¡Es nuestro turno! | Pastor Jeremy DeWeerdt

Hello City First Church, how are you all today? I hope you are well. I am excited that you are here. Welcome to all the localities, to our leadership university, to all the students who are starting this year here. And before I start the message, I have an exciting announcement about something that will happen in two weeks here in City First, in all the localities. And well, it's summer, you know, it's a time where we are on vacation, you know, your schedule is out of routine, your kids are not in school, and maybe you haven't come so frequently, you are studying online. But well, now that we are ending the summer, we are returning to the normal rhythm, and today is the perfect time to return, to return to the important habit of returning consistently to the church, right? Amen. So in two weeks, we will be back to the church on Sundays. On Sunday, August 30th, I will be talking about how to pursue joy, right? And we are going to have a party, family events, things for the kids, for your friends, opportunities for photos, so put that on your calendar. Two weeks, August 30th, and if you have a person that is working or a friend that is not going to church, it would be the perfect Sunday to bring them to church. So go get them, talk to them, it's going to be incredible.

It's going to be a great two weeks from today, all right? Well, a couple of years ago, I was in New York, shooting a series for the City First Church, and for those of you who know or have been part of it for decades, it's that sometimes, well, I'm going to shoot something for a Sunday series, and I'm looking for a location that goes with the theme, right? And the theme of this series took me to New York, and I was talking about a point that gave me an idea of shooting this in the middle of Times Square in New York, and I said, well, that would be very cultural, because you did it. And so, I put on a microphone, and I had the microphone, and the cameras were ready, and we took an Uber, a taxi, to Times Square in New York, to the Grand Manzana. Imagine, you've been in a lot of cars, a lot of people, the billboards, right? The banners, and around seven at night, we arrived in the middle of the Grand Manzana in Times Square, and I started to film, and I said, look, everything that's around me, all the banners, all the messages, it's what the culture says that makes you happy, but here, we have, well, fashion, right? We have technology, money, fame, we have all of that in a set, and business, all of it is right here, and it's not necessarily bad to have things, but ultimately, none of those things

are going to make you happy, all of what's in those billboards. And so, I'm pretty much there, right? There's a lot of people walking, there's cars, and at the end of my message, at that point, I said, look, let me talk to you about Jesus. And I gave this mini sermon, a brave sermon, that Jesus is the one who can fill you, the one who can give you joy, only Jesus can give you inner peace, and, well, I'm really evangelizing, it's an important moment. I felt like it was a very momentous moment, and I was there, in front of a restaurant, I don't know if it's still there, but there was a restaurant to my left, it was called, it was a restaurant called Babo Tops, it was a seafood restaurant, and it was huge, it was massive, this restaurant, and I was evangelizing, and when I look to my left, I see this person wearing a uniform, and he's walking towards me, and he's walking, and I'm evangelizing, and it was weird, because I'm seeing this person coming closer and closer,

and there's someone here, almost to my face, and I stopped, and I turned around, and he says to me, hey, are you some kind of pastor or something? And I go, uh, yeah, and he says, ah, that's what I thought, and he says, I want you to know, your microphone is on the same frequency as the channel, and I go, ah, yeah, and he says, I want you to know, your microphone is on the same frequency as the channel, You're on the Intercom channel in the restaurant and it's on the same frequency and you're here evangelizing and you're there in the whole restaurant playing for all this time that we've been recording. And I went to see and there are two buildings of all the tables and all those people are looking at me and I say hello and they do that and there are people praying and they're applauding and other people aren't applauding. And well, for ten minutes I'm evangelizing the message of God to the whole restaurant in the middle of New York. The word of God. Imagine, it was proclaimed there in Bubba Gubbs, the epicenter of culture. And well, for centuries the Church of God has been the center of culture. If you really study the last 2,000 years, the history of the Church and the movement of Christianity has been really important in our society.

