Flipside Christian Church

Friends, it is good

to be back home with you.

And I need to be honest with you,

I'm struggling a little bit this morning.

Because,

I want to bring you up to speed
with the last two weeks.

But I want to make sure
that I tell Jesus's story,

and not my story, if that makes sense.

I want to make sure that we're talking
about the cross.

The cross and the kingdom.

And not about,

the events in another land.

Only,

and so I've been I've been praying a lot
and thinking through a lot.

And I'm gonna do my best
to give you a glimpse

in the last couple of weeks of my time
in Ukraine

with God's people.

But to draw our attention not to

the trip, but to the kingdom.

If you're

wondering why I went to Ukraine
and the front lines,

we had the opportunity
to be invited with the group.

I work with Excel Leadership Network,
which is the church

planting movement
to plant churches all over the world.

We were invited to go to Ukraine
and establish what we've also established

in Guatemala, in Mexico, in Cuba,

in Ukraine.

One of the things I know is that as far as
evangelism is concerned, telling

people about Jesus, people are most
receptive to the message of Christ

when they're under tension
and in transition.

When people are under tension,
they're looking for someone

to relieve the tension.

And when people are in transition,

they're looking for someone
to give them stability.

So think about what's going on in Ukraine.

Everybody is under tension
and in transition during war.

And so what I told the people there was,

your country is ripe for revival

because everybody's looking

for something to bring stability,

for some semblance of peace.

And as Christ.

And so we were invited to go to Ukraine
and start this

church planning movement in their country.

What I told them was,

I will go lead that as long as I can

also go to the frontlines.

A couple different reasons.

One, because the values of our church,

three of them are this irrefutable love

and what proves love more profoundly

than going into someone else's battle

and saying, I am with you and I love you.

Presence does that more than words.

Do you understand?

Because that's exactly
what Jesus has done for us.

For God
loved the world so much, he sent his Son

to come to the frontlines of our war.

Irrefutable love.

That's why I had to go to the frontlines
as well, but also

illogical faith in.

We were told when we were there.

Listen, there's been a lot of pastors
from huge, huge churches in America

that have come to LaVey,
which is right on the border

of Poland on the western side,
where there is no conflict.

Basically.

And they come there
and take their pictures

and give their money and then leave

till nobody.

Has come from America

as far as the church is concerned,
to the front lines.

They don't do it.

And so what that tells me is illogical.

Faith says yes,

you follow.

But also one of our values
is the invisible kingdom.

We believe

in this
kingdom that you can't see right now,

and it is of utmost importance.

And demands are all

and any opportunity
we have to expand that kingdom.

We're going to take,

because another one of our values
is incessant

reproduction.

It's evangelism.

It's church planting. It's what we do.

And any opportunity we have to tell people
about Jesus and to plant churches.

We're going to take.

And so I said,
I have to go to the front lines.

People need Christ.

And when you get close to your own
mortality, you start asking questions

that you should ask
before you realize you're going to die.

And so I had to go to the front lines

also, because when my
daddy got back from Vietnam,

there was a great struggle.

Any of you who have served in our military

to be in an active war, you understand

that if God blesses you
with living through that,

you wrestle with who you became, in that

oftentimes.

And, well, there in death is redemption.

We're redeemed by Jesus.

Sometimes in life

there's a struggle with restoration.

Can God restore who I've become?

Knowing my own

father's struggle after Vietnam,

in the church,

for people who did not understand,

I was compelled

by the grace of God for my father

to bring that message
to other men and women on the front lines.

Do you understand?

And so well the impetus

was to plant churches and start a church
planting movement in Ukraine.

There was also
the call to the front lines.

And for me, I was not allowed

to separate the two.

And so let me just walk you through
this is where we were.

This is Ukraine.

Way on the left is Poland.

And we flew into Poland, into Krakow,

and through a series of busses and trains,

we made our way all the way across to
where the green is in Kiev.

That's the capital city of Ukraine.

And if you follow the news at all,
you know how much that is

constantly bombed,
literally, almost day after day.

That's a capital city.

