Fortress
TJ Morris / General
Intro
TJ Morris and Family
Family
We have been missionaries for 18 years
Ian, Madi, Konner, Oliver, and Anna
Live at and help Direct Forward Bible Camp
Camp is needed now more than ever
People need Jesus
Kids are addicted to tech and need a place to get away and detox
In 2018 young men spent an average of 15 percent of their
waking hours gaming
Common Sense media says that in 2024 low income teens
spend an average of 9hr 19minutes on their screens each day,
which is 2 hr 3 minutes more than those in $100k+ households.
Camp combines both
2 main priorities
Share the Good news of Jesus with every camper that comes on the
property
Teach leaders to be better leaders and share that Good news
I Love Jesus
I Care about you, even if we haven’t met
Missionaries with InFaith
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Planning for theme called God is my Fortress
Read to the kids a couple passages about God being our fortress
Charissa gave the kids a writing assignment
Each one was special and made me proud of my kids
Wisdom from the Young
Madi’s brought tears to my eyes as she understood so well
Rahab lived in Jericho; a town that hated God, with a family who hated
God, and friends who hated God. Everything in her life told her to worship
other gods and disobey God’s laws, but Rahab was different. When the
Israelite spies came to Jericho, Rahab hid them from the king. Then she
told them in Joshua 2, that she believed their God was the one true God.
She had heard the stories of the lands the Israelites had conquered and the
miracles their God had done. Because of her belief, when the walls of
Jericho came down, God spared Rahab and her family. Rahab had a
fortress, the walls of Jericho, but she knew that fortress would not protect
her, so she put her faith in the true fortress, God. He protected her when
the walls of Jericho were falling.
Turn to Psalm 18.
While turning.. (story)
Live in the middle of nowhere
It is 15 miles to the closest grocery store, 45 minutes to the closest
Chipotle
We don’t have a lot of crime in our area, but we do have wild animals
Big bear outside my window – Panic
Walls and doors make a big difference
Help me sleep at night
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Let’s look at Psalm 18, where David describes God as a place of safety.
Psalm 18:1–6 (ESV)
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
David starts by expressing his intimate feelings toward God
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my
rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my
stronghold.
David is used to God providing for Him. David trusts God.
David has a relationship with God. David knows Him.
Rock and my fortress, my rock
The first rock is the word (Sell-uh) that refers to rocky cliffs. Picture
a fortress on a seaside cliff that is inaccessible to enemies because
getting to the fortress isn’t possible.
The second rock isn’t just repetition. Its the word sur (tsurl) and
gives us an image of solid ground, like the kind you would build a
house or fortress on.
God is unbeatable and one that we can build our lives on.
Horn of my salvation
Could be a horn that was blown to call an army, an army that would
save a king in need.
Could be the horn of an ox that was used for work and war alike.
Either way, it was an animal horn that shows God saves
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3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from
my enemies.
Called on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised
David recognized that God was and is worthy of praise
What do you need to bring to God?
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved
from my enemies.
Some of you have important prayer requests and want to keep them
private.
Let those requests out.
I want all of you to know my needs, so that you can be praying for
me.
Dave Reed
Friend from West Sac
Cancerous Brain Tumor
Prays and Praises God like David
He recognizes God as worthy of praise
I want to be faster to call upon the Lord and to praise Him, because
He is worthy to be Praised
4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction
assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From
his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
What death are you going through?
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Sheol and grave are often used interchangeably.
We have all been through a time of “death”.
Sometimes its a major thing, like the death or sickness of a loved
one.
Sometimes we go through a period or moment where we feel alone.
I resonated with Daniel Frank’s sermon and story of loss and
seeing Jesus as life, even in death.
Sometimes its a small thing, that hits hard
Enneagram 7
Content with cell phone
Fixed the back
Broke the font and back working at camp
Tried fixing the screen, made it worse
Teared up when seeing what parts or replacements would
cost
I don’t know what death you are going through, but
Like David, you aren’t alone.
Talk to God about it.
God wants a relationship with us.
The veil between us and the holy of holies is torn.
We can connect with God through Jesus Christ.
Get Connected.
I love my church community.
I look forward to Sundays and wish I could spend time with
my church family.
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When I have to travel and visit other churches, I miss my
people.
Get connected.
Some of my closest friends are those I serve with at
church or camp.
It takes time to get close, and Bible studies and serving
together connect us.
David isn’t whining to complain.
Cords of death encompass me.
Torrents of destruction assail me.
Charissa and I have talked a lot about verses like this.
Here David reminds us of kids.
His description seems extreme, but he wants to be clear how dire things
were when God provided
Its not whining. It is his description of how bad it was when God
showed up.
Sometimes as a parent, my kids sound whiny, but they are actually
telling me what is wrong, or that they are hurt.
In devotions, I was reading in Exodus 16, where the Israelites are in a dire
situation of not having food and whining.
Exodus 16:3 “3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we
had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by
the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into
this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.””
At this point, the dad in me says, Really?!?
You’d rather be a slave? Because you ate better?!
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Exodus 16:9–12 “9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole
congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he
has heard your grumbling.’ ” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the
whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the
wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11
And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the
people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the
morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the
Lord your God.’ ””
Curry dinner recently
Had one kid thinking he would starve..with food in his bowl
When he didn’t eat it, we told him he would eat it tomorrow.
And in the morning, you will be filled with curry and rice and if
you don’t eat it then, you will be filled at lunch.
God, being a good Father, heard their need in the grumbling.
Do you ever get the opportunity to hear grumbling?
I didn’t understand passages like this until I had kids.
God is patient and provides meat for dinner and bread in the
morning.
I’ve been working on bringing more to the Lord in prayer.
The good, the bad, the major, and the minor.
God, being a good Father, hears us too.
Exodus 16:16–20 “16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of
it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer,
according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his
tent.’ ” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more,
some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever
gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no
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lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses
said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But
they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it
bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.”
This is me.
I know I would have gathered more than I was told. Maybe you would
have been with me.
It says that many people did gather too much and it rotted and got
worms.
Moses wasn’t happy, because they didn’t listen, but probably also
because of the smell.
I love God’s provision here.
God isn’t a cold and distant wall.
Kid at Christian school
Standing on the wall
Exodus 16:22–24 “22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much
bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation
came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has
commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to
the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all
that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’ ” 24 So they laid
it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not
stink, and there were no worms in it.”
It’s amazing that God made the mana to rot instantly in not trusting
God and last an extra day to provide for His people a day of rest.
God is faithful, consistently, like a rock and a rock. Different rocks.
Where has God shown in your life that He is a faithful Fortress?
God providing support
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Thank you for supporting
Family goal of 30 new churches and individuals and have 5!
God providing leaders
FBC 89 years
Always focused on the gospel and raising up leaders
Need 18+ leaders
Who can you share it (God’s faithfulness) with?
Call to Community
God is our Fortress
Say hi to my wife and I on your way out.
My kids have a sign up sheet if you are interested in volunteering, work
days, donating, being one of the 25 we need on our support team, or
sending a camper
We would love to talk
Close in prayer
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