44):
The last one we're going to lookat is the golden lampstand,
zechariah 4, 1 through 3.
And the angel who talked withme came again and woke me, like
a man who was awakened out ofhis sleep, and said to me what
do you see?
And I said I see and behold alampstand, all of gold, with a
bowl on top of it and sevenlamps on it, with seven lips of
(23:09):
each on the lamps that are ontop of it, and there are two
olive trees by it, one on theright of the bowl and the other
on its left.
So you have this lampstandbeing fed by two olive trees,
being fed by two olive trees,and this is a picture of God's
constant supply and his constantspirit that dwells with us and
(23:33):
his spirit at work.
In Zechariah 4, 6, it says notby might nor by power, but by my
spirit, whatever your situation, even if it seems impossible,
it's not bigger than your God.
(23:54):
The mountain that you're facing, the fear, the depression, the
fatigue, it's not bigger thanthe God who walks with you Even
if your temple is in ruins, evenif your life is a mess.
(24:16):
God is right there and he'sgoing to help you finish what he
started in you right there, andhe's going to help you finish
what he started in you InZechariah.
He wasn't just talking aboutrebuilding a temple.
He goes on to say that God isthe one who rebuilds hearts, and
that's what the focus is.
It's rebuilding our heart.
It's rebuilding ourrelationship with God
(24:50):
relationship with God.
We need to remember that God isdwelling in our midst, that
he's the fountain that will beopen to cleanse.
God's encouragement to thepeople through Zechariah is the
same for us today.
You may have forgotten hope,but God hasn't forgotten you.
God sees your exhaustion, godsees your stress, he sees your
(25:12):
grief, he sees your anxiety, hesees your depression and he's
not looking for you to have itall together to come to him, and
he's not looking for you tohave it all together to come to
him.
He's not looking for perfectpeople, he's just looking for
returning hearts.
I've been in a season of mylife where I'm trying to rebuild
(25:34):
again, but sometimes it feelslike the bricks keep falling
down.
I've asked God where are youwhen my mind won't rest?
Where are you when I'm grieving?
(25:57):
Where are you when I don't feellike me anymore?
And then the whisper ofZechariah 1.3 is right there,
there, return to me, and I willreturn to you, because in the
chaos and the mess of everythingthat I was going through, all I
had to do was look up and seethat God was right there, beside
me, in it, with me, in the messand the chaos.
(26:19):
It's like Peter walking onwater in the storm.
He was fine when he looked upat God and he had his eyes fixed
on him, on Jesus.
As soon as he looked at whatwas around him, he fell in.
But what happened?
Jesus grabbed him and hebrought him up with him.
(26:43):
So how do we respond toZechariah?
The first thing we do is wecome as we are, we return to him
Zechariah 1.3, return to me.
That's all you have to do, justreturn to him.
Return honestly, return asyou're weary, Return anxious.
(27:13):
You don't have to have theanswers, you don't have to put
it together, just return.
The second thing we do is werebuild.
We focus on God, not on thechaos, not on the mess, but on
the promise of restoration.
We have our eyes fixed on him,even if it's one brick at a time
.
It's not by our strength but byhis spirit he's rebuilding,
(27:42):
even if it feels slow.
And the last thing we do is weremember.
Even if we've forgotten whathope feels like, god hasn't
forgotten us.
He hasn't forgotten you.
(28:02):
Remember that, he remembers you.
He hasn't forgotten your story.
He hasn't forgotten what you'vewalked through, and Zechariah
is proof of that.
We must remember who we are.
We are God's chosen people andhe never left us.
(28:25):
My question to you today is willyou return to God, even in the
middle of your mess?
Maybe today all you have tobring is exhaustion.
Maybe you're walking in themiddle of grief, of depression,
of anxiety, of a load that youhave a hard time explaining.
(28:48):
Maybe your temple, yourspiritual life, feels more like
ruins than a sanctuary.
But the Lord says I will dwellin your midst.
A fountain of hope will be opento cleanse you.
Return to me and I will returnto you.
(29:09):
He's not looking for perfectpeople, he's calling for
returning hearts.
So come with your wounds, comewith your questions.
Come even if your faith ishanging by a thread, because he
remembers you and he's notfinished yet.
Jason Brown (29:39):
That's a great word , great words to us today so far
.
Our third speaker today isJosiah.
He is our youth director hereat Cornerstone.
We're blessed to have he andhis wife, who work with us, and
part of our team here.
It's exciting he's just on theprecipice of getting his
credential as well to be aminister here in the symbols of
God.
But it's exciting to see whatGod has been doing in and
(30:01):
through them and their story.
But first, before we hear fromhim, let's hear from the prophet
.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
All right, fam, it's Malachi and I've got a message
straight from the Lord, god ofIsrael.
This is for you.
Remember the covenant?
We're his people.
But honestly, lately you'rebringing blind, lame, sick
animals for the sacrifices.
You wouldn't give that to yourown governor, but you think it's
good enough for the king of theuniverse.
That's just outright contemptfor his name and the priests.
(30:29):
You're supposed to be guidingthe people, but you're leading
them astray.
Your lips should preserveknowledge, but you've corrupted
the covenant and the tithes.
Will a mere mortal rob God?
Yes, you are robbing him.
Bring the whole tithe into thestorehouse, test him in this
says the Lord Almighty and seeif he won't throw open the
floodgates of heaven and pourout blessing on you.
(30:50):
So what's the word?
Turn back, revere his name.
Before his great day, amessenger will come to return
hearts.
He wants to bless you, but notat the expense of a relationship
with him.
Think about it, good morning.
Josiah (31:08):
Good morning.
Well, my name is Josiah, I ammy wife and I, like Pastor Jason
, have the privilege of leadingour youth ministry here at the
church.
If you're a youth student, wemeet every Sunday night at 5.30.
It's a little shameless plug,but I'm excited to be able to
share with you today.
I have a question for you, ormore of a group activity that
(31:31):
we're going to do.
So if everybody would raiseyour hand with me and, if you're
online, put a hand-raise emoji.
What we're going to do is we'regoing to I'm going to say a
couple numbers and, as I say,how many siblings you had
(31:52):
growing up, if you would thenpull your hand down.
So, if you are an only child,go ahead and put your hand down.
If you have one sibling, goahead and put your hand down.
Two siblings, okay.
Three siblings.
Four siblings, five siblingsSaw a lot of hands up.
Six siblings, seven siblingsGoodness.
(32:21):
Eight siblings, nine siblings,you can put it even higher.
Nine siblings, you put it evenhigher.
10 siblings, goodness.
10.
Okay, so that's the max.
Okay, so that's crazy.
(32:46):
Well, I want to tell you, when Iwas growing up and the more
siblings you had, the more youknow this to be true that when
you're growing up and yourfamily wants to go to a
restaurant the rare time thatthat actually is a mutual
agreement between the parentsit's very hard.
It's very hard to go to arestaurant when you have a bunch
of siblings or I should saychildren, the poor parents.
But growing up I had fivesiblings, six total, including
(33:11):
myself, which was a lot, and wewould go to a restaurant very
rarely.
We'd either go to Longhorn orwe would go to Red Robin.
We'd go to Longhorn because wehad a family discount, because
my mom worked there, and thenRed Robin is just very rarely.
We'd either go to Longhorn orwe would go to Red Robin.
We'd go to Longhorn because wehad a family discount, because
my mom worked there, and thenRed Robin is just very good.
But we'd go and on this rareoccasion, and something that
(33:34):
would always happen is there'dbe like one of us I'd be like
running through the aisles andscreaming and freaking out, and
then there'd be one of us who'slike screaming on my parents'
lap and they're like just losingtheir mind, and that was pretty
uniform for us, and so that'swhy we didn't really go out as a
family.
