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0:00 You know, some days it's, even though I'm retired and you know, I sit around a lot and I need things to do and do my thing. It was an actually very relaxing week and I was able to just enjoy some of nature and sit at the campground. But this week we've got to get back to work a little bit and we'll look into that.

So, we're going to receive the offering. We're going to change this up. Maybe back this week I've got to put some things together. Because the Bible says to bring into the storehouse. And I want to make a focus for us to bring our offerings into the storehouse. Instead of just placing them in a bucket in the back.

We would do regular offerings, but you know, we struggle with people. But I know, I know in my heart that God is going to answer that prayer. And the people are coming. They just don't know it yet. People in this neighborhood, they're going to become members of our church and they just don't know it yet.

Father, we just thank you that you continue to bless us. That you let your spirit fall upon us. To give us the peace of mind. To give us the peace in our spirit, Lord. That we all long for. And Lord, I pray and we give abundantly unto you. You will pour back seemingly upon us.

Then just come bring us over and fill up the overflowing, Lord. So that not only does the financial overflow into what the outreach that you need us to do, Lord. But it touches people's lives. And we just thank you as we give today that we are blessed beyond all measure. And we thank you today in your mighty name. Amen.

God is good. I know. God is good. All the time. And all the time. God is good. When the sun sets free, it's free indeed. One thing I have in my notes, and I wrote it down here a little while ago, September's coming up, and you know that we're still working through some of the transitions.

Things are still going on because of my role. And on September 15th, we know that the general council will be meeting to discuss the divorce exception for Dawn and for me to be a senior pastor. We already went through the district and the network, and they have already approved it, but it's not official until it goes before the general council.

3:31 And that will be happening on September 15th. So just keep that in prayer. Another thing this week that I sort of struggled with and being the leader, I have to take some of these responsibilities. So last week, we discussed a little bit about late tonight. So here's what my thoughts are because I know people have grown weary of it.

I don't know if we have the helpers this year. So this year, late tonight would actually fall. Halloween falls on a Saturday night. So it'd be, you know, the day before, the night before Christmas, or Christmas, the night before Sunday. I don't want to rush to get to Christmas. Really, I hope so.

And I know people are burnt out, and I think we just need a break. So what I'd like to do, I think what we're going to do is we're going to not do late tonight this year. I'm not going to say we're going to throw it out completely. But what's interesting for me, and this is what I've been praying about and working on,

and I got actually notes written down on this that next year, Christmas, or Christmas, next year, Halloween is on Sunday, which is sort of interesting. I'm not sure what we've done in the past on a Sunday. You're doing it. But I have this vision, but it takes people. And I don't know if we could actually do this with the people that we have now,

if we have the numbers. But I have this vision of changing things up in the foyer, make that the entrance, and cut back. I understand what the vision is, and I think we can refine it. But like I said, it's going to be a Sunday night next year. Open the foyer up, serve popcorn and some soft drinks.

Just narrow that down a little bit. Put a movie on in a gymnasium. We can put up a bigger screen or whatever we want. Maybe show Young David a movie for the kids. Set it up more like a theater seating and put some tables in the back. And then have people going out and talking to people, getting to know them.

And then inside the sanctuary, maybe every half hour, we do a mini service, two songs and a five-minute sermon. That's a vision God had placed on my heart. I think it would be good to take this year off, and then we could plan for that next year. If everybody's in agreement with that, I guess that's what we're going to do.

6:28 That's what we're going to do. If I keep asking, some people still are willing and other people, but I just don't think we have the numbers this year. I know that's what we're going to do. That gives us a lot of time, so we're going to know the night this year. I know Carrie's very disappointed not being able to make her backseat hot chocolate.

Are you going to let the community know that? Yeah, I'll probably put something in the Ravenna Independent, and we'll post some things in the Ravenna informed on Facebook. I don't know if any of you saw, but in the Ravenna Independent, it was last week, right? Pastor Williams put an article in there about being 37 years here, or 36 years.

The longest pastor, as far as we know, to ever pastor a church in Ravenna. That article, we have a copy of it. It's out of camp right now, I think, but we have a copy of it that we can share with people. We may as well stick it up on the board up here.

