So Father, we just ask that Your Spirit, that Your Spirit, God, today would give us what we need to hear.
Give us today our daily bread, Lord. Today, Father, that we would leave this morning, like Pastor said, a little different.
Holy Spirit, these are Your people.
Father, these are Your people, and I am honored and privileged that You would allow me to even speak to Your people this morning.
I pray that Your Word, as it sounds in this building, Father, that it would go past just the mental ascent of we heard something, but it would go deep.
Deep into their hearts, Father, I pray, not by might, not by power, but Your Spirit, God.
Would You confirm it with signs, wonders, and miracles, God, this morning in our hearts?
Cut us deep this morning, Holy Spirit. Cut me deep. Cut me deep this morning, Lord.
We thank You that You love us. We thank You that You love us.
Friends, I'm not going to move on here quick. I'm going to let the Lord just do some things here.
Friends, oh, Father, we thank You that You love us.
Holy Spirit, make known Christ to us this morning.
The risen one. Let us see the cross of Calvary.
Let us see the crucified Lamb of God. Let us see the risen one who was and is and is to come.
Jesus, You are coming back for a bride that is without spot.
You are coming back for a bride that is without blemish and defect, but perfected in Your Spirit and by Your Word.
Washed in Your Word, my God. That is who You're coming back for.
So help us, Lord. Help us this morning. Help us this morning to allow the Word of God to wash over us.
Help us this morning, Holy Spirit, that the Word of the Lord would wash over us.
That the blemishes of our lives would be removed. That the wrinkles would be ironed out by the Word of God.
That we would be seared in our hearts. I said seared in our hearts by the very Word of God that it would imprint us this morning.
In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name.
Put your hand on your neighbor if you agree with me this morning.
And just pray this, say, let the Word of God sear your heart this morning. Only if you agree with me.
Let the Word of God sear us this morning. Let the Word of God burn out. Burn it up, Holy Spirit.
Let the preaching of the Word burn out everything that is unclean.
Let the thinking of our mind be renewed that we would receive a new pattern of thinking that is a blueprint from heaven.
That would be deposited into our hearts and into our spirits.
That we would see Christ and Him crucified and Him exalted in our lives and in our hearts.
In the mighty name of Jesus. I said in the mighty name of Jesus.
I said in the mighty name of Jesus who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
And He is seated high above the heavens next to the Father.
He is the Lamb of God that is worthy to receive the reward of His suffering.
That, that is who we serve. I said that is who we serve.
And this morning Jesus is worthy to receive the reward of His suffering friends.
I said Jesus the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is worthy to receive the reward of His suffering.
He did not die in vain. He did not suffer in vain.
But He suffered and He died for a purpose.
I said Jesus suffered and died for a purpose.
And that is to produce to Himself, unto Himself an eternal companion that is the bride of Christ.
And that is you and me this morning. I said that is you and me this morning.
He did not shed His blood in vain to have you go to hell.
My God friends. You know sometimes, and I'm putting myself into this category.
Sometimes I don't even think we know who we're talking to when we pray to Him.
Sometimes I don't even think we know the holiness of God.
So quick to criticize.
Did you hear me? We are so quick to criticize.
Not knowing who we're actually talking about.
I heard a story recently. I need to share the story with you.
I heard a story recently of a Baptist man.
A devote Baptist. I'm talking about he was a modern day apostle Paul.
He would preach at churches and his sermons would be more about criticizing
the speaking in tongues, criticizing the move of the spirit.
This man preached at hardcore.
He said these people that do this, he goes, I don't even think they're saved.
They are doomed to hell.
Until one day this man, I just heard this is a true story.
This is a true story I heard from the mouth of my father.
My father knows this guy. He talked to him.
Until one day this man was done preaching on a Sunday.
He came home.
And he said when he came home, he was grieved inside.
And he went to his room and he said, I began to pray.
And he said, when I began to pray, he goes, I felt the Holy Spirit begin to convict me.
And this is what the Holy Spirit told him.
He said, who gave you the right to criticize?
Who gave you the right to even preach what you're preaching?
And this man, this is the words of this man.
He says the conviction was so hard and the spirit of repentance came on him
to the point that the Holy Spirit baptized them in the Holy Spirit.
The conviction came upon so hard on this man
that the Holy Ghost baptized them and he began to speak in new tongues.
And he recently just came into my father's church and he was sharing this with my dad.
We are so quick to criticize yet we don't even know who we're talking about half the time.
Why don't we be like James?
Be slow to speak but quick to listen.
Did you hear me this morning?
That's wisdom.
I said that's wisdom.
Be slow to speak but be very quick to listen.
You're with me this morning?
See that wasn't even the message yet.
I'm not even in today's message yet.
But there was so much right here that the Holy Ghost is lighting up in me and I'm like help me Holy Spirit.
Guess if I give it to you, you'll be here past two o'clock.
And then the joke will remain in our church.
Oh, we're used to that.
Amen?
Show of hands, who is here?
Who is here for part one of the Forerunners lifestyle and vision series?
Okay, if you were not here, I gave a very soft introduction which was now technically two Sundays ago Pastor.
It wasn't last Sunday, it was the Sunday before.
Go back and listen to that if you haven't.
I'm going to do a quick overview because I like to do that.
But we are in a series currently that is called Forerunners vision and lifestyle.
And I'll explain why we call it a Forerunner vision and lifestyle as the series goes.
I'm going to be unpacking it.
But this is something for those that weren't here.
This is something that is very dear to my heart.
I am sharing with you as a church, as a people that are listening, even those online that are listening.
I am sharing with you a very large piece of my heart.
And I say that because this is something that God years ago, for almost a decade now.
I'd say probably about a decade now.
This is a lifestyle and something that my wife and I have been living like and living with.
This is our lifestyle.
And I'll talk a little bit about it here.
This is a quick overview from last Sunday.
But when we begin to talk about vision,
if you're committed to a vision, whether it's something that's for your business,
whether it's something that's for your family,
whether it's something that's for a church, a local body,
when you are actually committed to a vision,
your life begins to look like it.
Seriously.
You can say all day long how committed you are to a vision.
You can.
And they can be just words.
But until your life actually begins to look like it
and you begin to grow and process in these things,
then you're actually committed.
So when we talk about vision,
when we're talking about the word of life vision,
that which God has entrusted us,
which God has entrusted Pastor Vernon Mary that they've established
back in 2004 here in Minnesota,
the vision of the Lord that not only...
Now listen to this. Listen.
You've got to listen to me very carefully.
Not only did God ask them to do it,
but he is actually partnering with them to do it.
There's a difference.
Both consciously and subconsciously,
many people when God asks them to do something,
they have an employee mindset.
This is what I mean.
When we feel God is asking us to do something,
we almost feel like our employer or our manager is like,
I need you to go and clean up aisle seven.
And we say, yes, sir.
And then we end up going and we do it ourselves.
In God's kingdom, when the Lord is asking us to do something,
he is not one that is like an employer and says, go and do it
and you're by yourself.
