Thankful for the Spirit-filled Church

Acts chapter 2 is where we're taking our text today. Only two verses that we're reading.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And then we'll take it from there and move that forward. The Bible says this.

It says, and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching.

They didn't stop there. And the fellowship. Notice this. To the breaking of bread. And the prayers.

And all came upon every soul. and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

Look at this scripture. Because it wasn't just about reading the word of God.

It wasn't just about talking about just the church and the lesson in the church

service. All right, they're studying.

The Bible says that they were engaging in teaching, which we need, but also fellowship,

which means they had lives with each other outside

of the church service so when

I tell you that you guys are our people like I'm your people you're my people

this is the way God did this because we need one another as a matter of fact

they almost rehearsed that again it's almost duplicated when they said to the

breaking of bread and so not just hanging out and playing and golf together,

but they were going out to lunch together too, right?

I would love to play golf with Jesus.

We're using his ball, best ball. You know, that water don't bother him. Anyway, I digress.

Not just, but not, but they're going out to eat together. And then,

not just about that either, but they're also praying together.

Every aspect of life, they're engaging with one another. That was the New Testament church.

The reason why I'm reading this is because we've been called to be a New Testament church.

Sometimes we reduce the body of Christ, the New Testament church,

the church in general. We reduce it to less than what it should be.

And I want us to look back at what God has called us to do as the New Testament church.

I want to preach on this subject this morning. I'm thankful for the New Testament Spirit-filled church.

I'm thankful for the Spirit-filled church that God gave us the example of in the New Testament.

So let's pray and we'll jump right into what that means. Father,

we just thank you for everything that you've done in our lives.

We thank you for your Holy Spirit.

Lord, we thank you that you gave us one another. So, Holy Spirit,

we just ask you to speak one word.

God, only you can speak one word that may heal somebody on one side of the room

and encourage somebody on the other side of the room at the same time restoring

broken hearts and broken lives somewhere else out of one word.

And so, Holy Ghost, I just ask you, let me not speak with enticing words of

men's wisdom, but in power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit.

We thank you for the word of God. And in your name we pray. And the church said, amen, amen.

I grew up in a New Testament church. I've attended a New Testament church. I'm thankful for that.

And this is the way I started thinking about all of this a few weeks ago.

If you're with us, the last two weeks is the third week in our Thanksgiving

series, our thankfulness series.

Week one, we talked about I'm thankful for the blood of Jesus.

Because if you'll remember, we said the blood of Jesus is the only thing that

breaks every chain, washes away every sin, and opens every door.

Remember that? We said that about the blood of Jesus.

Last week, we talked about being thankful for the Holy Ghost.

And really, this kind of leads us right over into where we are today.

For the New Testament, the Spirit-filled church. And here's the way,

and I'm going to go through these a little later on, but this is the way that God gave it to me.

The Spirit-filled church transforms lives, builds community,

and displays the power of God to the world.

And so if this is not the church that we're attending, then we're not being the church.

Amen, somebody. If this is not the church that we're attending,

then we are not being the church.

Now, I started thinking about this uh this is

personal to me this is not just something that that

i read in in uh literature somewhere this is

personal to me because i was raised in a new testament church

i was raised and i can remember as a teenager i

was 14 years years old i was in in sunday

school and there were people that i knew

that god had impacted their lives that god had

changed their lives and and i could tell that people in

the church i grew up in there was something different about them and I

didn't know it for myself at that time I was still kind of

playing around I was there for other reasons and and I

was just coming mainly because my parents made me come and

and a few years because there were girls that I liked that were in my Sunday

school class and so I was chasing girls to Sunday school and I know nobody else

has ever done that before but but that's kind of the way it was and I'm not

talking about Ashley she was in the nursery was in Sunday school but but Brad

I'll get that over with before you even say it so I knew what you were thinking back there.

But I was thinking about this. Pastor Rob's dad, Robert, was my Sunday school

teacher when I was 14 years old.

And I knew I spent a lot of time pulling the girl's hair beside of me,

kicking her feet under, trying to flirt the way you do when you were 14 in 1989

or so, whatever the year was, 1990.

But he was teaching, and there was a truth that he was teaching that it was

there. And I wasn't interested in it then, but I looked, I knew there was something different about him.

I knew he believed everything he was teaching me.

I could tell that his life had been transformed by the power of God.

I was sitting there in church services when they were testifying about Brother Holbert Clisso.

When he was diagnosed with cancer, I was there in the services where they brought

him up to the front of the building and they laid hands on him praying for God to heal him.

And then a couple Sundays later when he came back and the surgeons had opened

his body up, cut him open.

He used to talk about the size of the incision where they cut him open and they

went in there and said there was no cancer to be found.