(33:55):
But there's something that mydad would always say every time
we'd go out is he'd say everytime, do not order what you're
not going to eat.
Do not order what you're notgoing to eat, because, as you
know, the more you order, themore expensive it is, and as is
(34:16):
it's like half the paycheck tobe able to go out with 10
siblings, my goodness.
So what's interesting, though,is food as leftovers is not
necessarily a bad thing.
I mean, it's not as good aswhen it's fresh and when it's
new and when you first get it.
(34:38):
But when it comes to ourrelationship with God, god does
not want our leftovers.
God does not want our leftoversin our life.
And what do I mean by this?
So oftentimes in our life, weapproach our situations in our
(35:02):
life with the perspective andthe point of view that every
other thing takes priority overour relationship with God.
So oftentimes, so many thingscome before our walk with Jesus,
and if you don't believe me, orif you're like I would never do
(35:23):
that, let me give you a coupleexamples, not to be too real,
but I literally caught myselfdoing this the other day.
I was budgeting with my wifeand we had gone through, and we
were like okay, we have thismoney for rent.
We have this money forutilities.
We have this money for rent, wehave this money for utilities.
(35:47):
We have this money for webudgeted our vacation fund and
then we got to the end and wewere like we didn't budget our
tithe.
We didn't budget our tithe.
Or sometimes maybe in your lifewhen you look at what it would
take to serve at church, yourenergy is used all throughout
(36:10):
the week and then by the timeyou get to serving to furthering
the kingdom, you're like, oh, Idon't have energy for this
because all my energy was usedover here.
And let me tell you this is abackwards way of thinking.
What God is asking for is ourfirst fruits.
(36:32):
God is asking for not what'sleft over, not the table scratch
.
God is not asking for theleftovers.
God is asking for our firstfruits.
God is saying I'm notinterested in your leftovers.
So we're reading in Malachitoday, and in Malachi just a
(36:55):
little backstory to who he is.
He was a prophet.
Obviously he was the lastprophet of the Old Testament
Pretty cool.
And leading up into or at theend of Malachi, there was a
400-year span of propheticsilence, and so this is the last
(37:19):
book of the Bible until we gointo the New Testament.
And so we're going to read inMalachi 1, 7 through 8.
And it says this you placedefiled food on my altar.
But you ask how have we defiledyou by saying that the Lord's
table is contemptible when youoffer blind animals for
(37:43):
sacrifices, is that not wrong?
When you sacrifice lame ordeceased animals, is that not
wrong?
Try offering them to yourgovernor.
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept?
You says the Lord Almighty.
(38:07):
God is saying I don't wantwhat's convenient, I don't
really want what is super easyto acquire If you work a job
that is hard-earned money,correct.
(38:29):
God is not asking for the tablescraps.
God is not asking for what youhave left over.
God is asking for your heart.
He's asking for the firstfruits of your heart.
God is saying I don't wantwhat's convenient in your life,
I don't want what is left over.
And in today's day and age, sooften times we sit on our phone
(38:56):
and we're scrolling and then,like right before bed, we're
like oh, I didn't read my Bibletoday.
Pull out the Bible, you get 15minutes in before you doze off
and fall asleep, if that right,just being honest.
But the problem with this isGod is asking for the beginning,
(39:17):
not what's left over.
What's left over, god is askingthat, before we go into a hard
day of work and a hard day ofusing our energy for other
things, to give him the firstfruit of our day, to give him
the first fruit of our life.
That is what God is asking fortoday.
(39:42):
Malachi 1-2 says I have lovedyou, says the Lord, but you ask
how have you loved us?
They act as if God hasn'tproven his love.
They're acting like God has.
He has to prove it a little bitmore before I'm like okay, now
(40:06):
I can do this.
God has proven his love, Ipromise you.
The problem is not God.
The problem is our heart,because we are so hesitant to
give God our first fruit.
We are so hesitant to say God,this is yours, god, I give this
(40:30):
over to you.
And in this situation, theIsraelites are literally
gaslighting God.
They're literally saying,they're literally saying God
like didn't we give you?
Like, like, why don't you feellike we love you?
I don't get it, but they know,you know, you know in your heart
(40:55):
of hearts that, as you'resitting here, if this is, if we
are not putting God first in ourlife.
We know in our heart.
God knows, you know, and Goddoes not want some checkbox
(41:20):
relationship with you.
God is looking for arelationship with you.
That is so much more than Ishowed up I was like 15 minutes
late to church but I stillshowed up and then I gave my
tithe this week.
It was like the second half ofmy budget and I wasn't able to
really give my full tithe, but Imean I gave something this week
.
You know, you know your heartand God knows your heart.
(41:51):
God does not want some checkboxrelationship with you.
God wants authentic, heartfeltrelationship with you.
The Israelites kept asking Godlike what do you mean?
What do you mean that we arenot giving you the first fruit?
(42:16):
It says in Malachi 3.10,.
Bring the whole tithe into thestorehouse that there may be
food in my house.
Test me in this, says the LordAlmighty, and see if I will not
throw open the floodgates ofheaven and pour out so much
blessing that there will not beenough room to store it.
God wants to bless you today.
God wants to bless you.
(42:40):
He wants to transform yourheart and your mind.
You have a purpose and acalling, but the only thing that
is preventing you from reachingwhere God is trying to place
you in your life is you.
The only person stoppingyourself from being where God is
calling you to be is yourself.
(43:06):
It's this heart of hesitancywhere we're saying well, I want
to give this up, but food isexpensive.
I can't tithe in this economy.
That's real.
But God is asking that you testhim in this.
God is asking that, sure youdon't have energy.
(43:29):
Okay, he gets it.
Sure you don't have energy.
But test him in this Show upand serve at your church.
Test him in this Try giving andserve at your church.
Test him in this Try givingyour tithes and offering and see
the blessing that falls outupon your life just from your
(43:53):
obedience.
God's saying trust me.
God's saying you can't do thisby yourself.
You can only do it through me,and it is time you let go and
you trust me.
God is calling us to trust himtoday.
So oftentimes we as humans, weput our careers before our
(44:24):
calling.
We put our hobbies before ourcalling.
Why do we do that?
I'll give you a short answer.
Hobbies are fun and yourcalling is challenging.
Hobbies are fun and yourcalling is challenging, and we
(44:51):
do not want challenge, but letme tell you that God, through
you going through the storm, hewill hold your hand through the
storm, like Serena said, he willpull you out of that water if
your eyes are fixed on him.
Trust him in this.
(45:12):
Stop giving God the scraps thatfall off the table.
God is calling you today tostop giving him the last bits of
your energy, to stop giving himthe last bits of your energy,
to stop giving him the last bitsof your life and to give him
your first fruit today, becauseGod's after your heart, not just
(45:36):
your habits.
God is after your heart, notjust your habits.
In Romans 12, when it says thisoffer your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and pleasing toGod.
This is your true and properworship.
Give your body as a livingsacrifice to God.
(45:57):
Test him in this.
Test him in this.
Test him in this today.
As I close, I have one questionfor you is are you in your life
, are you giving God your firstfruit today, or are you giving
(46:23):
him what's left over?
Are you, in your life today,giving God your first fruit, or
are you giving him the scrapsthat fall off the table?
Jason Brown (46:41):
man.
Such good words today fromeveryone that shared such a
blessing to hear from each andevery one of these voices.
We heard about Haggai, we heardabout Zechariah, we heard about
Malachi, and each one of themchallenging us in our
perspective, challenging us inour perspective towards God in
our heart.
