1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,760 Thank you for listening to this message from LifeHouse Church. 2 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:18,840 You guys all sound like you like each other. 3 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:19,840 We love it. 4 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:20,840 It's awesome. 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:25,240 Well, it's good to have you here at LifeHouse and worshiping the Lord this morning. 6 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:27,800 We got a special treat for you this morning. 7 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:33,120 Pastor Matthew George, his lovely wife, Jesley, and their family are here this morning to 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:34,880 minister the Word of God. 9 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,000 And they ministered last evening. 10 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:43,960 Pastor really came and delivered a word about marriages and really about how our past can 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,900 really play into our future and even how we communicate in marriage and how we act towards 12 00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:48,900 one another. 13 00:00:48,900 --> 00:00:50,960 And really just made that connection with all that. 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:52,600 But he's got a word he's going to give you today. 15 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:54,400 And I appreciate this family so much. 16 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,200 They're not only fellow ministers and fellow workers in this state, but they're friends 17 00:00:58,200 --> 00:00:59,200 of ours. 18 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:04,920 And we have had the opportunity to work together, pastor, on multiple different boards with 19 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:05,920 one another. 20 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,200 They are church planters, so they understand church planting. 21 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,720 They have a heart for church planting. 22 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:16,320 We are a couple of the few, I guess, who have done that in this state and really get to 23 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:19,080 connect on that level, which is amazing. 24 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:20,480 And they're just an amazing family. 25 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,000 So if you get a chance, spend some time, talk with them, and we love them dearly. 26 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:26,000 But he's going to come. 27 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,800 And I know he's got a passion for the Word of God. 28 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,580 And probably the number one quality I really know about this family is that they love God. 29 00:01:32,580 --> 00:01:33,760 They love Jesus. 30 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:35,080 And they serve that way. 31 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:36,080 And they talk that way. 32 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:37,360 And they live that way. 33 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,040 And that's incredibly important to me, to everybody you minister to. 34 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,040 So thank you for that. 35 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:47,360 But if you would, would you give Pastor Matthew a hand as he comes and brings the word today? 36 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:52,440 Good morning. 37 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,600 What a pleasure this is for me to be with you today. 38 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:57,760 Hey, three people went hunting. 39 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,840 And it was a doctor, a lawyer, and a pastor. 40 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,200 They all went hunting together. 41 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,920 And they see a buck, and they all pull the trigger. 42 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:12,840 And you know, the buck goes down. 43 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,360 And the doctor says, man, it's my bullet. 44 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,840 You know, it's mine. 45 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,360 You know, I just knew exactly where to get them, you know. 46 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,640 And so the lawyer says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 47 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:27,200 You were a little late with that trigger. 48 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:28,200 It was mine. 49 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,640 It was exactly how I planned it. 50 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:33,840 And I pulled just a little bit of yours. 51 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,480 And the pastor said, hey, guys, walk with me. 52 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,440 And so they go walking, right? 53 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,240 And they go to the buck. 54 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,780 And the pastor says, hey, just look at it. 55 00:02:44,780 --> 00:02:51,360 The bullet went in one ear and out the other. 56 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:52,360 You'll get it in a minute. 57 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:53,360 Amen. 58 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:54,360 You'll get it. 59 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:58,000 I hope that's not the case here at Life House. 60 00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,440 You guys are amazing people. 61 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,200 And I'm excited to hear the word of God to share with you today. 62 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:05,720 And so I just want to say this, right? 63 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,240 Your pastor is like a big brother I never had. 64 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,480 I know we don't have the same color skin, you know. 65 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,400 But we're like brothers because I grew up with three sisters. 66 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,280 And I wish I had met them a lot earlier in life. 67 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:23,720 But if I need any support, any advice, this is the man I go to. 68 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:27,040 And so him and Dixie are just so close to us. 69 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,840 We hang out at their house once every quarter at least. 70 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,120 And we just have a lot of fun together. 71 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:37,880 And so I just want to say thank you, Pastor Kipp, for trusting me with this great honor 72 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:42,960 because, you know, to stand up here is a sacred responsibility. 73 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:44,560 I don't take it lightly at all. 74 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:50,200 And to be able to share the podium with someone, it is not easy for a pastor to do. 75 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:56,320 And so but I'm just so thankful for them and that we have a relationship that we can do 76 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:57,320 together. 77 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:01,840 So hey, would you just express to them how much you love those guys, you know, your pastor 78 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,160 and Sister Dixie? 79 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:05,160 We love you. 80 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:06,720 Thank you for having me and thank you for having us. 81 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:11,000 Gessley is my wife, we'll be celebrating 20 years, married this year. 82 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,520 And so yeah, we're grateful to God. 83 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:21,600 This weekend, we had the joy of sharing with you guys, those of you who were yesterday. 84 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:27,480 And I just want you to know that our passion is just seeing God just raising up strong 85 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:29,480 family, strong marriages. 86 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:34,600 And so I'm actually enrolled in a Ph.D. program currently at Eastern University towards the 87 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:35,760 marriage and family therapy. 