Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Well, good morning, everybody. We're so glad that each of you decided to join us this morning.
Would you stand? We're going to worship together.
I was lost in shame could not get past my flame until he called my name I'm so glad he changed me. Darkness held me down But Jesus pulled me out and I'm no longer bound.
I'm so glad he saved me.
Now a new creation in Christ.
The old is gone. This new life I live by faith side by side.
There is a new name written down in glory and it's mine, yes, it's mine.
I've met the author of my story and he's mine.
Yes, he's mine.
Sin had left me blind But Jesus opened my eyes Now I see the light.
I'm so glad he changed me. Now I'm walking free. I've got that victory it's all over me I'm so glad he changed me to the eye Now a new creation in Christ. The old is gone, the old is gone. This new life I live by faith, not by sight.
There is a new name written down in glory and it's mine.
Yes, it's mine.
I met the author of my story and he's mine.
Yes, he's mine. There is a new written down in glory and it's mine.
Yes, it's mine. I met Jesus.
I met the author of my story and he's mine.
Yes, he's mine.
You know that I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am. I am who I am because the I am tells me.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: Come on.
[00:02:53] Speaker B: I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am. I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am. I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am, am. I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am. I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am. I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am.
There is a new name written down in glory. Hallelujah. And it's mine. It's mine. Yes, it's mine. Yes, it's mine.
I've met the author of my story. His name is J. Jesus Mine. He's mine. Yes, he's mine. He's mine. There is a new name written down in glory and it's mine.
Yes, it's mine. I know Jesus.
I met the author of my story and he's mine.
Yes, he's mine and he's mine.
Yes, he's mine.
And he's mine.
Yes. He's mine.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: Hey, good morning Westgate. How are you today?
It's good to be here worshiping with you. You may grab a seat if we haven't had the opportunity to meet. My name is Rob Zimmerman, lead pastor here at Westgate and just excited that you have chosen to worship with us today. We've got a lot of great things that are going on. I do especially want to welcome you if you are a guest with us today or you've been new over the last few weeks.
We just would love the opportunity to connect with you and for you to get connected here at Westgate. And we know that for when people come and they're checking out a church, sometimes they like to stay a little incognito, sometimes they want to connect quickly. But whatever it is for you when you make that decision of saying I'd like to get connected, the great first step to do so is to grab a connection card and, and you'll see those in the pew in front of you. The connection card is that great first step and what we would love for you to do is if you wanna do that this morning, you can fill out that card and at the close of our service you can take it actually out the middle doors here to our main entrance and in the lobby we have got our guest center and we have hosts that are there that would love to answer any questions you have about the church. But as you hand them that connection card they also have a small gift to give you just to thank you for being here today. And so please be sure to do that at the close of our service.
As always, with fall in full swing, our classes and Bible studies getting kicked off, there are many opportunities to get connected.
We want to encourage you always to go to your app store, download the Westgate Chapel app looking for Westgate Chapel Toledo and that'll help you stay up to date with the most recent information of what's going on from our kids ministry, our student ministry up through adults, seniors, so please be sure to check that out. One thing we do want to highlight this morning though that is going to be kicking off next Sunday is our Missions Emphasis week. We are super excited about the plans that have come together for this week. We are a part of the Christian Missionary alliance denomination and every CNMA church has a Missions emphasis week each year where we spend time talking about what God is doing all around the world. And we have the opportunity this year to have one of our long term partners that works in a country in Africa sharing the Good news of the gospel with Muslim background. Believers that are going to be here, they minister in a place that is incredibly dangerous to share the gospel and they're going to be sharing about how they see God moving and the things that God is doing. We're going to have another person from a closed access country in another part of the world that'll be here also sharing. So we are excited to tell stories of how God is moving and also understand our part in it. So that kicks off next Sunday and runs through our entire week with different events. We'll have a brochure for you next Sunday in the worship guide, but please be sure to check that out and be sure to be here as we launch into our missions emphasis week next Sunday. Now one of the special things we get to do this morning is we're going to be having child dedications. We dedicated two children in our first service. We've got four families this morning. So I'm going to invite our families to come on up and join us here on the stage. Would you welcome them as they come this morning?
Excellent. And this is Sarah Knox. Sarah Knox is the director of our early childhood department in kids ministry. And Sarah has been a part of the class that each of these families have gone through. And so Sarah, why don't you share a little bit about that.
[00:08:03] Speaker C: So I had the honor of doing a one week class with these families. We also had two families dedicate during first service and in our class we talk about the role and the purpose of child dedication in the church. So one of the things we also talk about is the partnership between the church and the families. We believe that our families, our parents, are the primary discipler for their children and the church is here to support that and encourage that. So we covered some of the tools and resources and just ways that we can support and encourage these families as they take on one of the hardest jobs that there will ever be.
So in the class we also talked about characteristics or averse that we are praying over our children. It can be really hard in the nitty gritty of the day to day.
So we just want to look forward into this horizon. Like what's the big picture of what we're working towards? So when you're in in the mud, you know, you know that you can remember there's a big picture ahead of us. So our families are going to share some things that they've been praying over their children, maybe who they want them to become rather than what they want them to become because we know that they are gods. And we're just here to help along the journey.
[00:09:21] Speaker D: All right. Good morning, everyone. So my name is Dave Reddick and this is my wife, Sarah Reddick. These are our children, Eli, Olivia and Lauren.
And we are really excited to donate Jake.
Oh, not donate, dedicate Jake.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: Sorry, sorry, can we just clarify?
We're not taking children this morning. I'm just kidding.
[00:09:44] Speaker D: So they always said the second child is the hardest. Olivia was our easiest. He's been our most difficult. So sorry for the confusion, but a couple of things that we've been praying over Jake is that he would, as he grows, he'd become bold and courageous in his faith. We don't want him to hesitate to share the good news of Jesus to those that he comes across. And we also pray that he would just grow in wisdom as he comes to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
[00:10:14] Speaker A: Hello, my name is Chip Reeves. This is my lovely wife, Rachel. This is my brilliant six year old, Ezra. I will say effervescent two year old Esther. And this is little Ruthie.
And we are just.
We're just praying peace, strength and courage over her. And then we also have a verse.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians, 2:10.
[00:11:02] Speaker C: Hi, my name is Corinne Allison. This is my husband Caleb, and our sons, Asher, Kaden and Beckett, who we're dedicating today.
Three characteristics that we pray over him and we desire him. For him to embody someday is to be confident in his identity in Christ, to be bold in sharing his faith, and to be able to speak truth in love.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: Good morning. I'm Garrett Brinke and this is my wife Hannah. And today we are dedicating August, who's three months old.
