project Church how we doing
if you're new yeah if you're new my name
is Caleb and this is my bride of 14
years going on 15. uh Chrissy and we got
dressed up for you today church we
figure Vision Sunday let's pull out the
big guns no honestly they say that if
you're a speaker people receive the
message better when you're wearing all
black so every every single Vision
Sunday we're in all black except he's in
red yes okay cool but hey good to see
you guys man God's doing something
amazing in our house right now you've
heard over this 10-year celebration
month as we've declared we are a house
of Life a house of Freedom last week
Chris he talked about a house of unity
and today we are declaring this Vision
Sunday that we will be a House of
Miracles I want to invite you back next
week we are jumping back into the Book
of Genesis this is something we've been
doing uh for the last several months
walking chapter by chapter through the
Book of Genesis we love going through
books of the Bible here at project
church and this is the final stretch
we're going to close out Genesis right
before Easter can you believe we're only
a few weeks away from Easter and so
we're going to close out this book so
next week we're jumping back in you
should have got a calendar on your way
in with everything happening this month
uh the month of March and so we're
excited to be jumping back in there so
come back next week Book of Genesis is
going to be amazing
but you know this is a different Vision
Sunday than normal to be honest Chrissy
and I came to this Vision Sunday with a
very different perspective you know in
the past we do Vision Sunday the
beginning of every year like this and we
come with a lot of initiatives and ideas
and plans and usually we have a list of
here's all the great things we're going
to do and our church gets excited about
it and we're motivated by it and we have
done much of what we've declared over
these last years you know this year at
first I I really had this burden this
heart that we would put a beam on the
top of our building and when I preached
well
we would light it at the end of every
snow I'm just kidding but come on House
of Miracles look at we want to talk
about miracles church God is doing
something in the Sacramento Kings glory
be to God keep praying for them we're
almost there playoffs come on Breaking
the streak
um but no I'm kidding uh but you know we
we had we have always laid out these
ideas these initiatives
and this year this idea of just being a
House of Miracles
um we felt like God was saying you don't
have to have all these strategies
you don't have to have all these ideas
what I want you to do is to just build a
house that pursues me I really believe
that the time for casual Christianity
for comfortable Christianity for a
church that that goes as wide as
possible but not very deep that time is
over
we are living in a day and age where the
church needs to rise up be set apart
consecrated to be the church that he's
called us to be and he's called us to be
a holy people a set apart people a
different people a people that long for
more of him and his presence not great
initiatives and great ideas but more of
the spirit of God moving in them and
through them as they go out from this
place but it has to start here Church it
has to start with us and so I want to
read Joshua 3 5.
it says this Joshua said to the people
consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the
Lord will do wonders among you
now the context of this is the
Israelites have wandered in the
wilderness for 40 years they were given
a Promised Land but when they got to the
promised land they were outside of it
and they sent spies into spy the land
and they sent 12 Spies and 10 of them
said the Giants are too great The People
are too big we cannot overcome them and
two said our God is bigger than any
giant some of you need to receive this
over your life today you may be facing
some Giants your God Is Bigger and
because the people had not faith and
they sided with the ten spies instead of
the two one of whose name was Caleb just
want to mention that um
because they sided with the 10 and not
the two God made them wander in the
wilderness for 40 years
and so now an entire generation has died
off and there's a new generation that's
risen up and they're one that God is
calling to a deeper place
and so he does actually something
significant it's the same thing he did
when he brought them out of Egypt he
Parts the water
so just as a part of the Red Sea now he
Parts the Jordan River they walk across
on dry land after the Ark of the
Covenant and the priests step into the
water the water stops they could walk
across on dry land but he asked them to
do something this time before the
miracle
he said consecrate yourselves
for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders
among you
you see he had them walk through a
moment of preparation before they
received the miracle and so today what
Christian I want to implore to you and
impart to you is that a House of
Miracles is prepared through the hearts
of its people
so today is going to be a day of
preparation well we are challenging you
that you would prepare your hearts to
receive the Miracles that God wants to
release here's what I believe this is
