All greats love and all cheers, families, hugs, and no tears.
Hey, let me just bask for a minute. Brand new and with no windows tinted, party in the street for the sun. Come and get us and tell the whole crew they can all come with us.
And we ain't got any doors and we don't need cops, of course. And we don't care about your skin, we just want an all-out win. They tell me it's illogical, but anything is possible. If God be for us, we can overcome all obstacles.
They say love covers. I woke this morning. Uh, my name is Pastor Keenan. I am the pastor here along with my beautiful wife, Miss Sonia, who's back there talking to people.
Wait, baby, so they know who you is. Back, wait, yeah, wait, there we go. Hallelujah!
Um, we are excited that you're here this morning. We are expecting God to do something amazing. I believe that this is not just another Sunday, that we don't just come in here and it's just another Sunday, something routine that we do.
No, we are expecting God to show up and show out. I don't know what your week has been like, but if you've been like me, you've been running and gutting. You've been crossing all the T's, dotting all the I's to make sure that everything is done.
And there is something unique that happens when we come into the house of the Lord. There is something significant that happens. It's this moment where we get to breathe and say, "Okay, Lord, what is it that you would have me to do? Lord, what are you saying?"
This entire week I've been running, but God, today intentionally, I am here to hear from you, to set my week, to set my heart, to set my mind. Lord, what do you want to say?
And so place a level of expectation on this day. I don't know, maybe you came on your own, maybe somebody dragged you in, maybe you're running a little bit behind, maybe you haven't been to church before and you said, "Hey, I'm trying it out."
Whatever your situation is, I want you to place a level of expectation on this day that God would meet you right where you are, that He would meet you in the midst of whatever it is that you're going through, with whatever questions that you have, or whatever it is that you're walking through, that He would meet you right there.
And at that point of expectation, we're believing God to meet you as well.
We're going to enter into a time of worship here, and at Limitless, we love worshiping God. So you might see some people jumping up and down, you might see some people walking and praising, you might even see somebody with a flag out there worshiping God.
We are serious about giving God what's His. He's been so good to us, and so we take this time intentionally to worship Him.
And so if you would join with us, if you would stand, I'm gonna pray, and then we're gonna begin a time of worship.
And I'm challenging you, lay aside any distractions, lay aside this upcoming week, lay aside what happened last week, and let's focus in on Jesus. Let's focus in on His love, His grace, and His mercy.
Heavenly Father, thank you so much. Thank you, God, first for waking us up this morning. We declare that this is the day that you have made, and so we make a conscious decision to rejoice and to be glad.
God, you are worthy to be praised. God, you are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, and we are worshiping you and you alone.
We are worshiping you and you alone. We are worshiping you and you alone today. Focus our hearts and our minds today, God. Focus our hearts and our minds today, God, that we would hear you clearly, that we would see you clearly, and that we would encounter your presence like never before.
We praise you, we honor you, in Jesus' name, amen.
Let's worship!
But I'm gonna transition to pray as we lead deeper into worship. But before I do that, if you could do me a favor, if there's a seat next to you, go ahead and squeeze in. We want to make sure we accommodate everybody so that we can get in.
Also, there is a... If you drive a white Kia Santa Fe and you parked over here by the offices or by the studio, if you could do me a favor and move your car, we want to make sure that doesn't get hit.
Excuse me, a white Hyundai Santa Fe. You parked right here next to the gate. We want to make sure somebody can get out.
But I want to pray for you as we transition that you would even allow Him to be the rock and the foundation that He is called to be in your life.
We open our hearts to hear what you're going to say in these next few moments. Open our ears to hear what you're...
Hey, Limitless, I'm excited to announce the launch of the Limitless Student Ministries. That will be the ministry that will minister to our middle schoolers and our high schoolers.
Now, if you would like to be a part of this ministry, we're going to have a training in February and March to prepare for our launch. And if you want to be a part of it, we need you to sign up.
I know a lot of people have come and said, "I have a drive. I have a vision. I have this desire to minister to middle schoolers or high schoolers. How can I do that?"
Well, now the opportunity is available. We'll have a training in February and March, but you need to sign up at the QR code on the seat pocket in front of you or outside at our connection table.
I'm excited to start this ministry and have an opportunity to minister to our middle schoolers, to our high schoolers, and continue fulfilling the vision of Limitless Church. Can't wait to see you there.