88 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:41,840 So all of that said at this moment, I'm just thankful that, you know, that we get to celebrate 89 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:42,840 this moment with you. 90 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:44,200 We've got about 30 minutes remaining, right? 91 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:49,560 I just want you to just hone in on what God wants to say today to us. 92 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,240 Our daughter Eden is here today, but we have three more. 93 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,640 They'll be here for 1045. 94 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:56,720 And so it's a treat for us. 95 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,120 It really is a treat for us to be with you guys today. 96 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:04,440 Hey, would you turn with me to the Goss, I'm sorry, the book of Acts chapter four today, 97 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,760 book of Acts chapter four. 98 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,640 And I'm going to be sharing a few verses with you today. 99 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:15,360 Acts chapter four, beginning with verse number five, and we're going to go to verse 13, Acts 100 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,800 four, five to 13. 101 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,920 And I'm going to, I'm going to read this to you. 102 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,640 And I know it's eight verses, but I hope that you'll be able to just listen. 103 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:26,920 Could you stand with me as we read together? 104 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:27,980 That'd be all right. 105 00:05:27,980 --> 00:05:28,980 Thank you so much. 106 00:05:28,980 --> 00:05:31,520 I appreciate that. 107 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:32,880 Thank you, Lord. 108 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:39,320 Acts chapter four, beginning with verse number five. 109 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:46,560 Lord, this is your word and these are your people and I am your servant. 110 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:51,560 Glorify your name today. 111 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:56,960 The next day, the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem and as 112 00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:58,560 the high priest was there. 113 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:04,040 And so was Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the others of the high priest family. 114 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,860 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them. 115 00:06:07,860 --> 00:06:13,200 By what power or what name did you do this? 116 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:19,120 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers and elders of the people, 117 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:24,040 if we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was 118 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:31,080 lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of 119 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:38,200 Israel, it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom 120 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,160 God raised from the dead. 121 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,360 And this man stands before you healed. 122 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:50,460 Jesus is the stone who you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. 123 00:06:50,460 --> 00:06:56,200 Verse number 12, a central scripture for us believers, salvation is found in no other 124 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:01,920 name, no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we 125 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:03,640 must be saved. 126 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:10,560 Verse 13, when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled 127 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:18,040 ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 128 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,960 Would you look at your neighbor and say, have you been with Jesus? 129 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:22,640 Do that for me before you sit down. 130 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:24,560 Come on, have you been with Jesus? 131 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,640 You can sit down. 132 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:27,640 Thank you so much. 133 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:31,800 I want to welcome you, those of you who are physically, those of you watching us on live 134 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,600 stream, welcome to the gathering of God's people. 135 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,320 It is a pleasure to be able to have you with us today. 136 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:43,920 I'm calling my sermon today, Me to We, Me to We. 137 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:49,280 And as you look at Acts chapter four and you see the aftermath of a story that took place 138 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:51,080 in Acts chapter three, right? 139 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,980 And so you've got to be able to read this entire section to figure this out completely. 140 00:07:54,980 --> 00:08:01,240 But what happened here is that there was a man who was lame and he was lame and he was 141 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:06,380 begging for money as Peter and John were going into the temple, right? 142 00:08:06,380 --> 00:08:07,520 And you know the story. 143 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:12,360 Jesus says to, Peter says to him, silver and gold, I don't have, but what I have, I give 144 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:13,960 you, rise and walk. 145 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:15,360 And he was healed. 146 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,120 And it was an amazing thing for the first time in his life. 147 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,640 He was able to go into the temple because lame could not enter the temple. 148 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:24,060 They were unholy and unclean. 149 00:08:24,060 --> 00:08:28,320 And so for the first time, this, this man has walked into the temple and everybody can 150 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,800 see him because they all saw him begging for many years. 151 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:37,240 And here we have Peter and, and John, who is being questioned by the authorities, the 152 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:44,400 Jewish council, the family of the high priest, and they're wondering, Hey, why did you guys 153 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:45,400 do this? 154 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:46,760 What, in what name did you do this? 155 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:52,440 And you can see in verse 13, it's a central point I want to focus on today's when they 156 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:59,740 saw the courage of Peter and John and realize that they were unschooled, ordinary men. 157 00:08:59,740 --> 00:09:03,680 They were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 158 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:08,420 And I want to tell you today that today, before you go, I want to tell you five things that 159 00:09:08,420 --> 00:09:11,920 happened in our life after we've met Jesus. 160 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,360 And I want to give you five things before you go today. 161 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:15,360 Right? 162 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:21,800 So I'm calling it me to we, you see, we live in a country and we're just the personal accomplishments 163 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,400 are celebrated in such amazing ways, right? 164 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:30,280 Like the American dream is great, but it's all about, you know, how to build your family, 165 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:35,040 how to, how to buy a house and you know, that individualistic mindset. 166 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:36,040 Right? 167 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:37,600 And we're, we're all about success. 