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Hello and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church podcast

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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My name is Pastor Josh and I
want to thank you for listening to

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this podcast.

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I hope that this podcast can
be a blessing to you and strengthen

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you in the word of God.

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Now come along, let's look
into the Bible and see what God has

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for us here today.

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We're going to continue our
mini sermon series looking at church

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culture.

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What does it mean to have a
church culture?

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Well, all churches have a culture.

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Just matters on what we're
going to base that culture off of.

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Some churches base their
culture off of the environment around

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them.

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Some churches base their
culture on the circumstances that

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they're facing.

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Some people face church
culture off of big culture in the

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world that's happening around them.

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And so what we know and what
we studied last week is that a church

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of build its culture off of
what the Bible says about the will

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of God, the way of God, the
path that he has laid out for us.

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In scripture, Ephesians
chapter four, we see just that, God's

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plan for the church, God's
plan for his people.

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And as a church we must build
our culture not on the way that we

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feel, not on what works, not
on what the world tells us to do

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what on what God tells us to do.

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In chapter four he says in
verse one, walk worthy of the vocation

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or the job wherewith ye are called.

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Meaning this, if you are a
believer here this morning, you are

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part of the church.

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If you are part of the church,
you are called to walk worthy of

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the purpose that God has
called you to walk in.

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And the purpose is this, to
glorify him, to obey him, to reach

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others, for cause of the
Gospel, to teach others, to grow

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in our understanding of Him.

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And so he says the way that
you walk worthy is this verse 2.

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To walk with all lowliness, humility.

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So a church characterized by a
humble spirit, not self seeking,

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not promoting certain
individual ventures, but ultimately

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humbling ourselves and serving
one another.

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Jesus is the greatest example
of servanthood when it comes to many

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things that he did in his life.

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John 13 he washes the
disciples feet.

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Philippians chapter 2 says, he
humbled himself and became a servant

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for those that he came for.

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He didn't come to be served,
but to serve others.

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We know all of these things
about Jesus.

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And so if we're called to be
Christlike, one element of the church

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that should be one of the
pieces that we champion is humility.

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Then we see the next thing
there he says meekness that's gentleness.

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That's strength under control.

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Then he says we should live
with long suffering.

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That's patience.

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To have patience, the church to.

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To endure one another in our
shortcomings, to be patient with

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one another as we grow together.

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Then he says, forbearing one
another in love, and so to live with

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patience, but to live with
that sense of love, agape love, that

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sacrificial love, doing things
for others, even if we don't receive

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anything back.

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Then he says in verse number
three, to endeavor to keep the unity

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of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

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And so he says the church
culture should be a culture of unity.

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Not uniformity, not looking
the same, but understanding that

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we're unified together in one
purpose, that we're unified together

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in, as it says in verse 4, one
body, one spirit, one hope of your

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calling.

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And so the idea is, is that we
have something in common.

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And if we have something in
common, then we're not fighting against

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each other.

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We're unified in our spirit.

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And if we're unified in the
Spirit, the Bible says that we will

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be characterized by peace.

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He goes on to say more in
verse five.

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One Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one God and Father of all,

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who is above all and through all.

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And so that introduction is this.

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You're to live with humility.

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You're live to live with meekness.

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You're to live with that sense
of patience, that sense of love and

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unity and peace.

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Why?

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Because we're in this together.

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But it's more than just being
in it together.

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It's that we all, if we are
believers in Jesus today and we're

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part of the body, have the
Spirit living within us.

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And therefore, if we're
following the Spirit, we're united

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in purpose, we're united in
love, we're united with truth.

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And so that kind of sounds
like, hey, everything's going to

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be okay.

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We're never going to have any struggles.

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But the idea is this.

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Sometimes the Bible is going
to tell us that in our flesh, in

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our humanity, there will be conflict.

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You know, if we all, let's say
this morning, all of you said, okay,

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Pastor, we're unified.

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So we're all going to get up
and preach this morning.

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So every one of you gets up
here and we all try to stand on the

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pulpit and preach, and there's
no one out there, we're all just

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yelling.

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That's confusion, right?

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That would be.

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That would be conflict.

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Even if three or four of us
wanted to come up here this morning

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and try to preach There would
be conflict.

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So God is not the author of confusion.

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The Bible actually says he's a
God of order and a God of clarity

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and a God of teaching and
equipping us.

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And so in verse seven, we're
going to start here this morning

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with the idea of how we can
walk unity.

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The way God works in the
church is that he works in unity

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through giving individual with
spiritual gifts of grace so that

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there can be order, so that
there can be purpose, so that there

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can be direction.

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And so in verse number seven,
he says, but unto every one of us.

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And so the idea would be this,
that every person who is a believer

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in Jesus Christ in faith, right?

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One faith.

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That when we trust in Jesus
Christ as Savior, he gives us the

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gift of grace in salvation.

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That's the first and biggest gift.

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But we see that with that gift
of salvation comes also a gift of

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grace in the measure of a gift
of the Spirit, the gift of Christ.

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And so we have the gift of salvation.

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But all of us, as we see here
in this passage, in many other passages

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in the Testament, that all of
us are gifted with spiritual gifts.

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So what that means is this,
not everyone is gifted the same way.

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I want you to go over with me
to Romans chapter 12.

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It's where we started this
morning in our scripture reading.

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But I want you to see what the
Bible says about these spiritual

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gifts, because not every one
of us is gifted the same way.

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And that's a good thing,
because remember, it's not uniformity.

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We're not all called the same
way through the same thing.

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We're all called to possibly
different aspects of ministry so

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that we can work together.

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And so that's part of church culture.

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So Romans chapter 12, we see
in verse number three says, For I

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say through the grace given
unto me, every man that is among

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you not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think,

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meaning this humility, right?

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He goes back to humility.

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Even with the gifts of grace,
it's all to be characterized with

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humility.

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Not about, look how great I
am, look how much I've been gifted.

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Look how many people that I
can influence.

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No, he says here to not think
of yourself more highly than we ought

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to think, but to soberly, to
be serious, to be somber about the

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right things, according as God
hath dealt to every man the measure

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of faith.

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Every believer in faith has
this gift.

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For as we have many members in
one body, so.

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So there's different parts.

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First Corinthians tells us
that the church is a body.

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The body of Christ and that
we're made up of different parts.

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We're all not the arm, we're
all not the ear.

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He says that there's different
parts of the body, but all members

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have not the same office,
meaning not all of the people within

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the body are going to be able
to do the same thing or even called

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to do the same thing.

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So he says, verse 5.

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So we being many, are one body
in Christ, and everyone members one

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of another, having then gifts
differing according to the grace

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that is given to us.

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Now we're going to stop right
there because, because this is a

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good stopping place because
we're going to go back to Ephesians

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and talk about these gifts.

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But essentially what he's
saying is this.

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We're all part of the body,
we're all united in one, but we're

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all distinctly different.

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So we, being many, are one
body in Christ.

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And so if we're in Christ, we
are in the body, but we're distinctly

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gifted ways.

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And so then having gifts
differing according to the grace

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that is given to us, meaning
this, it is not God looking down

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upon the church and going,
well, I love this person more, so

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I'm going to give them this gift.

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I don't love this person as
much, so I'm going to give him or

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her a lesser gift.

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There's no lesser gifts.

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There's no, there's no gifts
that are more important than others.

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All the gifts are equally
vital to the call of God, just different

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in their roles.

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And so we see that it's all,
all gifts are given by the grace

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of God, by the love of God.

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Oftentimes within the church,
we're tempted to think that certain

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people have more important roles.

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For example, some people would
say that, you know, the person who's

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preaching might have a more
important role than someone that

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is another ministry, maybe
behind the scenes.

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And one might argue, yes.

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But then at the end of the
day, we know that all of us have

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distinct roles.

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And without certain roles
behind the scenes, certain people

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aren't able to do things like
teaching and preaching and serving

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in more public affairs and
more public spheres.

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And so what we can see here in
this case in Romans chapter 12 and

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Ephesians chapter 4, is that
every person that's gifted might

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be gifted differently, but all
gifts are equally vital to furtherance

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of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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So go back with me to
Ephesians chapter four.

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Now we know that there's
distinctions in these gifts.

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He says that this gift is
given by grace.

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We didn't earn These gifts.

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So, so we didn't earn
salvation and we don't earn our spiritual

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gifts.

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And so one of the aspects that
God would have every church to follow

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in our church culture is that
every member, every person of the

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body needs to identify what
his or her spiritual gift is and

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use that, as we're going to
see later on, for the furtherance

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of the Gospel, for the
exhortation of the saints, and for

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the, of the church.

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We're going to get down to
that here.

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So church culture is this,
Church culture is live a humble life

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to live with, to live with
patience, to live with love, to live

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with unity, to live with this
focus of peace, but then to live

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in action, out what God has
given us.

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How selfish is it that we have
been gifted by God with these supernatural

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gifts, but yet we hold them
for ourselves, we keep them in private,

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or maybe we use them for
personal gain or for selfish motivations.

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The Bible says that we can
live in the flesh as we've been gifted

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and use those gifts in a
selfish way to, to use them in a

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way that brings attention to
me or brings attention to my ministry.

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Well, the Bible says clearly
here in this passage that there is

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one reason for these gifts and
that is to glorify God, to live humbly.

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And so he says, but unto every
one of us is giving grace according

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to the measure of the gift of Christ.

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And then we see a little
intermission here where he describes

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these gifts.

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And he actually quotes a
passage of the Old Testament.

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He actually quotes a passage
from, from Psalm 68, 18.

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He says this wherefore he
saith, when he ascended up on high,

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he led captivity, captive and
gave gifts unto men.

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So we actually see that this
is a prophecy back in the Old Testament

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that at one point in time God
would give his followers, he would

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give the family of God these gifts.

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00:11:29,420 --> 00:11:32,100
Now there's a lot of debate on
verses 8, 9 and 10.

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What is Paul talking about here?

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00:11:34,890 --> 00:11:37,770
And there's a lot of
interpretations here, but what I'm

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00:11:37,770 --> 00:11:40,290
going to give you is my best
interpretation of what I believe

241
00:11:40,290 --> 00:11:41,130
is saying here.

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00:11:41,370 --> 00:11:44,650
And so essentially he says
this when he ascended up on high.

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00:11:44,730 --> 00:11:47,410
So I believe that's talking
about Jesus's resurrection and his

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00:11:47,410 --> 00:11:48,010
ascension.

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00:11:48,250 --> 00:11:51,810
And so after his resurrection,
after the church is created, that

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00:11:51,810 --> 00:11:54,650
he would give gifts unto all
men or all believers.

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00:11:54,970 --> 00:11:58,410
Now that now that he ascended,
what is it?

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But that he also descended
first into the lower parts of the

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earth.

250
00:12:02,540 --> 00:12:04,460
Now there are some interesting
takes on this.

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00:12:04,460 --> 00:12:07,740
A lot of people think that
this is Jesus going down to Hell,

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00:12:07,740 --> 00:12:09,740
I don't believe that that's
what this is talking about.

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00:12:10,060 --> 00:12:13,540
This concept we're seeing here
is that it's a description of Jesus

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humbling himself.

255
00:12:14,380 --> 00:12:17,380
And that that phrase there
lower parts of the earth just essentially

256
00:12:17,380 --> 00:12:18,820
means here on this earth.

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00:12:18,820 --> 00:12:21,700
And so I believe this is
talking about is a description of

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00:12:21,700 --> 00:12:25,460
Jesus coming down his his
incarnation, Jesus coming to this

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00:12:25,460 --> 00:12:29,460
earth, humbling himself,
living amongst his creation, and

260
00:12:29,460 --> 00:12:33,300
ultimately being ascended into
heaven through the resurrection,

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00:12:33,300 --> 00:12:37,380
and then ultimately giving us
gifts of grace.

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00:12:37,780 --> 00:12:42,460
And so verse 10 says, he that
descended is the same also that ascended

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00:12:42,460 --> 00:12:45,860
up far above all heavens, that
he might fill all.