Calling all Limitless visioneers! I want to see you on the 25th at 10 a.m. That's right, January 25th at 10 a.m. for the Limitless Lean In.
That's for all of our visioneers here. We're going to celebrate all that God has done in this past year and cast vision for what God is going to be doing in this upcoming year.
I want to see you there at 10 a.m. Food will be provided, but I need you to register at the QR code on the seat pocket in front of you or outside at our connection table.
I can't wait to see you on the 25th at 10 a.m. Make sure you're there.
All right. All right. How's everybody doing this morning? Good, good, good, good, good, good, good.
Before I dive in, I have two things before my two things. All right. So the first... No, it's not four things. It's two things before the two things.
So first, we have our visioneer of the month. So our first visioneer of the month is not here today, Mr. Jimmy Otisola, who serves on our experience team.
His kids grabbed him this weekend, him and his beautiful wife, and said, "Y'all coming with us." And they were able to take them on a little vacation for the weekend, which is greatly needed. So we're glad that they are there.
And please make sure you hug and love on Mr. Jimmy next week.
The second visioneer of the month is Miss Lana Johnson Reister. Come on! We know you. We got all day.
Lana hates to be recognized, so this is amazing. If you could come up here for us, please, we'd appreciate it.
Yeah. So we appreciate Lana because, first of all, Lana is my wife. She will tell you, Lana is like my right hand. It's my BFF right here.
Lana handles so many things that a lot of people don't know. She takes care of this church, makes sure that it's clean. The floors... The reason that the floors are amazing is because she spends time taking these chairs down, making sure that our floors alone are clean, making sure that we have everything that we need, making sure that the offices are clean.
If somebody needs to be let in, the Christmas decor, assisting, setting up all the decorations, making sure this place smells good. She does all of these things.
And oftentimes, it's the mundane stuff that nobody thinks about, but she takes pride and excellence in making sure that it's done. And anytime you call her, Lana is going to be there, and we appreciate her.
Can we make some noise? So please, as you see her this month, just say thank you. Just when you see her, just say thank you.
All right. Yeah.
The second thing that I have is next week, next Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Trinity Life Center, myself and my wife, we're going to be there.
Some other pastors, Brother LaRon, we're going to be participating in the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. And that's going to be at Trinity Life Center.
We're going to be honoring the life of Dr. King. And so if you are free and available, we would love it if you would come and support us as we're there.
Again, that's going to be 5:30 next Sunday, January 19th at Trinity Life Center in Sacramento.
All right. Those are the two things before the two things.
All right. Now, two things. The first is baptisms. We have baptisms coming up. If you have not signed up, please sign up.
This idea of taking this next step in your faith to say, "Hey, I am going public with my faith in Jesus. I've made Jesus Christ Lord of my life, but I'm committing myself to Him through the act of baptism."
That is going to be taking place. We would love it if you would participate in that. If you haven't, invite your family, invite your friends, invite everybody to participate and witness.
And we want to celebrate with you in taking that big step. That is not something to be taken lightly, and we want to celebrate it.
And so we're having those coming up. We want you to be there and sign up for that at the QR code or the connection table today that is located in the back.
Okay, so please sign up for that.
The second thing, I told you guys I had a big announcement that I wanted to announce this week, and I said it at the end of service, and that's probably why y'all came this week, but that's fine.
I'm going to have a big announcement at the end of this service too. We're just going to keep doing this the whole year on.
But no, really, the one thing we have been believing God for a lot of things this past year. We did a lot of great accomplishments. But the one that I am most proud of is our new home fund.
This past year, we raised three hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars. And we're going to be doing a lot of great things this year. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for showing seed into the house of God.
And there were some things that we were able to accomplish with this money. We have a list of things. We did some site work. We replaced the acoustical tiles. We started on our plumbing. We did some framing, electrical, HVAC, drywall, drop ceilings, a ton of things that your showing was able to accomplish to get us into the house, to the building.
And with that amount that we raised, we are now officially moving into phase three, which is the final phase of our building project.
Yeah! Yeah! Y'all ain't excited. I'm excited! Hallelujah!
Y'all in the back, y'all especially need to be excited about this because it's going to be more seating in there.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
We're excited to have a church that's not even four years old to have a property and to be able to build a building and to be in that building in a short amount of time is nothing short of a miracle.
