1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Inglewood 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,920 Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Thank you so much for tuning in to our podcast. 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,320 You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 about important issues facing your life that can guide you 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:21,040 according to the Bible. Well, I appreciate the worship 7 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:21,720 team. Amen. 8 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:28,120 Plus, Drew has some really cool shoes on those Vans. 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:32,159 They got to be Vans. Those of you who don't know what 10 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,720 vans are, you got to get with it. 11 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,480 Take your Bibles this morning. Turn to Acts chapter 6, if you 12 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:42,800 will. I'll catch up to you there in 13 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,280 just a moment. There's a couple of things I 14 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,720 want to call attention to because you may not be aware of 15 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,040 this. You may not know who you've 16 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,240 called as your pastor. I, I'm a, I'm AVBSA holic. 17 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:55,440 I don't know if you know that or not. 18 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,400 So I have to confess that I love vacation Bible school. 19 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:00,920 I'm addicted to vacation Bible school. 20 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:02,960 I never went to vacation Bible school as a kid. 21 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:04,720 So I think I'm trying to make up my time. 22 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,440 And VBS is coming up and your worship guide, you'll see places 23 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,040 to not only register your kids, but sign up to volunteer. 24 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,200 And in just a couple of weeks, believe it or not, don't worry, 25 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:17,640 I'll get you there. We're going to hang 2000 of 26 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,240 these door hangers around our community. 27 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,440 So we haven't see how many kids we can get here to learn about 28 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,840 Jesus. So thank you for that. 29 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,560 So, yeah, so BBS also the women's gathering is happening 30 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:29,240 this week. You can still sign up for that. 31 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,360 Look for that as well. And I, I've heard there is a 32 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:34,240 good crowd coming. So I appreciate that and look 33 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,560 forward to that very, very, very much. 34 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,960 Now, if you're here this morning and you're a guest, it's an it 35 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:41,080 going to be an interesting sermon. 36 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,400 So just prepare yourself. It'd be a great sermon for you 37 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:46,360 to be here as our guest because you're going to learn some 38 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,200 things about Englewood, but I need to share some practical, 39 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,440 honest things with the congregation as well. 40 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,640 And so we're still going to be in Acts 6 and don't worry about 41 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:58,880 it, but, but it's going to be a little different than normal. 42 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,400 We've been walking together through these first chapters of 43 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,040 the book of Acts over the last several weeks. 44 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,360 We've been witnessing God establishing and protecting his 45 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,000 church, watched several things happening. 46 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,280 We've seen several power engagements between the Holy 47 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,200 Spirit and Satan as they're fighting of the church. 48 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,720 We've seen the Holy Spirit demonstrate his absolute 49 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:23,000 dominion and authority over man and Satan, and I promise you 50 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,480 that is always going to be true. He always has dominion. 51 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,000 And in the end, God wins. And that's something we can 52 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,600 count on. In fact, we depend upon that, 53 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,640 and nothing's changed here. Same God, same mission, same 54 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:39,560 power. Our our task is to simply come 55 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,720 join the King's mission. And that's what we've been 56 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:44,960 talking about South. These first five chapters that 57 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,840 we've walked through have presented a community of 58 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,440 believers in Jerusalem. The church has just been in the 59 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:56,320 Jerusalem area closely bound to Judaism still, and they were 60 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:58,960 mainly reaching people who had Jewish backgrounds. 61 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,280 They're meeting daily at the temple that because that's what 62 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:02,920 they know. They're preaching the gospel, 63 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:07,000 they're getting in trouble, and also seeing God work over and 64 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,200 over again. So they're fulfilling the first 65 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:13,120 part of Acts chapter one, verse 8, where they're reaching their 66 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,040 Jerusalem. This is about to change, 67 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,840 especially next week. Starting next week, we're going 68 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,400 to see the church get pushed out of Jerusalem in a brand new way, 69 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,000 become much more global and frankly, much more diverse. 70 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:27,920 And So what we're looking at here is how the church is going 71 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:30,640 to grow. This is a good congregation, but 72 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:33,080 it wasn't a perfect congregation, even though it was 73 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,560 the first congregation. And so this morning I'm going to 74 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,240 ask the question about is there really the perfect church? 75 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:44,480 So I've never met one. I've never met one I've known a 76 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,320 lot of. I've known a lot of churches, 77 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:48,760 but I've never known a perfect one. 78 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,480 And there's a reason for that, because the church is made-up of 79 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,200 guess who? Yeah, us. 80 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,000 And we are imperfect sinners. Raise your hand if you're an 81 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:00,400 imperfect Sinner here this morning. 82 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:02,120 My hands up. Notice this. 83 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:02,880 Yeah. Well, thank you for the 84 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:04,560 confession for those guests here. 85 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:06,880 We all acknowledge we're not holier than you are. 86 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,160 We just know somebody who might be or who is, you know? 87 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:14,120 And so we know the one who is. But it's only by grace that 88 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:15,960 we're saved. And it's only by that same grace 89 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,560 that will be held together and move forward, be able to grow. 90 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:21,079 So Satan's tried multiple assaults here. 91 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,800 He tries from the outside, moves to the inside, tries from the 92 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:30,480 outside, moves from the inside. Last time he was having external 93 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:32,240 persecution by the Jewish leaders. 94 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,840 So now he's going to move back to inside the church because our 95 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:40,560 enemy will never stop. He will never sleep, He will 96 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,400 never relent. He will never, ever give up. 97 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:47,040 And so we must be diligent. So look at Acts chapter 6. 98 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,360 Let's begin with the first verse because that's where the chapter 99 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:51,440 starts. And let's see what God says. 100 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,040 Now in those days when the disciples were increasing in 101 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,160 number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the 102 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:03,000 Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the 103 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,800 daily distribution. And the 12 summoned the full 104 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,240 number of the disciples and said it is not right that we should 105 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,840 give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 106 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:19,520 So very simply, a problem arose. They had a real issue, and a 107 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,240 problem arose. So we know the church is already 108 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,760 large at this point. If you know the book of Acts or 109 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,040 you've been here with us, thousands and thousands of 110 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,960 people have been saved and they're increasing in number. 