Word of God, it's gonna be a great service. Would you go ahead and stand to your feet and join me in welcoming up Pastor Jude Fuquay.
Good morning, church. Hey, can we welcome all of our campuses: East Bay, Napa, Roseville, everyone watching at our prison campuses, online. We love you.
Man, it's a good day to be in church. Take a seat, turn to the person next to you and say, "I'm glad I'm sitting next to you this morning."
Hey, if we haven't met yet, my name is Jude. I'm the youth pastor here at the Father's House. And man, I'm just so grateful to be here with you today, especially if it's your first time. Welcome, welcome home. We're so glad that you're here.
And like Pastor Rich said, thank you for all those kind words, by the way. Man, I feel loved. Feels good. I need to get that more often. I'm a words person, clearly. It just filled my tank.
But like he said, we've been in a series called The Father's House: Making a Place. And as we start this new year, we just want to focus on the main things, you know, in creating a space for God's best for our life.
And so last week, Pastor Hillary preached an amazing message. I would encourage you, if you weren't here for it, go watch it on YouTube. It was absolutely awesome.
And today I want to talk on this idea of making a place for your purpose. If you're a note taker, you could write that on the top: making a place for your purpose.
Recently, I was reading a book by a man named Dan Gable. If you don't know who that is, he's an American legend in the wrestling community. He's one of the greatest American wrestlers of all time. I'm not talking WWE wrestling. This is the real wrestling. Wrestlers always have to say that. No, it's the real wrestling, not acting.
Dan Gable is a legendary wrestler. He was an Olympic gold medalist in 1972 in Munich. He was one of the winningest coaches in all of NCAA sports. He was an amazing coach. He was one of the greatest wrestlers in all of NCAA sports.
And so I was reading his book, and in one of the chapters, he was talking about this other wrestler named John Peterson. John Peterson was a good wrestler. He wrestled, yes, thank you for that. Come on. He wrestled in junior college, had a good career. His career culminated in college. With his senior year, he placed fifth at Junior College Nationals, so that's a pretty awesome career, big deal.
But when you compare it, junior college to even Division I wrestling, like that was a whole nother level. And then you compare that to elite Olympic wrestling, there is such a wide gap between fifth at junior college and Olympic wrestling in the Olympics.
It would be like, you know, being a good basketball player at a junior college versus an all-star in the NBA. There's just a huge gap there. If you're not into sports, let me help you out. It would be the difference between maybe acting in a TJ Maxx commercial versus winning an Oscar. Like, there's a huge gap disparity there.
And so he finished his senior year in 1971, and he thought, you know, this is the end. Good career. I'm going to throw the towel in. But his brother called him and said, "Hey, come and train with me for the summer at Iowa State. I'm here with Dan Gable."
And so he's like, you know what? I'll go and train with them. He went into a new atmosphere, new environment with people who were way better than him, with a different perspective.
And from being fifth place in junior college in 1971, fast forward to 1972, just one year later, he qualified for the Olympic teams and got a silver medal in the world, number two wrestler in the whole world. And then four years later, at the 1976 Olympics, he got a gold medal.
I heard him say, "I almost threw in the towel after my senior year." Just imagine if he thought that was his peak, but just a change of atmosphere, environment, and getting with people who had a higher perspective helped him unlock a whole new level.
Here's what I want to encourage you with today. A lot of you feel like you've hit your peak. You're at the top of your game. I want to let you know that in Jesus Christ, there is a whole nother level that he wants to take you to today.
A lot of you have said, "Hey, this is just the way it's going to be. This is where I'm at." I believe for your life that there is potential that supersedes what you could have ever thought, hoped for, or imagined. I believe God has so much more for you today. This is just the beginning. You're just scratching the surface.
Some of you have settled for life as it is. I want to let you know that God has something greater for you today. Maybe you're new to your faith. Maybe you've been a believer for a long time. Here's what I know: God wants to take you to a next level.