But that's quite an accomplishment to do it for that many years. I have my message ready, and then I'm sitting in the office, and we're getting ready for prayer, and I'm thinking, I don't want to disappoint people today because I don't have a daddy. Oh, how tragic. But, you know, fortunately... Drink your water bottle.

Oh, Lord help us. Why did, oh, why did the pastor grab a water? I don't know, ask him. I think that's Carrie's joke. Just in case you didn't have one, do they? I get them all the time, I just have to remember to put them in my, um, What kind of card did the apostles drag?

A Honda Accord. They were all in one Accord. Oh my gosh. What year of the states mentioned in the Bible? Ark himself. An ark and he saw. Okay. That's why I gotta do this. I've had the opportunity to put these at the end, but I don't want to ruin the spirit that's calling me if I put my dandruff at the end.

We have to forgive you seventy times seven. That's why, that's why it's so important for us to have prayer and grace and grace and grace. Because Pastor Tim's jokes aren't very funny. Well, last week we did have the business meeting and for those who were here, um, and I really just, I didn't want to put everything out in the open.

9:24 I wanted to have full transparency about where we are financially. Um, I don't think we're desperate, but I just wanted everybody to be on the same page to understand where we were. And, um, so we talked about the finances and the budget and I want to say that it wasn't a warning to us, but it was, I believe if we all work together as a family that we will accomplish what God wants us to accomplish.

Um, I believe transparency is crucial in how I can lead us, how it can lead to wisdom, abundance, and excellence. These are all things that God will provide. We just have to be the willing vessel for him to use to do it. 1 Chronicles 29, 10 through 14. Praise be to you, Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor.

For everything in heaven and earth is his. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom. You are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you. It doesn't come from us. It doesn't come from our employers. It doesn't come from the government. It comes from God. Sometimes he just has to use evil people to get it to us.

I mean, you heard the story and I think maybe I've shared it and passed away, but, um, there was a lady and she had a neighbor that was an atheist. And she was really struggling with food and she would pray and pray that God would bring her some food or bring her some groceries or whatever it might be.

And she would pray and pray and the atheist said, well, I'm going to show her. And he went out and bought a bag of groceries and stuck it on her footstep outside her door and walked away. And she comes out and opens up the door. She starts praising the Lord. Hallelujah. Look what the Lord has done.

And the atheist came and said that your God didn't do that. I did that. He said, she said, well, thank you, God, even if you hadn't made evil, bring it to me. But in your hands are the strength and the power to exalt, give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name.

But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to give a generous as this? Everything comes from you. We have given you only what comes from your hand. So as we give our tithes and offerings back to God, it's all, he's already, he's the one who supplied it originally.

12:26 So there's no reason to know that we shouldn't be able to give some of it back. Transparency is a path to wisdom. That's one thing I felt that like we had to do is get to transparency. But I think it all gives us wisdom on how to help us move forward with what God wants us to do.

Proverbs 3, 5 and 6, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight. We all know what the future holds for us. God has promised it and he's continually teaching us on what we need to do to bring in that glory,

that latter glory that he has promised us, that greater glory that he has promised us. We are all participants in this. We are not going to be just spectators, we are going to be participants in that. As people come in here, some are going to come as spectators, but over time through discipleship we will make them participators as well.

We need more participators to do the things that God has called us to do. We have to have more participants, more family to accomplish the outreach that he has for us. Again, I've shared before, God has shared it with us, the Holy Spirit isn't just for this vessel, it's for us to overflow that spirit when we come in contact with people.

Just imagine, Ms. Wigglesworth, he was one who could walk on a train and the whole train would be saved. What did he have to do to accomplish that? I don't know exactly what his prayer life was. I don't know what his promises were with God, but I'm sure he lived a better relationship with God than probably most of us have.

Are we willing to make those changes? I don't know what the changes were that he made, but God used him mightily. Billy Graham, you know, he was first saved in a tent meeting in North Carolina, I believe it was. And him and some of his buddies, they actually went to the tent meeting a little rebellious.

But they went a little bit rebellious and they were leaving and one of the ushers came, and he said, Mona, why don't you come back and sit for a while? And that changed his life. Ever since, God has used him to change, how many millions of lives have been changed because Billy Graham, somebody spoke to an usher that day.

15:12 It doesn't take a great preacher or evangelist or apostle or teacher to change the world for Christ. In that case, it was just a tent meeting with an usher. God spoke to an usher and said, talk to those little boys. They weren't real little, they were nine, ten years old. Anybody can make that change.

