Gateway Church Live | We Can Do It by Christine Caine | August 9

Heat. Heat. [music] Good morning, Gateway Church. [music] It is a good day to be in the house of the Lord. Come on, let's stand. Let's worship him together. I have [music] felt the hands that bear the scars reach down and rescue me. And I have known the love a father's heart.

A part of [music and singing] now being from where I was to where I'm [music] now, it's overwhelming. The more and more [music] I see you move all around me. Oh, I can't help but praise [music] you. Praise you, Lord. And I can't help but lift up. [music] Cha [music] to the end. I can't help but praise [music] you. Praise you for the blood [music] you spill to save my life. I [music and singing] cannot pay for the cross. You born with open arms.

Salvation [music] that called my name. From where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming. The [music] more and more I see you move all around me. Oh, I can't help but raise you. [music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [music] I can't help but praise [music] you. Praise you, Lord. Oh, I can't help but dance cuz [music] I'm free. Shame [singing] on me. I'm healed and redeemed. I can't [music] help but hold on my sh [music] my grave. I can't help but [music] got no chains on me. I'm here to redeem it. [music] I can't help but [music] I can't [music] help [music] [music]

you. Heat. Heat. Heat. [music] I can't help but praise you. Praise you, [music] Lord. I can't help but praise you. [music] Praise you, Lord. Thank you, [music] God. We've come to lift up your [music] holy name today. You're so worthy. You're the [music] Lord. Come on, let's sing this together. Blessed are those. [music] Blessed are those who run to him, who place their hope [singing] and confidence in [music] Jesus. He won't forsake them.

Bless those who seek his [music] face, who bend the knee and fix the gaze on Jesus. [music] They won't be shaking. Lift it up. Come on and praise the Lord [music] with me. Sing if you love his name. [music] Come on and lift your voice [music] with me. He's worthy of [singing] all our praise. [music] Yes, he is. The best [music] of those who walk with him, whose hearts [singing] are set on pilgrimage with Jesus. [music] They'll see [singing] his glory and bless to those [music and singing] who died to live whose joy it is to give it all for Jesus and for [music] him only.

Oh Jesus, [music] all for your glory. Come [music] and praise the Lord with me. Sing if [music] you love his name. Come [music] and lift your voice with me. He's worthy of [music and singing] all our praise. [music] Come on and bring your offering. [music] Sing his grace. [music] Come and lift your holyness. [music] He's worthy of all of our praise.

[music] Bless God in sanctuary. [music and singing] Bless God in the fields of plenty. Bless God in [music and singing] the darkest valley. Every chance I get, I bless your name. Bless [music] God when [singing] my hands are empty. Bless God with the praise that calls me. [music] Bless God when nobody's watching. every chance I get. [music] I bless him down. Bless God with your weapons for me. [music] Bless God with the walls above me. Bless God cuz he goes before [music] me. Every chance I get, I bless your name. Bless God for he holds the victory. Bless God for he's [music] always with me. Bless God for he's always worthy. [music] Every chance I get, I'm just [music] Every chance I get, I [music] Every [music] Yeah.

Heat. [music] Yeah. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Oh, [music] [music] he's worthy of [music] worthy of our praise. He's worthy of our praise. [music] Come on, lift him up. He's worthy of all praise this morning. [music] You're worthy, Lord. You're worthy.

He's so worthy of all our praise today, isn't he? He's so good. He's faithful. Do you believe he's worthy of our praise today? He's so worthy. You know, last Sunday we introduced a brand new song to you. It's called How Majestic. It's based out of Psalm 81 where King David said, "Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth." You know, majestic maybe isn't a word we hear often today, but in the Bible, that word holds great significance explaining the name of God. That word in Hebrew is adear. And I'm sure in my [music] Texas accent, I probably didn't say that right, but the Lord knows my heart in it. But here is what it means in that Hebrew word. That word majestic [music] means his name is mighty in power. His name is excellent. His name is magnificent. His name is noble. His name is unmatched.

It's unmatched. So when David [music] said, "Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name." He's [music] not just saying, "Your name is beautiful." No, he's saying, "God, your name is greater than any other name. Your name is higher than [music] any other name. Your name is unmatched. So as we sing this song together, let us worship in full view of who our great God [music] is. God, your name is majestic. Your name [music] is unmatched in every way. [music] Lift your voice [singing] and magnify the Lord. Earth and heaven sing in one accord. Holy [music] and most glorious, the one true living God.

Lift [music] your voice and magnify [singing] the Lord. Come on. This is our response this morning. And oh Lord, our Lord, you [music] are greatly to be praised. How majestic is your [music] name in all the earth. In the Lord, our Lord. [music] Hallelujah. God you reign. How majestic is your name in all. [music] Testify to all that he [music] has done. [singing] Bear witness to the cross in his great [music] love. Victorious at Calary. The final [music] battle won testify to all that [music] he has done.

Oh, we declare it out. Oh [music and singing] Lord, our Lord, you are craving to be praised. How majestic is [music] your name in all. [music] Hallelujah. God, you reign. How majestic is [music] your name in all the earth. Oh, and all the earth. [music] Oh, give him glory in this place. Give him [music] the praise. Come on church, we sing. Praise the Lord. And praise the [music] Lord. And no other [singing] name is worthy. Praise the Lord. [music and singing] And worship the King of Glory.

Praise the [music] Lord. Every voice for no other name, no other name. Praise the [music] Lord. Worship the King. Praise the Lord. Heat. Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Hallelujah.

[music] How majestic is your name in all your [music] whole life down before the king and joyfully [music and singing] surrender everything. And Jesus [music] is our [singing] great reward for all eternity. Lay your whole life down [music and singing] before the king. And Jesus is our [music] cra for all eternity. And [music] lay your whole life down before the king. Oh, we surrender. We declare [music] our dependency on you this morning.

