WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:02.930 I'm going to invite you to remain standing just 00:00:02.930 --> 00:00:07.429 another moment so that I can read just one verse 00:00:07.429 --> 00:00:11.750 found in Matthew 28, 19, one that is familiar 00:00:11.750 --> 00:00:16.929 to most, if not all of us. And with this verse, 00:00:16.969 --> 00:00:20.210 we begin a very important series of messages 00:00:20.210 --> 00:00:22.649 for our church over these next few weeks called 00:00:22.649 --> 00:00:28.519 Life on Mission. Life on Mission. I would like 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:30.539 to say that this series is going to be part vision 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:32.960 casting. I think it's a good time to do this, 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:35.619 and also part training ground. So I want you 00:00:35.619 --> 00:00:38.280 to open up your heart, your ears, attune yourself 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:41.799 to what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:44.700 church today, this church in particular, for 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:48.460 how God wants to use us to reach others. Amen. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:52.280 And so we're also going to be challenged and 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:55.460 equipped. So we're going on a journey. This is 00:00:55.460 --> 00:00:58.899 not going to be just the... ordinary or the types 00:00:58.899 --> 00:01:02.520 of sermon series that we're used to hearing where 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:04.280 we just, you know, we come, we hear a message 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:07.859 week after week, and then this is going to be 00:01:07.859 --> 00:01:13.760 a very pivotal moment in which I believe God 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:15.819 is going to prepare us for something greater. 00:01:18.670 --> 00:01:22.269 So get closer to the fire. You know, get closer 00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:24.730 to the word and allow God to speak to you. But 00:01:24.730 --> 00:01:27.109 this one verse today comes from the Lord himself. 00:01:27.269 --> 00:01:33.469 He said, go therefore and make disciples of all 00:01:33.469 --> 00:01:40.170 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father 00:01:40.170 --> 00:01:47.010 and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And we 00:01:47.010 --> 00:01:49.879 know that name today. Amen. How many of you know 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:52.000 that name? If you know it, why don't you say 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:57.180 it right now? Jesus. Today I'm going to speak 00:01:57.180 --> 00:01:59.700 very simply on the thought, go. So I'm going 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:03.760 to say go. Amen. Go. You may be seated in God's 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:06.239 presence. And as you're seated, we're going to 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:09.900 watch a short video here. And I'd like for you 00:02:09.900 --> 00:02:16.719 to go ahead and cue it up. My name is Ali and 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:19.919 I go to City Light Church. I've been a baptized 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:23.460 member of City Light Church for about two to 00:02:23.460 --> 00:02:27.259 three years now and counting. And I remember 00:02:27.259 --> 00:02:30.520 my first encounter with City Light Church was 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:35.400 when my now husband, then friend, sent me a Zoom 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:41.340 link for the church's Sunday service. I remember 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:45.139 this was back in 2020. In the middle of the pandemic, 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:50.099 when everybody was stuck at home, experiencing 00:02:50.099 --> 00:02:53.840 solitude, no physical contact with the outside 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:58.099 world. So it was a very lonely time. And a lot 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:03.919 of my online friends also sent me their churches, 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:07.840 Sunday services, Zoom link. But this one just 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:09.979 caught my attention, and it's the one I clicked 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:15.419 on at that time. I had not been going to church 00:03:15.419 --> 00:03:21.599 for two years. I was born Christian, but I experienced 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:24.900 a lot of church hurt that drove me away from 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:28.939 the church. So at that time, you know, this was 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:33.439 my first time back in God's graces. And I remember 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:36.599 at that time it was Pastor Jacob Rodriguez who 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:40.090 was preaching that Sunday on the Zoom link. And 00:03:40.090 --> 00:03:46.569 I just clearly remember being so moved that I 00:03:46.569 --> 00:03:49.509 was in tears at the end of the service. And my 00:03:49.509 --> 00:03:53.069 tiny laptop, my tiny screen, I was in tears just 00:03:53.069 --> 00:03:58.849 listening to the whole service. And last Sunday, 00:03:58.930 --> 00:04:02.409 we had Easter Sunday, and it was a great reminder 00:04:02.409 --> 00:04:10.689 that me and you were not alone. experience religious 00:04:10.689 --> 00:04:16.610 hurt from imperfect people, and it drives them 00:04:16.610 --> 00:04:19.029 away from church. And it was the same way for 00:04:19.029 --> 00:04:21.769 me. But Easter Sunday is a good reminder that 00:04:21.769 --> 00:04:25.730 Jesus went through the same thing. In fact, Jesus 00:04:25.730 --> 00:04:32.850 was killed by religious people. And so if your 00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:36.290 life hasn't changed, you haven't been moved, 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.180 in your life, then you haven't really met Jesus. 00:04:39.620 --> 00:04:43.160 So I implore you to come see Jesus. Come see 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:48.160 his true love and its pure essence. And see his 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:51.779 service at City Light Church. And I hope your 00:04:51.779 --> 00:05:01.420 life has changed too the way mine has. Amen. 00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:05.720 Why don't we give God a hand of praise. Beautiful 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:08.620 light. I want to thank Sister Allie. We don't 00:05:08.620 --> 00:05:10.180 see her today. Maybe she's not feeling well, 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.319 but I want to thank her for sharing her story. 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:15.879 And over the next couple of weeks, we're going 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:18.360 to hear more stories like these. And you're saying, 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:21.980 well, why? Because stories matter. Testimonies, 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:25.500 they matter. It matters because behind every 00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:28.620 story, behind every testimony like the one that 00:05:28.620 --> 00:05:33.000 we've heard, there is someone along the way who 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:36.379 was a witness to that person. who made a difference 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:39.300 in their life, who made an impact, someone who 00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:43.199 was living on mission for the Lord. No one comes 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:47.279 to God just on their own without any assistance. 00:05:47.699 --> 00:05:50.980 There's always somebody somewhere who is praying, 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.060 a friend, a family member, a teacher, a minister, 00:05:55.319 --> 00:06:00.199 a loved one who talked to you about Jesus, who 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:04.079 prayed for you, amen, who reached you with the 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:08.889 gospel. And was persistent in doing so. And we 00:06:08.889 --> 00:06:11.730 are here today. All of us. Regardless of what 00:06:11.730 --> 00:06:15.110 your story looks like. Regardless of your background. 