Christ Session: Place and Purpose | Tyrone P Jones | We Believe | Full Service

worship you God right now we set aside everything else that is not good and true and noble and perfect and virtuous and of a good report we set it all aside God and we put our minds on you we meditate on you and your goodness God we come before your throne with gratitude and praise in Jesus name church let's maintain that posture as we worship there was a moment when the lights went out when death had claimed its victory the king of love had given up his life the darkest day in history there on a cross they laid for sinners for every curse his blood atoned one final breath and it was finished but not the end we could have known for the earth began to shake and the veil was torn what sacrifice was made then there was a moment when the sky lit up, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light breaking through, a flash of light All hail King Jesus All hail the Lord of heaven and earth All hail King Jesus All hail the Saviour of the world All hail King Jesus All hail the Lord of heaven and earth I remember how you provided How you held me through the night And I remember how you sustained me When you stepped in to save my life If I knew then what I know now I would be still and let you work it out

Jesus, I was lost in the water But I never went under Cause you were always on time Jesus, when I went through the fire You were right there beside me And you were always on time You were always, always, always on time You were always, always, always on time Jesus, you are God And I remember how you carried me When I couldn't take a step And I remember how you loved me When I couldn't love myself Jesus, I was lost in the water But I never went under Cause you were always on time Jesus, when I went through the fire You were right there beside me And you were always on time You were always, always, always on time You were always, always, always on time You were always, always, always on time You were always, always, always on time You were always, always, always on time This has never been a day Never been a minute Never been a moment That you weren't in it Never been a time that you didn't see me through God, yeah I worship you There's never been a day Never been a minute Never been a moment That you weren't in it There's never been a time That you didn't see me through God, yeah I worship you There's never been a day Never been a minute Never been a moment That you weren't in it There's never been a time That you didn't see me through God So I worship You, oh Jesus I was lost in the water But I never went under You were always on time Jesus When I went through the fire You were right there beside me

You were always on time You were always, always Always on time You were always, always Always on time You were always, always Always on time You were always, always Always on time There's never been a day Never been a minute Never been a moment That you weren't in it There's never been a time That you didn't see me through, God So I worship you There's never been a day Never been a minute Never been a moment That you weren't in it There's never been a time That you didn't see me through, God I worship you Oh, you're a faithful God Oh, I'm so grateful, Jesus Oh, oh, oh Jesus I was tossed in the water But I never went under You were always on time

Jesus When I went through the fire You were right there beside me You were always on time Come on, let's just remain in this posture For the presence of God All my words fall short I've got nothing new How could I express All my gratitude I can sing these songs As I often do But every song must stay In the universe So I throw up my hands And praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah, hallelujah And I know it's not much But I'm nothing else fit for a king Except for a horse singing Hallelujah, hallelujah I've got one response I've got just one goal With my arms stretched wide I will worship you So I throw up my hands And praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah, hallelujah

And I know it's not much I have nothing else here for a king Except for a horse singing hallelujah Hallelujah Come on churches, we remain in the spirit of thanksgiving and praise Let's turn our attention to the screen as someone goes public with their faith today My name is Isaac. Before I had a relationship with God, my life was marked by selfishness, arrogance, anger, and hatred. My father's death left a void in my life. My grandfather stepped in to guide me, but I still had anger that quietly shaped my identity. In 2015, my grandfather passed away and I felt like my foundation collapsed and I was devastated. I found comfort in destruction and chaos. I made choices rooted in hurt, pride, and unresolved grief. I may have looked strong, but I was lost. I came to CTC in 2023. Pastor Tyrone invited anyone who was ready to fully surrender their life to Jesus to be baptized. I felt an overwhelming conviction and desire like God had personally called me forward. For the first time, I wasn't responding out of tradition or expectation, but out of choice. At this moment, I surrender my life to Christ. Since surrendering my life, everything has changed, starting with my heart. God has given me the ability to forgive the past instead of being controlled by it. He's helped me heal from loss, release, anger, and look forward to the future with hope. I don't claim to be perfect, but I am different. I feel a deep desire to reflect the example of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As someone who relates to my story, follow that conviction you feel. Surrender isn't weakness, it's freedom. Today, I am going public with my faith. Isaac, 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. Come on, Savior, let's get together. My brother. My brother. My brother. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

