November/21/ 2021
When Midnight Comes
Kile Bateman
Psalm 119:58-62 NIV
I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands. Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law. At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.
At Midnight 3 things happen…
We Recover
We Respond
We Rise
November/14/ 2021
ALL IN: For the Future
Part 4
Proverbs 3:5 “trust in the Lord with ALL YOUR HEART…”
Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Five things about Tithing…
1. Tithing is about PRIORITY!
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve TWO MASTERS. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Deuteronomy 14:23b TLB “THE PURPOSE OF TITHING is to teach you always to PUT GOD FIRST in your lives.”
Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord by giving him the FIRST PART OF ALL YOUR INCOME, and he will fill your barns with wheat and barley and overflow your wine vats with the finest wines”
2. Tithing is about PROGRESS.
3. Tithing is about PERSPECTIVE
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
4. Tithing is about POSITION.
Psalm 25:12-13 “Where is the man who fears the Lord? God will teach him how to choose the best.13 He shall live within God’s CIRCLE OF BLESSING, and his children shall inherit the earth.”
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the tithe… OPEN UP THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN and POUR OUT BLESSINGS…”
Luke 6:38 “give and it will be given to you good measure pressed down shaken together and running over”
5. Tithing is about PARTICIPATION
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the STOREHOUSE…SO THAT there may be food in my house…”
Genesis 12:2-3 “I will bless you; I will make your name great, and YOU WILL BE A BLESSING. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and ALL PEOPLES ON EARTH WILL BE BLESSED THROUGH YOU.”
Malachi 3:10 “TEST ME IN THIS says the Lord and see if I will not throw open the flood gates of heaven…”
October/31/ 2021
Proverbs 27:23 “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; 24 for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.”
1 Samuel 3:1-10 “The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Why does Next Gen Ministry matter?
1. God speaks TO young people
Isaiah 55:11 ESV “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Psalm 8:2 BSB “From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.
1 Samuel 3:1 “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.”
a. Family matters
b. Frequency matters
c. Environment matters
d. Teachers matter
2. God works THROUGH young people
1 Samuel 3:11-18 “And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,[a] and he failed to restrain them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’” 15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
I Timothy 4:12 “ Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
3. The church is called TO young people
1 Samuel 3:19-21 TLB “As Samuel grew, the Lord was with him and people listened carefully to his advice. 20 And all Israel from one end of the land to the other knew that Samuel was going to be a prophet of the Lord. 21 Then the Lord began to give messages to him there at the Tabernacle in Shiloh”
October/23/ 2021
65 people completed Lifetrack and became Members of Lifegate
74 people Baptized
16 children Dedicated
28 people went on a Mission Trip in 2021
278 people gave to the Mission of Lifegate Church
58 people Committed their Life to Jesus
WE WANT OUR DREAMS TO BE BIGGER THAN OUR MEMORIES.
Judges 2:8-11 “Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance…in the hill country of Ephraim…
After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.”
Ronald Reagan “Freedom is never more than just one generation away from extinction”
Three major shifts in our culture…
1. Screen discipleship
2. Family breakdown
3. Decline in church attendance
What does it take to raise up future generations?
1. An example that is AUTHENTIC
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commands that I give you today are to be upon your heart, impress them on your children, talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates”
2. A church that is STRATEGIC
3. An experience that is DYNAMIC
Matthew 19:14 “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