I was there when those kind of miracles took place.

I was there when people testified about how Jesus had radically transformed

their lives and talked about how they used to be caught up in these lifestyles of sin,

but god had turned them around i was there hearing brother robert blanton testified

about how he was a lifelong alcoholic started drinking at a pre-teen age he

was 80 some years old at the time and and he was an alcoholic pastor rob for how over 50 years is that.

60 years, these false brains do better than my mind does, but he was an alcoholic from a pre-teenage.

He was in his 80s at the time, drank well into his 70s, near 80 years old.

He talked about sleeping. These were Coke ovens back in the time, not Coca-Cola.

Look it up, Google it, and you'll find out what it was. These were Coke ovens.

He talked about sleeping in the back of cars because he had ran away from home

and was living on the street, and even as a pre-teenage, stayed drunk all the

time, and for years he was a functioning alcoholic for most of his life.

But he talked about how the power of God came in one day and the conviction

of the Holy Spirit came in.

And he said he started to pick up that drink of alcohol and he detested it.

And he went in there and he poured it down the sink and he said God delivered

him from being an alcoholic that day.

I remember those testimonies. And I heard those testimonies where when I got

older, conviction was on me.

And so I was spending a lot of my time. Some of you have heard these stories.

I was spending a lot of my time in eastern Kentucky or eastern Tennessee at

the time. And I was over there, and I felt like I needed to be in church. I was running from God.

And so I would go to churches over there, and I'd find churches.

The perfect church for me when I was in that condition was a church that they

were welcoming, but they didn't preach so much that it was convicting, all right?

Hopefully you've not found a church right here like that, all right?

They were welcoming, but I could sit there through the entire sermon,

and even though I was living like the devil, I really didn't feel that bad about

sitting there and listening to whatever they were saying.

I remember one little church I went to over there.

You've heard me tell the story that I went there for weeks. About four weeks I went to that church.

Finally, even in my lost condition, not hearing the gospel, I just thought,

I'm tired of hearing this.

I went over there and the biggest thing they had going on they were

doing a building project and they'd put a jar out

Two jars out in the front of the building and one of them

had the pastor's face with a beard And the other

jar had a pastor's face without the beard and all

they talked about the whole time was Whoever puts the

most money in whatever jar He's either going

to keep the beard and let it grow until you know The

project was over or he was going to shave the beard and

I remember they would get up and sing a hymn and they'd close and

they'd talk about the pastor's beard for a little while and then uh whoever

was doing announcement they'd call the pastor up and then he would read a scripture

say a few words and then he'd start talking about his beard or his shaving face

for a little while and and you know i left that church every week after a week

i left that church and i i wasn't i wasn't under conviction.

I left that church, and I didn't feel like there was the Word of God came forth

that made me feel bad for the way I was living. And, you know,

I think about that from time to time.

And really, from time to time, I often think, I wonder if that guy ended up

shaving that beard or not, because that was really what I heard more than anything

was, was that guy going to shave his beard or not? I'm not doing anything like that, all right?

Either God helps us pay this thing off or I'm keeping my facial hair.

I'm too ugly to shave this thing. But I started thinking about this,

and I remember I went to a little church over in eastern Tennessee,

and I hadn't been to this particular church.

I sat on the back row. I thought it was going to be the same as it was for the

other churches I had cycled through over there, just welcoming enough to make

me feel comfortable but not preaching enough to make me feel bad.

And so I sat back there on the back of that seat, and that preacher started

preaching the love of Jesus Christ, And then he started preaching the blood

and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

And tears started to flow down my eyes. And I realized that I realized who Jesus was.

And I realized that I wasn't in fellowship with Him. And I realized that I didn't

need to be living the way that I was living.

I was still running. I didn't give my heart to the Lord that day.

But we did, I still remember it was a communion Sunday at that church.

And he preached, he preached the blood of Jesus better than anybody.

I know I'm biased because I was crying that day.

The Lord had me under conviction. I left there. The next week went to Dollywood

down in Pigeon Forge, and it started raining.

I ducked into a stinking theater down there just trying to stay dry,

and Dolly Parton was in there singing, He's Alive.

I was sitting on a bench down there at that show, and I was crying thinking

about what a sinner I was while he was singing, He's Alive.

To this day, there's not an Easter that don't go by. You can ask my wife that

I don't put Dolly Parton, he's alive on YouTube, on my phone.

And I sit there and I cry because he's still alive.

But that was what caused me to come back to a church. And I still remember the

revival service, April 17, 1997.

Then I went to a little altar up there at that church on Thacker's Branch.

Ronnie Harrison from Norman, Oklahoma was in preaching a revival for us.

And he preached the gospel. and I sat on that back pew and cried because I realized

that there is a God that loved me.

