Discipleship Class #6 - Church Gathering

This is now Lesson 6 in the Discipleship Class, Church Gathering. If you have made it this far, congratulations. This is the last class for Discipleship Class. We believe these are six pillars that are foundational for any Christian, whether you're new in Christ or you've been serving the Lord for a long time. And congratulations. But we're going to go ahead and get started right into Lesson 6, called Church Gathering. When you become a Christian, you are a member of God's family. Every spiritual child needs to become a part of a spiritual family. I truly believe that. We all belong to the human race. Those in the United States are all Americans. Whatever state you're in, you belong to that state. Whatever county you live in, whatever city you live in. So in the same way, we are a church family. God is your heavenly Father, and all Christians are like brothers and sisters of that same family. This household is the church of the living God, according to 1 Timothy 3, verse 15. The household is not a building, and the church is not a place of worship, but a group of believers. It is ekklesia, which is a Greek word for a gathering or an assembly of people. So as we go into this, if you have the PDF or on your notebook, this is number one. It's how does the Bible describe the relationship between Jesus and Christians? It's a good question. What is the relationship there? What does the Bible say? Because we always want to be biblical in our understanding. So how does the Bible describe the relationship between Jesus and Christians? Well, in Romans 12, 5, I want you to write it in your own words, but we're going to go ahead and read it.

And it says this. So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. So if you would put it in your own words, what would you write? What is the relationship? So according to this, we're all part of one body. You know, what's amazing about that, and sometimes it just goes over our heads, is that we are not all the same. We are not all right hands or left elbows. If everyone was a left elbow, how would we have a body? It takes different parts of anatomy of a human being to make up the body. So according to this, let me read it again. So we, though many, are one body in Christ. So that's important. So maybe you want to write here in your own words, we are one body or one body in Christ. And then in Ephesians, it says something very similar in chapter 1, verses 22 to 23. And it says this. And he put all things under his feet, talking about Christ, and gave him as head over all things in the church. And 23 says, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. So what is the relationship between Jesus and the Christians? First of all, we are one body, all of us, even though we are many, we are all made up into one body. And the second portion in Ephesians says that Jesus is the head of that body, not the pastor, not the apostle, not the evangelist, and not the prophet. Jesus is the head of the body. You know, what's interesting is that if for some reason you were paralyzed from the neck down, that is because there's a no communication between what your brain is saying for your body to do. You know, me moving my hands, I'm only doing this because my brain is telling me to do it.

It's not me pointing at something. It's my brain telling my finger to point at something. So it's the head that controls what the body does, whether you're running, walking, cycling, swimming, skiing, whatever it is, every single thing your body does, all its individual parts, you know, is because your brain is triggering your body to move. So with that in mind, remember, we are the body of Christ, but he's the head. And the body cannot do nothing separate from the head. So that is important for us to know, the relationship between Jesus and Christians. So, now we're going to go into part two. Part two, we want to talk about is what is Christ's position in the church? What is his role? How does this all work? In a church gathering, you ever heard the statement, too many chiefs, not enough Indians? What that statement is calling, everyone's calling shots, everyone wants to lead, but nobody wants to serve, nobody wants to do the work. And so let's put some, within the church, we want to put some perspective here as far as what is Christ's role and how are we connected in that role? So I want to start off by reading Ephesians chapter five, verse 23. And it goes like this, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. His body and himself, its savior. Okay. I'm going to repeat it again. See a lot of the times in Ephesians, when it's talking about husbands and wives, or it's talking about marriage, and a lot of times I've heard this just in pastoring, people talk about, they use those scriptures as if Paul was addressing marriage. He really wasn't. What Paul was addressing was why marriage works and why that works is because it's just a reflection of Christ and the church. And that's the parallel he's using, that God made to use as a parallel.

Husband and wife, Christ and the church, head and body. So I'm going to read it again. That way you have it in mind. This is not marriage scriptures. This is actually church scriptures that can be applied to marriages. So let me read it again. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its savior. So the head saved the body. So if Christ is the head, so on your sheet, on that empty space, I want you to write on there, what do you gather from that? What do you gather from in the scriptures saying that Christ is the head of the church? And this is important because it's not just talking about the church gathering, it's talking about the ecclesia, which the word ecclesia, a lot of the times you've probably heard this. If you've been around church at all, the way that most people use that word is they say called out ones. It's the called out ones. That is partially correct, but that's not the strongest meaning of it. It actually means assembly, assembly of people. How do I know that? Because even in Acts, that word ecclesia is not always just referenced to Christians. There's one scene where Paul's getting, yes, Paul, he's getting chased and beat by an ecclesia, which is a people, a city council. They actually came out and they beat them. And in the book of Acts, it uses the Greek word ecclesia. So it's not just, oh, the called out ones, the special ones. No, it just means assembly. Why is that important? Because Christ is the head of the assembly of those that serve him.

