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Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest

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questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search

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and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Metter, lead pastor

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of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth for the life

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we're searching for. You know, one of the great opportunities we have is to walk through our

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vision and what we believe is the most important thing that we are to be called to and what we are

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to pursue as a Church of Jesus Christ. And today we're looking at a real church adopts people. Acts

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chapter 2, beginning in verse 37. Let's stand together as we read God's word together.

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In Acts chapter 2, beginning in verse 37, we find the response to Peter's message at Pentecost. Peter

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is full of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is coming down upon all the people in Acts chapter

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2 and Peter gets up and preach an amazing message. And in that message, the people have an opportunity

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to respond to it. And here's what it says in verse 37. Now, when they had heard this, they were

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pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brethren, what shall we do?

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And Peter said to them, repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the

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forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promises for you

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and your children and all who are far off, as many as the Lord God will call to himself. And with many

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other words, he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them saying, be saved from this perverse

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generation. So then those that had received his word were baptized. And that day there were about

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3,000 souls added. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to

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fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer, four different things. Everyone kept

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feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place with the apostles. And all those

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who were believing were together and had all things in common. And they began selling their

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property and possessions and were sharing them with all as anyone might have need. Day by day,

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in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with

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gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was

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adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. That's a great text of Scripture

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about a great thing happening in the New Testament church. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father,

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thank you so much for this day and the opportunity we have to worship you. Father, we never want to

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take it for granted that this opportunity you extend us. We have that freedom. We rejoice that

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we can do that today. Thank you for the word that tells us so much about the New Testament church

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and about how we are to be the church today in the same way. I pray that you'll illuminate this

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text by the power of your Holy Spirit for each one of us. In Jesus' name we pray. All God's people

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said amen. Well, I just want to update you on that alarm system. The fire department just gave us the

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all clear, the all clear. So somebody else say amen. I mean, that's a great thing to know, right?

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Amen. Appreciate our fire department responding so quickly and appreciate the fact that we

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have this alarm system that helps us when we need to. Well, this New Testament church was something

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because just as the gospel was preached and the Holy Spirit came upon the people, what an incredible

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moment it was for them to realize we all have something in common that we didn't have common

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before, the Holy Spirit. It was in that moment that the church began to be the church. It really began

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to fulfill the call that Christ had on them. And just as God had adopted those new believers to be

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his sons and daughters and brothers and sisters, then that New Testament church was starting to

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adopt other people coming into the church. Years ago I watched a video of a young girl, a teenage

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girl, who had learned that she was going to be adopted by her foster parents. This was the girl

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that was in and out of the foster care system for years and had several foster parents, but no one

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had said, we want to step up and adopt this young lady to be our child as long as she's alive. And

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on this particular video I watched, the parents surprised her by giving her an envelope and asking

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her to open the envelope. And inside of that envelope were adoption papers. And you can see

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as she read the adoption papers, she realized everything that was happening right there, that

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these were going to be her parents for the rest of her life and that she was going to belong to

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them and they were going to belong to her. And you could just see as she watched this document in

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front of her and this video unfolded, that all of a sudden she was what every adoptive child wants,

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and that is to be noticed, to be loved, to be cared for, to be committed to. Adoption is a

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beautiful process by the way, it really is. And we have a number of families that have actually

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done that and it's just incredible to watch what God does to that. Well, the New Testament church

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is really about adopting people who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as well as those

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who already have. And that's what this text really helps us do, it helps us know how that works.

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We've been using the diagram or the graph, the R-E-A-L words, real people, real life, real hope,

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real life, but we've also been looking at these four words, relate, engage, adopt, and lead. We

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looked at how the important thing about the church was they focused on relationships and most

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important relationship we have is that vertical relationship that we have with God, loving God

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with our whole hearts, but then we also love others as ourselves, that's the horizontal side

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of that. Last week we looked at the idea and the importance of reaching out and engaging those that

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are far from God in order to help them know who Christ is, building that bridge so that they too

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can hear the good news of the gospel. But once they hear that, the word adopt comes into play

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because it's at that point that people begin to realize I've been adopted by God to be a son or

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a daughter of God and I also need a family, a church family, where I can call those around me

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my brothers and sisters in Christ. Because you know that if you're a believer in Jesus Christ,

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you are first of all a son or a daughter of God. That's what the scripture says. And if you are a

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believer in Jesus Christ, you also have brothers and sisters around you who also believe in Christ.

