God’s Grace and Unity: Building Together Through Opposition

I'm getting a little carried away. You can have a seat. You can have a seat. Can we thank this worship team today? They're bringing the anointing today. The presence of God. [applause] If you can't tell, Haley, who is a daughter of this house and who's been on staff here with us, uh she's about to bear forth her first child. [cheering] And [applause] today may have been her last Sunday leading with us for just a little while. She's going to be singing lullabies now. So, uh, we're grateful. We're blessed. Aren't we blessed in this house? Praise be to God. If you're just joining with us, we're blessed to have you. And in fact, we'll be more blessed if you stay. Uh, because we are better

together. Uh, we're going to get into God's word right now. If you brought your Bibles, would you get it out right now? Is my prayer that this is not the only time that you get into God's word. This is God's story. And if you want to get to know God, you got to open up this book every day. There's no guilt if you haven't been. But I just want to say God's best is still ahead of you. And you'll discover who God is by getting into this book. I tell you, God has a a good plan for you and he's going to speak to you today. If you if you want to receive a word from the Lord, just put your Bible in the air like you care. Even if you didn't bring your Bible, you could join with me. I want you to shout word on the count of three. But I need you to shout it with me. All right? Shout word on the count of three. One, two, three. word. We're getting into God's word. So God's word gets into us.

Our theme this summer comes from the Bible is grace. Grace to it. Grace, grace to it. Would you say it with me? Grace, grace to it. If you're watching online, you could type that in the comments. Grace, grace to it is a a powerful plan of God that changes everything in our lives when we better understand that God has a plan for you. not to stay the same, not to leave the mountains in front of you, but we have a mountain moving God. Throughout this summer, we've been spending time in what otherwise might be an obscure place in the Bible is the book of Zachchariah. Zachchariah. It's the second to the last book of the Old Testament. Everyone shout Zechariah. Zachchariah. The name means the Lord remembers. That's important because there are going to be times that it seems like God has forgotten. It seems like God's not

working. It seems like God's not going to do it. But you, like Zachchariah, have to remember that God sees you. He knows you. And he will fulfill his plan and purpose in your life. Zachchariah chapter 4 is where we've been camping out for a little while. And it just reminds us that the Lord remembers that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He's our God. The God of Moses is our God. The God of David is our God. Hallelujah. We have a God that never changes. He is faithful in all the ages. Psalm 90:2 tells us at the end from everlasting to everlasting. You are God.

That's our God. The church isn't our idea. We can do clever little things and we could have music and we can meet in the the strip mall and we could do church this particular way, but the church is meeting all over the world and little fishing villages and little remote villages and urban areas. There are some places it's illegal to do what we're doing, but they're still having church because the church is not our idea. It's God's idea. And today I want you to see that we are better together. That we got to shout grace, grace to it because it's God's plan. Psalm 130 verse1 reminds us that when we're in unity, it's good. It's so good. Listen to how the psalmist says, "Behold." Someone shout, "Behold." Behold. Some of us need to wake up

today. Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. Unity. Oh, it's so good and so pleasant. But I want to warn you today, unity brings opposition. That's a fact. Unity brings opposition. Unity brings opposition. It It's a fact. This is true in every sphere of life. Marriage families, schools, sports teams, cities, a nation,

and what I want to talk about today, the church. When you are united, it will bring opposition. But what we're going to see today from the ancient word of God, which is still true today, is that unity builds what opposition cannot stop. Unity builds what opposition cannot stop. That's a pre-point today. And we're to get to the point today, but I need you to understand that unity brings opposition. And it's enough opposition sometimes to say like, I think I want to stop. But don't stop. Don't quit. Don't give up. Don't stop now. Because if we can just be united, we will build what the opposition cannot

stop. If you're just joining us, or even if you've been with us on this journey through the summer, we've been looking at the rebuilding of the temple some 2500 years ago. the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. And it needed to be rebuilt because some 70 years earlier it was destroyed by the Babylonians under the leadership of King Nebuchadnezzar. And for some 70 years, the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, which is modern-day Iraq. But now under the leadership of King Cyrus of Persia, he lets the Israelites go home to Jerusalem after 70 years. And this remnant of people go from Babylon, modernday Iraq, back to Jerusalem, which is present day Jerusalem, to rebuild the

temple just as God promised through the prophet Jeremiah 70 years earlier. And as they get back home, they believe God's promises, but right there at home is opposition. So although God said it, it wouldn't come without some resistance. We've been taking a look at God's promises through the prophet Zechariah in chapter 4 verse 7 that when it seems like there's a mountain that can't be moved, we got to remember God's word. Somebody could shout, "Amen." We got to remember God's word. Zechariah 4:7, "Who are you, oh great mountain, before Zerubabel?"

