Why Do I Need the Church? || Victory Church [The Church #3]

Well, good morning Victory Church. Come on if you're excited to be in the place you better open up your mouth and say so Hey, I'm thrilled you're here today, and we're in a great series. I'm really excited about this message It is the third message in a series Entitled the church and we strategically placed this series at the top of the year because this is the season where people are more Open to the concept of gathering as a church There are people who are visiting for the first time and we thought it would be very wise of us and helpful to lay a foundation to speak to who we are as a church who the church is why we exist and how we as The people of God interact with the church And so at the very very very top of the year pastor Johnson our senior pastor preached a phenomenal I'm talking a master level message on the history of the church. It was good, right and He broke down the history of how the gospel got from Jerusalem all the way here to Norcross, Georgia All these years later. It was incredible message. And then the following week last week He also taught on the vision of this church Victory Church and who we are Why we exist and what God has called us to add to the earth in our unique way and Today we're gonna be talking about You know after we've laid the foundation of what the church is how it got here who we are Now we want to talk about how we engage. I want to propose this question Why do we need the church? That's the question because there are people here in this room Online in our overflow spaces in our family rooms that you're giving God a shot But really this question is kind of burning like why do we even have to do this? And so as I sat down to work on this message The Lord took me back to the year y'all know the year 2020 y'all remember 2020 Struggle And let me just jog your memory to remind you of some of the foolishness that took place During the quarantine season of 2020 throw up this first image. Maybe y'all remember stuff like this I Mean we got to get paid baby, even in a quarantine, right? I go to the next one. How about this one y'all?

And I remember seeing photos like this online I'm like there's no way Until I ran into these people in Walmart. This is real life All right, and here's my favorite one one more. This is my favorite. This is a priest baptizing a baby using a water gun Y'all 2020 was crazy It was wild. It was crazy. And you know, I mean the toilet paper shortage The nasty hand sanitizer. Come on somebody. Oh the endless zoom calls 2020 was whack and And You know, we can kind of chuckle about it when we look at these images But the reality is that if we really recall man It was it was a challenging season and there were some of us who lost loved ones, right? We don't want to downplay that it was a challenging season and I believe it was in that season We as as a as a human race Experienced for the first time the void of having community removed from the earth because in just an instant all community all all that was shut down and the weight of Isolation was felt in that season unlike ever before and y'all do you remember though in the midst of all that? Do you remember the day when the church doors open back up? Oh My gosh for some of us we rushed back into the house of the Lord full of excitement and anticipation Hungry for a community and then there were some there were some who you know We're a little apprehensive and let me just say this too There were some valid reasons for some of us stepping back into the to the building, right? Health concerns safety so on and so forth. Don't want to downplay that however, I Do want to venture as far as to say that there were a good significant group of people That it wasn't so much out of fear or safety But they chose that moment to opt out of the public gathering Because it was no longer convenient, right? There were questions that were swirling whether spoken or unspoken

That sounded like this like what? Well, I've been streaming all year and I've been good So why do I need to be back in the house, right? Why does gathering physically matter? Anyways, can I just do a little DIY spirituality just me myself and Jesus we good boo-boo we good right and there may even be some people here today right or watching online and you may be thinking the same thing like why is it even important and today we want to address those questions why do we need the church here's why first point is because you were created for a community you were create we were created for community right now sometimes uh we have to go back in order to go forward so i want to just build build some uh support to this statement all right when we look all the way back at the account of creation in genesis chapter 1 verse 26 we find this passage where god says let us somebody say us make man in our image now i remember as a young believer new to the faith reading that passage and i i remember asking myself like who is god talking to he said let us make man in our who is he talking to but what we fail to realize is that right here in in within the first few words of the written text we see that god is revealing himself as a triune being okay so people argue i don't know about the trinity is it real is that words in the bible listen let us make man in our image god is revealing to us that he as the father the son and the holy spirit all present at creation he's revealing to us that god himself he is a community within himself fully satisfied right he didn't need anything else fully satisfied and harmoniously fulfilled within himself he is relational by nature what does that mean for us that means that whenever he then said let us make man in our image what he was saying is that there is a desire and a bent whether you realize it or not for a community that is literally wired inside of your dna god was saying in that moment that mankind should not be alone and in fact to double down on this thought just a few pages later right he creates everything in six days and then after he rests he says this he says that it is not good that man should be alone now for most of us we read that within the context of marriage right like he said it is not good that adam does not have a wife come on all my fellas said amen especially my single fellas ha right but that is true there is the concept of marriage that's in place there but really when you look at the original word it's not good that man man actually in the original language that word actually means mankind so he wasn't just talking to adam he wasn't just speaking to the husband to the male what god was saying in that moment is this i did not create people to be alone

