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I've titled our sermon this 
morning, The Identity of God's 

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Church. 
You will know that for quite a 

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while we've been going through 
the book of First Corinthians, 

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and it's been a fairly long 
series of sermons. 

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And so today is not about First 
Corinthians and next Sunday 

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we'll begin a series on the book
of Nehemiah. 

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It's an Old Testament book. 
It's in a book more focused on 

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leadership and what what the 
leadership's all about. 

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So we look forward to that. 
But this morning is kind of what

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you mean to call a one off 
sermon. 

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And I've again at the identity 
of God's church, we hear 

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comments where people want to 
identify as something or 

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someone. 
You see children do that, right?

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They wear a superhero or 
Superman outfit. 

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They want to identify a Superman
or something like that. 

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It's not wrong for kids to do 
that. 

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And you, you know that they're 
pretend, but we all know it's 

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not real. 
We didn't know. 

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It's just make up and kids do it
all the time in their play. 

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But we can't do that as adults. 
We can't do that. 

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We have to be real. 
We have to be who we're called 

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to be. 
And so when someone would ask 

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what is the identity of God's 
church? 

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Good question. 
We know we have one. 

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Organizations have identities, 
people, groups across the world 

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wherever they are. 
Let's say you would look at a 

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bikers club. 
They have an identity. 

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You have, maybe you could call 
it anything. 

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Even groups in the church have 
identities. 

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And through the ages, the Church
of Jesus Christ at certain times

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has not been the best at living 
up to what it claims to be. 

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They kind of gotten confused 
sometimes. 

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The church has not always been 
what God called it to be. 

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Think of Revelations chapter 1-2
and three. 

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In Revelation one and two and 
three, God has some issues. 

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Jesus issues with his church. 
He's redeemed them, he's saved 

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them. 
He's he got them going. 

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The spirits there is working but
all of a sudden, wait a minute, 

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you're falling after trails and 
areas you shouldn't be going, 

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especially the Church of 
Laodicea. 

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That's a bad one. 
And he commands them. 

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You guys, he says this is not 
right. 

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Got to repent or else if we look
at how Jesus lived and what he 

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taught and and so on. 
It was very simple, very basic, 

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very deep and profound, but very
basic. 

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He says to his disciples, he 
said by this will all men know 

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that you're my disciples If you 
love one another. 

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A clear statement what he wanted
them to be identified by. 

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He wanted his church to be 
identified by how they worship 

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God in spirit and truth and it 
would be revealed, but how they 

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would love one another. 
This morning we're coming to the

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end well again this last Sunday 
of 2024. 

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And we know in the business 
world, often times at a certain 

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time of year, maybe the year 
end, if they have it, December, 

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most, many businesses don't. 
But let's say they had to take 

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inventory. 
OK, what was 2024 like? 

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How did we do? 
Do we shift our focus for next 

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year? 
Do we do something different 

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with our business and so on? 
What if we would take inventory 

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at Ali MC? 
Let's say we would be evaluated.

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What would be the criteria? 
What would be the things we 

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would look at? 
Well, we could list a bunch, 

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which I won't, but one would be 
Love. 

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How did we do at Love last year?
Were we a loving church? 

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Could could our community say, 
yeah, that church, they really 

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are a loving church. 
Well, we know the culture around

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us is shifting and changing in 
and I would say on the decline 

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in most, most ways. 
And it's ever more important 

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that as the Church of Jesus, we 
stand strong, live up to Our 

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Calling that we don't shift. 
It's important for the Church of

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Jesus to be healthy, to be 
strong, to have a vibrant 

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ministry practiced in love. 
We must be united, this common 

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focus and direction. 
We must remain on track. 

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A question I would like to ask 
ourselves this morning is this 

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what is it that makes the church
grow and what is it that makes 

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it strong and keeps going in the
same direction, keeps it on 

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track? 
You see churches, they rise and 

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fall. 
There are churches that are 

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hundreds of years old in terms 
of the faith group, but then 

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there are churches that last a 
very short time. 

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Sometimes they last a year or 
two and then they start and then

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they just quickly as quickly 
manage. 

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I've seen that happen as well. 
One of the many criteria by 

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which churches rise and fall has
a lot to do with how they engage

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or not engage the community 
around them. 

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Sometimes the church falls prey 
to the pressures of the culture 

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and uses the culture as kind of 
a thermostat. 

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The culture shifts. 
When they shift to the culture 

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changes, they shift. 
They change to how can we? 

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The culture becomes the guiding 
force. 

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That's usually a bad way to run 
a church. 

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Loud to see it did that. 
Had a conversation with a friend

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some time ago and he goes to 
different church, doesn't come 

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here and asked him how's your 
church doing. 

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He said not good and he 
mentioned the numbers are down 

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and spiritual life was on a 
decline. 

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I asked So what will your church
die and he said something that 

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left me wondering and I've not 
forgotten his comment. 

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It still resonates in my mind. 
And he says, oh, the church's 

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dead already, just hasn't closed
yet. 

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I thought about that. 
I thought thought to myself, 

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when is a church dead? 
Maybe we should ask ourselves, 

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at what point in time can you 
take off the, the life support 

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or now the it's, it's the end. 
When is a church dead? 

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I want to ask the question, can 
a church be alive without the 

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Spirit of God? 
Is it possible? 

