Secret Sauce for Church Growth

chapter 8 Acts chapter 8 we are in a series called grow to go um and it is a series where we are looking at the growth of the church and the design that God gave in order for his church to grow and so one of the things that we looked at is what our role is when it comes to that and that was kind of the first three weeks and so I'm not going to recap that necessarily but go back and look at uh or listen to those sermons if you haven't had a chance to uh but now we're moving into kind of the next

four weeks is when we look at our individual responsibility of what we are called to do and what God's called us to do in serving the church serving the body of Christ in order to spread the gospel both here in the church as well as outside of the church what does that look like when it all comes together how does the church actually grow and so I titled this uh sermon and if you could am I loud is it sound like I'm loud out there if you could just pull me down just like a bar or so that'd be great um I titled this sermon

the secret sauce of church growth which is so cringeworthy um to just kind of say if you know anything about me but um but that's why it's also so good because I think a lot of times when we think about church growth what grows the church we want kind of the secret sauce we want what's the silver silver bullet like what's what's the one thing that we need to do in order for things to grow and I think everyone always wants wants to know that you want to know that for your individual life how do I grow my investment what's the secret sauce there how

do I grow intellectually how do I grow um and and just you know physically when it comes to uh being more healthy and so like we want the FasTrack we want the secret sauce that's actually going to accomplish that and we need to know what it is and when it comes to the church if God did give us a secret sauce for church growth if he did give us something that actually helps us spread the good news of Jesus Christ wouldn't you want to know what that is well good because I want to tell you what it is today because growth is a good thing

we wouldn't be here if growth wasn't a good thing and so we need to know what it is and and and also when it comes to church growth we want it to be as measurable as possible because you want to know whether or not you're actually growing right you want to know if you're doing it the way that he's called you to do it and for example if you were to invest financially and you were to put a $1,000 into the stock market you would want to measure whether or not it's growing after a year has it returned 8% 10% 12% has it returned anything

more than that if at the end of the year you got back $1,000 you'd probably be frustrated I put a th in I wanted to get more back when it comes to that well God has entrusted a secret sauce to the church in order for it to return an investment in order for it to grow that's why uh the point of the talent in Matthew 25 and I talked about it a couple of weeks ago a Biblical Talent is a measure of money if you weren't aware of that there was a Master with three servants whom he gave money to invest on his behalf and

to one serpent he gave five with the expectation that that five would turn into 10 to another he gave two with the expectation that that two would turn into four and to one he gave one with the expectation that that one would turn into two but what we see is that the one he gave five turned it into 10 the one he gave two turned it into four and the one he gave one was nervous was anxious did not take the investment and actually invest it but instead buried it because he misunderstood the master misrepresented the master misunderstood what he was supposed to do with

it and it frustrated the master well the same thing is with the church it's actually a parable not about how to manage money or finances but rather how to manage what God has entrusted to us and if he's entrusted to us something that we are to invest in order for his kingdom to grow and the good news to spread then we need to make sure that whatever ever that thing is that he's entrusted to us and invested in us that we are actually investing it and not burying it like the one servant did that frustrated the master and therefore the church is an investment that

God has made with the intention that it grows Bobby Harrington who is a pastor of Mercy Hill Church in North Carolina puts it this way Miracles follow Movement we of and say well I will wait for God to move before I move I will wait for God to show up before I show up I will wait for God to do something before I do something but instead God often says move and then I will act go first and then I will move Miracles follow movement what is God telling you to do with his investment where is God telling you to go with his investment who

is God telling you to share the message of Jesus with and what I want to show you in this message today is a man who listened to God's call he had no idea where he was going to go he had no idea who he was going to talk to but he knew he had the secret sauce which I will say what it is here in a moment he knew he had the secret sauce and therefore wherever God told him to go he was willing to go and whoever God told him to talk to he was going to be willing to talk to him and then

see what God does then see what God does so we're here in Acts chapter 8 we're going to start in verse 26 and I'm going to read this and unpack it for you kind of as we walk through it together so that you can see what we are looking at today and actually shared this passage um with Ezra a few weeks ago and when I shared it with him he said you should s share this on a Sunday morning sometime um and so Ezra since we are baptizing you today here you go so so I'm sharing what you wanted me to share acts 8 starting