i created people to walk together and church i'm telling you today we were not made for isolation right we were created to experience the emancipation of the greatness that god's put in us within the context of community and for the believer for the son and for the daughter we know that the greatest space to find that god-ordained community is where in the local church in the local church in the gathering so i want to read this passage in hebrews that speaks about the church and i want you to really lean in here to the language hebrews 10 verse 24 says this so let us think of ways to motivate one another towards acts of love and good works and let us not neglect our meeting together our gathering together as some people do but rather encourage one another especially now that the day of his return is drawing near now i just want to recap briefly uh some thoughts that pastor johnson shared two weekends uh yeah two weekends ago and it's simply this that the gathering that the writer is talking about here that means just what it says the gathering it's not a single individual in fact in the new testament when it talks about the church in this passage the gathering it comes from a greek word known as uh okay and so basically what that word means it literally means the assembly it means the gathering and as pastor johnson pointed out a couple weekends ago listen uh the church is more than a building the church is more than brick and mortar it's more than than carpet and walls no the the body of christ the church it's a living breathing organism so therefore it's impossible for any one person to say i don't need the church because I am the church. Make it make sense. Make it make sense, my friend, hear me. Listen, you are a brick, but baby, you are not the building. You might be a piece, but you are not the whole puzzle, right? And if we're not careful, we will find ourselves building our faith on a faulty theology that embraces isolation and then that rejects the community that God's called us to walk and live in, right? And so you may be here today,

be like, I don't reject no community. I'm here, I'm locked in, right? Okay, well, let's see. Let's do a little litmus test, right? Here are five of the most common excuses that people use to reject community. Watch me knowing or unknowingly, all right, here it is. Number one, I love this one. Here's a good one, right? I just don't have the time. That's probably the most common one. I just ain't got time. A small group, I don't have time for that. I got work, I got bills, got all these kids, right? But what you're really saying, my friend, it's not that you don't have time, it's just that you have misplaced priorities. Because what did my mama say? You make time for the things that matter. You make time for the things that matter. So what you really have is a priority problem, all right? How about this one? Well, I tried the community thing before, but last time, they hurt me. Now, let me just say, this one's real. I feel that. Because church hurt is a real thing. Because we are a beautiful body, but represented by broken people, right? And God will never fail you, but sometimes man will.

So I don't downplay any bad experiences that anyone has had through groups, through gathering publicly, through corporate worship. I don't downplay that. But on the flip side of that same exact coin, church, I'm telling you, there comes a point in the journey where we've gotta lock in, and we have to stop allowing the pain, the wounds, and the trauma of our past to rob us of the blessing and the benefit that God has for us today and in the days to come, right? Come on, we gotta keep this thing moving, right? All right, here it is. How about this one, number three, my favorite one? I don't know these folks. They're weird. They're weird. I get it. But when people say this, really what you're saying is that I am fearful of vulnerability. That's really what we're saying. Pastor Kervin, I don't know. I don't know if I could really open my soul and put it on the table with these people. I'm afraid of what they will think if they see the real me. But how many of you know there is power in transparency, there's power in accountability, right? How about number four?

I'm not getting fed enough. Now, there's a little caveat to this one, okay? Because we all know there are some churches out here today in these streets that are preaching some foolishness, okay? So I get that. So if that's the situation, bet. If you're not getting fed, bet. Find a house where you're gonna get fed. Keyword, find a house. Not a YouTube preacher. Not a TikTok prophet. Not a Facebook apostle. I can go all day. I mean, what you got? Find a house. Find a community where you can get fed, right? Now, that's for those groups. Now, but there is a group of people that'll say this statement, and really the root is spiritual pride. Because when they hear messages that don't really align with their theology, then they're gonna leave to find another place that'll just stroke their pride, that'll just stroke their idols that they've built higher than the truth that is in God's word, and they wanna find a place that's comfortable, right? Can I tell you that is not God's will for your life, friend? How about this last one?

