Josh Brake: Hey, what's
going on everybody?

Welcome back and happy new year.

Awesome.

I can't believe it's 2025.

It's pretty crazy.

This is the year, uh, the Lord has made.

Um, and it's also the year that Lord
willing, this church will, will get

off the ground and will be launched
and planted for the glory of God and

for his presence to fill the earth.

So, uh, it's, it's exciting.

Um, it's a year, it's going to be
a year for me as I've reflected.

It's a year for me and my family.

a year of transition from One thing to
the next thing Um, and the weird thing

is just insight into how i've been
processing and praying Um, it's a year

of a lot of really small transitions
that lead to a really big one And

I've already been in that, right?

I've been on staff at
the branch in August.

I made a transition to kind of be,
um, a utility player, so to speak,

where I kind of do what I need to do.

I help out where I need to help out
and I still have some weekly meetings.

Uh, but I wasn't having the influence
and the decision making power I

had before, and uh, but still was
influencing in different ways.

And now in January, that
has now transitioned to be

full time church planter.

This is my, I'm recording this on
Thursday, January 2nd, and it's

my first official, I guess, day as
just a full time church planter.

And I don't even see myself as
a church planter, but this is

the language we're using, right?

Um, a full time church
planter starting today.

And, um, there's a freedom
to that and excitement.

There's also a fear of
what does the future hold.

I have faith in what God's going to do,
but I also don't know how it's going to

happen and when it's going to happen.

And staying the course and being
faithful is the name of the game.

Um, Uh, and I just, man, I just

feel the, I feel the Lord even
now as I'm, as I'm sharing.

I don't, I don't think this year of
transition and the year of my wife and

I and our family and a few others going
to plant, I don't think we're the only

ones the Lord is shifting things for.

I think, I think the church
of Jesus is shifting things.

Positioned for transition in the best of
ways, I think, I think it's a good thing.

I think I'm not, I'm not a prophet,
so I'm not saying this is a prophecy,

this is, call it a hope, a desire and
a prayer of my heart is that this year

would be the year of awakening, um,
that churches across the globe, but

really across the West and the United
States would be awakened again to the

presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

I think it's unfortunate that the Holy
Spirit has been seen as an add on if

that's where you land theologically.

If you are more charismatic
theologically, then, um, then you

would emphasize the Holy Spirit more.

And I think it's sad that the Holy
Spirit has been relegated to an emphasis

that some churches have and some don't.

The Holy Spirit is God.

He's not an it.

He's not just a spirit.

He's the Holy Spirit of God, equal in
glory to the Father, equal in glory

to the Son, equal in essence to the
Father, equal in essence to the Son.

And Jesus said, Come to me, all who
are thirsty, and from your heart

will flow rivers of living water.

And by this he meant the Holy Spirit,
who had not yet been given, because

Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Jesus has now been glorified.

The Spirit has been given.

The Holy Spirit is the presence
of Jesus on earth today.

He is worthy of worship and he is not
just an add on that we add to the list

of things we love at our church He is
the one who birthed birthed the church

in acts 2 He is the very presence that
permeates the body of christ today He is

the one that takes the commands of jesus
and makes them happen in the earth today

Specifically in the church and to seek
and save lost people and he's perfectly

reflecting the father just like jesus did
And if you want to know what the spirit

is like you look at jesus Because he
is the spirit of jesus and they are one

jesus said and I will send another helper

so I I think it's really sad when we make
this Statement that yeah, i'm charismatic.

I am and I know what people mean But
it's sad that there are some churches

and others that emphasize The holy
spirit or don't emphasize the holy

spirit and I just sense jesus Not sense.

I think I picture In my head of Jesus
looking down and saying you guys are

ridiculous Which he probably does a lot
more than we'd be we'd be willing to admit

but when we Make it a an when we make
the holy spirit an emphasis I think that

makes jesus sad and it grieves the holy
spirit because he's not just an emphasis.

He is the very Thing person that makes
the church the church We're founded

on jesus and built in the presence of
jesus by the power of the holy spirit.

You can't even get away
You From the Holy Spirit.

If the Holy Spirit permeates your church,
then your church will be about Jesus.

If the Holy Spirit possesses you
as a person, then you will be, as

a person, a worshipper of Jesus.

You can't separate the two.

Um, and I've had, I've had a couple
conversations over the last week, um, of

people, Like, like one conversation was
this guy asking, well, how do you, what

do you do with the churches that seem
to emphasize the Holy Spirit too much?

And I know what he means, right?

But this, this, I think what undergirds
this question is, um, not, not necessarily

in this guy, but when I think because
what he's saying is very common, a very

common question, but what undergirds
it is this thought that, um, you

can overemphasize the Holy Spirit.