After him, amy brought such agreat and encouraging word today
(47:04):
, a challenging word to us inthe concept that Jesus is our
peace, jesus is our grace andthe grace of God that we
experience that's only throughhim and that we should turn our
heart and our lives towards him,that God wants our heart and
God keeps his promises.
(47:24):
Serena shared with us about herown situation and how God was
with her right in the middle ofher struggle and even in the
prophet's life, the words thatGod gave in these depictions,
these visions, how God is withus, even in the low places.
He hasn't left us alone.
God is with us, and that we'recalled to be those that remember
(47:49):
what God is doing, that wereturn to him, we rebuild our
lives.
We remember the goodness of God, but, friends, it's not by
might nor by power.
It's by the goodness of God,but, friends, it's not by might
nor by power.
It's by the spirit of God, thatwe are sustained and that we
are upheld and that we areempowered to do what he's called
us to do.
(48:10):
Josiah brings such a greatchallenge to us and that God's
not interested in our leftovers,that he wants our first and our
best, and that he's sayinglisten, test me in this that I
won't pour out blessing that youcan't even handle.
But you have to first beobedient.
You have to put him first, andit says even in scripture and
(48:30):
other places put first thekingdom of God, and all these
other things will be added untoyou.
What a great challenge for ustoday.
Each and every one of theseaspects, each and every one of
these pieces of what God wantsto say to us and how he's
challenging us to draw near tohim.
Maybe you're here today andyou've never made a commitment
(48:53):
to follow Jesus.
Today is your opportunity to doso.
See, for us that's what itmeans.
To be a Christ follower is toembrace Christ's work for us in
our lives.
It's to invite him into ourheart and life, to ask him to
forgive us of our sins.
So each one of us has to answerthat question of have you
(49:13):
embraced Jesus?
I would challenge us, as we looktowards the cross today, to
understand the weight of such animportant symbol.
See, the cross for us is asymbol of freedom.
It's a place that was meant ofdestruction and pain and anguish
and torture and death.
(49:33):
And Jesus, he took all of ourbrokenness and all of our shame
and all of those things, all ofour sin.
He took it upon himself and hetook it to the cross, and it's
upon that cross where he gavehis life for us so that we would
not have to pay this price.
But, friends, what I love isthat Jesus is not dead.
(49:55):
He is alive, and so we have aliving relationship with a
living God, and it's notsomething that's passe or past.
There's no tomb for Jesus thathe's in because he is alive, and
so our hearts and our lives,our relationship, is with him,
and that's why today we embracehim.
We say Lord, forgive me of mysins.
Lord, I believe you are who yousay you are.
(50:17):
Lord, I want to come and have anew relationship with you.
The apostle Paul.
He writes it like this to thechurch in Rome he says because
if you confess with your mouththat Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that God raisedhim from the dead.
You will be saved, for with theheart one believes and is just
up by.
With the mouth one confessesand is saved.
(50:40):
Friends, today it's your day,it's your opportunity to embrace
the love of Jesus Christ, tosay yes to him.
I'm gonna ask everyone in theroom if you would just stand to
your feet right where you're atyou, just bow your head.
Christians are praying today aspeople making decisions to
(51:01):
follow Jesus.
Friends, wherever you areonline, take a moment, Take a
moment and just let God speak toyour heart about what he wants
to do in your life.
You hear today, you heard thesechallenging words about what it
means to come to God as oursource, what it means to embrace
his grace.
See, friends, we can't earn ourway to a holy God.
(51:24):
It's not possible.
We can't buy our way in, wecan't do enough good works.
It's just not possible.
It's only through the work ofJesus Christ, it's only by his
work on the cross that we'reable, that we're able to be
reconnected with the Father.
So today is your opportunity tosay yes to Jesus, to invite him
into your heart and life, asyou're about here in the room,
(51:48):
if that's you and you'd say,pastor, I just want to be
included in that prayer.
Today, I want to say yes toJesus.
Maybe it's for the very firsttime, or maybe it's recommitting
your heart and your life backto God.
I bet you just raised your hand, right where you're at.
I just want to agree with youtoday.
Thank you, lord.
Thank you, lord, these peoplemaking decisions today.
Thank you, god, friends onlineas well.
Thank you, Lord, for peoplemaking decisions for you.
(52:09):
I'm going to ask everyone ifthey would just pray this prayer
out loud after me Lord, thankyou for loving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins and I believe
(52:32):
he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you InChrist's name.
I pray amen, amen.
Friends, we rejoice with youmaking a decision to follow
Jesus today.
Hey, if that was you and youmade that decision today, let me
(52:53):
encourage you in this.
Connect with our team in theback.
We wanna be able to putmaterials into your hands so you
can be successful in livingthis life out with God.
If you're online, connect withus.
We don't want you to do thislife alone.
We want you to be successfulliving for Jesus.
Friends, a challenge for all ofus today is to respond to these
words that these friends sharedwith us.
It's to embrace the grace ofGod that's for us and to embrace
(53:16):
him, giving him our whole heart, not holding back.
Maybe you're in a difficultseason, maybe you're going
through something very stressful, and maybe you're in a low
place.
God is with you.
God is for you and he wants tobe more than just a side thing.
He wants everything from yourheart.
He doesn't want your leftovers.
(53:37):
So today, as we come to thisaltar, we do so with
intentionality, asking for animpartation of his presence, an
impartation of his spirit, forGod to give us wisdom and
direction, for him to help us aswe forgive, as we walk in
obedience, for his empowermentto live for him, to trust him
for his provision in and throughour life.
(53:59):
Live for him, to trust him forhis provision in and through our
life.
So let me challenge you thatyou would come and make an altar
with God today and experience anew level of what he wants to
do in your life.
Lord, we thank you for thesewords today.
We thank you for your scripture, holy Spirit.
We thank you for breathing uponit, making it alive and rhema
and transformative.
Today, lord, we thank you howyou challenge us.
Lord, that we can be those whodraw near to you and walk
(54:21):
according to your will and toyour ways.
Lord, it is by your spirit thatwe're able to do these things
and, lord, that you would haveour first and our best and we
would give you our heartentirely.
Lord, as we come to this altartoday, we do so with a heart,
lord, to draw near to you.
Lord, to seek your face andseek your presence.
Lord, we pray that you wouldpour your spirit out upon us.
(54:43):
We pray all this in the name ofJesus Christ, amen.
Celeste Brown (54:48):
How many of you appreciated our speakers today.
I just want to say again thankyou.
Thank you to Serena and Josiah.
Also, I want to thank the youththat joined our worship team
this morning Amy and Gabe andShiloh.
They did a fantastic job.
It is a different feel whenyou're on this stage, let me
tell you, but if you see them,let them know that you
appreciated them being there.
(55:08):
Also, you can go on the app.
We have water baptisms and babydedications coming up in August
and we would love to be a partwith you and celebrate what
God's doing in your life.
Jason Brown (55:18):
We've also had some friends blow in from Texas,
which is Adam and Rosie Stoffel.
We're glad to have them in thehouse today back with us.
You guys don't know, they werea part of us forever, forever on
team with us here and made allthe things go.
Very appreciative to have youguys back with us today.
Before we go, we want to praythis blessing over us.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
(55:47):
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Lord, lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us.
We pray all this in thepowerful name that is Jesus
Christ.
Amen, amen.
Know this we love you very muchhere at Cornerstone.
(56:09):
God bless you and have a greatweek.
All right, gentlemen, welcome to Prophets Anonymous.
I'm Haggai and my problem isgetting people to stop
redecorating their houses andactually build God's temple.
Apathy, pure apathy, apathy,haggai, please.
I had to explain flying scrollsof judgment and chariots with
multicolored horses.
They just stared at me blankly,then asked about their goats.
