Go!, Part 2: What’s In Your Hand
⌥ Type: Sunday Morning Service
🎬 Series: Go!
⛪ Sermon: Part 2: What’s In Your Hand
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Tom Van Kempen
Whatever is in your hands — your gifts, your resources, your willingness — can become something far greater than you imagined when you offer it to God. Like Moses with his staff, David with his treasure, and a young girl with a lunch bag and some toy cars, ordinary things surrendered to God have touched the future in ways no one could have predicted. The call to reach the world begins right where you stand, and every act of faith, sacrifice, and action you take today will ripple into eternity.
ℹ️ Tip: The video is set to start at the beginning of the sermon, but you can scrub the playhead to any part of the service. ℹ️
Additional Info
The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.
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Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.
Approximate time: 45 minutes | Group size: Any
Opening (5 minutes)
Welcome everyone and open with a brief prayer. Ask the group: What's one ordinary object or ability you use almost every day without thinking about it? (No wrong answers — the sillier the better to warm things up.)
Key Scriptures
Exodus 4:1–4 (Moses and the staff)
1 Chronicles 29:3 (David's personal offering)
Ecclesiastes 9:10 ("Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.")
Acts 1:8 (Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth)Read & Reflect (5 minutes)
Read Exodus 4:1–4 aloud together. Ask: What stands out to you about the way God used something as simple as a staff?
Discussion Questions (25 minutes)
1. The message described Moses' staff becoming "the staff of God" the moment he surrendered it. What does it mean practically to surrender something to God rather than just using it on your own?
2. David couldn't build the temple himself, but he prepared for it wholeheartedly anyway. Can you think of a time you played a supporting or preparatory role in something — and how did that feel compared to being the one who "finishes" it?
3. The message said, "The things you do today, every word, every action, will affect eternity." How does that idea change the way you think about your ordinary Tuesday?
4. What's the difference between "being led" and just moving in obedience? Is there a place in your life right now where you might be waiting for a special feeling when God is simply calling you to go?
5. First Chronicles 29:3 shows David giving beyond what was already expected. Where in your life might God be calling you to give above and beyond — with your time, talent, or treasure?
6. A young girl with hearing loss and low self-confidence ended up leading children to Jesus in Africa. What "weakness" or limitation in your own life might God want to use?
Closing (10 minutes)
Share briefly: What is one thing currently in your hands — a skill, a relationship, a resource, or an opportunity — that you could intentionally offer to God this week?
Action Step: This week, take one concrete step to use what's in your hands for someone else — whether it's sitting with a lonely person, praying with a coworker, giving toward a mission need, or simply showing up somewhere you've been putting off.
Close in prayer, asking God to open everyone's eyes to what He has already placed in their hands.
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Exodus 4:1–4 — Moses and the Staff
The story of Moses at the burning bush takes place in the ancient Sinai wilderness, likely in the 13th century B.C. Moses had fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian overseer and spent forty years as a shepherd in Midian — a nobody, by every cultural measure of the ancient Near East. In that world, a shepherd's staff was the most common tool imaginable. It was used for walking, guiding sheep, fending off predators, and leaning on. It had no political power, no military value, and no social prestige.
When God appeared to Moses, He didn't ask for something impressive. He asked what Moses already had. This was intentional. In the ancient world, Egypt was the greatest superpower on earth — its pharaohs claimed to be gods, its army was the mightiest of the age, and its magicians were known for supernatural feats. God's answer to all of that was a shepherd and his stick. When Moses threw the staff down and it became a serpent, the word used in the Hebrew text is different from the word used later in Exodus 7 for the serpents of Pharaoh's magicians — Moses' serpent swallowed theirs whole. God was making a clear statement: what is in your hand, surrendered to Me, is greater than any power in the world.
1 Chronicles 29:1–5 — David's Offering for the Temple
First Chronicles 29 captures one of the most remarkable moments in the Old Testament — a king giving away his personal fortune for something he would never personally see completed. The background is important: David had spent decades fighting wars that secured Israel's borders and generated enormous wealth through tribute and plunder. But God had told David plainly that because of the blood shed in those wars, the temple would be built not by him but by his son Solomon.
Rather than feel diminished by this, David poured himself into preparation. The ancient Near Eastern practice of royal building projects meant that a king's legacy was often tied directly to the monuments he constructed. For David to give lavishly toward a temple he would never dedicate was, by his culture's standards, an act of profound sacrifice and selflessness. He contributed gold, silver, bronze, iron, and precious stones from the national treasury — and then added from his own personal royal reserves, above and beyond his official role. When the leaders saw the king do this, they responded in kind, and the text says the people "rejoiced with great joy" (1 Chronicles 29:9). David understood that the future of Israel's worship mattered more than his own legacy, and his example moved an entire nation.
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Title: "What's in Your Hands?" | Ages: 5–12 | Time: 45 minutes
Supplies needed: Paper, crayons/markers, tape or glue, simple craft materials (pipe cleaners, foam stickers, popsicle sticks), a ball or beanbag for the game, and a Bible
Introduction (5 minutes)
Welcome the kids with energy! Ask them to hold out both hands, palms up. Say: "Look at your hands. What can they do? Can you name something your hands are good at?" Let a few kids share. Then say: "Today we're going to find out that when we give what's in our hands to God, He can do something incredible with it — way more than we could ever do on our own!"
