only you deserve praises of the earth. Words are not enough to sing of all your worth.
Lord, I glorify your name. Worship you, Lord, in this place. You have called; I have come to the house of the Holy One. You are God; I will run into you.
You have called; I have come to the house of the Holy One. You are God; I will run into you.
Thank you, Holy God, for your healing blood. Thank you for your grace and your mighty love.
Lord, I glorify your name. Worship you, Lord, in this place. You have called; I have come to the house of the Holy One. You are God; I will run into you.
Amen.
We want to welcome you to the Potter's House this morning. Would you stand to your feet and put your hands together with us?
Amen.
We're gonna sing this song as a prayer from our hearts this morning. Worship Him as we gather in His house. We need His presence. Oh, we need His power. We need His life. We need Jesus to move.
Let's sing it out together.
Let the power of God fall down. Let your power fall down right now.
Let the power of God fall down on us. Let your power fall down.
Let the Spirit of God pour out on us. Let your Spirit pour out right now.
Let the Spirit of God pour out.
The Spirit, Lord, is for your glory this morning. Singing glory to you only. What you say is what we'll do.
Let your passion become action. Holy Spirit, come move.
Jesus, we're alive to glorify your name. Yes, we are today.
Let your Spirit rise among us now as we sing.
Yes, we're alive. Jesus, we're alive to glorify your name.
Let your Spirit rise among us now as we sing.
Jesus, move.
Lord Jesus, old church, singing out the love of God.
Let God come alive in us.
Let your love right now.
Let the Spirit of God pour out on us.
Let your Spirit pour out right now.
The Spirit of God pour out for your glory. Glory to you only. What you say is what we'll do.
Let your passion become action. Let your Spirit come move.
Jesus, we're alive to glorify your name.
Oh, let your Spirit rise among us now.
We sing, yes, we're alive today.
Jesus, we're alive to glorify your name.
And let your Spirit rise among us now as we sing.
Jesus, move.
Oh, yes, we need Him to move in this place.
Jesus, move.
Oh, sing, we don't want to leave this morning till we're changed.
We don't want to leave till we're changed.
Here in our hearts, Lord.
Lord, have your way.
No, we don't want to leave.
We don't want to leave till we're changed.
Come on, make it the prayer of your heart.
Lord, have your way.
Oh, we don't want to leave today.
We don't want to leave until we're changed.
Here in our hearts, Lord, have your way.
One more time.
Yes, we don't want to leave.
We don't want to leave till we're changed.
Here in our hearts, Lord, have your way.
Oh, we're alive this morning.
Jesus, we're alive to glorify your name.
Come on, sing it out, church.
Make it a prayer from your heart.
Let your Spirit rise among us now as we sing.
Yes, we're alive. Jesus, we're alive to glorify your name.
Let your Spirit rise among us now as we sing.
Jesus, move.
We need Him to move.
We need Him to speak this morning.
Jesus, move.
In our hearts, in our homes today.
Jesus, move.
Oh, Jesus, move.
Oh, yes, how many are ready to see Jesus move in this place?
God, we give you glory.
Amen.
As we gather into His house, continue to worship Him.
We've come into the house of the Holy One.
Sing, only you deserve.
Only you deserve praises of the earth.
Words are not enough to sing of all your worth.
Lord, I glorify your name.
Worship you, Lord, in this place.
Lord, you've called and I've come.
You have called; I have come.
House of the Holy One, you are God.
I will run into you.
You are called; you are called.
I have come to the house of the Holy One.
You are called.
You are God.
I will run into you.
So thank you, Holy God, this morning.
Thank you, Holy God, for your healing love.
And thank you for your grace, your mighty love, and your mighty love.
Oh, Lord, I glorify your name.
Worship you, Lord, in this place.
You have called.
You have called; I have come to the house of the Holy One.
You are God.
I will run into you.
You have called; I have come to the house, to the house of the Holy One.
You are God.
I will run into you.
Oh, thank you, Jesus.
You forgave, Jesus.
Jesus, you forgave my sin.
Yes, you did.
Now I freely, now I freely enter.
Aren't you grateful this morning?
Lord, you forgave.
Jesus, you forgave my sin.
Now I freely, now I freely enter.
Oh, yes, we thank you, Lord, you forgave.
Jesus, you forgave.
You forgave my sins.
Now I freely enter in.
You have called.
You have called; I have come to the house, to the house of the Holy One.
You are God.
I will run into you.
You have called; I have come to the house, to the house of the Holy One.
You are God.
I will run into you.
You are God.
I will run.
You are God.
I will run into you.
You are God.
Yes, you are God.
I will run into you.
Oh, yes, we thank you.
Let's give Him praise this morning.
Jesus, we thank you.
Hallelujah.
As we enter into His house, we're going to thank Him for the cross and for the blood of Jesus, even when we turn.
And even when we turn our backs on you, wickedness and lies suppress your truth, even then you showed your love for us, giving up your life.
So we thank you.
And Jesus, thank you for the cross, for the blood that sets us free, crimson stain of all our sin.
Washed away in your mercy.
We were enemies, enemies of God, with no excuse.
Knowing what was right, turned from you, giving up the sin, condemned to die.
Even then, thank you, Lord, you chose.
Jesus, thank you for the cross, for the blood that sets us free, crimson stain of all our sin.
Washed away in your mercy.
Jesus, thank you for the cross, for the blood.
Have you come to thank Him this morning, crimson stain of all our sin?
Washed away in your mercy.
Let's sing it one more time.
Even when we turn, even when we turn our backs on you, wickedness and lies suppress your truth, even then you showed your love for us, giving up your life.
Yes, we thank you.
Jesus, thank you for the cross.
Come on, thank Him this morning.
Jesus, thank you for the cross, for the blood that sets us free, crimson stain of all our sin.