We are the ecclesia. We are the assembly. He's the head. So if he's the head, where is Christ at right now? Think this through. I want to just point this out here. Let's stop and pause. Let's think through the New Testament. Let's think through the new creation. Let's think through why Jesus came. Did Jesus come so that we could gather together on Sundays and sing songs? Is that why he came? Or did the Jews already have songs? That's right. They had a whole book called Psalms. So that couldn't have been just why Jesus came. Did Jesus come so we could have books of the Bible to read? Like the New Testament. Oh, that's right. We already had books of the Bible in the Old Testament. Okay. They had the law and they still got that. Okay. So they sang songs. They already had books. Number three. Did Jesus come so we could give financially an offering and support and show that we're not greedy people? No, they were doing that in the Old Testament already. Did Jesus come so we can gather in a place, center together all in one location and show

our unity to God? You know, during particular times and seasons, and particular moments in the week. Oh, that's right, they already had that in the Old Testament, too. Did Jesus come so that we could, you know, have a, carry a book, and have religious functions and duties, and show our allegiance, and show our commitment to these group of people in this community, sing songs, give together, serve one another, and be better people? No, they had that in the Law, too. So then why did Jesus come? If Jesus is the head, why did he come? Jesus came to die on a cross, bury in the grave, resurrect, and he said that, what, I'm going to be in heaven. He is seated in heaven. If he's the head, do you think he's a floating head, and the rest of his body is not there, or sitting on a throne? So it's just Jesus from here up? It's weird. Is a head sitting on the throne, or is that head connected to a body? The reason why I'm saying that is because, it's interesting that today we actually covered this class in-house at our church, live, with our discipleship class that we do every Sunday. And we wanted to make sure that the Christians address this and understand. There's not just a decapitated head sitting in heaven, you know, that's weird. But there's a body that's connected. So if Jesus is sitting in heavenly places, and Jesus being the head is sitting in heavenly places, and that head is connected to his body, then what does that make us? Let me read again. Christ is the head of the church, his body, us, and himself as its Savior. If we're the body, and guess what this means? We are seated with him in heavenly places. I wonder if there's a verse of Scripture that says anything like that. Like maybe earlier in Ephesians chapter 2.

I don't know, just a thought. But the reality is, as a born-again believer, he didn't come to do those things. He came so that you could be seated with him in heavenly places. So that you, right now, in this moment, as a believer in Christ, given your life to him, new creation, all things passed away, all things have become new, everything in use of God now, that you are seated with him right now, not later, now. And if you're seated with him now, then that means you have a new spirit. And he sends his spirit to what? Live in you. So you have his spirit here, you are seated with him there. Why is this super important in the church? Let's not divorce ourselves from him. We are not separated from him. We are not distant from him. You may feel like that in moments, but your emotions are alive. He says that God is greater than your heart. So you can't even believe that or trust that. Believe the scriptures. It says what? He is the head connected to his body, sitting on the throne, high and lifted up. And if he is sitting there, then that means, as the church, we are sitting with him as well. And everything under his feet, brethren and sister, is under your feet. I'm going to say that again. Everything under his feet is under your feet. Everything that is under his feet is under your feet. Why? He is the head, we're the body. He gave us the victory so that we could live with peace with God. That's the New Testament. That's the new creation.

My friend, that's the church. This is who we are, and this is what we get to be. You know, I love what Pastor Angel was sharing, and I want to add something before we go into part three, is that it's really important for us to understand what this class is truly about in summary. This class is about the importance that we gather together as a church. I'm not talking about the building. The building is not the church. And sometimes some Christians are told to say, oh, I'm the church, I'm the church. No, you individually are not the church either, because church means gathering. We are the church. And that's really important to us to understand. because we need each other. We can't do it alone. And a lot of times we have this mentality of, well, I have a relationship with God, I don't gotta go to a church. But here's the thing, if we're all given gifts, how can your gift, your gift is not meant to bless you. Your gift is meant to bless others. Can you imagine if 20 people that had God-given gifts chose to not gather together? And none of their gifts were for themselves? But what if 20 people got together and person number one, that person's gift blesses the other 19. And person number two, that person's gift blesses the other 19. And so on and so forth. This is why it's important for this class

because after all the classes we've done from discipleship class one to discipleship class six now, is we save this for last because this is important, that we need to belong to a church family. Part three is the functions of the church. And I love, again, what Pastor Angel said earlier when we actually taught this class in person, is he says, notice it says the word functions. These are the functions, not the church. Functions of the church, not the purpose of the church. And I really liked when he said that. So these are things that a church should do and function. But this isn't the reason why the church exists. But number one is worship. Is to praise God, to sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly, which is church, of the saints, according to Psalms 149.1. Second reason is fellowship. And this is a little bit what I was talking about earlier. Let's look at verse 10, 24 says, and let us consider how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds. For those of you on school, this is the reason why this school exists. Because I couldn't figure out a way to combine the physical people that come to House of Rest Church, and those individuals that watch us online. And I was searching and searching for a platform. And when I found school,

I thought it was the most amazing things because it brings a community, not like YouTube where you have a relationship with us by commenting, and we can comment back, but you guys can't talk to each other. We now have a platform where you all get to know each other, go to the maps and see where each other are at, and be able to post and comment and question and give affirmations and give encouragements to each other. And this is why, because fellowship is important. It's the function of the church, one of the functions. The other one is teaching. And Matthew 28, 20 says, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. You know, I understand that sometimes I've been in church services where the worship is so powerful, the pastor never gets to preach. And those are beautiful moments, but that should not be a common moment. I'll tell you why. Because it is important that scriptural teaching is done. We see this in the Bible. We see even in the Old Testament when the prophets would gather together the people of Israel and literally read the entire law to them. We see it in scripture. We see it in a New Testament that the teaching is important.

So we not only get together to worship, to fellowship, but to teach. And finally, what are we learning? For ministry. Ephesians 4, 12 says, to prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up. I use this example all the time. I've watched many movies of police shows, detective shows, movies where the beginning of the shift, the police officers all sit in the classroom-like setting, and you have the chief that he's sitting there, and he's saying, hey guys, I just wanted to keep it alert. There's a child missing in this side of the neighborhood, and there's a lot of car break-ins on this part of the city. And I want you to be really careful because of this, and really careful because of that. So in other words, what he's doing is encouraging them, he's teaching them, he's showing them. He's been probably on the force a long time, so there's a lot of rookies in there, and he's trying to share with them so they don't get hurt themselves, and then he sends them out. So this is why we gather together, we worship, we fellowship, we hear a teaching. Why? So then we can go and minister to the lost.