We are not just living a stagnant Christian life, but I believe God's best is yet ahead for you. This is really what Peter is saying in 1 Peter 2:1-10. If you have your Bibles, open up to it.
1 Peter 2:1-2 says this: "So put away all malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it, you may grow up into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good."
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious. You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
I'm going to skip up to verse 9. It says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
What is Peter telling the church? He's saying, "Hey, you might be an infant, but don't worry. You are growing. You're going to the next level. You're growing in your faith. You used to just worry about not doing bad things—no envy, strife, malice—but there's more to it. Following Jesus is not just about not doing bad things. There is a call of God on your life."
Here's what you have to understand: your potential is directly connected to God's purposes. So he's saying you have more in you than you think, but you have to be connected to God's purposes.
And I love this verse because it actually breaks down quite clearly what God's purposes are for us in humanity. First is this: it says that he is building a house. The cornerstone of this house is Jesus. But he says we, the body of Christ, we are like living stones.
This is not a physical temple he's building. It is a spiritual house made up of us, with the cornerstone being Jesus. Why is God building a house? Because he wants to dwell with us. God wants to be with you. God doesn't just love you; he likes you. He wants to live life with you. He wants to dwell with you. He wants to coexist in the same space as you.
So he is building a spiritual house. And that is one of his main purposes for us: to dwell with God. The second purpose that's laid out for us is that he is consecrating and setting apart a royal priesthood.
The second purpose for God in your life is he wants you to be a royal priest. Some of you have a picture of what a priest is, and you're like, "No, that's definitely not me." I want to let you know, God is calling you to be a priest.
What is a priest? A priest is God's representative to the earth. A priest's function, first and foremost, is to minister to God in worship and then minister to people in service. You are called to be a royal priesthood.
This is the purpose of our life. We were created to dwell with God, and we were created to work with God. Whether you knew it or not, your whole life, that is what you have been craving and looking for.
Some of you have built a successful life on all, you know, you look at all the stats and say, "Yes, I have a good life," but still something's missing. I want to let you know it's that purpose. If we are not living in that purpose, it does not matter the type of success we have. We are still missing out on the potential that God has for us.
It's connected to his purpose. We were created to be with God and work with God. From the very beginning, this was God's intention for you: that you're a royal priesthood. You're not just a church attender. You didn't just show up to church. No, God is calling you up to a new level. He's calling you to something greater, and in fact, this has always been God's plan and intention for humanity.
You look back at the garden, the very beginning. The garden of Eden was God's first temple. It was his first house. What was God doing in the garden? He was dwelling with us, his creation. Why? Because he wants to. He wants to dwell with us.
He was with Adam and Eve, and then it says in Genesis 1, he said, "Let us make man in our image. Let him have dominion over the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and over every tree that bears fruit. Let him be fruitful and multiply."
So God creates humans to reflect his image—that is to worship him. Everything we do is worship. We're always worshiping. You worship whatever you face. So when we turn to God, we reflect his image and we worship him.
And he created us with dominion over his creation. Did God have to do that? No, but it shows God's heart that not only did he create us, he created us to work with him. Adam and Eve weren't just lazing around in the garden feeding each other grapes. No, they were working with God. Work is a beautiful thing created by God.
So they're with him, and they're working with him, and they were living their purpose. But what happened? If you know the story, they turned their back on God. They rejected him. Instead of worshiping him as God, they began to worship themselves. Instead of trusting God, they began to trust themselves.
And they said, "You know what? I'm going to go against God's law, perfect, good, and holy, and I'm going to do what I want." And in rejecting God, we chose evil and we chose sin. And from that came death and destruction and brokenness and division and sickness and hurt and pain. We see that as the result of turning our back on God's purposes.
We sinned against God. Here's the thing about God: he never changes. He's always good. He's always holy. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Here's the problem: we change. God's purposes, even in our mistakes—hear me out—his purpose and plan for you, even in our mistakes, remain the same.
