Sacrifice Along the Way
Pastor David T. Elms 1/11/2026
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40:47
Summary
Using Jacob's stop at Beersheba as a backdrop, Pastor David T. Elms calls the congregation to a lifestyle of 'sacrificing along the way' to ensure their hearts remain anchored in God during seasons of transition and blessing.
Key points
- •The biblical character Jacob (Israel) serves as a model for pausing to acknowledge God strategically before entering a new season of abundance.
- •Pastor Elms shares a personal story of being 'ready for the battle but not prepared for the blessing' during the church's arduous zoning and site plan process.
- •Beersheba is highlighted as an eternal 'hub of holiness' where Isaac and Jacob built altars, emphasizing that our spiritual legacy is tied to specific moments of consecration.
- •Material provision (like the land of Goshen) is not the ultimate destination; God's presence both 'going down' into a challenge and 'bringing us up' is the true reward.
- •Believers are called to 'never appear before the Lord empty-handed,' maintaining a spirit of sacrifice even when things are going well.
Scripture
Sacrifice
Consecration
Legacy
Divine Provision
Preparation
Life application
Participate in the church's month of consecration by fasting for three days this week and intentionally pausing to offer a 'sacrifice of praise' or a specific commitment to God before pursuing a new business or personal goal.
Reflection questions
- Are you currently more prepared for a battle or for a blessing, and how does your prayer life reflect that?
- What 'wagons' of provision has God sent your way recently that you might have overlooked or forgotten to thank Him for?
- Jacob stopped at Beersheba when his family wanted to rush to Egypt; what is one area of your life where you need to 'stop and altar' before moving forward?
- How can you ensure that you don't 'forget where you came from' as God begins to enlarge your territory or blessings?
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Full transcript
0:00when you say Jacob, you're talking about Israel. Are you going to help
0:02me preach today? I'm going to preach you on the subject. Sacrifice along
0:08the way. Sacrifice along the way. You may be seated in the name
0:14of the Lord. The last Sunday of this month, we're going to take
0:20up a sacrificial offering. It's not today, okay? But we're going to take
0:25up a commitment. We're taking up the offering. We're taking up the commitment
0:31today. to make a sacrificial offering for the legacy of Cathedral of Pentecost. And I
0:37hope that you'll be in prayer and in asking the Lord what he would have
0:42you to give as we make a sacrificial offering that will be given by the
0:47month of June. And if you do it over the months, you can break it
0:52up in whatever dimensions possible. But it will be an offering for the continued growth
0:57of this church in building a building that And to just give you a little
1:03background on this church, my wife and I came to a group of people in
1:091992, and we met in a warehouse in Margate. And there we met for three
1:14and a half years after we came here. Actually, it was five years we were
1:20in that church. And it wasn't a church, it was a warehouse, 2248 Mears Parkway,
1:26just south of Royal Palm Boulevard, off of 441. And it was in a warehouse
1:32back there. My wife and I lived in the warehouse illegally, but we didn't have
1:37the revenue as a church for me to be able to afford anything. And so
1:42my wife got a job and I taught Bible studies all the time. And we
1:47lived in that warehouse teaching Bible studies in the evening so people would cook us
1:52dinner. And it was one of those things that we did as unto the Lord.
1:57My wife and I were very blessed as people who were itinerant preachers traveling around
2:03America. And it was not a good business decision for us to come and take
2:08this church. But those of you that serve the Lord, you understand what I'm about
2:14to say. Everything we do, we don't do it because it's business decision. Sometimes there's
2:19a bigger business than the thing on this earth. But the Lord blessed that group
2:24of people. We started, we had eight people vote, voting in the election and seven
2:30voted. Do I have it right? Seven voted for me and one against me. That's
2:35right. And so I think it was one against me or was it two? It
2:40was just one against me. I had told the Lord in prayer that if I
2:45didn't get 80% of the vote that I wouldn't come as pastor. Yeah. Didn't realize
2:51that one vote brought it down to 82%. So I barely listen. I'm the two
2:56percenter, but to God be the glory. And so my wife came and I came.
3:02And then in 1997, we bought this property here. Pine Island road was not through.
3:08It ended at 55th street. It did not go to Griffin road. And we bought
3:14five acres here. And the Lord blessed and the giving sacrificial giving
3:20of this church and many people were so giving of their very depth.
