Authentic Encounters: The Church as a Lampstand

Pastor Justin Michael of Apostolic Church Dallas delivered a sermon emphasizing the importance of an authentic encounter with God over mere religious spectacle. He stressed that the church's purpose is to be a lampstand that showcases the light of Jesus, not to be "cool" or to put on a show. The church is to be a place where people can truly see Jesus and experience His presence, which is more important than the building itself. Pastor Michael warned against becoming self-centered and losing sight of the church's purpose, which is to hang the light of the glory of God for the lost.

He discussed the rebukes given to the churches in the book of Revelation, interpreting them as expressions of God's love and a call to purity. The churches are encouraged to repent and to listen to God's voice, with the remedy for a loveless, compromising, corrupt, dead, or lukewarm church being to have an ear to hear God's voice. The speaker shared a personal experience of seeing a different spiritual reality while preaching and urged the congregation to focus on God rather than the gods of this world.

The speaker also highlighted the importance of faithfulness in spiritual growth, noting that many people fail to grow despite engaging in religious activities because they lack faithfulness. He encouraged the congregation to focus on growing themselves through prayer, reading the Bible, and fellowship with other believers. Faithfulness, not talent or performance, is what God requires, and it is demonstrated through actions such as serving others and rejecting compromise.

Pastor Michael shared his belief in the Acts 2.38 message and the existence of one God, anticipating a revival where people from various faiths will turn to Jesus. He expressed confidence in the church's resilience and its ability to move forward regardless of circumstances, and he emphasized the church's mission to be a lampstand, seeking God's presence above all else.

Key Takeaways:

- The church must prioritize creating an environment where individuals can have a genuine encounter with God, rather than focusing on external appearances or performances. The true agenda of the church is to have God enthroned and for people to see Jesus, which is the essence of being a lampstand that shines His light. [01:39:27]

- Rebukes in the scripture are not merely criticisms but are expressions of God's love, intended to guide the church back to purity and devotion. A church that listens and repents after receiving a rebuke demonstrates a love for God and a desire to align with His will. The churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia are examples of faithfulness that caught the Lord's eye. [01:54:46]

- Spiritual growth is intrinsically linked to faithfulness. Engaging in religious activities is not enough; what matters is a consistent, faithful walk with God. This includes daily practices such as prayer, reading the Bible, and fellowship. Faithfulness in small things leads to significant growth and maturity. [02:30:48]

- The church's resilience and ability to overcome any obstacle are rooted in its foundation on Jesus Christ. Regardless of external circumstances, the church is called to stand firm as a lampstand, shining the light of God's love and truth in a dark world. This steadfastness is a testament to the church's divine purpose and calling. [01:30:02]

- The church's mission is to advance and take territory for God's kingdom. It is not about the physical building or the artificial displays of glory, but about being a vessel for God's presence. The church must reject complacency and strive for the manifestation of God's will, being a beacon of hope and salvation for the lost. [01:33:14]

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Revelation 3:7-13 (Church of Philadelphia)
2. Matthew 5:14-16 (Light of the World)
3. 1 Corinthians 4:2 (Faithfulness)

#### Observation Questions
1. What does Jesus commend the church of Philadelphia for in Revelation 3:7-13?
2. According to Matthew 5:14-16, what is the purpose of being a light in the world?
3. How does 1 Corinthians 4:2 define the requirement for stewards?
4. In the sermon, what does Pastor Michael say is the true purpose of the church? ([01:21:08])

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why is faithfulness highlighted as a key attribute in the church of Philadelphia? How does this relate to the overall message of the sermon? ([01:59:44])
2. How does the metaphor of the church as a lampstand in Revelation 3:7-13 and Matthew 5:14-16 help us understand the church's mission?
3. Pastor Michael mentions that rebukes in scripture are expressions of God's love. How does this perspective change the way we view correction and guidance from God? ([01:46:35])
4. What does it mean to be a faithful steward according to 1 Corinthians 4:2, and how can this be applied to our daily spiritual practices?

#### Application Questions
1. Pastor Michael emphasized the importance of creating an environment where individuals can have a genuine encounter with God. What steps can you take to ensure that your personal worship and church involvement focus on this goal? ([01:39:27])
2. Reflect on a time when you received a rebuke or correction. How did you respond, and how can you see it as an expression of God's love and a call to purity? ([01:46:35])
3. Faithfulness in small things leads to significant growth and maturity. Identify one small, consistent action you can take this week to grow spiritually, such as daily prayer or Bible reading. ([02:03:33])
4. Pastor Michael warned against becoming self-centered and losing sight of the church's purpose. How can you guard against self-centeredness in your spiritual life and focus on serving others? ([01:44:56])
5. The sermon mentioned the church's resilience and ability to overcome obstacles. Share a personal challenge you are facing and discuss how your faith and the support of your church community can help you overcome it. ([01:30:02])
6. Pastor Michael spoke about the importance of rejecting compromise. Is there an area in your life where you have been compromising your faith? What steps can you take to address this? ([01:49:05])
7. How can you contribute to making your church a "lampstand" that shines the light of Jesus in your community? Identify one specific action you can take to support this mission. ([01:21:08])

Day 1: Encounter Over Spectacle
Genuine encounters with God transcend the allure of religious spectacle. The church's role is to facilitate these encounters, allowing individuals to experience the transformative presence of Jesus. This is the essence of being a lampstand that shines His light, not to impress but to illuminate the path to the divine. [01:39:27]

Matthew 5:14-16 - "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."
Reflection: How can you make room for authentic encounters with God in your daily life, beyond Sunday services?

Day 2: Love in Rebuke
God's rebukes are acts of love, calling us back to purity and devotion. When the church listens and repents, it aligns with His will, demonstrating a love for God that surpasses the desire for comfort or approval. The churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia serve as beacons of faithfulness that pleased the Lord. [01:54:46]

Revelation 3:19 - "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent."
Reflection: When was the last time you felt convicted by God's Word, and how did you respond to that conviction?

Day 3: Faithfulness Fosters Growth
Spiritual growth is not a product of religious activity but of faithfulness in one's walk with God. Daily practices like prayer, reading the Bible, and fellowship are the soil in which faithfulness grows, leading to maturity and a deeper relationship with God. [02:30:48]

Luke 16:10 - "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
Reflection: What 'small' act of faithfulness can you commit to today that will help you grow spiritually?

Day 4: Resilience Through Divine Purpose
The church's resilience is anchored in its divine purpose and calling to be a lampstand, regardless of external circumstances. This steadfastness shines the light of God's love and truth in a dark world, demonstrating the church's unwavering commitment to its mission. [01:30:02]

Hebrews 10:23 - "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
Reflection: In what ways can you contribute to the church's mission of being a steadfast lampstand in your community?

