The Final Step to Overcoming the Flesh - Rob Champion

Jesus came so lost people could be saved. This church is not a cruise ship where we lay by the pool. This is a battleship and for 23 years we've been on mission for Jesus. For 23 years we've been worshipping Jesus, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, reaching lost people, baptizing people, helping people know God and grow in God, discover a purpose and make a difference. We've been on the mission of Jesus. For one reason, to see more changed lives. That has breath. Praise the Lord. Say praise the Lord. Come on. Let everything. That has breath. Praise the Lord. Say praise the Lord. I'll praise in the valley. Praise on the mountain. I'll praise when I'm sure. And praise when I'm doubting. I'll praise when I'm numbered. Praise when surrounded. Praise is the water. My enemy's shrouded. As long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Hold my soul. Praise the Lord. Hold my soul. I'll praise when I feel. And I'll praise when I don't. I'll praise because I know you're still in control. My praise is a weapon. It's more than a town. My praise is the shout that brings Jericho down. As long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Hold my soul. Oh, I will praise the Lord. Hold my soul. I won't be quiet. I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside? Oh, I will praise the Lord. Hold my soul. Come on, praise the Lord. Come on, keep your hands together. Come on, come on, come on, come on. God, you're so worthy of our praise. Come on. I'll praise because you're sovereign. Praise because you reign. Praise because you rose and defeated the grave. I'll praise because you're faithful. Praise because you're true. Praise because there's nobody greater than you. I'll praise because you're sovereign. Praise because you reign. Praise because you rose and defeated the grave. I'll praise because you're faithful. Praise because you're true.

Praise because there's nobody greater than you. Praise the Lord. Hold my soul. Oh, I will praise the Lord. Hold my soul. Come on, come on, sing. Praise the Lord. Hold my soul. Oh, I will praise the Lord. Hold my soul. Oh, I won't be quiet. I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside? Oh, I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside? Oh, I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside? I will praise the Lord, oh my soul Praise the Lord, let everything, let us praise, praise the Lord God, we thank you for your Spirit in this room, God Lord, we need you Thank you, God As the Spirit was moving over the water, Spirit come over us Come rest on us, come rest on us As the Spirit was moving over the water, Spirit come over us Come rest on us, come rest on us Fire and wind, come do it again Open up the gates, let heaven on in Come rest on us, come rest on us Fire and wind, come do it again Open up the gates, let heaven on in Come rest on us, come rest on us Come down, Spirit when you move you make my heart pound When you fill the room, you're here and I know you won't move me I'm here and I know you will fill me Come down, Spirit when you move you make my heart pound When you fill the room, you're here and I know you won't move me I'm here and I know you will fill me Oh, Lord fill us up

Holy Spirit, come rest on us You're all we want, you're all we want Holy Spirit, come rest on us You're all we want, you're all we want Holy Spirit, come rest on us You're all we want, you're all we want Holy Spirit, come rest on us You're all we want, you're all we want Holy Spirit, come fill this place God You're all we want, you're all we want Holy Spirit, come rest on us You're all we want, you're all we want Come down, Spirit when you move you make my heart pound When you fill the room, you're here and I know you won't move me I'm here and I know you will fill me Come down, Spirit when you move you make my heart pound When you fill the room, you're here and I know you won't move me I'm here and I know you will fill me Lord fill us up Oh, Hallelujah God, you're so worthy of our praise God, you're so good Amazing love that welcomes me Come on, just sing to Him and tell Him, say, God, you're so good. God, you're so good. God, you're so good. Yes, you are God. God, you're so good. You're so good to me. Behold the cross, age to age, and hour by hour.

The dead are raised, and the sinner saved. The work of your power. God, you're so good. God, you're so good. God, you're so good. You're so good to me. Oh, God, you are God. You're so good. Oh, every day you are God. You're so good. Every day you are God. You're so good. You're so good to me. I am blessed. I am called. I am healed. I am whole. I am saved. Jesus name. Highly favored. Lord said, filled with your power for the glory. Jesus name. I am blessed. I am blessed. I am called. I am healed. I am whole. I am saved. Jesus name. Highly favored.