3:25So we paid for this property and I believe it was 2002. We
3:31had a mortgage burning service where we got become debt free here on
3:36this property. And by 2004, after meeting with South Florida Water Management District, we
3:42realized we could not build on five acres. That because of the water retention demands
3:48of the most powerful entity in South Florida, it was not enough land to build
3:54the size of church that we needed. So... We felt directed of the
4:00Lord by 2004 to buy the five acres that were attached to us.
4:05What was the university school? And it was a Montessori school and Carol
4:11Bubani sold it to us. And we purchased that in 2004 for $1.8
4:17million. And it was a sacrificing people, a blessed thing. But now we
4:23own... Almost 10 acres, but only about 8.8 of them are buildable because
4:29of the easements that governments put on you when you buy property. The easement
4:35that surrounds this entire 10 acres takes up approximately over an acre plus. And
4:41so that's the reason we have only about 8.8 buildable acres. We've been on
4:47a long journey needing a building. That's the reason we're now at two services.
4:53and on that journey last year we had directed under the
4:59oversight of enjoy group john maxwell's group they did a capital
5:04fundraising campaign for us and three years this church engaged in
5:10sacrificial amazing miraculous giving. And we superseded what the Maxwell group
5:16told us was possible as a multiple miracle offering. We passed
5:21that as consecration. But as three years go on, you know,
5:27it's always a challenge. Everything consecrated isn't given sometimes. But God
5:32has taken what we have been given and has continued to
5:38grow it. And on that journey, because we had to get ready for the entire
5:44site plan, we went through a long process of getting this property by the city,
5:49the town of Davie, properly apportioned and by coding to get an entire site plan
5:54for at least $1,000. about seven of the 8.8 billable acres. We have not
5:59site planned the entire school where our Pine Island Montessori school is, but this
6:05side has been site planned. It took almost four Long years. It seems
6:11ridiculous that that's how long it takes to go before city. We hired one of
6:17the most respected engineering firms in Davie known as the Pillar Group to do that
6:23process and shepherd us through it. It was long. It was difficult. The community meetings.
6:29caused me consternation that I did not expect. I did not know how much
6:35obstinance there was to building a church in this modern era. There are many
6:40people that are for churches, but stunningly, I guess, or maybe not so much.
6:46There are people that whether they like you or not, don't like churches.
6:52And so as I met with the homeowners associations round this facility, I
6:57found out that to some of them I was almost worse than a
7:03criminal. that how dare we try to enlarge? How dare we try to get a
7:08better facility for the congregants? They wanted our property for their kids to fish on,
7:13to ride go-karts on, to ride motorcycles on. They wanted to have their kids' baseball
7:18games and softball games on our property and play on our basketball goals. But when
7:23it was time to build a new church, they wanted to fight that. Guess you're
7:28probably not surprised but it still doesn't make one feel good when you went to
7:33seminary You got your master's degree so you could represent the community. Well you work
7:37I'm the lead chaplain for the Davie Police Department and I've done that. I know
7:42the mayor I know the entire count town council. It's been a labor of love
7:47that I've done it so I could make an impact from our church and To
7:51the police department. They know the code. They know how to get in this facility
7:56They know this is a beloved safe spot for them to come. We've done things
8:02to impact a community well when we went to finalize the appearance the site plan
8:07before the town council I was expecting a lot of pushback i wasn't sure how
8:12the town council would feel even though i knew them personally they amazingly can be
8:18one thing when they talk to you personally and i guess you're probably not surprised
8:23that when they get on the diocese behind the desk in front of the cameras
8:29amazingly things can change and the one that liked you out front Now is making
8:34things really hard for you in front of the camera. And so I went to
8:40that meeting. We had people from our church ready to make statements about the difference
8:45this church has made in their life. We had former alcoholics ready to speak how
8:50this church has been their threshold to victory. We had people that had torn up
8:56children and families ready to speak. We had special needs parents ready to speak.