(00:26):
I had to explain flying scrollsof judgment and chariots with
multicolored horses.
They just stared at me blankly,then asked about their goats.
Try telling people they'rerobbing God with their bad
offerings, zechariah, and thattheir priests are corrupt.
I spent my whole careerbasically screaming Stop being
awful.
Seriously, my workday involvedinterpreting dreams for kings
who'd dismember me on the spotif I got it wrong.
(00:47):
Then there was the fieryfurnace incident and, of course,
the lion's den.
Just another Tuesday, lionsFurnaces, and I was upset about
a blind lamb.
Oh yes, your apathy and badofferings truly resonate.
Now who wants to hear about thefour beasts of the apocalypse,
(01:08):
next week's topic?
Why won't anyone listen to me,except Daniel, apparently?
Jason Brown (01:16):
How many people are enjoying the minor prophets?
I am, and, man, it's fun towatch these guys have their
little session together andcomplain to each other.
None of us ever do that, soit's very good to hear it.
I want to say thanks to Jeremy,who has been making these
videos for us, original everysingle week, for every video.
Man, what a skill set.
Appreciate you, man, you know.
(01:36):
Today we continue in our MinorProphets theme and we get to
hear from three different voicestoday, excited for that, and
get to hear and open up ourhearts to what God wants to
speak to us.
The first person that's sharingtoday is Miss Amy, and she is
someone who's a licensedminister working on her
ordination, has served in manydifferent places in the church,
works with us here at the office, but also leads as a life group
(01:58):
leader and beyond.
Today we're going to get tohear from her and from her voice
, but first let's listen to theprophet.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Today we're going to get to hear from her and from
her voice.
But first let's listen to theprophet.
Checks vanish into a bag withholes.
Why?
Because you focused on yourhouses while God's lay ruined.
God said consider your ways.
(02:38):
All right, fam, update.
If something unclean touchesanother, does it make that
unclean?
Yes, that's why your effortswere tainted.
All your work was affected.
But now, because you arerebuilding and turning to Him,
god promises from this dayforward, I will bless you.
(02:59):
This isn't just about wood andstone, fam.
It's rebuilding our lives, ourcommunity, and getting hearts
right with Him.
That's where real joy is.
Keep this momentum.
Let's show what happens when weput God first.
Stay blessed, jerusalem.
Aimee (03:23):
I am a cattle rancher.
I know you probably weren'tthinking she looks like she
should be driving a tractor, butit's true.
My husband, gil, and I are partowners in my family's cattle
business in Washington State anda couple of years ago we helped
out at Branding Day, where weherded all the cows into a chute
(03:47):
and that way we could get acloser look at them, see if they
needed any medicine and checktheir overall health.
In this photo I am with my cownumber 33, just before she was
released from the chute.
And, in case you cannot tellfrom her facial expression, I
was happier to be there than shewas released from the chute.
And, in case you cannot tellfrom her facial expression, I
was happier to be there than shewas.
(04:10):
Understandably, cows don't likebeing herded.
They don't like being toldwhere to go.
They really don't like gettingsqueezed into the chute.
Some of them resist our effortsand all of them are impatient
to get away, but we do it fortheir own good.
We are so concerned about thecow's well-being that we're
(04:33):
willing to inconvenience them,even to annoy them, because we
know it will help them in thelong run.
Sometimes that's exactly whatGod does for us.
He narrows our options,inconveniences us and even risks
annoying us all, because hewants to show us his grace.
(04:56):
My question for you today is doyou recognize God's grace?
Do you recognize God's grace?
The prophet Haggai lived inJerusalem after the Hebrews
returned from their Babylonianexile.
The four prophecies recorded inhis two-chapter book took place
(05:16):
over a span of just four months.
He and Zechariah prophesiedalongside one another and they
both lived during the same timeas Ezra and Nehemiah.
Let's read Haggai 1.1.
In the second year of Dariusthe king, in the sixth month, on
the first day of the month, theword of the Lord came by the
(05:38):
hand of Haggai, the prophet.
Scholars have been able tonarrow down the date in this
passage to August 29th, 520 BC.
These were real people livingreal lives, and God, who never
changes, treated them the sameway he treats us.
(05:59):
Let's continue.
These people say the time hasnot yet come to rebuild the
house of the Lord.
Is it a time for you yourselvesto dwell in your paneled houses
while this house lies in ruins?
Wood was scarce in the MiddleEast, so a paneled house was a
(06:20):
sign of luxury.
It was an extravagance.
The people were taking extratime and effort to care for
their personal homes while thetemple lay in ruins.
Well, they tried to rebuild itwhen they first returned from
Jerusalem, but they got nofurther than the foundation
before some nearby stopped theirprogress.
(06:41):
And there the project lay for16 years.
Verse 6.
You have sown much andharvested little.
You eat, but you never haveenough.
You drink, but you never haveyour fill.
You clothe yourselves, but noone is warm.
And he who earns wages does soto put them into a bag with
(07:05):
holes.
Do you ever feel like, no matterwhat you do, your efforts don't
work out?
Maybe you feel like you'rebeing funneled into a chute?
That's one of the ways God getsour attention.
Sometimes he narrows ouroptions until we finally turn on
(07:26):
to the path he has planned forus.
A parent does the same thingfor their child's own good.
A dad might build a fencearound the front yard to keep
his toddler from running intothe street.
A mom might tell her teen thathe can't go to a party because
there will be no adults present.
(07:47):
The temple was the place whereGod met with the Israelites, so
by not rebuilding it, they wererevealing that their priorities
were all out of order.
They put nearly everything elsebefore their relationship with
God.
At this point, god could havethrown up his hands, told them
(08:08):
they were out of chances andsent them right back into
captivity or destroyed themaltogether.
But that's not what he did.
He lovingly corrected them.
He pointed out theirshortcomings and then clearly
told them how to escape theirpredicament.
He does the same for us.
(08:28):
God loves us no matter what,but he encourages us to repent
from our sin and head in theright direction.
Do you recognize God's grace?
Verse 7, thus says the Lord ofhosts, consider your ways, go up
to the hills and bring wood andbuild the house that I may take
(08:50):
pleasure in it and that I maybe glorified.
The people obeyed the voice ofthe Lord, their God, and the
words of Haggai the prophet.
Then Haggai, the messenger ofthe Lord, spoke to the people
with the Lord's message I amwith you, declares the Lord.
I am with you.
(09:12):
Even though up to this point,the people hadn't prioritized
their relationship with God, hehad remained with them.
Even when we are in a season ofpre-obedience and aren't
prioritizing our relationshipwith God, he remains with us.
Do you recognize God's grace?
(09:35):
Verse 14 tells us that the Lordstirred up the governor, the
high priest and all the people,and they came and worked on the
house of the Lord of hosts,their God, on the 24th day of
the month.
In the sixth month in the secondyear of Darius the king, or on
September 21st.
It took them just 23 days tomobilize and obey.
(09:59):
They finally set asideeverything and prioritized what
mattered to God.
Let's move on to Haggai,chapter 2.
In the seventh month, on the21st day of the month, or on
October 17th, the word of theLord came by the hand of Haggai,
the prophet who is left amongyou, who saw this house in its
(10:19):
former glory.
How do you see it now?
Is it not as nothing in youreyes?
The first temple, the one thatSolomon had built, had been
legendary for its opulence.
People had come from all overthe world just to see it for
themselves, and once they saw it, they realized it was every bit
(10:42):
as amazing as the stories thatthey'd heard.
So when it was painfullyobvious that this new temple was
a mere shadow of the old one,the people got understandably
discouraged.
But the Lord encouraged them.
Be strong, all you people ofthe land.