Lord said, filled with your power for the glory. Jesus name. Come on, sing God, you're so good. God, you're so good. Come on, just tell them. God, you're so good. Oh, God, you're so good. You're so good to me. Amen. You can be seated. But let's remain in this posture of worship. We're going to receive communion and worship together as a church family today. And if you're joining us online or at home, you can go to your pantry and grab some juice, a piece of bread or a cracker. You can participate in communion with us. Church family, if you would, grab those communion elements that were on your seat. As you receive them, hold them in your hand and we'll take communion together in just a moment as a church family. You know, the scripture instructs us and tells us to examine ourselves before we take communion. So as I read this Bible verse, let's take some time today to examine our life and our heart and make sure there's no unconfessed sin or there's nothing between you and God. The Bible shares a story of one day Jesus going to see some friends who had just lost their brother. And while having a conversation with one of their sisters, Jesus shares a powerful, powerful statement in John chapter 11, verses 25 and 26. And Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die. And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Die, do you believe this? When we take communion as a church family, we remember all the things, all the sacrifices that Jesus did for those of us who believe in him and follow his teachings. In this verse, Jesus promised to us eternal life. And this eternal life starts the moment

you follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. This eternal life that Jesus promised is a life full of power and joy and excitement for the here and now, each and every day. And this promise, this eternal life promise, promises you and I that once our mortal body passes away, that our spirit will be alive in the presence of Jesus. And this eternal life continues when Jesus returns and defeats the enemy of our souls and sets up his eternal reign. This is eternal life. And so today, as a church family, we remember the experience of the power of God, the power over death, hell, and the grave. And we experience, we remember the experience that we've had of that eternal life. Church family, if you would, let's take our communion elements and peel back the top plastic layer and hold the wafer in your hands. And I'll pray and then we'll take it together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the broken body of Jesus that gave us a full, whole life. And with his broken body, we thank you for all the gifts that we have, the gift of salvation, the gift of the blessed life, the gift of eternal life. Today, Father, we thank you for all that Jesus did for us on the cross. In Jesus's name we pray, amen.

You now partake of the communion wafer. In the same way, would you peel back the foil layer of juice now at this time? We'll take it, hold it in your hand, we'll take it together after I pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for our sins. Thank you for the forgiveness. And Father, thank you that we are in right relationship with you and we get to walk with you each and every day. Lord, we thank you for the blood of Jesus. And it's in the mighty name of Jesus we pray, amen. You now can partake of the juice. Thank you, Jesus. All across this room, if you would stand to your feet, if you feel comfortable, lift your hands. Let's take a moment just to worship our risen King and Savior, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus. We thank you for your blood that you've shed for us, Father. We thank you, Jesus. God, we're so grateful for you. ♪ Oh, my words fall short ♪ ♪ I've got nothing new to say to you ♪ ♪ I've got nothing new to say to you ♪ ♪ How could I express all my gratitude ♪ ♪ I could sing these songs as I often do ♪ ♪ But every song must end and you never do ♪ Come on, we sing.

♪ So I throw up my hands and praise you again and again ♪ ♪ All that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Cause I know it's not much, I'm nothing else before a king ♪ ♪ Except for a heart singing hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I've got one response, I've got just one move ♪ ♪ I've got just one move, with my arms stretched wide ♪ ♪ I will worship you, Lord ♪ ♪ So I throw up my hands and praise you again and again ♪ ♪ Cause all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah, I know it's not much. I'm nothing else here for a king, except for a heart singing hallelujah, hallelujah. Oh it's all I have Lord, and God you're worthy of it all, you're worthy of it all. Oh come on my soul, oh don't you get shy of me, lift up your soul. You've got a lion inside of those lungs, so give back praise to the Lord. Oh come on my soul, oh don't you get shy of me, lift up your soul. You've got a lion inside of those lungs, so give back praise to the Lord. Oh come on my soul, oh don't you get shy of me, lift up your soul. You've got a lion inside of those lungs, so give back praise to the Lord. So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise, it's your praise and our love. So we pour out our praise to you all day, it's your praise and our love. So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise, it's your praise and our love. So we pour out our praise to you all day, it's your praise and our love. So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise, it's your praise and our love. So we pour out our praise to you all day, it's your praise and our love. Praise you again and again, cause all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah. And I know it's not much, I'm nothing else fit for a king, except for a heart singing hallelujah. Hallelujah. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen and amen. Come on, let's give God one more hand clap of praise. He's worthy of our praise. Well church family, we're a friendly church around here, so before you're seated, let's take a moment to connect with two or three people you don't know. Let's go right now and get a few names. Well it's so good to see you today and whether you're joining us online or in person, we're family. My name is Pastor Sean, I'm an associate pastor here at People's Church and I want to take a moment to give a big warm welcome to all of our first time guests. Come on, can we celebrate them today? Well People's Church, you are really helping those struggling with addiction find freedom, hope and a fresh start through Hope is Alive, an organization that you support through your giving. Check out this exciting update on what God is doing through Hope is Alive. Well good morning People's Church. My name is Ari Pache. and I am the Director of Development here at Hope is Alive Ministries. In the last year, we've watched men and women find freedom from addiction. Families come back together. Praise God, and we didn't stop there. Our family support groups have grown to over 8,000 attendees,