Day 5: Vessel for God's Presence
The church's mission is to be a vessel for God's presence, advancing His kingdom and being a beacon of hope and salvation. It's not about the building or displays of glory but about manifesting God's will and rejecting complacency. [01:33:14]

2 Corinthians 4:7 - "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."
Reflection: How can you, as part of the church, actively reject complacency and strive for the manifestation of God's will in your life?

There's a sweet presence of the Lord in this room right now. Would you just lift your hands? And with your hands, would you lift your voice all across this house? There it is. There's something in the spirit transpiring right now. Oh yes. Oh yes. Come on, let's release that in this room tonight. Oh yes. Come on, lift your voice with me right now. In unity as a congregation before the Lord, we're transitioning into a new year, but something is shifting in the atmosphere right now. I felt it about halfway through service. There is something that God is wanting to birth and release in this room tonight and the people that are gathered here under His name.

Come on, let prayer roll forth from your lips right now. If you've got the Holy Ghost, just begin to pray in the spirit right now. Yes, yes, press through the lethargy. Press through the dimension of the flesh. Press through your carnal mind. Tap into the well of the Holy Ghost. God's got something to do tonight. God's got something for you tonight. God's moving in this room. God is moving in this city. God is moving in the earth. We are on the precipice of a great moment for the kingdom of God, and now it is time for the people of God to rise up as warriors and to move in the spirit and to pray and to push and to rest.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, you can feel it, you can feel it. Yes, here's what I want us to do. If it's appropriate and agreeable with the person next to you, whether you grab their hand, lay your hand on their shoulder, whatever that looks like, again, if it's appropriate and agreeable, we are going to pray together as one right now. Just lift your voice, pray for the person that's next to you. Pray for the will of God to be done tonight. Let the love of God begin to flow through you in this atmosphere right now. Let the love of God, the love of God, the love of God, the love of God will activate the miraculous, the love of God. The love of God will bring unity. The love of God will produce abiding which brings forth much fruit.

Let there be a baptism of the love of God in this room tonight. Oh, and with it give us a spiritual mind, a mind to discern the day and the hour and the time, the times that we are in. Oh God, give us a mind of the spirit to discern, to hear your voice. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes, come on, that's good. That's good. Yes. Jesus said my house will be called a house of prayer, not of music, and I love it. But prayer is what makes this thing what it is. Prayer is what His house is about. Oh, and I thank God for this music, but this music helps bring us to a dimension of prayer.

Here's what I want us to do. We're going to cut the music right now. We're going to cut the music for a moment. I just want you to just go forward in prayer right now. Come on congregation, Church of God. Come on, just lift your voice. There is something powerful in this room right now. There is something powerful in this room right now. Yes, yes, yes. Come on, just stretch a little bit further. Just stretch a little bit further. Maybe you've never prayed like this. Just try it out. Just begin to go boldly before the throne of grace and truth. Come on. There's something moving in the atmosphere. There is something moving in the atmosphere.

God is responding to the voice of His people crying out, if my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear and respond. God is responding. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I pray a revival will break out in the name of Jesus Christ in the year of 2024. I pray that prayer rooms will be on fire in the year of 2024. I pray that faithfulness will be at all-time highs in the body of Christ in the year of 2024. I pray that we will walk into fulfillment like we've never walked into in the year of 2024. I pray that the people of God will step into position like they've never stepped into position before.

Yes, yes. That's all right. We're just having a prayer meeting right now. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. We're having a prayer meeting right now. Hallelujah. Oh. Can you feel what just settled in the room right now? You can feel that. I just want you to lift your hands right now. This is refreshing is what this is. I want you to lift your hands and I want you to just receive, tell the Lord, I receive your refreshing right now. You've given a lot this year, some of you. You got a lot of weariness. God is going to put refreshing upon you right now. There's some refreshing with that. There's an ointment for healing wounds right now. Spiritual, emotional wounds.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We're not going to move past this right now. There's something transpiring. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. If you came to celebrate the New Year, wrong service. If you came to worship the Lord, you get in the right place. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I feel such an anointing on you, Olivia, right now. Will you pray? Can we just clap our hands to the Lord and give Him praise right now? Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.

You can be seated right now. I want you to keep praying with me, though, right now. I know you've been standing for a little bit. Some people don't mind. Some people do. I want you to just continue in this atmosphere of prayer right now. I really feel some things shifting in the room. I felt some heavinesses lift just a moment ago. I want to preach to you tonight with the help of the Lord the best I can. I really don't know how this night will go. I know I tell you that every time. It's because I genuinely don't most of the time. But God's dropped a word in my spirit.

Me and my wife did our get together and plan for the next year kind of thing. I don't even know if we really did a good job at planning the next year. Pretty sure we didn't. We did eat a good steak, though, so praise God. And what we did really is we reviewed 2023. I think we spent more time looking back. And we got to this one part where it was like, okay, do we want to do that word of the year thing? And I just was like, well, I don't know. I don't have one right now. But I do feel like God gave me a word for this church for this year. And they didn't have not a clue that this was what God spoke to me. And they were just singing about it. Faithful. Faithful. Faithful.

I'm going to read from the book of Revelation. You can stand, sit, or do whatever you want. Your choice. Revelation chapter three. Back there for the media. I told them I'll just be in Revelation. So I'll tell them where. So three, seven through 13. Everybody say Philadelphia. Hallelujah. But before we proceed, would you just lift your hand and just pray this prayer with me? God, let your will be done tonight. God, let your will be done tonight. God, I pray that I will minister within your will. Pray, God, there be an anointing, a strong anointing. Pray an unction in the Holy Ghost tonight. Pray that your word would go forth with signs following Jesus. I pray that you will heal tonight. You sent your word and you healed them as the preaching of the word is going forth. I pray that even the miraculous will begin to take place, God. I pray the people that are sick in their body, God, will be healed during the preaching of the word of the Lord. Your word, our spirit, and it is life, God. Breathe the life into us during this moment right now as we get into your word.

God, help us to have an ear to hear what the spirit is saying to us in this day and in this hour. God, we want nothing more than to be in alignment with you. And I pray, God, that you would anoint my lips. I pray, God, that you would allow every word that comes forth tonight to be a word from you. Don't let Justin get in this tonight. Let it be you in the name of Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ.

And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write. These things says He who is holy, He who is true. Can I have that water? So sorry, squirrel. He who has the key of David, He who opens, thank you, and no one shuts. And shuts and no one opens. I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it. For you have a little strength. I needed a little water. You have kept my word. You have not denied my name. Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews, really what it's saying is those that are children of darkness who say they are the people of God, that's what He's getting at right here, and are not. But they lie, indeed, I will make them come and worship before your feet.