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No. 
If the Spirit of God is not in 

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the church, the church is not 
alive. 

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Oh, it still may be getting 
together. 

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There may still be events 
happening, but if the Spirit of 

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God is gone, the church is dead.
They may have a gathering of 

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sorts. 
I'll talk about that a little 

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bit more toward the very end. 
See what what makes a church is 

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not just what happens on Sunday 
morning, even though that's part

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of it. 
We're here together as a church,

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which we should be. 
And I trust that we don't fit 

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that category. 
I want to say so. 

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But we always have to be on 
guard in the sense where are we 

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going? 
How are we doing? 

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Are we staying on track? 
Yeah. 

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The church is not a building. 
It's not a facility. 

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But the church is a body of 
believers that meets in a place 

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in a given time. 
The church is a body of people 

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who are called by Christ, who 
live out in obedience to God, 

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their relationship with Christ 
by spreading the gospel of Jesus

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and making disciples. 
And that all happens in the 

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context of love, when the church
is alive and well. 

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When the church lives out its 
call to spread the gospel, to 

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bring freedom to the oppressed, 
to feed the poor, to care for 

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the sick, doing what Jesus told 
it to do, then that's the 

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church. 
And it's not just intermittent 

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or temporary part time. 
It's like a marriage. 

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In the Bible we find God 
describing the relationship 

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between Him and His people to 
that of a bride and a 

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bridegroom. 
You see, have you ever met a 

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part time married couple? 
Don't exist, do they? 

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You're not married one day of 
the week and the rest of the 

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week you're not married. 
There's no part time married 

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couples. 
When a man and a woman get 

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married, it's a permanent, full 
time, all inclusive 

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relationship. 
Everything is impacted and 

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shaped by that. 
It changed. 

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When a man and woman get 
married, they change forever. 

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They become something they were 
not before. 

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They become husband and wife, 
one flesh unit. 

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They never were that before. 
When a person becomes a follower

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of Jesus and joins the body of 
Christ, the church, that person 

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is now united. 
He's in the fold, or she's in 

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the fold. 
That person now joined God's 

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church and as a result, it's 
there's a new identity. 

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That person is now a disciple 
with other disciples. 

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There's something's changed. 
That person's born again, and if

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it is real, the community will 
experience it. 

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The community will know 
something is different. 

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Something has happened. 
A scripture passage this morning

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is taken out of the book of 
Acts, the story where the church

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was born. 
The church. 

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We don't know the day that it 
happened exactly. 

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It was Pentecost, and I don't 
know when, what day Pentecost 

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might have been back that many 
years ago. 

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It's not that important, but 
what is important is what 

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happened. 
It's a wonderful piece of 

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history. 
The book of Acts is a history 

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book. 
It's a piece of history of how 

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the early church functioned 
right after it was born at 

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Pentecost this morning. 
You want to take a bit of time 

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and look at what what, how was 
it identified? 

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What did they see? 
What happened? 

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How did it happened? 
How did it come to be? 

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We want to know what caused the 
church to grow as it did and to 

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flourish as well as it did. 
Of course, we'd say, yeah, it 

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was all God and all the Spirit. 
That's true. 

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That's all true. 
God's Spirit went to work in the

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hearts of these people. 
When He started the church, 

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there were sinners, heard the 
gospel, they were drawn by the 

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Spirit, they repented, they 
reconciled, they received the 

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message, and they were the ones 
that became part of the church. 

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That's all true, but it's so 
much more. 

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It's so much bigger, so much, so
much deeper. 

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I want us to read this morning 
Acts 2 verse 42 to 47, Acts 

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chapter 2. 
Acts chapter 2, verse 42 to 47. 

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Here's now what happened, the 
baptism. 

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Peter has preached, baptism has 
happened, the people have 

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joined. 3000 people were at it, 
and that says then verse 42. 

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And they continued steadfastly 
in the apostles doctrine and 

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fellowship, in the breaking of 
bread and in prayers. 

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Then fear came upon every soul, 
and many wonders and signs were 

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done through the apostles. 
Now all who believe were 

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together and had all things in 
common, and sold their 

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possessions and goods and 
divided them among all, as 

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anyone had need. 
So continuing daily with one 

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accord in the temple, and 
breaking bread from house to 

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house, they ate their food with 
gladness and simplicity of 

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heart, praising God and having 
favor with all the people, And 

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the Lord added to the heart to 
the church. 

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Daily, those who were being 
saved, God's church grew. 

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We see that God's church grew, 
not just the numbers also in 

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action. 
They had never existed before. 

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It was a fledgling group. 
They had no experience in how to

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do church, but they had the 
Word, they had the Spirit. 

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They just knew we got to do what
Jesus said, do what Jesus told 

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us. 
The apostles were sharing the 

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Word. 
And I want to take a little bit 

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of a rabbit trail here. 
A side note here, it's not so 

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much part of the sermon, but 
it's important to note this. 

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The church grew not an 
environment of that was 

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conducive to growth or that was 
a suitable environment for 

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church growth. 
Not at all. 

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I've preached on this before, 
but it has to be mentioned here.

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The church grew against 
insurmountable odds. 