Oh, we love [singing] you, [music] Lord. Oh, we love you, Lord. You're worthy, [music] worthy. Come on. And it says in Psalms, lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. So, all across this room, let's just lift up our hands and we're going to declare this [music] chorus to him today. Oh Lord, our Lord and oh Lord, our Lord, every voice you are greatly to be praised. How majestic [music] is your name in all the earth. And oh Lord, our Lord, hallelujah, God, you reign. How [music] majestic is your name in all the earth. Come on, we declare. And [music] oh Lord, our Lord, you are great. How [music and singing] majestic and all and [music] Lord our Lord.

Hallelujah. Yes. Great. [music] No fear. in all the earth. Oh, inhabit the praises [music] of your people this morning. Oh, we sing holy and holy, [music] holy are you, [music and singing] Lord God Almighty. Worthy is [music] the lamb. Worthy is the lamb. For you [music] are holy. [singing] Yes, you are holy. [music] No one like you. Are you Lord God [music and singing] Almighty? Worthy is the lamb. [music] Worthy is [singing] the lamb. For [music] you are holy, holy.

[music] Are you God Almighty? [music] Worthy. Heat. Heat. [music] Are you God? [music] Are you [music] all worthy? [music] [music] Heat.

Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. [music] [singing] [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Put your hands together and give Jesus the very best.

You can do better than that. The Bible says, "Oh, [music] magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together." [music] We're so glad you're in church. Do you want to say hello to all of our campuses and everyone that's joining us online? And we wanted to take a moment in today's service and pause and pray because this is a big week coming up for most of our communities. Everybody's heading back to school and all the parents said amen, right? And uh so many of you invest in the lives [music] of students. Whether you teach via homeschool or um you're a teacher, administrator, you're a coach, you're a bus driver, you're going to be serving lunch, you're a custodian, no matter what role that you serve, you're making a difference in impacting the lives of our children, which are our greatest commodity, everyone. And uh so we wanted to take a moment and pray over you the blessing of God over this year coming up.

That's right. you know, um, we're newish here, so I wanted you to know that I was a middle school [music] and high school choir music teacher for six years in the public school system when we first got married. Thank you very much and survived. And I want you to know that my preference was elementary music. [music] I wanted to teach the babies, but God assigned me to middle school. And you know, that's only God. So, I had a preference, but God had an assignment on my life, and I [music] chose to allow it to become my joy. So, I just want to say to you this year that no matter where God has placed you, he has assigned you for such [music] a time as this. For those children, for those teachers, those administrators, whatever it may be. And um don't take [music] it lightly. Don't stress. Just let the love of Jesus [music] be the overflow of who you are this year. And this is your opportunity to be the light. To be the light to those kids, to be the light [music] to those parents. Let me shout out to the parents a minute. Love your teachers.

Love your administrators. They may not be perfect. They will not be perfect, but pray for them. [music] Pray for them. But we love you. And we want you to know, we believe with all of our hearts, [music] that for such a time of this, as this, God has placed you in that classroom, in that home room, wherever you may be. Maybe you're at home. And let the love of Jesus shine [music] through you. Let him be your strength. Thank God that he is strength in our weakness. And you will watch the miraculous [music] happen this year if you'll give it all and give your all unto him. So, we love you. We love you a whole lot. We're praying for you. Yeah. Yeah. So, why don't we pray right now across all of our campuses? Let's just ask [music] the Lord to bless this year ahead. Father, we're grateful today that you're in the details of our life, God, that nothing is outside of your purview. And God, you care about even the things that weigh on our hearts. And so, this year ahead, Lord, we're asking for the blessing of God to be upon our children. For the blessing of God to be upon those who are leading them. May your hand rest upon them greatly. We pray for those in our church family that God serve in this way whether in a home school or in a college or in a high school, middle school, elementary school, wherever they may be. God, we ask that you would use [music] them as Tammy said, where they realize they're on assignment from heaven. And God, would you use them to make a difference?

I pray this be a year of revival springing up within our schools, God. That you would use uh teachers and different people that walk the hallways, God. just their example of what it looks like to follow Jesus would spark interest with students come to faith in Christ because of their example, Lord. And we pray, God, that you would protect our schools. May your hand of safety and protection be around them. [music] May the light of Jesus shine bright in them. And God, we pray the scripture over our leaders in this area that they would not grow weary and welloing, not faint, because in due season they will reap a harvest. And so God, would you give them strength? Would you [music] give them vision? Would you give them uh stamina? Would you give them the resilience they need to lead well and to lead strong for the glory of God? We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Everybody said, "Amen." Amen. Amen. Come on, let's put our hands together for all those that are leading [music] in our schools.

We also want you to know we have a gift for you. So, at every campus, if you serve in any way impacting children, make sure that you stop in the foyer on your way out and you receive that gift. Hey, today's another special day cuz it's water baptism, everybody, across all of our campuses. So, let me just say to you, if you've never taken the step of water baptism, today's [music] your day. And you're thinking, well, I didn't come prepared. Well, guess what? We did. So, we have everything you need. Some of you have signed up and some of you you haven't but you've never taken that step of obedience. Someone would call the first step of obedience. Then we want to encourage you to do that today. Let your church family celebrate with you everything that [music] God is doing. You ready for the word church? Come on. It's preaching [music] time almost and I'm so excited for you to receive the word today. Before we do, why don't you find a few people around you, introduce yourself, make a new friend before you [music] grab your seat. Heat.