Amen.
Let's give the Lord praise this morning.
God, we thank you.
We honor you in this place.
You are faithful.
And you are holy in this place.
Amen.
As we gather into His house, we're going to slow down the music to lift up our hands and worship Him together.
Oh, how many know He's worthy of all of our praise?
The Bible tells us that all things were created by Him, through Him, and for Him this morning.
He is our all in all.
Let's sing it out together.
In the desert.
In the desert, you're the river, an ever-flowing stream of light.
In the battle, you're the victor; we raise your banner.
Yes, we do.
In the darkness.
In the darkness, you're the fire, a holy flame for all to sing.
In my heart, you reign forever.
My all, my everything.
My all, my everything.
Oh, you are my life, and you are my love, and you are my reason.
You are my hope; you are my joy.
You are my passion, my all in all.
Jesus, my all in all.
My all, Jesus, my all.
Come on, sing it out to Him.
In the tempest.
In the tempest, you're the shelter.
I will hide, this morning.
I will hide beneath your wings.
And hallelujah, I want to save you.
My all, my all, all in all.
Everything, oh yes, you are.
You are my life; you are my love.
You are my reason, and you are my hope.
You are my joy; you are my passion.
My all in all.
Jesus, my all in all.
In all, Jesus, my all.
Your name be high; your name be high and lifted up.
We lift up His name this morning.
Your name be high and lifted up.
Oh, your name be high and lifted up.
In all the earth.
In all the earth.
And you are my life, and you are my love.
You are my hope this morning.
You are my hope; you are my joy.
You are my passion, my all in all.
Jesus, my all in all.
My all, my Jesus.
Sing it again, Lord, you are my life today.
You are my life, and you are my love.
You are my reason; you are my hope.
You are my joy; you are my passion.
My all in all.
Jesus, my all.
Let's give Him praise.
In all in all, let's give Him praise.
He deserves it in the house of God.
Let's greet one another.
Amen.
We want to welcome you once again this morning.
Feel the presence of God already here in this service today.
His favor, His blessing.
Amen.
Isn't God good this morning?
And we are grateful to be gathered together in His house.
We want to just share a couple of quick announcements as we're finding our seats this morning.
We want to remind you about our evening service.
So, every Sunday, we do two services.
It's another opportunity to come back and hear the word of the Lord preached.
It's another service, just like the one you're in today, except it's a different message.
It's not a repeat service.
So, you come back ready to hear from God once again tonight.
Get you some good lunch, go evangelize to somebody, bring someone into church tonight.
That starts at 7 p.m., and we open the door at 6 p.m. for prayer.
Would be a great opportunity tonight.
Also, we're looking forward, a couple of weeks from now, we're going to be a couple of weeks is our Chandler Bible Conference.
We're very excited to go back to our mother church in Chandler, Arizona.
They put on this conference every year.
It's a great blessing for pastors and delegates, and this is where we find instruction, we find encouragement.
We also launch churches, and so we'll be sending churches into new nations and new cities, and we want to be a part of that.
So, that conference is the 30th through the 4th in a couple of weeks.
And in preparation for that, we are going to be fasting.
And so, we do this as a practice ahead of every conference, as a conference body, and as all of the churches that have been sent out from the Chandler Church, which is somewhere in the region of 150 churches, if you can believe that.
That's amazing.
150 churches, 150 pastors and families and congregations.
And as we fast together, we call for a fast, and not just going on a diet, but having a fast.
And so, we're going to do that.
How many know a spiritual fast is when we pray and fast together, and we call for this corporately, and we do that from Monday through Wednesday.
That's going to be this week as we prepare our hearts, and as we ask God, listen, we need God to move.
We recognize that.
What can we do?
What can we do?
We're human beings.
We're flesh, but God can do anything.
And so, what we do is we pray and we fast together as a conference body and as a fellowship, and we do that from Monday through Thursday.
So, we would invite you to join us with that.
No doubt you have some desperate needs in your life, that you're believing God to bring an answer to your prayers.
And Jesus showed us that some things can only happen through prayer and fasting.
Jesus cast out a demon from a boy who was very troubled.
The father of that boy said, I brought the situation to your disciples, but they couldn't do anything.
And Jesus, he delivered that boy from demons, and they asked him, why is it that you could do this, but we could not do this?
And Jesus' answer was very simple.
He said, some things only happen through prayer and fasting.
He had a practice of this.
If Jesus needed to pray and fast, then how much more do we, right?
And so, if you have a need on your life, you're believing God to answer a need in your heart, in your finances, in your home, save a loved one, deliver from addiction, habits, bondages.
Listen, some things.
I've seen God do incredible things through prayer and fasting.
And I want to encourage you to join us.
Maybe it's the first time.
You've never fasted before.
I want to challenge you.
You can do this.
You can fast.
And that means no calories.
What does it mean to fast?
Very simple.
No calories.
And obviously, consult your doctor and do it responsibly.
If you're taking medication, those things, I have to give those disclaimers.
But if you can fast, I want to encourage you.
And even if you have to take calories for a medical reason, you can fast other things.
You can fast social media.
You can fast entertainment.
You can fast Fox News.
Some of you, that'd be really hard.
But you can believe God and dedicate this time.
And every time you get an urge, every time, I'll be preaching about it tonight.
So, let me just save my sermon.
Amen.
Then Wednesday is our breakfast day.
We're going to come together Wednesday night and break fast after the service.
And so, we'll be gathering together.
We're going to Wednesday night for our midweek recharge service.
6 p.m. prayer, 7 p.m. is our service.
Just a couple other things to share with you this week.
Pastor Campbell is our leadership pastor, and he will be preaching in Jacksonville, North Carolina this week.
Every time he's in the area, we want to do our best to get to those services.
And so, we will be taking a van down to Jacksonville on Thursday.
