far that truthfully it's something that we've
avoided talking about but needed to talk about
for a long time. It's felt like a like a group
family meeting right these last few weeks but
I just want to say thank you guys for just leaning
in and really enjoying the journey because here's
the truth that we have to wrestle with is many
of us have experienced losses, have experiences,
challenges, not because there's a big enemy,
but we have the wrong community. That many of
the problems we face and the situations that
become difficult to overcome, it isn't because
there was this big enemy. The enemy is defeated.
He's a defeated foe. We talked about last week
how he has no authority, no rights, no privileges,
that for us as believers that sin has been defeated
and the power with it has been defeated. And
so our job every day is just to choose life.
What can they say? Choose life. But a community,
a wrong community won't. excite you, stir you
up to choose that very life that's before us
every day. And today we're gonna deal with, I
would say, even a harder truth that we gotta
talk about. It's simply because many of us were
brought into the faith and we understand that
we will build things together and we will do
things together. But the truth of the matter
is this, right? The truth is until we can, if
all we can see, is what we can build together.
We haven't fully understood the significance
of why we belong together. And this reigns true
for my own life. I'll tell you all the time,
I grew up in church and oftentimes people are
always talking about what we could build together
and what we can do together. And unfortunately
it loses, we lose our significance of why we
actually belong together. Cause we're always
thinking about what we could build together.
And many of the relationships, strong relationships
become weak relationships because we don't often,
and sometimes we don't get to the thing we were
supposed to build. And we don't get to the thing
we were supposed to do, but we never really spent
time to realize why we belong together. That
there was something greater to why we've been
called the body of Christ than the things that
we would build. and some of the things that we
would do, but there is a community that we need
to walk this life of faith. Y 'all rocking with
me? Oftentimes, right, this kind of feels like
those moments where you've been praying with
a brother or sister in faith and believing with
them in faith and you went through a trial and
a test with them. And then three months later,
they're kind of like, but man, we ain't getting
nothing done. You're trying to like, I thought
we... connected, and they lose sight of the value
of having that person there. They lose sight
of the value of what we actually can bring to
each other because we made such a big deal of
what we could build and what we could do. And
so I want you to turn me to Romans 12, and I
told them first service. It's such a temptation
to read the whole thing. Almost did, but we're
gonna start at verse number three. And y 'all
like, oh, you jumped way in there, huh? All the
way down to verse number three, huh? But there's
a promise that comes with community, and that's
what we started this series with. And that promise
that you see in Acts 2 .42 is that miracles and
signs and wonders, were never experienced, never
meant to be experienced in isolation, but community.
That oftentimes when we see miracles take place
and we see signs and wonders and we see they
talk about how they shared a favor amongst each
other, that those were all experienced in community.
But y 'all there? And Paul starts here, right?
He says, for by the grace given to me, I say
to everyone, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think, but to think with sober
judgment. And Paul is here wanting to give us
the how to how we exist together, that we don't
just naturally fold into each other, we don't
just naturally fit together, but there are things
that we must think that keep us together. And
one of the first things that he addresses is
that we must think soberly. We must think humbly.
That we must think of ourselves in a way that
we leave space for other people. One of the things
that I tell people all the time is that anytime
you're coming together with people to do something,
you should ask myself, because we're here, how
do I become smaller? That in order for people
to come together to do the thing, then everyone
collectively has to agree to become smaller so
we have a role to play. But oftentimes in this
world or in this culture, the first thing we
want to do amongst coming amongst people is we
want to let them know all we're capable of. I
can do this and I can do that. I've done this
and I've done that. And we start to assume so
much space that there's no actual room for community
to exist. And so Paul's like, listen, we got
to think sober. Look at me and say, you gotta
be sober concerning yourself. That godly community
functions when people are ready and willing to
become smaller so that we can be bigger. That
truthfully many people are taking up far more
room and you're doing way more than what should
be on your shoulders alone. But it also takes
you being willing to be humble about what you
can do to leave space so others can. Like to
say it like this that like prideful people make
pitiful partners That prideful people make pitiful
partners why pastor Brian because they are always
thinking of how they can do it better And here's
the truth, you know church is not a place to
where I know we looking good, but it's not a
fashion show Some y 'all drove up here real nice,
but it's not a car show It's not a place of where
we value the best. It's a place where we value
the chosen and The chosen one doesn't always
mean that you did it the best It just mean it
was yours to do Go ahead. Look your neighbor
says some things You're not the greatest that
but guess what? It's still yours But in order
for this to happen everyone has to think what
sober in mind they have to start thinking you
know stop the thoughts of I would have did it
better it doesn't matter it's not yours to do
that we're not running a talent show we're not
running a best of competition we're running a
chosen race we're running a race that isn't given
to the swift it isn't given to the strong it
is given to who church the one who endures to
the end. And oftentimes the one that God picked
is the one that just wasn't gonna quit. Because
you find out from being in church culture, there's
a lot of quick runners. They're always ready
to go, ready to do, ready to show, ready to,
ready, ready, ready. And then we said, well,
boy, you gotta wait for the power of God to fall.