00:06:15.209 --> 00:06:19.370 Every one of us here today is here because of 00:06:19.370 --> 00:06:23.389 a witness. Someone at some point answered the 00:06:23.389 --> 00:06:28.689 call to go and make disciples. And I believe 00:06:28.689 --> 00:06:31.730 more than ever church that we must all embody. 00:06:32.069 --> 00:06:37.300 We must all. internalize, be convicted by the 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:40.279 mandate that Christ has given us to go. Someone 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:46.199 say go. To go and to make disciples, to be a 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:50.040 witness of Christ. More than ever, it is essential 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:54.560 that we church be committed, not simply to be 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:58.699 church goers. Anybody can be a church goer if 00:06:58.699 --> 00:07:02.180 they just go to church. Amen. If they just attend 00:07:02.180 --> 00:07:07.720 church. But we must be disciples on mission. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:12.800 So what I'd like to do today and probably throughout 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:16.420 the series is revisit some of the core values, 00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:22.399 vision of who we are as a church. I believe that 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:26.199 if every one of us, every one of us would grasp, 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:30.259 would get a hold of what Christ has commissioned 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:33.250 us to do and understand what our church, has 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:35.910 been positioned and planted here in this city 00:07:35.910 --> 00:07:39.970 to do, then we're going to see a greater harvest. 00:07:40.069 --> 00:07:43.610 We're going to see more and more lives being 00:07:43.610 --> 00:07:47.810 transformed by the power of the gospel. Is there 00:07:47.810 --> 00:07:49.670 somebody here today that wants to see that with 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:52.889 your eyes? Why don't you give God a hand of praise? 00:07:52.949 --> 00:07:57.990 Amen? Our vision, who we are, and if you've never 00:07:57.990 --> 00:08:00.290 heard this before, then... then I apologize. 00:08:00.470 --> 00:08:04.209 I take responsibility for that because we need 00:08:04.209 --> 00:08:06.550 to know what this is. And we need to remember 00:08:06.550 --> 00:08:08.970 our vision, if you could put up that slide for 00:08:08.970 --> 00:08:14.209 me, is to be a loving place where people can 00:08:14.209 --> 00:08:20.490 belong, believe, and become disciples of Christ. 00:08:21.129 --> 00:08:26.189 That is the vision of this local church, to be 00:08:26.189 --> 00:08:31.079 a loving place. Amen. where all types of people 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:34.340 from all walks of life, regardless of color, 00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:38.059 creed, background, ideology, can find a place 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:41.419 where they can belong, believe in the gospel, 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:46.200 and then become fully discipled followers of 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:51.899 Christ. And our mission is simply, this is what 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:57.860 we do, to love God. Everyone say, love God. To 00:08:57.860 --> 00:09:02.299 love people. Say, love people. And make disciples. 00:09:02.539 --> 00:09:06.220 Somebody say, make disciples. So the vision, 00:09:06.379 --> 00:09:10.539 this is who we are, but the mission is what we 00:09:10.539 --> 00:09:14.259 do. We love God, right? This is what Jesus said. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.899 You should love the Lord your God with all your 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:18.860 heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:22.200 That's your number one calling in life. But second 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:25.379 to that, you should love your neighbor as yourself. 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:29.039 So we are to love people and make disciples. 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:32.039 I'm going to do the best that I can with the 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:35.559 help of God and His grace to reverberate, to 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:38.980 repeat this as often as I can so that we understand 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:42.279 why God has placed us here. It's essential that 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.419 every member of the body of the church not only 00:09:45.419 --> 00:09:48.419 understands the mission but embodies it in daily 00:09:48.419 --> 00:09:51.480 life. It must be more than a PowerPoint slide 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.899 on a Sunday afternoon at... at three o 'clock 00:09:54.899 --> 00:09:58.360 in the afternoon. It must be more than just a 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:02.139 thing that we see or even a thing that we repeat. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:07.019 It must become ingrained in who we are, our daily 00:10:07.019 --> 00:10:11.399 life. Unless the gospel, unless the mission and 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:14.659 the mandate that we've been given is ingrained 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:18.960 into our daily life, then we can very easily 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:24.129 become simply a churchgoer. simply an attender 00:10:24.129 --> 00:10:29.610 or a member of a local assembly or a member of 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:34.149 a church. Jesus did not come simply to make members 00:10:34.149 --> 00:10:39.870 of a church. He did not come to establish a social 00:10:39.870 --> 00:10:44.669 club. Hello, somebody. Is anybody going to help 00:10:44.669 --> 00:10:47.909 me here today? Amen. I said he didn't come to 00:10:47.909 --> 00:10:52.240 establish. You know, a social club, a country 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:56.580 club, a gym type of club. He didn't come to establish 00:10:56.580 --> 00:11:02.240 a club, a sorority, right? He didn't come to 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:05.720 establish a fraternity. He didn't come to establish 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:10.559 that type of loosely affiliated groups of people. 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:15.960 He came to establish a church. He said, upon 00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:22.629 this rock, I will build. My church. Upon this 00:11:22.629 --> 00:11:25.509 I'm going to build my church and the gates of 00:11:25.509 --> 00:11:30.370 Hades shall not prevail against it. Jesus came 00:11:30.370 --> 00:11:35.750 to establish a heavenly mission. And I want us 00:11:35.750 --> 00:11:40.289 to think about how he himself embodied that mission 00:11:40.289 --> 00:11:45.309 in his own life. Jesus was a man on a mission. 00:11:47.470 --> 00:11:51.570 He was a man on a mission. He had a purpose to 00:11:51.570 --> 00:11:56.049 fulfill. He had a calling. Next slide, please. 00:11:56.169 --> 00:12:01.750 A calling to fulfill. He had a purpose in his 00:12:01.750 --> 00:12:06.169 life, not just to come and walk and be among 00:12:06.169 --> 00:12:11.889 us, but to fulfill a divine assignment. And from 00:12:11.889 --> 00:12:16.129 an early age, Jesus knew that he must be about 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:19.440 His father's business. At the age of 12, you 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:21.480 know, to our young people here, well, we don't, 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:23.039 you know, there's a few of you here. Amen. We're 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:25.360 all young, praise God. But some of us are younger 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:28.019 than young. Hallelujah. At the age of 12, he 00:12:28.019 --> 00:12:31.120 already understood his assignment. And this is 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.139 why parents, it's never too soon and they're 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:36.740 never too young to be instilling into them who 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:39.779 they are in the eyes of God. What their assignment 00:12:39.779 --> 00:12:42.639 is. You are not just a member of a religious 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:45.539 group of people. We are not just religious people. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:49.399 No, we are commissioned people. We are to be 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:52.860 witnesses. And so from an early age, he understood 00:12:52.860 --> 00:12:55.360 his father's business, which was the saving of 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:59.840 souls. In his own words, he said in Luke 19 .10, 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:04.019 For the Son of Man has not come, or has come, 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:08.919 excuse me, to seek and to save that which was 00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:13.350 lost. He said, my mission can be wrapped up and 00:13:13.350 --> 00:13:17.529 summarized in this. I have come to seek because 00:13:17.529 --> 00:13:21.649 people are lost. They need seeking. They need 00:13:21.649 --> 00:13:25.789 to be sought after. They need to be pursued intentionally, 00:13:26.350 --> 00:13:32.970 deliberately, and to save that which is lost. 00:13:33.149 --> 00:13:38.250 This is a summary of the mission of Christ. To 00:13:38.250 --> 00:13:42.830 come and to give himself his life as a ransom 00:13:42.830 --> 00:13:47.090 for many that he might save them. He come not 00:13:47.090 --> 00:13:51.289 to be served but to serve and to reach those 00:13:51.289 --> 00:13:55.309 that were far from salvation, far from his word, 00:13:55.429 --> 00:13:59.309 far from heaven's gate. And so it is the mission 00:13:59.309 --> 00:14:04.129 of Christ to seek and to save those who are lost. 00:14:04.409 --> 00:14:06.870 And he writes this and he says this in response. 00:14:07.710 --> 00:14:10.389 in particular to those who were criticizing him 00:14:10.389 --> 00:14:13.549 because he had entered the house of a man named 00:14:13.549 --> 00:14:17.990 Zacchaeus, a man who had a notorious reputation 00:14:17.990 --> 00:14:21.830 among the Jews. And he went into this man's house 00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:24.830 and he supped with him. He dined with him. He 00:14:24.830 --> 00:14:27.049 fellowshiped with him that he might reach him. 00:14:27.129 --> 00:14:30.529 And Zacchaeus, this man living an immoral lifestyle 00:14:30.529 --> 00:14:34.899 who had, you know... extorted people out of money 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:38.399 and mistreated people he was not a moral man 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:41.399 he was an immoral man he was a sinful man and 00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:45.240 Jesus sat in his house and he loved him and he 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:49.360 sought him out in order to win him to himself 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:54.419 he demonstrated something powerful by that controversial 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:56.980 visit to his house on that day he illustrated 00:14:56.980 --> 00:14:59.799 for us something that we all must understand 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:05.500 as the church we all must Understand as his people. 00:15:05.779 --> 00:15:10.059 Jesus does not wait. Hear me today. Jesus does 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:15.279 not wait for souls to come to him. He goes to 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:21.500 the souls. Jesus didn't wait for Zacchaeus or 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:25.080 many others to come to him. He went to where 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:30.120 they are. And my first point is this. They won't 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:34.769 come until we go. They won't come. Someone say, 00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:40.970 they won't come. Say, until we go. Many of us 00:15:40.970 --> 00:15:45.529 have a different idea in this day and age about 00:15:45.529 --> 00:15:51.730 what growing looks like and what revival looks 00:15:51.730 --> 00:15:54.610 like. There's a popular quote. You may have heard 00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:58.730 it from, I guess it's a classic movie now called 00:15:58.730 --> 00:16:02.679 Feel the Dreams. And in that movie. There's a 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:05.419 quote very famously said that if you build it, 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:09.379 they will come. If you build it, they will come. 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:12.539 Maybe you've heard that before or something similar 00:16:12.539 --> 00:16:19.279 to that. And a lot of businesses, companies use 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.960 that as kind of like a model. Like if you create 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:27.960 an attractive enough product, right, then people 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.009 are going to flock to it, right? And then if 00:16:31.009 --> 00:16:33.309 you go viral, oh man, it's over then, right? 00:16:34.029 --> 00:16:36.409 You post something on Instagram, that's the thing 00:16:36.409 --> 00:16:38.690 now, right? You post something on TikTok, Instagram, 00:16:38.769 --> 00:16:41.149 it goes viral and all of a sudden you got a line 00:16:41.149 --> 00:16:44.190 out the door. Everybody wants a little bit of 00:16:44.190 --> 00:16:46.190 whatever. And probably they're serving like mediocre 00:16:46.190 --> 00:16:50.110 food, right? But because it went viral, everybody 00:16:50.110 --> 00:16:52.309 heard about it. You build something, it doesn't 00:16:52.309 --> 00:16:54.590 even matter how it tastes, how it actually functions, 00:16:54.830 --> 00:16:58.360 right? You build it, they will come. Sometimes 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:01.679 Christians try to adopt that same mentality to 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:05.059 the kingdom of God. And we think that if we create 00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:09.440 an attractive enough product, an attractive enough 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:14.140 program, a rocking and popping service, hallelujah, 00:17:14.339 --> 00:17:17.779 and I love those, that people are just automatically 00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:21.359 going to come. They're just simply going to come. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:26.910 But this is not the model of Jesus. Jesus did 00:17:26.910 --> 00:17:31.109 not build a temple, post an ad on social media, 00:17:31.210 --> 00:17:35.289 and then wait for a crowd to come. He went out 00:17:35.289 --> 00:17:38.849 of his way and sought people out individually 00:17:38.849 --> 00:17:43.069 in their spaces and places in order that he might 00:17:43.069 --> 00:17:47.339 reach them with life -saving messages. And we've 00:17:47.339 --> 00:17:49.940 got to reverse the thinking that is prevalent 00:17:49.940 --> 00:17:52.799 in our time. Hear me today, church. I'm speaking 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:55.839 from my heart this afternoon that says that if 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:59.059 we put something together, if we organize ourselves 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:01.940 in such a way and we produce a product that is 00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:05.759 attractive, that is appealing, that is welcoming, 00:18:06.059 --> 00:18:09.160 that that on its own is going to draw people 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:12.460 to salvation and draw people into the kingdom 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:15.279 of God. And it's got to be more than just creating 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:19.059 