Zerubabel is the governor over the people at this time. He's the ruler. He's the leader over the people. You shall become a plane. And he shall bring forward the top stone. The temple will be completed. It's not completed, but you can believe it. But and he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of say it with me. Grace, grace to it. There are some things in life that you cannot build alone. There are a lot of things you could do alone, but there are some things that are so sacred, they are so great, they are so big that you cannot do it by yourself. You've got to recognize that God made you for more than just your life. You're meant to be a part of something bigger.

So, it was with the rebuilding of the temple. One person might be able to carry a stone. Another person might be able to swing a hammer. But, but God is going to use a great big group of people. He's going to use a governor like Zerubabel because he will use government leaders. He will use a high priest that was Joshua. He will use prophets. At this time it was Haggi and Zachchariah. He will use ordinary people. He will use farmers. He will use builders. He will use families. And he will join them together with one mission, with one heart, with one purpose. And we will see that when the people of God unite, the enemy is not happy.

And at this time, 2500 years ago, the enemy wasn't upset because of a building. It's because of what that building was for. It's what that building represents. It's what that building will do for God's people. Because that building represents the presence of God. This represents the restoration of worship. putting God in his proper place. This represents identity because when you know who God is, you know who you are. And the enemy is going to oppose the rebuilding of God's temple because he understands that when the people of God are united, anything is possible. Discouragement loses its voice. Opposition loses its power. Resources all of a sudden begin to appear.

and unfinished assignments that looked impossible, they get completed. We truly are better together. The rebuilding of the temple was not a construction project. This was all about fulfilling God's promises and his word. It's was putting God's presence back into the proper place. It's like the people in captivity said, "We're done with captivity. We're done with captivity living. We're done with captivity. And that does not have the final word. God's word does. We may have lost some years, but we haven't lost God. God is faithful. He is true. The temple may have been destroyed, but God's purposes and his plans cannot be destroyed. Thank you, Jesus.

No matter who you are, no matter where you are, and you could say, even though it's not finished, you can call out things that are not as though they are that it's going to be completed. And you might as well shout it in your prayer time, grace, grace to it. Zerubbabel, the ruler of the people. You got to understand when you're facing a mountain of rubble, when you're facing a mountain of opposition, when you're facing something that seems insurmountable, sometimes you need to be reminded it's not about you. Jesus. The previous verse to grace grace to it. Zachchariah the prophet says, "Then God said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubabel." Make sure that he knows

this. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. God started this. God sustained it. God will provide for it. And it will be God that finishes it. This is still true in our lives today that when anything good happens in your life, you can know this. It was God. Amen. In fact, you you you might as well just tell your neighbor, even if you don't know them, it was grace. It was grace. It was a gift. I didn't get this far on my own. It was grace. It was grace. It was grace. It was grace. It was grace. It was grace.

You're still here because of God's grace. It's the gift that just keeps giving. John, when he writes about Jesus, he starts off by saying Jesus is the fullness of grace and truth. And through him comes grace upon grace. If you need some grace today, you've got a gracegiving God. And what begins by grace, you can trust the Lord that he will complete it. The temple at the time of Zechariah could not be rebuilt by money alone. It could not be built by the people alone. That is power. It would require God's grace. So God reminds them, go ahead and shout, "Grace, grace to it." Come on, say it with me. Grace, grace to it.

I've got three points today as we look at this rebuilding of the temple and then we're going to carry this on throughout the rest of the summer. But I want you to write this down so that we understand the context of how it's going to be completed. Point number one today is the first thing God rebuilt was not the temple. It was the people. The first thing God rebuilt was not the temple. It was the people. There needed to be a work in the people. And so sometimes this might speak prophetically to some area of your life. Maybe you want a new work or a new career or maybe your marriage isn't at the place you want it to be or or maybe it's school or or maybe uh it's some other place. Let me just tell you what matters most to God is people. It's not a building. It's not a program. It's it's the people.