No, God is actually, when he's asking us to do something,
he's asking, would you partner with me?
Because I want to partner with you in cleaning aisle seven.
Did you hear me this morning?
I said, did you hear me this morning?
So when we talk vision and we begin to talk lifestyle,
that means that God says, listen,
I am invested by my spirit to make sure
that your life begins to look like the vision
that I have entrusted for you to carry.
Are you following me this morning?
Are you with me this morning?
When we talk vision, we have to talk lifestyle.
Or else you're not, you don't have a vision.
Tell me one businessman that has a successful business
that has not committed his life to that business.
You won't have a successful business.
I've been in the business realm.
If you're not putting in 14 hours a day,
when the people that you've hired are only putting in eight
because that's it.
Try putting in five hours a day
in building an empire of a business.
Just try it.
Come back to me in six months
and tell me how it's working for you.
It ain't gonna work for you, my friend.
So we are committed to the vision,
to word of life vision.
Okay, I'm speaking to those that are covenant partners
that are regulars here at the church.
I'm speaking to you right now.
Don't tell me that you're committed
unless your life looks like it.
Vision and lifestyle goes hand in hand.
You can't have a vision if you don't have the lifestyle.
You can't have the lifestyle unless you have a vision.
Did you hear me?
Here's something that I touched last part one of it as well.
Don't measure yourself to other people of how committed they are
rather than how committed you are.
You'll hit a ditch quicker than you can say Mississippi.
You will hit a ditch quicker than you can say Mississippi.
If you begin to compare yourself,
well, I'm not as much committed as Pastor Vernon Mary.
I'm not as much committed as Pastor Igor and Pastor Tanya.
I'm not as much committed as the board members.
I'm not as much committed as Jesse the worship coordinator.
You know why you're not as committed?
Because that's not your lane to run.
That's not what God has asked you to do.
We can glean from one another.
We can learn from one another.
We can be encouraged from one another,
but we don't compare ourselves.
Oh man, I'm not as committed as they are.
You'll hit a ditch.
You'll hit a ditch because if there's anybody that is more committed
to the vision of God for this house, it is our pastors.
It is them. Why?
Because God asked them first.
If people of Israel were more committed than Moses was,
we'd have things backwards.
We would have things backwards.
If the people of Israel were asked committed to the...
or I should say we're more committed to the word of the Lord
than Moses, we'd have things backwards.
God picks an individual.
He says, I want to partner with you.
Let's build this thing together.
And then all of a sudden, God begins to bring people around them.
It's not because the person that God called is the special one
and the chosen one and everybody worships them.
No, no, no, no, no.
That's just their lane to run.
That's their lane to run.
We oftentimes look at pastors.
We look at speakers.
We look at evangelists.
We look at worship leaders and we're like, oh man,
why do they get to be upon platforms?
First of all, if that's your question,
your heart already is corrupt.
I said, your heart already is corrupt
if that's the way that you're thinking.
But here's the thing.
Do you not think that sometimes,
you're about to laugh at me when I say this,
do you not think that sometimes I ask the Lord
when things get hard, God, why didn't you just choose me
to just be a janitor and just clean the bathrooms?
Why did you choose me to be a preacher, Lord?
The grass is always greener somewhere else.
You know what's funny is that people are like,
well, I want platforms.
God gives them a platform.
They're like, well, hold on, God.
I didn't realize this type of persecution
was going to come my way, Lord.
Let's back up here.
Don't compare yourself to other people.
Run your lane, glean, be encouraged,
learn, but run your lane.
You following me this morning?
We talked about how the forerunner vision
and lifestyle, I'm going to quote
Pastor Vern is hand in glove with word of life vision.
And part one I came out of,
literally I came out of the vision book of this house.
If you haven't gotten a vision book, please,
when you exit the foyer to the left,
you'll see a little booklet shelf hanging.
Grab a vision book. They're free.
And if it's not full, talk to Kevin Murray,
because Kevin said he's going to restock it every time.
Is that right, Kevin?
Amen.
Grab yourself one. They're free.
It's gold.
It's gold.
It's hand in glove with the forerunner's vision
and lifestyle as hand in glove.
And as I unpack it, as the days go ahead,
as some days go ahead, and I'll be talking about this
in this series, you'll see it.
But here are some of the things that I touched on
is that forerunners has always been,
the forerunner vision and lifestyle
has always been for now and for the end times.
When you read our vision book,
God has spoken to this church, and he says,
you're an end time church.
That was like back in 2005, if I'm remembering correctly,
right, Pastor?
I didn't know Pastor Verne back in 2005.
The other thing is that the attitude
and the lifestyle that we always carried
and went after at forerunners was
we are a bride of Christ church.
We, and forerunners for as many years
as my wife and I have lived this
and have walked this and still do,
our attitude and our aim was
we want to be a bride of Christ.
We want to be one that is without blemish,
without defect, without wrinkle, perfect,
saturated in the spirit of God,
in the fragrance and the anointing of the Holy Spirit
that we would look and walk and talk
and smell like the bride of Christ.
That's been our attitude for over a decade now.
I can say over a decade now because
but realistically the way that my wife and I
since we've been married, it's been about a decade.
That's been our attitude.
And according to the vision book,
the Lord spoke to you back in 2009, right?
I think it's 2009. He said you were a bride church.
Was it not 2009?
It was before that. There you go.
Forerunners is...
Pastor, I'm actually going to have you come up here if you don't mind.
Can you grab a mic because I want you to speak into this.
Join me here on the platform. Isn't our pastor wonderful?
Isn't he wonderful? There you go. Thank you.
That's right. That's right. I honor this man of God.
I'm going to have you speak into this a little bit.
Forerunners is... and I've said this before.
Let me say it again. Forerunners is not a home group.
Though it is done in homes, it is not a home group.
I know many of you have been a part of home groups
and Bible studies and you already have like a...
Am I saying the right word? You've perceived something in your mind?
Perceives. I see my English. I'm working on it.
You've perceived something in your mind and you have a certain expectation.
Can I just, with all grace, I say this.
Whatever you've perceived in your mind, just crumple it up and throw it away.
Not that it's bad. Not that it's bad of what you've experienced.
But I want you to come in with...
Okay. Forerunners is something different.
It's not your typical home group.
So forerunners is something that is done in homes and you said...
When did the Lord give you that vision?
Or when did he speak to you about revival around coffee tables?
Can you speak into that, please?
This would have been around 1990.
Oh my goodness.
He was...
He wasn't even born yet.
There was a few people.
I shouldn't have said that out loud.
I'm so sorry.
That's all good.
I shouldn't have even said that out loud.
I'm good with my age.
Are you?
Okay, I'm fine with it.
You're secure?
I'm secure.
No problem with it.
I've accepted the fact.
We're headed that way.
It was around 1990.
Kevin and Bonnie might remember this.
We were ministering in Colorado.
And it was really difficult gaining traction.
As far as growth and people's lives changing and so forth.
It was slow, I'd say it that way.
And it was really bothering me.
So I was praying about it.
