Show Me Your Receipts | Juan Lozada | Building The House

Good morning, good morning. Can y'all hear me? Is that all right? You guys good? Good morning, good morning, CTC family. How are you guys doing today? You guys doing well? All right, all right, guys. Before I get started, I do want to give honor what honors do. I'm sure Pastor Tyrone, not if, but when he watches this message, and mind you, if you guys don't see me around anymore, I might have said something and I might be fired tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. But no, Pastor Tyrone, can we just give it up to Pastor Tyrone and Lady V, man. Thank you guys so much for leading well. Thank you for being one of the most awesome pastors that there is here in Yuma, Arizona. But guys, my name is Juan Lozada. If we haven't met yet, I am the next steps director here at CTC. As Karina was mentioning, if you're joining us here for the first time, number one, I want to welcome you and just let you know that here at CTC we are committed to helping people far from home. We are committed to helping people far from home. We are committed to helping people far from home. We are committed to helping people far from God find life in Christ.

And so we're going to get started with the message. As you can hear it in my voice, I hope you can feel it in the atmosphere. I am a hollaback preacher, amen. So we're going to do this together today, okay? No, no, no, no. We're going to do this together today, amen? Amen, amen, guys. So we're going to be in Exodus chapter 6. Exodus chapter 6. We're going to go to verse 6 to 8. Exodus 6, verse 6 to 8. And it reads a little bit like this. Therefore I say to the people of Israel, I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will claim you as my own people and I will be your God. Your what? Then you will know that I am the Lord. Your what? Who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to you, I swore to give Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord. Let's go before him. Lord, we thank you, we love you, Jesus. Thank you, Father, for allowing us to come to a space where we

can freely worship you. We can freely express, Father, our gratitude towards you and worship and fellowship. And all of the things that we do here, Father, at CTC. Father, I pray for not only our church but I pray for every church in this county, in Yuma, in America, Father, who is preaching the gospel. I ask that your Holy Spirit, Father, be in that space that it transforms lives. That it brings sanctification. That it brings redemption. That it brings healing, Father, for all of us who listen to the word today, Father. I ask for soft hearts in this place. I ask that you saturate this room with your Holy Spirit. And I ask that our ears, our hearts be opened in the name of Jesus. And we all said amen. You guys may take a seat. All right, guys, let's get the party started. Amen. So as I prepared for this message, I began to recognize that there is this crisis of directionless living in America. A crisis of directionless living in America. What do I mean by that? What do I mean by that? Well, if Pastor Tyrone would follow you around for one whole week, right. He's walking around and, you know, he gets his notes out and kind of checking the boxes, all the things.

And he watched what you spent your money on. What you gave your time to. And what you thought about when no one was watching. What would he say that you actually value? I entitled this message, show me your receipts. Show me your receipts. Touch your neighbor and say, today we're going to see your bank statement. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. We're not going to see bank statements. Only for this side. So if you guys can start getting a gathering, pop it up, all the good stuff. I'm just kidding. We are almost at the close of our series here, building the house at CTC. We have core values that are displayed and felt as you walk into Church for the City. Now, I'm not originally from Yuma. Me and my beautiful wife, we're not originally from here. We've been here for about a year and a half. I'm not a human yet. I'm still human. But we're still working on it. We're working on the transition. But I've heard this so much, and I absolutely love when I hear this from people. They say, from the moment that I entered the parking lot, I felt at home.

Or sometimes they say this, this church was my last resort. I don't know why, but God told me to come in here. And sometimes it's not even on a Sunday. But ever since that moment, I called it home. this place, home. And I love that. And so today we're gonna talk about our values. Somebody shout values. We're gonna talk about how values shape our life, shape our families, and shape this church. And I wanna begin with a value that is truly a pillar that makes CTC special. That word is community. And if you've been here for a couple of times, if you've been here for a month, if you've been here for six months, can I just encourage you, if you are not plugged into a life group, can I tell you this? Don't do life alone. Don't do life alone because it might just save your life. As you guys have heard here in the testimony of the young man, it's gonna take my life, but because I was in community, because I was sitting there, I picked up my phone and community answered. You see, we have 35 small groups happening from Monday to Saturday,