If you can break free, don't have work that day, I want to highly encourage that you come along with us.
That's Thursday.
We'll be leaving from here at 3 p.m., returning the same day about midnight.
And we want to be a part of that service.
And always, Pastor Campbell, God uses our pastor in powerful ways.
So, we want to be a part of that service on Thursday night in the Jacksonville Pioneer Rally.
Last thing I want to share with you, and that is this upcoming Saturday.
There's a special event that is being organized by Brother David Richardson, Jr.
And it's a big event.
It's a sports event.
And so, we are clearing out our schedule for next Saturday.
And we want to ask, if you have the ability, the availability to volunteer for that, we're going to be setting up a booth there, a prayer booth.
We're going to participate.
The hours on this event, it's happening at the Virginia Beach Fieldhouse.
There's going to be tons and tons of people there, families with young children who'll be competing.
It's a great event.
It's a second...
It's a great year that we're doing this.
And so, he's allowed us to be a sponsor of this event, our church.
We're going to have a booth there.
We're going to have a table set up.
We're going to be able to minister to people who have prayer needs.
And so, we need some good prayer warriors and some people who have a heart to minister to families and the young people to man that booth.
And so, we want to ask, if you have any time available on Saturday, to please come and join us there.
So, the hours on this, there are two slots that you can come and fill.
You can come in between 9 a.m. to noon and then noon until the close, which is at 4 p.m.
So, 9 a.m. to noon or noon to 4 p.m.
If you could come and be a part of that, that would be a great, great blessing.
There's no charge for those who are going to be in the prayer booth, only for those that are competing.
And so, if you were there last year, you know this is a huge event and it's a great opportunity.
So, we're going to take our outreach that we normally do on Saturdays and we're going to take it into that Virginia Beach Fieldhouse.
It's going to be a great, great blessing.
So, please come and let me know if you have that availability to come and minister and be a blessing to our community.
And that, mercifully, is all the announcements we have for today.
Let's invite our ushers to come forward and we're going to receive the Lord's tithe and offerings.
We want to encourage you this morning.
We cannot do anything that we do without your faithful support financially.
We thank God for those who do that, who faithfully support the work of God.
I want to encourage you to be a part of this.
We are a church that has a vision.
Our vision is winning souls, making disciples, planting churches, winning the world.
And all of those things require money, require the generosity of God's people.
We cannot do this.
No single individual can do this.
But I believe that God is faithful.
The Holy Spirit can speak to us individually about what we should give and we can be generous.
And the same way that God has been generous toward us, we can reflect His heart and His personality through cheerful giving.
Say, Pastor, what should I give?
Well, I can't give you a dollar amount, but I can give you a recommendation, is ask God.
Ask God.
Pray and say, God, what would be a worthy offering this morning?
What would be a worthy way for me to give?
Tithe might be a good principle to start with, but we want to go even beyond and say, God, I just want you to speak to me.
I want to hear your voice.
And as you do that, I believe God's blessing.
Listen, we want to hear your voice.
I want to hear your voice.
I want to hear your voice.
We've been blessed over the years as we give generously and sacrificially.
And God is faithful to bless and to support and to help us.
And so I want to encourage you, you can't out give God.
Can you say amen?
Let's pray and ask God's blessing over this offering.
If you want to give cash and need a record or a receipt from that, you can give using an envelope.
Our ushers have envelopes for cash donations.
Checks can be made out to the Potter's House.
You can also give online using the QR code up on the screen.
That'll take you to the correct website where you can donate using your debit card or your bank account.
Also, the cash app.
We want to make that available.
If you want to give using your cash app, you can give to our tech cash tag, which is VBPH.
Amen.
Let's pray and ask God's blessing over this offering this morning.
Brother Carlos, would you bless it?
I will.
You have called.
I have come.
You have called.
I have come to the house of the Holy One.
You are God.
I will run into you.
You have called.
I have come to the house of the Holy One.
You are God.
I will run into you.
Amen.
If you got the victory this morning, shout amen.
Amen.
If you don't have the victory, that's okay.
You'll get it before you leave.
Hallelujah.
God is good and He is faithful to help us in our time of need.
Amen.
We want to say thank you to those on the platform for all of your ministry.
Also to those who give, we thank you for your generosity.
We want to say thank you also to our children's church workers and those who give our children a good lesson each and every Sunday morning.
We're grateful for their ministry this morning.
Let's open up our Bibles to Mark chapter 16.
If you'll join us there, Mark chapter 16.
I want you to know last words are important.
In the scripture we're about to read, we're going to find some of the last words of Jesus.
This comes after His resurrection and before His ascension into heaven.
And in this passage, He is going to give instructions which are going to echo down throughout the generations in the church of Jesus Christ.
The church belongs to Jesus.
It does not belong to any man, to any individual, to any denomination.
Jesus said, I will build my church.
And if Jesus is the Lord of His church, then that means Jesus is the Lord of His church.
Jesus has the authority to tell us what we're supposed to be doing.
Is that true?
And if we ever are confused about what is the purpose for the church, this scripture, along with some others that we're going to look at today, these are the blueprint for the design of the church.
Jesus makes it very clear what the church is supposed to be doing.
And therefore, He is also clear about what the church is not.
What the church is supposed to be doing.
And I fear that here in 2024, as it has been for hundreds and thousands of years since the church has been in existence, that we have the tendency to stray from the blueprint.
We have the tendency, as sometimes we get prideful, we get egotistical.
Pastors can do this.
Church members can do this.
And we can get an idea in our brain that, hey, you know, times have changed, and the church ought to be doing this or that.
And it's easy for us to stray from the path of what God has put us on.
And I want to look this morning at the blueprint once again.
And we can get an idea as we do that if we are on the right track.
So we have any computer people here in the house today?
You understand how computers work?
Not everybody does.