I want to point out a text in the book of Ezra. Ezra is the historical book that actually gives the account of the rebuilding of the temple. The Bible is made up of 66 books and it's divided into sections so that we could better understand who God is. And in what's called the historical books, that's before the book of Psalms. So if you find the book of Psalms almost in the middle of the Old Testament, you just go back a few books. You'll you'll see Esther. Keep going back a little bit. You'll see Nehemiah. That's the rebuilding of the wall around the same time. And then you find the book of Ezra. Ezra is going to tell you the historical account of the rebuilding of the temple. And as he tells this account, he gives us details and he reminds us that that although this was 2500 years ago, that what the people went through then is still the same thing we go through now. And God is faithful now just as he was then.

Ezra chapter 3 verse 1. When the seventh month came and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. I want to note two things in this verse. First, Ezra found it necessary to tell us when the seventh month came. Why does he have to give us the detail of when these things happen? when they would rebuild the temple, when these things happen. He noted that this was the moment God did it. You see, you may not understand this right now, but we're in a moment. This is why the prophet Habach says that you ought to write these things down because you're going to be able to run

with it more when you see that God has been telling you this and he's going to do it. Don't miss the moment. I believe we're living in a moment right now. You could write this down. 2026 is our moment. A stake in the ground moment that if we would be united, we're going to get to see God work in such a way just as it was in this day. For 70 years, there was stagnation. For 70 years, there was no temple. For 70 years, there was a mountain of ruins and rubble. But when the seventh month came, that doesn't seem significant to you, but it mattered to them. It was like the the reminder in the journal on this month at this time, on this day, on this year. Don't you treat this year like it's an ordinary m ordinary year. Don't miss the moment.

Now is our moment to be united. Now is our moment to see that God's not done rebuilding. Now is the moment for us to welcome the presence of God, to restore worship, to to bring restoration of identity. You know, this world needs this more than ever before. If you know who God is, you'll know who you are. Don't miss your moment. Notice the phrase in Ezra 3:1. The people gathered as one. Someone shout one. One man to Jerusalem. They came from different towns all over Judah. Some small towns, some bigger towns. They came from different positions, different families. They came from different tribes.

But when they came to Jerusalem, they came as one man, many people with one purpose, many families with one focus. They were united with one cause. There were so many different personalities but there was one passion and it was all the unity of one assignment to build the house. This is how God brings forth revival. When we lay aside our preferences and we welcome the presence of God. When it's not about a few people but when we are united as one man. I want to bring clarity today as I talk about unity. Unity does not mean confformity.

It doesn't mean we look the same. It doesn't mean we act the same. And I was just filled with joy looking around today at the diversity in this room. How many of you are over the age of 70 just by show of hands loud and proud? Come on, somebody. Look at that. Look over 70 years old. Raise your hand. Look around the room. Come on, somebody. How many of you are still so youthful? You're under the age of 50. Under the age of 50, raise your hands. I got one more year to say this, somebody. You're still young. All right. Under the age of 50. Come, put your hands up. Under the age of 50, put it up loud and proud. Come on, somebody. [cheering] Now, how many of you are in that gap between 50 and 70? You're just right in the middle. Come on. God's not done with you. Let's go, somebody. Look at that.

I look around the room and I see some of you where cancer tried to take you out, but you're here today praising God. I look at some of you where alcohol tried to take you out, but you're here praising God. [cheering] [applause] One of the two of you has a birthday today. Which is it? Is Brian? Okay. Because they share a Facebook account and I saw Brian and Dedra have a birthday today. I'm like, do you guys share a birthday today? Brian's a prophet. How many times has God tried to take you out? I'm here to tell you today, if you got some air in your lungs, God is not finished with you. But it's not about you. It's all about Jesus.

He is the head and we are the body. So don't think for a moment that unity is uniformity because we need your age. We need your your passions. We need your personality. We need your gifts. So, so it's not about us four and no more. We need to be united for God's purpose. Not not not the same personalities, not the same gifts. We need to see that God wants to do something more. This was true with the rebuilding of the temple. And when you fast forward and God starts the church, it's true of the church. When Paul was writing to the church in Ephesus, which reminds me a lot of Bendorggan, Ephesus was sexualized in the most perverse wrong ways. It was politicized where the government was doing things that they were they were ruling over the people. There were many uh false gods.