And this one I'm really sensitive to, man. It's the individuals that just say, man, like, why is it so important? I mean, I don't know. I've never been in a small group. I'm just here, I'm trying to learn. And these individuals, these are the ones, they lack understanding because they've never experienced the beauty of being in small group and being in community, right? But I believe today is the day where that can change for your life. Come on, are y'all with me today? It can change today. Just give me a few minutes. Allow me to try to convince you, right? So why do we need the church? First, because you were made for community. God wired it inside of your DNA, whether you realize it or not. But secondly, we need the church because in the community, we are refined through the relationship that we have in those community spaces. Now listen, I got a confession to make before the. People of Victory Church, all right? You ready for it? Can I make a confession? I'm gonna do it anyway, all right. I love fire. Not like an arsonist type of way.

That gasp was crazy. I'm not gonna light anything on fire. No, no, no. But I like fire pits. I like bonfires. Come on, somebody. Like bust out the s'mores, baby. What are we talking about? Right? I love fire pits. I love bonfires. Y'all, listen, there's nothing I love more in the wintertime when it's cold outside. Y'all, I love throwing on the fireplace. Come on, somebody. If you love a fireplace. I said, if you love a fireplace. I mean, just. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Listen to the crackle. Can't you feel your soul just, isn't that nice? It's good. Now watch me. As beautiful and as calming as that fire is on the screen, this fire will never be able to provide true warmth to a room. And I believe the same is true when it comes to watching online and actually being in the room. Come on, if you know, you know.

If you're in the room, you know what time it is. We love it, but it's better when we are together. Now here's what I want to do, though. I do want to say this, because I want to be very, very clear who I'm speaking to and who I'm not speaking to, okay? Because there are people that, man, they rely on the stream, right? So we have many, many members in our Victory family who are sick or maybe they're elderly. Maybe they have mobility issues, right, the shut-in. The Bible talks clearly about the shut-in, right? And that good ministry takes care of these individuals. So for those individuals, man, we thank God that we have streaming capabilities, right, to bring the word to them right where they're at. In fact, let me just say this, though. So even with that being said, though, you can still find community even on the other side of the screen. For example, we have a very faithful member of our family. Her name is Donia, and she has some mobility challenges, but she lives all the way in Compton, California. But let me tell you this. She doesn't just stream online. No, Donia is actually one of our online small group leaders. So she has her own community. She's praying with them. She's walking with them. She's checking in on them.

She's praying with people, right? So let me just say, Donia, we see you, sister. Can we make some noise to celebrate Donia? We love it. We love it. And just like Donia, there are others who may not be shut in or have those challenges, but maybe they live out of state or in other nations. In fact, just recently, I saw this report that blew my mind that outside of the US, the two nations that bring the most traffic to our online site, it's China and Iran. Like, what? I mean, these are two nations that are hostile to the gospel, y'all. And so in those situations, man, we celebrate it. We thank God that we're able to reach people in other places. There's another group that I'm not talking to, right? For those who are seeking, maybe you just moved to Atlanta. Maybe you're part of that big migration of folks that moved from the Northeast, New York and up top down to Atlanta. Welcome, right? And there are people who are like, hey, I'm looking for a home church, but I ain't just about to pull up. I need to check y'all out online,

see what's going on. It's the teaching sound. Y'all, I support that. I believe in that. However, if you've been online looking for nine months and you still ain't pulled up, you need to do like Beyonce and put a ring on it, okay? Just go ahead. Put a ring on it, lock in, pull up, right? Join the family. And then this last group of people, oh man, moves my heart. There are people, men and women who are incarcerated and they only have so many liberties, right? They can't physically be in a building. So I'm excited because just last year, I think around July, Victory Church, we partnered with this app. It's called Pando, P-A-N-D-O. The Pando app, it's a streaming service, but it's all Christian content. And basically, they load up these tablets with this app and they provide them to inmates in the prison system, men and women. Y'all, I'm about to tell y'all some numbers that are gonna blow your mind. Since July, I'm talking just six months, do the math, I might be off a little bit, but in just a short amount of time, we already have over 3 million views,

