Belonging To The Church | Tyrone P Jones | We Believe | Full Service

justbask answers Justbask tells you how to make it! www.justbask.com A simple and easy way www.Justbask.com www.Justbask.com www.Justbask.com Good morning My name is Karina, I'm part of the team here and I just want to welcome you to Church for the City We're so glad that you've chosen to spend your Sunday morning with us If you're here for the first time, we want to get to know you, we want to get to know your family If you've got your cell phone, you can tap that disc that's in the seat in front of you Or as always, if you're here in the building, you can stop at the connect table on your way out of service And if you're watching online, you can tap that digital connect card Thank you guys for standing on your feet, if you're able, go ahead and stand as we just get ready to worship Every Tuesday we gather here at 9.30 for prayer Anybody is welcome to come, and as I was preparing for this on Tuesday, a scripture came to my mind And it's in Luke 17, and it says And that was my prayer for you just as we were preparing for the week Is for the Lord to increase our level of faith Faith in place of doubt, faith in place of rejection Faith in place of anxiety So as I pray this morning, I want to encourage you guys, whatever you need more faith in As I'm praying, you just call it out and you give it to the Lord I don't know about you, but I can use some more faith in my life Anybody else can use some more faith? Alright, let's pray Lord, we thank you that we're able to just gather in your house, God And I just ask that you increase the level of faith in the room, God That you give us faith over our doubts, faith over any sickness that's in the house

Faith over any anxiety, God, we just ask that you increase it as we worship That we have a one-on-one encounter with you As we hear the word, your scripture tells us that you increase our level of faith So God, we came here for an encounter with you So we draw near to you, and we ask that you draw near to us In Jesus' mighty name, and the church said, Amen Alright, let's worship We give you glory and honor and praise Oh Lord my God When I in awesome wonder Consider all The world thy hands hath made I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout The universe displayed Then sings my soul My Savior God to thee How great thou art How great thou art Then sings my soul My Savior God to thee How great thou art How great thou art Yet when I fear That God his Son not sparing Sends him to die I scarce can take it in Yet on that day My burning, gladly burning, He bled and I want to take away my sin

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation And take me home, where joy shall fill my heart Then I shall bow, in humble adoration And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art Then Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation And take me home, where joy shall fill my heart Then I shall bow, in humble adoration And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art How great Thou art, how great Thou art How great Thou art How great Thou art, how great Thou art How great Thou art, how great Thou art Everything changes, it's getting harder to recognize The person I was, before I encountered Christ I don't walk like I used to No, I don't talk like I used to I've been washed from the inside Come on, believe it I've been washed from the inside Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know the water's a flood It could've only been the flood

Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know the water's a flood It could've only been the flood Yeah, it only was a flood I cannot explain That nothing's more real than this Oh, the presence of God Over my heart experience And my shame hit the wayside And my sin met the most high I've been washed from the inside Come on, sing it I've been washed from the inside out Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know the water's a flood It could've only been the flood Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know the water's a flood It could've only been the flood It could've only been the flood Set free by the blood Come on, church Let's turn our attention to the screen as someone goes public with their faith My name is Daniel Before I gave my life to Jesus I struggled for many years with alcohol, drugs, depression and suicidal thoughts I didn't believe I could be forgiven

because of the way I was living I would try to turn to God but I kept falling back into the same patterns A friend encouraged me to watch a sermon on fasting and it really spoke to my heart I decided to fast and during that time God showed me that the forgiveness I had been searching for was found in Him At that moment I surrendered my life to Jesus Since then He has completely changed my life I'm not perfect and I still face challenges but now I turn to God instead of the things I used to I've found hope in Him and have seen His mercy in my life every day I've also been growing in my faith and community and the people God has placed around me Today I am going public with my faith Daniel, Jesus said

every disciple should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and because of your confession of faith today I baptize you in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and according to Scripture you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit It's never been about performance perfection or striving for acceptance Let me tell you It's only by the blood It's never been about yourself or others It's a gift, it's really a gift Let me tell you It's only by the blood Oh, does anybody want to be holy and righteous pure in heart and flawless Let me tell you It's only by the blood Oh, does anybody want to be worthy forgiven justified, related