There was the worship of Artemis or Diana, a very sexualized like the entertainment of Hollywood today. Have you ever noticed you try to just watch a movie, but you can't do it without a sex scene of people naked right in front of you? It's the demonic spirit of Artemis that was alive in the days of Ephesus. And so Paul writes to the Ephesian church and he doesn't say, "Oh guys, it's so hard to live today. The world is so woke. What are we going to do?" He he doesn't write with a pity party. He doesn't write from a victim mentality. He says to the Ephesians in chapter 4 verse one, I therefore a prisoner for the Lord. Can we just start there for a moment? Paul is in prison and he doesn't say I'm a victim. He says

if I'm going to be in prison, I'm going to be a prisoner for the Lord. I'm going to praise God not because he got me out of prison, but because of where I am, he's going to use me where I am. I am a prisoner for Someone needs to just say that about their circumstances. You might feel stuck, but quit playing the pity party and just saying, "If I'm stuck, I'm stuck for the Lord. If I'm in the job I don't want to be in, it's for the Lord. If I'm in the relationship I don't want to be, this is I'm going to do this for the L because I'm going to give God the glory." Look what he says, though. He takes the focus off himself. He says, "Listen carefully. I urge you. I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." There's one thing I could be confident of today. You're called. Every one of you are called. There's no one so great today that you're so strong, you're so smart, you're I don't need God. No, you're called by God.

And if you're going to be stubborn in your life, you're going to miss the fulfillment of God's calling in your life. He has called you. And the urging of Paul is in this place of like, we don't have time to waste. Don't miss your moment. God's called you and it's time for you to start living it out. It's time for you to start walking in a manner worthy of the call. Don't live like the world, the kingdom of this world. Start living for God's kingdom. Someone might say today, "Well, pastor, how do you do this?" I'm glad you asked. Paul answers. Look at verse two. Here's how. And by the way, if this was easy, everybody be doing it. Even Christians. You could call yourself a Christian, but you may not be doing this. Listen what he says. With all humility and gentleness and with patience, bearing with one another in love.

That's how you know something's different about you. You want what God wants. Humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love. And here comes verse three. Ready for this? Eager. Someone say, eager. Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit. That's God, the Holy Spirit. Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Friends, as I meditated on this this week, here's what I've discovered. I've been a Christian for a really long time. I mean, so long that I'm like, "Oh boy, I'm getting old." I've only seen a few people, hardly anyone, be really eager for unity in the spirit.

Even at this church, I see people really excited about this church. They're excited about the preaching. They're excited about the music. They're excited about the vibe. They're excited about the friendliness. They're excited about one thing or another. I very rarely find people that are just eager to say, "All I want to do is be united with people who are not like me. I I want to be with people who are different than me. I just want to pray for other people. I want to see a move of God, not through me, but through us." This is really unique. And this is God's word. This is what sets us apart as a people who are called if we want revival. We're going to declare Central Oregon shall be saved. It won't be through a few. It will be in the unity of the church rising up saying we are better together. And we're going to ask the Holy Spirit to unite us. Because if

there's one thing the devil can do that, and the devil hates you, by the way, Jesus tells us in John 10:10, he hates you. He's a thief. But the devil doesn't even need to destroy the church if we're divided. Just think about that. The devil doesn't need to destroy a divided church. So the one thing the enemy wants to do is to get us not to be united in the Holy Spirit, but for us to start being against each other. That's why Paul says verse three, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit of the bond of peace. Unity has got to be something we fight for. Unity must be something we protect. Just think about all of the commandments of God's word. We must forgive each other.

This is not up for an option in your life. God never says, "Hey, listen. You can go ahead and hold on to that offense cuz you're right about that one." If there's one thing the devil wants to do is cause a spirit of offense in your life, the music's too loud. Oh, the preacher's talking about money again. You know how many times someone has left this church over the spirit of offense of money? But do you all know, I just got to be real with you. It takes money to do ministry. Ain't nobody donated this building to us rent free. The electric company didn't say, "We're going to give you that electricity for free." That coffee and the donuts, we paid for that for you. It felt free to you, but somebody paid for it.

It takes money to do ministry. And here's what I found. Almost always, and it might be always, but I'm just going to put a little preface. Almost always, the people that carry the spirit of offense with money, they're not giving any money to the church. Oh, but all the pastor wants is money. Well, you're not even giving any money, so I ain't taking your money because you're not giving it. I'm not trying to offend somebody, but this is where this is where division happens. It's not just the spirit of offense, I'll tell you. It's also spirit of jealousy. Seeing someone else do something, it's this. It's a spirit of gossip.

And gossip, man, it slips itself into the church, but it becomes spiritual. Can I just vent on you for a second? Can I just I don't know why the sass comes out with gossip, but it's like, you know, like can I It's just like a sassy spirit, you know. You see somebody with that, you just say, get behind me, Satan. Because here's the deal. We got to fight for this. And and listen, none of us be careful if you think like I've never done and I'm not going to go through a whole list of every single sin that's in the church. None of us are exempt from this. It's like we we all need God's grace. We're all broken. We're all going to screw up. Something's going to slip out of your mouth and you got to be like, "Wow, that was not of God. I need to ask for forgiveness.

