Moving Forward (Week 4)

Well, to round out our sermon series moving forward, I asked for O.J.

and Jamie Oleika to share a little bit of a testimony this morning.

So uh would you help me in welcoming OJ and Jamie Oleka here this morning?

Now you uh have seen Jamie singing beautifully this morning, and OJ using his gifts uh in our church, but what you might not know is that these two lead a small group in our Lawrenceburg area.

This is the Lawrenceburg time, your time to shout out your small group.

Yeah.

Um you also may not know that um OJ uh serves in kids and serves uh my daughter, Magnolia, um uh week after week.

And so uh you may see them up here up front at times, but uh I want you all to know that uh this isn't just uh an upfront thing for them, but something that they're walking out their faith day to day and leading here among our church.

And so I asked them just very simply, again, as we're rounding out this series and a reflection of last year, what are a couple of ways that they saw God move in their life last year?

And so uh would you guys share with us?

Sure.

Well, again, thank you for uh just the chance to to share this testimony with the church.

Uh 2023 uh was certainly an interesting year uh for us.

And and some of you uh heard me share this a couple weeks ago.

Uh Jam and I both were unemployed for a good portion of the year, uh, which is a challenge when you've got two small uh kids.

Our oldest will be four in May uh and our youngest will be two in March.

So last year, during this time, they were even younger.

And so for us, it was just really hard to try to ask the Lord, what is it that you what is it that you're asking us to do?

What is it that you're calling us to in this particular time?

Uh and Jamie can share what she learned.

But for me, it it was process, and I actually learned this from her as we were talking about it after the fact.

There's a lot that you can learn from the Lord and what he's trying to teach you in the process.

And there's a a scripture in James, I'll I'll paraphrase, but basically it says, consider a joy to go through trials and and suffering so that the Lord can make you closer to him.

Because you for me, I really didn't truly understand the fruit of the spirit until I was going through the the toiling and the growing that it takes to grow fruit.

Because you can't understand kindness until you understand bitterness.

You can't really get generosity until you are really in a position to need something from somebody.

And so those were all the things that that I got to experience.

But again, it was living in the process and appreciating the moment.

So the thing that I would offer uh to to you all out there, if if you're going through a difficult time right now, don't run from the Lord.

Run to him.

Because it's in this moment, it's in that pain, it's in that hurt that you'll find him to be the sweetest that he's ever been.

And again, for me, I think the benefit is that you can ultimately pass that on to someone else when they're in a time of pain.

They're in a time of hurt because you can walk them through it the same way the Lord has done it for you.

Yeah, I would just add that I think that um it's so important through throughout your your journey as a believer to be in community with each other.

Because when OJ was saying that I shared with him, uh, you know, let's focus on asking versus asking God, like, why is this happening to us?

Change your mindset to what do you want me to learn?

And I learned that because of Emily and a conversation that we had, but it wasn't just her, there were many people in the room that um sat down with me to pray with me, to listen to me, to lament when we were going through this season.

Um, because there there were a lot of questions that were popping up in my mind as to um, you know, why we were in the position that we were.

Like OJ shared that we were both unemployed.

We knew going into it uh with some decisions we made to the year prior that the Lord had called us to let go of another job to take on a chance to hopefully get another job, but it it didn't work out.

But we were so confident in that the Lord had called us to do that, that I think that I thought that meant that he was going to provide the outcome that I wanted him to have.

And so that brought a lot of pain and hurt.

And in the midst of that, I unexpectedly was laid off the same month that we found out he was going to be unemployed for a bit.

And so, with all of that said, you know, through this life, yes, I continued to have faith, but I think the process really challenged me to think about do I truly believe in what I say that God is and who he says he is, like he actually is, and is working on my behalf and our behalf, even when you can't see it.

And that's what faith is all about, right?

And so I would just encourage and challenge everyone to make sure that you are surrounding yourself with a community of believers because that's how God designed us to be, is to be in community with each other.

And times when I wasn't reaching out to my friends, times when I was isolating myself, like that's when the enemy was creating a foothold to create anxiety, to create sense of depression.