going to be House of Miracles God wants
to release miracles in this house but
also miracles in your life many of you
been waiting on Miracles you've been
expecting Miracles you've been patiently
asking God for miracles I believe right
now God is calling us to prepare our
hearts for the Miracles that God wants
to do to consecrate ourselves for the
Miracles that God wants to release in
this house and here's the thing so many
times we think that Miracles are very
external we want to see God do something
great in our midst we want to see the
healings we want to see that you know
the crowds of people maybe a miracle of
God for project church is that the the
house is overflowing we can't fill we
can't we can't contain everybody
and I'm sorry that's not the vision this
year
the external stuff is not what God is
leading us to in 2023 God is imploring
that we would work underneath the
surface
think about Jesus's life for 30 years
before he had his public Ministry he
lived in obscurity
anonymity Church we've got to be so
Vigilant about how we're taking care of
things underneath the surface but here's
the thing I want you to understand that
you're not doing the work only God can
do the work and the Miracles that take
place are the Miracles that happen
inside us and it's only what he can do
sometimes again we think that it's just
about the external but God I think does
miracles in the private secret places of
Our Lives when imperfect People Say Yes
to God in the private places not in
front of people not in front of the
lights not on their highlight reels but
when they say yes to Jesus in the
private spaces of their life then that's
the miracle that only God could have
worked out
I mean there's there's revivals that are
happening across the country we're
hearing about it at different college
campuses and I I honestly I've been
disheartened when there have been a lot
of cynical people and maybe some in this
room and maybe even moments in my in my
mind where it's just kind of it's like
is God really moving there are we people
are we seeing people saved or are people
actually like are we actually seeing
Miracles break out because revivals are
this this this this and that and no no
no church we cannot have that attitude
we have to be Seekers
of God we have to be Seekers and we have
to hope and want for greater and not not
willy-nilly believe everything that's
going on but also not being so cynical
we need to continue to seek the face of
God and if if it looks like the presence
of God then we want to want that for
ourselves we we want to have that desire
whether it's real or not other places we
want to just trust that God's going to
do things in the private places let's
stop judging
there's no room for that
God wants us to stay soft with him he
wants us to be malleable in his hands
and so we've got to prepare our hearts
for a miracle
and we're kind of first prepared with
purity
we have to get pure again that's
something that only God can do sometimes
we're like we'll get we'll get rid of
this we'll pray this many times and then
we'll fast about all these things and
we'll do this this that and the other
and God's saying not the list church not
the list it's what am I going to do
Psalm 51 10-15 12. it says this created
me a clean heart oh God and renew a
right Spirit Within Me cast me not away
from your presence and take not your
Holy Spirit from me restore to me the
joy of your salvation and uphold me with
a willing Spirit you know when I sing
that song There was a song that if
you're in Sunday school a long time ago
um you may have sung the song
creating me I clean anybody are
oh my God come on if you know it thank
you and renew a right Spirit
oh I hear it a few of them know it and
cast me not away from your presence oh
Lord yeah right
this is me this is me when I was a
little kid keep saying
created me a clean heart I suck I'm so
good okay so that's really dramatic but
I think that we get into these places in
these spaces and we're like oh God I
suck oh help me and we feel like
surrender and consecration is like
and God wants to remind us that
surrender and Consecration and him doing
the work in US frees us up
it gives us access to life and freedom
and Jesus and this isn't a moment of
Sorrow this is a moment where we realize
that he can restore unto us the joy of
his salvation that he gives us and then
he upholds us so that we are willing to
do what he wants us to do consecration
leads us to obedience
and when we are obedient there is a
different kind of joy that is restored
unto us it's not like I have to do these
things and consecrate myself
God says I will restore unto you the joy
of my salvation I give to you and I will
uphold you with a willing spirit I
believe that this house in 2023 will be
singing in the most joyful manner that
we've ever sung before
when the house of the Lord has joyful
singing then that's a house that is
ready to experience a move of God that
means God is doing something deep in our
hearts bring up a well inside and nope
just all the old songs are coming to me
okay the joy of the Lord is my strength
okay just us it's fine that's right it's
okay so anyways the joy of the Lord is
kind of renewed in us a right Spirit it
will uphold us and that Joy will lead us
