Sunday AM Recap
May 3, 2026
Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/pUspfQaaIDo?si=8zUUAXPoNhtWixAO
Apostle Susan Powers opened the service:
Who noticed the new apple trees? The types of apple trees planted in the front of the church are Liberty and Freedom. When God began to speak to her about the apple teaching, He said two trees. As it turns out, you have to have two trees for cross-pollination. If you want fruit, you have to have more than one variety of apple tree.
God told Apostle: “I want two apple trees. The fruit is not going to be yours - the fruit is for the generations coming up.”
These will be markers to remember Apostle George as well as how the Lord established us and how faithful God is in every season of our lives.
What were the three questions we were supposed to be asking this month of Iyar?
What mystery do you want God to reveal to you?
What healing do you want to see God do?
What are you wanting God to provide?
EVERYONE has an important part to play in The Gardens. No one is exempt! So be ready to be stretched! Because IT’S NOT ABOUT US!
It’s about OUR KING! And HIS KINGDOM!
What did you come with today to offer to the King? Why did you come? What or who did you expect to find today, and what is your part in providing that?
Scriptures for the month of Iyar:
Iyar, this is a month of transition. It’s an important and dangerous time.
Daniel 2:21-22
Matthew 13:11
James 1:5
Psalm 139:13-14
Why are these important? Because there’s a test. Are you paying attention to what God is saying?
(Need more information on Iyar? Check it out here: Hebrew Month of Iyar | Expect, Prepare & Connect )
Are you following the instructions? Are you driving the walls, lifting up your praise, and PRAYING!
What changes have you seen since 2010?
DON’T GIVE UP! DON’T LET UP!
Andi Colyer led worship.
NO EARLY CHILDHOOD OR ELEMENTARY WORSHIP TODAY.
Message: Pastor Jeff Spangler
This is the month of transition, an expectant month, sometimes a daunting time. We’ve had the resurrection, and after that, He told them to wait.
We get stretched and stretched, and if you don’t tend the stretch, it tightens up. God has designed us for more than what we think we can do! God says you have a dynamic capacity.
“Asking a good question” series - see it again, differently. We think we know the way, but the Lord told us it’s the year to dream. It’s not the way you think it is. So what’s a good question to ask? “Then Lord, how is it? What must I do?” It’s not the way you think it is - so maybe the way you think you’re going is not the way.
It’s what Jesus did everywhere He went - telling people the way they were going was NOT the way. This challenge is still before us today.
In this transition, as we are moving into the Gardens, and as the spiritual year progresses - something has been birthed and it’s time to give us life outside the womb - and scientifically that’s a traumatic moment. A baby at birth is used to breathing liquid, and it’s now getting ready to breathe air, use eyes they’ve never used - etc.
God has designed us specifically for things we never dreamed we would use.
You start out being dependent on the umbilical cord - and then that turns out not to be important at all. There are things we get comfortable with - and all of a sudden it’s different, and our lives continue with that cycle - in the spiritual as it was in the physical.
God is going to do His thing. He’s going to win with or without you, but He’d much rather have you with Him. And in this transition, He is resetting your value system - the world spends a lot of time teaching you what it thinks is valuable. God is resetting that!
Review of the past several weeks:
Matthew 16:13-20
Who do they say I am? Who is that “they”?
John 14:6
The way, the truth, the life. We like it in this order: the truth, the way, and THEN the life. We like to switch it around. But God sets the way FIRST.
Luke 24:13-25
Road to Emmaus - discovery of the truth, experience of life like we’ve never known
We have to keep all these teachings in mind as we move towards new life in this church, in The Gardens.
And to become what God is leading us to become, we need to be likeminded.
Philippians 2:1-4
One spirit, one mind, Christ gives it equally to all. What are you going to do with it? It’s not the way you think it is - because we need to come into like-mindedness.
That doesn’t mean we all think the same way. We each respond in different ways. We’re not robots. But the TRUTH remains the same, no matter who is ministering, no matter who is speaking, no matter who comes through the door and who responds to the need.
Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus asked some probing questions. Assessing where His disciples were. “Who do THEY say that I am?” External influence to an internal influence. Who do YOU say that He is? How are YOU living?
It’s time to ask GOOD questions. Why ask a good question? To get a good answer. To get to the truth. To level up. To go deeper. To challenge your ideas about what you value and your interest. Cost and reward. PLE vs PAL.
1 Samuel 26:6-11; 21-24
What do you think David was trying to accomplish? For whatever reason, he wanted to be close to Saul…no wrong answer as to motive because we don’t know.
There are things to ponder here! It’s good to ask the questions!
Don’t ask “why me?” David wasn't asking “why me?” He was asking: “Who am I that this man should pursue me?” It’s a DIFFERENT question.
He asked two to go with him. Only one went. Why? His buddy that went with him was ready to kill Saul, assuming that’s why they were going over.
Pause: our leaders ask us to go to a place, and if you bring with you what you;ve always done in the past, you may miss what you’re being asked to do. It may not be the way you think it is…and His way is RIGHT.
***Recording skipped**
We want to ask good questions for an expectation and a purpose - but it’s not the way you think it is. So a good question is: what is THE way? God promises if you get on THE way, you’ll get to the truth and the life. Remember again the Road to Emmaus: “didn’t our hearts burn within us?”
It’s not the external - it’s the internal. To become like-minded is INTERNAL. Where we are going matters inside out. In valuing others, we see our value system reset. In heaven, gold is just asphalt. Value what He has placed in others to see YOUR value increase. Your understanding will increase.