Heat. [music] The Bible says that we are his masterpiece and that we have been created a new in Christ Jesus. [music] Coming to women's nights are just so inspiring. Just being a loving light is one of the greatest things that you can be in someone's life. Coming to a night [music] like that where really one word from the Lord can shift generations to come. I would just encourage you to [music] show up and see what the Lord's going to do.

[music] All right. Welcome to church everybody. You glad to be in God's house today? I want to say again, welcome to all of our campuses. everyone joining us online or on demand later in the week. Of course, all of our prison campuses, as we say, you're not a project to us, your family to us, and of course, our gateway gatherings that are happening across the country. And uh anyone here for the first time, or the first time in a long time, come on, let's put our hands together across our whole church family today. Welcome those that are with us. It's a great day to be in God's house. Next Sunday, everybody, we start a brand new series called Best Days. And on Friday of this week, the first single off the new live recording called Best Days releases. So, you don't want to miss that. And next [music] week is one year since God brought our family to Texas. And we're loving it. [music] And so, make sure you're in the house to celebrate all that. But, um, today I'm so excited. We have a dear friend, [music] um, to Tammy and I and to Gateway for many years. Uh we have Christine Kaine in the house, everybody to bring God's word. And if you're not familiar with Nick and Chris and their ministry, A21 um [music] is fighting human trafficking literally around the world. Um God is using them to rescue men and women and

children um from slavement. And uh it's a powerful powerful ministry. Um, we've been honored even in Virginia to partner with them and now of course here at Gateway uh to partner with them for many, many years. And [music] God's not only using them to do that, but she's one of the most powerhouse preachers that I know, everyone. And I love how God speaks to her and the gift that she is to the body of Christ. [music] And so, we're glad to have her here with us this morning. I'm going to ask you at every campus to get up on your feet and let's give honor and welcome and love to our friend Christine Kaine. [music] Well, good morning, Gateway. It is so nice to be back home. You'll get Hang on. Just before you're seated on all of our 10 campuses, you're like rabbits. You keep multiplying every time I come back. I want you to turn to your neighbor and say, "You're the best looking thing I've seen all morning."

Okay, hang on. Now, you need to turn to your second choice and say, "You're actually better looking than the person on the other side." I was I was just like, "You can be seated." And uh I I just am so excited to be here. I've been part of the Gateway Extended family since about 2008. So that was when dinosaurs still roam the earth for those that are unaware. And it's just it's just fantastic to be back. Nick and I so love your pastors, Pastor Daniel and Tammy are just amazing. You ought to thank God that he has brought them to this house. We love them. And I am here with the single most ravishing piece of masculine flesh on planet Earth. Uh no, Pastor Daniel, I was talking about my husband, Nick. That's actually who Nick and I celebrated just a couple of months ago 30 years of marriage. How is that? Let me just say in 2026, if you could do something for more than 30 minutes, uh that's pretty amazing. So 30 years, my husband is number 14 of 15 children.

[laughter] All the women just crossed their legs. Anyway, so I'm just saying that there was evidently no television in that part of Australia. And um women, you got to come on September the 24th to our chicks night because you'll find out how that can happen. Anyway, so it is uh he is 14 or 15. My mother-in-law did not think you were a woman until you popped out like 10 kids. And so we have two uh a 24 year old and a 21year-old uh and Katherine and Sophia. So, I would take my two daughters to my mother-in-law's house, and I would say, "This is Katherine, and she is my alpha, and this is Sophia, and she is my omega, and this is the beginning and the end of my childbearing years." This is where it happens. You know, I I'm Greek for those of you that know. Uh so, I'm into arranged marriages. And um I didn't have my first child until I was 35 and my second um until I was almost 40, which means I'm going to be 199 at my by the time my kids have grandchildren. So everywhere I go when my children are not with me and I'm trying to marry them off, it's it's not offensive in Greek culture. So please don't worry. And my husband loves Texans. So I'm putting this out there. I want you to know since my daughters were in uterro, I used to lay hands on them and pray for them. And I would say, Katherine, Bobby, you are the head and not the tail. You are above only and not beneath. You are a leader and not a follower. You're a woman of God. You're a woman of prayer. You are a

Holy Ghost terrorist. And you are going to grow up and marry a very, very, very, very wealthy Christian man. So the reason I'm saying that is if you have a brother, a son, a cousin, a nephew that fits that criteria, if you could just give their name to Pastor Tammy, she'll vet them. If they're not a psycho, she'll send me their name. And I am into all of that. You're I'm joking. But this year, I'm not really that that's true if it works. Okay, just for the record, I I want to be a grandmother cuz I turned 60 this year. And so I am pumped up. I love it. Some people are like, "I can't believe you tell people your age." I'm like, "Honey, the alternative is I could be like dead." And so, I think it's fantastic that the Lord has even let me live this long. And I am passionate. So, we decided at the beginning of the year, I'm doing 60 things I've never done before uh just to keep it fresh. And a couple of weeks ago, I went wake surfing for the very first time. I'd never even uh water skied. So, that was like a huge thing. We hiked in the Doommites. Uh we did, you know, I had never seen the Northern Lights, so Nick took me to Alaska um to see the Northern Lights, which was awesome. And we slept in an igloo. That was a once and done. And um it was great. And Lisa, you will all be happy to know cuz you're Texans. When I was here for Passion at the beginning of the year, I uh you know, I from um California, which I do know that

probably 90% of all of our campuses are filled with expats. And so, um, the the fact is that we are the land of in and out. And so, I've been coming to Texas for 30 years and had never ever eaten what a burger. I know. So, I do want you all to know in my 60th year of life, I parttook of what will be served at the marriage supper of the lamb. How is that? So, you all can love that. Which will be awesome. I am going to get to the word. Don't get nervous. I am both Greek and a woman. There's only three ways I speak. Hard, fast, and continuously. So, you will not fall asleep today. But I love I love being 60. And I'm very committed to I think the greatest gift that I can give this younger generation is not um even, you know, building a large ministry doing what we do around the world. I I want a younger generation to see that it just gets better with Jesus. I'm not saying life gets easier, but I am saying Jesus is worthy of our all until the day that we die. And I think the greatest gift I I want to be like Caleb. We're going to talk a little bit about him this morning who at 85 said to Joshua, "I'm not cashing in my 401k. I'm as young now as I was then. Moses promised me Hebron and now give me that mountain.

