The Power of One Degree: Moving from Ordinary to Extraordinary

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Looking forward to going to heaven with you?
[00:00:03] Amen.
[00:00:04] Looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face with you?
[00:00:08] Hallelujah.
[00:00:09] Isaiah chapter 64 verses 1 through 4 says this, O that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down to the mountains, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, as when the melted fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil.
[00:00:30] To make thy name known to thine adversaries, and the nations may tremble at thy presence.
[00:00:36] When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
[00:00:43] For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen.
[00:00:51] O God, besides thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth,
[00:01:01] It's powerful and it seems very emotionally attached that the prophet is preaching from and speaking from this particular scripture.
[00:01:11] But I want to point out that fire causes the waters to boil.
[00:01:19] It turned up the heat just a little bit.
[00:01:22] I want to preach today.
[00:01:24] This is not a new thought.
[00:01:26] It's not a new thought to me.
[00:01:28] But I want to preach 212 degrees.
[00:01:31] Does anybody know what that is?
[00:01:33] It's boiling.
[00:01:34] That's boiling point.
[00:01:36] 212 degrees.
[00:01:38] Let's ask the Lord to help us today, shall we?
[00:01:40] Gracious King, we thank you right now for your spirit to continue to stay deep in this place, God.
[00:01:46] Lead our minds, lead our hearts, lead our souls today, God.
[00:01:51] well let's turn it up just a little bit hotter today god it's in jesus righteous name amen you may be seated amen once again so glad to worship with you in a season where we would take a step back and look there's no question about it when it gets cold when people get sick the church services look a little differently but in a season where that may be
[00:02:16] Promoted, and that may be what you see.
[00:02:18] I don't want to let that be the pervading thought in my head.
[00:02:23] This is a church that believes in moving forward.
[00:02:26] This is a church that believes in staying red hot for Jesus, if you will.
[00:02:31] This is a church that believes in staying committed to Him through the thin, all seasons.
[00:02:38] Now every season provides its own value.
[00:02:41] Every season provides its own ups and downs so I recognize that for what it is.
[00:02:50] Amen.
[00:02:51] And I recognize the fact that there will be times where it will feel like we're taking two steps back only to take five steps forward.
[00:03:01] There will be times it will feel like we're taking a step back just to say we're going to take five more steps forward.
[00:03:07] It's going to feel that way but I want you to recognize that all through that time I'm going to be turning up the heat just a little bit more.
[00:03:14] I'm going to be turning up the heat just a tad bit more because I want to get to boiling point.
[00:03:20] Amen.
[00:03:20] The prophet is asking God to turn up the heat that his name
[00:03:26] may be known that the nations may tremble at his presence praise God the prophet is asking to turn up the heat for those two things specifically turning up the heat in my connotation today is also turning up the effort a little bit as well I came to this message yesterday when I was trying to load up our trailer I was trying to hook it now I had parked our trailer on a hill
[00:03:56] Like that right there.
[00:03:58] And I backed the vehicle down right underneath where the trailer would come down on top of the ball.
[00:04:05] But just understand that it's got to come perfectly down on top of the ball.
[00:04:10] And so because it was on a hill, I had to kind of adjust it.
[00:04:14] But I was working against the hill.
[00:04:17] I'm pushing it and I just can't get it to fall right.
[00:04:22] I'm fighting against the gravity, I'm fighting against the heel, and I'm fighting against one of my hips.
[00:04:29] And so I said, okay, I'm going to have to give this just a little extra, a little extra effort.
[00:04:36] And so recognizing that there is an extra element to this particular fight, I said, and got it to land on top of the ball.
[00:04:45] Praise God.
[00:04:47] We got the trailer loaded up, but it only took about 20 minutes to do it.
[00:04:51] we should have taken about two minutes but there are extra elements that during certain seasons that you're gonna have to fight against and so during those seasons I dare say it's gonna take some extra effort maybe a little extra heat turn up the heat for your walk with God just a little bit during those times and you'll be surprised how well you come out at 211 degrees the water is hot there's nothing happened it's just kind of sitting
[00:05:22] There's a little bit of movement to it.
[00:05:25] But then as the heat begins to turn up just from 211 to 212, something, and I don't want to say magical, something powerful begins to happen.
[00:05:36] All the electrons begin to bounce, all the electrons begin to go crazy, and the water just at one more degree begins to boil.
[00:05:45] It takes the fire being turned up to cause the water to become a power source.
[00:05:51] Raising the temperature of water by one extra degree makes the difference between something being very hot and something that can generate enough force to power a machine.
[00:06:02] With boiling water, the water becomes steam that can power a locomotive.
[00:06:07] One extra degree makes all the difference in its ability to produce power.
[00:06:12] Folks, I'm talking one degree.
