Worship: Pt 1

Before we get into our message today, we have learned that the pastor Jason this is our family Sunday so we want to have all of our ABC news you hear kids crying or doing what they normally do. This is for you guys with you and helping you out. If. Also next week we are hanging on a mass choir because we are starting a new sermon series about worship. I just figured we don't need to do four weeks of Thanksgiving and we know what Turkey looks like, you know, ham and collard greens and then church who for macaroni cheese, former and all of that. But we don't need to do a film for three weeks about Thanksgiving, but we are thankful that got us in it. Only begotten Son to Redeemer. We still is. But I just believe that our church, our culture is in a space where we have to understand what worship is. And so part of that we have three weeks and we're going to be talking about worship. And I believe just to do that properly, we're going to go back, way back. They have a mass choir.

Well, we're going to talk about the evolution, how the worship has evolved. This in my generation time. And I've been in the church when I grew up in the church, I'm in the choir is coming in from the band marching into that, who will definitely speak? I don't know if we're going to do all of that, but if you're able to make a joyful noise, I mean, every day at 630, as my wife is yelling at you. When we were doing that, the news may come. Some of us say we got be sick or think about it. You know what I said? I'm going to die. Thank you for voting yes. If you have desire to participate in our mass choir. We're asking that you got to come out and just be a part of this. You come out on Thursday, more Thursday evening at 630, and we're actually opening up to middle school and high schools as well. You want to kind of embrace our youth mentality. So come on out and be part of our March choir. And directly after the service today, we're going to have a short and just a brief diminishment there and a message. There is a space where we give an opportunity for our members and just those to be visiting with us and then just being our guests for several weeks, even for a few months, to be a part of a ministry.

And so we believe that we're called to serve and serve the kingdom of God through the body of one church. And it's going to become an effective body. Right. Because stripped itself of that. We're one body. But there's many parts. And I like all of my passing and I'm on my fingers, my toes, my nose and all of that. But as a church, what would it look like if everybody sort of, which is what would it look like if everybody took part, not only the vision and mission of the church, but you're serving in the body of God. And we want you just to go out there and then at the table and there's a ministry that you may want to be a part of but is not represented.

Let someone know what I want to do with the assembly man. So we're being in a sermon series this entire month, which really highlighted the mission and the vision of one church. For those who may not know, we have some first one guess. The mission of one church is one that the world may believe. That's the name of the church where one church, one and it's so important and we wanted to highlight differences last for that is was the banner for our church John 1721 And we know that Jesus prayed that last year with His disciples and commissioned them to move as once proclaiming that the one is going to return as well. And so that's Jesus last year. That lets us know that is super, super important. We've been on this journey and we want to give a quick just a recap of where we've been this entire month to really give context to the mission and vision of the church. So the vision is one that the world may believe, but the mission is that we seek one, we share one, and we think that we're called to seek, serve and sin. And in doing so, we talked about how unity is, what God has called us to do. And then we talked about it over these past two weeks that he was the winner on five points to mobilize the gospel. What that means is that because they will help me one body that we are diverse in so many different arenas.

Right. And if you look around, we have black, white, Asian, Latino, we have older, younger, we have different generations, different backgrounds. You may not get everything that you want right now, but we will lay down our questions so that my neighbors can get what they need and will allow us to renew my desires in such a way that my brother and sister in Christ will get what they need. They will receive a God of quality, and we're more concerned about our comfort than our conditions in the young. Remember that this sometimes we're more concerned about the comfort that we have in the church than the convictions that the gospel lays out. Okay, go back and watch a YouTube. We also highlight that we should not be divided by our differences, but rather we should be developed for our differences.

