LEADERSHIP SESSION WITH JABIN CHAVEZ

Honoring the Impact of This House

I do want to honor just this house for its impact on my life, and I learned really about the grace of God starting here when I would come on Tuesday nights and hear Pastor Marshall talk about grace. I grew up in a church, we didn’t believe in grace, amen. We didn’t believe in grace, and we were mad about it. We believed in holiness and the Old Testament, and we didn’t know there was a New Testament. I didn’t know there was a New Testament until I started coming on Tuesday nights. Marshall would say, open to Ephesians. I’d say, where is that? I had to go to the concordance. I never passed Malachi. I wish I was kidding. You know, I mean, you know, I’m kind of kidding, I’m kind of not.

But honestly, this place was so instrumental in my development and really I would just say in my walk with the Lord and understanding Jesus’ finished work and who I am in Christ, and so I just feel such a debt to this house, sneaking in on conferences, sneaking in on different events that you would have, and just being so impacted by this house. So I love you so much. I love you, Pastor Cindy, and just so grateful for you too. And I can just see so much of what we’re doing today, and I can trace it here. So thank you. I honor you too and love you so much.

Excitement for the Future

We honor the founding pastors of Believer Center of Albuquerque. And I’m so excited about the future. I’m so excited about David and Jordan. I’m so excited to see God’s hand on their life. David and I started as wannabe rock stars. We wanted when’s the last time you touched the guitar? Years. I have them. I see them. And I wave at them and then I grab my golf clubs and I go play golf. It’s like, what do I want to do with this free afternoon? I want to go golf.

And just love to see already what’s happened, even in just the last year. God’s hand is obviously on them and evident. I can’t wait to see where the church goes and grows. And from one generation to another, you know, they tell us that Christianity is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, but really it’s a relay race. And it’s been handed off now. We’re gonna go from glory to glory, strength to strength, faith to faith as we continue to look upon Jesus. And so I love you too, and I’m so excited about all that’s already happened in a year, and I can’t wait to see all that God is gonna do. So let’s honor our pastors as well.

The Journey of City Light Church

Well, I bring you greetings. We started City Light Church seven years ago, and it’s been a wild ride. God’s hand just kind of came upon us, and we started in a middle school. We then went to a little shopping center. We were in between an insurance agency, a Buffalo Wild Wings, and a liquor store. Come on, everybody. So we would serve food and drinks after every service, you know, just kidding.

And God began to grow that little room. It sat 225 people, and we were able to grow there and grow there and grow there, and then we started a second location two years in January of 2020 at a high school, and then obviously COVID hit, lost the high school, went back into the little plaza, and kind of started the rebuild in June of 2020, and did that for a couple of years and then went back to a high school, started growing again, and then in May of this year we just moved into, it’s crazy to think about, a 26 million dollar facility. I think about it now, it’s like it just gives me the hives to think about that.

Why I Love the Church

Matthew 16:18-19: “So I call you Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth, it will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

And I want to just share for a few moments why I love the church. Believe in the church, and I still believe it is what God is doing in the earth. The church is the vehicle of the kingdom of God. Maybe you’re in this room and you’re a kingdom person, and I’m about the kingdom. That’s great. I love that. But the kingdom operates within this thing called the ecclesia, the ecclesia, the gathering of the saints. The kingdom manifests within the people of God. God is still building his church. It’s the only thing Jesus is building. He is building his church. He still has a plan for his church. And I want to just talk about why I love it.

Saint Cyprian of Carthage said, “No one can have God as their father who does not have the church as their mother.” Oh man, we have a perfect father, but how many know we got mama issues? Come on, somebody. We got a jacked up mother. I’ve been hurt by my mother. I’ve been broken by my mother. I’ve been disappointed by my mother, but I still love my mama. Because the church is God’s plan A. He does not have a plan B.

God’s Preferred Way to Save the Lost

So why do I love the church? Well, here’s what I’ve been thinking about. Number one, it’s God’s preferred way to save the lost. All right, I’m gonna give you some Bible to back it up, but I believe this. I believe that the church is God’s preferred way to save the lost. Okay, can you go down a central on a Saturday night with a sign and a bullhorn and lead a drunk person to Jesus? Probably. Maybe, you know. Can I go down to the strip with a guitar and open up heaven over Las Vegas? I don’t know. That’s what people tell me. That’s what they do.