with countless men and women finding hope and healing in one of our 60-plus nationwide groups or 25 nationwide retreats. In an attempt to break the cycle of addiction before it begins, our school support program also made strides in 2025, serving over 13,460 students across this great state of Oklahoma. The Healing Center combines innovative treatment methods with compassionate faith-based care to radically change the lives of drug addicts, alcoholics, and those who love them. People's Church, we could not do the work that we're doing today without the support of you. Thank you so much from the thousands that have been impacted and the thousands that will be impacted in the years to come. Take care. Yeah, People's Church, how incredible is it to be a part of helping people find freedom, helping families be reunited, and helping people have a fresh start and a new beginning in following Christ. Your generosity is truly making an eternal impact in the lives of so many people. And God, we pray for many, many more people to find freedom. Father, to follow you as Lord and Savior. We pray for families to be reunited. And Father, we pray that heaven would be full of people who once were lived apart from you, but Father, have found new life because of this incredible ministry. Bless, hope is alive. In Jesus's name we pray, amen. ♪♪ Hello, People's Church family. I want to say a big welcome to all of our locations today. And I want to say a big welcome to all of our first-time guests. We're so glad to have you at People's Church today.

Today, I'm in Orlando, Florida, preaching at a great church called Journey Church. I appreciate your prayers for me and also for our campus pastors on this special Sunday at People's Church because your campus pastor is preaching and wrapping up our series, Saved But Struggling. I want you to preach with them today. Give them some good amens as they preach God's Word. And come on, every location, put your hands together and let your campus pastor know how much you love and appreciate them. Hey, hey, OKC! Hey, it's so good to be here this morning to have an opportunity to share with you, you know, I just love, I love my church, I love my campus, love each and every one of you. Super excited to share God's Word and honored to share God's Word with you today. Everybody joining us online, we're so glad that you're tuning in today. I really believe God's Word is going to speak to your heart today. And so today we're concluding our series We're concluding our series, Saved But Struggling. And so in this series, it's really been helping our church in a huge way. I've been talking to so many people in the hallways, in the lobbies during the week who have mentioned how this series is having a huge impact and helping them to grow in their life. I know it has helped me to grow. I know it's challenged me to grow.

And the key verse that we're talking about in this series is found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 2. And it says this, it says, May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so the word we've been focusing on during this series has been the word sanctify. And Pastor Herbert has been teaching us on this word and he's been teaching us that when we give our lives to Christ, our spirit... becomes a new creation, but our body and our soul do not become a new creation at salvation. Our body and our soul are still being sanctified, and sanctification is the process of our soul and our body becoming more and more like Jesus. So the Christian life, it's a struggle of learning to let the new spirit begin to lead our soul and our body instead of our soul and our body leading our life. And so if you've missed any of the messages in this series, I wanna encourage you to go to the church's YouTube channel, check them out. I really do believe your life will be changed and you will grow in your life as a result and in your relationship with God. So today I wanna conclude our series and focusing on how to grow in sanctification. How do we grow in sanctification? And I want you to be able to apply this to your life.

So if I asked how many of you here today wanted to grow, I think most of us would raise our hands, say, we wanna grow. And the easy part is not wanting to grow. Or the easy part is wanting to grow. The challenging part is to actually grow. It's actually having the growth. And most people don't achieve their desire to grow because growth ain't easy. Anybody know that today? Growth is not easy. It is not easy to grow. You know, I grew up in Pittsburgh. It's a Southwest city in Pennsylvania, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, my football team. I love the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm a big, huge Pittsburgh Steeler fan. And my dad wasn't really a big football fan, but living in Pittsburgh, you're soon influenced by the city. And I became a huge football fan. And it was around my middle school years. And so in eighth grade, I decided I'm gonna go out for the middle school football team. And all my buddies had been playing in the peewee leagues for years. And so they had some advanced skills in their life. I didn't play football really at all much when I was little, but I said, hey, how hard can it be?