And so I had to really make sure that one, yes, I was getting back to the basics of like leaning into my faith, praying, spending time with God alone, but I I don't think that I would have made it out of some of those those pockets of darkness that the enemy was trying to take a foothold in had I not intentionally got myself into community with others, and shout out to our small group as well, um, because they were they were in it with us, and that's that's what it's about, right?

Is like doing life with each other, celebrating when God is doing great things and like praising together, but also being with each other in the valleys as well.

Ooh, so good.

And I think about um in the New Testament, Jesus He tells the disciples to go out on the water and to uh take a little boat ride, and it's out there on the water where they run into this massive storm and they're afraid and they think that they're gonna die.

And then Jesus comes walking to them on the water, and he delivered himself to them in the midst of the the storm that they were going through.

And in the same way as you just shared a second ago of the storms that you guys went through this last year, because God uh in his rich mercy will bless us, and Jesus also promises us that we will have trouble and that we're gonna go through hard times and difficult times.

But in those trouble, troubling and difficult times, Jesus is faithful to bring himself to you in the midst of the storm that you're in.

And I think about you all reflecting over this last year.

Uh, why don't you tell uh the positive and how this has turned out now uh this year?

Yeah, well, this year uh we are employed, so that that is a praise to begin with.

And and really it's I think that the biggest positive, and and this is again something that the Jamie and I were walking through and and she was teaching me about it.

The benefit of process and thinking about things through uh a spiritual perspective is that you you begin to look at outcomes differently.

Is in what is the benefit of the things that you're doing?

And for me, it has now become less about a particular achievement or a specific goal, but rather what was I able to do to bring myself closer to the Lord in that process.

And then also how could I bring others closer to the Lord in that process, which has been transformative for me uh as a husband, as a father in particular, because again, with with two little kids, there's a lot of process, there's a lot of patience, there's a lot of kindness that that you need to show again, going back to the fruit of the spirit.

So that's been the biggest thing for me.

And and one other thing, if if I may, because Jamie reminded me of it, we sang the song Same God earlier.

That song and and that idea has been so transformative because of last year.

And there was a another song, again, I learned from my wife all the time.

There's a song called Evidence by Naomi Rain, where she's talking about her testimony, and and uh I'll I'll spare you the details, but basically what the song is about is God provided for you a promise that you had years ago that you wanted to get a new job, you wanted to start a family, you wanted to get married, you wanted to move, you wanted to do something.

That same God delivered on that promise.

So in this moment now, you've got some other prayer, some other ask.

It's that same God who did all the things we read about in Scripture, who did all those things in your life.

It is that same God right now who will provide for you in the future.

And that's the thing that I've been thinking about more and more now.

Yeah, the stuff that we were going for last year didn't work out.

But it's that same God that has provided me with this wonderful woman, that's provided us with our two beautiful kids.

It's provided that same God has put us here at multiply church in this moment.

So that same God will provide in the future.

So that's the thing that's been the biggest win.

It's not even a job or a position, but it's the joy, it's the peace, it's that fruit of the spirit that the Lord has brought us through because of last year and experiencing the depth of his process and and his will and following it.

That's good.

I want to take a moment and pray uh for them and uh for us in the room now.

If there's anything that they've said that's uh touched your mind or heart, let's pray together.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for this testimony.

Yeah, we thank you for uh uh how you have worked and walked with the Aleka family over this last year in the mountaintops and the valleys.

Father, Lord, they're not the only ones.

All across the room, Father, each of us, are following you and God, there's suffering.

There's celebration, there's hardship and pain.

God, there's also, Lord, beautiful moments of growth and love.

And so, Father, I pray right now over everybody in the room, Lord, anything that has been spoken today by these two, Father, it would be uh an encouragement and Lord, a testimony to your work and their life and the life of our church and the life of those that are all across this room.

Let us be encouraged today.

We thank you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Can you guys give it up for the Alekas for sharing today?

Uh I want to jump into this message.

And if you do not know me, um hello, I'm Forrest, lead pastor here at Multiply.

Uh, myself and about a hundred others of us uh together uh launched the work of Multiply Church uh this last year.