a product. We are not here to create an attractive 00:18:19.059 --> 00:18:22.460 product and compete with all of the other voices 00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:25.119 and products that the world has to offer. That 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:27.980 is not the business that we are in. We are in 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:31.019 the business of seeking and saving that which 00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:35.019 is lost. We are in the business of go therefore 00:18:35.019 --> 00:18:39.079 and make disciples of all nations. Why don't 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:41.599 we clap our hands and let's give God some praise 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:49.400 today. Hallelujah, God. And I admit to you, I 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:52.099 confess my faults to you that at one point in 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:54.599 my ministry and life, I thought that if you just 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:57.680 create an appealing enough product, an appealing 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:01.150 enough... If you had the lights just right. If 00:19:01.150 --> 00:19:03.289 you had the marketing just right. And if you 00:19:03.289 --> 00:19:05.710 had, you know, all the bells and the whistles 00:19:05.710 --> 00:19:08.150 that the world would just stop in their tracks 00:19:08.150 --> 00:19:10.309 and want what we have. Here, let me tell you 00:19:10.309 --> 00:19:12.970 something. There's a devil out there that's doing 00:19:12.970 --> 00:19:16.190 everything he can to distract and blind them 00:19:16.190 --> 00:19:19.190 from what we have to offer. So we have got to 00:19:19.190 --> 00:19:22.990 engage in spiritual warfare and go out to where 00:19:22.990 --> 00:19:25.769 they are and pull them out of the fire. Come 00:19:25.769 --> 00:19:28.869 on, somebody. And let them. Our lives be transformed 00:19:28.869 --> 00:19:32.369 by the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not enough 00:19:32.369 --> 00:19:36.289 to have a good product. It's not enough to have 00:19:36.289 --> 00:19:41.990 a fancy program. No, we've got to be deliberate 00:19:41.990 --> 00:19:45.589 about going out. And I have come to not just 00:19:45.589 --> 00:19:49.009 light a fire under your pew today. Amen. I hope 00:19:49.009 --> 00:19:51.710 that happens. But I also have come to show you 00:19:51.710 --> 00:19:54.450 the mission of Christ and how that applies to 00:19:54.450 --> 00:19:58.470 us. There are so many examples. In the life of 00:19:58.470 --> 00:20:01.289 Christ, there was the woman at the well. In John 00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:04.809 chapter 4, Jesus sought to save a woman at the 00:20:04.809 --> 00:20:09.519 well in Samaria. Right? And many barriers were 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:12.579 broken for him to do so. He had to cross over 00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:16.599 cultural barriers and religious barriers. And 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:19.680 I can get into all of that. But just understand 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:23.359 that it was no easy thing for Jesus to meet this 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.380 immoral woman. You know, that's what it was. 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:28.500 She was an immoral woman. She was in an inappropriate, 00:20:28.859 --> 00:20:31.980 immoral relationship. And she had many even before 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:34.859 that. And so Jesus broke all kinds of protocol. 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:39.200 and cultural to meet this woman at a well so 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:41.500 that he might share the good news of the kingdom 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:44.339 with her so that she might find salvation. And 00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:46.859 so think about that. This is the Lord of glory, 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:50.759 you know. He went out of his way. How many of 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:54.000 us are willing to go out of our way? Oh, hello 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.079 somebody. You know, how many of us are willing 00:20:57.079 --> 00:20:59.980 to go out of our way? It's like, you know, do 00:20:59.980 --> 00:21:03.930 we even have the time anymore? Do we even have 00:21:03.930 --> 00:21:08.869 the, is it even in our, are we aware of the fact 00:21:08.869 --> 00:21:12.609 that we are on mission? And so going means crossing 00:21:12.609 --> 00:21:16.730 these barriers, invisible ones that exist between 00:21:16.730 --> 00:21:19.109 us and those that are different than us. They 00:21:19.109 --> 00:21:21.430 don't look like us. They don't talk like us. 00:21:21.569 --> 00:21:24.089 They don't, they're not into the things that 00:21:24.089 --> 00:21:27.650 we're into. But like Paul who said, I became 00:21:27.650 --> 00:21:30.589 all things. Amen. Did he say that? I became, 00:21:30.730 --> 00:21:34.240 not that he sinned. But I became all things to 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:38.319 all men that I might win some of them. And so 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:42.619 you've got to go out of your way. This is what 00:21:42.619 --> 00:21:44.539 he did. Jesus, he did the same thing with Matthew, 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:47.720 another tax collector, when he said, follow me. 00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:50.480 And he went into his house and he dined with 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:54.640 him. And he took heat for that. In Matthew, he 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:57.039 took heat. In Matthew 9, 10, watch what the Bible 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.339 says. As Jesus sat at the temple. excuse me, 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:03.819 at the table in the house that behold, many tax 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:06.299 collectors and sinners came and they sat with 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:11.039 him and his disciples. Jesus was not like many 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:13.279 who just want to surround themselves with like 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:16.680 -minded people all the time. He said, I got to 00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:19.619 surround myself with people who think opposite 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:23.109 from me, who live opposite from me. And even 00:22:23.109 --> 00:22:27.549 if it means putting some of my BFFs and my FaveFab 00:22:27.549 --> 00:22:29.170 or my FabFive or whatever they used to call it, 00:22:29.190 --> 00:22:31.309 even if it means putting certain people and say, 00:22:31.349 --> 00:22:32.990 you know what, I've got to make time for those 00:22:32.990 --> 00:22:35.509 that are not like me. I've got to make time for 00:22:35.509 --> 00:22:37.849 those that think different than me. Is there 00:22:37.849 --> 00:22:40.509 space? Let me ask you just a very self -reflecting 00:22:40.509 --> 00:22:43.289 question, okay. Is there space in your world 00:22:43.289 --> 00:22:49.490 for people who are not like you? Wow, I'm having 00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:51.970 a hard time even thinking about how. Then, then. 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:55.319 This is why God is speaking to the church here 00:22:55.319 --> 00:22:59.660 today so that we might assess and we might look 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:03.559 at ourselves in an honest fashion and come to 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:07.279 terms with the fact that we are and we can do 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:10.880 better in living life on mission. In order to 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:13.859 go, you have to care more about reaching souls 00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:19.000 than protecting your own comfort. I feel like 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.319 saying that again. Amen. We got to be more passionate 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:25.039 and more, you have to care more about reaching 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:29.599 souls than protecting your own comfort. And that's 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:33.359 not easy to do. But this is where God is calling 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:36.599 the church to go. And we don't just go, we don't 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:39.680 just go like anywhere and however we want. We 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:42.619 go with the authority that Christ has given us. 