It doesn't take the ones who stand up here at the pulpit, we're all ministers in Christ. Transparency fosters trust and unity within the congregation. I'm continually working on, God is helping me to help build trust for all of us. I know there's a lot of trust there, but I think there's always room to grow and that's why I decided to make everything transparent for all of us.

When we open up about our finances, it builds trust and shows that we are all in this together. I have to work on this because Don will tell me this. We share our finances with our own family, then we all become a team to help do that together. Then that stress is all in one individual.

I'm sort of that right now, just because I've done it for so long, trying to share some of those responsibilities. That's what I'm working on in my relationship with Don. So now I've made that commitment and I've told everybody now, now it has to happen. I believe that being that transparent will build that stronger relationship.

If it can do it for Don and I, I'm sure it can do it for all of us together as a body. Wisdom comes from God and he rewards those who seek it. Beyond with you folks, it's not the amount of finances or the thought that... The greatest treasure of all, I believe, is wisdom.

Because with wisdom we can do great and mighty things. If we have wisdom, we always have the direction from God on what he wants us to do. As long as we seek that wisdom from God and follow his commandment and follow his guidance, we will achieve what he has for us to achieve.

James 1-5, if any of you lack wisdom you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you. You don't have to be perfect to receive the wisdom of God. Even in our faults, we have a different version here I believe, but we don't have to be perfect for God to give us wisdom.

18:27 As a matter of fact, wisdom will perfect us things. I know that none of us are perfect, but I don't think God intended us to be. Transparency in finances is an act of faith and obedience. We're all in this together and we're going to achieve what God wants us to achieve. When we're open about our financial decisions, we're showing that we trust God to guide us.

Really we're just acknowledging and then trusting God to fulfill his promise, for him to be Jehovah Jireh, for him to be the provider. That's what he's looking for us. He doesn't want us to run and hide because we might struggle a little bit. Anybody can do that. The world does that. But the church is held to a higher responsibility, a higher expectation,

a higher calling because we follow God and he will guide us to get us to that next level where we need to be. When I talk about that we weren't going to do like the night this year, I absolutely was not going to make the decision to do because of finances. That's a cop-out.

Some things we're working on trying to, you know, some of the bigger things like the roof and some other things that we need to do that we're trusting God for, but when it comes to outreach, if God calls, you know, as your leader, if God starts giving me a vision and I start sharing that vision with you and we have to trust God to provide,

but if we just say, no, we can't do that because we don't have finances, we've already given up. We've already given up. Corinthians 9, 6 and through 11. Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,

not reluctantly or under compulsion from God, for God loves a cheerful giver, and God is able to bless you abundantly so that all the things and all the times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. It is written, they have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever.

We're giving to the poor, and we're not just talking about those that are poor financially. We're talking about those who are poor in spirit. That's more important than the money and the, you know, the homeless people. What hurts my heart most about seeing those people is, yes, they're struggling there, and they don't know God, and I can't say that completely,

21:31 but I really find, I struggle a little bit, and God will correct me on this, but if somebody's on the street and they're a Christian, I really struggle with that because they should be to find some place that will help them. So continue to keep those who are struggling on the streets in your prayer.

They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever. Now heed that supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food will also supply and increase your store feed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion,

and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. We all have a part to play. If we don't have, it's time counting substance, and we may not all have the substance, but we do all have substance, it's just a different kind of substance. If we don't have the finances to help as much as we think we should with the ministry,

just being on a phone call talking to somebody can make a difference in their life. Letting that spirit continue speaking God and having that relationship, letting that spirit fill you to overflowing so that you are still pouring something upon those you come in contact with. Faithfulness is giving and managing resources. Managing resources is a key to God's blessings.

When we are faithful with what God has given us, he will bless us abundantly. What's important in that way, I think transparency is important because people here, you've been pouring out your finances, you've been pouring out your spirit, you've been pouring out your emotions into this ministry, and sometimes you feel that it's all for nothing.

I've been there, so I'm speaking for all of us because I think we've all gone through those times in our lives, but God's calling us to be faithful, and he will bless us abundantly. Think about the woman in the Bible that gave the two coins. There were lots of people giving from the riches that day,

but she gave two coins, and that's all she had. That was more valuable to Jesus than the rich who only gave a portion of what they had because she gave everything. It's not the amount that you give, it's how you give it. Abundance is not just about material wealth, but also spiritual and emotional richness.