9:02This church has made an impact in this community. It has helped marriages stay
9:07together. It's not the church, it's the God of this church. But our decision
9:13is to help people. And so every Thanksgiving, we give out baskets of blessing. Every
9:19hurricane, we're involved in restoration activities. Every time there's a Christmas, we've had programs with
9:25Toils for Tots. We have partnered with the departments to have bailouts for hurricanes. In
9:31fact, we just had a lot of things go to Jamaica for this last storm
9:37season from this church. We want to make a difference. I was
9:43expecting a tough time. We watched and spied who was coming to
9:48the meeting. It would be a public meeting. Mike set up. I
9:54thought it was going to be challenging and hard. I was ready
10:00for a battle. The mayor moved our part of the business meeting
10:05to the front. And she went through and had all the
10:11town council say, are there any points that would be like to be
10:17said against this possibility? And then they opened the mic for any community
10:22feedback against. And then in a smooth, shockingly quick process, Mayor Judy Paul
10:28said, well, all in favor say aye. Aye. All the posts, same
10:34sign. There was no opposition whatsoever. Some of you were there.
10:39You know what I'm talking about. It happened so fast and
10:45so easy that we met outside the business meeting and we
10:51almost didn't know what to do. We were all armored up,
10:56ready to rumble. We thought we've got to have to fight
11:02for the value of this 10 acres in Davie, Florida.
11:08I've literally was ready to get after it and say, we're not
11:14here to hurt anybody. And so we bid each other farewell. And
11:20I got in the car to ride back home and the Lord
11:25rebuked me. He said, David, you were ready for a battle, but
11:31you were not prepared for a blessing. He said, from this day
11:36forward, I want you to go to every situation with two plans.
11:42I want you to go prepared for battle. And I also want
11:48you to go prepared. prepared for blessing. Today, I am introducing
11:53to you the idea that we as a church are about to
11:59walk into things that I cannot describe because I do not know.
12:05But I know the blessings of God are going to be poured
12:11out over business people, over the people of God, over faithful people
12:17in this church. You're going to have contracts. You're going to get
12:23vendors. You're going to hire people that you weren't sure how good they
12:29would be. And they go and double and quadruple the business that you
12:35operate. You're going to have things happen to you. Contracts come that blow
12:40your mind when this happens. I want you to know that I understand
12:46you didn't get there free and you didn't get there cheap and you didn't get
12:52there because you're lucky. You got there because you work hard, because you apply yourself,
12:57because you prepare, because you're not lazy. Tonight, when Sunday night rolls around, you're already
13:03planning your Monday. You don't wait till you show up on Monday to have Monday
13:08planned. No, you've already worked on that. But when the blessing comes, it's
13:14going to be so great that I want this scripture to teach
13:20us something about how to not just battle for the Lord, but
13:26how to be blessed because we're the people of God. So it
13:32takes us to our text. Beersheba is 25 miles north of Gaza.
13:38On October 7th of this year, hundreds of missiles hit the town
13:44of Beersheba. Beersheba is the southernmost boundary of God's country. We know
13:50as Israel today, but back then it was known as Canaan land.
13:55They spoke from the northernmost city was known as Dan. The furthermost
14:01city south is known as Beersheba. If you were to go
14:07to Israel today, modern day, it's Beersheba. And that town has
14:12been revolutionized after the order of Silicon Valley in San Francisco
14:18area. They call it the Silicon Wadi there in Israel. They
14:24have made it become the technology hub of civilization. of cyber security
14:29globally in Beersheba. This place that we're reading about in the Bible.
14:35Beersheba is not just a common place scripturally. If you were to
14:40fly to Israel and go to Beersheba, do not be confused. This
14:46was the place that Abraham came after he came down from Mount
14:51Moriah where he was going to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Beersheba
14:57is a place where Isaac dug a well and built an altar special
15:03to the Lord. It's not a technology hub as much as it is
15:09a hub of holiness and righteous consecration to the Lord. It is
15:14a place that to anyone who knows the narratives of
15:20scripture, they recognize Beersheba is more than just a place.
15:25It is an eternal hub of God's goodness. Jacob, now
15:31called Israel, stood at this pivotal moment in his life.
15:36He has had years of heartache. He was a deceiver
15:42and now he has been deceived. He's felt the pain
15:47of deception. He's gone through the tragedy of loss. And finally, he
15:53has received stunning news. What news did he receive? He had been
15:59told many years before that his favorite son named Joseph had been
16:05killed by a wild beast. His favorite son, Joseph, whom he made
16:10a coat of many colors for, had been taken by an animal.
