WEBVTT 00:12.022 --> 00:15.085 [SPEAKER_01]: Romans chapter twelve, we're going to read verses fourth through eight. 00:15.186 --> 00:18.229 [SPEAKER_01]: Romans chapter twelve verses fourth through eight. 00:18.389 --> 00:24.396 [SPEAKER_01]: It says, now as we have many parts in one body and all the parts do not have all the same function. 00:24.936 --> 00:33.266 [SPEAKER_01]: In the same way, we are many, or excuse me, we are many, are one body in Christ individually members of one another. 00:33.906 --> 00:36.828 [SPEAKER_01]: According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts. 00:37.448 --> 00:51.637 [SPEAKER_01]: If prophecy use it according to the standard of one's faith, if service and service, if teaching and teaching, if exhorting and exhortation, giving with generosity, leading with diligence, showing mercy with cheerfulness. 00:52.137 --> 00:52.398 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen. 00:53.479 --> 00:57.544 [SPEAKER_01]: So we're staying on the subject today, really, of membership and new members. 00:57.604 --> 01:08.818 [SPEAKER_01]: And so if you're taking notes today, the title of today's message is the power of community, the power of community. 01:13.247 --> 01:21.593 [SPEAKER_01]: Father, we thank you, Lord, for today, God, we thank you, Lord, for everything that you have already started and begun in this place, Lord God. 01:21.753 --> 01:25.736 [SPEAKER_01]: We thank you, Father, God, for the work that you shall continue to do, Father. 01:25.756 --> 01:31.300 [SPEAKER_01]: We thank you for touching us, Lord, ministering to us, God, speaking into our lives today, Father. 01:31.841 --> 01:34.463 [SPEAKER_01]: We're so grateful for it, in Jesus' name. 01:35.363 --> 01:35.784 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen. 01:36.584 --> 01:39.346 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not gonna go any further without welcoming Rose and Joe, 01:40.507 --> 01:43.214 [SPEAKER_01]: their family drove all the way from Houston to be here with us. 01:44.136 --> 01:44.878 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, come on now. 01:47.055 --> 01:51.318 [SPEAKER_01]: They come every once in a while and they can get a chance to break loose and come up here. 01:52.138 --> 01:55.980 [SPEAKER_01]: But we consider them church family, extended church family. 01:57.001 --> 02:03.265 [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of churches have what they call e-members or all that kind of stuff, just their extended church family. 02:03.605 --> 02:06.827 [SPEAKER_01]: We definitely consider them that as well. 02:07.167 --> 02:11.109 [SPEAKER_01]: And they brought their friends with them here from Houston. 02:11.149 --> 02:12.370 [SPEAKER_01]: And so we greet y'all as well. 02:12.410 --> 02:13.311 [SPEAKER_01]: So thank y'all for being here. 02:13.331 --> 02:14.011 [SPEAKER_01]: Come on, give it up for them. 02:16.693 --> 02:17.133 [SPEAKER_01]: All right. 02:18.975 --> 02:19.216 [SPEAKER_01]: All right. 02:19.256 --> 02:21.778 [SPEAKER_01]: So I just want to say this as we get started this morning. 02:21.978 --> 02:33.010 [SPEAKER_01]: And that is that sometimes it takes people outside of your immediate family or outside of your immediate circle to reach and speak into your life. 02:34.568 --> 02:41.431 [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes God wants to use people that just aren't close to you, but wants to use people that are maybe on the outside. 02:41.491 --> 02:49.155 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe that people that you didn't expect or whatever it may be, and God will use those people to speak into your life. 02:49.675 --> 02:51.216 [SPEAKER_01]: And what I call that is simple. 02:51.296 --> 02:53.537 [SPEAKER_01]: I call that the power of community. 02:54.177 --> 02:55.178 [SPEAKER_01]: the power of community. 02:55.519 --> 03:04.691 [SPEAKER_01]: So there is almost nothing more powerful than having a community of like-minded kingdom-minded people that are in your corner. 03:05.352 --> 03:10.719 [SPEAKER_01]: Who can be there for you, support you, walk you through things, you know whatever it may be. 03:11.219 --> 03:24.464 [SPEAKER_01]: And so today, I want to explore how belonging really to a church and fostering community within the church can lead to spiritual growth, but can also lead to a positive impact. 03:25.504 --> 03:29.485 [SPEAKER_01]: Church membership, let me tell you, is more than just attending a church. 03:30.426 --> 03:31.206 [SPEAKER_01]: It's more than that. 03:31.666 --> 03:33.927 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a commitment to a faith community. 03:35.008 --> 03:49.280 [SPEAKER_01]: That's why we just did those commitments and I said you commit to that and they responded saying that they do because it is a commitment not to not to just me or to malice and it's a commitment to the faith community that we have building here. 03:49.980 --> 03:58.427 [SPEAKER_01]: Not only that but it signifies belonging, it signifies accountability and active participation in the life of the church. 03:59.128 --> 04:05.750 [SPEAKER_01]: So this is why we put such a strong emphasis on not just attending here, but also serving here as well. 04:06.891 --> 04:07.211 [SPEAKER_01]: Why? 04:07.331 --> 04:12.213 [SPEAKER_01]: Because it not only helps you grow, but it brings life to the church. 04:13.426 --> 04:20.011 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, if you just come and you sit, then, you know, there's just like, it's like one of those things, there's so much more you could do, you know? 04:20.871 --> 04:23.433 [SPEAKER_01]: And sitting, just coming and sitting is fulfilling. 04:23.933 --> 04:30.758 [SPEAKER_01]: But coming and actually partaking and participating and serving and doing all these different things is actually even more fulfilling. 