That's okay.
But there's something interesting about computers.
Computers have hardware, firmware, and software.
Without getting too detailed this morning, the hardware is the actual components.
It's the processor.
It's the hard drive.
It's the memory.
It's the motherboard.
It's the connector cables.
It's all these things.
That's hardware.
Firmware is something that operates that hardware.
Firmware tells each component what to do, and firmware is something that normally does not change on a computer.
And then we have software.
If you've ever used a computer, what you're most often interacting with is the software.
It's the programming that runs on the firmware, which runs on the hardware.
And that software is what you actually interact with.
It's the buttons you push.
It's the text box you enter.
It's the visual aspects, the elements of the software.
And so in a similar way, we as the church, we have a similar structure.
We have hardware, firmware, and software.
So what's our hardware?
Hardware is our theology or revelation of the Word of God.
How many know this morning the Word of God doesn't change?
That is the structure.
That is the revelation from God.
That's our hardware.
Our firmware then is the vision that God gives us.
Vision is the middle ground between the hardware and the software.
This is what separates us or makes us unique from other denominations or revelations of the Word of God.
This is our firmware.
Then software is our ministry.
It's what we are doing for God.
When the world looks at the church, what do they see?
And sometimes software is our ministry.
Sometimes software can get buggy.
Sometimes software needs a reset.
And this morning, I want to inspect, I want to do a debugging of our software this morning to make sure that we are in line with what God wants us to do.
And I want to look at three crucial areas of the church that God has intended us for us to be.
Let's look first of all at this scripture, Mark 16, verse 15, and He said to them, that's Jesus.
He said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Let's get back to what God wants us to do.
Let's pray for just a moment.
Lord, we thank you for your spirit.
We thank you for your grace.
We thank you for your Word, which gives us instruction, God, for our lives.
God, it is not our responsibility to form your kingdom around our will.
Rather, it is the opposite, God.
It is important for us to know your will and to shape our lives around your will, around what you want for our lives and for your church.
Help us, Lord, to find our place in it so that we may be useful to the Master's hand, that we may be profitable to the kingdom of God, that we may be pleasing and obedient to your will and your purpose.
We give you glory this morning in Jesus' mighty name.
God's people would say?
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
The word "kirk" eventually became the English word "church."
Now this word is only describing the church in two different places in the New Testament.
And when it says that word "kuriakon," it is only speaking about the building, the place where people gather to worship.
The far more common word that is used in the New Testament to describe the church, the word that Jesus used when He said, "I will build my church," He did not use "kuriakon."
The word that He used is the word "ekklesia."
And that word was not a spiritual word.
It was not a religious word even.
That word comes from the word "kaleo," which means "called out."
And originally the "ekklesia" was in reference to the Greek government, to those who had been elected by the people, to represent in the government.
It was a group.
It was kind of like how we think about our House of Representatives or our Senate is that those people have been called out from the citizenship in order to represent the will of the people in the government.
That's how they used the word "ekklesia" in the Roman world.
It was those who had been called out from their communities to serve in their country.
The closest word that we have in English today would be the word "assembly."
The assembly.
The place where we gather together.
Not just the place, but the people who gather.
Those who are called out and set apart to do something for the kingdom.
Can you get the idea?
Matthew 16, verse 18.
This is where Jesus uses this word "ekklesia."
I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my "ekklesia."
I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
I want to declare to you today that a meteor could fall on this building and destroy it, but the church would not be destroyed.
That in fact, if there was some kind of disaster or flood where every church in Virginia Beach, every building would be destroyed by water damage, oh, the church has not been destroyed.
Because the church is not destroyed by water.
The church is not destroyed by water.
The church is not a building.
We have to break our mentality.
It's not only the building.
Yes, it's a place where we gather for worship, but the true meaning, the biblical meaning of the word "church," what Jesus was referring to when He said, "I will build my church," I will build my assembly.
I will build my congregation.
I will build my people who are called out from the world and called together for my purpose.
And can I tell you, that can't be done.
It can't happen anywhere.
There is no limit to the physical boundaries of the "ekklesia."
We can be His church on top of the mountain.
We can be His church at Panera Bread.
We can be the church on the street corner.
Jesus said, wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.
The "ekklesia" is a wonderful truth.
But listen, in order to be a church, you have to be a church.
In order for this truth to happen in our lives, in order for us to be not just a church building, in order for us to be an assembly, we have to be called out from the world.
It's not just a gathering place.
It means we are recognizing we've been called out from our lives for a higher purpose.
That's what the church is.
We recognize that this world is not our own.
We live in this world.
We are not of this world.
We are not of this world.
We are not of this world.
We are not of this world.
And the church is God's expression of His will, His purpose, His kingdom here on earth.
That's why I'm passionate about the church.
I'm not passionate about a denomination.
I'm not passionate about only a church leader.
I am passionate this morning about God's will expressed through His church.
When people look at the church, they should see Jesus.
They should see His body in motion.
Jesus went back to heaven, back to His Father in Acts chapter one.
What did He leave behind?
He left behind a church empowered by the Holy Spirit to do His will.
And you, if you are saved, if you are right with God, then we, our business is about finding our place within the body of Christ.
And so what does Jesus describe in our scripture?
Mark chapter 16, as He begins to give them a vision for the future.
He says, for what this church is supposed to be doing.
The primary call is the first word.
He told them, go.
Everybody say the word, go.
Go.
But what would we like to do?
Stay.
We like to be comfortable, right?
And so going has the intention of getting up from where you are and going to another place.
That can be a physical calling to go.
In our fellowship, we believe in sending out couples.
That's very difficult.
That's expensive.
That is not comfortable.
You know, to relocate a family into a new city.
Every conference, this is our vision, that God's going to call people to go from their mundane lifestyles to take their kids out of school, to give up a job many times, and to go into a new location, which is not easy.
