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It seems to me that we don't make enough of special occasions, anniversaries, birthdays,

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and that sort of thing.

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Hopefully we remember some of the very important ones, but often even of those we don't make

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quite enough.

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In the Bible, God made a great deal out of annual events.

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In the Old Testament, in his people Israel, God assigned a number of annual events which

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they were to remember, and by which he would remind them of the great and mighty things

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he had done on their behalf.

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There were other times when the Lord reminded his people and allowed for permanent reminders

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to be established so that they would not forget what a great God he is.

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Another example of that is found in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 12.

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I'd like you to turn there and look at this verse with me as we begin our journey this

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morning.

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1 Samuel chapter 7.

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The people of Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord, following the false gods of the

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nations around them.

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Consequently, God allowed them to be defeated in battle.

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Israel ministered to the people as a prophet at this time.

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As a result of his ministry, revival came, and the people repented of their sins.

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Early in the chapter you can read about the way that they observed this revival.

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They cried out to the Lord, and the Lord forgave them.

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An offering was made.

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The Philistines, who were their dedicated enemies, desired to take advantage of this

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time in the nation.

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They felt that the nation was ripe for an attack because the people were gathered together

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during service to their God.

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So they gathered together their army and marched upon the Israelites.

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The Israelites turned to the Lord, and God delivered them.

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It says that God thundered with a great thunder.

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Now exactly what does that mean?

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Well, we weren't there.

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We don't know precisely.

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And God caused unusual noise, like the noise of thunder that reverberated and echoed throughout

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that whole area.

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And it continued on and on and on, and as a result of that, the Philistines fled and

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they were defeated in battle.

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Because of that, it says in verse 12, Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and

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Shen and named it Ebenezer, saying, thus far the Lord has helped us.

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Ebenezer means the stone of help.

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It was to be a reminder as a pillar in a permanent location between two cities of what God had

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done for them.

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And the testimony of the stone was, up to this point, the Lord has helped us.

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I believe that that is our testimony too.

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Thus far the Lord has helped us.

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This is an Ebenezer Sunday of sorts to us.

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We look over the past five years with sincere gratitude for what God has been pleased to

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do in our midst.

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And we must never forget that it has been God who has done it.

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This is not the work of man or a group of people.

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It is the work of the Lord.

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We are so close to what God has done here over this period of time that it's easy for

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us to overlook the greatness of the work of the Lord.

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We must be careful not to do that.

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Anniversary Sunday can be an Ebenezer Sunday for us, a time for us to remember that thus

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far the Lord has helped us.

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We can also look to the future on this Sunday and know that the Lord will continue to help

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us.

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We can look to the future with confidence because he who has begun a good work in us

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will complete it, will fulfill it, will perfect it in the day of Jesus Christ, that is the

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day of the rapture when Jesus comes for the church.

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So we look to the past on this Sunday and we look to the future.

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As I was preparing for this morning and desiring God to show me what he wanted me to share,

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God seemed to lay on my heart to review with all of us the important things at Grace Church,

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Roseville.

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What things are important to us?

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What are the things that really are the bottom line to what we are all about?

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What is it that counts in this ministry?

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You see it's too easy for us to forget these things or for those who come in over the process

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of time not to even know about them.

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And so I went back to some of the statements that were made five years ago and some of

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the ones that have been made since.

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And I try to condense these and allow them to filter out through my heart for today.

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What is important to us at Grace Church, Roseville?

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I believe that there are at least seven answers to that question.

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Now there are more things that could be said, this is not an all-inclusive message by any

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means, but these seven things need to be said.

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What are important to us in this church?

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All these things could be included.

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Number one, the Bible.

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That would seem obvious, but we must say it.

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The Bible is important to us because it is God's Word.

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It is God's inerrant, infallible Word.

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By that we mean not just that the Bible is infallible when it speaks about theology and

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doctrine, but that it is also inerrant when it speaks in the area of geography or history

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or any other subject.

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God is a holy God.

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And the only kind of book that can accurately represent Him and reveal Him to us is a book

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that is itself the holy Bible.

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It is an inerrant book, an infallible book, and because it is that, it is authoritative.

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God's Word is our final authority in what we believe and how we behave.

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That is, in our faith and in our practice, this book is important to us because it is

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our final authority.