That's where we that's where we
that's where we finally made it to Kiev.

And then we went from Kiev.

We went down to where the blue is
church. KC

that's right on this, this, this,

it's the largest river in Ukraine
that flows down into the Black Sea.

And that's where we did
our discovery centers for church planters.

It took us 27 hours from when we left
to get all the way up to Turkey.

It was a grueling trip, a grueling trip
from the United States to there.

From there,

eventually up in the Orange is Ha Keith.

And again, if you follow the news,
you hear the word heart Kiev.

That is on the front,
both one of the places on frontlines

that is constantly,
constantly shelled drones,

guided missiles, all of that

from there down in the purple
is, Kramatorsk.

That's the place where we lived
for three days with the guys

literally on the front lines
in their little house,

and they would move out
to visit the troops.

So that's kind of where we were in
and in the orange in Kharkiv.

That's where I got to preach last Sunday.

And it was and I'll tell you more about
I'll tell you more about all this stuff,

but I want to give you a picture
of when I say the front lines,

what I'm talking about.

We slept in where the purple is,

we ministered to Donbass.

That is literally on the border of Russia.

That's where we were

a couple kilometers
from the Russian troops

all along that area on the frontlines,

with guys that know
Jesus and guys that don't know Jesus

and were able to do worship with him
and pray over them and share communion

with them and witness
to them and minister to them.

And so when we're talking about

this is what we're talking about,
we were there,

because that's where the opportunity
was for us

to expand the kingdom of God.

People don't go there.

They told us while we're there, there's
no there's no law,

there's no overriding,

system to say this is allowable
and not allowable.

Whatever happens, happens.

And so we need to know your blood type.

I said it's red.

And so I want to introduce you to

some of the people that are there.

And I want you to pay

attention to the names that you'll see

on this piece of paper.

You will see.

Soon yours is.

The two men who live in that house.

And that's right there on the front lines
where we stayed.

The wall, the exterior walls,
about 18in of concrete.

It's really thick.
And they try to reinforce it well.

But the two guys who live
there seem as a video game.

And Sasha, I want you to put them
on your prayer list with them and Sasha.

They have determined that God has called
them to the ministry of the front lines.

They've sent their families,
their wives and children to, to Germany.

And they've said, God has called us
to ministry to the people of the

on the front lines.

And so they see their family
about once every three months.

And every day they start their day
with scripture reading and worship.

That was the worship music and communion,
reminding themselves of the kingdom that

they serve, the God that they serve,
and that God has called them to this work.

They ask for his provision,
they ask for his safety, and they ask that

through them God would save people
who are lost without Christ.

Those names on the papers,

three different lists.

Names of men, women who have been killed

in the war that they had ministered to,

that they remember the names of those
who are missing in action,

and the names of the current ones that
they're current currently ministering to,

so they can keep track of them
with their families,

care for them, care for their souls.

And they every day
they just make their way down

the front lines in worship,

in foxholes, in bunkers,

making sure that the guys know God
hasn't forgotten about you.

He knows you and he sees you.

He loves you, and we're here for you.

Amazing people,

amazing people.

Every community has this.

These are memorials in every community.

Every flag represents

someone who's been killed from that
community during this war.

Every flag

represents a life.

I've shared some of these on social media
while I was there.

To give you a picture,

but I want you to understand how

pervasive and what they're living under.

These little memorials just keep growing.

And it's a stark reminder.

Of life and death and eternity.

And that life is fleeting.

This is the top story

of one of three apartment complexes.

Has has nothing to do with the military.

Completely civilian.

And the results of

Russian drone attacks
and guided missile attacks

at the basement of this building,

people ran for safety

and they were smothered
and 50 of them died.

The hole
there is where the middle building was.

There were three buildings.

Community after community.

This is this is the reality.

There's more buildings that

are destroyed that are.

Untouched.

And this is what they live with.

A constant reminder that.

Of what their reality is.

What's.

So this is going towards the front line.

That's a drone.

Look on.

They don't have them on all the roads.
They have them on some of the roads.