And the verses that we've been praying over him are Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 2 through 3. Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
That is awesome.
Well, just like we see in scripture where Jesus was dedicated in the temple to the Lord. You know, when we practice child dedication here at Westgate, what it really is, is it's a commitment on the part of each of you as parents. A commitment that says, lord, I am going to give my all to making sure that my children know you and trusting that they will come to know you as their Lord and Savior. And so this morning, I have got a charge for each of you, and it is this believing that Your children are a gift from God and that he will hold you accountable for them.
Will you commit yourselves to the purpose of dedicating your children to the Lord and to his service today?
Will you pray with them and teach them to pray?
Will you instruct them in God's Word and be a faithful example of Christ to them?
Will you teach your children to read God's Word and lead a life completely dedicated to God through Jesus Christ?
And will you do everything within your power to provide for them an environment where they can come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior? If you will do these things, please say, we will.
Awesome. One of the things I love too about child dedication here at Westgate is that we fully believe that as a church family, we have a great responsibility as well to each of these children. And so I want to invite you to stand with us as I have a charge for you. Also, as family, as friends and a church family, we have a great responsibility in assisting each one of these families in what they've committed to this morning.
Will you, as family, friends and church family commit to always representing Jesus Christ to their children?
Will you commit to praying for them as God prompts you? And if given the opportunity, will you commit to supporting them by teaching their children about Jesus in hope that they will one day respond and follow Christ with their whole life?
If you will commit to these things, please say, we will.
That's awesome. Let's pray together.
Gracious Father, we thank you so much for this morning and the opportunity that we have to gather again as a church family and to worship you. And I thank you for each of these families that are here on the stage and the two that were with us this morning in our first service. God, I thank you for their love for you. I thank you, God for their love that is also expressed and how they love their children and desire that their children would come to know you.
Father, my prayer first and foremost is that as they commit their children to you today, that Lord, you would deepen their walk with you. Lord, I pray that you would take each of these parents and teach them new things about yourself, that you would take them to deeper places of faith and trust in you so that, Father, truly the first representation of your son that their kids ever see will come through their parents lives.
And Lord, we pray that as you work in them and as you give them a testimony of your son to share that God as well, you would give them everything that they need along the journey to be able to tell their children about you in their words, and also in their actions. But we also pray over each of these children this morning, God, that they would come to know you as their personal Lord and Savior from a very young age.
We pray, God, that you would place your word in their hearts. That, Father, that they would receive the gift of salvation that comes through your son. And that, Father, you would develop within them all of the giftedness through your Holy Spirit that you have planned for their lives and that you would use them mightily for your kingdom. That many people would come to a saving knowledge of your son, Jesus Christ, because of their love for you.
And so, Father, today it's our privilege to dedicate them to you. And we do so now in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, knowing, believing, and trusting that you have great plans for their life and that you will be faithful, Father, to bring them about.
We give them to you and we bless your holy name. This morning, it's in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Amen. Would you again congratulate each one of these families this morning?
And as they leave the stage, our Threads of Love Ministry has a special quilt that they have made for each of you. And so we'll be giving those to you as you go down to the floor. And also, church family, we want to take this moment to welcome each other to our service today. So can I encourage you, turn around, greet somebody you haven't said hello to yet this morning.
Worship together.
[00:17:18] Speaker B: Amen.
I raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemies I raise a hallelujah Louder than the unbelief I raise a hallelujah My weapon is a melody I raise a hallelujah Heaven comes to fight for me But I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm Louder and louder you're gonna hear my praises roll up from the ashes hope will arise Death is defeated the king is alive Listen with hallelujah with everything inside of me I raise a hallelujah I will watch the darkness flee I raise a hallelujah in the middle of the mystery I raise a hallelujah oh, fear you lost your hold on me singing oh, I'm gonna sing Sing in the middle of the storm Louder and louder you're going to hear my praises roar up from the ashes hope will arise Death is defeated the king is alive do you believe our king is alive?
Do you believe that? Lift up a shout of praise.
[00:20:06] Speaker A: Sing.
[00:20:06] Speaker B: A little louder Sing a little louder let's sing a little louder Sing a little louder I'm going To sing a little louder.
Oh, sing a little louder.
Sing a little louder in the presence of my enemy.
Sing a little louder.
Louder than the unbe.
Sing a little louder.
My weapon is a melody we sing a little louder.
Oh, heaven comes to fight for me. Sing a little louder in the presence of my enemies Louder than the unbe.
My weapon is a melody comes to fight for me.
I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm Louder and louder you're gonna hear my praises roar.
Love from the ashes hope will arise.
Death is defeated this the king is alive.
Oh, I'm going to sing in the middle of the storm.
Louder and louder you're going to hear my praises roar up from the action hope will arise.
Death is defeated.
The king is alive it all.
I raise a hallelujah.
I raise a hallelujah.
Jesus, you come to fight for me.
Hallelujah.
Praise God. Praise God. Amen.
Oh, you are worthy of our praise.
Oh, I want Jesus.
O I want him.
Oh, only Jesus.
So take this world and give me.
Sing that again.
[00:23:11] Speaker A: Let that be your prayer this morning.
Holy Jesus.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: Holy Jesus.
So take this world and give me no more mixture.
Give me the God of scripture.
No more idols or lesser loves.
No substitute will ever do.
There's nothing more I'll ever pursue.
I want Jesus.
O, is that true in your life?
Oh, sing it out. I surrender until my heart grows tender.
Here be my treasure, my greatest call.
No substitute will ever do.
There's nothing more I'll never pursue.
O, I want Jesus.
Oh, I want holy Jesus. Unsatisfied, only you are worthy.
Sing it out.
Yes, I want Jesus.
Worthy of it all and give me enough is enough.
Isn't he enough?
Isn't he enough?
Jesus is everything.
All that I'll ever need is indeed enough is indeed enough.
You Jesus, my king of kings.
You satisfy me.
Isn't he enough?
Isn't he enough?
Jesus? Is every breath all that I'll ever need?
Isn't he enough?
Isn't he enough of Jesus? My king of kings?
You satisfy me.
I want Jesus.
Oh, I want him.
Jesus.
Call me Jesus.
So take this world and give me.
You can have it.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: Keep singing it out.
Prepare your hearts. Continue to worship him.
[00:28:29] Speaker B: Take this world and give me.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: And sing that chorus again.
[00:28:56] Speaker B: So take this world and give me.
Take this world and give me.