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Not what I want, not what someone else wishes, but what the Bible says.

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That is what is important.

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Therefore, we teach the Bible.

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We teach it in our worship services.

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We teach it in our small churches and electives.

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We teach it in our growth groups and our flocks.

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The emphasis of our ministry is the teaching of the Word of God.

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It is our desire to explain it, hopefully, in a relevant, practical way that we can all

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understand and get a hold of.

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If we can't understand what's being said, then what's the use of it being said?

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It is my goal as the pastor of the church to explain the Bible in simple terms, hopefully

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not simplistically, but simply, so that we can understand what God says to us and how

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that applies to our lives.

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It is not our desire to explain the Bible away using certain methods of interpretation

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and saying, well, that doesn't apply to today.

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This is not for today.

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It is true that there are some things that are not directly for us, but the whole Bible

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is written to us.

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So, every part of the Bible has an application to our lives, every part of it.

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We need to study it.

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That is important in this ministry.

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The result of that is that the body is built up.

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The body is made stronger.

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It grows.

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Occasionally, I am asked, what is it that has made Grace Church grow?

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I have a good friend who has just taken a new church in the state of Washington.

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He wrote me a letter and he asked me that question.

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He knew better than to ask it, but he did anyway.

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I went back and bowled him out gently.

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I said, you know very well that there is no secret, there is no formula for church growth.

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It is very simple why the church grows, because the Bible is being taught and being applied

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to lives.

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You tell most people that and they will scratch their heads and say, now there has got to

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be something else.

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That can't be it.

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That is too simple.

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Why have you come to Grace Church, Roseville?

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Because the Bible is being taught here.

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There are other parts to answer that question.

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It is not fully as simple as that, but that is the basic reason.

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We simply are teaching the word of God to people.

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People want to know what God has to say and how that applies to life and living.

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That is the goal of this ministry.

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What is important to us, the Bible, the teaching of it and the practice of it, the fact that

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it is important is reflected not only in the way that we teach it, in our services and

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the emphasis that we place upon it, but also in how we treat it as a people.

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The importance of the Bible is reflected in the fact that we bring it to church with us.

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Have you ever gone to a church with your Bible and been the only one there with a Bible?

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That has happened to our family sometimes on vacation.

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You say, isn't it a little bit embarrassing?

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Not at all.

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I think the other people ought to be embarrassed.

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You see, the reason we come to church is to study the word of God, that God may speak

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to us.

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We all should be carrying Bibles.

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We are not just carrying them with us in the church, but opening them and using them and

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reading the passages that are being discussed.

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I would hope every person here this morning has a Bible, or if a couple of us here, that

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you at least have one Bible to share between the two of you.

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Because you see, the Bible is important to us.

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This is the word of God, and we want to know what God has to say.

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Not only should we bring it to church with us, but we should use it during the week.

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It's not good enough to bring the Bible on Sunday and lay it on the shelf in the week,

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is it?

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We want to be reading it and applying it to our lives on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday

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and throughout the week.

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We can say that we are a Bible teaching church and be glad for that.

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But unless we who are a part of this church make the Bible important throughout the week,

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we've missed something.

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I believe that we see the importance of the Bible reflected also in each one of us, allowing

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it to be our own personal final authority.

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What am I supposed to do?

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What decisions should I make?

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How should I respond?

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What should I think about this?

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Well, the Bible is our final authority.

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When those kinds of questions come to you and your business and your family, wherever

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you are, let the Bible be your final authority.

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The Bible is important.

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That's where we start.

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And may it ever be important in our church.

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But it doesn't stop there.

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What other things are important?

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Well, secondly, I would mention worship.

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Worship is vitally important to us as a church.

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It has been from the beginning and it must always be so.

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And I think of worship not just as a service that we come to, but our actions, our lives.

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Worship is not just a noun, it's a verb.

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Worship is important to us as a church.

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And I'm thinking of two aspects of this.

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First a personal aspect, individual aspect.

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We must learn how to worship God personally.

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We need to learn how to practice the presence of God, as one ancient mystic put it.

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We must learn how to remember that God is with us throughout the day in all of our routine,

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so that we don't forget that what we do and what we say and even what we're thinking at

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any given moment is not just private to us, but it is open to heaven.