That's it.

Their attempt
to prevent one of the smaller drones

from moves out of the ground
through to the traffic.

This this is somebody

there's some music going off
that some of these are real lights.

It's their phone.

And turn it off.

This is one of the bunkers

where we were with
some of the, guys on the front lines,

and they didn't
let me go all the way down.

Oh, we went all the way down, but
they didn't let me film all the way down.

Pass or stuff.

But these are this.

There's there's two, four man troops

that rotate two days on and two days off.

And it goes down
a couple different layers.

And these guys have watch
for the Russian drones.

Not fill the skies.

And they have their own
surveillance drones that they'll send out

to kind of keep movement or keep eyes
on the on the Russian troop movements.

Again, right on the front lines there
while we were there,

there was there were a lot of events
that were happening

on the outside when we were underground.

And this is what they live with.

And there's a there's a man here,
I think I have him.

He's he's he's the tall
bald guy, not the short bald guy.

And his name is Sergei.

And he loves the Lord.

And he follows Jesus.

And he's got three guys in his unit
with him who don't know the Lord.

And he is.

They're not just to do his service,
but to witness to them,

to help them come to faith.

And in the middle of that,
that's the that's

their biggest room in the in the bunker.

It goes down into another room.

Two guys are up top there.

Kind of keep an eye out if there's any,
any boots, troops coming at them.

One guy sleeps and one guy
is on the computer with the drone.

And that's where they live for two days
on and two days off.

And so we got to be with them.

We got to worship with them.
We got to encourage them

for these guys and for some other troops
I was with on a place

called Seven Winds, this, this outlook
that looks over this valley.

And they had their, you know,

military guys there with their weapons
looking for drones coming in and missiles.

And I told them, I said, guys,
I want you to understand something

you, as commanders

have under you men who rely on you

and your job is not just to fulfill
the commands

of your commanding officer,
but is to secure the life of your men.

And if need be, lay down your life
for them.

I said, I want you to understand something

that reminds me of another man

who, at the command of his commanding
father,

was given the charge

of watching
after the lives of those under him

to secure their life, and if need be,
give his life for them what he did.

I said, I want you to

understand
something that you are for your men.

You can be a visible reminder of Christ.

So lead well.

Lead well and serve well.

And help them reframe

what their role is in this.

And that's who he is to these guys.

He's a visible picture.

Of one who came into their conflict,

their war, and gave his life.

And it was really significant.

We were able to go just outside
that bunker in this big concrete,

room and lead him in prayer and worship

and do communion with them,
anointed him with oil.

We prayed over him

all while the explosions
are going around outside.

And it was a beautiful
it was a beautiful moment of worship.

It was a beautiful moment of ministry.

And it was a beautiful realization that
God is the God of minutes and moments,

time and time and time again.

While we were there, it was minutes
or moments that separated us

either on just before something happened

or just after something happened
that God was orchestrating.

All the minutes and the moments
that we were there, there was never fear.

There was never concern
because we knew everyone of us.

There knew that God was the God of minutes
and moments.

You understand that?

For your minutes and moments, guess what?

God is the God of them all.

Minutes of moments

just before or just after.

Multiple times.

Where you realize, okay, Lord,

you're the God of my minutes,
of my moments

and you're orchestrating them all.

So what have I to fear?

Right.

Time and time again.

Had it been a moment earlier

or a moment later?

Things happened.

We got to rescue people.

We got to care for them.

Because we knew God
is the God of minutes of moments.

And he positioned us strategically.

And it was beautiful.

Get to get to be a heart, a part of.

That's.

She doesn't know a world without war.

She's on a living on the frontlines.

And her family had to be extracted.

The day we got her and her family out,

right at the tail end of getting them out,
the drones came and decimated

her neighborhood.

And that night,
she spent her first night in safety.

And her whole life.

And it was beautiful.

Minutes and moments.

I got to preach in her
Kyiv on the front lines last Sunday.

And when they

do church service there,
they have a basement

so that when the air raid goes off
at the church, goes down to the basement,

and they keep worshiping.