That God, He so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son.

That none should perish, but all should come. See, here's what we realize is

that He has sent us as a New Testament church. I ran to that altar and I gave my heart to the Lord.

And I never, I never want to create an environment in the church where people

don't hear the Spirit of God and don't feel the Spirit of God and don't hear

the Word of God because when it comes down to it, it's not about the denomination.

It's about the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit moving in the church service.

I've been, amen, I've been to foreign countries and it didn't matter which service we went into.

I went into Baptist churches over in the nation of Tanzania and the continent of Africa.

I went into Baptist churches over there trying to lay hands on people and they

fall out out of the power of the Holy Spirit.

You know why? Because it's not the denomination that matters.

It's the power of God that's in the church doing the work that is matter.

See, it's personal to me. It's personal to me. That's why it's more than just a Bible study.

It's more than just a scripture lesson this morning. I found something at an

altar all those years ago.

It was a community of believers that not only loved me, but they believed in

the power of Jesus Christ.

And there was a power that was able to transform every sin-sick life.

And I know you're sitting here right now and you say, well, Pastor Scott,

you don't know what I've done. You don't know what my story is.

I don't know your story. But I can tell you, I got a story.

I got a story that they had to keep in the back room of the movie theater, the video story.

I'll tell you that right now. I got a story that they don't let children read.

And some of my story, I don't confess to anybody else because I'm ashamed of it.

I know some of you are like, but Pastor Scott, yeah, I was dead in my trespasses and sins.

I was lost. I was undone without Jesus.

And for some, see, some of you are saying, well, I can't believe he said that.

Well, you might have been saved out of Sunday school, but that's wasn't where I was living.

I was dead in my trespasses and sins. I was at a place where some of those staunch,

you know, those starchy church people didn't want to fool with me because I was too far gone.

But thank God for a church that kept on praying for me.

That's why from the uttermost to the guttermost. That's why from those that

are sitting on church pews right now to those that are strung out out of the

gutter right now, I believe that Jesus has brought salvation to all mankind.

They may not look the right way and smell the right way, and they may not even

be sober right now, but I believe that there's an answer to their crisis,

and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ that forgives every sin. Amen.

Found the power that transforms lives. And so I wrote this down about two and

a half weeks ago when I started thinking about this particular part of the series, and I can't shake it.

And this may be a little blunt, but this is where I am with it.

Why would the scripture teach us of life's transforming power and then expect

us to settle for Christmas plays and church dinners?

All right? That's just where we are. Why is it that we read about life-transforming

power by the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures,

and then we have reduced our churches to where we just put on performances and

have a little get-together, a program every once in a while? It's more than that.

It's more than that. I read in the Scripture of life-transforming power.

I read in the Scripture about healing power. I live reading the scripture about

a power that was able to tell Jesus about everything a woman had ever done before.

And at the same time, it wasn't just about exposing sin.

I know our world has turned in, the church these days, it's turned into the

TMZ with the cross on top.

They want to expose everything about everybody. They want to talk about everything

and everybody. Jesus didn't look at His disciples and say, this woman,

she's had seven husbands before, let's make fun, no, no, no, no.

He gave her the living water that changed everything about her.

We are not here to make a mockery of the society that we live in.

We are here to show them that there's transforming power in the blood of Jesus.

See, as we reflect on the blessings that God has given us.

It's important to realize that a New Testament church, a church that's full

of life, you know, the old saying is, because I've had people say, well,

Pastor Scott, I can't believe people drive over from Lee County,

from Kentucky, from different places that come to church.

I said, if it's alive, it's worth the drive. Amen.

I know that. Somebody told me one time, they said, well, I think I'd like to

find a church that's in my community to go to. I said, if it's a church that's

got life in it, then you go ahead and find that church and serve your community and do well.

If not, I would work overtime to pay for the gas money to come somewhere where

I can hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and have my children hear the gospel of

Jesus Christ. I want to say this right now.

There may be things about this church that you don't like. I'm sure.

You know what? There's some time to time things about this church I don't like. I'm the pastor.

I know where you're coming from. But at the same time, don't leave this place

where God has planted you.

Don't leave this place where God has given you strength and given you life.

And for everything, listen, for all, for most importantly,

for everything, don't take your kids out of this spirit-filled church where

their lives are being changed and transformed for anything. Bring them to the house of the Lord.

The church is not just a building or a weekly service or an organization.

It is the living, breathing, functioning body of Jesus Christ.

We are the hands, the feet, the mouth of Jesus here on the earth today.

But many churches are struggling in the day that we're living in.

Some have adopted a consumer mentality.

Consumerism has invaded the church. And so what's happening is people that used

to be followers of Christ have been consumers instead of servants of the Most High God.