[00:06:15] I'm talking just a little bit extra I'm talking just a just a just a slight more of a push I'm telling you and you got to hear me during the season you might have to push a little bit harder it might take just a little bit effort to get to the house of God I'm not saying that you're sick but I'm just saying the devil's going to try to tell you hey what's the point what's worth it we're taking steps back but I'm going to tell you we're only doing it to take steps forward in the grace of God somebody give him praise
[00:06:44] Somebody give them thanks today.
[00:06:47] Hallelujah.
[00:06:48] It's going to take a little effort during certain seasons.
[00:06:52] Amen.
[00:06:53] And this may be one of those seasons.
[00:06:56] Thank you, Jackson.
[00:06:57] Worked last night.
[00:06:58] Thank you for being in the house of God today.
[00:07:00] Not only in the house of God, but got here in perfect time to practice.
[00:07:05] Thank you, Jackson.
[00:07:06] Most people would be like, man, I can't do it.
[00:07:09] And there's no expectation that says if you work the night before that you stay up and go to church.
[00:07:13] I understand that's a difficult thing, but thank you for taking that extra effort to do that.
[00:07:20] It's a big deal.
[00:07:21] Praise God.
[00:07:22] And so Hebrews 12 and 29 says, Our God is a consuming fire.
[00:07:28] Matthew 3 and 11 says, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
[00:07:35] with fire he's saying I've got to turn up the heat in your life just a little bit Jeremiah said it like this it's like fire shut up in my bones hey he's turning up the heat in our lives just a little bit from 211 to 212 degrees that he might help us get through our season this year thank you God let me say some pastoral things here and whoever would hear this is great but
[00:08:04] I had some things that I thought might help you in turning up the heat just a little bit.
[00:08:11] Commit, stop acting like you're committed and truly be committed.
[00:08:16] There's no reason to act like you're committed when you're really not committed.
[00:08:21] That's in your relationship with each other and that's in your relationship with God.
[00:08:27] I can't act like something that I'm not.
[00:08:28] If you act like a Christian but yet you're not, you're just playing a game.
[00:08:33] It's fake and it's facade.
[00:08:35] The Lord doesn't love it.
[00:08:37] So commit.
[00:08:39] The second word is conscience.
[00:08:42] Hang on to your conscience.
[00:08:45] Your body is the sanctuary from the Holy Ghost.
[00:08:49] And so treat your body like it's the sanctuary of the Holy Ghost.
[00:08:55] You're woke with God like it's important.
[00:08:58] Conscience.
[00:08:59] Can we still have a conscience or can I just sit by and do something and the Lord not even tug at me anymore?
[00:09:08] Or would I participate in something that I used to know was wrong but now not so much of a big deal?
[00:09:14] Conscience.
[00:09:16] How about care?
[00:09:17] I want you to care about yourself.
[00:09:20] I want you to care about God.
[00:09:22] And I want you to care about the church.
[00:09:24] I want you to make sure and understand that it's utterly important.
[00:09:28] So I've got commit, I've got conscience, I've got care.
[00:09:32] And then the last thing is to be consumed.
[00:09:35] I want to stop being consumed with everything except for the Lord.
[00:09:40] Let me be fully consumed with God and let everything else just fall to the wayside.
[00:09:46] Man, if you're more consumed with sports than God, you need to go to an altar somewhere.
[00:09:52] And I'm not even preaching against sports.
[00:09:53] Praise God.
[00:09:54] If you're more consumed with money than you are for God, and there's nothing wrong with money, except the love of money is the root of all evil.
[00:10:04] Not having money.
[00:10:06] Praise God.
[00:10:06] And so, I want to make sure that I'm not consumed with those things.
[00:10:10] When we talk about moving from 211 to 212 degrees we're saying small things can make a big difference and I say that as passionately as I can I say that with as much depth as I possibly can a lot of very small things can add up to make a huge
[00:10:36] What was it?
[00:10:37] It was a boy that just said I'll donate my lunch.
[00:10:42] A couple fishes, a couple loaves of bread, and what did the Lord do with it?
[00:10:46] He fed multitudes.
[00:10:48] Enough so much that the Lord had leftover to fill up basketfuls.
[00:10:55] It's amazing.
[00:10:56] Small things, when the Lord gets a hold of it, can do miraculous things.
[00:11:02] I want you to remember that.
[00:11:03] Just one step forward can produce something miraculous.
[00:11:06] Just one action forward can produce something miraculous in the eyes of God.
[00:11:13] To get what you've never had, you've got to do some things that you've never done.
[00:11:18] If we plan to press forward and have breakthrough, then I've got to break through some barriers that I've never broken through before.
[00:11:29] And I might have to do some things that I've never done to do that.