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00:12:46,100 --> 00:12:49,420
So I think a very simple
interpretation of verses 8, 9 and

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10 would simply say this
Jesus, the one who came to this earth,

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00:12:53,780 --> 00:12:56,660
the one who lived that perfect
life, the one who died on the cross

267
00:12:56,660 --> 00:12:59,410
for our sins, the one who
conquered death with the resurrection,

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00:12:59,410 --> 00:13:02,450
the one who ascended into
heaven, the one who is living and

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00:13:02,450 --> 00:13:05,450
ruling and reigning at the
right hand of the Father, petitioning

270
00:13:05,450 --> 00:13:06,970
for us, being our advocate.

271
00:13:06,970 --> 00:13:10,330
He is the one who is extending
these gifts to the church.

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00:13:10,490 --> 00:13:12,490
It's not coming from the pastor.

273
00:13:12,490 --> 00:13:14,770
It's not coming from a person
in the church.

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00:13:14,770 --> 00:13:18,570
It's not coming from their
skills or their looks or their money.

275
00:13:18,810 --> 00:13:21,130
The gifts are coming directly
from God.

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00:13:21,770 --> 00:13:24,490
And so I believe that that's
the interpretation of this passage.

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00:13:24,490 --> 00:13:29,830
And so when Paul quotes Psalm
68, he's essentially saying, these

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00:13:29,830 --> 00:13:32,390
are the gifts that were
prophesied in the Old Testament and

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00:13:32,390 --> 00:13:33,350
they are here now.

280
00:13:34,710 --> 00:13:38,390
And so we know that In Romans
chapter 12, the passage that we just

281
00:13:38,390 --> 00:13:41,470
read, we see the ministering
gifts, the gifts that we use for

282
00:13:41,470 --> 00:13:42,550
service within the church.

283
00:13:42,550 --> 00:13:45,190
But the Bible actually
mentions two different types of gifts.

284
00:13:45,430 --> 00:13:49,270
We see that there's the gift
of the individual spiritual gift

285
00:13:49,270 --> 00:13:51,870
of service within the church,
which we're going to talk about later

286
00:13:51,870 --> 00:13:52,150
on.

287
00:13:52,650 --> 00:13:55,730
But then we see here that he
actually lists some offices of the

288
00:13:55,730 --> 00:14:00,090
church, these offices, and
what we can see here is that these

289
00:14:00,090 --> 00:14:03,370
offices of leadership are
given to the church for specific

290
00:14:03,770 --> 00:14:04,490
purposes.

291
00:14:04,970 --> 00:14:09,610
So he says in verse number 11,
and he gave some apostles and some

292
00:14:09,610 --> 00:14:14,410
prophets and some evangelists
and some pastors and teachers.

293
00:14:15,290 --> 00:14:18,730
And so he says here, yes,
every individual within the church

294
00:14:18,730 --> 00:14:22,910
is given a spiritual gift of
service, but also at the same time,

295
00:14:22,910 --> 00:14:24,750
the church is given leadership position.

296
00:14:25,550 --> 00:14:27,790
And so these are the ones that
are listed.

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00:14:28,350 --> 00:14:28,750
11.

298
00:14:29,550 --> 00:14:31,190
And so we see that there's apostles.

299
00:14:31,190 --> 00:14:33,790
Now, the word apostle just
means the one who is sent.

300
00:14:34,910 --> 00:14:37,550
Now, there's a lot of
interpretations about what an apostle

301
00:14:37,550 --> 00:14:37,870
is.

302
00:14:38,430 --> 00:14:41,230
Some people say that there's
the call of the apostle.

303
00:14:41,230 --> 00:14:43,070
Then there's the office of the apostle.

304
00:14:43,150 --> 00:14:46,150
But nonetheless, we believe
that those apostles were there for

305
00:14:46,150 --> 00:14:49,720
a specific time, for a
specific purpose, and that is to

306
00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,920
validate the message of Jesus
Christ at the time when there wasn't

307
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,480
the complete revelation of Scripture.

308
00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,400
So we know some of the
apostles, like Peter and John and

309
00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,480
even Paul, they had those
supernatural gifts of being sent

310
00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:06,360
ones to go out and start
churches and go out and encourage

311
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:07,000
these churches.

312
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,280
Now, some people would argue
that verse number 11, those apostles

313
00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:14,930
would be people today that we
sent out to start churches and missionaries.

314
00:15:15,090 --> 00:15:18,370
But nonetheless, we believe
that at that time, speaking of these

315
00:15:18,370 --> 00:15:19,810
apostles, that was a.

316
00:15:19,810 --> 00:15:21,850
A time for a specific purpose.

317
00:15:21,850 --> 00:15:24,850
But then we see that gave to
some prophets.

318
00:15:25,810 --> 00:15:26,290
Prophets.

319
00:15:26,290 --> 00:15:27,050
What's a prophet?

320
00:15:27,050 --> 00:15:30,130
Well, literally, the word
prophet means to speak forth truth.

321
00:15:31,010 --> 00:15:33,450
Now, most of the time, when we
hear the word prophet, we think of

322
00:15:33,450 --> 00:15:34,770
someone who is telling the future.

323
00:15:35,250 --> 00:15:37,690
Now, certainly there's aspects
of that in the Bible.

324
00:15:37,690 --> 00:15:40,640
Obviously we know that there's
all these prophecies that are given,

325
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:42,680
then ultimately fulfilled in
Jesus Christ.

326
00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,040
There's some prophecies that
have not been fulfilled when it comes

327
00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:47,080
to the end times.

328
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,640
But also another understanding
of the word prophet is someone who

329
00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:51,960
speaks forth truth.

330
00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:55,400
So someone who just speaks
forth the word of God, which means

331
00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,400
this as, as today as a pastor,
someone who is preaching, one element

332
00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,200
of preaching is prophesying,
preaching forth, proclaiming forth

333
00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:04,680
the truth of the word of God.

334
00:16:05,350 --> 00:16:08,710
And so for the church, there
should be an element of sending people,

335
00:16:08,870 --> 00:16:12,710
but there also should be an
element of speaking forth the truth.

336
00:16:13,270 --> 00:16:14,270
Can't avoid the truth.

337
00:16:14,270 --> 00:16:15,150
We have to speak the truth.

338
00:16:15,150 --> 00:16:18,190
Now, later on in this passage,
Paul specifically talks about how

339
00:16:18,190 --> 00:16:19,670
we can speak the truth in love.

340
00:16:19,990 --> 00:16:22,310
So there's a way to speak the
truth, but sometimes not in love.

341
00:16:22,390 --> 00:16:26,070
But the church culture should
always be a culture of truth.

342
00:16:26,470 --> 00:16:31,160
John 17:17 says, Sanctify them
by thy truth, thy word is true.

343
00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,840
No, the church cannot be a
place of concealment.

344
00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,080
Sometimes that's what's
happened within church culture is

345
00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,400
we've concealed the truth
because we want to portray ourselves

346
00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:43,000
in a better manner, better light.

347
00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,200
So concealment can't be the
case when it comes to church.

348
00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:47,640
We have to be transparent.

349
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:49,560
We have to be authentic.

350
00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:51,160
The idea would be this.

351
00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,960
To proclaim the truth means,
yes, the leadership of the church

352
00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:59,290
has the responsibility to
proclaim the whole word of God, not

353
00:16:59,290 --> 00:17:02,290
just the things that are
acceptable to our culture, not just

354
00:17:02,290 --> 00:17:05,850
the things that make us feel
good, but to preach every element

355
00:17:05,850 --> 00:17:09,170
of the word of God, whether it
makes us comfortable or whether it

356
00:17:09,170 --> 00:17:10,250
makes us uncomfortable.

357
00:17:11,610 --> 00:17:12,010
Why?

358
00:17:12,330 --> 00:17:13,930
Let's think about it from this perspective.

359
00:17:14,090 --> 00:17:18,570
Why today in America do when
we preach about certain things, people

360
00:17:18,570 --> 00:17:19,930
start to squirm in their seats.

361
00:17:20,410 --> 00:17:23,620
We've all believed certain
things about the Bible, but sometimes

362
00:17:23,620 --> 00:17:27,580
when a pastor gets up and says
something that's true to the Bible,

363
00:17:27,580 --> 00:17:28,820
we all kind of get uncomfortable.

364
00:17:28,820 --> 00:17:29,060
Why?

365
00:17:29,060 --> 00:17:31,980
Because culture has told us
that we can't speak that type of

366
00:17:31,980 --> 00:17:32,340
truth.

367
00:17:32,580 --> 00:17:35,860
The Bible says very clearly to
proclaim the truth, be a prophet,

368
00:17:35,860 --> 00:17:37,940
to speak forth the word of God.

369
00:17:38,659 --> 00:17:39,620
And then it says more.

370
00:17:39,700 --> 00:17:43,980
And some evangelists, the idea
of an evangelist is someone who is

371
00:17:43,980 --> 00:17:47,500
sole purpose is to lead people
to Christ, to.

372
00:17:47,500 --> 00:17:51,400
To bring people the gospel, to
not just tell them, hey, you're a

373
00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:51,920
good person.

374
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:52,600
Hey.

375
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,960
The reality is, is that, you
know, we're all trying to reach heaven

376
00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:56,680
our own way.

377
00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:57,680
And that's okay.

378
00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:02,360
That's a common belief system
today that, hey, we're all just genuine

379
00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:02,640
people.

380
00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:04,520
We all just believe in a
higher power.

381
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:05,239
And that's okay.

382
00:18:05,239 --> 00:18:08,320
We can all come together and
be as one.

383
00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:09,360
The Bible says no.

384
00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:12,240
An evangelist preaches the
gospel of Jesus Christ.

385
00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:13,360
John 14:6.

386
00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,720
I am the way, the truth and
the life.

387
00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,800
Jesus says, no man cometh unto
the Father, but by Jesus teaches

388
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:23,120
that he is the way, the only
way to come to salvation.

389
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:24,520
That's what an evangelist preaches.

390
00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,320
An evangelist preaches the
gospel, the way to Jesus Christ.

391
00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,759
So a church, and specifically
in the church leadership, we should

392
00:18:30,759 --> 00:18:32,800
be sending people apostles.

393
00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,800
Now, in this case, we don't
send like literal apostles, but we

394
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:38,640
should have that mindset of
sending and going.

395
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,210
We should have the mindset of
speaking forth, proclaiming the truth

396
00:18:42,210 --> 00:18:42,770
of God.

397
00:18:42,770 --> 00:18:44,690
And we should have the heart
of evangelism.

398
00:18:44,690 --> 00:18:48,250
We should want to see
Middletown come to Jesus Christ.

399
00:18:48,250 --> 00:18:49,930
Now, I'm not talking about the
city itself.

400
00:18:49,930 --> 00:18:51,890
A city can't be saved literal city.

401
00:18:51,890 --> 00:18:54,290
But the people that make up
Middletown, the people that make

402
00:18:54,290 --> 00:18:57,810
up New Castle county, the
people that make up Delaware, that's

403
00:18:57,810 --> 00:18:58,770
our mission field.

404
00:18:58,770 --> 00:19:02,770
And so as a church, our heart
should be to be a heart of evangelism,

405
00:19:02,930 --> 00:19:06,250
to reach people for Jesus
Christ, to have ministries that have

406
00:19:06,250 --> 00:19:10,470
an evangelistic focus, to have
a church service that has an evangelistic

407
00:19:10,470 --> 00:19:10,750
focus.

408
00:19:11,470 --> 00:19:14,430
When I tell you that come to
Middletown Baptist Church.

409
00:19:14,430 --> 00:19:17,790
And you've been here long, you
know, particularly every Sunday morning,

410
00:19:17,790 --> 00:19:19,710
we're going to talk about the
gospel of Jesus Christ.

411
00:19:19,950 --> 00:19:22,550
We're going to have a call to
invitation to come to know Jesus

412
00:19:22,550 --> 00:19:23,310
Christ as your savior.

413
00:19:23,310 --> 00:19:25,870
Because, number one, we don't
know who's here visiting us.

414
00:19:26,110 --> 00:19:29,110
And Number two, we don't know
who at the church might need Jesus

415
00:19:29,110 --> 00:19:29,950
Christ to save.

416
00:19:30,270 --> 00:19:31,710
I grew up in a Christian environment.

417
00:19:32,270 --> 00:19:33,870
I grew up in a Baptist church.

418
00:19:33,870 --> 00:19:35,390
I grew up in a Christian school.

