[SPEAKER_01]: So I know that the last couple weeks have been pretty crazy for all of us, especially as a church, as a people, as a nation.
[SPEAKER_01]: For me, the Lord started brewing something inside of me back on August 27th.
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you don't know, if you hadn't been keeping up with a news when a gunman had walked into this Catholic school and began to open fire and killed two young innocent children.
[SPEAKER_01]: And wounded, many more.
[SPEAKER_01]: In the days that followed, I began to see a lot of people say this phrase over and over the internet and people actually hearing people say this, that thoughts and prayers weren't working anymore.
[SPEAKER_01]: We got to do something, thoughts and prayers don't work, we need something more.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I can't lie to you, I got really upset, like,
[SPEAKER_01]: anger, yeah, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: Just anger.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just started building up in me and because I know thoughts and prayers, two words, prayer works.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm a product of prayer.
[SPEAKER_01]: My mom prayed for me many times.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure my dad prayed for me many times and I know what prayer does, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: So took everything I had to just keep that to myself and not go off on people online if you will.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right, just lean.
[SPEAKER_01]: Even people that I thought that you think are Christians were saying this, saying this, I'm like, man, what's going on here?
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, how could you literally attack prayer, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: So fast forward to a week ago, Wednesday, September to 10th, where the whole world saw a man get assassinated, the most heinous thing I've ever seen with my own eyes.
[SPEAKER_01]: Austin, Pastor Austin spoke about that last week how he was a God-faring man, evangelist a father, a husband, a man gun down for speaking biblical truth, a loss that left millions in shock, hurting and confused, many thinking how can God allow this?
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure that's the angel of question, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: Like why does God allow some of these things to happen?
[SPEAKER_01]: My only answer to people is, if God stopped everything, let only good things happen, then why would we need a God?
[SPEAKER_01]: Why would we need a Savior?
[SPEAKER_01]: Do there would be nothing wrong with the world, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: The only thing we can do is just trust that whatever he whatever he allows is going to be turned for good.
[SPEAKER_01]: Roman's 828 says that and I'll read it for you.
[SPEAKER_01]: It says, he causes all things to work for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
[SPEAKER_01]: We have to trust that God is just and good and everything that He allows.
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is what I want to focus on today.
[SPEAKER_01]: What good has come out of last week and all the other tragedies that have happened these last few years?
[SPEAKER_01]: Last Sunday, many churches reported an increase in attendance following the death of Charlie Curtain.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some experts say that our country hasn't seen church attendance like that since the days following September 11th.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a long time to see church as full.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's unbelievable to think that that could even be possibly true.
[SPEAKER_01]: I've personally seen dozens of videos of people talking about how they went to church,
[SPEAKER_01]: last week either for the first time or for the first time in a long time.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's also stories of atheists picking up a Bible and reading it for the very first time.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's stories of people turning from their wicked ways, leaving the life of sin they had and going to church.
[SPEAKER_01]: even people that have been hurt by the church previously, going back to turning their eyes back to God.
[SPEAKER_01]: And what does this mean?
[SPEAKER_01]: I know for this church, we've been for the last, for as long as I can remember.
[SPEAKER_01]: We've been praying for our nation, we've been praying for our country.
[SPEAKER_01]: I believe that now, God has heard our prayers, the scripture that Pastor Austin said last week if my people who were called by my name, by my name will humble themselves and pray, keeps coming to my mind.
[SPEAKER_01]: I believe many of us in the church have been humble and been praying for our nation and God is responding now.
[SPEAKER_01]: Something has been happening in the spiritual realm for the past few years and we've personally seen it here in our church, the Sunday after Sunday, miracles happen, healings are happening, people are getting saved.
[SPEAKER_01]: We've seen it on our college campuses in our cities, especially in our youth.
[SPEAKER_01]: Melissa was talking about the, actually the event that Austin's at right now, we attended here in, when it was here in Fort Worth, what two weeks ago, and man, I'll tell you what, it's a, it's a, it's Todd White's church, if you get, it's college, it's a college, okay?
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's, I mean, it was full of young people, probably 20 years and younger, somewhere,
[SPEAKER_01]: 20, 20, 25 somewhere there, but man, they were chasing and going after God like nothing I've never seen.
[SPEAKER_01]: I've never seen that many youth going after the heart of God like that, it was incredible.
[SPEAKER_01]: And now we're starting to see something happening with non-believers.
[SPEAKER_01]: People that haven't believed in God.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a awakening that's happened, it's an awakening.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some might even say it's the beginning of a rival.