So, that's important. And finally, because of the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in Acts 1, 8, that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. So, if you go to the book of Acts, Jesus didn't send them out until the Holy Spirit came down upon them. Because why? To speak in tongues only? No. The power of God, the dunamis power, so they can go and preach the gospel, so they can go and lay hands on the sick, so they can go and cast out demons, so they can go and preach with the fire of the Holy Spirit. I'm not talking about yelling. I'm talking about effectiveness, about being a demonstration of the power of God. So these are functions of the church, and these are things that are important. So why are we gathering? So we can come together in worship, in fellowship, in teaching, in ministry, and demonstration of the power of God. And this is why we need to come together as a church family. And that concludes part three. All right, guys, here we go. Now we're tracking. We're on number four. On your sheet is the second page at the top, and it says, can Christians today not attend church? And then it has a question mark, yes or no. So we're asking you, can Christians today not go to church? Can they not attend church? So take a minute and mark your answer. What are your thoughts?

You know, yes, no, or it depends. Then underneath it, it says, do you have difficulty attending church? Yes, no, or it depends. This is an important question, and this is something why we actually started this process of discussing how were we going to do discipleship in the local church, you know, as far as Modesto, and abroad, for all of you guys that follow online. Because we felt like this was a really, really important question for a couple of reasons. One, let me ask you a question. Those of you, especially those of you that are online, I don't know where you live and I don't know where you're watching from, but for some reason, somehow, for some way, you felt a connection to House of Rest, but you're not physically here, and you're not with us rubbing shoulders on a day-to-day basis. We love the fact that you are connected with us, and we want to be able to help you and serve you and be a blessing to you and be a strength to you in any way that we possibly can. But I want to ask you a question. Why don't you attend a local congregation in whatever city or state or country in where you're at? We have people that watch all over the world. I'm not asking that question because we don't want you to watch. No, we do. But I do want to ask you that question because I want you to think through that question. Can Christians today not attend church? There's so many people that have come through our ministry that have what we call church hurt. Do they have difficulties because of the past? Maybe that's not an issue for you at all because you never faced any of that. You're brand new to Christ, and you're walking in, and you're coming in, and you just love the Lord, and you check this out online, and you just love our message. Man, praise God.

But I would always, always, always, always suggest for people to be around other humans. I mean that. I say humans, and it sounds weird saying humans, but no, I really mean that. I want to drive that point home. I think being around other humans, being around other people is a vital part of your Christian walk that we can't neglect. But I also understand why some of you log in online—because of truth factor. And so that I get. And I do. At the same time, don't ever distance yourself from people. And so, in the answering of the question, how did you answer? Did you answer yes? Did you answer no? Did you answer it depends? What about, do you have difficulty attending church? Let me ask you. You know, it's something we always say when we come to this point. We have people that come in from other churches and other ministry. Maybe they were hurt. Maybe they went through some things. I get that. But if you're attending here, you're a member of House of Rest, and maybe you come from a distance, you still drive in, or you're whatever church you're at, here's just a thought and a recommendation. It's kind of like a person that was married, and then they divorced, and now they're in a second marriage. Reality is, statistics for a second marriage— are way higher of a divorce than the first. Third marriage, the percentage possibility of divorce is even higher than that.

Fourth, even higher than that. Fifth, skyrocketing. Why is that? Because most people leave and never fix themselves, and so they're still carrying that hurt. We just want to pause here, because part of the discipleship that we really want to address is you. We want to make sure you're healthy, and that you don't bring in the past and throw that onto a new ministry, or us, and not have a healthy view in this. So again, is there difficulty attending church? I don't know, but answer honestly. And in the answering honestly, if you need some help through that, email us. Reach out to us. We want to be able to help you through that. We don't want you to just come, we want to disciple you. We want to walk you through some of that, because walking through pain is growth. And so let's never shy away from that. And so we always, because we're the body, he's the head. If the body's sick, doesn't that affect the head? So let's make sure that we're healthy in answering that question. Now let's jump to number five. Why should you attend church? A, because we worship, fellowship, teaching, ministry, and the Holy Spirit's power.

Why should we attend church? Because we do these functions. And your gifts, your ability, can help and strengthen somebody else. Your smile can help somebody else. Your hug can help somebody else. Your, hey brother, miss you, can help somebody else. You'll be surprised how much of you can be a blessing to help someone else. You'll, well, I'm not a preacher. Not everybody has to be preaching behind the pulpit to be a blessing. But because you're a part of the body and the Holy Spirit lives in you, you are a blessing because the Holy Spirit lives in you. It's not about you. So let's get over ourselves and understand that the Holy Spirit indwells us. And let's allow that Holy Spirit that indwells us to be released from us. This is really important. Number B, because that it is God's command, in Hebrews 10, verse 25, here's the part where you fill in. Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some do, but encourage and strengthen each other. Encourage and strengthen each other, especially now that the day of his appearing again is drawing near. Then we'll repeat that. Let us encourage each other,