419
00:19:35,660 --> 00:19:38,420
But yet it wasn't until I was
16 years old that I trusted in Jesus

420
00:19:38,420 --> 00:19:39,340
Christ as my savior.

421
00:19:39,660 --> 00:19:42,340
And so that's why we
unapologetically preach the gospel

422
00:19:42,340 --> 00:19:43,180
of Jesus Christ.

423
00:19:43,660 --> 00:19:44,860
And then he goes on to say this.

424
00:19:44,860 --> 00:19:46,980
He says, and some pastors and teachers.

425
00:19:46,980 --> 00:19:51,140
Now, in this way of
translation, it almost looks like

426
00:19:51,140 --> 00:19:53,860
those are two opposites,
pastors and teachers.

427
00:19:53,860 --> 00:19:57,020
But literally in the Greek,
the understanding is pastor, teacher.

428
00:19:57,580 --> 00:20:00,180
And so within church
leadership, there should always be

429
00:20:00,180 --> 00:20:01,820
a pastor teacher, which means this.

430
00:20:02,250 --> 00:20:07,050
Someone who shepherds, someone
who guides, someone who teaches,

431
00:20:07,050 --> 00:20:09,210
not only by what they say, but
by what they do.

432
00:20:09,290 --> 00:20:11,130
And that's really what the
role of a pastor is.

433
00:20:11,130 --> 00:20:13,370
The role of the pastor is to
shepherd the flock.

434
00:20:13,370 --> 00:20:16,250
The role of the pastor is to
teach the flock the word of God.

435
00:20:16,570 --> 00:20:18,970
There are some people that
have perspectives of what a pastor

436
00:20:18,970 --> 00:20:19,450
should be.

437
00:20:19,450 --> 00:20:21,930
And sometimes it's awkward for
a pastor to get up and tell people

438
00:20:21,930 --> 00:20:23,050
what a pastor should be.

439
00:20:23,130 --> 00:20:26,210
But the idea, as scripture
says, is that a pastor.

440
00:20:26,210 --> 00:20:29,250
If you go back to the Book of
Acts, we see that one of the roles

441
00:20:29,250 --> 00:20:31,730
of a pastor is to study the
word of God and to pray.

442
00:20:32,370 --> 00:20:34,970
We see in this case in the
book of Ephesians that it is a role

443
00:20:34,970 --> 00:20:38,530
of a pastor to shepherd the
flock, to take care of the spiritual

444
00:20:38,530 --> 00:20:41,410
needs of those that are in the
body of person.

445
00:20:41,570 --> 00:20:45,090
So we see in this case that
there is a role of leadership that

446
00:20:45,090 --> 00:20:46,770
the church cannot overlook.

447
00:20:47,810 --> 00:20:52,210
It is to go, it is to preach
to forth the word of God.

448
00:20:52,210 --> 00:20:53,890
It is to lead people to Christ.

449
00:20:53,890 --> 00:20:58,480
It is to teach them and to
shepherd them and to be there for

450
00:20:58,480 --> 00:20:58,800
them.

451
00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,080
And so this means that Jesus
established these offices.

452
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:03,640
It says it right there.

453
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:05,200
It says, and he gave some.

454
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,760
It's not we gave our own, but
he gave some.

455
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:15,320
And so Paul describes these
offices as a gift from God to the

456
00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,640
church for leadership, for
direction, for clarity, for unity.

457
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,970
As though when we see prophets
in apostles and evangelists, especially,

458
00:21:25,050 --> 00:21:27,050
especially in this case,
evangelists who are specifically

459
00:21:27,050 --> 00:21:30,490
gifted to preach the good news
of gospel, and pastors and teachers,

460
00:21:30,810 --> 00:21:32,730
we know that there is a
purpose for them.

461
00:21:32,730 --> 00:21:34,970
It's not to just be there and
be a figurehead.

462
00:21:35,050 --> 00:21:37,930
It's not just for them to be
there and deal with the financial

463
00:21:38,410 --> 00:21:41,290
aspects of the ministry, even
though there's some elements of administration

464
00:21:41,370 --> 00:21:45,010
that's there, but the major
purpose for the leadership of the

465
00:21:45,010 --> 00:21:49,240
Church is to teach and to
preach and to proclaim the gospel

466
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:51,760
of Jesus Christ to those
around them and to shepherd the flock

467
00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,360
and to protect them from
spiritual attacks from the enemy.

468
00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:00,120
And so teaching is an
essential part of the pastoral ministry.

469
00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:01,680
If I got up here and I said,
you know what?

470
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,880
For me, I'm just going to get
up here and tell you all my opinions,

471
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:08,800
I'm going to tell you maybe
some Bible verses, and then leave,

472
00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:10,480
that's going to be a huge issue.

473
00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,960
Because I believe a pastor is
called to not only proclaim the truth,

474
00:22:15,390 --> 00:22:18,630
not only to evangelize the
lost, but also teach the word of

475
00:22:18,630 --> 00:22:23,070
God to believers so that the
believer can grow the knowledge and

476
00:22:23,070 --> 00:22:25,950
understanding of who God is
and to be able to serve.

477
00:22:26,510 --> 00:22:31,670
And so the role of pastor
teacher is a gift given from the

478
00:22:31,670 --> 00:22:35,790
discretion of Jesus Christ,
working in the Holy Spirit to give

479
00:22:35,790 --> 00:22:38,710
us all an opportunity to grow
in the Lord.

480
00:22:38,710 --> 00:22:41,880
Now, you might say, well,
Pastor, yeah, it's your job to teach,

481
00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:43,600
but it's also your job to serve.

482
00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,080
It's also your job to do everything.

483
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,480
We come in and we are
consumers, and that's really what

484
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:50,520
America teaches within the
church culture.

485
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:54,240
Church culture in America is
there's a production team, and if

486
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,080
it's a really big church, they
have a production mastering team.

487
00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:00,320
And there's six pastors and
there's 15 worship leaders, and there's

488
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:01,040
all these different things.

489
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,000
And then people come in and
it's a product.

490
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:04,840
We receive a product.

491
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,410
We're entertained, we're
challenged, and we're.

492
00:23:07,410 --> 00:23:09,010
We leave, we go home.

493
00:23:09,970 --> 00:23:13,170
And so even in small churches,
even in small churches, it's like,

494
00:23:13,170 --> 00:23:13,690
Pastor, he.

495
00:23:13,690 --> 00:23:14,090
You know, he.

496
00:23:14,090 --> 00:23:14,930
He does it all.

497
00:23:15,010 --> 00:23:16,810
We come in and we enjoy it and
we go home.

498
00:23:16,810 --> 00:23:18,930
And then we get home and we
critique what happened that day.

499
00:23:19,410 --> 00:23:20,770
And there's nothing wrong with critique.

500
00:23:20,770 --> 00:23:21,850
I'm open for a critique.

501
00:23:21,850 --> 00:23:25,010
But let's see what verse
number 12 says is the role of the

502
00:23:25,010 --> 00:23:28,210
pastor and the role of all
leadership in the church.

503
00:23:28,850 --> 00:23:31,490
Because I think that this is
one of the major areas of American

504
00:23:31,490 --> 00:23:33,090
church culture that we have wrong.

505
00:23:34,490 --> 00:23:37,010
We have this wrong because a
lot of people think that there's

506
00:23:37,010 --> 00:23:39,370
no responsibility for the
actual member of the church that

507
00:23:39,370 --> 00:23:39,810
comes in.

508
00:23:39,810 --> 00:23:41,050
But look at verse number 12.

509
00:23:41,130 --> 00:23:42,810
The role of leadership is what?

510
00:23:42,970 --> 00:23:44,970
For the perfecting of the saints.

511
00:23:45,530 --> 00:23:49,290
Now, that word perfecting is
an older word that means equipping.

512
00:23:50,010 --> 00:23:51,850
Equipping the saints.

513
00:23:51,850 --> 00:23:52,970
Now, who are the saints?

514
00:23:53,370 --> 00:23:54,970
Well, those are the real
special people.

515
00:23:54,970 --> 00:23:56,450
There's St. Paul and St. Peter.

516
00:23:56,450 --> 00:23:59,690
No, Biblically speaking, every
believer is a saint.

517
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:01,360
Just means to be set aside.

518
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,480
To be a saint means to be set
aside for a specific use.

519
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,200
You all are set aside for a
specific use in Jesus Christ.

520
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:08,400
That's what the Bible says.

521
00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,760
And so the role of leadership
in the church, biblically speaking,

522
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,680
this is not the movement of
the culture.

523
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:17,520
This is not just someone's opinion.

524
00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:18,800
This is the word of God.

525
00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:22,800
The role of leadership in the
church is for equipping the saints.

526
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:23,280
For what?

527
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:24,960
For the work of the ministry.

528
00:24:25,530 --> 00:24:26,690
So what is the implication there?

529
00:24:26,690 --> 00:24:29,930
The implication is that all
saints are to be in the ministry.

530
00:24:30,010 --> 00:24:32,810
Maybe not vocational ministry
where you're getting paid for it,

531
00:24:32,810 --> 00:24:36,650
but the Bible says here
clearly that every member, every

532
00:24:36,650 --> 00:24:40,770
saint, is called to serve at
some capacity within the body of

533
00:24:40,770 --> 00:24:41,290
believers.

534
00:24:41,450 --> 00:24:45,730
And it's the role of
leadership to equip the saints, to

535
00:24:45,730 --> 00:24:49,290
prepare the saints, to teach
the saints, to train the saints,

536
00:24:49,290 --> 00:24:53,740
to disciple the saints, to
grow to elements of leadership within

537
00:24:53,740 --> 00:24:54,380
the church.

538
00:24:55,260 --> 00:24:55,580
So.

539
00:24:55,580 --> 00:24:56,620
So I say it this way.

540
00:24:57,180 --> 00:25:02,220
The Greek word for that word,
perfect or equipping, actually has

541
00:25:02,220 --> 00:25:05,180
the idea of someone setting a
bone that's been broken.

542
00:25:05,420 --> 00:25:08,180
I don't know if any of you
have had so, so severe of a break

543
00:25:08,180 --> 00:25:10,620
that you had to get it
surgically aligned.

544
00:25:10,860 --> 00:25:11,580
It's not a.

545
00:25:12,060 --> 00:25:13,780
Sometimes it's not a nice process.

546
00:25:13,780 --> 00:25:16,540
It's sometimes a painful
process, but sometimes it's necessary

547
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,040
for proper growth within our bodies.

548
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:21,120
It's the same thing within the church.

549
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:24,560
Sometimes the perfecting of
the saints, the equipping of the

550
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:25,680
saints is an easy process.

551
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:29,120
It's a fun process, and we all
come together and enjoy that class

552
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:30,720
or we enjoy that ministry.

553
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,440
But sometimes the perfecting
of the saints for the work of the

554
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,280
ministry is a painful process
of growth.

555
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,320
There might be some
challenging there, there might be

556
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,280
some confrontation in a
biblical manner and say, look, I

557
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:44,720
see this happening in your
life, and this needs to adjust.

558
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:45,600
This needs to change.

559
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:47,040
That's the Holy Spirit's guidance.

560
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,520
But what's happened here is
that many times within the church

561
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,160
setting, a pastor or leader
has tried to manipulate the saint

562
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:55,000
for the work of his ministry.

563
00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,160
Not equip the saints for the
work of the ministry, not the work

564
00:25:58,160 --> 00:25:59,000
of Pastor Josh.

565
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,400
By the way, when you come to
church and you're serving, don't

566
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,160
ever think I'm doing this for,
for Pastor Josh or for one of the

567
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:05,880
deacons or.

568
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:07,320
Or for this ministry leader.

569
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,160
You're coming to serve the Lord.

570
00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,760
You're coming to invest in the
kingdom of God.

571
00:26:13,420 --> 00:26:15,460
Because when we think about it
from that perspective, we'll never

572
00:26:15,460 --> 00:26:18,460
be discouraged because God's
never going to fail us.

573
00:26:18,860 --> 00:26:20,060
People will fail us.

574
00:26:20,380 --> 00:26:24,860
And so a pastor here, a leader
in this context, is someone who,

575
00:26:24,860 --> 00:26:29,380
as it says here, comes and
equips the saints, prepares the saints

576
00:26:29,380 --> 00:26:30,860
for the work of the ministry.

577
00:26:32,060 --> 00:26:34,460
So think about it from this perspective.