111 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:34,400 And so with growth comes change. That's always true. 112 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,800 A baby doesn't stay a baby, a seed doesn't stay a seed. 113 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,840 And a church will change too. And with change can come 114 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,160 problems and certainly can come complaints. 115 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,320 And so there's a church I once pastored and, and I've had the 116 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,720 honor of pastoring that that doubled in size about every year 117 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,080 and a half to two years for at least six years in a row. 118 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,640 And, and most of that was from outside conversion growth, not 119 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,400 not just our own children, but actually new people who were 120 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,080 being saved and baptized every single week. 121 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,680 And, and that sounds wonderful and it was absolutely fantastic, 122 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,680 phenomenal, but it also produced growing pains and some 123 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,640 difficulties along the way. And so the church in Acts is not 124 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,920 completely homogeneous anymore. They, they actually, although 125 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,240 they still have a Jewish background, you've got to 126 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,120 understand, except maybe for some proselyte converts, people 127 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,160 who weren't Jews, who become Jews, but but they didn't 128 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:29,800 necessarily all come from the same place. 129 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,960 So you had subgroups of Greek speaking Jewish believers and 130 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,960 then you had Aramaic speaking Jewish believers. 131 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,120 Now just stick with me for a minute because it's important. 132 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,760 So these Greek speaking people came from the diaspora outside 133 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:44,920 of Palestine. So they're born outside of 134 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:50,360 Palestine and they actually lived outside the city, but now 135 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:54,120 they had moved to Jerusalem, but they still had even separate 136 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:57,640 synagogues in their Judaism. So you had Greek speaking 137 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,080 synagogues and you had Aramaic speaking synagogues. 138 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,040 So when they become Christians now, they're still, they're 139 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:06,760 congregating together, but they're probably still saying 140 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:10,760 these segregated groups even within the church because of of 141 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,760 language, customs and culture. So if you think cliques within 142 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,840 the church are a modern invention, this has been around 143 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,280 a long time. So the Greek believers would 144 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,600 actually read from the Septuagint, which was the Greek 145 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,480 translation of the Old Testament, while the Aramaic 146 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:29,120 believers would read from the Hebrew. 147 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,160 So you got to understand the complexity of this context. 148 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:34,480 You have people from all kinds of backgrounds moving in, all 149 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,160 kinds of new people. And this might shock you. 150 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:39,200 I'm glad you're sitting down because this might shock you. 151 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,600 Not everyone is just like you. Isn't that shocking? 152 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:45,920 Isn't that amazing? In fact, and and this gets 153 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,400 worse, you ready? They might even have different 154 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:53,760 opinions about what should happen and how here at 155 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:55,840 Inglewood. Isn't that isn't that something 156 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,160 somebody might think a different way about the church. 157 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,000 They might suggest different strengths, different weaknesses, 158 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,320 top needs that this church might have. 159 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,200 And in fact, a lot of them will come talk to me and they'll say 160 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:08,280 here's what we no, and that's not what they say. 161 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:09,920 Here's what you need to do, Pastor. 162 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,360 Pretty amazing, isn't it? You didn't know that happened 163 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:16,160 here, did you? Yeah. 164 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,240 See, So the Greek or the Hellenistic group of widows did 165 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:22,840 not believe their needs were being taken care of. 166 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,000 They literally were saying we're not being fed, right. 167 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,080 And so and and the Aramaic groups getting more than we are. 168 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,640 So that wasn't just we aren't getting enough, they're getting 169 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:34,520 more. This is unfair little 170 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,159 competition going on, and this could have been a really sizable 171 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:40,440 group because these Jews from the diaspora would often come to 172 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,000 Jerusalem to live out their older years so that they could 173 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:44,880 die and be buried in the holy city. 174 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,280 The men would die off first, so there be this large group of 175 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,320 widows who were left and the church would care for them. 176 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,680 In fact, early church records show us they actually had lists 177 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,560 of these widows that they had recorded so they would be able 178 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:00,520 to take care of them, kind of like our Deacon ministry does 179 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:02,720 here, so that that they could take care of him. 180 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,760 And it's likely the church followed the old. 181 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,120 There's old Jewish traditions about how to take care of 182 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:08,760 people. You had what was called the 183 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:10,480 koopa, which was where they were. 184 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,560 They'd give enough money every Friday for 14 meals to the 185 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:17,280 people who lived there. And then you had the Tom we, 186 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,000 which was the daily, the daily distribution that they would do 187 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,560 for people in transition who weren't residents. 188 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:25,880 They're just passing through. They'd give them food and drink 189 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:27,840 and they'd deliver it to their house. 190 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:29,440 So it was the first Meals on Wheels. 191 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:32,920 So all these things have been around for a while, but they 192 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:35,080 wanted to make sure the needs were addressed. 193 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,440 So at 1st, and I'm getting out of the background here real 194 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,240 fast, at first this all fell on the apostles because they were 195 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,280 the leaders, they were the only ones in the beginning, right? 196 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,080 But, but, and then in the beginning that might have made 197 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:48,480 sense. But when you have thousands and 198 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,880 thousands and thousands of members joining, suddenly it had 199 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:55,920 to be delegated. So growth requires change and 200 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:00,040 can create new problems. And so they may have delegated 201 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,800 the responsibility to some Aramaic or Hebrew speaking 202 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,200 believers early, but with language and cultural issues and 203 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,920 frankly perhaps even some prejudice, it became easy to see 204 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:13,440 how the Greek speakers were feeling neglected. 205 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:17,280 So he had division in the church over this issue, right? 