00:00:28.165 [music]
00:00:50.160 Good morning, Freedom Church. How's
00:00:52.320 everyone doing today?
00:00:54.480 doing good. God is so so good. If you
00:00:56.960 haven't noticed yet, there's this thing
00:00:58.399 up front called a baptismal. We're going
00:01:00.399 to be celebrating water baptisms today.
00:01:02.480 Can we give [cheering] great big hand
00:01:03.920 for that? So excited for everyone taking
00:01:05.920 that next step to be baptized as their
00:01:08.240 public declaration of what Jesus Christ
00:01:10.479 has already done inside of them. Uh I
00:01:12.479 want to give a quick update this past
00:01:14.080 week. And for those of you I haven't had
00:01:15.600 the privilege of meeting yet, uh my name
00:01:17.759 is Pastor Eric, lead pastor here. my
00:01:20.080 wife who was up here, the one who's very
00:01:21.759 pregnant, 36 weeks along. We were just
00:01:24.320 uh traveled to South Carolina,
00:01:25.680 Charleston, South Carolina this past
00:01:27.680 week. How many of you ever been to
00:01:28.720 Charleston, South Carolina? Some of you,
00:01:30.640 the rest of you, you got to make a trip.
00:01:32.159 I've never been there. And I we drove
00:01:33.920 everyone there said it's the
00:01:35.600 most beautiful city in the in the
00:01:36.960 country and being there with beautiful
00:01:38.799 weather. I was like there, they might be
00:01:40.240 right whenever it's not hurricane
00:01:41.759 season, right? But beautiful weather,
00:01:43.759 beautiful trip. Went down. What we went
00:01:45.439 there for uh was the Ark Conference. So,
00:01:48.159 the Association of Related Churches,
00:01:50.560 it's the association that we are
00:01:52.079 connected to. We're actually the Ark
00:01:54.240 Church Plant 1206, 1,26 out of 1,212.
00:01:59.520 So, there's only six more that have
00:02:00.719 launched since we did just March 1st.
00:02:02.799 And we got to celebrate. We
00:02:05.040 were recognized as all the church
00:02:06.799 churches that were planted in the past
00:02:08.639 year. They prayed for us. They had us
00:02:10.318 come up front. It was such an amazing
00:02:12.560 conference. Great worship, speakers. It
00:02:15.200 was so much more than just an event. And
00:02:17.760 what I want to share with you is what we
00:02:19.280 were part of, what we got to see being
00:02:21.760 there that this past week was over 3,000
00:02:24.480 pastors and leaders from churches all
00:02:26.800 over the country and all over the globe.
00:02:29.040 There was one guy from South Africa I
00:02:30.720 talked to, a guy from Portugal, pastors
00:02:32.720 and leaders from all over the world. And
00:02:35.280 what I What I caught once again was
00:02:38.160 that we're not just something a part of
00:02:40.000 Freedom Church. We're a part of
00:02:41.440 something so much bigger than ourselves.
00:02:43.599 To see what God is doing across the
00:02:46.319 country and across the globe is
00:02:49.040 mindblowing. To see young people,
00:02:51.200 especially Gen Z, Gen Alpha turning to
00:02:54.400 God. Young people are turning. They want
00:02:56.400 to know more about God. They want to
00:02:57.760 know the Bible. They want to read the
00:02:59.200 Bible. They want to understand the
00:03:00.800 Bible. God is doing something that's so
00:03:03.120 amazing that I believe is unlike any
00:03:05.840 other time in history where it's so
00:03:07.519 widespread where [snorts] people are
00:03:09.440 turning to Jesus. Muslims are turning to
00:03:11.840 Jesus. Hindus are turning to Jesus all
00:03:14.159 over the country. And a lot of it is
00:03:15.840 because I believe some of the
00:03:17.599 persecution that we're seeing in the
00:03:18.879 world. The people who are being killed
00:03:20.400 in Nigeria and other parts of the
00:03:22.000 country. The horrible the real
00:03:23.760 persecution, murder of Christians, I
00:03:25.920 believe is stirring up something
00:03:28.239 spiritually where people are realizing
00:03:30.400 this is real. This isn't just a
00:03:32.560 religion. This isn't just something we
00:03:34.000 do on Sundays. But God is really who he
00:03:36.560 said he is. that Jesus really came, left
00:03:39.040 heaven, came to earth, died for our
00:03:40.959 sins, was buried, and rose from the
00:03:42.480 dead. That he is real, and what he spoke
00:03:45.280 about was real. And if it's real, it
00:03:47.599 should change and affect our lives more
00:03:49.920 than just Sunday morning. Amen.
00:03:52.879 >> So, the church, this series that
00:03:55.040 we're in, and I want to share with you a
00:03:56.640 little more about the church is not just
00:03:59.040 who we are on Sunday morning, but what
00:04:01.120 we're a part of is so much bigger than
00:04:03.439 us. That we're connected with other
00:04:05.439 churches locally. We're connected with
00:04:07.280 churches regionally. We're connected
00:04:08.879 with churches nationally and really
00:04:11.040 seeking to be a part of something
00:04:13.439 bigger than ourselves. So, if you want
00:04:14.879 to be a part of the kingdom of God and
00:04:16.798 what God is doing in and through the
00:04:18.720 world, you're in the right place. Uh,
00:04:20.959 one of the biggest takeaways for me, and
00:04:22.960 this is quite personal for me, um, that
00:04:24.880 I felt like God spoke to me while I was
00:04:26.800 at the conference, um, was that I'm
00:04:28.960 supposed to give up every other thing
00:04:31.040 outside of the church, outside of the
00:04:33.040 kingdom of God that I'm doing in my
00:04:34.880 life. So many of you know I I was a
00:04:37.440 licensed full-time general contractor
00:04:39.280 flipping houses, doing all kinds of
00:04:41.280 construction work, and I've been scaling
00:04:44.000 that back more and more. But I really
00:04:45.919 felt like God said, "Get rid of it all.
00:04:47.759 Stop doing everything and anything."
00:04:49.520 Because what I see as a cost. I see a
00:04:52.400 cost of value of money, a cost of even
00:04:54.960 part of my identity of doing these
00:04:56.800 things for construction. God's saying
00:04:58.880 the cost is it doesn't even come close
00:05:01.120 to the value of what we get to be a part
00:05:03.120 of. seeing people's lives changed and
00:05:05.440 transformed for eternity. That the
00:05:07.360 church is where God wants to put his
00:05:09.199 hand. He wants the blessing. And don't
00:05:11.280 even worry about all the stuff that it's
00:05:12.720 going to cost me. Focus on what I get to
00:05:14.639 be a part of. Praying with people to
00:05:16.479 accept Christ. Baptizing people,
00:05:18.639 identifying as followers of Jesus. That
00:05:20.479 is the best part of my life that I get
00:05:22.800 to be a part of for the kingdom of God.
00:05:24.639 And doing it with my wife and with our
00:05:26.560 family. That's even better, right? And
00:05:28.800 thank God the baby stayed in. she, you
00:05:30.800 know, 36 weeks along. Baby did not come
00:05:33.360 out. Answer to prayer. It's a praise
00:05:35.440 report. Baby stayed in. Uh so we can
00:05:37.520 have her have her here. But God is
00:05:39.759 speaking. God is moving. And I believe I
00:05:41.360 just want to challenge I I really
00:05:42.720 believe God is speaking to some people
00:05:44.560 in this room that ministry is something
00:05:46.720 he's calling you into. It's not just a a
00:05:49.600 little extra. I believe there may be
00:05:51.120 some radical changes in your life that
00:05:53.280 God is saying, "I want you to do more.
00:05:55.360 I'm calling you to more." Yes, you're
00:05:57.280 probably going to make less money. Yes,
00:05:58.960 it's going to be a lot of work and a lot
00:06:00.479 of sacrifice, but that's where God shows
00:06:02.720 up. God meets us when we can't do it on
00:06:04.960 our own. If that's you, you're like, you
00:06:07.039 feel a little prompting in your heart
00:06:08.720 or in your mind, come talk to me. I
00:06:10.960 would love to talk to you about what
00:06:12.560 steps you could take to start working
00:06:14.560 towards how do you get ready to do
00:06:16.319 ministry and be involved in ministry.
00:06:18.880 So, as I mentioned, people getting
00:06:20.319 baptized. Five people are going to be
00:06:21.840 getting baptized today, maybe more.