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God knows.

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He's there.

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And therefore we practice His presence and in that way we worship God personally.

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We need to learn what it is to personally walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

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God has given us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, to enable us to live as He wants us to

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live.

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We need to learn personally what that means.

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How to appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit and thus worship God in spirit as well as

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in truth.

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Worshipping God individually means that we have a holy lifestyle.

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That we're concerned about separation from sinful actions.

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That we do not want sin expressed in our lives.

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That we want our lives to be pure and upright and pleasing to God.

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That is worship personally.

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That is important to us as members of this church.

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It is important for us to learn what it is to be salt and light in our society.

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We worship God when we live before the unregenerate in such a way that we expose their wickedness.

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I don't mean it all in a self-righteous way or even in a judgmental way, but just in the

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godly way that we live, their lifestyle is exposed.

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Ephesians 5 talks about that.

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We want to be salt.

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What is salt good for?

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What a lot of things, including making a person thirsty.

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You can have a friend at work that you've tried to witness to and there's just no desire

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for it on their part.

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How is it that you make that person desirous?

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Well, be salt before that person.

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Live such a warm, godly life, a life of worship so that that individual will develop a taste

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and will want to taste and see for himself that the Lord is good.

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We need to worship the Lord personally.

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If we don't learn how to worship the Lord personally through the week, coming on Sunday

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morning to worship with other people is meaningless.

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It really is.

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Because you see, what we do here in these minutes that we have together is an overflow

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of our whole week.

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So that as we learn to worship God out beyond these walls, when we come together within

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them, we can truly worship the Lord with each other.

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We need to learn to worship the Lord together.

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That too is a matter of learning to recognize the awesome presence of the living God and

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to respond with joy that lifts the heart, with fear, yes, with fear that trusts God.

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When we come together, we need to remember that we are here in the presence of the living

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Christ in a very special way.

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He is here in our midst when we come together like this.

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That's why it's so important that we be here.

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Whenever the church meets, Sunday morning, Sunday night, for worship, the Lord is there.

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The Lord is here now.

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We worship him.

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We must learn to do that because we are naturally ignorant as to how to do it and we're naturally

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insensitive to his presence.

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So we need to develop that in our lives.

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One of the tools that God uses is music.

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Music is such a vital part to our worship.

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I thank God for every person who's a part of our music ministry and for what we're able

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to do now.

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We want to do so much more in terms of the music ministry of our church.

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A person who doesn't believe in a music ministry in a church is a person who really does not

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know his Bible very well.

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For not only does the New Testament talk about that in Colossians and Ephesians as the outflow

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of the spirit-filled life, but if you go back to the Old Testament, you will be amazed at

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the importance of music in the worship of ancient Israel.

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You realize that there were literally thousands of people who were supported by the nation

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to be full-time musicians at the temple.

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Thousands of them.

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Some were singers.

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Others were composers.

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Some were arrangers.

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There were those who played instruments, and I mean all kinds of instruments.

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Why?

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Because music is important to worship.

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God has made us in such a way that music enables our spirit to be released in worship to God.

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Therefore, we as a church make music important.

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It is a priority with us.

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It is a priority of this church and will remain that way.

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A lot of us enjoyed the orchestra last Sunday, and I think it was Sunday night that I mentioned

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that it has been a vision of mine for a long time to have an orchestra with every service

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in the church where I would pastor.

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Frankly, my faith isn't big enough that I think we could have that big of an orchestra

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all the time, but even a small one.

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I thank the Lord for our brass group this morning and how that adds to our regular instruments.

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But an orchestra with the strings and the mixture of sound that it produces is marvelous.

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We can only imagine what it must have been like in ancient Israel when those hundreds

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and hundreds of people would gather with their instruments and thousands of singers would

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praise the Lord.

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It must have been absolutely glorious.

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I believe that our local churches today need to be something like that.

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We can't quite come up to that same status as ancient Israel, but within the confines

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of the ministry God has given us, we want to make music important.

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We need to train musicians.

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We need to train people in music within the church.

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It can be done in other places, but even the school systems now are having trouble funding

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that.

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Why can't we have a school for music within our church that the students themselves would

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pay for, just like my kids pay for music lessons?

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Your children probably do too.

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Why not in the church?