I can't tell you. I meet with the local pastors here in our church every month and the pastors in this region every month. And every time we're telling them about all the things that God is doing, they always ask, "What is going on over there?"
And every time I tell them, I say, "It is the hand of God on the life of the people of this church."
And so I am putting my faith out there that by Christmas this year, we will be in our new building. That's where I'm at.
So pray with me. Pray. Pray.
And as the Lord moves in the next couple of weeks, I will be showing you what we have left to complete before we're moving in. But just be in prayer for our church and in gratitude.
And I give my sincere thanks to all of you who gave out of your sacrifice, who gave out of your surplus, who said, "Hey, you know what? I'm committing these resources to our new home fund."
And as you continue to do that, every day we get closer and closer to walking in that building. And I'm telling you, ain't nobody going to be more excited than me when we get in that building.
And so Joel says we are now moving out of the rough stage. We're moving into the finished stage of our building.
So now you will really see all the things. You'll see the sheetrock go up. You'll see the lights being installed and the new ceiling and the new flooring. That's going to happen.
And so I'm excited for all that God is doing. Thank you, Limitless Church. Even those of you who are online that have been sowing and praying and those of you here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Can we make some noise for Jesus? Thank you.
All right, let's dive into this word.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to hear from you today. God, we know that your word is already anointed, so we ask that you would anoint us.
We want our ears to hear you and our hearts to receive what you're saying. As you challenge us today, God, what is it that you want us to know?
What is it that you're saying? Not just in over the pulpit, God, but what are you saying individually to each and every one of us?
Speak to us today, God. We love you. We praise you. We honor you in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right. Last week, we began a journey talking about what it means to be fully committed.
We talked about coming into the new year and being fully committed. I told you guys about my Super Nintendo skills and how amazing I was at Street Fighter.
And we learned about resetting our minds, resetting our hearts, and resetting our desires.
We said that when we reset, that we are realigning our life with God, that we're realigning those thoughts, we're realigning those actions, we're realigning those desires with the word of God and getting rid of those things that aren't like Him.
Starting over with a fresh perspective based on God's will and God's way.
Today in part two of our fully committed series, we're asking this question: Where is my devotion? Where is my devotion?
When I started in team ministry, I was very into music. I actually started out listening to classical music. For some reason, Beethoven was cool to me.
My mom took me to go see operas. I really liked music. Then I heard about Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and everything changed from there.
Then Tupac's "Dear Mama" came out, and I was sold that hip hop had my heart.
Then I came to church because my mama wasn't going to let me listen to too much of that too much longer before she found out.
And I realized that you can have the message of Jesus with hip hop music. And from that moment on, if you didn't know, that's a thing. Just put that out there.
From that moment on, I was sold. I was sold. I was like, "Oh, this is what I want to do. This is cool. I like it."
The thing that I didn't like is I felt like it was like diet soda. It was good, but it was missing something. It wasn't there.
And so from that moment on, I became devoted to being a Christian hip hop artist. Everything I did revolved around this.
I would have spiral notebooks, and I would have three or four of them at a time, and I'd be riding on the bus. I'd be riding on the train.
It was an hour and a half from my house bus and train ride to my church, and I would make it a point to write at least two whole songs from the time I got on the bus to the time that I got to church and one on the way back.
When I was at school, I would not be paying attention to anything that was going on in any of my classes.
I say that now because I'm grown. Don't do that, kids. It's hard for you teachers in here. I don't want no problems, but I wasn't paying attention.
My teachers thought that I was taking notes—not their notes, not their notes. I was writing and trying to figure out how I could compose great songs.
And it became everything I did. My mother bought me a beat machine, and I didn't know how to make beats.
And I was just pressing buttons, and we had a double-deck tape recorder, and I would press record on one and play on the other.
And I was just trying to figure out everything I did became about this. All the conversations that I had, eat, breathe, and sleep Christian hip hop music.
Back then, we didn't have easy access to the internet, so I would listen to songs and write out all the words of their songs so I would know what they were saying because I wanted to know how they were creating these great songs.
Then I got a computer. I got in the studio, and I would walk an hour and a half to the nearest studio from where the bus stopped just to make sure that I got there so that I could record music.
The way that I dress, the way that I talk, the way that I handle myself, everything I was devoted to being a Christian hip hop artist.
If you see somebody running in the cold at six o'clock in the morning with no shirt on, you might say there are a few things that we won't say, but one of the things you will say is that they're devoted.