Scripture (5 minutes)
Read Exodus 4:2 together: "Then the Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' 'A staff,' he replied."
Tell the story of Moses in simple terms: Moses was just a regular shepherd. He had a stick. God asked, "What's in your hand?" When Moses gave it to God — when he did what God said and threw it down — something amazing happened. It wasn't Moses' power; it was God's! That stick became the stick of God, and it did miracles. God can take whatever YOU have and do something amazing with it too.
Game: "What's in Your Hands?" Tag (8 minutes)
Give each child a small piece of paper or card. On one side they draw something they're good at (a skill, something they enjoy, something they do well). Then play a relay or passing game — have kids pass the ball or beanbag while music plays. When music stops, the child holding it shares what they drew. Leader responds: "That's in your hands — and God can use it!" Keep it moving and fun.
Craft: "Hands for God" (12 minutes)
Have each child trace both hands on a piece of paper and cut them out (or pre-cut if kids are young). On the palm of each paper hand, they write or draw one thing they can offer to God — a talent, a kindness, their voice, their time. Decorate with stickers, pipe cleaners, etc. On the back, write or have a leader write: "These are the hands of God."
Leader tip: Walk around and help kids who aren't sure what to write. Suggestions: "I can sing," "I can be kind," "I can share," "I can pray for my friend."
Discussion Questions (10 minutes)
Sit together in a circle and ask:
1. What did Moses have in his hand? What did God do with it?
2. Do you think Moses thought his stick was special? Why did it become special?
3. What do YOU have in your hands — something you're good at or something you enjoy?
4. How could God use what you're good at to help someone else?
5. Is there someone at your school or in your neighborhood who needs a friend? What could you do with your hands this week to show them kindness?
Wrap-Up Prayer (5 minutes)
Have kids hold out both hands, palms up, while the leader prays. Invite any child who wants to to repeat along.
"God, thank You for giving me hands. Thank You that You can use me — just the way I am — to do something amazing. I give You what's in my hands today. Use me for You. In Jesus' name, amen."
Send kids home with their paper hands craft as a reminder!
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Well good morning.
How many of you are here today?
It's good.
Some of you are still on yesterday But we're so glad that you're here this morning.
I've got to tell you it doesn't matter whether you're in Kenya, Indonesia, Are right here in Oxford, where there are people that want to worship God, he's here.
And uh worship team, I just want to say thank you so much for opening the gates and courts of praise this morning.
Great job.
Thank you.
Great job.
Well, I've got to tell you it's so good to be here with you.
I got to visit uh months ago and uh was here when Pastor Tom uh had been here just a little while And uh I gotta tell you, he and Robin, you have and he didn't pay me to say this.
But I've seen this man and his wife Doesn't matter what they've ever gone through.
God has not just been a part of their life.
God is their life.
And they live that way.
The humbleness that I see, especially in Robin.
And uh but the tenacity That your pastor goes after things because he he believes in it.
I've got to tell you, when I was young in the ministry, I think it was age twenty-four that I went to Fremont where uh Robin's father was my senior pastor.
What a man.
He and his wife. were wonderful.
And that's where I met Tom, met Robin, and Tom has not changed in one one aspect.
He loves sports He loves to play basketball.
I mean here's a man in his 60s that's still whooping it up with three-pointers that I I'll never forget the time I played against him And he thought, you know, I'm a lefty, I'll take care of this guy.
I outshot him unbelievably And then I woke up.
Never happened in a time.
But It's so good to be here.
You know, you're gonna get to know uh things about me and our our mission and and all that in just a second, but I don't get to know much about you and how many of you know there's people in this room that you don't even know.
Isn't that right?
Well I'll tell you what, let me just find something out about you right now.
So I'd like for everyone to stand up, if you could, just for a second.
Thank you.
And if what I say pertains to you, then sit down and we'll all know something about you.
Like if I say sit down if you have purple eyes.
And you sit down and everyone goes, hmm, weird.
Okay.
So here we go.
Sit down if anyone has ever told you That you snore.
Oh my word, we lost the whole family affair.
Oh Sit down if you got the same socks on you had on yesterday.
Yeah, right back here.
Great.
All right.
Sit down if you had a look and see if they were yesterdays Yeah, a couple of them.
Oh, that's good.
Sit down if you've ever taken a piece of chewed bubblegum or gum.
And put it underneath a table or a chair or a pew.
Yes, thank you, ma'am.
Thank you.
Oh, we've got another over here and one there.
Thank you Well sit down if you ever pulled one of those out and chewed it.
Oh, we got one.
Okay.
In fact I bet you they're still chewing it today All right, stand up if you are ready for a great time this morning.
All right.
Sit down if you should be on a diet.
Sit down if the person next to you should be on a diet.
Oh, somebody just got slapped.
Sit down if you consider yourself Good looking.
All right, sit on or someone around you just lied.
Robin, you're still standing.
Oh, okay.
And sit down if you love the Lord this morning.
That's right.
Amen.
I'll never forget when I was ten years old that I came down with diabetes.
I was rushed to the hospital.
And I heard something while I was in that emergency room that no little boy should ever hear.
Behind the curtain, I heard the doctor say to my mom and dad, I don't know if your son's gonna make it.