Work, for I am with you,according to the covenant that I
(11:04):
made with you when you came outof Egypt.
My spirit remains in your midst.
Fear not, I will fill thishouse with glory.
The latter glory of this houseshall be greater than the former
, and in this place I will givepeace.
This is a messianic prophecy.
(11:25):
This very temple that theHebrews were constructing was
the same one Jesus would entermore than 500 years later.
He was the glory that wouldfill the temple, and he is the
prince of peace.
So if you ever feel as thoughyour efforts aren't good enough
(11:47):
and your best attempts don'tmeasure up, remember this.
How you feel doesn't matter.
The important thing is doingwhat God has told you to do.
He is more than sufficient andhe will fill in the gaps, making
something amazing out of yourbest efforts.
(12:09):
God doesn't want or need yourperfection.
He wants your heart.
In these verses, god remindedthe people again of his presence
, and he's reminding you of hispresence today.
You need to walk on the pathhe's called you to and let him
(12:31):
take care of the rest.
Haggai delivered his final twoprophecies on December 18th.
In the first one, he used theconcept of ceremonial cleanness
and uncleanness to help thepeople understand that, because
their hearts weren't clean,everything they did came to
nothing.
God caused their efforts tofail in order to help bring them
(12:55):
back to him.
This is also how he guides ustoday.
He guides us today.
Sometimes he works throughdiscomfort.
That's the best way to promptus to move out of our sin and
into his much better plan.
God is gracious and he'll doeverything he can to encourage
(13:20):
us to change.
The rest is up to us.
Do you recognize God's grace?
Haggai's final message was toZerubbabel, the Israelite
governor and a direct descendantof King David.
In 2 Samuel 7.16,.
God had promised David yourhouse and your kingdom shall be
(13:42):
made sure forever before me.
Your throne shall beestablished forever.
Since that time, a lot of waterhad flowed under the bridge.
The people had repeatedlyrebelled.
God had finally allowed them toexperience his corrective
judgment, and now they werehaving a bit of a rocky start as
(14:02):
they tried again to be peopleworthy of his name.
Verse 23,.
I will take you, o Zerubbabel,my servant, the son of Shealtiel
, declares the Lord, and makeyou like a signet ring, for I
have chosen you.
God reminded Zerubbabel that healways keeps his promises and
(14:25):
had not abandoned his covenant.
Zerubbabel himself would beGod's representative because God
had chosen him.
Today, god is reminding you ofhis promises In the past.
If you refused to obey andfound yourself being funneled
into a narrow space, know thatit was God's grace taking you
(14:49):
there.
He wants a loving relationshipwith you.
Do you recognize God's grace?
Jason Brown (15:05):
What a great word.
What a great challenge to us.
This next speaker we have is MsSerena, and she is our kids
director here at Cornerstone.
It's a blessing having got achance to know her.
She's grown up here in thischurch and God has used her and
refined her and continues to doso.
She's finishing up to get herministry credentials.
We're excited to hear from herand what God has to share today.
(15:28):
But first let's listen to theprophet.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
What's up, visionaries?
Prophet Z here back with aquick divine download.
You guys ready for some serioustruth bombs?
First, I saw mysterious horsespatrolling a dark valley,
reporting back to God.
God sees everything happeningon earth.
Next, four horns scatteredGod's people.
Then four blacksmiths appear tosmash those horns.
(15:50):
Justice is coming for those whooppress us.
Then a man measuring Jerusalem,but the city was too vast.
God himself will be a wall offire around us, protecting us
without walls.
I then saw Joshua, the highpriest, accused in filthy rags.
God cleansed him, giving himclean robes, full forgiveness
and purification.
Next, a beautiful lampstand fedby two olive trees Not by might
(16:13):
nor by power, but by my spirit,says the Lord Almighty.
Then a giant flying scrollappeared, carrying a curse.
It showed God's judgment forstealing and lying, his
seriousness for holiness andtruth.
I saw a woman named Wickednesssealed in a basket and carried
far away by winged figures.
God will remove evil from theland completely.
Finally, four chariots burstfrom mountains, patrolling the
(16:36):
whole earth, ensuring God'sjudgment and peace reach
everywhere.
So, visionaries, what's the bigtakeaway from all these
incredible insights?
God is active, he has a planand he is powerfully with us.
He promises restoration,protection and his spirit's
power to finish what he starts.
So keep the faith, keepbuilding and stay visionary.
Sarina (17:02):
Have you ever had a season in your life where you
just didn't feel like yourself,when the joy is quiet, when the
anxiety is loud and you start towonder God, do you see me?
(17:23):
I've been walking through aseason like that myself Grief,
mental fatigue, battles withfocus, anxiety, inadequacy and
(17:43):
just a lingering heaviness.
I came to Zechariah notexpecting much, but what I found
was God's heart wide open.
Even when we feel lost,forgotten or stuck in the ruins
of life, god still speaks.
Still speaks.
Zechariah 1.3 says therefore,tell the people this is what the
(18:08):
Lord Almighty says.
Return to me, declares the LordAlmighty, and I will return to
you, says the Lord Almighty InZechariah.
It's not saying we got to proveourself.
It's not saying we have to getit together.
It's just saying that we justneed to return to him, and
(18:31):
that's something that we all cando.
We can just come as we are.
It's God's invitation to brokenpeople.
See, zechariah spoke to peoplejust like us.
They had just come out of exileand they were home, but the
temple was half finished.
Life wasn't what they thoughtit was going to be.
(18:53):
They were grieving their past,they were overwhelmed in their
present and they were unsureabout their future.
Zechariah sends this person or,I'm sorry, god sends this
person, zechariah, which hisname means the Lord remembers,
(19:21):
and he sends him with a messageof hope that God remembers.
He remembers his promise and heremembers his people, and he
remembers you in your messyplace.
Return to me.
It's an open door.
God speaks to his people throughZechariah in eight night
visions, and the overarching ofwhat he's saying is I still
(19:42):
working, even when it feels likeeverything is falling apart.
We're going to look at threevisions today.
The first is the myrtle trees.
Zechariah 1, 8 through 10 saysthis I saw in the night and
behold a man riding on a redhorse.
(20:04):
He was standing among themyrtle trees in the glen, and
behind him were red, swirl andwhite horses.
Then he said what are these, myLord?
The angel who talked with mesaid to me I will show you what
they are.
So the man who was standingamong the myrtle trees answered
these are they whom the Lord hassent to patrol the earth.
(20:27):
So in this scripture we see aman that's the angel of the Lord
and that represents God, andhe's among the myrtle trees,
which are humble and low,fragrant shrubs.
So we have these myrtle trees,trees and myrtle trees often
represent peace and restorationand humility.
(20:51):
So this scripture is depictingGod's presence in that low place
.
Are you in a low place today?
God is there with you.
He isn't afraid of a low place.
Today, god is there with you.
He isn't afraid of your lowplace.
He meets you right in themiddle of it and you're not
(21:13):
alone in it.
You may feel like you'redrowning in finances and
drowning in stress.
God is right there with you.
The second vision we're going tolook at is the cleansing of
Joshua the high priest.
Zechariah 3, 1 through 4 saysthen he showed me Joshua the
(21:39):
high priest, standing before theangel of the Lord and Satan
standing at his right hand toaccuse him.
And the Lord said to Satan theLord rebuke you.
O Satan, the Lord who haschosen Jerusalem, rebuke you.
Is not this a brand pluckedfrom the fire?
Now, joshua was standing beforethe angel clothed in filthy
(22:00):
garments, and the angel said tothose who were standing before
him remove the filthy garmentsfrom him.
And he said behold, I havetaken your iniquity away from
you and I will clothe you inpure vestments.