messages, worship, teaching, discipleship content, and watch this, and through this endeavor, there have been 1,326 inmates who have said yes to the Lordship of Jesus, they are followers of Christ, they are disciples, come on somebody, we celebrate that, and in fact, if you're watching this online right now, if you are a man or a woman and you are incarcerated right now, I want you to hear me from the depth of my soul, God is not done with you, I know that there are walls around you, but God still has a plan and a purpose for your life, come on, you can change your community and your environment and there is a room of believers right here with me that love you, we see you, we celebrate you, we're praying for you, come on, look at what God has done, hallelujah, it's beautiful. Woo, for these individuals, the streaming is a blessing, but for the rest of y'all, you live in Peachtree Corners, come on, can I be honest? If you live in these apartments right next door to the campus and you got up early this morning, went to Starbucks to get your little matcha and went back to the crib to get into bed to stream online, hear me, friend, listen, you may have the fireplace on your screen, but baby, you are missing the warmth of the real thing, stop playing, get in the house, come home,

get back in community, it's so, so, so very important, because here's the reality, y'all, if you and I truly wanna be refined, if you wanna be refined by God and is that not what we want, right? We want that, right? We don't wanna stay the same, we gotta keep this thing moving, but what we fail to realize is that oftentimes the refining work of the Holy Spirit is oftentimes accomplished through our interactions with people, crazy. So what I'm saying is this, if you need patience in your life, you can pray for all the patience you want, but I'm gonna tell you what God's not gonna do, what he's not gonna do is be like, patience, bet, ah, there you go. No, it don't work like that, brother. No, you pray for patience, you wanna know what's gonna happen? There's gonna be some interactions, he's gonna orchestrate a whole situation, and then you have an opportunity to respond to that, right? And I know this is true, because look at this, Paul wrote these words, I love this, Colossians 3, verse 12. He said, therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion,

kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, and watch this, and bear with each other, and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you, and over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. I mean, church, listen, can I just be honest? Can I be honest? For all of my skeptics about community, let me just level the playing field. Community can be a little messy. Community can be a little messy, right? And that's why Paul says, dude, bear with one another. Like, take a chill pill and be still. Be gracious, man, like, be humble, slow down, right? Forgive one another, why? Because listen, church, when you're in real community with real people, with real issues, sidebar, half the time, you are the real person with the real issues, but we ain't gonna talk about that, anyways. But when you're in real community with real people with real issues, guess what? There will be real tension, right? It's not always easy, it's not always fun. Can I tell you something? Is it fun driving in for the 11 o'clock service on a Sunday morning, fighting through all this traffic to get here?

Absolutely not. That's why some of y'all need to pull up at this one o'clock or this Saturday night, hello. But it's frustrating. Is it fun, like, pulling into the parking lot and you're about to turn into your spot? Someone just cut you off. No. That's not fun. Or how about whenever you wait in the cafe line for 10 minutes and you get your little matcha, you get your little cappuccino. You take five sips and you walk to the doors and the ushers tell you, hey, brother, you can't bring the drink in. Can you tell I struggle with that one too? Come on, do we love those moments? No. Y'all felt that one, right? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just work here. But listen, y'all, what we fail to realize is that it's those moments of tension. It's those little inconveniences that we oftentimes hate and get frustrated with that are actually the moments where we have the opportunity to grow and mature, to become the men and women that God's called us to be. Because hear me, every family, it gets a little loud from time to time, right? There's tension in every family. Voices get raised.

Disagreements get aired out, hopefully in a healthy way. But can I tell you, the church is no different. We are an imperfect people trying to serve a broken world while representing a holy God. So we're going to miss the mark sometimes, right? And let me just go ahead and say this to those who are new to Victory. Thank God you're here. God bless you. But let me go ahead and make it very clear. We are a church of over 144 nations. Yeah, we celebrate that. That's great. But you know what else that means? Baby, you never know what you're going to get. You pull up in here with all these different cultures and different languages. And I mean, just look around. Y'all look like a box of Crayola crayons in here. It's a lot of y'all. And we pull up, I promise you that you're going to interact with people in situations you've never imagined. I mean, even right now in this room, the person on your left could be straight out of the prayer closet. And the person on your right might be straight out of Compton. Sorry, Donia. No offense. But y'all, but that's the beauty of being in family, right?

Think about your own family. They're crazy. They're wild. But when things get tough, ain't no one going to be there quicker than your loving family, right? For most of us, that's the story. And the beauty of the gathering is that we are a part of this diverse community, right? Where iron sharpens iron. So we read these passages like, oh yeah, iron sharpens iron. Yeah, yeah, I get that. But then whenever we're in the moment, we want to reject it. But the truth is, we do that because whenever iron sharpens iron, it's not a pretty thing. There's heat. There's friction. There's sparks. It's abrasive. It's not pleasant. But I'm telling you, whenever you feel like there's an obstacle in front of you in terms of joining community, we've got to change our perspective and understand. It's not just an obstacle. It is an opportunity for me to grow, for me to develop, right? Because here's the truth. There are blessings and benefits in being a part of the body. There really are. In fact, I've got a few I want to share with you.