Let me just tell you, I believe in the truth. I believe there is truth. I believe in the power of the name of Jesus Christ. Are we in a church that believes the truth right here? I believe in the Acts 2:38 message. I believe that there is one God. I believe the enemy recognizes that there is one God and trembles at the mention of His name. I believe in this and I am telling you that in my spirit, I didn't even, I wasn't even going to talk about this, but God is going to bring people who have been walking in almost truth and they are going to come and bow their face before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and they are going to seek Him who He is, one indivisibly, one God whose name is Jesus. They will be buried with Christ in baptism. They will be filled with the Holy Ghost. I'm believing that I'm going to see this year. We are going to see a revival of people who are walking in good faith with what they know, but they are about to come to His feet in the name of Jesus Christ.

I'm talking whatever it is, if it's Christianity to whatever degree, if it's Buddhism, if it's Hinduism, there's going to be people who are delivered from Satanism, people who are operating in witchcraft who are going to bow their knee to Jesus Christ and the blood of the Lamb is going to break every curse off of their life. You believe it with me? You believe it with me? Come on. Hey, I can't do this by myself, but where two or three are gathered together in His name believing, He is in the midst. I'm telling you that while we're talking about this tonight, when we're worshiping together and praying together and ministering together, I'm believing that God is going to do some things in this message tonight, in this service tonight, by the end of this thing in the area that's around us that we can't even see with our eyes.

I believe angels are going forth. I believe the blood of Jesus Christ is going to cover this city. I believe there are people who have been crying out to God for a really long time, and the angel that visited Cornelius is going to show up at their door and God is going to minister to them and lead them to a house of truth. I believe it. I believe it. I'm telling you, I didn't come to play Patty Cake Christianity. I came to see revival. I came to see revival. I came to see revival. Hey, Jesus didn't come to establish a cute social club. He came so that there would be an awakening and a revival of sons and daughters. People filled with the Holy Ghost and covered with His name.

All right. Are we here together tonight? We're in unity together in this. Because you have kept my command and persevered, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. He shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes out of heaven from my God. And I will write on him my new name.

He who has an ear. Everybody grab your ears. You got them. Now you also got spiritual ears. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. I just want you to ask the Lord to open your ears right now. Would you pray with me? God, open my ears. God, open my ears. Hallelujah. Open my ears that I can hear. One time I was preaching and I got up to preach and I closed my eyes. And when I did, there was a room full of people and their hands were lifted. And when I closed my eyes, I saw something different than what my natural eye was seeing. My natural eye was seeing people like this. And I closed my eyes and the Spirit, I saw people going like this. And as God spoke to me, He said, they can't hear because I don't have their ears. And they cannot see because I do not have their eyes. Just throwing that out there.

If you're having trouble hearing God, you may have another god of this world that has your ears. If you're not seeing God, you might be looking at the gods of this world too much. The book of Revelation of Jesus Christ written by the Apostle John while banished to the Isle of Patmos imprisoned opens with an address to what is referred to as the seven churches of Asia. Everybody say the seven churches of Asia. Amen. You must understand that there are more than seven churches in Asia. But there were only seven churches that the Lord decided to acknowledge in this address. And so He comes to the Apostle John and He begins to write, I John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

And I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. You know, there's a lot of things that will happen when you get in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. You know, Monday is also the Lord's Day and Tuesday is also the Lord's Day and Thursday is also the Lord's Day. And you don't have to wait till you come here on Sunday night to fight through the flesh dimension a little bit to get into the Spirit on the Lord's Day. The Lord is the Lord of every day. And God wants you in the Spirit every day because God wants to show you beautiful and wonderful things.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and I heard a loud voice as of a trumpet saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. And what you see, write it in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia. And they are as follows: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke to me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. Everybody say seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about with the chest, girded about the chest with a gold band.

Verse 14, His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars. And out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. Verse 17, And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said to me, Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last. I am He who lives, was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Do you know who we're talking about here right now? This is Jesus. Amen. Well, it says amen too. I wasn't trying to get you to say amen. That's funny.

And I have the keys of Hades and death. And write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this, the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands. And then He gives the mystery of what these things are. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven lampstands which you see are the seven churches. The seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. Each church was a golden lampstand, a place upon which a lamp is hung. A place that would carry a vessel of light to light up a dark place. That was what the lamp was for.

And it's important to know before we move further at all tonight that this is what the church is. If you want to know what the church is, it's not a 501c3. If you want to know what the church is, it is more than a nonprofit. It is not just a gathering place. It's not the place where you get your tax write-off, hallelujah. It's more than even a community. While these things exist in the church, the church is way more than the aforementioned items. I want you to know tonight what the church is. The church is a lampstand. The church is a lampstand.

The word that is translated in the New Testament as church is the Greek word ekklesia. Everybody say ekklesia. I'm just making you talk tonight, I'm sorry. Ekklesia means, I don't do that too much, a group of called-out people. A group of people assembled for a common purpose or theme in a time. A familiar passage of scripture comes to mind and is fitting here as Paul, who was writing to an ekklesia himself, he says this, talking about the church. You, that is to be translated, you all are a royal priesthood, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people. Why? That you may proclaim the praises of Him who has what? Paul called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

See the connection here, we'll build it a little bit. Jesus says it like this as He passionately speaks to His followers who would soon become His ekklesia, His church. He says, Matthew 5:14, don't try and catch me here. You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill that cannot be hidden. He's talking to a group of people who were just following Him around who didn't understand that very soon they would be called part of this ekklesia and He's telling them what they are. You've been called out of darkness and into the light. You are the light of the world, nor do they light a lamp, put it under a basket, but on a lampstand. And from there it gives light to all that are in the house.

And so the command comes forth, so let your light shine before them that they may see your good works and glorify your Father that is in heaven. Okay, so we know that the church is the called-out group that becomes the place that is the lampstand so that the light of the world can rest upon it for the purpose of people seeing the good works and glorifying our Father in heaven. All right, we're tracking. The church is a lampstand and He is the light in the lamp. John 8:12 says this. Jesus spoke to them, His to be ekklesia saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

The church is the lampstand, but Jesus is the light. The light of the lamp is the light of the world, and the light of the world has found its way into you. If you have been filled with the Holy Ghost, how do we know that? The Bible says be born of water, born of spirit. It's mirroring natural birth. Water breaks, baby comes out, takes a breath, spirit, water, spirit. And the first thing that comes out is what? A cry. It's how we know that the baby is living. When you receive the Holy Spirit, you will have an evidence of a cry that comes forth. It is that you will speak with other tongues. The light of the world is in you. If you've received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, if you've had that experience, now it is Christ in you, the hope of glory, and Christ is the light of the world.