especially now that the day of his appearing again is drawing near. Why do we need to gather together? Because he's coming. Why should we gather together? Because times are hard. Why should we gather together? Because there's other people. Why should we gather together? Because we need to carry each other, love one another, and carry one another's burdens. Pray for one another so that you may be healed in those prayers. Number C, why should you attend church? To avoid deviating from the truth of the Bible. Yeah, I think that's very true. I think positive, I'll say it this way, positive peer pressure is a peer pressure. But here's one thing that I will say, a disclaimer in that statement. It is the truth of Scripture that keeps us together, and it is the Holy Spirit that binds us together. And if those two things don't keep us together from, if those two things do not keep us on the path of truth, nothing will. But the body and fellowship and community is huge in this, because it will cause us to check ourselves before we check out. Because it is very, that would be very arrogant of us to assume that I myself can walk this out

without other people when Jesus himself did not do that. Just a thought. Last point, D, because there are mature Christians in the church to help you, yes. Scripture says in Proverbs, it says, in the multitude of counselors, there's wisdom. So you're gonna come into the church and you might come in at a young age, and then what are you gonna need? You're gonna need a spiritual counselor. You're gonna need a spiritual counselor. You're gonna need discipleship and mentorship You're gonna need a spiritual counselor. to put those pieces together in your life, You're gonna need a spiritual counselor. because maybe mom and dad that wasn't there for you. And then you're gonna get married, and then now what are you gonna need? You're gonna need somebody to walk you through that new phase of marriage, because maybe you didn't have the positive view of marriage. Then you're blessed and you have children, and what are you gonna need? You're gonna need people that have kids, that have that experience, that have that motherliness, that have that fatherliness, grandfather view, and they're gonna help you through that. Why? Because maybe you didn't have that before. And then your kids are gonna get out of the infant stage

and the toddler stage, and they're gonna get older, and they're gonna get into the preteen stage. And what are you gonna need? Parents that have been there already to walk you through. And then they're gonna get into the teenage stage. You're gonna need coaching, because you're gonna have to learn how to parent and let go. And you're gonna need some help and advice. And then your kids are gonna be out of the house, and it's gonna be you and your spouse. And now you're gonna need someone to walk you through that season. If you weren't prepared, and even if you were prepared, to help you walk that through. And then your kids are gonna have, they're gonna get married. They're gonna have kids. And you're gonna need that advice from a grandfather on how to now shepherd from this new perspective. While all of that's going on, you know what? As you're growing, and you're following the leadership and accountability and discipleship of somebody else, you know what else is happening? You should be helping the generation after you. So now you have a three-tier level of growth. The person you're following and that's leading you, and then you with the person who's following you and leading. Because this is all about duplication. This is why we gather. Because if you needed help,

somebody else is gonna need help. And so it's the duplication system of the church. And this is why it's so important to rub shoulders with one another. And this is why you should attend a body. Because we need to be connected by the word, by the spirit, in the bond of peace and love. That's why we gather together, brothers and sisters. This is why it is so vital and so important. Part number six. Three obligations that we have in church. Now that we've established how gathering together is important, I wanna talk about three obligations that we believe are very critical and crucial and important and priority here at House of Rest. A, our obligation is to be united with Christ in baptism. Romans 6, one through 14. You can go ahead and pause this and read that whole 14 scriptures on your own. But baptism is a fulfillment of our faith. That is important. Jesus said that baptism was to fulfill our righteousness in Matthew chapter three, verse 15. And actually Jesus set an example for us. He was baptized even though he never sinned because he knew it was the right thing to do. I don't find any better example to be baptized than Jesus. If Jesus being sinless was baptized, what room does that leave for any of us?

So that is something that's important and an obligation. Also, baptism is a proclamation of our faith. We're proclaiming our faith. The words and actions of baptism communicate to those present that we are positioned in Christ Jesus according to Romans 6, three. It is a proclamation. It is saying, hey, I want to be a part of this. I want to be in the family. So I'm gonna be baptized not only before the Lord but before the entire assembly. This is one thing that is really important. Baptism is a confirmation of our faith. See, here's the thing is that baptism doesn't save you but if you're saved, you should be baptized. And in Romans 6, 6, 14, it says, we know and feel that we are freed from the old dead person and live a new life of resurrection power. Baptism means that we are burying our old self and rising a new person in the same way that Jesus was buried in the tomb and three days later, he rose again. So again, it is a proclamation and a confirmation and it's a witness to our faith. Baptism is to show that we are dead, buried and resurrected. together with the Lord. So in Romans 6, 4 it says, we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,

we too may live a new life. And baptism is a symbol of our faith. So here at House of Rest, it goes so much more than just symbolic. There is power. I have preached this and taught this many times that over the years, over the centuries, things have been turned into just going through the motions or just symbolism. For instance, people will take communion as symbolism, will get baptized as symbolism, will do so many things that there is power there. When we are being baptized in water, we are representing that we are now a new person and we are dead to the things of the world. This is key and this is important. Okay, now we're finishing as far as with number B, part of what they call the sacraments. It's called the Lord's Supper. Our obligations to remember the Lord's Supper. Number one, Jesus personally set the Lord's Supper as a remembrance of his death and the shedding of his blood for our sins and the healing of the nations. That was the purpose of the Lord's Supper. You can read that in Matthew 26, 17 through 19 and verse 26 through 30. This is where Jesus is sitting with the disciples and he's sitting there and addressing this there in person with them. And you know what? Let's go ahead and I'll read it with you. We'll read it together. Matthew 26, 17. Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying, well, where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover? He said, go into the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover.