16:16They brought back the coat that Joseph that Jacob had made for his son with
16:22blood on it and said this is all that's left of your son Joseph his
16:28heart has been wounded for the loss of his son But now he has had
16:34a turnaround famine has been going on in the land and the only place in
16:40the world that has preparation for this lack of food is in Egypt and
16:46He's already sent his children down to Egypt twice to
16:51bring back supplies to help them make it through this
16:57terrible global famine that's going on. But now the second
17:03time back, his sons tell him, Dad, we have some
17:08news for you. Joseph is not dead. The emotion that
17:14came through him, the same sons who told him he
17:20was dead, Now telling him that
17:25Joseph is not dead the scripture says essentially Jacob told
17:31his boys leave me alone Do not come playing with
17:36my heart. You've already told me that he was dead
17:42You brought me his garment with blood on it. You
17:47told me you were eyewitnesses that he died and That
17:53there's nothing left from the beast except this robe and you
17:59expect me to believe that he's alive now Oh, yes, dad
18:05Not only is he alive, but he's the man running all
18:10of Egypt right now the Bible said that Jacob Essentially told
18:16his sons. I do not believe you they said well, we
18:22will tell you something Not only is he alive and we've
18:27come back with the things, but he's sending wagons from Egypt with a
18:33bunch of blessed supplies. And there's entourages that's going to take us back
18:39down to Egypt. And when we get down there, he's got seaside property
18:45for us. that he's going to give to us because he lives in
18:50the palace. He's going to give our family all the land of Goshen, the
18:56delta at the end of the Nile where all the fruitful flowers and beautiful
19:02soil is deposited of all of Africa. The joy of the celebration of that
19:08rich land is placed in Goshen. What? He said, I cannot believe that. But
19:14the Bible said when he saw the wagons, He finally said it
19:20must be true. The wagons came. These were not common made
19:25wagons. These were the, the best Lamborghinis. Of course, Lamborghinis don't
19:31haul things. Do they? What's the best truck? Do you have
19:36any truckers out here? The cyber truck, right? Peterbilt. Peterbilt used
19:42to be the best. Smokey and the bandit drove a Peterbilt.
19:47None of y'all even know what I just said. Oh, that
19:53doesn't tell you how old I am. But Kenworth made a good
19:59truck, but Peter Belt was the best. Freightliner. Oh, we got some Freightliner guys in
20:04here. Well, I'll tell you how much I know. The best motor home is Provost.
20:09Is that the way you say it? Provost. That's the one you want. If you
20:14see somebody driving a Provost, that's a million dollars on wheels right there. One million
20:19dollars for Provost. All right. I'm getting back on track, Internet. I can hear you
20:24telling me to get back on track. All of these wagons were
20:30coming to take them down. So they load up, they're headed down full steam ahead
20:35down to Egypt where we're going to live in palaces, where we're going to be
20:40back to you reunited with Joseph, where we're going to have all kinds of security.
20:45We're going to have the guards. We're going to have plenty. We're going to have
20:50banquets. It's going to be nothing but joy on the way down. The wagons are
20:55going. The children are excited. But on the way before crossing out
21:01of Canaan into the unknown, Jacob comes to Beersheba and he
21:07instructs the caravan to stop. The children don't understand what he's
21:12doing. Come on, dad. The sooner we get there, the sooner
21:18the fun starts. No, stop right here. What's dad doing? Jacob
21:24gets out. Old Jacob. Jacob who's weary, Jacob who's hurt, Jacob who's
21:30aged from death and loss gets out and he says, "Bring up the flocks!" The
21:36flocks come forward and he walks through the flocks and gets the best looking lamb
21:42that he can find and he carries it away and he starts building an altar.