And because their country is under tension

and in transition,
the message of the gospel

is good news.

And probably about a quarter of the people
in that church

made a decision for Jesus that morning.

It was it was beautiful.

We shared communion together.

Because when you realize

how close your mortality is,
you start asking the eternal questions

and looking for eternal answers.

The guy to the right and the lady,

next to me, in the lady next to me,
that's the pastor and his wife.

Years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer.

Very aggressive, fast spreading cancer.

The doctor said there's nothing we can do,

so just
take her home and I'd be comfortable.

And the pastor and his wife prayed,
and they said, Lord,

your will be done.

But if you give my wife life,
we will stay in this community

and we will proclaim your name and plant
churches.

And miraculously,

suddenly she was healed.

No ramifications.

No, no, no,
no proof of cancer at all in her body.

And then the war broke out.

The war has been going on since 2014.

The current invasion has been since 2022.

And so as this invasion is happening,

his wife said, honey,
we're on the front lines.

We need to move.

Everybody's leaving.
They're going to Germany and Poland.

We need to go.

And he said, sweetie,
what did we tell God?

That if he gave you life, we would stay

and we would minister
and we would plant churches.

We're not going anywhere.

You know why?

Because they believe in an invisible
kingdom and they have illogical faith,

just like us.

Their kids left with their grandkids.

And she said, honey.

Not only are we on the front lines,

but now I don't get to see our children
or our grandchildren.

And he said, sweetie.

We told God.

That if he gave you life, we would stay.

And when we give God our yes,

we cannot take it back.

We'll

get our kids in eternity right now
on this earth.

We're staying.

Sometimes this is how I feel.

Sometimes it's good for donkeys and
jackasses to be around thoroughbreds. So

that's what I felt like.

Can you imagine

that level of commitment to the Kingdom?

One of these guys told me,
they said, you know, before this war,

before I was here on the frontlines,
I would get so worked up.

I want a different car.
I want a bigger house.

I want a better job.

I want more, he said.

But now.

Things have been clarified.

And if God gives me one more day
on this planet,

I'll be grateful

and especially
give me one more person to share

Jesus with.

That's the first group of staff and church
planters,

that we worked with to plant churches
and excel leadership network.

We follow acts 13.

God calls high level leaders

and sets them apart for church ministry
and for planting churches.

And any chance we get to go
call out and train high level

leaders to plant churches,
we're going to take it.

And these were some of the first ones

that we got to work with in Ukraine
to start a church planting movement,

because they want their
country to come to faith.

That was the first group.

This is the second group.

During our time while we were there,
one of the largest strikes missile,

guided missile and drone strikes on hard
Keith

decimated parts of the city,

decimated the place where we were
just 24 hours earlier.

God of minutes a moments.

As I walked into the training room

for all these church planters and pastors,

we had to address what?

Just because it was their family,
it was their loved ones.

It was their homes
that had just been destroyed.

And they're here to to serve God
and to honor God and to plant churches.

And we had to like,
how do you deal with that?

This is how they dealt with it.

Oh, some guy that

we had been,

he called

us up.

For some

to see.

We woke up early

in the morning to the drones overhead
and the explosions around.

We get word
that what has happened in heart, Keith.

And their first response

was, let's worship God

name above all names

worthy of our praise.

How great.

Oh, how great is our God.

And I'm standing there
and I'm filming this and I'm just crying,

thinking, Lord, why?

Like, why?

Isn't that my first response?

When something bad happens.

What?

You really have to redefine bad.

Sometimes.

Their first response was
God is a good God.

Worthy is his name.

Though there was great sadness,

there wasn't depression.

Though there was confusion,

there wasn't rage.

There was worship.

That's one of the couples

that I got to work with
that is part of Excel.

Network planting churches,

young families.

They have four kids.

She's pregnant with their fifth.

And every one of them has the opportunity
to leave and go to Poland or Germany.

And they said, God's called us here.

We can't leave.

We can't leave.

He saved us from hell.

How can we leave?

They say it would be so disingenuous
to say, God, you saved us.