We’re gonna rent out a ballroom on the strip, and we’re gonna open a portal. That was the latest one that I just saw on Instagram. We’re gonna open a portal. All right, all right. So, and it, you know, it’s amazing. That’s awesome that they wanted to do that. And I’m not even making fun of it as much as I just I was like, man, that was probably super expensive. We could probably start at another church location. Could have hired more staff.

Discovering Gifts and Calling

Number two, it helps me discover my gifts and calling. This is why I love the church. I didn’t know I was a worship leader. I didn’t know I was a preacher. I didn’t know I was prophetic. I didn’t know I had the gift of faith. Until I got in the church. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 3. Samuel is in the house of the Lord. And God calls to Samuel. This is 1 Samuel 3 verses 8 and 9. Sorry I didn’t send you guys notes, my bad. He went to Eli and said, Here I am. Did you call me? Eli realized. Now I want you to notice this. Eli is teaching him to hear the voice of God. Eli’s helping him discover his gifts.

Eli realized, he realized he was smart enough to realize there’s a gift on this kid. There’s an anointing on this kid. So he realized the Lord’s calling the boy. He said to Samuel, go and lie down again. And if someone calls again, say, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. And Samuel went back to bed. Samuel learned how to hear the voice of God in the house of God. Because he had a preacher who taught him. He had a preacher who could who was looking at him going, Oh, this is a prophet. This kid’s hearing from the Lord.

The Church Develops Me

And then thirdly, I love the church because it develops me. And I didn’t say it developed me, it develops me because it’s still developing me. And it’s still developing you. It develops us. It works on us. It sharpens us. If you want a different word for that, it disciples us. I am amazed how many people will still come up to me, you know, newer people in our church and walk up to me and go, So what? So what are we doing for discipleship here? What do you do for discipleship? And I’m like, well, how long have you been a Christian? 20 years. Okay. So you’re not one yet? When are you going to become one?

How long have you been saved? 18 years? Okay. So you’re not one yet? What have you been doing for 18 years? Because discipleship is a choice. Let me say this. Discipleship is not a class you join. It is a journey you commit to. Discipleship is not a schedule. Discipleship is a decision. Discipleship is not busyness. I don’t think you’re using the building enough. I’m like, what? What are we talking about? There’s constantly things going on, but like, what like what does that even mean? Discipleship’s not busyness. Discipleship, again, is a journey you’ve committed to within the house of the Lord.

Committing to the Church

If you go back to making disciples, all that’s happening within the gathering. So look, I love classes. I love courses. I love practical systems that can serve you. I love all of that. We do all of that. We do all of that at CityLight. We do all of it. We do New Believers Class and we do Holy Spirit class, we do prayer class, we do DNA class, we do women’s, we do it all. We do I but a class can’t make a disciple. Because it’s a choice. So I’m committed to all the practical off ramps to help people.

But I think we have just like like I was talking about in point one, and really in point two, I think we’ve just underestimated the power of being planted in a house. Like the guy that picked me up last night, been here since he was eight years old. Now all his kids are in. I think some of it might be here. That’s discipleship. He didn’t learn that in an eight-week course, even though I hope great if you have one. That’s that’s more on him. Like that’s more than a practical thing that’s his yes and Marshall’s yes for a really long time. And Cindy’s yes.

You understand what I mean? You I don’t I don’t know how to how to make that happen. Even Eugene, is that right? Donald, what the heck? Where did I get you? Why did I risk it? Now you’re I’m the man of God. You’re Eugene. Donald! Don’t don’t do that. Don’t start calling him that. Donald. Don. I go. It’s over. God bless. We’ll see you tonight. Oh my gosh. How did I get that in my head? Jesus. Donald. I said, I said, I said, how long have you, you know, were you born and raised in the church? And he goes, Oh, I’m really new to the church, four years. I was like, that’s like forever. In Gen Z church years. That’s like for that’s like more than dog years. You know what I’m saying? That’s like at least 80 years.

Well, him being here for four years, being on team for one year, that’s that’s about a decision he’s made as a disciple of Jesus and of it reveals his heart. It even reveals something I haven’t been here that long, only four years. That’s actually amazing. He’s gotten offended in four years. I guarantee he’s been overlooked in four years. I guarantee he’s had a frustrating Sunday in four years. He’s disagreed with something in four years. Don’t say amen any of this. He’s disagreed with something in four years, and yet he just stayed. And not just stayed, served, and not just served, helped, and not just help, but now on the team.