Let me tell you It's only by the blood Hallelujah Hallelujah I know it was the blood Could have only been the blood Hallelujah Hallelujah I know it was the blood Could have only been the blood The only one is the Lord The only one is the Lord Come on, Jesus Come on, sing this out Oh, does anybody wanna be holy and righteous? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood Oh, does anybody wanna be worthy, forgiven, justified and redeemed? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood Hallelujah, Hallelujah The only one is the Lord Who only be in the blood Hallelujah, Hallelujah The only one is the Lord Who only be in the blood Hallelujah Looking back on where I came from Just to see how far you brought me It's amazing all the things that you've done And I just want to say thank you There wasn't a time or a place

That you weren't there with me Never a trial or a fire You didn't walk with me My God you're so safe and true Oh my what a friend I found in you My sacred shelter, my refuge You walked up my steps and kept leading me through You stayed so faithful, willing and able Seeing me more than I ever could dream You've been so steady You've been so steady If the heart of what I'm saying Lord I never would have made it If it wasn't for your goodness If it wasn't for your mercy There wasn't a time or a place That you weren't there with me Never a single trial or a fire You didn't walk with me My God you're so steady and true Oh my what a friend I found in you My sacred shelter, my refuge You walked up my steps and kept leading me through You stayed so faithful, willing and able Seeing me more than I ever could dream You've been so steady You've been so steady I can't even walk without you holding my hand Every hour I need thee to stand It's only by your blood that I'm even here

When I draw close you draw even near I said I can't even walk without you holding my hand Every hour I need Thee to stand It's all upon Your blood that I'm even here When I draw close, You draw even near And when I draw close, You draw even near My God, You're so steady and true All my world of rent I've found in You My sacred shelter, my refuge You order my steps and keep leading me through You've been so faithful, willing and able Exceedingly more than I ever could dream You've been so faithful, willing and able Exceedingly more than I ever could dream You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah You've been so steady, yeah Yeah, thanks indeed for joining in with us. Let's give a shout out to those online, those that are in the prisons, and those that are in the jail that are joining us also. A couple of things. This Wednesday is First Wednesday, our Holy Spirit Encounter Night. It's going to be great, as always.

We fill the house up on Wednesday nights, have a glorious time, good worship, a time of prayer. Our speaker, Pastor Bo Norman, he's been with us here before, but brings a good word, strong prophetic word, and just good preaching. So you'll have a great night on Wednesday night, and looking forward to you joining with us. Also, I want to note your generosity, which really does help us accomplish what the Lord has just put on our heart to do as a church. With the various churches we oversee, the church plants that we engage in, the missions work. So anytime you come into the building, you can give through one of the boxes, and of course on the screen is the various ways to give. Now, next Sunday is Mother's Day. We asked last week if we need 70 gently used purses or handbags that we're going to fill with supplies that we're going to be giving to the ladies at Crossroads Mission. So if you have not yet brought one in and can do so, we would really, really appreciate that, and we'll get them all taken care of and get those delivered right after Mother's Day. Also, last week, those of you that was here, I asked if every one of us, we partner with Convoy of Hope. That is the biggest, our actually biggest ministry and mission partner is Convoy of Hope. You're going to see a video of them in just a moment. One of the things that we do through Convoy is feed one, and that's where in 34 or 43 nations, there's schools. that we've partnered with where those children receive a meal, two meals, while they're at school. For some of them, it's the only meal that they actually get. These, of course, in third world impoverished countries. In those same places, as you'll see, there's teaching on farming, etc., so that it's only for those three years that we are helping that people group become self-sustaining. But the feed one, $10 feeds a child for 30 days. So I ask each of you, if next week on Mother's Day would be the week you would bring $10 per family member, that we can obviously cumulatively send to one of these nations, one of these schools, and be a blessing to those people there in those countries. So next week, handbags for those of you that can donate a handbag, and $10 per household member for feed one. Here's a video of Convoy of Hope. Since it was founded in 1994, Convoy of Hope has always believed in the significance of one. We know that one person, one church, one business, or one community has the power to create widespread change. The days, months, or years a child spends without proper nutrition create problems that last a lifetime. But when children are fed, the cycles of hunger and poverty are broken. Empowering women and girls to advocate for themselves, Convoy partners with women as they start their own businesses and support their families. With our agricultural training and resources, local farmers' fields take on new life. During times of natural and humanitarian disaster, Convoy of Hope responds with tangible aid and

