EIGHT WEEKS TO GO!!! Until we are in the New Sanctuary! Hallelujah! We’re living and sharing and dancing along with our Pastor Dan and First Lady Linda and Their Vision as they realize a dream in just EIGHT more weeks when EVERYTHING CHANGES after 9/7 – when we get into our new sanctuary!! Of course, if you know our Pastor at all, he has been planning and planning and PLANNING (did I say PLANNING?) for these days and milestone moments in this our YEAR OF GOING GREATER [it’s not for everyone] – as we have literally infused the Word of God into the concrete foundation as well as every wall and even atop the roof of the new sanctuary. On this weekend of 7/12 & 7/13 Pastor launched his LAST series in our current building - prior to crossing the bridge into another realm POST 9/7: an Eight-Part Series entitled, “Through A Looking Glass” (subtitled: Lessons I’ve Learned from Leaving Things Behind). Before Pastor could get into it, he let everyone know, “I’ve been praying every day for your 9/7 seed. Linda and I have such a passion to build this new church and have been impressed upon by God with giving the largest seed we have ever given on that day. We are going to look back, and say, ‘EVER SINCE 9/7, when I planted that seed, I’ve seen God’s provision and miraculous blessings.’” Some time ago, the Holy Spirit dealt with Pastor from the passage in 1 Cor.4:15 “For though ye have ten thousand [teachers] in Christ, yet have ye not many FATHERS: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” And God told him, “Dan, I’m raising you up to be a father to the next generation, a spiritual father to them.” A survey was done of our children and about 70% of the youth in our church do not have a “father-figure” in the home. Pastor pointed out, the only time these kids may see a godly man is when they walk through Lighthouse’s doors. He led the congregation in thanking God for so many good, strong, and godly men of God in our congregation, who these young kids can see and look up to, listen to, receive a hug or pat on the head from as well as receive an encouraging word from or even thunderous applause when they sing or dance before the Lord and us. As Pastor has often said in the past, “IF we do not give them the place, the opportunity to do it here, and encourage and praise them along the way… they’ll find another place and others – most likely out in that dark world of debauchery.” Pastor had to push past just a few tears and emotional moments as he begin to lay the groundwork for what he described as, “One of the most personal series I have ever preached.” And read, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” I Cor. 13:12 Pastor described how his lifelong calling to “bridge the gap” between the races, between denominations, has had a focus the last several years of “bridging that gap” between the older generations and the younger generations. “I have preached a lot of sermons for ‘all of y’all’ the last 36 years,” Pastor said, “things I would sow into you and hope would change your life, but THIS moment, I have been waiting for for 36 years, and if you will allow – this next eight weeks I’m going to take you on a journey over the last 36 years to let you see how we got here. Because, unless you know where you came from and what price your forefathers paid, you will discount and not RECOGNIZE the value of the freedom you have been given and discard it as nothing when the torch is handed to you. We’re standing here today, because like Proverbs 23:10 says, ‘Remove not the old landmark(s)’ and I want these young people to know the price that has been paid. Some of you have been members only three weeks, and others three years and even a few for all thirty-six, but we ALL need to recall from time to time the landmarks and milestones that got us here, and know it is going to take US leaving behind those same kind of landmarks, and being those same kind of milestones if we are going to go on.” One of those precious milestone moments Pastor recalled was a story about Sis. Racine (RIP), a single mother who worked at Johnson & Johnson. There were only three or four tithers in those days, and tithes ran only around $18-$20 a week for some. The church’s power had been turned off at one point for nonpayment and it was going to take nearly $200 to get it back on. Sis Racine walked into his office, turned over her paycheck for that week for $188 and signed the back and handed it to Pastor Dan to pay the power bill. Pastor humbly wept as she stood there and also wept proclaiming that cars and homes did not matter to her, only the work of God continuing mattered. He then mentioned Alan & Joyce Robinson, who have been members all thirty-six years and had to often defend Pastor against naysayers who would rail, “He’s the Pastor?! He’s just a kid!?” Alan & Joyce would tell them, “He may just be a kid, but GOD has placed him here and covered him for such a time as this. In those days, there were often sacrificial offerings of what would seem like small amounts today of five or six individuals or couples each giving $20 or $30 in order to have the $120-$150 to pay the gas bill just before it was turned off. But because of that struggle and the willingness for some to pay the price – we are STILL STANDING HERE!! Glory to God! Pastor discovered a few months ago, as he was cleaning out some boxes, a small folded piece of wrinkled and stained paper fell out of one of the boxes. Initially, he thought it was just a scrap or piece of trash and barely glanced at it