Good. Our differences. You craft in the home to shape emotions in such a way that we're beginning to begin to walk out the gospel. You know, when you're holding that view, as long as right especially there another and at home come in don't don't do that again in the eyes of the house. Okay we got one. Okay. He's looking for the white man's in the house. I'm not can go down. Who shot out here. But this this is what I want us to really begin to realize that we should be shaped and develop, that we should be molded by our gift on our differences. What makes us unique? That's what makes it so beautiful. It's like a pot of gumbo in there. You put everything in a pot of gumbo. You get some elements that you hold that you talked about that brought you here and is seeking the one you say that we should be focused on, the one that's trying to fix the one. Oftentimes when we go out and proclaim the gospel, we're meeting other people and we're meeting somebody for the first time. Or there's a new believer that and we're so focused on finding that one person who we lost, the person we don't know Jesus Christ, the person we don't know, the true gospel.

And once we find them out, we know we're not trying to fix them, but pointing towards the one that can fix the if you can't figure out why God is the only one that can fix the Holy Spirit, and so you stop trying to fix your brother, your mother, your sister is your uncle. If you live in Randolph County, you're in. Right, all of you. We don't call to fix them, but we are part of what can do record of walking through life with in such a way that we have the intimacy and we're breaking down barriers because we want to build bridges and. Right, right. Every call to do a bridge to bring people together. And that's a separate.

And last week we talked about a mission. One more point of our mission is to seek the next moment to serve. You talked about serving in one too many people ask why, why? Why do we go on it? Why are we all so now? Because I'll tell you this guy gave his best on the guy and gave us his very best. He said his only son to redeem us, to show us, to give us back into a place to have a rifle relationship with God, our freedom. The reason why we go out, that we go all in is because he gave us his best. I would give my best. I'm would do it to the very last breath mama body and children. That's something that you go to the little family where you belong. We just don't come to churches because, you know, you check off your box, you do it every week. That's not our desire. Here are one church, the culture that we try to trying to develop, increase in how in this vein this has been I look around and you know I'm looking at like everybody that we begin to hang out with the dude wife with their stories and things and you can see your brother since the triple in a car they love me like that name right we celebrate when when people are making changes for help with the soft drink and sweet tea for seasoning. They take the bottles of water. You celebrate when somebody have a health prognosis. And do you want to challenge them and keep you along the way in such a way that you will continue to find others? Faith, you continue to move better to be a healthier individual. And if you churches that where we just come churches where you belong churches family you guys are my thing.

So today, as we begin to look at a lesson after seeking after 30 years now from teaching Wisconsin to this when it is actually when you say yes to God, we say yes to God, you get a hold of things. You never know what is in store when you say yes. And the beauty of what God does, he always is to reveal all that He's what they usually encounter. Come, I promise you, after planting several churches in merging churches, my years to you like God may be right. I don't know about this anymore. Right. But there's a beauty, you see. Yes, in the beauty. Say yes outweighs all the other stuff that we may encounter to our nose and God. Maybe not right now. So I want you encourage you that God will have you.

Yes, you're. Yes requires me. You're yes. Require that you trust God and we'll see all throughout Scripture that God is in the business of singing. He's in the business of singing. He's been in the business of singing from Genesis to Revelation. You don't believe this? Look at Abraham, right? God sent Abraham called Abraham to be a great nation. And sent him out. Abraham say yes. The God revealed to him later on where you were supposed to go. What about Moses? Moses encountered God from a burning bush. He said, I'm going to send you out there. We can help the lives of my people, my children who are oppressed. And with this, yes, people are saved. Promises and covenants are made in God. What about Joshua? Joshua Rashid God's problems begin to take His people, God's people to diplomacy. They say that you also have John the Baptist. John the Baptist set the stage for who we know is our redeemer in our Savior, Jesus Christ. John the Baptist set the stage and he was sent to baptize other people for the repented of their sins, the Jesus Christ promoters. That right this should be the hallelujah of Jesus Christ was seen to restore our lives without greed. Oh, yes, there was a separation from eternity, the separation from God that God said, No, there's a better way. I have a plan that I have in place for you. And so he sent his only son, Jesus. So today we have the Bible just to prove to you that is in the Scripture. I'm gonna give you a story in the Old Testament from my own, just to the people out there now will bring something from the new church to now where you can go. Either way that I'm gonna be right in the middle. And you can say we see throughout Scripture we've got Exodus Chapter three verses 1915, Exodus Chapter three verses 915, I'll be reading from the new version actually chapter three verses 1915 and now the tribe, Israelites had reached me and I've seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.