168 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:41,480 We want to be able to, you know, go to school and make a living for ourselves. 169 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:42,920 And that's a wonderful thing. 170 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:49,080 But I tell you that as we meet Jesus and as we, as we build a relationship with him, something 171 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:50,080 happens to us. 172 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,180 We go from me to we. 173 00:09:53,180 --> 00:09:57,440 And I want to tell you that, that these two guys experienced this in their own life. 174 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:58,440 Right? 175 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:03,960 And if you look back at Peter's life and, and you look back at how he met Jesus, you'd 176 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:05,600 be amazed at what happened to him. 177 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:06,600 Right? 178 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:11,280 And if you go back to like Luke chapter five and you see the, the story of, of, of Jesus 179 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:16,480 meeting with Peter for the first time, you know, this guy is, is, you know, washing his 180 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:22,160 net after not catching any fish the whole night and it's his own boat. 181 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:23,800 It's his private space. 182 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:25,400 It's his sacred space. 183 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:26,400 Right? 184 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,840 And he's washing his net and, and, and, and Jesus, Hey, Peter. 185 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:32,120 He's like, yeah. 186 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,600 Hey, Rabbi, you know, you're, you're teaching, you're teaching the people I'm listening. 187 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,120 He says, well, I want to get on your boat. 188 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,200 And, and you know, all of a sudden, you know, the story, right? 189 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:47,280 Like, you know, he says, let down your net for a catch and the biggest catch of his life. 190 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,520 And so here's Peter, right? 191 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:56,120 He had this individualistic, successful life as far as just, you know, like doing his thing, 192 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:58,200 catching fish and providing for his family. 193 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:03,120 But as soon as he meets Jesus, something radical happens to him. 194 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,360 And, and he says, Jesus says to him, let down your nets. 195 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,560 And he caught the biggest catch of his life. 196 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:13,080 And Peter responds by saying this, right? 197 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,440 Get away from me, Lord. 198 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:16,400 I'm a sinful man. 199 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:17,400 Get away from me, Lord. 200 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:18,400 I'm a sinful man. 201 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:22,160 If, if I were Peter, I would be like, Hey, Jesus, you and me, we can make a good team. 202 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:23,160 Right? 203 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,280 I mean, I just caught the biggest catch of my life. 204 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:26,280 Right? 205 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,920 I, you can preach from my boat anytime you want to. 206 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:29,920 Right? 207 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:34,560 You know, you preach and you just let all the fish have a rival under my boat and we're 208 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:35,560 going to be all right. 209 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:39,480 We're going to make a lot of money together and your ministry is going to be successful. 210 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:40,480 No, no. 211 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:46,240 What, what Jesus, when he looks at Peter, he says, get away from me. 212 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:51,200 I think this is a good mark in Peter's life because he thinks that, man, I'm just, he 213 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,840 says, I'm a sinful man. 214 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,200 Isn't this what happens to a lot of us? 215 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:58,200 Right? 216 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,360 Sin begins to make us feel shameful. 217 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,280 We feel like Jesus, get away from me today. 218 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:09,240 I'm just, I'm just feeling like I want to be with myself. 219 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:13,440 I'm not comfortable approaching you today because I feel dirty. 220 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,200 I feel uncomfortable. 221 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,960 I just need some space. 222 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,120 You know what Peter hears from Jesus? 223 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:24,160 He says, follow me, Peter. 224 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:26,260 I'll make you fishers of men. 225 00:12:26,260 --> 00:12:28,080 We sang about holiness today. 226 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:30,920 I feel like there's been such a good theme about holiness. 227 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,800 And I thought about this, right? 228 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:34,960 Holiness. 229 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,680 When we think of the word holiness, what comes to our mind? 230 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:43,640 Like, man, God is so holy and I'm not, like I'm just, I'm just, I'm just not going to 231 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:45,200 measure up. 232 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:50,880 Imagine you guys went for a hike, you know, and you had a long day hiking or you're a 233 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:57,480 runner and you just finished, you know, a 5K and you're coming back to the starting 234 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:01,720 point and I'm standing there and I've got a cold glass of water. 235 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:06,560 You're like, oh my goodness, Matthew, thank you so much. 236 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:10,680 And I say to you, hey, this is cold water. 237 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:12,400 This is refreshing. 238 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:22,040 It's 99% clean, but it's got 1% of flesh eating bacteria. 239 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,560 Are you going to drink that? 240 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:28,000 It looks clean. 241 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,240 Not that thirsty. 242 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,280 But it looks clean. 243 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:33,280 It's cold. 244 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:37,440 But I need clean water for my body. 245 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:41,240 When you think about God's holiness, what do you need? 246 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:50,200 You need this, this good, complete, holy God to fix yours and mine sinful, dirty life. 247 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:54,840 So when you think about holiness, don't think, oh my gosh, he's so holy and it'd be distant 248 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:56,040 from him like Peter did. 249 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,640 No, when you think about holiness, you're just like, God, give me some more of that 250 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:03,760 because I need all the holiness from you I can get. 251 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:05,560 Bring me closer to you. 252 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:11,360 Give me more of your water because I cannot live without your holiness. 