00:06:23.520 We'll see. Uh last month, we had nine
00:06:25.680 people get water baptized as well. So, we
00:06:28.720 celebrate those today. But we're going
00:06:30.319 to jump into uh our next series sermon
00:06:33.199 of this series, the church define. But
00:06:34.800 before we do, let's pray. Heavenly
00:06:36.960 Father, we thank you, God, that you are
00:06:39.199 such a good God. God, I thank you that
00:06:40.720 you hear our prayers. God, I thank you
00:06:42.960 for what you spoke to me, God, what you
00:06:44.880 spoke to those of us who were there at
00:06:46.160 the conference. God, I thank you for
00:06:48.160 showing us a bigger picture of what you
00:06:50.800 are doing in this nation and in this
00:06:52.880 world. God, that we are a part of
00:06:54.800 something so big, so good that none of
00:06:57.600 us could do on our own. God, we thank
00:06:59.280 you for the privilege, the honor it is
00:07:01.520 to serve you, to serve your people. I
00:07:03.759 pray, God, today's message would go
00:07:05.599 speak forth to each and every person
00:07:07.039 here that would be your spirit that
00:07:08.560 speaks to them. God, they'd hear your
00:07:10.319 words, your heart, your vision for your
00:07:12.639 church. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
00:07:16.560 >> So, this sermon today, this message
00:07:19.919 today, I would title the church that
00:07:21.280 changes the world. that the church is
00:07:24.319 meant to exist for a change agent in the
00:07:27.599 world around us. And what I'm going to
00:07:29.360 do is last couple weeks, last two weeks,
00:07:31.440 we unpacked Acts chapter 1, 2, and
00:07:34.720 three. So today we're going to talk
00:07:36.560 about Acts chapter, help me out,
00:07:39.280 >> four. Good guess. You guys are so smart.
00:07:41.360 Um, we walk through Acts chapter 1, 2,
00:07:43.919 and three. Really talking about the
00:07:45.440 early church, the first followers of
00:07:47.840 Jesus. If you want to define something,
00:07:50.080 go back and see what did the original
00:07:52.160 people do who started the church, these
00:07:54.240 first followers, these first believers
00:07:55.759 in Jesus. And then we get to chapter 4.
00:07:58.000 So, we're just going to continue on. And
00:07:59.520 what I'm going to do is I'm going to
00:08:00.479 read through almost the entire chapter
00:08:02.560 of chapter 4 because I want to help
00:08:04.639 unpack and read really the text is a a
00:08:07.599 narrative, a historical account of some
00:08:09.840 things that took place and how we can
00:08:12.000 glean from it, how we can learn from it
00:08:13.599 and apply it to our lives. So chapter 4
00:08:16.000 verse one while Peter and John were
00:08:18.319 speaking to the people they were
00:08:19.919 confronted by the priest the captain of
00:08:21.919 the temple guard and some of the
00:08:23.919 Sadducees. These leaders were very
00:08:26.319 disturbed that Peter and John were
00:08:27.840 teaching the people that through Jesus
00:08:29.919 there is a resurrection of the dead. Now
00:08:32.479 if you missed last week or you don't
00:08:34.000 know the context right before this in
00:08:35.919 chapter 3 Peter and John are going to
00:08:38.958 the temple and there's this man who's
00:08:40.958 crippled. He's lame. He's begging for
00:08:42.799 money. They reach out and they say, "Get
00:08:44.800 up. Be healed in the name of Jesus." The
00:08:46.800 man's healed. He's jumping and leaping
00:08:48.880 for joy. And the people are all amazed
00:08:50.880 at this. So that's the people that Peter
00:08:52.560 and John are speaking to. They're at the
00:08:54.560 temple. So the priests who are at
00:08:56.560 the temple, the captain of the temple
00:08:58.240 guard, and some of the Sadducees all
00:09:00.480 came and they're confronting Peter and
00:09:03.440 John. Now you hear about these people
00:09:05.680 called the Sadducees and the Pharisees.
00:09:07.839 often. Those are the two main groups of
00:09:10.480 Jewish leaders of the time, the Jewish
00:09:12.080 religious people. And how you can know
00:09:13.920 the difference is the Pharisees, they
00:09:16.160 were more of the middle class. They
00:09:17.920 weren't super wealthy. They would follow
00:09:20.160 the written law and the oral traditions
00:09:22.560 of the Jewish faith. The Sadducees, they
00:09:25.120 were very strict, very rigid. Most of
00:09:27.440 them were wealthy aristocrats. So very
00:09:29.920 high flutin, very highly educated, had a
00:09:32.480 lot of wealth. But see, they're called
00:09:33.920 the Sadducees because they're sad, you
00:09:35.920 see. They don't believe in the
00:09:37.120 resurrection. It's an easy way to
00:09:39.360 remember as corny as it is. The
00:09:40.959 Sadducees are sad, you see, because they
00:09:43.760 don't believe in a resurrection of the
00:09:45.360 dead. The Pharisees did. The Sadducees,
00:09:49.040 they didn't believe there was a hope
00:09:50.399 after this life, which makes sense that
00:09:52.640 they their hope, their faith, their
00:09:55.200 confidence was in their stuff. They're
00:09:57.760 living for this world. They were
00:09:99.839 wealthy, highly intelligent. That
00:10:01.760 everything they lived for was for here
00:10:03.600 and now. They didn't believe in a hope
00:10:05.600 afterlife. They didn't believe in a
00:10:07.360 resurrection of the dead, which is very
00:10:10.080 sad. You see, so hopefully you remember
00:10:12.000 that.
00:10:13.600 Verse three, we continue. They arrested
00:10:15.519 them. They arrested Peter and John. And
00:10:17.839 since it was already evening, put them
00:10:19.839 in jail until morning. But many of the
00:10:22.079 people who heard their message believed
00:10:23.680 it. So the number of men who believed
00:10:26.240 now totaled about 5,000. So what do you
00:10:29.600 get when you do good, you obey God, and
00:10:31.600 you do everything right? you might get
00:10:33.200 put in jail. That's your takeaway. Like,
00:10:35.600 who's signing up for the next mission
00:10:37.040 trip, right? But yeah, some of you are
00:10:39.440 like, I've been there. Um, but they
00:10:41.440 arrested these guys and they put him in
00:10:42.880 jail. All they did was lift they
00:10:44.880 literally they prayed for a guy. They
00:10:46.240 grabbed the guy, he got healed. And then
00:10:48.079 they're teaching about Jesus, the one
00:10:49.519 who healed the man. And what happens?
00:10:51.279 They get put in jail. But many of the
00:10:53.680 people heard their message. You know,
00:10:55.040 before Tik Tok and before YouTube,
00:10:56.880 messages still went viral. This is one
00:10:59.040 of them. The message of Jesus went
00:11:00.959 viral. It was famous. Everybody started
00:11:03.360 hearing this message and they believed
00:11:05.279 it and they didn't get a plaque. They
00:11:07.920 didn't get a pay paycheck. They got put
00:11:10.000 in prison, right? But still 5,000 men,
00:11:13.120 that doesn't include the women and
00:11:14.720 children who believed. This was massive
00:11:17.040 in an age without technology. This would
00:11:19.680 have been massive that their message was
00:11:21.440 going viral. It's very popular. Verse
00:11:24.480 five as they can hear this says the next
00:11:26.240 day the council of all the rulers and
00:11:29.200 elders and teachers of religious law met
00:11:31.440 in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was
00:11:33.680 there. Caiaphas, John, Alexander, other
00:11:35.760 relatives of the high priest. All these
00:11:37.760 men who are very powerful, very highly
00:11:40.959 respected, had a lot of means. They were
00:11:43.120 very wealthy. All these guys are
00:11:45.200 gathering together as the council the
00:11:47.760 very next day. Now, many of you might be
00:11:50.000 intimidated to stand before a bunch of
00:11:51.839 guys like that. Here's Peter and John.
00:11:53.920 They're going to bring them before the
00:11:55.200 council. It says in verse 7, they
00:11:57.760 brought in the two disciples and they
00:11:59.920 demanded them to answer, "By what power
00:12:03.040 or in whose name have you done this?"