We can go back to the Church of Jerusalem in Acts chapter 2, right? 120 people dedicated and that day 3,000 people were saved. And one day in the city of Jerusalem, they were in a festival and well, they returned to their towns, their cities, their countries. In the book of Romans, when Paul, he never visited Rome at that time, but we think that maybe that day this movement started like that. When Christianity began to grow and in Jerusalem, suddenly Christianity began to expand. And we don't know how many people were in Jerusalem, but we knew that there were many people during that time. And in the next 30 years, after Pentecost, more and more people were saved in Jerusalem. I think thousands, hundreds of people or thousands in Jerusalem. More people became part of the Church from 60,000 to 100,000 people. I mean, imagine that. It is estimated that yes. And it went beyond Jerusalem. For the next 100 years, it began to grow, to grow in Europe, in Africa, everywhere. Christianity began to grow. The Church began to grow. The Church began to grow. And then suddenly Christianity began to grow

in business, in science, in entertainment. You know, in America, when they built towns, the Church was always in the center. And imagine, the Church was in the center. It was the highest place in the city. It has always been an influence. And now City First, my message today, City First, is this, it has been an influence. It is our turn. Today, it is our turn to be influencers in our culture at a higher level than we are. If you have your Bible, let's see, Josue, if you have a Bible, a physical Bible, or a Bible that shines, in the Old Testament, let's go to Joshua chapter one. I'm going to tell you, it's a famous story. Joshua chapter one, but Israel, well, they're in the desert, right? For decades. And Israel has been wandering around and deserts, and between them and the Promised Land

is the Jordan River. And it's the only thing that keeps them together, the Promised Land and the Jordan River. And Joshua, well, he's already in charge of this, right? Moses died. And look at what it says to him at this moment. As they begin to enter the Promised Land, and it says the following, it says, it says to Joshua, it says, sorry, Joshua 1.28, and we're reading more or less starting in the chapter, in verse three, we're going to focus on that word that says, the Lord, right? It says the following, and it says, now go, and get up. It says, take your place. Go to the Jordan,

and with all the people, and to the Lord, and to the Lord, and to the Lord, and to the Lord. the land that I'm giving to you, the Israelites. And every place, turn around and look at every place and turn around and look at the person next to you. Every place where your foot is touching, your foot size nine and a half, every place, every place that you're going through, I've given it to you. Like I promised Moses, no one is going to be there, except you, like I was with Moses, I'm going to be with you. He says, I'm going to be with you, I'm not going to let you down. He's looking at Joshua and he says, you haven't even gotten to the promised land, but I'm going to promise you that you already have authority over that land, that wherever you go, and now they're about giving you authority. He's talking to people who don't have a home for generations, they're like nomads, and enemies, they're living in the jungle, in the desert, sorry. And imagine, they're going to cross this river, they're going to enter the promised land, and God is telling them, this is yours. But the land, oof, had obstacles and enemies, but he says this promise, wherever you put your foot, it comes from a God who gives a place to you. In other words, he gives authority to people,

step by step, sorry, to people many, many years ago. And he says, oh, that promise is for them, not for us. But let me tell you, maybe it's not specifically for us, but it comes from a God who teaches us who he is, how he works, how he sees his people getting to a new territory, and giving them the authority, the power, and the ability to be there in those places. I live in a God who does that. So many of you are going to school, to work, when you get here to the neighborhood, wherever you are, God says, I'm going to cross this river, I'm ready. And that was a miracle in itself. I'm going to cross this river, and I'm going to own the land. And when you're there, you already have that place. Yes, and the very first place you're going to cross, there's a place of order. So imagine, after being a nomad, or camping, without a destination for 40 years, well, crossing the river was a miracle, right? Another miracle. And you say, how? I cross this river, and I'm already the owner of the land? And he says, God, yes. And the first city you're going to conquer is Jericho. Now Jericho is located in this place that is from east to west, in the Middle East.

It's a strategic spot there, and in the Middle East, it's the city with the least people. In fact, it was the oldest inhabited city. There were two main inhabited cities when the Israelites came. This is where Jericho, the city of the palm trees traveled. And Jericho is a lot of water in the Middle East, but there are a lot of people out there selling water, it's a luxury, right? Imagine, there were two main streets, two avenues. And well, Jericho was full of residents, but a lot of people were traveling, they were going out, they were selling things. It was like a modern, mini New York. It was the epicenter of trade, of sales, of finance, of wealth, and it was also the most fortified. And the Israelites are going to cross the river. They don't have any kind of weapons, they're camping for so many years, and you're going to take Jericho, like the mini New York of that day? Let me tell you, this tells me something about our God. God wants us at the center of the culture. He doesn't want us to hide, or trying to build our own decisions, right? He wants us to be involved in the culture as followers and believers. He didn't make us to hide. He said, you, the gates of hell, the gates of hell are not going to win. Hell is in the defense, and God is in the defense.