206 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:22,520 So they needed a better plan. They needed a unified vision for 207 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,800 the entire church. I hope this sounds familiar 208 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:28,960 because it's the same thing we're working on behind the 209 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:32,360 scenes here, not for food, but for other reasons. 210 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:35,320 So the apostles gathered all the disciples together. 211 00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:39,760 And even though this issue just affected A subgroup, it's the 212 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:43,880 responsibility of the whole body because each person, each group 213 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:47,400 affects the whole when you're seeking to build together. 214 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:51,520 They, they wanted participation to, to help get to resolution. 215 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,280 And so they're, they're working together on this. 216 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:55,760 And Englewood, we're in this together. 217 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,240 So let's just be honest and deal with a few things together, 218 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,280 exactly like the process that we're going through with our 219 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,360 mission and vision right now. So here's just some behind the 220 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:08,680 scenes practical things I need to update you as a congregation. 221 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,600 I want you to understand what's happening, trying to be 222 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,480 transparent with you so you're not surprised by anything. 223 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:15,840 So let me just give you a couple things. 224 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:17,440 We'll get right back to the passage, I promise. 225 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,360 So we've gathered with other leadership groups for input and 226 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:24,560 feedback on best ways to move forward in discipleship. 227 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,800 And, and so we recognize, as they said, it's not right. 228 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:32,480 It wouldn't be pleasing in God's eyes to to do this alone. 229 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,000 And so we, we recognize that, that to oversee the 230 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,640 distribution, even though it was important, it needed ministry in 231 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:40,760 the book of Acts, It would be too much just for the apostles 232 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:43,320 to do alone. It would distract from their 233 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,360 calling and primary responsibilities. 234 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,240 And so their success as a church, their growth as a 235 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:51,480 church, it actually produced this need. 236 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:57,440 So it was time to assess time to identify, time to develop a new 237 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:02,000 vision and then adjust and implement a new plan. 238 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,120 I really do pray this is sounding familiar. 239 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:08,360 So, but you need to think about their unique context. 240 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:10,640 And then I'm going to come back to what we're doing, their 241 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,640 unique context, the apostles alone. 242 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,040 You got to think about these guys. 243 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:18,600 These apostles alone had personally, physically witnessed 244 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:20,880 the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 245 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:23,720 Their testimonies were absolutely unique. 246 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:29,120 They were irreplaceable, unrepeatable, and absolutely 247 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,480 foundational for the Christian movement to move forward. 248 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:34,720 But you got to remember, there wasn't, there wasn't a New 249 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:37,560 Testament written yet. So they couldn't just read the 250 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:40,400 New Testament. These books hadn't been written 251 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:41,880 yet. Paul hadn't written his letters 252 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,080 even yet. And so these apostles who were 253 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,120 with Jesus were crucial to pass on these stories and to have 254 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,440 time to work with under the leadership of the Holy Spirit to 255 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:54,600 write the Gospels. And so this was a crucial time 256 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,200 in history. They needed to be free to 257 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,800 perform these primary tasks of teaching and leading, so they 258 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:01,840 had to face the truth and be honest about it. 259 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,480 So Inglewood, let's just be honest about a few things. 260 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,920 Where this church has been, where and who we really are 261 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:12,160 right now, and where we must go, and let's see what should be 262 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,680 done about it. So we are in a very specific 263 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:16,640 process. Let me just update you for a few 264 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,360 minutes. We're in a very specific process 265 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,800 to guide us to move forward in the healthiest way. 266 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,000 We're working through some key phrases that I've shown you 267 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:27,960 before. I showed you this at the very 268 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,600 beginning when I was with you, and believe it or not, that was 269 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,200 just a few weeks ago. It feels like 14 years, I know, 270 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,760 but it was just a few weeks ago, OK. 271 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,680 And we're working through these phases together. 272 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,840 It represents a process not necessarily that I created but 273 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,640 observed working with hundreds and hundreds of healthy churches 274 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:48,600 around the world. But I've also used this process, 275 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,480 and we've seen many churches move forward in healthier ways. 276 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:54,800 So it's time for a new normal. Because believe it or not, 277 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,960 Inglewood is not a perfect church. 278 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:01,960 I know. Gasps of horror, right? 279 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:06,160 Turn to somebody sitting next to you and just say, Oh, no, I 280 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:07,360 know, see, it's horrible. I know. 281 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:08,800 I get it. But. 282 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:10,360 But I work with hundreds of them around the world. 283 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,080 There are no perfect churches, but Inglewood is a good church. 284 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,480 It's a good church. And it must become even 285 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:17,840 stronger. That's what we want to see 286 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:18,560 happen. Amen. 287 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:21,800 That's what we want. So we're seeking the best ways 288 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,520 to be the people of God that he wants for us to become. 289 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,360 So we want to become healthier. We want to measure success in 290 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,760 the right ways. It's not just quantitative 291 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,800 growth, obviously it's quality. It's how do we become good 292 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:36,600 disciples? So at the middle of that 293 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:38,400 diagram, you see the word mission. 294 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:40,080 That's at the center of everything. 295 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,800 We seek to bring God glory. We want to join Him in redeeming 296 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:45,480 the nation's. That's one of the reasons why 297 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,360 we're praying every single week for Unreached people groups, 298 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,640 unengaged and reached. So, but we need to approach this 299 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,600 in the proper manner. So I want to show you another 300 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:57,800 thing that I've shown you before, and that's called the 301 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,560 discipline of why we must constantly ask the right 302 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:06,880 questions in the right order. Why always precedes who? 303 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:10,960 Which always precedes what, which always precedes how. 304 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,240 We don't just jump into the how. We don't just jump into the 305 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,880 what. We need to know why. 306 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:22,040 Why are we here? Why does Inglewood Baptist 307 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,200 Church exists on this piece of property at this moment in 308 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:30,680 history, in this context? Why am I breathing today? 