Um, and I would say you can't, and
that question in of itself is invalid.

But the question underneath the
question is this, what do you do

with churches that overemphasize
the manifestations of the spirit?

Now that is a conversation we can have.

Um,

that's why Paul wrote first Corinthians
12 to 14 largely because you had a church

that was on fire for Jesus filled with
the Holy spirit, but prioritize tongues

and interrupting each other because
they, they each quote unquote had a word

and they were not actually prioritizing
the building up of the body of Jesus.

They had lost sight of the Holy
Spirit, um, and in favor, in favor

of the manifestations of the Spirit.

And if you spoke in tongues and
were prophesying and getting words

all the time for people, then
you were superior than others.

That's obviously unloving and not
true, and churches that overemphasize

the manifestations of the Spirit now
have a reputation of overemphasizing

the Spirit, and then it turns people
off, uh, to the Holy Spirit and

His, His work in the earth, which
is ultimately to glorify Jesus.

When Jesus is glorified,
the Spirit is poured out.

And when the Spirit is poured
out, Jesus is glorified.

That's what John 7 37 says.

That's what Jesus meant when he said,
come to me and out of your heart

will flow rivers of living water.

You come to Jesus, you're
filled with the Spirit.

You're filled with the
Spirit, you come to Jesus.

This is how it works.

And I think it's really sad that

that we've by and large,
um, put the spirit at worse.

We have completely ignored
him and even blasphemed him.

And at best we've kind of relegated
him to an emphasis that we have.

And we only really, uh, focus on him
in these specific classes or settings.

Uh, and I think the spirit's
grieved by that too.

A.

W.

Tozer wrote a book called
alive in the spirit.

And in it, he talks about the spirit
being kind of like Jesus in the

boat and the And he was writing
this in like the fifties or sixties.

1950s, 1960s.

And he said the church has
basically, uh, relegated the Holy

Spirit to, uh, well, what he says
is it's like Jesus on the boat.

Jesus was on the boat, but he was asleep.

And his point was the Holy
Spirit's in the church.

He never leaves the church, but he's
asleep because he's been ignored.

And we have, um, overemphasized
maybe programs, um, maybe

overemphasized platforms.

And we have not actually left space
for the Holy Spirit to do what he

does, uh, which is not strange.

Right.

It's not weird.

It's not bad.

What he does is unusual
and that's unfortunate.

It should be the normal way that
we see life through the lens of

the supernatural spirit of God.

And that's why some people get
the reputation of being weird.

And because it's just a different realm
that they're operating in now, superior.

Just a different realm.

And so, man, I don't even know
why I got on talking about this.

I'm just expressing a little bit of
my heart for this year, for 2025.

And what I want to see our church become.

Become a church that's permeated by the
presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

I think that honors Jesus.

I think Jesus wants his
church to be true to that.

And to be marked by him in that way.

And Jesus told the disciples,
wait in Jerusalem until you're

clothed with power from on high.

Luke 24.

Um, and what, what can we learn from that?

We can learn that Jesus doesn't trust
a minister or a church that is not

clothed with power from on high.

Um, he, he, he wanted his disciples
to wait until the coming of the Holy

Spirit, until they walked in obedience
to the To do what he called them to do.

What did he call them to do?

Go and make disciples, proclaim
forgiveness of sins for all people.

If they come to me, that was what
their message was in Luke at the end

of and Luke 24, but he said, okay,
before you obey that, wait in Jerusalem

until you're clothed with power,
what's the assumption you need the

power of the Holy ghost to obey Jesus.

And a disciple is someone who obeys
Jesus over time and becomes like him

as you do and you can only do that.

by the power of the Holy Ghost.

This is why Jesus wants churches empowered
by the Holy Ghost because a church

that is permeated with the presence and
power of the Holy Ghost is a church that

will obey and become more like Jesus.

I, I, man, that fires me up.

I want to be like Jesus.

I want a church that's so marked
by the spirit that when people come

visit, they think, wow, there's a
bunch of Jesus people in that place.

They really look like Jesus.

I imagine that's what Jesus would
be like if he was here in 2025.

Come on, man.

Like that's what we're called to do.

Become like Jesus.

As we behold him, we become like him, and
then we're sent just like he was sent.

This is discipleship.

So, um, I yes, want the American
church to find this, but I have not

and do not presume that I have any
sort of say or influence in that.

I simply want to be faithful
with the people the Lord brings.

Uh, to this church plant right now.

It's me and my wife and nine others.

We got 11 and that is more than
enough for god to do what he wants

to do in the dallas metroplex.

And um, I believe that so Our focus
this year is not church growth.