[SPEAKER_01]: The interrel we're talking about that Friday, it's the beginning of a revival.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's what we've been praying for.
[SPEAKER_01]: Been praying for people to look to God and to come back and to the church to awaken to wake up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Believers are being as bold as ever, using their voices, marching, mass prayer, singing, worship song is in the street all over America.
[SPEAKER_01]: Happened yesterday, Dallas and Fort Worth.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thousands of thousands of believers, marching in the streets.
[SPEAKER_01]: Peacefully, singing, praying, worshiping.
[SPEAKER_01]: Praise God.
[SPEAKER_01]: I believe the church as a whole has been asleep and quiet for far too long.
[SPEAKER_01]: I believe it would have been silent for too long.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like Pastor Austin said last week, those days are over.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
[SPEAKER_01]: So the title of my message today is really what many of us are probably thinking, I know
[SPEAKER_01]: What do we do now with all these new believers coming in, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: Not just that.
[SPEAKER_01]: People that have had this feeling inside of them, like, maybe they need to do something.
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe they're missing something.
[SPEAKER_01]: Many people have begun their journeys back to the Lord, but there are many, many more still out there.
[SPEAKER_01]: Lost.
[SPEAKER_01]: Something's been pulling on their hearts, though.
[SPEAKER_01]: They just can't quite figure it out just yet.
[SPEAKER_01]: But we as believers know who it is.
[SPEAKER_01]: Most of us has probably had that same feeling at some point in our life.
[SPEAKER_01]: I know I did.
[SPEAKER_01]: it's God.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the Creator of all things calling them.
[SPEAKER_01]: The Bible says through Him all things were made.
[SPEAKER_01]: So what now?
[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus tells us, and this hasn't changed.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is what we've been supposed to
[SPEAKER_01]: If you have your bibles with you, turn with me to Romans, chapter 10.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you don't have a bibles, it will be up on the screen for you.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is really hard to read though.
[SPEAKER_01]: I bring my readers.
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is a letter from the apostle Paul to the church and
[SPEAKER_01]: the church has been established for a while there in Rome.
[SPEAKER_01]: So what he's talking about here is the unbelievers, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: So we'll start in verse 8, it says on the contrary, what does it say?
[SPEAKER_01]: The message is near you in your mouth and in your heart.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the message of faith that we proclaim.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
[SPEAKER_01]: One believes with a heart resulting in righteousness and one confesses with their mouth resulting in salvation.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now the Scripture says, everyone who believes on Him will not be put to shame.
[SPEAKER_01]: For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.
[SPEAKER_01]: Since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
[SPEAKER_01]: There it is again.
[SPEAKER_01]: But how can there, here's what I want to talk about right here, but how can they call
[SPEAKER_01]: How can they call on Him, they have not believed in, and how can they believe without hearing about Him?
[SPEAKER_01]: And how can they hear without a preacher?
[SPEAKER_01]: Last verse, which is 15 says, and how can they preach unless they are sent?
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, we just read that Jesus already sent us, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things?
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to skip down to verse 17.
[SPEAKER_01]: So faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's pray over the word.
[SPEAKER_01]: Father, we thank you for your word, Lord, thank you that you're going to teach us something new, Lord.
[SPEAKER_01]: If it's something that we already know, God that you would just refresh our minds, open our hearts, open our ears, Lord, to receive your word.
[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus name.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'll have four ways how we can reach the lost.
[SPEAKER_01]: And number one is going to be know the word sound simple, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: verse eight says in the scripture we just read but what does it say the word is near you or it's in your mouth and in your heart.
[SPEAKER_01]: One thing that I love is when people ask me about God.
[SPEAKER_01]: For one, it gives you an opportunity to tell your testimony to say what God has done for you.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, for two, it really, when somebody asks you maybe a tough question, you really have to kind of dig down and kind of remember the scriptures, the Holy Spirit always brings those scriptures to your mind every time.
[SPEAKER_01]: lately it's been my youngest son Matthew.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, if anybody knows Matthew, y'all know he is full of questions and questions every single thing, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, here the last year and a half, me and Matthew, I've had the privilege of working with my son side by side every day.
[SPEAKER_01]: It can be tough sometimes, but for the most part it's very enjoyable.
[SPEAKER_01]: We've gotten really close, and the most rewarding thing to me has been that I've got to see him in his own journey, his own walk with Jesus, grow so much.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think a lot of that has to do with just the conversations that we get to have.
[SPEAKER_01]: So you have to be prepared to answer questions.