Now I'm going to leave and let others
fend for themselves because I can't.

We have to stay.

And so they are.

There's one young man
who was a couple who was working with us,

and he's right on the front lines,

and there's so committed
to the youth of that area.

They don't have buildings to median.
They've all been destroyed.

And he will do a little WhatsApp app
and say at 3:00 on Tuesday,

we're going to meet in that burned out
field.

Let's just get together
to talk about Jesus and worship.

Let's

meet at this burned out intersection
on the other side of the road.

And let's just talk about God.

This another couple is going to Planet
Church.

I think they're 12 or 13 years old.

They had the same conversation.

We're just starting our lives.

Why would we stay in Ukraine
on the front lines and plant churches?

And the resounding answer
is because Christ gave his life

and this is where he's put us.

He's the God of the minutes,
an ominous and will stay.

You think if people could have an excuse

not to go to church
and not to do ministry, it would be them.

There's a group of young people

and a lot of young ladies, incredible

leaders, valiant women, warriors

who are so committed
to their God in their faith.

They make things like this.

And the military patches are a big deal.

In the current military.

You get patches for missions
served and ranks and all kinds of stuff.

And so what they're doing
is they're making patches

and they're taking
these to the troops on the frontlines

so they can use these patches
and talk about Jesus.

You understand the symbolism of that,
don't you?

John 316, the crown of thorns.

And they'll get these patches
and they'll go into the bunkers

and into the trenches, and they'll
the young ladies talking to these

men and hear,

I want you understand
who Jesus, what he's done for you.

So they'll put it on and remember,

one of the patches on the patches is this
I love this patch.

I put on one of my hats.

The X represents the commands of God

that have been defiled and broke,
and that's why it's in black.

It's dark, it's been darkened

because.

And you men and women who have served
in the military, you know this especially.

You've been in war.

Oftentimes there are things

that soldiers do in battle

that cause them to question, who am I?

Who have I become?

How do I reconcile what I've had to

with who I want to be as a human?

It's one of the things my dad struggles

with.

And he comes back

after Vietnam to a church
that didn't understand

and wouldn't have accepted him
had they known.

Really? No.

You guys have been on where you understand
this.

You women, you understand this.

And you have to wrestle with
what have I done?

Who have I become, and can I be?

Can I be redeemed?

Can I be restored?

So one of the ministries that these
young ladies are doing with these men

who are wrestling with this question, who,
if they get to come back to the world.

Are met with all of this.

Yeah.

But you so what they tell them
is we've all broken God's law.

Every one of us.

We defiled his commands.

And no matter what
that looks like for you,

there's a cross that covers it

through the death and resurrection.

Resurrection of Jesus.

There's not just redemption.

There's restoration.

Beautiful, strong

young women who are engaging

in these soldiers on the frontlines
to take them the gospel.

You know why?

Because the people want their country
saved.

It's incredible.

And they understand
God is a God of minutes and moments.

And so there's this incredible resiliency

and faith and courage

and commitment not to run away,

but to run and engage.

So. Thank you.

Thank you for your prayers.

When I

when I told them that there was a church
back in the United States

that was praying for them
24 hours a day, every hour, every day,

he couldn't understand it

because have you ever now,
we're not in that type of war situation,

but but I bet we've had those times
where something's going on

and we think, God,
do you even know I'm here anymore?

Do you even care about

what's going on in my world?

Like, where are you?

If you ever anybody.

That's how they're all feel.

But you understand.

And to have a visible

reminder that there's an invisible

church and kingdom that is interceding

before God on their behalf,

they were absolutely overwhelmed.

And they told me to tell you, thank you,

thank you, thank you, thank you.

Because you are
the ones that stand in the gap with them

and they know they're not alone.

You've been so generous.

I was able to give every church planting

couple $500,
which is a year's salary for pastors.

There.

Just say we love you.

And it's not just lip service.

You're such a good church.

And they wanted to make sure I told you.

Thank you for letting your pastor go.

I mean, there's other church
that might go and take some photo ops

and use it as propaganda.