I was praying about it for a long time.
What do we have to change?
What do we have to do so that people want God?
You know, what is it?
And of course, Bill Heibalds and some of these other people
tried to solve that issue.
And now we're late to see in church in America because of it.
Because you don't...
I don't know those guys.
Let me explain that.
I was going to say, I don't know those guys.
You don't...
You don't survey the people to find out what they want
so they will come to church.
You hear from God and give him what he says
whether they want it or not.
Because what's real is we're living in a fallen container.
And the things that we really need from God
most of the time we don't want in our flesh.
And they were the ones who kind of started that
let's see what the people want.
And then we'll bring in the coffee and the entertainment
and the 45-minute service and all the stuff
that makes the flesh feel good.
That started then.
And we weren't wanting to go down that road.
We were wanting to see God move by spirit.
So I had been praying about this for a couple years.
And one day the Lord spoke very directly to me
and he gave me a real short vision.
He said the reason people are not wanting me.
Now he wasn't... this is God speaking.
The reason in America people don't want me
is because they have it too good.
They have a good paycheck.
They've got a nice house.
They've got nice vehicles.
They've got health insurance.
They've got food. They've got clothes.
The people in America, even those who are on subsidies
live like kings and queens
compared to much of the rest of the world.
He says they don't need me.
However, he said the day is coming.
They will need me.
And some of these things are going to be removed
out of love for his church
because if he leaves us in this lukewarm, stupor condition
it won't be for our best eternally.
So the day is coming.
There's going to be some tough times coming.
And of course Scripture says that's not news.
And it's going to be for the benefit of the Christian church
because it's going to wake us up to the fact
we actually need God.
So he said that to me
and then he gave me a picture.
It would be like I was hovering up here
and there was a brown coffee table
and it was round.
It wasn't an oblong or square one or rectangle
or whatever. It was a round coffee table
and all he let me see was like mid-thigh down
and there was people gathered all the way around that coffee table.
It was full of people
and he said there will be what the next move looks like.
It will be gathered around the coffee table.
Now stay up here.
So Forerunners is something that has been done in homes.
We've been doing it in our house for many, many years.
The first time that you and I sat down
I shared some of this with you
and you used a statement that you and Pastor Mary call it
spiritual adoption.
Speak in a little bit into that
to give our people a little bit of understanding.
In the early years of starting this church
when we were still in the modular
the Lord said try to move the people
towards spiritual adoption.
So adoption is when you take someone
into your life, into your family
into who you are to raise them
to help them become adults
to take children and raise them up
to become adults because they need input
and they don't have someone else or whatever.
Spiritual adoption is when God puts someone
in your life to raise them
and you're committed to them
and you're going to help them grow
and you're going to stick with them
through the good times, through the bad times, whatever
and you're going to be a parent to them
and raise them.
That's spiritual adoption.
That's what Forerunners is and I've shared that with you.
That's why I said when you shared the vision
that first night
and anybody who goes to Igor's house
it's two in the morning before you leave.
We love it.
And that's fun when you're young
but when you get to Kevin in my age it's like...
You'd be alright.
Kevin survives. You survived.
Keep the eyes open.
Man, this just goes on and goes on.
But it was really good because it was probably
after midnight you got into explaining
some of this stuff.
You can't sleep then.
You can't sleep. No, I'm awake.
It's like, wow, listen to what he's saying.
That's spiritual adoption.
And that's why I said Forerunners
goes hand in glove with what God told us.
Amen. Thank you.
Thank you for speaking into that.
And by the way, next time pastor
Brazilian tea, if you ask Kevin
Kevin will tell you what Brazilian tea does to you.
He keeps you up till two in the morning
and he's smiling because he's looking at me
and so is his wife.
So Forerunners is something
that is done in homes.
Though it may look like a home group,
I want us to come at this
with a very open mind.
This is something that is different
than has been done before.
I don't want us to come with
preconceived notions.
Is that a good word to use?
Man, my English. See what happens
when I become a pastor in an American church?
It's like all of a sudden my grammar
and my vocabulary gets better. Praise the Lord.
He's so good.
I don't want us to come with preconceived notions
of like, okay, I know what to expect.
I know how this thing is to run.
Because you will see as I unpack this series,
there is a format
to Forerunners that may
kind of look like something that you're used to.
But personally in my life
I've been part of many different home groups,
been part of many different things.
I've never seen anything like this
until the Lord asked us to do it.
And
for those that were here last time,
I'll just share for those that were not,
when we were full blown
in Forerunners, when we were hosting this,
we had a, in a seven day,
I just, I just, I want you just to hear this.
In a seven day week period,
out of the seven days,
minimum, let me say that again,
minimum four days
out of the week, we had somebody
at our house.
We had somebody at our house.
And you're saying, well, why are you saying that?
I'm saying that,
not saying that you have to have that,
I'm just simply telling you
the cost, and I'm going to get into it
a little bit more, the cost of what it means
to be a Forerunner.
And I'll get into that more today
because I want to, I want to answer
the question today of, what does it mean
to be a Forerunner?
That's what I really want to answer today,
and we'll see how much time I have
to answer that.
But the Forerunner, the three main
Scriptures
or the foundations to Forerunner
is, we call them banners.
We just call them banners, I don't know why.
We just, we're like, it's a banner because it's
something that you hold over yourself.
And they were based on
three main Scriptures, that is Luke 7.
That's one of the banners.
John 3
and Luke 7 is ministering
onto the Lord. And that's, that's one of the
points that I'm going to be hitting
towards the end of the series,
that to minister onto the Lord,
believe it or not, is
a very foreign concept
in the church today.
Let me say that again.
To minister
onto Jesus
to tend, let me use this type
of verbage, to tend
to the wounds
of our Savior Jesus
is a foreign
concept in our church
today.
It is foreign language.
It is a foreign format.
It is a foreign type of
ministry that our churches
today don't even know.
They're like, what are you talking about
ministering onto Jesus?
I thought Jesus only
ministers to us. Yes, He does minister
to us. He sure does
and He will continue to.
But did you know that
we have a privilege?
We have an honor
and we have the right
to actually minister onto Him
as His bride.
We have a privilege.
We have the
honor and we have the
right.
You say, why do we have the right?
Because He paid the price for His bride.
We don't have the
right because we're so good.
We have the right because
our Savior Jesus,
our bridegroom
paid the price. And then you know what He says?
Husbands, listen to me.
Ephesians 4 or Ephesians 5.
Sorry, Ephesians 5 about verse 24
or 25.
The apostle Paul writes to us husbands
and He says husbands,
love your wives. How?
As Christ did. What did He do? He died for her.
And some of
your husbands are sitting and thinking, man, why isn't
my wife ministering on to me?
Are you dying for her?
Are you lying?
It's funny, but it's not funny.
It's funny, but it's not funny.
Can I give some marriage advice?
Pastor, can I give some marriage advice?
I have the authority to do that, right?
You ready for this?
Some of your husbands are complaining
why your wife is not submitting to you.
Start loving her the way that Christ
loves you.
