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Hi, calling family. This is Pastor Michael, and welcome to our church podcast. I'm so grateful for you tuning in today, and I believe today's message is gonna strengthen your faith in Jesus. The title of my sermon today is called The Miracle and the Messiah. The Miracle and the Messiah. Now the thesis of this of this passage of Scripture is that Jesus has ultimate resources and capacity. Your limitation, you are a finite, limited human being, but we serve an unlimited God. Somebody say amen. We get nervous, we get stressful, we get weary, we can't sleep at night. When we start to believe that our our capacity, our lack thereof is greater than God's capacity. Let me say that again. A lot of times in our life we get weary. I know as a pastor, I know as a man, as a father, as a husband. There's only so much hours in the day. Come on, somebody. There's only so much so much finance, there's only so much strength that we do have. But I want to encourage someone today that we serve an unlimited God who can do anything. Someone say amen. And that should give us reassurance, that should give us confidence in our problems and our lack sometimes. Because God will come through. As we understand the background of this scripture and you know we dig at it, we learn that the audience is in great need. They are broken people, they have no leader, they have kings, they have dictators, they have people who are looking out for their own interests and not the people of Israel. And this was also a prophecy to be fulfilled because Ezekiel tells us these things. Alright? They're broken, and there's great need emotionally, spiritually, physically. And so when they hear they hear about all the miracles that Jesus performs. Now, just for a moment, really quickly, let me ask you this question. How many of you raise your hand in your life have seen God provide for you in your life? Whether it was resources out, look at the hands everywhere. Resources, strength, wisdom. Okay, keep your hands up. Alright? Okay, that's a lot of hands. Okay, keep them down right now. Look, put them down. How many of you right now have a need in your life that needs providing for? Come on, whether it be finances, energy, strength, sleep, patience. Come on, somebody, Lord, patience in the name of Jesus. Alright? Okay, hands down. I pray that through this message, whether it's a big provision or even a small one, that you will not question the ultimate power, the majesty, and the glory of God Almighty. He can come through and watch this for all of us that put our hands up. If he came through before, he's gonna do it again. Someone say amen. Come on, how many believe that? If he provided back then, he's gonna do it again today. Amen. My first point is this Jesus not only wants to save your soul and save your life, but he wants to instruct us on how to live. The Bible says this in Mark chapter 6, verse 33. But many who saw them leaving recognized Jesus. He was performing signs, healing, he was healing the sick. All right. And they ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. Verse 34, when Jesus landed and saw a large crowd. Watch these words. This is this is why I love Jesus. This is why I have a personal, personal relationship with Jesus. This is why I love Christ. Because the Bible says he had compassion on them. And the the Greek for compassion means that he was moved. It means that he had to do something. And it goes on to say, they were like sheep without a shepherd. So they began to so he began to teach them many things. Now, watch the sequence of things here. I love teaching the Bible, it's so rich. Watch this. Before he fed them, he taught them. Before he provided a miracle, he gave them some messages or he gave them some instructions. Before he filled their soul, you can say he fed their uh excuse me, before he fed their stomachs, he fed their soul. But I I love this scripture here, and I would honestly spend all my time just on this one thing. He was moved with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Now, if you know anything about sheep, they are not very smart animals. Let me tell you, raccoons are better off than sheep. Cats are better off than sheep, dogs are better off than sheep, mice might be better off than sheep. Ants might be better off than sheep. Sheep are very dumb animals, if I could say it like that in church. And he says they're like sheep. They're wandering, they have no leader. How many of you understand that sheep absolutely need a shepherd? Because their survival, their well-being, their life is all dependent upon somebody guiding them and caring for them and sustaining them. And Jesus says, I move with compassion because nobody is sustaining them. No one is caring for them. No one is leading them. But watch this. How many know that Jesus has come down from heaven to lead us, to guide us, even through dark times and hard times? He's come to bless us, he's come to be our North Star, our compass, and our savior. Someone say amen. All sheep are lost without a shepherd. I'm gonna preach a series on