Sunday Service

Mountain, you won't climb up. Coming after me. There's no wall you won't kick down. Lie, you won't tear down. Coming after me. There's no shadow you won't light up. Mountain, you won't climb up. Coming after me. There's no wall you won't kick down. You won't sit down. Coming after me. There's no shadow you won't light up. No, you won't climb up. Coming after me. There's no wall you won't kick down. No, you won't tear down. Coming after me. There's no shadow you won't light up. No, you won't climb up. Coming after me. There's no wall you won't kick down, but you won't tear down. Coming after me. Oh, the overwhelming, neverending, reckless love of God. Though it chases me down, fight, and I couldn't earn it. I don't deserve it. Still, you give yourself away. The overwhelming, neverending presence of God.

[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Blessed [Music] Jesus is mine. [Music] He's been my foreman in the fire, time after time. Born of his spirit, [Music] washed in his blood. [Music] And what he did for me on Calvary is more than enough. I trust in God, my savior. The one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my savior. The one who will never fail. He will never fail. Perfect submission. Hold this at rest. I know the author of tomorrow is hard in my steps. So this is my story, and this is my song. [Music] I'm praising my risen King and savior all the day long. [Music] I trust in God and my savior [Applause] who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my savior. One who will never fail. He will never fail. [Music] He didn't fail you then. [Music] He won't fail you now. [Applause] [Music] I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust him. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I saw the Lord. And he saw the Lord. And he answered the Lord. And he answered. That's why I trust you. That's why I trust you. I saw the Lord. Answer. [Music] [Applause] That's why I trusted. That's why I trust in God, my savior. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] I trust in God, my savior. [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Yeah. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] He will never say [Music] I trust in you [Music] who will never fail. [Music] He never fails. I trust in God, my savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. Yeah. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Somebody [Music] Before [Music] I spoke a word, you were singing over me. [Music] You have been so, so good to me before I took a breath. You breathed your life in me. [Music] You have been so, so kind to me. Oh, the overwhelming, neverending, reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down. Fight. Still, I'm found. Leaves the night and night. I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it. Still, you give yourself away. Oh, the overwhelming, neverending, reckless love of God. Yeah. [Music] When I was your foe, still your love fought for me. [Music] And you have been so, so good to me. [Music] When I felt no worse, you paid it all for me. And you have been so, so kind to me. And oh, the overwhelming, neverending, reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down. Fights till I'm found. I deny, and I don't deserve it. Still, you give yourself away. All the overwhelming, neverending necklace of God. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

There's no shadow you won't light up. Mountain, you won't climb up. Coming after me. There's no wall you won't kick down. Lie, you won't tear down. Coming after me. There's no shadow you won't light up. Mountain, you won't climb up. Coming after me. There's no wall you won't kick down. High, you won't sit down. Coming after me. There's no shadow you won't light up. No, you won't climb up. Coming after me. There's no wall you won't kick down. Now, you won't tear it out. Coming after me. [Music] There's no shadow you won't light up. No, you won't climb up. Coming after me. There's no wall you won't kick down, but you won't tear down. Coming after me. Oh, the overwhelming, neverending, reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down. Fight, still the night and night. And I couldn't, I don't deserve it. Still, you give yourself away. Oh, the overwhelming, neverending presence of God. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Amen.

Good morning, Mount Pleasant Christian Center. I hope everyone has been enjoying this wonderful holiday weekend. It was the other day we had a lot of people out here having a good time, a fun fellowship all around. You know, a couple of people that came through the doors I haven't seen in a couple of years. As a matter of fact, I was looking at, and it's like, you know, the awesome thing is when you've been around a little bit is that there were a couple of young ladies that came in, and I was thinking as they came in with their families and their daughters, I was like, you know, I worked with your daughters, your your moms when they were their age, and to see them now and being moms and talking about church and talk about things and all that stuff. It's just, it's just such a blessing. And it's like, and that's why we do the things that we do. It's to continue on the link. There were people there for me growing up. And so you put into the next group so that it goes on to them, and they're going to put on to the next group so that it goes on to them. And when you see that, you realize that we're part of a big family. And you know, and sometimes there's a lot of people that deal with loneliness, feeling alone, like they're all in it by themselves. But I want you to understand something: We never have to be lonely. We have a God who is there. If you look around here, you have brothers and sisters that are here. And we are the body of Christ. When one of us succeeds, man, we are jumping and shouting with them. When one of us is hurting, we're right there beside you crying because we love you. Because we care about you. And as much as we do understand that we have a God who does that even more. And when we think about the love of God, oh my my, you know, this weekend is centered around independence. And you know, when we think about that, to be independent by ourselves and make our own choices, things which is fantastic, but understand, I'm standing before you. I am dependent. I am dependent on God. I thank God that I have the freedom to choose to worship him. But I can't make it on my own. And as wonderful and fantastic as you are, you can't make it on your own. But when we put God first and say we are putting our trust in you, it's amazing the things that can take place. And so right here, right now, this morning, we are coming together to worship God. And I hope in your heart of hearts that when you walk through this door, you came to receive something, because you know what? God has something for you. And as awesome as God is, as much as many times that you might have received from him, guess what? There's more. There's always another refreshing. There's always another layer. And so come in this morning and just say, "You know what, God? I just want to just take you in this morning." Amen. Those of you that can, please stand. We're going to open up in prayer. Heavenly Father, we come to you right now, dear God. We come to you with a heart full of thanks, Lord. And we come with a heart of thanksgiving, Lord. And we come with an eagerness, just a desire to draw closer unto you. And right now in this time, Lord, let us place this moment in time that you have given us to be with you and draw closer to you than ever before and receive from you like never in our minds that we thought could be possible. Have your way with this service and everything in it. And we claim this in your mighty name. And all of God's people said, "Amen."