00:12:06.240 Now, I find it fascinating. They don't
00:12:08.399 ask the question, "What happened?" They
00:12:11.519 It's like they acknowledge what happened
00:12:13.600 was this crippled man was healed and
00:12:16.320 they're asking by what power or in whose
00:12:18.880 name have you done this? They were more
00:12:21.200 concerned about their authority. Whose
00:12:23.279 authority are you operating under? How
00:12:25.360 did you do this? They didn't even
00:12:27.519 question what took place. They just
00:12:30.160 cared about how they did it. And I have
00:12:33.040 found and see maybe more so than I've
00:12:35.120 personally experienced. But people of
00:12:36.959 high power, of high wealth, are often
00:12:39.440 intimidated by higher powers.
00:12:42.160 Many people who have a lot of means, who
00:12:44.000 are very well off, they're often the
00:12:46.240 hardest people to point to Jesus because
00:12:48.480 Jesus is a higher power. And it can be
00:12:50.560 intimidating. It could be, "I don't want
00:12:52.399 to give up my power, my control." But
00:12:54.560 that's what it means to follow Jesus is
00:12:56.399 we release our control. We release the
00:12:59.279 power that we have over our own lives
00:13:01.040 and we say, "Jesus, you take control.
00:13:02.959 You take lead on my life." And
00:13:04.720 unfortunately, many people never turn to
00:13:06.639 Jesus because they have so much. You
00:13:09.839 know, we say in America, we're ble most
00:13:11.680 blessed nation because we have so much.
00:13:13.519 At times, I wonder, what if we had less?
00:13:16.160 What if we had more scarcity? What if we
00:13:17.920 had more poverty? What if we had more
00:13:19.519 attacks? What if we had more
00:13:20.720 persecution? Not at all that we want
00:13:22.560 that, but what if because what we see in
00:13:24.320 other countries is when that happens,
00:13:26.000 people turn to Jesus because they
00:13:27.600 realize their lives are not they cannot
00:13:29.760 be in control of their entire life. They
00:13:31.360 have to relinquish control and they have
00:13:33.120 a faith and a confidence in a higher
00:13:35.440 power. Verse 8, Peter responds filled
00:13:38.639 with the Holy Spirit. He says to them,
00:13:41.120 "Rulers and elders of our people," very
00:13:43.519 respectful. "Are we being questioned
00:13:45.839 today because we've done a good deed for
00:13:48.320 a crippled man? Do you want to know how
00:13:50.959 he was healed?" Now, Peter is not
00:13:53.440 prideful. He's not arrogant. Actually,
00:13:55.200 he shows respect by addressing them. But
00:13:58.000 he does something very wise. And I I
00:14:00.560 want us to all to learn this. Somebody
00:14:02.079 is accusing you or questioning you or
00:14:04.160 attacking you. Instead of defending
00:14:06.639 yourself, what if we ask questions?
00:14:09.519 Peter could have been like, "What do you
00:14:11.279 question me for? It's Jesus. Go talk to
00:14:13.040 him." Or defending themselves. I didn't
00:14:14.560 do it. He did it. Instead, he just
00:14:16.399 simply responds with a question. Are you
00:14:18.639 Are we being questioned because of the
00:14:20.079 crippled man who was healed? Are you do
00:14:22.880 you really want to know how he was
00:14:24.480 healed? Because their question wasn't
00:14:26.480 really much how was he healed. They were
00:14:28.160 trying to learn so they could squash
00:14:29.600 this, how they could stop the power that
00:14:32.000 they were using. And he asked them, "Do
00:14:33.920 you want to know how he was healed?"
00:14:36.800 People are often afraid of something
00:14:38.959 they don't understand. Something that's
00:14:41.519 mysterious to them or they don't
00:14:42.959 understand. They it causes fear many
00:14:44.959 times. And I believe these men who had a
00:14:46.560 lot of power were afraid of this power
00:14:48.959 that they have never seen before. They
00:14:50.480 have not operated in that way. They
00:14:52.320 didn't know the power of the Holy
00:14:53.519 Spirit. But here's Peter offering them
00:14:56.000 an explanation. So he gives it to him as
00:14:59.120 clearly as he possibly can. He says,
00:15:00.639 "Let me clearly state to all of you and
00:15:03.279 to all the people of Israel that he was
00:15:06.399 healed by the powerful name of Jesus
00:15:09.120 Christ the Nazarene, the man you
00:15:11.519 crucified, but whom God raised from the
00:15:14.240 dead." He says, "Let me be crystal
00:15:16.079 clear. That guy, Jesus, not just anyone,
00:15:19.760 Jesus, the Jesus, the Christ, the one
00:15:21.760 from Nazareth, the Nazarene, the one you
00:15:24.000 crucified." Yeah, that guy. He wants to
00:15:26.079 be extra clear. He says that's the one
00:15:28.480 who heals this man. In the powerful name
00:15:31.279 of Jesus, healing is available. That's
00:15:34.000 the one. He wants to be extra clear. Not
00:15:36.079 just to these guys, but he says to all
00:15:38.480 the people of Israel that it's not just
00:15:40.720 a private conversation, but they're
00:15:42.079 saying, "We want to tell the nation. We
00:15:43.920 want to tell all people the power that's
00:15:46.320 in the name of Jesus Christ, the one who
00:15:49.680 rose, God raised from the dead." In
00:15:51.920 fact, he goes on in verse 11. He says,
00:15:54.000 "For Jesus is the one referred to in the
00:15:57.600 scriptures where it says,"The stone that
00:15:59.839 you builders rejected has now become the
00:16:03.040 cornerstone." He's actually quoting
00:16:05.519 Psalm 118, which these men would have
00:16:08.639 known that verse. They would have known
00:16:10.160 exactly what he was saying. About a
00:16:12.720 thousand years before this point in
00:16:14.399 time, Psalm 118 was written down
00:16:17.040 prophesying, speaking into the future
00:16:19.279 about the Messiah, the one who's going
00:16:21.440 to come, the one who's going to rescue
00:16:23.279 God's people, who's going to deliver
00:16:24.800 God's people. He says that's going to be
00:16:26.480 like he's going to be a cornerstone
00:16:28.160 that's rejected by the very people who
00:16:30.399 are supposed to be building the kingdom
00:16:32.160 of God. These Jewish leaders, he says,
00:16:34.399 the stone that you builders rejected,
00:16:36.480 the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus. He
00:16:38.880 has now become the cornerstone. He's
00:16:41.680 speaking into the Old Testament as the
00:16:43.360 New Testament is being written and he
00:16:45.199 gives them this quote from the old
00:16:47.120 scripture. But really the practical for
00:16:48.959 us is to understand what is a
00:16:51.360 cornerstone. Jesus is called the
00:16:53.440 cornerstone. What is that? He is the one
00:16:55.440 that's set first. When you're building a
00:16:57.360 building, imagine building a massive
00:16:59.040 which no we don't build a stone walls
00:17:00.880 anymore or stone foundations. Typically
00:17:02.880 it's poured concrete, right? Or block.
00:17:04.959 But to start to build a massive
00:17:07.280 building, they would have started with a
00:17:09.119 cornerstone. One large stone that would
00:17:11.839 have set the corner that determined the
00:17:14.079 lines of both the walls which would have
00:17:16.240 determined the entire foundation of the
00:17:18.880 entire building. And it starts with the
00:17:21.280 cornerstone. Jesus became the
00:17:23.520 cornerstone. He is the first. He is the
00:17:26.079 strongest. He is the one that sets the
00:17:28.160 course of everything else that's built
00:17:30.320 upon him. that the foundations of heaven
00:17:32.799 are built upon the cornerstone of Jesus.
00:17:35.840 That our lives are meant to be built
00:17:38.000 upon the cornerstone. Jesus isn't just
00:17:40.400 an add-on. He's not just drapes and nice
00:17:42.640 paint in our house. He is the
00:17:44.080 cornerstone, the foundation that
00:17:46.559 everything we do in our lives should be
00:17:48.559 built upon Jesus. If you want your life
00:17:51.919 to have more peace, to be more stable,
00:17:54.559 to be more have more strength in your
00:17:56.640 life, build your life on Jesus. He's the
00:17:59.520 only rock worth building on. Amen.
00:18:04.240 Jesus is the most important aspect of
00:18:07.280 our lives. Our lives should be built
00:18:08.880 upon him. In fact, he continues in verse
00:18:10.960 11. He says, "There is salvation in no
00:18:13.440 one else. No one else, no other name.
