Recognizing God’s Work in Small Beginnings

Are you ready to receive a word from the Lord today? If you brought your Bible, this is a great time to get it out right now. Just wave it in the air. Keep it up there like you care. We're going to get into God's word so his word will get into us. I want every person at the sound of my voice to just shout word on the count of three. On the count of three, shout word. One, two, three. Word. We're getting into God's word. So God's word gets into us. There's often a gap between God's promises and our present reality. Do you know what I mean by that? There can sometimes be a gap by what we read, hear, what we believe God is able to do, and what we're actually going through.

Some of the greatest miracles in your life won't start and look like miracles. Meaning God might be doing more than you can see or what you experience or what you fully understand. Today I want to talk to you about small beginnings. Small beginnings. Would you say that with me? Small beginnings. Because oftentimes we can miss what God is doing in the small beginnings. Th this is the season when you're you're praying but you don't have the answer of prayer. This is the season where you've started your business but it's not profitable. This is the season where you're still married. Oh, but it's fragile.

This is the season where you you've believed in Jesus. you know that he's called you into some type of service, but just what's happening in your life might just seem insignificant. And I've come here today to just tell somebody, do not despise small beginnings. Because what God is building sometimes doesn't look like what man would build. Sometimes God will disrupt our lives to actually show us what he's able and capable of doing. Do you all know what I'm talking about? I want to just give a real life example. Can I just like real life like the last few hours example?

I uh got to church early this morning as I normally do and I think you know I just always believe God is going to do greater things but it's always going to look the way that I expect it to look. And so I came to this church this morning and I I dropped off my my belongings and I I park off site so that you can get a better parking spot than me. And so one of the things I do is I usually just drive around the church building one time. I just pray over the building before I go park and I usually do it out loud and I I just pray bold prayers like, "God, let your glory fall on this place." And even when people are driving onto the property, let them be healed. Let them be saved. Oh, and I just pray out loud these just kind of big prayers, revivalesque prayers. I mean, they're just kind of the prayers

childlike. It's just what I believe in my heart. And then you show up and you're happy and your marriage is healed and cancer disappears and uh ain't nobody going to leave lost anymore. everybody's saved. And so I I I I'm driving around the building. I pass by Goodwill and I I was going to say I curse it, but I don't. I just I just drive by and I I I'm praying out loud. And then I get to the front of the building and it's it's not even 6:00 a.m. and there's these two young men and they're completely tweaking on drugs right in front of our building, right? I mean, they're just they're going wild. Their bodies are flopping. Their arms are flailing. They're moving and and and and in provoking ways that a body naturally doesn't do unless it's on something.

And I'm a little bit flustered because like Lord, I'm praying over this place. What's going on? And I I go to my office and if you don't know, we have got cameras everywhere all over this place. We want it to be a safe space particularly for our children. So, we've got cameras all over the place. So, I just open up my cameras and I'm watching this and it's it just looks unsafe. So, I called the non-emergency line of the police and say, "Hey, could you come ask a police officer to come ask these guys to to go off our property?" And she says, "Do you want them to be trespassed?" I said, "No, they might go to our church." I said, "I don't I really It's the truth. I don't know. They're here. I I don't know who it is. I I didn't feel comfortable going up to them." And this this is this is not in my sermon, but this is small beginnings.

I need you to understand this that where you've been is never wasted with God. And so I'm watching and then 10 minutes goes by, 20 minutes goes by, 30 minutes go by and typically I'm like rehearsing my sermon trying to get ready for you. And I but but I can't even practice because I'm watching these guys and their arms are flailing and their their movements are erratic and they go from the ground and looks like a fish flopping out of water to standing up and just really weird moves. And maybe 40 minutes go by and the police still haven't come. And I'm watching the camera and Abel, our facility, our facility guy, goes right up to them and he's dressed in his Sunday best and he goes over and I could see him engaging talking to them.