[Music] Your Word is a lamp to my feet. Your way is the only way for me. It's a narrow road that leads to life, but I want to be on it. It's a narrow road. No mercies wide, cuz you want to promise. I take you at your word. You said it. I believe it. I've seen how good it was. You started your complete. I'll take you at your word. [Music] You spoke, and the chaos fell in. Oh, I know. Cuz I've seen it in my eyes. It's a narrow road that needs to light, but I want to be on it. It's a narrow road. The tide is high, but you part the waters, and thank you at your word. If you said it, I believe it. I've seen how good it was. If you start it, you'll complete it. I'll take you at your word. You said it, I believe it. I've seen how good it was. You starting up completed. I'll take you at your word. You're good. You promise. [Music] You said your love would never give up. You said your grace is always enough. You said your heart will never forget or forsake me. Come on. You said I'm saved. You'll call me yours. You said my future's full of your hope. You never fail. I know that you'll never fail me. You said your love would never give up. You said your grace is always enough. You said your heart would never forget or forsake me. And you said I'm saved. And you call me. You said my future's full of your hope. You'll never fail. So I know that you'll never fail me. I'll take you at your word. You said it, I believe it. I've seen how good it was. You started, you're complete. I'll take you as your word. You said it. I believe. I've seen how good it works. You start in your complete. I'll take you at your word. [Music] You promise. [Music] I take you at your word. [Music] Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Who's ready to take him at his word this morning? Amen. Hallelujah. [Music] [Music] I close my eyes to see my King and majesty. Your grace compels my soul to love and draw you close. [Music] My hands and see everything in you. I find my God, to our now and to forever. Jesus, I surrender. Show me what I don't know of you. I'm desperate for your presence. Longing to be with you. Lead me to whatever [Music] through the I'll persevere. How will you submit to any fear? Where you go, you've been before. Oh, our trust is in you, Lord. Now it's you forever. Jesus, I surrender. Show me what I don't know more of you. I'm desperate for your presence, longing to be with you. Lead me to a new place for you now and till forever. Jesus, I surrender. Show me what I don't know more of you. I'm desperate for your presence, longing to be with you. Lead me to a new place for you. [Music] [Music] Lead me to you forever. Lord, I will pursue. I will pursue. You are my all, Jesus. You're all that I want. All that I want. Lead me to you forever. Lord, I will pursue. I will pursue. You are my all. Jesus, you are all that I want. All that I want. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] All I need is you, Lord, is you, Lord. All I need is you. Yes, Jesus. All I need is you, Lord, is you, Lord. All I need is you. [Music] All I need is you, Lord, is you, Lord. All I need is you. Sing it to the church. All I need is you, Lord, is you, Lord. Lead me to you forever, Lord. I will pursue. I will pursue. You are. You are my all. Jesus, you are all that I want. All that I want. Leave me to you forever. Lord, I will pursue. I will pursue. You are. You are my own [Music] heat. [Music] All I need is you. [Music] All I need is you, Lord, is you, Lord. All I need [Music] All I need is you [Music] Jesus. [Music] [Music] Jesus. Jesus. [Music] Let my life be an altar. Light up my lungs with your praise, cuz I can't breathe till you breathe. So breathe over me. Let my life be in the [Music] [Music] Lord, let my life be an altar. [Music] Light up my lungs with your praise [Music] cuz I can't breathe till you breathe. So feel me. Let my life be in the This is the moment we win. Heat [Music] up [Music] here. [Music] I got a consume me. I got a holy wind. Whatever. That will win. I got it. I got the holy way. Whatever you think. Whatever you touch. Whatever you speak is. [Music] Whatever you touch with them, you touch. Whatever you speak is done. Whatever you touch with them. [Music] So come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch. So come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch will live. Come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch will live. Come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch will live. Come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch, come on in. Just come on in. This is the moment where we fire. Come on in. We [Music] know again. This is the moment we [Music] come to my [Music] holy way [Music] I'm going to show my holy way [Music] Oh, never [Music] May I hear your voice enter? You ask, can these boats ever again? We hear your voice. That's a win. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] So come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch will live. Come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch will live. Come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch will live. So come on in. Come on in. Whatever you touch. [Music] Come on in. Whatever you touch me, [Music] come on in. Whenever you touch [Music] you touch [Music] you [Music] [Music] Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. Be poured out on your people today. [Music] We are vessels made specifically to carry your presence. Pour out your spirit. Pour out your spirit upon your people today. God, that every vessel in this house be emptied out this morning. All the stuff that gets in the way and blocks your path, that we would make a way for you to come. Right now, God, I can hear the words of John the Revelator. [Music] As he says in that book of Revelations, even so, Lord Jesus, come. Even so, Holy Spirit, be poured out. More than a feeling, more than an emotional response, your people would know. Father, you are near to us when we pray. And when we call on you, when we cry out to you, your word says that you come. You are drawn to the brokenhearted. We are brokenhearted people. And we need your presence. Like a mother, like a father runs to their children when they cry out in need. And God, we're crying out to you today. We need you. And more than any feeling, more than any emotional response, any more tingle on the back of my neck or goosebumps on my arms, I know that you're here because your word says so. And your word is truth. Because when you say it, we can believe it. It's written in your word. So, we can hold on to that. We can take that to the bank. It's an assurance. So when we cry out to you, come, Holy Spirit. I know, God, you're in this place. Your spirit is in this place, filling every heart, every mind, every vessel that's been created to carry you, God. Have your way. Have your way in every heart. Have your way in every life that is here today. Let let no one escape your presence today, God. Let no one escape your presence today, in Jesus' name. And as we're in this posture of praise today before we are seated, there's a need within the house, one of our families, as a member of their family who is in desperate need of a touch from God as far as healing is concerned. She's one of our former youth in college. Serena Polaris, the daughter of Dean and Cindy Polaris. She's taken ill. She was in the hospital uh this past weekend in San Francisco, dealing with some long-standing issues that she's had going on in her body. I asked for permission this morning that we could pray corporately as the body of Christ for her. And she gave her permission. Amen. So, I want you to join with me today before we end our time in the presence of God as far as worship is concerned. And let let's lift up this dear sister [Music] She's a lover of Christ Jesus. Amen. She believes in the power of prayer as we do. So let's pray for her healing today. Amen. Join with me. Father, in Jesus' name, we thank you for Serena. God, we thank you for this young woman whose heart is after yours. Lord, she loves you, and right now she needs you. Even though she's on her way home now. She's not in the hospital anymore, but she's still dealing with with those physical issues, God, that we know that via your your will you can heal. And so that's what we're praying today, that you would touch her body by the power of your Holy Spirit with healing, divine healing that only comes from you. God, we're praying for a miracle in her body. God, pinpoint that area that's been giving her problems for years. And we thank you for the doctors. We thank you for the specialists. We thank you for surgeons. We thank you for all of them. They're a blessing, but their know-how and their abilities can only go so far. And where man fails, God, you always prevail. And so we ask, Holy Spirit, that you would breathe healing into Serena's body, those areas that have been giving her difficulties for those numbers of years. Father, they will be healed, in Jesus' name. You wouldn't just give her comfort in the meantime. We pray for that today, but we don't want a band-aid. We want a healing. Father, we ask that in Jesus' name. And your word tells us that where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst. And if they're agreeing on any one thing, that God, you're going to give it to us. You're it's going to be ours, God. So we pray today as the body of Christ, as Serena's brothers and sisters in Christ, we pray today for her healing, that God, you would complete this miracle in her life. That's what we need. We need a miracle over her life right now. No more visits to the hospital. No more stays in the hospital. No more fears in our parents' and our sisters' minds and hearts. No more, God, we we ask you for a healing, Lord, in Jesus' name. And if your word says when we come together and we pray that you answer, and we believe that today and we receive it in Jesus' name. We believe, God, that you have the power to do it, and we ask you to. We trust in you, and we're going to be so bold as to thank you right now in advance for the healing that she's going to receive, in Jesus' name. We thank you in advance. Oh, God, thank you, Lord. Come on, just thank him right now. Thank you for Serena's healing, God. Thank you for her healing right now, in Jesus' name, God. And Father, this would never come back to haunt her again. Father, set her free, God, of this sickness. And let it be let let one name, only one name, receive the credit for it all, and that's you, Jesus. That's you. Receive the glory and the honor and the power and the praise because of who you are and what you do. We thank you, Father. We give you the praise and the glory. And it's in the mighty name of Jesus that we pray these things. And all of God's people said, "Amen and amen." Come on, let's give him some praise this morning. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Glory. Glory. Glory. Thank you, Lord. We believe in God. We receive it from you, Lord Jesus, right now, in Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Glory. Glory. Thank you, Father. And here's what I ask you on on behalf of the family: I want you to pray for Serena like you were praying for your own child. Amen. And have faith in the healing power of the Holy Spirit like you would believe for yourself or for one of your children. Amen. Can we do that? Amen. Praise God. You can be seated in the house of the Lord. Shake a couple of hands. Greet somebody in the name of the Lord. Before you do that or as you do that, let's have a moment of fellowship. Smile at somebody. Tell them how glad you are to see them in the house of the glory. Thank you, worship team. You are awesome. We appreciate you. Hallelujah. Well, if

You believe God is good, say amen. He is good. He's better than good. He's great and he's greatly to be praised. Amen.