You partnered with me,
and we were there with them

on the frontlines in the bunkers
and trenches.

And it's important.

So what's next?

Well, I'm going back to Ukraine.

Because there's churches
that have to be planted,

and we have to establish this thing
so they can run it on themselves.

So we don't have to keep going back.

But in the beginning, we do,

because we believe in an invisible kingdom
and incessant reproduction.

That's why we're here.

The Holy

Spirit woke me up on Thursday morning.

And he gave me this.

It's wrong for people who want to be right
simply to do no wrong

rather than do what's right.

It woke me up in such startle
with those words ringing through my ears.

I had to write it down.

It's wrong for people who wanted to do
right, simply not to do wrong

rather than do what's right.

The Almighty said this.

Our greatest fear should not be failure,

but in succeeding at something
that doesn't really matter.

We've been given such grace here
and it's beautiful.

It's wonderful.

And I don't want to guilt us into, into,
into the enjoyment of grace.

But I want us to realize the grace
we've been given and not waste it.

In succeeding at

stuff that doesn't really matter.

And so I have seven minutes

to preach my message.

A couple of big ideas,

friends, because God is the God
of your minutes and your moments.

Trust.

Even when it feels like the clock's
ticking against you.

Remain patient
and stay faithful in the minutes

before the moments come.

And be bold to step into your moment.

When it comes.

If God is the God of your minutes
and your moments, be bold

and step into them without fear
and without trepidation.

I believe with all my heart
you've heard me say this before.

I hope you're starting to believe me
when I say it, that as long as you are

on God's mission for your life,
you are absolutely invincible.

Until that mission is complete.

Yep. Stan.

God is the God of your minutes.

In your moments,

he works in the tiniest detail
and he works in the big,

life altering opportunities.

Whether it's a five second decision
or five year delay,

God is the God of your minutes.

In your moments,
you've got nothing to fear.

Trust him.

Be bold and be courageous.

Because God

is the God of minutes and moments,
you can trust his precision.

He's a precise God, and God is is the God

of every minute that you think you've
missed.

He's the God of every moment, every minute

we get so wrapped up of what we think
we've missed out on.

God says we just relax.

I'm the God of it all.

The Israelites came to the for the Red sea
and they were completely trapped.

The army behind them, the sea before them.
They had no way out.

They didn't know
what they were going to do.

They think they thought, God,
you missed the moment.

You missed the minute.

And God said, I have missed a darn thing.

And what God

said through Moses
was this don't be afraid.

Stand firm
and see the salvation of the Lord.

He's going to work out.

Relax.

God is the God of your minutes
and your moments.

Stand where you are.

Be firm.

You will see the salvation of the Lord

because God is the God of your minutes
and your moments.

God didn't open the sea early.

We want God to work in ahead of time
for us, so it requires no faith to follow.

That's not how God works.

We trust him
in the minutes, in the moments.

So we can follow God

before he acts because we know what.

He will act.

So we can follow him before he does the
thing, because we know he will do with he.

And so we can follow without fear,

without trepidation,
with completely unreserved.

Because we know that Joseph at the right
time, he'll step in.

He'll.

Because that's what he does.

You may be waiting on a healing.

You may be waiting on a spouse.

You may be waiting on an opportunity.

Don't confuse silence with absence.

God is timing every minute
and every moment

you can trust him.

And because God is the God

of the minutes of the moment,
you can trust the bigger picture.

He's got a bigger picture that he sees,

and we don't trust him in the minutes,
in the moments.

One moment with God

can change every moment after.

Don't run away from him.

Don't run out on him.

One moment.

God can change every moment after.
This was the story of Esther.

I won't tell you the whole story,
but she was she.

She was given this position

in a kingdom for a purpose for a moment.

And what she was told is this
if you don't step into your moment,

God will move just without you.

You'll suffer the consequences of not

stepping into the moment
God has prepared you for.

But who knows, maybe

this moment has come in your life
for such a time as this.

God is orchestrating your moments
and your minutes.

His perspective is bigger.