We sinned against God. What did that sin do? It separated us from God. We were kicked out of the garden, kicked out of his presence. We were no longer able to function in the capacity he created us for because we were sinful people.
But that didn't stop God from still desiring to dwell with us and to love us. So we see from the very moment sin entered the world, even before, he had a plan to restore us and redeem us back into our purpose, to be a royal priesthood.
Even as we get into Exodus, we see in Exodus 19, it says this: this is God's heart for his people, the children of Israel. He said, "You shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples. For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation."
What is God's desire for the children of Israel? That they be a nation, a kingdom of holy priests. He wants to dwell with his people, and he wants to work with them. But if you've ever read the Old Testament, you'll see it's God actively pursuing us, but us actively rejecting God.
This is his intent. The children of Israel are like, "Cool." Moses goes up the mountain, they get bored, they build a golden calf and start worshiping that instead of God. He's like, "Well, I thought we had a plan here."
And so we see halfway through Exodus that God begins to lay out really a framework for what it looks like for a holy God to dwell with a sinful people and how we as sinful people can work with God.
Remember, God doesn't change. His standard of holiness stays the same. So for us to dwell with God and interact with him and work with him, it requires us to meet his level of holiness.
So if you read through halfway through Exodus, all the way through Leviticus, it is a lot of rules, regulations, sacrifices. You have to wear the right thing. You have to say the right thing. You have to be in the right place.
And instead of being a nation of priests, here's actually a picture of what it looked like. This right here is the tabernacle. There's the outer courts, there's the inner courts, and then there's the Holy of Holies. This is where God's presence dwelt.
So instead of being with everyone, it was isolated to a single place, the Holy of Holies. And instead of being a nation of priests, there were just a few individuals, the best of the best, the purest of the pure. They had to go through a whole process to get cleansed, to get set apart, to get sanctified.
What did that process look like? They had to sacrifice a ram. They would put blood on their ear, on their thumb, on their big toe. Then they would wash them with water. Then they would put new clothes on them, burn their old clothes. And then they would anoint them with oil.
And after you went through that whole process, chosen by God, going through the sanctification process, then you could have limited access to God and work with him. It was highly limited.
And then in the Holy of Holies, there's a curtain dividing God's presence from the people. And hear me, one person, one time a year, was allowed in the presence of God.
And, you know, this last week, we were having a conversation with a friend, and Sierra led worship last week. And they're like, "You should have come to church. I was leading worship. You could have saw me."
And the person said something to the— they said this: "Yeah, you probably don't want me to walk into church because if I stepped foot in church, the building would probably collapse on me." Has anyone ever felt that way before?
No. Maybe right now you're like kind of nervous, like, "Are the walls safe?" And I was thinking about this as I was studying for this message. I was like, "You know what? That's probably pretty accurate."
That's actually pretty accurate Old Testament theology because that's exactly what would happen. For instance, Aaron and his sons, they got set apart as priests. First day on the job, Aaron and his sons are having sacrifices. And his sons offer a sacrifice that was unauthorized by God. They did it the wrong way. Just one little thing the wrong way. Boom, fire from heaven, barbecued, done. They're done.
Literally died because they did it wrong because they didn't follow God's plan and purpose. So I see that and I'm like, "Well, that's scary." And if God's the same then as he is now, how is he calling me?
Because I know who I am. I know the mistakes I've made. I know the things I've walked through, the things I've done that have definitely gone against God's best for my life. How is he inviting me to be a royal priest? How is that possible?
How do we go from fire from heaven if you do one thing wrong to him inviting us into his presence to work with him? I want to let you know there's only one person that allows us to enter into the presence of God, and the thing that has changed is Jesus Christ.
He's our high priest. They didn't have Jesus, but because of Jesus, our high priest, who died on the cross for our sins, who paid the price for our sins, through him we now have access to the presence of God.