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I mean it's God's family. And when Jesus built the church, he built the church to be exactly what

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every believer needs in their lives. Acts chapter two shows us what they needed and how he built the

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church to meet that need and how today the church ought to still be what Jesus built it to be those

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years ago. So we're going to look at this text today from the perspective of all these new believers

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coming in as brand new believers in Christ and how the church responded to them. So there are three

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things that come to our attention right away when we get to this text. First of all, we see that

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people need to belong. People need to belong. I need to belong, you need to belong, people need

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to belong. I need to belong to something and someone who is greater than them in the sense

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of resources, in the sense of wisdom, in the sense of having someone that can help them through life.

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And in verse 44 you see that unfolding there. It says, and all those who believed were together

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had all things in common. I'm going to break that down in a couple of ways because the Bible tells

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us that we are adopted by God and consequently, first of all, you belong to God. As a believer in

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Christ, you belong to God. I want you to repeat the phrase, I belong to God. Say it with me, would

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you? I belong to God. There are times in your life where you feel like nobody has claimed you, nobody

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has come alongside you, nobody has helped you, but you need to know that you belong to God. As a person

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that's come to faith in Christ, he has made it very, very plain. He welcomes you into the kingdom of

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God by his grace and by his forgiveness. It's phenomenal. In Romans chapter 8, the idea of

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adoption is very clearly spelled out. Paul is writing to the church at Rome and he says this

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about those folks who had put their faith in Christ. He said, for you have not received a

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spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by

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which we cry out, Abba, Father. Abba is the most intimate word for father that you can find in that

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language. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God and if

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children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that

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we may also be glorified with him. And in that mix that took place that day at Pentecost, they

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were people of all kinds of backgrounds. A mix of people in Rome where Paul wrote this letter to the

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Romans, all kinds of people. It didn't matter if you were Jews or Roman or Galatians or Ephesians

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or from the city of Thessalonica or Ethiopians, it didn't matter. God was welcoming them all into

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his family and he adopted them spiritually. And Paul uses this amazing illustration of adoption

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to the Romans. Roman adoption was unique from any other kind of adoption. Ellen Matty wrote in her

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book on adoption through history about the Roman adoption. When a child became born biologically,

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the parents actually had the option of disowning the child for a variety of reasons, but not an

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adoptee. In Rome, adopting a child meant number one, the child was freely chosen by the parents

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and desired by the parents. Then number two, that child would be a permanent part of the family.

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Parents could not disown a child they had adopted. An adopted child received a new identity. Any prior

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commitments, responsibilities and debts were completely erased. They had new rights, new

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responsibilities that were taken on. And in ancient times, the concept of inheritance began

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at life, not death. Being adopted meant that someone was already an heir to their father and a joint

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heirs in all the possessions and fully united in the present with all the family members that they

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were adopted into. Now Paul uses that picture to help us realize that what we have in Jesus Christ

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is full privilege with God. Fully adopted by God the Father, fully heirs of God and joint heirs

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with Christ. And basically it means that everything we have in life from Christ is everything we can

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have from Christ. He gives it all to us because we are his sons and daughters. And the idea of

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spiritual adoption is so powerful it essentially doubles up on the meaning of God's fatherhood over

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us. Spiritual adoption should remind you that you're fully known, completely loved and have a new

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identity in Jesus Christ. It should say to you that you've been noticed by God, loved by God,

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cared by God and committed to by God. You're heirs of God and joint heirs with all the brothers and

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sisters in Christ including Jesus Christ. And God is extending his arms to all of us that have said

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yes to Jesus Christ and have embraced us fully. You are heirs of God, sons and daughters of God.

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What a concept, what a powerful picture. And Paul used that illustration to help us know that that's

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a permanent status with God. He will not disown you, he will not cut you free, he will not ignore you,

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he will not forget you. You are the children of God. You can say Abba Father. And the very idea

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that we have this means that we can also extend that same kind of fellowship to others who have

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come to faith in Jesus Christ. Just think of it. All the resources that Jesus has are ours in Christ

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because we're sons and daughters of God. All the power that Jesus has we have, all the inheritance

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that Jesus has, we have all the forgiveness that he promises, we have all the acceptance, all the

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favor we have. God has his eye on you, he knows you and he fully extends to you that idea, that

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promise that you have everything he has. And my wife and I have a family of children and I've caught

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myself at times watching one of my kids when they were younger especially and they were in the house