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:48.099 With the authority. Number two, you can't go 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:52.279 unless you're sent. Pastor, are you telling me 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:57.700 just to go, you know, let loose, huh? Just go 00:23:57.700 --> 00:24:01.220 and be a, just get on the street corner and just 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:02.900 say whatever I feel like saying. No, that's not 00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:05.559 what we're saying today. We're not saying for 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:08.420 us to just do however. No, we have to be sent 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:11.259 by God. Amen. How many of you want to be sent? 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:15.380 You know, there's a danger. You know there's 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:20.599 a danger in going when you're not sent. An example 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:22.960 would be in Acts 19 when the sons of Siva went 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:26.319 without being sent and with their own authority, 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:29.420 not with the authority of Christ. They thought 00:24:29.420 --> 00:24:31.579 they can control a demon -possessed man and they 00:24:31.579 --> 00:24:35.599 thought wrong. They got, what you might say, 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:42.009 whipped. They got their behinds whipped. Because 00:24:42.009 --> 00:24:43.970 they stepped into a situation they weren't sent 00:24:43.970 --> 00:24:50.309 to. No, we're not asking you to go and play church 00:24:50.309 --> 00:24:54.049 somewhere. We're not asking you to go and pretend 00:24:54.049 --> 00:24:57.829 and go through some motions and try to, this 00:24:57.829 --> 00:24:59.890 is the way I saw Pastor Jacob. He did it like 00:24:59.890 --> 00:25:01.190 this and I'm going to shout it like that. No, 00:25:01.190 --> 00:25:03.650 you need to go with the authority that Christ 00:25:03.650 --> 00:25:07.769 has given you and not just mimic what you see. 00:25:09.109 --> 00:25:12.619 Amen. And go where you're sent. But here's the 00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:15.259 beautiful thing. Here's the blessing is that 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:20.240 we have all been sent by God. And the idea is, 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:24.019 is that we have been sent by God to go and to 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:29.819 be a witness. To be a witness. The term witness 00:25:29.819 --> 00:25:33.420 is a powerful concept in the word of God. It's 00:25:33.420 --> 00:25:35.319 a powerful concept to be a witness. Somebody 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:40.920 say witness. Being a witness. It's not just some 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:43.859 New Testament invention. The Lord said this, 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:48.200 watch, in Isaiah 43, 10. You are my witnesses, 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:54.759 says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:58.400 that you may know and believe me and understand 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:03.460 that I am he. Before me there was no God form, 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:09.200 nor shall there be after me. God chose Israel 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:16.359 to be living witnesses, living proof that the 00:26:16.359 --> 00:26:19.299 God of Israel was indeed the one and true God 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:26.759 among a pagan and idolatrous world. And God has 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:30.079 done the same with us in the New Testament. He 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.940 called his chosen people in Israel to be witnesses. 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.759 And he mandates the church to do the same. Acts 00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:41.279 1 .8. But you shall be witnesses, right? He said, 00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:45.339 and you shall receive power. Someone say power. 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:49.579 You're going to receive power when the Holy Spirit 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:52.259 has come upon you and you shall be witnesses 00:26:52.259 --> 00:26:56.599 to me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria 00:26:56.599 --> 00:27:01.160 and the end of the earth. A witness. Is what 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:05.519 Christ has called all of us to be. Witnesses 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:09.460 of his power. Witnesses of the transforming power 00:27:09.460 --> 00:27:13.759 of the gospel. Witnesses of his mercy. Witnesses 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:17.079 of his grace. Amen. Witnesses of his cleansing 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:21.140 blood. Hallelujah. Witnesses of what God can 00:27:21.140 --> 00:27:26.650 do. What is a witness? A witness. A witness is 00:27:26.650 --> 00:27:31.430 someone who testifies. That's why we heard a 00:27:31.430 --> 00:27:34.890 testimony earlier at the beginning of this message, 00:27:34.950 --> 00:27:39.049 amen? It's a story. Someone who testifies of 00:27:39.049 --> 00:27:42.650 what he knows or has experienced. You know what 00:27:42.650 --> 00:27:45.799 a witness is not? A witness is not someone who 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:48.539 just read something in a book and then repeated 00:27:48.539 --> 00:27:51.720 it somewhere else. A witness is not somebody 00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:56.119 who heard a viral clip on a podcast or a download 00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:59.359 or somewhere on Instagram and then just regurgitates 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:01.900 and repeats what they heard. A witness is not 00:28:01.900 --> 00:28:04.619 somebody who attends a service, heard what the 00:28:04.619 --> 00:28:06.579 preacher said, and then just goes and repeats 00:28:06.579 --> 00:28:11.460 it. A witness is somebody who stands as a living 00:28:11.460 --> 00:28:16.819 proof. has experienced with their own eyes, with 00:28:16.819 --> 00:28:20.619 their own hearts, with their own life. I wonder 00:28:20.619 --> 00:28:24.500 today if there's any witnesses in the house of 00:28:24.500 --> 00:28:30.220 God. I said, I wonder today, if you're a witness, 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:32.720 why don't you give God a witness kind of praise, 00:28:32.900 --> 00:28:36.400 right? I am a witness. Is there somebody today 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:39.500 that said, I'm a witness of the glory of God. 00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:43.339 I'm a witness of what God can do. He can turn 00:28:43.339 --> 00:28:47.779 a life of sin and turn it around. He can deliver 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:51.240 you out of drugs. He can deliver you out of alcohol. 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:55.160 He can deliver you out of pornography, out of 00:28:55.160 --> 00:29:14.609 lust, out of addiction, out of perversion. Bible 00:29:14.609 --> 00:29:16.589 where Jesus ever told you to call yourself? He 00:29:16.589 --> 00:29:23.529 didn't even call us to be Pentecostal. But I 00:29:23.529 --> 00:29:26.650 am Pentecostal. I am apostolic. He didn't say, 00:29:26.730 --> 00:29:30.730 and you shall be my Pentecostals. You know why? 00:29:30.890 --> 00:29:33.150 Because I know how a lot of Pentecostals that 00:29:33.150 --> 00:29:35.789 speak more tongues than the Apostle Paul, and 00:29:35.789 --> 00:29:38.029 they don't know how to tell anybody about Jesus. 