this because I've been meditating on this for some time now. God today wants to invite you to be a sheep in his pasture. He wants to invite you to be a sheep in his pasture. Because without him in this life, you will be lost. Let me say that again. Because without him in this life, you will be lost emotionally, spiritually. We all watch this. God is the one who designed our life. He is the creator of the cosmos, he's the one that designed our lives, our bodies. And how is life ever gonna make sense without the one who made it? Somebody say amen. And for for many of us, that's probably not the message. This is the message. For some of us, we've been a sheep in his flock, but you've been lost and you've been distracted away from his fold. And right now it's time to come back. Come on, someone say amen. It's time to remind some of you who love Jesus and who have pursued Jesus. You have been distracted by the capacity of a problem in your life and the lack of your life, and you've gotten now a full-time job and a second job, and now you have no more time for it. Come on, somebody. Jesus is inviting you back to the fold. Thank God that he leaves the 99 to go after the one. How many of you were the one? I don't know about you, but in 2007, I was the one that Jesus went after. I was lost, I was parting, I was confused, I was doing drugs, I was drinking alcohol. My that was my favorite drink, so to speak, drinking my sorrows away. But thank God that he left the 99 to come find me and save my soul. Someone say, Amen. Come on, y'all. He can do it, he's the miracle-working God. But before I move on, let me just give you this snippet. The miracle and the Messiah. God knows what you need, the Bible says in Matthew chapter 6, before you need it. He is Almighty God. He knows what your request is gonna be be before you even say it. But what God wants to be for you is not just a miracle worker. He wants to be your Messiah. He wants to be your savior. Because He designed you. You know, I have a little baby, Joy. Oh man, I get gushy, I could cry. I now I forgot what I was gonna say because I just thought about my daughter. I really did forget. Um you know, Joy, as a baby, she needs mom and dad every day. My wife can't spend, and this is not an exaggeration, 10 minutes away from her. She needs her. All her life, she'll need good parents to guide her. You know, I love my children. And if you know my story, I've shared all the time about my father and my mother. By the way, it's my mom's 21st birthday today. Can we give her a clap, by the way? All right, you give her a better clap than that. That was kind of like a golf clap, all right. All right. Today's her birthday, and um I have a broken, I come from a broken background. That's why I did all that stuff. So as I was wandering, trying to hang around people who took me down the wrong path. I love my kids, and my kids and my family are more important to me than anything in the world. Let me tell you. More important than a paycheck, more important than how many know your first calling is your family. Your first ministry is your family. My most biggest and most important disciples is them. And that priority, I promise you, calling church, will never get twisted. It will never get twisted. Why? Because I I was raised with my parents kind of in and out of prison, brokenness, all that big. And now, as I become a papa, as I become a father, it is one of the most beautiful joys in my life. And although I I uh part of me wants to give them everything I didn't have. If I want to give them toys, and by the way, they have so many toys, don't buy them no more toys, all right? In Jesus' name, all right. Uh uh toys, and you know, I want to take them to theme parks, and I want to you do all this. But the most important thing I hope that they would understand they would have in their life is that a mom and dad who love them, who shepherd them. The most important thing I can give my children is not just a thing. The most important thing I give my children is is is is not just paychecks, and that's important, that's necessary. But the most important thing I give my children is me. Come on, somebody. Jesus will want to give you miracle, he wants to give you a miracle, he wants to provide for your material needs. But hear me out now. The miracle and the messiah. Jesus says, I want to give you me. Come on, somebody. I want to give you me. And he already has. Will you accept me? Follow me, trust me, seek me, pursue me, believe me. Come on, someone say amen. He wants to give you himself because the ultimate gift and the greatest gift is not something that he can give you, it is he himself. God, and by the way, he wants to deposit the Holy Spirit, third member of the Trinity, God inside of you to guide you, to be your operating system. Someone say, Amen. That's good teaching. Come on, someone say amen. I'm excited to preach it. Sometimes I feel a little zip on messages. This is one of them. All right, I know it's hot in here, but come on, this message, God wants to help us digest because there's some need here. So watch this. I love that Jesus