1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,860 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest 2 00:00:15,860 --> 00:00:21,080 questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search 3 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:27,300 and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead 4 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:32,440 pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth 5 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:40,360 for the life we're searching for. If you have your Bibles, please take them and turn 6 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:45,680 to the book of Philippians today, the book of Philippians, as we kick off our series 7 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:51,760 called the Find Your Tribe series. And I have all kinds of questions about what is the tribe 8 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,840 and who's my tribe, where's my tribe, and we'll get into all that in just a few moments, 9 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:01,240 but the way I walk through a book is break that book up into several series and the first 10 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:06,480 one will be about the tribe, Find Your Tribe, and it's all the way through chapter one of 11 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:10,320 the book of Philippians. By the time we get to chapter two, we're in a whole new series 12 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,440 and they all work together so that by the time that we're in the end of this great, 13 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:20,400 great letter, you have four large keys to living the Christian life and we're going 14 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,480 to be excited to walk through this together. Please stand with me as we read Philippians 15 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:28,440 chapter one, beginning in verse one, which is all we're going to cover, all the way through 16 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:33,800 verse eight. Now you may notice a little different look today because we have a little bit of 17 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:38,840 a hardware problem and so my image will not be on the screen so you have to look directly 18 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:44,180 at me, which is unfortunate for you, but that's how it will have to be. I'm told I look better 19 00:01:44,180 --> 00:01:48,440 from a distance anyway so I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but it's a little 20 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:53,640 different look today, but just know we'll be back with our regular programming next week. 21 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:58,120 Alright, Philippians chapter one. I'm going to read the first eight verses, but the first 22 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:03,720 verse is all we're focused on this morning. And here's what it says, Paul and Timothy 23 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:09,960 bond servants of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including 24 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:15,880 the overseers and the deacons. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord 25 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:22,840 Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in 26 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:28,320 my every prayer for you all. Now this is the first of three you alls. This is definitely 27 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:33,280 a Texas letter and you'll see how that unfolds in a moment. Every prayer for you all in view 28 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,640 of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now, for I'm confident of 29 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:43,040 this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ 30 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:48,200 Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all because I have you 31 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:53,080 in my heart since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the 32 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:59,600 gospel, you are our partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness. How long for you 33 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:06,600 all with the affection of Christ Jesus. You just can't avoid the y'alls in this, can you? 34 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,880 Alright, so we've got this amazing letter that Paul is writing to a group of people, 35 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:15,680 a small church in Philippi and we're asking what does that mean for us? Father, today 36 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:22,000 in Jesus name I pray you'll bless this reading, bless this letter from Paul to Philippi, bless 37 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:27,560 this word today. Help us to know Father what a tribe is, what our tribe is, what it means 38 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:32,680 to be a part of the church of Jesus Christ. Father I ask that your Holy Spirit illumine 39 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:37,560 the passages not only for our understanding but also illumine our hearts to know what 40 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:43,760 we need to do. We ask this in Jesus name and everybody said amen. Please be seated if you 41 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:50,760 would. A tribe is kind of a popular term today. I think it's a popular term because people 42 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:57,800 are looking for those niche relationships that kind of fit them. Where's my tribe? Where's 43 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:03,840 my tribe of a certain kind of football fan that roots for the same team as I root for 44 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:09,600 or where's the tribe of people that have the same common interest I have? But a greater 45 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,520 question to ask is where's my tribe for those that have a common faith with me, who have 46 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:19,680 common beliefs with me, a common source of truth with me? And when we talk about the 47 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:25,440 tribe that way we talk about the church of Jesus Christ which is what Paul is doing, 48 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:31,520 writing a letter to a church, to a tribe of people at a community called Philippi. Now 49 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:36,280 today as I walk through this text today it's really going to focus simply on verse one 50 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:39,880 and I'm going to rant just a little bit. Now the definition of a rant is someone speaking 51 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:45,040 negatively about something else but I'm going to flip that a bit. I'm going to speak positively 52 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:50,480 about something else and that something else is the church of Jesus Christ. Are you with 53 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:56,460 me today in that you hear people today criticizing the church in so many ways for so many things 54 00:04:56,460 --> 00:05:01,080 and so much disillusionment and disappointment sometimes and that may be the experience of 55 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,920 many but when I look at the church in over 40 some years of pasturing I look back and 56 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:11,320 I have a rant in a positive way. I believe the church is the greatest organization on 57 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:17,080 the planet to accomplish what God wants in the kingdom of God. The church is the place 58 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:22,200 and the way and sometimes the means for the gospel to get to a person where they can find 59 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:28,100 Jesus personally and come to faith in Christ, forgiveness of sin, have a home in eternity 60 00:05:28,100 --> 00:05:33,360 because of the witness of the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the author of salvation but 61 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:38,520 we are the ambassadors for Christ who are sharing that message and I'm going to rant 62 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:42,720 in a positive way so just forgive me if I rant. If you're with me just say amen today. 