I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have done that. That was my flesh. That was not the spirit." When we can humble ourselves and say, "The same grace I need, you need." And we're going to give it to each other. We're going to fight for this. Here's some questions you can ask yourself. Am I bringing people together or pulling them apart? Am I strengthening unity or stirring up division? Am I helping us become one or am I dividing us? Are my words creating connection or conflict? Am I building bridges or building walls? Do my words strengthen the house or weaken the house? And somebody might be here today saying, "I don't do any of those things because I just slip in. I sing and I I take off and you know, but here here's the deal. God wants you to be a part of this. Yes. He wants you to be a part of who who he is and what he's doing.

And so I say to your life that where you've been is not where God's taken you. Grace, grace to it. Say it with me. Grace, grace to it. Point number two is unity does not remove opposition. I think sometimes we have this fantasy if we find the right church, if we do the right thing, that somehow it's not going to be hard. But unity does not remove opposition. As soon as they began rebuilding the temple, wouldn't you know that's when resistance came? So, this is just the warning to all of us like when you get married and you start taking your marriage serious, here comes resistance. You start taking your calling serious, what God's doing in your life, don't think it's going to get easier. It's actually going to get harder.

You really start taking prayer seriously, you really want to get into the word of God, don't worry, the distractions will come. It happens to all of us because unity does not remove opposition. Ezra chapter 4. So now they decide we're going to rebuild. We're going to do this thing. And this is what Ezra tells us in chapter 4 verse four and 5. And the people of the land, the people of the land, th those who settled in this promised land that wasn't theirs. While the Israelites were in exile, the people of the land discouraged. Somebody say discouraged. Discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid. Say afraid. Afraid to build. So now they're discouraged and they're afraid of the people. Look at verse 5. And they bribed counselors against them to frustrate. Say frustrate. to frustrate the purpose all the days of Cyrus the king of Persia even until the reign of Darius king of

Persia don't miss this here the enemy used three weapons discouragement fear and frustration does that sound similar to what we experience in our lives all it takes is just a little bit of discouragement to stop you from doing great things you try but you can't get the loan you try but people say no you try and they reject you you you've applied, but you didn't get it. You're working on it, but it seems like for every step forward, it's a few steps back. Come on, somebody. The enemy will try to discourage you, give you the fear of man, which is interesting because this this is a this is a spirit that will stop you from doing great things for God. I've struggled with this one ever since I became a pastor. The fear of man over

the fear of God. It's one of those just over the last few years I've had to release because here's the deal. People will cause the fear over you in your life. Particularly if you serve God in ministry and all of a sudden you're trying to please people instead of God. Just one nasty comment or one negative review or one person saying the wrong things and all of a sudden it's like I don't want to say the wrong thing because if I say the wrong thing then someone's going to use that against me or if I offend somebody they're going to go tell somebody. Next thing you know you're having church not for God but for man. And the word of God says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When you actually truly care about God and not care care about man, I'll tell you some great things are going to happen. Frustration is a simple one. Anybody ever gotten in a fight with someone? You say, "I'm not angry. I'm just frustrated." Y'all know what I'm talking about.

I'm not mad at you. I'm just frustrated. Okay? This is still how the enemy works. And I'll tell you why. Because he's a fraud. The devil is not a creator. Jesus and Satan are not 50/50. So, we got to fix our theology there. We are at spiritual war. But I need you to know this that the devil is a created being by God who was meant to worship God, but instead of worshiping God, wanted worship. This is what pride is. It's about me and it's not about Jesus. And the devil therefore cannot actually create something new. So he's a copycat. So this is why it's important to get into God's word because what he was doing then he's still the devil's still doing now. He's still discouraging. He's still causing fear. He's still frustrating people to the point of stopping God's calling and purpose upon your life. And

when you understand this about the enemy and you realize that in Jesus you have all authority over the enemy, you can call him what he is, a fraud. He's a fake. Last week I I shared with you Elijah the prophet when when he was discouraged. God came and he didn't come through the earthquake. He didn't come through the wind. He didn't come through the fire. He came through the still small voice. Sometimes God will whisper to you, "I love you. I'm for you. Just be still and know that I'm God." Now if God whispers, guess who else might whisper to you? You lay down in bed, you're not good enough. It'd be better if you're not here. That mountain's not going to move.

