Churches in Ocala

“We were made by a creator in the image of a creator to create things that reflect the creator. The the the impulse that you feel to build something, to change something, to help someone, to to start something. I just want you to know right now. That's not ego. That's the fingerprint of God on your soul. And the point of Genesis one twenty seven, the point of Genesis one twenty seven is the urge to start something, it's not restlessness. It's the calling of God on your life.”

“God is a starter. And and because you were made in his image, there there's something inside of you that was designed to create, to build, to influence, to encourage, to lead, to help, to serve, to make a difference. Right? Genesis one one. Look at it. Here's what it says. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The the very first thing that the Bible tells us about God is is that he creates.”

“Be careful. Or, hey. Why why don't you wait on that until the timing's better? Or, you know, you're probably not even qualified. What if it doesn't work? Or you know what? Somebody else could do it better. And and let me just tell you right now, fear always wears the costume of common sense. But but listen to me carefully. The voice that constantly says, hey. Play it safe. It's not usually the voice of God.”

“At this stage and age of your life, k, at this stage and age of your life, what what's that thing that you keep coming back to? That idea, that dream, that burden, that conversation, that opportunity. What's that thing that won't leave you alone? Can I just tell you right now, maybe it's not random? It's probably god. And the second question second question is, what voice what voice has been holding you back?”

“lesson we take away from the wilderness is discovery of the treasure. There's a treasure in every wilderness. And we, I don't know, I don't know if y 'all are like us, but like when we're watching TV and you read an article and somebody discovered a treasure. And it was like, when Teddy and I, I don't know how many years back, decades probably, we were watching like the antique roadshow stuff. And I watched as these people brought something to this professional and said, hey, I found this like in my grandmother's attic. I don't even know what it is. And they said, oh, it's worth $4 million.”

“manna quail and water every day for two million people for 40 years i mean that when you understand that now here's the thing god god always promised to meet their needs he didn't promise a feast he promised enough for each day and he still does matter of fact there were some that disobeyed and they said ah man we're going to get as much as we can and we're going to store it we're going to hoard it but after a day it rotted and started smelling because god said every day i want you to trust me every day in every way and he still says that i mean god god gives us when jesus taught the the lord's prayer he said give us this day our daily bread you know what what we need and philippians he said god will meet all of your needs according to his riches and glory not not your wants i mean he's it's like this constant god i'm dependent on you god i trust you and he wants us to learn in our wilderness to trust him every day for everything and so then the the third”

“constant complaining and complaining doesn't change a thing complaining just amplifies frustration it spreads disunity and discord and that's why i think paul wrote in philippians 2 because it's it's a problem then it wasn't a new testament it is today philippians 2 14 says do everything without complaining and arguing so that no one can criticize you don't don't be a whiner nobody wants to hang out with whiners right we we all get that and uh i used to think that people complained because they had a lot of problems but what i've realized is that people have a lot of problems because they complain and it's like when we complain what we're saying is i am the king of my universe my needs are more important than your needs and i have rights and i deserve what i want and that's i mean that that's entitled and even here's the crazy thing even with all the entitlements and all the whining and complaining they did here's the crazy part god still provided for them everything they needed god still sent manna god still sent quail god still gave water manna god still sent manna god still gave water”

“Quicksand will take you down. There is some, it's very rare, but if you find it, it will take you down, but it will not take you out because your lungs have a buoyancy to them. And, you know, so what, but, you know, the truth is it is a trap and entitlement will take you down. It will lower your standard of living. It, uh, because entitlement is the mindset. I deserve it. It's, uh, you know, and one of the warning signs, if you want to know whether you're struggling with entitlement, one of the warning signs is complaining. If you're a complainer, you're probably entitled.”

“And, and that's what we need to know in our life and our relationship with God. Because how does, if we feel that way about our kids, how does our heavenly father feel about us when we say, I don't feel like it, or, you know, I don't think I'm going to do that. Or, you know, I got a better idea. Delayed obedience is disobedience. And, and that's, that's where they were constantly, you know, saying no, no, no. And, and yet Christianity is always, it's based on obedience. It's not based on feelings. And when we learn that we grow because we're trusting God more with more and more often. And that's where your faith grows. That's where you realize that he really is trustworthy.”

“you're gonna do another lap in eighth and i think the same thing is true for christ followers it's like you know what if you don't take the test or you don't or you keep failing the test you're going to do another lap in the wilderness because that's exactly what the Israelites did. They were failing test after test. Here's a question that we all need to ask in our own wilderness. God, what do you want me to learn? And we're not looking to learn anything usually. We're looking for a way out. But God's way out is learning.”