63 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:49,120 That would be a good way to say that. So as Paul opens his letter up he begins to talk 64 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:55,460 about the church in very simple ways and in a sense in an organized fashion showing how 65 00:05:55,460 --> 00:06:01,400 the church unfolds and I want you to see today what he does in describing what the tribe 66 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:06,840 or what the church of Jesus Christ is as he writes to the people of Philippi. So I'm 67 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,760 going to break it down three different ways. First of all I want you to notice that the 68 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:18,640 tribe is a people sent to reach. A people sent to reach. It begins with Paul and Timothy 69 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:24,400 bond servants of Christ Jesus and that answers the question where did this letter come from? 70 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:29,160 It came from the apostle whose name is Paul and Timothy he was his son in the faith and 71 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:35,520 Paul was an apostle sent out by the church at Antioch in order to take the gospel wherever 72 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,520 he could go. We're going to hear the story of how that unfolds in just a few moments 73 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:45,480 but the important piece of this is that God raised this man Paul up to be an apostle and 74 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:52,360 a sent out one. In the original language apostolo is really the word for apostle. It almost 75 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:57,760 transliterates exactly but it means one sent out. So here's Paul he's been sent out and 76 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:02,800 when you read about the missionary journeys of Paul and the churches that were established 77 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:08,400 as a result of that he's just doing what God called him to do he was sent to reach. But 78 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:14,880 here's what's interesting about this line here. Paul and Timothy bond servants of Christ 79 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:21,800 Jesus. Now you would think that the apostle Paul who is the one that we attribute most 80 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,080 of the writing of the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is coming 81 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,360 from you would think that he would have a little bit more ambitious title a little bit 82 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:34,760 more honorable title for him but here's how he introduces himself to a group of people 83 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:41,800 who knew him really well. He says bond servants of Christ Jesus. I want you to pause for just 84 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:47,040 a moment about that title for a second I want you to think about that when it comes to great 85 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:53,720 high honorable church leadership that God is using in powerful ways he would embrace this 86 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,080 title this word this description. The word bond servant shows that leadership in the 87 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:04,640 church was not a title of ambition or honor but of sacrifice and service to the Lord and 88 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:11,680 to the church. The most honorable leader in the kingdom of God today is the greatest servant 89 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:17,120 in the kingdom of God today. It's not the most famous it's not the most celebrity it's 90 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:22,440 not the pastor or leader who preaches to more people than anyone else it is the one who 91 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:27,160 serves the pleasure of the Lord and the need of the people in the greatest way where they 92 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:32,760 can claim the title bond servants of Jesus Christ. Now when a person's been there as 93 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:38,800 Paul has been there for him to use the title bond servant and be a hypocritical kind of 94 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:43,160 title because he didn't live it out it would be counterproductive for his letter so he 95 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:48,880 writes a title and claims to be bond servant and the people knew he was saying the thing 96 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:53,640 the truth that he was truly a bond servant to them. Now it's important for you to know 97 00:08:53,640 --> 00:09:00,240 that because as you view leaders in the kingdom of God they need to be able to fit that title 98 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:05,560 and that description of being a bond servant. A bond servant simply means we have no rights 99 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:10,680 of our own. It simply means that we have met the master that we're willing to serve and 100 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:15,200 the Old Testament version of the bond servant was a slave that found an owner who would 101 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:20,720 so take care of he and his family that he would step up and voluntarily take it all 102 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:25,760 pierce his ear on the door frame and say I'm a bond servant with you for life and I think 103 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:30,880 you as a believer in Jesus Christ can understand that context and that meaning and you probably 104 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:35,720 in the same way say I am a bond servant of Jesus Christ for life because of what he's 105 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:41,400 done for me on the cross. We're not bond servants because we hope to get something we're bond 106 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,760 servants because we already have something and that's our salvation our forgiveness in 107 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:52,520 Jesus Christ amen are you with me this morning? So bond servants of Christ is how he begins 108 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:58,800 to describe that and as you read the story of how the Philippian church was begun you 109 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:03,960 realize that Paul truly is a bond servant because the church began as a result of the 110 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:10,120 Macedonian vision. How many of you have heard that term before the Macedonian vision? In 111 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:18,080 Acts chapter 16 and following Paul and Timothy and Silas and most believed Luke was there 112 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:23,240 the author of Acts as well. They were praying about where they were to go with the gospel. 113 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:26,760 They knew they were sent out but they didn't know exactly where they needed to go yet they 114 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:31,280 hadn't gotten the final direction from God just yet so they went in one direction and 115 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:36,280 the door was closed another direction and the Holy Spirit forbade them to go that way. 116 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:42,120 Still a third direction and still no open door and finally in the night as the scripture 117 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:49,160 describes it Paul received a vision in the night a dream of a man in Macedonia saying 118 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:55,760 come over and help us and so the next morning he gets up and he says to those companions 119 00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:00,760 of his the Lord showed me this dream this vision of a man calling us to Macedonia which 120 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:06,280 was a further distance from all these other places they were trying to go across the sea 121 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:11,760 over to Macedonia and these men got together and prayed and they came to a common conclusion 122 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:16,760 that God was calling them to this place called Macedonia and what happened as a result of 123 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:24,920 that was the planting of a church at Philippi. So we have sent out ones that really begin 124 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:29,720 churches and I think it's really important for us to take just a moment and say every 125 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:34,520 church was begun by someone that was sent out to plant seeds of the gospel so that someone 126 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:39,600 could come to faith in Christ and for Philippi it was this group of super church planters 127 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:44,160 you know these guys if you read your Bible you know about Paul you know about Timothy 128 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:49,760 you know about Silas and you'll read if you read Acts 16 them singing hymns in prison 129 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:54,880 with Paul he's famous for that duet in prison that opened prison door and then you 130 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:59,480 got the gospel of Luke and you've got the book of Acts which is Luke's authorship as 131 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:09,080 well but that's how Christianity advanced God sends people out to reach other people. 