04:31.599 --> 04:37.543 [SPEAKER_01]: You think coming here on Sundays is the highlight of your week, then start serving and it will really become the highlight of your week. 04:38.384 --> 04:38.644 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen? 04:39.822 --> 04:42.604 [SPEAKER_01]: That's just what naturally happens when you serve. 04:43.164 --> 04:48.047 [SPEAKER_01]: So this is why each and every person is important within the church. 04:48.708 --> 04:57.414 [SPEAKER_01]: And as I taught on Friday night in our discovery class that we had, the church needs your gift, but your gift needs the church. 04:59.455 --> 05:04.638 [SPEAKER_01]: Your church needs the gift that you have, but your gift also needs the church. 05:04.718 --> 05:05.719 [SPEAKER_01]: It goes both ways. 05:06.700 --> 05:08.241 [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of times people will say, well, 05:09.167 --> 05:10.909 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, the church just needs me. 05:10.949 --> 05:12.009 [SPEAKER_01]: They just need me for this. 05:12.450 --> 05:16.253 [SPEAKER_01]: They just, you know, because I do this, they just need me to do this and need me to do that. 05:16.293 --> 05:16.633 [SPEAKER_01]: No, no. 05:17.234 --> 05:18.495 [SPEAKER_01]: The church doesn't just need your gift. 05:18.535 --> 05:19.856 [SPEAKER_01]: Your gift actually needs the church. 05:20.977 --> 05:31.406 [SPEAKER_01]: Because the things that God has put within you, that He's gifted you with, that He's called you to, that He's purposed you for, is for the edification of the church and the use of the church. 05:31.466 --> 05:31.987 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not for you. 05:33.636 --> 05:36.998 [SPEAKER_01]: God bless you with all of these abilities and gifts and all of that. 05:37.278 --> 05:39.639 [SPEAKER_01]: Not so you can sit at home and enjoy it to yourself. 05:41.100 --> 05:43.702 [SPEAKER_01]: He bless you with that so it can be used for his kingdom. 05:44.342 --> 05:44.662 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen. 05:45.263 --> 05:48.905 [SPEAKER_01]: And so when it is used for his kingdom, then God uses it. 05:49.765 --> 05:50.286 [SPEAKER_01]: Hallelujah. 05:50.326 --> 05:59.251 [SPEAKER_01]: He takes what you have to offer and he adds his power, his anointing, his authority on it, and all of a sudden you go from being good to great. 06:01.168 --> 06:01.528 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen? 06:02.329 --> 06:12.553 [SPEAKER_01]: So there's nothing more, there's nothing that's better if you will than being a part of a community of faith believers but also participating in serving in it. 06:13.353 --> 06:16.854 [SPEAKER_01]: You see, church, there is a place just for you. 06:17.895 --> 06:25.378 [SPEAKER_01]: So when you get plugged in and you start living life with others in the room and you start serving you become part of the community. 06:26.720 --> 06:29.563 [SPEAKER_01]: Eric told me the other day, I hope it's okay to say this. 06:29.583 --> 06:33.407 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't even know what you're going to say, but sure. 06:35.209 --> 06:44.098 [SPEAKER_01]: Eric told me the other day he's like, I've been a part of big, big churches and I've been a part of little churches and here there's just I have friends. 06:44.478 --> 06:49.203 [SPEAKER_01]: I actually have friends here, you know, and it's like, that's the way church should be. 06:50.012 --> 06:54.643 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's like you can go to a big church and you can get lost in the crowd. 06:55.104 --> 07:00.335 [SPEAKER_01]: You can go to a little church and it can be so click-ish that you don't feel like you're part of the family. 07:01.937 --> 07:05.000 [SPEAKER_01]: Either way, it could be kind of a downfall, you know? 07:05.521 --> 07:14.490 [SPEAKER_01]: But I'm so grateful for the culture and the community that we've built up here, that we all become part of the family, right? 07:14.931 --> 07:23.540 [SPEAKER_01]: And so we not only come here together to worship and all of that, but we enjoy life outside of Sunday morning. 07:26.297 --> 07:28.320 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's a wonderful thing, you know? 07:28.340 --> 07:40.499 [SPEAKER_01]: It's like Eric was over in our neck of the woods a few weeks ago for an interview and we knew he told me and I knew he was coming over by our house and so we're like okay, we'll just come over for a little bit first then. 07:41.697 --> 07:44.598 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I mean, that's the way we should be, right? 07:44.938 --> 07:49.800 [SPEAKER_01]: We should be as this part of this community, we should be living life together, right? 07:49.820 --> 07:54.161 [SPEAKER_01]: We shouldn't be enjoying each other's fellowship, enjoying one another, right? 07:54.201 --> 07:56.102 [SPEAKER_01]: Participating in each other's lives. 07:56.602 --> 08:01.204 [SPEAKER_01]: It's far beyond just showing up on a Sunday and lifting up hands at the same time. 08:03.044 --> 08:05.365 [SPEAKER_01]: We are a community, amen? 08:05.825 --> 08:11.387 [SPEAKER_01]: And there is nothing almost more powerful than the power of community. 08:13.347 --> 08:16.750 [SPEAKER_01]: So when you become part of the community, you become part of the family. 08:17.470 --> 08:19.352 [SPEAKER_01]: So turn to your neighbor and say, we are family. 08:21.554 --> 08:26.638 [SPEAKER_01]: There's always a song in the sermon somewhere, mixed in. 08:41.792 --> 08:43.532 [SPEAKER_01]: But we are family, right? 08:44.192 --> 08:45.493 [SPEAKER_01]: And it should feel that way. 08:45.553 --> 08:46.573 [SPEAKER_01]: It should be that way. 08:46.613 --> 08:49.573 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, people say they toss out that term all the time. 08:49.773 --> 08:50.894 [SPEAKER_01]: My church family? 