It's not comfortable.
It's not easy.
It's not comfortable.
It's not something that we seek to do.
You military families, you know what it's like to go.
Because somebody has called, somebody has given an order, and you are responding to that, and you don't get an opinion, right?
It's not easy to pack up all your stuff and go.
But this is built into the calling that Jesus gave to His church, is that we are called out from in order to go.
It also gives us the scope of where we are supposed to go.
Verse 15, again, He says, go where?
Into all the world.
All the world.
How many understand that the blood of Jesus was shed for all humanity?
That salvation is available to all.
Forgiveness of sins is available to all.
And if we've been saved, if we've been set free, the very next thing that we should feel, the very next passion of our lives is, wow, if I've been saved, that means God can save somebody else.
If God has touched a sinner like me, fixed my problems, given me a new path to eternal life, I got to tell somebody about this.
And who do we tell?
Well, often new believers begin with their close friends and family, co-workers.
But as we grow and mature in our faith, we understand that the will of God calls us not just to people close to us in our sphere of influence, but that we would have a vision and a heart for nations and regions beyond.
This is why we, as a local church, that we have a heart for world evangelism.
We have a heart to reach our community.
Every Saturday, or most Saturdays around here, we have a time of evangelism where we put this calling into practice.
We put this calling into practice.
We put this calling into practice.
And we encourage every believer, who's been saved for five minutes or five years, doesn't matter, you can come and be a part of our outreach team, where we will gather together as a church.
We will go to a local community.
We'll knock on some doors.
We'll invite people to know the gospel, the message that can change people's lives.
But it doesn't end with the neighborhood down the street.
It doesn't end with our two-mile radius.
Can I tell, can I just remind you that from this church location, in a two-mile radius, there's something like 50,000 people that live within two miles of this building.
I wonder how many of them, if they stood before God, would not make heaven their home.
Who else is going to reach them?
How many other churches do you know that have a vision to reach their local community with the gospel?
Many churches have programs, and that's not evil.
But not many churches are actively going into all of that.
And that's not evil.
And that's not evil.
And that's not evil.
And that's not evil.
All the world and preaching the good news to everyone.
You know, we're like fishermen.
Jesus called these men from the seashore of Galilee, Andrew, Peter, James, and John.
There's a reason why Jesus began with fishermen, because fishermen understand something.
Fishermen understand that fish don't jump into the boat.
You got to go to the fish.
You got to put the worm on the hook.
You have to cast out the fish.
You have to cast out the fish.
You have to cast out the fish.
You have to cast out the fish.
You have to cast the line.
And you have to know when the bite is happening and time that pull.
And you have to reel that thing in.
It is the fisherman who understands that fish often don't want to be caught.
They're running away from the bait.
They have to be compelling.
Jesus said, I will make you fishers of men.
Can I tell you, it is a mistake for the church to sit around and wait for sinners to come to church.
It's a mistake.
We sit around and we have our nice services and we pat ourselves on the back and we never go.
And it's no wonder why so many churches are dwindling down as their membership fades, because so few people are back to the blueprint of go into all the world and preach the good news.
This is how we cast our nets into the community.
We bring the message on the streets, in the community, in the church.
We bring the message to the church.
We bring the message to the communities, in your lives, with your family members.
We pray and we fast that God would use us as fishers of men.
Listen, if God can use Peter, if God can use Andrew, if God could use Saul, oh, then he can use you.
You say, Pastor, I'm not equipped.
I'm not prepared.
Join the club.
I've been in the same place as you for 25 years of my salvation.
Go into all the world.
The scope of this calling is not just our friends, family.
The scope is not just our neighborhood and community.
Our scope is the ends of the earth, every nation, tribe, and tongue.
There's no room for us to pick and choose our favorite people.
There's no room for us to choose which people that are more like us or closer to our skin color or closer to our culture.
No, the calling is to all the world.
And if Jesus truly did die for everyone, then who are you to withhold salvation from any man?
Jesus did not say build a lot of buildings.
Jesus did not say start a lot of Christian bands and have a lot of Christian concerts.
Jesus did not say decorate your meeting place with inspirational slogans.
Jesus didn't.
There's a lot of things Jesus did not say, but we know what Jesus did say.
He said, go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone.
I tell you, and I just remind you, your next door neighbor is part of the world too.
Your neighbor across the street, your co-worker.
Listen, there are very few places that you spend more time in your life than at your workplace.
You spend probably eight hours a day there.
Most people, right, who work for a living, make a paycheck.
I want you to transform your vision of what you are doing at your workplace.
At your workplace is not just a place to get a paycheck.
Your workplace is a mission field.
Why does it get quiet in here, Amanda?
What happened?
People got nervous.
I said, pastor, that's my mission field?
Yes, God has put you, a believer who's filled with the Holy Spirit, saved by the blood of Jesus.
God has gifted you and granted you an audience with people at your workplace.
I don't have your job.
I can't preach to them.
You can bring them to me.
I'll preach to them.
I'll give them my testimony.
But you're already there.
There are few places, there are few people that you spend more time with than people that you work with.
Can you get a vision for those people?
Yeah, but pastor, you know, they don't believe in Jesus.
We're not called to save people.
We're called to plant seeds.
We're called to preach the gospel to all the world.
Let me ask you, are your co-workers part of the world?
They sure are.
Have you preached to them?
Have you spoken to them?
Have you testified to them?
Oh, no, no, no.
Maybe I wore my Christian Jesus armband one time.
Okay, that's not evil, right?
But Jesus did more than wear a wristband.
His disciples did more than wear Christian messages on a t-shirt.
Listen, there is a calling that we all have.
This is the primary mission of the world, of the church, rather, in the world, is to preach the good news.
What is the good news?
What is the gospel?
Gospel is not just a style of music.