Through him we now have access to once again live out our purpose. I want to let you know we have a high priest who is perfect and good. God doesn't invite us into priesthood because we're good enough. No, each and every one of us have made mistakes.
In fact, it says while we were still sinners, Christ died on the cross. He died on the cross for us. So if you walked into this place and you're like, "I don't deserve to be here," I want to let you know you're in the right place because none of us deserve to be here.
None of us deserve to be in the presence of God, but it's by his goodness and his grace and our high priest Jesus who died for us that we now have access. It's not about how good you are. It's about how good he is. It's not about your perfection. It's about what he's done for us.
Jesus is our high priest, and he died for us to restore us back to our purpose: to dwell with God and to work with God. I love what Hebrews 4:14 says. It says, "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need."
Hebrews 9 says this: "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is not of this creation, he entered once and for all into the holy place, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, securing eternal redemption."
And then in Matthew 27, it says this: "At that moment when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split."
What happened when Jesus died for our sin? Here's what you have to understand. The wages of sin is death. It requires death because we turn our backs on God. But God, being so good, gave his only son Jesus to die on the cross.
What happened when he died on the cross? Not just symbolically did he give us access to God. Literally, the temple curtain was torn in two. His presence went from a single place, one time a year, one person, and his presence left the temple and now lives in us.
It says we are his living temple. And here's what you have to understand: you don't access God through me, a preacher or a pastor. You have direct access to the Holy of Holies through the work of Jesus on the cross. You can now dwell with God like you were intended to.
And now he's calling you to be priests. But I see a lot of Christians and believers, we never access the fullness of our purpose because we think it stops at salvation. No, he's calling us to a royal priesthood.
It's not just about leaving things behind. It's about grabbing hold of the call of God for your life. There's more. There's more.
So how are we set apart as priests? What does that look like? Because we're broken, sinful people. How can God use broken and sinful people to do a perfect work? You know, it's beautiful. We see in the Old Testament when they would sanctify the priest, it's actually a picture of what Jesus was going to do for us.
So I want to go through the process of how they would sanctify the priest and how Jesus does that for us today. So now we can be a royal priesthood. How are we able to do this?
First is this: we are covered by the blood. We are covered by the blood. Why does the Old Testament talk about blood so much? I don't know about you. I don't like blood. It makes me uncomfortable. It makes me want to faint if I see blood.
Why does it talk about blood so much? Because blood represents life. So sin, the wages of sin is death. We see the cost of sin is a life. So whenever they sacrificed an animal, it was a temporary solution to cover sins briefly.
But beyond that, when we see the blood of Jesus shed, it is an eternal blood. It is a more powerful blood. It's the blood of the living God shed on our behalf.
So what did blood do? It covered the sins of the people. And remember what they did with the priest. They would get the blood of the lamb. They would put it on their ear. The ear represents hearing. What does it say? Faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
So to be covered by the blood of Jesus, it's not about me doing better. It's about simply putting my faith in God, faith and trust in Jesus, and I'm covered by the blood.
Second, they would put the blood on the thumb. What does the thumb represent? It represents what I do, my work. My work, my life is covered by the blood of Jesus. Not just on Sundays when I come to church. Every day of the week, I'm covered by the blood.
And then they put it on their big toe. That's anywhere I go, I am covered by the blood. Every step I take, I am covered by the blood of Jesus. Jesus's blood washes us clean.
I love what it says in Hebrews 9:14. "How much more will the blood of Christ, through the eternal spirit, offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
Here's what you have to understand. Because of the blood of Jesus, you are washed clean. Because of the blood of Jesus, your past knowledge is washed clean. Because of the blood of Jesus, your past knowledge is washed clean. No longer has power over you.
Because of the blood of Jesus, you are freed from sin and shame and guilt. Because of the blood of Jesus, when God sees you, it's just as if you've never sinned. You are completely justified and forgiven. The moment you put your faith in Jesus, you are forgiven and covered by the blood.