08:51.794 --> 08:53.374 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it should be your church family. 08:53.994 --> 08:55.434 [SPEAKER_01]: You shouldn't just say my church. 08:56.254 --> 08:57.695 [SPEAKER_01]: You should say my church family. 08:58.155 --> 09:08.537 [SPEAKER_01]: My brothers and sisters and Christ who God has connected me and intertwined me with that I not only come and worship God, but I do life with them. 09:10.317 --> 09:10.557 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen? 09:12.362 --> 09:20.627 [SPEAKER_01]: So there's a few things that I want to teach you today on the power of community, specifically speaking on church membership and becoming part of a church. 09:21.327 --> 09:24.629 [SPEAKER_01]: So there's three keys to community within the church. 09:24.669 --> 09:30.733 [SPEAKER_01]: And the first one is this is that it provides spiritual support, guidance, and discipleship. 09:32.814 --> 09:37.897 [SPEAKER_01]: It provides spiritual support, guidance, and discipleship. 09:39.337 --> 09:40.098 [SPEAKER_01]: Now that's a lot. 09:40.797 --> 09:42.899 [SPEAKER_01]: If all I had was spiritual support, I'd be good. 09:43.640 --> 09:46.702 [SPEAKER_01]: If all I had was some guidance in my life, I'd be good, right? 09:47.623 --> 09:49.025 [SPEAKER_01]: And especially if I had discipleship. 09:49.065 --> 09:59.074 [SPEAKER_01]: So the fact that we can get kind of a packaged deal when we become a part of a faith community, a church community, that's a big thing. 09:59.614 --> 10:02.076 [SPEAKER_01]: That we can receive the spiritual support that we need. 10:02.806 --> 10:04.747 [SPEAKER_01]: In other words, we can help each other grow, right? 10:05.188 --> 10:10.011 [SPEAKER_01]: We can help each other develop in the things that God is teaching us and leading us to and all that. 10:10.451 --> 10:11.893 [SPEAKER_01]: But we can have guidance, you know? 10:11.913 --> 10:17.937 [SPEAKER_01]: In other words, like, hey, you're not out here doing life by yourself, right? 10:18.097 --> 10:20.799 [SPEAKER_01]: You're not out way out and left field trying to figure things out. 10:21.243 --> 10:29.525 [SPEAKER_01]: And when you go through a terrible situation or a tragedy or a storm or whatever, it may be like, we're here to support and guide one another through all of it, right? 10:29.965 --> 10:31.466 [SPEAKER_01]: And then you get discipleship, right? 10:31.486 --> 10:31.946 [SPEAKER_01]: We get disciples. 10:31.966 --> 10:32.766 [SPEAKER_01]: We get disciples. 10:32.786 --> 10:34.987 [SPEAKER_01]: We get disciples through spending time together. 10:35.327 --> 10:37.767 [SPEAKER_01]: We get disciples through the word on Sunday. 10:37.847 --> 10:42.829 [SPEAKER_01]: And we get disciples through Bible studies throughout the year and all that kind of stuff, amen? 10:42.849 --> 10:47.730 [SPEAKER_01]: I want to look at this really powerful scripture in Ephesians chapter two. 10:48.658 --> 11:04.554 [SPEAKER_01]: verses nineteen through twenty two Ephesians chapter two verses nineteen through twenty two look at what it says so then you are no longer foreigners and strangers but fellow citizens with the saints and members of gods household 11:05.215 --> 11:09.596 [SPEAKER_01]: Bill on the foundation of apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. 11:10.057 --> 11:14.318 [SPEAKER_01]: The whole building being put together by him grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. 11:14.818 --> 11:19.119 [SPEAKER_01]: You also are being built together for God's dwelling in the spirit. 11:19.900 --> 11:23.321 [SPEAKER_01]: Now this is really encouraging when you look at this scripture at the beginning. 11:24.241 --> 11:28.062 [SPEAKER_01]: Because it says, now we are members of God's household. 11:28.862 --> 11:30.843 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, he replaced something there. 11:32.267 --> 11:36.714 [SPEAKER_01]: He took away something and he gave us God's, he gave us membership into God's house. 11:36.794 --> 11:37.695 [SPEAKER_01]: What did he take away? 11:38.076 --> 11:42.683 [SPEAKER_01]: He took away the fact that you're just out there living life on your own as a foreigner and a stranger. 11:43.683 --> 11:46.704 [SPEAKER_01]: Aren't you glad that you don't have to live life by yourself? 11:47.385 --> 11:47.925 [SPEAKER_01]: Come on now. 11:48.345 --> 11:56.229 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, aren't you glad that you're not out there of foreigner, a stranger, but rather you are part of God's house, glory to God? 11:56.609 --> 12:05.834 [SPEAKER_01]: We're being built up and we're being put together into what the Scripture says, a holy sanctuary for the Spirit of God to dwell. 12:06.454 --> 12:10.316 [SPEAKER_01]: And let me tell you when it says, sanctuary, it's not talking about a physical building. 12:11.196 --> 12:12.257 [SPEAKER_01]: But it's talking about you. 12:13.506 --> 12:22.829 [SPEAKER_01]: your spiritual sanctuary, you are being built up and you are being put together as a place for the spirit of God to come and dwell. 12:24.269 --> 12:28.070 [SPEAKER_01]: But that happens, you get built up, right? 12:28.710 --> 12:35.372 [SPEAKER_01]: You get built up and that starts by being established and put in God's house. 12:36.672 --> 12:39.053 [SPEAKER_01]: So when people say, oh, I don't need church, 12:40.192 --> 12:41.774 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't need to go to church. 12:42.134 --> 12:47.059 [SPEAKER_01]: Church is my last place I want to go or my last resort or whatever it may be. 12:47.819 --> 12:52.664 [SPEAKER_01]: You are missing out because God wants to do something in you. 12:52.724 --> 13:01.753 [SPEAKER_01]: He's trying to build you up and put you together for the dwelling of the Spirit and it comes by being in the house of God. 13:03.057 --> 13:04.678 [SPEAKER_01]: And so it's important to be here. 13:05.298 --> 13:11.400 [SPEAKER_01]: It's important to be dedicated and committed to a house of God because that is where we grow. 13:12.140 --> 13:13.980 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not saying you can't grow outside the church. 