That's my inheritance." Listen, you cannot tell me. I've been following Jesus for almost four decades. You can't tell me if you've been fixing your eyes on Jesus for four decades that you haven't grown more in love, more in goodness, more in kindness, more in self-control, or more in love. I don't understand these people that after 40 years of following Jesus, they look like they've been sucking lemons. They're like, "You know what? I've been in the way for 40 years." I'm like, "Can you get out of the way?" But anyway, so I I don't understand it. I want to be super granny for Jesus. I think there ought to be a spring in our step, a little glint in our eye. We ought to be, you know, naughty. Not illegal, not immoral, not heretical, just naughty. I think people need to say, "What are you on?" I'm just saying, "The closer I get to the finish line, I've got less time ahead of me. By the grace of God, I plan to live a long and fruitful life." But no matter which way you slice this up, there is less time ahead of me than there is behind me. And so I want to make sure that I'm running faster. I'm running harder. I'm running with more passion towards that finish line.

I truly these are can be our most fruitful years ever if we do that. So I'm loving being 60 and you're going to hear about and I'm 60. On the 23rd of September, you've got the chicks night on the 24th. So all our campuses, you want to turn up because at the chicks night, we can really be naughty. We can say things you can never say on Sunday morning. So please come. And men, I promise you, for the married couples, you'll be happy you sent your wife. I'm just saying. And so, make sure you come. But on the on the 24th, on the 23rd, I turned 60. But I have been celebrating for 365 days. Cuz you do not get to this age and say, I'm only celebrating one day. I'm celebrating 365 days of being 60. That's what I'm going to do. And if you would turn with me this morning to the book of Numbers, chapter 13. I love the new series we're going into as a church. are basically going to kick on part one of what was a three-part but from today has become a four-part series of the book of numbers. I love numbers. I'm a weird person because there's two censuses in numbers. You go like what is all that about? A lot of people avoid it. Um but you know people count so we count people. That's why that's very important. And here is a book that is just full of so much truth. But you know there was a obviously the children of Israel had been in slavery. They had been in bondage for for 430 years. And you know, God had done some amazing signs and wonders and miracles to bring them out of bondage. I mean,

obviously, there were the plagues that came and you know, the Red Sea parted and the Egyptian army was was drowned in the Red Sea and you know, God had provided mana from heaven. There was so many signs and wonders and miracles that the children of Israel had seen. And we're going to pick up the text today. We're about two weeks out of coming out of slavery. And can I say incidentally, I'm so grateful to God for Gateway Church. Uh I was telling Pastor Daniel this morning when I first had the sense of you that God wanted me to do something and start to this fight against uh human trafficking 2008 when I I didn't even know what it was. Um I had come here for a women's conference and the spirit of the Lord fell so mildly. I don't know if anyone was in is in the room today that was in that. Yeah, there's a whole lot of chicks putting your hands up. Um, and the fact is that God fell and you know at that was the very first offering that was ever received for A21 before it was A21. We hadn't even registered it yet. And um and God came and your your church gave a an incredible offering of $50,000 that kicked off A21. And who would have known that now 19 years late, 18 years later, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children that have been rescued and restored and hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been made aware of

trafficking. And this last week, just this last week, we had in Greece where we started, that was the offering that was received. the very first seed offering here um that was received there was uh almost 60 victims that were rescued in one raid just 3 days ago in Greece and now they're being restored. So I just want you to know and you've been partners with us all of that time. So it is amazing and just getting stronger. So the children of Israel had come out of slavery. They had come out of bondage. You would think at this point they are believing God for the promised land. You that you would think that after seeing God move so miraculously so powerfully they would be on the edge of their seats going God could do whatever he wants to do. He is so powerful. I mean you know two weeks ago we were in slavery. We were building the pyramids. We were we were working in the hot sun making bricks. We had no rights, no privileges.

We we were nothing. We were nobodies. And then God came and God miraculously saved us. I mean, I just want you to see how quickly you could forget the goodness of God. How quickly you could forget the miracle working power of God. Two weeks before they'd been making bricks, then they had come out with the wealth, the gold of the Egyptians, and now they're about to step into the promised land. And I mean they're they're like about to go in. And this is where we pick up today. Scripture says in Numbers 13, this is the word of the Lord. The Lord spoke to Moses. I want you to note right from the outset, it's the Lord that's speaking to Moses. The Lord spoke to Moses, send men to scout out the land of Canaan. I am giving to the Israelites. So this is God saying, send them in. I'm giving the land. This is this is not like a negotiation. We're not having a committee meeting. There's no board meeting. I'm just telling you. I'm declaring and decreeing that I am giving the land to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes. Moses sent them from the wilderness of Pon at the Lord's command. All the men were leaders in Israel. Well, I just want to pause for a moment and I want you to see that there

was great intentionality on who was going in to see the promises of God. They were all leaders. These are the ones that are supposed to know better. These are the ones that have seen the faithfulness of God. These are the ones that have seen the miracle working power of God. These are the ones that should be going into the promised land, viewing the promise through the lens of the past faithfulness of God, knowing that the same God that brought us here is the same God that is going to take us there. The same God that can part a Red Sea is the same God that's going to fulfill his promises in the promised land. I mean, these are the leaders. These are the influencers. These are the ones with the most followers. These are the ones that we love to follow. These are the ones that should know the best. You're going to find out today. You better be very careful who you're following. You better be very careful what voices you're listening to. You better be very careful where you are scrolling and swiping because the wrong perspective from one of your so-called influences is going to determine whether you fulfill your destiny or not. So he goes on and it says these are the names. Shamua son of Zach from the tribe of Reuben. Shafat son of Horry from the tribe of Simeon.