They won't be on the screen, but just lean in for a second. One of the benefits of being in a body is accountability, right? Come on, somebody. Accountability. Can I get an amen from all my single people? Come on, right? Because when I step into my circle of friends and relationships, they see my blind spots. And they're able to check me and say, hey, bro, when's the last time you took your wife on a date? When's the last time you've sat down with your son and spent time with your son, right? There's accountability in community. Secondly, there's also mutual encouragement and support, right? So at the end of every service, when you guys come up for prayer with our prayer leaders, every conversation in the lobby, I'm going to be real, nothing that happens on screen can compare to those moments, right? There's power in us being together, which leads me to my third benefit. It's simply this. I believe that corporate faith has the power to multiply miracles. Come on, there's nothing like moments of worship where we're together. The Bible says that where two or more are gathered in his name, he's in the midst, right?

So there's power in the corporate gathering for faith and miracles. Fourth is this. When you're in community, you are given and you have a place to belong. You have a place to serve, right? And you may be, well, I don't need no place to belong. No, no, that's nonsense. Because let's just take Christianity off the table for a second. Listen, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we all desire to belong. We desire to know that there is a place I can call home, where I am known and where I know others, right? And we find that in the church. And last but not least, I love this one. This is the surprise. When you get in community, this one is the surprise. One of the benefits of community is that everyone contributes, right? So up until this point, I've been talking about how community will benefit you. It'll benefit you in this way and that way and that way. You need it, you should do it, you need it. But can I tell you the beauty of community is whenever you discover that there are things and gifts on the inside of you that we need. Are y'all with me? Right? It's not just about what you can get out of community.

The reality is that God's put unique gifts and talents on the inside of you. And as long as you're remaining isolated, then you're robbing God of what he put inside of you. You're robbing yourself and you're robbing the rest of the body. So family, bring your gift to the table and let's see what God can do through you in community. Because again, if I can make it very plain, I would say it like this. We're refined in relationship. Why? Because I believe that God dwells in the tension of our human interactions. He dwells in that space. The spaces where we feel the most friction are often the places where God is most at work, shaping, sharpening and sanctifying us through his word and through community. But hear me, but you and I will never see the results of iron sharpening iron if we never step into the community and give it a shot. Amen? Amen. Here's my third thought. Community does not just refine us, but it also protects us. So I will put it like this. Thirdly, why is the church so important?

Here's why. Because we are guarded in gathering. Here's what I mean by that. This means that there is a covering that comes whenever you are present with the church, when you're in community. And I'm gonna say this, coming to the building is a great start. So if you had a New Year's resolution, man, I'm gonna go back to church this year and you made it three weeks, let's just put some hands together to celebrate that. I thank you. I thank God. I'm glad you're here. That's great. Wonderful. And I'm glad you're here, but y'all, that's just the beginning. That's the start, but that's not where we end. Look at what the Bible says in Acts chapter two, verse 46. It says that they, speaking of the church, the early church, it says that they worshiped together at the temple each day. Where did they worship? Okay. And then they met in homes for the Lord's supper. Where did they meet?

And they shared their meals with great joy and generosity. And all the while they're praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And watch this. And through that community, each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Y'all, this is what we should be doing as a church. And that's why here at Victory, we believe in the power of small groups. So again, let me just be emphatically clear at the top of the year for those who are just checking things out or maybe online dating us. Here, me friend. I don't know what your churches looked like in your past, but in this house, when it comes to accountability, when it comes to discipleship, when it comes to encouragement, when it comes to support, when it comes to all of these things that are necessary and beneficial to our growth and development, you are gonna get more of that, not from this platform, but from being in community. That's how we do discipleship at Victory Church. We're not a church with small groups. We are a church of small groups.

