I Serve a Big God!!!

Louis Giglio @ Lakewood Church

Psalm 19:1-2 The heavens declare the glory of Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.
The sky is a billboard for the greatness of God.

*I LIKE THE MSG VERSION

Psalm 19:1-2 God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.

• God spoke the UNIVERSE into existence so I need to upsize my prayers.

• Isaiah 40:25-26 To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.

• 1 light year=9.4605284x10^15 meters.

• God spoke light into existence 299792458 m/s…that's fast.

• It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye and my thumb blotted out the planet earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, ery small.
-Neil Armstrong

…sin makes you feel bigger than you are but when you realize how small you are you see how big God is.

• Psalm 8:4-5 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

• Psalm 103:8-12 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.



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Victoria Osteen's Talk

Joshua 24:14-15 Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Choose this day what my attitude is going to be, choose what I'm going do, choose what I'm going to say...Jesus already did the work for us.

-- Sent from JRochelle's Palm

The Titantic Church

Bishop Dan Goodman @ Church of the Living God Temple °1

• A lot of people lose their lives who didn't have to.

• Jesus used the word to defeat the enemy, so we should too.

1. Keep my relationship with God in tact.

• Study his word.

• Obey his word.

• Pray his word

* 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2. Be purpose driven!

• Once you find your purpose, you begin to walk in it.

• Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the lord with all your heartand lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.

• 2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

3. Love people.

• Deal with them honestly, fairly, and with service.

BONUS

>Little Faith

Mark 9:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

• Basic Faith

>Great Faith

Matthew 9:20-22 ...Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed at that moment.

• Faith after a looooong time.

>Perfect Faith

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand.

• Faith beyond circumstances.

-- Sent from JRochelle's Palm

Waiting With Expextancy

Joel Osteen @  Lakewood Church

1. There's a right and wrong way to wait.
• Psalm 5:12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

2. Waiting is not passive, it's active.
• Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, in exhaustion. But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

3. When you wait the right way, you aren't moved by what you see.
• Psalm 112:2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.
• If you are sick then make plans for when you aren't. If you are trying lose weight then by an outfit that's a few sizes too small.

4. When you wait you expect blessings.
• Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

5. Wait like a farmer and expect double for your trouble.
• James 5:7-12 (NKJV) Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lordthat the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No, lest you fall into judgment.
• James 5:7-12 (MSG) Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time. Friends, don't complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner. Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail. And since you know that he cares, let your language show it. Don't add words like "I swear to God" to your own words. Don't show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Just say yes or no. Just say what is true. That way, your language can't be used against you.
• When a farmer sows seeds he doesn't go to bed worried, he keeps taking care of his garden because he KNOWS in due season he will bear fruit!

6. Let your faith be seen and make preparations for the harvest.
• Luke 5:17-20 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
• That man could have sat at home and just hoped he got better but he put his faith into action.





Victoria Osteen Talk

Romans 12:11-13 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

-- Sent from JRochelle's Palm

God's Love

Darius Trainer of CANVAS @ LEVEL 56

Matthew 5:39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who want to borrow. 43 "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

1. Types Of Love
• Phileo: (friendship/family love) There are conditions. If the person "steps out of bounds" they will lose the love.
• Eros: (man/woman love) Passionate love.
• Agape: (the God kind of love) There are no conditions. There is nothing that you can do to step out of that love. There is sacrifice.
• John 15:13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

2. Verse 44

• The God kind of love can change others.
• The God kind of love is on the inside of me.
• Romans 5:5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

3. Be a missionary where you are.
• Show God's love.

-- Sent from JRochelle's Palm

The God Who Closes Doors

Pastor Joel @ Lakewood Church

• God can see the big picture of my life: he knows what's around the corner and at the end of the road.

• God has my best interest in mind.

• Isaia 55:9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,so my ways are higher than your waysand my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

• Proverbs 20:24 The LORD directs our steps,so why try to understand everything along the way?

• 1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

• You're not really trusting  if you will only be happy when it happens your way.

-- Sent from JRochelle's Palm

Run Your Race

Joel Osteen @ Lakewood Church

People may try to pressure you into being who they want you to be but God is my creator. I can't please everyone and I'm living to please God anyway.

I have God's approval and that's the only approval that is required.

I have to stay true to who God wants me to be.

*JK: @20 You wonder what others thing about you...@40 You don't care what others thing about you...@60 You realize that no one was thinking about you!

Acts 13:36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed.

If you change with every criticism you lessen your favor.

In order to please God, you may have to disappoint a few people.

John 12:43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

Everyone has an opinion, people will be quick to tell you how to run your life and if you listen then you will be confused.

Be secure enough in who God made you to be to know what doesn't line up.

What God orders, he'll pay for it.

Sometimes people use spirituality to push you around, "...God told me..."

When someone speaks into your life it will confirm what God already told you.

1 Samuel 15:24 Then Saul admitted to Samuel, "Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD's command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.

Saul was a people pleaser.

My time is too valuable to go around trying to figure out how to keep people happy.

I am free to be me and I'm going to be the best me that I an be.

-- Sent from JRochelle's Palm

God's Love

Jonathan @ Level 56

1. We know God loves us becaue He has a plan and purpose for our lives.

• PSALMS 139:13-18 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my bodyand knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born.Every day of my life was recorded in your book.Every moment was laid outbefore a single day had passed. ow precious are your thoughts about me, O God.They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them;they outnumber the grains of sand!And when I wake up,you are still with me!

• Isaiah 41:13 For I hold you by your right hand—I, the LORD your God.And I say to you,'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.

• Matthew 28:20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

2. We know God loves us because we are His masterpiece.

• Isaiah 64:8 And yet, O LORD, you are our Father.We are the clay, and you are the potter.We all are formed by your hand.

• Jeremiah 1:4-5 The LORD gave me this message: " knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apartand appointed you as my prophet to the nations."

3. We know God loves us because He sent His son to die on the Cross for us.

• John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

•Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

-- Sent from JRochelle's Palm

The Biggest Loser's Allen "Buddy" Shuh

Allen "Buddy" Shuh @ Lakewood Staff Connection

Romans 12:1 I-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Part of God's plan for us is that we fly.

1. Caterpillar
• Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us...

• Catepillars have all those legs so they can try to do everything themselves, but God wants to give us wings.

• His son learned about health at school and his son asked him if he was fat.

• Weight is a problem that you can't hide so it's a source of constant embarrassment and insecurity.

• In addition to problems, like keeps happening. Buddy lost his daughter to spinibifida and couldn't afford the funeral costs.


2. Cocoon
• Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

• God puts you in a waiting period with people who think different that you do. Buddy refers to Dolvett Quince (his trainer), Mark (another pastor), Jeremy (the biggest loser).


3. Metamorphosis
• Buddy lost 130lbs and has gone from a 5x shirt and 54 pants to a Large Shirt and 36 pants.

• He is a spokesperson for an organization that provides financing for parents who can't afford the funeral costs for their children.

• He has taken steps to sew healthy habits into his family and his community (walking with his family after dinner, health programs in local schools, etc...)

Q/A

Everyone in your family (household) has to be on the same plan.

The reveal was in the White House.

Buddy's 7-year-old didn't recognize him until he started talking. (John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.)

-- Sent from JRochelle's Palm