Caleb son of Jeepa from the tribe of Judah. Eigal son of Joseph from the tribe of Isach. Hosa son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim. Palty the son of Rafu from the tribe of Benjamin. Gadiel son of Sodi from the tribe of Zebulun. Gaddy son of Susi from the tribe of Manessa. Amile son of Gamal from the tribe of Dan. Sethu son of Michael from the tribe of Asher. Nahibbe son of Vosshi from the tribe of Naphali. If you don't speak in tongues, just say this 10 times really fast and you'll be baptized in the Holy Ghost right where you are. Just that's how it happens. Gul son of Mackey from the tribe of Ga. Okay, a lot of names there. I just want I want a show of hands. Anyone here ever called their kid or knows anyone by the name of Shimua Shafat? Listen, I got up early to pray. God, please don't let me say this word wrong. Shafat and then eal palty. No hands. Gadiel, Gaddy, Amile, Sethu, Nahibi, Ghoul, no hands. I'm sure in all of our campuses there would be no hands. Nobody knows anybody by those names. Nobody's ever called their kid that name. Anybody ever heard the name, know someone of the name, or has called your own children the name or has the name Joshua or Caleb? Hands up if you know anybody with that. 100%.

So 0% know the other 10 names. 100% know the name of Joshua and Caleb. And yet in the text, nowhere does it say Joshua and Cal Caleb are more anointed than the other 10. are more gifted than the other 10, are more talented than the other 10, are more chosen than the other 10. Nothing at all. It says, "Go and pick 12 men, all leaders, equal caliber, equal leadership, equal ability, or go and pick them all." And yet, all of these years later in Dallas, in Texas on a Sunday morning, there's only two of the 12 names that we know. And yet, we should know all of the names. There is no reason that Joshua and Caleb should be any more known than the other. The same promises were available to all 12. We're about to discover that all 12 of these leaders walked the same path, saw the same thing, touched the same thing. And yet we are about to discover that you could be living on the planet at the same time, be listening to the same thing, seeing the same thing, touching the same thing, tasting the same thing, and see two entirely different things. And how you view that is going to determine your destiny.

So all of them were on the earth at the same time. All of them were given exactly the same promise. All of them were responsible for taking their sphere of influence into that promised land. And yet the perspective of 10 negated the destiny of over a million. We're seeing that online every day. We're seeing that online every day. We are all living on the same planet at the same time. We are breathing the same oxygen. We are listening to roughly all the same fake news. We are all on this earth. But I'm telling you, the perspective that you have is going to determine whether you and your lineage are going to enter into the promises of God or not. All the promises of God for every single believer are in Christ Jesus. Yes. And amen. We all have the same access to the same promises. No one is any more anointed, gifted or talented to receive the promises of God than anybody else because the promises of God are not dependent on us or our gift or our talent or our anointing. They're dependent on Christ. The Paul writes that all the promises of God are in Christ Jesus. Yes. And amen. And our world is crazy. There is no doubt.

Sociologically, politically, economically, relationally, environmentally, in every sphere of life, have you noticed everyone has lost their ever loving mind? You and I are living in a world where we are calling truth lies and lies truth. We are calling good evil and evil good. Everyone has lost their minds. And then a lot of people, I could travel around the world and people kind of go to me, I'll say, "How you doing?" or "How's church?" or "How's your business?" or "How's life?" And literally people this is how they'll start it. They'll say well you know Chris before co I'm like I'm thinking that was like six years ago. You know there was a time on the earth when BC stood for before Christ. When I thought that it was Jesus that split time. So here is the deal. Has the world shifted? Yes. Has the world lost their ever loving mind? Yes. Do we feel like we've got whiplash? We don't know what we're waking up to every single morning. Yes. But last time I checked, Jesus is actually the same when?

Yesterday, today, and forever. And the fact is, he has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. And if he's the same yesterday, today, and forever, and all the promises of God are in Christ Jesus, yes, and amen, guess what? For the Christian, nothing's changed. Nothing's changed. But whether we partake of those promises is entirely determined by our perspective. Not the faithfulness of God, not the ability of God, but whether you and I can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. He is the author and he is the finisher. He is the yes and he is the amen. So everything around us has changed. It doesn't matter what country you're on. If you're listening to me on the live stream, everywhere I go, all over the earth, there is instability. There is insecurity.

People have gone through betrayal. People have gone through pain. People have gone through suffering. I mean, just breathing oxygen on planet earth in a fallen world means no one is exempt from pain or suffering or loss or grief or challenge. But the fact of the matter is in Christ we have a greater hope. You know, I always say that in the time that we're living in on the earth right now, there is such a victim narrative where where so many people, the spirit of the world is entering into the spirit of the church and you're being told that you know your history defines your destiny or if I if your circumstances were different, if you'd been born into a different family, if you had gone to a different school, if you had grew up in a different system, then you would be afforded more opportunity and you would have greater agency and then you could fulfill your purpose. But because of all these other circumstances, you can't fulfill your purpose. Well, many of you know my background. That I was left in a hospital unnamed and unwanted when I was born. That I was the victim of childhood sexual abuse for a decade of my life.