My blood sugar that should be normal 90 to 120 was over 700, almost 800.
And I gotta tell you, as a 11-year-old, I was scared to death.
And those the next few days They would come in, try to regulate my blood sugar, walked in one day with an orange and a needle and say, we want you to practice sticking the needle into the orange.
How many of you know that sticking an orange with a needle and sticking yourself is two different things?
And I've got to tell you, I was scared to death, and all of a sudden my parents walked in.
On that third day with a box, and they said, we bought you something to play with while you're in the hospital.
And so I opened up the box and what was in it was a ventriloquist doll A Danny O'Day, which had the plastic head, the plastic hair, a string that came out of the back of the neck, and I would pull that and the mouth would open and close And my cousin had been doing ventriloquism, so I knew about it.
And so I grabbed that thing and I named him Charlie and I pulled a string, the mouth would open, and I I remembered what to do.
Okay.
Um Hello, hello, hello, hello.
Okay.
Gotta change your voice.
Don't move your lips.
And so I began to practice Hello?
Hello?
How are you?
Ungood, how are you?
And I began to do that.
You did?
Yes, I did And I just did that for it took my mind off of what was going on.
And then all of a sudden a lady walks in two days later.
Dorothy Johns.
She was in charge of the children's church at the Central Assembly Church, and she walked in and she said, Well, hello, Jay.
And I said, Hi.
And she said, well, who's that laying on your bed?
This is Charlie.
She said, hello, Charlie.
Hello, lady.
How are you?
I'm good.
And they began to talk and they got done.
She says, You're good at that.
Would you come to the children's church And do a story for all the kids.
And in fact, she was a principal of a school.
She said, Would you come to my school and do something for the kids?
And I said, Miss Johns.
I don't know if I'll get out of the hospital.
And she looked at me and said, Jay.
God's got a plan for you.
Come on.
You are gonna get out of the hospital, and I'll see you in three weeks.
And three weeks later, I went into the school.
I I did the program.
I got done with That I went to her school, the church, that opened the door for me as a kid where I would go to different places to do my ventriloquism.
And as I got older, I got Jojo, which I've got to tell you Robin's in love with my ventriloquistal.
If she didn't love Tom, she would go after Jojo And I've gotta tell you that opened the door that I moved to LA and folks that are older, it's not America's Got Talent, but how many of you remember the Gong Show?
Oh yeah.
I was on the Gong Show.
I didn't get Gong, but I didn't win.
But it was through that that doors began to open.
I became an entertainer where I was at Six Flags over Georgia, Texas, Mid-America, did over 5,000 schools But after my wife and I got married in 79, we knew that we didn't want to do just morals and values, but we wanted to do God.
We wanted kids to know that Jesus could change their life.
And I can tell you we've been in the ministry for 46 years.
As children's ministry specialists international with Assemblies of God World Missions, we've been in 54 countries.
And we have seen over three-quarters of a million kids come to know Jesus Christ.
And I can tell you, I look at that and I think back At 10 years of age, not knowing whether I would live, but picking up Charlie when the teacher walked out, and I said, God, if you'll let me live.
I'll use this for you.
God, I give you what's in my hands.
And because of what was started there, knowing it's not about me, but it's God, what do you want to do with what I have?
Can I remind you that when Moses and God said, Moses, what's in your hand?
A staff?
Throw it down.
When he threw it down and turned into a snake, he ran.
He was scared.
But he came back and God said, Pick it up.
And when he picked it up and it became the staff, can I remind you that no longer was it just the staff?
But it was the staff of God.
You see what happens when he lays it out over the water, the water parts.
What he did with the staff, it wasn't out of his strength, but it was because it was the staff of God.
And I think of what happened to me at 10, that when I said, God, I give you my hands, my hands became the hands of God.
My voice became the voice of God.
My feet became the feet of God.
And I love the verse in Ecclesiastes 9. 10 that says, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might.
I look up here on the platform when I walked in today to see this road.
And I love the word that says go.
Go, go into all the world and share the gospel and realize that it is not just Jerusalem, which is needed in your neighborhood, but it goes into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the world, every nation.
My question to you today is, what's in your hand?
What's in your hand?
I love the story of David.
Where David is so excited that he goes to Nathan and says, hey, I'm going to build the temple of God.
And Nathan comes back and says, no, no, no, no.
Because of all the blood that has been shed in the wars and all that, you're not going to do it.
But it will come through your seed.
And David could have been upset.
He could have argued with God.
But you look at what happened is that David decides that if I'm not going to build it, then I realize God is putting me into a preparatory role.
Look what happens.
He gathers up the stone cutters, the masons, carpenters, gold, silver, iron, bronze, and then the Holy Spirit directs him, and he makes the complete plans for the entire world. temple.
And the time comes that he turns it over to his son Solomon, and David passes away.
But I want you to know that the temple gets built.
Why?
Because I want you to see today that number one, David had a heart to touch the future by what he did that day.
He touched the future by what he did that day.
And folks, can I remind you that whether it's in your own family, it's in your neighborhood, it's around the world, the things you do today, every word, every action you have.
Will affect eternity.
What's in your hand?
David had a heart to touch the future by what he did that day.
I've got to tell you that I loved being a children's pastor and it was 84 that I took my first missions trip.