verse 26 now an angel of the Lord said to Phillip rise and go toward the South to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza this is a desert place and he rose and went now that's my kind of trip like I love going on a trip where there's no real destination in sight like you probably didn't even prepare for it like you're just heading out no idea what's going to happen but you're going there Kelsey is the complete opposite of that everything has to be scheduled and planned out to a detail like we're I mean she hates it if we get in the

car and like we're going either over to someone's house or you know to a party or whatever it is and I don't know where they live if we start driving she's like do you know where you're going I was like we'll figure it out on the way she's like what is wrong with you well it's just the way that I'm wired and I was like we'll plug it in I just know I'm heading in the direction of where I need to go well that's what philli is doing in this moment God basically tells him hey jump in the car they didn't have cars but jump

in the car head south all right that would be equivalent to me just telling you hey when we leave today I want you to jump on I65 and I just want you to head south all right it's a road going from Indianapolis to Nashville all right my hometown and so just head south and we'll figure out what the Lord has for you on the way not too many people are willing to receive such limited itineraries these days but I'm here for it that's what he receives as he's on this journey we'll pick it up there there was an Ethiopian a unic a court official of

Candice Queen of the Ethiopians who was in charge of all her treasure he had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning seated in his Chariot and he was reading the prophet Isaiah and the spirit said to philli go over and join this Chariot all right Kelsey and I attended an event about a year and a half ago uh where we heard a preacher talking about this specific passage and Carlos Whitaker was his name and one of the points that he had in his message on this was God is telling you to get in other people's chariots now obviously we don't have chariots but and

and it might be awkward to like pull up to a stoplight and jump in someone else's car that's not the it doesn't fully transfer over but what he is telling us is that we need to get invested in and involved in other people's lives to know what they're knowing to know what they're learning to know what they're reading to see where they are and what it is that they're processing in their life we need to be willing to get in other people's chariots and so what did Philip do when God told him the spirit prompted him hey you see this Ethiopian he is in a

chariot he is reading the book of Isaiah I want you to go get in his Chariot so what does Philip do verse 30 Philip ran to him now talk about scaring a man like if I see someone running at me my only thought is I'm going to outrun them in the direction that they are running like I'm going to make sure that they don't catch me so Philip like needs to calm down a little bit here but what I love in him saying that Philip ran to him is that there was no hesitancy on Philip's part I think unfortunately for us when we feel that

prompting of the spirit when we see someone and we might see that they're in need or we could help them or we could talk to them or maybe you're having a conversation with a co-worker and they're talking about the difficulty of their home life or the difficulty of their finances or the difficulty of of a situation that they're walking through and we feel that prompting of I need to enter into this I need to get in this Chariot if you will but so many times in that moment we kind of think I don't know if it's going to be me to do it maybe there's

someone else more gifted and qualified that should talk to them about this current situation maybe I shouldn't go there and have the Jesus conversation with them that he can actually help them in this situation that they're dealing with maybe it's not me and so what do we normally do is we just I feel you I'm understand I know what you're going through I know times can be difficult but we're not really going there we're not really diving in we're just kind of giving them the uh the backhanded compliment that we do in the South which is bless your heart I'll pray for you I'll pray

for you that's just our way of saying it's my exit door so that I'm probably not going to pray for you and I don't really feel called to actually get involved in your situation that you're actually dealing with I don't actually really want to give you any good news you're experiencing a lot of bad news but I don't really want to give you any good news for Phillip and what can teach us in this moment is there was no hesitancy he saw a situation he saw an opportunity and God said to him run to the opportunity maybe we need to run to these opportunities when

they arise if you run towards joyful obedience to God's plan and instructions for your life I'm telling you you'll live your best life you'll live your best life I'm not going to say it's an easy life I'm not going to say it's going to fix all of your finances or it's going to fix all of your problems but what I will say is when the Holy Spirit prompts us and calls us into a situation and we respond running into it joyfully accepting whatever the mission is that he has called us into to help someone else out and to serve them in any way that we