That I grew up in the poorest zip code in my state. That I had every reason to be a victim and to live in that. And if it was 2026 with the victim narrative of the world, people would want me to be defined by my trauma. But I made a decision that I was going to make what Jesus did for me bigger than what anybody did to me. I am not defined by what happened to me. I am defined by what Jesus did for me. That's called the Christian gospel. That's called the normal Christian life. And some of us on the earth still believe that there is no more potent force on the planet than the blood of Jesus Christ. We still believe that the blood sets us free. We still believe that you could fulfill your God-given purpose and it's not determined by what happened to you. The same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives on the inside of all of us. Therefore, we have more agency than we think. But we've bought into the narrative of the world that makes us think, well, I am the victim of what happened to me or what's happening around me as opposed to who's living in me. Same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me.

So we never hear of these names again after chapter 14. We never hear their names. I wonder generations from now should the Lord tarry will your children's children children know your name because of your faithfulness or are we just going to disappear because you get to affect the generations that are coming after you. You and I can't change everything in the world around us but we can. We can make sure we change the generations that are to come from us. I can't change anything about my past. It is what it is that that it will always be that. But the fact is because Nick and I when we married on the 30th of March 1996, we drew a bloodline in the sand and we said, you know what, with us abuse stops. With us addiction stops. With us divorce stops. With us it stops. And because of that decision, by the grace of God, our girls are flourishing in life. And I'm believing our children's children's children's children, should the Lord, Tar, are going to be blessed. But what happened here? You are about to find out these names got wiped from the pages of scripture. And I'm standing here talking this morning and we only know two of the names instead of 12 of the names. And yet there is not one reason why we shouldn't know all 12 except for the perspective of these men. Your perspective today is going to determine the future of your children's children.

Your perspective. So we go on and it says these were the names of the men Moses sent out in verse 16 to scout out the land. And Moses renamed Hashe son of Nun Joshua. When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, "Go up this way to the Negv and then go up into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many? Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land." It was the season of the ripe grapes. So, so the Lord's sending him out on a scouting trip. He He's saying, "Go and check it out. Go and check. Is there a lot of people there or a few? Is the land fertile or is it not? Is the city fortified or not?" He wasn't saying because if the land's not fertile, I can't fulfill my promise. If the walls are fortified, I I just won't be able to do it. I I need you to go and check out if I'm actually God and I actually have the power to give you the He wasn't sending them in to see if God had the power to give them the land.

That was a done deal. He'd already decreed in verse one, see the land. I'm giving it to them. Done deal. God said, I'm doing that. Now, he was sending them in to see how they were going to take what he'd already given. See, a lot of us, we think, well, depending on the circumstances, depending on the economy, depending on what's happening around us, that's going to determine whether God can actually be faithful to his promises. But God is sending us in in Deuteronomy chapter 10, he says, "Go in and possess that you might inherit." There's an inheritance, but we have to possess that inheritance. where when Nick and I go home to be with the Lord in a really long time because I want grandchildren. When that all happens, I'm going to leave an inheritance, God willing, for my children and my children's children, but it's not going to be of any value if it's just sitting in the bank. They're going to have to go and possess what they're inheriting. In the same way, there are promises. The word of God is full of the promises of God. And all the promises of God are in Christ Jesus. Yes. And amen. But it's up to us to possess what God has given us to inherit. So, he wasn't going to say, "Go and spy out the land to see if I can give it to you." He was saying, "Go and spy it out to see how you're going to take what I've already given to you.

I've already given it. Now you go and determine the how." So, we go on in verse 21. So, they went up and scattered out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehab near the entrance to Hamoth. They went up through the Negv and came to Hebron where Amihar, Seshi, and Tali, the descendants of Anch were living. Hebron was built seven years before zone in Egypt. When they came down to the valley of Eshko, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes which was carried on a pole by two men. I mean, this is a lot. I don't know the last time two guys went into Tom Thumb and came out with a cluster of grapes on poles. Some people would think you'd put something in the plants that that's that's pretty big. And they were carrying it. I want you to know that that they were actually carrying it themselves. So they felt the weight of the promise that they felt it. So it goes on it says they also took some pre pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley of Eshko because the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. At the end of 40 days they returned from scouting out the land. They did about a 300 mile round trip. Can you imagine how excited the people were? I mean they'd come out of Egypt. God had promised them a promised land. Now, they've been walking in the wilderness. They were taking the long way round. There's mana from heaven. They're probably waiting. Tell us about what you've seen in the promised land. They'd be so anticipating the good report that was going to come because their God was faithful and they'd seen God work faithfully. They'd seen God do miracle. They just needed

the leaders to come and tell them and show them that God in fact was faithful and that what God had promised was going to come to pass no matter the struggle that they had to have to get to the promise of God. And so it goes on and it says the men went back to Moses and Aaron and the entire community in the wilderness. The entire community. You're about to find out wh why just take one person out when you could take all your followers out? Wh why why why just say it to one person when you could go online and say it to everybody and take everybody out with you? So it goes the I'm trying pastor. And so the men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the wilderness of Piranic Cadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community. Make sure it's for everyone. And they showed them the fruit of the land. I love this because this is what so many of us do. We're holding on to the pro. Let me tell you, let me tell you about the Let me tell you about how God saved my marriage. Let me tell you about how I miraculously conceived a child. Let me tell you how God saved that business from going under. Let me tell you about that opportunity. Let me We've all got our stories. Let me show you how faithful God's been. Let me show you the promises of God. This is awesome.