Come on, sing this out. Come on, my soul. Oh, don't you get shy of me. Lift up your soul. You've got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. Come on, my soul. Oh, don't you get shy of me. Lift up your soul. You've got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. Come on, my soul. Come on, my soul. Oh, don't you get shy of me. Lift up your soul. You've got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. And I know it's not much. I've nothing else fit for a king. Except for a heart singing hallelujah. Come on, every voice. And I throw in my hands. I praise you again and again. So all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah And I know it's not much, I'm nothing else but for a king Except for a heart singing hallelujah, hallelujah

Before we prepare for the message, take this opportunity to find someone you've never met before, greet them, and we'll prepare for the message. This only service that sits down in a minute, the rest of them are still walking around. But y'all ready. Yeah. Welcome. Welcome to Church for the City. We'll teach the Word of God, we'll encounter the presence of the Lord in our time of worship, spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. How many happy to be in God's house? So good. It's amazing. Love it. Excited about it. Now, last week, we done a video for the Kids Academy. For those of you that have not registered and would like your child to be part of the Kids Academy, we encourage you to do that quite soon, actually. Now, tomorrow, Chamber of Commerce, and I'm not sure who else will be here, will be doing a ribbon cutting for the Kids Academy at 10 a.m. tomorrow. And so, if you are still contemplating whether you want to be part of the academy or not, have your child, tomorrow will be a good time to come because you'll hear more about it, there'll be a tour, and you'll get to meet the staff. That's 10 a.m. tomorrow, ribbon cutting here at the Church for Kids Academy. Easter, of course, the weekend was just fantastic. Great attendance, just, you know, record-breaking as it has been every single year. Much, just so much gratitude for the team and all those that have helped do it, and for you, for coming, for being there, for bringing people. What a blessing. And so, thank you for doing that. And we'll see just a quick recap video of Easter. And good Friday. Good Friday. Good Friday. Yeah, it was just a great, it was a great weekend. And so, we're grateful, grateful to God. Now, I want to thank you for your generosity every time you come into a building. Of course, there's an opportunity to give, and the ways to give are on the screen.

screen. I want to just take a moment here. Of course, Ben and Yuma have been around the fair for many, many years and have had the opportunity to work with the Livestock Commission a little bit last year, more so this year, since my granddaughter had a pig that she raised to kill it. That's what she did. And so, you know, just being around those who are volunteering their time there. As you know, I have a real heart for young people to be in a place where they can learn discipline, where they can learn responsibility, they can learn stewardship, what it means to be committed. And obviously, these young people are for four or five months of their life, that's what they do. And I just was amazed and just impressed with them, of course, but even the people who serve. I saw some of the folks this morning, but I see Blake and Nikki Hash, and I want to thank you folks for volunteering your time and the effort and work you guys put in to help these young people grow and become who they are and the Laurels. It's so many I could name. We had some folks from CTC that actually received scholarships, and that was such a joy for me to see that and experience that. Samantha Luna was in the first service and got baptized. We're so thankful for her. Daisy Bolts. Is Daisy in this service somewhere? Daisy, Daisy, Daisy. Oh, there's my Daisy. There we go. Aiden Figueroa. I know I saw Aiden. Man, bless you, buddy. God bless you. Gage Sullivan, Lauren Sullivan, Cadence Jamison, Ellie McNeice, just outstanding. It shows a lot about you, your character, your work, your diligence, the things that you do. I'm just so, so grateful, and what a tremendous example you are and certainly a credit to your parents. But it's wonderful to be part of that, and I'm so thankful for all that's been done. Now, I want to just share a praise report before we...you know, every Tuesday, you know, we get prayer reports that come in all through the week, and I've had so many different ones of God's goodness, and we share about them on Tuesday morning in our prayer time, 9.30 to 10.30. We pray over these, and then we also give some praise reports. Another one that came in this week, Gabby sent us one about her daughter who had cancer on her neck. I can't remember when the prayer came in, but I know we've been praying maybe a month, six weeks, maybe a little longer. And anyway, went in last week for the surgery to remove the cancer from her neck. Doctor went in, came out, said no surgery needed. There's not a piece of cancer in her, all healed and done. Somebody say glory to God. God is so good. I love Him, love Him, love Him, love Him. All right, stand.