possibly can I'm telling you right now there is Greater Joy in that than anything else you would ever run away from and hope that it provides satisfaction for you I'm just telling you that's why I think I said a couple of weeks ago um or it might have been last week when we were talking about making an impact and you being a helper you being a servant when it comes to the sake of the church and the community and others in your lives the Bible never tells you to make sure that you consider your interest only the Bible never tells you to be selfish but

it does tell you to consider the interest of others to Humble yourselves to look for opportunities to to look for opportunities to empty yourself as Jesus emptied himself and showed us in Philippians 2 I'm telling you there's so much more joy in that than there will ever be joy in US serving ourselves and whatever it might look like and so this is one of those moments where Philip is saying I am an open vessel use me however you want to use me and so if it's going south with no itinerary I'm heading south if it's an Ethiopian and a chariot and I have no idea

what his situation is or what he's learning or what he's thinking or what he's doing I'm going to figure out what it is you want me to tell him in this moment and so what is that well let's look so Philip ran to him and he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and Philip asked him do you understand what you are reading which honestly is a great approach instead of jumping in and acting like Philip was to know it all he asked the man what the man understood Philip wanted to learn where this man was does he know about Jesus and what does he know

about Jesus it's a great approach one that we should take instead of just jumping into a conversation and assuming that they don't know anything or that they're not on some Journey where God is drawing them and they've learned some and fig like what do they know where are they and that's why I love a lot of times when you see in scripture them coming into situations they want to learn first so that they know how to answer second so they know what to actually show them in the good news and so verse 31 Peter or Philip then said or the Ethiopian said responding to him

how can I unless someone guides me and he invited Philip to come up and sit with him now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its she is silent so he opens not his mouth in his humiliation Justice was denied him who can describe his generation for his life is taken away from the earth for those who don't know this man is reading a passage again from Isaiah we know because it says it but specifically he's reading from Isaiah chapter 53 which is one of the most famous

passages in the Old Testament because it's a passage regarding the suffering servant the suffering servant another thing to know about this is that this passage was written some 700 years prior to this event 700 years prior to the birth of Jesus and so it's good for this man to kind of question who is this passage about what am I really reading here because in his context this is an ancient passage this is an ancient Story how could it possibly be about anyone who's current in their day and age or was close to being current in their day and age but this is a passage from

Isaiah 53 about the suffering servant which is why I called this the secret sauce because there's the SS there if you can kind of see what I did there anyways I'll move on I'm not that creative verse 34 and the unic said to philli again here's the question about whom I ask you does the prophet say this about himself or about someone else basically he's asking who is this passage talking about if there's someone who's going to be led to the slaughter and as you actually look more throughout Isaiah 53 you're going to see other things where it's like he talks about this man being

one who's crushed for our iniquities whose wounds actually bring us healing so then who is this passage talking about if this is someone who can actually provide for me healing who can provide for me forgiveness who can take care of all the mistakes and the shame and the guilt that I've ever experienced in my life who is it talking about I need to know and then Philip opened his mouth and beginning with the scripture which is always a great place beginning with the scripture he told him the good news about Jesus what this tells us is that the prophet Isaiah 700 years before Jesus would

be born predicted that there would be a suffering servant who would come and offer his life as a sacrifice as a sacrifice like a sheep led to a Slaughter that was a sacrifice this suffering servant his life would become an investment of God to the world in order to reap a harvest out of that world his son would be the secret sauce to establishing growing and ushering in a New Kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven he would be put to death in our place so that in his place we would be granted eternal life and so what Philip is doing is he's telling

this Ethiopian what the secret sauce is who the suffering servant is and I love that it says beginning with the scriptures he opened them up and he talked about the good news of Jesus who's Isaiah 53 about 700 years before Jesus it's about Jesus who is he now talking to this Ethiopian in regards to what he can provide for him that's actually good news for this man Jesus what do we as a church need to talk about in order for good news to be spread Jesus that's it it's all about Jesus and so why is it considered good news what's the good news about Jesus