As you find your seats, I'm going to give you just a couple announcements this morning. Just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for the men's ministries, the WM, uh, for everyone who had a hand in our Fourth of July celebration this past Friday. It was amazing. We had great food. We had great fellowship. There were several people that had watermelon all over their face and the rest of the people were laughing because they had watermelon all over their face. We had a good time. We enjoyed ourselves. And we were here into the late hours as we watched the fireworks all over San Jose. None of them that we lit, just to let you know if they're watching on YouTube, the authorities, we didn't do it. We were just watching. Okay, we were just watching. Some of us were on the top of the hill. Others were down here on the bottom. Uh, we got to see, you know, we were kind of bummed out that we weren't going to see the uh the fireworks over uh Lake Cunningham. As we know, there was that tragedy over I think it was Yolo County where all the the fireworks, where they get them from, the the whole factory exploded, or and it was a horrible thing and we thought, "Oh man, that's kind of curtains for that," but they jumped together and and got a whole drone show going on. So, that was cool. We were able to see it from here. And so, again, just thank you for everybody who pitched in and helped uh from those who cooked to the cleanup to the decorations and all that stuff. And thank you to all of you who showed up and hung out with us for that day. Can we give all those people a round of applause tonight? Amen.

And I want to say a big thank you to all the dog owners who had to stay home and babysit their dogs because they were afraid of they're afraid of fireworks. I feel you. I get it. It's It's rough. Deuce deuce. Check check check. All right. Perfect. So, we we were praying for you while you're at home and we we appreciate you so much. Um, so again, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our heart. Let's let's do this again next year. Amen. Praise God.

And then also I want to remind all of our families, especially our kids, moms and dads, you got kids, VBS is coming up. Amen. It's right after uh sunset. It's going to be from Wednesday to Friday. That's July 23rd to the 25th. So, our team is preparing as we speak. They're getting everything together for your children. Sign them up today. Hey, there's going to be a signup sheet right outside the the the doors in the uh sanctuary underneath the awning out there. So, make sure you're signing your kids up today. We want them to have a good time to draw closer to Jesus, to learn about the Lord. Amen. And so, so again, our team is working hard putting that thing together uh for them. Amen. So, let's give it up for our VBS team. Praise God. Amen. And they're jumping on that right after they get back from sunset. So, God bless you guys. Amen. Drop those kids off. Let them enjoy some time uh in the presence of the Lord and you go out and drink some coffee and hang out with your honey and shop or whatever and just make sure you come back to pick them up. Praise God. We only want them for that time. You can keep them for the rest of the time. Praise the Lord. Amen. But again, thank you. Thank you in advance for getting your kids involved. And again, thank you to our team as well. All right, that's it for your announcements. Let's jump into the word of God.

What have we What have we been talking about over the last several weeks? It's a rhetorical question. You don't have to answer, but I I want you to think about it. Pastors need to know sometimes that the congregation that he's preaching to, that he's the shepherd of are hearing the word and they're listening and they're taking it in. There's one word we've been talking about. Well, it's actually two words. Very important. Growth, right? Growing. Growing in what? In grace. Woo. Third swap. Praise the Lord. This is awesome. I feel like I'm in a relay race. All right, I got the next one coming. Hey, just attach the other one with a rope and I can use them like nunchucks. Praise the Lord. We've been talking about growth tiny antenna, but growth in a specific way. Growth in grace. As we started this series, we talked about the fact that has a double meaning. Growing in grace means that you're growing within the confines of God's grace. God's grace is a habitat for you. We are in the grace of God. What is grace? God's riches at Christ's expense. Grace is a free gift, a beautiful gift, an expensive gift given to you free of charge. And and and you don't deserve that gift. Amen. How many of you know we don't deserve the gifts that God gives us? Our sins cried out for retribution and we got a redeemer. Amen. Cried out for justice and God sent us Jesus. Mercy personified. So grace is a gift given to us that we don't deserve and it's given freely and it's a habitat that we are allowed to grow in to grow in the grace of God. It's a covering that he puts over us that allows us to grow. It protects us and it promotes growth. But not only are we growing in the habitat of grace, but we're growing in grace as well. What do I mean? Grace is a superpower. Grace was given to you freely. And so what does Christ ask us to do? To give grace in return. So we need to grow in that grace. Now we're not like God who his nature is grace. Our nature is the opposite, right? We're sinners. And if grace is a gift given that somebody doesn't deserve, we don't like doing that. We want to give people what they deserve, but most of the time it's not good things. Amen. So we need to grow in that grace. And as we grow in the habitat of his grace, we get to grow in the power of his grace as well. Is that understood? I know, right? Blowing your brains, blowing your mind today. That's that's the power of God. That's God's word.

Now, we've been talking the last several weeks about the church's desperate need for growth. The church of Jesus Christ is in desperate need of growing up. Again, not in size or numbers, but in maturity and in strength. In fact, growth in size and numbers will never take place until we as a people, as a community, as the church grow up. Let me say that again. Growth in numbers will never happen until we grow up. Because nobody wants to come to a church that's filled with people, especially their leadership, who are immature. Come on, somebody. Could you imagine being part of of a of a company that was run by children, little kids? Could you imagine that? We love kids. Kids are great. Make us laugh. They're they're cute, you know. They're adorable, but they're not good at running things. Amen. I hope your kids don't run your household. You're you're you're making me real scared. Everybody's all quiet today. Oh, yeah. That's That's crazy. Who would do that, right? Kids running the show. It wasn't meant to be. That's why God gave parents to train them to train a child in the way that they should go to train them. And as they mature, they learn the proper ways on how to live this life. And we're never going to grow in numbers until we learn to grow up. I'm sure it's not a surprise to most of you that we sometimes behave in a way that is unbecoming of our name. Christian. Christian means Christlike. And sometimes Christians don't act very Christlike. If you believe that, say amen. Amen. And I hope you're not thinking about sister so- and so or brother such and such. Hope you're looking in the mirror. Right. We I have just as much as a as a tendency to act fleshly and carnal as anybody else. and I'm the pastor, right? We all have that tendency and that ability. Instead of being loving and caring and accepting like Jesus, we can be judgmental, apathetic, and snobby. Instead of being childlike with our faith as Christ commanded, we choose to be childish in our behaviors. This is sad. It needs to change. That's the beauty of growing up. You change from that cute little kid into a strong adult who knows how to do stuff. Amen. Who knows how to get things done and to get those things done in the right way. Little kids are selfish. They're wired that way. That's why parents are there to guide them to be selfless, to think about others. That's what we need to be. When we came to Christ and our salvation, we were selfish. And God took his time on us as we crossed that threshold from unsaved to saved. He took his time on us. But then he says, "Okay, it's time to get up and grow." Look at your neighbor, say, "Get up and grow." Get up and grow. That's what we have to do. And doing that is a decision that you have to make. God is not going to hit you over the head with his maturity stick. That stick does not, it does not exist. It's not a thing. You have to choose to grow and you have to do the work to grow. Amen. So again, that needs to change. We need to begin, as the title of this sermon says, start growing in grace. Growing in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our base scripture right there on the screen. Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people and their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow. Everybody say, "We will grow." We will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ. Amen.