Let me put it plain. We come to the church to learn in rows, but we are transformed at home in circles. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right, don't get quiet on me. All right, don't get quiet on me. Because here's the deal, man. There's protection in community. Like, whenever you're down bad, who do you know that you can call on to pray for you whenever you're struggling? Like, I'm serious. Because life be out here lifin', y'all. And it's challenging, walking through life and trying to do it alone. Can I tell you something? When I'm down bad, I don't need some rando, thank God for the randos, but I don't need some rando coming up giving me a little cookie cutter, lucky charms prayer. Well, Lord, bless my brother. Help him out. Amen. In Jesus' name. Ah. no sir no sir no no no when I'm broken down and when I'm down bad and I'm at

the lowest point in a season of life I don't need a little lucky charm prayer from someone I don't know I don't need to have a conversation with the pastor in the lobby I need my family to come and see me and say curve I don't know how you got here I don't care how you got here but I know this much I'm not gonna let you die here if I gotta pick you up on my shoulders and literally carry you step after step after step after step to the finish line then that's what I'm gonna do why because that's what community looks like that's what we do there's power and there's protection in community King Solomon said this in Ecclesiastes he said two people are better off than one for they can help each other succeed and a person standing alone they can be attacked and defeated but two can stand back-to-back they can buy the weave and they can conquer and then watch this and three are even better for a triple braided cord is not easily broken if you live life long enough then you can testify today that this journey is gonna come with some hardship their trials tribulations storms they're gonna come and when they come who do you have to call on right because when those moments come hear me you will get beat down from time to time there will come moments where you feel like I can't do this anymore there's gonna be times where tragedy hits and our hearts are broken my friend right we walk through loss and and we feel abandoned and all alone and in those moments the question is not gonna be well do I need people no no no friend the question is gonna be do I have people and there's a stark difference between those who do and those who don't we say crazy things when tragedy hits we say things oh I just need a break I need to get away I need to just get away even Jesus got away pastor that's my favorite one to hear yeah I get that but hear me there's a fine line between stepping away in solitude and choosing to live in isolation because yeah Jesus did get away from time to time but check this out when Jesus got away to pray he did that to strengthen himself and then he returned right back to his people he came right back to the disciples listen to me solitude renews your strength so that you can re-enter communities stronger but isolation it'll pull you

away from God and it'll pull you away from others and it will leave you vulnerable to the attack of the enemy don't believe me let's look at the word what does the word say first Peter 5 a look at what Peter said he says stay alert come on somebody say watch out now he said stay alert he said watch out for your greatest enemy the devil because he prowls around like a roaring liar looking for someone to devour so for me and my wife we've traveled quite a bit over the years but there's one place I've never been I've never had the opportunity to go I would love excuse me I would love to one day visit Africa never been to Africa but I can't wait for the day to visit the motherland come on somebody but I want to throw off this image because when I do get to Africa I want to show you what I will not be doing notice the lack of melanin in that truck right now I'm just saying brother don't send me Lord I don't want to go so I've always wondered when seeing these videos and these images I've always wondered like how in the world are these people in this vehicle that has no doors no walls and no ceiling and they're literally feet away from Mufasa like how does like it do you under it just doesn't make sense like it seems like the lion could literally just jump up and roar and just like take out three of them in one leap and y'all last year pastor Johnson and summer they went to Africa and they sent us pictures in one of these things deathtraps and there were bones all over the literal bones in the photo and there's They're just like... I text, I said, Pastor Johnson, if you don't get back here immediately, you're playing with your life. But yo, he got back and I brought this up, I was like, bro, what is that? I mean, weren't you like, I mean, look at it, it looks unsafe. My pastor said, you know what, I've always thought the same thing, and on this trip, I got an answer for why this works. Holy Spirit help me preach, listen to this. The guide said that when this lion looks, the Bible says that the enemy roams around

like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. When this lion sees this, he doesn't see this vehicle as a vehicle with nine individual people. No, no, no, when this lion looks at this vehicle, he only sees, he sees a single unified force. To him, it's not a collection of individuals, it's one formidable presence, it's something too big and too strong to mess with. That's why when the guide says, whatever you do, don't step outside of the vehicle, because when you step, Holy Spirit, help me preach this today. Because when you step outside of the vehicle, you are now no longer under covering, you're not protected, you're isolated, you're vulnerable, and guess what, baby, you look like an afternoon snack. But when you're in the gathering, what you think should look like prey, it actually looks like a threat. Come on, and the kingdom of darkness cannot prevail against a church that is unified and in community. Come on, Pastor Todd, we know this. We gotta be in community, because it's not just supportive, it's protective. Small groups are the protective gathering that fortifies you when you leave this campus. It's how we stay in the vehicle, right? We do life with one another, and my prayer today is this, that you would make the decision to get in the small group vehicle under covering and under protection, because that's what we need. Amen? Amen. Hey, I wanna show this quick video real fast. It's a guy, a great man of God, who is a part of the family here at Norcross, and I want y'all to check this out, okay? Listen to his testimony of small groups. All right, so my name is Chaz Price. I've been in Victory for about eight or so years, and I've been a part of small groups