[00:11:34] Maybe fast a little longer.
[00:11:36] Maybe pray a little bit longer, a little bit more intense.
[00:11:42] Amen?
[00:11:42] It's the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man that availeth much.
[00:11:49] Praise God.
[00:11:49] And so if my prayer is not described as fervent, then I need to get on that.
[00:11:56] I need to turn up the heat with my prayer life.
[00:11:59] I came across this story and I thought it was extremely interesting.
[00:12:02] Maybe you will as well.
[00:12:04] I'm not much of an Indy 500 fan.
[00:12:07] Never watched one.
[00:12:08] Don't care about it.
[00:12:09] Some of you might be NASCAR fans.
[00:12:11] I'm not.
[00:12:12] We just happen to live in NASCAR country.
[00:12:14] It's just where it is.
[00:12:15] It's just how it is.
[00:12:16] Praise God.
[00:12:17] But the Indy 500, the margin between the first place person
[00:12:26] In the second place finisher was 1.54 seconds.
[00:12:32] Less than two seconds.
[00:12:36] One, two.
[00:12:39] Less than that much of a difference between the first car and the second car.
[00:12:43] You know how much the first car won?
[00:12:44] 1.3 million dollars.
[00:12:50] For winning the race.
[00:12:51] Good for them.
[00:12:53] Maybe they'll tithe on that money after the taxes, I guess, right?
[00:12:57] The second prize, you know how much they won?
[00:13:02] $621,000.
[00:13:03] Still not a bad day.
[00:13:06] Still pretty good.
[00:13:08] But less than half by just two seconds.
[00:13:13] Just a minimal move.
[00:13:19] just went into the pit just a little bit long ran those tires out just a little bit long didn't hit the gas just a little too light and they're just less than two seconds separating them costed them almost six over six hundred thousand dollars in winnings it's amazing now I'm not going around preaching about racing but I am saying that the little things the little things add up to mean
[00:13:48] In measurable things in the eyes of God when I do the small things it's amazing what God begins to do with it it's the little foxes that the Bible says will spoil the vine so I gotta take care of those things and it's amazing how God will take care of it let's give God praise let's give God thanks today I'm turning it up just one more notch just one more degree come on just one more minute of prayer just one more just one more degree of passion and living for God
[00:14:18] Amen I'm telling you I am telling you now that the enemy will tap you on the shoulder and say what is the use what is the purpose look what everybody else is doing look at what the direction this is going you tell you tell that enemy and say hey there's a better day coming there's better moments coming I see the revival on the other side of that I see what can happen on the other side of that I see what can happen
[00:14:47] on the other side of that amen the children of Israel marched around Jericho six days and then seven times on the seventh day then they blew their trumpets and the walls fell y'all learned that in Sunday school I believe that happened largely because of the obedience to take every single
[00:15:16] every single degree what what is the deal god why we gotta march i want you to take every step because every step matters
[00:15:34] Every step you're moving forward and then eventually we're going to get to a point we're going to blow trumpets and this whole entire wall is going to fall down.
[00:15:44] Don't ask why, I just want you to be obedient to it.
[00:15:49] One more step, one more degree and somebody's wall is going to fall down.
[00:15:55] The question is, do we begin to turn the heat back down or do we turn it back up?
[00:16:00] Amen.
[00:16:01] God is asking us to do small, seemingly trivial things to produce huge outcomes.
[00:16:11] This past summer, through the spring and summer, we passed out over 2,000 invitations.
[00:16:16] Thank you for helping out those of you who did.
[00:16:19] Seemingly insignificant, we had people that visited the church because of it.
[00:16:24] Seemingly insignificant, we had people that would ask for prayer because of it.
[00:16:30] I dare say that there's people still looking at the church because of the small efforts that we took planting seeds this past spring and summer.
[00:16:40] Now you might say, oh I don't see anything from it, but the Lord, the Lord sees it.
[00:16:46] The vast province that God is asking for 212 degrees where most are still sitting at 150 degrees.
[00:16:56] I'm not quite willing to go any hotter than where I'm at.
[00:17:01] The Lord is asking us for 212 degree kindness.
[00:17:04] Hey, I want to be kind to somebody.
[00:17:07] Just going a little extra with being kind to somebody.
[00:17:10] The Lord is asking for 212 degree belief.
[00:17:13] Believing fuels enthusiasm and that enthusiasm leads into our passions and our souls will be lifted with our spirit.
[00:17:24] When I believe in something, it propels me to therefore go forward.
[00:17:29] I want to have 212 degree focus.
[00:17:32] I got one mind and one goal in mind.
[00:17:34] I want to stay singularly focused.
[00:17:36] I want to make heaven my home and I want to bring somebody with me.
[00:17:40] Praise God.