00:18:16.640 God has given no other name under heaven
00:18:18.799 by which we must be saved." There is no
00:18:22.480 other name, no other thing, no other
00:18:24.480 substance that can save your soul. It's
00:18:27.679 only by the name of Jesus that we can
00:18:29.840 truly experience and receive salvation.
00:18:32.880 Will everyone say in the name of Jesus?
00:18:34.240 Ready? One, two, three. Jesus. All
00:18:36.240 right, one more time. One, two, three.
00:18:38.000 Jesus. The name of Jesus. And it's not a
00:18:41.520 magic word. It's not abracadabra or
00:18:43.440 hocus pocus. It's the name of Jesus. The
00:18:46.640 one who bears in ref that name
00:18:48.799 references he's the one who can provide
00:18:51.520 salvation. that only through Jesus, by
00:18:54.320 him being the cornerstone, can we truly
00:18:56.880 be saved. In verse 13, the members of
00:19:00.640 the council were amazed when they saw
00:19:03.039 the boldness of Peter and John. Listen,
00:19:06.080 these are the most religious, most
00:19:08.240 educated men in the Jewish faith. They
00:19:10.799 memorized like entire whole the whole
00:19:13.039 Torah. They would have memorized so much
00:19:14.720 of the scripture. And here's Peter, a
00:19:16.799 fisherman, and he's trying to preach at
00:19:18.799 them. Imagine the scenario. He's
00:19:21.520 preaching them. He's telling them, "Hey,
00:19:22.960 all these things that you guys know,"
00:19:24.559 and he quotes from a psalm and he says
00:19:26.559 that all those things are fulfilled in
00:19:28.640 Jesus. He is the Messiah. He's the one
00:19:31.679 that can save you, too. He's trying to
00:19:34.559 lead these men to Jesus. And it says
00:19:37.600 they're amazed at his boldness, at the
00:19:40.160 boldness of Peter and John, for they
00:19:42.000 could see that they were ordinary men
00:19:44.720 with no special training in the
00:19:47.440 scriptures. They also recognized them as
00:19:50.240 men who had been with Jesus. See,
00:19:52.559 they're amazed at their boldness
00:19:54.880 because they had no special training.
00:19:56.400 They didn't have PhDs. They didn't have
00:19:57.760 a bunch of certificates on the wall in
00:19:99.600 their office. These were ordinary men
00:20:01.840 with no special training in the
00:20:04.160 scriptures. Why is this so important?
00:20:06.080 Well, understanding Jewish culture a
00:20:08.160 little bit. They would have all Jewish
00:20:10.320 boys typically went to what we would
00:20:12.559 call Bible school. It was it was
00:20:14.080 education. They put intense education.
00:20:16.559 We actually have a breakdown of four
00:20:17.760 bullet points. So, typically to be
00:20:20.160 chosen as a rabbi, a Jewish rabbi, which
00:20:22.559 just means teacher, to be one of the
00:20:24.640 teachers in the Jewish faith, all boys
00:20:27.039 would go through intense education from
00:20:28.720 age 5 to 13. They would have been
00:20:31.360 memorizing the Torah. The Torah is the
00:20:33.120 first five books of the Bible. Genesis,
00:20:34.799 Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
00:20:36.799 They would have been memorizing large
00:20:38.720 passages, memorizing prayers, memorizing
00:20:41.520 psalms and prophecies from Isaiah. They
00:20:43.360 would have been memorizing an intense
00:20:45.280 education and then only the best of the
00:20:48.240 best, the brightest students like the
00:20:50.640 4.0 and above students. They were the
00:20:53.200 best of the best. Only those students
00:20:54.799 could go on to initial selection which
00:20:57.039 would have been age 13 to 15. Now
00:21:00.000 understand culture too. 13 years old,
00:21:02.640 boys would have a thing called a bar
00:21:04.000 mitzvah. Girls would have a bat
00:21:05.440 mitzvah. Still exists today. Jewish
00:21:07.200 people have follow these kind of rights
00:21:09.520 of passage if you will. When you turned
00:21:11.120 13, it was kind of like you earned your
00:21:12.880 ability. You're recognized as an adult,
00:21:15.280 especially in their culture, a lot more
00:21:17.120 responsibility. Kids got put to work. It
00:21:19.520 was like there's no point going to high
00:21:20.799 school and college if you're just going
00:21:22.159 to work the rest of your life, right? So
00:21:24.000 they 13 years old, if you weren't good
00:21:26.640 enough, you weren't bright enough, you
00:21:28.080 weren't one of the best students, you
00:21:29.600 basically dropped out of rabbi school
00:21:31.520 and you went to go work. So if your dad
00:21:33.679 was a carpenter, you're a carpenter. If
00:21:35.679 your dad's a fisherman, you're a
00:21:37.280 fisherman. who typically followed the
00:21:39.440 trade or the work that your parents
00:21:41.360 would do, specifically the father. But
00:21:43.679 in 13 to 15, only the best of the best
00:21:46.480 would go to initial selection. They
00:21:47.760 would go to a house of study. They would
00:21:49.440 learn more, be more intense training.
00:21:51.520 And then at about 15 or beyond, then
00:21:54.159 they could pick and go be with a rabbi
00:21:56.400 where they would learn from that rabbi.
00:21:58.080 They would he they would live with them
00:21:59.760 many times. They learn how they teach,
00:22:01.440 learn how they think, and all these
00:22:03.919 aspects of training through the
00:22:05.600 apprenticeship. And it was only after
00:22:07.440 about 12 to 15 years of training in the
00:22:10.960 apprenticeship could they get ordained
00:22:12.960 or released as a rabbi themselves. They
00:22:15.600 didn't call it ordination, but that's
00:22:16.880 the closest thing in our country in our
00:22:18.400 context that would say about 30 years
00:22:20.320 old. Only after all this intense
00:22:22.320 training, living with the rabbi, being
00:22:24.159 with the rabbi, the best of the best,
00:22:25.520 the brightest ones, then they could be a
00:22:28.159 rabbi themselves. Okay? So when you're
00:22:30.799 thinking about who are the most
00:22:32.799 qualified people, who are the best ones
00:22:34.960 to to be rabbis, these are the ones that
00:22:37.520 were picked in the Jewish faith. So when
00:22:39.760 Jesus comes to pick his team, right?
00:22:42.080 Jesus is like, I got to get my
00:22:43.120 followers. He's a rabbi. He's a teacher.
00:22:45.039 Who does he pick? You would think he'd
00:22:46.960 go to like the rabbi school. You think
00:22:48.720 he'd go to the seminaries. You
00:22:50.480 think he'd go Instead, he goes and picks
00:22:52.320 fishermen and tax collectors and
00:22:55.600 prostitutes. He picks the people who
00:22:58.080 failed. He picks the ones who couldn't
00:23:00.159 cut it in rabbi school, but they are
00:23:02.480 living their lives, living just doing
00:23:04.559 what they were supposed to be doing,
00:23:05.600 living their doing their jobs. Those are
00:23:07.440 the people Jesus went to. So my
00:23:09.760 encouragement, why I bring this up is
00:23:11.039 because maybe you're here today and you
00:23:13.039 weren't good enough for school. Maybe
00:23:14.880 you dropped out of school. Maybe you
00:23:16.799 don't have a PhD. Maybe you never were
00:23:19.520 very bright and you just live your life
00:23:21.200 and you think you're not good enough.
00:23:22.799 You're not smart enough. You're not
00:23:24.159 worthy enough. You don't make enough
00:23:25.760 money to be used by God. God, let me
00:23:28.159 tell you, you're in the front row of God
00:23:30.320 to pick you. If that's you today, God
00:23:32.720 can use all people. No matter your
00:23:35.039 background, your education, your
00:23:36.799 finances, God will use you if you simply
00:23:39.280 say yes, Lord. Say yes to him and let
00:23:42.799 him use your life to make an impact in
00:23:45.360 others. He used some of the biggest
00:23:47.840 failures to build his church and expand
00:23:50.559 his kingdom, the ones he revealed
00:23:52.240 himself to. But it's interesting, you go
00:23:54.240 back to that last verse, verse 13. This
00:23:56.240 says they also recognized them as men
00:23:59.440 who had been with Jesus. These men, they
00:24:03.200 didn't have all the accolades or the
00:24:04.559 reputation. They had been recognized as
00:24:06.799 men who had been with Jesus. You know
00:24:09.440 what qualified these men? They spent
00:24:11.679 time with Jesus. They lived with Jesus.