Verse 26, now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat. This is my body. And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, drink it all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. So here's Jesus with the disciples and he has this moment and he has what became known as the Lord's supper and Paul addresses it again in first Corinthians 11. And so what we want to address is the purpose. Why did Jesus do that? Jesus said two things here. He said, take, eat because it's his body. Drink because this is my blood. So that's really, really important because a lot of the times I, you know, growing up in the church, I grew up in the church my whole life, literally my whole life. And so when my mother was pregnant with six months, uh, you know, with me, uh, I was, she was baptized. And so I, I, that was just, my life was growing up on a pew. Now that doesn't mean I didn't make mistakes and that doesn't mean I didn't walk away from God and it doesn't mean any of those things. I did a lot of those mistakes, but I grew up on the pew. And it's interesting because one of the things was the fear tactic of the Lord's supper that was always interesting to me. The fear tactic of the Lord's supper, I don't want to say tactic, that's probably an over exaggeration of it, but a lot of the times people have presented the Lord's supper in a way that it was, if you take it in a wrong way, you could die.

Because Paul says in first Corinthians 11, Hey, if you don't take it the right way, that's why some people sleep. And that word sleep is, is, you know, it's means sleep, but it's, it's referenced to believers that are passing away. And so I want to make. this understanding here. Jesus' Lord's Supper of His body being broken and eating the bread for His body that was broken, drinking the blood, drinking the juice for His blood that was shed. I wanna read in Isaiah 53, five, to connect the two. And this is what the prophet says. He says, but He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. And upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with His wounds, we are healed. So the prophet Isaiah prophesied of a time. And in your pamphlet, in that section two, where you fill it in, it says the chastisement, the punishment, the punishment that brought us peace. I love Isaiah 53 because everything is His for us, His for us, His for us, all the way through the text. He did this so we could have this. He did this so we could have this. And Isaiah 53, five is following that same step because that's in that whole passage. The chastisement that brought us peace was upon Him. And by His stripes, we are healed. Do you notice that? His for us, His for us.

That's the whole passage. And so Jesus is making this connection here. And now let's jump over to point three. When we receive the Lord's Supper, we have time to examine our actions and faith. And I agree with that. I think we should live in a time where we should live in a posture that we do examine ourselves within the faith. I think it is important, but the purpose of why we do the Lord's Supper is super important, way more than how it has been presented many times. It's not a fear factor, if I take it wrong. Here's the two reasons why we have the Lord's Supper. To eat the bread for His body that was broken. So why do we eat the bread first? So now let's take you back to the life of Jesus. Jesus at the Lord's Supper, what did He do after He went into the garden? Jesus shed His blood three times. He shed His blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Bible says that He was sweating drops of blood. From the Garden of Gethsemane, He is arrested. He is brought before the Sanhedrin. He is brought before the Roman council and Herod and Pilate. And then what happens then? They beat Him. And His body was broken with a cat of nine tails.

His body was shed. What is that representing? The bread. His body was broken. His body was not broken on the cross. His body was broken at the whipping post. And then what happened? He died and His blood was shed for our sins on the cross. And Colossians says in chapter one, I think it's chapter one, beginning of chapter two, it says that He nailed our sins to His cross. We were forgiven. So the Lord's Supper is a representation. It is the price that was paid as a representation of healing and salvation. Sozo, He is offering to us this offering through the Lord's Supper. So when you take it, maybe you're in your living room. Maybe you're in a prison cell. Maybe you're in your car. Maybe you're in a moment. Take that bread. And when you take that bread, understand what you're taking. And this is by faith. Not what you need to say, but I'll give you an example of what to say. Maybe you're sick in body. Maybe you're not. Father, thank you for your body that was broken. I receive health and healing and life in my body

that when I take it by faith, I receive that. And then eat the bread. Check, if you had pain, check it. God's a healer. He's faithful. And then take the juice. And what's the juice for? For the blood that was shed. Father, I thank you. I thank you that you shed your blood for me. And by faith, I take this as a remembrance of the price that you paid for me. So your body was broken for me. Your blood was shed for me, and I receive what you did for me." Remember, His for me, His for me. That's the whole purpose of Isaiah 53. So the Lord's Supper is just a reminder. There is power within it, but in and of itself, it's a reminder of what? Of freedom of the price that He paid. His for me, His for me, His for me, and you're free by His body being broken and the blood that was shed. It is the new covenant. Okay, so this leads us to our last obligation, and we bring this up last, not only in the last class, but at the end of this class, because many times this is the most sensitive thing to talk about, sometimes controversial because of abuses that have been done, but we have to talk about giving. Before we do that, I want to say this, is that biblically speaking, in the Old Testament, when God gave the land of Israel to the 12 tribes, God had allotted land for all of the tribes except the Levi. So basically God gave an inheritance.

He gave land to all the tribes and the Levi tribes were not given anything, and it's almost as if God forgot about them, and it's like the Levites were saying, what about us? Why do we not have an inheritance? And God said, because you will be the priest. You will minister to me and you will minister to the people, to the other 11 tribes. You will not have land. You will not have jobs. You will be my ministers. And I imagine if I was a Levite, I'd say, well, how am I going to eat? Because the tribe of Dan and Benjamin and Judah, they're going to have animals and farms and crops, and how are we going to provide for our families and our children? And the answer was God instituted a tithe for them in the Old Testament. He said each of those tribes will give a tithe unto you, and that way when you sacrifice an animal, you can keep a portion of that animal to feed your family. So a lot of times when we read that in the Old Testament and we come into the New, some of us say, well, that's the Old Testament, not the New Testament. Well, let me give you a thought. In the New Testament with Jesus, for instance, he says, the Bible says, the law says, thou should not commit adultery. But I say, if you look at a woman and lust after her, you're an adulterer. God raised the bar. Another instance, he said, the law says that thou shall not murder, but I say, if you hate your brother, you're a murderer. God raised the bar. So if God is constantly, if Jesus is constantly taking the law of the Old Testament and raising the bar, what do you think that means when it comes to giving? Matter of fact, it says, the Bible says in the New Testament that God loves a cheerful giver. So we have to talk about this. And another thing, too, is that a lot of times giving or tithe or gifting, whatever