Now, here's the deal. Abel's not supposed to be here today. He's supposed to be on vacation. But he text me yesterday and said, "Hey, my vacation plans got changed, so I will be there Sunday." Disappointing texts send. And I see Abel on the camera and he's going like this. He's talking to them. He's talking to them. 5 minutes go by, 10 minutes, 15 minutes go by, 20 minutes. Still no police. At this point, I can see that they're not moving. So I call the police again and say, "Hey, I've called and asked for your help. What's going on?" She's, "Oh, I'm sorry. Actually, there's a switch going on." So, so there the person that was going to come is switching with who's going to be on duty. And so, uh, there they're still going to make their way there. And

I'm like, "Okay, get there quick because I don't know what's going to go because they're still moving erratic." And then other people are showing up. Our hospitality showing up and Britney who served in our hospitality came out and brought them bottled water. And then she brought them uh hot coffee. And then she I mean just one by one I'm watching like the church show up as I'm watching on the camera because I'm too terrified to go down in Jesus name. We are a dream team aren't we? Abel eventually convinces them to leave and they get all their stuff just scatter their stuff. And I talk to Abel and Abel tells me that I'm telling these guys hey I've been where you are. Do you see these scar marks? Do you see these? I've been there and I'm not there anymore.

Jesus has changed my life and he can change your life. [cheering and applause] [applause] And Abel saw that they had drugs out there and he says, "Man, there's going to be people coming in here. We got kids. You can't have this out here." And he told him, he says, "If you want to clean your life up, I'm here all the time. come back and I'll make sure you get into rehab, that you get cleaned up because the God that changed me can change you. And I'm just I'm here to say this. Listen. Listen. What looked bad because a vacation was changed, God would use for good. Now, here's our problem. We love bigger and better things. We love good health.

We love big wealth. I mean, we live in America. Everything's bigger here. We got bigger water bottles than any other country in the world. Come on, somebody. I hear them clank every Sunday on the concrete floor. We got just massive water bottles. Calvin, do you got your water bottle on you today? Oh, the one day you don't bring it. He This guy's got a 25 gallon water jug he usually carries around with him. I He's like lifting weights with his water jug. We like bigger thing. We live in central Oregon. And the trucks are bigger here. Bigger tires. It's got to be lit. We like bigger. But that's not the kingdom. Consider the King of Kings. When God Almighty, who's eternal, decides to show up, what do we celebrate at Christmas? He didn't come in a castle. He was born in a manger.

To who? A lowly peasant woman from a place that no one believes anything good can come out of. Not a woman with wealth. Not a woman with prestige or education, someone who was not named until God says, "I actually can see what's inside of you." Because the world might look at the outside, but God looks at the heart. God doesn't need a lot. He just needs what we're willing to give him. If God showed up at this church today in one form or another, I wonder if we might miss him because that's exactly what's happened throughout all history. Because the kingdom does not often look the way that we would expect it to look. We naturally measure what we can see.

And God says size is not significant to him. God does not measure about what's on the outside. He measures with obedience. And I believe that each one of us are born with something inside of us because you're made in the image of God. And you know that you're made for more. You know that you're made for more than what you've actually been through, what you've gone through. You you know that you're made for more than your bad decisions. You know that you're made for more than the things that were done to you. And some of us have regret and shame and guilt and and blame and all these other things that might happen because the devil doesn't want you to experience all that God still has for you. Because if you're still breathing today, I'm here to tell you God's not finished. And in your mind, you might imagine that might be greater. But I want to speak to you that if you even have breath in your lungs and you might not have the same

physical health you used to have, but you still have your mind and your heart, you can still pray big prayers right where you are. You can still pray. And even if it might seem like a small prayer, may I just tell you, it might look small to you, but in heaven it might be a great prayer. So, so if you're still alive, God's not done with you. Are you hearing me? And it doesn't matter if you're young or you're old because in God's eyes, he's like, "Oh, there is no such thing as old. He's eternal." And you have a spirit that's eternal. And he wants your soul to be aligned with who he is. That your spirit would be in tune with the Holy Spirit. So my prayer before we even get into the text today is what John the Baptist prayed. He must increase and I must decrease. I I prophesy that over you today that Jesus would increase and you would decrease. Because it's not even about you. It's all about Jesus.

It's not about you trying harder. It's not about you figuring it out. It's not about you being better in your life. That, oh, if I just messed up my life, maybe I can make better decisions from this point forward. No, it's about obedience to Jesus. It's about it's not about who I am. It's about Christ in me today. And that's where we pick up in Zechariah chapter 4. If you brought your Bible, find the book of Zechariah, chapter 4. If you're wondering where is the book of Zechariah, the Bible has 66 books in it. And if you go to the New Testament, that's everything after the birth of Jesus. So you find books like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Just go backwards a few books and you'll find Zachchariah. It's before the birth of Jesus some 2500 years ago. We're finding ourselves in this story throughout the summer because we've been inviting God's kingdom come.