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It should not have worked. 
The church did not come into 

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existence in a, in a social 
environment where, you know, 

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everybody's kind of in favor of 
religion, everybody's kind of in

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favor of new ideas and new 
movements, None of none of that.

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It was the opposite, the Jewish 
ruling class, they were totally 

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against this, a formidable force
to be reckoned with, very 

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intentional about shutting it 
down right from the start. 

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We find the Jewish leaders 
persecuting the apostles in Acts

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chapter 8. 
Great persecution rose against 

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the church in Jerusalem in the 
wider culture as well as time 

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went on, the church should not 
have expanded because the 

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empire, the Roman Empire, was 
not for it either. 

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But nothing could stop these 
people. 

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Nothing could stop this 
movement. 

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And despite all that had 
happened was continuing to 

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happen against all odds. 
God bless his church. 

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The church grew in strength and 
influence and numbers, impacting

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the community and eventually the
whole Roman Empire. 

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How did this happen? 
They grew to the apostles 

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teaching it says verse 42. 
Let's read this again. 

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And they continued steadfastly 
in the apostles doctrine and 

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fellowship, in the breaking of 
bread and prayers. 

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Continuing is not a one time, 
only one time. 

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00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:43,720
Been there, done that. 
Let's move on to other things. 

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It's an on something that starts
and goes on and on and on and 

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00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:53,680
on. 
The church had been born, it was

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alive, it was healthy, it was 
vibrant, full of life, full of 

238
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the spirit, full of praise and 
energy. 

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It was not intermittent, not 
convenience based. 

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You know, there's a lot of 
people who really love Jesus as 

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long as it's Sunday morning 
between 9:00 and noon. 

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00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,240
Other than that, we're busy with
other things. 

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00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:15,360
You get the idea. 
The early church was a body of 

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people in an ongoing, 
continuing, ever increasing 

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growth mode through the 
teachings of the disciples, the 

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00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,760
apostles. 
We find in the Gospels that 

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Jesus reminded his audience of 
the importance of continuing in 

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00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,280
the journey. 
To start a journey is one thing,

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to continue a journey is 
another. 

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00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,840
We find in the Gospel of John 15
where Jesus reminded his 

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00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,640
disciples that he's the vine, 
they're the branches. 

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00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,720
He told his disciples about the 
importance of remaining in him. 

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Same thing as continuing. 
He says the branches that remain

254
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:51,960
continue in him will bear fruit,
much fruit, but branches do not 

255
00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:53,880
remain will be cut off and 
thrown to the fire and burned. 

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00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:58,160
He says is he continuing is 
important or what? 

257
00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:03,240
What to continue in then says in
the apostles doctrine in the 

258
00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:08,040
apostles doctrines teachings, 
the power of God was active in 

259
00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:10,640
the ministry of the church. 
The apostles continued to teach 

260
00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:12,600
about Jesus and what his message
to them was. 

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00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,480
They shared with the people. 
The focus was learning about 

262
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,600
God, his teachings and how to 
live out their faith. 

263
00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:20,280
At this time the gospels had not
been written yet. 

264
00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:22,720
That was still to come in the 
future was going to happen years

265
00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,480
later and as these new believers
embraced the teachings of the 

266
00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,040
apostles, they got busy living 
out what they learned. 

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00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:30,800
It was like, OK, we've heard it,
let's do it. 

268
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,720
The gist didn't sit back and 
just take it easy and wait for 

269
00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,200
things to happen. 
They had the Spirit and the 

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00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:37,680
Spirit energize them and move 
them. 

271
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,120
There's implications here for us
today in this passage. 

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00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:42,280
The apostles work was not 
finished. 

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00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,400
It was not like, OK, we have 
followed Jesus, we've got the 

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00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,400
Holy Spirit, we're going to 
teach them and then it's done. 

275
00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,160
And now let them run with it. 
No, their work was ongoing too. 

276
00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,000
Interesting how God uses His 
Spirit work in people, but then 

277
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,320
uses His Spirit to work in 
people to work in people. 

278
00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:00,960
The word that God did through 
the apostles of Pentecost, it 

279
00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:04,080
continued was just a start. 
It mentions that the new 

280
00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:06,600
followers of Jesus remained in 
the teachings of the apostles. 

281
00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:09,600
The Holy Spirit had come, but he
didn't. 

282
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,120
He didn't go away from with the 
do away with human element. 

283
00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,000
God still uses people. 
He still uses us. 

284
00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:18,720
For three years the disciples 
had followed Jesus. 

285
00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:20,280
Good solid teaching and word 
indeed. 

286
00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,320
Now with the coming of the Holy 
Spirit, all that teaching came 

287
00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,640
to fruition and the lives of 
these people now says they 

288
00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,000
continued steadfast in the 
apostles doctrine. 

289
00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,320
Oh, and there's the next one, 
fellowship. 

290
00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:35,880
They continued in fellowship, 
you're together, you do things 

291
00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:37,160
together. 
Fellowship when people are 

292
00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,480
connecting with each other, 
they're together. 

293
00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,200
Church is not just a an 
occasional gathering. 

294
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,320
It's everything. 
Church was what this was about. 

295
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,240
Everything revolved around 
church. 

296
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,080
Fellowship was opportunity to be
to bond together, to relate to 

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00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:53,840
each other, to build up strength
and support. 