Take this world and give.
[00:29:18] Speaker A: God is worthy. Give him praise.
You may be seated.
Would you pray with me? God? We. We praise your name this morning and we give you thanks.
We give you thanks again for giving us this family, this place to come together as your church and to worship you, God, in the midst of the chaos of this world.
You, Father, are our foundation.
You are the one who strengthens us, the one who gives us hope, the one who provides for all of our needs.
And Father, we give you thanks, Lord, we thank you. And this morning as we take up our offering, we give back to you. And Lord, it's an expression again of our trust and our faith in you.
Something, Father, that we want you to keep expanding and keep teaching us, Lord, how to trust you.
And so as we give this expression, Lord, we pray that it would bring glory to you, but that you would multiply it and use it, Father, so that more people would know your son.
We give you praise and we give you thanks and we worship you with joy this morning. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
We're going to take our morning offering and so our offering buckets are here in the center aisle. If you grab one of those, we're just going to pass them across the room.
They're in the corners in the balcony. If you grab those and we'll pass those in. We'll continue to worship the Lord in giving before we jump into his word together.
[00:30:56] Speaker B: Sam.
[00:31:36] Speaker A: Well, again I am thankful that you are here worshiping with us today.
Just another quick reminder to you if you are new here at Westgate, whether it is this morning or you see been new and visiting as a guest checking things out over the past few weeks or months or as I like to say even year, we have got our new people party that is taking place today following the second service and if you are new to Westgate, we would love for you to come. I know we had like 35 people that had pre registered to come but even if you didn't pre register, you are welcome to come and join us today following second service that will be happening over in our refinery across the atrium. We would love for you to come if you're new. An opportunity to get to know our church staff and learn a little bit about our church for about an hour as we enjoy lunch together. And so please come and join us. We're excited to get the opportunity to meet you.
Speaking of parties, anybody here like a good party? People like good party, you know, gather together with, with friends, family, whatever it may be. Maybe that's at the holidays. You know one of the things that I've learned is I don't love to leave a good party. Can I get an amen? When you have that opportunity to be enjoying fellowship with people, one of My favorite parties over the last couple years was our church staff Christmas party where we went ax throwing together.
One, because axe throwing is really cool. But number two, because I learned a lot of new things about my staff that day about how competitive they are and it was a little bit scary, to be honest with you. Some of them are really good at throwing axes. So I try to make sure that they, they like me. But aside from that, we had a great time of fellowship and fun and just having great conversation. Here's one of the things that I recognize about a good party and one of the reasons why I think we like them so much is because sometimes at a good party for just a minute, we can leave kind of the cares of the world behind us, the things that maybe have been burdens on our hearts and just enjoy a good time with friends or family. We can spend time talking about things that are exciting and things that are good and enjoy that. And one of the reasons that I believe we don't necessarily love to leave those spaces is because we also know that we've got to return at some point to the real world.
This morning as we continue in our Vision series together that is entitled Won't yout Be My Neighbor, Going to dive into this idea of how it is hard to leave a good party. Now, I just have to mention as an aside, one of my dear friends walked up to me after first service and said, I read it's hard to leave a good party on your sermon notes and thought that you were leaving the church, not doing that. So just to be clear, okay, but I thought it was funny.
I could have tricked you all. But anyway, we are diving into our Vision series. We've been doing that for the past four weeks. We're wrapping it up this morning. But we said from the very beginning that our vision as a church, especially as we move into this next year, is about being intentional in sharing God's love with our neighbors, with the people that God has placed in our circles. We spent the last few weeks talking about the fact that the greatest testimony that we have for this world is it comes out in how we love the way that they know Jesus, the way that they experience Jesus is by experiencing his love through our lives. And we would say, especially in the hard seasons, the moments where it's difficult to love.
Last week we spent time digging into God's word and talking about how we break down barriers to the gospel barriers that our world erects and that even times we in the church erect, saying, hey, I want to stay away from these people who don't know God because they're two different from me understanding that the example that has been given us by Jesus and by the Scriptures is that we press in seeing people as created in the image of God and needing God in the same way that we do. And so we go and we share that good news. And this morning, I want us to consider the same thing.
And I want to begin by thinking about this idea of how it is hard to leave a good party, because I think it really fits well as we consider the kingdom mindset that God calls us to have in how we live our lives. We're going to take a look together at Philip's life in the New Testament in the Book of Acts. If you have your Bibles there, you can turn with me to Acts, chapter eight. And as we look at Philip's life, what we're going to see is that he is experiencing a rather incredible season, if you will, in the midst of a hard season.
And yet God comes and calls and says, hey, time to leave the party. I have other plans for you. And so I want us to take a look at this together in Acts, chapter 8, beginning in verse 4. Here's what it says.
Now, those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds, with one accord, paid attention to what was being said by Philip. And when they heard and saw the signs that he did for unclean spirits crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them. And many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. And so there was much joy in that city.
As we begin looking at kind of the beginning of chapter eight together, I want you to have a little bit of context for what's happening. It starts off in verse four by saying that now those who were scattered went about preaching. Why were they scattered? Let's dial back just a couple of chapters. In chapter six of the Book of Acts, we see that there is a disciple that is mentioned and named as a deacon of the church, but also that would go out professing the Gospel. His name was Stephen. Stephen is described as not only a disciple of Jesus, but one who was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
And one of the parts of his ministry is that as he went out, he did many miracles, many signs, and he preached the good news of Jesus faithfully. And here's the deal. As he preached the good news and people were coming to faith in Jesus, there were Jewish leaders in a synagogue and multiple synagogues that witnessed what he was doing. And no doubt they didn't like people being taken away from the Jewish faith and following this person, Jesus. And so they wanted to do everything in their power in order to make sure that Stephen and his message of Christianity was stomped out. And so what they did is they end up telling stories about him, telling people that he was blaspheming. And they drag him before the high priest in the Sanhedrin. And as Stephen is taken there, he is asked to give account. And it's one of the most incredible passages, if you read it in, in chapter seven of the Book of Acts, where Stephen stands before them and gives this entire rundown history of God throughout the ages, from the very beginning with Abraham and through the early church fathers and into the New Testament, professing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But he calls out the religious leaders in the midst of this mini sermon that he is giving, proclaiming the Gospel. And it says that they were brought to such a point of anger that they took him and they murdered him for his words. They literally took and stoned him because of their hatred for Jesus. And as the passage tells us, their inability to argue him to silence. It says that they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. And so the only way to silence him was death.