And it's at this place in history that things look dark. They look difficult. People wondered what would happen. God made a promise, but the reality of where God's promises were compared to what they heard that it just looked different. There was a disconnect. God said one thing, but they were seeing another thing. Can anybody relate to this at all? You know, God's able, but you're you're not necessarily seeing what God says he's able to do. The sermon title today, if you want to write this down or you want to believe this in your heart today, is don't despise the small things. Don't despise the small things. I want to just say it again over you. Don't despise the small things. Don't despise the small things.

Zechariah chapter 4, starting with verse 6. The emphasis today will be verse 10. If you're able to, would you stand for the reading of God's word? We're going backwards to get to where we want to be today in verse 10. Zechariah 4 verse chapter 4 verse 6. Then he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubabel. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, oh great mountain, before Zerubabel you shall become a plain, and he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of, say it with me, grace, grace to it." Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "The hands of Zerubabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands

shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice." Let me just say that again. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see the plum line in the hand of Zerubabel. These seven are the eyes of the Lord which reigns through the whole earth. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. The kingdom of God often comes in ways we least expect it. In fact, God seems to love small He often starts small. In fact, in

creation, he created organisms with seeds. That's how God decided to do it through a seed. When you see an apple seed, it's not just a seed. It might look small. It might seem insignificant until it's planted, until it dies and it goes into the dirt. And when it goes into that dark space, I'm here to tell you that one seed has thousands of other apples inside of it. Inside that one seed is a tall tree. That's my God. He doesn't see the seed. He sees the potential. He sees what will be because he's a God that creates. And he is a multiplying miracle working God. And let me tell you today, you are much more valuable than the apple seed.

It was Jesus that would take a a young child and would bring the child before the disciples and say, "You must be like the child to enter the kingdom of heaven. You must think differently. It's not about thinking bigger and better. It's about being childlike and a holy dependence on a great God, trusting that your father is the giver of good gifts." And so we see today what was true 2500 years ago in broken Jerusalem is true today in our broken lives because we have a God that never changes. We often think that humanity changes and we evolve and we adapt and we change over time. But if you really get into the Bible is filled with people just like you and me.

And although cultures might change and the world around us might change, our God never does. And so we pick up in the story where Israel has been in Babylon for some 70 years. They were unfaithful to God. And the consequence was their city was destroyed. This beautiful temple that Solomon had created to allow the the presence of God to dwell was destroyed. And the people were taken to Babylon into exile. Babylon is modernday Iraq. 70 years go by and they travel from Babylon, what we know today as Iraq, and they go back to Jerusalem. But it's only a remnant. It's not everyone. What at one time was millions is now only tens of thousands. And this

remnant travels back to Jerusalem only to find that their city is still in ruins. In fact, there are other people occupying this region, this land that God had promised to them. And God promised that he would restore. God promised that after 70 years that they would come back and there would be the rebuilding of the temple. They they promised it. But here they are back at home and the temple starts to get rebuilt. You could read about this in the book of Ezra. Fascinating book in the Old Testament. And as they're rebuilding this temple, wouldn't you just know it? There's opposition. Because if you do the work of God, I'm here to tell you, you will have opposition. There's an enemy of your life that wants to steal, kill, and destroy what God is doing in your life. But we have a God that wants to give you life, and he wants to give it abundantly.

And that opposition is not the end of the story. It's just the confirmation that what God has promised is going to be fulfilled. But just like what happened 2500 years ago happens in our lives, it's really easy to listen to the enemy because when you have opposition and you're discouraged and you don't have enough resources and you heard one promise, but that promise is really hard to get fulfilled, all of a sudden it's easier to stop doing the work that God has called you to do. And so it was with the Israelites in Jerusalem. They stopped building. The foundation was laid, but there were no walls. what was once gold and splendor and there was just this this magnificent building that Solomon and all of his

wealth and all of the the magnitude of all the people that worked on it. It was just still rubble. And God uses a prophet named Zachchariah to come speak to his people that what you see is not the end of the story. God wants us to see what he sees. God wants to interrupt the the voices of this world so that you would hear his voice. God does not need more strength. He simply wants your surrender. So if you've ever wondered if anything is dependent on you, it's not. It's about an open heart willing to surrender your life fully to the grace of God. is saying, "God, I want your