They're holding the fruit here. They're saying, "We went in. It was awesome." And it goes, they continue. They reported to Moses, "We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit." Yes, it is. Everything God said, it's there, and here is some of its fruit. But this is right where we are on the planet right now and in the church. This next word, however, I'm holding the promise. It's here. However, and one however kept an entire generation out of their destiny and right on the earth at this moment. One however, oh yes, God's been faithful. I mean, we could scroll and swipe all day. However, however, the people living in the land are strong and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anoch there and I'm sure God's thinking, "Big deal, big deal. The Amalachites are living in the land of the Negab. The Hethites of Jeb or the itites live by the sea and along the Jordan. And they're going, "However, I'm I'm telling you, there's all these other giants that are there."

And he goes, "Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, "Let's go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it." because he understood that conquering it was based on the promise of God, not their own ability or how many giants were in the land. They knew it had everything to do with God and nothing to do with them. And how often do we do this, church? Well, we we could tell of the promises of God and the faithfulness of God and we've tasted and foretasted of the promise of God, but we're like, "However, Mr. Dow Jones is having a schizophrenic attack this week. However, you don't know what's happening at work. However, you don't know what the doctor's report is. However, you don't know how my children However, and we allow one however to rob an entire generation of their purpose. And we are right there. They're holding. They've tasted the milk and honey. All the giants are there and they kill people. I'm like, you're alive. You You were in there for 40 days and you came out.

This is how little we trust God. This is how little we trusted. I mean, they're out there talking about the fact that the giants are going to take them out, but they were just in there for 40 days and they came out and we have this fear. However, you you know, I want to serve, but but you know what? No, no, I got to work more and more and more because you don't know what's happening in the economy. However, I know God's promised me this, but I'm going to do this. And we are motivated by fear. And we fear all of the giants when God's like, I you were building bricks two weeks ago. And you don't think I could take care of those giants? You think I'm sending you in there for those giants to destroy you? And in that second, while they're holding the promise of God, they take their eyes off the promise and put it on their problem. And the minute you shift your eyes off Jesus onto what's happening around you, that's the beginning of the end. And in the world that we're living in right now, the fight is for your eyes. Cuz your eyes are going to take you to your purpose or not. Because where you look, you will go. And what you look at and what you behold, you will become. And that's why repeatedly we read in the scripture, fix your eyes on Jesus. He is the author and he is the finisher. He calls us from the future to the future. That's our telos.

He's not pulling us from our past. He's pulling us from the future to that future. And I'm telling you, all the promises of God are in Christ Jesus. Yes. And amen. And all the plans of God from Old Testament to New are for good and not for evil. Their plans to prosper us and they're not to harm us. And their plans to give us a future. But a lot of us are living in a however moment. And that however hesitancy will cause you to keep doing laps around Mount Si for 40 years and then die in the wilderness. But if you've got a spirit like Caleb that says, "We are well aable. We could do this. We could do this." I remember when we started A21, Nick had gone over to Greece with the consultants for 45 days and they did a feasibility study and it was that that was good stewardship. It was a good thing to do. But before they had gone in, I'd already said to them, you know, there's, this was 2007, actually, and 2008, you might remember, Greece bankrupted the world.

There was a slight economic crisis on Earth. And so I said to them, you know, there's Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy. The church is embionic in this region of the world. That's why it's so dark. The there is so much corruption. This is Russian and Albanian mafia. And they like kill people. And there is like I'm, you know, I'm like a woman. I'm 40. I've just popped out another kid. I was not looking to start a ministry. I wanted a vacation on Santorini. And um so I was not, you know, and so I was like there there's all these reasons and I and I remember I was flying and I flew from Sydney to Bangkok, from Bangkok to Frankfurt, from Frankfurt to the Saloniki. It's over 40 hours. I've got a four-year-old. I've got a newborn. And I was in the lounge and Nick called me. And I always know this is going to be serious when Nick called me and he and you know Germans are are very conservative and I'm very demonstrative. I'm Greek so there's a different way that we display our emotions. And Nick says to me when he answered, he goes, "Christine, before I tell you this, I want you to remember that you are a Christian.

And not only are you a Christian, you're a pastor. [laughter] So I need you to respond like a Christian pastor." And so, um, I always knew I'm not going to like what he said, but anyway, to cut a long story short, he said, "I've got the feasibility study here, and it's a 100page document. We have it." And he said, "In this document, 10 times there is the phrase or a variation of the phrase that says it will be impossible. It will be impossible." [music] And the whole reason they gave us for it will be impossible is because of the corruption. There were no laws on the books back then. We had to change. We had to write laws to make human trafficking a crime. There was no there was the you know um Greece was on the verge of economic [music] inst bankruptcy really at the time. Um they gave us all these reasons and the same reasons they gave us were the very reasons I told them were the challenges when we were going in. But I didn't send those consultants in to tell me if we could start A21 in Greece. I wanted them to show me how we were going to do that. And I remember very inappropriately loudly this spirit of Caleb [music] came upon me. I'm in the lounge. I stand up and so loud every German person in that room looked at me and I said, "Nick, you tell those consultants that God told me where to start in Thessaloniki."

And if God said it, then we are well able to go and start. And here we are by God's grace. All of these years later, hundreds of millions of people have been made aware of this issue because it's not based on what's happening around us. It's based on the promise God has given us. We are well able to take the land gateway. Our greatest days are ahead of us and not behind us. We are well aable. We are well able to take the land. Friend, I wonder if you know this Jesus I'm talking about this morning. Not do you know about him, but do you know him? And if you don't, right here, right now, on all of our campuses, wherever you are, I'm not speaking to the person next to you. I'm speaking to you. And if you say to me this morning, Chris, you know what? I I need a fresh start with Jesus Christ. Either you've been away from God, cold in your heart, or maybe a friend invited you into this place. You weren't even sure what you were coming to. I want you to know you're here in the divine timing, plan, [music] and purpose of God. You were created by God for a relationship with God. It's Jesus that connects us to God. And it's Jesus [music] that connects us to the grace of God. Friend, don't leave this place in any of our locations today without having made your [music] peace with God.