and they range from men's to women's, next generation groups, kids, youth, young adults, to families, to marriages. And why am I saying this? Why is this important to me and you? What does it matter? Well, AA 2025 survey says this. They have found more than six to 10 US adults feel lonely. More than half report feeling isolated, left out, and lacking companionship often. Harvard research found that 67% of lonely adults feel lonely because they are not part of a community. And some of them say that they don't have close families or friends. Well, why is this important? Because it's important for me and you to know, because this is a church problem disguised as a cultural problem. You see, America is the most anxious it's ever been. It's the most depressed. It's the most online it's ever been, and yet the most lonely it has ever been. What I noticed about directionless living is that it happens outside of community because connection, hear me, because connection without shared values isn't community, it's proximity. And can I tell you the Israelites, they were God's chosen people. God didn't just want proximity.

He wanted relationship with them. Amen. And God just doesn't want an encounter with you. God doesn't just want a moment with you. God doesn't just want a Sunday with you. He wants relationship 24-7, 365 days out of the year. But before we talk through other values that we have here at Church for the City, I wanna see what God values Himself. In Exodus 6, God doesn't just give the Israelites instructions, He reveals His values through five I will promises. These were God's receipts. He says this, I will bring you out. And can I tell you this, to everyone listening here today, this wasn't instructions for the Israelites. These weren't promises. These weren't values just for them. These are values for you and me. He says this, I will bring you out. 2 Corinthians 5, 17 says, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has gone and the new is here. You see, God is still bringing people out of addiction. He's still bringing people out of shame and out of Egypt-shaped thinking right now in this room. He wants to bring something out of you. I will free you, He said. John 8, 36 says, so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

And God has paid the price for me and you to have, to live out that freedom that He's already deposited in each and every one of us through the Holy Spirit. Are we living in freedom? He also says, I will redeem you. 1 Peter 1, 18 says this, you were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus. You see, redemption didn't just happen to the Israelites. Redemption is happening to us in this room, to the people in our community, to the families that we have. He is redeeming. Each and every one of us. He also said, I will take you as my people. I will bring you into the land. God isn't just describing a rescue plan, hear me. He is revealing what he values. He is revealing that he values covenant, he values freedom, he values relationship, he values promise. His values drove his actions and even up to the cross, the values that God has for me and you are all displayed on the cross. Because he wants relationship, he wants covenant, he wants promise, he wants to see freedom in our life. Amen? Amen. Here's a good definition of values. A value is a deeply held belief that shapes behavior and priorities. It is an internal conviction, hear me, that determines external action. You see, what you consistently choose reveals what you truly value.

What are the things that we are consistently doing that aren't lining up to what we say we value? Because we can say we value family, we can say we value community, we can say we value marriage, but if we aren't doing things, if our actions aren't aligned to what we say, then we aren't truly valuing what we say. I love this analogy of values. Values are like riverbanks, right? A river without banks doesn't flow and it floods. It goes everywhere and accomplishes absolutely nothing, but banks give the river direction. It gives it force and it gives it movement. You see, values are what keep our life moving in purpose. Proverbs 29, 18 says this, where there is no vision, the people perish. You see, vision will tell us where to go is what Patrick Tyrone was talking about a couple weeks ago, but values is how we get there. So God had values that shaped his actions toward Israel, but the problem wasn't God's values, it was the Israelites. Every culture has its own set of values. You see, Egypt valued power, Rome values dominance, Mexico, we value good food, I get it, man. Some taco ton, some birria, you know what I'm saying? I haven't had menudo in a minute, I've been craving some menudo, woo! Lord forgive me. All right, guys, we're all going to start it fast, okay? Who's up, who's ready? No, nobody? It's like, all right. But guys, at CTC, here are some values. We value worship, right, to provide a place where Jesus Christ is exalted by dynamic spirit-filled worship praise and prayer. We value family to encourage the strength and unity of marriages and families, enhancing the ability of each individual to live a sanctified life in this world.