00:29:42.539 --> 00:29:45.500 You know what those are, saints? Those are just 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:52.319 labels. Labels don't reach anybody. Labels don't 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:55.859 help anybody. I'm not saying that those terms 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:59.539 are not important. No, that's a heel that I'll 00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:05.400 fight on. I'm glad to have that in my life, that 00:30:05.400 --> 00:30:09.759 I am a Holy Ghost field. But they're labels at 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:13.059 the end of the day. That's what they are. Labels 00:30:13.059 --> 00:30:15.160 are powerless. They don't do anything to advance 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:18.220 the kingdom of God. They don't do it. We could 00:30:18.220 --> 00:30:20.200 have a big sign out in the front of our church. 00:30:20.500 --> 00:30:22.420 We could even change the name of our church. 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:25.200 Amen. City Light Apostolic Pentecostal Church. 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:27.000 I mean, we could put all the words in there for 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:30.539 you. Celebrate, you know, everything. And you 00:30:30.539 --> 00:30:33.460 know, it still wouldn't mean that we're witnesses. 00:30:34.670 --> 00:30:39.410 All it is is a brand, a label, a name. Jesus 00:30:39.410 --> 00:30:42.970 didn't call us simply to bear a label and say, 00:30:43.009 --> 00:30:46.069 well, I'm Christian or I'm apostolic and I'm 00:30:46.069 --> 00:30:49.369 this and I'm that. No, he sent us to be witnesses, 00:30:49.369 --> 00:30:54.190 to testify. He said, as the Father has sent me, 00:30:54.309 --> 00:31:00.029 I also send you. You and I have been sent. by 00:31:00.029 --> 00:31:04.869 God to be a witness, to open up our mouth and 00:31:04.869 --> 00:31:10.990 testify what God has done. And to be a credible 00:31:10.990 --> 00:31:13.990 witness at that. You know, not every witness 00:31:13.990 --> 00:31:18.049 is credible. Sometimes in the legal trials, they 00:31:18.049 --> 00:31:19.910 find out that someone who says it was a witness, 00:31:20.089 --> 00:31:21.769 after you start questioning them a little bit, 00:31:21.789 --> 00:31:23.470 they start to, well, I don't know. Now I'm starting 00:31:23.470 --> 00:31:25.329 to wonder, did I see two guys or one? And they're 00:31:25.329 --> 00:31:28.329 not credible. So you need to be convinced about 00:31:28.329 --> 00:31:31.250 what God has done in your life. You can't be 00:31:31.250 --> 00:31:33.130 sitting there second guessing, well, am I, I 00:31:33.130 --> 00:31:34.509 don't know, am I forgiven? No, you need to know 00:31:34.509 --> 00:31:37.680 you're forgiven. You need to know God has done 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:40.000 a work in your life. You need to know he's merciful. 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:43.079 You need to know that he's the way, the truth, 00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:45.339 and the life. Hallelujah. So that you can stand 00:31:45.339 --> 00:31:48.619 your ground and speak openly and be ready with 00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:51.599 love and with grace. Have your words seasoned 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:53.680 with salt so that when your co -worker begins, 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:56.259 hey, I notice that you do this and you do that. 00:31:56.339 --> 00:31:58.220 You don't just say, well, I'm just a religious 00:31:58.220 --> 00:32:00.519 person. No, you say, well, let me tell you about 00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:03.500 the God that I serve. Hallelujah. He's a God. 00:32:06.600 --> 00:32:10.279 Let me tell you why I pray before I eat my food. 00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:12.539 Not just because I'm a... Let me tell you, there's 00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:15.039 a lot of religion. The Muslims are religious. 00:32:15.339 --> 00:32:17.859 The Buddhists are religious. There's a lot of 00:32:17.859 --> 00:32:20.779 religious people that pray. I was walking the 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:23.019 street the other day, and I saw, with all due 00:32:23.019 --> 00:32:25.900 respect, a Muslim that was kneeling in the corner. 00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:29.599 We were on just a busy street corner. He had 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:33.140 his mat laid out, and he was bowing and bowing 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:35.339 and praying. rain right there in the middle of 00:32:35.339 --> 00:32:37.960 broad daylight, and some of us won't even tell 00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:41.119 somebody sitting right next to us that we go 00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:45.339 to church, and it's on Sundays at 2 p .m. Come 00:32:45.339 --> 00:32:48.119 on now, somebody. If I'm going to be a witness 00:32:48.119 --> 00:32:51.720 for Jesus Christ, I am not ashamed of the gospel 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:56.039 of Jesus Christ, for it's the power of God unto 00:32:56.039 --> 00:32:58.859 salvation. Somebody ought to give the Lord some 00:32:58.859 --> 00:33:01.910 praise today. Come on and give them some praise. 00:33:02.009 --> 00:33:04.849 Come on and clap your hands and shout hallelujah. 00:33:07.829 --> 00:33:11.130 I was blown away when I saw that. I said, oh, 00:33:11.210 --> 00:33:15.109 my goodness. And some of us, we're embarrassed 00:33:15.109 --> 00:33:18.029 to even pray for our food. Oh, Lord Jesus. And 00:33:18.029 --> 00:33:21.049 I saw that and I go, he doesn't care what anybody 00:33:21.049 --> 00:33:24.970 thinks about him. He doesn't care if you poke 00:33:24.970 --> 00:33:28.890 fun at him, if you ridicule him. He is so bold. 00:33:29.470 --> 00:33:38.730 For a God who doesn't exist. But we, we have 00:33:38.730 --> 00:33:42.500 seen him. Not physically, amen, but spiritually. 00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:45.859 We have met him. We have encountered him. Hallelujah. 00:33:46.180 --> 00:33:49.319 To us, God is more than just a figment of our 00:33:49.319 --> 00:33:52.640 imagination. He's more than just an old man written 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:55.460 in an old book. No, he is the living God. He 00:33:55.460 --> 00:33:58.480 came, died, and rose again on the third day. 00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:04.420 He is Jesus, God in the flesh. And it's because 00:34:04.420 --> 00:34:09.199 of that testimony. That we have been called to 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:13.900 go. Thirdly, if we go, if we go, then we must 00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:19.780 go together. Someone say together. If you would 00:34:19.780 --> 00:34:25.059 give me just a few more moments. I must deliver 00:34:25.059 --> 00:34:28.239 this final point. I cannot rush this because 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:32.460 what is essential for us today, church, is to 00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:37.989 understand. As we move forward in this, I'm going 00:34:37.989 --> 00:34:39.610 to call it even more than a series. This is a 00:34:39.610 --> 00:34:42.500 campaign. This is a movement that God is going 00:34:42.500 --> 00:34:45.739 to do in our church. And this is why I'm inviting. 00:34:45.940 --> 00:34:47.260 I don't know how many of you get the e -mails 00:34:47.260 --> 00:34:49.119 that we send. Hallelujah. If you're not getting 00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:51.119 them, please let me know so that you can get 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:53.059 on the list. Because I send out some e -mails. 