And so now you get to be the city set on a hill that cannot be hid. It is so easy for churches to become about everything else but the lampstand. I have fallen to that trick before. It is a tragedy at times that even churches doing very good things in all of the good doing have forgotten that the whole purpose is to just be that plain old lampstand. As we enter into the year of 2024 and exit 2023, I do not want to over-spiritualize the transition of a calendar. But as we look to turn this page and move into the next year and with just a little bit of freshness, because there's hope in the new year.

Really, today, honestly, it's no different than tomorrow. But I promise when you wake up tomorrow, you're going to feel lighter. Mostly it's in our head. And you're going to start new habits that I hope you keep. You've got some resolutions, and I pray they get resolved. Hallelujah. Because we've got a lot of unresolved. And really, I'm talking about myself here. I didn't go to the gym at all. I didn't go one time. I ran one time on the Katy Trail. I told y'all I was going to do that. I did it one time. Felt great and told my wife, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it again. And then it got 185 degrees outside. And I was like, not today, Satan. Hallelujah. So I missed that.

But as we can focus kind of in this time where we're just really kind of laser-focused in, a lot of us are able to do that right now because we're all kind of analyzing our life right now and a lot of things that are going on in our lives. I want to state about this church. I've said this before, and I want to say it again tonight. Apostolic Church Dallas is not here to be a cool church. We do not exist to be a cool church. If you've hung around long enough, maybe you followed on social media and you thought it's cool, and then you show up and you're like, these people are crazy for the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we are. There is no other way to be.

There is no other way to be. Hallelujah. I'm going to get ahead of myself. I'm going to start talking about that one church that was... I'm talking about the Revelation one, not the one across town. I would never do that. Please hear me. I want to make sure you hear me right. Wow. I don't know what 2024 has in store, but I do know this. We will continue the goal of this. We are not focused on being a cool church. We are focused on being a lampstand. A lampstand. You know lampstands are pretty boring sometimes.

All right. I do not know what the year has in store. And similarly, how many of you saw 2020 vision? Y'all saw that? All these churches had this slogan for 2020, 2020 vision. And then all of a sudden we were like, sometimes we don't know what's coming. But here's what I do have. I have a great sense that 2024, as it pertains to the world that is around us, there's going to be a little uncertainty in the world. Okay? I do perceive that in the year of 2024, this will be a year where, as it always has, but just in a little turned-up notch where darkness tries to reign in the world.

And I'm just going to focus on our nation right now. I'm not going to focus anywhere else. And if you are spiritual at all and you've prayed, or maybe you used to pray and you have some discernment, you may have felt a little bit of this entering the new year as well. But I am... I'm here tonight to lift our eyes off of whatever could be potential uncertainty in the year of 2024. And in the unction of the Holy Ghost tonight, I want you to know that this year will be a great year for the kingdom of God.

This might be a terrible year for the economy. This might be a terrible year for America. I don't know. This could be a terrible year for the world. Who knows? But I'm telling you, it does not matter what happens at the election box. It does not matter what happens on Wall Street. It does not matter what happens across town or even in another nation. I am telling you that regardless of the turmoil or the blessings that come in this next year, there is only one thing that the church can do and the church will move forward.

How do I know that? I can tell you. Greater is He that's in me than he that's in the world. Hey, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. The Bible says the weapon can be formed but will not prosper. So let me speak into uncertainty. Maybe even it's just a little bit of spiritual uncertainty. Maybe it's just the spirit world we're talking to right now. There is nothing that can set back the church of the living God because He is on the throne of the church, He is the head of the church, and He is the chief cornerstone and foundation.

Hallelujah. This will be a year of, keyword, acceleration. This will be a year of acceleration. I need to drink a water. I didn't hydrate good this week. I'm telling you that the church of God will thrive. I'm telling you the church will advance. I'm telling you in the face of anything that comes against the people of God across this nation or even in this room, the church has one destiny and that is to overcome. You will overcome them by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony. Because while the world is in darkness, the church is the lampstand.

Don't turn out the light when darkness comes. That's easy to do. Retract and to pull back. Don't turn out the light when uncertainty in our nation might arise. You are the lampstand. You are the lampstand and He is the light in the lamp. And a world that is lost in darkness needs the lampstand standing. A world in darkness needs a lampstand standing. I'm not just saying this for any other good reason than God has spoken it and so I can say it with confidence and also humility at the same time that God has destined great things for this church, great things.

Do you believe that with me? Hallelujah. God has destined great things for this congregation and God has destined what is a young church, not just in average age, but numerically. We haven't even turned one yet, I guess. We are a young church, but God has destined this church to pioneer some things. There is a reason why, I was just talking to somebody about this before service on the phone. They told me, they said, I've never watched a church that's brand new just continually just push and push and push to advance and to move and to take territory and to wage war.

And I just want you to know that that's what this place is. This is a territory-taking church. This is a territory-taking church. And we will not slow down. We will not slow down. We won't get to where we fill this room up and all of a sudden everybody's like, all right, cool, we can check out now. Everybody have a good time. I will not be satisfied until I see everything that God has for this city. I will not be satisfied as the pastor of this church until every hungry heart in the city of Dallas is filled with the meat of the Word and the water of the Spirit.

In this time, God has positioned us to be an end-time influencing church. And it has nothing to do with us being special. I am just telling you, I should have just written down all the things that God has spoken to me because I can just say it's Him talking and not me, but it really is. I promise. I'm not just casting vision tonight. I'm trying to get you to see His vision. If you've been here long enough, I want you to know something. If you've been here long enough, you know this, but if you're new around here, we are committed to being the lampstand.

The lampstand does nothing but hang the light. The lampstand does nothing but hang the light. Let me tell you what that means for us here locally. We just want His presence. The first message I ever preached here when we opened up on January 15th was just give me His presence. We are a presence-centered, God-conscious, hungry, seeking church that wants to see the kingdom of God established in this city. We want His presence more than we want anything else. We want to please Him far before we ever please any kind of man. We want His presence more than anything.

We want to see souls saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. We want to see His kingdom come, and as a result, His will to be done in the earth. We want to see it on earth as it is in heavenly places. We want to see it in Dallas as it is in heaven. We want it to be in this city as it is in the heavenly city. And we do not want artificial light. We do not want artificial glory. We don't want manufactured moves of God. We want Him, just Him, just Him.

I am so thankful for the building that we meet in and the church that so graciously rents to us. But if we didn't have this building, I'm telling you that we would just be happy enough as long as if we gathered in a park or if we gathered in a school or wherever it was that we had to gather, if He showed up, that would be all that we care about because we are a lampstand. And if we don't have the lamp, then there's no reason for the lampstand. We need the glory of God. We need the presence of God. We need the move of God.