132 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:15,720 This church was begun by someone who was sent out to reach the people of this area. Our 133 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:26,080 church was begun in 1904. Nobody in the room was here at that time. 1904 it was begun about 134 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:33,400 a mile away from here where the McDonald's is on Main Street and 183. The person that 135 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:41,200 planted that church planted it in the home of a lady whose last name was Jordan or Jornican 136 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:48,720 and she was the great great grandmother of Sherri Green who attends here now. When that 137 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,840 church was planted it was actually on the front porch of Mr. Jornican's home and there 138 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:59,040 were a grand total of 18 people in the city of Ulus. I'm thinking you know anybody that 139 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,280 plants a church where there's a community of only 18 people really must have a burden 140 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:09,440 for those 18 people. 18 people but more than that they were sent by God so God knew what 141 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:12,920 the future of this city would be like right. We don't know what's in the future but God 142 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:17,680 does and so they planted this church where there was a community of 18 people and a handful 143 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:22,560 of them started and from there it just kept on going and of course the city kept going. 144 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:26,440 The airport came, the community grew and all of a sudden we're in the middle of a thriving 145 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:31,000 metropolis with the gospel of Jesus Christ sharing everywhere we go with people from 146 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:37,360 all over the world. I thank God for people who are sent out by God to plant seeds of 147 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:44,160 the gospel so that a thriving church community can take place. And what we do is essentially 148 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:49,640 the same. This church has planted a number of smaller churches in the area today. I just 149 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:55,760 got back from a north campus where we ordained two deacons there at the north campus today 150 00:13:55,760 --> 00:14:00,440 and the reason we do that is because we know a gospel witness in that population area needs 151 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:06,000 to happen. A few years ago I met a man who was sent out from a church in India and he 152 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:12,400 had personally been responsible for planting 2,000 congregations in about 20 years. Can 153 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:18,120 you imagine 2,000 churches in 20 years? Yeah somebody clap, that's a hero of the faith 154 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:24,520 right there. So when we talk about a tribe we talk about how it begins and it begins 155 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:32,400 first of all by people sent to reach. Most of you realize this that our name is Cross 156 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:39,560 City Church but we're also a part of a denomination of more than 48,000 different churches called 157 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:44,360 the Southern Baptist Convention and over the last 10 years 10,000 church plants have been 158 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:50,480 planted successfully through this cooperation of churches all over America. In addition 159 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:55,920 to that 21,000 new congregations were planted overseas through the International Mission 160 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,880 Board. I mean that's a pretty significant thing for all over the world. Churches begin 161 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:04,880 to be planted because of the gospel of Jesus Christ and you're really a part of that. You're 162 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:09,600 really a part of that by being a part of this church. I mean that's exciting to me to know 163 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:14,720 we're part of something bigger than ourselves to impact more people than we can possibly 164 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:21,300 imagine and that's what happens when God uses the church. He sends people out to begin that 165 00:15:21,300 --> 00:15:27,080 church. But let's scale back for just a moment. The church at Philippi in its early days 166 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:33,880 never became large at all and yet was a very influential church. A church planted in a 167 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:41,520 thriving Roman colony and most soldiers who retired in that area retired to Philippi. 168 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:46,160 There was a church built around a gold mine. It wasn't a wealthy church but a gold mine 169 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:50,680 was in the area. They actually minted the coins that the Romans used, the gold coin, 170 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,480 and so it was an influential area where the gospel was planted there. Philippi has a Roman 171 00:15:55,480 --> 00:16:01,680 feel to it. When Paul was in prison he appealed to his Roman citizenship because of that very 172 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:05,340 thing and God was at work there. But what you need to know is that this church never 173 00:16:05,340 --> 00:16:11,120 reached more than 100 people at all and yet God used the church at Philippi to impact 174 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:18,760 many many in that region and it was the very first church in Europe. If Paul had not received 175 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,800 the Macedonian vision, if he had not gone across, if he had not planted seeds of the 176 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:27,920 gospel on the other side of the sea, you have to wonder which direction that the church 177 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:32,360 would have taken from that point on. But as it were, it eventually reached you because 178 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:38,040 Paul heard the Macedonian vision and went west and eventually up to the area that we 179 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:42,600 call Great Britain today and then across the sea. You know, God strung all this together 180 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:47,000 so that ultimately you could hear about Jesus Christ and know him as Lord and Savior. Your 181 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:54,000 tribe has come a long way to help you be part of the church of Jesus Christ. So this little 182 00:16:54,360 --> 00:17:01,120 church of about 100 was getting a letter from Paul. When you read this letter it is helpful 183 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:06,040 to you for you to know it is not a large church, it is not a mega church. When you read this 184 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:13,040 letter, read it in small group form. Read it as one of 75 or 100 people or read it as 185 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:18,560 a small group of people. That is why we like to bring people into small groups so you can 186 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:23,560 know somebody's name and you can walk with them and pray with them and they can help 187 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:28,360 carry you through the tough times in life. That is what the church is all about. But 188 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:35,360 when you read it, read it that way. Secondly, the tribe involves people set apart to salvation. 