13:14.400 --> 13:14.741 [SPEAKER_01]: Hear me. 13:15.101 --> 13:15.861 [SPEAKER_01]: Of course you can. 13:16.161 --> 13:17.782 [SPEAKER_01]: And you should be, right? 13:18.482 --> 13:31.726 [SPEAKER_01]: But when we come together, there's nothing like coming together, worshiping God together, receiving the Word together, fellowshiping together, having conversations, all that kind of stuff because it builds us up. 13:32.518 --> 13:36.081 [SPEAKER_01]: And it prepares us for what the Spirit wants to do in our lives. 13:36.161 --> 13:36.481 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen. 13:36.982 --> 13:40.204 [SPEAKER_01]: And we become a holy sanctuary. 13:41.505 --> 13:41.846 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen. 13:43.247 --> 13:47.650 [SPEAKER_01]: And so when you're part of God's house, something is activated in the atmosphere. 13:49.332 --> 13:52.815 [SPEAKER_01]: And you begin to grow spiritually in supernatural ways. 13:53.828 --> 14:08.229 [SPEAKER_01]: When you start getting connected to God's house and you start being invested in what God is doing there, it's like all of a sudden, boom, something is activated within you and you begin to grow in ways that you never grew before. 14:08.890 --> 14:09.130 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 14:09.631 --> 14:10.912 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's supernatural. 14:10.972 --> 14:17.578 [SPEAKER_01]: God just, all of a sudden, just puts his supernatural power in his touch upon your life in a way that you never experienced before. 14:18.178 --> 14:25.986 [SPEAKER_01]: That's why we could have, let's just say, an attic whose bound to drugs trickle into the room and supernaturally get set free. 14:26.346 --> 14:28.408 [SPEAKER_01]: It's because it's already in the atmosphere. 14:29.603 --> 14:30.923 [SPEAKER_01]: That's already established here. 14:31.344 --> 14:34.045 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not something that we did or that we pumped up. 14:35.285 --> 14:38.546 [SPEAKER_01]: We didn't pour a bunch of oil on the ground in order to make it happen. 14:39.607 --> 14:42.007 [SPEAKER_01]: It's because God's spirit dwells here. 14:42.288 --> 14:43.808 [SPEAKER_01]: The Holy Spirit is moving. 14:44.128 --> 14:50.851 [SPEAKER_01]: And when we come together as a body of believers, we join our faith with what God is already doing in this place. 14:51.211 --> 14:54.372 [SPEAKER_01]: And it sets the atmosphere for anything to happen. 14:57.832 --> 15:12.695 [SPEAKER_01]: So that's why also two on the reverse side of it is that we can come together and get here on Sunday morning and have worship practice and plan to have a whole set list and the power God falls during prayer and it changes the set list like it did today. 15:17.764 --> 15:18.805 [SPEAKER_01]: That's what God can do. 15:19.625 --> 15:21.126 [SPEAKER_01]: It's because it's the atmosphere. 15:21.166 --> 15:22.887 [SPEAKER_01]: The atmosphere is already set for it. 15:23.547 --> 15:23.867 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen. 15:24.407 --> 15:39.195 [SPEAKER_01]: And so that should be something that you should desire in your life and that something you should want to have and want to be a part of is to be a part of a place where the atmosphere is activated for the supernatural things of God to take place. 15:40.115 --> 15:41.176 [SPEAKER_01]: Come on now, amen. 15:42.336 --> 15:43.537 [SPEAKER_01]: And so here's the thing. 15:44.976 --> 15:47.298 [SPEAKER_01]: You can get spiritual support. 15:48.018 --> 15:50.740 [SPEAKER_01]: You can get discipleship outside of the church. 15:51.741 --> 15:54.823 [SPEAKER_01]: But inside of the church, there's something powerful about it. 15:56.064 --> 16:06.771 [SPEAKER_01]: I've seen God flip people's lives completely upside down in a good and positive way, of course, all because the power of community. 16:08.413 --> 16:10.514 [SPEAKER_01]: Somebody is messed up, right? 16:11.675 --> 16:14.197 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, they're torn up from the floor up. 16:15.260 --> 16:43.685 [SPEAKER_01]: in all kinds of ways and they come and they encounter God and all of a sudden they start, they meet a brother and a sister in Christ and they connect with them and through the power of community things start to change in their lives and all of a sudden they start changing the way they live and they start changing the way they feel about their situation in their life and and all of a sudden God starts working things out and God will use somebody that you met in the church to send you an encouraging message that lifts you up and inspires you or 16:43.985 --> 16:52.627 [SPEAKER_01]: Whatever it may be, God will send somebody into the room and all of a sudden they'll speak a word over your life and it'll completely change your life forever. 16:52.967 --> 16:56.548 [SPEAKER_01]: It's all because the power of community. 16:58.228 --> 17:02.229 [SPEAKER_01]: And you can't get that anywhere else outside of the church. 17:03.489 --> 17:08.330 [SPEAKER_01]: There is something supernatural about the power of community that is contained within a church. 17:09.730 --> 17:15.671 [SPEAKER_01]: So the first one, number one, is provide spiritual support, guidance, and discipleship. 17:16.632 --> 17:20.373 [SPEAKER_01]: Number two is this, is that Foster's deeper relationships with others. 