And today is our last cinema Sunday.

Woo! Man, thank you, Jesus.

We're grateful for this place and thankful for the next phase.

Something we say around here all the time is fuel the fire.

And so turn to your neighbor and say, fuel the fire.

In 1964, Dr.

Dr.

Martin Luther King uh and Jackie Robinson came here to Frankfurt.

We began this week.

It feels like uh a million years ago now, on Monday, the beginning of this week, um it feels like a long time ago to me, that we celebrated MLK Day.

And uh March the 5th in 1964, 10,000 people descended on Frankfurt to march for uh the passing of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act.

And on that day there were many people who filled the streets, and Dr.

King he spoke from the st the Capitol Steps.

Some of you in the room, they were alive at that point, maybe you remember that moment here in Frankfurt, and the reason that they were doing this was to see the end of segregation that was happening here in Kentucky and was raging on, but there was a different vision for the future.

Now, what's interesting to me about the fact that they came in March in 1964, the legislation that they were wanting to see passed in 1964 went up for a vote and it failed to pass.

10,000 people, the Capitol steps, and the legislation failed.

But two years later, that same legislation was passed into law in 1966 by the governor, and much celebration of the end of segregation after much cost and hardship.

Then two short years later, Dr.

King was assassinated.

You know, affecting change is hard.

And today, as we're talking about moving forward into the future, I want, as I share with you today from the passage of scripture that we're gonna look at from the book of Acts, as we've talked about moments and miracles and movements out of the book of Acts that are gonna inform us for our future as a church and future as individuals.

I want to be very precise today in the way that I talk about this passage and the way that this passage informs the way that we should look as a body as we look at the example from the past.

Ultimately knowing that just as we've heard earlier that sometimes the effect of change or seeing change come about, even good change, can cause us to sacrifice much.

Even sometimes, and in Dr.

King's case, the ultimate sacrifice.

What keeps us from experiencing the positive change?

Well, ultimately, I think that it's fear.

See, we have an enemy in Satan that wants nothing more for you to fear moving forward for fear of that you may fail, and fear of failure?

Maybe even the fear of success.

What would happen if I actually did change?

How would my relationships be different?

Who would walk away in a fear of sacrifice, of what's necessary to see the change and growth in our world?

See, to fuel the fire and the winds of change takes us as believers to rely on what's called the Holy Spirit, the third of the Godhead, the Spirit of Jesus delivered to us so that we can no longer walk just in a darkness of fear, but that we can walk encourage and empower through the Spirit of God.

The Bible says the same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

Now that you and me, as we believe in Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection, we have access for that same spirit to dwell within us in our hearts and minds, that we can walk forward fearlessly.

See, we have access to the same spirit, the same God.

And as we look at this passage today, we're going to be looking at this moment of Pentecost.

Now, Pentecost was this feast that happened in the Jewish world that happened in early summer, and Jews from all over the known world at the time that had been scattered because of the exile in Egypt and also in Babylon, and this feast that was 50 days after Passover, 50 days after the celebration of the feast that that Jesus and the disciples were celebrating as they took the bread and the cup the night before Jesus died.

Fifty days later, Pentecost, this festival that all these people and all these Jews have come from all these different nations and have descended on Jerusalem.

And it's there at this moment of Pentecost that some promises that Jesus made come to fruition.

He told them at the end of Matthew in verse 28, he gives them this command and says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you, and I'm surely with you always to the very end of the age.

And in the first chapter of Acts, verse 8, Jesus also tells them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

There's these promises that Jesus makes of saying, there's a coming spirit that's gonna give you power, that you're gonna see new disciples be made, not just here in Jerusalem, but to the ends of the earth.

That you're gonna be making disciples, then it's gonna happen here in your region and your city, your town, but then it's gonna go out into the rest of the world.

And so today's message in the series that we've been through in the next last few weeks is actually the prequel message.

See, last Sunday was kind of like the main event, the main movie, when we talked about the early church and how they began to meet together in one place and in homes, and they were manifesting miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit.

They were sharing meals and money together, they were multiplying new disciples.