We value love, we love love, okay? To be a church that is full of God's love, acceptance, and forgiveness, crossing all denominational, social, and cultural barriers. But here's the problem, modern culture values self, right? The world says this, protect yourself, promote yourself, live your truth. But the kingdom values surrender. The kingdom says, deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow me. Matthew 16, 24 says this, then Jesus said to his disciples, if any of you want to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. For 400 years, how many years? For 400 years, Egypt shaped the Israelites' thinking, their identity, their habits, and their values for 400 years. And I think that what the Israelites needed to press into was some of our values, right? Because I love these two values that we have here. Number one, truth. We are guided. We are guided by his truth, we are guided by his word. And this is the second one, growth. Why? Because we make room for more. We are growing through discipleship here at CTC. And there is a saying, there is a saying that I do, as I was reading this scripture, it just came to my mind. Right. Now, I grew up in the hood, I was in the hood, I'm from Vegas. I don't know if it's proper most of the time. But I got some of that dog in me, okay. But guys, there is a saying, and I'm going to get to know where my saints with some past are. Okay.

There is a saying. And so if you can help me, I just want to identify where my people are at. But if you can help me finish it, it says, you can take the man out of the hood. But you can't take the hood out the man. Oh, so we all have some past. All right, I like it. I love it. I love it. Come on, come on. That's right. But guys, this was the Israelites problem. Because theologians would agree that although they were physically free from Egypt, hear me, they were still enslaved to Egypt mentally. What is your Egypt? And will you allow it from stopping you entering the promised land? What is your Egypt? What is your Egypt? Because it can get dangerous for us. For me and you. It can get dangerous. What do I mean? Hear me. Numbers 14 verse 1-4 says this. Then the whole community began weeping out loud and they cried all night. Their voices rose to a great chorus of protest against Moses

and Aaron. If only we had died in Egypt or even here in the wilderness, they complained. Why is the Lord taking us to a country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder. Wouldn't it have been better for us to return to Egypt? Then they plotted amongst themselves. Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt. You see, the people didn't just complain about the wilderness. They wanted to go back to Egypt. And they said, let's appoint a new leader and return to Egypt. If we aren't careful as a church, as individuals, hear me, slavery will become so familiar that it feels like safety. Some of us got it, some of us didn't. Deuteronomy 8-3 says this. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna of food previously known to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that the people did not live by bread alone. But rather we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Every morning manna fell from heaven. Why? Because God was teaching them, you don't survive by Egypt anymore, you survive by me. He was rebuilding their values from the ground up. And can I tell you this? Can I tell you?

The wilderness was not punishment, hear me, it was reprogramming. Some of us are going through a valley. Some of us are going through the wilderness. Some of us are going through some storms. And God, we are asking God, why me? Why now? What did I do to deserve this? Can I tell you that it's not a punishment. He is building something inside of you. He is refining something inside of you. Come on, I'm preaching to the wrong church today. Because God doesn't just want you to go through the storm, hear me, he wants you to grow through the storm. God is building something in his people. In me and you. And he wants to use you to make an impact. Not only to the community. Not only to the world. But he wants you to make an impact to your family. To your generations. The wilderness wasn't punishment, it was reprogramming. When I was about 20, in my early 20s. I remember, this was one of the few times that I remember God speaking to me so clearly. So clearly. And he said this to me. He said, son, there are things that you will have to relearn. Others I will have to reboot. And others you will have to unlearn.

and learn, and I didn't know this at the time, but can I tell you, as the Lord, I entered into this season, and I started to ask, God, what does that mean? What do you mean by that? I began to notice that my Egypt was a broken home. My Egypt was living a broken life. With an absent father. My Egypt was having four different stepfathers by the age of 17. My Egypt was my upbringing, and although God took me out of there, there were still some things in me. How many ever been there? Am I just the only one? Am I the only one? And so God had done all these amazing things. I was saved at 15 and a half. I am the first generation Christian. I am the first generation pastor. God, because of me, I would pray on my knees and say, God, bring my family, because I just want them to see how good you are, how faithful you are. I wanna see them in heaven with me. Yes, yes. And although I've been saved for seven years, God was still working things in me. And I think that the Western culture has made Christianity, has made Jesus a magic pill that you take