298
00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,560
And in short, it's safe to say 
that people who really truly 

299
00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:02,000
love Jesus, they're glad to be 
part of the church. 

300
00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:06,560
In many years, in my years as 
I've seen this for many years 

301
00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,400
now, there's a it's something 
that troubles me. 

302
00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,800
It's a a troubling decline in 
the interest in church. 

303
00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:17,160
Increasingly people find reasons
to just not be part of church, 

304
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:24,080
increasingly so as church 
increasingly just is pushed to 

305
00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,440
the margin, it's only going to 
increase our desires to have 

306
00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,360
less church, not more. 
You see what we neglect, 

307
00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:32,480
eventually we have no desire 
for. 

308
00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:37,880
We just don't want it anymore. 
Years ago, we had a speaker here

309
00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,600
named Glenn Lowe, and some of 
you remember him, preached a 

310
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,280
series of sermons, evening 
sermons. 

311
00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:44,400
One night he asked this 
question. 

312
00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:49,240
It was one of the weeknights. 
He said, are you bored with 

313
00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:56,240
Jesus, Johan? 
You know, I'd never heard that 

314
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,680
question before and I've never 
forgotten it when he asked it. 

315
00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,560
We may say, no, we're not. 
We read our Bible every morning,

316
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,520
pray every morning. 
That's not it. 

317
00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:12,359
Where's our thirst, our hunger, 
our desire, our craving for the 

318
00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:14,240
word, for relationship or 
fellowship? 

319
00:17:15,319 --> 00:17:16,800
Oh, we'd never be bored with 
Jesus. 

320
00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:20,079
And I'm not here to argue, but 
let's just ask ourselves, what 

321
00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:24,400
if we take inventory? 
What if we evaluate ourselves? 

322
00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,400
We can give verbal affirmation 
that we're not. 

323
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,800
But does my lifestyle send a 
different message? 

324
00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,840
I can say anything I want. 
If my heart's not in it. 

325
00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,400
It shows verbal affirmations. 
One thing, lifestyle's another. 

326
00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,960
These people remain together in 
fellowship. 

327
00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,080
Is my lifestyle such that people
have a hard time matching up 

328
00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:50,720
what I say and what I actually 
do? 

329
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,800
I may say I have faith, but is 
it productive? 

330
00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,240
Is it fruitful? 
And if we're bored with Jesus, 

331
00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:03,320
let's admit it, let's repent. 
Somebody said, well, I I'm not 

332
00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,240
bored with Jesus, I'm bored with
this church. 

333
00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:08,280
OK, fair enough. 
Let's be very careful though. 

334
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,200
There are some churches who 
really don't do a very good job 

335
00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:14,520
and no church gets a perfect 
score. 

336
00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:17,440
And sometimes the Bible is not 
preached properly. 

337
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,360
Sometimes the fellowship is not 
right there. 

338
00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:21,920
There could be a lot of things 
that may be a social club. 

339
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,200
But even in churches that 
struggle again in Revelation, 

340
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,880
there's there are still some 
Saints and we need to pray for 

341
00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:30,280
them. 
We need to pray for those 

342
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:31,960
churches and maybe even us 
sometimes. 

343
00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:38,280
I want to say this, if church as
Jesus describes his people, if 

344
00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:41,880
that to us has become boring, 
that means we have some serious 

345
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,600
work to do. 
I don't want to end 2024 on a 

346
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,320
negative pessimistic note. 
However, I want to be positive. 

347
00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,440
Look what the Bible teaches us. 
Maybe we didn't measure up in 

348
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,000
2024. 
Maybe we have serious growth to 

349
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,600
to do. 
But are we together? 

350
00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,400
Are we have one heart, soul and 
mind as the early church was in 

351
00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:01,840
the word, being taught, breaking
bread, celebrating together, 

352
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,400
reminding ourselves what the 
core central message is and 

353
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,680
following it. 
They were doing this ongoing 

354
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:13,880
steadfastly and fellowship, but 
notice what else they were 

355
00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:17,240
doing. 
The breaking of bread and in 

356
00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:22,040
prayers. 
Prayer is specifically mentioned

357
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,280
here. 
Specifically mentioned. 

358
00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:29,560
One of the key identifying marks
of the early church, a praying 

359
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,640
church. 
They gather for prayer once in a

360
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:34,480
while. 
No regularly. 

361
00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:36,840
They continued steadfastly in 
prayers. 

362
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:42,800
The prayer times, it seems to me
in the West, especially in the 

363
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,880
Western world, Canada, the US, 
and so on, in our busy living 

364
00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:51,240
styles, prayers being 
marginalized more and more and 

365
00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,360
eventually it just falls off the
side. 

366
00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:55,200
I'm not saying we're not 
praying. 

367
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,400
I get it. 
We pray in the church here. 

368
00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:59,520
We have, we have prayer at 
different times of the service. 

369
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:01,120
We pray at different times of 
the week. 

370
00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:06,240
But still, is prayer here what 
God wants it to be? 

371
00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:12,240
I've often wondered, and perhaps
you we all should wonder, why is

372
00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,720
prayer not more important in the
Western church today? 

373
00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:17,720
What has happened to the church 
in general that prayer does not 

374
00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:21,880
have a stronger focus? 
What I find interesting in 

375
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:24,480
reading stories of the martyrs, 
modern day martyrs in the less 

376
00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,520
to see how much prayer is part 
of their lives. 