you want to call it, many times we over-spiritualize it. And I think many times that's the church's fault. We over-spiritualize it so then it doesn't make sense to the average person and say, well, if God wants my money, is there some kind of ATM I don't know about where the pastor goes and actually deposits and that money goes to heaven and why would God want our money? There's no currency in heaven. God owns all things. He owns all things here on earth. So why does God need my money? And sometimes we don't explain it or we over-spiritualize it. But here's what it comes down to. Is God established a tithe in the Old Testament so the high priest can be taken care of? Simple as that, because they had to eat. Well, in the same way, guys, ministry now costs money. The internet that we're streaming from costs money. The electricity we have in the church to have lights on costs money. The very building that we don't even own, we rent, costs money. God understands these things. Even ministry outside of a building. If you want to go feed the hungry, who's going to buy the food? Who's going to buy the bags? Who's going to buy this? Those that want to provide blankets, who's going to buy the blankets? People that want to just give out Bibles, who's going to buy the Bibles? So God institutes a way for the church, the assembly, to give so ministry can further the kingdom of God. And that's why sometimes we want to over-spiritualize things that are just practical. And because of that, this is why we're talking about this last, because if you're watching this, you want to partner with us at House of Rest. You want to be a part of this family, and you are. But there's an example I want to set before Pastor Angel comes, is that in our house, I'm talking about our parents. When we were young, mom and dad would provide all the meals. If it was Thanksgiving or if it was a family dinner, they never told us when we were teenagers or children, hey, you got to bring the chips, you got to bring the pie. Mom and dad did it, but now that they're older, they're on a fixed income. So now when we have

family gatherings, it's not just on me or Pastor Angel or older brother Ruben or older brother Steve. We come together and say, you know what? This is our family, so we're not going to depend on someone else to provide the food. I'll bring this, Angel, you bring that, Ruben, you bring that, Steve, you bring that. And then we tell our children who are adults now what to bring. And you know what happens? We have a beautiful meal together that neither one of us could have afforded all of it, but because we resourced, we made it happen. In the same way, if we are truly a church family, then we need to learn to gather what we have together. And I want to have Pastor Angel explain exactly how that breaks down, and I'll come back at the end also. But I pray that you receive this in Jesus' name. All right, guys, we're continuing on the last part of our obligation to give, gives, contributions, offerings. And just to put in another layer of perspective, I'm going to use a word that a lot of Christians, or not a lot, that's an exaggeration, but some, some Christians or people that, individuals that have come to congregation churches may feel uncomfortable when they hear it, and it's like, oh, they hear the word tithing. You know, I'm not going to speak of tithing, but I do want to give the Old Testament address and another layer to it, because the word tithing means 10th. And so a lot of the times when tithing is, is talked about, and maybe you've heard it in a healthy way, maybe you've heard it in an unhealthy way, I don't know. But I have heard pretty bad teachings and preachings on it, and I've heard positive, and I've heard really fruitful ways in, in how it's expressed, and I know it's expressed and understood. But in the Old Testament, it wasn't just 10, a 10%, that gift. It was a tithe. It was, they called the temple tax. It was first fruits. It was offerings. It was all of these different layers that actually, on average, went up to, on an annual basis, of about a 33% of the overall giving per Jew in the Old Testament. And, and I give that perspective because when it's talked about, it's talked about in a 10th. And so we're going to get into some numbers on a practical level, but I want you to understand that we're not talking a percentage. We're talking about the heart of a believer now that you were born again, and now that you are receiving value, your family is receiving value from a ministry, because maybe you don't attend House of Rust. So we're going to use our church as an example, because for those of you that are online, and maybe you attend somewhere else, and you have a congregation, and your kids are in, your children, your teens are in youth ministry, your kids are in children's ministry, you're a part of a young marriage ministry,

or a marriage couple ministry, or evangelism team, or... multitude of different ministries and maybe you're attending you know you just like our content but you're plugged in I want to strengthen something in you maybe this is this is just reinforcing something you know but for those of you that are brand new Christians this is a vital part of our Christian community that we have to begin to make clear and for instance is it wrong for a pastor to receive an income no Paul says that it is it would be wrong to muzzle the ox while he's treading why because he's laboring and then he says is not an ox worthy of the food in which he's laboring for okay so it's not wrong for that but I do want to put some expenditures to give our members those that are connected to our body some content context and for those of you that are maybe somewhere else maybe I want to give you some context as well to see value in your ministry because this is really really important so I'm going to give you just a breakdown of our kind of annual breakdown of what we're looking at our annual overhead now I'm going to date this so that way in two years or a year if it changes as it changes it doesn't stay the same because things change our church overhead in 2026 for the year of 2026 there's roughly $15,000 monthly so that is the monthly overhead which would in turn equal to $180,000 annually okay so the average income in Stanislaus County that's not Modesto City itself Stanislaus County is an average of $34,849 per person we have a total number of chairs in our sanctuary of 325 chairs so if we have 325 chairs on any Sunday and on any Sunday there is no church in America that has whatever number of chairs that's typically filled a hundred percent I'm in if there is there is a very very small few and there are blessed church to have that most churches fill a capacity about 75% that's an average and that's pretty consistent so if a church had 325 chairs and they were in 75% of those chairs had somebody sitting in it that is to average the number 240 individuals sitting in seats every week at our church house of rest with our average income of $34,849 within the county we're basing that we know we have families that make more we