compassion. Alongside our partners and volunteers, Convoy is helping kids, families, and entire communities on their journey toward brighter futures. Yeah, we're grateful to partner with Convoy, and thank you for partnering with us as we do. I'm going to get ready to pray. I got a message sent to me during the week. It was from a dear lady in our church. She said the Lord, when she woke up last Sunday morning, she just felt like the Lord was pressing something on her heart concerning CTC. It kind of overwhelmed her emotionally, but she didn't want to share it until she spent some time praying and fasting, just believing if this was from the Lord that she should pass it on. So she sent it to me. I want to share this with you. I do believe it's a stirring up that the Lord has for us. Here's the message. Church for the city, get ready. I'm preparing you for a great work. Get ready, repent, humble yourselves, fast, pray, saturate yourselves in my word. Church for the city, get set. Look around you. You're uniquely positioned to minister to the people in your circle, your family, your friends, your online community, your coworkers, your neighbors. Begin praying for them now. With my anointing, you have all you need. I've made you who you are with your strengths, weaknesses, failures, successes, experience, and knowledge for such a time as this. Get set. Church for the city, go. Step out in faith, go. Love the unlovely, help the hurting, pray for the sick, share the good news. Let my light shine through you to those nations, to those around you, not only at CTC, but to your neighborhood, this city, this state, this nation, and the entire globe. Church for the city, get ready, get set, go. I say amen to the word of God. Amen. Let's pray. If you don't mind removing your caps. Father, I want to thank you now for this opportunity to be in your house as I prepare to deliver the word of the Lord. I thank you for what we've experienced. It's been a glorious time in worship. We're just so grateful for who you are and what you've done, and we get to sing about that out loud as a family. And Lord, I pray that the word of the Lord will also have a tremendous impact upon those who are here listening, those that are watching, those that will hear it later. Lord, I pray that your anointing will be sure, and Lord, that I will decrease, that you might increase. I trust, Lord, that the word by the Spirit will connect with every person who has open ears to hear what the Lord is saying. Father, we do pray for every church in our county. Lord, I pray for good, healthy churches in Yuma, Arizona, where people can walk in and feel safe, hear the word of God, the gospel is being preached. People all over our county, it's our prayer that those that are far from God will find life in Christ.

Pray for Pastor Bellamy and his family. their grandchild, Lord, for good health for that child. I pray for the church, for Connect Church, Lord, that they can continue to do the work they're doing, and they're part of the vineyard. And Lord, I pray that all that we do here at CTC will glorify you. In Christ's name, we pray. May the people of God say amen. Men, do you mind standing again just one more time? Sorry. Yes. 1 Peter 2, we're going to look at verses 9 and 10. 1 Peter 2, verses 9 and 10. Just two verses here. Here's the word of the Lord. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into this marvelous light. Verse 10, once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. So far, the reading of the word. Can you say amen? Amen. Men, you may be seated. This is week 13 of this series, We Believe. Two more messages from this series, one on forgiveness of sins and one on resurrection and everlasting life. We've posted the creed each time, and this week, I'm going to focus in on this line toward the end that says, I believe in the holy universal church, the communion of saints. And I want to establish the fact that if you believe in Jesus Christ, if you have accepted him as Lord and Savior, you're in Christ Jesus, then you belong to a dynamic community, a community that's a family, a community that spans generations. And that community is called the church. Ekklesia is the word in the Greek. It's not referring to a building, more so a group of people. It literally means called out. So when we talk about the church, we're talking about called out people, people that have been called out from the world, though we're still in the world, but we're called unto God. We're a called out people that have been formed together by the Holy Spirit to be a community of faith.