We look for what can the church do for me and give me more than how we can serve the body of Christ.

I want to say this right now. If you're looking for a church that does everything

for you, number one, you're not going to find it.

Number two, you need to get saved. Because when you give your heart to Jesus

Christ, that's not when you're saying, God, what all are you going to do for me? No.

No, I found that out at that early age when I was standing around that trash

can that evening of April 17th.

And I was throwing in all the T-shirts and all of the tapes.

All the tapes and a few CDs and some movies. and we set it on fire and we praise the Lord.

I didn't ask God, what can you do for me? I said, what can I do for the Lord?

And it started out, I was wanting to do, it started out.

I said, Pastor, you know, Pastor Sergio, he said, oh, brother,

you can vacuum the carpet. I said, oh, praise the Lord.

And so I would go over there at 9, 10 o'clock at night. I'd get off work bagging

groceries at the food line, still in college.

I would come over there at 10 o'clock at night and I'd start vacuuming that

carpet. I knew how to work the sound system, all right?

I'd put on that Shout to the Lord from Hillsong.

I would put on Shout to the Lord, and I was there, Shout to the Lord,

all the earth let us sing, and tears running down my eyes, and you know what?

I felt a call on my life to preach.

People didn't even know this was happening. We didn't have security cameras

up there on Thacker's Branch. We didn't even have cell phone service on Thacker's Branch.

We still don't on Thacker's Branch. Anyway, there wasn't security cameras

I felt a call on my life to preach, and I didn't tell anybody about it because

I was scared to death of it.

But I would get up there, and I was studying every day.

I was reading the Bible every day, studying the Scripture every day.

And I would stand up there behind that pulpit of that glass podium of that empty

church after I vacuumed the carpet.

And I would sit up there, and I'd quote every Scripture. I didn't know how to preach.

Some of you are like, you still don't. Okay, it's all right.

I would quote every Scripture that I knew. I wouldn't say every encouraging word that I knew.

I would say things that I heard Pastor Sturgill say because he was my example.

I heard things that I heard Pastor Rob say because he was my example.

All I knew is that I wanted to do something. I wanted to serve the Lord.

But we've led a consumer mentality.

We've focused on programs and entertainments and human strategies,

and we've neglected the essential role of the Holy Ghost.

Thank God for programs. You know what? We've got a kids program.

That's great. It really is. But I want to tell you this right now.

Here's the danger. I want to let you know. Here's the danger.

We could line up four and five-year-olds across these steps right here and have

them sing a song, and that makes everybody feel better. It does.

I mean, really, you could do that. You could do that in Walmart.

It would make everybody feel better.

I used to be the principal at an elementary school. On my worst days,

I'd walk through the cafeteria during kindergarten lunch and I would be absolutely

you know mugged by about you know 30 hugs at one time Dr.

Edison everybody's running up grabbing legs and everything and you know what that

just helped that helped the bad day a little bit because there's something about

four and five and six year olds when when they're just they love life and they're

cute it makes everything better and so what you can do is you can line this

stage up with four and five and six year olds and they can sing a song and people

can listen to that and they say, man, that was great. That was fantastic.

And they can leave here feeling good, but they can never feel the power of God

on their life. They can never make a decision.

I know that don't know if this offends you, then I guess be offended,

but, but, but you could hear all of that and never have a life change.

It can make you feel good. So here's what you've got to realize is activity

is not a replacement for a life of the Holy spirit.

Activity is not a replacement for the life of the Holy Spirit.

I'm looking forward to a church dinner we've got coming up. I'm looking forward

to the children's program.

I can't wait for the Christmas play because we're doing an older version or

a better version of an older play that we did years ago. And I can't wait for that.

I'm excited about all of that. But it's all meaningless without the life of

the Holy Ghost in our church.

Amen. See, we look at this. If we contrast this to the early church in the book

of Acts, The Bible says that the Spirit-filled church, the early church,

the New Testament church, was marked by devotion, unity, miracles, and all.

How many churches do you know of that are not marked by devotion or unity or miracles or all?

I've preached in places and I've thought, man, I would see more fellowship at

a biker bar than I would have.

In the church, I'd walk in there and nobody was speaking to each other.

They were mean as rattlesnakes to each other. and then you've got to go up there

and try to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in love.

See, that's not the church. The church we were called to do life together.

The Bible says that they engaged in the breaking of bread, in fellowship,

in prayers, and when they did, the awe of God filled that church.

See, the kind of church we're called to be is a church empowered by the Holy

Ghost, a place where people encounter God, grow in faith, and ultimately change

their community and change the world.

If we're not making a change in our community, then what are we doing?

See, Acts chapter 2, let's get there because I got about 11 minutes to finish

Acts 2 · chapter mention

this thing out, all right?