[SPEAKER_01]: You have to be able to speak the word to somebody.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is something that I work on myself too, like there's times where I go a long time without reading the Bible, I ain't gonna lie.
[SPEAKER_01]: But life gets in the way and I come up with 100 excuses, but you have to stay in the word.
[SPEAKER_01]: You have to renew your mind every day, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: So I've been trying here lately to at least put on my, my devotionals in the morning on my way to work and that sure helps a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: It sets the tone for your day.
[SPEAKER_01]: It just makes your day so much better.
[SPEAKER_01]: Number two is, you gotta love like Jesus.
[SPEAKER_01]: We've got that scripture for John 13.
[SPEAKER_01]: It says, how can they preach unless they are sent?
[SPEAKER_01]: It is, no, that's not the one, that's all right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it is, no, that's not it, I'm sorry.
[SPEAKER_01]: Let me see if I don't find it, or I'll quit.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, 34, 34, 35.
[SPEAKER_01]: Ah, here it is.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: Sorry, I got to pull all the way away from my face, so I can't see it.
[SPEAKER_01]: You just says, a new command I give you.
[SPEAKER_01]: Love one another as I have loved you.
[SPEAKER_01]: So you must love one another.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the second time, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: By this, everyone, you will not, everyone, by this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
[SPEAKER_01]: So Jesus repeats love one another here three times.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's really trying to drive this point home.
[SPEAKER_01]: Love one another.
[SPEAKER_01]: The true believer looks past the person's beliefs, looks, politics, past their sin.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's exactly how Jesus sees us.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't see all of our earthly mess and like, oh, that guy right there.
[SPEAKER_01]: He looks at our hearts.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's the way we have to be.
[SPEAKER_01]: When someone walks in those doors,
[SPEAKER_01]: Do we shower them with love?
[SPEAKER_01]: If we're only willing to minister and love on those people that look like us, sound like us, talk like us, and what are we even doing?
[SPEAKER_01]: We got this thing all wrong, if that's what we're doing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus, He died with sinners and prostitutes.
[SPEAKER_01]: He touched and healed lepers.
[SPEAKER_01]: Back in that day, the lepers were on clean, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: If you were...
[SPEAKER_01]: If you were anywhere near Leopard, then you had to go through this whole long shabane to cleanse yourself.
[SPEAKER_01]: In the same way though, we should love.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's given us the perfect example.
[SPEAKER_01]: Think about what he's done for you personally, where you've been, where you came from, where you were in your sin, what Jesus has done.
[SPEAKER_01]: I know for me, he loved me whenever I couldn't even love myself.
[SPEAKER_01]: When I was deep in my addiction and didn't care if I lived or died, Jesus loved me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Number three is going to be this.
[SPEAKER_01]: I can really find, or I can, I didn't really come up with anything on how to be bold.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just self-explanatory, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: But I did find on the inner webs, this few statements here.
[SPEAKER_01]: These are called characteristics of biblical boldness.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to share with you guys.
[SPEAKER_01]: The first one is Spirit Empowered, and this is what it says.
[SPEAKER_01]: It says, boldness is a direct result of being filled with the Holy Spirit who provides strength, love, and a sound mind rather than fear.
[SPEAKER_01]: Truth-centered, it's the courage to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
[SPEAKER_01]: And teach about Jesus without hindrance or shame.
[SPEAKER_01]: The next one is prayer-driven.
[SPEAKER_01]: Believers are encouraged to pray for boldness, recognizing it as the grace that needs to
[SPEAKER_01]: And the last one here is grounded in faith.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a big one.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's rooted in the assurance of God's promises, particularly his presence and faithfulness, which removes the need to fear others.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's one thing that for me,
[SPEAKER_01]: talk about being bold.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's hard to be bold for me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Because you don't want to make somebody upset.
[SPEAKER_01]: You don't want to hurt somebody's feelings.
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's really not about that.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's about speaking to truth.
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes people have to get their feelings
[SPEAKER_01]: right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now we do, we do all these things out of love.
[SPEAKER_01]: You're not just going to beat somebody up with something.
[SPEAKER_01]: My last point I have here, I know this is short guys, I'm not
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, his obedience, this is something that I've been really, really, really hard to work on.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'll share a story with you that I shared with the men's, um, the men's breakfast about disobedience and me.
[SPEAKER_01]: We went to eat after church a few weeks ago, I'm sorry.
[SPEAKER_01]: And since I'm old, I got to get up and go to the restroom a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I went to the restroom and as I walked in, there was this gentleman, he was leaning on the sink like this.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was like, oh man, I went and did my business and I came back and he's still in that position.