to the preparation of praise
preparation with Purity then preparation
with praise Psalm 34 1 says this I will
bless the Lord at all times his praise
shall continually be in my mouth when we
have the joy of the Lord and we realize
that we've been free in him that we have
life and life eternal in him when we are
so desperate and dependent on the Holy
Spirit then we become grateful
a grateful church is a joyful Church a
grateful church is positioned for God to
do what only he can do because when
we're
in our own spheres upholding ourselves
and we're doing what we can do in our
own strength there's no room for God to
move we're taking up too much space and
let me tell you a reason why I love the
second song that we're saying it's all
about the altar it's all about
Consecration and it's saying be
glorified the goal of making a sacrifice
of praise and we bring the sacrifice of
praise so when we praise God when we
sacrifice things we're giving him room
to move so that he would be glorified
church I'm afraid that there have been
moments either in our church and in the
church in America in the church globally
where we have taken and stolen credit
from where credit is due
good are we glorifying god with some of
our visions and some of our plans or are
we actually glorifying ourselves
so we've got to get to a place of
Consecration and purity of the Lord and
so when we're prepared and Purity we're
prepared In Praise
let's never let the praise of who he is
and what only he can do and only glorify
his name let that never leave our lips
gratitude gratitude it's good I think
that
we have a natural Incarnation to lament
what we don't have rather than praise
God for what we do have and it's why I
see a lot of Christians discouraged
defeated depressed because we're
focusing on the wrong things and I know
there's some things missing in your life
but there's also a lot of things that
you could give God some praise for and
so I just want to challenge you that you
would wake up every morning with an
attitude a mindset a spirit of praise
and gratitude because it will shift your
life I believe I've seen it in my life
when I wake up in the morning and I'm
feeling sorry for myself for all the
things that haven't come to pass that's
how I live that entire day but when I
wake up in the morning saying God I
praise you because you've blessed me you
give me this that that you came through
in the past I know you're going to come
through again for me in the future even
if I'm still waiting on some things so
let's be a people of Praise church this
is how we prepare ourselves for the
miracle that God's going to release
we also prepare with prayer prepare with
prayer we have decided and determined
that this will be a House of Prayer
we can't be a House of Miracles if we
are not a house of prayer and I'm going
to be honest that we have not been the
house of prayer that we were meant to be
for several years of this church but no
longer Church part of the vision today
is that we are rolling out regular
prayer rooms in this house every single
week that is the vision it's not the
sexy strategy that maybe you were hoping
for it's not all the cool things that
maybe you thought we would do but I
believe that prayer is where our power
comes from and if we determine to be a
House of Prayer we will see God move in
a way like never before we don't need to
have all the strategies prayer is our
strategy seeking God is our strategy his
presence is our strategy the prayer room
will be our war room
so here's what's going down every
Wednesday we've been doing this for a
year noon to one we have prayer and we
haven't talked about it a ton but now
we're putting it out there it's our
prayer room you can be here in this room
12 to 1 every single Wednesday Tuesday
Mornings Christy's been doing this with
a handful of girls for the last six
months 6 a.m to 7 A.M prayer room if you
want to get up early you're an early
riser not me praise the Lord
um I'll walk with God in the cool of the
evening but my wife loves my wife loves
to get up early and pray
she'll be here a group of people will be
here you can come 6 a.m Thursday nights
7 P.M right we're gonna have an hour of
prayer as well regular prayer rooms
happening in this house and I believe
when we prioritize this and we say
prayer truly is our power and we live as
a House of Prayer we're going to start
to see the move of God we've been hoping
for we're going to start to see the
Miracles that God has called us to to
have so let me let me read this so you
guys know Ephesians chapter six the
whole armor of God I'm going to read the
end of it
verse 16 says in all circumstances take
up the shield of Faith with which you
can extinguish all the Flaming darts of
the evil one take the helmet on
salvation the sword of the spirit which
is the word of God verse 18 praying at
all times in the spirit
not sometimes at all times in the spirit
with all prayer and supplication to that
and keep alert with all perseverance
making supplication for the Saints we
are going to prepare this house to be a
House of Miracles by saying we will be a
place and a house of prayer as well so
that's what we're declaring church
that's the vision of 2023 part of it is
that we will be a place of prayer a
house of prayer and I believe God's