377
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,320
I confess I do not pray like 
those people do and I have no 

378
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,960
excuse. 
I will say also admire their 

379
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,920
prayer lives and their 
inspiration to me. 

380
00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,040
Let me ask, what is it that 
brings our prayer lives into a 

381
00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:46,560
slump, into a place where it 
simply is too busy, we're too 

382
00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,080
tired, we don't want to go. 
What is missing? 

383
00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:55,560
I believe one of the most 
effective ways to stop people 

384
00:20:55,560 --> 00:21:00,320
from praying is to distract them
from prayer And, and, and the, 

385
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:05,040
the times we live in, it's easy.
You know, we, we, we're addicted

386
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,880
to this, to this idea of easy, 
routine, comfortable, 

387
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,760
convenient, secure, and 
predictable living. 

388
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,040
Let's be honest. 
And when we achieve that, guess 

389
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:18,120
what? 
Prayer does not rise in 

390
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:24,360
importance. 
It decreases a Christian who 

391
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:26,880
just wants what's here and for 
now will eventually start 

392
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,000
praying less. 
And let's be honest, prayer is 

393
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,920
at a very low ebb in many, I 
will say evangelical churches 

394
00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,120
because we're busy. 
Places to be, errands to run, 

395
00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:40,440
things to do. 
Where's the time? 

396
00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:46,120
I don't know what God will yet 
do, but He may just bless us 

397
00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:49,320
with circumstances that will 
really bring prayer coming back.

398
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,920
He may even grant us to suffer 
for His name, as He's done is 

399
00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:55,560
doing for so many Saints in the 
world. 

400
00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,560
I do believe our prayer lives 
would reignite very fast. 

401
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,640
Or if they would not, maybe we 
would just be revealed that we 

402
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,880
were not who we claimed to be as
the story of the sower and the 

403
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,200
seed in Matthew 13. 
Without prayer, I say, it's 

404
00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,880
impossible to stay connected to 
God in any way. 

405
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:17,800
Prayer is a must. 
It's a link, the oxygen of the 

406
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,800
soul. 
And yet so few people pray. 

407
00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,640
For the early church, prayer was
their spiritual breath. 

408
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:28,960
It was the way in which the 
commune with God were connected 

409
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,600
and received strength from God, 
and their growth impacted the 

410
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:33,680
community. 
The community noticed. 

411
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,120
Well, what did all this have to 
do with the community? 

412
00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:39,560
How did all this affect the 
community as this was going on? 

413
00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:41,480
What? 
What difference did it make? 

414
00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:46,040
Well, let's continue on. 
Then fear came upon every soul, 

415
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,920
and many wonders and signs were 
done through the apostles. 

416
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,400
I don't know if it means every 
soul in the church or in the 

417
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:58,240
community, but we do know this 
impact of the community because 

418
00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,040
we know from other passages the 
disciples were opposed and they 

419
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:02,760
were persecuted for what they 
were doing. 

420
00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,040
But this really had its effect. 
The church made a difference. 

421
00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,800
And it was none of this stuff 
like all we're going to take 

422
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,080
back Leamington for Jesus, None 
of that kind of talk. 

423
00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:14,800
And I don't agree with that kind
of talk. 

424
00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,320
It's it's not how we as church 
should function. 

425
00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:19,000
All we're going to take back our
country for Jesus. 

426
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:23,080
No, none of that. 
We're called to worship Christ 

427
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:25,200
by serving others and God will 
work. 

428
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:30,560
The change, you see, the early 
church, was to love like Jesus, 

429
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:37,160
to live like Jesus, and to serve
like Jesus, and I'll add, and 

430
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:42,720
also to suffer like Jesus. 
Not that we pray for suffering, 

431
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,240
but for strength to endure it 
when it comes. 

432
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,600
The mindset to love and to serve
was there, and it was lived out 

433
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:56,480
in the community and it was 
contagious and it brought 

434
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:58,320
change. 
You see, the church had just 

435
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:00,840
started and God used wonders and
signs done to the apostles to 

436
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,480
undergird what they were doing. 
Want to be careful here that we 

437
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,120
don't make this into a 
prescriptive passage where you 

438
00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:09,560
know what you got to do 
miracles. 

439
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,040
We're taught in many other 
passages we should be together 

440
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:14,680
continually. 
Here's a kind of a summary of 

441
00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:15,840
it. 
We should be praying all the 

442
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:17,320
time. 
We should be caring for one 

443
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:18,440
another. 
We should be loving one another.

444
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,360
But we're never commanded to go 
and do miracles. 

445
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:22,440
The disciples were commanded to 
do that in the Gospels. 

446
00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:26,760
God does do miracles Today I 
will say I'm not one someone who

447
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:28,960
says I believe in the cessation 
of gifts. 

448
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,640
God doesn't do miracles equally 
bountiful and plentiful in all 

449
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,080
areas at all times. 
But I do believe God still does 

450
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:37,840
miracles. 
I read enough stories and I have

451
00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,720
connections, personal 
connections with people who've 

452
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,120
told me what happened to them 
and that they got healed and a 

453
00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,240
miracle happened and it can be 
happened in a variety of ways. 