So, right there in that scripture, there is an answer. We will grow. I want you to hold that in your hearts today. Hold that in your hearts every day. Let that be a mantra that you live by that when you wake up in the morning, you say, "I will grow. I will grow today. I make a decision to grow in the goodness of God, in the grace of God, in the fullness of Christ." Remember, growth is natural and it's necessary not just in our physical lives, but also and especially in our spiritual lives as well. We need to see spiritual growth in our lives just like we need to see physical growth in our lives. If we see that our children are not growing, we know that there's a problem. When your pastor sees that there's no spiritual growth in your life, I know that there's a problem. Amen. You've heard me say this a million times. Well, this is a million in one. Do not camp out on your salvation. Do not Well, can I get to heaven by not doing anything else but being saved? Of course. I mean, you're saved that you you're in. But I want you to be in. Amen. I want you to be so in, you're in. You're on the back side of in, not on the front doorstep. So when you get saved, your aim should be to grow in Christ every single day. Not just to stay on the on the safe edge of salvation, but to grow. I want to continue taking step after step, day after day into the unknown. Amen. Because the whole act of salvation is a means to an end. The means of salvation, the end is disciplehip. Get that word on your lips. Say disciplehip. Say it again. Say it again. Mufasa. Right. Disciplehip. That's what we need. Here's another thing I'm going to say again a million and one times. If you your knowledge of God and your relationship with God is the same today as it was on the day of your salvation, you are not growing. Amen. You're stagnant. You cannot stagnate with God. You have to grow. You must grow. So it's a natural process again not just in our physical lives but in our spiritual lives as well. Our spiritual life begins with birth, right? We're reborn in Christ. We die to our old ways of sin and we're reborn into something new, into someone new. And that someone is Jesus. The next natural step, of course, is growth. This is the process that gets us from spiritual birth to spiritual maturity. God doesn't want us to remain spiritual infants. He wants us to be grown. If there is no growth, then there's no maturity. There's no maturity, then it means that we're stuck in infancy. And sadly, that's exactly what happens to a lot of people after they get saved. Take a couple of weeks or we talked a couple of weeks ago about the three indicators of immaturity. Being a selfish self-server, being a complainer instead of a fixer, and being a follower of men rather than a follower of Christ. So, just as we talked about those markers of immaturity, today we're going to talk about the markers or the indicators of spiritual maturity. This is what you will see in a spiritually m mature person. This is what you should see in your life as you grow in Christ. Okay.

Number one, the spiritually mature man or woman of God is a missionminded individual. They are a missionminded individual. Now, we're going through these from three, two, one. Okay, this is the third most. Second point will be the second most and and the last point will be the first the most important. Okay. So again number one missionminded individual. I want you to ask yourself right now are you mission-minded? When you wake up in the morning what is your goal for that day? To survive to get through the day right? What is your what is your goal? What are you thinking about? Or do you just mindlessly get up in the morning, drag yourself to the bathroom, brush your teeth, and comb your hair, and walk out the door with your coffee? Are you thinking about who you are and what you're called to do that day and how you're going to meet that out? Are you a mission-minded individual? Even though we know we will never be perfect this side of glory, the mature missionminded follower of Christ always positions themself for the process of perfecting. You know what disciplehip is? It's you going through a refining process. Amen. It's you going through the process of being perfected. When you get saved, you're not automatically made perfect. No. But every day he's making you perfect. Day after day, you get further away from the old man and closer to the new you. Amen. You grow in his love. You grow in his mercy. You grow in his grace. You grow in strength. You grow in your calling. You are being perfected. You are being refined. That's what it's about. So again, the mature mission-minded follower of Christ always positions himself for the process of perfecting. So every day, I want you to wake up and say, "God, I want to be in position for perfection today. Not to be perfect, but to be perfected." How many of you feel like, "Oh man, God's got to work. God's got some hard work with me." Come on, wave at me if you know what I'm talking about. Y'all should be waving. Okay, so we're going to talk about that in our next series. All right. We all need work every single day. If you don't believe that, ask some people. Amen. You think you think I need to work on some things? They're going to be, "Oh, yeah." You're like, "Boy, you said that a little fast. Take your time a little bit, please." But but I think we should all agree that every single one of us, no matter where we are in our journey with Christ, no matter how long we've been saved or how deep in ministry we are, we can all agree we got some work to do. So every day we need to wake up and say, "God, I want to put myself in position for you to work on me today to grow me, to mature me." Remember these these words, you probably heard it several times coming up growing up. Practice makes perfect. Amen. Every single day is an opportunity for you to practice in grace, to practice in holiness, to practice in this walk with Christ. And it will make you perfect because you're not doing it by yourself. You're putting yourself in the hands of the Lord Jesus. and he is perfecting us. Doing our best to live righteously, to obey the commandments, and to follow Christ's teaching day after day is the best way to whip our flesh into shape. In fact, it's the only way. It's the only way to subdue the flesh and allow our spirit to control our lives. Amen. We have to work it out just like we have to work our bodies out to be stronger, to be healthier. It's the same thing spiritually. Perfecting is maturing. So when Christ is perfecting you every day, he is maturing you. Every day that we put these things into practice means that we are drawing that much closer to being the spiritual mature men and women that we were created to be. Remember, we don't work to earn our salvation. You're not working to earn salvation. You already have it. You're already there. You are saved. There is a place in heaven for you. As long as you maintain that salvation, you're saved. So, the work that you're doing today is not to be saved. Your work today is so that you're being perfected as a person who is tasted of the salvation of God. You are not working for salvation because salvation is a free gift that God gives us. All we have to do is receive it. Amen. We work to perfect ourselves in salvation to become the best version of ourselves. The version that God sees when he looks at us. Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans I have for you, says God. Plans to prosper you, not to harm me, plans to give you a hope and a future. God has made you for a specific reason. We have a general call to be sons and daughters of God. And we have a specific call in our life. Whatever that is that God created you to do. He created me to be a shepherd, to be a preacher, to be a teacher who occasionally sings a little bit of worship. Right? He called me to do these things, but he's called you to do other things, different things, things that are complimentary to the things that I do and others do that they're called to do. So, we're called to grow in that. That's the best version of ourselves. When I say when God wants to make us into what he sees, that's what I'm talking about. He He sees you as the endgame. He sees you as the perfected person that he created you to be. That's how he chooses to look at you. That's contrary to the way that we choose to look at ourselves. Every day you wake up, you look in the mirror, you look at all the imperfections and all the ways that you've failed. And God looks at all of the ways that are being perfected and how beautiful that process is and how beautiful you are because you're in the process. Well, that deserve way more amens than that. That you're not amening me. You're just amen in the truth that God loves you enough to see you as what you are not right now, but what you are aiming to be and what you're doing the work to become. God sees you as that person. Every day he chooses to look at you that way. Man before Christ's sacrifice on the cross works solely towards making it into heaven. Man after Christ's sacrifice on the cross works towards perfecting themselves in salvation to prepare a way for others to make it into heaven. Do you hear that? Before Christ, man worked every day just to get into heaven on his own. I need to get there. So, I got to work, work, work, work, work, and be as close to following the statutes of God, the laws of God, so I can get in. But after Christ, we're not working for our salvation because it's already been given. That's already been taken care of. So every day we work, we're being perfected so we can be like a neon sign pointing to others so that they can get into the presence of God. Amen. That's a beautiful transaction there. That's a beautiful metamorphosis from selfishness to selflessness. Because if we're called to be like Christ, he was the epitome of selflessness. I mean, do you need proof? Hello. the cross. That wasn't his cross. That was yours. That was my cross he died on. You want to talk about selfless? So, if we're to be like Christ, we need to live selflessly. Not trying this vain attempt to earn our salvation, but to live a perfected life, in the process of perfection, so others can see that and they can make it to heaven with you. It's not about you.

Look at your neighbor. Tell them it's not about you. If you know me, you know that's another mantra of mine. I love to have people say that in service. It's not about you, man. It's not about you. It's about God. Christ in me, the hope of glory. Christ working through me.

Look at your neighbor. Tell them this: You're only special to your mama. You're a special little snowflake to your mama. If you do not allow God to use you, do you think the whole thing is going to fall apart? I'm going to ask that again. You special little people. If you refuse to be a vessel for God and allow him to use you, do you think the whole thing is going to fall apart? You think God can't find somebody else who's willing and able and obedient?