21:48What in the world is daddy doing? Well, he must be making an altar, looks
21:54like to me. He's making a sacrifice. Does he not know what's happening
22:00down in Egypt? Doesn't he know the blessing we're going to and the riches
22:06we're about to have? Does he not understand the goodness that is awaiting us
22:12at the banquets and the celebrations and the joy of seeing Joseph and having
22:18dinner in the palace? Jacob says, we're not going forward until I sacrifice. And
22:24his whole family watch him. As he opens up the throat of that
22:29lamb, bleeds it out over that altar, and he gathers the wood, and he
22:35takes the time to start the fire. He starts the fire and builds it
22:41up. He lifts that lamb to the heavens, speaks out to God. Oh Lord,
22:46you are my God. Oh, who you are to me. You were there when
22:52Esau was coming to kill me. You were there, oh Lord, when I lost
22:58Rachel. You were there when I worked seven years thinking it was for Rachel
23:04and I got Leah. I had to work seven more years. 14 years I worked
23:10to get my wife. You were there, oh Lord, when I went through all my
23:15storms and my struggles. You were there, oh Lord, when I lost Joseph. You know,
23:21you walked with me to that grave I built for him where I buried his
23:27coat, oh Lord. They tell me he's alive. They tell
23:32me he's got palaces for us. They tell me we're going to
23:38seaside property. But before I go, I want to tell you, I
23:44know you're my provision. Well, do we have to stay here? Oh,
23:50yes, we're spending the night here, daddy said. So they get out
23:56of their wagons. They spend the night at Beersheba. And during the
24:01night, the Lord appears to Jacob. This Jacob that had wrestled with
24:07God all night long when Is there anybody here that's
24:13ever gone through something you can't tell anybody else about? Because if you do, they
24:19certainly won't understand. Because if you do, you may be embarrassed to tell them what
24:25has happened. It might be that you feel like nobody would understand what you carry.
24:31You explain it away and try to talk about it, but you know it was
24:37only the Lord that has brought you here alive. And it's only the
24:43Lord that's helping you right now. But that doesn't mean that the battle's still not
24:48real and the battle's still not hard and the battle's still not heavy. But on
24:53your way to your best blessing, Jacob wanted to make it clear to his family
24:59and to his God that I will not go without making a sacrifice unto the
25:04Lord. Even though what I'm about to get is more than I've ever had. Where
25:10I'm going is nicer than anywhere I've ever been. The treatment, the security, the safety,
25:15the friendship, the kindness, it's better than I've ever received. I'm going to tell the
25:21Lord on the way. I'll sacrifice along the way. And God appeared to Jacob and
25:27said, or he appeared unto Israel and said, Jacob, Jacob. Amazing how God pulls him
25:32back to what he used to be. I would rather you not call me Jacob.
25:38Don't you remember when you changed my name to Israel? Why are you calling
25:44me Jacob? I thought that was past. Because the Lord was telling him I know
25:49you remember where you came from Oh Lord in 2026 if any of us forget
25:54where we came from you're gonna lose most of your value I don't care what
25:59kind of blessing you get how high you go what titles you get what corner
26:04office you work in what kind of reserved parking spot you've got if you forget
26:09where you came from you are gonna lose a great amount of your value Remember
26:15that you were once a bondman in Egypt. Remember that you were once a poor
26:20man on the backside of the tracks. Remember that one time you were that teenager
26:24that had nothing. You didn't know that anybody loved you. You didn't know if anybody
26:29would even go out with you. And now you sit here with a wife and
26:34children and blessing and grandchildren. And God has brought you through. Don't you forget where
26:38you came from. Because I'm preaching to somebody here right now that's wondering if God
26:44even knows where you're at. You can't even find a girlfriend. Don't raise your hand.
26:49I don't want to point you out. I'm very prophetic right now, but I won't
26:54call your name. You're wondering if God even knows who you are. You're wondering
26:59if there's anybody that even has a care for loving you and calling you their
27:04partner in life and their forever covenanted one. I want to proclaim to you right
27:09now that the God of all blessing who's standing by you in the midst of
27:14what you think is loneliness is the God of all provision. And one day you're
27:19going to look back and you're going to say, he had his hand on me
27:24all the way. Somebody help the preacher today. He's bringing me through. He's
27:30walking with me. He's singing a song over me. He's rejoicing over me.
27:35When I don't feel like I know where's that. When I don't feel
27:41like I hear him anywhere. When it seems like my prayers are falling
27:47short of anywhere. God is with me. Jesus, I'll never forget what you've
27:52done for me. Jesus, I'll never forget how you
27:58set me free. Jesus, I'll never forget how you brought
28:04me out. Jesus, I'll never forget. No, never. He's done
28:10so much for me. I cannot tell it all. I
28:16cannot tell it all. I can't. He's done so much
28:22for me. I cannot tell it all. He has taken
28:27my sins away. Did you hear my son sing, these are the sober days
28:33today? These are the sober days. Let me tell you something. God's done more
28:39for me than you'll ever know. God's been better to me than I deserve.