Gospel comes from the word good news, good spell in old English.
It is a good saying.
It is the good news of Jesus that His death, His crucifixion, His resurrection, and His commission, this is not just good advice.
The gospel is a commandment that must be obeyed.
First Corinthians 9, 16, I preach the gospel.
I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me.
Yes, woe unto me if I do not preach the gospel.
How many understand the church has lost its sense of purpose?
Many churches today have lost the initial blueprint, the command of Jesus to preach the good news.
We spend a lot of time singing at one another.
We spend a lot of effort perfecting the presentation in our services.
We spend a lot of time organizing meetings, all meetings and more meetings that the church has to have.
And we plan and we make a calendar and we, but can I tell you, all of those things are things that men can do.
The church is called to supernatural action.
God's answer for the lost multitudes is not a slick concert.
It's not a smoke machine and moving lights.
God's answer to a lost and broken world is preaching.
And can I just remind you, preaching is not just for pastors and evangelists.
There are some who are gifted for preaching, who have a supernatural gift from God for preaching.
But listen, don't think that preaching is only for pastors or for those who stand behind pulpits.
Every one of us have opportunities to preach good news.
Every one of you, you will go from this place and if you said this prayer, Lord, give me an opportunity to preach your good news before next Sunday.
I want to tell you, that's a prayer God will answer.
God will give you an audience.
God will give you someone.
Just yesterday, we were in the mall and had some lunch there.
And so, you know, it's that season where all these new iPhones are coming out.
So, you know, the older ones, the price goes down.
And so there's a good deal on T-Mobile.
And so my daughter has this really ancient iPhone and, you know, she's got, anyway, so there's an opportunity for us to do an upgrade, not spend a lot of money.
That's what preachers do.
And we went into the Apple store to talk about it and see if that's available, whatever.
And so we go there and, you know, if you've ever been to the Apple store, there's like the one guy who's in charge of telling the other people of which customer to go help.
So we go to that guy and we say, yeah, we're thinking about doing an upgrade.
They said, okay, just wait over here for a second.
We'll send somebody to you.
So we're waiting on the side and the guy comes up to us.
As soon as he sees me, big saucer eyes.
And I see him, I recognize him.
And it's a guy whose name is Juan.
He'd been to church like three or four times, but it was like six months ago.
Haven't seen him.
You know, he's been the guy that's been ghosting the pastor.
You know what I'm saying?
Got big saucer eyes.
So it turns out that yesterday he saw Brother Saban just out and about.
No phone call, right?
No organized, just God brought him together with Brother Saban.
And God directed that guy to me.
I'm just there to upgrade a phone, but I wasn't just there to upgrade a phone.
Was I?
And big saucer eyes.
Maybe God's trying to get my attention.
This brother said to me, he said, maybe.
And I, God gave me that opportunity to preach to this brother.
Good news.
Said, brother, God has a purpose for you, a plan for you.
Don't miss out on it.
And I got to preach to him.
I got to share a little bit of my testimony in between, you know, the business of upgrading a phone.
What a blessing.
God did that.
And God will do that for you also, wherever you are, teenager, older person, and everybody in between.
God will give you opportunity to preach His good news.
Listen to Romans 10, verse 13, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how will they preach unless they are sent?
And you say, pastor, well, I guess nobody sent me.
Wrong.
I'm sending you today.
I'm sending you back into your life.
I'm sending you back into your family.
I'm sending you back to your job.
I'm sending you back to wherever you go from this place, to a restaurant, to your home, to your community.
I'm sending you out and I'm coming to you.
I'm commissioning you the way Jesus did.
Go and preach the good news.
What better news is there?
What other message is greater than this?
I read this, the day of a farmer.
You know, we used to, the whole world used to be an agricultural society.
People lived on farms and were farmers for the most part.
It's a sad development that in our modern world, we know nothing about farms.
We know nothing about growing agriculture.
But think about a farmer, for a moment.
When the fields of grain become ripe, the work is to reap the harvest while the harvest grows.
A farmer gave this testimony.
When we, when the grain was ripe, we toiled relentlessly from early until late.
We would reap the harvest out where it grew.
Then we would go to the house where a wonderful meal of food was prepared to nourish our tired bodies.
After we had eaten, we returned to the fields to reap again until night would fall.
We would reap again until night would fall.
And so we did, day after day, until the last corners of the vast field were reaped.
Oh, that's a picture, church.
That's a picture of what the church was called to and what we are still called to today.
We are called to reap the harvest.
Jesus said, do not wait.
Do not say that the fields, John 4, verse 35, do not say there are still four months and then comes the harvest.
Behold, I say to you, lift the harvest.
Lift the harvest.
Lift the harvest.
Lift the harvest.
Lift the harvest.
Lift up your eyes.
Look at the fields.
They are already white.
They're already ripe for the harvest.
Today is the day of salvation.
And the church's job is to receive that harvest.
Oh, we lament at failing ministries, lack of converts, low attendance numbers, but all of these things are false metrics.
Success with God is not how many butts are in how many chairs on Sunday morning.
Success with God is obedience to His will.
If we measured successful ministry by butts in chairs, do you know who would be a failure?
Jeremiah would be a failure.
Many of the prophets would be failures.
Some would even say Jesus was a failure.
You know why?
Because even after Jesus, three years of ministry, how many did He have gathered in the upper room?
120 who received the Holy Spirit.
120.
120 is not a lot.
Not many more than who's seated here this morning.
Was Jesus obedient to the will of the Father?
100%.
He was successful.
And His success, listen, I want to tell you, don't measure your success with God by how many people you've prayed with for salvation.
Don't measure your success by anything else than this.
Have I obeyed the word of God?
Have we as a church obeyed the command to go into all the world and preach the good news?
You know, that command was given to every believer.