You're blessed to be called of God. You're blessed to be a vessel carved out to carry the presence of God. You are blessed to have a calling that was set in you, a destiny that was set in you before you were even born, before you were even a twinkle in your mama's eyes. You were blessed to have that. But if we don't answer, God will call someone. Someone. So it's better that you answer like Isaiah: "Here am I. Here I am. Here I am, Lord. Whom shall I send? Pick me. I'm here. I'm ready to go." That's how we need to be. Amen. That's what God wants with us. And that's why he looks at us in the way that he does, in our perfected ways. And again, it's not about you. Your life is not about you. You're saved, man. So live in a perfected way so that others can make it in with you. Christ gives the gift of salvation. He does that work for us so we can put our efforts into something bigger. And that's discipleship. All right. God.

And what does he do? He doesn't say that, okay, I'm gonna throw you out there and you got to figure this out. No, God gives people to help us out. God sends people to us to help us. Look at what Ephesians 4:1 through 13. These are the few verses right before our base scripture. Okay? Look what it says: "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." It says that he gave specific people that have specific offices to perfect you, to equip you so that you can become the saints who are drawing closer to Christ and bringing others along for the ride. Amen. So God gives us people to help. So whether you like me or not, I'm God's gift to you. You're welcome. Right.

Hey, and you know what's awesome? My name is Matthew, and Matthew means gift of God. Just to let you know, look it up if you don't believe me. I know I don't always act like a gift. My mom probably will testify to that, and my wife can probably say a big amen to that. But it is what it is, folks. Don't blame me, right? So God gave people to help us along the way, to encourage us to grow, to give us the tools and the resources to grow and to mature.

Through the ministry of the apostles, we receive divinely appointed leadership. They will provide guidance and direction on a churchwide scale. You don't see a lot of apostles these days. Now, you hear a lot of people being called apostles. Most of those people are calling themselves apostles. You hear me? That's a tough position. That's a pastor of pastors. That's a leader of leaders, but it is a ministry. It is an office. It's not that it doesn't exist. But it's not just handed out like candy thrown out into the crowd. "You're an apostle and you're an apostle." God ain't Oprah. It's a specific calling and it's an important calling and it takes a specific type of person to fulfill that calling. But again, the apostles, they were important. Look at these. These were the leaders of the church. We receive through apostles divinely appointed leadership.

Through the ministry of the prophet, we will receive a word from the Lord. He or she will speak directly into our lives and reveal not only what our future would hold, but also what is in our present that can hold us back from said future. There are prophets of God that he uses to read your mail. You know what that means, right? To tell you what only you know that's going on in your life right now. How did you know that? A prophet. Duh, right? They're not just here to tell you about what's to come. They're here to warn you about what might stand in the way of you receiving that blessing in the future or how you can change the situations so that God can work freely through you.

Through the ministry of the evangelist, people are won to Christ because his or her gift is in the preaching and proclaiming of the gospel and in compelling the lost to come to Christ. And through the ministry of the pastor and the teacher, the follower of Christ receives instruction. We teach you the things of God so that you can operate in the things of God. These are important people that God provides for you for what? For your equipping. Amen. That's what we're here for, to equip you.

Now, let's focus on the pastor for a moment because I am one. Okay. Now, there's some misconceptions about your pastors. Now, this is the position. Your pastors are the position; that's the office that's always with you. If you're in a church, you're going to have a pastor of that church. Pastor is a shepherd. Leads you, guides you safely. "Follow me because I'm cool, good-looking maybe," but you follow me. Yeah. Thanks, guys, for the vote of confidence on that one. You don't follow me because of those things. You follow me because I follow Christ. If you follow me for anything, it's because I follow Jesus. I make my life a reflection of his. If I'm not, then you have permission to not follow me. But the pastor is the position within that five-fold ministry there that is with you consistently. Amen. You notice that there's no office of apostle in the church. There's no office of prophet in the church. There's no office of evangelist in this church. There's an office of pastor because he's the one that's with you guiding you and directing you week to week, day to day, however.

Now, that's not saying I'm not saying all that to blow myself up. That's why I'm so important in your life. No, no, no. Listen, there's misconceptions about the pastor and here it is: that he's supposed to do all the work of the ministry. That's a lie. That's a lie perpetrated so that people in the pews can be pew warmers or seat warmers. I just go to church and I hear the word and I amen a couple of good points and I go home. I'm a Christian. Is that what Jesus did? Jesus went into the highway and the hedges. Jesus went and preached the good news, healed people from sickness, saved them from lives of sin. Well, yeah, pastor, you're one of his workers. Guess what? So are you. So are you. You are ministers of the gospel. Period.

So contrary to popular belief, with the acceptance of preaching and teaching, the work of the ministry is not supposed to be done by the pastor of the church. I'm supposed to equip you to do the work of the ministry. That's what the scripture said in Ephesians 4:11 through 13: to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. People, you only remember a fraction of what I teach and preach from this pulpit. You're not going out there and preaching every word. I'm not sending out this sermon so you can go speak to your co-workers and your friends out there. No, you're ministering. You're receiving here and taking out there, living it out loud in front of people in this world, some of which who are lost and broken, and they're receiving from you ministry. Why? Because you're a minister of the gospel. Look at your neighbor and say, "You're a minister." See, you guys all believe me. You are a minister of the gospel, and I'm here to equip you for that ministry. Amen. Again, the pastor is not supposed to be doing all the work. The pastor of the church is called to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry.

But what tends to happen a lot of times is that a huge portion, if not all, of ministry falls on the shoulders of the local pastor. And here's what happened: These men of God either get bogged down by the work and are never able to lead the church to growth and victory or they get burned out and become disappointed, disillusioned and ultimately disconnect themselves from ministry altogether. What does that mean? It means they leave the ministry. They quit because they can't do it anymore. You're not supposed to. Pastors are not supposed to carry it all. Amen. We as the church are the body of Christ. He is the head. He doesn't have a bunch of little heads that are pastors popping up all over. No. That's weird and gross. That's not what we're supposed to be. We're all the body of Christ. Amen. That's what we're supposed to be doing.

Folks, let me let you know something. I don't want to build this church by myself. I ain't looking for any kind of credit. "Oh, Pastor Matt came and everything changed, everything just became just the best." I don't want that because every good leader knows you're only as good as the people who believe and work for the vision. Notice I said the vision, not mine. Because it's not mine, it's God's vision. And if it's God's vision, it's our vision. Amen. And so we're only as good as the people who work alongside of us and help us to build up and make that vision a reality. Amen. To glorify God by actively serving one another and our fellow man in love. And it's through unity, love, and service that we're going to be able to do that. Vision, mission. You're either in it with me or you're not. If you're looking for me to do it all, it's not going to work that way. And we're going to stay. We're either going to stay the way that we are or we're going to shrink. Amen. We're in this together. We're better together than we are apart. And as far as ministry is concerned, I'm here to equip you so that you can go out and minister. Amen.

There are people in this church who are more organized than I am. There are people in this church who are more creative than I am. There are people in this church that have bigger hearts than I do, are more thoughtful about certain things than I am. A good leader knows that you're supposed to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and better than you at the things that you're not good at. When we sing that song, "Shine Jesus, shine," it's not me trying to be the superstar over here. We're shining together as a body of Christ. I'm not trying to hog any kind of glory. You are the real superstars because you are the ones who are getting out these doors, taking what is equipping you from the word, and you're putting into practice out there. Our church will grow when we start to realize I'm not the superstar up here. In fact, I'm here to serve you so that you become the stars out there. That you shine like stars. A city on a hill is not hidden. Amen. Hide it under a bushel. Let it shine. And I'm here to help you, to build you up. So again, think about that when you're thinking about your ministries. Think about your people. Surround yourself in your ministries with people who are smarter than you and better than you at certain areas. You have your strong points. Be strong in them. Surround yourself with other people who are stronger in the points that you're not strong in. Does that make sense? Amen.