189 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:42,360 Notice what is next. He says to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi. Now I 190 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:50,120 know you have heard this many times but who are the saints? The question who are the saints 191 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:53,720 can be answered by saying those who make up the tribe called the church. The word saint 192 00:17:53,720 --> 00:18:00,720 actually means one set apart or consecrated, one made clean and pure. I like that term 193 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:06,720 personally even though we don't think we feel like saints most of the time. Most of you 194 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,720 would not say when you introduce yourself to somebody else, hey my name is John, I am 195 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:16,720 a saint. That wouldn't come across well would it? It wouldn't make a lot of sense. But 196 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:23,720 if you know the word saint means one set apart, one called out, one made clean, one made pure 197 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:30,040 by the blood of Jesus Christ you would know that is accurate. That is accurate terminology. 198 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,320 And so if you understand that is accurate terminology, how many saints do we have in 199 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,600 the room today? Are you a saint of God? Would you raise your hand if you are a saint of 200 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,920 Jesus Christ? There you go. Don't be shy. Raise your hand. You are a saint even though 201 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:45,160 sometimes you don't act like you are. You are a saint even if someone else says you 202 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:51,120 aren't. You are a saint because you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 203 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:56,160 He makes you a saint. You don't make you a saint. He makes you clean. You don't make 204 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:03,160 you clean. So here Paul is writing to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi. 205 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:12,080 This is what the cross does for us. It changes us from being a sinner to being a saint. Now 206 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:16,200 Paul could have said to all the sinners who are in Philippi and everybody would have nodded 207 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:21,840 their head and said yeah I know what he means. But because of Jesus Christ in our life, that's 208 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:26,920 not how the terminology doesn't work on you anymore. Do I still sin? Yes I still sin. 209 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:31,560 Do I sin more than I want to sin? Yes I sin more than I want to sin. Am I only a sinner? 210 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:37,640 No I'm not. I'm a sinner saved and now a saint and so are you. So Paul writes to a group 211 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:41,960 of people that we are going to come to know as a tribe or the church of Jesus Christ and 212 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:47,920 they are saints. So the way this all began when he heard the Macedonian vision he came 213 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:53,400 across and he couldn't find a gathering spot where people were gathering but he went down 214 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:58,560 by the river and there was a lady named Lydia who was meeting with a group of other God 215 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:05,560 seekers and they were praying. And as Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke come across 216 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,480 and get up on that river bank there they see these women and they realize they have a welcome 217 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:16,760 audience there and they share the gospel with them. They tell them about Jesus Christ. And 218 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:22,640 the Bible says in verses 14 and 15 of Acts 16 a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatara 219 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,000 a seller of purple fabrics a worshiper of God was listening and the Lord opened her 220 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:33,000 heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. So all he did was bring a gospel witness and 221 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:37,600 God had already prepared her heart. And when she and her household had been baptized that 222 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:42,800 is after they responded by faith they were baptized she urged us saying if you have judged 223 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:49,800 me to be faithful in the Lord come into my house and stay. This church began the same 224 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:57,600 way as that church did. Come into my house come on my porch and stay and meet and let's 225 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:03,800 tell other people about what I just heard about Jesus Christ. Now that's extremely interesting 226 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:09,680 to me to watch how small that seems to begin and yet how big of an impact it has on people 227 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:14,880 life. Saints are set apart. The church is the term that's used for people who are called 228 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:19,680 out from the world. Paul uses it in chapter 4 and verse 15 and other places. But you're 229 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:25,200 the saint and you are the church. You're born into your biological family but you're born 230 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:30,920 again into your spiritual family and that makes you a part of the church of Jesus Christ. 231 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:36,020 And you have brothers and sisters from other mothers and dads but you all have one father 232 00:21:36,020 --> 00:21:41,060 and that is God the father who birthed you into the kingdom of God. Isn't that a great 233 00:21:41,060 --> 00:21:48,060 thing to celebrate today? You're a part of the tribe of Jesus Christ. Now it doesn't 234 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:55,280 really matter what your biological family was like. I've had great biological families. 235 00:21:55,280 --> 00:22:00,560 I had a phenomenal father, a phenomenal mother. When I was born I was born into that family 236 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:07,560 but when I was born again I was born into a perfect father situation. My heavenly father 237 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:15,200 would make up for anything that my earthly father had gaps on. If you were born into 238 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:22,200 a really rough biological family you get the same spiritual father that I do. And your 239 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:28,520 father will take care of you in every way. He will watch over you. He will become more 240 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:33,920 important to you than anybody else biologically is to you. Your spiritual family will be of 241 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,400 greater importance to you than you can possibly imagine and that's why we use the word tribe 242 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:45,400 because it's our tribe. We are a part of this people. Peter in 1 Peter 2 is writing about 243 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:50,140 the church itself and he's trying to give the folks in his day an idea of what they 244 00:22:50,140 --> 00:22:54,940 are, who they are. He reaches all the way back into the Old Testament to describe who the 245 00:22:54,940 --> 00:23:00,000 church is and I want you to notice his words here. In 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9 and 10 246 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:07,000 he said but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's 247 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:15,480 own possession. I love that. I love that idea that God loves me so much that I'm his possession. 