You say, what are you talking about, pastor?
Let your life down.
If there's one thing a woman wants,
I don't have them figured out yet, but I'm getting there.
But if there's one thing a woman wants,
she wants to be loved.
And all the women said?
Even a few men said that.
Do you guys hear that?
You still with me this morning?
Praise God.
So four runners, three basic foundations
or three main scriptures.
Luke 7 ministering on to the Lord.
John 3 is
being and becoming,
let me say that,
being and becoming
friends of the bridegroom.
I said this in part one.
There are very, very,
very few slim pickings
of people that are actually friends of Jesus.
Did you know that?
There are
very few people
in our day and age.
Let me even make it more personal to myself.
There is very few
pastors,
apostles, prophets,
evangelists, teachers
that are actually
friends of Jesus.
Very few. Slim pickings.
I said slim pickings.
John 3
becoming friends, being and becoming friends of the bridegroom.
Ephesians 4
is the five fold.
It is the equipping.
It is the bringing a
maturity to the body of Christ.
I am all about
maturing the saints. I am all about it.
I am all about
raising up people
to become mature in the things of God.
I never want to be a pastor
that people are constantly running to
and are saying, what is God telling
you about me? I never want to be that person.
We are no longer living in the Old Testament.
We are now living in the
New Testament. We heard Dean
this morning quote the
author in Hebrews.
In former days
he spoke to us through the
fathers, the prophets.
But now he speaks to
us through who? His son
Jesus. Doesn't Jesus live
in you?
Which means
that if he can speak
to me, he can speak to you.
I am about maturing a
people in the things of God.
I am about maturing
the first love
in every saint.
That's what I'm about. And that's
what Ephesians 4 is about. It is
maturing the saints. It is
bringing to the fullness
that we would see the fullness
and walk in the fullness
of who we are in Christ.
It is to be sons and daughters.
I said it is to be
sons and daughters
in God.
It's not
to be a bastard child.
Am I saying that right? It is
to be an adopted,
not even just adopted, but to be
grafted in. It is to be
I am a son because
Jesus paid the price
for me to be a son. That's what
I'm about. I'm about maturing people
and that's what Ephesians 4 is about.
That's why the five fold was
given. The five
fold was given, not for
us to walk around with the
to feel entitled and in
title. I'm an apostle. I'm a
prophet. I'm a teacher. I'm a
cool man. Who cares?
One man of God said it this way.
He said, listen.
He said, I'm just like you.
He's a pastor.
World renowned. World renowned guy.
Loves the Lord and I've
gleaned and I've learned from this man of God.
And he said, I'm just like you. He goes,
you know why? He goes, because when I
go home and I close
the door behind me, Matthew 6, and I
pray to God. He goes, I don't come
there with my title of pastor
or evangelist. He goes, I come
just like you. I'm a child of God.
Amen.
When I go home,
I'm just like any other
believer. I'm a child
of God. That's it.
He didn't pay a greater price
for me than he did for you. He
didn't. He paid the same price.
The same blood that was spilled for
me was spilled for you. The same
spirit that is given to me
is given to you. You with
me this morning? I'm
not even in the message today
yet. Praise God. Look at that.
Isn't that great
that we can do that?
So these three, the way that
forerunners basically
looks like, and it's really interesting. I'm
going to tell you a little story here that when God
gave us this vision, when he said, I want
to partner with you in this vision,
it was weighty. It still is weighty.
When God is telling you that he wants to
partner with you in something,
I don't know if the Lord's ever spoken
to any of you like that, but when I remember
when he told that to me and my wife, it's
weighty. It's like, whoa, hold on a second.
The God
of heaven and earth, the creator of all
things, the father, the one like we heard
today that generates everything
comes through him. He comes and he says, I
want to partner with you in doing
this thing. That's like, whoa,
better not screw this
thing up.
Better not mess this thing up.
You know what I'm saying?
When the Lord
chose to partner with us, he
chose us. We didn't choose him. He chose us
to partner with this.
The format that he really laid it out, and this
is the way that we lived it, is
forerunners looks like this in a nutshell.
Let me just quickly explain to you before we really
get into it. Forerunners, the way that it looks
like practically how it lays out.
Three components remain
or remain, I'm sorry, there's three
components that always are there.
It is to minister on to the Lord
and what does that look like? Prayer,
worship,
praise,
and I'll get more deep into that.
The second part, the John 3,
the being and becoming friends of
the bridegroom, that actually has to do
with breaking bread. And I'll explain to you
that when we get to that portion of the series.
It is incredible
what happens when you get around
with people around a table and you begin
to break bread and you begin to
talk about Jesus. It is
incredible what the Holy Spirit
does.
Did you know that Jesus actually did that
often in his ministry?
On a weekly basis,
I said on a weekly
basis, the Lord
would break bread
with the people that were
his followers.
And the third part, the
Ephesians 4, that is the teaching,
that is the equipping, that is praying
for one another, that is
giving a word, that is learning,
that is serving one another.
Those three components always
remained when we did four runners
at our home. Does that make
sense so far? All right.
And here is the interesting part.
When the Lord gave us this, I never
paid attention to it until my
friend pointed it out to me. When I
shared this with one of my
friends some years ago,
I shared this vision with him.
He's like, oh, he goes,
did God tell you that out of
Acts 2, starting at
verse 40?
And I was like, no, I was like, God didn't
tell me that out of Acts 2. Let me
read it to you here.
Acts 2 verse
40.
This is the early church.
And with many other words, they
testified and exhorted them saying,
be saved from the perverse
generation. Then those
who gladly received
His word were baptized
and that day about 3,000
souls were added to them.
So this is just a little bit for
those that don't know their Bibles. This
is when basically the Apostle Peter stood up. Jesus
already ascended into heaven. The
Apostle Peter stood up, preached probably
one of the best messages that the Apostle
Peter has ever preached.
3,000 get added to the church. Boom,
just like that. And here's
I never paid attention to this until
my friend pointed it out to me.
He said, oh, he goes, God gave you that vision
from here. And after I read it, I'm like,
huh, look at that. The early church did
it too. Verse 42.
And they continued
steadfastly in the
Apostles' doctrine.
This is Ephesians 4. This is the teaching
of the word. This is the imparting.
This is the praying for. This is the giving
to, okay.
And they continued steadfastly
in the Apostles'
doctrine and fellowship
in breaking of bread.
That was the second part. And the third part
and in
prayers.
So these three components
are literally what built
the early church.
The teaching of the word, the doctrine
of the Apostles.
The breaking of bread, the fellowship.
Let's talk about the Lord. Let's
share testimonies. Let's share
revelations. This is not empty
talk. You don't get around a table
to have empty talk. You get around the
table with the goal
that I want to know him more.
I want to be a friend
of the bridegroom. And I want
to learn what you know
about him.
You know what's interesting is that
like for an example.
I can say this.
I can say I know
Pastor Verne a little bit more than maybe
a greater majority in this place. I can say
that's a truthful statement, right?