I was at Fremont First Assembly, but they allowed me to take a mission strip every year.
And Jamaica was eighty-four, eighty-five, eighty-six.
In eighty-six I gathered up Our our singing group I put together called Young Praise, 26 Young People.
And we went to Jamaica and their lives were changed.
87.
I have a chance to go to South Africa and I walk into a school of 3,000 kids, and I'm able to share the gospel and see those kids give their life to the Lord.
And God began to move on us.
And finally, we knew that in July of 1990 we would leave America.
And we've been asked to be the director of children's ministries for all of East Africa, 17 countries.
And so I began to share at churches what we were going to do.
And I remember going into Capital Christian Center and sharing with them about needing equipment for television because television was part of my past And I remember sharing with them, and the service gets done, and a husband and wife come up to me and they say, Look, God has touched us.
We heard what you said.
We both feel like we should give you money for your television equipment.
My wife and I both wrote it down and it was the same amount, $5,000.
Buy something personally you can use.
And I I thank them.
I go to Bethel San Jose.
And in that church I shared about not only what we would do in that, but the the idea of taking a pickup truck, driving through villages.
With the gorilla costumes in the back of it.
Because we know how kids love animals like that.
And I shared about the gorilla costumes we wanted to get I had a man call me four weeks before we were going to leave.
He said, I heard you two weeks ago on Sunday share about that.
Do you still need gorilla costumes?
I said, yes He said, I'm going to send you a box.
I gave him the information where he could get it.
Where he could get it.
But the man lied to me.
He did not send a box of gorilla costumes.
He sent me twenty-three boxes of gorilla costumes. 46 gorilla costumes.
So we loaded them into the truck and we moved to Kenya.
But can I tell you one thing about Africa?
Everywhere you look, you see children.
It doesn't matter day, night, rainy season, dry season, everywhere you look, do you understand?
There's over 490 million, I'm sorry, 510 Million children on the continent of Africa. 50% are under the age of 15.
I've got to tell you that I feel like the highest calling I ever could have is to reach children for Jesus.
Because when a child comes to know Jesus, he's got the rest of his life to live for him.
And it's so important.
I'll never forget walking into a church, teen challenge men, sitting to the right And I love Teen Challenge, what they have done to change people's lives.
But one of the men said to me, let me tell you real quick, he said, I never knew my father.
I grew up and by the age of ten, I was in a gang.
And he said at the age of twelve to be initiated, I killed someone.
And he said I was put into jail.
And when I got out later When I was 22, I got mixed up into prostitution, into drugs, into alcohol, and I tried to commit suicide and I failed.
But he said they introduced me to Teen Challenge, Teen Challenge.
And he said it was there that I accepted Jesus into my life.
And he said, I'm here to tell you today That as a 30-year-old, I'm living for Jesus Christ.
You know what that story is?
It's a story of a man who fell off the cliff of life.
And almost died, but it was because of the ambulance of Teen Challenge and Jesus' life was changed.
And I love that story.
But how much do I love the story of my life?
Because I gave my life to Jesus Christ when I was four and a half.
I still remember walking down the sawdust At the camp and kneeling down and saying, Oh God, I'm a bad boy.
Jesus, come into my life And I can tell you that I've pushed the boundaries, but he's never left me.
He never forsake me.
And he's always been with me.
You know what that story is?
It's a story of the fact that when I stood on the edge of the cliff, I had Sunday school teachers, I had pastors, I had a church that helped build a wall of protection around so I could not fall off.
And that's why we've got to reach children around the world.
And so we left for Africa.
We got there.
And I've got to tell you, everywhere I looked, I saw kids.
And so one of the first things we did, we'd go into the schools.
In fact, let me show you a picture of some of these school kids.
I I've got to tell you that every kid is in a is in a uniform and they may not have money for shoes, but they're there.
They want to be educated.
They're taught in English in Kenya.
But let me tell you that's a close picture.
Let me show you the faraway picture Over over 3,000 kids in this school.
And what's really neat, I can go into the schools and I can share the gospel.
And after I've shared the gospel through illusion, through music, through story, I can give an altar call right there.
And I've got to tell you, it makes a difference in being able to go into places where they can't even have a place to put all the kids.
So we have to put them out in the forest.
For them to hear.
Here's a school of over forty five hundred kids, and it was there over ninety percent of those kids gave their life to Jesus.
Some people say Yeah, but they're just repeating others.
Let me tell you, most headmasters will tell you, they know about Jesus, they may do scripture in public schools.
But they've never had a chance to accept him in their life.
And that has been changing.
I've got to tell you this is wonderful what God does.
Go ahead, next one.
And I've got to tell you that What was so neat about those gorilla costumes?
We would put them in a pickup truck and we would drive through villages and the kids would come running.
I'll never forget going into the town of Kisumu.
And across the street from the Bible College is the slums.
Over a hundred thousand people living in a quarter mile, square mile.
We drove in with those guerrilla costumes and on a PA system were yelling out Watoto Watoto Karibuni Kwakanisa children you are welcome to come to the building And to see those kids come running out and follow us across the street where we packed in over 5,000 kids.
And to see them again giving their life to the Lord.
But the fact that we trained the leaders so that when those kids got saved, they now had a place to be discipled.
And that was so important.
