September 6, 2026
Please note: there were some technology issues in the recording of the service. Worship was recorded in full; the beginning of Pastor Jeff’s message was lost and his message was recorded via the iPad, which was not a quality recording.
Link to worship: September 6
Link to message: Message September 6
Apostle Susan Powers opened the service with a “Mindful Moment.”
According to the dictionary, mindful is an adjective that means bearing in mind or being aware. Often used to mean having specific facts, responsibilities, or feelings actively impressed on your consciousness.
It’s more than just a remembrance - it’s being fully aware that He is getting ready to deposit more.
Folder: a document entitled “The Almond Branch - The Tree.” What was the purpose of the almond branch sitting on the altar? It was given to the body of CCC about sixteen years ago by the Warring Doves International ministry - one of five given throughout the state of Kansas.
Jeremiah 1:1-12
The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching[b] to see that my word is fulfilled.”
An almond tree is literally called the “wakeful” tree because it awakes from the sleep of winter earlier than all other trees, a symbol of God’s early execution of His purposes. We were given this prophetic sign to remind us of this scripture where we were going to be like first fruits, a people awakened to the purposes of God who then lived and moved and had their bing in HIM. We don’t look to another and follow that trend, which is very important to this church.
Last week, Apostle Susan shared with us a miracle, a sign to this tribe, to prove that HE commands the seasons and times. We were given this sign to remind us that we are not a usual people. We must stop trying to look like everyone else. Outside, God mandated an apple garden be planted. It’s a memorial garden for Apostle George, but it is also a promise for generations to follow. He has given us a tree - in a DROUGHT - with a sign from God that shows the fruit on a brand new tree: a fully developed apple AND flowers…which ONLY happens in the Spring. It DOES not happen in the hot Summer or the Fall. We can see this as a prophetic sign from God that He is who He says He is and He will do what He said He will do, through you, for you, etc., for His Kingdom. You matter! You count! The days of thinking we are fading away need to be far from our minds - we are exactly where we are supposed to be, doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing. When we veer off, we have listeners that listen for the correction of the Lord, for your safety. Not your constriction. You have a responsibility, not only to yourself and your family, but to this tribe and to the Kingdom of God, because you are unique, and God is the only one who can cause things like this to happen. We have a physical sign from the Lord - a confirmation of what God has said: 1) plant a garden, 2) in remembrance of and as a sign of…and the sign of is that we must train these generations up for what the future holds for them. Their future is bright. It is not scary and dark as the world says - God has the power to cause a little apple tree to flower and blossom out of season. How much more are you important to Him?
Psalm 8:4
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
He is GOD.
Don’t stay on the sidelines. Take a step forward and ask God “what is my part?” If you don’t do your assignment someone else will be called to it - and he has said we have everything we need.
Apostle Susan reminded us that we have taken spiritual gifts tests and those are coming back around, and if you haven’t done that test, we need to take care of that.
As Apostle Susan was speaking, she felt the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in confirmation of what she was speaking. You have a mighty God who governs your life and who is calling you up. It’s time to decide what is really important and what is really HIS.
Rachael Gilmore led worship.
During worship, the following was shared:
Stacea Kuehn began singing: “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?”
Rachael Gilmore had the following prophetic response:
“Lean into Me, Beloved. Lean into Me, Beloved” He anoints my head with oil. He anoints my head with oil, and in the wilderness places He says, “just lean into Me, My Beloved. Just lean into Me.”
Apostle Susan Powers then had the following prophetic response:
“Lean not on your own understanding, but lean on Me. Just lean on Me. Just lay your head on My chest and hear the heartbeat. Hear the heartbeat.
Early Childhood Worship
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7xL1Ce4F40
Big Idea: I can share my big feelings!
Bible Story: Ruth and Naomi
Bible Verse: 2 Timothy 3:16
Message: Pastor Jeff Spangler
“Oaks of Righteousness”
Please note: due to technical difficulties, the first 15 minutes or so of the message was not recorded.
Isaiah 59:
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace.
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses are many in your sight,
and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13 rebellion and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,
uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one,
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm achieved salvation for him,
and his own righteousness sustained him.