going to honor this and he's going to do
Mighty Works through his people but can
I tell you the War Room the prayer room
is hard work yes
praying without ceasing is hard work
and I know some of you going well that's
not me I'm not a prayer Warrior I'm not
an intercessor can I tell you we are all
called to pray God has called every one
of us to pray you may not be able to be
out of these prayer rooms all the time
but I would encourage you that you would
prioritize prayer in your personal life
daily because I think that God is
raising up a church of Prayer Warriors
and that because of that he's going to
pour out his spirit in this house like
never before let's pray let's prepare
with prayer yes and if we prepare with
prayer we're also saying that we're
preparing with presence
so when we first started our church we
had about 10
10 blueprints which are our core values
and you've heard us talk about this a
lot so Jesus is our message Bible is our
God creative is our spirit oh man you're
blessing me by coming back with me team
is our strength Community is our heart
prayer is our power
and generosity is our privilege and
generations are our goal and then my
father-in-law came on came on staff and
he's just like you know there's
something missing he's like you guys
don't say anything about servanthood and
we're like ah servanthood servanthood
our calling so then we had 11. 11
Blueprints and then this year rolled
around in October the Lord was speaking
to us and one one thought it wasn't
really from the Holy Spirit but one
thought that I had was that there were
12 disciples
it's a joke guys
12 tribes of Judah yeah right 12 is the
round number but honestly he gave us
this idea
that you've got to prioritize my
presence
you can do all these other things but
which is the which is the priority
which is a priority
the presence of God has got to be our
priority and when we say that the
presence of God is our priority we're
saying that we're so desperate to be in
his presence that if we are outside of
his presence we are probably walking in
disobedience
and when where is not presence and I
talked about this last week and I really
encourage you to go back and listen to
the message on Unity without Unity there
is no presence
and I want you to hear this this is um a
moment that Moses had with God on a
Mountainside and he's it's Exodus 33
14-15 and God is telling him I'm going
to favor you I'm going to help you I'm
gonna go with you Moses but sometimes
when we have conversations with God
sometimes we hear him but we're like I'm
still scared but I still you know
anybody else like when he's trying to
encourage you the thing about this the
story that I stumbled upon is that Moses
is having a a Moses intercession is what
the subject line is for this portion of
scripture he's is having intercession
with God and it's like Caleb said every
one of us is called to be an intercessor
a lot of us are called not to just be
like sad look no it's for us to be
joyful intercessors because an
intercession moment is a moment with an
appointment with God
all of us should be making appointments
with God and so this is a like you see
an intercession here in the Old
Testament God meeting with Moses and
he's trying to encourage
Moses and he's saying my presence will
go with you that's a promise he's
promising when you are in the presence
of God you have access to his promises
he says my presence will go with you and
I will give you rest when we prioritize
the presence of God we stop relying on
ourselves
self-dependence is no longer
self-sufficiency is no longer when we're
in the presence of God we have an
opportunity for that to be broken off of
us and we say that we are going to find
rest the promise of being in his
presence is that we find rest
my presence will go with you and I will
give you rest verse 15 and he said to
him Moses it's like bro were you
listening he says if your presence will
not go with me do not bring us up from
here
it's okay that even when you're in the
presence of God there's some uncertainty
but I promise you you'll find rest and
when you find rest you'll stop doing
things in your own strength that will
lead you to the wrong places
so God wants us to prioritize his
presence and he wants to encourage us
that I'm going to give you rest that
it's not about the list it's not about
the how good of a Christian you are it's
about how much you dwell in me and know
me in the secret place you guys this is
under the service
surface our appointments with God when
we're either in these settings or by
ourselves there are under the surface
work that God says if this is going to
be a deeper people then they've got to
meet with me
and we are going to be a church that
goes deeper with him by making the
presence of God our priority and like I
said last week Unity doesn't happen
without the presence of God
if we want the presence of God we're
going to prioritize unity and you know
there's a moment a couple years ago
where I had a friend and she has a lot
of prophetic dreams and she spoke to me
and she was just like I had this dream
I'm not sure what it's all about but
there was a window that was open in your
in a house and I think I think it was
you I think it was your house and this