00:24:13.919 They ate with Jesus. They became like
00:24:15.600 Jesus. That and people took notice. So
00:24:18.799 the challenge for all of us is do people
00:24:21.120 notice Jesus in us? Do people notice
00:24:23.760 that we've been with Jesus or do we just
00:24:26.400 they know we might go to church once a
00:24:27.919 week? How much more of our lives can
00:24:30.080 represent and demonstrate that we have
00:24:32.240 been with Jesus? How do we do that? I'm
00:24:35.360 going to give you three things. They're
00:24:36.320 not on the screen, but I just want to
00:24:37.279 tell them to you the number one way to
00:24:38.960 spend time with Jesus is to spend time
00:24:40.880 in his word to read the Bible. If you do
00:24:44.320 not own a paper Bible, I will give you a
00:24:46.720 Bible. We have them here. I please I'm
00:24:49.120 asking you to get a Bible. If that's at
00:24:51.120 all barrier, you say, "I don't know
00:24:52.559 where to get one, how to get one." We
00:24:54.880 will give you one. We won't charge you.
00:24:56.320 We're going to give them away for free.
00:24:57.679 You can go to the connection point at
00:24:58.880 the end of the service. Come find me. We
00:25:00.559 will give you a Bible because this is
00:25:02.159 the most important thing that you can
00:25:03.760 have. It's lit literally God's word
00:25:05.760 speaking to us. So to have a
00:25:07.760 relationship with somebody, you need to
00:25:09.679 communicate with them. How do we
00:25:11.440 communicate with God? Primarily, it's
00:25:13.279 his word speaking to us. Number two
00:25:15.840 thing is to be in prayer. To be involved
00:25:19.039 in prayer. We have prayer on Sundays as
00:25:21.279 we had just a little bit ago, but every
00:25:23.360 Saturday morning from 7:30 to 8:30, you
00:25:26.559 can put this in your calendar right now.
00:25:28.080 You can sleep in till 7. Make it to
00:25:30.320 church at 7:30 on Saturday. Spend an
00:25:32.720 hour in prayer with us. We meet. You
00:25:34.559 come right through the doors down this
00:25:35.840 back hallway in the youth room. 7:30,
00:25:38.080 8:30 every Saturday. Just come listen.
00:25:40.640 Come be in the room. Come learn how to
00:25:42.880 how I learned how to pray. I just
00:25:44.080 started going to prayer meetings. I
00:25:45.440 started showing up at church and I go,
00:25:46.799 "Oh, that's how you pray. You don't need
00:25:48.640 to use big theological words or
00:25:50.720 Christian ease. Just talk to God. It
00:25:53.440 really is a two-way communication where
00:25:55.200 we just talk to God. I recommend you
00:25:58.000 start prayer by thanking God. Gratitude
00:26:00.880 and joy is a choice. It doesn't always
00:26:03.279 feel like it. You never you don't always
00:26:04.720 want to do it, but thanking God for what
00:26:06.799 he's done, for who he is. And then you
00:26:09.120 do commit uh submit some requests to
00:26:11.120 God. Supplication. You say, "God, God, I
00:26:12.960 have some requests. God, I need help
00:26:14.240 with this." But also prayer should be
00:26:16.320 listening to God saying, "God, would you
00:26:18.799 speak to me?" Maybe he brings your
00:26:20.799 mind to a verse in the Bible because
00:26:22.480 that's his word reminding you of
00:26:23.760 something. Maybe he puts something on
00:26:25.279 your heart that just like I feel like
00:26:26.559 that's God. And how you can determine if
00:26:28.159 it's God or not is I believe one of the
00:26:30.080 simplest ways if it makes you draws you
00:26:32.000 closer to God, makes you want to be more
00:26:33.840 like Jesus or more selfless, it's
00:26:36.320 probably God. If it's something that
00:26:38.159 he's calling you to be selfish or pull
00:26:40.640 away from God, it's probably not God.
00:26:43.120 Right? So what's drawing you closer to
00:26:44.880 God to be more selfless to sacrifice to
00:26:47.120 be more like Jesus. It's probably God.
00:26:49.200 But Bible prayer time doesn't have to be
00:26:52.240 coming to church to pray. You can pray
00:26:53.840 at your house. You can pray in your
00:26:54.960 living room. Pray in your bedroom. It
00:26:56.640 really is a conversation with God. Third
00:26:59.919 way that we can be spend time with Jesus
00:27:02.320 is be with the body of Christ. Jesus is
00:27:05.760 the head. We are the body of Christ. If
00:27:07.679 you want to spend time with Jesus, spend
00:27:09.440 time with the body. That's come in the
00:27:11.279 church every Sunday as much as possible.
00:27:13.600 Be in church on Sunday. It's a
00:27:14.880 non-negotiable for our household. Uh
00:27:17.120 it's a should be a non-negotiable, I
00:27:18.559 believe, for all Christians that we're
00:27:19.600 going to gather together with the
00:27:21.919 church. When there's Bible studies, we
00:27:23.679 have Bible studies going throughout the
00:27:24.960 week. This summer, we're looking at
00:27:27.279 having more interest groups or
00:27:29.279 connecting ways to connect through the
00:27:31.039 summer, but really be in the Bible,
00:27:33.279 praying together, and connecting
00:27:35.039 together with the body of Christ. Those
00:27:37.440 are some key ways that you can make sure
00:27:39.520 you're spending time with Jesus. Next
00:27:42.400 week, we're going to be uncovering the
00:27:44.080 church defined in our series about what
00:27:46.400 is the body of Christ? How are we all
00:27:48.400 gifted? How do we uniquely fit together?
00:27:50.240 And how do we function as the body of
00:27:52.799 Christ? So, you don't want to miss next
00:27:54.480 Sunday as well. So, I'm going to read
00:27:56.320 through the rest of this story here in
00:27:57.679 verse 14. It says, 'Since they could see
00:28:00.559 the man who had been healed standing
00:28:02.799 right there among them, there was nothing the
00:28:06.240 council could say. So they ordered Peter
00:28:08.880 and John out of the council chamber and
00:28:11.440 conferred among themselves. What should
00:28:13.840 we do with these men? They asked each
00:28:16.000 other. We can't deny that they have
00:28:18.000 performed a miraculous sign and
00:28:20.080 everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.
00:28:22.320 But to keep them from spreading their
00:28:24.000 propaganda any further, we must warn
00:28:26.480 them not to speak to anyone in Jesus's
00:28:29.279 name again. Verse 18. So they called the
00:28:32.080 apostles back in and commanded them
00:28:35.039 never again to speak or teach in the
00:28:38.000 name of Jesus.
00:28:41.520 You know, in our culture, same as
00:28:43.919 theirs, there's going to be people that
00:28:45.360 tell you to stop speaking the name of
00:28:46.960 Jesus. There's going to be people that
00:28:48.799 say, "Hey, keep that Jesus stuff to
00:28:50.480 yourself. Keep that Christian stuff to
00:28:51.919 yourself. I don't want to hear it
00:28:53.039 anymore. Now, we can be respectful. We
00:28:54.799 don't push it on people. We don't be
00:28:56.480 overbearing. But when you really believe
00:28:59.279 that Jesus Christ died for your sins, he
00:29:02.159 was buried and rose again. That now I
00:29:04.000 live. I've been born again. I can't help
00:29:06.960 but let it out. I can't help. Again, not
00:29:09.279 forceful, but I'm going to brag on God
00:29:11.440 every chance I get. I want it to be
00:29:13.360 public. I want people to know who Jesus
00:29:15.840 is because he's the one who set me free.
00:29:18.000 He's the one who broke off addictions in
00:29:19.840 my life. He broke off selfishness in my
00:29:21.919 life. He has set me free from my past
00:29:24.159 sins and from my selfishness and given
00:29:26.799 me and brought me into new life. How do
00:29:28.880 we keep that to ourselves? But rather,
00:29:31.279 we should tell as many people as
00:29:33.440 possible about Jesus. Yet, there's
00:29:35.760 people who are going to say, "Don't talk
00:29:37.360 about him. Don't don't bring that name
00:29:39.039 up." And at this is a workplace. You
00:29:40.799 keep that Jesus stuff in the church.