You'll be like, "Okay, we get it. You won. All right. You're committed, Jamie. You're committed to running. We get it. You want to run."
The Bible says the wicked run when no one's chasing them, but you want to run.
But you would say that they're devoted to running.
There was a game last year, last January, the Kansas City Chiefs were playing in Minnesota, and the reason that I noticed—not because I'm a Kansas City fan—but they were offering money to people who would come to the stadium and shovel snow.
Now I'm like, if it's so much snow that you need people to come and shovel it, you probably shouldn't have the game. You should probably go ahead and let that dry out, reschedule it. It'll probably be fine.
No, these people were like, "If we will pay you to come shovel snow." And they did.
The game was the next day, the game happens, and you would think that people would stay home.
Oh no. Oh no. No, they didn't do that. Not only did they go to the game, they came to the game in numbers.
And we're not talking about California coat. We're not talking about 34, you know, 38, 40 degrees, and we're like, "No, you better bundle up."
No, we're talking about teens and twenties. And it is actively snowing so much that from the time they got there, by halftime, they were covered in snow, covered in snow.
People there with no shirts on in the middle of this game. I'm talking, you can look this up. They're there in numbers.
It was so bad that at the end of the game, people had to bring in the ambulances because people had gotten to the point where they got frostbite and limbs had to be amputated because they were devoted.
They were devoted. They didn't get paid to be there. There was no eternal value from them being there. They were going to see a game.
When we look at athletes in the Olympics, we see the amount of emotional stress that they go on, the physical stress that they undertake, the mental stress that they undertake, but they do it anyway because they are devoted.
And each of these instances, the thing that they are devoted to is seen clearly: dedication.
And the thing that they are devoted to is easily seen when people see us. Where is our devotion?
When they see you and I, believers, Christians, close followers of Jesus, where do they see our devotion?
Do they see us devoted to our busy schedules that we always brag about? "How are you doing?" "Oh, I'm busy running here, running there, running there," bragging about it.
Devoted to our busy schedules. Do they see us devoted to our sports teams?
"Listen, pastor, I know you got a good word, but if, hey, you know what time it is? You knew before you got up there what time the game started."
Devoted to our sports teams. Maybe some of us are devoted to our political party.
Yeah, I'm going to go back over here. Or they see us devoted to our opinions, shout you down, argue you down about an opinion.
We'll go to the ends of the earth, right, wrong, indifferent about my opinion. Why? Because I'm devoted to my opinion.
The one thing about the things that we're devoted to is that it is apparent. Whatever it is you are devoted to, because we are all devoted to something.
Whatever it is that we are devoted to, it is apparent when people see us. They should see us devoted to Christ, to being the light of Christ and bringing people to the knowledge of Christ.
When they see us, that is the devotion that they should see.
Romans 12, verse 1. Verse 1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercy of God to present your bodies."
What does that mean? Dedicating all of yourself, set apart as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational or your logical or your intelligent act of worship.
Paul says in light of God's continual mercy, in light of how much mercy He continually shows you each and every day, we should be committed to God fully, holy in every area.
We should be committed. We should be setting ourselves apart, being a living sacrifice.
Now, this is your first time here. We are not actually talking about cutting yourself or sacrificing yourself. This is not that kind of church.
But what we are talking about is this idea of dying to who you are so that Christ can live on the inside of you.
This idea of not doing what your flesh wants to do, not walking in your flesh, but walking in the spirit.
Devotion.
Devotion isn't just a feeling. It is a commitment to God amidst the circumstances, amidst the bombardment of this world.
I am devoted to God. I am moving according to His word and His plan and not mine.
According to His precepts, His way of thinking, His way of being, His way of doing, and not mine.
Why? Because I'm devoted.
I'm devoted when I understand it, and I'm devoted when I don't understand it.
I'm devoted when it's easy, and I'm devoted when it's difficult.
I'm devoted when I can see it, and I'm devoted even if I can't see it.
I'm devoted. Where is your devotion?
Being fully committed. Being fully committed to Him says, "God, I give you everything. There is nothing that I have or that I am that is not yours."
Everything. That's what devotion is.
I'm giving you all of it. There is no area of my life that is not yours. That is what devotion is.
Matthew 22, verse 37. Verse 37. And Jesus replied to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind."