And what happened with those gorilla costumes were wonderful.
I've got to tell you we we did it down in a a a town That had a large auditorium, and this is over 4,500 kids that followed into that room, and again, not only were they filled with the Holy Spirit, but on the last night.
I'm sorry, not only were they saved, but they were filled with the Holy Spirit, which was so marvelous of what God was doing.
Can I tell you, go ahead and go to the next one?
We begin to also realize how we can reach the kids, how can we pull them in besides the gorilla costumes We realized that those kids had never seen inflatables, bounce houses, and we use these lately.
We're getting them Six thousand dollars is worth every soul that came and uh we had over eight thousand kids in the soccer stadium that came and heard the gospel because of some inflatables.
Go ahead.
You know Every one of those schools that are public also have Muslims, Sikh, Hindus.
And this is a school where there were many Muslim kids sitting in front of me.
And we got to the end and said, how many of you would love to accept Jesus into your life?
Give him a chance.
And standing there were the girls with their arms crossed.
And I said, if you want Jesus, just raise your hand.
And two of them looked at each other and just shook their head no.
I did not know my wife had actually videotaped this whole thing.
And the girl that was on the end, they looked at her And that Muslim girl gave her life to Jesus Christ.
The next day she came back to school, beat up profusely.
Her parents had found out what she did, and they beat her and said, you will denounce what you have done.
Or we will beat you until we kill you.
I saw that girl two years ago.
The first thing she did was come running up She threw her arms around me.
I said, Patma, how are you?
She said, I'm still serving Jesus privately.
I said, How do you, how do you Get discipled.
And she said, Oh, the headmaster here.
He has a sports clinic every Saturday.
And he said, it's here that I get to know about Jesus.
Well I've got to tell you, that was something else.
The other thing that happened during that time is discipleship.
How do we discipleship all these kids?
And God opened a miracle of a door that I don't have time to tell you, but we began to start television.
Rainbow Surprise, our TV show that we realized that we could reach into many, many places.
And when I found out we could do the TV show as we started it out, it's a first kids program with multi-sets.
And it was there that Rainbow Surprise started in 1993 and by 97, you can put up the Rainbow Surprise.
By 97 We were reaching 14 million a week that was going into five nations, five countries And as of 2010, we were reaching over 20 million a week.
Hallelujah.
You wonder how kids were discipled.
Even in the slums where they don't even have electricity, they were able to watch the show Can I tell you, I look back and think of a man and a wife who is led by God to say, if I can't go to Africa, I'm gonna help them do what God has given them a vision for.
They never knew that the very first TV stuff I was able to get because of that $5,000 was what blew up to be over $20 million a week.
You see, that family didn't know that they were touching the future by what they did that day.
The man with the costume characters that said, I'm sending you 46 gorilla costumes.
Never knew what that would do, but he affected the future of thousands upon thousands of kids.
Rainbow Surprise with Tanji and Banji, the orange and yellow gorilla on the TV show.
We would walk into schools.
And the first thing they would see, you'd hear the kids scream, go, Tanji, Banji.
They knew who they were.
And I think about the lives that were touched.
Let me speed up to 2006.
We had come home from Africa.
Come home from uh being over the 17 countries to give my my daughter had an illness and we needed to get it taken care of.
We go on staff at a church called Timberline in Fort Collins, Colorado, and I go with the staff for a meeting, and it was there.
Then a lady walks out and greets us, and as soon as she walked out, my wife looked at me.
I looked at her, she said, She's not from America, she's from Kenya.
And the way she bro spoke her English.
I've got to tell you, I walked up to her and I said, Jumbo.
She said, oh, see, Jumbo.
How about Iako?
Mzuri.
Now way way, how are you?
Oh, Mzuti, Sana, I'm fine.
She says, how do you know my language?
I said, well, my wife and I lived in Kenya for over eight years.
What did you do?
She said Uh he I said uh we were missionaries and we ministered to kids and I had a TV show.
Really?
I said, did you ever see rainbow?
And I didn't even get it out.
And she went, Uncle Jay.
You're Uncle Jay.
And I said, You saw it.
She says, Yes.
I said, where did you live?
I lived in Kisumu In the slums across from the Bible college.
She said, I was there one day out of school in with my mom.
I'm six years old, where I hear someone yelling, Watoto, Watoto, Karibuni, Kwakan.
Nisa and she said I ran out and I saw a yellow and orange gorilla.
But you were waving for us to come.
And I went across And I heard how I could trust in Jesus.
And I gave my life to him.
I got my family there the next day.
I brought all my friends.
On Sunday, I took my parents and they gave their life to Jesus.
And I can tell you that my whole family is serving Jesus.
And she said, I moved to America and the rest of my family has come except for my brother.
Why?
Because my brother stayed in the slums.
He is the children's pastor of over 2,000 kids.
And I thought Of everybody who had a hand.
Whether it be for the TV, whether it was for the gorillas, for people that came over and gave up their vacation to be a part of a team, they realized That what they had in their hand became the hands of God.
You see, David had a heart to touch the future by what he did that day.
Second of all, I want you to see that David had a heart of sacrifice.
You look at what happens.
He he says to all the people, hey, I'm gonna give all the gold and silver and bronze that I've taken in the wars and all that I have.