We're going to go to 1 Timothy Chapter 3. We're going to read the word of the Lord and go right on into the message. And the message wasn't intended to be long, and I told first service that, but they didn't get it. So I had to stretch. I'm just telling you all, it's not intended to be long. See, you missed that cue. What are you supposed to do when I say it's not intended to be long? There we go. There we go. All right. 1 Timothy Chapter 3, Verse 16, great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, talking about our Christ, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up into glory, our Jesus. We're going to talk about Him being taken into glory and the ascension. Father, I thank you for this opportunity, Lord, to share your word, just to engage with the people of God. It's a great opportunity. I love it, love the opportunity with the people. Pray, Lord, that each of us will hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying and how the word of God can make a real impression upon our life, and that we'll apply those things to our life, and become more and more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, be more like you, be in salt and be in light of the earth. And so, Father, we pray that that happens in this next 35 to 40 minutes. Also, we pray for every church in our county. We want every church to grow. I want every pastor to be healthy and his teams to be healthy, that more people in our community, through their work, will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. So, Lord, you do... That Lord, I do pray for our military servicemen and women, those that are here, those that are abroad, Lord, especially the conflict in Iran. And I know people have various thoughts about it, but they're there. And Lord, our job now is to pray. We pray, Lord God, for their safety. We pray for their protection. We pray as they serve and protect us, Lord, that you will protect them. And Lord, we pray for the success of this mission. We pray for the freedom of the Iranian people, not only free, Lord God, to do as they have God given right, but free, Lord God,

to embrace the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in their land, in their land. And Lord, we ask you to work mightily, and we thank you for your grace. In Christ's name, we pray. May the people of God say amen. Men, you may be seated. And so I want to talk about the ascension, and this message is titled Christ's Session, Place, and Purpose. And it does focus in on that line, he ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, that's part of the Apostles' Creed. And, you know, we know, all of us know, all of you know that's been in the house of God at any length of time. You know the significance of the resurrection. You know why Christ came, why he died, the significance of him being buried, and raised again. And oftentimes, sometimes that kind of is where we celebrate that, and we do. We celebrate it, of course, on Resurrection Weekend, but we celebrate it every week. The reason we have these gatherings is we're celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. But there are some significant things that happened after the resurrection that is absolutely critical to our life. A couple of things, as you may recall from the Scripture, after Jesus rose from the dead, he did not immediately ascend. He actually stayed on the earth for 40 days in the resurrected body. They could see him as they saw him before the resurrection. He presented himself, he gave proofs, he gave evidence. They could touch his body. He walked with him, he ate with him. For 40 days, he stayed in the community so that people would know this same Jesus is the Jesus that made you the promises, that taught you the way of life,

that revealed to you who the Father is, what the desire of the Father is for all of us. He did all that over a period of 40 days. He reminded them of what the Scripture said about him. And then, though, after that 40 days, the Scripture tells us, then he ascended. Then he ascended. Now, some churches, they'll have what's called Ascension Day. And it's 40 days after the resurrection of Jesus, so it's always on a Thursday. This year is May 14th, and they come together for that. Or they'll call it Ascension Sunday. But 40 days after he ascended, because they realized the significance of that, 10 days after that, of course, you know, is Pentecost. But it does bring some questions that the Scripture does answer. And a lot of what I'm going to do, honestly, is just teach, just like I'm teaching you if you were in the Bible college. And here's some questions that the Bible answers. Where did Jesus go? What is he doing now? Does he look any different in heaven than he does on earth? And so, I'm going to give you three things that are sure things from the Scripture. I could do more, but three, and then apply what this means for us. The first thing that you need to know is that Christ did ascend to a place. When he ascended, after those 40 days, he went somewhere. Now, here's Luke chapter 24, verses 50 through 51. And it says, then Jesus led them to Bethany. And lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. And so, the Scripture clearly tells us, while Jesus is talking to his disciples,