The church is a visible gathering. Churches gather all over the world and wherever people gather. We are the visible church of what we see, but there's also, quote, unquote, the invisible church that we don't see that's still part of the called out people. We're gathering to faithfully represent Christ, who is the one that has given us the opportunity to bear his presence in the world. And so the church is not a steeple. It's the people. It's not where we meet. It's not even what we do. It's who we are. And so as believers, when we meet together, we're recognizing each other. We're recognizing that each of us are part of Messiah's family, that we've been called out, we've been baptized, we've been sanctified, we're called holy, we have the Spirit of God living in us, and we have a loved one for another. And so coming together, not individualized, you're not a church individually. You are the church as we are gathered together. Paul reminds us of that. He says this in 1 Corinthians 12, 27, all of you together are Christ's body. Each of you is a part of it. So together, we're called Christ's body. Together, we're called the church. Each of us individually are part of that. Now, the reason the church has stood all through the generations is because of its founder. The founder of the church is Jesus Christ. The founder of the church is Jesus. Matthew 16, 18, this is when Jesus was walking with his disciples. They were in a place called Caesarea Philippi. And Jesus says, who do people say that I am? And they had various answers in Matthew 16. You could read that. They said various things about him. But then Jesus says, but who do you say that I am? And Peter was the one that said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus responds to Peter and basically says to him, you're right. And upon this rock, I will build my church. Now, it has been taken out of context to a bit, particularly, unfortunately, with the Roman Catholic Church, they believe what Jesus was saying is that the church is built upon Peter, whose name also means rock. But if the church was built upon Peter, then the church is dead now because Peter's dead

It's not built upon a dead person. It's not built upon a person whose life can come to an end What Jesus was saying there? He said when he says you are the Christ the Son of the Living God Jesus was saying to Peter you got that right and Upon this rock throughout the scripture even in Exodus Jesus is called the rock. He says upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it or cannot conquer it The church is the only institution on the planet that cannot and will not come to an end because it's built upon a living God a living God and it's the only one that we can say it will not be conquered and So Christ is the head of that church. We see that in Colossians 118 Christ is the head of the church and we are his body Ephesians 3 10 lets us know that one of the purposes of the church is to express the manifold wisdom of God In other words in Ephesians 3 10 says it like this God's purpose in all of this was to use the church to display his wisdom in Its rich variety to all unseen rulers and authorities in heavenly places Hear what the scripture is saying the way that people in the world know the wisdom of God is through the church We have God's wisdom and and therefore whenever people and you you'll hear it in media. You'll hear it in Pockets of society they'll say things like we don't want to hear what the church has to say about that Well, if you don't want to hear what the church has to say about that, then you don't want the wisdom of God Because the wisdom that we all need comes from the wise one and the only wise one is God himself and therefore it is the church and I want you to hear me on this Because you have Christ in you Because you have the wisdom of God in you because you have the word because you have the Spirit You are the one that's able to speak wisdom in every situation Throughout life it is us in the body of Christ that ought to be the ones giving Wisdom to the world now can church people say silly things, of course ignorant things yeah Stupid things dumb things. Yes But that doesn't change the fact that God's purpose is that we are people who have Christ in us who have God's wisdom

Who have the Holy Spirit ought to be the voice to the world on what is true What is right and what is good for the world? Can you say amen to that and the Ephesians? 527 tells us collectively that the church is going to be completed That he's going to present us unto himself as a glorious church without spartle without wrinkle without blemish that every one of us will be presented holy and Faultless before him Holy and faultless. And so when you become a Christian, you're you're entering in a community of love and support and Encouragement and so what I'm gonna do in this brief time is Just give you four marks of the church four things that identify the church and the scripture There's actually five that I could give you but I'll only give you give you four The first one is this the church is one Even though we meet in different locations even throughout our County now I I think there's like a hundred and seventy-five churches in Yuma County meeting different locations different places But we have one head and one set of doctrinal beliefs that we should be abiding by Basically those tenants that we've been studying in the Apostles Creed So we may meet in Different locations But the church is one We're all one body. We're all in Christ. We're all one family They may have different names church for the city first Baptist first assembly first Christian Whatever the case may be Denominations doesn't divide the church. We recognize that there are different denominations and those denominations have different practices you can walk in different churches around our County and they're going to Do things different than what we do here. You can walk into a Methodist Church They're going to use a certain liturgy. You can walk into an Anglican Church certain liturgy Baptist Church certain messages of That they go by certain liturgy that they go by but that should never divide us The church is not divided by denominations. We are one church as a matter of fact