has compassion on them. He wants to be their shepherd. He wants to guide them, he wants to heal them, he wants to help them. Sheep can't find pasture, they need a they need a shepherd to do that. Sheep can't clean themselves, they need a shepherd to do that. Sheep can't provide for themselves, they need a shepherd to do that. And I love what it says in the text. It says before it doesn't say before the miracle, Jesus sits down, and the Bible says they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. He began teaching them, say, teaching many things. So watch this. Perhaps what's most important is not just the breakthrough of the provision, but what's absolutely necessary for disciples is instruction and teaching. Come on, somebody. Instruction and teaching. What good is it to hand your son a paycheck, a paycheck, a paycheck, but you don't teach him how to fish? Come on, somebody. All right? That's no good. Jesus sits down with them and instructs them. He teaches them things about the kingdom of God, he teaches them things about the law of God, he teaches them good from wrong from uh right from wrong. I'm blundering it, good things. Alright? Instruction, let me say it like this, is absolutely necessary for believers. That's why going to church is not a question for me. Even if I'm not the pastor of this church, I'm going to church. Why? Because I need not only spiritual nourishment or I need spiritual nourishment, I need good teaching, I need instruction on how to live a good life. Some of us, we need to get into this word because it will instruct you on how to live a good, uh, a good life in Christ. Come on, somebody, amen. It will. Pastor Michael, how how how do I live this marriage? You know, my dad never taught me how to be married. My dad never taught me, my dad was never married. It wasn't until I started going to church and joining a men's fellowship and reading the Bible, and the Bible starts to talk about marriages. I received instruction. I wanted to learn how to grow in my walk with Christ. So the Bible instructs me. See, watch this. You were designed not to stay complacent. You were designed by God to grow in your faith, to rise up to become who you were called to be, who you were destined to be in Christ. Someone say amen. God wants to teach you how to overcome addiction. God wants to teach you how to be a strong woman in the faith. God wants to teach you how to be a strong man in the faith. God wants to teach you how to overcome evil. And when the devil starts talking to you, what are you gonna tell him in the name of Jesus? Devil, you down there, leave me alone. You have no power over me. Come on, someone out there. The Bible wants to instruct us about who God is, how to pursue him, how to follow him. So watch this. Let's not forsake church and the gathering of the saints. Let's not forsake the word of God, which is powerful, useful for teaching, correcting, and rebuking. All right? Every man and woman of God to grow up in God. Someone say amen. So God wants to instruct us. And by the way, there is a scripture in the Bible for everything you are facing right now. There is a scripture. Are you facing fear? There's 365 scriptures for that. Are you facing doubt? There is a scripture for that. Are you facing loneliness? There's a scripture for that. Are you facing whatever whatever questions about the afterlife? There's there's absolutely questions or answers in the Bible for that. So God wants to instruct you. He wants to help you. Because good teaching is necessary for the body of Christ to grow up in Christ. Someone say amen. My second point is this. We're getting through it, okay? You guys with me? I'm hot too. I promise you. It's it's hot up here, all right? Point B. My second point is this. The miraculous feeding of the 5,000 teaches us that it's not the size of the need that matters, but the size of our God that matters. We have may have great need, but we have a great God. Let me say that one more time. This miracle of the 5,000 teaches us that it's not the size of your limitation, it's the size of an unlimited God who has great capacity to bless us and to help us. Right now, I'm speaking to someone. You at your you at your limit. You don't have any more strength, you don't have any more finance or resource, you're tired, you can't sleep at night, you don't have pay, you don't have enough patience anymore, you're reacting, not responding. Come on, somebody. Uh-oh, don't look at your neighbor. All right. You're at your limits. But you know what? You can find rest today. I don't know if you're like me. Something human. You know, when it's come to this building pursuit that we've been in, it's been very hard for me. If I'm quite honest with you. I've moped and I've complained to God. God, you see how hot it is? It's been hard. Well, God, can we afford this? And God, do we have enough finance to obtain this? Well, God, you know, uh, does it have AC? And for a long time, I was in the driver's seat of that problem, of this situation. And what God has given has done for me is He's given me a rest. He's helped me understand