this is after the 40 days, he's wrapping it up. He's explained so much to them over that period of time in their gatherings. And here they are in Bethany, which is two miles outside of Jerusalem. They're gathered there. Jesus blesses them. And while they're looking at him, Jesus just starts to ascend into heaven. Star Wars ain't got nothing on Jesus, just so you know. Jesus just starts ascending. Star Trek didn't start that. Jesus did. There he goes, right up into the heavens. Acts 1, 9 through 11 tells us the same thing. Now, you know, Luke is a writer of the Gospel of Luke. Luke also wrote the book of Acts. And so, he tells it also, not a different perspective, but just a little bit. More detail verses 9 through 11 after saying this he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching and They could no longer see him So he's just ascending as they strained to see him rising into heaven two robed men suddenly stood among them Men of Galilee they said why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven But someday he will return from heaven in the same way that you saw him go And so here we get the indication and there's several verses that share this but we get the indication That again, Jesus will be recognized when he returns He's coming back in the same way that he went what you see going up is the same Jesus coming down So you're not gonna miss who Jesus is or he's telling them you're not gonna miss who Jesus is So these narratives describe this event of the Ascension again angels saying again, he's gonna come back The same way and he ascended Somewhere he's not just in some etheral etheral space. He's not just out in the internet world out there

Somewhere out there. No Jesus is in the space-time According to how we know Space in time, but we don't see him because we don't have the eyes to see into the spiritual world As we sit here, there's things going on in the spirit world that we don't see that there's angels The scripture tells us in Hebrews and in Psalms that angels gather with the people of God as we're singing songs Unto our great God and Savior in the heavens angels are gathered with us So you don't see them now some of y'all believe that you got guardian angels with you all the time Maybe you do the Bible doesn't necessarily say that. I think I need one as bad as I am Sometimes I need somebody watching but the point is there's there's angels That are gathered in the community of believers But there's also demons. I don't know which one of y'all brought it in, but there's demons, too But but in the spirit world if your eyes could open you could see that there's things happening in The spirit world there are times when the Lord will open our eyes To see these things we can read it in 2nd Kings chapter 6. You might remember the story Elisha was was gathered and the the Syrian armies had came around to attack the nation, but also of course him and Elisha was pretty chilled about it The servant those saw all of the Syrian army gathered around and basically was saying to Elisha man What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? And Elisha was saying don't worry. There's more of us than it is them. He said there ain't can't be more of us It's only me and you here and Elisha prayed and says lope Lord open his eyes so that he might see and when his eyes opened he saw a Myriad of angels that was surrounding the Syrian army So there's times when the Lord will open our eyes and let us see into the spirit realm When Stephen was being killed in Acts chapter 7 Same thing the Lord opened his eyes and as he was dying He said behold, I see the heavens are open and the Son of Man is standing on the right hand of God So the Lord let him see in the in the spirit realm. And so this the scripture oftentimes Pictures

heaven being above when I'm when Elijah was was taken up when Jesus ascended when The angels came down when Jacob was praying in Genesis chapter 2 it talks about them descending from heaven and so We don't know where heaven is. We just know it's up Now, you know, of course that the earth The earth rotates, right For those of you that went to Yuma high school is not the Sun. It's the earth That's rotating the earth and so and so but it doesn't matter Where you are up is up If you're if you're in Antarctica up is up if you're in North America up is up South America up is up So we don't know particularly where heaven is, but we know it's up But we know it's up above us y'all doing y'all doing all right so far now So the second thing though about this Christ ascending to a place is also that he's seated in a place of authority He's seated in a place of authority That's where we get this word session to just the translation of the meaning Of Christ being sitting in authority It translates out to our English word session there. Christ is sitting overseen the scripture says that he's received glory and honor he's in a place of authority because of what he accomplished through the death barrel and the resurrection he now has received authority you remember Matthew 28 19 all authority of heaven and earth is now given unto me and so he's glorified and there he sits in this place of authority the highest authority that can be received now remember knowing clearly that Jesus is God he came down Christ incarnate on earth to reveal to us the love of the Father the way of the Father to reveal the living word the way of the the way of the law the fulfillment of the law but he was God in the flesh and so after the resurrection now all the