00:34:53.099 --> 00:34:54.840 I send out some letters. I send out things that 00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:56.900 we are reporting to the church, things that we're 00:34:56.900 --> 00:35:00.219 going to do. And we communicated something. I 00:35:00.219 --> 00:35:01.920 communicated something that I want everybody, 00:35:02.179 --> 00:35:04.480 I want everybody to dedicate, you've got to dedicate 00:35:04.480 --> 00:35:08.059 at least one day a week to fasting. Amen. We 00:35:08.059 --> 00:35:09.980 ought to be praying every day. Somebody say amen. 00:35:11.880 --> 00:35:13.960 But we got to be praying and fasting. I want 00:35:13.960 --> 00:35:16.579 you to fast. Dedicate one day. One day. You ask 00:35:16.579 --> 00:35:18.360 God to show you, Lord, what kind of fast can 00:35:18.360 --> 00:35:21.219 I do? But I'm going to fast this day so that 00:35:21.219 --> 00:35:25.519 God can prepare me for the revival that he's 00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:28.800 going to bring. And I want him to use my life. 00:35:30.340 --> 00:35:33.539 Amen, somebody. But we've got to do this together. 00:35:33.599 --> 00:35:38.679 Somebody say together. Not this idea, oh, no, 00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:40.840 pastor, you know, that's why you're the pastor. 00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:46.940 That's why you're there because you preach better 00:35:46.940 --> 00:35:48.820 sermons, pastor, than they'll come. Hallelujah. 00:35:49.699 --> 00:35:52.900 I'm trying my best. But what if we all started 00:35:52.900 --> 00:35:57.159 preaching? Because, look, this is one microphone 00:35:57.159 --> 00:36:02.480 on one day a week. I'm looking at a lot of microphones 00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:04.519 out there. You may not hold them with your hand, 00:36:04.639 --> 00:36:09.559 but you got a mouth. You got hands. Amen. You 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:12.159 got feet. But imagine what would happen if we 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:17.159 together, united as a church, we cannot accomplish 00:36:17.159 --> 00:36:20.119 this mission as separate individuals working 00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:24.840 independently and autonomously. We don't want 00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:29.059 to have a culture of lone rangers or lone wolves 00:36:29.059 --> 00:36:33.500 in the church that just operate on their own. 00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:37.360 Hey, that brother over there, man, man, let him 00:36:37.360 --> 00:36:38.840 do what he's going to do, man. He's on fire for 00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:43.630 God. I like that, brother. He's going to help 00:36:43.630 --> 00:36:48.230 grow the church. No, no, no. All of us together 00:36:48.230 --> 00:36:53.190 as a church saying we're going to work side by 00:36:53.190 --> 00:36:57.010 side. Amen. We're not going to grow to the potential 00:36:57.010 --> 00:37:00.269 that God has to fill up these pews with people 00:37:00.269 --> 00:37:04.889 if we're just all working on little islands on 00:37:04.889 --> 00:37:09.670 our own. On the contrary, we must unite as a 00:37:09.670 --> 00:37:16.039 body. Amen, somebody. And then as teams to fulfill 00:37:16.039 --> 00:37:19.159 the mission. I'm going to show you a verse. This 00:37:19.159 --> 00:37:22.780 verse is going to be instrumental, imperative 00:37:22.780 --> 00:37:27.500 to this entire movement and campaign. It's found 00:37:27.500 --> 00:37:31.280 in Mark chapter 6 and verse 7. Amen. Just a few 00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:33.760 more moments of your time. Mark 6 and 7. Everybody 00:37:33.760 --> 00:37:37.780 see that? If you see it, say amen. You can go 00:37:37.780 --> 00:37:39.659 in there in your Bible, but it's right here. 00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:44.579 And he called the twelve to himself and began 00:37:44.579 --> 00:37:51.239 to send them out two by two. Somebody say two 00:37:51.239 --> 00:37:54.699 by two. Come on, let's all say it together one 00:37:54.699 --> 00:38:02.059 more time. Two by two. And gave them power over 00:38:02.059 --> 00:38:07.760 unclean spirits. So Jesus' church gave us power. 00:38:09.769 --> 00:38:13.130 He sent out teams of two to proclaim the gospel. 00:38:13.489 --> 00:38:17.909 And they just didn't go out as messenger message 00:38:17.909 --> 00:38:21.849 boys. They had power. They weren't just delivering 00:38:21.849 --> 00:38:25.550 the mail, okay? They had power over unclean. 00:38:25.550 --> 00:38:28.789 They were casting out devils. And they were healing 00:38:28.789 --> 00:38:34.030 the sick. This is a picture of what the church 00:38:34.030 --> 00:38:41.989 should look like today. With groups. Of two going 00:38:41.989 --> 00:38:46.650 out together, sister with sister, brother with 00:38:46.650 --> 00:38:48.670 brother. Let me tell you something about evangelism. 00:38:48.909 --> 00:38:54.070 Evangelism is a team sport. It's a team effort. 00:38:56.489 --> 00:38:59.389 Evangelism is not like golf. I got some golfers 00:38:59.389 --> 00:39:04.489 in here. It's an individual game. Right? It's 00:39:04.489 --> 00:39:06.809 you against everybody else. No, this is like 00:39:06.809 --> 00:39:12.119 two on two. This is. It's a team sport. We got 00:39:12.119 --> 00:39:14.699 to work together. How does this fit into our 00:39:14.699 --> 00:39:20.300 church? It fits in perfectly. God gave me a term. 00:39:20.780 --> 00:39:23.239 Maybe you'll like it. Maybe you won't. It's not 00:39:23.239 --> 00:39:25.380 really the term that matters or the name. It's 00:39:25.380 --> 00:39:28.199 what it means more than anything. And we're going 00:39:28.199 --> 00:39:30.460 to roll out a new ministry in our church. A new 00:39:30.460 --> 00:39:33.780 idea. Not just a ministry, but a new way of living. 00:39:34.980 --> 00:39:39.750 I'm going to call it tag teams. Tag teams. Tag 00:39:39.750 --> 00:39:43.130 teams. Tag teams. What is a tag team? A tag team 00:39:43.130 --> 00:39:48.909 is what we see Jesus doing with his 12 disciples. 00:39:49.429 --> 00:39:52.730 As I'll show you in the coming weeks, he did 00:39:52.730 --> 00:39:57.010 it with 70 others that were part of his movement. 00:39:57.809 --> 00:40:04.289 A tag team are two -person teams who are going 00:40:04.289 --> 00:40:11.860 to pray, minister, work, To win people together. 00:40:13.139 --> 00:40:15.480 And the thing I want you to understand about 00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:18.639 what this is going to mean. I'm presenting it 00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:23.860 to you now. This is just the first time. It's 00:40:23.860 --> 00:40:27.079 going to be something you have to absorb. But 00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:29.099 we're going to be repeating this. And as the 00:40:29.099 --> 00:40:31.099 series goes on, I'm going to explain more and 00:40:31.099 --> 00:40:34.559 more about what this means. But this is biblical. 00:40:35.579 --> 00:40:39.150 Amen. I showed you in the word of God. I did 00:40:39.150 --> 00:40:41.869 not reinvent the wheel. This is not Pastor Jacob's 00:40:41.869 --> 00:40:46.550 original idea. This is the Lord's idea. The Lord 00:40:46.550 --> 00:40:51.369 commissioned teams of two to go out and to evangelize 00:40:51.369 --> 00:40:56.170 the world. And together, you and I, we're going 00:40:56.170 --> 00:41:01.150 to form these types of, someone say tag teams. 00:41:04.590 --> 00:41:07.119 That's the best name I could come up with. There 00:41:07.119 --> 00:41:08.679 are some other good ones out there. Somebody 00:41:08.679 --> 00:41:10.480 said, when you said tag team, I thought about 00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:14.119 wrestling. Tag team. And you know what I say 00:41:14.119 --> 00:41:16.940 to that? You're right. We wrestle not against 00:41:16.940 --> 00:41:19.599 flesh and blood, right, but against principalities 00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:22.699 and rulers of darkness. We are engaged in a fight. 00:41:23.900 --> 00:41:27.400 Amen. But we're going to win this fight. I'm 00:41:27.400 --> 00:41:30.340 going to invite the musicians to come because 00:41:30.340 --> 00:41:34.360 I want you to understand that this is not. Oh, 00:41:34.380 --> 00:41:36.239 pastor, you're presenting to us another program 00:41:36.239 --> 00:41:38.460 that we're going to have. No, this is not just 00:41:38.460 --> 00:41:41.860 a program. What does it say here? It's not a 00:41:41.860 --> 00:41:47.280 program. It's a... We're going to do this again. 