But then he goes on in first Chronicles 29, 3 and says this Besides in my devotion to the temple of God, I now give my personal treasures of gold, silver for the temple of God over and above everything I have provided for the Holy Temple.
You see, he's willing to sacrifice.
He's willing to give what he had for the one purpose Of loving God and giving toward God.
And folks, can I remind us, not only do we need to have a heart, To touch the future.
But we've got to be people of sacrifice.
We've got to be willing to realize that God wants to use us where?
In our own neighborhood.
Do you realize when you walk out those doors, you're in the mission field?
And my prayer is that tomorrow you go to work, adults, then when you're there, you see someone that looks distressed.
And the Spirit of God is upon you.
You go to say, hey, I don't know what you're going through.
But I'm praying for you today.
You've just given them Jesus.
Young people, when you're at school.
And you walk in and you see someone who sits by themselves that people make fun of.
When you sit down with them at lunch and say, Can I sit with you?
And your friends get upset at you.
Well guess what?
They're not true friends in the first place But when you're willing to sit with somebody else and sacrifice being with others, you've just given them Jesus.
Sometimes people say, well, I don't know if I could do that.
I gotta be led to do this or led to do that.
It's time you got to let out and just move.
Because God's called us to do that.
In your own neighborhood, around the world.
We have to be people of action.
I've got to tell you, as we saw what was happening in many countries where the kids were neglected at the churches, and then there's no place for them to meet.
And we had kids in the United States that said, how can we help those kids?
I'll sacrifice my birthday money.
I'll sacrifice that's when we began to build Children's church structures.
It was a building, and you can pull that up.
A building That is not completed on the four walls, but you can have a roof on it and for two thousand dollars now.
We're building them bigger three thousand dollars.
You can pull that up.
You got it Oh, it's up there.
I kept looking back there, sorry.
But knowing that these structures could be built, and it wasn't just the structures.
I went to a place called Joyland.
It's a home for handicapped kids. 244 kids.
And as I walked in to do a program, I saw these crippled kids.
Go ahead.
Hardly had any wheelchairs, hardly any crutches.
When they rang the bell, the kids actually crawled in the dirt to get into the building.
And when they got in there, those kids began to sing about the joy of the Lord.
And my heart broke And after the program I walked out and walked over and saw what was their therapy pool.
It was dirty.
And I said, what is this?
They said, it's a therapy pool for the kids.
But we don't have running water here.
The government shut off our water 22 years ago and said we're not worth having water.
And we went back to the States and again it was BGMC Boys and Girls Missionary Cruise Challenge.
And those kids began to give, adults began to give, and it was in that very place that we began to build a water well.
The men came in, they began to drill.
And when they began to drill, we were told, don't do it, you're wasting your money, you'll have swamp water about 60 meters.
And sure enough, at 60 meters, we hit the swamp water.
And I am telling you the truth, the man running the machine, his name is Noah.
And he said there is water deeper than this.
I believe it.
And at 122 meters.
They hit the biggest clean water that not even the Hindus, the the hospital, nobody could find water, and this was the only place that clean water was.
And I've got to tell you when that got finished, it was neat to see that BGMC container holding the water and people from the whole area come there to get clean water.
But what about the therapy pool?
It's the best thing.
Around the whole area.
Why?
Because people were willing to sacrifice.
Not only did David have a heart to touch the future He had a heart of sacrifice.
And folks, we've got to think about that.
Every single one God has called us, whether it's kids, whether it's seniors, it's all of us being called.
Some of you may be retired, but you never retire from God.
You never retire.
And David not only had a heart to touch the future, not only a heart of sacrifice.
The last thing that I love is that David had a heart of action.
He didn't just talk about it, but he was a man that would move.
You see, after he said, I'm going to bring all my personal possessions What did he do?
He went and got it.
He brought it.
And when that happened, the other leaders saw this and they were full of joy.
And they began to bring what they had.
And then this says the people rejoiced when they saw what their leaders were doing.
Can I remind you That your kids, people around you, they don't learn from your exhortation.
They learn by example.
And we have to be people of example in what we do and what we say.
I want to remind you this, that we can come up with excuses.
We can come up with excuses why we can't go Why we can't go to any place, anywhere, any price.
But when you truly love God and you love his vision, love finds a way.
Excuses finds indifference.
God's looking for people that are willing to say what's in my hand.
I close with this.
It doesn't matter your age.
It doesn't matter how you started, it's how you finish.
It doesn't matter if you feel handicapped in some way or you think you're the smartest person.
God wants to use us.
When we moved to Kenya, my daughter, who had had ear infections so bad that she lost 80% of her hearing, They operated on her and when got to Kenya.
She would still mispronunciate words.
She was ashamed.
She didn't want to be out in front on the TV show.
She did would do everything from behind the scene.
And if you could see her personality, it was probably I'm eleven and I don't like myself.
She came home one day and said, Dad.
I know what I want to do for God.
What?
She wants to become a ventriloquist?
She said, Dad, I want to work at the AIDS Orphanage.
You know AIDS is killing Africa.
You got the older kid. older folks you got the kids and a lot of the parents have died away but if they find out a kid has AIDS they would literally throw them away She said, I want to work at Dumbani House.
I said, okay.
And she began to go.
And work with these kids.