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Let it be there.

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Let's let our children know that they can use music in our church.

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I think that next Sunday night there is a concert at 5.30 for children in our church

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who will be just doing things for those who come early.

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That's going to be a marvelous thing.

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We need to let our children know that music is important.

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We want great inquirers in our church so that from young ages right on up, they're able

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to understand what music means and how it is used in the worship of God.

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That is vital to our future as a worshiping church.

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We can talk about worship being important, but it's when we get down to some of these

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other areas that we really begin to mean that it's important by the investment of our money

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in our gifts in music.

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And enthusiastic participation on the part of all of us is vital in our worship.

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What is important to Grace Church Roosevelt?

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The word, worship.

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Thirdly, I would mention evangelism, missions, and church planting.

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We as a church are committed to the Great Commission.

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We believe in having a world vision with a local application.

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We don't want to be looking out there at the world and miss what's happening here locally.

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It needs to be balanced.

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But we want to have a vision for the world.

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In that sense, we want to use that word, that term that's been coined in our day, world

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Christians.

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We want to know what's happening in other parts of our world in the work of God and

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be involved in supporting it.

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In as many ways as we possibly can.

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Some of us going, all of us praying and writing to our missionaries, encouraging them, or

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being involved in giving faithfully so that our missions outreach can increase.

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We will continue as a church to invest large portions of our annual budgets to the cause

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of world evangelization.

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Right?

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Because that is a priority to God.

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And it's important to us as a church, and we will continue to pray that God will call

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out workers from our own church to go.

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Do you know that right now there are between 40 and 50 people in our congregation that

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are at some point seeking to discern God's will regarding missions?

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That is marvelous.

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That's wonderful.

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Let's just suppose that half of those people go.

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Let's say 20 of them actually go in the next five years.

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Half of them discern that it's not the will of God.

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But half of them say, this is what God wants.

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Do you recognize what a responsibility that is for us who remain here in terms of supporting

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them even financially?

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We have a big challenge before us.

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So as we pray for workers, we need to remember that we're going to be giving more in the

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future as well, for evangelism, missions, and church planting, there is nothing that

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supersedes the value of a person's soul.

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Whatever color the person may be, whatever language he speaks, his soul is of infinite

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worth.

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Or shall a prophet a man if he gains the whole world, said Jesus, and loses his own soul?

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That's true of you, my friend, and me too.

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Jesus said, what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

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Your soul is valuable to God, so valuable that he sent his beloved son to die for you,

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and give his life that you might be saved by the grace of God.

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He died for others around this world, and they need to hear the message.

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In this regard, it's important for us to remember that since the beginning, we've had a twin

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city orientation.

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Grace Church has never been a neighborhood church in the traditional sense, where a local

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church attracts people within just two or three miles of its building.

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We have people who drive all the way from the nominee, Wisconsin, to here, all the way

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the other side of Inoka to come, the other side of the Twin Cities to come to Grace Church.

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That's because we have had, from the beginning, a twin city orientation.

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That doesn't mean that neighborhood churches are wrong at all.

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There's a place for them.

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But in our ministry, God has given us a twin city orientation.

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We need to keep that in mind.

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That's important to us.

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We're committed also to new growth.

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That's important to remember.

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We are not interested in the transplantation of members from other evangelical churches

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to ours.

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The speaker that we had a year ago today, Warren Wiersby, has made a statement that

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has stuck with me through the years.

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He says, you can't build with borrowed bricks.

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And you think about that statement in terms of a local church, and you understand its

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application.

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Now, I'm not talking about people coming from other churches where the Bible is not being

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preached.

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That's another matter altogether.

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But our goal is not to reach other people in Bible teaching evangelical churches.

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We are not in competition with them.

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Our goal is new growth.

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People coming to trust the Savior and following Him in baptism and becoming a part of our

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church.

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That is what our goal is.

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Important to us is evangelism, missions, and church planting.

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Now, if that's important to us as a church, it's important to us as individuals too.

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Because you see, as someone said, we's the church.

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We's the church.

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And if we as individuals are not involved in evangelism, missions, and church planting,

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we can talk about this till we're blue in the face and it won't mean a hill of beans.

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So let me ask you this question.

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How are you involved in a strategy for winning people to Jesus Christ?