This is time to stop running from him. It's time to come home to him. Some of you have been holding back because of a however. And it's time [music] to get allin again for Jesus. I want every head bowed and every eye closed for him wherever you are. From the front to the back, from the left to the right. In this moment, I'm not speaking to the person next to you. I'm speaking to you. And if you say to me today, Chris, I want what you're talking about. I need a fresh start with Jesus. [music] Then I want to pray for you just right there, right where you're sitting, a very simple but powerful prayer. And if you say, Chris, would you include me in that prayer this morning? I want a fresh start with [music] Jesus just so that I know who I'm praying for. Would you just raise your hand wherever you are now? Say, Chris, pray for me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Quickly. I can see hands going up. I'm seeing you in every section here. Keep them going up. I'm going to give you 10 more seconds and I'm going to pray for you wherever you are. This is awesome. Keep those hands going up high. That's fantastic. I'm going to pray a prayer [music] out loud. I want everyone in the congregation to pray this after me. Believers, we are adding our faith to the faith [music] of the people that have raised their hand this morning to say yes to Jesus. I'm seeing you up in the balcony. That's awesome. You can keep putting your hands up. We're going to pray and we're going to pray with conviction. We're adding our faith to their faith as they say yes to Jesus this morning. Church, pray this out loud after me. Dear [music] Jesus, I've raised my hand this morning because I recognize my need for you.

I ask that you would forgive me for all of my sins. That you would give me a fresh start today and a hope for the future. I want to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ every single day for the rest of my life. Jesus, I receive your forgiveness. I receive your love. I receive your grace. Thank you. Amen. Amen. Come on. Can we thank God for people saying yes to Jesus? [music] Amen. Come on. You can do better than that. People just said yes to Jesus. We had hands up all [music] over the place. And listen, we are so uh so proud of you. If you raise your hand, here's what you have to know. Well, that's not the end of your journey, that's the beginning. And we would love to help you help you take some next steps. And there's a couple of ways to do that. First of all, you can just text the word [music] Jesus to 710. That's Jesus to 710. And we can follow up with you that way. [music] Or a better way is in just a moment, we're going to have everybody stand up. And church is not over when we stand up. In fact, uh we're going to give everybody an opportunity to respond because we're going to go into a worship song. But when we stand up, we're going to have leaders here at the front that would love to pray with you. We'll also have leaders there in the balcony. If you're here with any prayer need, they would love to pray with you today. But then also, if you gave your life to Jesus, come down front, find one of our leaders. They would love to personally pray with you and help you take some

next steps. And while we're doing that, we're going to be worshiping and church isn't over. This is an opportunity for us to respond to the big God that we just heard about. How many, you know, our best days really are ahead of us? Amen. And thank you. Thank you, Christine Kane. That was such a powerful word. We honor you for that. Such [music] an amazing word. And so, I just want to encourage you. I want to encourage you right now. Would you just stand to your feet? And I invite our prayer team to come forward also in our balcony area and we're going to step into this this time of worship. And so I'd encourage you to respond. If you need prayer, come forward. If you just want to lift your hands, you can do that. If you gave your life to Jesus, [music] uh come forward and let us celebrate with you as we worship together. Let's worship. Thank you, Lord. We sing all my [music] life. And all my life you [music] have been faithful. And all [music] my life you have been so so good.

With every [music] breath that I am able. Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God. All my life and all my life you have [music] been faithful. We give you praise Lord. And all my life you [music] have been so and so [singing] good. with every breath that I am able and I [music] will sing of the goodness of God. Amen. Amen. Well, listen, [music] I'm going to share just a few uh closing thoughts for you, but even as I do, if you have a prayer need today, you can keep coming forward. We'll stay here as long as we need to. We'd love the opportunity to pray with you. Just a couple of reminders. [music] uh when you leave today, we're going to be celebrating water baptisms. We have over 50 people that are already [music] signed up. And if you made a decision today to give your life to Christ, your next step is to go and get water baptized. [music and singing] If you made a decision maybe many years ago, but you've never taken that next step of faith and and being water baptized, we encourage you to [music] do so. You can go out in the lobby and to the left across from the cafe, you can sign up there. We have everything [music] that you need. T-shirts, shorts, everything that you need. So, we take away all the excuses. [music] We'd love for you to

get water baptized today. Also, can we give it up one more time for our educators? So thankful for you teachers, [music] counselors, coaches, those in uh leading homeschool programs. And we do. We have a gift for you. Stop by Connect Central and we'll get you that gift. And then lastly, again, if you're new here, we [music] are so excited you chose to be a Gateway Church this weekend. church, can we put our hands together for all those that are new or maybe haven't been here for a while, but uh we're [music] glad you're back and we would love to personally connect with you. There's an area called Connect Central. I'll be there [music] along with some of our leaders. If you have a moment, just stop by there. Uh we'd love to greet you, answer any questions that you have, get to know you a little bit, and if for whatever reason [music] you cannot do that, you can just text the word connect to 710 or if you're joining us online, just text connect [music] to 710 and we'll follow up with you that way. Let me pray a blessing over you out of Numbers chapter 6. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face [music] to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. God bless you.

[music] We love you and we'll see you out in the lobby.