And the couple of weeks ahead of last week, we've been in the sequels to that.

The sequels that were Acts 15, where the group gathered together to say, what do we need to do with these new Gentiles, these new non-Jews who are coming to faith, and this barrier that's been broken down, and let's all resolve that we'll build bridges and that will not make it difficult for those who are turning to God.

And if you remember way back the 31st, the last Sunday, last day of the year, we talked about this miracle that happened at midnight.

Paul and Silas in prison, the earthquake comes, the chains are broken off, and that we get to walk with God to fight the good fight of faith together.

So today's message it's the prequel.

It's the background, it's the behind the scenes to what it looks like for us as a church to live out the way that we see as an example from Jesus and his early followers.

In Acts chapter 2, starting in verse 1, on the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Suddenly there was a sound from heaven, like a the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.

And everyone presented, uh everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit, and began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them ability.

Verse 5.

At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem.

They heard the loud noise, and everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

They were completely amazed.

How can this be?

They exclaimed.

These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages.

And here we are Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the Providence of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and areas of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, and we all hear these people speaking in our own language about the wonderful things God has done.

And they stood there amazed and perplexed.

What can this mean?

They asked each other.

But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, They're just drunk.

That's all.

Disciples are in a room, in a house.

They've heard these promises of Christ, his death, burial, his resurrection.

He's ascended back to the Father.

They are now in anticipation of the Spirit that Jesus said is going to come to them.

And they're sitting in a room, and there's a loud wind, and then fire, flames descend on them, on top of hovering over them and descend onto them, and then they begin to speak and understand languages they did not previously know.

See, what's interesting about this moment is that the flame of the Spirit of God in a moment when there were people from all over the globe to fulfill the promise that Jesus made that they would take the gospel to the ends of the earth, happened in an instant.

We're sitting here right now in 2024 in Frankfurt, Kentucky, because Jesus said, You're gonna take this truth, you're gonna take this power, and it's gonna go out from you from this tiny room where you're gonna receive the flame, and that flame is gonna be a blaze that crosses the entire globe.

You and I could be saved today in 2024.

And it was not just the it was a precursor and it was a picture of what was to come because there was this whole diversity of people who were there in Jerusalem at the time.

Actually, uh the the Luke, the writer of Acts, he records 15 different locations that people were there in Jerusalem from.

He goes through and gives this list.

There's Parthians and Medes, and these are people that were from uh uh up north of Israel.

The Medes and Elamites, they're from modern day Iran, Persians and the Mesopotamia, that area, those were from Babylon, Judea, that was there in Egypt, and then Cappadocia and Pontus in Asia, that's modern-day Turkey today.

Regions of Libya and Cyrene, those are areas of North Africa, Rome, which was far west of them in the Mediterranean, and then people who were there who were non-Jews, that were converts to Judaism.

There were Cretans from the island of Crete, of Italy, and Arabs that were had come all the way from the Saudi and Arabian peninsula, the whole known world at the time had descended on Jerusalem so that the promise of Jesus would be fulfilled.

And then this wild thing happens.

That even though there was a diversity of cultures that were represented, that God gave them the ability in this moment to understand and to speak in a common language that all of them understood.

And we see right here in the beginnings of the move of God that would lead into the early church that we studied and talked about last week, that in the beginning of all this, the day of Pentecost on, that we see, and it's such a beautiful picture that we get to realize and see today that the gospel and the movement of God came out of the book of Acts, and it began with multicultural unity.

See, this is an element that sometimes sometimes is missed when we talk about the early church.

That there was a diversity of cultures that were represented.

Now I want to be precise today, and I told you I want to be precise today.

And so it was a multicultural gathering.

It wasn't a multi-ethnic gathering.

Don't be confused, because all of these people who had come were all Jews and professing Jews.

There's something very interesting about Judaism.

The fact that when you are a Jew or you become a Jew, Judaism is not only your religion, but if you become a Jew, it also becomes your ethnicity.

It also becomes your nationality.

People, even today that wouldn't necessarily have been from Jerusalem as they are Jews, they see themselves as their own, their own group and their own nation of people, the Israelites.