that he told to the Ethiopian well as we were talking through the Christmas season John 3:16 specifically is this for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life but if you continue reading this is some more good news and bad news for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world that's good news he didn't send the future king of the heavens and the Earth to condemn everybody but sent him into the world to save them to save them in order that the world might be saved

through him Verse 18 whoever believes in him is not condemned that's good news but in order for there to be good news there also has to be bad news whoever does not believe is condemned already already that's bad news because that tells us a couple of things bad news is the world is already condemned or sitting in the position of condemned which means you're not living your life waiting for a day eventually that God will look at your deeds and then determine whether or not you land in condemned or saved no you're already condemned period already condemned why well I'll get to that here in

a minute but Jesus coming into the world offers good news for those who are already condemned that whoever believes in him will not be condemned will not perish but will receive eternal life everlasting life this is one of the greatest stories of essentially a superhero coming to save those who can't save themselves that's why God sent Jesus a superhero in comparison to us as finite human beings unable to save ourselves we need an external savior to come and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves but what if I want to save myself what if I want to save myself what if I don't

want Jesus to do that for me what if I don't think I need Jesus what if I think I can be good enough what if I think I can earn my own eternal life what if I think I can do whatever is necessary that in the end when God looks at me he says man I didn't realize that you could be so awesome that I'm going to do away with all the bad things and because you did a lot of good things I'm you're come on in come on in what if I wanted to save myself what would be required for us us to save

ourselves well honestly Perfection Perfection holy Without Blame righteous Perfection all right so if I want to save myself and get into heaven what's the requirement to get me into heaven God's going to say be perfect as the heavenly father is perfect Jesus tells us that in Matthew 5 after he gives you a whole list of do and don'ts where he takes the Old Testament law Just the Ten Commandments which if we just take a 10minute observation and Survey regarding the Ten Commandments no one's walking out of this room thinking they're perfect have you ever lied before then you're a liar you don't lie to become

a liar you lie because you are a liar you're already condemned you ever lost before then you're an adulterer you're like well I've never actually cheated on my spouse no that's why Jesus in Matthew 5 goes on and says have you ever thought it in your mind mind without even acting upon it then you're already considered an adulterer so like when when you start to look at it Jesus in Matthew 5 is showing us that the standard that gets you into heaven is impossible for you to ever attain it you you'll never measure up but what if I do what if I over the I

mean I work as hard as possible over the next 30 Years to perfect my mind and my actions and my body and and I get to a day where I go the 24 hours even including my sleeping because you don't even sleep perfectly you wake up and you've injured your shoulder so you wake up and you live a perfect day and you tell God I I've arrived I've achieved Perfection you know what God's going to say so what do you expect me to do with that whole line of imperfection that's behind you in your past what do you want me to do with that because

it's still a part of your account you still have to answer for it what are you going to do with it that's why Romans 3:11 Paul just tells them straight up I don't want anyone to be unaware of your current situation no one is righteous not one no one understands no one seeks for God and then Romans 6:23 goes on to say and all of those in that category the wages of their sin is death so so there's not one person that's perfect and the penalty for that imperfection is death which is why Jesus in or John in Roman or John 3:16 through1 18 says

you're already condemned just by being alive born a sinner you are condemned your trajectory is hell is death and that's why he says for God so loved the world that he sent his son so that whoever trusts in him believes in Him receives him will not continue on in their condemnation but instead be transferred to the kingdom of God so that you're no longer in the domain of Darkness but you're in the kingdom of God and therefore able to now enter into eternal life based on something that was not you but Jesus Alone 2 Corinthians 5:21 puts it this way for our sake why because

we're condemned because we're perishing because we're going to hell because none of us is righteous because none of us is seeking God because none of us can attain Perfection for our sake God made him Jesus to be sin what we are so that in Christ we might become righteousness what he is Martin Luther calls that The Great Exchange and there was nothing we did to earn it or deserve it someone else I can't remember who said it but basically said the only thing you bring to the table of your salvation is the sin that deserves it that's the only thing we bring to the table