this. You, Michael, it's okay that you are limited. Bring your limitations to me because I my power is made perfect in your weakness. God did not call you because your amazing resume and your experience and your background. God, watch this, oftentimes calls the not qualif the uh uh the not qualified, so to speak. He chooses people who he know he can move through. I am one of them. Come on, someone say amen. He didn't choose you because you are this and all that, and a bag of hot Cheetos and a Coca-Cola. Come on, somebody. He chose us, he chooses to work through finite human beings so that his power can be revealed. So, watch this. You can bring your limitations to God this morning, and you can rest in the fact that you do have limitations. And watch this God is gonna come through. Someone say amen. God is gonna come through. Jesus can meet your need today. And my faith and my and my prayer for you is that He will meet your need. He will give you wisdom, He will give you strength, He will give you encouragement, He will give you the home, He will give you the husband, He will give you the wife. Watch this, come on, somebody. He will give you plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and to give you a hope. Someone say, Amen. God does have good things in store for you. So I love what Jesus does in this scripture. Verse 37 says, But he answered, You give them something to eat. I love that. I love that. I promise you we're almost done. I'm gonna rush through this thing, okay? Is it how many, you guys with me? You guys with me? All right. All right. I love what Jesus says. He says to them, You give them something to eat. Because they're like, you know, go home. You know, this time, it's late, you know. And by the way, when we study this deeply and exegetically, we see that Jesus is actually purposefully doing something here with this crowd. You know, it's very reminiscent of what Moses' leadership in his time and his day. Moses led Israel for 40 years, and he had them encamped in the wilderness, and he had them in factions and groups, all right? And they ate manna from heaven. And Jesus is similarly doing a similar thing, a parallel thing here. And he's trying to get them to understand that I am the bread of life, I am greater than Moses. Your fathers ate this manna and they died, but I am the bread who comes down from heaven and saves your soul and saves your life. Verse 37 says, So, watch this, he says, You feed them, and I love this probe here. Because if you've been a follower of Jesus for some time or even a year or less, watch this. What Jesus will often do is he will challenge your faith. He will challenge your faith. Watch this. God wants you to believe for greater watch this. This is I I I really as I was praying last night. God wants someone here to hear this. You've stopped dreaming. You've stopped asking God. You've accepted what is, and you are no longer stretching your faith muscles and believing. You've given up because of hard times, and someone hurts you, or maybe the church hurt you, or someone in church said something. You've given up. And what God is saying, it's time to believe for great things again. Come on, somebody. It's time to dream again. Can I not give that to you? Can I not do that? Watch this. Don't. If it comes to your family, you need to believe great things for your family. Come on, somebody. Pray prayers of great, pray great prayers over your children, over your sons and over your daughters and over your grandchildren. God, you're gonna move mightily through them. God, you're gonna you're gonna show you're gonna walk powerfully with them. It's time to dream great dreams again, God says. It's time, it's time to believe God for great things. Jesus says, You feed them. And look what they say. Whoa. Well, it would take a half a year's wages, Lord. Is that what you want us to do? And the Bible says this, that Jesus was testing them. He was testing them. You know, when the Israelites were in the wilderness, God tested the Israelites. Oh man, he he moved mightily in the wilderness. He moved mightily, opened the seas, fed the manna from heaven. But watch this. They still struggle with unbelief and doubt. They kept questioning the Messiah. They love the miracles, but they didn't love the Messiah. Come on, somebody, you hear me today? And Jesus ultimately says, I want to bless you, but I want to bless you with me. So look what happens. I believe it's Philip. He challenges Philip, will you feed them? And then the Bible says, Andrew, one of the disciples, said this, Well, we only we have half it takes half a year's wages. In other words, and then actually, excuse me, uh, Andrew sees a little boy with five loaves and two fish, and Andrew says, This is what we do have. This is what we have. It's a little bit amount, it's a small amount. But how many of you know that God can multiply small things? Come on, somebody. God can multiply small things. When God is testing us, it's not about how much you, it's not about how much you do have. God will use the little you do have and multiply it. Someone say amen. If there's anything I've