24:35 God's blessing extends beyond the physical to include peace, joy, and a deeper relationship with him. That's what we need to continually seek. I have a shirt that says Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship. And that relationship is something that no other religion in this world has. We don't have to kill the infidels.

Yeah, our job is to love them. I've seen different video clips where the Muslim faith and the Christian faith would come at heads and they'd start talking, and when they start the debate, as they go on, the Muslims will start, or the Islamic faith, they start to realize that their story is falling apart.

You know, how could Christianity be so evil because we do nothing but love people? Faithful stewardship is a testimony to the world. When others see our faithfulness and the blessings that come from it, they are drawn to the God we serve. That's what our desire should be, is drawing people into him. Again, we'd say that the churches and the walls that are around us, the church is you and I.

And we want people to see the richness of our church. We want them to see the abundance. If we walk around talking about, you know, we can't do this and we can't do that, and we won't do that because we don't, because we're, because of lack, why in the world would anybody want to come here?

Why would anybody want to join us to be in that misery? I'm being serious. But if we do it in spite of all those problems, and we start, and we speak in abundance, and talk about all the good things that have happened here, that are happening here, then we have the people that are willing to say, oh, I want to see what that is.

I want to be a part of that. I want to see, you know, Sister So-and-so or Jane was there, and she told me about how her life, we know what her life used to be like, but now we see how she has changed. I want to see what that is. That's what we have to be concentrating on, the abundance and what God wants to accomplish,

not what God isn't accomplishing. That doesn't make sense. God is able. Let's be a light in this world showing that our trust is not in money, but it is in God, who can immeasurably do more than we could ever ask or imagine. Our poverty had nothing to do with God. It's up here.

27:41 Our lack has nothing to do with God. It's up here. And what the problem is, too much of that is getting down into here, and it's here because we're lacking the spiritual relationships that we need to have with God. We're letting all these other things interfere with what God has called us to do.

Now, you can think that, you know, by having that mindset, that maybe that's how we got in some of the situations that we are, but I believe that God has called the leadership here, and that's why we trust one another to be good stewards with what God has given to us. We do that in our personal lives. We're going to do that in this ministry as well.

But let's be the light in this world showing that our trust is not in money, but in the God who can immeasurably do more than we could ever ask or imagine. That's exceedingly abundantly above more than I could ever ask or imagine, which is Ephesians 3.20, which I love that verse. Focus, and if we do this, if we can focus on the wisdom,

if we can concentrate on receiving the wisdom and the abundance from God, we will get to where we work and move in excellence. Colossians 3.23-24, for whatever you do, work it all with your heart. Let's not just do it half-heartedly. Let's just do enough to get by. God's calling us for our support, all of our heart, and everything we do here.

It doesn't matter. Don and I will have the conversations, and I struggle sometimes, well, we've done that before, and it didn't work. I don't care. I just don't care. If God's telling me to do it now, we're going to do it now. It doesn't matter if it didn't work last time. Maybe the timing wasn't right.

Maybe the people weren't right. Maybe the people weren't ready yet. Yeah, you know, how many people put their hands on a hot stove? Has anybody ever done it once? Have you done it a second time? You learn from your mistakes. Even the most successful people, they learn from their failures. It hurts sometimes when you fail, but you'll learn. You'll learn.

There's lots of people out there living in their sin, and the sin just... They probably didn't get to where the situations are in. They just did all that and just jumped into this big sin. They got there a little bit at a time. God needs us to help intervene, to stop those people from doing what they're doing.

30:50 We're the only Jesus that many people will see. Hopefully, if we are able to give them the information, we can catch the fish, let God clean the fish, and then together we can enjoy the meal together. Whatever you do, work it with all your heart and working for the Lord, for human masters,

since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Aren't we all looking forward to that great inheritance that he has promised us? Isn't that why we're all here? Are we just here for God to anoint me and fill me with the Spirit,

give me a peace, give me a joy, give me all the gifts of the Spirit, give me all the fruits of the Spirit? If that's the only reason you're here, then you're here for the wrong reason. All those things are good, but we're not continually consuming those and letting them overflow through us so that we're touching the lives of others,

then we're wasting the fruit. The fruit's going to spoil. We need to continually be seeking God and let him fill us with more spirits, with more of the Spirit, more of the fruits, so that we can share with others. I've said it before, we have the root, we have the tree, we have the fruit.