00:29:42.480 Right? And again, use wisdom. Don't try
00:29:44.720 to get fired. But ultimately, if you
00:29:47.200 need to bring up Jesus at the workplace,
00:29:48.799 you're going to lay hands and pray for
00:29:49.919 somebody at the workplace if they're
00:29:51.279 going through something, let it happen
00:29:53.520 and trust that God is going to take care
00:29:55.360 of you. But speaking the name of Jesus,
00:29:58.320 teaching people in the name of Jesus, it
00:30:01.440 also might mean there's going to be some
00:30:03.200 relationships that you have that you
00:30:04.720 might need to set up some boundaries.
00:30:07.039 For me, when I started when I first got
00:30:08.799 saved, my past was drinking, partying,
00:30:11.360 being a a fool, and getting in trouble.
00:30:13.360 And some of the guys I hung out with all
00:30:14.960 the time. When I got saved, Jesus got a
00:30:16.720 hold of my life. I started inviting them
00:30:18.559 to church. They all said no. But then I
00:30:20.880 started hanging out with them and it was
00:30:22.480 there was this draw of being sucked back
00:30:24.880 into my old ways, sucked back into the
00:30:26.799 world and living a worldly lifestyle. Or
00:30:29.360 I could keep going to church. And for a
00:30:31.440 little while I had a foot in both. I was
00:30:33.520 like, I can drink and smoke a little
00:30:34.960 bit. I can do a little bit, but man, I
00:30:36.640 know I love Jesus and I want to follow
00:30:38.080 him. And it was a little bit of back and
00:30:39.760 forth. And I realized if I didn't set up
00:30:41.840 boundaries, if I didn't start separating
00:30:44.159 myself a little bit from hanging out
00:30:45.440 with my old friends, I was going to get
00:30:47.200 pulled right back into my old ways. I
00:30:49.279 had to have hard conversations with some
00:30:51.039 of my best friends and said, "Look, I
00:30:52.159 love you. I can't participate with that.
00:30:53.919 I can't go out drinking with you. I
00:30:55.120 can't go to the parties. I can't do
00:30:56.240 those things because I'm following Jesus
00:30:57.919 now." One of those guys I'm going
00:30:59.840 golfing with next week. He still doesn't
00:31:01.279 know Jesus. Doesn't follow him yet, but
00:31:03.120 I'm believing I'm going to keep loving
00:31:04.480 him. We still stay friends. We just set
00:31:06.720 barriers. We set some boundaries so that
00:31:08.960 I protect myself, but I also witness to
00:31:11.760 him as I bring him along with me. Amen.
00:31:14.320 And it's been years and years and years.
00:31:15.840 Some of you maybe need to set some
00:31:16.960 boundaries with family members. Family
00:31:18.960 members might not be excited about you
00:31:20.640 taking some steps with God. So what? We
00:31:22.960 we search seek to serve God first, not
00:31:26.240 people as we're going to talk about in
00:31:28.159 just a minute. And actually this time,
00:31:29.360 if you're getting baptized, you could
00:31:30.880 step out. You can go get changed and uh
00:31:32.960 wait in the back hallway for me and I'll
00:31:34.320 be right back there in just a few
00:31:35.440 minutes. We're going to do this in about 15 minutes or so. So verse 18,
00:31:40.240 they call the apostles back and they
00:31:41.519 tell him to stop. Verse 19 and 20, Peter
00:31:44.480 and John replied, "Do you think God
00:31:46.799 wants us to obey you rather than him? We
00:31:50.320 cannot stop telling about everything we
00:31:52.559 have seen and heard." Peter and John had
00:31:55.600 seen too much. They had experienced too
00:31:58.240 much. They saw Jesus resurrected from
00:32:00.880 the dead. They've they've experienced
00:32:03.679 new life in Christ. the freedom that
00:32:05.600 comes in Christ. And if you've
00:32:07.279 experienced that, we should be at this
00:32:08.799 place we say we cannot stop telling
00:32:11.039 about everything we've heard and seen,
00:32:13.760 right? Even other people's testimonies
00:32:16.080 as we're going to hear some of those in
00:32:17.200 a little bit and watching people get
00:32:18.799 baptized. How do we keep that to
00:32:20.880 ourselves instead of letting people know
00:32:23.600 there is hope? There is a resurrection
00:32:25.360 of the dead. There is life that can be
00:32:27.440 had. There is forgiveness for our sins.
00:32:30.559 And it's all found in the name of Jesus.
00:32:33.760 Paul said it this way in Galatians 1:10.
00:32:36.480 He said, 'Obviously, I'm not trying to
00:32:38.880 win the approval of people, but of God.
00:32:42.320 If pleasing people were my goal, I would
00:32:45.679 not be Christ's servant. Now, I'm not
00:32:48.399 going to ask for a show of hands because
00:32:49.600 you might raise your hand because you're
00:32:50.640 a people pleaser, but how many of you
00:32:52.159 are people pleasers, right? Some of you,
00:32:54.080 okay, you raise your hands anyways. But
00:32:56.880 and there's an element of when we start
00:32:58.640 pleasing God or we worry about what
00:33:00.399 people think about us more than what God
00:33:02.640 thinks that's a bad place to be because
00:33:05.360 he says how could I be a servant of God
00:33:07.840 a servant of Christ if I live to please
00:33:10.240 people rather than God and the other
00:33:13.360 side of that if you just have no care
00:33:15.279 whatsoever about people you
00:33:17.519 don't care what they think you don't
00:33:18.559 care about them at all you don't care
00:33:19.760 what they want you're going to be a jerk
00:33:22.080 I'll just say quite honest because
00:33:23.440 that's where I was I didn't care what
00:33:25.279 anybody thought about me. I was so I
00:33:26.880 thought it was secure. It was pride and
00:33:28.559 arrogance that I that I don't care what
00:33:30.799 anybody thinks. I don't care about any
00:33:32.960 other people and I just need to tell
00:33:34.399 them truth. I need to tell them they're
00:33:35.760 a sinner. They need to repent or they're
00:33:37.360 going to go to hell. It's like that is
00:33:39.440 true, but it's not very loving and it
00:33:41.760 doesn't work really well. Instead, Jesus
00:33:44.480 who is all truth, full of truth, he was
00:33:46.880 also full of love. If you truly love
00:33:49.679 God, you will love people too.
00:33:52.480 And sometimes people who are hardest to
00:33:54.720 love are the ones we need to we need to
00:33:57.039 love the most, right? But pleasing
00:33:59.840 people overpleasing God is never a good
00:34:02.399 thing. However, when we please God, we
00:34:04.240 want to seek God. It involves loving and
00:34:06.480 helping people along the way.
00:34:09.599 Verse 21, the council then threatened
00:34:11.679 them further, but they finally let them
00:34:13.839 go because they didn't know how to
00:34:15.199 punish them without starting a riot. For
00:34:17.679 everyone was praising God for this
00:34:19.520 miraculous sign, the healing of a man
00:34:21.918 who had been lame for more than 40
00:34:24.800 years. For 40 years, this guy was lame.
00:34:27.599 These two guys, Peter and John, walk by
00:34:29.760 and he's healed. He's jumping and
00:34:32.000 leaping for joy. You know how to tell
00:34:34.079 like a true miracle is when it's
00:34:35.918 something that happens that nobody can
00:34:37.918 get credit for except for God. That it
00:34:40.560 wasn't Peter and John doing anything.
00:34:42.239 That's the the answer to their question
00:34:44.000 was it's Jesus. Jesus heals. God is a
00:34:48.239 healer. God does miraculous signs and
00:34:51.119 wonders that it's not the people that do
00:34:53.520 it. It's God through the people. So
00:34:56.239 miraculous signs and healing and
00:34:58.000 miracles still exist today in 2026. We
00:35:01.920 believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:35:03.760 There's nowhere at all that says that
00:35:05.119 the power of God stopped. That God
00:35:06.720 suddenly changed and now he doesn't do
00:35:08.560 that anymore. But he's the same God
00:35:10.480 yesterday, today, and forever. In fact,
00:35:13.680 the church gathered together and they
00:35:15.520 prayed this prayer. In verse 29, it
00:35:17.520 says, "And now, oh Lord, hear their
00:35:19.440 threats. Give us your servants great
00:35:22.320 boldness in preaching your word. Stretch
00:35:24.960 out your hand with healing power. May
00:35:27.040 miraculous signs and wonders be done
00:35:29.119 through the name of your holy servant
00:35:31.359 Jesus." And after this prayer, verse 31,
00:35:34.560 the meeting place shook. They were all
00:35:36.880 filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they
00:35:39.119 preached the word of God with boldness.