We don't we don't make an issue about different denominations at all, we know people will practice things differently. One of the things that we do in our elders' meetings every month is we go over...all the elders write certain position papers on certain biblical things, whether it be about communion, whether it be the distinction between men and women in ministry, whether it be how gifts are exercised, etc., on tithing or generosity. Elder Mark Tanner just finished one on denominations, which none of us had an issue with denominations, but it strengthens the point that I'm making here. Because denominations may be different, it doesn't make the church different. Some churches, they do communion every week. We do it once a month. That does not divide the church. So we make no division based on denomination. The church is one, which fulfills the prayer of Jesus. John 17, 20 through 21 says this, I'm praying not only for these disciples, but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one, as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so the world will believe you sent me. That's the prayer of Christ, is that the church that he founded to be one will remain as one. We just done our pastors gathering last Thursday. It was about 25 pastors from various churches in our city where we have fellowship and have lunch, believe me, around that table. We all have different practices on what happens inside our church building, but we are all one people, one church, believing in the one God and the one true faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. The church is one. Here's a statement that kind of defines that, in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, in all things, charity. So understand what that means. When it comes to the essential beliefs of the faith, again, as we point to in our Apostles' Creed, we all should be unified on that. We should have no disagreement on what we believe about God, about Jesus, about the Holy Spirit, about judgment, about resurrection from the dead, about the church, about forgiveness of sins, about eternal life. No disagreement on that. But in non-essentials, there's liberty, meaning there's different things that some of us are going to believe

that is not essential to salvation. We believe in exercising the gift. We believe in speaking in tongues. People around that circle that I meet with every six weeks, some of them don't, but that is not a matter of division for us. In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity. In all things, we show love and not be divisive. Ephesians 4, Paul summarizes this here in Ephesians 4. Listen to this. For there is one body and one spirit, just as you've been called to one glorious hope for the future. So one body, one body of Christ, one spirit. For there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and through all. Paul makes it real clear with the church in Ephesus, we are one people, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Can you say amen? So the church is one. The second thing is the church is holy. Now, sometimes you hear that word holy and there can be different thoughts that comes across your mind on what does that mean to be holy. Some thoughts are not pleasant because no one likes to be around someone who comes off holier than thou. Nobody wants to be around those folks who come off that way. On the other side of the coin, we shouldn't be intimidated because the Scripture tells us that we're holy people. And I know when we hear that, we often think, well, I'm not that. I'm not holy. Not in the definition of what we consider holy, either maybe based on what you've been taught or what you believe it to be. Both attitudes are wrong. It's the wrong attitude for any of us to feel like we're holier than other people. You ain't all that. None of us are. None of us is holier than... I don't know everybody in here, but I can assure you, you ain't no holier than anybody else in here. We all got issues. You can turn to your neighbor and say, we all got issues. We all do. So that attitude of holier than thou is definitely wrong. At the same time... None of us should be intimidated by this thought of holy because here's what I want you to understand from the scriptures.

From the time that you receive Christ, you have been made holy. That is the position that the Lord puts you in. You've been sanctified. You've been set apart. He's put you in a holy place. You've been made righteous. That's your position. Now, our condition is a different story. Positionally, if you belong to Jesus, you have been made holy. Conditionally, though, is a different thing. He's working within our condition so that we line up with our position. So we should never be intimidated by declaring the church is holy and we are holy. Our lifestyle, he's constantly working upon us so that our lifestyle does reflect the holiness of the position that he has us in. 1 Corinthians 1, 2, listen to this. I'm writing to God's church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. That's what he's done. In Christ Jesus, he says he's made you holy by means of Christ Jesus. Talking to every one of us, he's made you holy, just as he did for all people everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord, and ours.