and everything goes away. But can I tell you a relationship with Jesus is in a moment, it's a lifestyle. It's not, God, I'll follow you, I'll give you my life today, because it's Sunday, and then tomorrow I just go and live out my truth. Jesus says, deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me. He's already given us instructions on how to live, but are you living for him or are you living for you? I don't wanna know, don't answer that, just answer that with him. Just tell me, I'll go, oh, that's good, that's good. Can I tell you something? For those people that are walking through adversity, faith that isn't tested is faith that cannot be trusted. Because the reality is each and every one of us has a story in this room, you have a testimony, you have an individuality that comes with you, and because God made you so beautifully and wonderfully, he wants to use your story to impact those around us. Because hurt people hurt people, but restore people restore people. And God wants to use you. God, you got to clap, that's cool, I don't mind. But God wants to use you to make an impact for the kingdom. Romans 12, two says this, Paul later would say, do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve

what God's will is, his good, his pleasing and perfect will. Dr. Caroline Leaf, I would encourage you guys to go and do your own research, but I love this doctor. I'm gonna tell you a little bit about her. Dr. Caroline Leaf has spent nearly 40 years studying the relationship between brain, mind and body. She was one of the first in the field to study how the brain can change a concept that you might know as neuroplasticity. And Dr. Caroline Leaf, her research says that it takes 21 days to interrupt a toxic thought pattern and 63 days of daily practice to build a new one that sticks. Does this sound familiar to anyone? God didn't just drop a plate of manna to the Israelites and walk away. He fed the Israelites every single morning on purpose until full dependency was on him. Renewing of your mind was never a one-time decision. It was a daily practice. You see, Egypt isn't a place. Egypt is a mindset and God wants to lead you out of it. My last point is this, values either align us to the mission or they divide us. Acts 2, 1 says this, and when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place. Somebody shout one accord. One accord. You see, one accord doesn't mean that they agreed on everything. It don't mean that. Okay?

Because we all have opinions here, we all have world views here, we all have them. It means that they had the same heart. They had the same focus. They had the same values. They were aligned. You see, the upper room wasn't just proximity, it was alignment. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to over 500 people, it is in 1 Corinthians 15.6. But when it came time to wait, the upper room was only 120 people. I don't know if you can do the math, but that's approximately 380 people that saw the risen Christ, and they still didn't stay, right? They were curious about him. They were moved by what they seen and what he said, but they weren't committed. They weren't committed. You see, everybody wants a Pentecost if you want the upper room. Everybody wants a promise if you want the process. Everybody wants power, but nobody wants surrender. Oh, my gosh, this thing fell on me, I don't know what's happening, sorry, guys. The difference between the 500 and the 120 wasn't capacity or ability, it wasn't their gifts or talents, it was the willingness to listen to the voice of God and obey. Romans 3, 3 says this, can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? You see, you cannot build community with people who do not share the same values. You can have an audience, you can have a crowd, but you cannot have a church. And so, how does this apply to me, Juan? Out of all these values, what does that mean for my life? Well, can I tell you that most of these values, yes, you're gonna feel them here because that's our culture. Yes, you're gonna see them and display them every time you come in on a Sunday morning because that's who we are, but most times, most times, we represent the values outside of these four walls. What do I mean?

I have two stories. Number one, this was really just for me, but one day I was driving, right, I was driving and I'm rolling down the street, right, whatever. And then from my peripheral, that's how you... I don't even know. The first story didn't even tell me if I was right or wrong. I say words wrong all the time, I'm Mexican, and so I'm just kind of like, I just make words up, okay? Like, I don't know. Like, you and Pastor Tyrone have the same high school education, okay? From my peripheral, I see a guy, and the Holy Spirit tells me, go back and give him all the cash that you have in your pocket. And I say, God, do you know these are my last $30? What are we talking about? I said, no, absolutely not. I kept going. And then on the other street, like, boom, he tells me again, go back and give him all the money that you have. Okay. Do a U-turn, I'm on my way. I walk into the store, right, it's a gas station, and I go, and I go, hey, God told me to give you this. He takes it. Now, mind you, this guy was in line, and he takes the money, and he starts crying. And he says, he has some tortillas, he had some milk, I think it was for his family, and he says, I was in line? I don't know how I was going to pay for this. God shows up in our values when we listen to his voice and we obey him. Uh, so at the time, I'm, if you've ever talked to me, I'm a pretty weird guy, okay? Um, I be saying some outlandish stuff all the time, Lord forgive me.