253 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:15,840 Dear friends, I want to tell you that this is what changed Peter's life. 254 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:20,280 Peter's life was changed because he went from me to we. 255 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:27,200 Me catching my fish, doing my thing to we, I'm hanging with Jesus because I need all 256 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,400 the holiness I can get. 257 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:30,880 I'm a sinful man. 258 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:31,880 Get away from me. 259 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:32,880 Jesus says, no, no, no, no. 260 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,800 I know you're a sinful man, hang with me some more. 261 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:37,920 You see, all of us are under construction. 262 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:38,920 Amen. 263 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,800 Three and a half years later, Peter is still going back to fishing. 264 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,040 You read John chapter 21, right? 265 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,000 He's going back to fishing and he's telling people, I'm going back to fishing. 266 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,480 And Jesus is waiting by the shore saying, do you have something to eat? 267 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,680 This is the kind of Jesus we serve, my friends. 268 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,960 When you get to know Jesus, he doesn't abandon us. 269 00:14:57,960 --> 00:14:59,760 His holiness pursues us. 270 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,840 And so I want to tell you, if there's anybody under my voice in this building now or watching 271 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,920 us on live stream, I want to tell you, if there's anything in your life that makes you 272 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:12,080 feel shameful or guilty, you have a good God. 273 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:16,840 You have a good, holy God and his wholeness can make you well. 274 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:23,520 It can make you whole and it can completely restore your feeling of feeling sick and lonely 275 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:24,520 from God. 276 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:25,760 See, God is holy. 277 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:27,060 That is true. 278 00:15:27,060 --> 00:15:33,560 God has no blemishes and I need that in my life. 279 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:34,560 What am I saying? 280 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:40,440 I'm saying, point number one, friends, in Christ's community, you are welcome. 281 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,840 Ordinary people are welcome in God's community. 282 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,440 You know, this word ordinary is funny in the Greek. 283 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,180 It's the word idiotas. 284 00:15:49,180 --> 00:15:50,180 You guessed it. 285 00:15:50,180 --> 00:15:51,600 That's where we get the word idiot from. 286 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:52,600 No, really. 287 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,720 I didn't make that up. 288 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:55,720 It's in there. 289 00:15:55,720 --> 00:16:00,360 These people are saying, these are idiots. 290 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,280 They don't have the training that we have. 291 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,680 They don't have the education that we have. 292 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,560 How is it that they're doing these things? 293 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,160 You people are idiots. 294 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,100 And Jesus says, yeah, give me some more idiots. 295 00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:19,920 Give me some more fools who will speak to a layman. 296 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,300 Give me some more fools who will take me at my word. 297 00:16:23,300 --> 00:16:25,200 Give me some more fools who will say, yeah. 298 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,080 I don't have all the education. 299 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:28,880 I don't have all the training I need. 300 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,440 But man, I've got a holy God on my side. 301 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:32,440 Come on, somebody. 302 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,440 Let's take a moment to praise God for His word. 303 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:35,440 Amen. 304 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:37,200 Come on, let's do it. 305 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:38,920 I need His holiness. 306 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:40,680 I need it every day. 307 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:41,720 I wake up in the morning. 308 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:42,720 I need His holiness. 309 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:44,320 I go through my life daily. 310 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,720 I need His holiness because I am not perfect. 311 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:49,200 I need Him so much. 312 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,720 And so my friends, number one, in Christ's community, ordinary is welcomed. 313 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:56,680 Because we're all separated from God. 314 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,360 If you ever felt like that, please hear me say this to you. 315 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,360 God has your solution. 316 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,340 He's got that living water that He spoke about in John chapter four. 317 00:17:06,340 --> 00:17:10,040 He tells us, a married woman, man, the water you drink, you're going to be thirsty again 318 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:11,360 and again and again. 319 00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:17,680 But the water I give you will well up in you like a spring all the way to eternal life. 320 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:22,660 For by grace, Ephesians 2, 8, you have been saved through faith. 321 00:17:22,660 --> 00:17:25,400 And this is not your own doing. 322 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:26,680 It is the gift of God. 323 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,200 Can you say the gift of God? 324 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,000 This is a gift of God. 325 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,840 I will, He says, I'll never leave you. 326 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:34,840 Right? 327 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:38,160 I mean, this is, this is a word from the Holy God. 328 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:40,000 You can take His word for it. 329 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,440 He's not going to change His mind. 330 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:45,920 And so when you think about God's holiness, think about how perfect He is that He's not 331 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,120 going to change His mind. 332 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:50,800 Like you and me, we change our minds. 333 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:55,160 I said, I'll never buy a minivan, you know, when I was a kid. 334 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:56,160 Come on. 335 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,560 I hear you have like 23 babies in a year in the church. 336 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:00,800 How many minivans do you all have? 337 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:01,800 I mean, my goodness. 338 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:07,160 You can talk to Justin and ask, man, I'm never going to buy a minivan when we got married, 339 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:08,160 right? 340 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,160 Like I don't want to be that guy. 341 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,080 Hey, 20 years later, I've had two minivans. 342 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:15,080 Amen. 343 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:16,080 Come on somebody. 344 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,600 Oh my goodness. 345 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,920 I bought a Toyota Sienna in 2007 and we bought another one in 2017. 