I feel like some of y 'all would have walked
out the upper room that day like, he said, wait,
I ain't got the type of patience to wait. You
know, he's like, I said, wait for the spirit
to fall. Then you can go out in the power and
speak in tongues and cast out demons. And some
of y 'all like, I can't wait that long. And so
oftentimes we have leaders in the church that
truthfully were just the available one, not the
best one. Amen. So think sober -minded concerning
each other. He's wanting us to grow an appreciation
for one another, to grow a thankfulness for one
another, to not view ourselves in the body as
people outside the body view people that they're
always thinking of. Are they the best? Are they
the most qualified? Inside the body, ain't none
of us qualified. I mean, none of us have the
capabilities. That's why I love what Paul says
here. He says, by the grace given to me. In other
words, an unearned, undeserved, unmerited source
is working through me to speak to you. I have
no means and I had no part in earning the ability
you're witnessing. that a grace was given to
me to do what I'm doing. That I'm being empowered,
not because I earned this power, but because
God bestowed this power upon me. Y 'all rocking
with me. So go ahead, look at your neighbor and
say, hey neighbor, there's a grace upon your
life. Check this out, find somebody that say
you ain't earned it. You didn't deserve it. But
guess what? It flows. through you And he's saying
that's why we think Sober minded because none
of us earned what we are doing None of us deserve
what we are doing but God out of his love out
of his mercy He bestowed a grace upon us so that
we can be who we are So it ain't that I don't
look good. I'm just saying the Holy Spirit keeps
me looking good Y 'all rock you with me It's
not that y 'all ain't put it on, because some
of y 'all put it on this morning. Every once
in a while, I tell everybody if you took more
than 30 minutes getting dressed, just stand up
so everybody can see you. We just give you what
you wanted this morning. We ain't above appreciating
how you put it on. But that's what you come to
learn that there's a grace upon your life and
that grace that is upon your life is what's truly
Shining forth you ever had somebody who was wearing
the same thing as them But then they looked at
you was like but it's how you put it on What
grace is that put it on that it really doesn't
matter how someone may be? Looking like they're
in the same situation doing the same thing all
of y 'all have a unique grace upon your life
that when you put it on It's different. And look
at your neighbor and say, and we need how you
put it on. I wanna say before we go any further,
cause here's the truth. Truth is, humility is
not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking
truthfully about yourself. It's not an over exaggeration
of yourself, but it's also not an insecurity
that leads to you being stagnant. But it's you
flowing according to the grace that was given.
Woo, I get excited when I think about that. And
I love this, right? And it says each according
to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
If there's one place we often violate as a body
is operating according to what has been assigned.
That truthfully until we start operating according
to where and how we have been assigned it's hard
for us to see the value and the uniqueness of
each one of us individually. What does that look
like, Pastor Brian? Well, that looks like being
in community, hearing what somebody else did,
hearing what God called them to do, and deciding,
I'll just take that too. Sound good? The church
turned up. They gave their testimony. Folks fell
out. Folks cried. I gave my testimony. Nobody
did anything. So in the future, I'll drag a few
of they points into my story because I want to
see that same move. I want to see and experience
that same impact. And what is that doing? You're
not. operating according to the measure assigned
to you. That you have to be comfortable. You
have to be excited about what God has assigned
to you. And regardless of how people may respond
in excitement or disappointment, you have to
rock you. Look at your neighbor and say, hey,
you must rock you. And I hear this all the time,
and one of the worst things I hear from people,
and sometimes they can be in church for a very
long time, but they'll say something like, I
just don't fit in. Or they'll say something like,
I don't feel like I belong. And I look at them,
I was like, cause you don't. You arriving here,
let us know that there's new that's supposed
to happen. Like we aren't looking for duplicates.