That as a small church, the reason why we spend time and effort and a lot of money on world evangelism, on missions trips.
Can I tell you, that's expensive.
I just bought my ticket to go to India this year.
And this church is supporting that.
That was $1,100 that could have gone to other things.
Why do we spend money like that?
Because of this command.
Because this church, together we agree that the people of India, in Hyderabad, in Bangalore, the billions of people in nations that you've never seen or never been there, that they have just as much need for the gospel as you and me and your local community.
That our hearts burn to see the good news preached.
Why?
Because verse 16 of our scripture, Jesus says this, anyone, say the word anyone.
Who's that open to?
Anyone.
Anyone who believes and is baptized, sorry, anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved.
That's good news.
But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.
This is why the pressure is not on you.
God is the one who either blesses or condemns.
And God then, Jesus begins then to show us that, listen, it's not only that you're called, but I will empower you.
Verse 17, these miraculous signs will accompany those who believe.
They will cast out demons in my name.
They will speak in new languages.
They will handle snakes, speaking of the demonic, with safety and they drink anything poisonous.
It will not hurt them.
They will place their hands on the sick and they will be healed.
That Jesus says, I will empower my church to do supernatural miracles in this broken world.
That all the things that Jesus did, He said to His disciples, you will see greater things than these if you believe me.
Why does God work miracles?
Why does God use the church to do miracles in the world?
Why?
Because miracles are for the unsaved, those who begin to believe in Christ and to receive the good news, to plant His seeds.
I close with this last thought.
Listen, not everybody here has the same field.
Think about a small town that is a community of farmers.
My mom grew up in such a town, in Esterville, Iowa.
And in that community, just a few thousand people, but each family has their own acreage.
Each family has a different field and every field is different.
Every field is unique.
Every field has its own shape and size.
Every field has its own needs.
Some fields are going to have soil that's wet already, close to a creek maybe.
Some fields are drier.
Some fields are going to have trees and wind.
And you have to take that into account.
But every farmer has his own field.
Every farmer also has the same seed.
They start in the same place, right?
They have the same seed, but they have different fields.
And every farmer is going to have a different harvest.
Maybe one year, this farmer on the left side of the road, man, he did everything and God blessed.
And there was rain that fell at just the right time, but maybe down here on the other side of the road, he didn't get the same rain.
And so in that harvest season, this guy, man, he got all the harvest.
He got so much corn.
And this guy over here, man, I wasn't so good.
Who do we blame for that?
Does it mean that one farmer is better than the other?
Not necessarily.
They can both do their job well, but still get different harvest.
And that's okay.
Sometimes farmer B over here, he broke his leg.
He had a hard time.
And farmer A has to say, oh, my brother over there, he needs some help.
I'm going to help him harvest his field.
And that's good because he's thinking maybe 10 years from now, I'll break my leg.
And I want farmer B to help me, farmer A.
So I'm going to be generous.
I'm going to be humble.
We're going to work together as a community.
Oh, brothers and sisters, this is the picture of our church.
Your field is not the same as my field, but we have the same seed.
And we have the same God.
And your field might be different shaped than my field, a different culture or different people.
I know some people that you don't know.
And you know some people that I don't know.
But the word doesn't change.
The seed remains the same.
Our job is not to criticize one another.
Our job is to support one another in this great job of going and preaching and discipling.
As we close, I want to challenge you.
This congregation, our vision needs to be going, preaching, and Jesus goes on to say, make disciples.
In Matthew 28 of the same account, He says these words, Matthew 28, verse 19, therefore go, same word, go.
But here He says, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Teach these disciples to obey the commandment of God.
Here He says, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Teach these disciples to obey the commandment of God.
Sure of this.
I am with you always to the end of the age.
I close with this thought.
Listen carefully.
If we are successful to preach the good news, to obey the commandment, we are not guaranteed that everyone will come to Jesus.
Right?
But there will be some.
And for those that do believe the gospel, they respond with baptism in water and in the Holy Spirit.
The church's job is not over.
Oh, no, it's just the Holy Spirit.
The job of every believer in the church of Jesus is to receive these new believers, to teach them and make disciples.
It's what the church did for the apostle Paul.
When Paul was still Saul, you know, the Christian killer, the one who is persecuting believers and putting them into prisons.
One day he's on the road to Damascus and God kicks him off of his high horse and he becomes the very thing that he had been persecuting, a believer in Jesus.
All of a sudden, he has to join the club.
He has to go to church next Sunday.
He has to go to a fellow believer and say, pray for me, brother Ananias, so that my eyes would be opened.
And now the same church that was running away from Paul, now they had to embrace him, teach him, make him into a disciple, turning a former enemy into an apostle.
That's what the church does.
There have to be a place in our congregation for those who are in the church.
And that's what the church does.
Those who are bad-mouthing the name of Jesus and persecuting you in this moment.
We have to make a place.
We have to teach.
We have to make disciples.
This is our call, church, and this is our blueprint.
We can get so distracted.
We can get so off course.
We can spend all of our effort on things that Jesus did not commission.
But I want to challenge you this morning that this church, let us, let our house serve the Lord this morning.
Preaching, teaching, and making disciples.
Let's bow our heads and close our eyes as we bring this service to a close.
Thank you, Lord.
Thank you for your direction and your purpose this morning.
Lord, this is your will.
It's not ours.
We have a lot of good ideas and ministry can play out in many different ways.
We're not against differing ministries.
That's our software, how we present to the world the different things that we do to reach people.
But we consider this morning your word, Lord.
We consider the blueprint.
We consider the call to go and to make disciples of all nations and even those in our own community, in our own families.
It begins at home.
And Lord, we're asking you to empower us and strengthen us and put us on track.
Enable us, Lord.
It is your church that you are building.
We want to be a part of it, Lord.
We want to make ourselves available to you.