346 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:23,920 Amen. 347 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,920 I love the Sienna so much and I saw somebody drive one today. 348 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:27,920 Amen. 349 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:29,480 So I'm just simply saying this, right? 350 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,400 Like we say something and we just change our mind, right? 351 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,840 Like ah, whatever fits. 352 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,440 But Jesus, He's not like that. 353 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:43,400 When He says, I'll never leave you, man, He's a good man of His word and He's going to hold 354 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,320 on to you no matter what happens in your life. 355 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:54,680 So don't let the enemy say you've been distant, you've been unholy, you are ashamed to come. 356 00:18:54,680 --> 00:19:00,280 So number one in Christ's community, ordinary is welcome. 357 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,440 Listen to chapter four, verse eight to 10, right? 358 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,880 And Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, He declared them rulers and the people of the 359 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:06,880 elders. 360 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:13,400 If we are being examined today concerning a good deed to a crippled man by what means 361 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:20,720 this man has been healed, to let it be known to all of you, to the people of Israel that 362 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:28,520 by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, God raised from the dead. 363 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:33,920 By Him this man is standing before you. 364 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:43,040 Peter's a bold person today, unlike when it was Jesus being crucified, right? 365 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,240 Many times denied Jesus. 366 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:47,280 Something has happened to Peter. 367 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:48,280 Community has changed him. 368 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:50,640 The power of the Holy Spirit has changed him. 369 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:51,640 And A.W. 370 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:57,120 Tocha says this, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important 371 00:19:57,120 --> 00:19:59,120 thing about us. 372 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:04,680 What comes into our mind when we think about God, is He this distant God who is sitting 373 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,800 on a throne with the rod waiting to punish me? 374 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,960 That's not our God. 375 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,160 Our God is a God who is near. 376 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:16,560 Our God is a God who says, come near to me and I will draw near to you. 377 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,040 Our God is a God who says this, right? 378 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:25,880 Isaiah 57 verse 15 says, for thus says the one who is high and lifted up, who inhabits 379 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:34,320 eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high holy place and also with Him who is a 380 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:36,880 contrite and a lowly heart. 381 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:41,520 To revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. 382 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:44,000 Yeah, He's in a holy place. 383 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,000 He's exalted. 384 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:46,000 He's high. 385 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,920 But He says, I'm also with the lowly. 386 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,840 I'm also with the broken, with the contrite. 387 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:57,040 And so don't ever think that God is so far away from you that you can't reach Him, no? 388 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:01,280 One thing you and I must do though is come with some humility, amen? 389 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,480 Come with some radical humility, man. 390 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:08,840 Just humble yourself and say, God, I need your holiness right now. 391 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,120 I feel like a distant child. 392 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:13,320 I need you to bring me near. 393 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:19,040 Number two, Christ's community offers me opportunities to be part of something greater than myself. 394 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:22,300 Number one, it was your ordinary welcome. 395 00:21:22,300 --> 00:21:25,960 Number two, it offers you something to be part. 396 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,520 Man, this is bigger than me. 397 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:29,520 You know what I mean? 398 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,040 Think about Peter's life. 399 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:35,120 Could he be doing this if he didn't meet Jesus? 400 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:36,640 No. 401 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,000 He would be nowhere near this moment. 402 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:45,360 He's not yelling at the priest and the high priest and he's saying, Jesus whom you call 403 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:47,960 Peter, what has happened to you? 404 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:54,000 You are a different man today than you were three and a half years ago. 405 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,440 Community of Jesus can change us, friends. 406 00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,280 I'm not saying that you guys are going to be preaching up on the pulpit. 407 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:01,360 That may not be you. 408 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:03,600 Maybe some of you will be called to preach. 409 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:08,940 But I will say this, man, as you meet Jesus, His boldness, right? 410 00:22:08,940 --> 00:22:10,960 His confidence of knowing Him. 411 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:13,600 I've got Jesus on my side. 412 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:15,720 I've got Jesus on my boat. 413 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:17,320 I'm not alone. 414 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:23,360 It's that kind of a holy confidence that takes you to the grocery store, as Zach was saying, 415 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:24,360 right? 416 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:29,360 Like you feel like I'm going to the grocery store, but man, Jesus is with me. 417 00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:34,960 I feel confident about this relationship. 418 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,520 So what am I saying to you today? 419 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:43,080 I need you to just think about me to we and think about the fact that, man, in Christ's 420 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,480 community I can do amazing things. 421 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:52,080 The church of God started off as a very small denomination. 422 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,080 I grew up in the church of God. 423 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,160 And Pastor Kipp and I, we've served on many, many boards. 424 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:06,380 And when I think about what the church has allowed me to do, I mean, I had a bad stutter 425 00:23:06,380 --> 00:23:08,320 when I was growing up. 426 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,320 Like I had such a bad stutter that I wouldn't actually speak. 427 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,320 People wouldn't know that about me, right? 428 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:19,000 And so I would be like in a circle of friends and trying to have a conversation. 429 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:20,000 Couldn't say. 430 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:21,000 Couldn't say too many things. 