We sang the song, take this world, give me Jesus. I believe that. I believe that. Do you believe that? Is Jesus enough for you? I won't get on that. Dallas will see the glory of the Lord because there is a lampstand. You must know that there is nothing that can overcome light. John 1:5 says this, and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. That's the New King James. That word comprehend there means way more than comprehend. It means that darkness cannot figure it out. It means that darkness cannot understand it. It means that darkness may try, but it cannot take it. It also means darkness cannot overpower it. That darkness cannot overtake it. That darkness cannot even catch up to it. You go look up the Greek word right there and you'll find all that.

There's nothing special about a lampstand. And oftentimes people don't even notice it. Now when you need, do you ever think, I need a lampstand? No, you think I need a light. It just so happens the rest of the lampstand. Our churches will be meaningless if the light is not hanging right on the edge. A lot of people may not even notice all the things that go on around here. I know some of you have heard me say this time and time again. If no one knows our name, I will rejoice because they have seen His light and known His. Because the light is not about the lampstand. The lampstand is about the light.

I want to say that again. The lamp, the light is not about the lampstand. It's not about us. It's not about our church. It's not about our brand. It's not about any of the good works that we do. The light is not about the lampstand. The lampstand is about the light. I want people to see Jesus in all of His glory. I want people to walk through the doors of this church and not meet a quarter of Him. I want them to meet all of Him. Far too many times people are going into churches all over America. And they are walking out unsatisfied. And they put God on the shelf because they said, I tried that one time. All the while churches have become shows.

But I do not want this church to ever become a cool show. I want this to be a place when people walk into this church that there is only one thing that happens. They see the Lord high and lifted up and the train of His robe fill the temple. And in response, they fall on their face because they have seen Him. God spoke to me before we started this church. He said, do not make this palatable. Do not make my glory palatable. Do not make my message palatable. Do not try and make my presence palatable. I've only called you to do one thing and that is to make it accessible.

So hear me in the year of 2024. We've done it in 2023 and we're going to do it next year. We are going to commit wholly that the only agenda here is His agenda. That the only success measure is His presence. The only thing we want is for Him to be enthroned in this house. The only thing we want is for people to see Jesus. We are the lampstand. We're the lampstand. And the light is not about the lampstand. The lampstand is about the light. Our faithful calling. It is our faithful calling to be the lampstand where Jesus hangs His light.

As John the writer writes to the Ecclesias, seven of them. Seven lampstands of God. God has him address seven. I'm going to try and move fast, okay? You would think that the address that God would give to all these seven special churches would be great. I mean after all they are the seven that ended up on the list. But indeed this is not the case. Of the seven churches, five of them are rebuked sharply while only two of them escape rebuke. And there is a lot to learn here. The issue at hand is that God takes very seriously His lampstand. If a church is a lampstand at all it is because He allowed it to be. If this church exists at all it is because God alone allowed it to be.

I know plenty of people who have worked very hard but a lampstand didn't go in the ground. No work that man can do can raise a lampstand. Only Jesus can raise a lampstand. And I just want to pause as we look back over 2023 right now. And I want to say thank you, Lord. Thank you for everything that you have done. Thank you for this church. Thank you for these people. Thank you for the almost 40 that have been buried with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you for the people that have received the Holy Ghost and the miracles that we have witnessed. Thank you, God, for the generous giving that has paid the bills of this church and has allowed us to finance missions and help church planters get other new work started.

Thank you, Jesus, for everything you have done. We recognize as a church that this is your doing, that this is your lampstand, and that we have done nothing to make this happen. This is your church. You are on the throne of this church. Your name is on the foundation of this church. This is your place, Jesus. And we say thank you for what you did in 2023. And in advance, God, we say we will engage faithfully in what you are doing to build your church in the year of 2024. I say I will engage faithfully to help God in whatever way I can to be your hands and your feet, to establish your kingdom in the earth.

Hear me, church, we are not trying to build a church. We're trying to build the kingdom. And if we build the kingdom, guess what comes? There you go. You got it. I want you to rest assured of this. God cares more about preserving His light than He does His lampstand. I want you to hear that. God cares more about preserving His light than He does that 501c3. God cares more about preserving His glory and His presence. His message of the truth than He does any branded church in America or overseas. He cares way more about His light than where He hangs it.

And I just want to, I don't feel like we're in danger of doing this. But I'm going to say it because I don't want us to ever get there. This church is a lampstand about one thing, where the light hangs. We are about one thing. And I want you to know, if we stop being about that one thing, He will stop being about this place. If we stay about His business, He will help us fulfill His business. He will remain Lord of this house as long as this is His house. You know, when Jesus showed up to the temple and He went crazy, He got a whip and overturned the tables of the money changers and drove everybody out, those that sold pigeons and ducks.

It was one thing. God got angry that the house stopped being what it was supposed to be. Jesus said this, He delivered a strong rebuke. He said, my house shall be called a house of prayer because you turned it into a den of thieves. What does that mean? You knew what this house was supposed to be about, but you made it about yourself. And when you made it about yourself, you robbed me of my glory and the people in the house of the light that is supposed to be within it.

Can I tell you tonight in the fear of the Lord, this church must be about one thing, and that is to be a place that hangs the light of the glory of God. We are nothing more than a lampstand for the lost. All of these rebukes came with a thread of judgment, but as you have probably seen, if you've read the Bible, every judgment comes with a glimmer of hope and mercy with an opportunity to repent. We're going to read through them.

The first church, Ephesus, when you get to the book of Ephesians, that's this church, Revelation 2, verse 2, I know your works, your labor, your patience, that you cannot bear those who are evil and that you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them to be liars and you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my namesake and have not become weary. And I'm like, wow, what a church. I'm like, let's go, Ephesus. And I'm like, great, awesome. And then He turns from the good stuff.

Nevertheless, I have this against you. You know that rebuke is the evidence of God's love towards you, right? And that if you run from rebuke, you run from the love of God. God's love is trying to save you from walking off a cliff. What He's trying to do here is He's trying to save the church of Ephesus from getting their lampstand taken out. And He says, you've done a great job. You know, I hope that one day whenever I have to correct my daughter wherever she is, I hope I do it like that. You've done such a good job. But nevertheless, I have this against you. You have left your first love.

Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works or else I will come to you quickly and I will remove your lampstand. Now, if you read through the book of Revelation and you just glazed over it, you didn't know what a lampstand was. Let me help you out. He said, I will remove your ecclesia. I will remove your church. You're amazing. You qualified for the list. But if you don't return to your first love and go back and do the first works, I will remove your lampstand from its place. And then He just says again, hey, by the way, unless you repent.

The Lord wants you to do good. He said, you work, you're patient, you don't tolerate evil, you've sniffed out false voices, you have persevered, you have done it for my name, but you don't love me like you used to. And therefore, in the face of all the good works, Jesus said, all of that is wonderful, but I won't hang my lampstand, my light on a lampstand that is only about doing good works. I will only hang my light with those who love me. And then He says this, he that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, now to Pergamos.