248 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:21,080 I belong to him and he belongs to me. A people for God's own possession so that you may proclaim 249 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:25,880 the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light for 250 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:31,920 you were once not a people at all but now you are the people of God. Man what a great 251 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:38,560 line. You once have not received mercy but now you have received mercy. That's the tribe 252 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:43,640 right there. That's the church of Jesus Christ as Peter describes it and he's using the Old 253 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:49,720 Testament to illustrate the New Testament principle of the family of God. Now what Peter 254 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:56,720 was doing was quoting the book of Deuteronomy where God calls Israel out of Egypt, out of 255 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:03,720 bondage, out of sin and out of bondage. Remember Moses goes and leads them out, the plugs, 256 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:09,640 the Egyptians chase after them, the parting of the sea, all that. And God says you once 257 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:14,360 were not a people at all now you are a people. You once had no identity at all now you're 258 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:20,360 the people of God. You're my people. You're my people. So Peter uses that to say those 259 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:27,360 of us who put our faith in Christ Jesus we're now a part of what God says my people. My 260 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:33,680 people. So if I ask you who are your people your answer needs to be I'm God's people. 261 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:39,880 I'm part of God's people. God's my father. My family is a family of faith. I'm part of 262 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,800 the tribe that he has set out for me. I'm part of the church of Jesus Christ. I've been 263 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,880 called out of the world. I've been set apart from where I was and I am now part of the 264 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:54,880 tribe of Jesus Christ the family of God. Now some of us have read the Old Testament book 265 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:02,000 of Ruth and it's a phenomenal book. A great story of Naomi and Ruth. Naomi is widowed 266 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:08,200 and Ruth is her daughter-in-law and now Ruth's husband has died as well. It was a rough world. 267 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:15,200 And so the other daughter of Naomi says I'm going to go back to my people and Ruth says 268 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:19,120 I'm going to stay with Naomi. I'm going to stay with you. And Naomi says no you need 269 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:23,400 to go back to your people. You need to go back to where you came from. And she makes 270 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,800 this great great statement. Ruth responds with this great great statement that we hear 271 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:32,400 about in weddings. We hear about it when we describe really special relationships and 272 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:37,800 I want you to read what it is because it really describes who we are. But Ruth said do not 273 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:42,560 urge me to leave you or turn back from following you for where you go I will go. Where you 274 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:49,560 lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people. Your God my God. What a great picture 275 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:59,440 of the importance of you needing to know who your people are. What a great picture of being 276 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:06,480 committed to someone who's a part of your tribe a part of your people. Over the last 277 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:10,840 few years I've been sharing these five questions that I believe God placed on my heart as the 278 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:16,120 five most important questions people can ask and answer. And if you don't have the answers 279 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:21,880 to these you're going to be moving in a direction far from where you need to be. And the first 280 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:26,120 question is who is God and what is truth. You've got to settle that from the beginning. 281 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:31,680 Who is God and what is truth. You don't answer that question accurately. It's almost impossible 282 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,320 to predict where you'll end up but it won't be good. A second question is what is my 283 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:43,320 purpose in life. You need to know your purpose in life. A third question is what was I created 284 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:50,160 to be. We spent some time talking about two weeks ago. What was I created to be in God 285 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:55,880 revelation and God's creating me in the first place. The fourth question is about relationships. 286 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,900 Can I have healthy relationships. Do I know what they are. Do I know how to have them. 287 00:27:00,900 --> 00:27:05,280 But the fifth question of those five and the one we're focusing on right here it's a question 288 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:12,280 who are my people. Who do I look around me and see as my people in a world that's filled 289 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:17,800 with people. You have relationships at work. You have relationships in the neighborhood. 290 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:22,000 You have relationships with biological family. You have relationships that are friends from 291 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:26,200 the past. You have Facebook friends. You have followers on Twitter. You have all kinds of 292 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:31,520 people that are around you. But who are your people. Do you know who your people are. People 293 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:36,240 you can count on. People who will give you wise counsel. People who will stand with you 294 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:41,440 in the tough time and rejoice in the great time. Do you have those people around you 295 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:46,720 because you were created for a people. That's what the church of Jesus Christ is all about. 296 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:53,040 That's who Paul is writing to. To all the saints at Philippi. That's what he's saying. 297 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:58,640 You've got to have a people. Could you imagine that 75 people in that Roman city with all 298 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:03,440 the Roman influence with all the soldiers and all of the secular approaches to life 299 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,880 and the Greek influence of mythology and and and hedonism and all those other things. Can 300 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:12,000 you imagine them thriving without the church. They could not thrive without the church. 301 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,600 And the reason Paul said in verse 6 I'm confident of this very thing. He that began a good work 302 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:21,960 in you all will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. You need the church. You 303 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:32,360 need the tribe that is around you. God has always had a people for his people. And the 304 00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:37,600 more you read the Bible the more you understand it. So the church is a tribe your people your 305 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:42,720 spiritual family from which you get comfort encouragement counsel warning and everything 306 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:50,280 else you need. In the tribe we have common faith. We have common truth. We have a common 307 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:56,400 book that we hold on to common values. We have a common purpose. We have a common mission. 308 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:01,840 We have a common future in heaven. One day we'll be in heaven together with all the saints 309 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:07,640 rejoicing and worshiping the Lord that brought us there for time and time forever and ever 310 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:12,920 without end. All those things are part of what we call the forever family. Now you may 311 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,680 be new to Christ. You may be new to this community. You may be new to this church. But I'm gonna 312 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,560 tell you something. If you are in this church today and you are a part of this church as 313 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:26,320 a believer in Jesus Christ you are home. This is your family. This is the family of faith 314 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:31,400 in Jesus Christ. I'm glad I have a family of faith. Aren't you glad you have a family 315 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:38,160 of faith? And that's what God has done in bringing the church together. You need to 316 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:44,000 know you need to get to know your family and faith. Most of you know that my mother-in-law 317 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:50,400 passed away a few weeks ago. My wife and I were preparing for the funeral and getting 318 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:55,440 some photos put together on slide, photos on slide so that we could show everyone just 319 00:29:55,440 --> 00:30:01,400 kind of what Dixie, that was her name, what Dixie was like from early girlhood onward. 