Now let's say me and you sit down.
Just somebody here that doesn't know Pastor Verne that well.
We sit down. And I begin
to talk about Pastor Verne in
the facet that I know Pastor Verne.
And usually it's good stuff.
Usually.
A few of them are going to all
sneak in.
When I begin to talk
about Pastor Verne and I begin to share the good
stuff. Do you know what that does
to the hear that is listening
to me talk about Pastor Verne.
That literally lights you up and it
wants you to get to know him more.
That's what it means
to sit around the table, break
bread and be and become friends
of the bridegroom.
To the facet that I know
the Lord, I can talk about him.
To the facet that
you know the Lord, you can talk
about him.
And when people that are
far more advanced in the things of God
than I am, I want to get around
those people. Do you want
to know why? Because they know
facets of God. Let me say this.
They have paid a
cost. Let me say that again.
They have paid
a cost to know
the Lord in a greater
facet. And me being around
them actually expedites my
growth in knowing him. They paid
the cost. I didn't even pay
for it.
It's like Amazon
shipping. Boom! One day
it's there.
That's literally what breaking
bread looks like. When you get
around people that have paid
the cost to know Jesus.
And they know him in ways
that an average person doesn't
know him. And I want to be around
those people. That has been my life.
That has been my wife's life. We have always
desired to surround ourselves
with a people that know
Jesus more than we know Jesus.
Why? Because they paid
a cost. And the things
that has taken them 10,
15, 20 years can
take me in 20 minutes.
Did you hear me?
What has taken a people
10, 15, 20
years? They've paid it. They've
walked it out. They've embodied
it. They've
mourned. They've weaped. They've rejoiced
all these expressions
over the 15, 20 years.
And here I have the privilege
to sit with them at a table
and they begin to talk about the Lord.
And it's like, boof!
My God!
Wow!
I didn't even know the Lord spoke like that.
I didn't even know the Lord
moved like that.
I didn't even know the Lord
expressed his way like that. And in
20 minutes I can learn
what took them 20 years.
That's
breaking bread.
What did Jesus do
when they sat around the table?
I'm going off on a tangent here.
What did Jesus do?
He talked about who?
Jesus comes
Oh my God, I love you Lord. Thank you so much.
Jesus comes
from eternity,
incarnated God. He's been
with the Father.
He's been with him.
And now this Jesus
comes lowly,
incarnated into flesh
to be like us.
And now he begins to tell his disciples
who the Father
is. Can you imagine
what that did to the disciples?
Now, understanding that,
now I'm like, well no wonder
the disciples missed certain things.
When Jesus is talking about him being crucified,
they're still worried about
who's going to sit at the right hand
or at the left hand of the Father.
Because it went over their heads.
You with me?
This is what the early church did.
This is what the early church did.
They stayed steadfastly
with the teachings of the apostles.
They learned.
They grew.
They devoured.
They devoured.
What was given on to them
by the Spirit of God through the apostles.
They would get together.
They would break bread.
They would discuss.
They would have discussions.
I'm sure there was maybe even like debates.
I don't know, but it was healthy debates.
Not all debates are bad.
And then they prayed.
I said, and then they prayed.
And I'm sure
when prayer was there,
I'm sure there was a worship
that was there.
I'm sure that there was worship
that was there.
You know why I say that?
Because when you read the life
of the apostle Paul,
when he was in the jail cell,
he did what?
He worshipped.
He worshipped.
I'm sure there was a worship
and there was a ministry
on to the Lord
when they gathered together.
So my friend goes, oh, did you pull that
from
Acts chapter 2 starting at verse
40, what is it?
Verse 42 and down? I said, no, I did
not, man. I said, I did not,
but you just confirmed to me.
Amen?
You still with me this morning?
Let's get into today's message.
Praise God, man.
I love you guys. You guys
are so good to me.
Here's the question I want to answer.
What does it mean to be a forerunner?
Let me back it up a little bit.
Why did we call it
forerunners?
Honestly, it came so naturally.
I'm not going to say that
an angel of God came to me in the middle
of the night and he said, son of
Vasily, you shall call this
ministry forerunners. That's not
what happened. I'm not going to get spiritual on you.
It just literally
flowed naturally.
And the reason why it flowed naturally in
today, I'm going to be talking about mainly
out of two people from the Bible.
It flowed so naturally because when I spent
time studying the life of
Jesus, and when I spent time
studying the life of John the Baptist,
there's one component that
stood out to me and still stands out to me.
Both of those individuals.
Now, I'm not even talking about all the other
people in the Bible. I'm not even talking
about the Apostle Paul. I'm not even talking
about the Apostle John, the Apostle Peter,
or any of the others, or any of the others
that follow them. Timothy
and so forth. I am just coming out
to you from the life of Jesus
and John the Baptist.
They were forerunners.
They were forerunners.
So the name came naturally
to us. We just started calling
ourselves forerunners because we were
so captivated
by the way that the Lord did life.
We were so captivated
by the way that John the Baptist
did things. Because John
the Baptist is somebody who Jesus
refers to as
the greatest example of what it
means to be a friend of the bridegroom.
More than even Abraham.
Let me say that again. John
the Baptist is a greater
example of what it means
to be a friend of God
more than even
Abraham. You say
where'd you pull that from? Read the gospel.
Listen to what Jesus says
when he talks about John the Baptist. I
don't know.
Like Luke 7? No, it's not Luke 7.
Maybe Luke 11. Don't quote me on that.
It's in there. I know it's in there. Trust me.
I'll pull it up to you sometime. Trust me.
So forerunners came
to us not because an angel of God
said you shall be forerunners.
It was natural
because the way our attitude, the way
that we carry things, we just
started calling it forerunner prayers. That's how it started.
People would come
to our house and we're like, oh, we're here for forerunners prayer.
I'm like, oh, praise God. Me too.
And we just go at it.
But what does it mean to be a forerunner?
I want to bring the definition
of the word. So from Strong's and the Greek
the word forerunner is pronounced
and I'm butchering this, but I'm not a Greek, so forgive me.
But it's prodormous.
That's what the word
sounds like in Greek.
And the meaning of it
is to go ahead.
To be a forerunner
is one
who goes ahead.
To be a forerunner
or what does it mean to be a forerunner?
It is to be a runner
that is willing to go ahead
to run harder
to run longer
to beat their body
to discipline their body.
That's a forerunner.
A forerunner
is somebody who says, hey, you know what?
This song just comes to me.
I'm not going to sing it, but I'll speak it.
I don't remember the melody.
Jesse, maybe you know the melody a little bit.
But it's
No turning back
No turning back
I have decided
to follow Jesus.
That song.
I have decided
to follow Jesus.
I have decided
to follow Jesus.
Follow Jesus.
No turning back.
See, that's a song a forerunner sings.
The cross before me,
the world behind me.
The cross
before me,
the world behind me.
Hands to the plow,
I will till this uncultivated ground.
Now that can be a rap song
for the next open heavens.
A forerunner
is one that goes ahead.
He runs. He goes.