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You may want to be involved in a target group of reaching prisoners in a jail.

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Or having been saved out of alcoholism, you may be concerned about alcoholics and want

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to win them to Christ.

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Maybe you're burdened about the AIDS victims in the Twin Cities.

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People going to hell with not knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Maybe that's a target group that you could begin to work on.

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But listen, every one of us ought to have a strategy.

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It may be family right now.

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It could be the people in the office.

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But there ought to be some way in which we personally are involved in a strategy of outreach

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for the sake of Jesus Christ.

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Because only then will evangelism, missions, and church planting really be important in

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our church.

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What is important to Grace Church?

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A fourth answer to that question would be a ministering body.

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We have turned to Ephesians 4 verses 11 and 12 so many times that it's almost embarrassing.

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But the truth there has to be repeated over and over again.

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Why has the Lord given the church evangelists and pastor teachers?

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It is for the equipping of the saints unto the work of ministry.

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We do not believe in a hired professional staff to do the ministry for the church.

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Our perspective is that that is an unbiblical teaching.

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Why then do we have staff?

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We add staff to our church when we see in a person certain gifts that will make him

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or her valuable to the equipping of the people of our church for their ministries.

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Every one of us need to be involved in ministry.

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That's the point.

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Otherwise, a church languishes.

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It just limps along.

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It misses the dynamic that comes with a ministering people.

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God's plan is for people, members of a church, to be active participants and not passive

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spectators.

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So we have to ask this question.

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What gifts do you have and how are you employing them in this church or if you're a visitor

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in your local church where you attend?

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You see, there is no exception to this principle that every one of us is gifted and expected

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by God to use that gift in or through, in some way, the ministry of his local body,

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the local church.

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What is important to us?

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A ministering body.

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That means there are some people that will not be comfortable in our church because all

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they want to do is to sit in a chair and do nothing.

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Today, their spiritual gift is that of criticism and employ it.

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Well, I will guarantee you that is not a spiritual gift, nor is it the will of God for them to

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be a pew warmer.

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God has called us to be a ministering people and people who come to be a part of Grace

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Church Roosevelt need to recognize that.

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That it is important to us that we follow through and be, each of us, a ministering

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person.

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What is important to us?

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Commitment to growth.

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Number five.

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Now, certainly numbers are not the most important thing.

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Effective ministry, biblical ministry is the most important.

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But when a church has an effective ministry, when it is biblically ministering to people,

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that will almost inevitably result in growing numbers.

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Some have asked me from time to time, what is the goal numerically for Grace Church Roosevelt?

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Are we going to stop with a thousand or with 1200 or 2000?

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What is the goal?

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Well, the answer to that is very simple.

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We have no goal.

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We do not have a minimum and we don't have a cap.

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We will simply minister as God leads us to minister and let him grow the church to whatever

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size he deems is important.

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We are committed though to growth.

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But that has several ramifications that need to be talked about.

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If we say that we are committed to growth, that means, number one, that we are committed

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to be flexible as a church.

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That we are willing to make changes in our ministry whenever and wherever necessary to

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facilitate growth.

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We have to get over this threat of change, some of us.

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In our first year or two or maybe even three, we went through a lot of changes because we

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had, we were forced into it and it was good for us.

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It was healthy.

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It wasn't always comfortable.

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It wasn't always easy, but we changed because we were growing.

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We must continue to have that kind of an attitude.

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We must not allow ourselves to seek our own comfort above what is best for the whole ministry.

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We must keep challenging ourselves to move out of our comfort zones and be willing to

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change whatever is necessary in order that we may accommodate the growth that God is

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pleased to give.

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In Mark 2 22, Jesus says that you cannot put new wine into old wineskins because the old

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wineskins will burst.

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If God is going to keep pouring new wine into a church, that church is going to have to

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keep shedding its old wineskins and developing new ones.

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I have seen churches that have killed themselves because they refuse to change.

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We're committed to utilize contemporary methods to proclaim an unchanging message.

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The message of Jesus Christ, the message of the Bible does not change with the times,

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but methodologies do and must.

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We must be willing to lay aside tradition the way we've always done it for the sake

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of a better, more effective ministry now and in the future.

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We have to keep evaluating this folks and dealing with it.