578
00:26:35,020 --> 00:26:39,020
My role as a pastor of this
church is not to run everything.

579
00:26:40,270 --> 00:26:42,430
Some of you are like, well,
pastor, what do we hire you for?

580
00:26:43,790 --> 00:26:47,430
It is not my job to be the
dictator, run every element of this

581
00:26:47,430 --> 00:26:50,270
church can't be, especially if
we grow.

582
00:26:51,310 --> 00:26:55,030
The idea for me as a pastor,
my role, biblically speaking, is

583
00:26:55,030 --> 00:26:59,470
to preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ, to teach, to shepherd, to

584
00:26:59,470 --> 00:27:03,630
pray for, but at the same
time, equip and challenge and train

585
00:27:04,110 --> 00:27:08,920
individuals and groups to take
elements of responsibility within

586
00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:09,480
the church.

587
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:14,640
For evangelism, that's sharing
the gospel for, for edification,

588
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:15,520
that's building up.

589
00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,920
When you hear that word
edification, it just means to build

590
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:23,240
something up for edification,
for exhortation, that's challenging,

591
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:24,520
for, for education.

592
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,440
That's, that's, that's
teaching in certain areas.

593
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:28,920
And so I want you to think
about these, these words here.

594
00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:31,870
Evangelism, that's sharing the gospel.

595
00:27:32,820 --> 00:27:35,500
Edification, that's building
other Christians up, that's encouraging

596
00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:36,180
other Christians.

597
00:27:36,740 --> 00:27:40,020
Exhortation is, has an element
of encouragement, but also challenging.

598
00:27:40,340 --> 00:27:43,700
And then we have education
that's teaching Jesus.

599
00:27:44,340 --> 00:27:46,140
Now, now I say all that to say this.

600
00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:48,340
That's what the role of the
church relationship.

601
00:27:48,340 --> 00:27:52,740
The role of the church should
find one of those areas of ministry.

602
00:27:53,540 --> 00:27:55,100
They would say, well, what
about fellowship?

603
00:27:55,100 --> 00:27:56,100
Shouldn't we fellowship?

604
00:27:56,100 --> 00:27:58,100
Yes, for the purpose of all of
these things.

605
00:27:58,860 --> 00:27:59,100
Right?

606
00:27:59,260 --> 00:28:01,620
I want to fellowship with my
church family.

607
00:28:01,620 --> 00:28:03,060
I love being around my church family.

608
00:28:03,060 --> 00:28:06,380
I try to find every excuse
with my church family.

609
00:28:06,620 --> 00:28:10,860
But for the purpose of
edification, for the purpose of exhortation,

610
00:28:11,020 --> 00:28:16,220
for the purpose of education,
ultimately, in some cases, fellowshipping

611
00:28:16,220 --> 00:28:19,940
with unsaved people for the
purpose of evangelism, that's church

612
00:28:19,940 --> 00:28:20,460
culture.

613
00:28:20,700 --> 00:28:23,540
Church culture should not just
say, let's come together and have

614
00:28:23,540 --> 00:28:25,000
a good time and have a good potluck.

615
00:28:25,230 --> 00:28:26,510
I love a good potluck, by the way.

616
00:28:26,510 --> 00:28:28,350
Okay, I, I do love good potluck.

617
00:28:28,590 --> 00:28:31,830
Some of you think sometimes
that I speak poorly potlucks.

618
00:28:31,830 --> 00:28:32,110
I don't.

619
00:28:32,110 --> 00:28:32,990
I love food.

620
00:28:33,310 --> 00:28:37,030
Every excuse to have food, I
am for, I think in the biblical Acts,

621
00:28:37,030 --> 00:28:39,390
chapter two says to break
bread with the saints.

622
00:28:39,550 --> 00:28:43,430
But at the same time, if it's
just about the food, then we're missing

623
00:28:43,430 --> 00:28:43,870
the point.

624
00:28:44,990 --> 00:28:48,590
If we get together and we have
a good time in a certain capacity

625
00:28:48,830 --> 00:28:50,870
and we forget to mention
anything about the Lord.

626
00:28:50,870 --> 00:28:55,390
We forget to sow a seed of
evangelism or sow a seed of edification,

627
00:28:55,390 --> 00:28:56,910
or sow a seed of exhortation.

628
00:28:56,910 --> 00:28:59,390
We're missing the point of
church culture.

629
00:28:59,550 --> 00:28:59,830
Now.

630
00:28:59,830 --> 00:29:02,590
This isn't talking about not
having time with friends that you

631
00:29:02,590 --> 00:29:03,230
don't have to pre.

632
00:29:03,550 --> 00:29:04,150
Get together.

633
00:29:04,150 --> 00:29:06,430
Some of you should know this,
but maybe you don't.

634
00:29:06,910 --> 00:29:09,070
I don't preach every single
time I get with you.

635
00:29:09,390 --> 00:29:12,470
So for some of you, I spent
time with you and I. I didn't preach

636
00:29:12,470 --> 00:29:13,070
a message to you.

637
00:29:13,070 --> 00:29:15,470
It would be awkward if I was
riding in the car with you to.

638
00:29:15,470 --> 00:29:15,790
To.

639
00:29:15,870 --> 00:29:18,420
Towards a meal and I just
start preaching a sermon.

640
00:29:18,420 --> 00:29:19,620
That would be really awkward.

641
00:29:20,100 --> 00:29:24,020
But at the same time, there's
elements of preaching that happen

642
00:29:24,100 --> 00:29:25,460
outside of a sermon.

643
00:29:26,740 --> 00:29:29,300
There's discipleship, there's
investment, those lives.

644
00:29:30,180 --> 00:29:31,420
And it's getting to know people.

645
00:29:31,420 --> 00:29:31,740
It's.

646
00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:33,300
It's understanding where their
needs are.

647
00:29:33,300 --> 00:29:35,460
It's speaking truth from the
word of God.

648
00:29:35,460 --> 00:29:35,820
It's.

649
00:29:35,820 --> 00:29:37,460
It's helping in areas of.

650
00:29:37,460 --> 00:29:37,900
Of need.

651
00:29:37,900 --> 00:29:40,860
And so here in Ephesians,
chapter four, we're looking at church

652
00:29:40,860 --> 00:29:41,260
culture.

653
00:29:41,260 --> 00:29:45,310
We're seeing the purpose of
leadership is to.

654
00:29:45,630 --> 00:29:47,710
It's a gift of leadership.

655
00:29:47,790 --> 00:29:51,670
But the purpose of leadership
is then to equip the saints in their

656
00:29:51,670 --> 00:29:52,190
gifts.

657
00:29:52,830 --> 00:29:53,870
Everyone has a gift.

658
00:29:54,430 --> 00:29:55,390
So it's my prayer.

659
00:29:55,390 --> 00:29:57,590
And I want to tell you, this
isn't just like a vague statement.

660
00:29:57,590 --> 00:30:01,670
It is literally my prayer that
every single person that's a member

661
00:30:01,670 --> 00:30:04,030
of Middletown Baptist Church
just understands their.

662
00:30:04,350 --> 00:30:08,230
Knows what their gifts grows
in that gift and utilizes that gift

663
00:30:08,230 --> 00:30:13,460
for the cause of evangelism,
education, exhortation and education.

664
00:30:13,460 --> 00:30:14,580
That's really the idea.

665
00:30:15,140 --> 00:30:19,260
So he says at the end of verse
12, for the perfecting or the equipping

666
00:30:19,260 --> 00:30:24,500
of the saints for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of

667
00:30:24,500 --> 00:30:25,300
the body of Christ.

668
00:30:25,540 --> 00:30:25,939
Why.

669
00:30:26,900 --> 00:30:28,100
Why does this need to happen?

670
00:30:28,420 --> 00:30:30,380
Why does a leader need to
equip the saints?

671
00:30:30,380 --> 00:30:33,540
Why do the saints need to
work, as it says here, for the ministry?

672
00:30:33,700 --> 00:30:36,660
Well, for the edifying, the
building up of the body of Christ,

673
00:30:36,660 --> 00:30:38,500
the strengthening of the body
of Christ.

674
00:30:38,810 --> 00:30:40,890
And so we go back to that
question at the very beginning.

675
00:30:40,890 --> 00:30:44,490
How can we live in unity when
leadership follows what God has to

676
00:30:44,490 --> 00:30:46,010
say about what leadership is?

677
00:30:46,090 --> 00:30:49,490
When the people of the church
recognize that the role is not just

678
00:30:49,490 --> 00:30:52,770
exclusively for church
leadership to serve, and then ultimately,

679
00:30:52,770 --> 00:30:56,330
when the church is edified or
strengthened in the truth, that is,

680
00:30:56,330 --> 00:31:00,130
when we can walk in unity,
when we're walking in humility, when

681
00:31:00,130 --> 00:31:01,130
we're walking in meekness.

682
00:31:01,130 --> 00:31:03,690
When we're walking in
patience, when we're walking in love,

683
00:31:03,690 --> 00:31:07,510
when we're walking this bond
of peace, as Ephesians chapter 4:3

684
00:31:07,510 --> 00:31:07,830
says.

685
00:31:08,470 --> 00:31:11,710
So I want you to think about,
you might say, well, number one,

686
00:31:11,710 --> 00:31:12,790
Pastor, I don't know.

687
00:31:14,550 --> 00:31:15,830
Well, that's the first step.

688
00:31:16,310 --> 00:31:17,670
Well, actually, let me rewind.

689
00:31:17,750 --> 00:31:20,270
The first step is trusting in
Jesus Christ as your Savior.

690
00:31:20,270 --> 00:31:22,710
You're not part of the body
without trusting in Jesus Christ

691
00:31:22,710 --> 00:31:23,710
as savior and faith.

692
00:31:23,710 --> 00:31:26,630
But secondly, then you have to
understand that God has gifted you

693
00:31:26,630 --> 00:31:27,430
in a certain way.

694
00:31:27,750 --> 00:31:30,150
Romans chapter 12 tells us
those ministering gifts.

695
00:31:30,540 --> 00:31:32,900
We're going to talk more about
that next couple of weeks.

696
00:31:32,900 --> 00:31:34,060
But what I will say is this.

697
00:31:34,220 --> 00:31:38,060
If you are totally oblivious
or clueless to where God has called

698
00:31:38,060 --> 00:31:41,660
you in your gifts, hey, that's
something that we need to get dig

699
00:31:41,660 --> 00:31:41,940
into.

700
00:31:41,940 --> 00:31:44,060
That's part of the process of leadership.

701
00:31:44,460 --> 00:31:47,180
But at the same time, it's one
thing to know your gift.

702
00:31:47,340 --> 00:31:51,020
It's another thing to utilize
that gift for the kingdom of God.

703
00:31:51,820 --> 00:31:54,620
Some of you might say, I know
where I'm gifted, but I, I'm, I'm

704
00:31:54,620 --> 00:31:55,580
too busy, sir.

705
00:31:56,150 --> 00:31:58,430
I, I know where I'm gifted,
but I, I, I just, I don't know if

706
00:31:58,430 --> 00:31:59,910
I can do that at this time.

707
00:31:59,910 --> 00:32:03,190
We have to understand that
it's a call, it's a purpose, it's,

708
00:32:03,190 --> 00:32:05,030
it's our job to walk worthy.

709
00:32:05,510 --> 00:32:08,390
So he says, for the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the

710
00:32:08,390 --> 00:32:11,550
ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ till we all come

711
00:32:11,550 --> 00:32:12,830
in the unity of faith.

712
00:32:12,830 --> 00:32:15,630
So we're supposed to do this
till we all come into the unity of

713
00:32:15,630 --> 00:32:15,910
faith.

714
00:32:15,910 --> 00:32:16,950
Now what does that mean?

715
00:32:16,950 --> 00:32:18,070
That means that we never stop.

716
00:32:18,710 --> 00:32:19,510
It's forever.

717
00:32:19,750 --> 00:32:21,910
We're to do this until the
Lord comes back.

718
00:32:21,910 --> 00:32:24,300
We're to do this until we take
our last breath.

719
00:32:24,300 --> 00:32:28,020
He says, till we all come in
the unity of faith and of the knowledge

720
00:32:28,020 --> 00:32:29,540
of the Son of God.