454
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,640
But this is what happened then, 
and there was a lot of them 

455
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:54,840
going on, and especially and 
persecuted countries. 

456
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,640
If you start digging through the
records and through the stories 

457
00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,040
and experiences those people 
share, it's nothing but miracles

458
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:02,760
in many cases that see them 
through. 

459
00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,720
God can do what He chooses, and 
the time of miracles may come to

460
00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:09,680
our place again, to one time. 
We don't know. 

461
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:14,960
One thing I find encouraging is 
reading the stories of churches 

462
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,720
and persecuted countries, how 
they're outlawed and oppressed, 

463
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,720
and how miracles come again and 
again and again. 

464
00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,680
We're not here to make miracles 
the hallmark, the benchmark by 

465
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,960
which we valued ourselves. 
But God can and does do miracles

466
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,640
for those who are faithful. 
And so all this together 

467
00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,760
resulted in growth. 
So here we go #2 God's church 

468
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,600
gained in strength. 
You know what the greatest force

469
00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:40,800
in the world is? 
You ever thought about that? 

470
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,360
It's not the universe. 
The mass of stars and the 

471
00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:46,600
planets, as big as they are. 
It's not nature, it's not the 

472
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,960
galaxies, it's not our little 
solar system. 

473
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,200
The greatest force on Earth is 
none of that. 

474
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,360
It's not another is a military 
power. 

475
00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,440
Anything humans create, the 
greatest force on Earth is well 

476
00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:59,400
in the universe is usually 
silent. 

477
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,880
It's it's it's gentle. 
It's love. 

478
00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:10,000
When a person practices love, 
that person is engaging in the 

479
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:14,760
most powerful force in eternity.
Nothing supersedes love. 

480
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:17,760
It's because of love that God 
sent Jesus to this earth. 

481
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,680
It's because of love that Jesus 
taught and died. 

482
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,240
It's because of love the church 
was born. 

483
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:30,440
Strength is revealed in action, 
and you can look strong. 

484
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,200
You may have seen something look
strong or sound powerful, but 

485
00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:35,480
where's the evidence? 
The early church was very 

486
00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:43,920
powerful and it showed. 
And how was it demonstrated? 

487
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:48,640
Well, let's go on verse 44 now 
all who believed the whole 

488
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:53,600
church were together fellowship 
and had all things in common. 

489
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,880
All right, now let's share the 
wealth, right? 

490
00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,680
No, it's not prescriptive, guys.
It's not prescriptive. 

491
00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:04,720
It does tell us to care for the 
poor and to care for those it 

492
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,560
says in verse 45 and sold the 
possessions and goods and divide

493
00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:09,240
them among all that anyone had 
need. 

494
00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:12,720
This community of believers who 
focused on one another so much. 

495
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:14,640
They helped each other. 
They they benefit from from 

496
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,080
everything and the words of 
Jesus the great commandment love

497
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,400
one another was shown how they 
were caring for one another with

498
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,320
their wealth. 
Again, I want to just make make 

499
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,320
it clear this is a passage of 
history and it's not 

500
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:27,280
prescriptively written as a 
piece. 

501
00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:32,400
It's a historical piece of given
to us to learn from and any 

502
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:35,360
given community where everyone 
would always just sell what they

503
00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:37,320
had, that wouldn't work. 
If you had people of 100 

504
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,280
community of 100 people and all 
100 people try to sell 

505
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:40,360
everything to have, who would 
buy it? 

506
00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,040
That's not the point. 
The point is, can you 

507
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,280
sacrificially be sacrificially 
generous? 

508
00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:50,600
That's the point. 
What impact has the gospel made 

509
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,760
in my life in terms of my 
material wealth? 

510
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,520
Has it made a difference? 
Am I the same person materially 

511
00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:58,800
minded the same way before I 
became a Christian or after I 

512
00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:04,800
became a Christian or or did I 
change and went back And we do 

513
00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,720
know chapter 6, little bit down 
the road, things started 

514
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:08,880
happening that shouldn't have 
happened. 

515
00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,280
The widows were being overlooked
for some certain widows were 

516
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,720
being overlooked and so they had
to re restructure. 

517
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,520
There are some Christians today 
who believe that no Christian 

518
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,080
should have a title to any 
wealth at all. 

519
00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,160
I mean, you should all live just
communally and the Hutterite 

520
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,480
community, if you know about the
Hutterites, they practice that 

521
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:26,680
literally the Anabaptist and the
came out of the Protestant 

522
00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:30,040
Reformation back in the 1500s, 
the certain group, the 

523
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,120
Anabaptist, they were called 
Hutterites and they said we're 

524
00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:34,720
going to share everything. 
And so they as a community owned

525
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,480
property and land, but no 
individual owns anything except 

526
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,440
a few personal belongings. 
So they live that out very 

527
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:41,720
physically. 
We're not judging that, just 

528
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,800
that is not a direct command 
from the Scripture. 

529
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:47,920
It's not a command here. 
But this is a principle that's 

530
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,400
lived out. 
And how do we live out this 

531
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:54,400
principle? 
Again, let me use the knowledge 

532
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:56,600
of a couple in love, a married 
couple. 

533
00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,040
They share everything. 
If it's working right, his bank 

534
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:01,440
account becomes her bank 
account. 