So now I'm going, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites, out of Egypt. But what was the sense of God? Who am I? Who am I that I should go to fairly bring the Israelites out of Egypt? And God said, I will be with you and this will be the sign to you. That is, I will said to you, when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain. Moses shakes the gospels. I'll go to the Israelites and say to you, Build the God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they asked me What is his name? Then what shall our children? God says to Moses, I am who I am and this is what you are to say to the Israelites. I have sent me to you. God also say to Moses, See to the Israelites, the Lord, the God of Your Father is the Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob Hashem. Me to you. This list. Look at this request. Why? Why does God even use Moses, right? If you don't know the story of Moses, it goes a little something like this. Moses is somewhat unsure and doesn't understand why God chose him. See, Moses was a Hebrew drawn out of the water. He was cast away by his mother for his safety because there is time for a pharaoh had sent out a decree to kill all the Hebrew boys, and Moses is found by this lady with favor, in favor of house.

She yet to begin to understand, Moses leads the question. So I am taking Grandma sleep. Oh, I'm blessed, Ben. I'm lower than anyone else hockey. God use me is actually present your position at some time. Hockey guy used me very. Why would guy use someone like me exploitable to be an adulterer and rapist? Whatever your story may be, whatever that you are hung out with, whatever your view, your bet is that you carry on. Today, you may be asking God, why in the world would you use me? Maybe you're a drug and maybe you're liar, you cheater, you steal whatever your may, maybe, maybe ask why and how would guy use me if you Moses was left for being born by he you were woman raised in the palace of Beirut runs away because he's in third place for who he was.

He found himself as a cross road in various house. He's not fully Egyptian, he's not fully Hebrew. He's by birth, is Hebrew, but was raised in the palace with them. Why do you look at me like him? Driving car melody? What do you call him? Whatever you call, you should know. Some people may call me an Oreo and black unless I whiteness. I see. I'm like I was saying how Moses felt because I feel this tension where sometimes I'm not black enough to be black and I'm not. Why you want to be too white? I'll find myself in the middle, unsure. Uncertain how God can use me. Are you in the middle where you may be asking God how and why should he use me as? And I love this about how God used Moses Moses in of leaving Pharaoh because he actually killed somebody. He's on the run because someone called him out of sight, but God calls him back to the place where he left. He sent them back to the place when he was uncertain. He sent him back to the place where he was, what was what he thought was familiar, what was on from there.

Is it possible that maybe made be back to a place where you are uncertain? Is it possible that God may be seeing you back to a place where he's uncomfortable? Is it possible that God babysitting you back to a place where where there's tension in the middle, that God is asking you that I had purpose for that tension at this purpose in the pain. And we're gonna be sending you may not look like that in regard may be seeing you it may not be comfortable because it wasn't comfortable for Moses it may not be ideal where God may be seeking you. Yes, you may face opposition. You may even be rejected. You may even have of those friends who have family members who may think that you still walk in the Moses from your sins, that God is calling you to be involved in such a day you have to.

Your assignment is in your opposition. Your assignment is your rejection. Your assignment is that this time your assignment may be in that tension. Because if we were to look at verse nine, he says, I have seen the way the Egyptians are being oppressed, be taken advantage of. God tells me So, God, now I see you back to the place that you've been running from. Now. Sometimes, God, how do we have to go back? Because just Moses name by his own creation, you need to draw to pull out what God wants you to go back to the place to help draw people out. Some other people you want you to pull out from your mindset that you have from last you. You want you to pull away from the things that you've been doing from last year. You want you pull away from the people that you surrounded yourself in. That may not be for you. You don't see God wants you to help pull people from a slavery mentality. Eight Now wish your poor people out from an impoverished mentality. We can be sure of a guy that can meet all he needs according to his riches. We have a God that can supply all of your needs with unlimited supply. But as you point to His riches and his glory in natural, Moses says to God supposed, Suppose I go back where he's having his conversation with God supposed to go back and to the Israelites, the place where I live in conflict, the place where there was tension for all to go back.