Acts chapter 2 is a pivotal chapter in the Bible because this is the birth of

Acts 2 · chapter mention

the New Testament church.

This is where we get the model for the New Testament church on the day of Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit baptized 120 believers who were tarrying in an upper room.

Jesus told them to go and tarry there, even though we'd said it last week,

even though they had walked with him, many of them, a good part of three years.

He said, you don't have what you need yet by hearing every word that I've said

for three years and seeing every miracle and doing everything with me and saying

where I stayed and walk where I walk. You don't have enough yet.

You need to be empowered by the Holy Ghost. And so they go and they stay in

that upper room until 120 of them are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

From there, the Bible says that they to go out and start preaching the gospel in every area.

The disciple Peter, the apostle Peter, who was one of Jesus' disciples,

he was the one that was the big mouth.

He was the one that said things when he shouldn't say things.

He was the one that spoke his mind when he shouldn't speak his mind.

Does anybody know anybody like that?

It's okay, yeah, all right. Is anybody one of those people? Okay,

that's a little easier. Okay, thank you for your honesty right there.

Previously, the apostle Peter had denied Jesus, and yet when he's empowered by the Holy Spirit,

he gets up and preaches a sermon where 3,000 men give their heart to Jesus Christ,

and we see here that this was a common practice in the church.

Verse 42 outlines kind of what their practices were, devotion to the apostles,

teaching fellowship, breaking of bread in prayer.

Verse 43 adds that people were in awe because of the signs and wonders that

were being carried out at the hands of the apostles.

See, we look at all of this and we realize that the church has been placed here for purpose.

And I don't have time to preach all of it, but the church, and we'll get there,

but the church provides spiritual nourishment. It creates a loving community

and it displays God's glory. We're going to talk about all of that in just a moment.

Now, one of the major doctrines, though, that we've lost in the church,

we've got a lot of education in the modern church and very little doctrine.

Amen. A lot of education, very little doctrine. One of the doctrines that we've

lost in the New Testament church is the doctrine of the church as the body of Christ.

Because we are the hands, the feet, the mouth of Jesus Christ in our world today.

And see, there's two different ditches you fall in. because you've got one group

of the church, especially Pentecostal people. I'm raised one.

I am one. But I'll tell you this.

You've got some of those Pentecostal people that all they want to do is have

church, and they want to have good church. You know what good church is?

Good church is singing a song long enough and fast enough where finally somebody

does something very emotional, and you had good church.

Right? And then you've got the other end of it where as long as the bills are

paid and you had a successful Christmas play and you had a good bean supper,

And then you're in a good church,

And we all got components of the church But a New Testament church I know you

guys are getting quiet on me You're like, am I supposed to be offended or amening?

Okay, it's okay I've made it awkward right now So it's okay,

I'm good at that You know what that means?

That means you need to be listening to find out See, but the church as we see

it in the New Testament Is the body of Christ,

What we see here is there's unity and diversity in the church.

The church is not just about the common gathering when we're having a church

service for teaching and edification, but the church is also to do life with one another.

The church is not only to pray for the sick when you're in need of healing,

but the church is also, let's go out and get something to eat and talk about the goodness of God.

It takes everything. It takes the children's program, but it takes prayer and

the altar. It takes the Christmas play, but it takes tarrying and seeking the

face of God until the Holy Spirit comes and gives us the answer that we need.

It's not about one or the other. It's about all of it.

1 Corinthians 12 and verse 12 says, For just as the body is one and has many

members, so it is with the body of Christ. That means that you,

as a member of the body of Christ in Freedom Worship Church,

you're just as important as Pastor Scott is.

You're just as important as Sister Hope playing the piano is.

You're just as important as Sister Krista up here singing and Brother Tony up

here singing. You're just as important as they are.

You're just as important as Brother JR and Sister Bonita doing the recovery

ministry on Monday night.

Because if you can come and you can encourage and you can support and you can be a part of the body.

And if somebody sits down beside of you and you can tell they're in trouble

and you scoot over and you say, I'm glad that you're here because everything

you need is in the house of the Lord. you're being the body of Christ.

If you're out there shopping in the marketplace up there at Walmart shopping

for groceries and see a mother that seems like she's down on her luck and she's

struggling and you go over and encourage her in the Lord,

you're being a body, the part of the body of Christ. It takes all of it.

Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 15 says, The whole body,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,

when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

In other words, if the congregation is trying to love the community,

but the minister is not up there

preaching the gospel, it's not going to grow the way it needs to grow.

If the preacher is up here preaching his head off, but the body's not out in

the community, being the hands and the feet, the mouth of Jesus Christ,

it's not going to grow the way that it needs to grow.

