Intro:

          I’m amazed at all the hype we see in Hollywood at Oscar time. Lines of what the world calls stars showing off their latest lypo –suction, facelifts, implants, jewelry and fashion. Talk about the fashions. Everyone wants to make the biggest splash. There are entire shows that are dedicated to the fashions alone. All of this is plastic and unreal!  Every year there is one that is so overwhelming and very exposed. I’m proud of the fact that I’m part of something a lot bigger than anything opening in Hollywood. I’m part of God’s Kingdom!

          Today we begin a journey that will continue for the next year. It is a journey that will expand God’s Kingdom on earth and grow Top’s outreach here in this place too.

Read Scripture: Deuteronomy 11:18-19

1.    Faith for Tomorrow:

According to this passage of scripture parents, you and I are the teachers. Not the church, the schools, or the books our kids read. We as parents have the blessing of having tools at our fingertips that we can use such as, church, school, television, books and other media. (They are all tools in the hands of the teachers/parents)  Of course, it’s a lot easier to blame the church if my kids aren’t saved, blame the school if they are not learning, and blame the TV for all the violence, but parents, listen! “You and I are their teachers! We must take responsibility for what were making available to our kids. What legacy are we leaving for our children?

·       The past generation – The past generation was a generation that knew God. My parents knew God. They went through suffering and made it through great poverty and economic depression, yet they trusted and followed the Lord.

·       Our generation – When one generation knows God, usually the next generation knows about God. We have a generation that knows about God today. It has religion but not the kind of fervor that the last generation had.

·       The last generation produced people like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Dale Carnegie, and entertainers like, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, and Bill Cosby. Clean wholesome and funny.

·       The next generation – Whenever you have a generation that knows about God, usually the generation that follows doesn’t know God at all. (By the way, these are generalities based on the entire population) Look at what this generation has produced; Marylyn Manson, Eminem, skinheads, and children with great tendencies toward violence. The pastor in El Cajon, California, V.O. just called me and asked me to add a service for the kids that were there during that awful shooting. Many are attending his church.

2.    The World has changed:

My grandmother lived to see the great scandal of the movie, “Gone with the Wind” At the end of that film the entire theatre remained silent as an entire generation was scandalized by that line at the end of the film when Clark Gable says to Vivien Leigh, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!” That was the scandal back then. Now here we are decades later and I’m saying it in church and there is no major scandal. (Well there are some that will get scandalized no matter what, right? Jesus had them in his day too) [Pharisees got scandalized once just because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day]

What legacy are we leaving for our children? What will your kids remember most about you? What will your grandchildren tell others about their’ grandparents?

          Things change in such a short period of time and how hard it is for us to cope with the changes, right? It seems that almost over night the album was replaced by the C.D. The cassette replaced the 8-track, palm pilots are replacing paper calendars, and the computer has replaced the typewriter. And most incredible of all, the MIR space station (that’s Russian for peace) now a charred heap at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean has been replaced by the ISS (International Space Station) read the 10 lists.

The longer you live the more incredible changes you see. Some of you kids think we old fogies, are geeks, it’s worse than that; we just don’t give a rip. When the Grammies were given all the younger people thought, “Oh it will go to Destiny’s child, or someone like that,” hen they announced it went to Steely Dan all the young said, “Who?” and all us older guys went, “Yeah, baby! Steeley Dan!”

3.    My Legacy:

We are forever forming our legacy and the future of our children in everything we do and with every decision that we make whether good or bad.

·       Legacy of Jesus lived at my house – When I was a child I really believed that. I would listen to mom and dad pray as if they were talking to someone, and I know now that they were. When I was asked at school once how many were in my family I included Jesus in the count. (I said, “My mom, my dad, 3 sisters, two brothers, Jesus, and me”) What is the atmosphere like at your house? Is Jesus there? Or is it the same atmosphere as the ungodly neighbors who maybe have never been in church in their life?

·       Legacy of Family Unity – Our family had to stick together. You are looking at the product of a mom and dad who kept our family together even through some difficult moments. Kids will always make mistakes. We live in perilous times. MTV, hundreds of radio stations, and recording artists that glorify everything from violence to sex with family like Eminem. These forces pressure kids into living a careless life with no regard for others. It’s a, “do as you please” attitude that takes people to hell. So there are problems in homes, Teen-age pregnancy, crime, and other stuff. Those things will happen but families stick together that have Christ in the center of their lives.