You shall love the Lord your God with all. All means all. Everything.
God, He said, it didn't say you shall love the Lord your God with some of your heart, with certain areas of your heart that you're comfortable with loving Him with.
Everything. All your heart, all your soul, all of your mind. That's what devotion is.
Devotion says, "Hey, I know I feel like this, but I am not governed by my feelings. I'm governed by my devotion to God."
I know I feel like this, but I am not governed by my feelings. I'm governed by my devotion to God.
No, I want to respond like this. I want to say this. I want to do this, but I'm not governed by that.
I'm governed by my devotion to God. I am fully committed. I am devoted to God.
Pastor, how do I know if I'm devoted to the Lord? Where is your all?
I said this last week. Look at your finances and the way that you spend your money.
Look at the thing that you spend time on, that you put effort in the most. The thing that's constantly on your mind. Where is your all?
Because it will tell on itself.
And you have to be honest with yourself, with who you are, with where you are. Take an honest assessment and ask yourself, "Have I given Him my all? Is He my all?"
Because when we look at the Bible and we see these people's faith, we see their perseverance. We see the things that God has done in their life.
These were people who gave everything. They gave everything.
We see people who were devoted to Christ. No matter what sickness, health, rich, poor, in prison, free, life, death. They didn't care.
They said, "I am fully devoted to God." They had a heartfelt affection and a profound dedication to Jesus. They were devoted.
Where is your devotion?
Daniel chapter three, the book of Daniel, the children of Israel get captured. King Nebuchadnezzar grabs them.
And they are in captivity, and in captivity, they have to fall under the rule of who has captured them.
And as these three Hebrew boys who dedicated, devoted themselves to God, which meant that they would worship no other God except the one true God.
King Nebuchadnezzar wasn't trying to hear it.
Verse 13, Nebuchadnezzar in a furious rage, King Nebuchadnezzar, he commands that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought.
So they brought him before the king. And he answered and said, "Is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
Now, if you are ready, like he said, if you want to get yourself together, when you hear the sound of the horn and the pipe and the lyre and the bagpipe, all of the music, fall down and worship the image that I have made. Well and good.
But if you do not, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?"
He was filling himself. He thought he was the one when he said that.
And they answered him and said to the king, "Oh, Nebuchadnezzar." That's like when Oprah says, "Bless your heart."
"Bless your heart. We have no need to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand.
But if not, be it known to you that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
This is what devotion looks like. This is devotion.
He says, "I am fully assured that the God that I serve can deliver me from the fiery furnace and deliver me out of your hands. But even if He don't..."
Because for some of us, devotion is as long as you answer my prayers, as long as you give me the job I want and the money I want and the relationship that I want, and I don't have to work through anything.
And as long as I pray and you answer my prayers, then I'm devoted. That is not devotion.
That is not devotion. Devotion says, "Even if I don't get the healing, I'm still going to serve you. Even if I don't get the breakthrough, I'm still going to serve you. Even if I don't get the job, I don't get the relationship, I don't get the finances, I am still going to worship you. I am still going to trust you. I'm still going to believe you."
Why? Because I am devoted. That is devotion.
And they said, "Even if He don't, I'm still not budging. I'm still not bending."
Why? Because I trust Him.
Daniel chapter one, I'm coming, taking it a couple of chapters back. Daniel is here. Another one that has set himself apart and is devoted to God.
And as someone who is, there are certain things you don't do when you are set apart.
There are certain things you don't say when you are set apart. There are certain actions that you don't participate in when you are set apart.
Why? Because you are devoted.
Y'all thought I was talking about Daniel. No, I'm talking about us. It should be evident.
Why? Because I'm set apart. What if the world said that it's okay to partake in it? No, I'm set apart.
But it's safe and it's fine, and if we just do it in moderation, it should be good. I am set apart.
There are certain things that I don't do because I am set apart.
Daniel is here, and they have this food that has been sacrificed to the gods. And they have this wine that the king drinks.
And the king says, "Hey, all you specific ones, I want y'all to eat what I eat and drink what I drink because I want y'all to be taken care of and be good for me."
And in verse eight, Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank.
Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
Daniel says, "I am not going to do something that is out of line with the devotion that I have to God.
I am not going to participate in an activity that is out of line with the devotion that I have to God.
I don't care if the king said it, the president said it, the culture said it, the social... I don't care who said it. I am not going to do it."