Here's what happens after that. Letter A, if you're following along in your sermon, notes Stephen's. Following Stephen's death, there was great persecution that erupted against God's people. The very beginning of chapter 8 and verse 1 introduces us to Saul, who we also know as later the Apostle Paul. And Saul was breathing out murderous threats against the church and against God's people. It tells us, us that he stood there giving approval to Stephen's death, but that he also now, after Stephen's death, would go around dragging men and women who profess Jesus out of their homes, throwing them into prisons. We know that he went around murdering others to try to stomp out this message because as a good Jew, he wanted to make sure that the message of Jesus Christ was put to an end. And in their mind, the only way to do that was to ruin the lives of the followers of Jesus Christ.
And so Paul Saul does this.
But as we see, what happens is that, and this happens not only here in the Book of Acts, but it has happened throughout the centuries, throughout all of Christianity, that when persecution comes against God's church, there is often what follows, an incredible openness and spread of the gospel that takes place in Other words, it doesn't stomp it out. It only makes the message more powerful. And we see this take shape as we look at our passage this morning. It tells us letter B, that what Philip does and what the Church does after this is that they break barriers and they head straight for what I would call enemy territory.
It says those who were scattered went about preaching the Word. In other words, as they were scattered and they left Jerusalem, they went out and they began preaching wherever it was that they were going. And Philip, it says, went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
Where did Philip go? It says he went down. Or in the Greek, it's more literally translated, he arrived to the area of Samaria. If you look at the screen, this is the map we looked at together as we considered last week. Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.
You'll remember that here in orange, that orange section of the map at the bottom, you'll see Jerusalem kind of in the middle. That is where they begin. And they dispersed out from there. And it says Philip arrived to the area of Samaria, the area in the blue. You'll remember from last week that Jews and Samaritans hated each other. They hated each other for a number of reasons. One, because the Jews in the southern part of the kingdom looked at Samaritans as basically house half breeds. Not good enough.
Remember that in the Old Testament during the time of the exile, that many of the Jews that lived in Samaria intermarried with people that were settled there from other.
From other nations. And so they kind of became half breeds. So this is one of the reasons there was so much hatred. They weren't pure Jews. But also there was an issue because the Samaritans had built their own temple, not the one in Jerusalem, but one on Mount Gerizim, where they said that that was the place to worship God. And then they had their own kind of readings, if you will, and understanding of the Hebrew Bible. And so it created this incredible fiction that existed between Jews and Samaritans. They hated each other. But what's incredible is that we see Philip head straight into this enemy territory, if you will, to share the great news of Jesus. Philip's offer of the Gospel to this despised people was honestly a radical step that signified the newness of the situation brought about by Jesus and the good news of the Gospel. And what does it tell us happened? It tells us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ broke through the man made barriers of hatred that existed. His followers, Jesus followers showed love. And because they showed love to the Samaritans, barriers came down. And then they shared the good news of Jesus and what he had done and accomplished on the cross and in his resurrection. And when they shared God's love, lives were transformed. Let her see in your notes. They were amazed by this message, the Samaritans, and the power of the Holy Spirit. And many believed and were baptized.
What's interesting as you continue to read further in this passage, you read about the fact that not only were there just tons of Samaritans that were believing the message that was preached and coming to faith, but even a man that was named Simon the Magician or Simon the Sorcerer. Now, Simon the Sorcerer was not like what we typically think in terms of magic. Right? I. I love watching a good magic show. I've watched a few in my lifetime. When I was younger, I remember going to one and then immediately going to a magic store and buying some different tricks that I can.
I even used them when I would teach students back at my youth group in California. One day in particular, I remember going out and doing what I call the levitating card trick, where I had a card sitting on my hand and I did this and it began to rise off of my hand in front of the group. And this girl, Jackie Littlefield, from the very back yells out, he's demon possessed. You know, as I'm doing this. And it was great. I was never been said that about me. That was kind of odd. But anyway, obviously it was a trick. You can go on YouTube and figure out how to do these things. But that isn't what we understand to be true about Simon the Magician. Simon the Magician, who is here in Samaria, even spoken about, not only in the pages of scripture, but by an early church father and apologist. Justin Martyr, who himself was a Samaritan, said that Simon was empowered by spiritual forces of evil or by demons in the things that he would do. But the passage tells us that even this man who was far from God, heard the message of the gospel and believed it. And he believed and he wanted to follow.
Can you imagine with me, letter D, the joy that broke out among the church? Can you imagine what that must have been like in the midst of this great persecution? The people scatter. They continue to tell the gospel. And while people were trying to to stamp it out, it's just growing like wildfire. Literally seeing droves of Samaritans come to faith in Jesus. Even a guy like this man that was using evil as his form of sorcery coming to faith in Jesus. Can you imagine how great it was? The celebration, the party that they were experiencing in Samaria?
And at this point, God comes calling for Philip. And as he comes calling for Philip, he says, come, I want you to leave the good times. I want you to leave the party. I have something else for you.
And here's the deal.
What Philip does is he actually gives us a perfect model of what it means to live our lives with a kingdom mindset. Because we all know nobody wants to leave the party.
And here's the deal. I want you to note this truth. One of the great temptations that comes with success is, whether it's in our personal lives or even in the church, is the potential to slip into complacency. We've all experienced this. Back in March, I went to the doctor. The doctor looked at me and said, rob, you need to get your health under control. There are some things that we need to start working on. And he said it very kindly and yet pointedly to me. And I was like, what are you calling me fat?
He looked at me shocked. I thought it was great. But, you know, he said, hey, it would really be good. You need to lose some weight. You need to eat a little different. You need to put some exercise into your routine. I remember telling him, I looked at him, I said, here's the deal. I'm in seminary. I don't have time for anything. I've got no more head space for this. But I promise you, when I get out of school, I will focus on this. So when I took the month of July off, I made the decision about halfway through that I would start doing the things that he asked me to do. Eating different. I started walking almost daily, going and doing kind of of this huge loop around Pacesetter park, trying to get myself into a little bit better shape and a little bit healthier and excited. To say I've lost about 30 pounds over the last two and a half months, which is great.
However, let me tell you something. In the midst of that, in the midst of success and celebrating every single half pound that comes off that scale, how easy it is to slip back into complacency, to look and to go, I love sleeping. I don't want to get up and walk this morning, right?
Honestly, confession. Have not walked in a couple of weeks. I'm like, oh, I can do without. But realizing, maybe not.