learned as a follower of Jesus, and there's anything, especially I've learned as a pastor in the last decade, is that God blesses small things. Sometimes, well, a lot of times, we have too much that we have no need of God. Sometimes we're too blessed. Sometimes we have too much, so to speak, sometimes. And oftentimes that is a distraction from trusting God. So sometimes he leads us through the wilderness so to remind us of the need that we truly have, to come after him and to pursue him. Someone say, Amen. So he says, What do you have? What is out there? And they bring five loaves and two fish. Over the last 10 years, I've learned and I have seen with my eyes miraculous provision for the calling church. When we started this church, my wife and I saved our own little money. And we made at that time like $27,000, $28,000 a year, y'all. A year. And we saved a little percentage and put it away. And we couldn't even meet every weekend. We couldn't even afford every weekend service 10 years ago. And you you better believe I was complaining. God, I don't have this, God, I don't have that. God, how am I supposed to do this? And all the while the Lord kept telling me, trust me, trust me, trust me. But God, it's hot, but God, the tea, but God, there's this, but God, we don't have that. Watch this. You might be telling God the same thing. Well, God, I've had it up to here of my husband. I have no more patience. Come on, y'all. All right. God, I God, I don't have enough resources to give. God, I don't have enough time to give. But the Jesus is saying, Well, what do you have? And you might say, I have a little bit. Watch this. Well, use your little and give it to God, and God will bless it. Someone say, Amen. He who is faithful with little can be faithful and entrusted with much. You guys with me? So during during the first few years of the calling, I was bivocational. I worked uh like 50 hours a week and I worked like 20 hours a week or more with the church. I mean, I was I was tired. My capacity was at its limit. And for two years, I prayed and I prayed and I prayed, Lord, my dream is to go full-time with this church. I want to be able to lead this church fully, committed, uh, and I want to be able to have time to serve, more time to serve. And I prayed and I prayed every time I before I went to work. God, may you make this happen. God, I trust you. God, sometimes there will be a complaint here and a complaint there, but God, I trust you. I will never forget. And about 2017-ish, there was a man in our church, nice man, gracious person. One day, uh, he would actually come to the Bible study I was leading. And in the Bible study, when it came to prayer time, I prayed, you know, my prayer is to be full-time with this church. Well, well, one day my wife gets an email, and she uh uh uh she was doing that at that time, and it was from him, and he said, you know, I would like to make a donation to the church, and my wife, you know, she she tells me, and I'm saying, well, just put it into the thing like everyone else, right? And she he says, No, I I want to meet with you. And I said, Well, okay. And so I I met with him and had lunch with him here at Panera Bread, and he says, Michael, I I I I don't serve money, I serve God, and I want to be faithful with what God has entrusted me. And Michael, my he, I want to write you a check, and my prayer is that you will go full-time with your church. And I I was wanted to cry in the middle of Panera Bread, and I said, Well, number one, this can't be a bribe, you can't tell me what to do with it, or I we will not take it. All right, and number two, let me pray about it. Yes, amen. All right, and and oh my, I'm I'm telling you, this was a miracle blessing. I had been praying and trusting uh an unlimited God who can do anything, believing on his time, he would bless me. And man, I put my two weeks in notice like that. We have seen miracle provision, and I am so proud of that man with all the resource that man had. Let me tell you, there are people who have a lot of resource who are good people. Someone say amen, and who love Jesus more than they love money. Come on, someone say amen. Don't ever let your money get a hold of you. Let Jesus get a hold of you. Someone say amen. All right, and there are greater blessings than money. Come on, someone say amen. You believe that? God can bless us with a health, with a sound mind. You with me? All right. I was I was amazed at this miracle provision that God provided. And the next year, uh the salary paid for itself, and the church grew even more. And this was pre-COVID, all right? It grew even more. In those days, it was even more people, all right. Uh another story for you. About two years ago, year and a half, two years ago, we were in summertime just like this, and I was in prayer, and I was confessing to God my hurt and my pain. God is hot at Wilson. God, there's no AC at Wilson. God, everyone decided to put their name on our chairs. You can put your name on it too. I don't care. No, I'm just kidding. Don't show that to the district. All right. Uh uh, you know, this is not sufficient