The Power of Prayer and Commitment

Like, I I’m just telling you, I think sometimes we put so much on the church to change us. Like, let me just say this. The church is not the Holy Spirit. And I love the church because I’m committed to it. I’m committed to her. And if I’m committed to her and I’m and I’m in it, over time that thing is going to disciple me and develop me. Being a disciple is your choice to follow Jesus within a community. One more time. Being a disciple is your choice to follow Jesus within a community. And I and I love the church for that. I love the church to see people transformed month after month.

And then now we’re starting to get into year after year. And then eventually decade after decade. And then it and now it’s becoming generation after generation. Can you see it? That’s that’s that’s why I love it. The the the phrase one another or each other, depending on your translation, is said 100 times in the New Testament. One another, 100 times. Things like speak to one another. You know, you can’t do that on a podcast. If you’re talking back to the screen, you’re just weird. You just need you got you there, it’s literally a command in your Bible speak to one another. Love one another, forgive one another, serve one another, submit to one another, encourage one another, honor one another, carry one another, wash one another’s feet, build up each other, speak truth to one another, confess to one another, do not gossip to one another, do not provoke one another, do not envy one another. And that’s just a couple we could we could give you a hundred.

And every one of those one another’s is a part of your spiritual journey. Because there’s highs in that and there’s lows in that. There’s speaking to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and there’s choosing not to gossip about one another, and there’s those moments you have to forgive one another, and there’s those moments you get to pray with one another, but there’s other times you gotta carry one another’s bird. It’s all part of the journey. And if if you’re in a church long enough, you’ll have to obey all one hundred one another’s. So it’s still developing me. Yeah, it’s still developing me. I gotta, I gotta forgive the people that hurt me, and I gotta let go of the of the staff member that’s talking about me that left, and I gotta, and I gotta forgive them so I can minister to the new person that God’s brought into our life.

And I gotta, and I gotta love the the sheep that are in front of me, and not go after the people that are rage watching me on YouTube, even though that’s who I want to preach to, and I gotta so it’s all just still working on me. Still develop, it’s still building up my faith. This is first Peter 4 10. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others. That’s discipleship. You get a gift, you get you receive that gift by the Holy Spirit. You you receive that gift by your destiny, you receive that that grace gift, and then you use it to serve others. To be faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

And when we all do our part, the church thrives. When a pastor says yes, and a congregation says yes, when those two yes meet, that’s what we would maybe call church growth or revival or what renewal or whatever you want to call it. But it’s the yes of a man and woman of God, and it’s the yes of the people of God. And something beautiful happens in the midst of that. And I want to I want to encourage you to, and I think you are, but I just want to encourage you to commit to the church, recommit to the church. Be planted in the church. Psalm 92, be planted in the church. Love the church, speak well of the church, pray for the church. Watch that thing develop in you. Watch that grace develop in you. Watch those gifts be developed in you. It’s amazing. It’s amazing what God does. In the church. That’s why I love the church.

So to real practically, just because I’ll I’ll use it because I got three minutes. Be committed to praying for your church. That’s the number one. The number one thing you can do for this house is pray for it. Pray for it. Because what happens when you pray is grace is released. The word brings faith, Romans 10, but prayer brings grace, 2 Corinthians 12. So as you pray, grace is manifest. Grace starts to flow, oil starts to flow, anointing starts to flow. Pray for your church. Two, serve your church. You’re doing that. And three, financially partner with this church. Get behind it. Get behind it.

And as that happens, your heart will supernaturally connect because it’s a it’s a God principle will connect to this house on a greater level. David could have an off Sunday, and his sermon could be a six, and you’ll walk out going, man, that was a 10 out of 10. I don’t know what I don’t know what he’s been up to. He must have been in prayer and fasting. It was actually your prayers that gave you grace. By the way, you don’t pray for him. He could preach a 10, and you could be like, you know, it’s just different. He’s just different. Church is growing, he’s just kind of different now. That was all that’s all that’s you. That’s your prayer. That’s your grace. It’s amazing.