Man, we're still on point one. You guys are going to be here all day. Praise God. All right. Last part of point one here: Mature Christians, listen. Mature Christians are active Christians. Mature Christians are active Christians. They're not kickback Christians. They're not leisure Christians. They're not Christians only on Sunday. Amen. They're active. They know and accept their role and calling as a builder of the church. They're not simply pew fillers. They are active participants in building the church on a daily basis, not just on their ministry day. And they don't shy away from the hard work that it takes to be a purposedriven church. We need to be a purpose-driven church. You know what our purpose is? It is to introduce people to Christ and then to disciple them from that point to who they're called to be.

I had a head of a ministry one time in the church who only wanted to come on their day of ministry. And I was like, "Ooh, yeah." No. They only wanted to be here on the day that they ministered to their specific group of people that were in the church. I go, "No, no, no." And so, I'm going to speak this to all ministries here today. Okay, that meant that they didn't want to come on Sundays. They wanted to have family time on Sundays. I'm like, "Family time? That's what Sunday is. The family of Christ comes together to worship the head of the body, to hear, to be instructed by the pastor, to be equipped by the pastor in Christ." And they didn't want to show up that day. I said, "Look, if you're not here on Sundays to receive the equipping, I can't trust you to do the ministry on the day that your ministry meets." Because if you're not receiving from the pastor of the church the instruction that's meant for the church, I can't trust you to do the job that the church needs to do in and through your life. If you are part of a ministry, Sunday service is important for you because that's where you get instruction from the one that God ordained to lead your church. Like no amens, like not one. Amen. If you're not receiving instruction from the shepherd, what are you doing trying to be an undershepherd for him? Is that making sense, right? Like we get it. You got to show up to trainings in order to do your job. Also, it's not just instructional. It's encouraging because I'm telling you right now, if all you're doing is focusing on your ministry, you're not getting poured into and encouraged. You need people to build you up. How are you supposed to water the flock out of an empty well? How are you supposed to feed the people that you're called to feed when your cupboards are dry? There's nothing to give. You have to get fed. So, if you are in ministry at this church or if you aim to be in ministry at the church and especially if you're a leader of a ministry, I need to see you on Sunday morning. I need to see you on Sunday morning because then I'll know that you're receiving from me what God is passing through me for you. Period. Amen.

All right. Point number two, marker of a mature Christian is that they build up fellow believers. They're building up other believers. A mature Christian works at building up other believers because we're only as strong as our weakest member. Amen. That old saying, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Our job is to make sure that the weak link is becoming strong so that we don't fall apart. The mature Christian is all about strengthening the church as a whole. And what is the church? Brick, mortar, steel, wood. No, it's not the building. It's the people. You are the church. You are the bricks that make up the church. And so my job as a pastor is to teach you how to hold it together. Your job is to help each other stay in place, to hold each other up because we're only as strong as our weakest. Christ is the head, the brains of the operation. We are the body, the hands, the feet, the mouthpiece. We need to be a strong body in order to support the head. Anybody ever collect those Funko Pops? I don't know if they've ever made one. I hope they don't. A Funko Pop Jesus. That would be such a good representation of the church in the 21st century. Big head, little body. How are we holding up this beautiful grand head of Jesus with this tiny old pygmy weak body? And it's like we capitalize on being a weak body. We focus more on programs than we do people or the presence of God. We focus on entertainment value rather than challenging people to walk the walk of holiness and righteousness. We got this tiny little body to carry the head that is Christ. We can't do that. We are the bricks of the church and we need to be strong and we need to work at holding each other up. Amen.

So the mature Christian is active and committed to strengthening his or her brother or sister in the Lord. Proverbs 27:17, you know it as "iron sharpens iron." So one man builds up another. One person builds up another person. We need to strengthen each other. One day we're going to be the one day we serve as the blade that's getting sharpened and our brother is the file. The next day it swaps. We sharpen each other. One day you get to be the file that sharpens your brother. Another day you get to be the sword that's getting sharpened by your brother, the file. Amen. We're holding each other accountable. We're strengthening one another up. We're being there for each other. We're reminding each other of how important it is the job that we have as a brick that makes up the church, as a body part that makes up the body of Christ. We can't be successful in this life with Christ by ourselves. A life with Christ is best linked or best lived when we're linked arm-in-arm with others. I told you about this picture that I saw, right, of the sheep in the middle of the river. It's wool is all full of water. It's being swept away and the pastor is holding on to the sheep. He's got his feet inside the river and then he's got a one of his partners standing on the shore holding on to the farmer with his arm linked like this. So the pastor's in the water bringing out the sheep and the brother's standing there holding on, anchoring him down. That's a beautiful picture. That's a beautiful representation of the church of Jesus Christ. The pastor is called to reach out to the saved and we're called to help our brothers steady, anchor and pull them in. I need you, the body of Christ, to help me in the mission and the vision of this church. You need me and I need you just as much as you need me. And guess what? Whether you like it or not, you need each other. Oh, come on. You can do better than that. All right, there you are. Yes, you need each other. No matter if you've rubbed each other the wrong way from time to time or whatever, we need each other because we're all called to be children of God, workers in the vineyard, and we need each other. We're better together than we are apart. Amen.

But you might ask, "Pastor Matt, how can I build up other believers? What am I supposed to be doing?" Care for the spiritual needs of the body of Christ. What does that mean? Means be available, be approachable, be accessible. Don't screen your calls. If your brother calls you, don't go. Answer the phone. If you can't, shoot him a text. Say, "Hey, I couldn't take your call right now. I'm right in the middle of something. I'll call you back." If you call me while I'm having lunch with my wife, I'm just letting you know I'm not answering your call. If you call me and I'm at my son's game watching them play baseball or I'm spending time with my daughters, I'm not answering your call. I love you, but those are my babies. I will call you later, but I will call you. Amen. Some of you are looking at me like, "Will you though?" I remember times you haven't called me back. Shh. Only human. Talk to my boss. Anyways, let's move on. But let's do that, right? Let's promise to do that for each other. We're going to make mistakes here and there. We're going to fail at that. But be consistent in not failing. Be consistent in being a good brother, a good sister to those who are in need. Amen. Because if iron sharpens iron, and that's our job to be the file that day, show up, be the file so your brother, your sister can be sharp. Because when you need them, you're...

Going to want them to be there for you as a file. Amen. So be available, be approachable, be accessible, be an encourager; encourage your brothers and sisters. Preach, teach, live the scriptures, be a living representation of the word of God. Be an ear to hear and a shoulder to cry on. And then also be somebody that they can rejoice with.

Don’t just show up when they’re hurting and they’re broken and need prayer. Show up to the days that they’re ready to party, man. And I mean party in a good way, not a bad way, okay? I mean, show up on that day so you can drag them out, but you know, you know what I mean. Show up, celebrate with them their milestones. Every once in a while, tell them how blessed you are to be a part of their life and how glad you are to see them drawing closer to Jesus. I’m so proud of you, man. You’re doing so good. Be there. We need that from time to time. You need that from time to time. And you want somebody to do that for you. So, be that for somebody else. Amen.