enough. This is not the adequate right space for us. God help us. And I remember that the Lord spoke to me so clearly. He said, Michael, I'm tired of your complaining. It's time to believe me for greater things. Have I not provided before? Will I not do it again? I want you to go before the church and tell them that we are gonna work on a plan to move. And so we did that, and we've seen the church overwhelmingly give, and we are continuing our search. Who knows? Maybe Monday that might change. Someone say amen. So, watch this. Sometimes God will stretch your faith by saying, You go feed them. You want me to you why are we gonna come? Why complain about your family? Why complain about your son or your daughter? Why complain about the job? Why don't you ask me and believe again? Someone say amen. You with me? Last but not least, I'm gonna wrap it up and bring the team up here. Yes, he gave them a mighty miracle, but the hope was that they would accept Jesus as Messiah. Right now, Jesus knows the need that you have, he knows the insufficiency that you're dealing with. And God is gonna watch this. God is gonna come through for you. God is gonna come through for you because God is greater than your insufficiency. Someone say amen. The hope, watch this. The hope was that they would realize, the people would realize their need, not just for a meal, but a messiah. Not just for a miracle, but a messiah, a savior. Crowd, I will bless you. Crowd, I will give you what you are what you need, but ultimately, I want to give you me, is what Jesus is saying. And here's the end of the message right here. And thank you for bearing with me. Yes, God knows your need. You know, let me just say this. There are women here, you've been praying and believing for years for a husband. God's gonna come through. There's a woman right now that I'm thinking, several women that I'm thinking about. Is God gonna come through? He is gonna come through. But like me and the ministry, you need to trust him. You need to trust him that God is gonna bring the breakthrough right on time. Someone say amen. Because if you start chasing men, you might you're gonna get the wrong one. Come on, somebody. I wait on God. Some of you are waiting for a wife. God is gonna bring a breakthrough. Watch this. Some of you are praying for a promotion, some of you are praying for an increase in your finance to meet all this crazy expensive need that you have in this world we live in. God is gonna come true. But watch this. If there's something in your life right now that is taking you away from spending time with Jesus, taking you away from church, taking you away from life group and developing and growing in your faith, let me tell you, you need to get rid of that. That is not from God. That is called a distraction. Someone say amen. All right? God wants to bless you in a way where you will continue to go to church, where you will continue to grow, and where you will continue to read your Bible. Amen. So watch this. Jesus wants to feed your soul, not just a square meal. Got every head bowed and every eye closed just for a moment as we transition our time right now. I'm gonna take a moment to pray for two groups of people and thank you for your patience. My first prayer, and ask you a little bit to be a little bold, but I'm asking you to stretch your faith right now. If you have a need right now financially, if you have a need right now emotionally, if you have a need right now in your body, health-wise. Maybe you have a need in your faith. Actually, I want you right now, everyone is heads is bowed and having a private moment. I want you to stand up right now because I'm gonna pray for you in the name of Jesus. Stand up, don't be afraid, don't be ashamed. By the way, we all have a need, whether it's one way or another. Let me say that again. We all have a need, one way or another. If you have a need, stand up. And if you're a leader here, I just want you to stretch out hands, all right, to the community. If you have right now, as you're standing, a financial need, just raise your hand. Raise your hand. We're gonna pray for you. Amen. I see hands everywhere, amen, amen. Keep them up, all right? Lord, in the name of Jesus, for those who are watching online, for those who are here in this building, we pray for supernatural breakthrough in their bank account. Lord, we ask for promotions. God, we ask for checks in the mail. God, we pray for uh just someone to come along their way, and we pray that you will give them a break. Lord, this church is filled with people who have been provided for miraculously. And Lord, if you've done it back then, Lord, you're gonna do it again. And so my prayer, Father, is you release breakthrough for your people. Help them to have their uh cupboards and their pantries and their uh cabinets filled with food, Lord. We pray, God, that um we pray for promotion. Some of them, it's time, God. They've been with the company for 15, 20, maybe even 30 years. And we pray, God, that you would give them a promotion, Lord. We pray, God, if that's not the right job for them, we pray, God, that