You don't have to carry those dead works, but you can honor God with your life. Why? Because you've been covered by the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus is the most powerful agent in the universe. It takes us from death to life.
So when God sees you, he no longer sees you as a sinner. So when we enter into God's presence, he no longer sees us as sinful. He sees us as the righteousness of Christ Jesus. Why? Because we've been covered by the blood.
The second thing is we have been washed with the water. We've been washed with the water. It says this in Ephesians 5:25-27. "Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with the water of the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."
I love this. It says that they would wash, that the water of the word washes us clean. When the priest would go before the altar, they would go to the brazen laver. It was a brass bowl, and it was polished so clean that you could see your direct reflection when you were washing yourself.
This is a representation of how God wants to wash us. What does the word do? It does two things. First, it's like looking in a mirror. When you open up your Bible, it gives you a reality check of your current situation. You begin to see yourself clearly.
When you open up the word, you begin to see your reflection, your flaws, your mistakes, and you're like, "Okay, I have something in my teeth. I need to fix that." You have a clear picture of yourself.
So many of us have a convoluted picture of ourselves because we listen to another word over the word of God. We're getting other information, building our perspective of ourselves off of that and not the word of God. The word of God is true. It says that we are loved. We are redeemed. We are set free, that God has a plan and purpose for us.
We begin to see clearly when we open up the word of God, but it doesn't stop there. We don't just see clearly. It begins to wash us clean, restore, and refresh.
So you might read the word of God and you're like, "Okay, I need some help." But as you read it more, it actually begins to wash you clean and make you new and form you into the image of God.
What word are you listening to? Because to step into the purpose God has for us, we have to allow the water to wash over us.
The third thing that happens is we are dressed in new clothes. We are dressed in new clothes. The priest's old garments were taken away, and they were given new clothes.
My question to you is, if you were to take a shower and get clean, would it make sense to put on your old clothes? No. They still stink. It's nasty. You need to wash those clothes. Same with the priest. They would wash clean, but they wouldn't put on their old garments. They had to put on new clothes.
It says this in Galatians 3:26-28. "So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
I love this. What does it mean to clothe ourselves in Christ Jesus? We are putting on the righteousness of God. Righteousness is God's holiness in action. Righteousness is a new way of living.
Remember, God just doesn't save us from something. He saves us for something. And you could be covered by the blood, washed by the word, but still living in your old clothes.
And maybe you haven't stepped into the fullness of the call of God on your life because you are living the same way you did before. It's time to put on new clothes. It's time to put on a new way of living.
I love that it says when we put on Christ, our old identity is gone. The things we used to identify and find value in, that no longer exists. We have a new identity in Christ Jesus and a new way of living.
It's time to put on new clothes. And the last thing, I love this. The reason we can step into our calling as a royal priesthood is because we have been anointed with oil.
They would take oil and they would anoint the priest, pouring it on their head. This oil was pressed olive oil. To get the oil, you had to crush the olive. Often times the anointing comes through crushing.
Often times the anointing meets us when we are broken and we are our most humble. The anointing. We access the anointing when we get beyond ourselves.
And too many of us, we limit what God can do through us because we think what God can do through us ends with us. No, to do what God has called us to do, it requires a Holy Spirit anointing. It's not just information. It's not just good ideas. It's not just hearing a message.
The Holy Spirit wants to empower you from your innermost being to accomplish things you can never do on your own. Have you experienced the oil of the Holy Spirit? Have you experienced the anointing?
Pastor Dave defines anointing as this: divine enablement to accomplish any God-given task. He said it this way: no oil, no ministry. No oil, no priesthood. Just like a car needs oil for the engine to run, for us as believers to go and accomplish all the things that we need to accomplish, all that God has for us requires the oil of the Holy Spirit.
I love what it says in 2 Corinthians 1:20. "For all the promises of God find their yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ. He has anointed us and who has also put his seal on us and has given us his spirit."