You can care for the physical needs of the body as well. Don’t just show up when it’s spiritual. Remember that scripture where it says, you know, somebody comes to you and says, “I’m hungry. I don’t have any clothes. I don’t have…” Oh, well, you know, “be well fed and well clothed and God bless you. I’ll pray for you.” But you don’t provide for their needs. Guess what? That’s a sin. That’s a sin. So, we need to be able to provide not just for the lost and the broken outside these walls, but for each other. If we show up for them, but we don’t show up for each other, you are broke. You are naked. You are in the dumps when your brother or your sister is there. They are you and you are them because we’re the body of Christ. So when one of our body parts is hurting and broken, we need to show up. Amen. Cook meals. Bring them meals. Send them, you know, Door Dash. Do something like that. If they’re hungry, if they’re in need, be there for them. Provide clothing, blankets, anything that they lack when they’re in the dumps, their children, buy them backpacks, school supplies if they’re if they’re needed. Buy them a pair of shoes for school, a couple of outfits of clothing if they’re down in the dumps and hurting. Amen. Provide transportation to and from church or at a doctor’s appointment. Do show up for your brothers and sisters in Christ because again, people ain’t going to care what you know until they know that you care. Oh, you say you’re my brother, but when I needed you, you weren’t there for me. Amen. Show up to the hospital, pray for them. If you can’t show up, call them. Do something. But those are easy ways that we can do that.

And here’s a question you want to know. If you’re a builder of believers, ask this question of yourself: Are my brothers and sisters in Christ stronger because of me? I want you to think about that right now. I want you to ask yourself that question. Think about the circle of influence that God has given you. People in that circle of influence. Think about your brothers and sisters that you spend spend time with, that you hang out with, that you gravitate towards when you’re in this setting. Think about that. Think about the Christian friends that you have in your life. And I want you to ask yourself right now, are their lives better because I’m in it? I know that’s crazy, right? How am I supposed to… I can’t just know. Ask him, “Do I make your life better?” And then follow up follow that question up with this. Don’t and don’t tell me what you think I want you to say. I want you to really think about that. Are your brothers and sisters’ lives better because you’re in it? Because of what you provide for them? This I’m not saying this to make you feel bad. If the answer is no, then you’re thinking about it and now you have an opportunity to correct it. If the answer is yes, praise God. Keep on keeping on. Go even farther. Do even more. But we need to be confronted with these kind of questions. Are the people’s lives that I’m a part of, are they enriched? Are they better because I’m in their life? Do I encourage them? Do I serve them? Do I challenge them? Do they know beyond all doubt that I love them? And again, if you really want to know, ask them. And if they get honest with you, someone, you know, beat around the bush and be like, “Well, I mean, you’re a good brother.” Okay. How am I good? Tell me how. Well, if they do this, stop them and go, “How can I do better? How can I be better?” I don’t think we ask ourselves that question enough. Because when somebody when you don’t show up for somebody and they say, “Hey, man. I needed you, bro. Well, you don’t know my life.” We we want to we want to come with all the answers and we want to come with excuses and we want to defend ourselves. You shouldn’t have to defend yourself. If the person’s wrong, they’re wrong. God is your defender. He’ll set them straight. Amen. But if you’re showing up and that accusation’s wrong, let God defend you. If if you hear that from them and you go, I could have been there, man. I’ I’ve had to do that. I’ve had to own up to that. I’ve had to tell brothers and sisters who I had said, “I will be there for you and I didn’t show up.” Whatever the excuse was, whatever the reason was, it’s not enough. I wasn’t there when I told you I would be. I apologize. I’m sorry. I will do better. You know what? It’s not easy. It’s hard. It doesn’t feel good. Makes you sick to your stomach. Nobody likes to apologize because first you have to admit that you’re wrong. And if you’re saying, “I’m sorry that you feel that way,” you’re not sorry. You can’t apologize for how they feel. You can only apologize for what you did to make them feel that. Again, if you didn’t do anything wrong, you ain’t got nothing to defend. God’s your defender. But if you did, own it. Own it. Take responsibility for it. Apologize. Do better. If we all set our minds to doing better for our brothers and sisters, man, then nobody’s thinking about themselves. We’re thinking about each other. And isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing? Amen.

Point number three. Worship team, would you come help me close? The number one marker, number one marker of spiritual maturity, God’s word is their foundation. God’s word is their foundation. Remember our base scripture, Ephesians 4:14. It says the first part speaks to this principle. It says, “Then we we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” Why? Because we know the word of God. Because the leaders that God sent us, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, the teachers, they’ve instructed us in God’s word. And because I know the words, I will not be swayed by any kind of crazy doctrine or deceitful ways of any person. Because I know the word. Look at your neighbor say, “Do you know the word?” So a person, a mature man or woman that is in Christ and and the word of God is their foundation, they don’t believe everything just because somebody says it’s true. So first thing I’ll say to you is don’t be gullible. Don’t be go… I remember being kids. Me and my nephew Manny. We’re sitting in the living room and we’re just talking with my mom and she’s she she likes to joke and stuff. And she told us that the reason why they build fences around um cemeteries is so that when the dead get up at night, they don’t leave the cemetery. They’re locked in. They’re locked in there. Me being a natural skeptic, I’m all… and I look over at my nephew, man. He’s like, “Nuh-uh. I’m old.” Manny, tell you believe she she’s playing with you, man. He’s, “Oh no, dude. Why do they put… Why? Wait, why do they put fences and they’re always locked? You can’t get in there.” I don’t know, dude. I’m all… Oh my gosh, bro. You’re so gullible. Come on. You really think… you want to go? I’m not going to cemetery at night. Oh, no way, man. Heck no. Crazy. They used to put peacocks in in cemeteries. You know, you ever heard a peacock scream? Sounds like a a ghostly woman walking around the cemetery. Used to freak people out. Only the gullible ones, right? Why they put fences around… too much, Mom. You are too much. But he believed it. Don’t believe the hype, folks. Don’t believe the things that are unbelievable. Right? Don’t believe everything you hear. That’s an old saying that is worth repeating. There are certain things that you you need to believe. And we believe by faith. It’s something that we can’t see. Faith is the evidence of things unseen, right? It’s the evidence of things we cannot see. So, we believe in Christ, but there’s merit to that belief. There’s truth, and we know it. Not just because we feel it, but we know it in our bones. But if somebody came and told you, you don’t just believe, right? Don’t believe everything you hear. Paul said in Acts chapter 17:1 to be like the Bereans. Remember that scripture? He says, “Be like the Bereans.” He says, “Now the Brian Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica.” Why? For they received the message with great eagerness, number one, and examined the scriptures every day. Why? To see if what Paul said was true. I mean, Paul’s the apostle of Jesus Christ. He saw Jesus with his own eyes on that road to Damascus. If we could believe anybody’s word, it’s Paul the Apostle. But even he had to get checked. And he they had the Bereans took his word and they matched it with his word because I don’t care how trustworthy a pastor or a a prophet or an evangelist has been, they are still a valuable human being. And what I tell you from this pulpit needs to be checked by you in the word of God. So the scriptures I give you, don’t just look at them and go, “That makes sense.” Jot down the address. Go home. Read your Bible. Look at a commentary. Study that scripture. Again, I’m not supposed to be doing everything for you. I can’t show up to your house and give you a deeper dive on my Sunday sermon. That’s your job. You take my notes that you receive on Sunday and you go home and you look to the scriptures. You look them up to see if what I’m preaching you and and preaching to you and teaching you is truth. Is it real? Does it line up with God’s word? Because if it doesn’t, then you don’t follow me. I’m unworthy to be followed. Match it with God’s word. Be like the Bereans. Amen. They wanted to know that Paul’s teaching was legit. Is this really what God said? Does what this preacher is preaching line up with the word of truth? God’s word is the rule. His word is the standard. And if what a preacher is preaching doesn’t line up with the Bible, it’s a false teaching. And folks, I’m going to tell you right now, in this day and age, you do not have to look too far to find a false preacher. Just open up Facebook or Instagram or Tik Tok. They’re all over the place getting to say whatever they want, and it’s up to you to match that with the word of God. And don’t just do that. Come and ask me for help. If I’ve steered you right and you’re still following me, I must be doing something right. Call me, text me, send me that message, email it to me, send a message on Facebook, Instagram, whatever. I will help you in that. I I have people in my life in this congregation who do that on the regular. They see something that that hits their ear and they send it to me. Go, “Pastor Matt, can you give me some insight on this?” I will stop what I’m doing and I will do a deep dive of research. I love it. I love to do that. That’s what I’m here for, to guide you, to direct you in spiritual things, in the word of God, in truth. But you have to be like the Bereans. And don’t just take everything that you see or hear on Tik Tok or Instagram or Facebook if you’re old like me for truth. Study it. Look into it. Research it. Because that’s how you’re going to study to show yourself approved. [Music] When we the equippers equip you in the word of God, only then will you be in a position where you won’t get swayed by any wind of doctrine. But you have to do your work. You have to do your research. Paul said this, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,” right? A worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Be one who does that, who does not need to be ashamed. Why? Because they correctly handle the word of truth. You need to know your word. In order to stay on the path God has put you on and keep yourself from deviating, you have to have sound doctrine. Doctrine is a teaching. And the only teachings we should follow are the ones that line up in in God’s word. If it doesn’t, folks, we’re in trouble. Amen. And when you learn it, know what you believe. Folks, the Bible tells us that we need to have an answer for everyone who comes and asks us about these things. We need to have an answer. If someone was to ask you what you believe, what would you be able to answer them with an answer that is fitting? Do you know what you believe? Amen. Think about it. I want you to ask yourself that question. And if there’s some deficits there, if you say, “I I really know what we believe,” guess what? You got some room for growth. Start growing. If you ask that question, what would the answer be? Would it match up with scripture? If someone was to ask you why you follow Jesus and only him, what would your answer be? Or why is Jesus the only way to salvation? Or why do bad things happen to good or innocent people? What would your answer be? Would it line up with scripture? Where do I where do I go when I die? What’s your answer going to be? Does it line up with God’s word? Do you even know? It’s not good that you don’t know. You don’t have to know everything, but there are certain things that you should know. And especially by now. Study your word. Study your word. Have you tested what you know to be true about God, his son, Jesus, and his holy spirit? Do you think God helps those who help themselves? Do you think that clean cleanliness is next to godliness? Go ahead and look for that scripture. I dare you. But there are people online telling you every single day that that’s just the truth. Tell that to John the Baptist. Amen. Camel’s hair, eating locust and wild honey, living in the wilderness. Pretty sure John the Baptist didn’t smell all that great, but I’ll tell you what, spiritually he was clean as a whistle. Praise God. So, you need to know your word.