309 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,440 That's a question to ask. And why are you sucking up my 310 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,440 oxygen? Why are we here? 311 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:41,000 Right. So our reason, our motive, not 312 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,960 just our methodology, but our hearts, our commitment, our 313 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:51,040 faithfulness, every second, every minute, every step matters 314 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:55,040 in this process of why we're doing what we do, why we do what 315 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:57,440 we do, and the way we do it all matter. 316 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:01,960 So who must be be? Who must we become to be the 317 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:04,920 disciple that Jesus wants us to become? 318 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,600 And what do we need to know and do in order to become that? 319 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,400 So how do we define these things? 320 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:12,960 How do we move forward? Because we got to remember 321 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:14,200 something. This is key. 322 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,600 You got to remember that church health on this corporate level 323 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,360 that that, that that idea of corporateness of us all 324 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,120 together. Remember church health is simply 325 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,120 your health. That's all it is. 326 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:28,560 It's not any more complicated than that. 327 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,120 It's how healthy each and every single one of you as members of 328 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:35,640 this church are and how healthy your leaders are. 329 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,600 And we put that together to fulfill God's mission. 330 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,480 So if you are not healthy, it affects the whole. 331 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:47,520 Each one of you matters greatly and influences the church as a 332 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:48,400 whole. And you may be sitting here 333 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,080 going, I don't matter. It doesn't matter what I do. 334 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,040 That's just not true. That's not true at all. 335 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,840 Your faithfulness or your lack of faithfulness actually impact 336 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:01,800 the whole you matter. So church, church membership, 337 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,119 personal transformation, biblical discipleship must have 338 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:10,119 clear definitions, must have clear direction, must have clear 339 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,960 destinations, and they must have understood value. 340 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:17,800 In other words, we understand the mission of God to bring him 341 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,839 great glory and to fulfill and to join Him in redeeming the 342 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:24,079 nation's, but that must have great value to us that we 343 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:26,160 actually understand. In other words, this is too 344 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,400 important. Nothing's more important than 345 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:30,000 this. Nothing's more important than 346 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,200 serving my King. So that's more important than 347 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:34,120 sports. It's more important than career. 348 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:36,200 It's more important than anything else in my life. 349 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:38,680 I need to serve my King. That's going to be make my 350 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:40,480 family stronger. That's going to make me 351 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,120 stronger. So I've shared with you often on 352 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:48,760 top of that about the the amazing harvest potential of 353 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:52,040 Inglewood. We're living over 70% of the 354 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:53,960 people in this 10 mile radius are unchurched. 355 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,400 We're living in the middle of an unreached people group right 356 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,120 here right now and it's just going to grow. 357 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,560 So how will Inglewood engage, right? 358 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:08,280 So that means how will you as an individual disciple engage? 359 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,760 It's not just about us standing up here creating some program 360 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:14,600 structure for you. It's how will you as an 361 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:19,480 individual respond? So we must first depend upon the 362 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:21,960 Holy Spirit. And as we study the book of Acts 363 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,880 together, we're supposed to be learning, supposed to be 364 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:31,680 learning more about the biblical church and church membership and 365 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,800 who we ought to be, what we ought to know, what we need to 366 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:36,880 do. Now, please hear all of what I'm 367 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,600 about to say before you cast judgment on me or run for the 368 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:45,280 door. We need you to be more involved 369 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,520 than just the Sunday morning worship service. 370 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:50,600 We need you more involved in that. 371 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,280 Now, make no mistake, I'm absolutely thrilled that you are 372 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:57,880 here right now and you are most welcome. 373 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:04,760 But this service alone is not a complete holistic spiritual diet 374 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,360 that you need in order to be the greatest disciple. 375 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:11,760 You need more than what you're going to get just in this time 376 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,600 together. We need you to join a Connect 377 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:15,840 small group. Now. 378 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,680 I was blessed this morning by one of the Connect group leaders 379 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,080 sharing with me that they've had eight to 10 new people in just 380 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,120 the last couple of weeks show up for their cup. 381 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,240 And I appreciate that. If you're one of them, thank 382 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,600 you. And then as church members, 383 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,480 those of you who are church members, we need you to 384 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:34,960 volunteer to serve in ministry. That's part of it. 385 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,440 Because because right now, like in most churches, a certain 386 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:42,120 percentage of members do a much larger percentage of the work. 387 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:44,680 And we're going to be introducing to you specific 388 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,600 pathways of involvement with clear definitions and clear 389 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:52,080 destinations for discipleship and how you can grow and how you 390 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:54,800 can plug in. Because, listen, this church in 391 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,720 its history has experienced tremendous growth, but this 392 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,160 church has also experienced in her history tremendous division 393 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,440 and decline. And some of you have been 394 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,440 through all of that. And so right now, it's a 395 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:09,400 wonderful time. It's good church. 396 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:11,880 What I love about Inglewood, which to be honest with you, 397 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,640 it's been one of the greatest blessings of my entire career, 398 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,320 of my 4000 years being alive. One of the greatest things about 399 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:22,440 Inglewood is what a great foundation we already have. 400 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,000 This is a good church. And we're going to talk about 401 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,800 how to become a great a greater church. 402 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:30,520 Right now. Some would just say that that 403 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,680 that tremendous growth and then the occasional division and 404 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,320 decline is just normal. What you need to understand 405 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:38,440 something about me and I'm going to be kind of strong for a 406 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:40,080 minute. I'm sorry, but this is a 407 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,240 personal silk box of mine. Anyone who has ever served with 408 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:47,680 me knows that I despise normal. I won't settle for it. 409 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,560 I won't tolerate it. I hate normal. 410 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:54,320 In fact, I wrote a little book called A New Normal that I write 411 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,400 about it. So I always hear this phrase, 412 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:58,160 well, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. 