so we don't bring well here are my good things here are my good deeds here's my no we bring our sin so if the secret sauce of the Gospel which means means good news of what Jesus has done for you why would someone believe in Jesus is there any other options why would we believe in Jesus and confess that he is Lord is there more to it than just a ticket to Heaven why is it the secret sauce why is it the good stuff why is it the good portion I'm going to give you seven quick things don't think I'm going to go long on

these but number one you get a relationship with God When You Believe In Jesus it's not just a ticket to heaven to make sure that you don't go to hell you get a relationship with God it's not about distant religion it's about knowing and enjoying the god of the universe The God Who created you the God who knows you more than anyone else the God who knows you better than you know yourself here's the funny thing is no one knows you more than you know yourself no one talks to you more than you talk to yourself and yet no one knows you as much as

God knows you even including yourself you don't know the depths of your mind and the depths of your heart but God does you don't know how many hairs are on your head unless you're bald hey I'm hey God knows you and through Christ we get to know him we get to be restored in a relationship with him that's why Ephesians 2:12-13 puts it this way remember that you were at that time and what he means by at that time in your sin when you were condemned at that time you were separated from Christ having no hope and without God in the world you want to

know what the worst place to be in life is that separated from Christ without hope in the world and what you're going to do is you're going to invest all of your money all of your time all of your energy into trying to seek a life that actually is fulfilling and satisfying and the frustrating thing for those who are not in Christ is that they just are like a hamster on a wheel just spinning and spinning and spinning and they're never going to find satisfaction that's why you just continue believing the lie that what you need is more of what you already have my friends

aren't doing it I need better friends my church isn't doing it I need a better Church my money's not doing it I need more money my house isn't doing it I need a better house and I just keep spinning and spinning and spinning and what you're not realizing is you're trying to satisfy yourself in something that only Christ can do and the good news of the Gospel is that he reconciles you to that relationship that satisfies you that relationship with God and that's the beauty of the good news so the first and greatest reason is that be believing in Jesus brings us into a relationship

with Jesus and thus a reconciled relationship with the one and only true God Of Heaven and Earth number two it gives us a new identity in Jesus you find your true identity and purpose in this life you're no longer defined by your past mistakes or your past failures or what others think of you you not defined by what you do Ain it always funny that when we meet someone for the first time the first thing we ask is what do you do and then we Define them by whatever that thing is they're the plumber they're the accountant they're the teacher you get an identity in

Jesus that defines you as a child of God who is created with value and dignity how might we treat people differently if we see them through that lens versus what they do or what they can do for us in Jesus you get a new identity that's why second Corinthians 5:1 17-18 puts it this way if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation the old has passed away behold the new has come all this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation and what if you say I but I like myself I don't want a

new identity I like myself I like my personality I I like that I'm not anxious or I like that I'm laidback or I like that I like the Dallas Cowboys I really don't like that I like the Dallas Cowboys but but what if I like my flavors I like my things again it's not changing who you are uniquely there is no one like you that's why God gave you a very specific fingerprint that no one else has you are the only you that God ever thought up and that he created we're not changing that what did change that is that you were born a sinner

and it perverted and distorted who God made you to be and what the gospel is doing is it's restoring you to be your actual truest self so in sin you have no idea who you are which is why the world is so confused about who they are and they're changing everything well maybe I'm not a guy maybe I should be a woman maybe I'm not a woman and I should be a man because they don't know who they truly are who God actually created them to be maybe I shouldn't be in this relationship maybe I shouldn't have Offspring maybe I shouldn't because I don't know

what I am I don't know who I am I don't know who God created me to be but the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus brings your identity back into creation and he says this is who you are in Christ this is who God created you to be and so you becoming like Jesus is you becoming who you actually are with your flavor with your taste with how you talk and think and what you like and don't like and all of those good things they're just Sanctified they're good the third thing is that it brings us hope and peace life can be challenging