Even if that means
I'm losing my friends.
Even if that means
I'm losing the reputation that I have built
for the 30 years of my life.
Even if that means
I will be criticized.
I will be persecuted.
I will be hated
by my fellow brothers, by my family
on and so forth.
A forerunner is one that runs ahead.
Amen.
And they don't look back.
They don't stop and say,
maybe I made a mistake.
The cross before me,
the world behind me,
there ain't no turning back. Jesus, help me. Take the wheel.
See, a forerunner
is not just one that runs ahead
and then leaves everybody else
in the dust, though it seems like it.
A forerunner, according to the
Greek definition, is a scout.
A forerunner is a scout.
He runs ahead
not for the sake of
how-how losers you're slow.
He runs ahead
and then when he gets to a certain area
he turns around
and like a scout, he says,
listen, it's better over here.
Come on.
It's like a Joshua.
You go and you scan the land.
Joshua was a forerunner.
And I'm not even going to get into
the life of Joshua today.
But Joshua was a forerunner.
He went ahead
from all his brethren. There was a lot of them.
He went ahead
and he said, I'm willing to pay the cost
to go ahead.
What nobody else is willing to pay,
I'm willing to pay the price
to go there.
But he's not
he's not just like, alright, see you guys later.
Y'all didn't want to pay the price.
Deuces, he went
scouted
came back and said, listen,
yo, y'all got to know what's up there.
A forerunner is one. Let me make it
very more practical than our modern day.
A forerunner is one
who goes ahead
when nobody else wants to. Everybody else loves this.
Laodicean age
of comfort. And I got my boat.
And I got my cabin.
And I'm living the American dream.
You know, even Ukrainians
have fed into that junk.
We got even foreigners
that have come here to this nation
and it's a spirit that's over this nation.
And we got foreigners
that have come here
and they've fed in to this
spirit that's over this nation
of I'm living the American dream.
I got a thick accent, but I don't care.
I'm living the American dream.
I got my house.
I got my dog. I got my truck.
I got my shotgun. Let's go.
We're gonna go hunting.
Even foreigners have fed
into that.
But a forerunner in our modern
day and age is one who is
willing to pay the cost
to seek the Lord
when nobody else is seeking
to learn the things
of God, to know Jesus
and then come back
and say, listen, it's
better over here.
This
right here produces eternity.
This American dream
it is temporary.
It'll fade.
Our lives are
what? But a vapor
here today gone tomorrow.
Friends, but
a vapor
are here today gone tomorrow.
I just recently learned
about one of my relatives
out of nowhere
has stage 4 cancer.
Out of nowhere.
Healthy man.
Served the Lord. Loves the Lord.
Literally just found out this week
he has stage 4 cancer. The doctors basically said
he's got maybe a day,
maybe a week to live. We don't know.
Here today
gone tomorrow.
Did you know that actually, and if you don't believe me
study your scriptures, did you know that the scriptures actually
don't even promise us tomorrow?
Did you hear me?
Let me preach this again.
Did you know the scriptures
don't even promise us tomorrow?
Today could be the last Sunday
that you're sitting in the sanctuary.
You're saying, why are you trying to scare me, pastor?
I'm not trying to scare you.
I'm preaching to you the Word.
My tactic is not to scare you.
I'm preaching to you the Word of God.
Today could be your last
opportunity
to repent.
Today could be the last day
that God has given you a chance
to receive His Son
as your personal savior.
Yet, because of your stubbornness,
because of your
feeding into this laodicean spirit
of, ah, pastor,
what you talking about man?
I was at a church last Sunday
and that pastor said the same thing.
This could be the last day. What you talking to me friend?
How long is that going to linger
until cut? You're done.
And then you stand before God.
Well God, well God, he's going to say
but I gave you. I gave you.
I said I gave you
the opportunity yet
you didn't seize it.
Seize the opportunity
while the window is still open for you.
Did you hear me this morning?
I said, did you hear me
this morning?
While you still got breath in your lungs
seize the opportunity
to receive the Lord
today.
And I'm even going to give you an opportunity
at the end of service today.
If you're somebody here that you're not even sure
if you're saved, I'm going to give you an opportunity
to get saved this morning.
Did you hear me?
A forerunner
in our modern day
is somebody who goes ahead.
They're willing to pay
the price to live a
lifestyle.
I said to live a lifestyle
that very few
will do.
And I'm not even talking about unbelievers.
I'm talking about believers. I'm talking about church
going spirit
filled, Holy Ghost
speaking people
aren't even willing to pay this price.
You're saying, what are you talking about? If I got the Holy Spirit
that's great.
I'm about it. But I know people
that speak in tongues. I know people
that prophesy. I know people that
operate in words of knowledge, words of wisdom
yet they're not willing to pay
the price to go somewhere where nobody
else is willing to go.
It's happening in our Pentecostal circles
that's happening in our Charismatic
circles. This is happening
in our spirit filled churches
or quote on
quote spirit filled churches.
A forerunner
goes ahead
doesn't just leave everybody in the
dust, but then as a scout
he comes back and he says
it's better.
I've been there.
I've lived it. I'm telling
you, you got to come here.
There is more
for you here. There is food
for you here that you do
not even know of. Who does that sound like?
That sounds like the Lord.
That sounds like Jesus.
They said Lord, did you eat?
I mean all day Lord, did you
eat? He says listen
I have food that you don't even know
of. That's forerunner
talk. I said that's
forerunner talk.
Listen to what the Apostle Paul
writes. Open up your Bibles to 1st
Corinthians chapter 9.
I'm not going to send too much
time on the Apostle Paul's life, but he
is a forerunner. And if you've ever studied
his life or have even read his letters
the Apostle
Paul is and was
a forerunner. Listen to this
starting at verse, let's go verse 24
1st Corinthians 9 verse 24
He says do you not know that those
who run in a race
all run, but one
receives the prize. He's talking about
the natural right now.
We have the Olympics coming up, or I
should say they already started, didn't they? They already started.
Many have trained.
Many have put in hours
and they're going to compete.
But there's only one that's going to be a winner.
And do you know what that really means? Do you know
if you really shake it out, let's say
you got five snowboarders.
If you really shake it out, who won?
It is the one
that was willing and paid the cost
when the other four chose
not to. Yet all of them
I said yet all of them
worked hard. I'm sure they did.
But there's only one winner.
And it really boils down to
what type of cost or to what
measure of a cost did you actually pay
to make sure that you get a gold medal.
So the apostle Paul is
he's talking more about the natural here. He says
do you not know that those who run the race
all run, but one receives the prize.
Then he says run
in such a way
that you may obtain it. So he's
encouraging us. Run
that you're the one that gets the prize.
Let me make
a spiritual application.
Run
to the Lord
as often as
you can.
You may have sinned
yesterday.
You may have sinned on Monday
and you're condemning yourself.
I told myself I would never do it
and here I am doing it again. Run to
him.
Run to the Lord.
Run
to Jesus.
Let
him receive the reward
of his suffering. Run to
him.