will to be done in my life as it is in heaven." Listen, God's not going to ask you to muster up the strength that you don't have. I came to remind you today. He's God and you're not. So, God doesn't need more strength. He just simply wants your surrender. Let's go back to verse six and just remind ourselves of the truth here that today. Then he said to me, this is God speaking to Zachchariah the prophet. This is the word of the Lord to Zerubabel. Zerubabel, if you're just joining us, is the governor over this region. He represents a king. He represents a rule over the people. God has always been a God of order. And he wants us to be a a he wants to be a people that follow in line with what he has. And so, Zachchariah, the preacher, is speaking to the ruler, the governor over these people, Zerubabel. Well, this is the word of the Lord to the leader of the

people. It's not by might. is not by power but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts. Meaning it's not going to be by man that makes it happen. It won't be enough money. It won't be enough resources. It won't be having a an army of people to make this happen. It will be a dependence and a surrender on the Lord God Almighty. Is believing that God is able to move. The Lord is a spirit. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there's freedom. And what was true then is still true now. God is simply saying, "You're looking at resources, but I need you to look to me. You're looking at the way it would be done with the human hands, but I need you to see it's done with my mighty right hand. You're measuring this with money, but I want to measure this by

faith." And could it be true that what God had a had a word to say to Zerubable, God is still saying to us today? That the victory in your life will not come through you. is all about Jesus. You know, when David went against Goliath, there was a lot more men that were mightier than he was. They were prepared for war. They were experienced in war. They had the swords. But God would use a shepherd boy and use one stone and a sling. One stone. Now, if if this was betting odds on poly market today, this wouldn't look so good. You'd make a lot of money if you

bet on David. But the odds were against him. One stone against a great big giant. When God chose to use Moses, Moses is like, "You got the wrong guy. I none non eloquent speaker by by the way I don't even know what your name is who am I going to say sent me to you like h how am I going to lead these people and you know what God says to Moses hey what's in your hand he said a staff a shepherd's staff and God said great that's what I'm going to use when Elisha came to the widow who who was looking like she was going

to die. He said, "What do you have?" She's like, "Nothing but this jar of oil. One jar of oil." And God's like, "Great. That's what I'm going to use." See, God God's not looking for you to say, "Oh, Lord, now I have enough." It's never enough. It's never enough. This church is 16 years old and God has paid for every single bill at this church, but we've never had enough. I'm on a board of a church plant and the church planter called me recently freaking out saying, "Pastor, we've only got two months left in our bank account. The church is only going to be able to survive for two months." And I just shouted on the phone. I was like, "Two months? This is awesome.

You should thank God. He's given you two months in your bank account. That's way more than we used to have when we were your age as a church. When I was a kid, we would walk uphill both ways. I had no shoes in the snow. Mom made me play the tuba. I mean, I I was telling him the stories when we planted the church. I'll tell you what we had. And then we got on the phone and a bunch of us pastors are on there and one of the other pastors encouraged him, "Listen, you never have enough." One pastor had been pastoring his church for 35 years and he says, "I've learned this. If I have 2 million in the bank, I need 12 million. But I never have enough. It's It's depending on God. God, what I have is yours. God doesn't need your strength. He just wants your surrender today.

He just wants all of you. He doesn't need your abundance. He needs your availability. Just to simply say, "This is what I have, God. Would you would you multiply it? Would you make much of what I have for your good?" Before we get to our text today, I want to remind you what Pastor Noah preached so well last week. Were you here last week? He preached a life-changing message. We still have a mountain moving God. We have a mountain moving God. The word of the Lord says in Zechariah 4:7, "Who are you, oh great mountain?" What a great question. before Zerubabel you shall become a plain and he shall bring forward to the top stone meaning the temple will be

finished the last stone will be laid it's going to happen and here's how amid shouts I wonder if there's any shouts left today I wonder if there's someone that's got a shout in them because we learned this last week someone's got to say grace grace to it notice God doesn't say mountains don't exist he's simply saying they They don't have to stay there. They don't have to stay that way. God's not saying what you're facing is not great because it's probably greater than you. What God is saying is he's greater than the mountain. So, it's time for you to stop talking about your mountain. Start talking to your mountain. It's time for you to move. And I'll tell you how. Grace, grace to it. Who do you think you are to be intimidated by a mountain? You've got God on your side. You've got God.