We're looking for originals. You are authentic.
You have something to offer that we have yet
to experience. And I hear people say, man, but
I just, they become quiet. They don't say nothing.
Why? Because you're waiting to fit in. And I'm
telling you, you've been called to stand out.
And I hear people say this thing and it's it's
actually very toxic y 'all ready for this They
say man. We just need to get on the same page.
I said no we don't No, we don't We all are a
different page in one book We in the same book,
but we all a different page. I Just need to know
where your page fits. Is it before my page or
after my page? But the same page is not who we
are We all belong and guess what the same book
But you are a different page look you never say
hey What's the number on the bottom of your page?
Because man there's something unique about you
something special about you. There's a grace
on your life that no one here has, no one here
can duplicate, that you have an authenticity.
And y 'all, this is where I had to work on saying
it right. I tell people all the time, my mama
from Georgia, my daddy from Alabama, so big words
are hard. Didn't get checked growing up Boy y
'all should have seen me at home. I was like
oh thin thin thin thin authenticity We shall
overcome Boy and I said that they were boldness
What are you saying? That's right. I'm saying
that the Bible describes us as the salt of the
earth and If this salt loses its flavor, it becomes
of no use. And what I've come to find out, y
'all know where the salt destroying factory is?
Many churches. Because we come in here and we
all try to be the same. I wanna sing like them,
dance like them, praise like them, holler like
them, because they look like they got it. And
then we end up losing our flavor in the place
that was supposed to develop our flavor. We're
supposed to sound and get our flavor in here
and sound very strange out there. So look at
me, say, hey neighbor. You got that loris. Some
of y 'all calling out y 'all Caesars right now.
I got that, I'm that lorries boy. You can put
me on anything pastor. You can, you can just
spread me out. I walked in the kitchen the other
day. I seen Rashida putting lorries on grits.
I said, lorries on the grits? They changed a
little orange. I said, it's a little Creole if
you. Think so for I got caught in the store the
other day This is just yesterday the lady of
I went I was looking for some coffee stuff and
I picked up they had some they had some I'll
just be looking for the New stuff the loop the
new stuff, right? And so they had some toasted
marshmallow flavored coffee like syrup, right?
I know The lady was like have you had it before
I said no I grabbed it because it was unique
It stood out because it was different. I didn't
come here to buy it. I didn't come here to purchase
it. But when something different is put before
your eyes, it's hard not to want to involve yourself
with it. I got to the cash register. She said,
you know, this is sugar free. I said, I grabbed
the wrong one. I said, I need the flavor. I need.
I need all the flavor. I said, oh, I still bought
it, y 'all, because I didn't want to look crazy
in front of her. She was... Why are you saying
this, Pastor? Because here, truth is, the void
you're often filling isn't an emptiness inside
you, but the who that's missing beside you. That
oftentimes we... feel like something is missing.
It's because we are what the Bible call parts
in particular. And it's very hard for you to
understand your significance when you're not
represented in your uniqueness. But your uniqueness
apart from the body seems strange. It's almost
like taking my finger and my finger deciding
to separate itself from my body. It had full
purpose and meaning connected, but it was useless
disconnected. And we are all parts in particular,
but you got to be sober minded to think this
way. That it takes a prideful person to think
that you have all that it takes. And no, brother,
calm down. Think a little less of yourself. Because
you might just be a toe And the toe apart from
the foot Y 'all preach for me What's a toe apart
from the foot Nothing it's nothing and so oftentimes
the emptiness we're feeling isn't because of
what's lacking inside of us, it's because of
who's missing beside you. He says, for as in
one body, we have many members and the members
do not all have, check this out, the same function.