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and I would just watch them and they might have been doing some innocent game, they might have

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been watching TV, they might have been playing in the yard, it's happened a number of times. Well I

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haven't really been talking to them, I haven't really been trying to consciously say anything or

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teach them anything, I've just looked at them and just watched them. And when I watch them my heart

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just warms up, it just warms up on the inside out. And it warms up on the inside out because that's

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my child. Now there are times when I don't feel that warmth when they disobey but they are no less

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my child when they disobey. You know how that works, don't you? They're always in my favor and I would

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do anything for them because they are my kids. I would do anything for them, give them anything,

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lay down my life for them because they are my children. And I want you to take that idea that

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you may have experienced and know what I'm talking about and transpose that to what God thinks when

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He sees you, when He knows you, when He commits Himself to you. Listen we are in really good shape.

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If we've come to faith in Jesus and we're sons and daughters of God, we're in a really really good

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place spiritually speaking because God has given us all the favor, we belong to God. But the

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scripture also teaches us that we belong to God's people. In Acts chapter 2, they were together.

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They had all things in common. The one thing that held them all together was this common faith that

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they had in Jesus Christ but they were a part of the family from that day on. And when you're part

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of the family, you're really part of the family in the body of Christ. They were loving each other,

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they were sharing things with each other as though they had been born into the same family and they

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made room for everybody else that came to faith in Jesus as well. Just read the book of Acts. Acts

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chapter 10, you get to a place where Peter is called to go preach the gospel to Cornelius who

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is a Roman centurion and that day in time that was a tough preaching gig. I mean after all the

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Romans really did oppose the Jews in so many things and it was Roman soldiers and Roman rulers

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that ultimately put Jesus Christ to death. So we're talking about a very hostile environment and yet

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Peter is called by the Holy Spirit to go preach the gospel to this man named Cornelius and it was a

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frightening mission but he went. And as he went, preached the gospel and amazing results took place.

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In Acts chapter 10 verse 34 and 35, Peter says this, I most certainly understand now that God is

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not one to show partiality but in every nation the men who fear him and that's what is right are

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welcome to him. So he preaches and Cornelius is saved, he comes to Christ. He and his family not

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only are saved but they're baptized and so now Peter has to go back to this New Testament church

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where all this began in Acts chapter 2 and tell them about the story because not everyone is friendly

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towards Roman centurions at that time. So he comes back and he says here's what happened and then the

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Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and they had the same experience as we had at Pentecost. They have

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the same Holy Spirit, they trust the same Jesus. And so that Jerusalem council that heard all this

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made this statement, well then they said God has granted the Gentiles also repentance that leads to

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life. In other words God is welcoming them, we must welcome them and we're going to acknowledge

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them as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. You say well what is it about the Gentiles that's so

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important? Well what's important is unless you're a born Jew you are a Gentile. You and I are the

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Gentiles in this story and God has accepted us fully as his people through Jesus Christ and as

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a result of that we also belong not only to God but to God's people or the Church of Jesus Christ.

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Nothing else matters but your faith in Jesus Christ and your willingness to follow him. Most of us

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this day and time our families are pretty diverse. They have all kinds of different perspectives,

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all kinds of different political alignments, all kinds of different ideas. I know our family does

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and sometimes when we get together at Thanksgiving we have wonderful times when we laugh a lot,

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then times when we might cry a little bit, then times when we argue with each other and then times

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when we just have a good time all the way around. All kinds of things but one thing that is always

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unchanging and that is this family is our family and we have a lot in common and we're gonna make

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sure that that is what holds us together more than anything else. Well the church is like that. All

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kinds of people in the church but one thing holds us together and that is our common faith in Jesus

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Christ as Lord and Savior and our adherence, our desire to follow him wholeheartedly. You know the

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church is a group of people that are very different from very different places and that's true. This

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church is true every single church I'm aware of. So a church ought to roll out the welcome mat to

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people who are coming to faith in Jesus and don't put a lot of preconditions on them, just love them

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and let the Holy Spirit work in their heart in a huge way. So we fight not to prejudge. We do not

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put new believers and new church members to preference test before extending them the family

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love of brothers and sisters in Christ. We're not called to make everybody look the same. We're not

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called to make everybody from the same background. We are all called to disciple all people towards

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Christ. The person that comes to faith in Jesus, they need to hear the message that the New Testament

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church was giving them. You have a place here. You're part of this family. You belong. You've

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fed. You have the Holy Spirit in your life. You're wanted. You're needed. You are heirs of God and

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joint heirs with all of us. You know, one of the greatest things I can challenge you to do today

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as a church in the midst of a very diverse culture is to make room for people who come to Christ.