One moment with God
can change every moment after

you understand.

See, we we we,

we want from God something to just be big
and powerful and divine.

But we have to understand that
God's moments often don't look divine.

They look like hard choices.

They look like risky obedience.

They look like unexpected opportunities.

And in the hard moments

and the risky obedience
and the unexpected opportunities,

you realize
this might be God's moment and.

We gotta realize

every one of us
faces God's minutes and moments

that he's ordained, and those moments
are often disguised as hard decisions.

Dressed in ordinary clothes.

Faithfulness in the moment
without running away.

Commitment in the moment without.

Tap it out.

You say, God, you are the God
of the minutes, of the moments.

And though this minute and moment
looks horrible right now, I'm

going to trust you in the midst of it,
and I'm going to be faithful,

and I'm not going anywhere.

Sometimes

the greatest test of faith is in doing
things is just in waiting.

And it was so good for me to be in Ukraine
with those people,

because they're just waiting right now
on God's intervention.

And they're praying for miracles,
no doubt.

But they're realizing that before
the miracle, God is still in the moment.

And so three things real quick.

How do you live?

How do you live in God's timing
without tapping out,

without running away
with faith and courage and boldness?

How do you do it?

Well, the one thing you do
is you stay in the Word of God.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.

We will never understand
God's timing of the minutes

and the moments until we can understand
and hear his voice.

And we know the voice
of God through His Word.

I don't understand all that's going on,

but I know that my God
is the God of minutes and moments.

To understand.

You stay in His word
and you trust his process.

Romans 828 A soft pillow for a tired heart

for those who love God.

Not for those who don't,
but for those who love God.

He works all things together for good.

So I don't know how

I don't have those answers.

I just have that faith that says he does.

I don't know how the people
in Ukraine say, God,

you're going to,
I don't know, but they do.

And one of the things I told them is
God can redeem this.

If you use this to win people to Jesus,

let God redeem the evil,
not by making you bitter and cynical,

but by making you motivated

to tell people about Christ.

See, even the detours of your life

can be part of his design.

If you trust that he's the God

of your minutes and your moments.

Some of you are in a huge delay right now

and the dreams are falling apart.

Trust God that he is
still the God of your delays.

He's still the God of your disappointments
because he's the God of your minutes.

In your moments, there's
nothing to be afraid of.

And be faithful in the waiting.

The Galatians six nine don't get tired.

Don't grow weary in doing
what's right with God.

In due season,
the harvest is going to come.

Jim, stand,

Lord, I'ma be faithful in the moment.

I'm not running the pole. I'm
not running a jump.

I'm going to be faithful right now.

See, we have to understand

that when I'm faithful in the minutes,
God is fruitful

in my moments.

Some of you need to write that down.

Take a screenshot on our app.
Take a picture.

You need to remember this.

That when I'm faithful in the minutes,

God is fruitful in my moments.

And some of you are waiting on God
to be fruitful in your moments.

You need to start
being faithful in your minutes.

You follow.

Listen.

Every one of us wants God to step in
and intervene.

Miraculous. We all want God to show up,

but we have to understand this

that God is not just in the miracle.

God is in the midst before the miracle.

And some of you are waiting on God

to step in and do something
miraculous and wonderful and beautiful.

And God says, look, I'm willing to,
but I want you

to first acknowledge me,
that I'm not just in the miracle.

I'm in the minutes before the miracle,
and you won't see me in the miracle

till you acknowledge
me before the miracle.

You understand?

He's not just in the miracle.

He's in the midst before it.

And so,

dear friends.

I want to encourage us

because we serve a God of the minutes,
in the moments to live boldly,

to be courageous.

And live with great joy.

Our response in this moment

to God is thank you.

Thank you for forgiveness.

Thank you for your grace.

Thank you
that you are the God of my minutes.

On my moments. I will trust you

and I will be faithful.

In the midst of my minutes and my moments.

Our responses.

God, you deserve

all of me

unreservedly.

I believe it was Jim Elliot,

missionary, the Orca Indians,
who was killed and beheaded

as he was telling them about Jesus.