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It's not always going to please everybody, but change is inevitable and we must face

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that.

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The message doesn't change.

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We are as conservative in theology, I suppose, as most churches that are called evangelical

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or even fundamental.

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You'll recall last week I mentioned that in our first worship service we had 50 high school

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singers from a high school locally.

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Their director attends our church.

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00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:49,960
He brought them so that they might experience the worship service last week with the orchestra

478
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:54,560
and choir and they also got a sermon while they were here.

479
00:34:54,560 --> 00:35:00,680
A sermon on adultery, which was pretty conservative for them.

480
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,720
In fact, one of them made the statement as they left, he's like Jerry Falwell.

481
00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:09,400
Well, I appreciate the compliment.

482
00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:12,600
We have an unchanging message.

483
00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:14,320
It is a conservative message.

484
00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:22,640
That is not going to change, but the way that we deliver it, the package in which it comes,

485
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:29,760
the methods that we utilize to reach people, those must change.

486
00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:40,000
We're committed to try new ideas and if I may say so, we're committed even to risk failure.

487
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,400
Failure does not mean somebody has goofed.

488
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,800
Did you know that?

489
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,960
Our society is so concerned about finding out who is at fault.

490
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,240
You see it right now with the shuttle probe.

491
00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:56,160
There are going to be some people whose heads are going to be chopped off over that whole

492
00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:57,160
thing.

493
00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:01,840
It will be rightly so, I don't know, but it certainly illustrates the fact that in our

494
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:06,000
society we want to know who is at fault and we want to lay blame at somebody's feet.

495
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,360
Let's get over that.

496
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:11,240
Let's get over that.

497
00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:15,720
If there is a failure, then let's just thank God that we know that doesn't work and look

498
00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:18,200
for something better.

499
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:23,040
Let's use it as a stepping stone to go on to something that God can use in a more effective

500
00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:26,200
way in our church.

501
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:32,320
We're committed to trying new ideas and risk failure if necessary because you see faith

502
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:36,840
from a human perspective now involves risk.

503
00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:37,840
It does.

504
00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:44,840
Faith is risky business from a human perspective, but without faith it's impossible to please

505
00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:46,780
God.

506
00:36:46,780 --> 00:36:58,680
Without the kind of faith that's willing to risk big, we can't please God.

507
00:36:58,680 --> 00:36:59,960
What is important to Grace Church?

508
00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:05,440
A commitment to growth and the ramifications of that.

509
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,560
Although we are committed to grow, it does not mean, however, that we're going to lower

510
00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,640
our membership standards to grow.

511
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:16,520
I expect that our attendance will always be higher than our membership because it means

512
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:18,880
something to be a member of Grace Church.

513
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,480
Grace Church is not for everybody.

514
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,680
It doesn't mean that they're unspiritual.

515
00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,200
It doesn't mean that we're better than anybody else.

516
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:33,400
To be a member of our church, one must have a clear testimony of his faith in Christ.

517
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:37,120
He must have a sincere desire to grow spiritually.

518
00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,160
He must follow the Lord in believers' baptism by immersion.

519
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:47,040
There must be an agreement with our church's doctrine, philosophy of ministry, and our

520
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:50,080
mission, our goals.

521
00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:53,000
Not everybody's going to agree with those things, and that's fine.

522
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,400
They should find a place where they can be comfortable and serve God there.

523
00:37:56,400 --> 00:38:02,480
It doesn't mean they're unspiritual or disobedient, but we as a church are committed to certain

524
00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:08,920
things, and because of that, not everybody who attends is going to join.

525
00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:11,680
We understand.

526
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,800
We expect that our attendance will always be higher than our membership.

527
00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:22,080
But I want to say this, that our membership in Grace Church is important to us.

528
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:27,040
Becoming a member of this local church is considered an important step for a person.

529
00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:33,000
It would not be our desire for people to continue on and on and on, just attending.

530
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:38,120
There needs to be that commitment of life.

531
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:43,920
That outward indication of agreement that comes with membership.

532
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:46,760
What is important to Grace Church?

533
00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:51,880
Well, let me say sixly that unity and diversity is important.

534
00:38:51,880 --> 00:38:55,560
There's nothing that's so important to a New Testament church as its unity.

535
00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:58,120
It's the crown jewel.