413 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:00,720 You got to stop that. Please stop that because that 414 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:05,360 presumes a constant context that presumes the world around you is 415 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:07,800 not changing. And it's really dumb advice in 416 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,240 church life. So please don't say that to me 417 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,720 because we live in a rapidly changing culture with a rapidly 418 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,240 changing dynamic around us. And God is expecting more of us 419 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,280 and from us, each and every one of us. 420 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:25,480 He's expecting a new normal. So join me in creating the new 421 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,760 wheel for Inglewood for 2025 and beyond. 422 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:32,920 Because just doing the old ways, the old ways aren't going to cut 423 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:34,200 it. They won't. 424 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,200 I work with hundreds and hundreds of churches who believe 425 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,240 that and they're dying and they're declining, and we will 426 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,120 not be that way. So with growth, we're going to 427 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:47,040 have blessing. It's wonderful to see people 428 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,520 saved, people baptized, disciples made, people 429 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,760 volunteering, people joining discipleship groups, etcetera. 430 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:59,600 But with growth, problems can arise in the church because the 431 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:04,760 church is made-up of problematic, sinful human beings 432 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,920 just like us, just like me. And just like in the book of 433 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,200 Acts, people will say to me, you know, I have seminary children 434 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,400 who'll sit there say, I, you know, doctor, Doctor Ewart, you 435 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,920 know, I want my church to be like the church in Acts. 436 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,680 And I say, oh brother, it is, it is. 437 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:23,080 They all fight over money and food. 438 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,000 It is. So how did they deal with it? 439 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,400 Acts chapter 6. Look at verse 3. 440 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,120 The story continues. Therefore, brothers, pick out 441 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:36,800 from among you 7 men of good repute, full of the spirit and 442 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,040 wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 443 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:42,440 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of 444 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:44,480 the Word. So this problem arises. 445 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:48,240 But we also see that an answer is proposed very simply not not 446 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:50,880 a complex outline at all. And answers proposed. 447 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:56,120 They proposed action based upon prioritized mission and vision. 448 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:58,240 I need to say that again, didn't say that very well. 449 00:22:58,240 --> 00:22:59,640 You really need to hear that sentence. 450 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:05,840 They proposed action based upon prioritized mission and vision. 451 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,520 They select qualified men to administer this charitable work. 452 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:10,640 That's how they did that practically. 453 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:14,160 They laid down some important spiritual and practical 454 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,200 qualifications. These were qualities. 455 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,920 Don't miss this. These were qualities in this men 456 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:21,400 that the congregation have seen. They would have seen this in 457 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:22,920 them. They would have known this about 458 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:24,400 Stephen. They would have known this about 459 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,480 Philip, right? We saw that in them. 460 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:31,640 So, So these were men of good repute, full of the spirit, full 461 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,240 of wisdom. I mean, doesn't that make sense? 462 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:35,040 I mean, that's that those are great qualities. 463 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,120 Know the Lord well, know how to handle the work and the 464 00:23:38,120 --> 00:23:40,480 resources of the Lord. Well, that just kind of makes 465 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,680 sense, doesn't it? So some see the model for 466 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,000 deacons here. The the title's really not given 467 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,640 like that and there probably wasn't a thought of official 468 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,760 offices at this point, but this becomes kind of a template for 469 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,280 what deacons became. So these were servants with 470 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,000 spiritual and practical know how. 471 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,240 And that that's a great prototype for a Deacon. 472 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:01,800 In fact, I love our deacons. I'm now going out every single 473 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:04,800 week with a Deacon and and we're going out and making visits in 474 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,160 homes every single week. So y'all look out because I'm 475 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,000 coming and lock your doors and bolt your windows because we're 476 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,760 coming at some point. These deacons are ministering 477 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,240 and loving people well. So this answer meant the 478 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:21,240 apostles could then live out. They're very unique because you 479 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:22,600 got to think about who these guys were. 480 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:27,200 Very unique, historical calling. It reminds me very much of what 481 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:31,200 Paul was referring to in Ephesians 4 when he wrote to 482 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:32,680 that church. And he said, and he gave the 483 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,360 apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and 484 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:38,760 teachers to equip the Saints for the work of ministry, for 485 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:42,400 building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity 486 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,280 of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to 487 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,120 mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of 488 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:52,160 Christ. So in other words, leadership is 489 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:57,360 pouring into membership so that ministry can happen together and 490 00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:01,480 we work together in this. Everyone of you matters and your 491 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,880 role here matter. So with this in mind, we got to 492 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,240 ask what about us and how do we do this? 493 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,720 We see this problem, we see an answer. 494 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:14,120 Look at verse 5 and what they said, please, the whole 495 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:17,480 gathering. And they chose Stephen, a man 496 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,960 full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus 497 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,240 and Niconer and Timon and and Parmenus and Nicholas, a 498 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,440 proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the 499 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,680 apostles and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 500 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,200 So the third thing we see, there's there's a problem, 501 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,080 there's an answer. Now there's, there's a process 502 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:38,760 is approved. This process is approved. 503 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,600 Look at what the Bible says. This alone is a miracle. 504 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:44,040 This is a miracle of the Holy Spirit. 505 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,400 And what they said, please, the whole gathering. 506 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,800 I mean, wow, they couldn't be Baptist. 507 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,920 But anyway, it's amazing, I wish we could always say that 508 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:58,720 everyone was pleased, right, with the decisions that were 509 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:00,800 made. The Holy Spirit's bringing them 510 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,640 together, see, He's saving them. Satan's trying to split them up. 511 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,360 Holy Spirit in his unity because he indwelt them. 512 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,000 He's bringing them together in a unity of the Spirit and mind, 513 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,480 see. And so the apostles LED in 514 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,600 making a wise proposal and process to the congregation. 515 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,960 The congregation liked it. They were all pleased. 