demon came in it was a crazy chick crazy
crazy chick sometimes demons look like
crazy chicks okay
um came in and ransacked your house
it was crazy and it was so interesting
that
the next year
um when I looked back on it a year after
she had shared this with me I realized
that I had access
in my life and my life kind of looked
like it was in disarray privately you
guys may not have thought so up here I
was I was like but me I'm preaching on
Sundays I'm helping people I'm doing the
right thing I'm like I'm following my
calling but I realize that there was an
access point in my life and you know
what access looks like
it looks like wounds that are unhealed
it looks like vulnerabilities
that you are being self-sufficient in
it looks like weaknesses that you are
applying your own strength to and I
realized that that was a warning that
dream was a warning and I had to repent
because there were areas in my life and
therapy helps conversations with loved
one helps and being in the presence of
God is the ultimate help
where he illuminated some things about
myself he healed some areas that needed
to be healed he showed me where I had
some doors open to enemies and let me
tell you division happens in the body of
Christ because there are wounds
and when those go unhealed we stay
severed from the body of Christ and when
we are not repaired how are we going to
hold the presence
if there's Brokenness everywhere
God wants us to prioritize the presence
and for us to be unified as a body so
that we can hold his presence so that
all of us can be presence carriers
because this is what needs to be served
to the rest of this world
hope love peace that happens when the
presence is in us but I believe that God
wants to heal someplace some marriages
there's some division in marriages
because we're unwilling to be healed
we're we have some issues at our
workplaces we have some issues with some
family members
and God wants to heal that up so that
you can carry the presence of God he
wants to cauterize some of those wounds
that you're experiencing where it is
just access points for the enemy so I
want to just declare right now that we
are going to be healed in Jesus name
and we are saying you have no access
to me or to this body I am keeping my
eyes on him it doesn't mean that you're
gonna feel healed the next day or maybe
he can do a miraculous work but we're
going to say I'm going to be so
dependent on God that there's no access
for the enemy to have in my life
so with this presence and preparing a
heart with the presence of God we felt
led to shift our first Wednesdays to
call them now presence nights where
we're going to
Foster welcome and and encourage the
presence of God to be in this place now
I know he's here because When Jesus
ascended to heaven the Holy Spirit came
down dwells in every one of us
but when we gather together there is a a
power in it because now all of us as
presence carriers coming together
there's a heavier presence in the room
that
is
this is this guy it resets sometimes
it's no worse we're not live anymore
like that here we said sometimes so okay
have y'all said something no
what does that mean Caleb
that means you were meant to do this
Faith Journey alongside others
you know I think we live in a very
individualistic society and I can relate
to this because I'm a very
individualistic person
it's been a challenge on our marriage
Chrissy will tell you
because I like to do me
I just like to do me I got my own time
with God I like to work out by myself
um I like to to you know study the Bible
on my own worship on my own and there's
this tendency in our culture I'm just
gonna do me
it's not how God intended it in the
family of God
he said you're a family
there's unity in community
he saw that it wasn't good for Adam to
be alone so he made him a Helper and
then he called us to be one in Christ
so I just want to say this over you
you're not gonna agree with every
perspective of everyone in the room
you're not going to see everything the
same
[Music]
but in this room
black white
Brown everything in between
We Are One in Jesus Christ you don't
come from the same side of town maybe
you don't have the same Financial
backing maybe you didn't have the same
upbringing you didn't grow up in the
church or you've been in it since you
were born it doesn't matter we are one
in Jesus Christ and we must align
ourselves with one another under the
banner of Jesus watch because it's under
him that we were called to bring Heaven
to Earth it's under him that we were
given dominion over this Earth and said
bring Heaven here build my kingdom here
on Earth
so how do we prepare Church
we prepare with each other
how do we prepare for the Miracles we
have to be one
in Christ
can I tell you you you're never going to
be one apart from Christ
because apart from Christ you're too
different
apart from Christ you have too much of
your own perspectives
but in Christ
We Are One
and so I believe that the unique
Christie talked about last week and
unity he's called us to as a church it
is the going to be the precursor for the
Miracles that he wants to release in
this place so you must right now say I
am going to build the kingdom of God
with the people that he's aligned me
with with the people that he's placed in
my life
Matthew 9.