What is it that you want me to tell them when I get there? You should just tell them this. Tell them the imam excuse me and remind them where they are today. You know, for example, with these moral are financial institutions preaching the gospel to tell people that where they are today is now where God is arguing for you tomorrow you in and where God, if you have never received crisis in law, to think that there is a better place, is a better position, that God has a design for you to be with you. And when you go back, some people, some people, they know the old Moses is okay, but they don't see the new you. They will only know your past, the younger children, what your future looks like. And you begin to begin to shape in fashion what now looks like. A reminder what first Peter tells us in chapter two verse on the sensitive issues.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priestly, a holy nation, a nation that is set apart, who called you out of darkness and to as marvelous Mother, God wants you to pull you out of that young age explosion in the marvelous light. And you're not being seen in your power and you're being seen in his day. So when you go back to that place, when you are being sent back in that situation, will you be sent back and you have a power that God has already given you because he says, I am who I am. This is what you would say. You would say to the church, I'll show you this. Your Egis is connected to you. Remain your Egypt is connected to your name. You will do whatever that passion it would look like. That place that where you have to go back and look at what God has desire to do in that phrase is connected to your command.

You will promise change verses 1415 says this is how then can they call on the one they have now believe in and how can they believe in the one they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sick as it is written? How beautiful are the no one can bring the good news. Your Egypt is connected to your may. Well, we have to live a life that is sick. The God is asking you this question. Will you make my jaded your God wants to know what you make his agenda. Your agenda and what is images? I'm glad that you asked me. So it's in Luke chapter nine verses 136. And in making his agenda your agenda, we have to remember that the week is just as important as the week it gives our gathering. Most Sundays is important, but we have six on five other days that we give to walk and fellowship. It begins to be the life of Christ. Luke, Chapter nine Verse one says This Jesus has called the 12 together. He gave them power and authority to drive out all the demons and secure the diseases. And he said them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

He told them, Take nothing for your journey, no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no excuse, sure. Whatever house you insured, stay there and see you leave that town and if people don't welcome you, it's okay. Leave that town, seek a dust storm TV and keep on kicking. So they set off and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and healing people. And we went. So we live a life that is sick. Sometimes we have to realize that we may face rejection. Yes, I did. That's not freedom. Right? We once we go out and we go out, we get it for cleaning the gas. We think it's going to be all roses and and daisies. But it's not it's not always pretty.

Churches. Not always pretty, actually. Churches a message place that you're going to be involved in. And he used to live in a dirty world. So he comes to a dirty church with a whole bunch of dirty people. You see, there's only a couple of classes. Okay. And I think the harsh realities is that many people may not receive what you have. Many people didn't receive with Christ. They're like, this is what I begin to look at. The Scripture, a new chapter about Jesus gives them power and authority. He has given you now the power and the authority He's given you. And I have the power and the authority to drive out demons and to heal the sick. But in that power and the authority comes the proclamation, the proclamation of what God is hard to do while we're living.

Since I don't. The proclamation, if you tell the best story in the world, that story to you. And now I want you to take a part of the give to share exchange. And if you begin to tell them the gospel, preach and teach the gospel, let me get a look at this. I'm going to think about the disciples. These they teach the disciples how to preach. Right? He can teach you how to read, how to deliver a three point sermon. You can teach the disciples how to take of offerings. You didn't teach the disciples how to salvation Church. Jesus did not teach the disciples how to walk through three miracles with their members. Right? The only thing that Jesus started was how to pray. So how do you begin to do change? You should go out and preach and teach unless you know one thing and we don't have to go to seminary because all of us have been harmed to these things. And I just had the opportunity to lead a church. But all of us have that conviction, that commitment to go out and live a life that is with all of the three, with all power to proclaim the gospel.