you would give them a break at another job with more pay, so to speak. We pray, Lord, in the name of Jesus, that you would um bless them so much that they're gonna be a blessing to other people in Jesus' name. Father, I pray that tonight as they go to bed, that they will have no fear, God, of what's not in the bank account, Lord. I pray in the name of Jesus, they're no longer gonna tell you not what they don't have, but what they do have. And we pray that you multiply it in the name of Jesus. Everyone said amen. All right, another prayer, real quick. Raise your hand if there's emotional need and physical need. All right, and and here. I see hands, amen. Hands every emotional need and physical need. Lord, we thank you for every person raising their hand. Lord, I'm looking at someone right now. Wow. Wow, you've healed them of cancer three times. What an amazing miracle, Lord. There are miracles standing in this church right now. We thank you, Lord. Right now, there are people who are battling cancer. Right now, there are people who are battling trust issues and faith issues and doubt. There are people right now, Lord, battling with depression and discouragement. And my prayer, Heavenly Father, is you dispatch angels to their side. Carry them when they feel weak, help them when they don't feel strong. Let them be strong in you, that you are the all-sufficient God. I pray that you turn their gloom into dancing. I pray that you bring beauty from ashes. I pray that you increase their capacity of faith, Lord. I pray tonight they would have wonderful sleep. I pray that you put someone around them who's gonna be a cheerleader and and and just cheer them on. I pray you put people around them who are gonna speak positively to them. I pray they make new friends. You said brothers are made in times of adversity, Lord. And so we pray for a fresh release, God, of joy and of peace. And Lord, I pray a fresh release of this, Lord. We don't have to understand how the problem is gonna be fixed. We already know who the problem solver is, and I pray that would give us contentment. Lord, we don't know how the check is gonna come, Lord. We don't know how we're gonna be healed. God, we don't know what the doctor might say, but God, we trust you. We trust that you have everything under control, and so we release this to you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Last prayer. Every head bowed and every eye closed just for a moment. Last prayer, I promise you, and I appreciate you. There, what good is it for God to give you a miracle if you don't know Him? A miracle is wonderful, amazing. But Jesus wants to give you the gift of Himself. A meal satisfies just for a day. But the salvation of the Lord lasts forever. Someone say, Amen. He wants to heal you, he wants to guide you, he wants to teach you, he wants to instruct you, he wants to shepherd you. Maybe you used to follow Jesus, maybe you used to go to church, maybe you used to be a leader in the church for one reason or another. You got in the way today. Come back to the Lord. And the Bible says he will give you times of refreshment. He wants to refresh your life. Maybe you've never come to church, maybe you're watching online, you don't know the Lord, and you're seeking the Lord. Maybe in person you are now searching and pursuing the Lord. Jesus says, Come to me, come to me. I like with Tory Cory Tenboom. She says, if you look to the world, you'll be in distress. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look to Jesus, you'll find your rest. So if that's you, you say, Pastor Michael, I know I need to give my heart to Christ. I need to rededicate and recommit my life to Jesus because I've been a lost sheep. I want to come back to the full. I'm gonna ask you to do this unashamedly. Right now, just raise your hand. I want to accept Christ as my savior. We're gonna pray a prayer together. Amen. I see you over there. Anyone else? I want to accept Christ as my savior. One, two, three. You're not alone. Anyone else? Anyone else in the house? Amen. Four, anyone in the back, amen. So good five. I see you. Amen. So good, powerful. All right, hands down. Let's say this prayer loud. Let's let heaven hear it. Say, dear God, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins. I believe I'm a sinner. I'm in need of a savior. Lord, come into my heart. Make me new. God, I'm a lost sheep. Without you, I want you. I need you as my shepherd, as my guide, as my deliverer, as my protector. You are the light that I need. You are the substance that I long for. I confess with my mouth and I believe with my heart that Jesus Christ is Lord of my life. Come on, give the Lord a mighty clap. So good. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's message. Our mission as a church is choosing Jesus, chasing freedom, discovering our gifts, and serving Jesus. I have a question for you. What is your next step with Christ? Take your next step today by visiting thecallingla.com. If today's message touched you, we'd love to partner with you in sharing the hope and the message of Christ. So visit thecallingla.comslash give.