17:22.993 --> 17:29.855 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, just the way that culture and society is today, unless you're 17:31.077 --> 17:41.862 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, young, like in school, still or something like that, or college student or whatever, most people can maybe barely count on one hand, how many true friends they have. 17:43.622 --> 17:44.103 [SPEAKER_01]: It's just real. 17:45.883 --> 17:52.426 [SPEAKER_01]: Some people is like, okay, name your real true friends, like, so and so. 17:57.172 --> 17:57.652 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know? 17:58.973 --> 18:02.734 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe one, two, maybe three, if you're lucky. 18:04.594 --> 18:04.935 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 18:05.235 --> 18:07.996 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's like, you know, no family members don't count. 18:09.136 --> 18:09.496 [SPEAKER_01]: You know? 18:12.917 --> 18:14.358 [SPEAKER_01]: So you're like, not my family. 18:14.818 --> 18:15.558 [SPEAKER_01]: No! 18:16.298 --> 18:16.779 [SPEAKER_01]: No! 18:16.799 --> 18:23.441 [SPEAKER_01]: Some of y'all's families are more messed up than, oh, anyways, I'm not gonna talk about that. 18:24.351 --> 18:26.152 [SPEAKER_01]: But it's okay, we're praying for all of them, right? 18:26.873 --> 18:27.574 [SPEAKER_01]: Glory to God. 18:28.334 --> 18:33.358 [SPEAKER_01]: All right, so most people can't count true friends on one hand. 18:34.499 --> 18:38.542 [SPEAKER_01]: So if that's the case, you know, that's pretty scary, but it's sad. 18:39.883 --> 18:46.048 [SPEAKER_01]: And it really shows us how much of a lonely life we really can live without even really realizing it. 18:47.269 --> 18:49.451 [SPEAKER_01]: So God has a solution for that. 18:49.631 --> 18:50.312 [SPEAKER_01]: He says, okay, 18:51.442 --> 18:53.223 [SPEAKER_01]: I know you don't have a lot of close friends. 18:53.283 --> 18:55.985 [SPEAKER_01]: I know you don't have a lot of people that you're deeply invested with. 18:56.045 --> 18:59.648 [SPEAKER_01]: So what I'm going to do is I'm going to bring you into a faith community. 19:01.770 --> 19:07.834 [SPEAKER_01]: And when I bring you into the faith community, I'm going to surround you with people who are just like you. 19:09.735 --> 19:10.036 [SPEAKER_01]: Who? 19:10.716 --> 19:11.237 [SPEAKER_01]: Guess what? 19:12.858 --> 19:15.019 [SPEAKER_01]: They were living like hell just like you were. 19:17.221 --> 19:19.663 [SPEAKER_01]: They were making a bunch of stupid decisions just like you were. 19:20.996 --> 19:21.616 [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, guess what? 19:21.756 --> 19:25.498 [SPEAKER_01]: They don't have it all together, just like you still don't have it all together. 19:27.038 --> 19:36.142 [SPEAKER_01]: So what God does is he brings a whole bunch of imperfect people into a faith community together and we learn how to do life. 19:38.423 --> 19:44.585 [SPEAKER_01]: We say, yeah, I know you're going through this and you're going through that, but you're still my brother or you're still my sister in Christ. 19:45.323 --> 19:45.563 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 19:46.464 --> 19:56.295 [SPEAKER_01]: And we see how God does a work and He does things by bringing us together and allowing us to link arms with people who are just like us. 19:56.375 --> 19:57.837 [SPEAKER_01]: They might not look like us. 19:58.437 --> 20:00.740 [SPEAKER_01]: They might not have maybe the same life experiences. 20:00.800 --> 20:02.862 [SPEAKER_01]: Their age might be different than us and all that. 20:03.242 --> 20:05.164 [SPEAKER_01]: But still, we've all been through it. 20:06.279 --> 20:07.740 [SPEAKER_01]: We've all walked through some hell. 20:08.040 --> 20:09.441 [SPEAKER_01]: We've all been through tragedy. 20:09.481 --> 20:10.942 [SPEAKER_01]: We've all been through storms. 20:11.763 --> 20:14.164 [SPEAKER_01]: We all weren't once were unsaved. 20:15.965 --> 20:19.888 [SPEAKER_01]: We all once were living a very evil, wicked life, okay? 20:20.328 --> 20:25.592 [SPEAKER_01]: And so he brings us together and he says, okay, yeah, like, yeah, you were once that. 20:25.652 --> 20:26.172 [SPEAKER_01]: But guess what? 20:26.212 --> 20:27.393 [SPEAKER_01]: So was that guy over there? 20:28.053 --> 20:30.055 [SPEAKER_01]: And now I'm bringing you together as friends. 20:30.595 --> 20:33.097 [SPEAKER_01]: And you're gonna serve me now, right? 20:33.657 --> 20:38.802 [SPEAKER_01]: And you're going to grow into things of God and grow in this atmosphere and all that kind of stuff. 20:39.303 --> 20:39.923 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a wonderful thing. 20:39.943 --> 20:43.226 [SPEAKER_01]: I alluded to it a while back, but it's an amazing thing. 20:43.547 --> 20:47.110 [SPEAKER_01]: And just so happens that today, both Chris is wouldn't be here. 20:49.032 --> 20:55.277 [SPEAKER_01]: But you got Robert, former addict, spent time locked up because of it and all of that. 20:56.209 --> 21:01.913 [SPEAKER_01]: He has friends from back in the day living that lifestyle that lived that lifestyle as well. 21:02.613 --> 21:12.039 [SPEAKER_01]: Fast forward, all of these years he's in the church and serving here and they have since got pretty much got their lives together. 21:12.659 --> 21:14.000 [SPEAKER_01]: Robert's got his life together. 21:14.020 --> 21:14.981 [SPEAKER_01]: He invites them to church. 21:15.021 --> 21:21.525 [SPEAKER_01]: They start coming here and now all three of them who used to do bad stuff together are doing kingdom stuff together. 21:26.840 --> 21:28.061 [SPEAKER_01]: That's the power of community. 21:29.562 --> 21:34.104 [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it's the power of God, of course, to deliver and set free in all that kind of stuff. 21:34.144 --> 21:35.445 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's the power of community. 