We are designed to glorify God with everything we do. Even Jesus said, you and I are like the light of the world. A city in a mountain cannot be hidden. The Bible says that we are the light of the world, we are the salt. We have to be like the salt, right? We are not forced into the culture, we are not marginalized or isolated, no. God wants our light to shine. He wants His children to live in such a way that we teach what God can do. You say, well, one day I was lost, but now I'm found. One day I was addicted and now I'm free. One day I had ego, but now I don't, now I serve others. We have to teach what God has done in us. And when we change to be inside the culture, when we are inside the culture, we take away the opportunity for others to see who God is through us. Remember, we are in the world, but we are not in the world. We have to be here, but we have to be different. If Josue comes to the city of Jericho, and he's going to send some spies to the city to see what's going on. And he's with Rahab, she's a prostitute, Rahab. And well, immediately she recognizes them and recognizes them as part of the Israelites who are inside of the wall of Jericho. And we don't know how many children of Israelites they were. She says, well, wait a minute, you're one of them. She says, a thousand, a hundred, a hundred, a thousand. There's a thousand people outside of the city. Maybe there's a million Israelites. Do you think the people on this wall noticed? Of course.

And this woman, Rahab, she says, you're one of them. And she was very smart because she was saying, well, in there, you know, and there's a lot of people outside and they're ready to attack. She says, I want to be on your side. And what she does is she basically hides these spies from the army of Jericho. And remember, Rahab, she's in Jericho when they're enemies of God because they serve pagan gods. And this is the interesting thing in Joshua chapter two. She says, before the spies went to sleep, Rahab went up to the roof to talk to them. And look at what it says here. It says, I know that God has given you this land. She says, hey, listen, I know this is over. They haven't been through the battle, but they're going to win. And what did he say to them? He says, we're all afraid. He says, everyone in the city is living in terror because we've heard how God, when you left Egypt 40 years ago, 40 years ago, God did a miracle. You've seen it, right? The rod goes up and the sea opens. And 40 years later, the enemy of God is speaking of the heavens above and the earth below. So that was kind of interesting. So she says, well, imagine, that's why we're afraid.

No one has the courage to fight after hearing all this because your God is the supreme God of heaven. She doesn't believe in him, but she recognizes that your God is the true God. All the gods that we worship are not real. Your God is the true God. So therefore, the reputation of God was already in front of the people and the enemy. So therefore, in your life, first, in your work, in your school, wherever you are, what you say, what you don't say, what you enjoy, what you enjoy, in your love, your compassion, in your work ethic, in your life, in your finances, in your expressions, in your tone of voice, what you say, what you don't say, what you joke about, your love, your compassion, everything is the reflection of the God that you serve. So, brings me to my second question. We're creating an image of God through our life. The people around us, with whom we work or in school, they don't know God. another guy who wants to be from God. Actually even for a block. You know, we've solved a lot

of our lives should be a reflection of who God is and who is holy. Our lives should be reflected by that success because they have to be Francis. All of our lives should be formed of love and blessings and, certainly a really high God. Because if one only looks upon God for the game and we look upon God for the game, we're going to have to be successful in our lives. God gives us success and blessings. And we have to be filled with joy because we live, we serve a God, the God of joy, of life. You know, the most successful people in the city of business should be Christians. The most compassionate should be Christians. The most talented artist should be a Christian because God is the center of our creativity. God is the center of our family. We should notice, even if our families are in trouble, we should have something solid. It does not mean that we're trying to grow in God, we're trying to serve him. It does not mean that we're trying to grow in God, we're trying to serve him. It does not mean that we're trying to grow in God, it is not about perfection. What is the true and unique God? It does not mean that you're going to be perfect

or that you're going to make mistakes or that there's not going to be problems. No. And sometimes this happens. To see that there is a perfection. The point is this. If somebody were to take our life, if somebody were to take our life, if someone who is a reflection of God and our people around us, the people around us that we work with, they should see that there is a benefit that they would see the benefit of serving Jesus. Because if you're taking someone's life and you put them together and you compare them, I have hope that there is a benefit that they can see, obviously, of following Jesus. Because if there's no difference between the believers and the unbelievers, then I would question if our faith is for real and it's just a fairy tale. Our lives should be really different because God is in them. And if we really believe that God has a blessing, and he says this, I think we have favor, blessings, and we have to give blessings and give love. Love, the love that God gave us. In Genesis chapter 12, God is talking to Abram and he says, I'm going to make you a nation,