431 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,960 I had such a bad stutter. 432 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:24,400 It was so embarrassing. 433 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,720 And so I didn't even really have a lot of friends. 434 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:33,120 As a matter of fact, when I was in college, I was struggling just mentally. 435 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:36,120 And I think I fell into a depression. 436 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:40,040 And I would run into the cafeteria, grab my lunch, and run out of there. 437 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:44,680 So I would go eat in my room by myself. 438 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,120 I'm not afraid to share this with you guys today. 439 00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:48,600 It was a Bible college. 440 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:53,320 It was chapel services and, you know, every day. 441 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,520 And it was good people. 442 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,920 But man, I had struggles. 443 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:00,760 I dealt with depression. 444 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:01,760 I was anxious. 445 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,920 I didn't really do well in college as far as my grades. 446 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:07,280 It wasn't very good. 447 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:12,200 And somehow or another, I met a man named Frank. 448 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,120 And Frank is from New York, Brooklyn. 449 00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:16,520 He grew up Times Square Church. 450 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:18,480 David Wilkerson, right? 451 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:25,680 And David Wilkerson, who went from like western Pennsylvania to the city of Times Square, 452 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:33,560 New York City, started ministering to gangs, lived in his car with nothing. 453 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:34,840 Went from me to we, right? 454 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:41,880 I mean, he just radically changed his lifestyle. 455 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,360 And discipled Frank. 456 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:48,380 And you can read about his David Wilkerson story. 457 00:24:48,380 --> 00:24:52,240 And Frank and I would meet together for prayer every Tuesday at 2 o'clock. 458 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:53,240 I'll never forget it. 459 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:55,080 It was a sacred time for me. 460 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,480 I felt like, man, Frank knows me. 461 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,640 He would make Cafe Bustelo coffee. 462 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:01,640 Come on, anybody. 463 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:03,240 You all don't know about Bustelo. 464 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:04,240 Amen. 465 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:06,440 He would make strong, good coffee. 466 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:07,640 Amen. 467 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,680 And he would have condensed milk. 468 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,760 And it was good coffee, condensed milk. 469 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:17,480 And we would watch sermons on his TV, VCR. 470 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:20,800 Oh, man, come on, VCR tape. 471 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:25,400 I don't think he even knows what a VCR is. 472 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,480 We would watch old sermons of great preachers. 473 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:29,480 And we would pray together. 474 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,480 Man, that was a good community, my friends. 475 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,560 That allowed me to experience just connection. 476 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,960 Like I was with somebody who cared about me. 477 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:45,600 And I pray that as you walk into Life House, as you build community with your small groups, 478 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:50,240 and as you spend time praying with your friends and your family, I pray that that's how you 479 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,960 feel about the body of Christ. 480 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:58,520 Because you've gone from just an obscure individual to a person that says, man, I can do all things 481 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,600 through Christ and it's community who strengthens me. 482 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:02,600 Amen. 483 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:09,120 And if this is the community that God is calling you to, you can do greater things with God, 484 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:11,800 with His community than you could ever do without. 485 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:13,600 And I must go forward. 486 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,480 I want to tell you, friends, here in chapter four, verse number seven, they had Peter and 487 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:23,680 John brought before them and began to question them, by what power did you do this? 488 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:28,680 You see, this is a stressful moment for most people. 489 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,080 I mean, can you imagine? 490 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,760 Like locked up in jail, and they're going to lock him up, and you'll see what happens 491 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,320 at the end of this chapter. 492 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,760 Like locked up in jail for preaching the gospel. 493 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,120 Can you imagine what that's like right now? 494 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:47,840 Imagine if you were arrested for something that you believed in. 495 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:53,160 You want to preach or something that you're standing for, justice for something that is 496 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:54,480 passionate for your heart. 497 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:56,320 And these people are getting arrested. 498 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:05,400 And I wonder how they made it through intense pressure of being just questioned and arrested. 499 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,440 The Quakers are a movement that began. 500 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:09,440 Right? 501 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:17,320 You know about the Quaker movement, and I'll tell you, the founder of the Quakers is being 502 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,920 judged by the authorities. 503 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:26,400 He responds by saying, if you knew my God, you would quake. 504 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,600 They got the name Quakers. 505 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:34,520 That's the kind of authority, the kind of power that he had, even as he was facing his 506 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:35,520 death. 507 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:42,360 I want to tell you, in the intense pressure moments of your life, you need Christ's community 508 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:43,720 around you. 509 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:47,560 You need people around you who will say, man, I'm standing with you right now. 510 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:50,520 I know it's a bad diagnosis. 511 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:56,120 I know it's a bad situation with your family, your relationship, but man, I'm going to stand 512 00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:57,120 right there with you. 513 00:27:57,120 --> 00:27:58,120 You are not alone. 514 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:01,400 And you've got to let people into your circles. 515 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,480 You've got to let them come in and build relationships with you that you feel like you're strong. 