Just, joshua is standing infilthy clothes, which is a
symbol of sin and shame andfailure.
(22:23):
And God says remove his filthyclothes.
God was not there to condemn,but he was there to cleanse.
He meets us in our sin, hemeets us in our shame and he
meets us in our failure.
(22:44):
The last one we're going to lookat is the golden lampstand,
zechariah 4, 1 through 3.
And the angel who talked withme came again and woke me, like
a man who was awakened out ofhis sleep, and said to me what
do you see?
And I said I see and behold alampstand, all of gold, with a
bowl on top of it and sevenlamps on it, with seven lips of
(23:09):
each on the lamps that are ontop of it, and there are two
olive trees by it, one on theright of the bowl and the other
on its left.
So you have this lampstandbeing fed by two olive trees,
being fed by two olive trees,and this is a picture of God's
constant supply and his constantspirit that dwells with us and
(23:33):
his spirit at work.
In Zechariah 4, 6, it says notby might nor by power, but by my
spirit, whatever your situation, even if it seems impossible,
it's not bigger than your God.
(23:54):
The mountain that you're facing, the fear, the depression, the
fatigue, it's not bigger thanthe God who walks with you Even
if your temple is in ruins, evenif your life is a mess.
(24:16):
God is right there and he'sgoing to help you finish what he
started in you right there, andhe's going to help you finish
what he started in you InZechariah.
He wasn't just talking aboutrebuilding a temple.
He goes on to say that God isthe one who rebuilds hearts, and
that's what the focus is.
It's rebuilding our heart.
It's rebuilding ourrelationship with God
(24:50):
relationship with God.
We need to remember that God isdwelling in our midst, that
he's the fountain that will beopen to cleanse.
God's encouragement to thepeople through Zechariah is the
same for us today.
You may have forgotten hope,but God hasn't forgotten you.
God sees your exhaustion, godsees your stress, he sees your
(25:12):
grief, he sees your anxiety, hesees your depression and he's
not looking for you to have itall together to come to him, and
he's not looking for you tohave it all together to come to
him.
He's not looking for perfectpeople, he's just looking for
returning hearts.
I've been in a season of mylife where I'm trying to rebuild
(25:34):
again, but sometimes it feelslike the bricks keep falling
down.
I've asked God where are youwhen my mind won't rest?
Where are you when I'm grieving?
(25:57):
Where are you when I don't feellike me anymore?
And then the whisper ofZechariah 1.3 is right there,
there, return to me, and I willreturn to you, because in the
chaos and the mess of everythingthat I was going through, all I
had to do was look up and seethat God was right there, beside
me, in it, with me, in the messand the chaos.
(26:19):
It's like Peter walking onwater in the storm.
He was fine when he looked upat God and he had his eyes fixed
on him, on Jesus.
As soon as he looked at whatwas around him, he fell in.
But what happened?
Jesus grabbed him and hebrought him up with him.
(26:43):
So how do we respond toZechariah?
The first thing we do is wecome as we are, we return to him
Zechariah 1.3, return to me.
That's all you have to do, justreturn to him.
Return honestly, return asyou're weary, Return anxious.
(27:13):
You don't have to have theanswers, you don't have to put
it together, just return.
The second thing we do is werebuild.
We focus on God, not on thechaos, not on the mess, but on
the promise of restoration.
We have our eyes fixed on him,even if it's one brick at a time
.
It's not by our strength but byhis spirit he's rebuilding,
(27:42):
even if it feels slow.
And the last thing we do is weremember.
Even if we've forgotten whathope feels like, god hasn't
forgotten us.
He hasn't forgotten you.
(28:02):
Remember that, he remembers you.
He hasn't forgotten your story.
He hasn't forgotten what you'vewalked through, and Zechariah
is proof of that.
We must remember who we are.
We are God's chosen people andhe never left us.
(28:25):
My question to you today is willyou return to God, even in the
middle of your mess?
Maybe today all you have tobring is exhaustion.
Maybe you're walking in themiddle of grief, of depression,
of anxiety, of a load that youhave a hard time explaining.
(28:48):
Maybe your temple, yourspiritual life, feels more like
ruins than a sanctuary.
But the Lord says I will dwellin your midst.
A fountain of hope will be opento cleanse you.
Return to me and I will returnto you.
(29:09):
He's not looking for perfectpeople, he's calling for
returning hearts.
So come with your wounds, comewith your questions.
Come even if your faith ishanging by a thread, because he
remembers you and he's notfinished yet.
Jason Brown (29:39):
That's a great word , great words to us today so far
.
Our third speaker today isJosiah.
He is our youth director hereat Cornerstone.
We're blessed to have he andhis wife, who work with us, and
part of our team here.
It's exciting he's just on theprecipice of getting his
credential as well to be aminister here in the symbols of
God.
But it's exciting to see whatGod has been doing in and
(30:01):
through them and their story.
But first, before we hear fromhim, let's hear from the prophet
.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
All right, fam, it's Malachi and I've got a message
straight from the Lord, god ofIsrael.
This is for you.
Remember the covenant?
We're his people.
But honestly, lately you'rebringing blind, lame, sick
animals for the sacrifices.
You wouldn't give that to yourown governor, but you think it's
good enough for the king of theuniverse.
That's just outright contemptfor his name and the priests.
(30:29):
You're supposed to be guidingthe people, but you're leading
them astray.
Your lips should preserveknowledge, but you've corrupted
the covenant and the tithes.
Will a mere mortal rob God?
Yes, you are robbing him.
Bring the whole tithe into thestorehouse, test him in this
says the Lord Almighty and seeif he won't throw open the
floodgates of heaven and pourout blessing on you.
(30:50):
So what's the word?
Turn back, revere his name.
Before his great day, amessenger will come to return
hearts.
He wants to bless you, but notat the expense of a relationship
with him.
Think about it, good morning.
Josiah (31:08):
Good morning.
Well, my name is Josiah, I ammy wife and I, like Pastor Jason
, have the privilege of leadingour youth ministry here at the
church.
If you're a youth student, wemeet every Sunday night at 5.30.
It's a little shameless plug,but I'm excited to be able to
share with you today.
I have a question for you, ormore of a group activity that
(31:31):
we're going to do.
So if everybody would raiseyour hand with me and, if you're
online, put a hand-raise emoji.
What we're going to do is we'regoing to I'm going to say a
couple numbers and, as I say,how many siblings you had
(31:52):
growing up, if you would thenpull your hand down.
So, if you are an only child,go ahead and put your hand down.
If you have one sibling, goahead and put your hand down.
Two siblings, okay.
Three siblings.
Four siblings, five siblingsSaw a lot of hands up.
Six siblings, seven siblingsGoodness.
(32:21):
Eight siblings, nine siblings,you can put it even higher.
Nine siblings, you put it evenhigher.
10 siblings, goodness.
10.
Okay, so that's the max.
Okay, so that's crazy.
(32:46):
Well, I want to tell you, when Iwas growing up and the more
siblings you had, the more youknow this to be true that when
you're growing up and yourfamily wants to go to a
restaurant the rare time thatthat actually is a mutual
agreement between the parentsit's very hard.
It's very hard to go to arestaurant when you have a bunch
of siblings or I should saychildren, the poor parents.
But growing up I had fivesiblings, six total, including
(33:11):
myself, which was a lot, and wewould go to a restaurant very
rarely.
We'd either go to Longhorn orwe would go to Red Robin.
We'd go to Longhorn because wehad a family discount, because
my mom worked there, and thenRed Robin is just very rarely.
We'd either go to Longhorn orwe would go to Red Robin.