Um, some of you guys are like, Pastor Tyrone, how is he on staff here? What are we doing? But, but I was a weird kid, okay? Like I was a weird kid in high school and I used to hang out with, you know, the, the, the jocks and then I used to hang out with, uh, the, you know, the, the punk rock and then I used to go with the skaters sometime and, and I was just one of those guys that I would just kind of like, you know what I'm saying, I'm hanging out with the white people, I'm hanging out with the black people, I'm hanging out with the Asians, you know what I'm saying? Like, like that's just what, what I do, you know? But one day, I was in the classroom and the Holy Spirit tells me there's this guy in the corner and he tells me, go and talk to him. Now mind you, I already established that I'm weird, but I was like, Holy Spirit, that kid is kind of weird. I don't want to go over there. Okay? He's even weird for me and that's saying something. And so I'm like, no, I'm not going to do that. And so, and so about 30 minutes, 20 minutes left, the Holy Spirit tells me again, go over there and talk to him. And I'm like, oh boy, all right, let's go. So I get up out of my seat, I sit down next to the young man and I start talking to him. You know, I'm, I'm only introducing myself and just like making casual conversation. And then I start talking to him about Jesus and what he's done in my life and all the things that I know he could do for him. And so I say, hey, do you, do you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? So that if you die, when you die, I'll see you in heaven one day. And he looks at me, he's like, yes, let's do it. And I'm like, cool, cool, cool, cool. Let's do it.

And so we wait till the after school and we were in portables at the time. And so we're sitting outside and, and, and so, you know, I'm, I, I'd be like, okay, just repeat after me. We're going to say this prayer. And so we say the prayer and then I'm like, amen. He's like, amen. And he just starts bawling and people are walking around and I'm like, bro, kick back. Like people are walking next to us, like, I get it, man. This was emotional, but not that much, you know, like relax, bro. People are looking at us like, what's happening over there? And he continues to cry and I'm like, bro, what's happening? And every time I don't want to listen to the voice of God, I go back to the story. And he says, you don't understand. I was going to go home, go in my room and kill myself. We don't know when, what people are going through. We don't know why the Holy Spirit wants you to talk to that person. We don't know why God is telling you to do this for that person. But what I do know is when we obey God, he shows up. He shows up. So there's going to be, yeah, there's a graphic up there. What I challenge you to do this week, this is my challenge for the week, is to take a picture of this or memorize it, write it down in your notebook, whatever it is, one of our values, just one. And I challenge you to live one out, just one. Because CTC, it's not just a church that says we have values, we are a church that activates it. Come on. That's who we are. That's who we are. So we're going to go before the Lord in a minute, we're going to pray.

But I want, if any of us are going through an Egypt, if any of us are struggling through something or maybe you're just living out your best life, there's going to be a prayer team up here and they want to hold your hand as we always take it back to the cross. Because the Israelites might've had manna, but we have the Holy Spirit because Jesus paid the price. And can I tell you, you don't have to do life alone. Can I tell you, you've already been purchased. Can I tell you, God already purchased you. You looked at your life And although you say my life is too messy my life is too chaotic my life I'm too far gone Jesus said I already paid for it Let's go before the Lord Lord Jesus, we love you. We thank you in this moment Thank you. Thank you father for allowing us to be able to express our belief in you In America because people around the world do not have The same opportunity that we do so we just thank you for this place Father if there are people in this room that are going through adversity that are going Through challenging times that are going through their Egypt father. I ask that you begin to bring them out not only father Spiritually, but also physically with people around them. I ask that that you begin to place people in their lives So they can walk this faith out together Father I pray for those in this room I ask that you strengthen each and every one of us as a as a as your bride so to be the hands and feet father as We live out these values We love you. We thank you Jesus and all CTC family said