And I love this, I love this. If no one ever
told you this before, The church is complex by
design. And many people try to make it simple.
No, it's diverse. It's complex. We are probably
one of the most sophisticated organisms that
exist. Why? Because we are all parts in particular.
We're actually all unique, but yet connected.
that there is something special about each one
of us that so much none of us are the same. And
so we are not simple to get. We are actually
complex. We're actually extremely diverse. Y
'all rocking with me? He said, So we, though
many are one body in Christ and individually
members one to another. What are you saying?
That truth is isolation doesn't just disconnect
you from people, it disconnects your gift from
its purpose. That we are members one to another.
that we belong together. Look at your neighbor
say, we belong together. I was gonna sing a Mariah
Carey song here, but I saw this meme online,
it was talking about pastors that sing songs
during church and I was like, is that who I become?
I don't wanna be that, but we belong together.
It's right there. It is right there, but we do,
we belong together. We belong together and it's
okay. It's okay, look at them say it's okay.
What do you mean what's okay, Pastor Brian? No
one shows up to church hurt by church. But as
Paul explains, you were running so well, who
did hinder you? And oftentimes it takes humility
to admit it was a who. And we don't want to admit
that it was a who. We don't want to confess that
it was a person. And so because we don't want
to confess that it was a person, Out of pride,
we construct a false reality that we can somehow
be a valuable part alone. Because we don't want
to deal with the people no more. But here's the
problem. You're just a part. You belong to people.
Y 'all all right? This is just freelance commenting
over on the right hand side You know like pastor
Brad we already did first service there's a good
one on tape She is unique But truth is you'll
always have trouble fitting in When you're trying
to be a duplicate And God doesn't just save you
by grace, he assigns you by grace. First success,
I did it again, y 'all saw that? My mom, when
you say yes, way too loud. I've noticed in the
last two weeks that I have to get much closer
to read the words in my Bible. I know I'm just
40, but the lines is... They say that's when
it starts. I rebuke you in the name of Jesus
that this whole front row y 'all ain't a man
nothing But soon as I mentioned the lines are
coming together. That's that's what it's thought.
That's that's that's that this whole Y 'all heard
of was like popcorn pop pop pop pop pop. That's
that's when it's that's what you to you to you
to I rebuke the whole front row That's when it's
thought, pastor. You ain't lying. Having gifts
that differ according to the, I told him I said
in first service, now I see, you know, I need
one of the people, I just be like, read. Read,
any readers in the room, anybody wanna read for
your brother? Just read. Having gifts that differ
according to the grace to us, let us use them.
I love this, listen to this. If prophecy in proportion
to, our faith, if service in our serving, the
one who teaches in his teaching, the one who
exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes
in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the
one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness.
What is Paul describing to us? That there is
an attitude for every grace. There's an attitude.
There is an attitude. for every grace Matter
of fact, you'll come to find out that your attitude
will determine your altitude and I know many
people hear that word attitude and you're thinking
about you need an attitude adjustment That's
what your mama told you this attitude is speaking
of the flavor the way in which you do what you
do right that there should be an understanding
or a respect of your Authenticity our uniqueness
that comes through the attitude If I were to
describe it to you, right, that oftentimes I
hear believers, they hear something like, hey
man, God told me to start a business like this.
And then they'll hear someone next to them say
the same thing. And they'll think because they
are doing it, we don't wanna be competition.
And because we don't want no competition, I must
not have heard what I heard. I'm not gonna do
what I heard. Not realizing that you have an
attitude. Look at them say, you have an attitude.
To break this down to you, right? Right, right,
right. Chick -fil -A sells what? Chicken. Popeye
sells what? Chicken. Churches sells what? Chicken.
PDQ has what? Chicken. Keynes has what? Chicken.
But guess what? They all have their own attitude.