He's the God that's moved mountain. He's still going to do it again. It's time for you to see Zechariah 4:7. He shall bring forward the top stone. Some of you can't see it. How's God going to heal your marriage? How's he going to get you out of this financial mess? How's he going to heal you from this health problem? How's he going to do what he's going to do? It's not up to you to know how. It's up to you to know who. And it's time to start saying grace, grace to it. Somebody still came in with a mountain today. We learned the solution last week. That mountain of debt, that mountain of your marriage problem, that mountain called cancer, that mountain of your family falling apart, man, you got to start praying louder. Grace, grace to it. It's time to stop being so dignified and thinking God wants the right words. He just wants your heart. It's better for you to shout grace than for you to pray these

eloquent words where you're repeating the same thing. God's going to do it. It's not you. God's going to do it. God's going to move that mountain. God's going to take what was so great and he's going to make it a level playing field so that when you put that last stone on the promise of God, you get to say, "God did it." It was by his grace he did it. Finally, we come to our text today and we're running out of time quickly. God finishes what he starts. That sounds obvious, especially at church. God finishes what he starts. He said it. But when it's still rubble and all you got is a foundation, it's hard to believe that God finishes what he starts. Look at verse 8 and N. Then the word of the Lord came to me. We've already heard who's doing it. Remember, not by might, not by power, but by who?

By the spirit, says the Lord of hosts. That's the Lord of angels armies. Then the word of the Lord came to me. Verse 8, the word of the Lord came to me saying, verse 9, the hands of Zerubabel have laid the foundation of this house. The foundation had started, but that's it. For nearly 16 years, they stopped. His hands, God says, shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord, someone say the Lord, the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. Some of you have made a mess of your lives. It might have been last night.

Not going to delve into all your private problems. I don't know what you did last night or last year, but I know this. Not even that can stop the work of the Lord. He's going to finish it. And if you think that somehow that your dumb decision is so great that God's grace can't finish what he started, you know, the enemy would love for you just to tap out and be like, "It hurts too much. I'm done." What's that going to testify to your testimony? You have a story. God is the God of foundation. Listen, he's done good things in you. You're born, you're alive, right? Hallelujah. You know, the devil didn't want that either. He laid the foundation for your life. And if he's the God of foundations, he's also the God that finishes.

When Paul was in prison, he couldn't help but think of the church in Philippi. He loved the Philippians and he wanted to encourage them. We need some more encouragers like Paul today. Like, I might be in prison, but let me let me tell you this. This is what God said. I am sure of this. that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. We need a few more people reminding us of this. I am sure this God started something in you. He's going to finish it. He's not going to stop here. Your sin can't stop him. God started it. Let him finish it. How's he going to finish it? Surrender your all to Jesus. Come back to the word of God. Why do we prioritize this?

Because it's true. The Lord's word cannot fail. So, it's better to hold on to his promises and to the present reality that you might not be where you want to be. God's word reminds us not to hope in the wrong places. Hebrews 13:5, "Keep your life free from the love of money. Be content with what you have. For Jesus said this, I will never leave you nor forsake you." You've got to learn to preach this to yourself because we have a problem and we can't see it when we can't feel it. We we somehow think that God's word is not fulfilled in our lives. No, if Jesus said it, he can't break his promise. He's with you. He's for you. And he's never ever ever going to leave you. So, we come to verse 10 today. The theme of

our text, do not despise the small things. Do not despise the small things. This is the title that should be written on your heart. Do not despise the small things. You know, God would just interrupt my my whole sermon today by by speaking to me through two tweakers, by letting me know this isn't about you, Pastor Keith. It's all about Jesus. And if I have to use Abel to get this through your head, I'm going to do it. And I'm going to interrupt his vacation plans. And so Abel now can go to God and be like, "Oh, God, you did this. Oh, I didn't even see you right there, Abel. He's right there, everybody. I just saw your big smile. [cheering] [applause] You You better blame God." And maybe he's got a bigger, better vacation planned for you. I don't I I

can't say what he's going to do, but I do know this. Don't despise whatever he's doing. Because the devil would love for you to think that your story is so unique that somehow it's messed up enough that you can mess up God's plan. Zechariah 4:10, I remind you, for whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice. Maybe it's time for you to start rejoicing in the small things. In the New International Version, the the same verse in a different translation, it it proposes the question, "Who dares despise the day of small things?" Maybe we got to start calling each other out just a little more. How dare you despise the small things? Hey, we don't have enough money for the bills this month. How dare you despise the small things? I declare to this mountain, grace, grace to it.