I'll tell you too, when I watch people going out to eat and eating things that I used to eat but I won't eat, or when the ladies come and make our staff lunch and they put all this great food out. Like the temptation to slide into complacency and to just eat is super heavy. I'm going to our life group tonight and I know Rebecca Lozardo is gonna make some phenomenal Dominican food and I am going to struggle. Actually, I give that back. I am going to throw myself into it, friends. But I'm fasting the whole day and it'll end at the end of the day. So anyway, but here's the deal. Have you noticed how even in the church today when we experience success, it's easy to slide into complacency?
Look at Westgate Chapel. Over the last few years we have seen more people come to faith in Jesus Christ than we did in the the 10 previous years.
God has been just doing an incredible work and we've been seeing people, over 170 people make a first time profession of faith in Jesus. Our church has been growing. Do you know how easy it would be for me for our leadership, but even for you to slide into a place of complacency and go, the party's great, let's just sit and enjoy it for a while. Somebody else will do the hard work of going out and continuing to share with others about Jesus because that complacency is a part, I think, of our human life that we easily slip into.
Well, Philip faces that same exact choice. He's sitting in the middle of the party, he's enjoying the great things that are happening. And in the midst of that, God comes and says, I've got something else for you. And he has a choice to make. Is he going to leave the party, the good times where people are still coming to faith?
Or is he going to stay put? What Philip actually gives us is what it looks like to live our lives with a kingdom mindset where we don't slide into complacency, but we are constantly attuning our hearts and our ears to God and where he is moving and walking with him because his mission is most important to us.
Continuing in our Bibles, let's look at this together In Acts chapter 8, beginning in verse 26, the very beginning of this verse says these words. It says, now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.
Here's the first thing that we notice. God is fully active in this passage. It tells us that an angel of the Lord comes and gives this message to Philip.
The message of joining Jesus still and his mission of sharing Jesus with others. We see God's activity as we continue to read it as the Holy Spirit is on that is guiding and leading Philip and telling him where to go and what to do. But here's what's most striking. It's not just God's activity and that God is inviting Philip into his plan, but what I love and is striking is how attentive Philip is to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Like his ear is tuned to the Lord. This is something that he has practiced. Can you imagine how easy it would have been to be lost in the moment of all of these people that are coming to faith in Samaria?
Like this would have been an incredible party to be a part of. It'd be easy to turn off the ear, enjoy what is happening, celebrate with the church and make it about me. But that's not what happened. What he does is his ear is tuned to the Lord. Letter A. A Kingdom mindset always listens for and to the Spirit of God.
Oftentimes we are so distracted by our own pursuits in this world. As Christians, we haven't given ourselves at times over to listening for God's voice in our lives.
And oftentimes this shows in our prayer life. We're really good at asking, pleading, or even begging God to give us things that we need or things or having things taken from us that are making us uncomfortable. But I want to ask you a question.
How much time in comparison do we use in our prayer life to pause and to just ask God what he desires for our life?
God, what do you want me to do?
Where do you want me to go?
How do you want to change and transform me?
And how much time do we spend listening after we ask the question for how he wants to shape us and how he wants to use us?
What I find is that we, and I find this because I have fallen into it in my own life at times. We have become adept at making our own plans and asking God to. To bless them rather than blessing God and asking him to guide our path.
Do you want to hear about the failure of your own pastor in this area?
We're looking at hiring a new group's pastor here at Westgate. With the growth that's been going on, the need to continue to connect people into various discipling environments in the church, the leadership made a decision for this. And when we made that decision, one of the very first things I thought is, I know the guy. I know who it is that we can get. It's a friend of mine Somebody that I'm close to, somebody that I worked with for a number of years. I knew that he was looking for a job. And let me tell you, not only is our philosophy of ministry completely set, like, we think the same about ministry, but he is so gifted in preaching, so gifted in the job that we were looking for, I thought, this. This is the perfect match. And so I jumped in feet first. I was like, I'm going after him. And I called him up on the phone and we had great conversations about what it could be like and getting to work together. But in the end, he ended up saying, I think God is leading me in a different direction.
When he said those words, I was bummed. And at the same time, I could hear the Lord saying, rob, did you ask me?
And friends, I sit in that conviction of, why didn't I ask you, God, what you want?
Because I had plans that I wanted you to bless. And let me tell you something. Sometimes our plans are not necessarily bad in and of themselves. Like, we love God, we follow God, we think, oh, I've got the right thing.
But yet we want what we want, as opposed to to taking a moment and saying, no, God, maybe you have something different. It was an example for me to learn and to remember to point my heart and my ears toward the Lord and to listen to him first in all things.
You see, what Philip does here is he gives us a clear example of what the Christian life should look like.
It's ears, it's hearts and minds that are attuned to God's leading, that are trained to listen for his voice, not only in the bad times, but especially in the good, which are the times where we become the most complacent. Are we listening for the Spirit of God and how he wants to move? But letter B, it's not just that. It's also this. A kingdom mindset also not only listens, but follows wherever the Lord leads.
A kingdom mindset follows wherever the Lord leads. As we continue reading in Acts, chapter 8, at the end of verse 26, in the very beginning, just a short few words, it continues and says that where he was told to go, it says, this is a desert place.
And so Philip rose and he went. What's striking about the angel's instructions to Philip is this, is that the city of Gaza that he's told to go towards was one of the five most important Philistine cities, but it had been completely destroyed by Alexander the Great. In other words, the road that went from Jerusalem to Gaza was almost in complete disuse. It had fallen into disuse. There was literally nobody there. There had been a new road that had been built to go down in that direction of the country.
But where he is told to go would have been a place that would have led him to travel directly into the middle of a barren desert, a place where nobody traveled. And if anything, this request not only didn't make sense, but it was going to be incredibly uncomfortable for him. And I want you to catch this. A kingdom mindset doesn't cling to success, it doesn't cling to comfort, and it doesn't cling to certainty. It always follows God's leading into the inconvenient, into the unknown, and into the uncomfortable.