17He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands their due.
19 From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath of the Lord drives along.[a]
20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
We are called in our families and our communities to be just and rightful. Even when it is hard. It’s not just about being right - we love being right! But it’s also about being JUST.
We are called to be just and rightful according to what the Word says - and be talking about “it,” the thing, not the person.
It’s Micah 6:8! LOVE Mercy! Stand for righteousness!
Justice is the MORAL PRINCIPLE that drives you being just! I am not the judge - the Lord is. And justice will be dispatched from Him. Hold everything to HIM.
14 So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
So justice is driven back - we see that today. The work of the Lord - true justice - is driven back. We think money is “it.”
But if money was the thing, when we died, it would go with us. But what do we get to take with us when we die? God created life and birth. It started with God. So the only thing I can take with me is my life. My soul. It’s not the money, the work, even the work ethic. Who He called me to be is what I am taking with me.
So how are we doing with that?
If we are called Oaks of Righteousness, it's about the generations. What legacy are you leaving the generations to come? Remember who you are called to be! Who am I that He is mindful of me? And we are to be mindful of HIM!
So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
His word says righteousness stands at a distance…could it be you have stood afar from the work you’re to do, for too long?
Justice has been driven back because of our OWN justice, because we trust the government to the do the work of the church.
He called you Oaks of Righteousness…let’s not be the oaks that stand too far off! If I am standing too far off, how can the work of God advance the way He designed it?
Are you at a place in all areas of your life where you’ve allowed the enemy’s lies in and you are standing far off? If you are standing far off, how can they be called? How can they benefit from your shade?
Righteousness is standing off and justice is being driven off, and evil is having a hold. And if you speak truth, you will become the prey. BUT DO NOT FEAR. Because you have been called Oaks of Righteousness! You will NOT become prey, because He says “I have made you to stand fast in dry, arid places.”
You can be just, and you can be rightful, because it’s HIS arm that upholds us. It’s HIS works that come to pass…don’t we see that in the apple tree out front? That little apple tree knows it’s called to be an oak of righteousness! “I will be just, and I will be rightful, and bloom when God says to bloom!”
Maybe nature believes God in His Word quicker than we do…
Verse 17:
17He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
He PUT ON RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Righteousness doesn’t just happen because you want it to…you have to make a conscious choice to put it on!
So whose righteousness is that we put on? God’s - because He is the ONLY one who is just!
Christ is coming back, and not like the stained glass windows. When he comes back to reign, he is putting justice and righteousness on as a breastplate. This Word is describing something different than we think! Jesus is coming back in garments and cloaks that look different from before…but the breastplate is still righteousness. The truth - that He will be a righteous judge.
If Jesus chooses to put that on, and He says we are His and we have that same ability and power…does that mean WE also have a garment of righteousness to put on?
We have a choice EVERY MORNING to put on a breastplate of righteousness. We did not earn it, but we have a choice to put it on.
We need this breastplate in order to do what we have been called to do.
He is coming back in a garment of righteousness, and He has great vengeance and zeal to uphold to bring truth back.
So it’s up to us to acknowledge we have sinned and fallen short of His glory…but we put on that garment of righteousness, so not my mindset but yours be done, oh Lord…and a helmet of salvation, to turn our minds to redemption. We need a Savior. We know those who need a Savior…but it’s not our job to say “well you know what YOU need,” but to come alongside and say “we all fall short, and I see you. I see your struggle. Here’s where I have found great strength.”
He says “put on” these things - it means we have a conscious choice to put these things on. We have to make a choice.
Isn’t this the same as a mindful moment? Taking a step back and saying “Lord cloak me in your righteousness”?
Don’t be soft and stand far off - an oak is strong and standfast. But justice is driven back and righteousness is standing back. Why?
The Lord said: “My oaks of righteousness are not standing at their gates.”
Where are the city gates? Not inside the church building - there are many gates established out there. 7 mountains of culture. We need to know where we are called and stand in those gates as Oaks of Righteousness.
His Word says the closer you get to the gate, the more the demons will manifest. It happened to Jesus - and He told them to shut up! They had no authority!