He has put his seal on us and has given us his spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. The Holy Spirit anoints us. It's a seal on our hearts.
Man, I feel in the room some of you have been anxious about, "Man, am I saved? Does God love me?" You need the seal of the Holy Spirit. You need the Holy Spirit to seal and bring confidence and boldness, saying, "No, I know I've messed up, but I have the Holy Spirit as a seal on my life."
He puts a seal, but it also empowers us. It says this in Psalms 133:1-3. "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity. What is it like? It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore."
Here's what you have to understand about the anointing, the oil. They would pour it on the priest's head, and it would run down to the rest of the body. We are the body of Christ. You are a part of the body. You have a part to play.
But the anointing is poured on the head first. Who is the head? That is Jesus. And to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit, it requires connection to the body. You cannot be in disunity and receive the anointing. You have to be connected to the body.
Man, sometimes I think we can make the anointing out to be this mystical thing, which you can't, it's not very tangible, which sometimes it is. It's a very supernatural thing. But oftentimes the anointing I have found in very practical ways.
Like when I'm struggling, I go and talk with a fellow believer in a small group. I receive fresh oil anointing. It's like, "Okay, this is divine enablement to accomplish what God has called me to do." And I accept it. And I experience that anointing.
Joining a group with other husbands, joining a group with other families, serving on the weekend, staying connected to the body releases the anointing over your life. You cannot do this alone.
We cannot accomplish our purposes that God has called us to alone. We need the body because when we're connected to the body, there's anointing. And I love this description of the body because the body has unique parts. My hand is not my foot. My eye is not my mouth. They're all unique but necessary.
The Bible says that every joint supplies. Every part of the body has its purpose. God will anoint the unique you that he's created you to be.
But too often we spend our life trying to be someone we're not or comparing ourselves to someone who we think is doing better than us. When God's like, "Stop trying to be someone you're not. I want to anoint you because I have placed you and called you and given you passions and gifts for what I've called you to do."
You work at the job you work at because God's placed you there, and he wants to use you as a priest, and he's anointed you. The family you're in, the home you're in, God's anointed you. The passions you have, God's anointed you for it.
And I remember a real key moment in my life was, you know, back in the day, I would have been just so deathly afraid to get up on the mic and speak. That would have been the last thing I'd ever want to do. But I could feel God stirring in my heart, "Hey, there's something more. I have a call on your life."
And I remember the first time I had the opportunity to preach, I drove that morning to the church super early because I was so nervous. And I was sitting in my car, I can imagine kind of the area of the parking lot I was sitting in, in Kirkland, Washington.
And I'm just like so scared. Here's what you gotta know: the things that God's calling you to do sometimes are gonna scare you. I don't know, I don't know if I can do it. We can't, we need the anointing.
So I was sitting there in the car, I'm like, "God, I can't do this." My youth pastor was probably one of the best preachers in the world, his name is Judah Smith. I was like, "God, there's no way I'm gonna be able to get up there and preach like Judah." My dad's a great preacher. I'm like, "There's no way I'm gonna be able to get up there and be passionate like my dad."
I'm just talking to God this way. And very clearly, one of the clearest I've ever felt the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, very simply, he said this: "You don't have to." You don't have to.
And I had this revelation of, "Oh, yeah, I can get up there, and I can be me." Because God has created me the way I am, and he can only anoint the true me.
I stepped up there afraid, and man, the Holy Spirit empowered me in ways I thought I could never do. And I was able to do things that I thought I could never accomplish. But it's through that anointing, through that Holy Spirit.
You are unique. That's the way God's created you. He wants to anoint that. He wants to anoint that.
Why? Because we have a purpose. What is our purpose? We are called to bring the glorious light of God's goodness and his grace to a dark world. That's what priests do. We represent God to humanity. We minister to him, and we minister to people.
It's even in our mission statement. We exist so that people far from God can find life in Christ. How does that happen? It's a people who realize that we're not just called to be attenders.