And lastly this morning, maturity in God’s word equals maturity in life. The more you know of God’s word, the better the foundation is for your life. His foundation is the only and the strongest foundation. Knowing God’s word means knowing him. And knowing him means knowing yourself. Did you know that? You want to know yourself? Know God because he’s the one who made you. You want to know your purpose? Get to know God because he created your purpose for you and for him. Knowing him means knowing yourself. Knowing God word, God’s word makes you better equipped for life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. You are the minister of the gospel that needs to be thoroughly equipped for the work that God has set aside for you.” So, here’s the question: Are you founded and grounded on God’s word? Should be, need to be. So, let’s let’s work together to get that done. Let’s work together to make sure that these markers that we talked about today are evident in our life. That when people see us, they see those markers. Amen. They see somebody who trusts in God’s word, who’s made it their foundation. They see someone who builds up other believers. They’re not constantly caught in squables with their brothers and sisters in Christ. and they see somebody who’s mission-minded, they really believe in what God has called them to do and who he’s called them to be. If people don’t see that in us, folks, and it’s probably not there or we’ve shifted our focus to selfish things. Amen. Let’s stand to our feet. [Music] Father, in Jesus’ name, we ask you today. First of all, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your word because it is truth. It is the foundation of our life. It tells us who you are, where you’ve been. It tells us who we are in you and where where we can end up. It shows us the past. It reflects the present and it reveals the future. God, thank you for your word. And if your word tells me, if your word tells me that a life built on the word is a strong life, an unshakable life, and really the life that we should be leaving that God, I’m going to believe it. I’m going to believe it, and I’m going to I’m going to apply it. I’m going to activate that in my life. Father, I pray in Jesus’ name that your people who are here today under the sound of my voice, whether they’re here in person or watching online, that they hear these words today, we need your word. We need to be studyers of the Bible. We need to be like the Bereans who made sure that what the preacher was preaching lined up with the word that he was supposedly preaching out of. That we study to show ourselves approved. That we are someone who is worthy of the work that you have called us to do because we know your word. It is living. It is breathing. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. God, it divides on the deepest level. We need your word. Help us to be in your word. And help us today, God, as we do that, we when we make that decision to build our lives on the foundation of your word, all those other things we talked about today, they’ll begin to fall in line and take place. Our maturity levels will rise because a foundation on your word, that opens the door for maturity. So God, as we make that decision today, or if we strengthen that decision we’ve already made to build a life on the foundation of your word, that God, we would see that maturity take place. Maybe you’re here today. You say, “Pastor Matt, I don’t have enough of the word in my life. I feast on a lot of things. I’ve grounded my life and founded my life on a on a on on a bunch of things, but you know what? There’s a discrepancy when it comes to the word.” Maybe you’re somebody who gets in the word and you just you find yourself not being able to understand it. That’s why you have a pastor. That’s why you have a shepherd. That’s why you have a friend who sticks closer than a brother. That’s why you can call on Jesus any time of day. You have human helpers. And you have a divine helper, the Holy Spirit. But maybe that’s you and you say, “I get lost. And I open up the word and it’s like, ‘What? What’s going on? I don’t even know where to start.’” Maybe that’s you today. Or maybe you’re here and you say, “You know what, Pastor Man, I’m just so busy. Like I I don’t have time to read the word. Seems like there’s so much going on in my life.” Let me encourage you. You are the master of your own schedule. You are the master of your own time. Sometimes we got to remove some things in order to add others. Look at your schedule and figure out what needs to be removed so that you can add more time in God’s word. Or maybe it’s true. You’ve got so much going on. Ask God. Pray, “Father, help me. Help me to find the time to dive into your word on a deeper level. If you have the desire, God will answer that prayer. But you got to pray it.” Maybe you’re here today and you say, “You know what? I read my Bible, but I want to I want to know more. I want to go deeper. I want to study in that way that the that the Bereans that Paul talked about the Bereans did and and that scripture to show myself approved. I…

Want to go deeper in the things of God and the word of God? That's you today in any one of those categories. That's you. Come down to this altar. Spend some time in God's presence. Pray. Seek the face of God. Pray on any one of those things that we mentioned today. But come and pray. Seek God. It begins with you admitting that there's a discrepancy and then coming to the person who can help you. So come right now, in Jesus' name.

Maybe you're here today and you you've got a need. You've got a need that's in addition to what we what we preached on today. You need help. Finances, health, relationship, ministry, whatever whatever the case may be. We want you to know that somebody is here. We are here today to connect with you. I'm going to ask our prayer partners to come at this time. Come and make yourselves available. Our deacons, your spouses, would you come? These folks are here to pray with you, to pray for you, to stand in the gap with you and seek the Lord on your behalf. Come right now if that's you. If you have a need, bring that need down. Come and pray. Seek God. He hears and he answers. His word says as much. Let one of these prayer partners connect with you and together you call on the name of the Lord. Amen.

Come, let's spend the time at the altar. The worship team is going to lead us in a song and we want you just to pray. Seek the face of God. Before, and before they do that, if there's anybody who needs to leave today, we release you in Jesus' name. Father, go with them as they leave this place. Bring them back next week. God, we pray that you give them a great week, that they follow you, that they serve you, that they put this word into action, and they walk in the faith, Lord God, that they hold on to you. Father, bless them today. We thank you for it, and it's in Jesus' name. God bless you.

[Music]

Go back to the beginning.