Come on, how hard can it be? I love the game. I think I'm gonna kill it, right? So I joined the team and a week into practice, my body is feeling the results of the conditioning training that we're doing, right? My middle school, eighth grade body is getting sore. And the day had come where they're starting to assess all of the students for what part they're gonna play on the team, what position they're gonna play. And so it was wide receiver day. So I said, oh, I got this. I'm fast. I can streak by people. I can do this. I said, okay, I can't wait to show the coach what I got. So I line up on the sideline. I'm looking at the quarterback and he says, go. And I take off and I'm sprinting. And I'm pretty fast in eighth grade. I'm pretty fast. I'm running, sprinting as fast as I go. I go about 30 yards. And then all of a sudden he lets it fly. And I'm just streaking right down the sideline. I'm like, I'm gonna catch this in the end zone. I'm flying 30 yards. And he throws up a high floater to me. I'm running.

Now I'd never run in pads and a helmet before, but I'm doing my best. I was like, okay, I'm gonna show him what I got. I've never done this, but hey, I'm gonna do it. I'm running, I'm running. All of a sudden I see the ball coming in. I put my hands up to catch it. The ball hits me right in the face mask. I fall down to the ground. I get up, I'm dazed, I'm confused. But then I had a moment of clarity and I realized I'm not devoted enough to play this game. Oh no, sign me up for the drum line. I'm a band, I'm joining the bands. The reality is that not growing in football is not something that's a big deal, but not growing in our faith is a big deal. It's a really big deal. Because if we don't grow in our faith, we stay in bondage in our soul and in our body. And if we don't grow in sanctification, we stay stuck. And so I wanna dive in today and talk about how we can grow in our faith. We can grow in our peace. We can grow in our purpose. We can grow in our freedom. We can grow in our relationship with God. And so church, I want us all to make it our goal today to grow, to grow today, because God did not save us to leave us the same, amen.

He didn't save us to leave us the same. He didn't pull us out of darkness so we can stay stuck in our cycles. He didn't redeem our lives so we can stay stuck in addiction and in bad habits. He saved you so that. you can become everything that God has called you to be. And real and lasting spiritual growth, church family. It doesn't happen by accident. It doesn't happen by mistake. It happens through devotion. Everyone say devotion. Come on, say devotion. It happens through devotion. And so today, I wanna share with you a passage of scripture that talks about devotion. Now, after the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter two, we see the early church, it began to grow in sanctification. It began to grow in sanctification because of their devotion. And we're gonna grow as we follow their example. So I wanna read this scripture to you in the book of Acts chapter two, verses 41 through 47. It says this, those who accepted the message were baptized and about 3,000 were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and signs were performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold their property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those that were being saved. So we see here in Acts chapter two, a picture of what it looks like when ordinary people become spiritually strong people because they were a devoted people. So in the early church, in Acts chapter two, they weren't casually, they weren't just casually interested in Jesus. They weren't occasionally committed to Jesus. No, they were devoted. They were devoted. And because they were devoted, their minds were renewed. They were whole emotionally. Their flesh was restrained and their will was strengthened. And that's what we're after today, a renewed mind, whole and healthy emotions, a restrained flesh, a strengthened will. That is sanctification.

So I wanna walk through the things that they were devoted to today and what we need to be devoted to so that we can grow. First, they were devoted to biblical teaching. Acts 2 42 says this, they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. The early church knew that in their faith, they were committed. They had to be committed to the word of God because the foundation of our faith is built on Jesus and the word of God. It's the foundation of our faith. When we read the word of God, we obey it, we grow and our life prospers. I love what Moses told the children of Israel in Deuteronomy. You see this in chapter 5 33. He says, walk in obedience to all that the Lord, your God has commanded to you. So that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you possess. And we see this really with the early church as well. You see this. They didn't just hear Jesus teaching, they were devoted to it. They built their lives on it. They aligned their decisions to it. Several years ago, I really began to understand the power of the word of God in my own personal life.