But when the preachers and the singers are doing what God has called them to

do, and the Sunday school teacher and the children's workers are doing what

God has called them to do, and then everybody in the body,

us included, everybody in the body, is out in the highway, in the marketplace,

in the workplace, sharing the love of Jesus Christ,

then all of a sudden you've got to knock holes in the wall and put out seats because the Bible says,

see, the kind of church we're trying to build is the kind of church that Jesus

said in the book of Matthew chapter 16, I will build my church and the gates

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

of hell will not prevail.

I speak it right now. The addiction will not prevail against the church of the living God.

This oppressive and depressive spirit around this region will not prevail against

the church of the living God.

Everything that celebrity and politics try to tell you will not prevail against

the church of the living God.

Why is it? Because a spirit-filled church transforms lives, builds community,

and displays God's power to the world. It's what we call to do.

I'm going to go briefly through each one of these, and then I'm going to let

Brad go to the steakhouse.

All right, number one, the spirit-filled— How many of you guys remember when.

The Western Steer was up there?

Remember you ate the Western Steer and then you smelled like it for two days? Anybody remember that?

Sunday's fried chicken was Tuesday's chicken and dumplings? Okay, all right.

Sorry, I just had one of those church folk moments right there for just a second.

Number one, the Spirit-filled church transforms lives. Number one,

the Spirit-filled church transforms lives.

The Spirit of the Church is a place of transformation. It's a place where sinners find salvation.

It's a place where people that are sick find healing. It's a place where people

who are bound find deliverance.

It's a place where people that are just, feel like they're at the end of the

rope, it's a place where they find hope.

I don't know about you, but I found hope in the house of God.

Once again, I'm preaching to you something that I know for myself.

I found hope in the house of God. It's the only way that I know,

church. I don't want to go back to having church wondering if the guy's going

to shave his beard or not. And church is all about that.

The only beard I want to know about is the beard that was plucked out on his

way to Calvary for dying for my sins, carrying the cross that I should have died on.

And he paid a price that I couldn't pay to die to death that I should have died

to give me a life that I don't deserve to live because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But see, in all this, the early church grew because the Spirit was at work.

I see you coming in this place right now, you need to know that God is moving in our midst.

You need to know that people are still being healed and still people are being

saved and people are being delivered.

Someone texted me about someone just in the last couple weeks that they said

had messaged and said they'd heard a testimony during service and they started

believing God for the same kind of healing.

And they woke up the next day and God had healed their body and they were able

to do something they hadn't been able to do in weeks.

Why? Because of the power of the Holy Ghost.

Mona told me before service that she had been praying and she had had some abnormal

kidney levels for how many years, Mona?

Ten years. And she said she'd been praying about it.

And for the first time in ten years, the doctor called and said all those kidney

levels that had been abnormal,

all those kidney levels that shouldn't change all

of a sudden they're not abnormal anymore why is

it because there's life transforming power in the church see not only that but

it changes everything about us the bible says in romans chapter 12 do not be

Romans 12 · chapter mention

conformed to this world i gotta say it one more time do not be conformed to

this world i gotta say it because the crazy world we live in,

do not be conformed to this world, but what?

Be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, ESV says renewal of your mind,

that by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is the good,

the perfect, acceptable will of God is.

I didn't put that part in there, but that's why you got to be renewed in your mind.

See there's life transforming, mind transforming, I'm talking about mind blowing

power in the New Testament church.

Number two, though, a spirit-filled church builds community.

We live in a world that is filled with isolation and division,

and the church is a place of unity and love, unity and love, family.

We're a church family. We say that all the time. I tell people,

you're my people, and you're my people. I'm glad that we do life together.

And I know some of you guys got big families. I don't have big family.

I got a church family. I got a real big family. I got a church family.

I got brothers and sisters in Christ, but not just that.

This family extends beyond borders because we got family and even in other nations

because they're brothers and sisters in Christ.

I pray regularly for my brothers and sisters in Ukraine and Russia that are

believers that are caught up in battle on the other side of the planet.

I pray all the time for my brothers and sisters down in Honduras and Guatemala

and Nicaragua and all these other places that they're caught up in political

disaster and there's drug violence and everything, but they're my brothers and sisters in Christ.

People say, why is it that we'd send money to a foreign nation that we're not

ever gonna see? Because they're our brothers and sisters.

There's believers there. They're our brothers and sisters.

Yeah, and if you ask that question, then you've probably not been bought into

the New Testament church because there's something about this life that says

I wanna make a difference everywhere because we build community,

not just locally, but globally galatians chapter

see i need to i need to preach this from the mountains there's neither

jew nor greek there's neither slave nor free there's neither male nor

female you are all one in christ jesus sixty percent of americans feel lonely

that's what research tells us and if you feel lonely today if you feel isolated

today the church is your answer the church is your answer you said i've been

looking for a place that i could find where i belong the church is your answer.