21:36.817 --> 21:46.639 [SPEAKER_01]: It's got allowing people to be graced through what they've walked through and bring them together and allow them to still help and do things in the church, you know? 21:46.659 --> 22:00.463 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's like the day when that guy fell through that ceiling back there, when he was up in our attic and doing some work, right, he fell through that ceiling, or like, great, we have a gaping hole, or gaping hole, not gaping, sorry. 22:01.083 --> 22:04.244 [SPEAKER_01]: We have a gaping hole and churches tomorrow, what are we gonna do? 22:04.924 --> 22:06.746 [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, Robert's like, well, let's call it Chris. 22:07.947 --> 22:08.307 [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah. 22:08.927 --> 22:16.233 [SPEAKER_01]: God brought Chris into this church for such a time as this, because Chris is a carpenter. 22:16.874 --> 22:19.916 [SPEAKER_01]: And what we need right now is a carpenter, right? 22:19.936 --> 22:25.941 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's like, man, but like, God, you see how God just orchestrates all the relationships. 22:26.862 --> 22:29.004 [SPEAKER_01]: And he brings all the things together, right? 22:30.138 --> 22:32.279 [SPEAKER_01]: and it all works out, like it all works out. 22:32.900 --> 22:42.266 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's a beautiful thing when you see how our relationships with others can grow and how in this atmosphere can foster deeper relationships. 22:43.687 --> 22:46.369 [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, I'll say it this way today. 22:47.009 --> 22:58.917 [SPEAKER_01]: There is almost nothing greater than being a part of a church family, a church community where you can be loved, you can be accepted, and you can enjoy fellowship with one another. 23:00.938 --> 23:02.139 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a supernatural thing. 23:03.059 --> 23:04.160 [SPEAKER_01]: And you gotta think of it that way. 23:04.180 --> 23:05.961 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you gotta think that it's supernatural. 23:06.001 --> 23:07.663 [SPEAKER_01]: There's no way in the world that it's natural. 23:08.083 --> 23:13.686 [SPEAKER_01]: Because if it was natural, then everybody in the room would be my age. 23:15.328 --> 23:15.768 [SPEAKER_01]: Think about that. 23:19.390 --> 23:26.275 [SPEAKER_01]: So it's a supernatural thing how God brings us all together and allows me to have a really good friend and Terry. 23:28.503 --> 23:34.605 [SPEAKER_01]: who has lived a lot more life than I have, but there's no age difference there because it's a supernatural thing. 23:36.246 --> 23:39.147 [SPEAKER_01]: And I can call on him and he can call on me, right? 23:39.367 --> 23:41.148 [SPEAKER_01]: And we can be brothers in this thing together. 23:41.948 --> 23:45.750 [SPEAKER_01]: So it's a supernatural thing that takes place, amen? 23:46.750 --> 23:50.992 [SPEAKER_01]: Because truth is for most people, you don't get that at your jobs. 23:52.828 --> 23:55.750 [SPEAKER_01]: Sadly, for some, you don't even get that in your own families. 23:56.610 --> 24:07.176 [SPEAKER_01]: So if you don't feel loved, if you don't feel accepted, and if you don't have an opportunity to fellowship, you won't want to be there or be around people. 24:07.856 --> 24:14.379 [SPEAKER_01]: So we need to be in an atmosphere where we feel loved, where we feel accepted, where we can have fellowship. 24:14.780 --> 24:16.380 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's add one where we can feel valued. 24:17.361 --> 24:20.923 [SPEAKER_01]: When we can do that, when we can be in that atmosphere, it's going to draw us in closer. 24:21.925 --> 24:27.147 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's going to make us have a hungry desire to be there more, right? 24:28.068 --> 24:31.429 [SPEAKER_01]: And so we need that in our lives and what better place than in God's house, amen? 24:32.230 --> 24:40.613 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I've seen people within the church, my whole life that go through terrible situations, loss, tragedies, I mean all kinds of stuff. 24:42.094 --> 24:48.257 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's a beautiful thing to see the church body rally around people during those tough times of life. 24:50.333 --> 24:54.297 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's like when we lose someone and then, you know, we can rally around them. 24:55.398 --> 25:00.483 [SPEAKER_01]: Brother Terry, who usually has an example, he's been with us since day before day one. 25:01.464 --> 25:03.926 [SPEAKER_01]: The very first interest night meeting he was there. 25:05.067 --> 25:07.950 [SPEAKER_01]: The very first service we ever had as church of the city he was there. 25:09.374 --> 25:18.037 [SPEAKER_01]: And faithfully there, when I had my knee gutted out and had to have surgeries back to back, and I was in a wheelchair, and I had to have my leg straight out. 25:18.117 --> 25:32.581 [SPEAKER_01]: It was brother Terry who would come out to my car on Sunday morning, lift me up out of my car, put me in my wheelchair, will me into the church, and I would preach, and then he'd take me back out, and put me back in my car after service. 25:34.559 --> 25:36.179 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, he did that for me. 25:36.539 --> 25:42.501 [SPEAKER_01]: Little did we know that a few years later, his wonderful wife, Linda, would go home to be with Jesus. 25:44.181 --> 25:49.702 [SPEAKER_01]: So then we would now walk him through that tragedy of life and that storm. 25:50.542 --> 25:57.924 [SPEAKER_01]: And I can go back and say, yeah, I remember when I was going through my situation and who was it that lifted me out of that car? 25:58.784 --> 25:59.104 [SPEAKER_01]: Terry. 