00:35:42.480 It wasn't their intellect. It wasn't
00:35:44.560 their abilities. It wasn't them doing
00:35:46.880 it, but it was the power of the Holy
00:35:48.960 Spirit who filled them with boldness,
00:35:51.920 with a God confidence. They weren't
00:35:54.160 filled with self-confidence. They were
00:35:55.200 filled with God confidence. And that's
00:35:57.680 my prayer for you. That actually, if all
00:35:59.359 of us could please stand to our feet, I
00:36:00.800 want to pray this prayer as they prayed
00:36:03.119 about 2,000 years ago that we would pray
00:36:05.599 this prayer. We go back to verse 29,
00:36:07.920 please. Now, oh Lord, hear their
00:36:10.240 threats. Hear the threats at our
00:36:11.440 workplace. Hear the threats from our
00:36:12.800 family. Hear the threats and the
00:36:14.320 persecution against your church, against
00:36:16.480 your body that exists in the world. And
00:36:18.720 Father, I pray for your servants, every
00:36:20.480 single person here, everyone listening
00:36:22.320 and watching online, for great boldness
00:36:24.880 in preaching your word, your truth to
00:36:27.520 each and every person we can, God, that
00:36:29.839 we would not hold it within ourselves,
00:36:31.920 but God, that we would release, God, you
00:36:34.160 release your power, your healing power
00:36:37.040 through each and every one of us. that
00:36:39.520 miraculous signs and wonders would be
00:36:41.280 done not because of how good we are but
00:36:44.160 because of your holy servant Jesus by
00:36:47.119 the power of the Holy Spirit. God, we
00:36:49.040 pray for healings. We pray for miracles.
00:36:50.960 God, we pray for truth and love to flow
00:36:54.480 through us to as many people as we
00:36:57.359 encounter. God, that we wouldn't wait
00:37:00.960 till next Sunday to have church, but you
00:37:00.960 would send us as the church to this lost
00:37:04.480 and dying world. that God, we would have
00:37:06.480 a boldness, a confidence in you. In
00:37:09.680 Jesus mighty name I pray. Amen.
00:37:12.960 >> But before you can be sent, you got to
00:37:14.800 make sure you have a relationship with
00:37:16.720 God. In Acts 4:12, he says there is
00:37:20.079 salvation in no one else. No one else.
00:37:23.200 Not your church membership, not a
00:37:25.200 baptism that you had as a baby or
00:37:26.960 they're going to have today. None of
00:37:28.640 that is what saves you. It's simply be
00:37:31.280 believing in the name of Jesus Christ.
00:37:33.599 you put your trust in him that he is the
00:37:36.880 only way that you can truly be saved. If
00:37:39.359 you put your heart, your trust in Jesus
00:37:41.680 as the only way that you can get to
00:37:43.200 heaven, the only way you can experience
00:37:45.440 salvation,
00:37:46.960 then I want to invite you today. If
00:37:48.480 you've never done that, and you say, "I
00:37:50.240 want to know Jesus. I want to be saved.
00:37:51.920 I want to make sure I'm going to heaven
00:37:53.760 because there's no other thing that's
00:37:55.119 going to save you apart from Jesus." If
00:37:57.680 you're here today and you say, "I need
00:37:58.880 to make that decision." Well, you want
00:38:00.640 to recommit your life to Jesus. You're
00:38:03.119 simply saying, "I need to reup. I need
00:38:04.800 to rededicate my life. I want you to
00:38:06.720 slip up your hand right where you are.
00:38:08.640 And I want to pray for you." If you want
00:38:10.240 to say yes to Jesus, I want to He needs
00:38:12.240 to I want to make him the forgiver of my
00:38:14.160 past that he wants to be the only way I
00:38:16.160 can be saved. Just slip up your hand.
00:38:17.599 And anyone watching online, you can
00:38:19.040 click that link and follow that. We want
00:38:20.720 to follow up with you and pray for you.
00:38:22.800 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, God, I
00:38:24.640 thank you for every person making that
00:38:26.160 decision right now. God, that's not in
00:38:28.560 intellect. It's not in our
00:38:30.560 understanding. It's not in our doing,
00:38:32.240 but God, it's all in what you've already
00:38:33.839 done for us. God, that you are the only
00:38:37.200 one who could save us. That there's
00:38:39.200 salvation in no one else than Jesus, the
00:38:42.560 Christ, the Messiah, the one who was
00:38:44.880 crucified but rose back to life. God, I
00:38:48.079 pray that would change and transform
00:38:49.440 each and every one of our lives. That
00:38:51.119 God, we would live as the church, bold
00:38:54.160 and confident in you from this day
00:38:56.480 forward. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Can
00:38:59.599 we have got a great big hand?
00:39:02.160 Jared's going to come on up
00:39:05.040 and share.
00:39:07.599 >> Amen. We have an opportunity to extend
00:39:09.440 our time of worship. Uh, of course,
00:39:11.040 water baptisms to celebrate that way.
00:39:13.280 Also, um, a time to give and have an
00:39:15.680 opportunity to give as an act of
00:39:17.440 worship. And you know, as we've been in
00:39:19.200 this series talking about the church
00:39:20.720 defined and talking about really the
00:39:22.720 legacy and the history of Jesus's church
00:39:25.200 for over 2,000 years and how we get to
00:39:27.760 be a part here and now today. Something
00:39:30.079 Pastor Eric had mentioned in the
00:39:31.359 beginning about the persecuted church,
00:39:33.520 the church in Liberia really or Nigeria,
00:39:36.320 excuse me, and rather all around the
00:39:37.839 world that's experiencing intense trial
00:39:40.880 and persecution. Some even giving their
00:39:43.200 own lives for the sake of the gospel.
00:39:45.920 And I'm actually encouraged by the
00:39:48.000 church of Macedonia that's written by
00:39:49.839 the Apostle Paul and their generosity.
00:39:53.119 It says in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, "Now
00:39:55.760 I want you to know, dear brothers and
00:39:57.280 sisters, what God in his kindness has
00:39:99.760 done through the churches in Macedonia.
00:40:01.912 [music]
00:40:02.800 They are being tested by many troubles
00:40:05.119 and they're very poor. But they're also
00:40:08.560 filled with abundant joy which has
00:40:10.880 overflowed in rich generosity." I can
00:40:13.760 testify that they gave not only what
00:40:15.680 they could afford but far more. And they
00:40:18.560 did it of their own free will. You see
00:40:21.520 church, I look at myself, you know, just
00:40:23.520 like anybody else, you every now and
00:40:24.800 again we have I have troubles. I have
00:40:26.400 some trial things that I go through. I
00:40:27.839 know we all do. But man, when I look
00:40:29.839 back at the church of Macedonia, man,
00:40:31.280 these people had nothing. They were
00:40:33.040 experiencing intense trial [music] and
00:40:34.400 persecution. Many people losing their
00:40:36.560 jobs, losing their homes, losing their
00:40:38.240 life because of who Jesus was. yet
00:40:41.213 [music] they had abundant joy, open
00:40:43.839 hearts full of generosity. So my prayer
00:40:46.320 is for us here at Freedom Church that we
00:40:48.480 would carry on that same legacy and
00:40:50.800 really experience the true supernatural
00:40:53.760 joy that it is to follow Jesus no matter
00:40:56.560 what life throws at us. Why? Because he
00:40:58.560 has already overcome the world. So we as
00:41:00.480 a result get to live like he lived. So
00:41:02.720 let's be a generous people. [music]
00:41:04.400 There are several ways to give. If you
00:41:06.000 have cash or check, there is a giving
00:41:08.000 station at the back of the room. You
00:41:09.760 could take out your phone, scan the tap
00:41:11.680 card on the seat pack in front of you
00:41:13.200 and choose give online. If your bank
00:41:15.280 accepts Zelle, there's no fees. You can
00:41:16.880 give through Zelle. There are many ways to
00:41:18.640 give, but more than any of that, let us
00:41:20.960 as the 2026 church, remember the rich
00:41:23.760 legacy that we've been left [music] for
00:41:25.680 thousands of years. Let's pray. Father,
00:41:28.000 I thank you so much. Thank you, Lord,
00:41:29.920 that no matter what life throws at us,
00:41:31.599 even like Peter and John who were
00:41:32.880 imprisoned and all the apostles or all
00:41:35.280 but one of the apostles dying for their
00:41:36.880 faith, that we could live sold out for
00:41:39.280 you. That we can live with hearts of
00:41:41.359 true dependence, surrender, and joy even
00:41:44.720 when troubles come. Lord, I ask that
00:41:46.800 that would overflow in generosity for
00:41:49.359 us, knowing that there are people here
00:41:51.920 locally and worldwide who need to know
00:41:54.319 you, who need to know your truth and
00:41:55.920 love. God, [music] help us, Father, be a
00:41:58.000 generous people that we would give so
00:41:59.920 that as many people as possible would
00:42:01.599 have an opportunity to know you in your
00:42:03.920 great love and your truth. And it's in
00:42:05.920 Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. If
00:42:09.440 you're new here with us this morning,
00:42:10.960 maybe for the very first time, just want
00:42:12.319 to say welcome and thank you so much for
00:42:14.319 choosing to spend part of your Sunday
00:42:15.680 with us. We would love to get to know
00:42:17.440 you and uh really just keep you up to
00:42:19.280 date with awesome things God is doing in
00:42:20.880 and through Freedom Church. [music] By
00:42:22.480 doing that, we just ask that you would
00:42:24.000 fill out a connection card. So, if you
00:42:26.079 take your phone out, scan the seat back
00:42:28.160 in front of you, you can scan the QR
00:42:29.520 code. [music] Just leave some basic
00:42:31.200 information. We'd love to keep in touch
00:42:32.640 with you. Also, out the way out today in
00:42:35.040 the back, there is a gift that we want
00:42:36.800 to put in your hand [music] just as our
00:42:38.400 way of saying thank you for being with
00:42:39.599 us and worshiping with us here today.