Why? Because I am devoted.
Chapter six, verse 10. We see Daniel again. They have passed the decree that says nobody prays to nobody but me.
King Nebuchadnezzar says, "Don't pray to nobody but me. Don't pray to nobody but to me."
And they set him up, and we see him here in verse 10. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, when Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his chamber open towards Jerusalem, got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously.
He said, "Oh, this law don't change nothing for me. They ain't got nothing to do with me. That's y'all thing. I am set apart.
I am devoted to God. And if they make a law that says I can't pray, I'm still going to pray. If they make a law that says I can't worship, I'm still going to worship.
If they make a law that says anything outside of my devotion to God, I will remain devoted."
It wasn't like, "Oh, oops, oops. I didn't know that you passed the decree yet."
No, he said as soon as he knew that it had been signed.
Why? Because the law and culture doesn't dictate my devotion to God. This word does.
That is all.
The three Hebrew boys were saved. They were saved from death.
Daniel was saved out of the mouth of lions.
Even when we look at Joseph's story, Joseph was sold into slavery. He was lied on, and he was forgotten about in prison.
But because of his devotion to the Lord, he became second in command in the entire kingdom.
Please understand that there is a visible difference in the life of a person that is devoted to God.
There is a visible difference in the life of a person—excuse me—that is fully devoted to God.
There's a visible difference.
The second Chronicles chapter six. Asa, the king of Judah, has been having some wars, and he's been winning, and he's devoted himself to the Lord.
But as he started winning these wars, he started feeling himself, and he started trying to do his own thing.
And his devotion to the Lord became weak. And he started doing what he wanted to do instead of what the Lord told him to do.
And we meet him in second Chronicles 16 at verse seven. Verse seven says, "At that time, Hanai Hanani, the seer, came to Asa, king of Judah, and said, 'Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped out of your hands.
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubam, a huge army with a great number of chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He placed them in your hands.
Because you remained devoted, He placed them in your hands. Because you were faithful, He placed them in your hands.
Why? For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His.
But you have acted foolishly in this. Therefore, from now on, you will have wars."
He says, "The eyes of the Lord, the Lord moved to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is fully, completely His."
There is a visible difference in the life of people who are devoted to Him.
Daniel was devoted in a time where culture was against him, where the law was against him, and people were against him.
And still, he chose to remain devoted.
He didn't eat the food that was offered to the idols that would defile him. He prayed, even though the law was passed that said that he shouldn't.
Even in the face of death, the three Hebrew boys and Daniel remained devoted.
How? How did they remain devoted?
They remained devoted because of their trust in God.
Daniel's devotion derives from his trust in God and his love for God, his trust in God and his love for God.
Even when it went against his plan, even when it didn't align with what he thought or what he saw with his eyes, he trusted God's ability. No matter what.
He trusted God's ability. No matter what.
His trust in God and his love for God.
The depth of our devotion to God is directly linked to our trust in God and our understanding of His love for us.
The depth of our devotion to God is directly linked to our trust in God and our understanding of His love for us.
When we trust Him. When we are devoted to Him, when we have an understanding of how much He loves us, it changes everything.
When you reflect on His faithfulness, on His goodness, when you reflect on how amazing He has been, how He continues to be faithful no matter what, how He continues to provide, and how He continues to wake you up every single day.
There's something that when you begin to reflect on that, it becomes the basis for your trust in Him.
And because it is the basis for your trust in Him, it strengthens your devotion to Him.
I'm devoted to Him because I can trust Him.
I'm devoted to Him because I can trust Him.
I'm devoted to Him not just because I can trust Him, but because I understand His love.
And when I think about all that He's done for me, it is overwhelming. It is overwhelming.
Ephesians 3:17. "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide, how long, how high, and how deep is the love of Christ.
And to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Oh, you understand how much He loves you. It enables you to trust Him more, to trust Him more and be more devoted to Him.
So if we find ourselves struggling to be devoted, struggling to be fully committed, we have to ask the question: Where am I not trusting God?
Where am I not trusting? Am I not trusting God with my marriage? Am I not trusting God with my family? Am I not trusting God with my resources? Am I not trusting God with my health? Am I not? Where am I not trusting God?
Because that is the reason that I am struggling to be devoted.
What is hindering me from being devoted to God? Maybe it's fear.