516 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,000 See, there's no dictators, there's leaders. 517 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,240 Big difference between the two. And so biblical common sense, 518 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:27,680 which by the way, is a superpower in the church and 519 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:32,680 frankly in life today, Biblical common sense is, is is is a word 520 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,200 that gets used here. You know, in the old movie, and 521 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,520 this is an old movie, some of you, you're way too young for 522 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:40,560 this, but you may have seen it because it was an Academy 523 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,320 award-winning movie too. But in the old movie Lawrence of 524 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,960 Arabia, which actually tells the story of a of World War 2 525 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:53,640 conflicts in the day of in kind of Asia Minor in in parts of 526 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,960 even Africa. But but Thomas Edward Lawrence, 527 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,280 who's an English Colonel who helps unite, organize an Arab 528 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:04,560 revolt against Turkey. Basically in the movie, he tells 529 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,840 his Arab counterpart this. He says if the desert tribes do 530 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,920 not unite as a nation, they were forever, they will be forever 531 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:16,160 destined to be a silly and inconsequential people. 532 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:21,280 And I, for one, we have no desire to be a silly and 533 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,680 inconsequential people in our culture today. 534 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,480 We must unite. Now more than ever, perhaps in 535 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,280 the entire history of Englewood Baptist Church, We've got to 536 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,080 unite and move forward together. There was a need. 537 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:36,880 The ministry and structures were assessed and they were adjusted. 538 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,480 And again, I pray this is sounding familiar to you with 539 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:42,400 what we got going on behind the scenes. 540 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,320 Something new, something different had to happen. 541 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,720 Now some it seems to be that perhaps these were Greek 542 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:50,280 speakers. The guys they appoint, they have 543 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,680 Greek names, but some of these Aramaic guys had Greek names too 544 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,160 and that mixed culture. But these Greek speakers would 545 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,240 have been able to communicate. Minister Best probably was going 546 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,200 to see Stephen later. In fact, next week the stories 547 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,120 about Stephen and what's what happens to Stephen is what's 548 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:07,400 going to push the church out of Jerusalem. 549 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,280 And so we see him. Philip becomes a major character 550 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,400 later. They later would be among the 551 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:14,960 first people to take the gospel out beyond Jerusalem. 552 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,680 Some of these people, including Philip to Samaria. 553 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,000 And so again, the Gospel knows no barriers. 554 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:22,680 The Holy Spirit's moving forward. 555 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:24,360 And Inglewood, you got to grasp it. 556 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,160 He's going to move forward one way or the other, with or 557 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,880 without us, and we need to join him. 558 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:32,480 So they're selected, they're installed. 559 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,280 You see the laying on of the hands, which is an Old Testament 560 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,800 gesture of passing on blessing and responsibility. 561 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:40,960 It's used throughout the book of Acts when commissioning is 562 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:44,520 taking place and so when especially for specific tasks. 563 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,120 So we got to ask ourselves, what are our tasks? 564 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,280 What's our process? Englewood? 565 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,360 Well, I've shown you in these phases, here's a process. 566 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,960 We and I need you to just hear, hear these things and some 567 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,360 prayer requests, very specific moments for you church members, 568 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:04,080 guests, hang in there with me, be excited for us and pray with 569 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,880 us. We have some additional 570 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,160 leadership meetings coming up very soon. 571 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:14,480 Lay teams and task forces are being empowered in new ways. 572 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:20,480 In fact, our Acts 18 missions, a task force is being empowered to 573 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,400 plan trips, to evaluate trips, to also evaluate mission budget. 574 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,280 We're meeting this Thursday night for a very significant 575 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,600 meeting. Your finance team is being 576 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,080 empowered to actually review and plan the budget. 577 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:34,160 We're going to have a whole new budget process this year. 578 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:35,920 Don't freak out. Those of you who are in charge 579 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,960 of the budgets, we're going to have a 0 balanced budget process 580 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,360 so we can have high level accountability, high level 581 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,480 assessment of our entire church budget. 582 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,520 So when we bring that to you as a congregation, I promise you it 583 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,320 will be worked through very thoroughly. 584 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:51,120 So that finance team is being empowered in a new way. 585 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,840 Your Deacon council serving as the personnel team. 586 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:55,440 I'll be meeting with them tomorrow night. 587 00:29:55,480 --> 00:30:00,680 We're empowering them to have a complete accountability over me, 588 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:02,720 frankly, and others because that's necessary. 589 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:04,840 And so we're seeing some new things happen. 590 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,520 We're going to work this week to strategize about our missions 591 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:08,880 life. I need to share with you that 592 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,440 Pastor Charles, in conversations with me before I ever became 593 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,200 your pastor, he and I were talking, he was pulling kind of 594 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:17,840 quadruple duty with a lot of different responsibilities. 595 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:21,720 And he, he asked if he could focus in on pastoral care, 596 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,080 member care and prayer, which we desperately want to build. 597 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:27,040 And then also working with the deacons. 598 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:30,080 So we're actually taking the missions administrative part off 599 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:32,480 Pastor Charles. I'm taking that right now as a 600 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,680 missiologist with my background and Cassidy's working with me. 601 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:38,600 The Acts 118 is working with me. We've talked to our missionaries 602 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:40,920 about this already. They know how we feel supported. 603 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,480 We're going to have a huge emphasis in November for our 604 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:45,160 missions life, so get ready for that. 605 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,840 But here's the bottom line. There are two huge meetings I'm 606 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:53,480 asking you as a congregation to pray for on June 17th. 607 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,480 Your pastors are going to meet together all day long. 608 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,160 We have met with all the rest of the staff. 