If a matthew writes in a safe passage, as if he should, that I'm sending out a sheep among wolves like Luke right now, he's sending him out with Matthew. He writes up the letter. He said, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. So this is good. And we got to have some scheme, you have to have some grit, and we want to challenge some opposition encounters and rejection. But ultimately this are some wolves that look like sheep. We'll do change. Like if we see some fake Christians out there that look like sheep with their action moves, we have to safeguard ourselves from that. The guys initially should be our mission. Once becomes our mission and we are a standing church. Just don't get comfortable. We would never be a megachurch. That is not the desire for our leadership of this church because we want to continue to see people out and multiply churches until we have a transforming presence in every zip code. That's what we're trying to do. We have leaders within our church that God has been calling. He's been maturing, that God is working. They're working in their lives in such a way that they may not be to be alone.

And we have to be comfortable with that. We're going to see them out in our desire to do this church. As our church continued to grow and we give to God continues the blessing of people and members of our family. And when people are sick, we have the desire to send out 200 people with them. We don't want that to go through church 93.1 where they have to begin to go to them. And that's okay. If you have to start from the ground of this funnel, I'm okay with that. But our desire as a church in one church and we want is in our pastors, in our ministry that are leaders who have a desire to plant a tree if it's a michael church or even a church, whatever, that church looks like. And we want to send out some hundred people with them. We want to bless them with 200 people now. And not only that, guess what? We're going to cover their salary for two years. We don't want them to struggle to be Bible preaching where they have to work in a mainstream job, which is okay. But our desire is make sure that we can help sustain their family with the salary for two years and if need be, another to do that. But if we're sending our pastors, our ministry, our church places with 200 people, they should be able to sustain a pastoral staff without any problems in that area. So we do gain by we lose right while we're sitting out. We may think that we're losing 200 people. No, the kingdom is gaining so much more information about church we can't miss.

The boat gave you can't use the boat like I think you need to know about your boat if you really only identify this. There is a book that I was reading which is from explanation of the church plane. Through that word in the book is called by J.D. Greer, who is the author, and he talks about We Gain by Losing. And in his book, J.D. Drew writes three. And now that he's a believers and the personality you talk about, some believers are a cruise liner. And this ship, you all know what this look like, right? Anybody get two degrees before my family? We love Cruise. And, you know, one is affordable. We can eat as much as we want.

And then you get to contain me. You don't know that they have gays. And fine, you can go different for two different things, knowing that if you want to go for, well, some of you, this is your lifestyle, leave you like you were. You see like a cruise liner ship because it's comfortable. You know, it offers you the luxury, the experiences of the whole family, sports, entertainment and networking, all of that has live music in there. You know, let let me roll this into the preacher's side. The pastor preaches preaching funny messages, you know, preaching friendly messages. You're funny, you're engaging. The family goes you because he has a great family ministry is safe you very well we're not calling to be a cruise line Christian as long as you cater to my preferences. That's what a cruise liner Christian is.

Then I'm okay as long I can go to my buffet, get what I need, and then leave. I'm okay. What about those Christians who are battleships? The battleship that is made for mission? Right. Any service people are being served in the military. And you see what I'm talking. All right. You send a battleship out with one sole purpose. In that purpose only it's not a mission. See about it should be for Christian leagues. That is how loudly they can fight the mission. Right? We have programs and services in ministry. You get the churches primarily is focused on the very mission that they have a desire to battle certain things. You single pastor Ryan you guys have champion. That's right. You know we have Jesus good furniture. I get that one as part of I try to protect the ministry for a foreign ministry. The Jesus, like Virgin, is our national motto. For what? We have three biblical things that we begin to stand up against as well. Julie Racial reconciliation, human trafficking and immigration reform. Those are the three dimensional things that we stand for with the church. A bunch of you see, we do fight the word hungry to end poverty and humanitarian things. That's a battleship, Christian. And as a Christian just goes down, just rah, rah, rah, rah. We're going to fight. We're going to do all of this. But I'll tell you this, we're not part of the cruise line. Christian, and we're now called to be a battleship Christian as well. We're calling the aircraft huge. And what's the difference? An aircraft carrier engages the value in a different way. An aircraft carrier, you put planes, you send them out. I at the aircraft carrier have certain equipment on a ship. They teach the battle. It is not comfortable with staying on the ship. It's not comfortable being docked, is not comfortable being just comfortable being comfortable in.