28:44God's been better to me than I deserve. God brought me through. I want
28:50to tell you, if he's my God, he will be your God too.
28:56Somebody ought to praise him like you know who he is. Somebody ought to let
29:02him know, I know who my redeemer is. I know my redeemer liveth. And those
29:08skin worms destroy my body. Yet in my flesh will I see God.
29:16Some of you are getting it. You understand. He brought you here,
29:21but you don't know what's ahead. Greater is that which is ahead
29:27of you than that which is behind you. Jacob, Jacob, do not
29:32fear to go down into Egypt. This is what God told him
29:38in the night. For there I will make of you a great
29:43nation. But not just that. Some people only live for what they're
29:49going to get down here. But God said, not only will I
29:55go down with you, I will also bring you up again. In other words,
30:01Jacob thought all I need is a deliverance. All I'm about to get is
30:07palaces and seaside land and I can't hardly get past thinking about the banqueting that
30:12I'll have with Joseph sitting beside me and getting to know Joseph's children. I can't
30:17tell you how good it's going to be, but what God was saying is the
30:21blessing you think you're looking at is not the blessing I have built for you.
30:26Because not only am I going to bless you in going down. I'm also going
30:31to bless you in bringing you out. I'm going to be with you the now
30:35as I was in yesterday. But not only am I the God that was. And
30:39I'm not only the God that is. But I am also the God that is.
30:44Is to come there's a blessing beyond your blessing. There's a way
30:50beyond the way you see There's a good thing from God that
30:56you don't even know you need that he's already apportioned for you
31:01Somebody shout hallelujah and Joseph knew sister Elms come knew the principle
31:07from Scripture never appear empty-handed before the Lord Exodus 23:15, "None shall
31:13appear before me empty-handed." Deuteronomy 16:16, "They shall not appear before the Lord
31:19empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able according to the blessing
31:25of the Lord your God." God knew that some would have a lot
31:31of money. And so he apportioned for those of you that were blessed and lived
31:36in a 10,000 square foot home. God was, my brother's building one of those. I'm
31:41telling you what, I'm glad to have a rich brother. I walked through his house
31:46during last week when I was in Charlotte with my mother. The house he's building,
31:52oh my goodness. If you don't know my brother, before he pastored, he was a
31:57business owner. and he made pretty good money doing business and he still does a
32:02little bit on the side but he's also done well investments unbelievable i wish the
32:07lord would have given me those blessings and so he bought i think 60 acres
32:13of land he's got a 20 acre lake it's near the sharp merge speedway and
32:18uh he's building up the house and so i went to the house i thought
32:23i would go encouraged and leave encouraged i went encouraged and i left depressed 10
32:28000 square foot i didn't know anybody needed that much I
32:34told him I might come for Christmas. Good, not alive. All the windows are the
32:39kind with steel edges. And I mean, he's got, and he's saving left and right.
32:45He's telling me, David, this is over $200,000 for my windows. Over $200,000. He said,
32:50I got it all for $30,000. I
32:56mean he's telling me all these deals he's got. He doesn't shop in America. He
33:02has containers. He's got deals with container companies from China and he has containers coming
33:08from China to build this house. He's building that house for pennies on the dollar.
33:14Unbelievable! I'm gonna claim him as a brother. He said he's gonna stock that lake.
33:20I said, "What are you gonna stock?" He said, "I'm gonna put bass in there
33:26and catfish. I'm gonna make it healthy." He said, "I forgot to register. He owns
33:32a dam." He's got to take care of the dam. I said,
33:37I want to go walk on the damn road. He said, all my life, David,
33:43people wouldn't have been calling me, but now it's official. I'm the dam keeper. Nathan,
33:49I love you. I hope I'm not talking too much. I'm so proud of him.
33:55I'm really proud of him. But the thing that I noticed as I was walking
34:01around that, all those two by fours, all those walls. I mean, he had to
34:07stack like eight two by fours beside each other because the stuff stacked up top.
34:13I mean, unbelievable. Wyatt. I'm used to two or three, eight.
34:19Yeah, we got to put stuff up. Okay. On those studs, except
34:25the Lord build the house. They that build it labor in vain.
34:31There wasn't hardly a hall or a wall where there wasn't a
34:37verse. The Lord is my keeper and the deliverer of Israel.