Uh, our focus is not Um to launch with
600 people in september Our focus is to

build a church in the presence of jesus
in partnership with the holy spirit You

And then let it become all that he wants
it to become and we can only trust trust

him and we can only do that Um, otherwise
it's we're going to be driven crazy Trying

to do all the things that we feel like
we need to do to build a church, but

jesus said to peter On the revelation
of me as the christ the son of god.

I will build my church This
foundation is the revelation that

jesus is the christ the son of
the living God, the anointed one.

And he, the anointed one said
he will build his church.

It's not my church.

I'm not building it.

I'm partnering with the spirit to
do exactly what he wants me to do.

Um, so I, I, that's a, some
visions, some preaching, some

just my heart being expressed.

Like I, Oh man, I could keep talking.

So maybe this is counseling for me.

No, it's not.

It's not counseling.

I really do think this, Whatever, I
don't want to go drive myself crazy

thinking about how to get more people
in the door, how to get more people

committed to the church plant on the
launch team, how to do X, Y, and Z.

I don't want to drive myself crazy.

I want to focus on helping a
group of people become like Jesus.

And that's not insider focused.

That's not insider focused.

If people become like Jesus,
they will be outward focused.

I just, if you, if you, if you facilitate
an environment where people are

touched by and filled by overwhelmed
by baptized in the Holy Spirit, his

presence and power, you will, you
will have to stop people evangelizing.

It'll be so natural.

And you don't want to stop them.

I'm saying, but the point is, it'll
be so natural and it'll happen so

often that you're going to, you're
actually going to have other problems.

Okay, well, how do I manage this?

How do I, uh, how do I disciple
all of these new believers?

This is what's going to happen when
the Holy Spirit comes, because I heard

somebody say the resurrection of Jesus
wasn't actually what launched the

disciples in to ministry and into service.

Because you remember in Matthew,
it says that when they saw the

resurrection, he said, go make disciples.

And as he ascended, they worshiped him.

But some doubted

like that.

Okay.

That should cause us pause.

The resurrection of Jesus was not the
event that launched them into ministry.

Now I'm not under
emphasizing the resurrection.

Don't, don't, don't hear me say something.

I'm not saying the resurrection is the
turning point in all of history that if

he really did raise Rise from the dead
then everything he said and did was true

and he really did accomplish what he
said he accomplished on the cross So I'm

not under emphasizing those resurrection
I am just saying they saw the living

Jesus after they saw him die and they
still doubted And then what happened,

they prayed, they huddled around in the
upper room until the Spirit of God came,

and then they were ready for ministry.

It's the Spirit of God, the sending
of the Spirit, the incarnation

of the Spirit in the church,
if you want to put it that way.

That is the event that launched
the disciples into ministry.

Now they had training, they
had faith, they saw Jesus, they

believed in Jesus, they were
following Jesus, all that is true.

And they, you know, that's amazing.

But it was the power that came
upon them on the day of Pentecost

that launched them into ministry.

And I, I fear, uh, myself and many
others in the church today, uh, have

de emphasized and looked over or
undervalued the power of the Holy

Ghost to launch us into ministry.

So I think about a year where we're
going to be launching a church.

Man, I want that thing to start by
an impartation of the Holy Spirit.

That we would be so filled and overwhelmed
by the presence and power of the

Holy Ghost that we'd be launched into
ministry where I don't even have to

train anybody to do anything because
they're just so on fire for Jesus.

They can't help but talk about
Him to people who don't know Him.

They can't stop praying
because they love Him so much.

They can't stop worshiping Him
because they want to lift Him up.

Like that, come on, that's the
Holy Spirit, that's the work of the

Holy Spirit in the body of Christ.

And I can't force any of that, um, but
I believe He wants it more than I do.

So I can kind of sit back, uh, I
can teach the Word, we can pray

and worship together, um, focus on
being holy, being right with God.

And just let him do the rest.

So, um, I'm, I'm, if you can't
tell, I'm pretty pumped about 2025.

I know it'll, there'll be lots of
twists and turns and adversity.

I know the enemy is not
happy with what we're doing.

So we are so reminded, uh, yet very
expectant that God is going to work

and bring victory in many areas.

Uh, and breakthrough for so many.

So, uh, Hey, grateful for you guys.

Thanks for listening.

Thank you for praying for us.

Continue to, if you feel the Lord's
stirring you, uh, to have further

conversations about this church plan, I
would love to talk with you about that.

Reach out to me by email
or just my phone number.

Um, 214 769 5228.

Uh, reach out, text me, call me.

Let's talk about church planting and what
the Lord is doing here in North Dallas.

Uh, and may God just
bless you guys this year.

May his blessings pour out on
you abundantly and may his spirit

permeate every fiber of your being
and every aspect of your life.

Love you guys.

See ya.