[00:17:41] Can I have that focus, that 212 degree focus to say I've got, I'm going to make heaven, I'm going to make heaven my home.
[00:17:51] and then 212 degree perseverance.
[00:17:56] Perseverance is not a long race.
[00:17:59] It's many short races stacked one behind another.
[00:18:04] That's perseverance.
[00:18:07] You know, I've never spoken at a conference for church planters.
[00:18:13] I'm a church planter.
[00:18:15] I've never spoke to church planters.
[00:18:16] But if I had the opportunity to speak, I would say,
[00:18:21] I would say to pace yourself because this is a long-term race we're in this for the long haul this is something that we're going to do from now hopefully till eternity and you're going to have to have perseverance to endure it's not a long race it's little small races in between that make the difference we have to press through the temptation that we just have an ordinary walk with God or just another ordinary church there has to be something
[00:18:57] and there are hundreds praise God there's new ones popping up every single day but what has to set this church aside and apart from the rest of the churches is one degree to where I turn this thing up one degree and it begins to boil hey it was sitting at ordinary it was sitting at passive it was sitting at nothing and then all of a sudden something began to happen because of one more degree of efforts one more degree of prayer one more degree of fasting one more degree of of worship
[00:19:27] I feel what I'm saying today, and I think that you do as well.
[00:19:33] Here's what I gathered from Matthew.
[00:19:34] I had to pull it from the NIV because the King James had a little too many of these and thys, and I didn't think that you would get it.
[00:19:43] Matthew 5 and 40, it says this, If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give them your coat as well.
[00:19:53] He keeps going on.
[00:19:55] If anyone forces you to go one mile, tell them, I'll go two.
[00:20:01] Have you heard that before?
[00:20:03] Jesus taught that when a Roman soldier forced a person to carry their equipment one mile, they should voluntarily carry it for a second mile.
[00:20:16] Two mile people in a one mile world.
[00:20:19] It makes all the difference.
[00:20:23] Jesus said the extra effort with a second mile was a voluntary act of compassion and a choice to go beyond what was legally required of them they were required by Roman law that they had to carry what the Roman soldiers asked them to carry and he said say I'll carry it for you twice as far this extra effort
[00:20:47] by choosing to go the extra mile the person shows that they have their own agency and they value the other person so much so that they are no longer compelled by obligation I'm not obligated to do this I choose to do this man I'm going to choose to turn it up one degree because I want to I'm going to turn it up one degree because God loves me enough to see me through that I'm going to turn it up one degree why because God's been that good to me I don't have to
[00:21:17] but I certainly get two can you say amen well now pastor there's a lot of don'ts that you guys preach yeah there's a lot of don'ts but there's a whole lot more do's I do want to worship him I do want to praise him I do want to serve him and if the Lord says to go one mile let me tell the Lord I'll go too praise God you know most of you don't have to get here early for prayer but you do
[00:21:45] Most of you don't have to come on Saturday mornings to pray, but many of you do.
[00:21:50] That's not because we force you to.
[00:21:51] That's not necessarily out of obligation, but it's because I want to go that extra step that we believe is actually necessary to make a difference in this world.
[00:22:05] The difference between good and great is very small.
[00:22:10] It's very small.
[00:22:12] The difference between here and there is very small.
[00:22:18] In fact, I've had you preach that before.
[00:22:22] The difference between here and there is a cross at the beginning.
[00:22:27] Hallelujah.
[00:22:29] If I put a cross at the very beginning of here, it'll take me to there.
[00:22:34] Let's all stand.
[00:22:41] Knowing, not fully knowing what today would bring, but understanding the kind of day that it is and that it would present to be, the Lord laid this on my heart.
[00:22:53] To challenge us, to challenge the church, not to take a step back whatsoever.
[00:23:03] Even when the temptation is great, even when the opportunity is great, to continue to press towards the mark
[00:23:11] The high calling of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:23:15] Let me press.
[00:23:17] Let me press just a little harder.
[00:23:19] I'm not necessarily talking about effort as much as I'm talking about desire.
[00:23:25] Hey, effort is one thing, but desire to do it is a whole other thing.
[00:23:30] Let me be willing to do it.
[00:23:32] I'm not obligated.
[00:23:34] The law doesn't make me do it, but I choose to.
[00:23:37] Jesus.
[00:23:39] Why don't we all come to the front today and just begin to ask God to move on our behalf right now.
[00:23:45] Hey, there's only a one degree difference between 211 and 212 that's boiling.
[00:23:54] Maybe it's just another outstretched hand.
[00:23:56] Maybe it's just another prayer to God.
[00:23:59] Lord, I love you.
[00:24:00] Let's just begin to talk to him right now, shall we?
[00:24:03] Hallelujah, Jesus.