[SPEAKER_01]: I went to him and said, brother, you all right?
[SPEAKER_01]: He goes, man, my knees and my legs have really hurt.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he stands back and he gets to get up against the wall.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's kind of doing this number here.
[SPEAKER_01]: The Lord spoke to me and said, hey, you need to pray for that guy's knees.
[SPEAKER_01]: I can give you a hundred excuses of why I didn't.
[SPEAKER_01]: Which guys coming in and out, you know, it's crowded.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's no room in there.
[SPEAKER_01]: The guy even had a shirt on, it said Jesus on it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Lord's like, there you go, man.
[SPEAKER_01]: He ain't got to be scared about nothing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like this guy, he's a believer.
[SPEAKER_01]: He just needs you to touch him.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I didn't.
[SPEAKER_01]: I walked out of that restroom.
[SPEAKER_01]: and it was heavy on me.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was, it was real heavy on me.
[SPEAKER_01]: He came out of the restaurant, saw him walk by, I'd go to his seat.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was like, man, maybe I should go over this table.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I'm like, oh, what if they don't know that he's hurting?
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't want to go over there and, you know, all these things go through your head.
[SPEAKER_01]: So we left the restaurant and it was just super heavy on me.
[SPEAKER_01]: I got home and I repented and I was like sorry Lord, I failed this one.
[SPEAKER_01]: I failed this time.
[SPEAKER_01]: But what if that man's healing was connected to my obedience?
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll never know who knows what it would have happened that day.
[SPEAKER_01]: What if Jesus would ask Simon, Peter, follow me and I'll make you a fisher of man?
[SPEAKER_01]: Now Jesus, I'm tired, man.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't want you today.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna go home.
[SPEAKER_01]: What would have happened if God told Ananias
[SPEAKER_01]: to pray for a man named Saul.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then an eye said, no, Lord, I can't tell them to go to another street, I can't do it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right now, the Lord is looking for obedience, especially in this hour.
[SPEAKER_01]: their salvation's and healings that are attached to your name that only you can reach.
[SPEAKER_01]: It might be your family member, your coworker, your guy at Starbucks, the guy at Walmart.
[SPEAKER_01]: They're assigned to you.
[SPEAKER_01]: The Lord is looking for obedience.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's looking for somebody to come to that person and say, hey, do you know Jesus?
[SPEAKER_01]: Or hey, Jesus loves you?
[SPEAKER_01]: Or hey, are you okay?
[SPEAKER_01]: Or hey, can I pray for you?
[SPEAKER_01]: You guys already know who it is or somebody is the Lord's already put in your heart.
[SPEAKER_01]: Probably bringing their face to your mind right now.
[SPEAKER_01]: He just wants to remind you that your assignment with that person is not finished yet.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some of you might be like me.
[SPEAKER_01]: You might be thinking, Lord, I'm not qualified.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have a doctorate in biblical theology.
[SPEAKER_01]: Never went to Bible college.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's alive from the devil.
[SPEAKER_01]: I have to remind myself of that.
[SPEAKER_01]: When Austin's like, hey man, you wanna preach?
[SPEAKER_01]: This time I didn't do that, the last two times I did, yeah, I was like, yeah, I'll preach.
[SPEAKER_01]: If that's you right now, it thinks you're under qualified.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll tell you that the Lord equips you as soon as you said yes to him.
[SPEAKER_01]: because he gave you a testimony.
[SPEAKER_01]: He gave you a story, and at the least thing you can do, it's just share your story of somebody.
[SPEAKER_01]: You look at the 12 disciples of Jesus himself, chose, man, there's a rag-tag group of guys, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: Even in that day, like the rabbis, they took the smartest and the brightest, and these guys weren't that.
[SPEAKER_01]: They were just normal dudes.
[SPEAKER_01]: The difference is, their hearts were willing.
[SPEAKER_01]: They were willing to say yes to God.
[SPEAKER_01]: They were willing to go where Jesus asked them to go.
[SPEAKER_01]: They were willing to give up what Jesus asked them to give up.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what God is looking for in all of us today.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening to today's message.
[SPEAKER_00]: We pray you were inspired, challenged, and marked by the word you heard.
[SPEAKER_00]: If this message blessed you today, we encourage you to subscribe to the Church of the City podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: There you can find more faith-filled messages to uplift you and help you on your journey of faith.
[SPEAKER_00]: For more information about Church of the City, head on over to www.cotcdfw.com.
[SPEAKER_00]: And until next time, remember this, the best is yet to come.