34:44Every wall was a marker. Sophia and Ethan were with us and Sophia was sneaking
34:49pictures of every scripture right. She said, look, I'm keeping them. Later on when they
34:54get in the house, I'm going to post it and let everybody see what's underneath
34:59these walls. All these scriptures. You know why? Because there's a principle. When God blesses
35:04you, when the God of heaven blesses you, and I'm preaching to somebody today. Somebody
35:09in this house is about to get in some big spaces. God's going to bless
35:15you in ways you were not even ready for. But I want
35:21to proclaim in the name of the Lord, if you have the
35:27understanding of the scripture, when you're on your way to your best
35:32blessing, the one that you never even imagined was there. When people
35:38you thought were spiritually dead are now spiritually alive. When relationships that
35:44you thought had been and bloodied are now springing as a rose.
35:50When that's happening, Here's what Jacob said to all of his
35:56sons. On your way to your best blessing, sacrifice along the way.
36:02Because the provision is not the blessing. The materialistic things that you're
36:07going to get, that is not your destination. It is just something
36:13God has given to you. To say, yes, I'm going to take
36:19you down. I'm going to make of you a great nation. But
36:25I'm also going to bring you out. So with the Red Sea
36:31in front, Pharaoh's army behind when there arose
36:37a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph the God
36:42of Jacob was still around and when Moses
36:48stretched that staff over the Red Sea and
36:53it parted and all of us got a
36:59holiday called Passover it all because at a
37:04sacrifice in Beersheba Jacob aka Israel raised a
37:10sacrifice said O Lord I know I've got
37:16to be ready for the battle. But today, I'm ready for
37:21the blessing. Shall we stand all over this building, our people?
37:27That have been seeking and fighting and pressing and pulling and wanting God to move
37:32on behalf of things that you've wanted Things that you've looked for you've needed a
37:37breakthrough in business You have a job, but you've imagined having a side job You've
37:42imagined starting a business and you've had it bound up in your heart and you've
37:48not known should I take that step and yet you keep getting woke up and
37:53with ideas god's saying i'm getting you ready for a blessing but do But do
37:58you have a plan for the blessing or are you just always ready
38:04for the battle? The Holy Ghost is telling me as he rebuked me,
38:09so I exhort you. I'm asking you as 2026 opens up that you
38:15will get ready for the blessing. And when it comes your way that
38:21you decide I'm going to sacrifice along the way. Every head bowed every eye closed
38:27every head bowed every eye closed Well, I'm gonna open this altar in just a
38:31minute many of you are you can't wait to come I know you I know
38:36these people I know these people are pastor You can't wait to get up here
38:41and have a talk with the Lord about what you've heard today You've got some
38:46specific prayers to pray, but you know, I've called this church to a month of
38:51consecration. I You know that every day in this sanctuary people are reading from that
38:56Bible aloud into this place. You know we're not doing it for people to see
39:01but so that heaven can record it. You know I've asked you to fast. This
39:06past week we fasted three days and I'm about to ask you to commit to
39:10another three days this week. Those who will fast three days this week, I don't
39:15care how you go about it. i'm not trying to make it hard i'm just
39:20trying to say if you have days you can go consecutively do it this last
39:24week i was with my mother i had to carry my dad's clothes to the
39:29goodwill i had to clean out his project room had to set up Things for
39:33my mother. It's been a work of much labor both emotionally and physically And it's
39:38been hard, but I fasted my three days I did it by deciding I would
39:43eat dinner with mama But I would fast all day and I got them in
39:48if that's the way you've got to do it. Don't feel bad However, you're gonna
39:53do it. Will you? Covenant with me that this week you're gonna push away from
39:59the table. I And you're going to draw close to the Lord. And you're going
40:04to consider, God, I know you've got blessings coming for me this year. But before
40:09they come, I'm going to stop in my Beersheba. I'm gonna stop when nobody
40:15else says stop. Everybody else says go and celebrate. No, I'm gonna stop and I'm
40:21not gonna celebrate. I'm gonna consecrate. If you'll join with me right now, would you
40:27raise your hands while no one is looking all around this building? Raise your hand.
40:33It's a consecration. It's a sacrifice. You move me, but you're moving heaven far more
40:38than me. This building is so full of consecration. Don't look around. This is unto
40:44the Lord. This is unto the Lord. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.