320 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:07,600 And as we were talking we were talking about the move that their family made from Missouri 321 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:13,960 to Texas. And they settled in Irving, Texas when Kim was a little girl and they joined 322 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:19,280 the church not far from them called MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church. And in that church 323 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:23,560 at that time God was moving in such a big way. Ron Dunn was the pastor and I've quoted 324 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,960 him so many times. You're probably tired of hearing his name Ron Dunn but man what an 325 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:31,080 influence he was. And I knew nothing about this church of course. I grew up in Oklahoma 326 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:36,560 you know the promised land. That's where I was. My wife is in Texas. We were talking 327 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:41,880 about her upbringing. And as we talked about the church she kind of said something under 328 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:49,240 her breath. Not really communicating to me but just saying what she felt. She said man 329 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:55,280 that was the best decision my family ever made to join that church. That was the best 330 00:30:55,280 --> 00:31:02,360 decision we made because there I found faith. I learned how to grow in faith. I heard incredible 331 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:08,640 teaching and preaching. I learned to worship. I met people who parted my friendship circles. 332 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:14,880 I watched my family and God at work in my family. Man that was the best decision we 333 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:19,120 ever made. Now my wife is a wise woman and she doesn't often make a lot of statements 334 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:24,760 like that that are absolute but when she does then she's right on target. What a great decision 335 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:30,600 to surround yourself with a family of faith that will help you during all those times 336 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:38,360 when you wonder where is my tribe? Where is my family? Now remember this letter is written 337 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:45,800 for the church to find the joy of God. Joy that he has for us. And I shared four things 338 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:50,080 last week that I'll run through very quickly. These four things are essential. His people, 339 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:54,440 his perspective that is the mindset that we're to be serving others. His purpose that he 340 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,160 has for each one of us. His presence. All those things are important for your joy and 341 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:02,400 we'll cover these over the course of many weeks but the bottom line is his people are 342 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:09,600 a big part of that. You won't find joy fulfilled without the people that God is intending to 343 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:15,880 surround you with unless you allow that to happen. What you experience, you experience 344 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:20,960 in the church in a fruitful way is one of those things that you look back and say man 345 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:27,040 that was a great decision to be a part of a family of faith. You can't do it alone. 346 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:36,920 He never said you could. Why are you trying? Not only is it people sent out by God, not 347 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:42,920 only is the tribe people set apart salvation but it's also people selected to lead. You 348 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:48,680 see the last line there it says including the overseers and deacons. So God wants his 349 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:54,660 people cared for. That's what these two titles describe. Overseers refer to pastors and shepherds 350 00:32:54,660 --> 00:33:01,160 who lead and feed the flock while deacons refer to servant leaders who support and care 351 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:05,080 for them. They really began to do this at the beginning. For the Holy Spirit they were 352 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:10,200 seeing this church expand rapidly. Three thousand were saved and baptized at Pentecost and all 353 00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:15,200 the set ministry was happening and these were taking place and very early on in Acts chapter 354 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:19,480 6 there was a group of widows who were being neglected in the daily serving of food. They 355 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:25,960 were actually serving food day by day because of the conditions in Jerusalem at the time. 356 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:30,360 The apostles ran out of energy in doing it but they just couldn't do it all. So here's 357 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:35,560 what they said in Acts chapter 6 verse 2 through 4. So the twelve summoned the congregation 358 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:40,200 of the disciples and said it's not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order 359 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:45,000 to serve tables therefore brethren select from among you seven men of good reputation 360 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:49,840 full of the spirit and wisdom whom we may put in charge of this task but we will devote 361 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:56,760 ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. The qualifications for overseers and 362 00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:00,800 deacons are in 1 Timothy chapter 3 you can look at that at another time but the reason 363 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:07,240 for all this is to meet needs and shepherd the flock because God wants his people cared 364 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:14,240 for. You say we're overseers and deacons the only ones that do this? Absolutely not. But 365 00:34:14,240 --> 00:34:21,240 they are called to do this alongside the rest of the congregation because God wants his 366 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:29,160 tribe encouraged or warned or taught or prayed for. He wants their needs met in every way. 367 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:37,360 Paul riding to the church at Thessalonica called himself a spiritual father and yet 368 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:43,800 at the same time gentle as a nursing mother. That's kind of an interesting term there. 