There's not one
that spilt his blood, but
Jesus himself
that spilt his blood for you to
run to him regardless
how many times you've stumbled, sinned
and falled
and fallen.
Amen.
So the Apostle Paul, he's exhorting.
He's saying only one gets
the prize. So he says run
in such a way
that you may obtain it. Would you
be this morning like that
woman who had the 12 years
of bleeding? And would you run
to him this morning and touch
the edge of his cloak
and say, my God, unless
you touch me today, I don't
want to leave this place. Would you have
that type of attitude this morning?
Would
you be a forerunner and run
this morning and say, I want
to be as that woman.
She ran and she received
her healing because she
ran to the Lord.
She ran to him as
a forerunner. Nobody else
even dared. Why?
Because crowds
circled the Lord. Crowds
circled and she said, I don't care.
I don't care
as long as I touch. See, that's
a form of running. As long
as I touch the edge of
the Lord's cloak, then I'll be healed.
Run in such
a way that nobody else is
willing to run. Look around.
Look at your peers. Figure out
what they're not willing to do and say, Lord,
I'm willing to do it.
You're with me this morning.
Is this still good this morning?
Yes.
Verse 25, and everyone
who competes for the prize
and everyone who competes
for the prize is
temperate in all things.
Now they do it to obtain a
perishable crown. Again, the context
here that the Apostle Paul is talking
about is the natural.
He says, so those who race like the Olympics
cool, you got a gold medal, but listen,
that gold medal is going to perish
here on earth. It will perish
here on earth. Awesome. I'm glad that you obtained it.
I think Olympics is good.
I'll say it this way. The Apostle Paul
says it this way. He says physical
exercise or physical
gain is of some value,
but he says godliness
is of value for this
age and for the age to come.
I have nothing against working
out. I have nothing against sports.
I have nothing against competing
and doing all this stuff. I'm a very competitive
person. Don't come at me on the basketball
court, bro. Pastor Igor is gone
wearing the hoops, bro. I'm not playing with
you. Ask Alan. Alan will tell
you. That's right. He's got
evidence. Listen,
I'm about that stuff,
but I never allow that stuff
to outweigh my godliness
in God or to live
or to strive and to live
a godly life.
Because that has value in this
age and
forever.
Did you hear me? I said
forever.
That means for eternity.
It'll benefit. It'll be to my
benefit. If I can sow a seed
right now and water it and
water it and water it and water
it, God will make it grow and it'll
benefit me now and for the age
to come.
Somebody got to say amen to that.
I said somebody got to say amen to
that.
Hallelujah.
That's right. Thank you,
Lord. Listen to this, verse
26. Therefore,
okay, now he's referring to
himself. Therefore, I run
thus, not with uncertainty.
Thus I fight,
not as one who beats
the air. So here, here the
Apostle Paul, he's given a comparison. He says, listen,
if I'm not mistaken,
I think scholars said that the
Apostle Paul, he did like boxing
where he was a sportsman or something. I heard that from
one of the scholars or somebody that mentioned that.
Don't quote me on it, but just listen
to me here, okay? Let's go there. Let's
just say the Apostle Paul was like the Michael
Jordan of his age, okay?
He says, listen.
He says, that's all good stuff, man. Cool beans.
You can shoot threes all day.
But I know that what I'm
aiming for is not just in the natural realm.
I know that what I'm aiming for as a
forerunner, I am going somewhere
and I am running.
Therefore, I run thus
not with uncertainty,
meaning I am certain
that what I'm doing right now
in knowing who Jesus is,
I'm going ahead. I'm
willing to minister on to him when nobody
else is willing. That means that two in
the morning, that means that five p.m.
That means that I'll miss
birthday parties. I'll miss events
if God is asking me be with
me. That's what he's saying.
And he says, I am certain
that if I do that, listen, listen.
He says, I am certain
that if I do that
it'll benefit me, not just
now, but for the age to come.
That's what he's saying.
He says, I run, therefore I run thus
not with uncertainty, thus
I fight not as one who
beats the air.
So he says, when I'm doing this, I know
it's not just me for no reason
swinging my arms and beating my body
in the shape and disciplining it on
and so forth. He goes, I know
that what I'm doing right now, I may
not see the full benefit of it,
but in the age to come, I'll see it
all.
I will see it all in its fullness.
Can I share something? This is one
of the reasons, this is one of the reasons
why so many few Christians
engage in a forerunner ministry
or in a forerunner lifestyle.
You ready for this?
Because we have been
cultured
of seeing a result now. I want it
now. Come on. I want it now.
I want it now.
Let me get
let me get real personal with you.
This year, my wife and I were building a house
here. And I told my wife
this
few months ago. I told her this. I said,
I would love to
in the snap of my finger
and let it be December and we're moved
in, hallelujah, praise the Lord. I would love
to do that. Why? Because that's the flesh
in me.
That's the flesh in me. We want to see
results now.
God, I fasted once.
God, I prayed once.
God, it's been three months.
It's been three years, God. Come on,
God. What's going on, God?
We have been cultured in this
society of results,
of results, of results.
And I'm about seeing
results.
But here's
why very few
engage in
forerunner ministry or live a
lifestyle of forerunner ministry is because
when you live a forerunner
lifestyle, you won't even see your
full result
until in the age to come.
And we hear
that and we're like, well, that's not encouraging,
pastor. Boo-hoo.
Boo-hoo
to you, that that's
not encouraging.
I am more concerned
about your, as your pastor,
I am more concerned about your eternal
state than I am about your temporary
state.
I'm more concerned
if you're saved, praise God.
You're saved. Now to you,
I say, I desire you to mature
and to lay up your
treasure in heaven where rust,
moth, and thief cannot
steal.
And if you're not saved, I pray.
And if you're unsure about your
salvation, I pray
that today before service ends,
you run to Jesus.
You run to
him.
Thus I fight not as one who
beats the air. Verse 27.
But I discipline
my body and bring
it into submission
lest
when I have preached to others,
I myself should
become disqualified. Now that's
scary.
I said, now that's scary.
You and I have talked about this before,
do you remember that? Now that's the fear
of the Lord.
You see, I could be up here. Let me
get real personal with you. Ready for this?
I could be up here and
I could be preaching to you what it means
to be a forerunner. But if I
myself don't implement this in
my life,
if
I can be disqualified
though I'm preaching it to you, but
that's a fear of God on me.
I can say all the right
things. I can do all the right things
in front of your eyes. But if at home,
if at home, this
is not who I am. This is not
how I live. I can be
disqualified.
See, you and me
we're on the same playing field.
My wife says it this way.
She says, we oftentimes
look at men and women of God that are
pastors and are in leadership positions
and we think, man, it's so easy for them
to die to themselves. It's probably
so easy for them to fast.
It's probably so easy for them to have
a prayer closet. Everything's
probably so easy for them.
And they make it look so easy.
Do not our pastors make it look
easy to be a Christian?
You know why?
Because there's a measure of themselves
that they've already died for.
But the same things, friends,
let me just get real personal here.