authority that proves that he is the God that he is now rest upon him as he's sitting in this place of high honor Acts chapter 2 verse 33 says this now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven at God's right hand that's where Christ sits he has all authority he has the highest authority that's why we worship him that's why we call him king that's why we sing the songs that we sing to him that's why we lift our hands that's why we lift our voices that's why we fall on our knees and pray to him why because he is the highest authority he has been exalted and he has been exalted because he's accomplished what he was sent here to do to prove to all mankind that all authority in heaven and earth is in him can you say amen to that and so we have a glimpse of the angels in Revelation 5 12 the scripture says and they sing in a mighty chorus worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing that's what he has done that's what he has accomplished so he's sitting now indicating that the work of redemption has been done now there's still more things he's going to do and I'll talk about that but the work of redemption has been done when Christ set he was saying the work is finished now I don't want you to miss this you got to understand this the work for your redemption has been fulfilled and accomplished in Jesus Christ you are not tasked to do work to save you are you following me that's not your assignment the work of redemption is in the hands of Christ and done by Christ the things we do is because of what Christ has done and our faith in him are you following me on this the work has and there's a lot of things we do because of that what Jesus has done we get baptized but don't miss this point don't think that baptism alone saves you you can get baptized to every doggone tadpole in the creek knows your name but that don't save you it's it's you trusted in believing in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ am I talking to the right church the finished work of Jesus so he sits now again so much we do because of that which proves that we have a faith in him so we don't miss what James says or anybody else says but understand the reason Christ could sit is because he said it's finished the work is done now

from that place he rules sovereignly he rules sovereignly so he is our ruler he is our King he's the one that is sovereign over all of us Psalm 110 verse 1 interesting if you study the Bible Psalm 110 or the New Testament Psalm 110 is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament verse and here's here's what it says the Lord said to my Lord sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies making them a footstool under your feet so that's what he's doing he's working to establish all authority even here on earth we're not only we who acknowledge him as King but the whole world knows that he's King that's why the scripture says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess he's going to establish the authority to all the world there's not going to be any questions and guesses about who the ruler is of the world who the sovereign is not going to be any any guessing on that Ephesians 1 20 through 21 listen to this Paul said this of Jesus God's power raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realm Here this now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else Not only in this world, but also in the world to come He's above all of them. There's there's not no one of authority on earth. That's greater than him No king no prime minister. No president. It would serve them Well, if they would recognize this can I tell you the world would be in less of a mess if? Rulers leaders kings prime ministers presidents would recognize that they are not the key authority That all authority belongs to King Jesus. Can you say a man? And so we see we see a similar thing here in first Peter 3 22 now Christ has gone to heaven He is seated in the place of honor next to God and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority So everything in heaven accepts the authority of our Lord and Savior of our God Everything in heaven again. That's a real clue that if heaven got this, right? We ought to get it right we not our own authority We don't own our life Do you know when you gave your life to Christ you surrendered your rights to him now

I'm not talking about your God-given rights that stays with you because you are created by God But your rights to be right based on your rightness. Oh I didn't do that first service, but I'm gonna use that second third But your rights to be right based on your right you gave that up You belong to him your authority is given to him and that's exercising everything we do We need his authority in our finances. We need his authority in Relationships we need his authority in the businesses that we run. We need his authority in our parenting We need his authority in our marriages. I'm not talking to the right church We gave up our rights to be the authority and we surrendered it to him He's the one that rules and Heaven accepts all authority. So should we? Now the scripture tells us though his reign It's not complete. This is not finished yet This is not finished. He hasn't brought this thing to an end and And and he's he's working on and honestly It's that's the kind of stuff that we wrestle with in everyday life because we we still we first we got our own flesh We got the world we got the flesh we got the devil and we got a wrestle through that But don't think that the Lord ain't gonna win this war I don't read this book all the way through a number of times He gonna win this thing he and we are on the winning side He gonna wrap this thing up just like he promised because he is the king So now now let me just give you four things here on what this means for us Based on the fact that that Christ has ascended to the to a place that Christ is in his session That he's seated on the throne and he's sovereign. What does this mean for us? Christ ascension Means that my ascension is assured I'm gonna say that again because some of y'all missed that because Christ ascended I'm assured I'm gonna send also He paved the way for that he made sure of that because here it is we are united in Christ Jesus the Bible says already that we are seated in heavenly places with him Have you read that and missed that in the Bible?