Let the people pick from your fruit. Let them pick from your fruit. Are there any fruits that grow on, I guess fruits grow on vines because we have grapes. But we need to let people see that fruit so they know what they're picking and we want them to know that they are finding good fruit in each and every one of us.

Excellence in all we do honors God and reflects his character. If God is the greatest being that we would ever know, the greatest relationship, if he is all infinite, if he is everything for us, why do we have to, why do we try to hinder what he wants to do? Excellence in all we do honors God and reflects his character.

Whether in our jobs, our family, our church, we strive to have excellence because we are serving God. We aren't serving man. We may think we're serving our employer, serving our boss, but we should be doing, and you know, I've struggled in my 40 years in the corporate world that, you know, some days you just don't feel like doing, you don't want to go there,

33:46 you just don't feel like doing it. But I would always turn this, what God says here, to the same scripture and I do it as unto the Lord, not unto people. And it changes your whole outlook. I'm not a craftsman. I can get around a computer pretty well, but Joe's more of a craftsman, you know, he can fix that door

and he takes great pride in his work and he enjoys doing his very best. That's how craftsmen are. That's what we should be longing to be like. We should always be longing and trying to do our very best. We may fail sometimes, but God will teach us and help us. And prayer is essential to seeking God's guidance and the strength for excellence.

A few weeks back we talked about this being a house of prayer and that's where our excellence is going to show up, in that prayer. Excellence is a testimony to the world under the reflection of our faith. When we strive for excellence, we show the world that we take our faith seriously and that we are committed to living for Christ.

And I keep talking about some of these things because I know that we have to get in our right mindsets, get some things we've let go here maybe a little bit. God will take care of the spirit falling in this place. But we need to do our part as well. Let's be a church that is known for its excellence,

not just in the words but in our actions. We can go around and tell everybody how wonderful our church is and how great it is in all the things that God has done, but are they seeing it in our lives? Not just in our words but in our actions. Let's be a people who reflect the glory of God in everything that we do.

We used to live in the former glory, but he promised us to move into the latter glory, which we have already been told is greater. We all have a way to participate in that. He's calling all of us to a higher standard. Transparency leads to wisdom, faithfulness and stewardship leads to abundance, and a prayerful, focused life leads to the excellence that honors God.

Today I am asking for all of us to commit to being transparent, faithful, and prayerful in all that you do. Let's work together to build the church that is wise, that is abundant, and is excellent in everything that we do. Can we all do that together? Sometimes we just hear it's sort of like a habit.

37:23 I don't know the exact number. If you do something over and over again, once you do it seven times, it becomes a habit. I don't know what my number is, right? But we need to start doing those things and living them every day of our life. Take it home with you. Take that excellence home with you.

Have that wisdom. Pray for God to give you that wisdom, that abundance and that excellence. Take it not only while you're here, but take it with you throughout the week and concentrate on that. Pray for that and God will meet you where you ask. He's already told us that if we ask for wisdom,

He will give it to us. Sometimes I think the wisdom that He gives us, we don't want to know. We're gonna meet if we have to change. It hurts sometimes. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to be stewards of your resources, the resources that you have given to us. Help us to be transparent, to be faithful

and to be prayerful in all that we do, Lord. Let us continually seek you, that you will meet us where our lack might, when we think of our lack, let us change that to abundance. When we think of what we can't do, change that word to the can do. Let us think more like the little train that could

and never give up on what God has called us to do. I know sometimes we grow weary, but remember, in our waiting, we have to be expecting God to do something. If we forget about the expectation, our weary becomes very hard. Let's go out and make a difference in this world, showing the world the power of our living God.

Let's be the light in the darkness, a city on a hill and a beacon of hope. God, let your spirit fall mightily upon us and let us be that vessel that you need us to be. Let us be that fountain that you need us to be that not only isn't water, the spirit overflowing,

it's sprouting from us that reaches many, many lives. And we thank you for that in your mighty, awesome, magnificent name, Lord. Amen. Thank you.