Two weeks before we were gonna go home on furlough for one year, she said, Dad, would you go with me?
I want you to see what I'm doing.
I'd love to.
And when I walked into that room, they handed me a baby.
And I said, oh.
How old?
Four months?
They said, no, twelve months.
It's shriveling up to die.
And then I feel a pull on my shirt.
And it's Shauna, Daddy, I want to introduce you to my best friend This is Sammy.
And I looked where Shana had put a sign around his neck that had his name on it.
He was holding a little mirror It said Jesus on it.
And I watched as she walked in with two bags.
Lunch bags.
I wondered what are these for?
And all of a sudden she opened it up and took out hot wheel cars That she'd stolen from her brother.
And they began to race the cars on the floor.
But I've got to tell you, Sammy, his eyes were somewhat swollen.
He was coughing.
And he didn't look good.
I watched his lunch and she gave him a sandwich and she got one for herself, a a drink for him, one for her.
I watch as she did skits with her friends about Jesus.
I watch as they sang songs.
And then it was time to leave.
And I walked out and started the car.
And when I walked back, in she was standing there in the corner praying with him we got done we said goodbye got in the van and as we started home she just began to cry And I said, Shauna, what's wrong?
She said, Daddy, they said that Sammy's got double pneumonia and he's he's gonna die.
But we left A few days later.
And when we got and flew into San Francisco, drove to Reading, California, where we would stay for the year She said, can I call and check on Sammy?
So I dialed her best friend's number and she came running out afterwards, sobbing, and said, Dad, Sammy died last night.
And she held on, and as she was crying, she said, Dad, I'm so glad that I got to share lunch with him.
I'm so glad we raced the cars.
I'm so glad I got to tell them stories of Jesus.
I'm so glad we got the Jesus. to sing songs about Jesus and then she said dad I'm so glad I got to lead him in this sinner's prayer and I said what She said, Dad, I said to you, Sammy, I'm leaving and I don't know if I'll ever see you again.
But I could see you in heaven.
He said, you've told me about Jesus.
What do I do?
Well you can have them live in your life and you'll go to heaven someday.
What do I do?
And she said all I could remember were all the kids crusades, all the outreaches to the African kids, and hearing you lead them in a prayer.
And so she said, I led him in a prayer.
When we got done, he looked up at her with a tear in his eye and said, Oh, I am so happy.
Oh, I have Jesus.
I can go to be with him.
And all of a sudden it hit her.
She said, Dad, Sammy's, Sammy's in heaven.
I'm gonna see him someday.
I said, you bet you are.
Hallelujah.
And I believe the day will come when Jesus will take Shana by the hand and say, let me introduce you.
To a very healthy person.
His name is Sammy.
You led him to the Lord Well done, thy good and faithful servant.
Amen.
And that girl who didn't have a lot of faith in herself Today.
She's a U.
S. missionary married to a pastor.
They pastor a church in Indiana.
And she is over orphan care.
Project Home, believing that every child needs a home.
And I'll look at someone that would have said, God, what can you do with this?
But I I give you my hands.
I I give you my My voice, I give you everything.
And God said, thank you.
Now watch what I can do through you.
David had a heart to touch the future, a heart of sacrifice, and a heart of action.
Shana didn't just talk about it.
She did it.
I will tell you 30 years this year will be 30 years of mission work I've gone through infection out of Indonesia, where I lost my toe.
I've had three amputations But I just got done over the last six months being in eight different countries.
All around the world, 54 countries we've been in.
And I believe the fourth quarter is where you win it.
And I want to tell you, God has called you.
He's called you to be a part.
Some of you, God's gonna call to the mission field.
In fact, some of you are gonna have a chance To touch the mission field.
You see, on July sixth, Pastor Tom, Robin My wife Debbie and myself.
We're gonna start out on October 6th, I mean October, July 6th, and we will be at the Orlando Airport.
And we're going to find out who's joining us.
Because we're doing a trip to Kenya.
Twelve days.
Not to build a building, but to see kids' lives built for Jesus, where you'll get to experience what it is to minister and be a part. a single life's changed.
And you can be a part of that, but I'll also tell you that while you may not be able to go to all the countries we we've gone to, I just got back from Indonesia.
And because I used to do secular shows, I've got a high character-based program that has allowed me to get into the Hindu schools.
One Muslim school public schools and because of what we're doing I've got to tell you That I said we will go and do this, even though we don't have a full budget to make that happen.
And I thank you for what you give to missions.
I will need in the next just for the next six months over a hundred thousand dollars to do everything we're doing because every time we take a trip, we try to buy the inflatables to be left with them.
We buy, if they're doing the work, the PA system for them to be able to do what they need to do, because every missionary should work themselves out of a job.
Because the national should be able to do what needs to be done.
And I need people that will stand in the gap with us.
There's some of you, I've got to tell you, you could make our whole plan.
Tom, I'll just say, I'm not ashamed of this.
Last year with Dan Betzer, Dan said, God gave you a number of how much money you need to raise.
And I said, I don't know if I want to say it.
He said, quit being a chicken.
And I said, a million dollars to make happen what needs to happen for television, what needs to happen for the crusades.
The people I need to bring on with me.
And I believe there's some of you that could make a world of difference for what we do in the countries around the world.
Let God speak to you.