And so this moment, as we start, is a multicultural gathering.

And it started the move that essentially would move into a multi-ethnic movement later in Acts that we talked about, when Peter sees the animals descend, and God says that the things have been unclean are now clean, and we see Peter and Cornelius the first ever Gentile to come to Christ, a non-Jew.

Why is this important?

Because I think that the majority probably of us in the day in this room today probably are not Jews.

We're probably in the category that the scripture and what they would see as Gentiles, non-Jews.

But the beginnings of this multicultural unity and movement, it moved from beginnings of all these Jews who were receiving the truth of the Messiah Christ, the Messiah Jesus, and receiving of that Spirit, then it moved into the nations coming to follow Jesus.

This last two weeks, I uh for the two different points in the last two weeks, I've been in meetings with a small group of pastors where there were uh Spanish-only speaking pastors in the meeting.

The first meeting I had was just myself and two Spanish-speaking pastors.

Thankfully, one of them knew English.

So we spent the whole time.

It was double the talk because everything they said they had to translate to me.

And then on Thursday, I was in a group of pastors and church planners, and there was a Spanish-speaking pastor of a Spanish-speaking church in Richmond who was there, Pastor Juan.

And I noticed both of these pastors were there and in a meeting where there was more than one language that was happening.

Both of them had that was the same.

They both had their phone out and had Google Translate going on the table in front of them.

As the conversation was going, they were they were they were they were following along with Google Translate.

And I'm thankful for the technology.

Back in the first century, the day of Pentecost, they did not have Google.

They did not have Google Translate.

So God, in his power, who's more powerful than any technology, by the power of the Holy Spirit gave them the opportunity and the ability to understand languages that they did not previously understand.

This is what theologians say and call xenoglossy, the ability to understand a language that is not known to yourself.

Now, if you've been in a position like me as a pastor for a number of years, uh as a number of years, you hear and I have heard over the years story after story after story of missionaries on the mission field that were in a conversation in a foreign country and they walked up to speak to someone and they thought, oh my goodness, I found someone who speaks perfect English.

And as they're having this conversation and they're talking to this person fluently about the gospel, and they received Christ only to realize that this person wasn't actually speaking English.

It was another language that the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to understand so that the gospel could move forward.

I've heard that story probably I've heard it a number of times now over the last 15 years from different countries and different groups and different missionaries of God granting this ability.

And for us as a church, we need to know, learn, and understand from the example that we need to be people that under the banner of Christ are inviting and walking in multicultural unity.

Um this next week in our worship center and the the the the all the signage that's gonna go up, many of the signage in our new space is also gonna have Spanish on our way on our wayfinders.

I am not aware of one person in our church right now who speaks fluent fluent Spanish.

Anybody in the room speak fluent Spanish that I don't know of?

I nobody raised their hand.

I'm not aware of one person presently in our church who either speaks Spanish fluently or that's their main language.

I don't care.

There will be, because what everything, everything sends a message.

And so as people come into our new space, I don't want them to think that, oh, this place isn't for me.

Oh, they haven't thought about me.

Of people who are living in our community right now, so that we can step forward, that we can walk in the multicultural unity that God showed us from the beginning.

Now, I'm gonna nerd out for a second with some Bible nerd stuff, and this is for you Bible nerds in the house.

The flames and the fire that descended onto them in the day of Pentecost.

Look at this, look at this.

God presented himself millennia earlier in a flame, an unending flame that that would not be quenched of a burning bush.

Then that flame then moved to a pillar of fire that led the Israelites out of Egypt, a cloud during day and a pillar of fire at night.

And we studied in the middle of last year about the tabernacle, and there was a moment when they built the mobile temple of the tabernacle, that that pillar of fire descended onto the tabernacle, and God's spirit moved into their place of worship of the mobile temple of the tabernacle.

Then, as the Ark of the Covenant moved into the beautiful, amazing, giant built structure of the temple in Jerusalem, God's fire moved into the temple of Jerusalem.

And then in this moment, the fire of the Spirit of God went from being in a specific place to descending onto the hearts and lives of people.