That mountain's been You've never seen that mountain move. And if the enemy can whisper to you long enough, you'll start to listen to the lies and believe their truth. So, you've got to be cautious what voice you're listening to because unity doesn't stop the opposition. It'll actually bring it. Zechariah did not just allow these things to take place. Zechariah 4:7 reminds us of this question. Who are you, oh great mountain? Don't you love that question? Not what are we going to do to move that mountain? Who are you, oh great mountain? Who are you compared to my God? Who are you to say that you're permanent? Because I know that you're going to become a plane soon enough. I know that you're not going to stay there. I know that you're not going to

last forever. I know that my God is greater than you. Who are you, oh great mountain? Who are you to dare stand in the way of what God's going to do? Who are you? And you could fill in the blank of whatever your mountain is today because we all got them. And this is where we come together and we recognize that your mountain is not going to be moved because you're so powerful. Your mountain is not going to move because of how mighty you are. But we remember the words of God. Zechariah 4:6. Say it out loud with me. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. So unity does not mean we won't have mountains. My friends, if you try to leave a church because you see a mountain in front of you, let me just warn you right now. The next church might have even more mountains. You just

haven't seen them yet. Or you step into the church. Oh, I feel an offense coming. You might be the mountain. [laughter] Unity means this. I don't know where this is coming from today. Unity means this. When your faith is weak, somebody else is going to encourage you. And when someone else's faith is weak, you're going to encourage them. When someone says they want to quit, you say, "Listen, I've been right there before. Don't quit now. Don't give up. God's been too faithful. He's best is still ahead of you. We've come too far to stop right now. We're not going to stop right now. Ecclesiastes says, "Two are better than one because they have the good reward for their toil." This is work. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone

when he falls and has not another to lift him up. There are so many moments in my life where someone else helped me up. There are so many times when someone said an encouraging word to me at just the right time. There are times that some of you have given me a word of knowledge. you've written me a note or maybe you've prayed for me and I didn't even know you prayed for me, but I needed it at just the right time. And I'm here today to say that I'm going to preach whatever God gives me to preach so I could give you a word of God at just the right time. I'm going to pray for you at just the right time. And together, we're going to be in unity. We're going to work together as the word says, iron sharpens iron. We're going to be sharper. We're going to be stronger. We are designed to do this. Isolation is dangerous and it's a tool of the enemy to stop you from doing a great work of God. Resistance is the evidence that God

is doing something great. It's not the absence of God doing something. We often mistake this like why are there problems happening right now? Because the devil doesn't like what God is doing. The enemy doesn't waste ammunition on a person that doesn't pose a threat. So, if you're going through something, let me just tell you, you must be a threat to the devil. If you're lukewarm right now, let me just warn you, nobody's happy. You're not happy. So, we look at the enemy and he resists that which would be united. Marriages, families, the church. Do not interpret resistance as rejection of God.

Sometimes we wonder where where's God been? Why? Why would these things happen to me? God hasn't left you. Jesus said, "I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I will be with you always to the end of the age." Do not neglect denial. Excuse me. Do not neglect delay as God's denial. Remember, it says that they worked through Cyrus. Who was the other king? Darius. Thank you. Darius, king of Persia. Cyrus, king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius, king of Persia. It was Cyrus that gave them the blessing to go back home. It was Cyrus that wrote the check and said, "Here are the resources for you to go rebuild the temple." But when the opposition wrote letters to Cyrus, Cyrus put a pause on the building to say, "Let me do some investigation." And some of us stop right there because

we see the delay. We think, "Ah, God must have stopped it." That's not God's denial. it would be 16 years before they would continue to rebuild the temple. So if if it's been a while and you're wondering where is God in the midst of this, the delay is not his denial, God is going to do it. So it's time for us to look at that mountain and say, who are you, oh great mountain? I might have some resistance. I might have some opposition, but it's time for us to say grace, grace to it. Say it again. Grace, grace to it. The last point today and we're going to end with this one. Unity requires every person to carry their stone. Unity requires every person to carry their stone. The rebuilding of the temple required a variety of different roles.