He said he is an old fool

who gives what he cannot keep

to gain what he cannot lose.

You're not a fool to give

what you cannot keep your life

to gain what you cannot lose.

Salvation.

You are no fool

to give what you cannot keep, to gain
what you cannot lose.

Who seeks to save his life will lose it.

He who loses his life for my sake,
Jesus says, will gain it.

All in

every minute, moment.

Because he deserves it all.

To understand.

This is what it means to follow Jesus.

We've been given so much grace
here, and it's beautiful.

It's wonderful
and ought to be enjoyed and celebrated.

And I don't want to guilt us

into enjoying God's grace,
but I want to warn us not to waste it.

Don't waste the grace of God.

Fully engaged

all in

trusting
the God of the midst of the moments.

You understand?

Thank you.

You are a world class church

and the kingdom is expanding

in this world because of you.

And it is a joy

to get to be a part of you.

And to do this together.

Let's pray. Father, thank you.

Thank you
that you are the God of the minutes.

In the moments

you're trustworthy.

You're good.

You're the only God there is.

There's none like you.

You're the creator of heaven and earth,

and you're
the God of every one of our minutes.

And you're and moments and.

We praise you and honor you because of who

you are.

Father,

thank that you've given us the opportunity
to be a part of your work in this world.

Here in the Ranchos.

And in places like Ukraine.

You're so good
to invite us into your work.

Thank you for the opportunity
you've given us to say yes to it.

Father, I pray that through this church
you would continue to grow

your kingdom, expand your kingdom,

that you would call us into service,
that you would employ us in your work,

that we would respond great boldness
and courage and joy and sacrifice

and generosity, God, that we would follow
you unreservedly,

unashamedly.

Father, that you would increase
and we would decrease.

That's our prayer.

Thank you for this church.

Thank you for their generosity.

Thank you for their faithfulness.

Father, I thank you

for what you're doing in us and with us.

Continue.

I pray we trust you
to be a God of our minutes in our moments.

Guys, I want,
I want like in this moment right now.

Just keep your. Just shut your eyes. Just.

Just pray with me for a minute.

If you've never trusted God

to be the God of your minutes,
in your moments,

if you never trust him to for after him
to forgive your sin

and given your life to this God
that loves you, that would come

to the frontlines of your life
and give himself for your salvation.

You're saving. If you've never done that,

I want to invite you in this moment
right now

to do that

simple prayer.

It will cost you your life.

It's all worth it.

Say God forgive me of my sin.

I admit I broken your law, your command,

I need forgiveness,
I can't be good, I can't be right.

And myself make me right with you.

I believe in what Jesus did on the cross.

I accept you, Jesus,
as a Savior and the leader of my life.

This morning, I trust you

would you would just pray that prayer.

Father thank you.

We love you.

Help us to love you more.

In your name I pray. Amen.

This.

And if any of you made that prayer,
just come talk to me afterwards.

Talk to us in the start
here or the Welcome Center.

I'm going to walk you
through some next steps.

I got a little book I wrote
I want you to give you.

But let me tell you this, man, I'm
thankful for you.

I'm very thankful for you.

Thank you.

And I'm really thankful for our wife.

Just imagine, just for a moment, you

wives, your husband

came to you and said, hey,
I got this idea.

Imagine

you husband, just for wife, came to you
and said, hey, honey, I got this idea.

Imagine
for a moment if your son or your daughter

said, hey Mom and Dad, guess what?

God's called me.

So thank you for being a church, I says.

Now we get it.

We'll support you.

I'm thankful for you

and I'm really thankful for my bride.

You come back next week
because we're going to start a series

through the book of Matthew.

It's going to take us about a year
to get through it, verse by verse.

Don't worry, it's going to be good.

So start this week
reading the book of Matthew chapter one.

You're going to read a whole
big long genealogy.

It's not going to make much sense to you,
but we'll unpack it next Sunday.

You understand?

We got a great opportunity
to get a real clear vision of who

Jesus is,
the one who came and died so we can live.

I love you, let's sing.