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Make room for them in your ongoing weekly life outside this worship center. Make room for them

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in your small groups. Make room for them in your interactions. Make room for them in your home.

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Have them over. Make room for them in your conversations. Are you welcoming the spiritual

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family that God sends us? We're desiring to build an invite culture because we want people to know,

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we invite them to hear the gospel and then we invite them to respond to Jesus Christ and then

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we invite them to the relationships that will help them grow more and more like Christ. Well,

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that means that you have to have your arm wide open and embrace them in Christ. You know,

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some of the people that have taught me the most about life are people that are not like me,

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they that look like me, they didn't come from the same background as me, but they have taught me a

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lot about Christ because I've got to know them and I've got to know their walk with God. The New

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Testament church was built so that we can work, welcome other people and walk together in the

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kingdom. So first of all, you need to see people need to belong. Secondly, people need to be

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together. They need to be together. In chapter two verses 44 through 46, we have this passage that

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we're going to put on the screen, put the whole passage up there and there's some highlights to

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those words that I want you to see today. Here's what the text says, it says, all those who believed

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were together and they had all things in common and began selling their property and possessions

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and were sharing with them with all as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one

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mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house they were taking their meals together with

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gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. Now keep your

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eyes on the screen for just a moment. As you look at those three verses, look at all the things that

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I've highlighted that are together. They believed together. They actually shared space together.

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They were in their same room. There were things there as a reference to everything in life,

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not just possessions. So they really shared life together. And then later on it says they

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shared their possession together. So they did actually share the tangible things that they

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had with anyone else that had need. Day by day continue with one mind. They shared a mindset

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together, the mindset that Christ had called them to. And they were breaking bread from house to

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house. So they were sharing communion. That's a breaking bread phrase there. And they did that

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from home to home. So they actually shared their home with each other as they had communion. And

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then they took meals together. They were actually eating food beyond the communion meal together.

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And they had gladness they shared together. And they had sincerity of heart, worshiping together.

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And then at the end they had favor together. The church had favor in a culture that couldn't get

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along with each other, but the church was able to do that and demonstrated great favor that the

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rest of the world looked at them and said, what must be going on that they love each other the way

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they love each other? Now you say, pastor, you're talking about ideals, aren't you? Because we don't

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really do that as well as they did, do we? Well, at times we do. But we're all too inspired to that.

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That's our calling. And it's our calling because it's the need that every person has. People need

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to be together with other people. Whenever I think of people movements around the globe,

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I see commonalities to this, but they don't completely fulfill what the church was doing.

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In military life, for example, you leave civilian life and there's a brand new culture. And the idea

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of no man left behind is drilled into your mind. We're not going to leave anybody behind on the

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battlefield. We're going to be in this together. Special interest groups, they get together and

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they do things based on common interests. There may be nothing else holding them together,

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nothing else they have in common except this one interest that they have. But they do get together

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like that. In gang life, in inner cities, people merge over mutual protections. I've got your back,

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one says to another. But the church does all these things and more because we have this

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spiritual kinship of a relationship with God through Jesus, then we have all kinds of resources

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that we can share with each other. Every new believer leaves an old life to begin a new life

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and needs to be a part of a family of God. In the church, when we come to Christ, we leave a life

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that's purely secular and we embrace spiritual life. We're in the world, but we're not of the

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world anymore. We're of the Lord and we're part of that family. That's why it's so important for us

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to know that the church is able to love one another. Now there were four things that this New Testament

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church did so well. In verse 42 it says what these are. They were continually devoting themselves to

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the apostles teaching and the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Notice those

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four things. Those four things are essential in the life of the New Testament church. Teaching,

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adoption begins and has as its goal the teaching of the Word of God because we just can't survive

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without the truth of God's Word. I mean Jesus says I'll give you the truth and the truth shall

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set you free. He said I am the way, the life, and the truth. No one comes to the Father except

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through me. So the truth is extremely important and teaching of the Word of God is a really,

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really big deal because that's how we mature. We grow more like Christ because we learn more

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about Christ. We learn more about how to follow Him and how to allow the Holy Spirit to lead in

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our lives. Let me just say that in our teaching here at our church there is teaching in the big