Zerubbabel governed the people. Joshua was high priest. So he brought forth worship and a sacrifice. You could read about this in the book of Ezra. Before there was the temple rebuilt, they offered a sacrifice. We learned this last week if you missed it. This represents the roles of king and priest fulfilled in the person Jesus Christ, the king of kings and the great high priest. And in Jesus, we are a kingdom of priests, a royal priesthood. You're a king and a priest. Anybody remember that? You have a place in God's purpose. There was Haggi and Zachchariah, the preachers of the day. But all of the people had a role. When those who resisted the rebuilding, they wrote a letter to Cyrus. Listen to what they said. Ezra 5'8. Be it known to the king that we

went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. We ought to be known as being the house of the great God. They're trying to discourage the people, but they're only building up their faith. It is being built with the huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. That's what we want to be known for. The work of God is getting done and prospers in our hands. I like how the New International Version says the same verse in a different translation. The king should know that we went to the district of Judah to the temple of the great God. The people, everyone say the people. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timber and walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under the direction. Central Oregon shall be saved.

How is God going to save Central Oregon? Through the people. That's how through the unity of the people. The very word church comes from the Greek word eklesia. Jesus introduced it in Matthew chapter 16. Jesus says, "I will build my church." Eklesia means the assembly, the gathering, the united ones. It was literally the phrase from the military. When they were sent out to go to war, they would leave their homes. They were sent out and they would gather as an assembly. That's the church. When we gather, when we're united with one mission, which at Journey Church, we say our mission is to lead people on a journey of transformation in Jesus. And we say we can't do this alone. It's about the people. Paul reminds the church in Corinth, for the body does not consist of one member. It's not about

you, but as many. The eye cannot say to the hand. 1 Corinthians 12:21. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you." Nor could the head say to the feet, "I have no need of you." The preacher needs the prayer warriors. This worship team needs the production team. Kids church needs the security team. Listen, I I could never have been to this place in this church if I was just leading alone. I don't have an ounce of administration in me. God gave me a a wife who is more intelligent, more detail oriented, can can see the things I can't see. And he he put us together. And I'll tell you, when you put two people together that are different, it feels at first like conflict. This is oil and water.

But but it's not oil and water. It's more like oil and balsamic vinegar. They don't look like they go together, but they do. Don't listen to the devil. You might be different colors. [music] You might look like you don't gel together, but you got a place in the kingdom of God. We We need each other. We need more people that will take heaven more seriously than we see other people. But we're concerned. Are you going to hell or heaven? Because they're real. We're made with eternal souls. And we're not here just to play games. We're not here just to grow a country club. The the kingdom of God says it says, "I don't need the applause.

I just want the presence of God. I want Jesus to be glorified." So whether you're carrying a stone, whether you're cleaning a toilet, whether you have a title in your name or you don't have a title in your name, it's all about using the gifts that God gave you for his purpose because one day you're going to see him. I just want to say this with with all my heart as I just think about the future of this city in central Oregon. There's not just room for you here, which we try to make room for you. In September, we'll go back to three services and our goal is to build a new campus in Bend and we want to plant more churches. We don't want to just make room for more people. We need you. Like this is you were made for this.

You're not an accident. You weren't your mom and dad's idea. You're God's idea. He's got a good plan for you. And I just want to say with some urgency behind this. Grace, grace to it. That this is the restoration of worship. It's a restoration in our generation of identity. If you know who God is, you know who you are. It's a people that are saying, "I'm done with captivity." That that's not the final word. I will declare it even if I can't see it. I will believe it. Grace, grace to it. Grace started it and grace will finish it. It was grace. Grace started it and grace will finish it. As we finish our time today, I want to just ask you in the seriousness of your soul, have you believed in Jesus? Have you surrendered your whole heart to Jesus?

See, the Bible says that you you can't do anything to do. That's a wakeup call today. You can't do anything to earn your way into heaven. It's a free gift of grace. You receive that free gift of grace through faith, which means by believing in what Jesus has done, you get the full inheritance of what God offers. And it's more than you can imagine. He gives you spiritual gifts. He gives you the hope of eternal life. He gives you the authority of his word. Everything changes by believing in Jesus. And if you've never done that, today's your day. You don't have to go get right with the world and with with God before you can believe. You can believe and God's going to make it right.

So, how can you be saved? Everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved. He died on the cross for every single one of your sins. Not some. Every single sin that was done to you that you've done, he has the power to heal what was done to you. He has the power to forgive what you've done. There's no person here today that sins so greatly he can't forgive you. So through faith today, if you want to receive this, it's yours. But you got to know this. When you leave this place, you're not the same anymore. You may have walked in a sinner, but if you believe in Jesus, you're now a saint. And as Paul said to the church in Ephesus long ago, I say to you, Ephesians 4:1, walk in a manner worthy of your calling.