Maybe it's the fear that God will not do what He said that He would do.
I don't trust that He's going to come through. I don't trust that He's going to show up. I don't trust that He's going to provide. I don't trust that He's going to make it better. I don't trust it.
Maybe it's fear. Or maybe it's the distractions of this world.
Because for some of us, we have gotten so devoted to chasing everything, nothing else but Him.
We will chase money. We will chase a job. We will chase a relationship. We will chase status. We will chase the things of this world.
Devoted to doing. I got to get the money. Devoted to the money. Devoted to the job. Devoted to the image. Devoted to the look. Devoted.
And because of that, your devotion to God has all but diminished. You've been distracted.
Or maybe it's pride.
Pride that says, "You know what? It ain't even that serious. I'm fine with just being here on Sunday and letting God take care of this part. I'll handle everything else. I got everything else."
Pride that says, "It don't take all of that. You can just take it. You can just be in on Sunday and out the rest. You're fine."
Pride that says, "You know what? I'm okay being one foot in and one foot out because at least that way I can do what I want to do and don't have to feel bad about it."
Pride.
Pride that says, "I'm not as bad as everyone else. I don't need God like that."
Pride.
Whatever it is, first we have to identify it. Where is your devotion?
What is the thing that's stopping you from being fully committed and fully devoted to God?
Fear, pride, whatever it is, we have to relinquish that. We have to let that go, and we have to be free from that.
We want the fullness of God in our life, but we refuse. We refuse to give Him the fullness of who we are in our life.
It don't work like that.
Devotion says, "God, you are, I give myself fully to you no matter what. No matter what."
Today has to be the day. It makes no difference if we reset and go back to doing the same thing. Nothing changes.
Nothing changes. If you can reset, you can hit that reset button all day long. If you didn't fix what caused the breakdown, you're going to be right back where you were.
Today is the day that we have to make a decision to be fully devoted to God.
To let these things go, to let the world go, to let their perception go, to let our fears go, our pride go, and say, "God, I am surrendering. I am surrendering everything to you. Everything. It is yours."
Let's commit to trusting God in every area of our life. Not in some, not in 75%, but every area of our life.
And ask God, "God, would you continue to reveal your love to us?"
Because God, as I'm understanding your love for me, it overwhelms me.
And as I, the more I know about your love, the more I'm drawn to you.
The more I know about who you are, the more I'm drawn, and I'm more devoted because I understand who you are.
I'm more devoted because I recognize your love. I'm more devoted because I recognize how you have been so active in every area of my life.
Pray that God would reveal Himself to you.
That the devotion, when people see us, when people see Limitless Church, when they see you at home with your kids, when they see you driving down the street, when they see you at your job, when they see you encountering people that may not be nice people, yeah, that's yeah.
They love God for real. They gotta be devoted to God.
'Cause I want to handle that situation like that.
It will be apparent that you're a person that has been set apart, that is devoted to God.
That is His desire for us.
Like the scripture says, He says, "I go to and fro seeking to fully support those who are devoted to me."
Where is your devotion today?
We're going to begin step one of moving towards devotion.
Worship team, if you will come, I want to invite you, church, to take a bold step. Step with me towards being more devoted, fully devoted to God.
We are about to embark on a 15-day prayer and fast.
Okay. Now, for those of you who may be new, you may not know what a fast is, or you may not be familiar with it.
It is a spiritual practice where we intentionally abstain from certain foods or activities to focus our hearts and our minds on God.
It's a time to strip away the distractions. It's a time to confront those areas of our life that are not here.
It's to surrender our pride, to confront our fears. It's not just about giving up meals. It's about creating a space in our hearts, in our desires, in our minds, to focus deeply on the Lord, to focus on our commitment to Him, to drive home this idea that Christ is the Lord of my life, that He is in charge of all that is me.
And each day, you're not going to be in this alone. We're going to do this as a church.
Each day, we'll put up prayer focuses as we pray for communities, as we pray for marriages, as we pray for a host of things.
And during that time of fasting, there has never been a time where we've walked out of a period of devotion with God and said, "You know what? That did nothing."
Never has happened.
But what happens is, is when we take to you, I'm starting my year off, consecrating myself to you.
So I want to challenge you, especially if you've never done this before. 15 days of prayer and fasting.
Be fully devoted to you.
Ask Him to meet you while you're fasting. Ask Him to speak while you're fasting.