·       Legacy of Church – I’m glad I had this one. Listen, when I was young I was not churched, I was over-churched. [Membership in a local body, (church) is fundamental to the faithful Christian life. Failure to do so defies the explicit warning to not forsake “our assembling together”  (Hebrews 10:25) Martin Luther said, “Apart from the church, salvation is impossible.” Not that the church provides salvation; God does. But because the saved one can’t fulfill what is means to be a Christian apart from the church, membership becomes the indispensable mark of salvation. “So highly does the Lord esteem the communion of His church,” Calvin wrote, “that He considers everyone a traitor and apostate from religion who perversely withdraws himself from any Christian society which preserves the true ministry of the word and sacraments.”

a.     The bible puts it this way, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some (word there is custom), but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.

b.     20 times in Psalms it draws us to the House of the Lord. Some people visit the house of pancakes more than the House of the Lord.

c.     Visiting the coast when I was young I spent a couple of hours working on intricate sand castles, whole cities would appear beneath my hands. Just when I had finished some of my own older uncles came and smashed my creations. Finally, I tried an experiment: I placed some big rocks and chunks of concrete in the base of my castles. Then I built the sand kingdoms on top of the rocks. When the local church is in grave peril from a variety of dangers: politic, heresies, or plain old sin. People get frightened and say, “Pastor, this is going to destroy the church.” They forget that the church is built upon a Rock. (Matt. 16:16) over, which the gates of hell itself shall not prevail.

·       Kids that grow up in church, grow up:

·       More talented, musical (remember Jaci), and they grow with morals and values. [Sonny Arg. Jr.]

·       Remember those silly songs? Jesus loves me this I know. I may never march in the infantry, ride, in the Cavalry, shoot the artillery, I may never fly over Germany, but I’m in the Lords’ army. Those songs held me.

·       When I was a teen-ager, and in ministry I burned out. 70s, some of you 60s buffs, there was a spirit, (and still is) to the music. I’m sorry but I liked Prince (as disgusting as some of his stuff was/ as a musician it was greatly put together and the enemy used stuff like that to attack. He still does. Youth today, (IN THE CHURCH) can quote lyrics of sick rap songs. But while that spirit from that worldly song was on your radio, inside were those silly songs, “The BIBLE, yes that’s the book for me, I stand upon the word of God, the BIBLE. Or Amazing Grace.

·       That’s why this church has as part of our vision, A school, Daycare, Bible School, Kid’s ministries, (we have them now) Because we need to leave a legacy to our kids that includes church.

4.    Be Part of Something Bigger than you:

This church has a Vision and a structure that is solid because of how God laid the foundation.

·       Not everyone has been happy about it. Some disagreed because we won’t be part of other agendas, their agendas, (prophet’s clubs [several through the years]) Jesus made some of the religious mad of his time (healed on the Sabbath; “That’s not the right way to do things”. We kept our face forward like Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. He refused to be part of that village’s thing. His face was toward Jerusalem. Luke 9:51-53

·       Ours is toward God’s will. Remember the Carnival? The 6AM service at Farmers market? With trumpets?

·       We prophecy and believe in the prophetic with balance, (next week, Mike Gomez) but not out of control.

This church, TOP has history. We have grown and are still growing faster than many that have existed three times as long. We are a little different in our vision and function than that of other churches but that’s because God is preparing a mighty work of us for the future. No more church business as usual. TOP is different, always has been and always will be. God is in control not man or the religious games that have destroyed so many other works.

·       Our first service at Washington – the custodian forgot! Had it outside,

·       Our $7,000.00 mistake that turned out to be a blessing. (Old building downtown) Erlinda, and Gina Holguin. (We’ve always been blessed with people who are prominent in our community. [No red tag]

·       Community Center – Boxing ring?

·       Remember our first service here? No occupancy permits so we had it out in the parking lot under a tent in AUGUST! One hour Bi-lingual. And first crusade here with Sonny Arguinzoni Jr., under the pole barn.

5.    God is doing it Again:

And we get to be part of it. For one year we have promised to add to our tithing and offering a pledge that will allow us to continue to minister as we expand the work of the Lord at TOP. Would you like to join us?