536
00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:05,600
And when that jewel is stolen or lost, the church has suffered a grievous setback.

537
00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:11,000
And yet unity does not mean uniformity because there will be diversity in a church due to

538
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:16,680
different backgrounds, stages of spiritual maturity, and varying personalities.

539
00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:23,400
We then need to learn to respect other people's opinions and convictions in the area where

540
00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,680
the Bible does not speak with absolute clarity.

541
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:31,520
That is the gray areas, the disputable things.

542
00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:39,120
There's no place for dissension, for critical spirit, or for gossip about these matters.

543
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:45,880
The Word of God says, be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus.

544
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:51,040
Accept one another just as Christ also accepted us.

545
00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:55,920
We are to accept each other with our diversities.

546
00:39:55,920 --> 00:40:01,660
Not to be critical, not to be splitting, not to be filled with dissension.

547
00:40:01,660 --> 00:40:02,660
We are to be unified.

548
00:40:02,660 --> 00:40:04,920
What is important to us?

549
00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:06,920
Unity in our diversity.

550
00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:10,360
But that does not apply to false doctrine.

551
00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:12,920
There's not going to be unity if there's false doctrine.

552
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:15,840
Nor does it apply to sinful living.

553
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,800
There's not going to be unity if there's sinful living.

554
00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:26,800
Indeed, in those two areas, the Word of God commands us to practice church discipline,

555
00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:28,320
which is a whole other subject.

556
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,800
So there's not unity about those things.

557
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:37,000
But there is unity when we're walking with Jesus Christ and fellowship with Him in obedience

558
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,940
to His Word.

559
00:40:38,940 --> 00:40:41,160
And finally, what is important to Grace Church?

560
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:45,040
That we be a loving church that cares.

561
00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:51,520
We want to be the kind of a church that fosters a family spirit of close personal friendships

562
00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:59,160
and brotherly love so that we reach out to the hurting, to the wounded, and yes, even

563
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:02,480
to the sinful.

564
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:10,000
So we don't judge and kick and stab, but that with the love of Jesus Christ we reach out

565
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:14,240
to those who are reaching out for help themselves.

566
00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:18,920
We want to foster that kind of a loving, caring spirit in our church.

567
00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:22,480
Now these things are important to us.

568
00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,600
The question is, are they important to the Savior?

569
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:30,480
I believe the answer to that is an unequivocal yes.

570
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:35,960
Because the things that we've talked about are found here in this book.

571
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:42,560
In the second and third chapters of Revelation, there are seven letters written to the seven

572
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:44,640
ancient churches in Asia Minor.

573
00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:50,560
There are certain similarities and differences in those letters, but among the similarities

574
00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:52,720
are certain phrases.

575
00:41:52,720 --> 00:41:56,720
Two of them are words that Jesus used.

576
00:41:56,720 --> 00:42:08,040
In every letter you will find Him saying, I know and I will.

577
00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:13,720
To every church He says, I know, I will.

578
00:42:13,720 --> 00:42:14,720
What does that mean?

579
00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:15,720
What does that suggest?

580
00:42:15,720 --> 00:42:21,600
Well first it suggests that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully aware of the condition of

581
00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:25,440
each church at all times, including ours today.

582
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:26,440
He knows.

583
00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:34,680
Now each of us would have an opinion as to whether we are meeting our goals, if we are

584
00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:37,840
doing what we say is important.

585
00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:42,520
What we think or our opinions may be are not important.

586
00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:47,400
What He knows is important and I want to tell you, Jesus knows.

587
00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:56,200
He knows the condition of this church and He knows the condition of your life and mine.

588
00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,560
Not only that, but Jesus responds to what He knows.

589
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:04,360
He says, I know and I will.

590
00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:11,680
In other words, He is engaged in blessing and correcting and warning, even removing

591
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:17,920
local churches on the basis of what He knows about them.

592
00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:21,720
Jesus will not allow a church to remain static.

593
00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:23,880
There's no place in His plan for the status quo.

594
00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:32,080
In each of these letters He urges progress and movement, often through repentance.

595
00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:35,960
We can state what's important.

596
00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:41,120
We can give our opinions as to whether we are succeeding or failing, but it's the evaluation

597
00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:48,280
of the Lord Jesus Christ that is accurate and His is the only one that ultimately counts.