We'd go to Longhorn because wehad a family discount, because
my mom worked there, and thenRed Robin is just very good.
But we'd go and on this rareoccasion, and something that
(33:34):
would always happen is there'dbe like one of us I'd be like
running through the aisles andscreaming and freaking out, and
then there'd be one of us who'slike screaming on my parents'
lap and they're like just losingtheir mind, and that was pretty
uniform for us, and so that'swhy we didn't really go out as a
family.
(33:55):
But there's something that mydad would always say every time
we'd go out is he'd say everytime, do not order what you're
not going to eat.
Do not order what you're notgoing to eat, because, as you
know, the more you order, themore expensive it is, and as is
(34:16):
it's like half the paycheck tobe able to go out with 10
siblings, my goodness.
So what's interesting, though,is food as leftovers is not
necessarily a bad thing.
I mean, it's not as good aswhen it's fresh and when it's
new and when you first get it.
(34:38):
But when it comes to ourrelationship with God, god does
not want our leftovers.
God does not want our leftoversin our life.
And what do I mean by this?
So oftentimes in our life, weapproach our situations in our
(35:02):
life with the perspective andthe point of view that every
other thing takes priority overour relationship with God.
So oftentimes, so many thingscome before our walk with Jesus,
and if you don't believe me, orif you're like I would never do
(35:23):
that, let me give you a coupleexamples, not to be too real,
but I literally caught myselfdoing this the other day.
I was budgeting with my wifeand we had gone through, and we
were like okay, we have thismoney for rent.
We have this money forutilities.
We have this money for rent, wehave this money for utilities.
(35:47):
We have this money for webudgeted our vacation fund and
then we got to the end and wewere like we didn't budget our
tithe.
We didn't budget our tithe.
Or sometimes maybe in your lifewhen you look at what it would
take to serve at church, yourenergy is used all throughout
(36:10):
the week and then by the timeyou get to serving to furthering
the kingdom, you're like, oh, Idon't have energy for this
because all my energy was usedover here.
And let me tell you this is abackwards way of thinking.
What God is asking for is ourfirst fruits.
(36:32):
God is asking for not what'sleft over, not the table scratch
.
God is not asking for theleftovers.
God is asking for our firstfruits.
God is saying I'm notinterested in your leftovers.
So we're reading in Malachitoday, and in Malachi just a
(36:55):
little backstory to who he is.
He was a prophet.
Obviously he was the lastprophet of the Old Testament
Pretty cool.
And leading up into or at theend of Malachi, there was a
400-year span of propheticsilence, and so this is the last
(37:19):
book of the Bible until we gointo the New Testament.
And so we're going to read inMalachi 1, 7 through 8.
And it says this you placedefiled food on my altar.
But you ask how have we defiledyou by saying that the Lord's
table is contemptible when youoffer blind animals for
(37:43):
sacrifices, is that not wrong?
When you sacrifice lame ordeceased animals, is that not
wrong?
Try offering them to yourgovernor.
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept?
You says the Lord Almighty.
(38:07):
God is saying I don't wantwhat's convenient, I don't
really want what is super easyto acquire If you work a job
that is hard-earned money,correct.
(38:29):
God is not asking for the tablescraps.
God is not asking for what youhave left over.
God is asking for your heart.
He's asking for the firstfruits of your heart.
God is saying I don't wantwhat's convenient in your life,
I don't want what is left over.
And in today's day and age, sooften times we sit on our phone
(38:56):
and we're scrolling and then,like right before bed, we're
like oh, I didn't read my Bibletoday.
Pull out the Bible, you get 15minutes in before you doze off
and fall asleep, if that right,just being honest.
But the problem with this isGod is asking for the beginning,
(39:17):
not what's left over.
What's left over, god is askingthat, before we go into a hard
day of work and a hard day ofusing our energy for other
things, to give him the firstfruit of our day, to give him
the first fruit of our life.
That is what God is asking fortoday.
(39:42):
Malachi 1-2 says I have lovedyou, says the Lord, but you ask
how have you loved us?
They act as if God hasn'tproven his love.
They're acting like God has.
He has to prove it a little bitmore before I'm like okay, now
(40:06):
I can do this.
God has proven his love, Ipromise you.
The problem is not God.
The problem is our heart,because we are so hesitant to
give God our first fruit.
We are so hesitant to say God,this is yours, god, I give this
(40:30):
over to you.
And in this situation, theIsraelites are literally
gaslighting God.
They're literally saying,they're literally saying God
like didn't we give you?
Like, like, why don't you feellike we love you?
I don't get it, but they know,you know, you know in your heart
(40:55):
of hearts that, as you'resitting here, if this is, if we
are not putting God first in ourlife.
We know in our heart.
God knows, you know, and Goddoes not want some checkbox
(41:20):
relationship with you.
God is looking for arelationship with you.
That is so much more than Ishowed up I was like 15 minutes
late to church but I stillshowed up and then I gave my
tithe this week.
It was like the second half ofmy budget and I wasn't able to
really give my full tithe, but Imean I gave something this week
.
You know, you know your heartand God knows your heart.
(41:51):
God does not want some checkboxrelationship with you.
God wants authentic, heartfeltrelationship with you.
The Israelites kept asking Godlike what do you mean?
What do you mean that we arenot giving you the first fruit?
(42:16):
It says in Malachi 3.10,.
Bring the whole tithe into thestorehouse that there may be
food in my house.
Test me in this, says the LordAlmighty, and see if I will not
throw open the floodgates ofheaven and pour out so much
blessing that there will not beenough room to store it.
God wants to bless you today.
God wants to bless you.
(42:40):
He wants to transform yourheart and your mind.
You have a purpose and acalling, but the only thing that
is preventing you from reachingwhere God is trying to place
you in your life is you.
The only person stoppingyourself from being where God is
calling you to be is yourself.
(43:06):
It's this heart of hesitancywhere we're saying well, I want
to give this up, but food isexpensive.
I can't tithe in this economy.
That's real.
But God is asking that you testhim in this.
God is asking that, sure youdon't have energy.
(43:29):
Okay, he gets it.
Sure you don't have energy.
But test him in this Show upand serve at your church.
Test him in this Try giving andserve at your church.
Test him in this Try givingyour tithes and offering and see
the blessing that falls outupon your life just from your
(43:53):
obedience.
God's saying trust me.
God's saying you can't do thisby yourself.
You can only do it through me,and it is time you let go and
you trust me.
God is calling us to trust himtoday.
So oftentimes we as humans, weput our careers before our
(44:24):
calling.
We put our hobbies before ourcalling.
Why do we do that?
I'll give you a short answer.
Hobbies are fun and yourcalling is challenging.
Hobbies are fun and yourcalling is challenging, and we
(44:51):
do not want challenge, but letme tell you that God, through
you going through the storm, hewill hold your hand through the
storm, like Serena said, he willpull you out of that water if
your eyes are fixed on him.
Trust him in this.
(45:12):
Stop giving God the scraps thatfall off the table.
God is calling you today tostop giving him the last bits of
your energy, to stop giving himthe last bits of your energy,
to stop giving him the last bitsof your life and to give him
your first fruit today, becauseGod's after your heart, not just
(45:36):
your habits.
God is after your heart, notjust your habits.
In Romans 12, when it says thisoffer your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and pleasing toGod.
This is your true and properworship.
Give your body as a livingsacrifice to God.
(45:57):
Test him in this.
Test him in this.
Test him in this today.
As I close, I have one questionfor you is are you in your life
, are you giving God your firstfruit today, or are you giving
(46:23):
him what's left over?
Are you, in your life today,giving God your first fruit, or
are you giving him the scrapsthat fall off the table?
Jason Brown (46:41):
man.