721
00:32:30,740 --> 00:32:32,180
The idea would be this.

722
00:32:33,060 --> 00:32:35,460
We should strive to grow in
our unity.

723
00:32:35,700 --> 00:32:37,140
How do we grow in our unity?

724
00:32:37,540 --> 00:32:39,380
By faith.

725
00:32:39,860 --> 00:32:44,020
Growing in our faith and of
the knowledge of the Son of God.

726
00:32:44,500 --> 00:32:49,340
To know him more, to know him
more, talk about him more, to study

727
00:32:49,340 --> 00:32:53,200
him more, to grow in our
knowledge of who God is, specifically

728
00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:55,240
in this case, Jesus, who Jesus is.

729
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:58,680
And then to grow in our faith
in him unto a perfect man, unto a

730
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,200
mature man, unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of

731
00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:02,480
Christ.

732
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,960
That's a fancy way to say to
become more Christ.

733
00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,280
Like, so, church culture.

734
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:09,760
The goal for church culture
should be this.

735
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,840
For us to Grow in faith for.

736
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:13,120
For.

737
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:17,580
For us to get to a place in
our life where we know Jesus more

738
00:33:18,140 --> 00:33:22,300
so that we can be more like
Christ likeness.

739
00:33:22,540 --> 00:33:26,620
Christ likeness is the goal
for us to respond to people the way

740
00:33:26,620 --> 00:33:27,580
Christ would respond.

741
00:33:28,460 --> 00:33:30,860
You might say, well, that's an
impossible task, Pastor.

742
00:33:30,860 --> 00:33:32,140
I'm never going to be perfect.

743
00:33:32,540 --> 00:33:34,060
Well, that's not what this
passage says.

744
00:33:34,140 --> 00:33:36,460
This passage says to be more
and more like it.

745
00:33:36,940 --> 00:33:39,740
So sometimes what happens is
that we think if we can't have perfection,

746
00:33:39,740 --> 00:33:41,500
then we're just not going to
strive at all.

747
00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:43,580
We're not going to try it all
because I'm always going to fail.

748
00:33:43,890 --> 00:33:47,170
No, the Bible says for us to
strive to be Christlike, to.

749
00:33:47,170 --> 00:33:49,650
To grow in our fullness of Christ.

750
00:33:51,170 --> 00:33:54,570
And so if we go back and we
want to kind of have a narrow list

751
00:33:54,570 --> 00:33:57,090
of what church culture should
look like, it should have proper

752
00:33:57,090 --> 00:34:00,050
leadership doing the things
that God has called us to do.

753
00:34:00,050 --> 00:34:03,650
Evangelism, edification, all
those things that we mentioned.

754
00:34:03,650 --> 00:34:06,530
And then it should look like
every individual within the church

755
00:34:06,530 --> 00:34:10,280
serving in the gift that they
have been called to serve it for

756
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:14,000
the edifying of the body of
Christ, for unity of faith.

757
00:34:14,240 --> 00:34:18,560
More faith, more knowledge,
more Christ like.

758
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:20,880
Then he says, why?

759
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:22,560
Why do we need to know Christ more?

760
00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:22,840
Why.

761
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,960
Why do we need to grow in Christlikeness?

762
00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:26,640
Why do we need to walk in faith?

763
00:34:26,720 --> 00:34:27,440
Verse 14.

764
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:31,040
Because on the other side of
things, there can be attacks on the

765
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:31,320
church.

766
00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:31,920
Verse 14.

767
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:37,890
That we henceforth be no more
children tossed to and fro and carried

768
00:34:37,890 --> 00:34:40,250
about with every wind of doctrine.

769
00:34:41,530 --> 00:34:46,250
The idea that Paul is trying
to explain is this, that if we are

770
00:34:46,250 --> 00:34:50,010
not maturing in our Christ
likeness, if we are not growing in

771
00:34:50,010 --> 00:34:53,770
faith, if we're not growing in
what we call sanctification, that

772
00:34:53,770 --> 00:35:00,010
spiritual growth, then we will
be at risk of, as it says here, being

773
00:35:00,010 --> 00:35:03,050
tossed to and fro and carried
about with every wind of doctrine.

774
00:35:03,390 --> 00:35:06,030
Now, let me tell you, today
there's a lot of winds of doctrine.

775
00:35:06,830 --> 00:35:08,510
Think about how many books
have been written.

776
00:35:08,510 --> 00:35:10,310
Think about how many YouTube
videos are out there.

777
00:35:10,310 --> 00:35:13,110
Think about how many churches
are preaching certain things that

778
00:35:13,110 --> 00:35:14,270
are against the word of God.

779
00:35:14,270 --> 00:35:17,630
And what's happening is, is
that churches in the world today

780
00:35:18,030 --> 00:35:18,430
are.

781
00:35:19,150 --> 00:35:20,270
This is not my words.

782
00:35:20,270 --> 00:35:20,630
This is.

783
00:35:20,630 --> 00:35:23,070
Paul's words are like
children, immature.

784
00:35:23,310 --> 00:35:23,710
We have.

785
00:35:23,710 --> 00:35:25,030
We have immature Christians.

786
00:35:25,030 --> 00:35:27,430
There's a very interesting
study that you can look at.

787
00:35:27,430 --> 00:35:29,870
It's called the Juvenilization
of the American Church.

788
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,920
Essentially what's happened is
that we've tried to lower the maturity

789
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:37,720
level of the church in our
culture today to Entertain.

790
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,800
We've tried to get people's
attention by saying, you know, you

791
00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,840
don't need to know doctrine,
you'll need to know theology.

792
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:46,520
You can live how you want to live.

793
00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:50,200
It's essentially what's
happening is that we're not allowing

794
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:54,040
a culture to be a culture
where people can spiritually mature.

795
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:57,320
And when people don't
spiritually mature, what's propagated

796
00:35:57,320 --> 00:35:58,280
is false teaching.

797
00:35:58,620 --> 00:36:01,660
And people are tossed to and
fro with every wind of doctrine,

798
00:36:01,660 --> 00:36:06,220
every whim of the world, every
new movement, every new trend.

799
00:36:06,300 --> 00:36:08,620
And what happens is church
becomes trendy.

800
00:36:09,100 --> 00:36:12,380
We follow trends to get people
and we get people.

801
00:36:13,020 --> 00:36:15,620
We have to keep people the way
that we got people.

802
00:36:15,620 --> 00:36:18,780
And it's that vicious cycle of consumerism.

803
00:36:19,660 --> 00:36:22,940
A church culture should not be
a culture of consume.

804
00:36:24,950 --> 00:36:29,550
It's not producing a product
that people necessarily like.

805
00:36:29,550 --> 00:36:31,670
Now, if you like church, I'm
glad that you like church.

806
00:36:32,070 --> 00:36:36,710
But my purpose as a leader, if
our purpose as a church is to create

807
00:36:36,710 --> 00:36:40,470
a product that everyone in the
culture likes, then we're missing

808
00:36:40,470 --> 00:36:40,950
the point.

809
00:36:41,190 --> 00:36:45,270
Because the point is, is
producing something as a body of

810
00:36:45,270 --> 00:36:51,040
Christ that glorifies him,
that obeys him, not against modernizing

811
00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:52,080
things within the church.

812
00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:54,240
There's things that are good
to modernize.

813
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,800
Fifty years ago, if they had
screens up in the church, there would

814
00:36:57,800 --> 00:36:59,040
have been a huge issue with that.

815
00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,520
Some of you say, pastor, I
still have a huge issue with that.

816
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:04,360
Well, we can talk after the
service and we can, you know, try

817
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:05,280
to help you out with that.

818
00:37:05,359 --> 00:37:09,240
But the idea would be this
modernization is not necessarily

819
00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:09,920
compromised.

820
00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:12,880
There's things that we can
modernize without compromising the

821
00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:14,560
truths and the values of the
word of God.

822
00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:18,540
But at the same time, when we
allow for compromise is when we say,

823
00:37:18,540 --> 00:37:22,180
okay, now, we don't teach this
as much or we don't live this way

824
00:37:22,180 --> 00:37:22,660
as much.

825
00:37:22,660 --> 00:37:25,820
That's when we start getting
into that place of that vicious cycle

826
00:37:25,820 --> 00:37:29,060
of being tossed to and fro as
immature Christians.

827
00:37:29,700 --> 00:37:33,060
So verse 14, he says, you're
going to be tossed to and fro and

828
00:37:33,060 --> 00:37:36,500
carried about with every wind
of doctrine by the slight of men.

829
00:37:36,500 --> 00:37:40,380
Meaning it's not just this
fake wind that's coming about with

830
00:37:40,380 --> 00:37:43,070
doctrine, but actually there
are individuals who are going to

831
00:37:43,070 --> 00:37:50,790
want to mislead you with lies
with every wind of doctrine, by the

832
00:37:50,790 --> 00:37:51,630
slight of men.

833
00:37:51,630 --> 00:37:53,150
It's talking about the lies of.

834
00:37:54,190 --> 00:37:59,470
There are leaders today who
want to deceive people so that they

835
00:37:59,470 --> 00:38:01,870
can use them for specific purposes.

836
00:38:03,150 --> 00:38:06,230
They may or may not know
exactly the depth of their deception,

837
00:38:06,230 --> 00:38:08,750
but the reality is, is that
the Bible says that there are some

838
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:14,320
do know that it says by the
sight of men and cunning craft folks

839
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:15,120
be on guard.

840
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:18,400
Be as the Bible says in Acts,
be a berean.

841
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:19,280
Check the word.

842
00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:22,480
Match up the preaching with
the word.

843
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,560
Match up the lifestyle with
the word.

844
00:38:24,799 --> 00:38:26,720
Match up the focus with the word.

845
00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:31,200
If you go in, you should know
within the first 30 minutes.

846
00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:32,960
You probably know within the
first five minutes.

847
00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:35,720
But let's just say for, for
fairness you should know within the

848
00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:39,740
first service what that church
is all about.

849
00:38:41,420 --> 00:38:44,700
And I want someone to come in
to our church.

850
00:38:46,540 --> 00:38:49,380
I think God wants someone to
come within our church and say, you

851
00:38:49,380 --> 00:38:50,380
know what that church is about.

852
00:38:50,780 --> 00:38:54,020
The church is about the gospel
of Jesus Christ and that that church

853
00:38:54,020 --> 00:38:56,740
is about preaching and
proclaiming and living the word of

854
00:38:56,740 --> 00:38:57,100
God.

855
00:38:57,340 --> 00:38:58,060
Not perfect.

856
00:38:58,220 --> 00:39:00,660
I don't think anyone that's
going to walk in a Middletown Baptist

857
00:39:00,660 --> 00:39:02,380
church is going to say well
this is a perfect church.

858
00:39:02,380 --> 00:39:03,700
Because by the way, there are
no perfect churches.

859
00:39:03,770 --> 00:39:08,130
Churches were made up of in
and, and, and there are some churches

860
00:39:08,130 --> 00:39:08,890
that you could go into.

861
00:39:08,890 --> 00:39:10,730
And again, I'm not preaching
against any other church.

862
00:39:10,730 --> 00:39:12,490
I'm just saying I'm preaching
about our.

863
00:39:13,290 --> 00:39:16,050
But there are some churches
that can, can go in and say, well

864
00:39:16,050 --> 00:39:19,530
that church has a really
awesome like coffee shop.

865
00:39:19,850 --> 00:39:22,490
I'm not preaching against
coffee, I drink coffee.

866
00:39:23,290 --> 00:39:24,570
But if that's what we're known.

867
00:39:26,010 --> 00:39:29,450
If, if, if you're known for,
hey, like they have a great music.

868
00:39:29,930 --> 00:39:30,690
Music is great.

869
00:39:30,690 --> 00:39:31,690
Music is worship.

870
00:39:32,250 --> 00:39:35,130
I'm all for having the best
music that we possibly can have.

871
00:39:35,610 --> 00:39:37,210
I, I'm all for that.

872
00:39:37,210 --> 00:39:38,530
So I'm not preaching against that.

873
00:39:38,530 --> 00:39:41,370
But end of the day, what is a
church known for?

874
00:39:41,370 --> 00:39:42,330
That's our culture.

875
00:39:42,970 --> 00:39:43,930
That's our culture.