We don't just settle for showing up to church on Sunday. No, we step into the call of God on our life, which is to be a royal priesthood. Wherever you find yourself, you're responsible for the atmosphere, no matter what the atmosphere is.
Why? Because you are a royal priesthood. We conduct ourselves differently. We live differently. Why? Because we are a royal priesthood.
And God is building his house here on earth because he wants to dwell with us and work with us. He wants to anoint you. He wants to set you free. He wants to set you apart. This is who you are called to be.
There's more. You don't even realize. There's so much more for your life.
Here's what we're going to do today. We're going to take communion. I believe that as we remember and recognize what Jesus did for us, there's going to be a fresh anointing that is imparted on your life.
But before we do that, across all of our campuses, can we just bow our heads and close our eyes? Bow your head. Close your eyes. I want to ask you this question. Are you right with God? Do you have a relationship?
Do you have a relationship with him? Today, maybe you would say, "You know what? I'm a sinner. I'm broken. I don't know if I'm right with God." You know that you need forgiveness.
That's you today. And you say, "You know what? I want to be forgiven. I want to start a relationship with Jesus." On the count of three, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand, and I'm going to pray for you.
One, two, three. I need to get right with God. I see your hands. Awesome. Best decision you'll ever make. You're covered by the blood. You're a new creation. The old man is gone. There's a new person. You're covered. You're forgiven. You're forgiven. It's new life. It's new life.
As a church family across all of our campuses, we pray this prayer together. Say, "Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I believe you died on the cross and I believe you rose again. And today I'd ask for your forgiveness. And I commit to following you all the days of my life until I see you face to face. In Jesus' name, amen."
Come on. Can we get up for every person who prayed that prayer? Awesome. The best decision you'll ever make.
So here's what we're going to do across all campuses. On Jesus' last night before he was crucified, he gathered together with his disciples. A picture of his intention with us: that he wants to live with us, be with us, seated at the same table.
And he grabbed the bread and he broke it. And he said, "This represents my body, which was broken for you. Eat in remembrance of me."
Jesus' body was broken so that you could be restored. You can be healed. You could be made whole. So today as we take communion, let's remember the broken body. And I believe there's going to be even healing released in the room. Whatever area you need healing in. Maybe it's a fractured marriage, relationship. Maybe it's something in your mind or your body. I believe Jesus wants to heal.
So let's eat together. Jesus, we thank you for your body. God, I pray for a whole bunch of you. Wholeness and healing over your church. God, I pray that we would be made whole because you were broken for us.
So God, we say thank you. Thank you for your body. Thank you for the supernatural work of what you did for us on the cross.
Next, he grabbed the cup and he said, "This represents my blood, which is the blood of the new covenant that washes your sins clean."
Maybe there's areas in your life that you know, "God, I haven't been living right." It's covered by the blood. His blood is enough.
So as we drink together, maybe even ask God in your heart, "God, is there any area? God, would you forgive me? Is there any offense that I need to forgive?"
And I believe God wants to cover you in his blood and wash you clean. Let's drink together.
Jesus, we thank you for your forgiveness. God, we thank you for your blood. God, we thank you that it washes us clean. And because of your blood, we have access into your presence.
So God, I thank you for every part of me and every person here today. God, I thank you that you are calling them to a higher purpose. And God, I just pray right now that there would be a fresh anointing, a fresh Holy Spirit anointing. God, over every household, over every family.
God, that you would use them in the fullness of all that you've called them for. God, I pray that you would break off fear, doubt, and worry. And God, I thank you that you have anointed them and you have called them.
So God, we pray for that fresh Holy Spirit oil. God, to be who you've called us to be and accomplish all that you've called us to do. In Jesus' name, amen, amen.
Hey, thank you for being in church with us today. If you need prayer for anything, we'll be up here. We'll see you guys next week.
on Jan 19, 2025