00:41:47.340 --> 00:41:52.880 It's not a program. It's a... It's a lifestyle 00:41:52.880 --> 00:41:58.980 of evangelism. We're not saying, I'm not saying 00:41:58.980 --> 00:42:01.260 to you, anybody who's watching this, because 00:42:01.260 --> 00:42:03.519 those of you who are not here because of illness 00:42:03.519 --> 00:42:05.519 or whatever, and you watch this, I'm looking 00:42:05.519 --> 00:42:08.659 right at you on YouTube. We all need to get this. 00:42:09.519 --> 00:42:13.300 This is not a program in our church, oh, we'll 00:42:13.300 --> 00:42:14.699 just sign up for that program, because you know, 00:42:14.760 --> 00:42:18.360 programs come and go. This is a lifestyle where 00:42:18.360 --> 00:42:24.420 all of us together, through the guidance of leadership, 00:42:25.219 --> 00:42:27.940 Your pastor, through our assistant pastor, through 00:42:27.940 --> 00:42:30.860 our ministry are going to form these tag teams 00:42:30.860 --> 00:42:33.519 and we're going to work together for those that 00:42:33.519 --> 00:42:35.800 really want to. I'm not going to force anybody. 00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:38.960 No. But if you really want to, let me show you 00:42:38.960 --> 00:42:41.659 how this all works together. Next slide, please. 00:42:42.059 --> 00:42:45.559 Hallelujah. Take a picture of it. I'll show you 00:42:45.559 --> 00:42:48.119 two again later if I have to. But I want you 00:42:48.119 --> 00:42:49.800 to see this. I want you to understand something 00:42:49.800 --> 00:42:54.630 about how we're going to grow together. How we're 00:42:54.630 --> 00:42:58.329 going to grow together. I wasn't sure if maybe 00:42:58.329 --> 00:43:02.090 we were all ready to see this today, but I couldn't 00:43:02.090 --> 00:43:06.469 come up with a reason not to show you this broad 00:43:06.469 --> 00:43:09.570 picture of how we grow together. At City Light 00:43:09.570 --> 00:43:12.909 Church, look, there are four rhythms, or four 00:43:12.909 --> 00:43:16.230 cycles, or four main, let's just call them rhythms 00:43:16.230 --> 00:43:20.690 or flows in our church. There's Sunday, which... 00:43:21.519 --> 00:43:23.639 You all get a star next to your name because 00:43:23.639 --> 00:43:26.900 you're here today. Amen. Somebody say amen for 00:43:26.900 --> 00:43:30.440 that. It's being recorded, right? In heaven at 00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:35.059 least. Sunday. Sunday is where we gather together 00:43:35.059 --> 00:43:39.000 in worship. Praise God for that. It's ingrained 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:42.460 in most of us. It's like second nature. For some 00:43:42.460 --> 00:43:46.760 of us, it's automatic. Number two, we have our 00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:50.840 midweek. All right. This is our midweek. Zoom 00:43:50.840 --> 00:43:54.039 Bible study. And there we grow together. So Sunday 00:43:54.039 --> 00:43:57.260 we gather together. On Wednesday nights we grow 00:43:57.260 --> 00:44:01.159 together in discipleship. These two here are 00:44:01.159 --> 00:44:04.559 pretty ingrained in the culture, the movement, 00:44:04.639 --> 00:44:09.039 the rhythm of our church already. I'll jump to 00:44:09.039 --> 00:44:12.039 number four because this is another element of 00:44:12.039 --> 00:44:13.940 our church that is pretty familiar. It's our 00:44:13.940 --> 00:44:17.739 city group. And our city groups are where we 00:44:17.739 --> 00:44:23.739 group. I just had my city group on Thursday night. 00:44:24.179 --> 00:44:26.599 We had a really good one, and it was awesome 00:44:26.599 --> 00:44:29.860 because we grouped together. Right, Brother Kevin? 00:44:30.199 --> 00:44:32.619 And we had a powerful meeting, didn't we? We 00:44:32.619 --> 00:44:35.500 were building each other up. We were praying 00:44:35.500 --> 00:44:37.900 for each other. It was a Bible study, and then 00:44:37.900 --> 00:44:40.860 we had a very powerful prayer at the end. We 00:44:40.860 --> 00:44:42.440 were laying hands on each other. People were 00:44:42.440 --> 00:44:46.300 expressing needs, and we were grouping together 00:44:46.300 --> 00:44:49.920 as iron sharpens iron. Community, love, support. 00:44:50.769 --> 00:44:53.150 Amen. That's why you got to get into a city group 00:44:53.150 --> 00:44:55.329 if you're not in one. We'll show you how to do 00:44:55.329 --> 00:44:58.869 that. Amen. But that's a rhythm already. That's 00:44:58.869 --> 00:45:01.829 a rhythm. But number three is the one that we're 00:45:01.829 --> 00:45:05.650 going to introduce. And that's the tag team rhythm. 00:45:06.110 --> 00:45:13.050 Where now we go together. So we've been gathering 00:45:13.050 --> 00:45:16.090 together. We've been grouping together. We've 00:45:16.090 --> 00:45:22.400 been growing together. But now it's time. Could 00:45:22.400 --> 00:45:25.719 you stand with me today? I invite you to stand. 00:45:25.840 --> 00:45:31.760 It's time to go together. Two by two in evangelism. 00:45:32.780 --> 00:45:36.219 Church, I wholeheartedly believe this. Oh, shut 00:45:36.219 --> 00:45:41.059 up. I believe this with all of my heart. I'm 00:45:41.059 --> 00:45:43.320 so committed to seeing what God can do in your 00:45:43.320 --> 00:45:47.940 life. God's going to use you. Every one of you. 00:45:48.219 --> 00:45:50.619 Even those of you right now thinking, I don't 00:45:50.619 --> 00:45:55.429 know. I'm like, I guess I'm going to have to, 00:45:55.449 --> 00:45:57.369 I guess I need more details. We're going to give 00:45:57.369 --> 00:46:00.349 you more details. I need more information, Pastor. 00:46:00.469 --> 00:46:01.869 What does this mean? We're going to give you 00:46:01.869 --> 00:46:05.710 more information. But right now, right now, at 00:46:05.710 --> 00:46:10.610 this moment, all God is looking for, all God 00:46:10.610 --> 00:46:14.130 is looking for today is a desire from somebody 00:46:14.130 --> 00:46:19.329 to say, God, I'm willing to go. All God. is looking 00:46:19.329 --> 00:46:23.230 for is someone like an Isaiah when the Lord said, 00:46:23.369 --> 00:46:28.670 who shall go for us? And he said, here am I. 00:46:30.530 --> 00:46:35.929 Send me. I don't know what all to do. God, I 00:46:35.929 --> 00:46:40.469 don't have it entirely figured out. I'm sure 00:46:40.469 --> 00:46:42.369 there's more information. I'm sure there's more 00:46:42.369 --> 00:46:44.269 things I'm going to learn. I've got to be trained. 00:46:44.570 --> 00:46:47.550 I've got to be equipped. And we're going to equip. 00:46:48.329 --> 00:46:51.449 But today, God's just looking for a willing heart. 00:46:52.349 --> 00:46:55.809 He's looking for a willing saint in this place 00:46:55.809 --> 00:46:58.949 today that's willing to say, God, here I am. 00:46:58.969 --> 00:47:02.690 God, here I am. Hallelujah. Is there somebody 00:47:02.690 --> 00:47:05.570 today that's willing to say that with me? I feel 00:47:05.570 --> 00:47:08.730 the Holy Ghost. I feel God is stirring. In fact, 00:47:08.750 --> 00:47:11.210 right there where you are, I just invite somebody 00:47:11.210 --> 00:47:13.349 to begin to connect with the Lord in prayer. 00:47:13.550 --> 00:47:19.300 I just, I feel prayer in my heart. Hallelujah, 00:47:19.300 --> 00:47:22.199 hallelujah. This thing is going to be born again. 00:47:56.460 --> 00:47:59.619 are saved. I want to see God. That girl, that 00:47:59.619 --> 00:48:02.380 woman, that man that I sit next to at work, Lord. 00:48:02.539 --> 00:48:06.199 The one God with the nose piercing God. He's 00:48:06.199 --> 00:48:08.960 got different ideas about life, God. I want to 00:48:08.960 --> 00:48:12.760 see them, God, baptized in Jesus. I want to see 00:48:12.760 --> 00:48:16.260 my neighbor, God. Oh, I want to see the one that 00:48:16.260 --> 00:48:20.219 I wave to, Lord, watering his lawn. And that's 00:48:20.219 --> 00:48:23.519 the one, God, I want to see baptized. I want 00:48:23.519 --> 00:48:26.980 to see my mother and my father, my brothers and 00:48:26.980 --> 00:48:29.440 my sisters -in -law, my brothers -in -law. I 00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:32.880 want to see my family. Say, I wonder if there's 00:48:32.880 --> 00:48:35.480 somebody here today that says, God, send me, 00:48:35.559 --> 00:48:39.019 Lord. I'm willing. I'm willing, God. Here's my 00:48:39.019 --> 00:48:42.619 life, God. I lay it down, God. Here's my heart, 00:48:42.699 --> 00:48:46.599 Lord. It's in your hands. God, my mouth is yours, 00:48:46.800 --> 00:48:48.400 God. Speak through it, God.