I know your works where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. They must have really been up against some things, you think. And you hold fast to my name. That's wonderful. And you did not deny my faith, even in the days which Antipas, my faithful martyr, was killed among you where Satan dwells. Sounds like they got a few things going on here, but they didn't deny His name. They stayed faithful and persevered, right? They stayed in there. But I have a few things against you. Here we go again. Because you have there those that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel.

Essentially what He's saying is you have false prophets among you, prophesying for money, greed, vainglory. You eat things sacrificed to idols. Thus you and also those who hold, thus you, sorry, thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. You can do a lot of research on the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. It's hard to figure out exactly what it was. Repent, there it is again, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He said, you hold fast to my name. You refuse to deny my faith in the face of severe persecution and impending martyrdom. But you have compromised the faith. You've compromised the truth. You permit the consumption of that which is tainted by spiritual impurity. You have become comfortable with idolatry, and you are sexually immoral and fine with it.

And for all of your good works, they mean nothing, because unless you repent, I'll remove that lampstick. But he that has an ear, let him hear. To the church of Thyatira, I know your works. There's, well, there is some good here. I know your works, your love, your service, your faith, your patience. And as for your works, the last are more than the first. Also insinuating they've left a little bit of the love, too. He goes on to say, nevertheless, I have a few things against you because you allow that woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.

Well, we talked about this recently. I won't go into all that again, but you want to go to YouTube and watch all the stuff about that. You allow that. We don't allow that. Who calls herself a prophetess to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Now I say to you and to the rest of Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. Hold fast to what you have till I come.

And he who overcomes and keeps my word till the end, and I will give him power over the nations, he'll rule them with a rod of iron, and they shall be doused into pieces like a potter's vessel. And also I have received from my Father, I will give them the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear. To the church of Sardis, and to the angel of the church of Sardis, write these things, says He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive.

Now this one, they had nothing good. You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. You have a name that says you are a thriving church, but really I see beyond the veneer, you're nothing but bones. Be watchful, strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard and hold fast, and there's that word again, repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come to you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I come to you. But hey, if you've got an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.

Now we go to Laodicea. I know your works, Revelation 3:15, that you are neither hot nor cold. I really could wish that you were either cold or hot, so then that because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. I need you to understand what this really means. It's not that the water is room temperature. It's that in the lukewarmness, it is the environment where disease can thrive and multiply. And so He says, because you have become an environment that allows spiritual disease to fester, I will spew you out of my mouth, because I will not allow this to be given to the people of God.

He said, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. And if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His. Again, he that has an ear, let him hear.

Okay. Each of these rebukes are the revelation of God's love toward the people and a pure evidence of His prevailing love for the purity of His light. Each church that received a rebuke was given a chance to repent. And each church of the five was instructed specifically, if you have a spiritual ear, it is time to listen up. Reality is you don't get to the point of tolerating Jezebel or permitting idolatry or growing lukewarm or being compromisers of the truth or losing your first love and your love for the heart of God. You do not get there if you do not mute the spirit of God and His voice.

At the end of every rebuke, He's saying, turn the voice back on. We have to be radically focused on hearing the voice of God. You've got to give Him your ears so that He can talk to you. What is the remedy of a loveless church like Ephesus? He that has an ear. What is the remedy for the compromising church of Pergamos? He that has an ear. What's the remedy of the corrupt church like Thyatira? He that has an ear. What is the remedy of a dead church like Sardis? He that has an ear. What is the remedy for a lukewarm church like Laodicea? He that has an ear.

And if you're going to hear, you've got to be within distance. Fellowship is what the Lord is after right now. The remedy for alignment, the safeguard for waywardness, and the only remedy for a lampstand that is beginning to fall off course is pure fellowship with God. Because if you will hear His voice, my sheep hear my voice and another they will not follow. Meaning my sheep know my voice and they will not be led astray by another. So the question is where does this fellowship take place? It takes place in prayer. Jesus said my house would be called a house of prayer. We must be a praying church. Not just praying on Sundays when we gather. We've got to be a praying people.

An ecclesia is nothing more than a group of people that are bound together. It's individuals collected into one unit. And if we are not all praying, we are not a house of prayer. He that has an ear. But there were two churches that escaped rebuke. The first was Smyrna. Did the angel of Smyrna write these things? Says the first and the last. He was dead and came to life. I know your works, your tribulation, your poverty, but you are rich in the spirit. And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things that you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested. And you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.

He who has an ear, let him hear. And then to Philadelphia, he says this. To the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write, these things says He who is holy, who is true. He who has the key of David and He who opens and no one shuts. And He who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. See that I have set before you an open door that no man can shut. You have just a little strength. No one can shut. You've kept my word. You've not denied my name. And because you have kept my command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial, which will come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.

Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God. The name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. And I will write on him my new name. He that has an ear, let him hear.

Smyrna, the pressure and the persecution came, but you didn't flinch. You were faithful. I feel the Holy Ghost. Philadelphia, you weren't the strongest of the group. You had just a little strength, but you kept on moving. You kept my word. You did not deny my name. You persevered in the face of uncertain times and trials. You were faithful.

Can I tell you that there are certain things that move God? There is only one thing that impressed the Lord among these seven. There is only one. The other churches had it going on. They had all the things you might suspect of a growing church to have. They had some good works. But there were only two that caught the eye of the one who held the lampstand. It was the two that decided, I will be faithful. Talent didn't do it. Good works didn't do it. Something of renown could do it, but faithfulness will do it. Faithfulness catches the eye of the Lord.

Faithfulness catches the eye of the Lord. I didn't tell somebody tonight. You might feel like your walk with God is boring and monotonous, and you're doing the same thing over and over again. You are catching the eye of the Lord. You might not be doing all the crazy big stuff like all the other people that you look at. You watch on Instagram, and they're going doing this and preaching to this thing or whatever that is. Hey, listen, if you don't have faithfulness, I don't care if you have 20,000 followers on Instagram and you got all those eyeballs on you. There is a set of eyeballs that is not fixed on you and is the only one that matters because there's only one thing that catches His eye.

It's not the glitz. It's not the glamour. It's not the big things. It's not the cool things. There's only one thing that catches the eye of the Lord, and that is those who are faithful. He said, I know you're in poverty. Yeah, you don't have any money. That's fine. You're rich, He said. Why? Because you've been faithful. You've been faithful. I don't care if you don't have a dollar in the bank account. If you wake up and you pray and spend time with God, and you are faithful to the house of God, and you give what you can, and you show up and show up and show up when you don't feel like showing up.