The Spirit of God of deliverance that had been with his people for millennia now took residence in their hearts and minds.

I want you to imagine just for a second with me, all across the room as you look.

Imagine every believer that's in the room right now, that they have a little flame floating over their head.

May look like a candle, but imagine that each person who's represented right now, who's a follower of Jesus, that there's a flame of the Spirit of God that's descended now onto us, and Paul gives language to us by saying that you, that you, that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

That we get to carry the flame of the Spirit, of the power of God everywhere we go.

Everywhere we go.

That's why, and it's important to me, that we remember this as a church.

The new location that we're moving into is only going to be multiply church because the people of multiply church will be there.

As we've experienced the power of the Holy Spirit here in this cinema, we're going to take the Spirit of God as us as the temples of the Holy Spirit and move it into a new location.

So there's these people who are there, they're experiencing this miracle of languages being spoken, the truth, and there are people who are mocking, who are saying, What in the world's going on?

These people are drunk.

And Peter steps forward to bring the truth.

This is verse 14.

Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, listen carefully, all you fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem.

Make no mistake about this.

These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming.

Nine o'clock in the morning is much too early for that.

No.

What you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel.

Listen to this.

Verse 17.

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions.

Your old men will dream dreams.

In those days I will pour out my spirit, even on my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy.

And I will cause wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth below.

Blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke, and clouds of smoke, the sun will become dark, the moon will be turned blood red before the great and glorious day the Lord arise.

And then verse 21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Peter steps forward and gives in the truth.

And I love from this passage that we just this him him him calling back to this prophecy of Joel that he speaks in that moment of the power of the multi-generational expression of the local church.

He says, Your young men are going to see visions.

Your old men, they're going to dream dreams.

My spirit's going to be poured out on women and men alike.

See 20 years ago, my parents and Emily's parents and a couple other couples started meeting in a small a small group that they created in our church that I grew up in that didn't have small groups.

And so they met week after week in a home.

And they talked about God's word.

And these few couples that were there in their 40s and 50s.

And they put all the names of the children into a hat and they passed around the hat.

And so as a seventh from my from seventh grade on, Emily's mom has been praying for me, her future son-in-law.

Also in that group was Lee Webb's parents.

Lee Webb is now the director of church planning through Southland.

So over the last two years now we've seen eight churches be planted across the state.

Seeing this group of people who are in their 40s and 50s, now 20 years later in their 50s, 60s, 70s, are seeing the fruit of the prayers that they prayed 20 years ago.

Many of those couples don't even live there anymore.

My parents don't live there anymore in that same town.

And I can say this now of being a person who's been saved now for almost 30 years.

I can speak with some authority on this.

And being in multiple churches, there are plenty of people that I have seen who are in their 80s as Christians that are still spiritual infants.

That even in their old age, their life is only about them.

Their preferences when it comes to church.

What they like.

Getting upset and angry about what all these young people are doing.

Versus the traditions of the past.

That most hold no biblical bearing.

Do we not understand that the next generation is the current one?

Right now.

Right now.

There are four teenagers who've been coming to multiply for the last few months.

That today they're serving in kids' ministry today.

Four high schoolers.

One of those being Sarah, who was baptized a few weeks ago.

And they're ministering right now to my kids.

And they're showing a spiritual maturity as teenagers.

Some of them who come completely on their own.

To live outside themselves, to be others focused versus self-focused, following the calling of Jesus on our life to be like him.

To love others more than ourselves.

I celebrate it today because we have to remember that the church at large has lost a lot of ground with the next generation.

And we are the stewards that get to carry the gospel to the next generation to see the church and the love and the salvation and the truth of the gospel live on beyond us.

And I'll say it like this.

Even in our move into our new space, there are plenty of churches over time that have built have had buildings that have died.

The facility that we're moving into, it's a tool for us to be able to have the expression of the multi-generational church.

My expectations for those of you who have been walking with the Lord for a long time or have been Christians for a long time, that that's going to be paired with a maturity of serving others and loving others as an example for the next generations.

I'm kind of in this in-between time.

I'm in my late 30s, so I'm like not young anymore.