Lord, you didn't send angels.
You didn't send angels to build your church.
You commissioned people just like us, broken and lost, but saved and set free.
Set free for your will.
God, I pray you speak to your people today powerfully.
Before we close this service today, I want to speak to everyone in this building and especially to those who you've come into this service today.
And if you'd be honest and humble for just a moment, you would recognize you're one of those that needs the good news.
You would recognize, I'm not living for God.
I'm living in sin.
I'm living in rebellion against God, against His will for my life.
You recognize what the Lord already said, that we're all sinners.
We've all fallen short of God's glory.
The question is, do you recognize it?
So many people living in sin are telling themselves and making all the, giving all the reasons why they don't need to repent and turn from sin.
But for a moment, could we have clarity and honesty for a moment and understand that all of our hearts are wicked before the Lord?
We have all committed sins.
You say, well, I'm not as bad as this person or that person.
That's not the standard.
The standard is God's will, God's law.
And one day we're going to stand before Him and give an account for our lives.
And if our hearts are not born again, Jesus said, you must be born again if you want to see the kingdom of God.
It doesn't mean that you become a member of a church or you act religious for a little while.
True faith is surrendering your heart and your life to the Lord.
He is the Lord.
And we must choose either to accept Him or reject Him.
Before we close this service today, I want to give you that opportunity.
The bad news is we're all sinners.
We all deserve hell.
But the good news is Christ died for sinful people like you and me.
Christ died so that we can have eternal life.
Have you declared Him to be the Lord of your life?
Have you turned from your sin and repented and trusted Him for sin?
Have you turned from your sin and repented and trusted Him for sin?
If not, you have the opportunity right now.
You're hearing the sound of my voice at this moment and you're not right with God.
This is your moment.
Don't miss it.
He's speaking to you because He cares about you.
He wants to save you.
God is not willing that any man would perish, but that all would come to the knowledge of the Savior, to everlasting life.
Will you receive it today?
Will you receive it by faith?
If that's you, I'm speaking about you now, would you take a moment?
Would you show some courage and just lift up your hand?
I know it's not easy.
But necessary.
Lord, that's me.
That's me you're talking about.
And you respond right now with an uplifted hand.
Is there somebody here?
Being honest with the Lord.
You're not saved, but you need to be saved.
Don't miss this opportunity.
Would you slip up your hand so I can pray for you?
Thank you, young lady.
Is there someone else?
God's speaking.
Don't miss this opportunity.
Somebody else.
God's talking to you.
You feel your heart pounding in your chest because He cares about you.
He's drawing you by His Holy Spirit.
And faith is simply a response to God's drawing on us.
Say, I don't want to miss this.
Is that you?
Anyone else?
Quickly, with an uplifted hand.
Being honest before the Lord.
I'm not right.
Oh, but I want to be.
Is that you?
Quickly, quickly lift up your hand.
God brought you here for this moment.
Don't miss it.
Is that you?
Let me see your hand.
Thank you.
Thank you this morning.
Amen.
You lifted up your hand.
Would you look at me?
Are you sincere in your heart?
I want you to come.
Someone's going to meet you here at this altar.
Don't be embarrassed.
We're not going to put the microphone on you.
Someone's going to pray with you here at this altar.
Amen.
Church, I want to open up this altar today for prayer.
Oh, we get so distracted.
We get so caught up in other things.
And this message, this message is to bring us back to where we're supposed to be.
Maybe in your heart, you say, Pastor, I want to be involved.
I want to find my place in the church of Jesus.
I want to find my place.
And you've heard this message about going and preaching.
And you want to be empowered to do your part in the body of Christ.
We're going to stand up to our feet and open up this altar for prayer.
Would you come and join us here at the altar as we seek the will of God?
See, the church, the church is made up of people who are willing and surrendered to the will of God, to the purposes of God.
The church cannot go forward without broken people who have been saved, set free, and then commissioned to do His will.
So, I want you to come and join us.
Church, I want to encourage you right now.
We're going to come pray together.
If you want to find your place in His church, let's come and pray together here at this altar as we cry out to the living God.
Oh, this morning, would you speak to our hearts, oh God?
Yes, we thank you, Savior.
Touch every heart, I pray.
Break every chain in Jesus' mighty name.
Jesus, Jesus, help us, Lord.
Amen.
Church, I want to pray with you.
If you need time here at this altar, take all the time that you need, but I want to pray with the congregation.
When you're done praying, I want to pray with you.
I want to pray with you.
I want to pray with you.
When you're done praying, would you stand to your feet with me?
We're going to receive from God today.
See, church is not just about hearing a nice message.
Church is about receiving a commission from God.
My commission might be slightly different than yours.
We all have a part to play.
We all have a role to fulfill, but as we stand together to pray in this place, I want to lift up the needs of this congregation, and I want to believe God to help us all to find our place in His great kingdom.
Great work.
Would you lift up your hands with me for a moment as we pray together?
Let's say these words.
Say, God in heaven, thank you for sending your Son to die for me.
I respond to your sacrifice with faith.
I believe that Jesus is God's Son.
He died and rose again, and today I receive Him as my Lord and my Savior.
I thank you for washing me clean by the blood of Jesus and making me a new creation in Christ, called out from the world, and set apart to be part of your body.
Today, Lord, I'm asking you, give me revelation and understanding for the role you've called me to in your church, and give me the opportunity to preach your good news to friends and family, co-workers and neighbors.
Lord, I want to be fruitful and obedient to your will and your word.
Thank you that you didn't leave me on my own.
You send the Holy Spirit to empower me and strengthen me.
I receive it today, power of the Holy Spirit to help me live for you, in Jesus' mighty name.
Amen.
Let's give the Lord praise this morning.
God, we thank you.
Can you remind me, dear, your name one more time?
S
on Sep 15, 2024