You've got a set of eyes on you, and it's the eyes of the king who says, I just want somebody to be faithful. The works Jesus cares about are all the works that most people will overlook. Faithful, faithful. Jesus loves to hang His light on the lampstand of the faithful. That church was a poor church, but He said, I'd rather hang my light on you, and I think I can get my light out further with not a lot of money in your church than I can in this rich church over here. Because you're going to be faithful, and because you're faithful, you're not going to steal my glory that doesn't belong to you. You're not going to turn my house into a den of thieves. You're going to keep this thing what it's supposed to be about.

See, God is not looking for all the things that we are looking for. He is looking for one thing. Are you faithful? 1 Corinthians 4:2, I've always wanted to do that. 1 Corinthians 4:2 says this. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful, not optional, required. Church, we are no more than a simple, old, humble lampstand stewarding the light of God. And He is only looking for one thing of stewards. I'm telling you that in the year of 2024, there is a key to this year. It's faithfulness. If you want to grow, there's a key for your growth this year. Faithfulness.

Okay, I just hit myself with the gym thing. I've got to be faithful to the gym if I want to fill out this jacket. Hallelujah. There is something that is required of stewards that is faithfulness. Your growth spiritually this year will not happen because a guest minister who's anointed by God and is a prophet of the Lord, an apostle, or what have you, comes and preaches here. You will not grow because somebody lays hands on you. You will not grow because somebody who is special takes you under their wing and mentors you. And I love that. I want that, okay? I need that in my life. I want somebody to mentor me. I want somebody who's gone further than I've gone to take me under their wing and show me the things that God has taught them.

But you're not going to grow because somebody takes you under their wing. You are going to grow because you decide to be faithful. You decide to be faithful when you don't feel like showing up, you show up. When you don't feel like giving and you don't feel like you got any money in your bank account, you do it anyway. When you don't feel like praying, but you hit your knees. When you don't feel like fasting, but you said, you know what, I'm going to fast this week because I know that if I will subdue my flesh, that the flesh will not reign in me. The spirit is life and peace, but the flesh is death. Death won't be able to work in me because I'm going to put that flesh away. I'm going to pray. I'm going to fast.

I don't feel like reading the Bible. I feel like watching a Netflix show. But you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to rip that television off the wall. Praise the Lord. Checkpoint. I did it. I told y'all a couple of weeks ago, I was taking the TV off the wall. It's gone. Who came over? MJ can testify. Hallelujah. The TV is off the wall. Whatever you got to do to be faithful, do it. Anything that is keeping you in the way of being what God wants you to be, do it. Get it out. Get it out. Anything that is getting in the way of your faithfulness.

And more often than not, it's just you. It's just me. At the end of our life, we will stand before God and it all boils down to one thing. Matthew 25:21. His Lord said to him, well done, good, faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things and therefore I will make you ruler over many things. Musicians, y'all come on back up here. Faithfulness. I know this is not a fancy message here today. I know we're not bouncing off the walls, running around and shouting and all that stuff. And I love it. But let me tell you what. I love that stuff, but that don't impress God. What impresses God is faithfulness.

Faithfulness. Your talent doesn't impress God. Your faithfulness with what God gives you is what impresses God. So let me tell you, God is measuring based off your faithfulness, not your talent that you're giving. All right? So let me check it out. Ready? You would have this much talent and please God infinitely more than somebody with this much talent because if you just decide I'm going to be faithful with what God has given me, God is going to look down and say, you know what? I see somebody who's doing what I need them to do. They're being faithful, faithful, faithful, faithful, faithful.

And the church of God does not grow without faithful people. And there are people all throughout this room, I want to commend you for something tonight. You've been faithful. You've been faithful. You've weathered some storms. You've been faithful in the middle of it. I've watched some of you show up to the house of God when you're going through hell. You're faithful. I know there's some people in this room who gave when they didn't have it. You're faithful. I pray God blesses you 10 times more than you have ever given to this church. I know there's some of you, you have gone through things and I have watched you go through things and nobody around you knew you were going through it. You just weathered it faithfully.

God has His eyes on you. God has His eyes on you. And if this church is never impressive by any other measure, except for the fact that it's full of faithful people, can I tell you we may not have the hand clap of all the people around, but if there is one person in heavenly places whose eyes are on us, and He says into that church down there, you've been faithful. You've been faithful. You've been faithful. And when you stand before God one day, He says, you've been faithful. You've been faithful. Well done. You're faithful.

Faithfulness is not glamorous, but faithfulness is the key to spiritual maturity. If you want to grow mature in the spirit, you just be faithful. You just be faithful. You want to do all the crazy spiritual stuff like see visions and all that stuff. Can I tell you that that doesn't impress God either? See all the visions you want and more some and tell me about them when you get them. Prophesy all day long and you ought to prophesy. But I know a group of people that will stand before the Lord one day and say, I prophesied in your name. I did this in your name. Look at all the gifts and look at all the things I did. Look at all the pizzazz and the whatever. I did not know you.

What is that? You did not have an ear to hear. You did not answer the door when I knocked. I feel the Holy Ghost. But the people who have fellowship with Him and are faithful to the secret place and are faithful to the small things that nobody else is going to celebrate, you're going to get a hand clap from the Lord when He says, well done, good, faithful, faithful, faithful, faithful. Lift your hands. Say, I want to be faithful. I want to be faithful. Oh God, if we're anything in this year, let us be faithful.

Faithfulness is not glamorous, but it keeps the light on. And if this world is in darkness and needs the light on, then we must remain the lampstand. And the only way we remain the lampstand is by faithfulness. What does faithfulness look like? Keep your first love. You fall out of relationship with God. Hey, 2024, go do it again. It's a new day. His mercies are new every morning. God prepares a table and waits for you every day for fellowship. And when you show up, He's not going to roll out the dates that you didn't show up. He's going to say, I can't wait to talk to you today.

Fellowship with Jesus is faithfulness. Serving others is faithfulness. Rejecting compromise is faithfulness. Doing the small things is faithfulness. Going to church, loving people, sharing the gospel, giving generously and sacrificially, being patient and persevering is faithfulness. Faithfulness is not the easy choice. Had it been, every church would be praised. But only two made the cut. Because faithfulness isn't easy. Because faithfulness is not about you. Otherwise, it won't be the lampstand. Because the light is not about you. The light is about Him.

The lampstand is not about the lampstand. The lampstand is about the light. Faithfulness is not easy because faithfulness is not about me. And faithfulness is not easy because faithfulness is not about me. Faithfulness is the evidence of my love for Him. There are things I don't want to do. I don't feel like taking out the trash when my wife tells me to take out the trash. But I'm going to be faithful whenever she tells me. Why? Because I love her. Faithful. The evidence of your real love for God. Faithfulness.