Flavor for how they cook the chicken. So even
though they're sourcing the same main ingredient,
how they handle that ingredient is what brings
the diversity that they can all be on the same
street. Yet because they are operating according
to their authenticity according to their flavor
There is no competition that you can go to Chick
-fil -a one day churches the next day. They got
different sauces They got different sides. They
have different seasonings and guess what they
are not competing because they are all walking
in their authenticity So I'm here to let you
know say hey neighbor next time bring Your attitude
And y 'all know I know it's a little early for
Thanksgiving but y 'all know I love to talk about
cooking right and There's a thing about this
that you got to understand and it's too late
for me It's too late It's too late. What you
mean? It's too late. I've already had too many
people Tell me my turkey was the best It's too
late. You know what that means? That means I
got an attitude about my turkey. That if you
were to come to me and say, Pastor Brian, I tried,
I don't know why people are doing the other person
in the voice like this, Pastor Brian, I tried
your turkey and I didn't like, I don't think
it's the best. You know what I'ma say? Do you
have any left that you can give back to me? So
I can give it to somebody who appreciates it,
but let me help you out here. I don't need any
validation because I've already been verified.
I don't care what you think. about my turkey.
Well, that sounds a little attitude -ish. Exactly,
exactly. I don't care how you feel about my turkey.
I have already had enough verifiable, trustworthy
people tell me it's the best, hands down. So
I don't need your opinion. I don't actually need
your consideration. Nothing. is going to change
my attitude concerning my turkey. You know what
I just figured out? You're the wrong audience.
Maybe you don't have the palette to understand
the layer of flavoring. that my turkey actually
has. You don't even know how to handle the palette
that it takes to be able to distinguish all the
unique flavors in my turkey. You didn't even
taste the lemon zest. Did you even feel the lemon
zest? You put lemon on it? Lemon is a strange
thing to put on turkey. That's because you are
unlearned. You need to go and... go experience
some things because you can you can take the
the the lemon and you can zest it and it gives
it a little brightness so it it takes the heaviness
and heaviness of the grease and brings a brightness
to your tongue so that when you're eating it
it's just a burst of flavors but you don't know
nothing about that but there are some people
that know everything about that and i'ma go ahead
and find them The Bible would say what do they
do? What do you do if they reject you? You know
what you do you dust off your feet But we we
can't keep killing our flavor We have to start
our uniqueness, celebrating our little sauce.
How you did it does matter. Just that little
flair made a difference. It was how you put it
on. We got the same, y 'all wearing the same
community shirt, but it looked different. Everybody's
shirt don't look the same on everybody. Same
shirt. Y 'all don't want me to do it, but I'm
about to do it. From the moment y 'all put it
on the shirt took on unique shapes It was a one
shape on the table Then you put on the shirt,
I don't know what shape as I thought we ordered
a crew name It looked like a v -neck on you it
looked like a Tell your neighbors how you put
it on What you supposed to be putting on right
now that you done took off cuz you saw somebody
else Say the same thing. We didn't get a chance
to see how you was gonna spice it up Oh, they
writing a children's book. So why should I write
a children's book? Because you gonna put something
on it. They can't you gonna do something to it
They not that that stop conforming That's what
versus one and two were that become do not be
conformed to this world But be transformed by
the renewal of your mind Paul already knew you
gonna have to transform your thinking in order
for us to operate how we supposed to operate
but we're so busy conforming to what people say
this is the best today I don't care Look at him
and say, God did not just save you by grace.
He assigns you by grace. That you didn't earn
this uniqueness, you ain't deserve this uniqueness,
but you are unique. And we need it. I told him
I didn't. read the rest of this, but if I were
to summarize it, right, that Paul then goes on
beyond that verse to not only get us to start
celebrating our uniqueness, but check this out
church, but to honor each other's uniqueness.
That we should be honoring our uniqueness. I
tell people all the time, I know you want to
show some love, but we always got to be careful
how we touch God's product. And each person in
here, you're God's product. I may have suggestions,
but I'm not the manufacturer. You're God's product.
I tell parents this all the time, be mindful.
You birthed them. But God made them. Be careful.
We need that page. We might be missing the story.
We're trying to figure it all out because we're
missing your flavor. Y 'all all right? But God
never designed your uniqueness. to separate you
from the body. He designed the body to reveal
the purpose of your uniqueness. Y 'all hearing
me? That we should be helping each other through
honoring one another, understand why we were
created this way and see it that way. We're not
trying to get on the same page. We're just trying
to get our pages in order. The Bible tells us
that they will know us by our love for one another.