The more I challenge my church to pray for me, the better they think I preach. It’s one thing I’ve really committed to this year is to ask the church to pray for me. And it is unbelievable. Every week how people come up to me. That was the word of the year, Pastor. It’s like I didn’t even know where I was at. I didn’t know if that was English. I was so tired. It’s amazing. It’s the grace. And by the way, and I’m just this committed. I’m praying for my church more than I’ve ever prayed for my church. And I love my church. In my mind, they can do no wrong. It’s just like, oh my God, he’s the greatest people in the world. Well, that’s grace. It’s Holy Ghost blinders that He puts on you to not see, not to see them after the flesh, but to see them after the Spirit. It’s a it’s a beautiful thing that happens in prayer.

And so I’m still building the church. Not my church, the church. That’s why I’m here. So I’m here today. To just hopefully, in any way, just say amen to this house. Tomorrow I’ll fly to Chicago and I’ll preach for a friend there to somehow, in any way, just say amen to that house, to that church, and then I’ll come home and I’ll preach to our church and I’ll love our church. Like I’m just I’m committed to this. Committed to her. My messed up mama. And it’s amazing. It is amazing what happens when you when you commit your life to something that’s bigger than you. You just start growing. You just you get so much bigger, and you don’t really see it in weeks, you see it in years.

Your mentality gets bigger, your spirit gets bigger, your thought life gets bigger, your heart gets bigger, your love gets bigger, your capacity gets so much bigger. And it just be because you put yourself in an environment that isn’t small. And the church, the capital Cur, the church is not small. And so when you when you plant yourself in it, man, it just expands you in ways that you could you could never think. And now people think of me as like a big thinker, or people think of me as generous, or people think of me as you know, honorable or whatever. Like people have these things that they say about me, and I can really take no credit for it. Like I really got in something that forced me to grow. It’s beautiful.

I got I got out of, I got out of small, and I got into this body called the body of Christ. And it and it made me bigger, and it made me love bigger, and it made me dream bigger, it made me give bigger, it made me serve bigger, it made me, it made me think bigger. Just just because of what I what I what I chose to be planted in. And for this house in Jesus’ name. Let’s pray. Why don’t we stand to our feet?

Thank you, Lord. What an honor to be here. Thank you again for letting me be here. Father, I bless this house. I bless this amazing church. I bless your people today. May the Lord bless you. May the Lord keep you. May the Lord make his face shine on you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you. May the Lord be gracious to you. And may He give you His peace. I place the name of the Lord upon you. And I declare God is blessing you. God is expanding you. God is increasing you. God is multiplying this house. Lord, I thank you for it. Lord, I thank you for it. Lord, I thank you for it.

I thank you for the future of Believer Center. I thank you for the future of this house. I thank you for every seed that has been sown, every tear that has been cried, every prayer that has been prayed, every dollar that has been sown into this house, every every teaching that has gone forth, every prophecy that has been released. Lord, I thank you for all that you have done over the last 45 years. And Lord, I just pray in the name of Jesus for a season of harvest, a season of 30, 60, yes, even a hundredfold, a season, Lord, of revival and renewal, a season of next generation being raised up like never before.

Let it be so in our children. Let it be so in our youth ministry. Let it be so in our young adult ministry. Let it be let it be so in all three generations of this church, Lord, in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let it be so when we pray for that. We receive that. We thank you that your grace is on David and Jordan for this, for this season, for this hour, for this city, for this region, for this place in time and in space. Thank you for it, Lord. We give you the glory for it.

Thank you, Lord. Lord, I even pray for David and Jordan, like you did for Joshua. Make them a leader in the sight of the people. And we’ve never talked, and I I’m not even saying you’ve struggled with this, but I just I ask you, Lord, for the hundreds that attend this church, even on even tonight and even on Sunday, when he walks on the stage. It was like something supernatural happened in Joshua 3, where it’s like they looked at him and went, Oh, he’s our leader. Okay, he’s he’s he’s my guy. I pray for that because it’s favor.

David, I know when it happened for me. I went from a church planter to a shepherd. I went from a guy from California trying something out to this is my city, and you’re gonna bury me here. And the people looked at me different. I know, I know I can remember when it happened. I can I can remember it. And I pray for that for you. That there would almost be a shift where it’s like you’re not the new pastor, you’re you’re the pastor, and there’s gonna be a supernatural, even love and a buy-in, and a grace, because it’s just grace, it’s just favor. It’s it’s it’s there or it’s not, and I declare it’s there. And I thank you for it, Lord. I thank you for this house. In Jesus’ name, amen.