So I'll say this, that the influx of we have to begin to shift our mindset, how we see it. So today and we kind of just wrap up our mission of this series, God has called us to live on a mission. And now of the church, you wouldn't want to just be an attraction in church. We want to be on Mission Church. We know that we have purpose and we are living out the Gospel of John 1721 to deal with. Come and see mission. No one's going to see. We don't want to be attraction. You can come and see. But guess what? We're going to tell you to go and tell us. We want you to go and proclaim the gospel like Luke chapter none. Because I believe in the gospel that I have the desire to become more like the Gospel. I'm a woman from the selfish in a revival move from being consumed with my self. I'm being consumed with the mission of what God is calling me to do. So we have to live a life that is sick because everyone is called to be sick.

The mission of the Church should not be this seating capacity. Right? We have about 500 seats in this auditorium here today. That's not a measure of church. That should never be the measure of the church. And people burn me up. One issue will pass. What should numbers look like? How many people are you running? How about you ask how many people were saying. I want to ask you about 500 for the prophecy? How about the 80 people that you baptized last year? The 35 people that will see ask about how we're transforming lives? Yeah, the measure of a church should never be about a seating capacity, but is seeing the capacity. As we have more churches we are going to play what the communities that we've got to change, asking about the number of people that we're going to see to begin to make a long count through the media to work in their calling. Their life begins to work in their gifts and their talents because we believe in seeking one serving the one to see. And as you thinking about God, what does that look like for me to be seen? As we looked at Moses, he was uncertain about who was qualified, and he even lead a nation out of out of Egypt, into the promised land.

You got. I worry about that. God desires your yes. God is developing you as God is maturing. You've got His prompting you. He He just wants your Yes, He wants your willingness. This obviously this is a close certainty to be prepared to be 60. We've never before because stretching is uncomfortable. Striking is necessary to have a transformation that the desire to look like my son right. And I celebrate how we did invited. Right. Amen. I'm a very emotional he's my first born child and then sharing with you something that my son has, which is my DNA, there's something that missing you. There's God's DNA, you, there's Christ DNA, the singular condition. Things are going to begin to shift you, transforming you like to said your way.

Thank you. Use your yes as believers. If you never encounter a conversation or situation that will require you to leave strange, then you're living a life that is comfortable and you may the first time gives you today like this church is different. Like there's something different about this church and it's okay. We're not like to be changed and we worship differently. We look different, we talk different, we eat differently, we do everything differently. But it's okay. This is not enough for me to be different. You grow up to know what church is least into our. I asked you to do this. Okay. Oh. Oh. I ask that you would give God yesterday what everything yesterday looked like. And sometimes a yes on a cross.

You may not you may not be popular. You may not be favorable, but you're against this connection to somebody's salvation, your willingness to do something different, to do something so radical, you may plant a church. You're 42 years old and we should be slowing down by the life. Now we divide you. Take this church, 45. Now, you've been on this journey for church community for about three years now. And as I look out into the many individuals who have been riding with us for a while, do the same right? Every single move, the ways that I cannot even begin to imagine at our years is connected to so many other people that my years started 20 years ago. And every every decision I have made me up to today has led you here today.

And I look out to see you pass through the path, through the vision and worship leaders that lead pastors. I see marketplace leaders where you are are the representation of the gospel in your work with so many calls a pastor to meet with your cultural about the gospel, your call to be the Gospel in your space. And that's why I said, you know, when you're seen to be present world, you got to use to be it.

Previous
Previous

Worship: Pt 2 - The Banner of Worship

Next
Next

Seek Serve Send - Pt 5: Send One