One of the ways that the devil tries to intimidate us from believing who we are is because oftentimes, we compare ourselves and our level of holiness against other people that we think are more holy. That's a trick of the enemy. He's trying to deceive you. He's trying to make you think that you're something that you're not. Hear the words of the Lord, not the words of the devil, not the words of your neighbor, not the words of your best friend, not the words of the person in your household who's got ill things to say against you. Hear the word of God. You have been made holy. That's God's word. And let him deal with the condition, which he absolutely will. Here's what 1 Peter says, 2, 11 through 12. Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. So the idea is he works in us that we may reflect the holiness of God that he has given us

and that indeed will bring glory to God. So the church is one, the church is holy, the church is universal. When we talk about the universal church, I think even in the beginning of this series, when you would see the Apostles' Creed, it was whatever version, I think the early 1600s or so, it uses the word Catholic. A lot of pastors have a problem with the creed because it uses Holy Catholic Church, but by no means, and they think we're declaring that we're the Catholic Church. It was only after the Protestant Reformation that the church called itself the Roman Catholic Church. The word Catholic simply, the word Catholicus actually just means universal. That's what the word means, that we are the holy universal church. And what that defines is that the church is a living organism. It's a living organism that is growing, but it doesn't change. The church is the church from when it was founded by Jesus. The church doesn't change with centuries. The church doesn't change its message with the culture. The church does not change and adapt to society. The universal church, meaning the church from the founding of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two is the same.

Everything is the same. The church is universal. We're just as valid, we're just as relevant in every age. The message that we preach is the same message. If I was standing preaching in AD 200 or AD 1400 or AD 1900 or AD 2000, this message out of the Bible is the same message that worked then as it does now. It doesn't change. The church doesn't change. Some people seem to think that the Bible is a living document, that you have to change. application based on culture. The culture did not define the church. The culture didn't establish the church. Jesus Christ established the church, and this is what I know about Jesus. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And so the message of the church does not change. Same church, same gospel, same objective, the same message, the same mission, the same purpose, it doesn't change. And that has caused a spread around the world. From that meager beginning there in Jerusalem, the church has spread around the world and touching on every nation on the planet. Colossians 1, 6 said this truth. This was 30 years after Jesus has resurrected. This is what Paul said, and it's still true. The same good news that came to you is going out all over the world. It's bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives. Just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace. So the good news that has been going out since the day of Jesus is the same good news that's going out now. Just as it was changing lives back then, it's changing lives even now. The reason you're sitting in this building right now is because the gospel has changed your life. The gospel has had an effect on you. You're not the same person that you once were. And you're not the person that you're going to be. He's working on that. But it's the gospel message established

by Jesus Christ that's affecting you, affecting me, affecting people all over the world. Can you say amen? Here's the last thing actually. The church is a fellowship. Hence that line, a communion of the saints. The word fellowship here in the Greek is the word koinonia, and it simply means sharing, that we come together as a family to share. Some of that does, of course, refer to goods, especially in the early church when they were under so much persecution and businesses was being ostracized. People were losing their jobs because they left Judaism or they left paganism, and they had to help one another in the process through those times. And who knows? In various places I've been, church people still do that. They help each other through those times. But the sharing is beyond that. It's more so sharing in the things of the Lord. Here's Acts 2, 42 and 46. It says, all the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, including the Lord's Supper, and to prayer. So they shared in those things. They shared in teaching. They shared in fellowship, shared their meals with one another, shared in prayer. They worshiped together at the temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, shared their meals with great joy and generosity. And each day, the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. And so there's that sharing that takes place, the love, the service, the agreement in Christ, accepting one another. The importance of fellowship cannot be denied or rejected. It cannot be. It's very important that we gather together as a people. It's very important that we are in safe places where we can hear the word, where we can gather with other believers, and be able to have an identity in Christ where we can express ourselves for who we are in Christ Jesus. It's a great place. The church is a great place to take off the father hat, or take off the husband hat, or take off the boss hat, or take off the employer hat, and be able just to gather with people with no pressure except to enjoy one another and enjoy the presence of the Lord, just to be able to come in and hear