actively for about two years now. So actually, I went through a really hard situation. In my personal life, I was accused of some really harsh things, and during that time, I was in church. I was at a different church and actively serving, and I had friends around me, godly men, but during that time, it seemed like everybody just kind of drifted away from me, and I really didn't have community. And so here I am going through this really hard situation, this really tough spiritual battle by myself, and I feel like the best way I can describe it is like going out into the ocean, going to the beach for the very first time, getting out in the water and remembering that as the ground gets further away from your feet, you don't know how to swim. I'm pretty sure every believer, whether you believe in God or whatever the case might be, whether you're in church actively or not, everybody's gonna go through hardships. And for me, even after that situation, even after coming into community, I still had days where I woke up and I didn't see myself the way God sees me. I didn't hear the right things about myself. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't see what God saw, and so there were still a lot of rough moments for me where I had to push through. I had to get into my word. I had to call one of my brothers from the small group and just let them know transparently where I was, where I am, and let them encourage me to where I needed to be, really just pushing me back to God. So now being at Victory Locked In, being a part of community, I'm like, man, I have that. I have the things that I've always desired, and it's just one of the most greatest things in the world. Don't go through life without commitment, because I'm telling you, when the hardships hit, you're going to realize it's way better. It's not easier, but it's way better if you do it with people. I see you, man of God. Hey, look, my man said it's not easy, but it's way better.

And I would venture to make a crazy statement. The people in this house that I meet, my wife and I, that we talk with, that are the healthiest, not saying everything's perfect, but the ones that are healthiest, nine times out of 10, they're in small group. They're in a community, being spurred on towards love and good deeds. So here's the deal, y'all. I've said all I know to say. I preached my little heart out this morning. And now it's time to respond. It's time to respond. It's time to respond. So I'm gonna throw this slide up today about small groups, the small groups we offer. We offer groups for everyone, but specifically if you're married, we have groups for married folks, for the fellas. So that group, that small group photo, I knew like most of those guys. And again, it's just, I love it. We have groups for women, for young adults, and even in youth, in Victory Youth, from eighth to 12th grade, they have small groups as well. They call them Victory Youth Crews. And this is how we do life, y'all. This is how we do it, right? So with that being said, I have one more slide I wanna show you, and this is a QR code.

I want everyone to pull out your phone. Come on, pull out your phone. Pull it out. If you're in the room, if you're in one of our overflow spaces, family room, grab your phone, and I want you to scan this QR code, and it's gonna take you to the landing page at ConnectedVictory.com, where you can begin the process of getting signed up for a small group, all right? I'm gonna keep it up on the screen for a moment. And let me say this, because it is small group weekend, after this service, when we head up and out, you're gonna find an army of small group leaders up in that lobby. Pastor Kadosha, you've done a phenomenal job as our small group pastor. We love you. We love you. And they're there to answer any questions you may have. I'm giving you the QR code now to give you a head start, okay? So you can go ahead and scan now, begin the process. But if you have questions, our leaders are up top, and they can answer those questions, all right? We don't wanna just go to church. We don't wanna just do church. Come on, we need to be the church. And more often than not, conversations we have in the lobby, Candice, I mean, you know this, we love people, right?