also know we have families that make less but that's why it's an average income that would mean that if somebody if somebody that was occupying that chair if they were to give and we'll use the average number of 10% because that seems to be a number that everyone locks into their head so I'm using it not that this is what we preach or force or whatever I want to give an example to our local membership and to those that are in a distant if an average gift of 10% was given every year that means within our county the annual average giving would be $3,484.90 per person that would mean the average weekly gift by a person occupying a chair would be $67.02 in Stanislaus County in the year 2026. Okay to run our overhead of our church and our ministry to reach to pay the bills to pay our overhead in our building to pay all of our overhead as far as water garbage electricity the internet that's how you're watching us right now or those of you that watch live those of you that watch our podcast you know if you watch Let's Just Talk or you watch Christ Umbarred that's and then you add on top of that a Pando and Edovo and you add all of those different expenditure that we do per month. It's about $15,000. That means on average per person of 240 people sitting in our sanctuary, that would mean that on average for us to function, it would be that if somebody attends our church, they would be giving $15.63 on average for us to operate. The average income in our county is $67.02. That means all we would need is one-fourth of the average, and $34,000 in the state of California is way below poverty. So we don't need somebody that is way below poverty. What would pay the bills on a consistent basis is super poverty on a weekly basis on average if they were giving. I'm saying that just to be facetious here. So the average person giving $15.63 a week would cover all of our expenses. What is it in your church? The reason why we're bringing this out to those that are not members of House of Wrists is I want you to think of your church and the responsibility that your pastor and your leadership carry, Sunday school teachers, youth ministry, and everything else. So many times we have people from the church and members with good intentions and right heart. What are we doing for the youth? What are we doing for the kids? What are we doing for the young marrieds? What are we doing for this ministry? What are we

doing for that ministry? What are we doing for this and everything else? Like Pastor David explained, in our family, when we gather on Thanksgiving, we all bring together. We all come together. And so sometimes we put the burden on a group of people, but we become consumers in wanting something. And I want to bring it to our attention, to the body, and especially our listeners. Because if that's not you, you know, in Spanish, there's a saying, Si el zapato se queda, pues póngalo. It means if the shoe fits, we'll wear it. But in Christianity, what it's saying, like in the book of Proverbs, the shoe fits, kick it off and put on a new one. So if it fits, then kick it off. Let's stop the old thinking. Let's start now being of value within our church and church body. Now I want to continue to give you some other numbers here. So to reach our monthly budget, we just need $15.63. That's our average gift that we would need to operate. And so many of you are so faithful in giving. So many of you have been a blessing, and we thank you for what you have done. And yet, I will be honest with you, without going into great detail, this is not a poor me session, but this is just a reality. There's so many people that, based on those numbers, there's so many people that come that maybe, one of three things, maybe you have been hurt by a church financially, your ministry, and that struck a chord, and you haven't been able to get past that. And if you're attending House of Rest, let me give you some friendly advice. Let us know, can we talk? Can we share? There's nothing we're hiding here. We want to be open with you, so that way you can get past that. We want to sit down with you, so you can get healing in that. Why? Because we can't have hurt people hurt people. And we're looking for leaders. We're looking for people that are wanting to do ministry. And so we're looking for people to get past the old and into the new. And so if you're stuck in church hurt, and you're dealing with that in finances, and every time money comes up, you get the heebie-jeebies, it's an indicator by the Spirit, let's deal with that. And let's get past it. Maybe it's, maybe one, church hurt, maybe the past abuse financially. Number two, maybe you need help in your finances, and you don't know how to organize it. And maybe you need some assistance in that area. The Scripture says that, it says in the multitude of counselors, there's wisdom. Let us help you. Email us, reach out to us. Can we give you some guidance in those areas, so that you can better serve your family? And it's not just about giving to the church, it's about giving, and it's about having the capacity to be a blessing to people.

So maybe you have church hurt, abuse in finances, maybe you don't know how to structure your money because nobody taught you. Or number three, and this one is a big percentage, I think, I believe, maybe I'm just being optimistic, but I believe, believe this is the case. Maybe you've never had this conversation and maybe you don't know. Maybe nobody's ever brought it to your attention. To go, wow, man, I never realized, I never thought of how much is spent at the church. My kids come home with papers that are colored with colored crayons and paintings and they do dramas and they give out candy and they do, you know, egg hunts or whatever, you know, I don't know what your church does. Man, we pass out flyers and who pays for that? Maybe I never thought of that. If you're at House of Rest, we wanna be of value to you so you in turn can see value in what we do. And the last time I checked, I'll be honest, I never met a bank or a loan facility that ever took hugs for payment. They don't, brother and sister. Go try it for your bills and then let me know how it goes. But it doesn't work. Now, we work together for that. Here's the last part. If 240 people on average sat in a chair and they gave $67.02, like the average is within our county, per week, that would total of $16,084.80 per week.