We are seated in heavenly places With him when you've read that what have you thought? What does that mean that I'm seated in heaven because we're united in Christ Jesus and because we have surrendered our life to him He is our Lord. He is our King He is our authority then all things subject to Christ is also subject to us if Christ is seated in Heavenly places then our hearts our minds our soul are united with him that we already are citizens of heaven We're already united with him in the heavenly places But the scripture makes a promise that this body's got to get their body ain't there yet. It's gonna get there Here it is in first Thessalonians 4 16 through 18 for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout with the voice of an archangel and The trumpet God and call of God. Listen, there's gonna be a trumpet blow. I don't know about you, but man Every time I hear a trumpet whoa. Whoa, wait, wait. Whoa. Whoa, what's happening here? What's happening here? Because there's gonna be a trumpet sound and it says first believers who have died Will rise from the grave So those who have followed Christ that's died before us, they're in the grave. They're going to rise up at that trumpet call. Then together with them, we who are still alive and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. What a glorious day this will be. Some folks have already died waiting to hear that trumpet call. Some of us are going to be walking around doing our thing. Some of us are going to be doing safety. Some of us are going to be sitting at a coffee shop. Some of us are going to be flying on an airplane. Some of us are going to be playing sports. Some of us are going to be coaching. Some of us are going to be working. But when that trumpet calls, I'm telling you, the Lord is taking his people up. When the ascension of Christ assures that, and that's part of our hope, is waiting for the day.

I don't know about you. I don't want to stay here forever. I'm breaking down already. I'm only 62. Why? Why? I mean, why would I want to call myself, want to stay here forever? Pulling weeds all the time. I mean, cleaning up. You know, come on now. This ain't our home, folks. Our desire is to be with the Lord forever. And he's made that promise because he has ascended, so will we. Then together with them, those who are still alive and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet him in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. That's the hope of people who know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that we're going to be ascended. The author of Hebrews, and this won't be on the screen, but he tells us, listen, that's why we can persevere on earth. We can persevere here on earth with the various things that we have to deal with because we know that's not the end of our story. We may be in the middle of a trial, but trust me, that's not the end of your story. God's going to get you through that because he's going to take you to be with him. He's working to perfect us. He's working to do his work in us. None of us are perfected yet, but he's working to do it. I love the scripture when it says that he will present us faultless.

He is perfecting us, working on us. All the stuff that you deal with on a daily basis, your anxiety, your fear, whatever, that nonsense that you are doing in your life that you shouldn't, you continue to surrender your life to the Lord and watch him make you better and better and better. He will perfect us. I know it's hard for us to think about being perfect. Sometimes I walk around my house like I am, but I know it's hard to think of us as being perfect. We don't know what that's like, but can I tell you something? It's coming. Perfection is coming. He said he's going to present you faultless. I'm telling you, do you want to be better? Do you want to be better? Then surrender your life to the Lord and let him perfect you. Let him do it. Here it is, 1 Corinthians 15, I love this, 52, 53. It will happen in a moment. This is talking about when the Lord returns. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. There it is, that trumpet again. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever, and we who are living will be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die. Our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. You're living forever. If you know the Lord and you've embraced the life of Christ, you're living forever. And this body, he's going to fix it up.

Some of you all need to say amen to that one. He's going to fix it up. He's going to fix this body up. He's going to transform this body so that this body is able to be with the Lord forever. Can you say amen? Let me stop messing with you. All right, number two. Our ascension is assured, but here's the second thing. Our final home will be heaven. That's where we end up. That's where we land. Listen, John 14, 2 through 3. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I'm coming to prepare, that I'm going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you so that you will always be with me where I am. Now, that's the promise, that the Lord is preparing a place for us and he'll come get us. Now, you know, I dropped a bomb on first service and I don't think they never recovered from it. And I'm not sure you will either. And I'm prepared. I only got two more points and we'll just get through it. But people mess this passage up. I've seen them do it. Funerals over and over again You hear people say like man. I know Jack is up in heaven driving his Jeep right now Or you'll hear people say man. I can just imagine they up there united with grandma and gran united with mama

No That's not that's not so Nowhere in the scripture Does it teach that people who die here on earth now are in heaven now? Nowhere as a matter of fact didn't Jesus just say when I come get you in Line with when he comes back in first Thessalonians chapter 4 where he says then then you'll meet the Lord in the air Then we will be with the Lord forever. So, you know Go on with your cute stories It's okay Now understand this people who die are in the presence of the Lord, but they ain't walking around heaven yet He hasn't finished everything just like people aren't in the lake of fire yet So I don't know you may find some comfort saying well, I know uncle Billy's in hell now. No, he ain't Not yet Not yet. There will be a day When we will be with the Lord where we will walk around in heaven But not now when we die here on earth until the Lord Returns, but don't let that throw you off Don't let it throw you off Just focus on this. You're gonna get there and you're gonna have a place to live when you get there. Just focus in on that All right, let me get to number three our power and authority come from above our power and authority come from above because Christ is in session because of his ascension Every authority and power we got here on earth is what Christ has poured down to us We have the authority over demons We got the authority over unclean spirits. We got the authority over enemies enemy forces Authorities that's in the heaven. We have the authority over that He did not go up to heaven and leave us to fight through this stuff on our own No, he has poured out the Holy Spirit upon us. He's given us power He's given us authority the authority that Christ has he's given unto us So that we can overcome the things that we overcome. It's not our own power