876
00:39:44,570 --> 00:39:47,330
And our culture must be that
we are a church that is looking to

877
00:39:47,330 --> 00:39:50,570
be the family of God, to, to
be the body of Christ.

878
00:39:51,290 --> 00:39:53,610
All those other things are
great things to add on to.

879
00:39:54,090 --> 00:39:57,860
I would love to build another
building one day when we fill up

880
00:39:57,860 --> 00:39:58,340
this building.

881
00:39:58,500 --> 00:40:02,500
But if we're known for the
actual hard and fast walls around

882
00:40:02,500 --> 00:40:05,340
us and roof over our heads,
we're known for the wrong thing.

883
00:40:05,340 --> 00:40:08,180
So we have to be in this case
known for the right things.

884
00:40:08,180 --> 00:40:11,700
And so he says there's cunning
craftiness whereby they lie in wait

885
00:40:11,700 --> 00:40:12,580
to deceive.

886
00:40:12,740 --> 00:40:16,300
So the Bible says, don't be
deceived by these shiny things.

887
00:40:16,300 --> 00:40:19,300
Don't be deceived by all the
bells and whistles.

888
00:40:19,460 --> 00:40:22,100
Come in to see what really
church is all about.

889
00:40:22,260 --> 00:40:26,670
Church is not about those
outward things that that worldly

890
00:40:26,670 --> 00:40:27,310
Craftiness.

891
00:40:27,470 --> 00:40:31,350
Church is about being the
family of God and finding a place

892
00:40:31,350 --> 00:40:32,990
in service, in ministry.

893
00:40:33,070 --> 00:40:36,430
And so he says here, this is
how you deal with that verse 15.

894
00:40:37,710 --> 00:40:39,070
But speaking the truth.

895
00:40:39,070 --> 00:40:39,989
We already mentioned that.

896
00:40:39,989 --> 00:40:40,830
But in love.

897
00:40:40,910 --> 00:40:42,190
Speaking the truth in love.

898
00:40:42,670 --> 00:40:45,150
Now, we could preach a whole
sermon on just that phrase.

899
00:40:46,110 --> 00:40:47,870
But I'll try to condense it.

900
00:40:47,870 --> 00:40:49,470
Just boss here.

901
00:40:50,460 --> 00:40:52,380
The Bible says that we should
speak the truth.

902
00:40:53,100 --> 00:40:54,380
We should speak it in love.

903
00:40:54,380 --> 00:40:58,100
Sometimes what happens is
within a church culture, we're ready

904
00:40:58,100 --> 00:41:00,380
to speak the truth, but we're
not ready to do it anymore.

905
00:41:03,020 --> 00:41:09,620
On the other side of things,
there's some folks that in the idea

906
00:41:09,620 --> 00:41:11,500
of love, we will sacrifice.

907
00:41:12,460 --> 00:41:14,140
Well, I just want them to feel love.

908
00:41:14,220 --> 00:41:18,240
So I'm not going to tell them
there's a time and a place to disclose

909
00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:19,920
truth, that when that person
is ready.

910
00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:23,120
But what I will say is that we
as a church must have the culture

911
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:25,520
of speaking truth but in love.

912
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:27,520
And that's the beautiful
marriage thing.

913
00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:31,040
We don't compromise truth, but
we do it in a way that demonstrates

914
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:31,400
our love.

915
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:32,440
So what that would mean is this.

916
00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:35,600
Let's say someone walks
through the front door of the church.

917
00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:37,280
This is the first time I've
ever met them.

918
00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:40,520
And before I even ask them a
question about something, I immediately

919
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:42,240
start telling them all the
things that they're wrong.

920
00:41:43,340 --> 00:41:45,740
Just I look at you, I know
you're wrong about this.

921
00:41:45,740 --> 00:41:47,020
I know you're wrong about that.

922
00:41:47,900 --> 00:41:49,660
Now, maybe I'm right.

923
00:41:50,300 --> 00:41:52,940
Possibly I'm right about some
of the things that I would judge

924
00:41:52,940 --> 00:41:54,220
when I would see that person.

925
00:41:54,380 --> 00:41:57,620
But at the same time, have I
asked the question to show them that

926
00:41:57,620 --> 00:42:00,940
I care about their eternal
destination, that I care about their

927
00:42:00,940 --> 00:42:01,340
soul.

928
00:42:02,060 --> 00:42:04,540
Then at that point, I'm able
to come and talk to them about the

929
00:42:04,540 --> 00:42:05,580
truth of God.

930
00:42:06,940 --> 00:42:09,100
And so I think that that's
something that as a church, we must

931
00:42:09,100 --> 00:42:12,220
grow in, is that understanding
of balancing truth and love to the

932
00:42:12,220 --> 00:42:16,620
same point that as it says
here, that may grow up into him in

933
00:42:16,620 --> 00:42:18,540
all things, which is the head
in the Christ.

934
00:42:18,700 --> 00:42:21,740
So he says it's to be more
Christlike and love.

935
00:42:21,740 --> 00:42:22,380
That's what Jesus.

936
00:42:23,980 --> 00:42:26,700
And so what I would say is
that we see this common theme of

937
00:42:26,700 --> 00:42:27,900
being more like Christ.

938
00:42:27,980 --> 00:42:28,700
More like Christ.

939
00:42:28,700 --> 00:42:30,700
And you say, well, what does
it mean to be like Christ?

940
00:42:30,780 --> 00:42:34,620
Well, study his word, study
the Gospels, understand the character

941
00:42:34,620 --> 00:42:38,020
of Christ, understand his
humility, understand his love, understand

942
00:42:38,020 --> 00:42:41,140
his desire to teach,
understand his desire to evangelize.

943
00:42:41,540 --> 00:42:44,140
And then we see in verse 16,
this is going to be our last verse

944
00:42:44,140 --> 00:42:44,740
here this morning.

945
00:42:45,540 --> 00:42:46,740
He says, from whom?

946
00:42:47,140 --> 00:42:48,020
Talking about Christ.

947
00:42:48,980 --> 00:42:49,300
So?

948
00:42:49,300 --> 00:42:52,580
So Christ is the cornerstone,
he's the centerpiece, from whom the

949
00:42:52,580 --> 00:42:58,180
whole body fitly joined
together, which means perfectly joined

950
00:42:58,180 --> 00:43:03,140
together and compacted by that
which every joint supplied according,

951
00:43:03,260 --> 00:43:06,300
according to the effectual
working in the measure of every part.

952
00:43:06,300 --> 00:43:10,220
That's a fancy way to say that
in Christ we can all walk in unity.

953
00:43:10,220 --> 00:43:16,140
We can all be in perfect
synchronization as we walk in the

954
00:43:16,140 --> 00:43:19,379
path that he has called us to
walk, according to the working of

955
00:43:19,379 --> 00:43:22,420
the measure of every part,
give increase of the body unto the

956
00:43:22,420 --> 00:43:24,220
edifying of itself in love.

957
00:43:25,100 --> 00:43:29,030
And so ultimately, what we can
see here is that the Bible says that

958
00:43:29,030 --> 00:43:34,030
if we walk in this culture, if
we walk in this path, we're able

959
00:43:34,030 --> 00:43:35,910
to work alongside of one another.

960
00:43:37,030 --> 00:43:41,270
The evidence of a church
culture that is following this path

961
00:43:41,510 --> 00:43:43,910
is a culture of maturity.

962
00:43:44,950 --> 00:43:46,470
Now, you say we're all mature.

963
00:43:47,030 --> 00:43:48,190
Just look around, Pastor.

964
00:43:48,190 --> 00:43:49,750
We've got some mature people here.

965
00:43:50,390 --> 00:43:52,550
I'm not talking about physical maturity.

966
00:43:52,710 --> 00:43:54,510
It's not always physical maturity.

967
00:43:54,510 --> 00:43:58,660
Equates spirituality to say something.

968
00:43:59,620 --> 00:44:00,500
I'm an offensive.

969
00:44:01,300 --> 00:44:02,060
Do it anyway.

970
00:44:02,060 --> 00:44:02,500
Okay.

971
00:44:03,140 --> 00:44:07,140
I used to work in teen
ministry, and there's a lot of teen

972
00:44:07,300 --> 00:44:08,500
issues that were there.

973
00:44:08,740 --> 00:44:13,260
And if I could just work with
adults, we're not going to have any

974
00:44:13,260 --> 00:44:17,900
more of that drama that I
started working with adults and I

975
00:44:17,900 --> 00:44:21,950
realized that adults are just
teenagers that are grown up physically.

976
00:44:22,990 --> 00:44:23,470
We have.

977
00:44:23,470 --> 00:44:24,350
We all have drama.

978
00:44:24,510 --> 00:44:25,470
We all have issues.

979
00:44:25,950 --> 00:44:28,990
And if we're not careful, we
can allow the same immature issues

980
00:44:29,870 --> 00:44:33,070
package in different ways,
plague us within our own ship.

981
00:44:33,870 --> 00:44:34,630
So what do we do?

982
00:44:34,630 --> 00:44:35,710
We spiritually mature.

983
00:44:35,710 --> 00:44:38,670
We mature to a place where
those little things that used to

984
00:44:38,670 --> 00:44:40,590
hold us down don't hold us
down anymore.

985
00:44:42,270 --> 00:44:43,070
You know, there were.

986
00:44:43,310 --> 00:44:48,160
As the older I get, I'm not as
young as I used to be, but I'm not

987
00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:49,880
as old as I will be if the
Lord tarries.

988
00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:54,080
Older I get, the less I'm
concerned about some of those smaller

989
00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:55,520
things that I used to be so
concerned with.

990
00:44:55,520 --> 00:44:58,440
I gave you guys this analogy a
while ago, and I got a good laugh.

991
00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:00,280
Some of you weren't here, so
I'm going to tell it again.

992
00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:03,360
I remember back when I was a
teenager, I would sit in the mirror

993
00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:05,520
in the morning every morning,
trying to get my hair just right

994
00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:07,080
to impress all the ladies at school.

995
00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:10,400
Number one, I'm not concerned
about those ladies anymore because

996
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:12,280
I've got my one right there
that I'm married to.

997
00:45:12,610 --> 00:45:14,530
And number two, I don't have
that hair anymore to worry about.

998
00:45:14,770 --> 00:45:16,410
But I was so stressed about that.

999
00:45:16,410 --> 00:45:16,690
I was.

1000
00:45:16,690 --> 00:45:17,410
It was such a.

1001
00:45:17,410 --> 00:45:21,090
Such a thing that consumed my
life in a silly way.

1002
00:45:21,730 --> 00:45:23,930
But maturity is like, hey,
I've grown past that.

1003
00:45:23,930 --> 00:45:24,890
I. I've moved past that.

1004
00:45:24,890 --> 00:45:25,770
I'm on to other things.

1005
00:45:25,770 --> 00:45:26,330
And that's what.

1006
00:45:26,330 --> 00:45:27,090
That's what spiritual.

1007
00:45:27,090 --> 00:45:27,570
Mature.

1008
00:45:27,810 --> 00:45:30,010
Spiritual maturity is not
being hung up on the things that

1009
00:45:30,010 --> 00:45:31,170
we used to get hung up on.

1010
00:45:32,530 --> 00:45:34,850
It's realizing that there are
other people that are immature that

1011
00:45:34,850 --> 00:45:35,890
are still going through that process.

1012
00:45:35,970 --> 00:45:40,780
I know now, like, when I was
working with teenagers, there was,

1013
00:45:40,780 --> 00:45:43,020
like, drama within, like, dating.

1014
00:45:43,980 --> 00:45:45,900
This girl walks up, pastor.

1015
00:45:45,980 --> 00:45:46,980
I was a pastor at the time.

1016
00:45:46,980 --> 00:45:47,820
I was teaching in school.

1017
00:45:47,820 --> 00:45:51,580
She goes, I don't know if I
should follow my heart with this

1018
00:45:51,580 --> 00:45:53,020
guy or follow my mind.

1019
00:45:53,420 --> 00:45:55,500
And I'm like, don't follow
either one, okay?

1020
00:45:55,580 --> 00:45:56,620
Follow the Lord, okay?

1021
00:45:56,620 --> 00:45:58,660
Because your heart's gonna lie
to you, and your mind might be telling

1022
00:45:58,660 --> 00:45:59,060
you lies.