And I guarantee you, you will come out on another level of devotion to you.
As we begin these 15 days of prayer and fasting, God, would you continue to speak to us?
Would you show us those things that we need to see?
Would you show us those areas that need to be changed?
Show us how I don't worship my resources. I don't worship my finances. I'm not trusting more in my job than I am in you.
I am committing to be devoted to you. I am devoted to you even in this.
I'm devoted to you in my tithe. I'm devoted to you in my offering.
God, I am making a decision today to walk out on my devotion.
I'm not just going to talk about it. I'm going to be about it. I'm devoted, God.
Starting off at the beginning of the year in my seed, I'm devoted.
He gives seed to the sower.
And we have seen the miraculous harvest of the seed that has been sowed.
And today is no different. We get an opportunity to sow into vision and sow into the house of God.
If you're new here, there's a couple of ways to give: QR code on a seat pocket in front of you or on the screen.
The buckets will go past. There's an envelope there as well. Or we have a generosity box on your way out. You can drop it in there as well.
Father, I pray over this opportunity to worship you in the area of giving.
God, we are committed and devoted to you.
Would you speak to us right now in these next few moments on what you would have us to give?
God, we want... Thank you for speaking, God.
We believe that we have heard you today.
We do not give out of compulsion or out of habit. We give out of gratitude, God.
An opportunity to be more devoted to you. In Jesus' name, amen.
Our ushers will pass the offering buckets.
As the offering bucket is passed, would you stand and worship?
If you're watching online, you can give, text the word "give" to 833-879-0161 or give at limitlesswoodland.com.
God bless. Trust in God.
Hallelujah. Go ahead and stretch your hands towards your seat.
Father, we thank you for the opportunity that you've given us to sow.
God, we believe our finances are a seed, and we sow this into good ground, and we command it to go, to grow, and to multiply in the name of Jesus.
I thank you for each person that gave today, Lord.
And even those that didn't have to give but had a heart to give, I pray that you would bless them as well.
Press down, shaking together, and running over into every area of their life.
May they see a harvest of the seed that they sowed today.
We thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. No walking, no moving.
Very quickly, I'm going to have our altar team come forward at this time to my left, to your right.
If you're here today and you have never made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, devotion starts with Him.
You can't be devoted if your life isn't devoted.
It says, "If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, you shall be saved."
That is the beginning of devotion. To say, "God, I'm giving you my everything. I'm making you Lord of my life."
So if you've never done that today, we want to offer you the opportunity to make Jesus Lord of your life.
Secondly, if you're here today and you say, "Hey, pastor, I made Him Lord, but it is apparent that my devotion has not been for Him."
Then we want to offer you the opportunity to recommit your life to Jesus.
This idea of repenting, to turn away from the world and turn back towards Jesus.
So if you say today you want to recommit your life, we want to pray for you.
We want to pray for you as well.
And lastly, if you're here and you say, "Hey, I just need somebody to stand in agreement with me. I'm believing God for something. I'm believing God for healing. I'm believing God for a breakthrough. I'm believing God.
And I need someone to stand in agreement with me."
Then we want to pray for you as well.
I can't tell you how many times we have heard testimonies of the miracles of God showing up and showing out in so many instances and circumstances.
And so if you are here today and you would like someone to pray with you, to believe with you, then we want to do that.
Our altar team is located to my left, to your right, along the black wall.
Today is the day of salvation.
Do not leave here without getting what God has for you.
Whatever you need to get to will be there when you get there.
But this could very well change the course of your entire life for the rest of your life.
Today. Today is the day of salvation.
Don't put it off till next week, next Sunday, next time. Everything you need is here.
Refuse to be halfway in and halfway out. Fully committed.
Today is the day.
Our altar team is here. We'll be here ready to pray with you, pray for you.
If any of those things apply to you, grab your Bible, grab your purse, grab what you came with.
Get down here. Get to this altar.
And allow us the opportunity to see God be God in your life.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.
We thank you for the opportunity to hear from you today.
Hide your word in our hearts, God.
Incorruptible seed that will produce a harvest in our life.
That we would be more devoted and fully committed to you.
Be with us these next 15 days, God, as we begin tomorrow our fast and our time of consecration.
We honor you, God. Have your way.
We can't wait to hear the testimonies of all that you've done.
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
on Jan 12, 2025