look at Luke chapter 9 verses 1 and 2 one day Jesus called together as 12 disciples and gave them power and Authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the kingdom of God and to heal the sick he gave them a glimpse of what was coming in Luke chapter 9 and Then he poured out the Holy Spirit and the power upon the church Luke chapter 24 verse 40 49 and Now I will send the Holy Spirit Just as my father promised But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes upon you with power from upon heaven The power that we have the authority that we have the fact that we are Believers that can overcome those things that come against us is because of the power of the authority the gifts the grace that God gives us and even the power to witness acts 1a But you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes up on you watch this and you will be my witnesses Telling people about me everywhere the ability that we have to share the gospel the ability that we have a life that people can look upon and say man that person's life is different the ability that we have to go into the foreign countries that CTC goes into sending mission teams planning churches going in casting out demons and Planning churches and raising up pastors that power comes from the Holy Spirit He poured that out from up on high we are filled with the Spirit of God to do his work That's what happens again from the Ascension. And here's the final thing The final thing is this our salvation is completed Absolutely Completed to the end He assures us that what he starts in us. He's gonna finish Romans 834. I love this Who then will condemn us? Think about that for a moment when you go through judgment of other people When people want to classify you of who you are and who you're not Born again, not born again saved not saved Who is

Able to condemn us the scripture says no one for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand Christ is the only one that took up on your sins The only one that went to the cross the only one that was buried and the only one rose again And he's the only one that can say it is finished. You are who you are because of of what Jesus has done, therefore nobody can condemn you. Am I talking to the right church? Nobody can condemn you. And here it is in Hebrews 7, 24 and 25, but because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever, therefore he is able, hear this, once and forever to save those who come to God through him. Every one of you sitting here that my voice can say, I've come to God. Guess what the scripture says? If you go to him, he saved you once and forever. You don't have to keep getting saved. It's once and forever. Are you following me? You don't have to keep letting yourself be talked into, well, maybe I'm not a Christian. Well, it depends on what you trust it in. If you trust it in your own self, no, you ain't a Christian. If you trust it in your own works, no, you ain't a Christian. If you trust it in your own beliefs and your own power and authority, no, you are not. But if you trust it in Jesus Christ and him alone and the work that he's done, you are saved once and forever. And the scripture says that he's the one that lives to make intercession before God for you. Once and forever. Christ's ascension means that I'm going to sin. Christ's ascension means I got a heavenly home. Christ's ascension means I got authority and power. Christ's ascension means I'm saved once and forever. I'm done. Prayer team, you can come. We'll pray. And the worship team will lead us into worship. The altars will be open. Whatever you need, they'll be here for you. And Christ will be glorified. Do I got a prayer team this morning? Prayer team, come on. I'm done. I'm finished. Y'all want me to go some more? I'll go some more. You need more? Y'all ready? Everybody stand and be ready. Father, I want to thank you for being a great God, a great savior. I thank you for your truth. Thank you for your word. Thank you, Lord God,

for the power and authority that you've given us. Thank you, Lord, for the truth of your ascension. I'm reminded because you ascended that I will ascend. But I'm reminded because of your ascension, I got a heavenly home. I'm reminded because of your ascension power and authority. The Holy Spirit is within us. And I'm reminded because of the ascension, Lord, that you have completed the work of our salvation. I thank you for being a great God and a great savior. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. God bless you. Have a great day. All hail King Jesus All hail Lord of heaven and earth All hail King Jesus All hail Savior of the world All hail King Jesus All hail Lord of heaven and earth All hail King Jesus All hail Savior of the world We love you, church. We pray that you have a blessed day. We'll see you next week. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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