I love preaching, but honestly, you can take the platform, like put us with the people. We love our people, and we have conversations every weekend, coffees throughout the week with individuals. And I'm gonna be real. I wanna be sensitive when I say this, but I wanna say it, because a lot of conversations we have with folks, pastor, I need prayer for this, or I'm walking through this, or what do you advise me to do with this, or, you know, so on and so forth. I'm gonna be real, y'all. More times than not, what I really wanna say, and maybe I need to start saying it. More times than not, what I wanna say is this, friend, you don't need another sermon. You don't need another service. What you really need is a circle. You need community. You need a tribe, right? So that's you today. What are we waiting for? Let's lock in. So I will say this, for me personally, for me personally, I never really experienced a real biblical community until I came to Victory. So I've been in ministry for a little over 20 years, and ministry can be a very lonely place. It can be a very lonely place. But then when I got to this house,

and God connected me with a few men, three guys, and their families, our families hang out together, we spend time together, we vacation together, when we're able to. And I almost didn't wanna share this because it sounds kind of silly, but I'm just gonna go for it. When I was growing up, I didn't grow up with a lot. I grew up, our family was poor. Grew up in the hood, we didn't have much, we didn't vacation, we didn't do things. And my buddies, they heard that I had never been fishing before. And I know that sounds silly, especially some of you guys, like y'all fishing all the time. Some of y'all ain't in church right now because you're fishing, stop playing. I'm sorry. But hear me, but my fellas heard that I had never been fishing before. And last year, I think there's an image, we can throw it up. They took me on my first fishing trip. But like, but I wanted to show this picture because I'm a 40 year old man, experiencing something like this for the first time. And the Bible says that God takes the lonely. Come on, he's a good father. He takes the lonely. And he places them in families and that's what I found in this season

And can I tell you friend in the same and that's a that's a silly thing, but it's a really big thing It did something in my soul that I can't really expound on right now But can I tell you in the same way that I had that experience hear me friends? there are benefits and blessing and Breakthrough that God has for you And a lot of it is locked up inside of community But until you decide to step into it, you will never experience it so my friends Stop playing our prayer today is that you would get in the stinking Safari vehicle Come on get in the group Because I know this much the gates of hell will not prevail against a church that shows up Arms-locked moving forward in unity and community. Come on somebody why because we are the church This is not the church We are the church So therefore let's live like it in Jesus name Amen, amen Amen Let's pray you everyone will just just bow your heads right where you are in our overflow spaces online even if you can yeah, I want to just say this if if You are not in community with your fellow man. Can I tell you the first step? God is calling you into community with himself Right, you will never know fulfillment and purpose until you are first in relationship with the Lord That's that's ground level first step And if you're here today, and if you've never made Jesus Lord and Savior of your life my friend today is the day He's calling you it doesn't matter where you've been or what you walk through the Bible says all of us We there's enmity between God and man what that means is that even on your best day on your best behavior You and I we still fall short of his standard, right? And so we deserve separation from God But the Bible is clear that God so loved the world full of broken people like you like me

That he sent his son Jesus Jesus died on our behalf rose from the grave and today we can be in communion and fellowship With him so I'm gonna count to three and if you're here today in this room online in our overflow space in our family room if you've never said yes to salvation I Want to give you an opportunity to do that here it is one you say Kervin I've tried it my way, and I failed every single time I wind up at that same brick wall But today I'm ready to make a change to it doesn't matter who's beside you It doesn't matter what you've been taught to believe about the God of the Bible. I'm telling you today. He loves you He's not mad at you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life For those in this room and even for those who are watching who are incarcerated behind bars God is not done with you But how will you respond here it is you ready Here's your opportunity to say yes to grace to say yes to mercy yes to a second third Maybe a 100th chance here it is one two three if that's you lift your hand up high as you can lift that hand If that's you you're saying I need Jesus. I accept him. I see that hand I see those hands God bless you hands are going up all over this room. God bless you I see that hand man of God you can put them down now and Everyone in this room in our overflow spaces. We're gonna leave you in a prayer We're gonna pray with you this prayer of salvation so come on out of the depths of your soul. Let's pray together say God It's me. You know who I am I've made mistakes, and I've broken your law, but I believe that my life can change So Jesus come into my heart forgive my sin Heal my mind and change me from the inside out. I believe you're the Son of God I believe you died for my sin, and I believe you have a plan for my life So I choose you and I thank you for loving me when I was unlovable and now according to your word and with faith in my soul I Believe that I am saved Thank you, Jesus For your grace

Towards me in the mighty name of Jesus. We pray come on if you believe it, and if you receive it somebody say amen And amen God bless you Thanks for being a part of Victory Church on the Pando app we hope this content was a blessing to you But we want you to know that you're not done yet because we want to hear from you So send us a letter and tell us things like what God is doing in your life How we can pray for you? or even content that you would like to see us create in the future. We just want you to know that we see you, you're important to us, and we'd love to continue to create some things in the future that will bless you. So send us a letter and we hope to hear from you soon.