535
00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:05,760
Her stuff becomes his stuff. 
It's not anymore I and my and 

536
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,560
mine. 
It's we, us and ours. 

537
00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:11,960
Sacrificial generosity, 
surrender. 

538
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:15,480
When a man and a woman truly 
love each other and they get 

539
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,120
married, they only think of what
will make my spouse happy, what 

540
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:20,520
will make my spouse life better.
That's how they function, how 

541
00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:21,600
they work. 
They don't care about themselves

542
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,120
so much, but what will make my 
wife, my husband look, be 

543
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:26,680
better, work better, have a 
better life? 

544
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:28,600
They're obsessed with how they 
can help the other. 

545
00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:35,080
It becomes, I wonder. 
I wonder, how can I improve my 

546
00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:36,200
spouse's life? 
It's never. 

547
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:38,560
I hope they don't find out and I
hope they don't notice and I 

548
00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:40,480
hope I get away with it. 
That's not good. 

549
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:47,560
You see, when relationships fall
apart, when churches fall apart,

550
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:51,360
when marriages fall apart, 
misfortunes and hardships don't 

551
00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:56,000
derail it. 
They just reveal what is made of

552
00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:01,520
what is falling apart. 
I believe it this way, when it 

553
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,320
comes to marriage especially, 
marriages don't break apart 

554
00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,920
because of problems. 
They break apart because they're

555
00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:13,160
not equipped to handle problems.
The same holds true in the 

556
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,600
Christian faith. 
Thousands of martyrs have 

557
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,720
testified with their lives and 
persevered and died for their 

558
00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:21,360
faith because of what they were 
made of. 

559
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,240
You see, what does a dictator 
government do when a people 

560
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:29,680
group is not afraid of 
suffering, not afraid to die, 

561
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:34,000
while the only thing they're 
they resort to is oppression and

562
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,760
persecution. 
That's what happened to the 

563
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:38,760
apostles. 
The early church happens today. 

564
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:45,960
We read stories of that. 
You see, there are a lot of 

565
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,520
people who would love to be part
of the church, like to identify 

566
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:52,600
with the church, just can't get 
themselves to go all in a little

567
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:56,160
bit like being half married or 
three quarters married, maybe 

568
00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:03,720
75% married. 
It's a self focused issue in the

569
00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,640
book of Acts, in the story of 
the early church, this they were

570
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,120
so in love with Jesus. 
Everything had to align up with 

571
00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:10,360
that. 
They did it out of joy and 

572
00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:13,080
gladness, sharing generously, 
sacrificially, growing together 

573
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:14,760
and becoming established and 
strong. 

574
00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:19,080
And that's the last point. 
God's church remained on track. 

575
00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:21,840
They remained on track because 
of who they were. 

576
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:25,680
They were able to carry out the 
work that assigned to them 

577
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:29,880
because of how they were 
grounded and rooted and together

578
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:34,680
and united. 
It says here verse 46. 

579
00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:38,920
So continuing daily there's a 
word continuing again daily 

580
00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:42,520
ongoing every day with one 
accord unity in the temple 

581
00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:43,840
breaking bread from house to 
house. 

582
00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:45,360
I guess some houses weren't sold
after all. 

583
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,760
They ate their food with clad in
simplicity of heart, praising 

584
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,040
God and having favor with all 
the people and the Lord added 

585
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,040
dated to the church. 
Those who are being saved. 

586
00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:56,440
Let's just pause for a moment 
here. 

587
00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:59,720
Isn't this special? 
Isn't this great? 

588
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:01,880
Wouldn't we, as alums he want to
be that church? 

589
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,280
Where's the priorities? 
Where's the focus? 

590
00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:10,560
Daily gathering, continuing in 
fellowship. 

591
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,440
Prayer is a big priority. 
Generosity is a big priority. 

592
00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:20,960
What do we do when we find that 
in our hearts or when we find 

593
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:25,040
it's not there? 
When we find that fellowship 

594
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,440
becomes a chore, an obligation. 
I have to. 

595
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,720
I already did last time. 
When that becomes one more thing

596
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,400
to do, we should be deeply 
concerned. 

597
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,080
And often times, instead of us 
becoming concerned why we're 

598
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,080
struggling and falling, we've 
become concerned. 

599
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:44,720
Well, how can I just make it 
easier? 

600
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:49,600
Adjust the thermostat even at 
the temperature so the pressure 

601
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,040
is decreased. 
When we deliberately avoid 

602
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,320
fellowship and do not want to be
part of God's people, we're 

603
00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:01,920
going the wrong direction. 
We are confused when we find 

604
00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:05,320
that our personal worldly 
interests override and cancel 

605
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,880
out our desires for fellowship. 
We should be checking in with 

606
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:09,880
God and asking Lord, what's 
going on here? 

607
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:12,480
The people in the early church, 
they ate their bread with 

608
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,480
gladness, shared together, 
prayed together, simplicity of 

609
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,320
of heart. 
These were the very people, the 

610
00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:22,520
very Jews, who up before 
Pentecost were not believers. 

611
00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:24,720
They were good Jews, and 
perhaps, but they were not 

612
00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:26,640
believers. 
They had repented, heard the 

613
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:28,920
gospel, repented, put their 
faith in Jesus. 