So, someone's got to take God's word just a little more seriously instead of taking the world too seriously. My my favorite translation of this verse, which is the easiest to understand, the text is trying to say in our language, the New Living Translation puts it this way. Do not despise these small beginnings. Notice this message. God's not saying there's not small beginnings. He's not saying that what you're going through is easy. He's not saying that it's finished yet. But God is saying, I I don't need you to think that this is the end of your story. The enemy loves to just convince people. If it's not big, if it's not easy, if it's not comfortable, then it's not God. That's nowhere in the Bible. The kingdom is righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit.

But it never says that it's going to be easy or comfortable or big or like the lottery. All you got to do is just play and you win. God loves the small. Notice the wording of Zechariah 4:10 in the ESV if we can. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice. You rejoice because it's God that's going to do it. And the more you follow Jesus, the more this ought to be natural that you're like, "Okay, I've seen this before. I've been following Jesus for over 30 years and it seems like I would have this thing figured out, but sometimes I still pray prayers, God answers, and I'm like, I can't believe he did it.

We have a saying that we joke with the staff that coincidence is the language of God because we pray things and they happen. It's like, what a coincidence. We prayed it and it happened. How many times has God got me through it? I'm still married. Hallelujah. I still have a relationship with my kids. Hallelujah. You rejoice because God's in it. And if you're new to this, let me just testify that he's going to do it. So, here's how. Zechariah 4:10, it's the plum line. You shall see the plum line in the hand of Zerubabel. Why in the world mention a plum line? Well, many of you may not even know what a plum line is. Is essentially like a measuring tape.

So, it's like God saying this, "I've seen the measuring tape. If if you see the contractor with the measuring tape, it's a good thing. He's at work. He's going to get it done. He's going to get the right amount of wood cut. He's going to he's going to measure how long this is." Now, the plum line was actually this this this wonderful technology of the day that allowed them to build a straight line so that the foundation and the walls of a building would be straight and therefore be stronger. Because if you have a crooked wall, it's not going to be a strong foundation. Here's what a plum line looks like. It would be a string tied to it and it would be sharp. And then that that sharp piece of the edge of the plum line would go into the dirt and draw a straight line so that all of the worker would see that it needs to be straight that if the contractor comes on, the boss, the the the main man, the what are

they called? The something manager, the foreman. When the foreman shows up, he could look at the line and be like, "You doofuses, the lines, right, the plum lines right here. Move those stones over. We're making a straight wall." This is what the Lord's saying. Don't build a crooked life and then ask God to bless it. Proverbs 3:5 and 6 talks about trusting the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make a straight path. He's going to make a way. He's going to make a plum. You might not even know how, but let's just start with the fact that God has a way and I'm going to follow his ways. This is the plan of God. It's the plum line. It's done. God has already finished it. You can't see it, but you better believe it. God wants you to see.

You might only see the the plum line, but he's he's going to do it. It might be small now, but it's not going to stay that way. Remember when Jesus said in Matthew 13, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed." Of all the things Jesus could say, the kingdom of heaven is like, he doesn't say it's like a massive army with everyone with swords and they're stronger than everyone. No, he says, "Oh, by the way, my kingdom is like a mustard seed." Why did he say that? He says in verse 32, "It's the smallest of the seeds, but when it grows, it's the largest of the garden plants." The mustard seed starts off so small, but once it grows, it takes over. I I've heard it said that the Lord doesn't move quickly, he moves suddenly.

When you plant that seed and you look and you're like, "Well, it still hasn't grown." And then one day you look and not only has it grown, but it's now multiplied. and you see God's blessings multiply in your life. Jesus said, "One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much." But if you're dishonest in very little, Jesus said, "Then you'll be dishonest with much." God wants you to honor him with what you've been entrusted. I think there's probably a common theme within every one of us that we say it's not enough. When Journey Church started, we never had enough. We started with 200 people in a 1500 seat auditorium.