a place where you don't have to be anybody but who you are in Christ, just who you are in Jesus, and worship, and sing, and enjoy. Look at people in the eye who you may not even know from outside settings, but when you greet one another, you know one thing we have in common. We're at the same church, same house, love God's people, and love God. We just have that kind of fellowship. Am I talking to the right church? And the reason we can do that is because of what he's done. He's called us out. He's made us one holy people. Listen, 1 Peter 2, 9 again. But you are not like that, talking about those of the world, for you are a chosen people. You're a royal priest, a holy nation, God's very own possession. If I can just encourage you, when you read the Scriptures, put yourself in this. When you read this when he says for you are chosen people don't think about anybody else think about you He's saying you are chosen people. You're a royal priest. He ain't talking about the pastor. He's talking about you You're a royal priest a holy nation god's very own possession. He ain't talking about the person you're sitting next to he's talking about you You are god's very own possession as a result. You can show others the goodness of god For he called you out of the darkness into his marvelous light he's talking to you You are the people that god is talking about and you don't have to be concerned about what i'm not He'll do the shining through you if you let him He'll be he called you out of darkness you read that into his marvelous light not your marvelous light you ain't all that It's into his marvelous life, you you you know the deal the the moon does not have light The moon is dark. It's covered with darkness The only reason the moon reflects light is because it's reflecting light from the sun Because the sun is is is is uh, peering out onto the moon. We see the light We see the light it's the same with us it ain't our light it's the light of christ reflecting through us shining through us And so yes, he's made us a communion of saints not a Not a holy club

But a holy god that's brought us together as one knowing That there's things that he's still got to work in us and through us and and out of us martin luther Said it best. He simile justice at peccator. He said this Christians are righteous and sinners one and at the same time Follow this How are we righteous because the scripture tell us we've been made righteous in christ. Jesus I don't have to tell you about sin You know, every one of us can sin But here's what the lord is saying. I have made you righteous Though you are people that can have a sinful condition But he's saying because of his light because of the spirit because of his work He's the one that's renewing us and regenerating us the whole time He's making us to reflect where he's put us in position in position He's placed you in a holy place Conditionally he's working to get you there And god has a way of doing that in his timing We don't need to be the ones judging where people are or where they're not God is the one that's working on us in his manner and in his timing and in his way Am I talking to the right church? It's it's it's it's absolutely incredible If you if you if you run across any sculptor You can walk into his shop If he knows he's you're coming he's going to cover up what he's working on He don't want you to see it because if you if you saw what he was in the middle of with all the chipping and All the work that he's doing and if you saw that you may look at that thing and think what is that? What is that? Oh, it's it's it's a horse. That ain't no horse

How you call that a horse? So what do they do? They keep it covered So that we don't criticize and judge the work the sculptor is doing But when the sculptor finishes the masterpiece Then he pulls it off so that everybody can see what the completed work is. It's the same thing God is doing with us. He's got us covered while he's doing the chipping while he's doing the cutting while he's doing the sawing Sometimes we want to look at people's life in the middle of what god is doing and think what is that? And god said you just watch when I finish it You just watch what you got when I finish this and then he's the one that pulls the cover off of us And can you get this? He says christ. Jesus will present us Faultless blameless and without blemish before god the father. He's doing that work It's the work he's doing And so the scripture is real clear to us that we are a holy people That god is shaping god is renewing and the church indeed is the most important institution in the world with all the chaos And all the nonsense and all the corruption and all the degeneration and all the evil That's going on in the world the world that we have to live in But he's calling us to absolutely reflect his glory in the midst of all this and we do this as a church Christianity is not a remake of lone survivor We're a community, a group of people that come together for his praises and for his honor. So what does this mean to us? Let me just wrap this up and bring this home. My encouragement to you would be, be part of what you're in. You're already in the church. You've been brought into the church because you gave your life to Christ. You've already been brought in. So be part of it. Be an active part of it. Don't just treat it like a club where, you know, you pay your dues and show up when you want to and not really be an active member. Be part of what you're in. Don't just treat it like a Facebook friend. You know, we do that to Jesus. We treat Jesus sometimes like a Facebook friend. We just check in on him every now and then, check on the feeds of Jesus. Sometimes we post stuff just to let Jesus