Such good words today fromeveryone that shared such a
blessing to hear from each andevery one of these voices.
We heard about Haggai, we heardabout Zechariah, we heard about
Malachi, and each one of themchallenging us in our
perspective, challenging us inour perspective towards God in
our heart.
After him, amy brought such agreat and encouraging word today
(47:04):
, a challenging word to us inthe concept that Jesus is our
peace, jesus is our grace andthe grace of God that we
experience that's only throughhim and that we should turn our
heart and our lives towards him,that God wants our heart and
God keeps his promises.
(47:24):
Serena shared with us about herown situation and how God was
with her right in the middle ofher struggle and even in the
prophet's life, the words thatGod gave in these depictions,
these visions, how God is withus, even in the low places.
He hasn't left us alone.
God is with us, and that we'recalled to be those that remember
(47:49):
what God is doing, that wereturn to him, we rebuild our
lives.
We remember the goodness of God, but, friends, it's not by
might nor by power.
It's by the goodness of God,but, friends, it's not by might
nor by power.
It's by the spirit of God, thatwe are sustained and that we
are upheld and that we areempowered to do what he's called
us to do.
(48:10):
Josiah brings such a greatchallenge to us and that God's
not interested in our leftovers,that he wants our first and our
best, and that he's sayinglisten, test me in this that I
won't pour out blessing that youcan't even handle.
But you have to first beobedient.
You have to put him first, andit says even in scripture and
(48:30):
other places put first thekingdom of God, and all these
other things will be added untoyou.
What a great challenge for ustoday.
Each and every one of theseaspects, each and every one of
these pieces of what God wantsto say to us and how he's
challenging us to draw near tohim.
Maybe you're here today andyou've never made a commitment
(48:53):
to follow Jesus.
Today is your opportunity to doso.
See, for us that's what itmeans.
To be a Christ follower is toembrace Christ's work for us in
our lives.
It's to invite him into ourheart and life, to ask him to
forgive us of our sins.
So each one of us has to answerthat question of have you
(49:13):
embraced Jesus?
I would challenge us, as we looktowards the cross today, to
understand the weight of such animportant symbol.
See, the cross for us is asymbol of freedom.
It's a place that was meant ofdestruction and pain and anguish
and torture and death.
(49:33):
And Jesus, he took all of ourbrokenness and all of our shame
and all of those things, all ofour sin.
He took it upon himself and hetook it to the cross, and it's
upon that cross where he gavehis life for us so that we would
not have to pay this price.
But, friends, what I love isthat Jesus is not dead.
(49:55):
He is alive, and so we have aliving relationship with a
living God, and it's notsomething that's passe or past.
There's no tomb for Jesus thathe's in because he is alive, and
so our hearts and our lives,our relationship, is with him,
and that's why today we embracehim.
We say Lord, forgive me of mysins.
Lord, I believe you are who yousay you are.
(50:17):
Lord, I want to come and have anew relationship with you.
The apostle Paul.
He writes it like this to thechurch in Rome he says because
if you confess with your mouththat Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that God raisedhim from the dead.
You will be saved, for with theheart one believes and is just
up by.
With the mouth one confessesand is saved.
(50:40):
Friends, today it's your day,it's your opportunity to embrace
the love of Jesus Christ, tosay yes to him.
I'm gonna ask everyone in theroom if you would just stand to
your feet right where you're atyou, just bow your head.
Christians are praying today aspeople making decisions to
(51:01):
follow Jesus.
Friends, wherever you areonline, take a moment, Take a
moment and just let God speak toyour heart about what he wants
to do in your life.
You hear today, you heard thesechallenging words about what it
means to come to God as oursource, what it means to embrace
his grace.
See, friends, we can't earn ourway to a holy God.
(51:24):
It's not possible.
We can't buy our way in, wecan't do enough good works.
It's just not possible.
It's only through the work ofJesus Christ, it's only by his
work on the cross that we'reable, that we're able to be
reconnected with the Father.
So today is your opportunity tosay yes to Jesus, to invite him
into your heart and life, asyou're about here in the room,
(51:48):
if that's you and you'd say,pastor, I just want to be
included in that prayer.
Today, I want to say yes toJesus.
Maybe it's for the very firsttime, or maybe it's recommitting
your heart and your life backto God.
I bet you just raised your hand, right where you're at.
I just want to agree with youtoday.
Thank you, lord.
Thank you, lord, these peoplemaking decisions today.
Thank you, god, friends onlineas well.
Thank you, Lord, for peoplemaking decisions for you.
(52:09):
I'm going to ask everyone ifthey would just pray this prayer
out loud after me Lord, thankyou for loving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins and I believe
(52:32):
he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you InChrist's name.
I pray amen, amen.
Friends, we rejoice with youmaking a decision to follow
Jesus today.
Hey, if that was you and youmade that decision today, let me
(52:53):
encourage you in this.
Connect with our team in theback.
We wanna be able to putmaterials into your hands so you
can be successful in livingthis life out with God.
If you're online, connect withus.
We don't want you to do thislife alone.
We want you to be successfulliving for Jesus.
Friends, a challenge for all ofus today is to respond to these
words that these friends sharedwith us.
It's to embrace the grace ofGod that's for us and to embrace
(53:16):
him, giving him our whole heart, not holding back.
Maybe you're in a difficultseason, maybe you're going
through something very stressful, and maybe you're in a low
place.
God is with you.
God is for you and he wants tobe more than just a side thing.
He wants everything from yourheart.
He doesn't want your leftovers.
(53:37):
So today, as we come to thisaltar, we do so with
intentionality, asking for animpartation of his presence, an
impartation of his spirit, forGod to give us wisdom and
direction, for him to help us aswe forgive, as we walk in
obedience, for his empowermentto live for him, to trust him
for his provision in and throughour life.
(53:59):
Live for him, to trust him forhis provision in and through our
life.
So let me challenge you thatyou would come and make an altar
with God today and experience anew level of what he wants to
do in your life.
Lord, we thank you for thesewords today.
We thank you for your scripture, holy Spirit.
We thank you for breathing uponit, making it alive and rhema
and transformative.
Today, lord, we thank you howyou challenge us.
Lord, that we can be those whodraw near to you and walk
(54:21):
according to your will and toyour ways.
Lord, it is by your spirit thatwe're able to do these things
and, lord, that you would haveour first and our best and we
would give you our heartentirely.
Lord, as we come to this altartoday, we do so with a heart,
lord, to draw near to you.
Lord, to seek your face andseek your presence.
Lord, we pray that you wouldpour your spirit out upon us.
(54:43):
We pray all this in the name ofJesus Christ, amen.
Celeste Brown (54:48):
How many of you appreciated our speakers today.
I just want to say again thankyou.
Thank you to Serena and Josiah.
Also, I want to thank the youththat joined our worship team
this morning Amy and Gabe andShiloh.
They did a fantastic job.
It is a different feel whenyou're on this stage, let me
tell you, but if you see them,let them know that you
appreciated them being there.
(55:08):
Also, you can go on the app.
We have water baptisms and babydedications coming up in August
and we would love to be a partwith you and celebrate what
God's doing in your life.
Jason Brown (55:18):
We've also had some friends blow in from Texas,
which is Adam and Rosie Stoffel.
We're glad to have them in thehouse today back with us.
You guys don't know, they werea part of us forever, forever on
team with us here and made allthe things go.
Very appreciative to have youguys back with us today.
Before we go, we want to praythis blessing over us.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
(55:47):
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Lord, lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us.
We pray all this in thepowerful name that is Jesus
Christ.
Amen, amen.
Know this we love you very muchhere at Cornerstone.
(56:09):
God bless you and have a greatweek.
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