516 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:10,420 And I say, number three, Christ's community offers me strength when I'm faced with intense 517 00:28:10,420 --> 00:28:14,760 pressure. 518 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,520 Frank offered me a lot of strength. 519 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:18,640 He's a good man. 520 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,160 Yeah, Bustela was good. 521 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:22,200 The videotapes were good. 522 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:27,120 But more than all of that, I enjoyed strong community. 523 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:31,760 When I go to Pastor Kip and Dixie's house, we enjoy strong community. 524 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:37,080 We feel like we're with people who actually love us and know us. 525 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,320 This is worth spending time on. 526 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:42,040 We drive three hours to come to Carlisle to spend time with them. 527 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:43,760 But we love it. 528 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:44,760 Why? 529 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:46,560 Because it's worth community. 530 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:47,560 It's worth connection. 531 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:52,200 And I want to tell you, friends, I want to invite you in this new year, this new season, 532 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:54,840 make time for good, strong connection in your life. 533 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,080 Yeah, money will come and money will go. 534 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:02,760 But man, the connection you have, the security you have with going from me to we cannot be 535 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,160 put into a value with money. 536 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:07,160 We all need money. 537 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:08,160 I know it. 538 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:09,860 But man, we need more than money. 539 00:29:09,860 --> 00:29:11,240 We need connection. 540 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:16,040 We need a secure base, the place to feel like I belong. 541 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,000 I am invested in this relationship. 542 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:23,080 Ecclesiastes 4.9 says two people are better than one. 543 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,760 They can help each other succeed. 544 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,940 In Christ community, the ordinary is welcomed. 545 00:29:29,940 --> 00:29:34,000 In Christ community, it offers me to be part of something greater than myself. 546 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:40,640 In Christ community, even when I'm under intense pressure, I feel a support. 547 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,320 Bringing my sermon to a close very soon. 548 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:44,320 As you can see, I love A.W. 549 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:45,320 Tozer. 550 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:49,760 He says these words, God does his deepest work in our darkest hour. 551 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:55,400 So if you're going through right now, I want to tell you, you need God, of course. 552 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:57,100 You need God's people, the community. 553 00:29:57,100 --> 00:29:58,100 What does he do? 554 00:29:58,100 --> 00:30:02,780 He uses his people to just reveal himself to you. 555 00:30:02,780 --> 00:30:05,500 He does his deepest work in our darkest hour. 556 00:30:05,500 --> 00:30:08,480 I can give you multiple examples from scripture. 557 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,480 Moses is probably the one that comes to mind right now. 558 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:12,480 Thank you, Lord. 559 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:17,120 I mean, 40 years running from God's call in his life. 560 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:19,240 He's in the land of Midian. 561 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:25,200 And he feels like, man, I don't know if I can ever fulfill God's call in my life. 562 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,960 Oh, man. 563 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:29,720 God comes to him in a burning bush. 564 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:34,080 And he tells him, come on, Moses. 565 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:38,280 Before you make any excuses and all of these things that's coming up, he says, first thing 566 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:39,280 you got to do what? 567 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:40,280 Take off your shoes. 568 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:42,600 You're standing on holy ground. 569 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,280 See what's happening here, right? 570 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:45,720 Holiness again, right? 571 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:50,000 God is saying, you need my holiness to help you with your mental struggle. 572 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,880 You need my holiness to help you navigate through your loneliness. 573 00:30:54,880 --> 00:31:00,160 The latest research tells us about 50% of the country of the United States is dealing 574 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,200 with some kind of mental challenge. 575 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:07,120 About 30% is on some kind of medication for mental challenges. 576 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,880 And I'm not against medication. 577 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:11,680 Trust me, I'm not against medication. 578 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,520 But I will say this, it is a new pandemic of our time. 579 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:16,520 It is a new pandemic. 580 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:21,600 We need to be able to pay attention to the health and how we are holistic beings. 581 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:25,120 And we not only just have to pay attention to our mind or our bodies, we also have to 582 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:30,160 pay attention to our spirit, right? 583 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:31,560 So what do we need to do? 584 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:32,560 We need God's holiness. 585 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:38,120 And so no one should feel like, oh, I'm on medication or I'm distant. 586 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:40,920 I feel like an idiot, right? 587 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:46,720 Peter and John would say, oh, you're welcome because God does His deepest work in our darkest 588 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:49,640 hour. 589 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,480 Next chapter, after they've been in prison, you know, chapter five, verse 41 and 42, they 590 00:31:53,480 --> 00:32:00,880 felt, then they left the presence of the council rejoicing after they were counter worthy to 591 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:01,880 suffer. 592 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:06,280 They've been beaten now, dishonor for the sake of the name. 593 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:11,040 And every day in the temple and from the house to house, they did not cease teaching and 594 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:13,960 preaching that Christ is Jesus. 595 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:15,360 They have been in prison. 596 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:20,200 They have been beaten, but they did not stop. 597 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:21,880 This life is too good. 598 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:23,600 There's so much adventure here. 599 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,600 I'm going from house to house. 600 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:26,800 I'm preaching the gospel. 601 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,080 I love the community of Jesus. 602 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:30,680 This gives me life. 603 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:32,560 It gives me hope for tomorrow. 604 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:37,720 You see, Christ's community offers me the gift of togetherness. 605 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:42,640 For I'm not alone. 