Church of the Highlands... Huntsville New Building Dedication.... with Chris Hodges

 Psalm 92:13 (NKJV)

¹³ Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.

Chris Hodges speaking:  We want to create an environment in Church of the Highlands in Huntsville where you can flourish. 



Below the surface there are seeds of potential just waiting for the right environment to bloom.   

Ephesians 1:16-18(NKJV)

16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 

18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

1. We must know God.   

Luke 19:38-40  (NKJV)

38 saying:

“ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

40 But He answered and said to them, 

“I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” 

We all see life through our pain and our past.  We must ask God to see Him for who He is.  If we truly see Him, then we will truly worship Him.  

We must cultivate in this place an environment where we can truly see God, so we will authentically worship Him with our entire beings.   

We must applaud God more than we cheer our teams on Saturdays.   We are not fanatics, but fans of our Great God.  

2.  We must find freedom.   

James 5:16  (NKJV)

16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Confession is great for the soul, but bad for the reputation.   If we want forgiveness of sins, we confess to God.  If we want freedom from sins, we must confess our sins to each other.   We must take the mask off.  

 

3.  We must discover our purpose.  

Psalm 139:16  (NKJV)

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

The two best days of your life are the day you were born and the day that you discover why you were born.   

If you don't find your purpose, you will chase the wrong things.  Your job is not your purpose.  You are a piece of God's puzzle.  

We must appreciate every part of the body of Christ.  Every role is important.  I'm just Chris.  I'm on the Dream Team, too.  If you find your part, you'll do it well.  Let's create an environment here for that.  

4. Then, we can make a difference.  That's where you'll find real joy.  

John 15:8-11  (NKJV)

8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

We must resist our gravitational pull to selfishness.  

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands. 

(We had an amazing crowd at the 8:00 A. M. assembly).