You know, I'm sure there's somebody who would say that I'm old.

I'm kind of in this transition, but I know this.

I'm gonna do my very best to lead us as a congregation that we're not gonna leave the next generation behind Peter preaches the truth.

And look at what happens in verse 41.

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day.

About 3,000 in all.

The mission was multiplied.

The mission was multiplied.

So here's another deep cut for you all.

Matthew 28, the Great Commission.

That we read earlier.

That Jesus said, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

That word nations is the Greek word, Greek Greek word ethnos.

Everybody say ethnos.

That word nations is ethnos, where we get the word ethnicity.

Jesus says, go therefore and make disciples of all ethnos, all nations, all people groups.

And so we see here that Peter shares the truth that 3,000 people come to know him, follow him, are saved, and baptized that very day.

And then the power of God that had descended on the people.

Then dispersed back to the fifteen different countries and regions and places across the known world.

All the way to the fire that's felt in this room today.

The mission was multiplied to the ethnosis of the world.

And we have the opportunity.

You and me.

We have the opportunity now to take the fire that God's given us and to fan the flames and to fuel the fire.

The Spirit of God moving from one person to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next.

The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead, if you're a follower of Jesus, now resides inside of you, just waiting to be given to somebody else.

But you have to know this at the very end that you cannot carry the fire unless you have carried your cross.

It was Jesus 2,000 years ago that died on the cross in your place and my place, that we would have life and life abundant, that we would be able to be forgiven of our sins and separation between God and man, that He built a bridge that we could walk across for our salvation to be in heaven and not separated in a place called hell, but that we would be walking unity with God from here into eternity, that our last.

Breath here on earth would be our next breath in heaven in eternity with God.

And Jesus purchased it for us and bought you and me at a price, is what the scripture says, on the cross.

And then Jesus invites you and says, carry your cross.

Die to yourself.

Live for me.

Die to your old life, the old way, the old desires.

And receive the salvation given to you on the cross.

Let me pray for us.

All across this room right now, Father, we thank you, God, for each person who's in this place.

And Father, as we see God from your gospel and through your people and through your power, how we can move forward together as believers.

That from this moment right now in this location, and as we carry the fire of your word and of your spirit and of your love and the gospel, and we carry it now into the future and forward, God, I pray for every single man, woman, and child who are a part of our church right now, who are believers in you, that God, we would carry the fire of the Spirit to be lovers of your word, to love people around us, that God, the fire that you granted to us would not stay indoors, but it would go outside of the walls, over and over and over and over again.

Father, I pray right now, all across the room, anybody in this place who's not received you as Savior, who's not asked for you to save them, to forgive them, to receive the gift that they can receive through your death, burial, and resurrection, that today would be the day of their salvation.

Father, I pray all across the room right now, if there's anybody in this place who's not received you as Savior, that they would right now from a genuine place in their mind and heart say, Jesus, save me.

You pray it right now, Jesus, save me.

I believe that you are the Son of God, that you died on the cross for my sins, and that you are alive.

Forgive me, cleanse me so that I can be in heaven with you one day.

Thank you for saving me.

I give you my life as you gave yours for mine.

In Jesus' name.

Nobody looking around.

Today is the day and a moment that you prayed that to receive Christ as your Savior.

At the count of three, I'm gonna ask you just to raise your hand up as a sign to the Lord and so that I can see you.

You can just put it up and put it right now back down.

If that was you today who who prayed the prayer to receive Christ, if that was you at the count of three, raise your hand.

One, two, three.

Anybody in the room?

Yep, back there?

Anyone else?

Yep, right there.

I see you.

Anybody?

Father, for those right now, today, who pray to receive you, Father, I pray, God, that you would seal it.

That God that you would help each one of them.

As they have stepped forward to receive your forgiveness, God, I pray right now, Lord, under the sound of my voice, that from a genuine, genuine place in their heart, God, that you would save them, that their eternal destination would now be heaven.

And we thank you and we praise you for it, Father.

We love you in the strong name of Jesus.

And everybody said, Amen, amen, amen.

Stand to your feet, church, as we close in worship.