and we all face struggles and uncertainties Jesus offers those who are in relationship with him hope and peace that surpasses all understanding he promises to be with you through every difficulty you experience and give you strength and courage in it that's why Philippians 4 11-13 Paul says this I have learned in every situation to be content I've learned in every situation to be content in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger I mean think about that when you're when you're not tied to how much money you make or how Su successful you are in your career as if

it's identifying you in anything when you're free from that you are then now able to be content in whether or not you're rich or poor because it doesn't matter I know who I am in Christ he goes on to say somewhere there it is in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger abundance and need and therefore I can do all things through him who strengthens me how different would your life be if you knew entering into whether it's positive or negative circumstances good or bad whatever they are you know what because of Jesus living inside me I'm able

to be content and handle whatever this circumstance is going to be what would be more calming than that what relieves anxiety more than knowing Jesus Is providing for us everything we need to manage wealth and everything we need to find provision when we have no wealth in any circumstance able to be content and I'll be honest like ask a poor person who does not have Jesus they ain't happy ask a rich person who doesn't have Jesus they're not happy only Christ provides us contentment regardless of our circumstance regardless of our circumstance There's Hope and peace in that man that's good stuff I would hope that

that's where we all want to be want to be I'll tell you this right now I think those are the types of people that are a joy to be around like just think about it the people you know are you around people who all the time are either complaining that they don't have enough or complaining that they have too much and you're like well I haven't really heard those people they complain about it it's so difficult just managing where do I put my money what how do I do like everyone's wanting a piece of my pie have children and when the inheritance is due ask

them again no one's content but the people who are content who have hope and peace because of Christ in them regardless of them circumstances you could look at them and their life is falling apart and they're like man the Lord is so good so gracious I know things are hard and difficult don't get me wrong I have days where I cry but the the Lord is so good man I want to be around those people they're just good people number four transformation and growth following Jesus is a journey journey of transformation through his teachings and the work of the Holy Spirit you can grow in

what we call the fruit of the spirit listen to these two things because when when you're already condemned this is the type of person you are and the fruit that is born when you're in Christ this is the type of person you are and the fruit that is born in Galatians 5:1 19-24 it tells us this now the works of the flesh which is you separated from Christ not knowing Jesus and this is what comes out of you and it's all in varying degrees okay but this is what the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality impurity sensuality idolatry sorcery enmity Strife jealousy fits

of anger rivalries dissensions divisions Envy drunkenness ories and things like these I I mean Paul's like I'm going to give you a long list of what people are like who do not know Jesus and who are not being transformed by Christ who are not growing and maturing in the gospel who are not becoming who God actually created them to be here's what they're like when they're not trusting in Jesus and again these are all to to varying degrees and he gives a long list but then he goes on to say if I missed anything it's anything that's like all of these things you got to

watch out for it this is is your only option you're like well hold on one second I know people who do not believe in Jesus that aren't like those things that are good and here's what I'll say to that the common grace of God has been bestowed to all of creation to where even evil can mimic good look at what Satan did in the garden you think Satan entered into the garden and went to Eve and disguised himself or just revealed himself for who he was no in that moment Adam and Eve have not seen Darkness they've not seen evil they've not seen anything ugly

in that moment what they want is God and to enjoy him forever and to enjoy all of his creation and they don't think that there's anything wrong with it the Only Rule they have is don't eat of this one tree but they don't even realize that that's not a good thing they just see that it's obedience so what this Angel does is he shows up this Fallen Angel the serpent in the garden he shows up and he goes to her and he disguises himself as doing something good for her becoming a benefit for her so in that moment she would say she would probably run

back to God and say you're not going to believe who I met today I met the nicest man who told me I can be more like you I mean talk about deception so you can even be good and yet it still be evil there's even a passage in Isaiah that would even go on to say even our Good Deeds are like filthy rags if they're not from the motivation and substance of the Messiah if it's not for the sake of Jesus and honoring him and glorifying him and spreading his good news but we're just doing good deeds he says they're like filthy rags there's nothing

good about them you don't want to mess with that that's what we are like in varying degrees if we're not in in Jesus but the fruit of the spirit for those who are in Christ what do we get will we get the fruit of the spirit that starts to Bear witness in our lives love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control against such things there is no law and those who belong to Christ Jesus they have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires I love that he's saying all those other things that were what you were bound to before Christ Jesus has taken