606 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:47,080 You're not alone, my friends. 607 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:48,800 You have family here. 608 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:55,040 If you're here and you don't have immediate family in the neighborhood, just look around 609 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:56,040 you. 610 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:57,040 You're with family. 611 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:00,040 You're with people that love you. 612 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:08,000 I mean, most of you probably don't know who I am, but I'll tell you, if not for this Jesus, 613 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,160 we would have never met. 614 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:12,200 I would have never met Kip or Dixie. 615 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:17,000 I would have never met any of you. 616 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:18,800 It's because of Jesus. 617 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:23,720 And when we come to a presence of God's people like this and we come to worship God, we ought 618 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:26,600 to be overwhelmed by the goodness of God in our life. 619 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:29,400 There's a reason why that cancer didn't take you out. 620 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,520 There's a reason why that bullet didn't take you out. 621 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,080 There's a reason why that car accident didn't wreck your life. 622 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,520 Man, there was angels of God surrounding you. 623 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:43,400 And people were praying for you that you did not know were praying for you. 624 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:44,400 Why? 625 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:49,520 Because there's a good community here who's going to stand with you, the thick or thin, 626 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:50,520 the good or bad. 627 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,100 They're saying, we're here. 628 00:33:53,100 --> 00:33:54,640 We love you. 629 00:33:54,640 --> 00:34:01,680 That community offers me the gift of togetherness. 630 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:11,960 Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24 to 25 says this, let us consider how to stir up one another 631 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:21,400 to love and to good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, 632 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:28,920 but encouraging one another in all the more as you see the day drawing near. 633 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,760 I'm not here a doomsday preacher. 634 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:33,240 I don't know when the Lord is coming back. 635 00:34:33,240 --> 00:34:39,840 But I tell you this, we're a lot closer today than we were 2,000 years ago. 636 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:41,880 Right. 637 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:48,600 I mean, we're here today because of people like Peter and John who gave their life for 638 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:49,600 this. 639 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:54,520 We're here today because of John Tyndale who translated the Bible, or at least started 640 00:34:54,520 --> 00:35:01,960 to and was burned to the stake or John Hus who was burned to the stake for doing, for 641 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:03,960 doing just translating the Bible. 642 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:09,400 I mean, we're here today because of missionaries that came to India, the country I was born 643 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:12,800 in and preached the gospel to my forefathers. 644 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:18,080 I'm not here because I'm macho or somehow better. 645 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:22,320 No, I'm here because of the community of Jesus. 646 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:28,080 I'm here because the family of God who has gone before me, who has paid the price and 647 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:30,680 paved the way so I can stand before you. 648 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:38,120 My uncle came to this country in the early 1960s because a Bible college in Boston, Massachusetts 649 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:44,280 sponsored him to come to study MDiv. 650 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:50,640 I'm here today because of him, because of that Bible college, because his sister is 651 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:51,640 my mother. 652 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:57,440 They filed for our visa and we waited 12 years to hear from the immigration office and say, 653 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,200 yeah, you're welcome to come for interview. 654 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:02,560 And friends, I'm in it. 655 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:10,160 I'm debted to God and His people because I'm not here because of my own good strength or 656 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:11,920 my good work. 657 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:18,720 No, I'm here because of the community of Jesus and everything that He has done for me. 658 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,560 And I want to say the last thing. 659 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:27,800 In Christ's community, there's full and total belonging. 660 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:34,360 Romans 8.15 says, for you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you 661 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:41,280 received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. 662 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,680 We're with family and we all have one dad. 663 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:45,400 Isn't that right? 664 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:50,000 It doesn't matter what age you are, what color skin you are, we all have one dad. 665 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:55,960 And I'm here today to say that we can all celebrate this family because we love one 666 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:56,960 another unconditionally. 667 00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:02,240 It doesn't matter what we look like, sound like, what part of this country or the state 668 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:03,240 we're from. 669 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:08,280 We are united together by the family of God because of the blood of Jesus that makes us 670 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:09,880 one. 671 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:24,280 My friends, this time I want to invite you to stand with me, please. 672 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:27,800 In Christ's community, the ordinary are welcomed. 673 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,760 In Christ's community, it offers me the strength to do something greater than myself that I 674 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:33,800 could ever do. 675 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:38,980 Christ's community gives me the strength when I am under intense pressure. 676 00:37:38,980 --> 00:37:51,520 It gives me the gift of togetherness and it gives me a full and total belonging. 677 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:56,960 This time Pastor Eric is going to come forward to the East Shore campus and get ready to 678 00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:59,480 sort of invite you forward. 679 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:08,680 As you're standing today and in the East Shore campus, I want to invite you to spend a few 680 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:12,240 moments in prayer, would you do that with me, please. 681 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:22,200 Thank you for tuning in to this message from Life House Church. 682 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:26,000 We pray that you were impacted powerfully by this message. 683 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:30,940 If you have been personally affected by our ministry and you would like to partner with 684 00:38:30,940 --> 00:38:35,200 us as we love God, love people every day, visit our website at www.lifehousec.org. 685 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:41,800 at www.lifahousecog.com