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room which is in a worship service which is what you're experiencing now and then there is teaching

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in a small group which we call our connection groups or connection classes. You know the primary

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difference between the two is this. In a connection group you have teaching that's going on that may

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be a little bit more specific to where you are in your life, your age group, your marital status,

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whatever else it may be, and you have a chance to interact and you have a chance to ask questions,

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you have a chance to give input. It's really important that we have that because that kind

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of conversation is what allows us to grow more and more like Christ. Teaching is incredibly

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important and if you're not in a small group we want you to be in one because that's where a lot

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of the great things take place. Sharing is the second word. Cornenea describes the sharing of

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things. They were sharing everything that they had and doing life together. It's kind of like family

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time together in the kingdom of God. Thirdly they were eating. They were actually eating. Now I would

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not put this point on the board. I would not make this the main point unless it was actually there

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but it's actually there. These people in the New Testament church were eating together. Have you

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ever heard of a Baptist potluck? Well that was basically what was going on. Where everybody brought

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food and they broke bread together not only in the communion sense but also eating a meal together.

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You know what happens when you eat a meal together? Somebody is cooking, somebody is sharing,

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somebody is cleaning up, somebody is serving. Conversation takes place around the table.

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Everybody contributes in some way with the meal and the New Testament church was actually doing

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that not because they were hungry but because they needed each other. When we eat together we do what

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families do. So I want to encourage you to eat together. Then the last word is the word praying.

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Praying because once you get to know people and you're burdened by what they're going through in

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life we begin to sympathize and empathize. And when you realize the only way that some problems

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can be solved is if God intervenes into their lives. That's what you're called to do. Pray that God

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would intervene into their lives. Let me just be personal, be real with you. Some of the biggest moments

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of my personal growth have been in the small group not the big room. I've heard lots of great messages

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in the big room and I am motivated and moved by those great messages for preachers that I've heard

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over the years that my greatest moments of growth have been in the small room. A small room where

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we've had spiritual conversations or I've been confronted or encouraged in some way. That's what

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we want you to have in the body of Christ. I call that the body life where we pray for each other,

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where we are committed to each other. I still remember the faces and names of some of the people

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that were in my preschool department when I was a preschooler and that was a long time ago. I still

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know who they are. I still remember their faces and names. Obviously most of them are with the

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Lord today but wow what a memory that is. And I remember in junior high having teachers that would

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teach me what God's Word said who would position me and encourage me to grow. And I certainly

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remember in college people pouring into my life and mentoring me and all these things are what the

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body of Christ does so that we can grow more and more like Jesus Christ. So be in worship but also

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be in community and small group. And let me just be really honest with you. Everybody in the room

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needs to know who their people are because when hard times come you need to know who your people

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are. And you need to pick the right people. When I'm talking with people, counseling with them,

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who are in calamity, relationships are falling apart, their life seems to have gotten off track,

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I always ask this question when I'm counseling them, who are you talking to? Who are you listening

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to? And often what they tell me is I'm listening to someone that's gone through the same thing I'm

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going through and then I ask them are they believers? Do they adhere to the scripture? Are they giving

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you counsel from the Bible? And if their answer is no, I say you're listening to the wrong people.

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You have to be listening to people that do believe the same things that you believe in the Word of

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God. You have to be listening to people that do believe in the power of Jesus Christ. You have to

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listen to people who believe in the inheritance we have and the power of the Holy Spirit in our

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life. You listen to those people. Those are your people. And in a world where everybody wants you

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to be friendly with you if you just believe what they believe, you're already friends with Jesus.

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You've already got that locked up. Stay with his people. So the New Testament church was actually

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practicing that and all the things that they did. And then lastly, people need to be valued. People

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need to belong. People need to be together. But people need to be valued. Look at verse 47,

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and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. Sometimes I'm asked

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by people about church and about church membership. And they say, is it really important for us to be

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a member of a church? I mean, after all, aren't we part of the invisible church, the universal

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church when we come to faith in Jesus? And I say, yes, you're part of the invisible church of Jesus

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Christ. You're part of the worldwide church of Jesus Christ. But who knows that you've committed

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them and they to you? Where is your church home? Where is your church family? When you look at this

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verse, you'll see that they knew who was part of their congregation. They knew who was hurting.