there's a story Jesus is teaching
and he tells using this powerful analogy
he says no one puts a piece of unshrunk
cloth on an old garment
for the patch tears away from the
Garment
and a worse terror is made
neither is new wine put into old wine
skins
we don't really understand this but in
that day this is how they would prepare
wine they would take wine they would put
it in these leather pouches these wine
skins but you always put new wine and
new wine skins
and as the wine AIDS the wine skin would
Age with it they were in tandem together
if it is if you put new wine in old wine
skins the Skins burst and the wine is
spilled and the Skins are destroyed
but new wine is put into fresh wine
skins and so both are preserved
this is talking
about this new message
that God had called him to release on
the earth that he was establishing a New
Covenant he was the Fulfillment of the
Covenant which they'd seen in the Old
Testament
and in the same way I felt like today as
we came in here
that there are people in this room
that have not allowed the old things of
their life
to be put to rest
they have not let go of the old ways
maybe it's sin that you have not let go
of
that you stayed connected to maybe it's
trauma and pain that you have not been
healed of that Chrissy talked about it's
baggage that you haven't laid down at
the foot of the cross
it's unforgiveness that you've held on
to and it's become this toxicity in your
life it's bitterness that you have not
given over to God here's what I want to
say to you God is doing a new thing
right now in our house
he wants to release some new wine and
new Miracles over your life
you will not be able to receive it if
you don't let go of the old
you can't put new wine in old wine skins
you can't receive the new promise the
new anointing the new touch from God the
new Miracles if you're still stuck in
all the things of your past you're still
staying how you were when you first met
Jesus and so today in this place I felt
like I want to say there are people that
are still holding on to the old wine
skins it is time for them to lay them
down so I can put the new wine in the
new wine skin of their life heads bowed
eyes closed across this room that's you
you say Caleb that's me I've been
holding on to things of old sins
bitterness unforgiveness trauma pain I
haven't let it go I haven't given it to
God I've allowed myself to stay in
bondage and today you're saying I'm done
I want the new wine to go in the new
wine skin I don't want to stay stuck in
the old way of thinking the old way of
life the old wine skin that I've been in
for all these years today that's you I
want you to lift your hand come on go
ahead that's you put your hands up yes
hands going up around the room you got
yourself stuck in the old ways and God's
wanted to do a new thing thank you thank
you for your honesty for putting your
hands up you can put them down
second thing you're in this place you
say Caleb honestly
I don't even have relationship with
Jesus I don't know Jesus I've never
surrendered my heart to Jesus maybe you
ran from him maybe you turned your back
on him you tried to do it in your
strength your way but today you know
that in order for you to receive the
Miracles in order for you to receive the
the faith that God wants the new wine
that God wants to put on your life you
have to surrender your heart fully to
him that's you
I want you to lift your hand right now
go if that's unique give your life to
Jesus a first time rededicate yourself
yes I see that hand yes I see that hand
anyone else
yes I see that handle
come on that's what is yes I see that
hand
you can put your hands down pray this
with me Church everybody in here right
now
say this with me say Jesus today I
receive forgiveness
over my life over my sin
today we are laying down our old ways
our old sin old way of thinking
old perspectives
unforgiveness trauma God pain we're
asking you to heal it we want new wine
skins
for the new wine you're going to pour
out on our lives we pray all this in
your name Jesus
amen amen come on Church stand your feet
with us here's what I want to do
here's what I want to do I'm going to
invite the prayer team forward uh to
come
up to the front
As we sing this this is a House of
Miracles that we come alive in the name
of Jesus there's some people in this
room that you need to be healed
the old things that have held on to you
the unforgiveness the bitterness the
pain that which you have not allowed God
to heal I want you to step out there's
no judgment here this is a house of life
and freedom and love and unity and so I
believe there's people in this room you
need healing
take a let go of the old wine skins and
step into the new and so as we sing this
I want you to come our prayer team wants
to pray with you encourage you uh Speak
Life over you but let's sing this and
let this be our declaration that this is
a House of Miracles that in Jesus we
will find the light that we've been
called to so come on lift your voices
with us step out if you need prayer
today our prayer team is here