1023
00:45:59,060 --> 00:46:02,140
I said, you know, in this
case, you need to see what God has

1024
00:46:02,140 --> 00:46:03,260
to say about this and ask him.

1025
00:46:03,990 --> 00:46:07,670
They've been dating for, like,
all three days, and it was like this

1026
00:46:07,670 --> 00:46:10,150
big struggle in their life,
you know, And.

1027
00:46:10,150 --> 00:46:12,630
And so I looked at that and
I'm like, how immature?

1028
00:46:13,030 --> 00:46:17,230
How can so stuff sometimes how
we are as Christians, because as

1029
00:46:17,230 --> 00:46:20,350
we mature, maybe then we look
at other people who are not at that

1030
00:46:20,350 --> 00:46:22,310
maturity level yet, and we
just, like, we.

1031
00:46:22,310 --> 00:46:25,030
We minimize their struggle and
their conflict.

1032
00:46:25,030 --> 00:46:27,550
But at the same time, as we
mature, we need to understand that

1033
00:46:27,550 --> 00:46:30,360
they need to get to a place of
maturity as well, and we help them

1034
00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:31,200
along that process.

1035
00:46:31,840 --> 00:46:34,840
That's something that we're
going to talk a lot about next week.

1036
00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:36,960
And that is what's called the
discipleship process.

1037
00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:42,200
So me as a disciple, you as a
disciple, a follower of Christ, need

1038
00:46:42,200 --> 00:46:45,240
to show other people what it
means to follow Jesus Christ and

1039
00:46:45,240 --> 00:46:46,800
to have that spiritual maturity.

1040
00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:51,040
So the evidence of all of this
happening within a church culture

1041
00:46:51,200 --> 00:46:52,960
is spiritual maturity.

1042
00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:57,590
That the leaders are doing
what they need to do, that the saints

1043
00:46:57,590 --> 00:46:58,830
are doing what they need to do.

1044
00:46:59,150 --> 00:47:02,670
And we know that God is going
to be doing what he always does.

1045
00:47:02,990 --> 00:47:05,790
And so there's that effective
working, as the Bible says there.

1046
00:47:06,030 --> 00:47:09,390
And so this means that every
part of the church provides what

1047
00:47:09,390 --> 00:47:13,070
it can to supply for the
corporate effort for the gospel.

1048
00:47:13,150 --> 00:47:17,270
And so when this happens, it
supernaturally causes, as it says

1049
00:47:17,270 --> 00:47:19,470
here, growth or increase of
the body.

1050
00:47:20,190 --> 00:47:21,390
That's the end of verse 16.

1051
00:47:21,780 --> 00:47:23,700
A lot of people are talking
about church growth today.

1052
00:47:24,020 --> 00:47:24,540
It's a.

1053
00:47:24,540 --> 00:47:25,060
It's a.

1054
00:47:25,460 --> 00:47:26,100
Trust me.

1055
00:47:26,100 --> 00:47:27,140
Yes, Matt, I know this.

1056
00:47:27,140 --> 00:47:29,140
But it's a whole industry for
church growth.

1057
00:47:29,540 --> 00:47:32,180
You can spend as much money as
you want about reading books and

1058
00:47:32,260 --> 00:47:34,020
seeing seminars about church growth.

1059
00:47:34,020 --> 00:47:36,420
And they have every way to
grow your church.

1060
00:47:37,459 --> 00:47:40,220
You know, if you just do this,
if you just have this coming in,

1061
00:47:40,220 --> 00:47:43,340
if you just get rid of that,
if you just do this, if you create

1062
00:47:43,340 --> 00:47:46,260
this program, I'm going to
tell you, those are.

1063
00:47:46,340 --> 00:47:47,940
Those all can be good things.

1064
00:47:48,510 --> 00:47:50,390
But what does the Bible say
about church growth?

1065
00:47:50,390 --> 00:47:55,350
Well, Ephesians 4, he says,
effective, working in the measure

1066
00:47:55,350 --> 00:47:57,790
of every part, making increase
of the body.

1067
00:47:58,910 --> 00:48:06,070
So basically, God gives us the
methodology and the mindset how we

1068
00:48:06,070 --> 00:48:09,470
grow biblical church, how we
properly grow a church.

1069
00:48:09,630 --> 00:48:12,070
And that is through what we
just read here in Ephesians chapter

1070
00:48:12,070 --> 00:48:12,350
four.

1071
00:48:13,070 --> 00:48:16,990
That's true growth, both in
size and in strength.

1072
00:48:18,110 --> 00:48:19,670
I want our church to grow in size.

1073
00:48:19,670 --> 00:48:20,790
And thank the Lord.

1074
00:48:20,790 --> 00:48:23,430
Last week we had some coming
in and praise the Lord.

1075
00:48:23,430 --> 00:48:25,830
We've got some more coming up
in the next few weeks of adding to

1076
00:48:25,830 --> 00:48:26,430
our membership.

1077
00:48:26,430 --> 00:48:26,910
That's great.

1078
00:48:26,910 --> 00:48:28,950
We want to numerically grow
the church.

1079
00:48:28,950 --> 00:48:29,870
There's nothing wrong with that.

1080
00:48:29,870 --> 00:48:35,390
As long as numeric growth is
not our center of focus, that's okay.

1081
00:48:35,390 --> 00:48:37,710
We want to grow the church in size.

1082
00:48:37,710 --> 00:48:41,360
We also want to grow the
church in strength because we don't

1083
00:48:41,360 --> 00:48:44,240
want to be a thousand miles
wide and 2 inches deep.

1084
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:48,880
We want to build those roots
down and have that foundation so

1085
00:48:48,880 --> 00:48:52,400
that we're able to build a
proper biblical church.

1086
00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:55,200
And so we see there that
that's biblical growth.

1087
00:48:56,720 --> 00:49:00,880
And so that every part working
together in that effort shows that

1088
00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:05,840
we can have that supernatural
body growth that the Bible teaches

1089
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:06,155
here.

1090
00:49:06,155 --> 00:49:10,700
So size and strength as we
grow in our love, as we're edified

1091
00:49:10,780 --> 00:49:12,140
in the truth of God.

1092
00:49:13,340 --> 00:49:16,180
And so some people think that
the church is like a pyramid where

1093
00:49:16,180 --> 00:49:17,500
the pastor is at the top.

1094
00:49:19,580 --> 00:49:23,940
Or maybe people think it's
like bus driver mentality where the

1095
00:49:23,940 --> 00:49:26,140
pastor's in the driver's seat,
we're all just in the back, wherever

1096
00:49:26,140 --> 00:49:26,780
he wants to go.

1097
00:49:26,780 --> 00:49:28,420
But really, it's at the.

1098
00:49:28,420 --> 00:49:29,260
At the core of it.

1099
00:49:29,260 --> 00:49:32,530
Jesus is the word of God is
our God.

1100
00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:36,480
He has gifted the church with
leaders, he's gifted the church with

1101
00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:39,960
saints, and he's allowing us
all to serve at whatever capacity

1102
00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:41,360
he has called us to serve.

1103
00:49:41,360 --> 00:49:45,800
And when everyone does what
God has called us to do, we can't.

1104
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:51,000
Best advice I have for a young
pastor, he's just getting into ministry.

1105
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:52,280
I just did this recently.

1106
00:49:52,280 --> 00:49:55,200
I was talking to a young man
who was like, I don't know what to

1107
00:49:55,200 --> 00:49:59,650
do and I don't know where to
turn, it's like, preach the word,

1108
00:50:00,130 --> 00:50:01,650
love God, love people.

1109
00:50:02,530 --> 00:50:05,170
And that's the greatest thing
as a church.

1110
00:50:05,330 --> 00:50:06,610
Follow the word of God.

1111
00:50:06,690 --> 00:50:08,010
Are we going to mess up in some.

1112
00:50:08,010 --> 00:50:09,770
Are we going to start a
ministry that's going to completely

1113
00:50:09,770 --> 00:50:10,850
fail and no one's going to
show up?

1114
00:50:10,850 --> 00:50:12,210
Sure, it's going to happen.

1115
00:50:12,770 --> 00:50:15,050
Are there going to be times
where our giving is down at the church?

1116
00:50:15,050 --> 00:50:15,290
Sure.

1117
00:50:15,290 --> 00:50:17,050
Are there going to be times
where we go through hardship and

1118
00:50:17,050 --> 00:50:17,890
conflict within the church?

1119
00:50:17,890 --> 00:50:18,130
Sure.

1120
00:50:18,130 --> 00:50:21,290
But we're never going to fail
as a church if we follow what God

1121
00:50:21,290 --> 00:50:22,130
has called us to do.

1122
00:50:22,610 --> 00:50:26,090
When we walk in that spirit of
unity, when we walk in that spirit

1123
00:50:26,090 --> 00:50:30,430
of peace, when we walk in that
one faith, one Lord, one calling,

1124
00:50:30,430 --> 00:50:31,110
one purpose.

1125
00:50:31,270 --> 00:50:33,430
Hey, we might have some bumps
and bruises.

1126
00:50:33,590 --> 00:50:36,390
How many of you have in a
marriage that you've been married

1127
00:50:36,390 --> 00:50:41,710
more than five days, five
years, if we're optimistic, how many

1128
00:50:41,710 --> 00:50:44,550
of you have never had a bump
in the room?

1129
00:50:44,950 --> 00:50:45,230
Right.

1130
00:50:45,230 --> 00:50:48,870
The reality is, is that even
within a godly marriage, and that.

1131
00:50:48,870 --> 00:50:51,790
That is wonderful and that's
rewarding, there's ups and downs.

1132
00:50:51,790 --> 00:50:53,110
That's the same thing within a church.

1133
00:50:53,440 --> 00:50:54,640
Never going to be completely perfect.

1134
00:50:54,640 --> 00:50:58,240
But at the same time, if we're
unified as one, we're going to be

1135
00:50:58,240 --> 00:51:00,640
able to overcome those things
that we face in our lives.

1136
00:51:01,440 --> 00:51:03,920
And so when we're going to
come back next week, one of the things

1137
00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:06,360
that I want us to do is I want
us to understand next week is our

1138
00:51:06,360 --> 00:51:06,720
vision.

1139
00:51:06,720 --> 00:51:10,920
Sunday next week's going to be
how can we implement all the things

1140
00:51:10,920 --> 00:51:14,320
that we've talked about in
Ephesians 4 in the church, practically?

1141
00:51:14,720 --> 00:51:17,280
Because a lot of what we've
talked about now is theoretical.

1142
00:51:18,720 --> 00:51:19,760
It's on paper.

1143
00:51:20,470 --> 00:51:23,510
But I want us to understand
that we have to take it from what

1144
00:51:23,510 --> 00:51:24,950
the word of God says on paper.

1145
00:51:25,030 --> 00:51:28,110
We have to put it into our
minds and believe it, and then we

1146
00:51:28,110 --> 00:51:30,310
have to put it in our hearts
and we have to live it out.

1147
00:51:30,870 --> 00:51:31,790
Sometimes as a.

1148
00:51:31,790 --> 00:51:35,350
As a leader of the church, the
goal is not just communicating where

1149
00:51:35,350 --> 00:51:38,790
we should go, but how we
should get there and how we do that.

1150
00:51:39,350 --> 00:51:40,110
Okay, Pastor.

1151
00:51:40,110 --> 00:51:41,110
We're supposed to decide.

1152
00:51:41,430 --> 00:51:42,950
We're supposed to live in unity.

1153
00:51:42,950 --> 00:51:44,910
We're supposed to live out our gifts.

1154
00:51:44,910 --> 00:51:46,230
But I don't even know where to start.

1155
00:51:46,780 --> 00:51:47,300
Well, that's.

1156
00:51:47,300 --> 00:51:49,420
That's part of next week.

1157
00:51:50,140 --> 00:51:53,300
Part of next week is
identifying where God has gifted

1158
00:51:53,300 --> 00:51:58,660
you, identifying how the
church can align with the word of

1159
00:51:58,660 --> 00:52:02,300
God and how we can live this
out in our lives to the best of our.

1160
00:52:03,580 --> 00:52:05,660
So I encourage you to come
back for that.

1161
00:52:05,660 --> 00:52:08,380
But this study of church
culture has been a challenging study

1162
00:52:08,380 --> 00:52:08,860
for me.