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They knew who was being neglected. They were able to find who they were. The Lord was adding to their

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number day by day, those who were being saved. And by the time Acts six rolls around, they knew who

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the Grecian widows were, who the Hebrew widows were, and who was neglecting whom in the deli

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serving the food and they could fix that problem. So people know that you need to be valued and the

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church needs to value people by knowing them. So that's the important thing. You know, when I am

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asked the question, what did the disciples really teach during those times in Acts chapter two,

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the apostles teaching? I mean, much of the New Testament hadn't been written and recorded yet.

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So what did they teach? And quite simply, they taught the words of Jesus. They taught what Jesus

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taught them. Most of you are familiar with Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15 is a series of parables

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where Jesus talks about the lost. He talks about the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. They're

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a very famous set of parables. And the one thing these all have in common is they were lost and

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they needed to be found. It was clear that it was up to the person during the seeking to find them

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and Jesus makes it pretty plain, pay attention to those and pursue those that wander, pursue those

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that are lost. And I can imagine that these New Testament apostles were teaching all those brand

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new believers what Jesus taught them, basically saying as Jesus said to leave the 99 and find the

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one, we're going to do the same thing. We're going to find those that fall in the cracks. We're going

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to find those that need us and we're going to minister them in every possible way. New Testament

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church needs to be able to do that. You need to look around you and see who's missing and find them

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and encourage them. You need to look around you and see those that have accountants that's down

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instead of up and have a conversation with them. Maybe somebody you haven't heard from for a while,

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give them a call. Say hey, kind of missing you. Is there anything I can do to encourage you? Anything

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I can do to get you back involved? The reason we would do that is because we value people. It's

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easy to get off track and it's easy to be caught up in the confusion of the world just as it was in

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that day in time but oh it's so important for the church to be a family. If one of my kids doesn't

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show up for an appointed event, I go looking for them and I always have and I always will as long

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as they're alive. In the same way sons and daughters, brothers and sisters need to look for those that

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may be wandering. What is true of a lost sheep or a wandering saint is true of a person who seems to

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be forgotten. They need to be lovingly pursued. Reach out, find people that need to be pursued.

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I would say we're definitely in a season where it's easy to hide. Definitely in a season where

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it's easy to lose touch. So are you determined to reach out and touch base with people you've

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lost contact with? Who do you need to reach out to? Because what it says is we care. You're my

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brother, you're my sister in Christ. We're all sons and daughters of God. We have this church

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that God has called us to. So Jesus builds the church and we're it and we are built so that we

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can help people who need to belong, help people who need to be together, and help people who need

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to be valued. Let me just say that if you're just coming into the church or you've just come to

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faith in Christ, you're loved, you're valued, you're cared for. We commit ourselves to you to help you

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in your spiritual walk just as we do to everyone. Do you understand that the church is here to adopt

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each other just as God has adopted us? You know today I have a set of invitations I want to give

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you. I know that it may be true today that there are those in the building that have never really

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considered the fact that they, when they come to faith in Christ, can be adopted by God. You become

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a son or daughter of God when you put your faith in Jesus. And I invite you to have that kind of a

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conversation at our decision station in just a moment. Those decision stations are at the back

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of our rooms and they're still there even though we've had construction going on and there will be

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people manning those stations. Stop by and say I have some questions about my relationship with

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God. I want to make sure that I have truly put my faith in Him, that I'm truly an adopted son and

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or daughter of God. My second invitation to you today if you're a guest is to come to our guest

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reception room just outside the center exit doors across the hallway there because I'd like to tell

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you about our church. I can tell you in about five to ten minutes about our church more than you've

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learned by simply attending from week to week. I'd love to answer any questions you have. Thirdly,

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I invite you to pick up an invite card and bring somebody back with you next week. We always have

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room for new people. We always have room for people who need to hear the gospel, who need to

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have a church home and we want you to be the invitee to bring them back with you. Would you

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stand with me as we have a closing word of prayer? And as you stand let me just thank you for

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persevering through the service today and kind of wading through the alarm systems and everything

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else. Sometimes things just happen. I'm very grateful that everything's been taken care of.

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Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father in Jesus name. So grateful for this congregation. So

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grateful for the promises that you make to us as God the Father. Thank you Father that those who

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have placed faith in Jesus can call you Abba, Father. And Lord know that we are adopted by you.

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Father I thank you so much for the body of Christ, the fact that we have brothers and

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sisters around us that we're truly committed to and they are truly committed to us. Today help us

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make the decisions that we need to make to allow us to be in perfect relationship with you through

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Jesus. Thank you again for all you've done, all you will do. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.