00:42:42.240 Maybe you're here and you're on a
00:42:43.359 progression. Say, I want to I want to
00:42:44.880 know how to become more involved and
00:42:47.119 active in the church and what God is
00:42:48.939 [music] doing through the church. We
00:42:50.480 actually have two classes uh twice a
00:42:52.720 month called Next Step. So, be taking
00:42:54.319 place in the month of May. I ask that
00:42:56.240 you would take out your phone, you can
00:42:57.599 scan the QR code, get signed up. There
00:43:01.839 is food and child care provided. We just
00:43:01.839 want to know how much to prepare. We
00:43:03.520 would love for you to understand how God
00:43:05.040 has uniquely gifted you to make a
00:43:06.960 tremendous impact for eternity. So, come
00:43:08.800 on out to Next Steps next month. Also an
00:43:11.359 opportunity for us to be the church,
00:43:12.640 really just the ladies. A wonderful
00:43:14.319 time. We want to honor the ladies and
00:43:15.920 provide [music] a space for you guys to
00:43:17.599 connect and do life with one another.
00:43:19.520 So, we are having a coffee and yogurt
00:43:21.359 parfaits coming up Saturday, May 9th, 9
00:43:23.920 to 11:00 a.m. I ask you get signed up so
00:43:26.160 you know how much coffee to prepare and
00:43:27.760 how much yogurt to have there ready for
00:43:29.200 you ladies to have an opportunity to get
00:43:30.960 away and connect with one another. Last,
00:43:33.040 but certainly not least, we have child
00:43:34.720 dedications coming up. An opportunity
00:43:36.720 for us who want to train and raise our
00:43:40.000 children to know and honor the Lord with
00:43:41.760 their lives. We know the Lord's using
00:43:43.440 the youth and the young kids powerfully.
00:43:45.520 And we want to have an opportunity to
00:43:46.960 publicly declare and dedicate the
00:43:49.599 children of God and that your church
00:43:51.119 family is going to be here to pray and
00:43:53.200 support you along that journey. If
00:43:54.880 you've never had your child dedicated,
00:43:56.240 we'd love to celebrate. Scan the QR
00:43:57.920 code, get signed up. It's going to be an
00:43:59.680 amazing time to [music] dedicate
00:44:01.680 our children to the Lord. Speaking of
00:44:03.680 dedicating our lives to the Lord, we
00:44:05.280 have some folks here who ready to get
00:44:06.880 water baptized and declare that they are
00:44:09.280 dedicating their lives to the Lord. So
00:44:10.800 Rachel, take it away.
00:44:13.040 >> All right. Who's excited to celebrate
00:44:14.720 this morning? [cheering]
00:44:17.599 >> We have some awesome people who are who
00:44:20.319 are ready to get baptized and so we get
00:44:22.160 to celebrate with them this morning.
00:44:23.760 It's so exciting. I get so emotional
00:44:26.400 with baptisms every single time. It
00:44:28.720 doesn't get old for me because it's just
00:44:31.119 you get to see the visual of what God
00:44:32.880 has done inside of them. So this is an
00:44:35.119 amazing opportunity. We're going to get
00:44:36.400 to hear from each one of them. Um, we
00:44:38.960 just want to know what God has done. So,
00:44:40.720 tell us your name and why you want to
00:44:42.400 get baptized.
00:44:43.359 >> My name is Dana and I want to be closer
00:44:45.680 with God.
00:44:47.440 >> Amen. Amen. All right. What's your name
00:44:48.960 and why do you want to get baptized?
00:44:50.800 >> My name is Candy and I want a closer
00:44:53.040 relationship with God and to show my
00:44:56.240 dedication, my loyalty, my love, and my
00:44:59.520 gratitude.
00:45:00.640 >> Amen. Amen. What's your name and why do
00:45:03.440 you want to get baptized? McKenzie. And
00:45:05.520 I just want to be closer with God and
00:45:08.160 free myself.
00:45:11.280 Amen. Taking the next step. All right.
00:45:14.000 What's your name, bud? And why do you
00:45:15.280 want to get baptized?
00:45:16.480 >> My name is Elijah, and I want to get
00:45:18.240 baptized because uh I want to become
00:45:20.960 made new. And uh I I was last baptized
00:45:25.200 when I was five or six. And I I've been
00:45:28.480 God's been telling me to get baptized.
00:45:30.800 And I feel like I'm getting farther away
00:45:32.720 from God. and I want to uh so I want
00:45:37.280 to commit to being baptized to
00:45:39.839 recommit.
00:45:41.920 >> Amen. We're recommitting his life. Amen.
00:45:44.960 What's your name and why do you want to
00:45:46.160 get baptized?
00:45:47.200 >> I'm Taylor and I just want to be closer
00:45:50.000 to him and
00:45:52.160 follow down his path and Yeah.
00:45:54.720 >> Amen. Amen. Let's give it up for these
00:45:57.760 awesome baptisms that are happening.
00:46:00.880 It's an outward sign of what God is
00:46:03.200 doing inside of them. So, what's going
00:46:05.520 to happen as they as they go in? We're
00:46:07.839 going to celebrate and cheer as they
00:46:09.839 come up out of that water representing
00:46:11.599 new life. The dead is gone and the the
00:46:14.960 new has come.
00:46:25.092 [cheering]
00:46:27.712 >> [applause]
00:46:37.599 >> Great.
00:46:39.599 Great. Is your faithful
00:46:50.319 again?
00:46:53.599 Great.
00:47:17.492 [cheering]
00:47:18.000 >> It's her birthday today.
00:47:23.760 Father,
00:47:27.972 [cheering]
00:47:42.319 >> God
00:48:01.520 Give me
00:48:22.079 Amen. Amen. Amen. Come on. Can we give
00:48:23.920 God praise?
00:48:29.280 It never gets old. Lives changed and
00:48:31.599 transformed by the power of God. I'm
00:48:34.079 going to pray and then we'll be
00:48:35.119 dismissed. God, we thank you for this
00:48:37.280 morning. I thank you for this time of
00:48:38.800 celebration, seeing what you've done
00:48:40.720 inside each one of them. New life, Lord
00:48:43.200 God. And we just thank you and praise
00:48:44.559 you for that, Lord. I pray that we would
00:48:46.480 be on mission, that we would be bold for
00:48:48.480 you this week, and that we'd come back
00:48:50.319 together as church family next week to
00:48:52.559 celebrate you and to lift you high. It's
00:48:54.160 in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Have
00:48:57.520 a great week.