I'm going to bless you, and I'm going to make you famous, and we want to finish the scripture there. And he says, and you're going to make a blessing for others. You're always blessed to bless others. He always gives you resources so that those resources can be shared with someone else. God helps you so that you can help others. You know what I mean? The Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. In Deuteronomy 12, this is what he says, he says, the Lord your God, your talents and your fields and your hosts, your children will be blessed. Now remember, if you keep all the commandments that I've given you, God's going to put you on top of the nations of the world. You're going to receive all the words, you're going to be blessed. You're going to have all these blessings if you obey God, so the keys is this, you may be far or narrow, you may not ride your horses, but he says that there's a God that you will meet, there will be a blessing on your life. He says, all those who come from your own soil, your nemesis blessed, so never get tired of his benefits.

So your fruit, your house will be full of fruit. There's going to be fruits everywhere you go that you're going to be a serving God. So whatever you do, don't be afraid. So the key is that maybe you're not a farmer, and maybe you don't apply all this verse to you, but God is saying to you, if you obey him, there's going to be a blessing on your life. And then in Psalms, it says, bless God and do not forget all his benefits. In other words, there should be a benefit that is really obvious when you serve God. It doesn't mean you're perfect, you're Billy Graham, you're the Pope. No, no, no, it doesn't mean that. My point is that it's obvious, the blessing in your life for how you obey God. And by the way, your life should look different. You know, Jericho is not a big city. But in that day, it was very, very big, right? Compared to today, no, but in that day, yes. And there were these walls and there were guards guarding on horseback, and they were marching around Jericho's wall, and they marched seven times, and it wasn't a trumpet that sounded of war, it was a trumpet of praise, and they began to shout. Imagine, you're in a city, we're going to pretend that there's a million people, or what are we going to do, conservatives? That a million people are all shouting

and with trumpets, sounding trumpets, imagine. And he says, the walls fell, and Israel came in. Now, there's a powerful observation of this. I believe that the power of having a million people has a big impact on the culture, and it starts with praise, not with a fight, with an anger, it doesn't start by telling them that they're wrong. It starts you and I living a life of praise. And people at work, and they're going to see that there's something different about you. Because we all praise, even the atheist praises. The atheist praises himself and science. Someone who's a narcissist praises himself. Someone who's a materialist praises materialist things. We all have praises, but we have to have a different praise because we praise God. People in our life have to see and they should notice that there's something different about us. It's this saying that we sometimes evangelize. It says this, it says, always, always evangelize, and from time to time use words. In other words, our actions have to be bigger. How we treat others, our tone, our compassion, our work ethic, all of that evangelizes the world more than our words could do. God wants our people to be in the epicenter of culture, but he wants them to evangelize with their actions. And you know what? This world is going to see that the church of Jesus didn't own any evidence of a living God.

And you know what? The wall of Jericho fell and Josue goes back to the city of God and says, look, no one is going to build this. This is the city of God and everything was made of God. Now remember, Israel, well, they didn't have contracts. They didn't have houses. And well, if you conquered Jericho, which was a very prosperous city at the time, it would be an important place, right? If you have, if you dedicate yourself to the roots, at the time, you would have wanted to sell in Jericho. And he said, no, we're not going to do this. We're going to go to the promised land and we're going to give this place to God. What does this mean? That our victories, we give them back to God because he is the one who made them possible. Do you think the Israelites made the wall fall by itself? No, God did this. But any blessing, and I'm talking about today's blessings, what benefit, any benefit in your life, they're not just yours, they're God's. God gave them to you and they're here for him. And you're not going to be able to take these benefits or blessings with you. The only blessing or benefit you can take is a life of forgiveness and forgiveness and to go to heaven. So any blessing we have, we're not going to be like, look, look, look at me, look at me, look at everything I have.

No, no, no. We say, look, God is yours. Thank you, thank you. This event happened approximately 3,400 years ago. He says, well, how do you apply that to us? In 2026, how do we apply it? When we're going to march in the cities and play trumpets, what do we do in this modern age? Look, what we can do is there are true biblical things that we can apply in our schools, in our neighborhood. You know, first, God wants his people to be in the center of the culture, but he doesn't want you to hide. He wants you in the middle, in the middle. The century of this church, in fact, happened to this. There were people who pursued them, and they bravely proclaimed the love of Jesus. And listen, God wants you to be in the middle of this relaxation, in the middle of the culture. He doesn't want you to hide. He doesn't want us to hide in churches. He wants us to be in the middle of these places of our work, in the places of education where we live. But our lives should teach other people that there is a benefit in following and knowing Jesus. That when people look at you, they say, you know, there is something different about you. There is something that... There is a spirit, there is something that attracts you spiritually. They want to know more about you. Why don't you do certain things?