369 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:48,000 I'm going to love on you like a spiritual mom and a spiritual dad and that's what overseers 370 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,680 deacons and the rest of the congregation are to do. Now you notice the first part of that 371 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:58,520 line he's writing to all the saints and then he says including the overseers and the deacon 372 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:04,000 the word including simply helps us be reminded that God when he sees the church sees us all 373 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:09,120 as one. There are not two classes, three classes, four classes of people. We're just all saints 374 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:14,960 and next week when you hear my y'all message you'll understand that better. We're all 375 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:21,480 part of the body of Christ but God does raise some up to lead in certain ways. I'm very 376 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:26,560 thankful to be a senior pastor here or an overseer here. I was doing some calculating 377 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:32,120 the other day. Do you realize that this church has only had four senior pastors in the last 378 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:39,320 sixty years? Sixty years. And the interesting thing about it is three of them are still 379 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:49,880 in the church. Two are retired. I'm just tired, not retired, just tired. I preach in a service 380 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:56,560 at 8.30 where Dr. Bill Anderson, Dr. Jimmy Draper are. They still have an incredible 381 00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:02,280 love for this church. They give me all kinds of advice on how to lead it and it's always 382 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:08,560 welcome. It's always welcome. Countless pastors over the years have been here in various support 383 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:15,320 rows. Hundreds of deacons have worked together to meet the needs of the church and all that 384 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:20,320 because God set this up from the beginning to care for His body. You want to know the 385 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:24,880 value of a tribe. The value of a tribe is that God calls people out of the body to help 386 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:30,400 meet the needs of the body in a very personal way in order to represent His love for you 387 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:35,800 through those leaders. Ideally that's how a church operates. And that allows all of us 388 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:43,640 to love one another in an incredible way that supersedes anything the world has to offer. 389 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:47,340 That means there needs to be love in the church and there is love in the church between pastors 390 00:36:47,340 --> 00:36:52,120 and deacons and congregations that help change the world. There's love and we all work together 391 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:57,200 to help raise children whose parents bring them. We're part of the discipleship process 392 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:03,400 as we teach them to know Jesus and to know the love and the joy of the Lord in the tribe. 393 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:08,000 Of course we don't take the role or take the place of parents but we come alongside them 394 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:13,520 and hope and encourage them and pray for them. We love caring for widows because God has 395 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:18,360 given us the responsibility to do that. We love helping people struggling with finances 396 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:22,760 and equipping them for the word for life in general. We love doing all those things at 397 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:26,400 the church. We look out for one another and that's what the tribe is supposed to do. You 398 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:32,280 need to know people have your back. I want to tell a story that I don't often tell, this 399 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:39,080 kind of story but some time ago a widow in this church had been widowed for several years 400 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:43,280 and she met a man on Facebook which always is a way to have successful relationships, 401 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:48,040 right? You meet somebody on Facebook. And this guy without having ever met her proposed 402 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:55,840 online. So I found out about it from a deacon that had been calling her and encouraging 403 00:37:55,840 --> 00:38:03,040 her in every way. So we put on our detective glasses and we did some investigation. And 404 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:06,360 we made the right phone calls and found out that this guy was not going to be a threat 405 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:09,840 to her. He was independently wealthy. He didn't need her money. He didn't need anything she 406 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:15,040 had but really began to connect on Facebook. And I called her one day and talked through 407 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:19,280 a phone conversation with her with another person in the room to help me kind of read 408 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:23,920 between the lines. And at the end of my interrogation which is what I would call it, I asked her 409 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:28,880 like 40 questions about her finances, about this guy, about all these things. I said, 410 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:32,040 do you understand why I'm asking these questions? Because she got kind of quiet and I thought 411 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:37,840 she's going to hang up on me. And she didn't even hesitate. She said, because you love 412 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:44,960 me. And I said, you know who gave me your name? She said, that deacon, he loves me too. 413 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:51,960 I said, you're right. All we want to do is make sure you're fine. And if you're fine, 414 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:57,120 we're fine. But if you're not, we're not. You know that ought to happen every day in 415 00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:03,240 the tribe. That kind of thing ought to happen all around us. When we're looking out for 416 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:09,480 someone, when we're looking out for their well-being. That kind of stuff inside the 417 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:16,480 church. I've not even gotten started. I've not got on my rant yet. Think about what happens 418 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:23,520 outside the church. When I think about what happens outside the church, it's really incredible 419 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:30,240 what the tribe of the people of Jesus Christ see God do through them outside the walls 420 00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:35,720 of the church. And when I hear criticism about the church being insensitive or judgmental 421 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:39,640 or selfish or something like that or being out of touch, I say, where do you get your 422 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:44,280 information? Because the experience I have is very different from that. Because I see 423 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:49,240 a church, not just this one, but certainly this one, that's helped feed more than 40,000 424 00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:53,880 people a year for decades now. We have done that and continue to do that as the church 425 00:39:53,880 --> 00:40:00,400 of Jesus Christ at Cross City Church. I see the church that rescued, helped rescue 38,000 426 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:06,200 babies in the last 40 years through MCWC, which we helped fund and which we had started 427 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:11,800 years ago. Who helps people with grieving. Who gives counsel to those that are in confusion. 428 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:16,960 A church that's helped repair and rebuild more than 900 homes in the last 12 years in 429 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:22,400 this community. A church that embraces new moms at decision points and help them know 430 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:27,600 what's next. Come alongside teenagers that may have no support at home, no help at home, 431 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:33,160 maybe not even parents at home, and give them love. A tribe that goes into schools after 432 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:38,200 school and teaches Bible clubs and teaches kids what it means to have a relationship 433 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:43,160 with Jesus Christ. I'm a part of a church that dug wells in India to feed villages that 434 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:47,840 didn't have any water at all and watched them celebrate as that water came bubbling up out 435 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:53,480 of that well. I've seen us go disaster relief in Haiti when nobody else was going and nobody 436 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:59,400 else wanted to go. We feed clean water, provide clean water to more than 50,000 people in 437 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:04,880 the largest slum in the world in Africa and we do it at our own expense. Who else does 438 