You say, I've been looking for somewhere I could serve. Hey,

I'll put, I was raised by Pastor Sturge. I'll put a vacuum cleaner in your hand.

We'll find a Saturday morning, put diapers in your hand to give away.

We'll find a Monday evening. We'll let you serve over there and celebrate freedom.

We'll put, give us a Thursday evening. We'll let you serve food to some people

that are hungry, that need a meal.

We'll let you serve, but at the same time, we'll be your friend because we love you.

And then finally, the spiritual church displays God's power, displays God's power.

The church is a place where miracles happen, where prayers are answered,

and where the glory of God is witnessed.

See, I say that I don't want anything different because I've seen it. I've seen it.

The other day, Carter and Breezy brought home some cereal, and it was some kind of cookie cereal.

And it wasn't cookie crisp, but it was called something else.

Do you remember what it was?

No, no, I had to go back and buy cookie crisps Okay It wasn't cookie crisps.

And they tried it, and Carter said, this would be good if I hadn't tried cookie crisp already.

And then he went around doing that, you know, the wolf that does cookie crisp.

I don't know you guys are old enough to remember that.

Some of you guys remember that. Anybody remember that? All right.

Yeah. Yeah, all of us over 40 remember that. But he said it would have been

good if I hadn't already tried cookie crisp.

See, I look around for the program. I look at the activity. It would be good

if I didn't already know the power of the Holy Ghost.

If I didn't already know power that saves lives and transforms lives and changes

communities, all of this other programming would be good, but I've come along

now and I've seen the real thing and the imitation just won't do.

See, here's the reality. I'll pass back because I don't have time for it.

This is the church that's not got the power of God moving in the midst of it.

I hope you'll come help me. This is the church. You know what it is?

It's like a candle without a flame. the flame's gone

that's a cool picture but it's

useless and unfortunately we got

some churches out there that either they're a candle and their wick's not even

burnt because they've never known the power but just as sad there's some that

you can tell that that wick's been burnt and maybe it's even still smoking but

the power's not there no more church i don't want to be that church,

I don't want to be that,

especially now that I know what it's like to see people healed to see lives changed, people saved.

When you've had the real the imitation won't do it won't do see God's called

us to be a New Testament church,

God's called us to be a church like we read about in the New Testament,

when you read about that why would he have put it in the scripture,

if really if he wanted to take all that away and just let us have Christmas

programs at church dinners now.

Music.

To Texas Roadhouse, my favorite restaurant.

And I ordered a ribeye because it's the best cut of steak there is.

And I like eating the fat just as much as I like eating the meat on that steak.

I know, JR is about to fall out up here. He's like, oof.

Wouldn't it be, what if I ordered that? Told the server, I said,

I'll take that ribeye, loaded baked potato keep those rolls coming ranch on salad dressing I know,

and what if the boys had their menus out and I said, no guys I brought you guys

a bologna sandwich from home.

I'd be a messed up father, wouldn't I? I'd be a messed up father right?

What if God had told us about all the amazing things that happen in the New

Testament church only to say but you don't have access to any of that but you

got a Christmas play and a church dinner,

and the man with cancer,

sorry all we got is a Christmas play and a church dinner the couple whose marriage

is falling apart sorry all I've got is a Christmas play and a church dinner.

Hopefully you can smile for a few minutes before you go back to your brokenness.

That's not the New Testament church.

The New Testament church is call forth the elders of the church and pray the prayer of faith.

Believe in the prayer of faith will still save the sick.

That's where we are.

We still believe that if two are agreeing, touching one thing,

it'll be done of our Father which is in heaven, which means no matter how lost,

no matter how addicted, no matter how bound,

there's still deliverance because that's the New Testament church.

Let's all stand up all over this building.

Music.

Every head bowed, every eye closed.

We're going to receive communion in just a moment. We're going to pray from

our seats today, but we're going to join hands in just a moment.

We're going to pray a prayer together. We're going to agree together the way

the Bible tells us to agree.

But here's my calls today. Number one, if you're here today and you'd say,

Pastor Scott, I'm struggling.

I need some of that help you're talking about I feel some of that hurt you're

talking about I just feel like I need a touch of the Holy Spirit today If that's

you, I just want you to raise your hand Say, that's me That's me,

there's hands going up Who else?

There's hands going up Yeah That's my first call Second call is this If you're

here today and you say, Pastor Scott We want to be that New Testament church,

We want to share hope with somebody We want to be that New Testament church

that we read about out if that's you I just want you to raise your hand raising

my hand I want to be that I want to be that I want to be that we're going to

do the Christmas plays we're going to have the church dinner we're going to

have an amazing church dinner in a couple weeks.