I want to share a story with you because this week I had someone come into my office to share just what God had been teaching that. And she said to me these words. She said, rob, you had been mentioning in one of your messages a little while ago about people in our church that were doing neighborhood Bible studies. And you kept talking about it over and over and over again. And as you were doing that, I was feeling this conviction and I was like hearing the Lord kind of press this in, but at the same time I was like, no, no, no, that's not for me, I don't wanna do that. But she said, you know, as I went home that day, I decided to listen to what God was telling me to do and I went out of my comfort zone and I ended up going door to door, knocking on neighbors doors and saying, hey, would you like to do a Bible study with me with people that were far from God? And in the process of doing so, I even came across one person who was like, I don't do church. And she's like, well it isn't church, it's a Bible study. So come. Right. Well, five neighbors came together to this Bible study. They went together through the book of Esther and all of them wanted to keep going. And they are in three weeks into their new series and study together. And here's what I love about this and what I love about this being shared with me. Such an encouragement is this. God often calls us out of our comfort zones to a journey of faith with him where he will do great things in circumstances that make us uncomfortable. And I think there are two reasons why he does this. One is, is to stretch and grow our trust and our faith in him to take us to places where we have to move outside of our comfort so that we will learn to trust in his power. And the second reason which is similar is this is because I believe God doesn't want us to get the idea that we are the ones doing the heavy lifting. When he moves us into those places that are outside of our comfort zone, we have to rely on Him. It's no longer, look at me and look what I.
But the only answer can be, look at Him. Look at what God has done. And when we move into that place of following him and trusting him in the hard places that are inconvenient, that are uncomfortable, it is then that he increases our faith. But he also Himself then receives all of the glory. And I want to ask you this question this morning. Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone to reach people that God is placing in your circle every single day? Are you tuning your ear to hear his voice, to see and have your eyes open to understand who it is that he is placing in your circles? Because he has a call on your life as a follower of Jesus to go and to share about the gift that you have been given.
Will you be willing to not only listen, but then to remind, respond, and to go when he calls? Another thing that we learn as we continue through this passage, Letter C, is that a kingdom mindset sees people, not labels. A kingdom mindset sees people not labels.
We understand this from our message last week. But if we continue in Acts, chapter 8, the end of verse 27, into verse 28, it says this, that as Philip goes and he travels this desert road where there is nothing, that there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
Now, let's get a little bit of background here.
To be a eunuch meant to be surgically emasculated. In antiquity, this wasn't uncommon, as eunuchs were often made to stand guard over a king's harem. And the reason for this emasculation was obvious. The king could then trust a man not inclined to interfere with the king's harem. But also in antiquity, the kings of Ethiopia did not care for the royal business of the nation. In Ethiopia, the kings were considered to be godlike. They got to sit back and just enjoy the status of who they were. But what they did was they took the business and they put it in the hands of the queen mother. And for generations, the queen mother in Ethiopia carried the name of Candace. Every single queen mother had the title of Candace. In other words, The Ethiopian eunuch had great authority because he was in charge of all of the treasury of the king.
The Ethiopian eunuch, then what we understand was culturally different from Philip. He was also ritually excluded, according to the Bible, because of his state, but also he was socially elite. There was every reason in the book for Philip to not engage with this man. And as we talked about last week, as we looked at the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in Samaria, we talked about it last week, and even at the beginning this morning, what the kingdom does is it breaks down barriers. It breaks down racial barriers, social barriers, religious barriers, sexual barriers, and even political barriers. Because a kingdom mindset sees people as created in the image of God and all of us together in need of a savior. And so Philip comes into contact with this Ethiopian eunuch. He has a mindset that doesn't see the labels and put up walls or buried, but he knows that God has called him because this is a man that is created in the image of God, that desperately is in need of a savior. And so he goes. He listens to the voice of the Spirit and letter D. It tells us also that a kingdom mindset means that we are prepared to explain the simplicity of the gospel. And this is exactly what Philip does. As Philip sits and he sees this Ethiopian eunuch traveling along, noticing that he he's reading the book of Isaiah, he follows and has the opportunity presented to share the simplicity of the gospel. Verse 29 says the Spirit said to Philip, go over to join his chariot. So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, do you understand what you are reading? And he said, how can I unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now, the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this.
Like a sheep he was led to be to the slaughter. And like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied. Him who can describe his generation for his life is taken away from the earth. And the eunuch said to Philip, about whom I ask you, does the prophet say this about himself or someone else? And so Philip, Philip opened his mouth. And beginning with this scripture, this prophecy from the book of Isaiah, he shared with him the good news about Jesus that Isaiah the prophet was prophesying about Jesus Christ himself and his death and ultimate resurrection that would lead people back to a right relationship with God. What I love is that Philip here puts himself in a position to be used by God by engaging with the Ethiopian Ethiopian eunuch. He showed care for him and what was burdening him. He listened carefully to his questions, and when the opportunity was presented, he shared the good news about Jesus.
I want to give you some statistics about what is happening in our own world today. Did you know that statistics today show that 79% of unchurched individuals in our world are fine with Christians talking with them about their faith and even explaining their faith to them?
The same statistics from a study show that 94% of Christians also believe that it's important to share your faith. So we've got an overwhelming majority of people who don't know God, who are great talking with their friends about Jesus. 94% of Christians who believe that they should be sharing their faith are. But the glaring statistic is 71% of those who are unchurched have never had the gospel explained to them. How is this possible when we understand the call that is on our life? And statistics today are showing that people are open to the Gospel. Sure, the noisy minority are opposed and they want nothing to do with it, but many are open.
And yet less than half Christians have ever. Half of Christians have ever shared their faith.
And I think there are two reasons for this truth. One, a fear of rejection. Top of the list every single time. But even more, number two, many do not know how to explain it. And I would simply ask this question, how is that possible, Church? How is it possible that we could receive the greatest gifts of salvation and not know how to explain that to other people? This is on us, and it is a very simple fix. Why do I say that?
Because over this last week, I don't know where you stand with all this. And so let's not make it political. I watched Charlie Kirk's memorial service and I saw one of the most riveting presentations of the Gospel from Marco Rubio. I don't know where he stands with God, to be honest with you. He could have just been reading from a script. But in 60 seconds, he explained the very Gospel from the very beginning of creation until the return of Jesus Christ. And I sat there with tears streaming down my face, thinking about the fact that here in this platform, with it being broadcast all around the world, the truth and clarity of the Gospel was being professed that we were created by God for the purpose of being in a perfect relationship with him. But sin separated us from God, and the punishment of that sin is death and separation from him for eternity. But God loved us so much that he sent Jesus into this world to die on a cross for our Sin, God taking human form. And after he died, he rose again, conquering sin and death, paying the penalty for our sin, so that we could be restored in a right relationship with God. If we place our faith in him, we can receive that gift of salvation. And even more, Jesus promised that one day he will return.
And when he does, he will restore the perfect relationship with God that we were created for. And we will spend eternity with him forever in heaven, where there is no more sin, no more sadness, no more sickness, and no brokenness.
Church the Gospel message is so easy.
It is so simple to understand.