That wasn't enough people for that size of an auditorium. And God gave me the spiritual gift of growing a church smaller. Every week for the next year, we just kept getting smaller. that about a year into journey, we were probably 70 people in a borrowed space, we'd have to set up church and tear down church and didn't even feel like church. And I would go in front and preach the word of God like like I felt it, but I didn't feel it. I just believed it till we moved underneath this nightclub and we lost more people. We started getting all these floods from the nightclub up above us. I think Kyle, you've told me you caused some of those floods. Uh, praise be to God. Do not despise small things.

We outgrew that space. We bought the building. But God, who would have thought and then we went from this place that was once filled with strippers to this strip mall. But God, it tells me that God's going to do more than what I can see right now. And there's times in my heart I want to talk myself out of it. It would be a lot easier to run from it than to try to fulfill the big kingdom promises of God. We've been asking for revival, but I'll tell you, revival won't happen in the way that we think it will. I want to just close with a reminder of Elijah when he was in a pretty low place. God said, "I want to meet with you." And in

First Kings 19, God shows up and he tells Elijah, "Go stand on the mountain before the Lord. Be behold, the Lord passed by in a great strong wind and the mountains broke, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the earthquake was not in the wind. After the earthquake, it says in verse 12, was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire was the sound of a low whisper. Wouldn't you just love it if God just spoke to you loud and audibly all the time? But he's often in the whisper and he's going to let you know he loves

you and he's going to finish what he started. And it's not about you. It's all about Jesus. It's not by might. It's not by power. It's by the spirit of the Lord. So don't look in the wrong places. You got to start looking forward, not backwards. You got to look look to what hasn't even happened yet. He's going to do it. You're still breathing. God's not done. So I say to you today, if you've never believed in Jesus, today's your day. The Bible says today is the day of salvation.

You are not promised tomorrow. This is not a scared tactic. It's the reality that you're going to die. God brought you here to the sound of my voice to tell you that your life is worth living. He's going to do more in your life in your your future days than in your former days. The way that happens is a surrendered heart. So I just start today. If you've never believed in Jesus, today's your day. Some of you have gone to church. You've tried things your way. But that's not what I'm asking. I'm not asking for religion. I'm not asking you to try harder. I'm asking for you to fully surrender. You can go to church your whole life and not fully surrender to Jesus. A fully surrendered heart says, "I want your will to be done in my life as in heaven." And that's going to look differently than you thought it would look because he's God and he's good.

So just with every eye closed today, I've asked you to close your eyes because I want you to really seriously consider your future. The Bible says when you believe in Jesus that he died for your sins and that he rose from the grave, if you believe that and you're willing to confess it, you will be saved. You don't have to go clean up your life first. You just have to simply believe and confess it. So, I want to ask you today, if you want to confess Jesus as your Lord and believe that you're forgiven of your sins, you'll also receive the free gift of eternal life and the power of God himself, the Holy Spirit. If that's you, would you just slip your hand up nice and high and say, "Yes, that's my

surrendered heart. This is my confession. Praise be to God." Yes. Praise God. Yes. Anyone else? Yes. Praise be to God. He sees you and he loves you. Praise God. He loves you so much. I can only imagine what God's going to do when you surrender your life. See, the enemy is like a trap, the Bible says, which holds you back, but the Lord sets you free. Praise God. Anyone else today, just raise your hand. I want to make sure that I see everybody that said yes today. You can leave here today with the confidence that if your heart stops beating, you have the free gift of eternal life, which is forever in the presence of God, a God of love, a God of grace.

You can put your hands down. I want to pray with those of you that raise your hands today. I want to before we pray, just say, "I'm so proud of you. I'm proud of you not just for for coming to church today and getting up, but I'm proud of you for saying yes." The Bible says there's so much joy in heaven. In fact, there's more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than 99 who need no repentance. So, you can know this today if you raise your hands. You just gave God great joy. I want you to repeat this prayer after me. And all those who have ever believed. Let's let's join with them. I'm just going to keep it really simple. It's not the prayer that saves you. It's your heart. And from this day forward, you can pray all the time, anywhere, anytime. In fact, I'm going to just suggest that you just start praying as soon as you leave here today.