Afterwards, in the back, you'll see a place where you can sign up for our newsletter and you can be a part of what we're doing to change this world.
Whatever your hands find to do, do it.
With all your might.
God, thank you so much.
Thank you that In a world where people are looking for life, they're looking in all the wrong places.
There are some that reach out for a high today and it ends up being a low tomorrow.
I pray if there's some here that have never really given you a chance in their life.
They may have read the Bible, they may have even said a prayer, but that doesn't make them your child.
What makes them your child is when they have A relationship with you, but your eyes are closed.
I just I can't leave without giving some of you a chance that you realize that today you don't have a relationship about with Jesus.
You may know about him But you've never experienced them.
And there may be some of you that you served them, but you've run the other direction and you need to come back home.
I won't embarrass you.
But if you need Jesus today because you don't have him, I want you to look up at me and just put a hand up where I can see it and then you can put it back down.
You're saying I need him today because I don't have him in my life.
Yes Yes, thank you.
You can put it back down.
Anybody else you're saying I realize I need him in my life.
Yes, back here.
Thank you.
Someone else you're saying I need a relationship.
I need my life to change.
Lord, I pray right now For those that looked up and those that maybe did not.
But God, right where they sit, may they just say to you, God.
Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for caring about me.
Jesus, I need you to come into my life, to be my best friend.
God, forgive me of everything I've done wrong, my bad choices, my past.
And Jesus, come into my life right now.
And God, when they pray that to you.
Satan has to let go.
And they become your child.
Let them do that right where they sit.
And God, I pray for you For everyone in here that they become someone that says, God, I want the hands of God, I want the feet of God, I give God everything I have, any place.
Anywhere at any price.
And I thank you for what you will do in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Blog Post
What's in Your Hands? How Ordinary People Change the World
You may not feel particularly gifted, experienced, or ready. You might wonder whether your small contribution could ever make a lasting difference. But the answer, repeated across centuries of history and the lives of countless ordinary people, is a resounding yes — if you're willing to offer what you have.
The Question That Changes Everything
When God asked Moses, "What is in your hand?" Moses answered simply: a staff. An ordinary shepherd's tool. But when Moses surrendered it, that staff became an instrument of miracles — parting seas, striking rock for water, and leading an entire nation to freedom. The object didn't change. What changed was the One directing it.
The same principle echoes through Scripture and through the stories of real people living every day. God is not looking for the most impressive résumé or the largest bank account. He is looking for open hands — people willing to say, "Here it is, Lord. Use it."
Touching the Future by What You Do Today
King David understood something that many people miss: you don't have to be the one who finishes something to have a profound impact on it. When David learned he would not be the one to build the temple, he didn't sulk or step aside in bitterness. Instead, he threw himself into preparation — gathering stone, gold, silver, iron, and bronze, and receiving from the Holy Spirit the complete plans for the entire structure. He touched the future by what he did that day.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 captures this perfectly: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Not someday. Not when things are easier or when you feel more qualified. Now, with what you have, where you are.
Every word you speak, every action you take, every dollar you give ripples forward into eternity in ways you may never fully see on this side of heaven. A couple who gave $5,000 for television equipment never imagined they were helping launch a program that would reach over 20 million children per week. A man who sent 46 gorilla costumes had no idea those costumes would help pack 5,000 children into a building to hear about Jesus. The person who first taught a ten-year-old child that God had a plan for his life had no way of knowing he would one day stand before thousands in 54 countries. What you do today touches the future.
A Heart of Sacrifice
David didn't stop at preparation. First Chronicles 29:3 records that beyond everything he had already provided for the temple, he gave from his personal treasures — above and beyond. He was willing to sacrifice for something he would never personally see completed.
Sacrifice is not about giving until it hurts and stopping there. It's about loving God's purposes so much that love finds a way. Excuses, on the other hand, find indifference. The choice between the two is made in the quiet moments, in the unnoticed decisions, in the everyday opportunities to be generous, courageous, and present.
Sacrifice doesn't require a passport or a platform. It might look like sitting next to the lonely kid at lunch when your friends think it's uncool. It might look like pausing at work to tell a struggling coworker, "I don't know what you're going through, but I'm praying for you." It might look like giving your birthday money so a child on the other side of the world has a safe place to hear about Jesus. You never retire from this. No matter your age or stage of life, the call to give, serve, and reach is still yours.
A Heart of Action
David didn't just talk about his giving — he brought it. When the leaders saw him act, they were filled with joy and began to bring what they had. Then the people rejoiced. Action is contagious. And the people around you, including the children watching your life, do not learn from your exhortations. They learn by example.
A young girl who struggled with her own self-image and hearing loss became the children's pastor of 2,000 kids in the Kenyan slums — not because she felt ready or confident, but because one day she decided to act on love. She brought her lunch, she brought some Hot Wheels cars, she brought the name of Jesus, and she changed at least one eternity forever.
Your Hands Are Already Full
You already have something in your hands. It might be a skill, a talent, a story, a dollar, or simply a willingness to show up. When those things are offered to God — truly laid down and surrendered — they stop being ordinary. They become the hands of God. The voice of God. The feet of God, carrying the good news of Jesus into the streets, schools, neighborhoods, and nations that need it most.
The question has already been asked of you: what's in your hand? The future is waiting on your answer.