1163
00:52:09,180 --> 00:52:11,860
It's not to say that our
church is wrong, not to say that

1164
00:52:11,860 --> 00:52:14,330
our church is, is, is on the
wrong track.

1165
00:52:14,330 --> 00:52:15,650
It's actually the complete opposite.

1166
00:52:15,650 --> 00:52:17,130
I believe our church is on the right.

1167
00:52:17,850 --> 00:52:21,050
But if we're not careful and
if we don't evaluate and if we don't

1168
00:52:21,050 --> 00:52:24,530
check ourselves on a regular
basis, it's so easy to be tossed

1169
00:52:24,530 --> 00:52:26,170
to and fro with every wind of doctrine.

1170
00:52:26,730 --> 00:52:28,330
It's so easy to be deceived.

1171
00:52:28,330 --> 00:52:31,570
It's so easy to drift off the
path and do the things that we are

1172
00:52:31,570 --> 00:52:34,170
just comfortable with and not
do what God has called us to do within

1173
00:52:34,170 --> 00:52:35,130
our church culture.

1174
00:52:35,690 --> 00:52:38,570
And so I'm going to ask you
this morning, as we conclude, to

1175
00:52:38,570 --> 00:52:42,190
think about these things,
things to maybe read back over Ephesians

1176
00:52:42,190 --> 00:52:46,670
chapter 4 to, to ask God to
give you the clarity of number one,

1177
00:52:46,670 --> 00:52:49,310
where your faith is placed,
number two, how you're living out

1178
00:52:49,310 --> 00:52:51,470
your spiritual gift, and
number three, what it looks like

1179
00:52:51,470 --> 00:52:52,150
within the church.

1180
00:52:52,150 --> 00:52:55,830
Because the church can only be
as strong ultimately as who we're

1181
00:52:55,830 --> 00:52:56,470
trusting in.

1182
00:52:56,470 --> 00:52:58,870
And if we're trusting in
Jesus, we're going to be okay.

1183
00:52:59,670 --> 00:53:02,590
But if I'm trusting in
anything outside of the truth of

1184
00:53:02,590 --> 00:53:05,600
Jesus Christ and who he is and
what he has done for me, then that's

1185
00:53:05,600 --> 00:53:07,120
where we can tend to drift.

1186
00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:09,240
And you guys know this.

1187
00:53:10,600 --> 00:53:16,160
But if, let's say 98 of the
church is healthy, but only 2% is

1188
00:53:16,160 --> 00:53:17,400
unhealthy, that's the church.

1189
00:53:19,160 --> 00:53:19,720
My body.

1190
00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:24,600
What if I told you My body's
98 completely healthy, but there's

1191
00:53:24,600 --> 00:53:26,120
2% that's in agonizing.

1192
00:53:26,280 --> 00:53:29,360
Well, the rest of the 98 of
the body that is feeling good is

1193
00:53:29,360 --> 00:53:29,920
going to feel that.

1194
00:53:29,920 --> 00:53:30,120
Right?

1195
00:53:30,120 --> 00:53:31,210
You understand that principle?

1196
00:53:31,920 --> 00:53:32,760
You understand that?

1197
00:53:32,760 --> 00:53:34,000
Hey, well, I'm.

1198
00:53:34,080 --> 00:53:35,480
When I was a kid, I'd hurt myself.

1199
00:53:35,480 --> 00:53:36,720
Like I hurt my, my hand.

1200
00:53:36,720 --> 00:53:38,280
And my dad would be like, all
right, you want me to hit your leg

1201
00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:39,400
to make you forget about your hand?

1202
00:53:39,400 --> 00:53:40,480
I was like, no, don't do that.

1203
00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:42,960
That's sometimes what we do
within churches.

1204
00:53:42,960 --> 00:53:45,280
We have pain over here, and we
just cause pain over here.

1205
00:53:45,280 --> 00:53:47,439
And we try to just deflect
ourselves from all the pain that

1206
00:53:47,439 --> 00:53:47,960
we're feeling.

1207
00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:50,160
We're all going to have pain,
we're all going to have struggles.

1208
00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:52,960
And so the Bible says is that
we don't neglect those pains.

1209
00:53:53,440 --> 00:53:55,280
We don't neglect those struggles.

1210
00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:57,040
We address them with the proper.

1211
00:53:59,080 --> 00:54:02,760
In this, in this analogy, the
medical field the right medicine,

1212
00:54:02,760 --> 00:54:05,840
but then the right teachings
and the right thinking, the right

1213
00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:08,800
faith, then we're able to
address that and fix that and get

1214
00:54:08,800 --> 00:54:10,360
ourselves to a place where
we're healthy.

1215
00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:12,200
The Bible calls us to be a
healthy church.

1216
00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:14,000
And so I want you to think
about that here.

1217
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:16,920
This morning I'm going to ask
for you to stand, every head bowed,

1218
00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:18,440
every eye closed as the music plays.

1219
00:54:18,440 --> 00:54:21,840
This morning we're going to
have a time of invitation, and there's

1220
00:54:21,840 --> 00:54:23,640
been a lot of things posed today.

1221
00:54:24,120 --> 00:54:24,480
And.

1222
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:28,160
And I know that that could be
somewhat overwhelming, but I want

1223
00:54:28,160 --> 00:54:33,680
to try to condense it down to
a very short number one.

1224
00:54:33,680 --> 00:54:36,920
You can't be part of the body
of Christ unless you are in Christ

1225
00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:38,560
when it comes to your faith.

1226
00:54:38,560 --> 00:54:41,480
And first question I would
have to ask anyone is this.

1227
00:54:41,640 --> 00:54:44,800
Do you trust in Jesus Christ
for the work that he did on the cross

1228
00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:45,240
for you?

1229
00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:49,360
Do you know and do you believe
that he died on the cross for your

1230
00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:49,640
sins?

1231
00:54:49,640 --> 00:54:52,180
Do you know and believe that
he live that perfect life?

1232
00:54:52,260 --> 00:54:55,700
Do you know and believe that
he conquered death through the resurrection?

1233
00:54:55,700 --> 00:54:58,980
And do you know and believe
that only he and he alone can save?

1234
00:54:59,460 --> 00:55:01,940
If that be the case this
morning, trust him.

1235
00:55:02,020 --> 00:55:03,300
Have not trusted in him.

1236
00:55:03,380 --> 00:55:06,580
Trust in him and become part
of the family of God.

1237
00:55:06,580 --> 00:55:08,940
To know what it means to be a
child of God.

1238
00:55:08,940 --> 00:55:10,660
To know what it means to have
everlasting life.

1239
00:55:10,820 --> 00:55:14,980
But then secondarily, if you
have trusted in him, have you been

1240
00:55:14,980 --> 00:55:20,590
allowing yourself to be
distracted and lied to when it comes

1241
00:55:20,590 --> 00:55:21,670
to church culture?

1242
00:55:21,670 --> 00:55:24,910
Have you ever even thought
about what it means part of a church?

1243
00:55:25,150 --> 00:55:27,390
Have you ever even thought
about what it means to influence

1244
00:55:27,390 --> 00:55:31,150
a church for the cause of the
gospel gift of grace?

1245
00:55:31,150 --> 00:55:33,950
If you haven't, I encourage
you this morning, think about where

1246
00:55:33,950 --> 00:55:35,630
your place is within that bind.

1247
00:55:36,670 --> 00:55:39,750
You might say, well, my gift
is not the same gift as yours.

1248
00:55:39,750 --> 00:55:41,310
It's probably not.

1249
00:55:41,870 --> 00:55:45,400
But at the same time, your
gift is just as vital to the health

1250
00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:47,080
of the church as anybody else's.

1251
00:55:47,320 --> 00:55:49,400
And so what I would encourage
you to do is say, lord, where do

1252
00:55:49,400 --> 00:55:50,600
you have me to serve?

1253
00:55:50,600 --> 00:55:52,040
Where do you have me to minister?

1254
00:55:53,320 --> 00:55:56,840
Where do you have me in that
picture of evangelism, education

1255
00:55:57,480 --> 00:55:58,560
and edification?

1256
00:55:58,560 --> 00:55:59,520
And exhortation?

1257
00:55:59,520 --> 00:56:00,760
Where do you have me, Lord?

1258
00:56:01,240 --> 00:56:04,400
The first step is asking and
being open and ready to hear what

1259
00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:05,640
he has to say to you.

1260
00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:08,880
Are you walking in unity?

1261
00:56:08,880 --> 00:56:10,720
Are you walking in the love of Christ?

1262
00:56:10,720 --> 00:56:12,440
Are you speaking the truth in love?

1263
00:56:12,440 --> 00:56:15,420
Are you able to say that
church growth is something that's

1264
00:56:15,420 --> 00:56:18,500
important to you, not church growth?

1265
00:56:18,500 --> 00:56:21,300
When it comes to numbers, but
church growth when it comes to strength

1266
00:56:21,300 --> 00:56:22,100
and depth.

1267
00:56:22,980 --> 00:56:25,060
So this morning we did last week.

1268
00:56:25,380 --> 00:56:29,420
May we just commit ourselves
to growing closer to the Lord, becoming

1269
00:56:29,420 --> 00:56:32,460
more and more Christlike so
that we can be the church that God

1270
00:56:32,460 --> 00:56:33,380
has called us to be.

1271
00:56:33,620 --> 00:56:37,060
20:26 Lord, I pray that you be
in this time of invitation, work

1272
00:56:37,060 --> 00:56:37,820
in hearts and lives.

1273
00:56:37,820 --> 00:56:41,430
Encourage us to a place where
where we can walk your truth that

1274
00:56:41,430 --> 00:56:45,870
we can have a culture that is
characterized by your word.

1275
00:56:46,750 --> 00:56:49,350
And Lord, I pray that you be
with those that might be carrying

1276
00:56:49,350 --> 00:56:50,350
burdens with them today.

1277
00:56:52,030 --> 00:56:54,510
Maybe they're not even at the
place of their life where they could

1278
00:56:54,510 --> 00:56:57,550
serve because they're so
burdened with the burdens of this

1279
00:56:57,550 --> 00:56:59,950
world and the struggles of
their life.

1280
00:56:59,950 --> 00:57:03,230
Lord, I pray that they can lay
those tears at the foot of the cross

1281
00:57:03,230 --> 00:57:07,280
this morning so that they can
empty of themselves of that burden

1282
00:57:07,280 --> 00:57:10,360
and give that burden to carry
that burden away.

1283
00:57:10,360 --> 00:57:11,080
That burden.

1284
00:57:11,320 --> 00:57:13,520
So Lord, I pray that you'll be
in this time of invitation working

1285
00:57:13,520 --> 00:57:16,520
hearts and lives as we come
before you today.

1286
00:57:16,520 --> 00:57:19,400
Lord, we thank you for your
love grace Jesus man as the music

1287
00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:20,600
plays, follow as the Lord leads.

1288
00:57:20,600 --> 00:57:23,240
This morning if you need
someone to talk to, we need someone

1289
00:57:23,240 --> 00:57:25,400
to show you in the word of God
what it means to trust in Jesus.

1290
00:57:25,400 --> 00:57:28,040
We have folks up here who can
walk you right through that.

1291
00:57:28,120 --> 00:57:32,440
Commit yourself this year to
the church culture that God has ordained

1292
00:57:32,600 --> 00:57:32,840
it.

1293
00:58:04,930 --> 00:58:05,330
Ramp.

1294
00:58:44,620 --> 00:58:47,100
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1295
00:58:47,100 --> 00:58:47,660
podcast.

1296
00:58:47,980 --> 00:58:49,970
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1297
00:58:50,120 --> 00:58:53,280
You if you would like to find
out more information about our church

1298
00:58:53,280 --> 00:58:56,760
or this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1299
00:58:57,000 --> 00:58:59,560
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1300
00:59:00,280 --> 00:59:05,240
You can also email me directly
at Josh Massaro Middletown BaptistChurch.com

1301
00:59:05,720 --> 00:59:09,200
if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1302
00:59:09,200 --> 00:59:12,040
along for future podcast and updates.

1303
00:59:12,680 --> 00:59:13,640
Thank you so much.

1304
00:59:13,880 --> 00:59:14,600
God Bless.

1305
00:59:14,840 --> 00:59:16,120
Have a wonderful day.