Don't just pray before meals. Pray all the time about all kinds of things. Let's just start with a simple prayer today. Lord Jesus, I believe in you. Forgive me of my sins. I receive your grace. I receive the Holy Spirit. I want to walk in your ways. Let your kingdom come. And let your will be done in my life as it is in heaven. Lord, I just want to lift up your church today that we would take you at your word. We would be willing to get uncomfortable. Thank you for the testimony I heard before the service started of a young man praying with other people at the gym publicly out loud.

I prophesy that that will be normal in Central Oregon. Young people with the spirit of courage and strength at the gym, in their schools, in the parks, with their friends, in the car. God, I prophesy that you gave them not a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. The young people of this generation would not allow anyone to look down on them because of their youth. but they would set an example in purity, in righteousness. God, I pray for every person that still has air in their lungs that they would be a a prayer warrior of this generation.

Not little prayers, Lord, but when we ask for your glory that you're going to send whoever you want to send. And while I'm just praying this prayer, I declare over Central Oregon, every addiction and stronghold of the devil be broken in Jesus name. that it will no longer be fentinyl or heroin or or cocaine. I just even alcohol in Jesus name. Marijuana in Jesus name. That stronghold that's trying to numb and stop the people you made that you love. I declare that stronghold demolished in Jesus name. I plead your blood Jesus over the two young men that were here today. Let them be a living testimony. Let them come to church Lord. Let them surrender their life to you Jesus. Lord, whatever you've called them to, it must be great that the devil wants to stop

them. So we say, Lord, set them free in the name of Jesus. Thank you for our brother Abel and his boldness and his courage to share his testimony. Thank you, God, for what you're doing in a journey church, but we pray it multiplies. We want every church in this city to have revival in Jesus name. We want Central Oregon to be saved. So we say, spirit of the living God, it won't be happening by might or by power, but by your spirit, says the Lord. So we're believing you, God. And let it just start with our hearts today. We can't change anyone, but we we can surrender our hearts to you. So Lord, I pray for surrendered hearts today in the name of Jesus. If you're in agreement today, would you shout amen? Amen. Amen. Let's welcome Pastor Leanne. Pastor Keith, thank you for an incredible word. I loved what he said right in the beginning. We are in a season of small beginnings. And I can testify to that because this last week I had the

opportunity, like many of you, to pick up a plastic bracelet that had the name of a child on it. Mine happens to say Paisley. And I got to pray this entire last week for Paisley and many others who went to middle school camp. About 30 kids who went to middle school camp and had their lives transformed. Lives were transformed because we got to pray for kids. and even more important that we got to give to the fact that kids could go when they couldn't afford to go to camp. And this week I stood there in my time of prayer in front of the Lord and I said, "Lord Jesus, thank you for the people who prayed for me because I was Paisley. I was Paisley and I couldn't afford to go

to camp and somebody paid that I could go to camp." And then in college, I wanted to go on a missions trip and I couldn't afford to go on a missions trip and somebody paid for me to go on a missions trip. And then when I got into my adult years and was first married, I remember somebody gave so that I could go to a leadership training. I am standing here because people gave in my life. I am standing here because people prayed for me. And we have that same opportunity. Don't despise the small beginnings. If you are giving to this church, thank you. If you want to begin to give so that God can take the small beginnings that we have and multiply it in years to come, then I encourage you to give, to give, and to pray. Don't despise those small beginnings. For

those of you who call Journey Church home, thank you. Thank you for giving and sending kids like Paisley, like me to camp so that our lives can be transformed by the love of Jesus. For those of you who want to give, you can give online on our website. You can scan a QR code. I'll tell you, every single week, look at the back of your chairs. You can hold your phone up to the back of your chairs and you can simply give. Give big, give small, but give. It's going to change your life. Will you stand with me and we're going to thank the Lord for what he is doing in this place. Lord Jesus, we thank you for the gift of life transformation. Lord God, we saw it in Paisley. We saw it in 30 kids who went to middle school, Lord. And we even saw the small beginnings of it this

morning with the two men sitting outside. Lord Jesus, change their lives. May today be the day that they realize that the Lord of heaven and earth can come and be in their lives and make a difference. Lord God, I thank you for everyone who came to Journey Church today to celebrate the fact that Lord God, you use our small beginnings. Thank you, Jesus. Bless us this day in your son's name. Amen. Have a great