David spoke and valued Saul as an anointed leader instead of killing him. And it brought repentance to Saul - it brought life to Saul. LIFE.
We serve a deity that believes in life - all other deities believe in death!
Today’s study is in Proverbs 16. And Pastor gave a preface: He’s already wrong.
Why do you ask a good question? To get a good answer. If it’s not the way I think it is, then what is the way? Pastor is starting with an assumption that the way he wants to do this is not good - instead of assuming he’s always right, he’s assuming he is wrong. Sometimes we have a false sense that we know - but we haven’t asked.
So let’s seek to ask good questions. Let’s study this out TOGETHER.
Because we often think we know the way and it turns out our way is wrong. And when we go the wrong way, it costs us something. And our response to that makes a difference.
Remember - some things belong to God. The “why” belongs to God. So if we learn to ask the right questions, and adjust our value system and responses, we can experience a lot less frustration.
Proverbs 16:1-13
To humans belong the plans of the heart,
but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.
All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
but motives are weighed by the Lord.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.
The Lord works out everything to its proper end—
even the wicked for a day of disaster.
The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.
When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
he causes their enemies to make peace with them.
Better a little with righteousness
than much gain with injustice.
In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps.
The lips of a king speak as an oracle,
and his mouth does not betray justice.
Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord;
all the weights in the bag are of his making.
Kings detest wrongdoing,
for a throne is established through righteousness.
Kings take pleasure in honest lips;
they value the one who speaks what is right.
Some notes:
Verse 2: MOTIVES - weighted by the Lord
Verse 5 - judgment vs discernment. “They will not go unpunished” That’s God’s job, not ours.
Verse 7 - the right way = enemies making peace with us
Verse 13 - remember the legislature discussion. They address and speak to the Speaker. “Wouldn’t you agree?” Are they actually asking for agreement or are they manipulating the conversation? They don’t expect agreement, they are working on shocking others into doing what they want. Sometimes the plans of a person are not innocent according to their motive. The motives of the heart - God weighs the motives of your plans. Do you ever go into conversations with an agenda? That’s not a conversation.
TRUST that when you are on God’s path, your enemies will yield. He will provide for all your needs. And even though it may be hard, your reward is on that path.
Verse 13: Kings take pleasure in honest lips - the Church has for too long said one thing, done another, and cast doubt all over the whole thing. God doesn’t want a manipulation of who He is, He wants a REVELATION of who He is, and He wants a people that values what’s in others, trusting that GOD has what's in me in His hand.
We want to be on the WAY of Christ. We will encounter the truth when we are on THE WAY - HIS WAY. But we bristle at that. Even Jesus said: “if there is any other way, let it be so…but NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS BE DONE.” This is our model!
His way is always best - even when it costs us something. Because he doesn’t leave us alone in it - we have the Great Comforter with us!
Going deeper in Proverbs 16:
Verse 1
To humans belong the plans of the heart,
but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.
Where do you seek your answers from?
We have people in our circles that tell us what we want to hear, and we have people who come to us looking for a certain answer. But who do you seek your answers from? We don't want what humans have as a plan. It’s more valuable to take people to the Lord than to tell them what to do!
HE WANTS TO SHOW YOU THE WAY. So where do you get your answers from?
Verse 2
All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
but motives are weighed by the Lord.
Our perspective, circumstances, and experiences, can drive the bus. It makes us FEEL like we are right. But we can only see so much! Where do you get your answers from? From your experiences? From what happened yesterday? That may not be right for today.
Verse 3
Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.
ANY situation you are in, commit to the Lord first. Not to what you think you understand, trust that when God says go, He has given you everything you need to GO.
Verse 9
In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps.
Your path seems good to you, but HE orders your steps. We live in a season of grace and mercy! You can’t be afraid to make a move - test Him in this! Try it out!
If you can help hurting and broken people experience success with the Lord even one time, they will crave that feeling! Do you remember what it was like to be set free? To know it was HIM?
Your steps are based on how you did with verse 2. The more committed to the path you are, the more ordered your steps. And to order your steps - ask good questions. Commit to the Lord. Question where you find your answers.
Verse 11-13
Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord;
all the weights in the bag are of his making.
Kings detest wrongdoing,
for a throne is established through righteousness.
Kings take pleasure in honest lips;
they value the one who speaks what is right.
There is value in those who speak relationship of God to those who lack that insight of the relationship. There are those who don’t have a relationship with God. The Word is not a checklist of how you live your life. It’s a book about coming into RELATIONSHIP. He wants to reveal Himself to you. It’s not behavior modification - it’s RELATIONSHIP.
We all have kings in our lives, people in charge. Kings take pleasure in honest lips.
When having conversations, are you trying to manipulate someone? Or are you starting conversations with relationship? With letting people know you understand what they are going through?
Have the purpose in your heart that you want more than just a good answer, you want to know THE WAY.
David held that life was precious and honored that which was not being honored. Decades later, Solomon wrote these words of wisdom - that when you don’t go on God’s path, it costs you something. He had grown up with these stories from his father.
We spend too much time saying why me and looking backwards. Cut it loose, because He has already paid for your past, and He has a way for you moving into the future - helping THEM who are still stuck in the past.
Move past just asking good questions…we get out what we put in. And we don;t want to put in the superficial and get the superficial. This community needs real, deep revelation. Get away from “woe is me, this is terrible” and into “God, how do I get back to YOUR path, how do I make this right?” And then take that to OTHERS. We have all fallen short of the glory of God - but we can all be transformed and be on the way He has for us.
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