26:00.284 --> 26:03.905 [SPEAKER_01]: Who is it that needs to be here for him right now when he just lost his wife? 26:04.781 --> 26:04.921 [SPEAKER_01]: me. 26:06.704 --> 26:07.866 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's how church works. 26:09.008 --> 26:10.330 [SPEAKER_01]: That's how we do it right there. 26:11.252 --> 26:16.661 [SPEAKER_01]: It's far beyond coming and enjoying some worship songs and 26:17.856 --> 26:20.498 [SPEAKER_01]: a sermon and it's living life. 26:21.839 --> 26:32.126 [SPEAKER_01]: It's being here through life's challenges, through the joyful moments, and through the sad moments, through the tragedies of life, and through the situations and the storms that we face. 26:33.007 --> 26:39.711 [SPEAKER_01]: If we weren't here for one another in that way, then really we shouldn't even exist as a church. 26:42.173 --> 26:47.377 [SPEAKER_01]: So when you come here, you gotta know, or when you're a part of any faith community, 26:48.265 --> 26:50.527 [SPEAKER_01]: It ought to be a place where you feel loved. 26:51.647 --> 26:53.548 [SPEAKER_01]: You feel accepted, no matter what. 26:55.330 --> 26:56.891 [SPEAKER_01]: And you can fellowship with one another. 26:57.511 --> 26:57.791 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen? 26:58.712 --> 26:59.192 [SPEAKER_01]: Hallelujah. 27:00.133 --> 27:04.556 [SPEAKER_01]: And number three is this, is that it offers opportunities. 27:05.776 --> 27:07.177 [SPEAKER_01]: It offers opportunities. 27:08.878 --> 27:14.562 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, when I say that as part of a building community and 27:15.258 --> 27:18.940 [SPEAKER_01]: being part of community, you know, opportunities and all that. 27:19.640 --> 27:24.322 [SPEAKER_01]: What I mean is that it's opportunities of service and ministry, right? 27:24.843 --> 27:30.866 [SPEAKER_01]: So when we are offered opportunities, we're offered opportunities of service and ministry. 27:31.526 --> 27:39.730 [SPEAKER_01]: I've said it once already earlier and I'll say it again, but that is that there is nothing like serving in the House of God. 27:41.412 --> 27:42.934 [SPEAKER_01]: There is nothing more fulfilling. 27:43.535 --> 27:54.148 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you may feel really fulfilled at your job or whatever it may be, but there is nothing more fulfilling than serving the house of God. 27:56.251 --> 27:59.515 [SPEAKER_01]: Because it's God who put those things in you anyways to begin with. 28:00.979 --> 28:02.101 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not out of coincidence. 28:02.161 --> 28:03.062 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not out of chance. 28:03.142 --> 28:06.406 [SPEAKER_01]: So you say, well, man, you know, I'm a self taught. 28:06.466 --> 28:07.367 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's just say guitar play. 28:07.407 --> 28:09.230 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm a self taught guitar player. 28:09.430 --> 28:12.614 [SPEAKER_01]: I wish I was by the way, but I'm a self taught guitar player. 28:12.674 --> 28:14.917 [SPEAKER_01]: So you know, I taught myself. 28:14.957 --> 28:16.138 [SPEAKER_01]: God didn't teach me nothing. 28:16.259 --> 28:16.379 [SPEAKER_01]: No. 28:17.642 --> 28:20.203 [SPEAKER_01]: God gave you the desire for that instrument. 28:20.663 --> 28:22.863 [SPEAKER_01]: He gave you the wisdom to learn the instrument. 28:23.383 --> 28:24.023 [SPEAKER_01]: And guess what? 28:24.103 --> 28:26.964 [SPEAKER_01]: He's giving you the grace to use the instrument, right? 28:26.984 --> 28:31.965 [SPEAKER_01]: And then you add it into the fact that you can put it into a faith community. 28:32.585 --> 28:36.486 [SPEAKER_01]: And then again, like I said earlier, you go from being good to being great. 28:37.886 --> 28:42.747 [SPEAKER_01]: And God puts his touch behind everything that we do because of the power of community. 28:44.679 --> 28:54.064 [SPEAKER_01]: And so when you begin to step into your calling and you utilize the gifts that God has graciously blessed you with, things really begin to come together in your life. 28:54.784 --> 28:56.385 [SPEAKER_01]: Because it's one thing to attend. 28:57.326 --> 29:00.828 [SPEAKER_01]: It's another thing to attend and be part of what God is doing in this place. 29:02.328 --> 29:03.229 [SPEAKER_01]: Anybody can attend. 29:04.469 --> 29:10.132 [SPEAKER_01]: But being part and attending is something powerful. 29:10.733 --> 29:10.993 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen? 29:13.376 --> 29:21.182 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to just, you two can come and just strum nicely, but behind me in the instruments that I wish I, that I wish I knew. 29:21.202 --> 29:24.765 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't even want to touch it because it's like, you know. 29:28.648 --> 29:28.948 [SPEAKER_00]: Hush. 29:35.393 --> 29:42.199 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I told you it'd be my shortest message ever, but I'm actually right on it here. 29:43.535 --> 29:46.978 [SPEAKER_01]: I thought I'd just kind of slow it down for you. 29:48.259 --> 29:53.082 [SPEAKER_00]: So you don't leave offended that he didn't preach a full message today. 29:55.164 --> 29:56.065 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm glad you're not offended. 30:01.429 --> 30:04.231 [SPEAKER_01]: You will never hear me discouraging serving. 30:05.392 --> 30:10.856 [SPEAKER_01]: I will always encourage it because it's not me or Melissa. 30:12.095 --> 30:15.296 [SPEAKER_01]: or Robert or Jenner, everybody that needs you, it's God that needs you. 30:16.816 --> 30:18.016 [SPEAKER_01]: Not me, right? 30:18.517 --> 30:20.757 [SPEAKER_01]: So you'll never hear me discourage serving. 