But we're going to have hope for people to run to,

That's our desire. Can we do this right now? I want us to join hands.

If you want to stretch out across the aisle, if you feel comfortable,

you can stretch out across the aisle. I want as many people as we will to join

together and agree together.

But I want us to pray. I know this is a little different. But I want us to pray

as a church that, God, we could be a church.

That us, freedom of worship, that we can be a church that people can walk in

and find hope, that we can be the body of Christ, that when we're in the marketplace,

in the workplace, that people can sense there's hope there.

Can we do that? Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we come before you.

We just thank you for your Holy Spirit. We thank you that you're here today.

And Holy Ghost, we just pray for every person in here. God, for those that raised

their hands and said they need that help, they need that breakthrough.

Right now, we speak the life of Jesus Christ. For those that need healing,

we just speak your name, Jesus.

What the Old Testament said he sent forth his word

and his word healed that shows us the

New Testament revelation Jesus you're the healer Jesus

you are the healer Jesus you're the healer by

your stripes we are healed we

believe Jesus Father for those that are bound those

who are hurting Lord you told us if any two would

agree touching one thing it is done by our

Father which is in heaven and so we speak Lord

open doors we speak for those that

are bound to be loosed we speak God for those

that are addicted to be set free we speak

for those that are overwhelmed to find the peace of God that passes all understanding

to keep their hearts and minds through Jesus Christ Father right now we just

pray Lord that you would loose every chain loose every chain God and Lord we

thank you for what you let us be the church.

Let us be the church you have called us to be in Jesus name in Jesus name thank you Jesus.

Music.

They can serve you. If it's the first time doing communion with us,

there's a clear piece of plastic on the top.

Fold that back and it has the unleavened bread. It has the wafer in it.

And then the other one will open up the juice for you.

If you want to, you can move around. If you've got family you want to do communion

with, you can move around and be with your family.

Yeah as we as we prepare to do this let's remember this is sacred it really

is we do we do this to remember the sacrifice of jesus christ that's why we do this,

the scripture reminds us in verse corinthians chapter 11 that for as often as

we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the lord's death until he comes

we remember it we honor it it's something sacred.

And so as we prepare for this, can we just pray together? Let's all pray together.

Heavenly Father, we come before you.

Lord, we got gratitude, thankfulness for the gift of your son.

Lord, we just ask you to search our hearts, Jesus. Lord, make us worthy of this

body and this blood, Jesus.

Make us worthy of your sacrifice, Lord.

Search our hearts. If there's any unclean thing, get it.

Lord, purge it out. Cleanse us with hyssop. lord we just thank you that's the

that was the cry of the psalmist lord cleanse us,

but we thank you in jesus name amen as you take the bread jesus said i am the bread of life,

he said whoever shall come to me will not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

On the night that he was giving his bread to the disciples,

Jesus said the Bible says Jesus took it and gave

it gave thanks for it and said take and eat this is my body which is broken

for you do this in remembrance of me let's do that together Holy Spirit Jesus

we just ask you to remind us how privileged we are for the broken body of Christ,

the living bread of Christ that you said that we would never have to hunger

again because of your body.

We just thank you for your body.

Thank you that you came and were tabernacled in flesh to pay a sacrifice for

it, be a sacrifice for our sins.

We thank you for it in Jesus' name. Take you to the bread this morning.

Music.

After supper, he took the cup. He said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

See, we've got to remember the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us of every sin.

The Bible says that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.

If it weren't for the blood of Jesus, we'd be eternally lost without hope.

But today, our hope is the blood.

Jesus, we come before you. We just thank you so much for your blood. thank

you for the blood that has removed my

sins as far as the east is from the west to

cast them into the sea of forgetfulness thank you for the blood that still flows

today and still powerful today still just effective as effective today as it

was 2 000 years ago jesus i personally want to thank you for your blood take

drink of the cup this morning.

Music.

And when they did that in that upper room the bible says and then they sang

a hymn together can we just sing how thankful we are for the blood of jesus christ this morning.

Music.

Come on let's sing that Thank you, Jesus, it has washed me white.

Thank you, Jesus, you have saved my life.

Brought me from the darkness into glorious light.

Thank you. See, I don't know if you can relate or not. but Jesus used the church to save my life.

The church, some people say come to church, it'll make you feel,

but the church is not a vitamin. It's not.

I heard one man say the church is more like a heart transplant and a blood transfusion.

See, that's what it took for me.

I needed my life saved. He saved my life.

And I believe that same power is still real. it's still real i love you guys

have a wonderful week this week god's good we'll see you next sunday god bless you.