those things and has nailed them to the Cross crucified them put them to death so that they no longer have power over you what does now have power over you is the spirit of Christ that is producing in you love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control again look at how none of those things are changing anything about your material well-being but they're changing everything about how you handle your material that's the good news that's good stuff that's what helps you become more content so therefore when I do face trials and tribulation I used to be someone who is envious of those who

don't face trials and tribulation I used to be envious of those who had a lot when I had a little well now I'm patient I can handle this I can see good I'm faithful even though I'm being tempted when someone's mad at me I can respond with kindness and gentleness instead of anger and fits of Rage I can be loving instead of without hope I have joy I have joy that's a benefit of believing in Jesus number five it brings you community and belonging when you follow Jesus you become part of a global and local family of Believers the community offers support encouragement you're not

in this alone we're all Sinners who came to a realization that we needed a savior and we believe in him and then he sets it up that he says I want all of y'all to do life together and hang out with one another every single week I'm going to so structure it that you get to get together and you get to sing about me you get to pray about me you get to preach about me you get to tell one another to continue pursuing and striving after Jesus you get to help each other follow him like Jesus set that up that's why when a lot

of times people say well it's my personal relationship with Jesus he didn't set it up for it to be a personal relationship with Jesus he set it up to be a public relationship with Jesus he wants you in a community of Believers and that's why he created the church the church so that we don't do this alone but we get to do this together number six again one of the greatest ones forgiveness and Grace by believing in Jesus you receive forgiveness and Grace we all make mistakes Jesus offers you forgiveness no one else can do that no one else can do that if someone walks

up to you and they say to you your sins are forgiven you can now go I would report that person and maybe distant yourself a little bit or just respond to them let me tell you the person who can actually do that get in their Chariot with their crazy Romans 4:7-8 says this blessed are those whose Lawless Deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin remember that whole train of sin even if you were to reach a day of perfection which again you're going to be like look I reached a day of

perfection well that's Pride that's sin you have that whole trail of sin in your life blessed is the one in whom God does not count it against him man that's good news no one else can say that no one else can do that for you well how do I receive that forgiveness that's why 1 John 1:9 says if we conf confess our sins God's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness I love that it says that God is faithful to do it well why God's God God's perfect God never does anything wrong why would God have to

be faithful I thought faithful was something for us that are faithless why would God have to be faithful what it means is it's a guarantee it's a guarantee that when you confess your sins to the Lord because of what Jesus did on the cross if you believe that Jesus again wages of sin his death he went and took your death for you and you believe that he did that for you because of the good news God is guaranteed by contract if you will to forgive you every single time you confess the sin that's amazing man that's good that's good news that's hope that when I

mess up tomorrow I get to come to my heavenly father and say Lord I messed up again and I'm sorry like I'm deeply sorry I'm still Waring with my flesh because I'm not glorified yet I'm not in heaven yet I'm still wrestling with flesh and blood I'm still wrestling with the principalities of of the world that are that are still deceiving me I'm still giving in old things and when I come to him and I confess those things he says I already got you covered Jesus died for you and you believe in it and therefore you're forgiven and I will always forgive it it changes

the way we view sin and he cleanses us from all of it and number seven leading into our conclusion here eternal life for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son and whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life man Jesus promises that you'll never die like hold up a second Christians die all the time that's just transition it's just transition eternal life with him forever so in summary believing in and following Jesus opens the door to life filled with love purpose hope and peace and transformation it's an invitation to experience God's incredible love for you that no one

else has for you but because God so loves you and saw you in your condemnation he sent his son Jesus to live the life that you could not live to Die the death that you deserved and because God's punishment on his son was satisfying for the payment he brought him back to life three days later and gives to us that resurrected life because we were dead in our trespasses and sins in which we once lived and now are alive in Christ that's why Colossians 2:12-13 puts it this way having been buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised with him through faith