30:21.517 --> 30:25.378 [SPEAKER_01]: And I used to say it this way and I realized that it was offending people. 30:26.779 --> 30:31.220 [SPEAKER_01]: And so I stopped saying it, but just for today's sake of this sermon, I'm gonna say it. 30:32.500 --> 30:41.242 [SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, if you get a finish, just on you, but I used to say this all the time, if you aren't serving, you're serving. 30:42.933 --> 30:45.194 [SPEAKER_01]: You're going in the wrong direction if you're not serving. 30:46.515 --> 30:48.116 [SPEAKER_01]: You need to be serving the house of God. 30:49.337 --> 30:57.082 [SPEAKER_01]: In some capacity, some way, I tell people all time, even if it's just once a month, once Sunday a month that you just do something. 30:57.904 --> 30:58.844 [SPEAKER_01]: for the kingdom of God. 30:59.325 --> 31:00.385 [SPEAKER_01]: Again, not for me. 31:00.845 --> 31:01.785 [SPEAKER_01]: It's for your own sake. 31:02.546 --> 31:03.506 [SPEAKER_01]: It's for your own good. 31:04.507 --> 31:07.548 [SPEAKER_01]: Because Jesus needs you, right? 31:08.328 --> 31:13.470 [SPEAKER_01]: He needs you to do what only he can do in this house and he uses the people to accomplish it. 31:14.550 --> 31:19.612 [SPEAKER_01]: So we get the opportunity to serve, but we also get the opportunity to minister. 31:21.093 --> 31:23.774 [SPEAKER_01]: It's through serving that we minister. 31:25.481 --> 31:32.063 [SPEAKER_01]: Remember, this is what we believe here at this church that we are all ministers. 31:33.223 --> 31:35.844 [SPEAKER_01]: Every single one of us were all ministers. 31:37.164 --> 31:44.186 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, you may minister and never have a mic in your hand, but you're still a minister. 31:46.327 --> 31:50.188 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe that's through the form of teaching the children on Sundays. 31:51.738 --> 31:59.222 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe that's through being a greeter and opening the door and giving somebody a warm hug and encouraging them. 31:59.322 --> 32:03.103 [SPEAKER_01]: And whatever it may be, maybe that's on people's way out. 32:03.184 --> 32:05.645 [SPEAKER_01]: And you say, you know what I just want to pray for you today, brother? 32:06.885 --> 32:07.806 [SPEAKER_01]: And you pray for them. 32:08.146 --> 32:12.248 [SPEAKER_01]: You are ministering as you serve in whatever capacity 32:14.589 --> 32:30.826 [SPEAKER_01]: guys that sit in the back and do the audio and all that kind of stuff they are ministering if you don't have some people some people know the songs and stuff but some people if you don't have the words on the screen you're like you're lost I mean your eyes are like what do I do 32:32.508 --> 32:36.229 [SPEAKER_01]: So you need someone to put that there for you, right? 32:36.269 --> 32:38.030 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's a ministry opportunity. 32:38.670 --> 32:49.834 [SPEAKER_01]: If we don't have people back there, if we don't have somebody running audio like Robert or Jesse or Chris or David, whoever it may be, if we don't have somebody doing audio out there, then guess what? 32:49.914 --> 32:52.995 [SPEAKER_01]: The people that listen to our podcast will never get minister to. 32:54.595 --> 32:58.577 [SPEAKER_01]: The people that watch the services on YouTube will never get minister to. 32:59.812 --> 33:03.595 [SPEAKER_01]: So see every little thing plays its own part. 33:04.356 --> 33:08.239 [SPEAKER_01]: And so because of that, we aren't servants or ministers. 33:10.361 --> 33:14.264 [SPEAKER_01]: We are here to minister first and foremost to the heart of God. 33:15.885 --> 33:17.546 [SPEAKER_01]: And we're here to minister to one another. 33:18.467 --> 33:18.807 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen. 33:21.109 --> 33:24.432 [SPEAKER_01]: So if you're a minister, you need to get ministering. 33:26.067 --> 33:28.909 [SPEAKER_01]: All right, just start and start ministering, right? 33:29.509 --> 33:30.810 [SPEAKER_01]: You don't need me to send you. 33:31.710 --> 33:32.851 [SPEAKER_01]: You don't need me to launch you. 33:33.471 --> 33:35.732 [SPEAKER_01]: You don't need me to bless your ministry, brother. 33:36.272 --> 33:37.113 [SPEAKER_01]: You don't need any of that. 33:37.733 --> 33:40.815 [SPEAKER_01]: You just need to start ministering to one another, amen? 33:41.415 --> 33:46.718 [SPEAKER_01]: Now that doesn't mean you come up here and snatch the mic, right? 33:48.019 --> 33:48.659 [SPEAKER_01]: You try to do that. 33:48.719 --> 33:49.560 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean this thing will go. 33:50.360 --> 33:51.761 [SPEAKER_01]: It's just like, it's not even me. 33:51.801 --> 33:52.701 [SPEAKER_01]: It's like supernatural. 33:54.022 --> 33:55.643 [SPEAKER_01]: And it somehow lands right here. 33:57.476 --> 33:57.756 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know. 34:00.078 --> 34:03.901 [SPEAKER_01]: But you don't need me to send you or launch you. 34:04.141 --> 34:10.866 [SPEAKER_01]: All you need is to partner with the Father and you'll just take off and you'll just minister however he leads Amen. 34:13.337 --> 34:15.158 [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for listening to today's message. 34:15.478 --> 34:18.840 [SPEAKER_02]: We pray you were inspired, challenged, and marked by the word you heard. 34:19.461 --> 34:24.123 [SPEAKER_02]: If this message blessed you today, we encourage you to subscribe to the Church of the City podcast. 34:24.724 --> 34:29.387 [SPEAKER_02]: There you can find more faith-filled messages to uplift you and help you on your journey of faith. 34:30.227 --> 34:38.762 [SPEAKER_02]: For more information about Church of the City, head on over to www.cotcdfw.com. 34:39.503 --> 34:43.450 [SPEAKER_02]: And until next time, remember this, the best is yet to come.