I was in a dark season of my life. I was dealing with some depression. I was dealing with anxiety. I was dealing with fear. I was dealing with feeling like a failure. I felt like a failure in so many areas of my life in ministry, in my marriage, with my kids. You name the area and I felt like I was losing in it. And the breakthrough happened for me when I started really tapping into the power of the truth of God's word. I began to realize that what I believed about myself was rooted in some lies. And those lies had become beliefs in my heart and my mind. And those beliefs had become strongholds in me. And those strongholds were leading my life. And God began to show me in this season how to tear down those strongholds, how to tear them down in my life. And I began to develop these convictions that were rooted. in the Word of God instead of my circumstances, instead of my experiences. It was now rooted in God's Word and strongholds that were in my life for decades, church, began to fall as I stood on the Word of God and the power of the Word of God began to break the strongholds in my life. Church, I know today that the Word of God is powerful. I know it is powerful. Today at church, I think differently.

I live differently because of the Word of God. I'm different today. Anxiety, depression, feeling like, it's all gone today, y'all. It's all gone today because of the Word of God. I truly believe some things in my heart today. I'm more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus. Come on, so are you. I'm more than a conqueror. Come on, if God is for me, who can be against me? Come on, God is for you today. Come on, I could do all things through Christ. Come on, I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me and God can help you to do it too. I have peace with God because God is with me. I don't have to have anxiety. I got peace because God is with me today. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Even when I'm weak, His joy is my strength and His joy is your strength. Church, come on, you ought to give God praise for the power of God's Word. It is powerful, it is effective and it'll change your life. You know, God's Word will help you grow because your mind is renewed when you replace lies with God's truth. Your flesh is restrained when you obey God's Word instead of how you feel. Your strength, you're strengthened in your will when you choose God's way even when it's not easy.

You know, you can know a whole lot of things and still not grow. Do you know that? Growth happens when what you know turns into how you live. The second thing they were devoted to is they were devoted to fellowship. Acts 2.42 says, they didn't just gather for teaching, they were together in large gatherings, in small gatherings, in homes and in everyday life. They grew in their faith because they were devoted to each other. Church, we do not grow best when we're alone. But we live in a culture today that really celebrates independence to an extreme. And believing that you don't need any other Christians, it actually hinders your spiritual growth today. Because a big part of spiritual growth is built on connecting with other believers, other Christians. A huge part of my spiritual growth throughout my years of life was because of the people I surrounded myself with. So in my high school years, it was my youth pastor, Rick Baldwin, six foot three tall guy from the mountains of West Virginia poured into my life as I said yes to Christ and helped me continue to grow in my faith. In my 20s, it was TJ Harris. He was a ministry leader under the ministry that I was leading.

And TJ had an amazing prayer life and by watching him, he taught me how to pray and how to get into the presence of God. And today I have several people in my life helping me to grow. I have Pastor Herbert Cooper, so grateful for our pastor and all that he does to pour into us as pastors. Pastor Chris Smith at our Indianapolis campus pours into me, helps me grow. I have a friend in Minneapolis named David. He pours into me and we sharpen each other and help each other grow. And I got many, many, many other people here, right here on our campus who are helping me grow to become the man of God that God wants me to be. Here's what I've learned. I've learned that the people you surround yourself with will shape your life. If you surround yourself with people who are drifting, you're gonna drift. If you surround yourself with people who are growing, you're gonna grow. Amen. You will grow and your life will be shaped by those that you surround yourself with. So spiritual community, it helps us to renew our mind because we hear perspectives rooted in the truth of God. Spiritual community helps us restrain our flesh

because we're encouraged and we're held accountable, which helps lead to spiritual growth. Spiritual community helps strengthen your will because you don't quit when things get difficult. Church isolation feeds weakness, but spiritual community fuels growth. The third thing they were devoted to was to prayer. Acts 2.42 says they devoted. devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. They were devoted to prayer. Wasn't occasional prayer, not emergency only prayer. It was a lifestyle, a lifestyle of prayer. And we see this throughout the entire New Testament. Here are a few scriptures for you today. Philippians 4, 6 says, do not be anxious about anything. This was a key verse for me. But in every situation by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. First Thessalonians 5, 17, pray continually. Luke 18, 1, then Jesus told his disciples a parable showing them how they should always pray and never give up. Same pray in every situation, pray continually, pray always. Do you see a pattern church?

Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray. Prayer is not a last resort. Church, it needs to be our first response. It needs to be our first response because prayer does something powerful. It renews our mind. Why? It shifts our focus from the problems onto God. Prayer, it restrains our flesh by inviting God into moments where we would normally react. We're inviting God's presence into them. It strengthens our will by aligning our heart with God's heart. You know, if you're trying to grow in your faith without prayer, church, you're literally trying to fight spiritual battles with your natural strength. And church, it won't work. Our will is shaped in prayer because the more that we talk with God, the more we start to want what he wants and our desires begin to align with his will, that's when our life really truly begins to change. The fourth thing we see in the disciples in the first century churches, they were devoted to generous living. Acts 2, 44 through 45, all the believers were together. They had everything in common. They sold their property, their possessions and gave to anyone who had need.

Church, they shared what they had. They met needs, they lived open-handed. And you know, the church, the first century church really inspires me with their generosity. You know, when we live generously with our time and our talent and our resource, it shifts something inside of us. It moves us from being people who are self-centered to others focused. It shifts us from being someone who is focused on control and it moves us to trust. It shifts us from fear into faith. Generous living helps us grow in our sanctification. Our mind is renewed, why? Because we stop thinking everything's about us. Our flesh is restrained because selfishness begins to lose its grip on us. Our will is strengthened because we choose to live in a posture that is totally surrendered to God. Jesus said this in Matthew 6, 21, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So generosity, it's not about losing anything. It's about alignment with God's heart. I love this scripture. It's about aligning our heart with God's heart. And as we grow in our generosity, we become more and more like Jesus. The fifth thing is that they were devoted to worship. Acts 2, 46 through 47.

Every day, they continued to meet in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those that were being saved. You know, the early church, they met in the temple courts every day. They were constantly praising God. Worship, you know, it wasn't just a moment. Worship was a lifestyle. It's a lifestyle of worship. When you and I, when we learn how to worship God, it shifts our focus from us to God. And this matters because wherever our focus... Whatever has our focus has our direction. Whatever I'm focused on is the way I'm gonna move forward in my life. And you can get so focused on your problem, you start worshiping your problem. You can get so focused on the unhealthy relationship and situation, the relationships that are broken down, the issue at work that you start worshiping the problem. But when you turn your focus to God and lift your eyes, you start giving him praise every single day throughout your day, it changes your life because where worship leads, your soul and body will follow. Worship does three powerful things in our life. It renews our mind by lifting our thoughts above our circumstances.

We're focused on something bigger. It restrains our flesh and it helps us praise through until we get a breakthrough. It strengthens our will because in God's presence, there is fullness of joy and when you are filled with joy, your joy fuels obedience to God. And some of you are gonna start growing in your faith because you're gonna worship on a whole nother level. And when you start worshiping like never before, you're gonna grow like never before. You have to learn to worship. Worship is a weapon. Church, when life is hard, you gotta worship. When life is good, you gotta worship. When life is heavy, you gotta worship. When life is light, you gotta worship. When life is challenging, you gotta worship. When life is easy, you gotta worship. When people acting crazy, you got to worship. When your kid's on your last nerve, you need to worship. When work is about to make you lose your mind, you need to worship. Worship, worship, worship. It is a key to spiritual growth in our lives. You got to worship. The sixth thing, they were devoted to evangelism. We just read in Acts chapter two that the Lord added to their number daily those that were being saved. Why?

Why? Because the early church stayed focused on the mission. More changed lives. They stayed focused on it. They didn't just gather, they reached out. They didn't just grow inward, they lived outward. They weren't a here I am church. They were a there you are church. They were focused on reaching people far from God. They were on mission and Jesus talks about his mission in Luke 19 10. For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. The early church was focused on the mission of God reaching lost people. And you and I staying focused on God's mission is key to our spiritual growth because when we live on mission, it redirects our soul and our body from the trivial and the temporary to the eternal. When you go to work and school every day thinking about how you can help your coworkers know Jesus, it changes how you live. When you go to your kids' practices and ballgames and to the grocery store and you think, how can I share God's love with somebody here today? It changes how you live. You know, when you take those back to the movies cards that were on your seats and you're inviting someone to church next week

so that we can seek and to save the lost, man, it changes how you live. When you wake up every day saying, God, I wanna be about your mission, your purpose, it changes how we live. Life really takes on a huge purpose for you when you live on mission. In your mind, it becomes renewed because you're looking through life through an eternal lens. Your flesh is restrained because selfish priorities, they begin to lose importance in light of the mission. Your will is strengthened because purpose, now it gives you clearer direction in what God is calling us and has called us to do. You can say it like this, our flesh loses power when our focus shifts to God's purpose. When you start caring about people who are far from God, it changes how you live. Number seven, they were devoted to daily growth. And I wanna wrap up today by going back to verse 46 and highlighting two words. Every day, every day, every day, every day, every day, every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. every day, every day, every day, every day, They broke bread in their homes. every day, every day, every day, every day,