Be disciplined. Do things differently. Get into the Bible. Even if it's hard at first, start somewhere with the life of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Start somewhere. Just take one step. Just going to ask you to close your eyes right now. This is your response to that question. And it is the most important decision you could ever make. If you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and as your savior, would you just throw your hand up in the air? Just keep your hand up. We'll give you a booklet of your next step. I want you to take this step today. Praise be to God. Whole group of you over here. Praise God. God sees you. He loves you. He's for you. Just keep your hand up until you get a booklet. Is there anyone else today? Just raise your hand nice and high. Praise God. Yes. Yes. Amen.

I tell you this, this might seem like a serious moment, but the Bible says there's more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than 99 who need no repentance. It means this. If you raised your hand today, you just gave God great joy because he wants you in his family. He wants you to follow him. He wants to use you. Is there anyone else today that didn't raise their hand? You just want to say, "Yes, I want to be a part of this family. Yes, I want the grace of God. Yes, I'm ready to receive this day." Anyone else? So proud of you who raised your hands. If you would just pray with me from this day forward, be a person of prayer. Be a prayer warrior. The Bible says, "Pray without ceasing," which means talk to

God all the time about everything, the good, the bad, the ugly. You can talk to the Lord. I'm going to keep it simple and just have you repeat after me. It's not this prayer that saves you. It's Jesus. So, you're talking to him right now. And from this day forward, you can keep talking to him. So, so don't stop. You can pray with other people. You could pray alone. You can pray out loud. You can pray in your heart. I'm just going to ask you out loud. Would you join with me? And every person that's ever believed, can we just join with them? Show how simple this is. Let's pray this out loud. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I believe in you. Forgive me of my sins. Forgive me. I receive your grace. I receive I am no longer the same. I am. I am a child of God. A child of God. You are my Lord.

And you are my savior. Today I follow you. Today I follow you. Lead me, Lord. Lead me, Lord. I believe in you in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Praise be to God. Praise God. Amen. [applause] I want to welcome up Hannah as she prepares to close the service with you today. If you made that decision, it changes everything. Thank you. Come on. Can we just celebrate that? Five people just raise their hands to accept Jesus [applause] and now get to spend eternity with Jesus. That's so good, man. God is doing so much good stuff here at Journey [music] Church. I got to have the best phone call with somebody who filled out a baptism application this week. And um

like shameless plug, if you just raised your hand to accept Jesus and you've not been baptized yet, that's your next step. Get baptized at Church in the Park and go public with your faith that you just made the decision to follow Jesus. You can do so on Sunday, September 6th. I'll call you. we can talk about all the the questions you might have around baptisms. And during our baptism phone calls, we I get to learn a little bit about um everyone's story, why you started following Jesus, what that's looked like. And I had the best conversation with a gentleman this week who got saved at a camp as a kid, lived some life, made some other choices, and now is pursuing Jesus again and is ready to be baptized. [music] and we ended our phone

call and he asked, "Can I can I give so that more kids can go to camp? Someone paid for me to go to camp and I encountered Jesus and I want to do that so more kids can experience God." And I just thought, man, this is why we give. This is why we give. Ministry costs money. It does. But we don't give so that we can have nice donut holes or keep the lights on. Although those things cost money. We give so that kids can experience the kingdom of God at a church camp. So that people can come in and hear the message of the gospel and be transformed. So that people can go from death to life and and raise their hand for salvation and be baptized. That is why we give to the church.

First Corinthians 9 says, "This is the point. Whoever sws sparingly will reap sparingly, but whoever sws bountifully will also reap bountifully. And I just the tug in my heart today is how incredible would it be if we were to sew seeds financially into the kingdom of God. And the harvest is that these kids are set on fire when they go to camp. That the future leaders and pastors usher in the kingdom of God here on earth. How incredible would it be that if we sowed financially into the kingdom of God and the harvest, the reaping was bountiful salvations that Central Oregon is being saved and transformed because of our sewing, because of our generosity, because of our giving. So, if you want to give today, you can give online by scanning

the QR codes. You can drop something in the back on your way out. We have other ways of giving like stocks and cryptocurrency. We just want to make it available for you to partner with us and sew into the kingdom of God. I just have a few more reminders. This is our last pursuit night this Thursday and we have people up here to partner with you and declare grace, grace to it over whatever situation. So if you need prayer today, come up. But Journey [music] Church, we love you. Have a great rest of your week.