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:09,560 that? And I say to you, nobody else does that but the Church of Jesus Christ and we do it 439 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:16,560 around the world no matter who it is. A few years ago when we started Six Stones, I sat 440 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:21,460 out with Gary McCamey, the city manager, and we asked the question, several of our leaders 441 00:41:21,460 --> 00:41:27,160 asked the question, what can we do to bless the city? And he said, there are so many homes 442 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:33,040 in this city, viewless, that were under code, the people couldn't afford to upgrade their 443 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:38,000 homes, they were being fined, in some cases they were losing their homes. He said, if 444 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:43,600 you could come alongside and help these homes be repaired, then you're free to help them 445 00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:46,680 know the message of whatever you would share with them. Of course, Gary was a member of 446 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:50,280 the church and he was basically saying you can share the gospel with them if you help 447 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:57,280 them rebuild their homes. And as we started this, and it's now called CPR, community powered 448 00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:01,120 revitalization, but as we started this, I said, this is going to cost a lot of money, 449 00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:04,040 Gary. He said, you know what, the government has money but the government doesn't have 450 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:09,400 manpower. We can't find volunteers who care enough about these people who come out and 451 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:13,920 rebuild their homes for them. He said, do you think you can find that in your church? 452 00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:17,720 And I said, we can find that in this church. We can find this in the group of churches, 453 00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:22,520 now more than a hundred now walk with six stones, 900 homes later. We're doing what 454 00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:28,360 the government can't do. We're doing what the church of Jesus Christ can't do. I'm 455 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:32,400 just giving you examples of what the church does and maybe you never see it. And maybe 456 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:36,360 you never hear about it. When someone pops up and says this or that about it, they don't 457 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:41,840 maybe really know what's going on. But the tribe of believers in Jesus Christ do this 458 00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:46,240 inside their community of faith and outside their community of faith and their physical 459 00:42:46,240 --> 00:42:51,920 community in which they live. And we do that for the cause of Christ, for the opportunity 460 00:42:51,920 --> 00:43:00,120 of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Jay Johns, who has kind of gotten notoriety 461 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:05,880 for a few Facebook messages and some of them are very, very good, was frequently asked 462 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:10,320 the question in his travels, what do you do? And whenever he answered that question, it 463 00:43:10,320 --> 00:43:15,640 was sometimes awkward because when he said, I'm a pastor, then people shut down or something. 464 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:19,520 And so he got the perfect answer for that. And here's what he says when people say, what 465 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:25,680 do you do? He said, I work for a global enterprise. We've got outlets in every country of the 466 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:30,680 world. We've got hospitals, hospices, homeless shelters, orphanages. We do marriage work. 467 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,840 We have feeding programs. We do justice work. Basically, we look after people from birth 468 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:40,600 to death and we deal with the area of behavioral alterations. And the lady he asked or he was 469 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:45,600 talking to, he said, what was it called? He said, the church of Jesus Christ. That's what 470 00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:52,120 we do all around the world. And we do it free of charge for the purpose of sharing the gospel 471 00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:57,480 of Jesus. I heard a speaker say something recently and I'm going to repeat it to you. 472 00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:03,400 And then I'm done. He said, the church on her worst day is still the best thing that's 473 00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:13,880 happening in this world. You think you think about the world that needs hope, they need 474 00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:21,320 love, they need truth. The church on her waste day is better than any other organization 475 00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:28,760 on this planet. It's not because we're great. It's because he is. It's because Jesus Christ, 476 00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:36,600 God the father called us to live in a different way. And he's calling you to be a part of 477 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:43,560 his tribe. Suckle back around. Are you part of the tribe? Do you know you're in the tribe? 478 00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:49,720 Do you know you're in the church and that God is your father? And this is a family of 479 00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:55,720 faith. And when you wonder where are your people, do you know where you can go to find them? 480 00:44:55,720 --> 00:45:01,400 You come right here. The relationships you build here, the influence you feel here will 481 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:07,240 guide your life on the path that God has for you if you begin that relationship with Him. 482 00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:11,080 I've got to close. I could keep going with this little rant, but I could close. 483 00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:15,880 And let me just tell you this. At the end of this service, at the end of my prayer, I encourage you, 484 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:20,520 if you've not made the decision to put your faith and trust in Christ, to stop at a decision 485 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:27,240 station, talk to someone and say, I need to make sure I'm part of this tribe, part of this church, 486 00:45:27,240 --> 00:45:32,760 part of the faith in Jesus Christ family. And if that's never happened to you, we would rejoice 487 00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:37,320 to let that happen and help you let that happen today. The decision you need to make on your own. 488 00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:41,320 We invite you to that. I invite you to our guest reception room outside the center exit doors 489 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:46,120 across the hallway, glassed in room. I'd love to tell you more about Cross City Church and how to 490 00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:51,320 be a bigger part of that if you want. I invite you to come back next week as we get into those other 491 00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:56,440 verses about the tribe and what it means to be a tribe of Jesus Christ. But right now, would you 492 00:45:56,440 --> 00:46:02,760 stand with me and let's have a closing word of prayer. Father, thank you so much that today we 493 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:07,560 can be in this place and we can look across the room and see members of our spiritual family. 494 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:15,880 Thank you that you've made it possible for us to be surrounded by others of like faith and like 495 00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:23,080 belief, a common understanding of truth, a common destination in heaven. Father, I pray that we can 496 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:30,440 learn to value this tribe and value the church. And Father, where we are detached or remote, 497 00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:38,360 where we are aloof, help us to take steps into fellowship so that we can gain the joy that comes 498 00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:44,600 from walking with a family of faith today, move in a powerful way in these lives. We ask this in 499 00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:48,440 Jesus' name, amen. God bless you. Have a wonderful day.