Why do you do some things and not others? And you are always very nice and very generous. And you make me a better person. And you do it with a lot of grace. And you prioritize certain things. They are curious to know why. Why do you live like this? We have talents, resources that God has given us. It's not ours. We use our talents to bless others. Jen and I prioritize that any blessing that has been given to us, we want to bless other people. We want to help other people. And you know what? We haven't earned any of that. Sure, we work hard for this, but at the end of the day, it's God's blessing. And I don't deserve it. And you know what? I want to share my blessings. And we have to see this. Whether it's our material things, finances, or time, skills, energy, we should share a portion of that with the people around us. And to be able to share with others so that if they need a blessing, they can need it one day. We return it to God with gratitude. We don't keep it just to keep it.

We don't keep treasures on earth. We keep treasures in heaven. The best thing on the sports field is to share with others so that people can see Jesus and can meet Him one day. We need more people with faith at the center of the culture. We need the best teachers in our school system, Christians. The best athletes should be people of faith. The best creators of movies should be people of faith. The best restaurants should be people of faith. The best businesses should be people of faith. The best musicians should be people of faith. The people who write, the coaches, the people who build, the scientists, the mechanics, the politicians, the police, the firefighters, the best growers, the best producers,

the best volunteers, the best philanthropists, the best people should be people of faith. Christians, believers, because God created all of this to serve Him. Because we have God who lives inside of us. So we should be excellent in what we do. We have to work for what we do, but we have to be the light and the salt that people realize our personality, but that they see that we create. That they see that Christians do it differently. And that there is a curiosity. Whatever your profession, whatever your influence, use your life and your work to praise God, to make Him known through you. Let's give a big round of applause for this. Whatever your profession,

your influence, use your life for Him. And well, thousands of years ago, that was their time, but now it's our time. In 2026, you go to work tomorrow, or go to school. Be a witness. Let your life evangelize. Live a life of praise. Show the benefits that God has given you. How does it benefit you to be a believer? Maybe you got here today broken, but I want to be able to share with other people the benefits that Jesus has been. And allow God to be the center of your life. And over time, that brokenness, that broken part of you, will heal. And you will be able to share the benefit of serving God in your life. One day you were lost, but now you are found. Let's go ahead and make a promise to God

that you will choose to live brightly. Let the people around you see your influence. Let's pray, Almighty Father, I pray that you would see the light of Jesus inside of us, no matter if we're starting our career or retired, wherever we are. Even in our imperfect imperfection. And when we make mistakes, we ask for forgiveness. And we try to do that. That they see that we're imperfect. That they see that we're imperfect. And when we continue to make mistakes, when we have an apology, I preach in this message that I'm far from being perfect. I'm far from being perfect. We haven't reached that point yet, and I'm evangelizing this message, and I'm still missing a lot of work. We all have work to do. But God, we really want to be a message and a correct reflection of Jesus. You know, you mentioned in this place, we love you, we love you. With all eyes closed, head down, if you say, Pastor, you mentioned this relationship with Jesus and I've never had it, or I had it at some point, or I left him, but I want to rededicate my life again. If you say, I want to make God my leader and savior today, and you say, I know that the water has done bad things, but I know that God came as the son of God.

Well, Jesus went to the cross, he died, he paid the penalty for my sin. And you say, I need forgiveness, I want a new life. I want to live, Pastor Jeremy, like a life, a life full of purpose and influence. And I want to be the leader of my life. If today is you, raise your hand wherever you are. There are hands everywhere. There are hands with eyes closed. We're going to pray this prayer, and we're going to close together. I know you raised your hand, and God is listening to you. We're going to say it together, and God is listening to you. Dear Jesus, I come to you today, and I invite you into my heart. I believe that you died for me. Thank you for loving me with unconditional love. I want a new life with you at the center, and you as my leader. Thank you for loving me in Jesus' name. And by saying that, we're going to give everybody a big round of applause for praying this.