And in a world that's addicted to conforming
people, we should be a church that helps God
transform people into who he's called them to
be. help you discover why your journey's been
the way it's been and why you had to see the
things you've seen and why you've had to experience
what you've experienced because there's something
God's shaping through all of it to help us all
understand better what He's doing with us. Y
'all rocking with me. We'll stop here then. Before
I gotta thank you for today and. I thank you
for the opportunity to come and to minister your
word. I pray that your people are stirred up
as a result of your word. I pray that they are
excited, have a zeal about walking and their
uniqueness about being. I pray that as we take
this walk, that we become brothers and sisters
to each other, that lifts each other up as we're
taking those bold steps, that we encourage each
other as we are taking those leaps. And I pray
that you're glorified in it all. And we're just
thankful, God. for loving us so much that we
can trust your word. We can stand on this word
and we can truly believe that new life is available.
But if you're here today and you're not saved
and you haven't given your life to Jesus, in
a moment I'm gonna say a prayer and just know
that As you say this prayer in faith, in confidence,
that you become a part of this body, that you're
no longer an outsider to the promises of God,
but you are an insider to the promises of God.
The Bible says, if you confess with your mouth
and believe in your heart that Jesus died and
rose again, you shall be saved. So it takes a
confession and a belief. And so if you are ready,
we're gonna do it together so no one's alone,
but Father God, I thank you. for your son, Jesus.
I believe he died and he rose again. And when
he rose, he rose with my forgiveness. He justified
me. And now I am a son and a daughter of the
King. Amen, church. Let's give it up for people
who said that prayer for the first time. And
if that was you. You can meet us in the first
room on the left as you leave. If you're online,
let us know and we'll tell you all about the
decision you made and just the family you're
part of, amen? Amen. As they are preparing, some
believers to get baptized today. I do want to
take a moment. This week, one of just, I must
call him one of the goats of this house and just
a brother to many, a friend to many. Mike, Mikey,
he called him Mikey, but his name is Mike Begos
Jr. He went home to be with the Lord this week
and. You know, I'm not just asking you guys to
keep the family in prayer, keep each other in
prayer. He was knitly woven into our family.
He wasn't a person you could ever miss, a person
you forget. He made himself known. And truthfully,
there's no way we would be just where we are
and what we're doing without his life, his service
and his sacrifice. He used his grace, the grace
that God has given him to bring many things we
did here to life. Anytime there was something
just fresh that was like, man, we just need some
money who is gonna hear from God on what to do,
this man would do it. Our new logo out front
was designed. called him the brand master and
anybody who ever met with him would know that
man, if you just had jumbled up words, he would
take them words and create an image out of them
to really get you off and running. So we are
thankful for his life and we're thankful for
just the time he spent with us. And January,
June, June, July, June 20th at 10 a .m. We will
be celebrating his life here. I'll invite you
to come out and just celebrate with us. I asked
them first service if you was wondering why they
was taking so long. Just to spend a little bit
more time just with your family and saying hello
to the people around you. You know, one of the
things that just was just in my heart all week
is I just really desire for us to be able to
treat every hello with the same value we give
to the final goodbye. That if we could just learn
to appreciate each other in a greater way in
these moments man healing is available, but keep
the family in prayer and Yeah, he's a friend
a man a man and so Are they ready mama you baptizing
you know y 'all gotta hear this right Uncle G,
where's Uncle G? Oh, there she is. She came from
Atlanta to get baptized today. There goes Uncle
G. You know, I'm not good with the thing. So
who is she to you, Uncle G? Granddaughter? What's
that make her to me? Cousin. That's your daughter
and your granddaughter's getting baptized. Oh,
there we go And that makes them my cousin But
they are here to get baptized and amen y 'all
got it keep us from falling and to present you
faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy to the only wise God, our savior.
here and no I sat down him just was thinking
about um our brother my friend Mike Begos Jr.
and there was there was options right to come
and talk to people's grief or speak a message
I know he would love we chose to speak a message
we know he would love if you ever met him people's
uniqueness and understanding your flavor understanding
that you were uniquely designed and so um you
know I believe he's shining down