Imagine that. If $16,084.80 was the average per week, that would total $64,339.20 per month. Per month. How many missionaries? We cut right now, we have the capacity for three. There is dozens and hundreds of missionaries that we are not able to help. But on average, we could. And you might say, but if you had 240 chairs and 240, 400 people, how do you know they can all give? I'm glad you asked that question. Let's say 50% of the 240 chairs are children and teenagers. Let's knock out half of them. Because they can't give, they're in school, they're children. That would still mean that $32,169.60 would be the monthly average contributions to the church, which would mean $8,042.40 per week. That means that the first two weeks all bills would pay. The last two weeks would be all, as far as when the pandemic hit, most churches failed. Why? Because they had no backup system. If we had a surplus to have six months set aside, plus every other ministry in which we could use, how many missionaries could we house? How many men's homes could we build? How many women's facilities could we cover and help and assist?

How much food and giving could we give out? How much contribution could we give in training and equipping of re-equipping people in a new culture and society right now that need new skills because of AI technology and everything that's going around? What else could we do? What else could we do? What other ministries? How much other prison ministries? How much traveling could pass? How many church plants could we offer? If we could send and be able to cover two or three families to go and go, go to this city. We've got 15 viewers in that region. Let's go plant a church. And we have the funds to cover you and go. What would that mean? You Pastor Angel, you're getting emotional, man. You're getting excited. I'm very excited. I'm excited of the possibility because I know what the kingdom has for this ministry. And I know where the heart is and where we're trying to go. And this is what we need. We need you. We need you to be faithful. Whatever it is that you can give, whatever it is that the Lord placed on your heart, whatever it is.

And if you attend in your church, we need you to be faithful there. Why? Because it is the kingdom that needs to be built, not house of rest, the kingdom. But if you are here in our church, because many members in our local congregation is gonna watch this video. And maybe if you were, you missed class three and you're gonna jump online to catch it. We wanna remind you, it's our children. It's our youth, it's our young adults, it's our church, it's our city, it's our family. So I just wanted to remind you of the value and the importance of home, the value and importance of what we're trying to do, and that we hope through this that you link with us and you find value in what we're doing, that you find value in where we're heading. And that's the heart of all of this. The beginning of House of Rest, now that you're saved, the security of your salvation, how to share the gospel and how to spread it, how to pray, spiritual disciplines, and now how we gather. Why do we do all of that? Why are we spending all of this for these platforms to reach you? Because I said it at the very end, because we're trying to reach you. So I hope you see value in us because we see value in you. And I hope you see value in your church where you attend. And thank you for being a member of school. Thank you for the contribution of a monthly contribution that you pay to sow seed and good soil. We really appreciate that. But don't forget your church. Don't forget your pastor.

Don't forget the family in which you were grounded in, and bless them and make sure that we take care of ministry. Churches in America have closed since the pandemic, and they're closing fast. We need to stay open, and we can't do it alone. So we thank you for your giving, and we thank you for your faithfulness. But I am calling you to something greater than you. I'm calling you to integrity of value, relationship, and I'm calling you to something even more—faithfulness in His name, to the people of God in our city, because this is our family where our kids live. Let's protect our wives, let's protect our children, and let's get the gospel message out to as many people as possible. I hope you're able to receive what I'm saying, and I hope you feel that. I really do, because we do. We feel the weight of that, and I hope you can hear the weight of that in our voice. Be blessed. As I turn it over to Pastor David. As we conclude lesson six, I want to say this. Many of you have your favorite hamburger spot, pizza place, Mexican food, Chinese food, whatever it is you like. And it's been there for years. You know when you want it, when you crave it, all you got to do is get in the car or go for a walk, and it's always there. It's like an old faithful. These people are going, and they're buying food, and they're purchasing sodas, and so on. But imagine that favorite place of yours, that one day they said, you know what? We're not going to charge for food anymore. We're just going to feed whoever comes, and we're going to have a little bucket there. And hopefully, because they love our food, and they love what we have, and they know that we have value, and we care, and we clean this place, and we have a clean kitchen, that

they're going to see value in it. And even though there's no prices on the menu, we're just going to hope that they understand that it costs money to make their meals. All of a sudden, everybody's going there. And regardless of whether anybody pays or not, they're still giving you the burger, still giving you the pizza, still giving it to you. Let's be honest. Even with that heart, how long do you really think that place will stay open if all of a sudden people start getting the food but not giving anything? As good as the food is, as nice as the place is, as clean as the kitchen is, eventually they wouldn't be able to serve any food. So here's the thing about a church, is that regardless of what's coming in, we're still giving spiritual food out. There is, at the time of this recording, there is 15 years of sermons and Bible studies on YouTube. I don't know what that math is. But 15 years. And I remember a few years ago before COVID, House of Rest had a little bit of a surplus. But I'm going to be honest with you, it's dwindling, it's dwindling, it's dwindling to the point of every single month. We're not sure what's going to happen. But I believe, like Angel, I'm optimistic of what God is going to do because I truly believe that he has a plan for House of Rest, and not only House of Rest, but the leaders that are being built up. I'm excited and I'm optimistic and I'm excited about this school program because I can see it happening already, that God is going to raise up an army. God is going to raise up generals. God is going to raise up pastors and leaders and youth leaders and teachers, not only in Modesto but across this nation. And for that reason, that's why I believe the enemy has tried to attack the finances

because Satan doesn't have to come and attack and come and basically oppress the whole church and he don't have to do nothing. All he has to do is cut the finances. That's how you crumble armies, not by fighting them, by taking away their way of eating. But that's not going to happen because we know what the Word of God says. We know the vision that God has set before us. We know and see, many of you, whether you see it in yourself or not. So I just want to thank you for doing these discipleship classes, these pillars here at House of Rest. I pray that this is just the beginning and you continue on with the many classes we're going to be offering, that you continue in everything that we have to offer in this school. But thank you so much. God bless you and welcome to House of Rest Church. God bless.