Jesus even became the prey…but He overcame, and we have the same power! WE have been called to be gatekeepers, and if the gatekeeper is not standing at the gate, what happens?
At gates in Israel, they would make rock fences, and the gate itself was a person. When God says “My Oaks of Righteousness are standing far off”, it may mean there are breaches because you are standing too far from your gate!
“Get past yourself and be mindful of ME! I’ve asked you to stand close to the gate!”
So it bears some questions…He is not beating you up, He is preparing you for tomorrow. He doesn’t want you to be a broken reed - you’ll be bent but you will be ok. The word is not that we are reeds, we are Oaks. And we are able to cloak ourselves in just, rightful behavior.
They don’t need more of us. They need more JESUS. And we have to get out of the way.
Don't be far off. Stand at your gate. Dispense this justice - where? Breastplate of Righteousness, which covers the heart. We don’t need righteousness from our head, it comes from our heart.
Isaiah 60:1
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
Why did he say that? Justice was being driven back, and righteousness was standing far off.
Isaiah 59:21
“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
It’s a covenant! He needs you to stand at the gate and do the work! When you get your butt where your face has already been shown, some good stuff will happen!
When the enemy tries to make my life hard…it keeps me from where I am supposed to be. But Jesus tells us “I am the truth, I am the Way, I am the Life!”
Read 59 and apply it to your life!! Read and study!!! You have time!! Hold what’s yours - and then release 60:1!
Arise Oaks of Righteousness and shine!
Isaiah 61:8-11
“For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
God says He loves justice, so if justice has been pushed back, what should we do? Don’t you want to do what your lover wants? It’s in all our relationships…He loves justice, so let’s do justice!
“I hate robbery and wrongdoing.” Like when we steal His glory, or we use His Word wrongly. Or we don’t take time to pray, to read the Word, we are robbing HIM of the blessing He is trying to give YOU!
If you are standing far off, the challenge is: get in there! He sees your pain - get in there anyway!
If he hates robbery and wrongdoing, it’s worth taking the time to ask God the question: “God, where have I robbed you? Where have I done wrong?”
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Remember, He brings warnings, but He also brings promises! “Remember My Promises, Oaks! Be different because of it! YOU are Oaks of Righteousness!” But He also said His righteous ones are far off…so we need to ask: am I where I’m supposed to be?
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
You can be saved by the blood of the Lamb and just have a foot in the door, but there is so much more than that. You can be arrayed in a robe of HIS righteousness. You didn't earn it, steal it, or deserve it…but first we are clothed in salvation, and then our outer garment is righteousness…our identity! Salvation is like our underclothes…and our outer garments signify whose we are and what our station is.
Just like a bridegroom, and a bride dresses in her jewels. Much like this, He arrays us in HIS righteousness. And it’s his JOY to do that so that no one mistakes who His bride is.
He arrays us with righteousness, so even if you are standing far off, people can till tell who you are, and they may not like it. But if you are where you are supposed to be, people see it and are drawn to you.
Verse 11:
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
Two different things…
The soil makes the sprout come up.
The garden causes the seed to come up.
Soil is to the sprout as the garden is to the seed…
Such as the sovereign Lord is to righteousness and praise.
So like good soil, He can make good praise just come up. He can make righteousness come out of the hard things!
He is going to array us…but the Lord said “tell them there’s a choice.” You’ve been covered in order to enter His courts…why? To ADJUDICATE.
I’ve come into the courts to adjudicate FOR THEM. Wear the garment FOR THEM. We want to come to His courts with great praise knowing that He will do what He will do - in rocky and hard places!!!
One step further…
GARDEN. What’s the job of the garden? To cause the seed to grow. Not the fruit…the seed to grow. That’s the job of the garden.
The reason we are called the Gardens of Christ’s Community Church is that He has placed His seed in others, and He needs a place where they can come and cause that seed to grow. So we are not a church to get everyone saved.. That’s our job as pastors in our community…to go to the gates and cast the seed, then we come here to the garden so that seed can begin to grow.
WE WANT THE SEED TO GROW. We have prophetic signs in the church and outside the church - the apple tree grew and produced fruit…that’s you!!!!
We see an apple tree…and He sees an Oak of Righteousness.