Don't flinch. The Holy Ghost is moving. Why don't we just pray right now? Your faithfulness is not aimless. It's keeping the light on. If God is talking to you, we do altar calls here. Altar call is just the place where we go to take our flesh. It's convicted by the Word of God. Lay it upon an altar and say, I'm going to give that up to you today. If God is talking to you tonight, I want to invite you forward. We're going to pray. Come on, take a visit to this altar right now. Come on, let's talk to the Lord. God's been talking to some of you about faithfulness. Before you even walked into the doors tonight, God had been talking to you about being faithful.

Come on, if this church is going to be anything, it's going to be a lampstand, plain and simple. And it'll only be a lampstand if it's faithful. Faithful, faithful, faithful, faithful. Oh, hallelujah. Come on. Come on, people of God, let's talk to Him. Come on, let's talk to Him. There's a type of fellowship. There's a type of fellowship, a closeness that God has wanted to pull some of you into. It may not be impressive, but it's faithful. It may not be impressive, but it's got the eyes of the King on you. It's got the eyes of the King on you.

Yes, God, I want to be faithful. I want to be faithful. God, if there's any area in my life where I haven't been faithful, God, I repent. I repent of any area that I haven't been faithful, whether small or big, God, whether knowing or unknowing, Lord Jesus. I just want to be faithful. I just want to be faithful. I just want to be faithful. It's all you're looking for. It's what you require, but it's not much.

Come on, some of you, something is going to click in you this year. Something is going to click in you this year, and it's not because somebody laid hands on you, and it's not because you got a spiritual gift. Something is going to click in you because you've got that knowledge of what it means to be faithful day in and day out in the mundane and the boring. You're going to be faithful because faithfulness is not about me. Faithfulness is about Him. Thank you, Lord. Faithful. Faithful. Faithful. Faithful. Because you're faithful, God.

I give my example of faithfulness from you, Lord. You've been faithful to me when I haven't been faithful to you. But I pray that a switch will go off tonight. Let there be a switch flipped in the hearts and souls of the people in this church, every guest that's ministering, every person that's just here for the holiday. Let there be a switch flipped. Let it flip, God. Let faithfulness. That's what you're looking for. You're not looking for perfection. You're not looking for performance. You're looking for faithfulness.

Come on, allow yourself to get caught up in Him. Come on, allow yourself to be caught up in Him. You've come now. You've told the Lord you want to be faithful. Now there's a Spirit that helps you. That is the Holy Ghost. Come on, just begin to let the Spirit of God, which is your help, let it begin to flow through you. Let God begin to minister to you right now. Oh, yes. Let the power to be a witness, the Holy Ghost, fuel you right now. Yes, there's an outpouring. There's an outpouring in this room. There's an outpouring. Don't move past it. Don't miss it. There's a rain that's falling from heaven right now.

There's a rain that's falling from heaven. Of glory. What is your name, Jesus? The key is faithfulness. I've watched so many go in circles, round and round and round again, and never spiritually grow. And they've read all the books, and they've done all the things, and they've gone to all the conferences, and the conventions, and the camp meetings, and the what have yous. There's always one missing link. It's just faithfulness.

So I say to you as individuals and to this church as a collective whole this year coming on, that's my daughter by the way, just with it, she said, I want to be faithful, hallelujah. I just encourage you, I'm going to say something, and Ephesians 4 talks about the five-fold ministry of which I am a participant of that. Pastors, evangelists, prophets, apostles, teachers, and one of the reasons that they exist is to help the church grow up. So what the scripture says, you can go read it.

So here's what I'm going to tell you. Grow. I'm not talking about this church growing. This church will grow if you grow. My pastor taught me something very profound, but very simple. Isn't it funny how some of the most simple things are the most profound? He taught me that the way to grow things around me is to just focus on growing me. And that if I'll grow, everything around me will grow with it. This church will grow when we grow up. The Bible says it like this, that we no longer be children.

One of the ways that we do that, Noah and Sarah Finley is getting potty trained right now, and probably has an accident in the floor every now and then. I think she did it at the neighborhood the other day. Feed right in the floor. You know, that happens. You mess up. You gotta try. So as we grow, I encourage you this year, try faithfulness. It is a mark of spiritual maturity. So whatever that looks like for you, faithfulness isn't something that requires a gift or a talent, by the way. You can be the least talented person in the room, but the most faithful.

So I challenge you and encourage you, be faithful this year. Don't find 50,000 resolutions like me. I'm that guy. I'm going to overhaul everything in 2024. I find all the lists. My wife is like, why don't you make that list a little smaller? And just be faithful with a few things. Just a few things. How about this year, we just get faithful to praying. You just get faithful to reading the Bible every day. Just get faithful to being consistently with the people of God. Get faithful in some things. When you master the little things, everything else will grow with it. When you can master the repeatable, everyday things, the little things, and become faithful, your life will shoot off like a rocket.

So you can continue to pray and remain here as long as you want. This is obviously a house of prayer and you can do that. No way are we shutting that down. God is speaking to you. You stay here as long as you want. Outside we have coffee. If you want to get a cup of coffee on your way out to whatever your festivities are, just right over here, he caught something. Just a cup of coffee. Praise the Lord. He said, hallelujah. And if you've never been to a neighborhood this year, I encourage you to get to a neighborhood and get faithful to one.

"Faithfulness catches the eye of the Lord. You might feel like your walk with God is boring and monotonous, and you're doing the same thing over and over again. You are catching the eye of the Lord." [02:00:06] (Download)

"Jesus loves to hang his light on the lampstand of the faithful. That church was a poor church, but he said, I'd rather hang my light on you, and I think I can get my light out further with not a lot of money in your church than I can in this rich church over here." [02:01:32] (Download)

"Don't turn out the light when darkness comes. You are the lampstand. You are the lampstand and he is the light in the lamp. And a world that is lost in darkness needs the lampstand standing." [01:32:09] (Download)

"We are not focused on being a cool church. We are focused on being a lampstand. A lampstand." [01:27:39] (Download)

"Smyrna, the pressure and the persecution came, but you didn't flinch. You were faithful. Philadelphia, you weren't the strongest of the group. You had just a little strength, but you kept on moving. You kept my word. You did not deny my name." [01:59:11] (Download)

"The key is faithfulness. I've watched so many go in circles, round and round and round again, and never spiritually grow. There's always one missing link. It's just faithfulness." [02:30:48] (Download)

"Faithfulness isn't something that requires a gift or a talent, by the way. You can be the least talented person in the room, but the most faithful." [02:33:04] (Download)

"Fellowship with Jesus is faithfulness. Serving others is faithfulness. Rejecting compromise is faithfulness. Doing the small things is faithfulness." [02:10:15] (Download)

"I want this to be a place when people walk into this church that there is only one thing that happens. They see the Lord high and lifted up and the train of his robe fill the temple." [01:39:27] (Download)

"This church must be about one thing, and that is to be a place that hangs the light of the glory of God. We are nothing more than a lamp stand for the lost." [01:44:56] (Download)