And if we don't know how to share it, we need to dig into the simplicity of God's word and simply study it for a few minutes. Because there is a world that is perishing without Him. And yet many of them are asking questions. Will we equip ourselves to know His Word and His truth? Having a kingdom mindset to be prepared, Explain the simplicity of what Jesus has done to save us from our sin.
This is the example that Philip gives us as he shares the good news. And then it continues in Acts 8, verse 36. And says, as they were going along the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, look, here's water. What prevents me from being baptized?
And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water. Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. How powerful is that letter E? A kingdom mindset allows God to produce spiritual fruit. It doesn't seek to force it. Philip didn't have to force it. God was already at work in this eunuch's life. He was wrestling with questions about faith and about Jesus. And all that Philip has to do is come along and be available and let God continue the work that he has already been doing. It wasn't on Philip to try to wrestle him into faith. It was simply to answer questions and to share the good news. And God brought this man to a place of salvation and he was baptized.
What a powerful reminder for us that sometimes we don't allow ourselves to move into that place of sharing the good news because we think I'm not articulate enough. In order to be able to convince somebody, you don't have to.
God will.
God is the one that will convict and convince the heart of every single man to make that decision, to follow him. Your call is to be faithful, to go, to listen to his voice, to respond when he calls, to look for the opportunity that is being prevented, to not allow barriers to get in the way, to share the simplicity of What God has done in your life and the good news of what Jesus has done, and he will do the work.
And so this morning, as a church, as we set our eyes towards this next year of being a people that are intentional about sharing God's love with our neighbors, I believe that Philip gives us a very clear picture of what it means to have a kingdom mindset, to not allow ourselves to get to a place of complacency where we go, hey, all the good stuff has happened. Let's just enjoy it and make it about me for a while. No, A kingdom mindset says, I am always on the move wherever God is moving. And I'm listening for him to tell me, because every single day there are more people that need to know Jesus and so will we be the ones who go. So I want to get practical with you this morning. I want to give you a very clear acronym from things that we pull out of this passage, a little bit different terminology, so that we have a model and a picture of what it is that God calls.
We call this the Bless acronym. And I want you to write down with me. The first step is this.
Whenever we are seeking to share God's love, we should begin with prayer. We should be allowing God to shape and to transform and to form our own hearts to have a heart for people that don't know Him. And I want to ask you, will you pray and ask God for what he desires in your life?
Are you willing to pray that prayer? God, I will do anything. I will go anywhere, I will talk to anyone.
Just make it clear.
Will you ask him to open up your eyes to move from complacency to see people around you that he has placed there every single day that need to know Him? And will you pray daily and ask him, God, give me opportunities.
Why?
Why is that so important to pray? Give me opportunities.
Because when you start praying, he starts forming your heart and he starts opening your eyes to see that those opportunities have been there all along.
It's not new.
It simply is a formation of our hearts to open our eyes and to see what God has been doing and is continuing to do. And so begin with prayer and let him shape your heart to open your eyes and see. Secondly, listen with care to people that are far from God.
Don't feel like you have to argue them into the kingdom, shame them into the kingdom. You see, I think the greatest question in our world today is not whether or not people are open to the gospel in the world that we live in today. People are open, my friends, Many people are asking questions. They're seeing the foundations of this world in their life crumbling, and they are asking about God. But here's the biggest question that statistics show that they are asking. They're asking is, does the person, the Christian who is sharing Jesus with me, actually care about me, or am I just a project?
I want to encourage you in this to move into authentic relationship with people out of your love for them, be patient with them in their wrestling with questions of faith in God, because it's God who changes hearts, not you.
Would you listen carefully and with care?
But also, number three, eat together. Now, I know this just sounds like, you know, the typical church potluck thing, but it's not.
When we talk about eating together, what we're actually talking about, and you can write this next to it, is we're talking about building those authentic relationships with people in your life that are far from God.
It's about spending time together, whether it's over a meal, whether it's over a coffee, whether it's just hanging out at your house or in the backyard, or when you're doing life together and looking for those opportunities to share God's love with them. It's the reason that we're diving into this year, as I mentioned just a few weeks ago, what we call the 4000 meal initiative. I want to challenge us as a church to look to move into authentic relationships where we have the ability to share God's love with other people. If you walked through our cafe this morning, you saw this. On the screen is our vision wall that we have created, sharing God's love with our neighbors. And if you look very, very closely at it in this next picture, you will see that each of the letters for the word love are drilled with tiny little holes. The sign company did not love me when I said, would you put 4,000 into these letters and figure out how to make them symmetric? But they did it, and it looks great. And here's the reason.
Each One of these 4,000 holes represents an opportunity that God is going to give us this next year with the people that he's placed in our circles to show them and to share with them his love.
And I want to encourage you to participate with us in this because as you have opportunity, whether it's over a meal in your home, at a restaurant, having coffee, just hanging out in your backyard, or doing life together, and you have that opportunity to dive into authentic relationship and to show and share Jesus love, we want you to come back and signify it by grabbing a Tack that is out of the little bowl that is sitting off to the side and placing it there as a marker of our faithfulness to God's call on our life that we have been listening to the Spirit and that when he tells us, we move into it and trust that he is the one that is going to do the work as we share of his goodness with other people. I want to invite you to participate in this with us. But not only do we want to move into authentic relationship eating together, but also number four, we want to serve others in love. We want to consistently be looking for ways to show God's love with acts of service.
Sometimes this means just with our friends that are far from God and listening and caring about their lives and the things they're wrestling with.
Maybe it's taking them a meal in a time of grief.
Maybe it's helping them monetarily when a need arises. It's the reason that we have our love. Your neighbor grants as a church, don't forget that if you have someone that is far from God in your life, that has a physical need, we want as church to be able to bless them and to love them. And you can ask for a grant that can help meet that monetary need. You just simply need to ask and apply. And that information can be found in our app. I believe it can be found on our website as well. You can touch base with julieann. But we want to be those who are serving others in love, caring for them and caring for their needs. But also because lastly, we want to share our story.
We want to share the story of what God has done in our lives, of why it is that we love him and why it is that we follow Him.
We want to share why we have faith, what God has meant to us, and why we've surrendered our hearts to him so that we can share the good news of the gospel and church again. I will tell you and remind you that people are open to the gospel in this world today. People are open to the gospel. Their foundations are being shook. I remember when 911 happened and the airplanes flew into that building. Do you remember what happened on the state on the steps of the Capitol immediately following that?
All of our congressmen and women and senators gathered together on those steps in solidarity at a time of shaking in our nation.
And they sang God Bless America. It was cute. But then they prayed over our nation and then that moment passed by.