before throwing it away only to discover it was sermon notes from the VERY FIRST SERMON he ever preached at 10years old – February 6th, 1971. Apollo 14 landed on the moon the day before. Nixon was President. The Sullivan show was going off the air, and Archie Bunker was just coming on the air in 1971. The first part of this series, Pastor entitled: Ancestory.Com. He gave the disclaimer, “I’m only going to preach for about three minutes, because I’m going to preach again the very first sermon I ever preached and then CHOZEN is going to join in at the end and help me minister to you. Don’t be surprised if it is elementary and not T.D. Jakes-like, but IT GOT US HERE!!” Oh Glory! “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings…” He recalled it was a Youth service. He shared the picture of his notes for all to see on the monitors: DANNY WILLIS (don’t call him by that name now!! LOL) is at the top of his notes My Text: Rev. 21:21 “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” Choking back emotion, Pastor said, “I’m going to preach it like I did when I was ten years old; prepare to be unimpressed.” My Title: The Gates of Heaven are Open, Come on in Point number 1: All fancy houses have gates. Have you ever been to a fancy house and all you could do was look at it from outside the gates, because the gates were locked?! Point number 2: Heaven is beautiful! Point number 3: Gates mean – you can look at a fancy house but not touch because the gates are shut Point number 4: Jesus said, “I’ve set before you an OPEN Door.” Point number 5: Today is the day of salvation, Today the Gates of Heaven are OPEN. If you are lonely, if you are discouraged, if you are weary, if you feel alone, TODAY the gates are OPEN, and Jesus says, “Come to Me, and I’ll give you rest.” “In my father’s house are many mansions…” Today the gates of heaven are open. You can come to Jesus today and all of your sins will be forgiven. The gates of heaven are OPEN!! Point number 6: One day the gates will shut and you cannot then come and cry, ‘It’s me Lord, let me in!’ But you will remember the youth service when He tried to get you to say YES – to Him, but you said, NO. Point number 7: Don’t go to hell because; there’s no pearly gates there. Pastor also wrote the first song he ever wrote to go along with that first sermon, the song was jotted down at the bottom of the sermon notes and included, like the psalmists often did, what KEY it was to be sung in. (F) Come on in, Come on In There’s room at the table, come on in Again, through much emotion Pastor conveyed, “I was just a kid. There were some that said it won’t last, because I was just a kid. But I believe God can place an anointing on young people’s life as well. I would not even recommend someone as young as I was attempting to Pastor a church, but because God’s HAND was UPON ME… I made it, and here I am thirty-six years later. But it all began because Mother Dorcas Willis, said to me, “Child I want you to help me with this torch.” “It was my mother who told me I was going to preach at that youth service, and something was born in me that very first time that has continued to bubble up inside and keep me!!” She did not pass the torch off to him then – she knew he had not studied yet to show himself approved, a workman that would not be ashamed and one who would rightly divide the Word of Truth, but she began that day to let him hold onto the torch with her and run with her. Mother Willis is 78years young now but is still holding that torch high today. “I do realize, as the Lord tarries, Mother will not be here one day and I’ll hold the torch alone.” So, God said to me, “You are a bridge-builder Dan. Call people who are not interested in fame and fortune; call those who want to be bridge-builders and will hold up the torch in this dark cruel city and world!” Pastor called out a young man from the Choir loft, from among Chozen to demonstrate his point - Ryan, one of Pastor Farida’s “favorites”@ the 10am service, a 11 year old young man with a boldness and anointing already on his life (and a handsome little fellow to boot), and demonstrated how he would allow Ryans generation to hold the torch and run with him, learning how to preach, learning how to sing, learning how to lead and do it all at a pace with the torch held high – until one day after they learned the pace, had acquired the anointing and passion they would need – ONLY THEN Pastor will hand off that torch and the next generation’s Pastor will hold it high and carry on the vision. So, how did we get from there to here? The journey was not always easy. In fact, it was a downright struggle much of the time. It was not accomplished because of talent, personality or money. It was accomplished by the Blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ through those willing to hold up the LIGHT of JESUS Christ and run with the vision and follow our Pastor as he follows Christ. That is a part of the Ancestry of Lighthouse, Ancestry! That is what got us here, simplicity, little – but with GOD IN IT and nothing less will take us forward in our journey and the high calling of Christ Jesus to be a VOICE and a LIGHT in the City of Chicago “After 9/7!” You CAN NOT miss this journey through how LIGHTHOUSE GOT HERE! Come be with us Saturday 5pm, Sunday 8am, 10am or Noon for the next SEVEN SHORT WEEKS and this series “Through the Looking Glass.”
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 19:08:42 +0000
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