598
00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:52,520
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.

599
00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:59,320
So then each one of us shall give a count of himself to God.

600
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:06,560
So let us look at year six in our ministry with that in mind.

601
00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:14,960
That the sovereign Lord who is the head of our church is examining our lampstand too.

602
00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:22,040
He precisely knows the spiritual condition of us as a congregation and He urges upon

603
00:44:22,040 --> 00:44:29,140
us humble repentance and renewed acknowledgement of Himself as the Lord.

604
00:44:29,140 --> 00:44:34,120
If we will obey, then we will continue to know His blessing.

605
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:42,700
If we don't obey, then we face the eventual loss of our life and vision as a church.

606
00:44:42,700 --> 00:44:44,200
It's inevitable.

607
00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:53,760
You see no church is guaranteed continued existence or even spiritual health and blessing.

608
00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:58,840
Spiritual health and blessing come only when the Lordship of Jesus Christ is recognized.

609
00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:00,680
Not just in word but in truth.

610
00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:05,920
And of course the same is true individually.

611
00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:10,040
Our fifth anniversary is a time of celebration as it ought to be, a time of gratitude.

612
00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:18,040
But it's also a time of inspection and a time of introspection for each one of us.

613
00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:24,040
An opportunity for us to evaluate our own spiritual commitment and condition.

614
00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:31,480
It is a time for us to give ourselves in repentance to a fresh commitment to Jesus Christ.

615
00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:38,120
To seek His kingdom first and then know His blessing.

616
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:42,160
So I conclude by asking how do you fit in to your local church?

617
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:46,160
If it's here, here or if it's somewhere else, there.

618
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:48,040
How do you fit into your local church?

619
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:49,520
What is your part in it?

620
00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:54,240
What is your commitment to its vision, to what it's all about?

621
00:45:54,240 --> 00:45:56,280
What is your commitment to membership?

622
00:45:56,280 --> 00:45:57,280
What about giving?

623
00:45:57,280 --> 00:45:59,360
What about prayer partnership?

624
00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:02,760
What about general support and encouragement?

625
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:05,160
Are you on track with your local church?

626
00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:11,960
Well a time like this is an opportunity for those of us who are part of this church to

627
00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:15,920
examine ourselves and to see where we really are.

628
00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:23,520
Not where we know we ought to be, but where we really are.

629
00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:32,920
Jesus Christ examines you and He examines our church today and He knows.

630
00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:38,480
On the basis of what He knows, He will take action.

631
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:45,680
Let's respond to Him in repentance and fresh commitment to His Lordship.

632
00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:51,280
With our heads bowed and eyes closed, I don't know what area of your life God may be talking

633
00:46:51,280 --> 00:47:01,480
to you about, but I hope that whatever it is you will say to Him, be the Lord.

634
00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:03,920
Let Him be the Lord my friend.

635
00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:07,520
Let Him do in your life what He wants to do.

636
00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:10,520
Let Him pour the blessing in.

637
00:47:10,520 --> 00:47:17,360
But to do that, your heart needs to be receptive.

638
00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:34,880
There needs to be perhaps repentance and confession.

639
00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:40,000
There needs to be new commitment, change.

640
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:45,160
Will you, out where you're seated, deal with these things in your life?

641
00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:54,200
And in relation to your church, what do you need to do there so that the Lordship of Jesus

642
00:47:54,200 --> 00:48:00,840
Christ is more than a word to you, but it's reality?

643
00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:10,280
Lord Jesus, I pray that each one of us will feel the prick of your conviction today.

644
00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:14,680
And may we by the Holy Spirit be able to respond as we ought to.

645
00:48:14,680 --> 00:48:21,000
But we might be in obedience and really know in our lives the Lordship that is rightfully

646
00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:22,000
yours.

647
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:46,640
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto

648
00:48:46,640 --> 00:49:00,280
you.

649
00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:02,640
Those are the things that are important to us, dear people.

650
00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:05,080
They are important to Jesus Christ.

651
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:10,400
So this week as we live for Him and walk with Him and practice His presence, let's show

652
00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:12,280
that these things are important.

653
00:49:12,280 --> 00:49:13,600
God bless you.

654
00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:17,160
We're dismissed.