know that we're there instead of engaging into the relationship that we have with him and his body. Am I talking to the right church? Be a part of it. Don't just let this be a place where you come and get your Jesus fixed like this is met Christianity. No, no, no, no. Be part of it. You're in the church. So attend it regularly. Serve eagerly. Give faithfully. Be a part of what you're already in. And here's the second thing. Do the one and other things. I'm not going to take the time. I was going to say I don't have the time, but I'm not going to take the time to go through all the one and other things. If you read the New Testament, especially the epistles of the New Testament, you'll find 21, 23 one and other things. That because we're in the body of Christ, we should do one to another. We should serve one another, encourage one another, build up one another, teach and admonish one another, exhort one another, pray for one another. Those are the things that we do for one another because we're all in the same body, because we're in the same church. So we ought to be part of what we're in, and we ought to do the one and other things. And the last thing is this. Make a difference. Make a difference. We are distinct people. I get that. If you really, truly live out Christianity, there are going to be people around you who think you're a pretty odd person. You're a bit strange. You're a bit peculiar. Because we're so counter to the world. So there's things about us that people would look up on you and say, I don't know, man. Tyrone's just a...I kind of like him, but he's an odd duck, just a little strange. He's a little different. But that's okay because we should be distinct from the world. We shouldn't be the same. He didn't call us out of the world to be just like them. Y'all follow me on that? He didn't call you out of the world to still be like the world. He called you out of the world to be distinct, to be different. And don't be afraid of being different. Don't be afraid of people. You think I don't hear things people say about me around town? I hear them. I know what people say about me. I don't care. I really don't. I'd rather be an odd duck for Jesus than quacking around right on the hill.

I'd rather. Yeah, be true to your Christianity. Be true about it. Matthew 5, 13 through 15, you are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it's lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It would be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. This is what he's saying. You should make a difference. The salt that we bring off, the character that we bring off, the traits that we have, should actually have a preserving impact in the society that we're in. Verse 14, you're the light of the world like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. That's what he's saying. We ought to be salty enough to make a difference. We ought to be shining lights enough in the light of darkness. We ought to be the ones and wherever we go, we can make a difference in that room. We can make a difference on that job, we can make a difference on that team. We can make a difference in that classroom. We can make a difference in that boardroom. We ought to be the one that can make a difference, have an impact. My brother-in-law, Pastor Juan, I think he's up there translating. he's almost as black as I am so I can't really tell but but I think he's I think that's him up there translating but I'm rich I'm gonna tell you you've never seen him Juan's got the worst golf shot you ever seen in your life it's the most ugliest golf shot I've ever seen I can't hardly stand to watch you've seen it Abel can't hardly stand to watch it but he's stinking good the ball ends up where he's trying to hit the thing as ugly as it is and he you know when we're playing as a team you know with a scramble you you need the one that has the best shot and so I'll go and hit it bad Abel hit it bad Tyrone hit it bad then Juan and get up there with that ugly shot and hit that ball and he'll sit there and say be the ball be the one be the one that lands and that sucker lands right on the green every time do you hear what I want to tell you we ought to be the one we may look ugly about it we may look strange we may look odd but we ought to be the one that makes a difference makes a distinction

here's what Philippians 2 15 is saying live clean innocent lives as children of God shining light like bright lights in the world full of crooked and perverse people that's us we ought to be the one that absolutely makes a difference stand with if you would with your communion elements if you've been through our open house you've heard us say in one manner or another that the whole objective that we desire for you here in the house of of the Lord at CTC is to know God find freedom discover purpose and make a difference know God find freedom discover purpose and make a difference we ought to be the ones that make a difference we're the church we're the Church of Jesus Christ we're the ones that ought to make the difference let's pray father I thank you now for this time and opportunity to gather as one people in this house one church family we come to the table of the Lord giving you thanks for what you've done for us you have made us holy and Lord you're working you're finishing what you have begun but as we take communion together let us let us be reminded of what you've done let that work of renewing continue to happen may we be refreshed Lord God and our pursuit and our desire to live for you and to live out loud in Christ's name we pray let's eat together let's drink together can you shout hallelujah God bless you have a great day praise here praise God pray presence praise father praise father have a great sunday church we'll see you this wednesday