in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh God Made Alive together with Christ having forgiven us all of our trespasses which is just another way of saying all of your mistakes all of your sins all of your shortcomings and failures all of your guilt and your shame all of your good intentions that were not for the sake of God like all of it he is Forgiven because of what Jesus has done for you confessing to Jesus you are a sinner and in need of his forgiveness and following him

as your savior is the only decision that can take you from death to life like Christianity is not about how do we get bad people to become good Christianity is about how do we get dead people to become alive that's what we're doing here that's what the world is walking zombies dead condemned already and we're sharing with them the secret sauce of Jesus Christ and all that he's accomplished for them and all they have to do is believe in him and Trust what he has accomplish for them that they could not accomplish for themselves look back at our passage acts 8 as we close it

out here so I just unpacked what he just said was beginning with the scriptures he shared the good news of Jesus that's all the good news that we get with Jesus there's actually a lot so much more but that's what I got for today verse 36 as they were going along the road they came to some water and the unic said see here is water what prevents me from being baptized and he commanded the Chariots stop and they both went down into the water Philip and the unic and Philip baptized him and when they came up out of the water because the God God likes

to do things that we can't explain Spirit of the Lord carried Phillip away and the Unix saw him no more I don't know if that was a tornado or or I I'm always still landing on the side he just teleported him straight out there I hope we get to teleport in heaven I just think it'd be amazing but anyways that's beside the point he vanished and the unic saw him no more but went on his way rejoicing rejoicing I could just imagine if you go back to that unic when he was on the road and he's opening up Isaiah I mean this is a man

who who did to Jerusalem to worship but he's worshiping in an incomplete gospel he's worshiping in an incomplete religion he's worshiping without knowing what the secret sauce is he's worshiping without knowing who the suffering servant is he's trying to figure out I'm aware that life is not right and I'm trying to get right but you can imagine there's some frustration there which is why when Philip asks him do you understand he's like how can I understand unless someone shows me I need help with this and I think there's people in this room who are frustrated with life and they need help figuring it out the

good news of Jesus and that's exactly what Philip said was here's the good news here's what Jesus has done for you and I have to imagine that as he's unpacking the scriptures to him and as he's teaching him the unic in that conversation that we don't see this is conjecture but probably asked the question all right you shown me who Jesus is what must I do then to be saved that was the question that they asked when Peter preached the sermon in Acts chapter 2 and the people said convicted in their heart all right then what do we do and Peter told them repent and

be baptized stop following whatever life you're following over here turn from it turn to Jesus and be baptized the First Act of obedience after believing in the work of Jesus is to publicly show everybody what Jesus just accomplished for you and so baptism what we're about to show you in just a moment is someone who has believed believed that Jesus died in their place that he was then buried and put in the Tomb and that because God was satisfied brought him back out of the Tomb raised him back to life and is then now contributing that good news to anyone and everyone who believes in

him and so baptism is a symbolism inwardly or outwardly of what God has done in our heart inwardly it is a symbol of us being buried just as we saw with Colossians us being buried with him in baptism and then raised to walk in a new life with him it is showing that that old person that we were has been put to death and the new person that we are the new identity that we receive is brought to life and it's just a it's it's a sermon it's an illustration of what God has done for us and that's what we get to celebrate at together

as we baptize Ezra that's come on down but I got one and so I had Ezra um this is this has been honestly probably about two years in the making I've I've honestly baptized people on a lot less of what he's able to understand and comprehend um but we live in the house with him and so it's like I can hear him say the right thing and then then two minutes later you know he's beating up his brothers um so we wanted to see fruit we wanted to see desire we wanted to see longing that comes from that as well and really over the last

few months we've just seen from his his prayers the way he thinks the way he processes even when he's in trouble and the way that he kind of comes back and and um repents of it in a way you know in his way of repenting of it um has been just a beautiful beautiful thing and so I asked him to and I mean I I handw wrote this just so that it's legible um but I asked him questions and had him answer the questions and so then we put that into this paragraph that he is going to share with you guys right now before we

baptize him I excited to be because I believe in Jesus the sonan and God [Music] when