I've been living a lifestyle of prayer
and fasting for 10 years now.
Can I be truthful with you? Fasting
is still hard for me.
I fast, I'm not saying this
boastfully. I'm just sharing this with you
as a testimony. I
fast a minimum of once a week.
It's just our lifestyle. This is the way that my wife
and I have lived, have been living
that we've asked the Lord to live us. Because
that is a forerunner lifestyle.
And I've been doing this
for 10 years.
And fasting is still hard for me.
It's still hard. Why?
Because it's the flesh.
The flesh don't like it.
And it's even crazy, you know, like
you could like wake up in the morning
and you're just so busy and you haven't eaten.
And you're not even hungry. But then you wake up
one morning and you're like, I'm going to fast today.
All of a sudden,
you're hungry. You want breakfast. I'm like,
I don't even eat breakfast. I have a cup of coffee.
That's my breakfast. But your belly's like, hey, man,
that cheeseburger over there looks real good, man.
Woo. That Egg McMuffin
at McDonald's is going to be real good for you.
It's like, nah, my friend, we ain't doing that.
Bring it to sub...
Bring it into sub... I can't even speak anymore.
Submission. Thank you.
I was going to say subjection.
But submission is better.
Submission is better.
Submission is better.
So the apostle Paul is a forerunner.
Okay. I'm going to come to a close here pretty soon.
I didn't...
Wow.
I got a few more Sundays, right, pastor?
Two more.
Can we meet on Wednesday?
Can we meet on Wednesday?
Listen to this.
I want you to understand something.
And I just kind of want to quickly reiterate.
A forerunner.
Just like the apostle Paul.
Because the apostle Paul is, he's a forerunner
and he's writing to us here in 1 Corinthians 9.
He's saying to compete to run in a way.
But he's also
exhorting us.
He's also doing the scout portion
of what it means to be a forerunner.
He says, listen, I've been here.
I've paid the price.
I've gone here and I'm willing to pay
even a greater price.
But he's not saying deuces.
See you later, y'all. I'm doing my own thing.
He's saying, listen,
discipline your body.
Bring it into what?
Submission.
Submission.
Die to the desires of your flesh.
Because he says, I am certain
that what I'm doing
is far more beneficial
not just for this age,
but for the age to come.
A forerunner ministry
is one that goes ahead
and when they arrive
at a certain place, they turn around
and they say, come.
You got to come with me.
This is where the portion
that the pastor shared this morning
of spiritual adoption.
This is where that facet comes in so heavy.
It comes in so heavy.
Do you know why?
It's because when you've gone ahead,
listen to me, when you've gone ahead
and you turn around
and you begin to tell people, come
and they're like, oh, yeah,
they run and then they're there
for about a month and then they're back here.
That's when a majority
of people that are forerunners,
that's where they quit.
I'm done with you.
Deuces.
As a forerunner,
we got to have
the perseverance of, yes,
people are going to run to us,
they're going to run away,
but this is spiritual adoption.
This is walking it out with them.
This is discipleship.
Do you not think that the Lord,
I mean the Lord showed
some of his frustration.
How long do I got to put up with you?
That's okay to say that.
It's okay for us
to be like, bro,
listen, I told you,
but yet you're stepping on the same rake.
But we want to
detach ourselves. Ah,
they're holding me back.
I know I need to go, God's like, no, they're not holding you back.
You're holding yourself back.
That's spiritual adoption.
Forerunner ministry.
I go ahead, yet I'm
willing to be a scout,
turn around, call people
with me, and I'll walk it out with them.
Even if that means
I got to pick you up
and I got to carry you.
I'm willing to do it. And guess what?
I've done it.
The reason why I can say it
with such confidence is I've done it
for 10 plus years.
I told you,
out of a week of seven days,
a minimum of four
days out of the week,
my house was not empty.
And guess what? Tanya was very
pregnant. We had a toddler.
Then we had two. Then she was pregnant
with James. We did this
in the midst of having small kids.
We did this in the midst of having
a business, a successful business.
We did this in the midst of a ministry
being associate pastors at my father's church.
I was there.
What excuse do you have? You have it?
I'd love to hear you say it.
I've been there.
That's why I say very few
are willing to engage
in this type of lifestyle.
Because when we hear this,
all of a sudden our flesh is like,
no man, I can't do that. Then you're not committed.
You're not committed then.
Or you're only wanting to commit yourself
to just a little bit. That's fine.
You commit yourself
to whatever measure. First let me say this.
You commit yourself
to whatever measure God
is asking you to commit yourself.
Start there.
Don't do something
if God ain't asking you to do it.
You'll hit a ditch quicker than you can say Mississippi.
Very few
are willing to engage
in forerunner ministry. Let me end with this.
Brian, can I get you on the keys please?
Let me say it this way
and then I'll continue this next Sunday.
I believe
that's why the pastors
Pastor Vernon Mary are having me teach on this
this year. Because I believe
I believe God
is actually inviting
us as a corporate body
to begin to engage
in a lifestyle of forerunners.
Can I say that again?
I believe God is asking us
and it's not just an asking
it's actually an invitation.
He's actually inviting us.
He says, I see your hunger.
I see your desire
for the things of me.
And this right here
is a compliment. This is not
let me say this. This is not a
replacement vision.
We're not removing
or throwing away the vision
that God is giving our pastors
to plant here. This
is a compliment
to this body
to now launch us
into even deeper things.
This is not a division.
Hear me here. This is not a division.
This is not me and pastor.
He's going this way and I'm going
this way. This is us running
together lane by lane.
He looks at me. I look at him.
We bounce things off of each other. This is not
a division. This is, hey,
we understand what God is asking
us and we want to go there.
Though none come with me
still I will follow.
Though none come with me
still I will follow.
I've been there.
Friends, I've been there.
I've been there.
When the Lord asked me,
he said, you got to go.
I said, God,
he said, you want more of me?
Right there. That's the price
you got to pay. You got to go there, son.
You got to go there, son.
You got to do what I'm asking
you to do. And if you choose
not to do it, I'll still love you.
But you're going to miss out
on the things that I have
for you.
Listen, I'm going to say this
again confidently. Some of you,
when we begin to implement this in our church,
some of you are going to be this,
be on this like butter on bread.
You're going to be like, I want to do it.
And if that's you right now,
I want you to be very careful with how
quick you're making a decision.
Be very, be very
careful with how quick you're making a decision.
I would
hate to see you commit yourself
to this. And then you're saying, that's too much, man.
I got to
wake up to work at six in the morning
and people are at my house till one a.m. on a Sunday.
I can't do that.
Though none go with me,
still I will follow.
I've been there and I will remain
there. When God
called us out, we
left everything.
Everything we left.
What? For the
sake to know Him. That's it.
That's why I did
it. It's because I recognized
how much He loves me,
which propelled me into a first
love like never before
which caused me to go.
Though none go with
me, still I will follow.
I said, though none go with
me, still I will follow.
Even if it's just the four of us.
And I pray that it's not just the four of us.
But I will keep going.