614
00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,120
Let's ask ourselves this 
morning, what's our identity at 

615
00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:37,200
LEMC? 
That road signed by the road, 

616
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,680
LEMC, What do people think when 
they see it? 

617
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:45,160
What comes to their minds? 
The early church lived out its 

618
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:49,320
faith in Jesus by its fruits. 
Its activities were a clear sign

619
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,080
their ministries were not in 
vain. 

620
00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:54,000
Their existence was not in vain.
The impact of the community and 

621
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,480
more and it just rooted them. 
I want to close with a short 

622
00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,600
piece from AW Tozer. 
I said before I was going to 

623
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:00,920
come back to this about the 
church. 

624
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,080
In his writings he wrote about 
the state of the church and and 

625
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:07,360
I wonder what he would say if he
lived today. 

626
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:11,120
He died, I believe in 1963. 
He starts off this piece by 

627
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:12,880
saying it's not by might nor by 
power. 

628
00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:15,880
And Zacharias 4 verse six, he 
says, so he answered and said to

629
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:19,719
me, this is the word of the Lord
to the rubber bowl, not by might

630
00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:22,400
nor by power, but by my spirit 
says the Lord of hosts. 

631
00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,840
And Tozer says this. 
He says, I say this because it 

632
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:28,199
is possible to run a church and 
all of its activity without the 

633
00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:30,600
Holy Spirit. 
You can organize it, get a board

634
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:32,800
together, call a pastor from a 
choir, lunch or Sunday's going 

635
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,159
on, you get it. 
All the organization stuff, It's

636
00:34:35,159 --> 00:34:36,280
not bad. 
I'm for it. 

637
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,560
But I'm warning, he says about 
getting organized, getting a 

638
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:42,080
pastor, just turning the crank. 
Some people think it's all 

639
00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:44,800
there's to it. 
You know, Holy Spirit can be 

640
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:46,280
gone. 
The pastor keeps turning the 

641
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:48,880
crank. 
Nobody finds out for years and 

642
00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:53,199
years what a tragedy. 
This can happen in a church. 

643
00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:56,920
It doesn't have to be that way, 
he says. 

644
00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:58,600
If you could increase the 
attendance of your church until 

645
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:00,440
there's no more room, you can 
provide everything you have in 

646
00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:02,160
churches that men could want and
love and value. 

647
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:03,960
You don't have the Spirit. 
You have nothing at all. 

648
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:13,040
Again, not by might nor by 
power, but by my spirit, says 

649
00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:16,560
the Lord Almighty. 
What does it matter for you and 

650
00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:20,960
I today? 
Our world, our communities, our 

651
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:22,920
homes are in great need of godly
examples. 

652
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:26,480
Let's not look at what everybody
else is doing. 

653
00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,200
Let's look in inward, in our own
hearts. 

654
00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:31,560
If we see people sinning, talk 
to them, encourage and pray for 

655
00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:35,920
them. 
Walk in humility, encourage one 

656
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:39,280
another, lift up one another, 
bless one another and do the 

657
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:42,440
other all one another's thing. 
The fellowshipping, the prayer, 

658
00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,480
all those things. 
I want to close with a short 

659
00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:48,200
poem. 
I just the first the first piece

660
00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:52,400
of the poem written by a guy man
attributed to Edgar Guest. 

661
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,720
It says I'd rather see a sermon 
than here one any day. 

662
00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:59,240
Let me read it. 
I'd rather see a sermon than 

663
00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:02,920
here one any day. 
I rather one should walk with me

664
00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:08,360
then merely point the way. 
The eyes of better pupil more 

665
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:11,360
willing than the ear find 
counsel is confusing, but 

666
00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:14,800
examples always clear. 
And the best of all the 

667
00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:17,000
preachers are the men who live 
their creeds. 

668
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:21,880
For to see a good put in action 
is what everybody needs. 

669
00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,640
You see, our corporate identity 
as a church is made-up of each 

670
00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:27,160
one of our individual 
identities. 

671
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,880
And what it comes down to is, 
are we walking with Jesus? 

672
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:32,920
If we all do it, the church will
do it. 

673
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:37,920
We can say the right things. 
Let's make sure our lives add up

674
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:40,120
to the right things. 
I want to encourage us this 

675
00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:44,320
morning to identify with Jesus 
as a church will be identified 

676
00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:46,320
with Christ. 
May God bless this church. 

677
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:50,800
Let us pray. 
Lord, we thank you for the gift 

678
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,720
of salvation, that we are your 
people, but you've been merciful

679
00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:56,240
and gracious to us. 
We thank you. 

680
00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:01,520
Lord, we ask that as we wrap up 
2024, we will do so with praise 

681
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:03,760
and Thanksgiving in our hearts 
what you've done for us. 

682
00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,360
And may we enter 2025 with 
confidence and hope and 

683
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:10,120
encouragement and trust that you
will see us through and You'll 

684
00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:14,080
help us to be a strong, active, 
healthy, vibrant church for this

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00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,000
community. 
That starts with each one of us 

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00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,080
individually. 
May our hearts be tuned to You, 

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00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:19,640
Lord. 
Maybe we live out in our 

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00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:22,160
day-to-day lives the example 
you've set for us in Scripture. 

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00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:24,080
In your name we pray. 
Amen.