They ate together with glad and sincere hearts every day. Church, every day, they were devoted. Not once in a while, not when it's convenient and easy, every day. Because growth is not a one-time decision. It's a daily devotion. A daily devotion. It's not a one-time event. It's an every day decision. You don't drift casually into spiritual growth and strength. You build it day by day. Something that you build. It's a daily choice to get in the word and a daily choice to obey it. It's a daily choice to connect with godly men and women around me and Christians. It's a daily choice to pray. It's a daily choice to be generous. It's a daily choice to worship. It's a daily choice to reach people who are far from God. And it's amazing that over time, those daily small decisions end up creating a strong spiritual life. Why? Because, church, your mind is actually renewed consistently, not occasionally. Your flesh loses strength as obedience becomes your habit.

Will, your will, is forged through that consistency. Let me say it one more time, consistency. Not intensity, not emotion. Consistency. My daily devotion to God will lead me to be devoted to growing with him on an everyday basis. And the hardest part is starting it. Before we can be devoted to God, we have to be willing to recognize and really repent of things that we have been devoted to. The question isn't whether you're devoted or not, it's because you're devoted to something. Something's taking your focus. Something's devoted. Something right now is directing your life. Something right now is leading your mind and your emotions, your will and your flesh. Something is sitting in the driver's seat of your life. And it's not just about you. It's about your life. For some of us, it might be work. It could be a relationship, security, insecurity, success or fame, fear, shame. It could be hurt or pain because whatever you're devoted to is shaping you. If you wanna have a renewed mind, your emotions whole, your flesh restrained,

if you wanna strengthen will, your next step is to be devoted to God, to be devoted to the Word of God, to fellowship, to prayer, devoted to generosity, devoted to worship, devoted to evangelism, devoted every single day. Heavenly Father, we thank you, God, for your Word. God, I pray that you would help us to grow in our sanctification by being fully devoted to you, devoted, God, to your Word, devoted to the community of faith, the fellowship of the believers, devoted to prayer, devoted to generosity, devoted to honoring you and worshiping you every single moment that we can, devoted to reaching a world that is lost and far from you, devoted every single day. God, would you help us in your name? With every head bowed, every eye closed today, there's some of you here today, you're not devoted to God. If you're honest, honest, you've been devoted to living a life to please your flesh, a life to please what you want to do, to do what you want to do, how you feel, and you're far from God today. Those things that you're devoting your life to, they're destroying your life. God wants to change your life today, but it starts with giving and surrendering your life to Him. There's others here today, you used to be devoted to the things of God, but your flesh and your will and your emotions pulled you away and you find yourself in a place where you are distant from God again. God loves you so much He's here today, calling you, wants to forgive you, wants to wash your sins away. He's calling you back home today.

If you're here today, you want to turn from your sin, you want to stop being devoted to your own way, and you want to surrender to God's way. I'm going to ask you to raise your hand when I count to three, and I want to lead you in a prayer to make Jesus the Lord of your life. If that's you here today, I want you to lift your hand all over this place boldly, saying, I need Jesus today. One, two, three, lift your hand. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I see that hand. Anyone else, you say, that's me. I need Jesus today. Thank you so much. I see that hand. All the hands raised, you can put them down at this time. I want you to pray this prayer with me. The Bible says, confess it with your mouth, believe it in your heart and you will be saved. Pray with me now. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that you were so devoted to me that you sent your son to die on the cross for my sin. So today I turn from my sin and all the things that I've been devoted to, and I turn to you, God. I surrender my life to you. I make you my Savior, my Lord. I choose to be devoted to you from this day forward. In Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Church, can we celebrate? Come on. Can we praise God for life change? If you're here today, new, looking for a home church, I hope you don't need to look any further. You really are among some of the kindest, most loving people in all of Oklahoma. Give us a year of your life and watch what God will do in and through your life. Would you stand with me, church family? Prayer team, I'm going to ask you to come forward at this time. Church, we believe in the power of prayer. If you need prayer, our prayer team will be down here to pray for you today. Come on, we're family here at People's Church. Would you shout it with me on three? One, two, three. We're family. God bless you, church. So I'm throwing my hands to praise you again and again.