609 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,120 We've met with all the deacons. We met with 114 lay leaders of 610 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:06,200 the church to have them review some language about 611 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,760 discipleship. We're going to meet on the 17th 612 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:12,640 to take all that feedback, pray over it and put it integrated 613 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:16,240 into a plan, and then hopefully come out with a unified vision 614 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:18,720 for discipleship that we're going to share with you. 615 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:23,600 You need to pray for June 17th. Then on June 22nd, all of the 616 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,600 Connect group leaders and all the age graded ministry leaders 617 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,920 are going to have a meeting and I'm going to be sharing with 618 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,240 them some new ideas, some new things that we've developed over 619 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,520 the years to help small groups grow and become ministry teams 620 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:39,040 and to do more than more than study as well as our age graded 621 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:40,360 ministry. So it's going to be a very 622 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:44,480 strategic time. June 17th, June 22nd, Pray, 623 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:48,160 pray, pray. And we're praying that this will 624 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,240 create an even healthier church now and prepare us for the next 625 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,400 best chapter. And all I can say is you'll 626 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:57,720 believe it later. But it's time to get very 627 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:00,520 excited, Englewood. It's time to get very excited 628 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:02,800 about what the what, what the future is going to hold. 629 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,480 But hear me, especially those of you who've been here for years, 630 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,440 this is not just about trying to recapture something from the 631 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,440 past. We're not just trying to relive 632 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,680 some glory days of the golden age of this church's past. 633 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,280 Because in all honesty and with complete faith, I believe with 634 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:26,760 all of my heart that those glory days are about to come and that 635 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:28,960 we're going to see God work in a powerful way. 636 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:33,320 Our world and our community have changed and are changing. 637 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:38,280 The people we must reach have changed and are changing, and so 638 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,520 have we, frankly. So this is about moving forward 639 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:46,280 in a new normal, a new future, new ways, new definitions, new 640 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:50,080 directions, new destinations, walking together in obedience 641 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:53,480 that will bring glory to our God with the United people 642 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:56,640 fulfilling His mission. So we're seeking to create 643 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,520 understood value for church. Church is valuable. 644 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,760 And I understand that for church membership, for personal 645 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:07,680 transformation, for discipleship, to build a train 646 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:09,360 and turn off the bumper car rides. 647 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,680 It's time to work together heading in a known direction. 648 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:17,240 So a problem arose. An answer was proposed, a 649 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,640 process was approved. But here's the best part. 650 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:27,920 God's purpose advances. Look at verse 7 and it's a big 651 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:33,480 important word. And the Word of God continued to 652 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:37,760 increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in 653 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:43,240 Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to 654 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:47,240 the faith. See, with the problem addressed, 655 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:51,160 harmony is restored. The church could get back to her 656 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:53,760 biblical tasks. That's what happens when a 657 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,280 church isn't distracted, distracted from problems from 658 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:58,400 within. It can focus on needs outside 659 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:00,240 our walls. And so we must have such a 660 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,520 healthy internal life. We're going to build on the 661 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:04,960 incredible foundation of the past and the president of 662 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,680 Inglewood have such a healthy internal life. 663 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:13,199 The gospel will overflow into our community and discipleship 664 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:17,920 is going to grow. See, so the proclaimed word grew 665 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,120 as it was preached to this wider audience. 666 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:23,239 And look at this surprise group. The priests, people who were 667 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:26,159 dedicated to Judaism, are coming to know Christ. 668 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:29,760 There were as many as 8000 of them in Palestine at this time. 669 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,880 They would serve on rotating basis and and many of them were 670 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:35,440 quite poor, just trying to figure out a way to survive. 671 00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:39,199 And so the church's love and the church's ministry built this 672 00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:42,239 great bridge to them for the Gospel, and many of them were 673 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:46,000 saved and the number of disciples multiplied greatly. 674 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:48,000 Wait a minute, I don't think you heard that. 675 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:51,159 I need you to get this. And the word of God continued to 676 00:34:51,159 --> 00:34:55,320 increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly. 677 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:59,440 And that's our prayer, isn't that our prayer, that we're 678 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:04,040 stronger disciples internally and we continue to see more 679 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:05,800 externally. See. 680 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:09,160 So the gospel moving forward, fulfilling Acts 18, reaching 681 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:11,800 their Jerusalem and here we are Inglewood. 682 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:17,400 Are we ready to work together in the power of the Holy Spirit to 683 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,920 build his future for this church in this community? 684 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:25,120 That's the question before us. So what new thing must happen? 685 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:29,280 Not, not not just from the program structure, but we're 686 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:30,720 working on that. We're going to evaluate. 687 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:32,560 We're assessing every single thing on the schedule. 688 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:34,640 We're assessing every single partnership. 689 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:36,640 We're single, we're assessing every single ministry. 690 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:38,320 Not let that worry you. That's a good thing. 691 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:41,720 That's not a bad thing. Some of them are great, but 692 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:43,040 we're going to look at every single thing. 693 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:45,320 But that's not the good. The question isn't this program. 694 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:52,880 The question is you on an individual level, see what new 695 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:57,960 thing must happen in your individual life because the 696 00:35:57,960 --> 00:35:59,920 church health is dependent upon that. 697 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,960 What has to happen in your individual life to be completely 698 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:05,400 obedient to him? For some of you might be 699 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,000 salvation. Some of you need to be saved 700 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,120 today. You've never trusted in Jesus 701 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:11,600 Christ as your Lord and Savior. Well, I'm praying right now. 702 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:13,880 The Holy Spirit's just bombarding your heart, your 703 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,320 spirit, your mind. Maybe it's maybe it's church 704 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:18,800 membership. You've been visiting, you've 705 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,440 been, you've been in a tender, you've been a spectator, but you 706 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:23,280 haven't been a you haven't been a member. 707 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:25,760 You need to be a member so that there's accountability, there's 708 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:30,560 discipleship, but also to serve. We need you to join if you feel 709 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:34,440 led to do that. Maybe it's baptism, maybe it's 710 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:37,000 as a member. You need to serve in a new way. 711 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:41,160 So today is a day for renewed commitment. 712 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:44,640 Perhaps forgiveness, perhaps repentance are part of what need 713 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:48,160 to happen. See, but today the church, you 714 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,960 got to understand the church must first be revived in order 715 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:54,720 for spiritual awakening to happen out there. 716 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:58,120 See, the church has to be revived and then it's overflow. 717 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:04,600 It affects the lost world. And so it starts with us, starts 718 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:08,160 with us understanding who he is and his mission. 