We went back to doing life as it's meant to be. But for just a moment, what we recognized is we need God and people were open to conversations about God and church family. I know you can feel it, that the same thing is happening in our world today.
The foundations of everything that people have been placing their hope in, in this world are shaking and crumbling. And there are many people that are asking hard questions about faith. You know, one of the. One of the coolest parts, by the way, about that memorial service for Charlie Kirk. Again, not sure how you feel about him. And it really doesn't matter. This isn't political.
One of the best parts of that entire thing was Chris Tomlin getting up. And he began leading worship with the song Holy Forever.
And I don't know if you watched it, but if you haven't, go find was one of the most powerful moments of worship I think I have experienced in my life, even over a video.
Here is a man of God and of faith standing in a room where the most powerful people in our world who think they run the planet are walking into the room and he is singing over them that there is no name that is greater, that there is no power, that there is no position, that there is no dominion, that there is no authority.
And I sat there watching this, looking at the dynamic that God had given the church a platform to sing over the world. Their desperate, desperate need for God, who is in control of all things.
And here's the deal. What is happening across our country, and it's not new, it's been happening for a time now, is that there is a revival that is sweeping. There are people that are asking questions about God as their foundations are being shook. They're recognizing that this world doesn't provide what they are looking for. And they want something more. And I truly believe, believe that it is the imago dei, the fact that they are created in the very image of God that is crying out from within them. Look, I have something better for you.
Would you just turn your heart to me and church, family? God has given you the words to lead people to a place where they can know his son and respond to his invitation for salvation? And so the question, will we, as his church rest on our laurels with the successes that we've seen and be complacent? Or will we recognize that his mission will never come to fruition until the day that he returns? And so until he comes again, we have been called to prepare the way to be those who will go out into this world to share what God has done in our lives in hopes that people respond to God's call on their. To surrender their hearts and lives to Jesus, he has given you a message to share, a story to tell. And it's not on you to convince people, it's to allow him to do the work so that he alone receives the glory.
Will you, as a follower of Jesus in a time where I believe he is coming soon, commit your whole heart to his mission and recognize every day he is giving you people that need to know Him. Will we be faithful to that call as those who are kingdom minded and constantly moving with him and listening to him and allowing him to work?
God, we need you.
Our world needs you.
And you have given us the message that can be the answer to every issue and problem in this world through Jesus Christ.
And so, Father, we pray that you would sow the beauty of the gospel into our hearts that would be overwhelmed with what you have done for us.
But even more God, I pray that you would help us to never become complacent with that message, to just enjoy the party, but that God, you would allow us to live our lives with conviction and mission, to go out and to share the good news and to use the opportunities every day you're giving us. So God, as we pray and we ask open our eyes to see the people that you are putting there and give us the courage to trust that you are in control and that you will give us all that we need. Because you are the one that is leading men and women to yourself. We are just the conduit. And so Lord, we open up our hands and until the day day that you return, help us to be found faithful to your mission. In Jesus name. Amen.
[01:20:55] Speaker B: The spirit and the bride together testify all things change shall be made right.
Amen.
The lost shall be restored the grave shall be no more. Come on. And all the church will roar.
Amen.
Prepare the way. The king is coming.
He throw on praise the king is coming.
He's the last the first the living word in glory shall return we we prepare the way with hearts like lamps that birth has light upon the earth we wait for his return.
Amen.
No fear of what oh praise the King coming the last, the first the living word in glory shall return we prepare the way Jesus we prepare Prepar the trumpet soon shall sound he'll ride upon the clouds and every knee will bow.
[01:23:35] Speaker A: Can we get it all man?
[01:23:39] Speaker B: The honor and the fame the glory power and praise be unto Jesus name Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Prepare the way. The king is coming and throw all praise the king is coming the last, the first the living word in glory shall return the great I am The Son of man, the lion and the lamb, the cornerstone who stands alone in life will lead us.
We prepare the way Jesus we prepare the way all for you, Jesus we prepare the way Jesus we prepare prepare the way the King is coming.
[01:25:46] Speaker A: He'S.
[01:25:46] Speaker B: Enthroned on grace he's the last, the first the living word in glory shall return we all sing we prepare the all for you Jesus we wait for that day Jesus we prepare the way Sing it one more time, Jesus we prepare the way Amen.
[01:26:42] Speaker A: Let's give God glory.
You may be here this morning.
Just pause with me for a second. I know I went long. I just said, Lord, just I believe that the Lord wants to do a work here this morning.
And I just want to say if you are one of those people that has been wrestling, you have not given your heart and your life to God. But you've been asking questions.
You've been recognizing the brokenness of your life, of this world, of the things that you've put your hope in. And you are searching for truth. And you are searching for that answer that will give you what you are looking for. It is found in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. And I want you to hear that truth of the gospel this morning.
That we are separated. Separated from God because of sin.
And there is a punishment that is due for us because of our sin. It's separation and death. Not just physical death, but eternal death and separation from God.
But God loved you so much that he sent His Jesus into His Son, Jesus into this world to die on a cross to pay your penalty for your sin and rebellion against Him. So that if you would put your faith and your trust and hope in him, and you would profess him with your mouth, that you yourself could come to a saving knowledge of Him. He wants to give you that gift of salvation. This morning, will you place your faith and your trust in him as your Lord and Savior, because he promises you when you do that though we continue to live in this broken world, one day he will return.
And when he does, he will take us to reign with him forever back in the right relationship with him that he always intended.
And so I call you this morning. If you've been wrestling, if you have questions, our prayer team would love to talk to you, answer your questions.
Maybe you want to make that decision today to follow Him. They would love to pray with you. But don't let today pass. If the Lord is moving on your heart and you're wrestling, I'd invite you at the close of our service to come forward to talk with our prayer team and to continue to push into the call that God is placing on your life and church family.
As you go out from here today, I remind you, as I do every week, and I will until the day the Lord comes. He is giving you people to share the good news of His Son with.
Pray and ask him to open your eyes and see, to give you all that you need and to give you the courage to step into those relationships and to share his love tangibly, but also with words to share with them how they can come to know eternal life. And so as you go, I pray this blessing over you from the Apostle Paul at the end of Ephesians where he says these words, may he grant you to be strengthened a with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all of the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Jesus Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God now unto him who is able to do full far more abundantly than all we ask or think according to the power that is at work within us. To him be glory in the church and in Jesus Christ throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Church Family Go out. You have a commission.
Share the good news.
Walk by that wall and pray. God help me to see who it is that you want me to share your love with God. God bless you. Have a great week as you follow Him.