719 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:14,040 There's a kindergarten teacher and she, it was art time and 720 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:17,160 kindergarten class and she was watching her class draw and 721 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:18,640 she's kind of walking around table to table. 722 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:21,000 She got to 1 little girl and this one little, I mean this one 723 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:22,800 girl was just going after it with crayons. 724 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,720 I mean, just really diligent, you know, in there drawing hard. 725 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:28,880 And she says, what are you drawing? 726 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:34,240 And she goes, I'm drawing God. And the teacher says, but but no 727 00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:37,040 one knows what God looks like. And without missing a beat, 728 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:39,880 without looking up, well, they will in a minute. 729 00:37:48,030 --> 00:37:53,830 What image of God will our communities will our children 730 00:37:53,830 --> 00:37:57,630 see from what we do in this moment in history? 731 00:37:59,230 --> 00:38:02,390 What will the guests that are here today see you do? 732 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,760 Oh, they're watching you last Wednesday night. 733 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:08,640 And I don't want to embarrass anyone. 734 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:10,880 If you're here in the room, don't worry, I won't identify 735 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:12,600 you. But last Wednesday night, 736 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:14,880 someone shared with me the testimony that they were just 737 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:16,520 here for the Bible study Wednesday night. 738 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:18,440 And afterwards they were weeping. 739 00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:22,200 And it wasn't because of my fantastically incredible Bible 740 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:24,920 study. Not even close. 741 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:31,280 It was because of the fellowship they saw among you, they saw 742 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:34,120 people standing and laughing and loving one another and 743 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,600 encouraging one another that people didn't even want to leave 744 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:37,840 the building. It's almost about like we got a 745 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:39,240 flash to the light to get you out of here. 746 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,440 And they were standing back and where they had been and what 747 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:45,560 they have been through, where they have been is just so 748 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:49,680 different. The love of Inglewood for one 749 00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:52,680 another. See, the foundation's strong. 750 00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:56,120 Now it's time to build. So they're going to learn from 751 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:58,840 watching you. And will they see this imperfect 752 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:05,320 yet honest people dealing with reality transparently in their 753 00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:09,600 walk with God? Will they see leaders who are 754 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:14,240 serving and trying hard to discern the will and to serve in 755 00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:17,520 the power of the Holy Spirit? Will they hear your testimonies 756 00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:24,120 of grace, salvation, revival, service, love for one another? 757 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:28,960 What image are you drawing for them this morning? 758 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:33,240 Reminds me of Paul as he wrote to, I think one of his favorite 759 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:39,040 people groups, the church at Philippi, and he said this. 760 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:44,840 Not that I have already obtained this or I'm already perfect, but 761 00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:50,200 I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus hasn't made 762 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:54,920 me his own brothers. I do not consider that I've made 763 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:56,920 it my own. But one thing I do, forgetting 764 00:39:56,920 --> 00:40:00,320 what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I 765 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:03,800 press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God 766 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:07,240 in Christ Jesus. That those of us who are mature 767 00:40:07,240 --> 00:40:10,080 think this way. And if anything you think 768 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:14,120 otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 769 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:18,520 Let's press on. Father, thank you so much. 770 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:23,720 Thank you so much for. For your word, kind of a weird, 771 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:28,520 difficult message this morning. Lord, I know, but father, 772 00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:30,440 something that we just need to hear. 773 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:33,160 We need to be transparent. We need to be authentic with one 774 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:34,640 another. We need to be honest with one 775 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:38,640 another. And Lord, you know, I believe 776 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:44,160 and so blessed to be here with these people. 777 00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:51,800 What a what a strong foundation you've built incredible Saints 778 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:57,800 who serve here. But Father, I'm convinced 779 00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:05,000 burdened with what more you want. 780 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:10,960 And Inglewood is supposed to be leading what you want. 781 00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:16,960 And so, Father, help us to submit, help us to commit. 782 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:20,920 That's what this morning is, a time of commitment, a time of 783 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:24,640 surrender. For some here, it's salvation. 784 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:30,320 Father, there are people likely here or listening online and 785 00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:33,400 they don't know you, Father, they don't know who you are. 786 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:35,440 They don't believe anything I've said. 787 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:40,200 Kind of maybe they've rolled the eyes of their heart a little bit 788 00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:42,160 this morning. But Father, right now, Lord, I 789 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,840 just pray that you're piercing that heart and that that mind 790 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:50,080 and that spirit with truth. They cannot deny that you're 791 00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:52,520 real. They cannot deny that you love 792 00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:54,560 them and that you want them to know you. 793 00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:01,720 Father, for others here, some folks need to join officially. 794 00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:05,240 Some folks need to be baptized. Some folks, like in the first 795 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:07,680 service, just need to come and fill this altar with prayer. 796 00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:11,720 They need to pray for the church, for the future, for 797 00:42:11,720 --> 00:42:15,120 their own lives, for for their neighbors, their family. 798 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:22,240 Father, when your church is revived, when your church is 799 00:42:22,240 --> 00:42:27,440 committed, Lord, you can use us in a powerful way to change the 800 00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:30,840 world. So, Father, I pray this is a 801 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:35,120 turning point for us, a historical point for us, and 802 00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:39,240 that we'll surrender to you and your purpose that will join your 803 00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:42,000 mission. So Father, as we sing, I pray 804 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,200 that people will come. They'll kneel at this, this 805 00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:48,240 front, they'll pray, or they'll take a pastor by the hand and 806 00:42:48,240 --> 00:42:51,320 say, this is what God is telling me now. 807 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:57,800 And Lord, I just pray that you'll have this moment freely. 808 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:04,440 We won't hold back. Thank you, Father, for the way 809 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:08,360 you work in Christ's name, Amen. Well, let's stand together. 810 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:10,680 Pastors are going to be here at the front. 811 00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:14,120 You can talk to one of us, or you can just come and pray. 812 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:19,400 We have others who'd love to pray with you that you just 813 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:21,760 come. As the worship team leads us, 814 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:24,480 we're going to sing, we're going to worship, but then you come 815 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:26,840 and worship by surrendering your life to Him. 816 00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:34,440 Thank you so much for listening today. 817 00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:35,720 And I also hope that you'll go to 818 00:43:35,720 --> 00:43:39,560 ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com as well as our app and find many 819 00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:41,920 other resources that will bless you and your families. 820 00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:43,120 Thank you once again.