The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 4: The Church in Philadelphia

Episode Date: March 22, 2020

When God opens the door of gospel opportunity, don’t be afraid. By faith, walk through it. To access the kids online experience, visit coe22.com/kids.

Amen and amen. Well, here we go, Church of 1122. Hey, welcome. No matter where you are or really when you are, welcome to the church. The good news is that the church is a movement. It's not a place. It's not a meeting. It is a movement, and you can't stop a movement of God's people. And so welcome to church online. If you've got your Bibles, grab them. We're going to be in the Book of Revelation in Chapter 3. We're going to continue in this series called To the Church. And a part of what we've done in this series is that we have highlighted some other

churches that we partner with. And so today I have on a shirt from Red Line Church with Pastor Clifton Stanton. It's out in like a suburb of San Diego. They just felt called of God. Imagine that to move to a difficult place like San Diego. So we're really hurting for them. But they haven't even planted yet. They're really just kind of gathering a core group together.

And so I thought that we would start our sermon today by praying for him and praying for his family and praying really for all of the churches all over the world. that are trying to figure out how to navigate where we are right now. So no matter where you are, would you please join me in prayer? Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, we thank you for your church. We thank you that we don't build the church, Jesus, that you build your church. God, we thank you for Katie and Clifton, Lord, and their family. God, we thank you for the call of you in their lives to go to Carlsbad, God,

to take the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to a really difficult place. because it doesn't often feel very difficult there. So, God, I pray for a revival in that place. And, God, I pray for a worldwide revival through your church. God, we know that you are at work in all things, and we know that this very thing that we are walking through right now, God, that you have a purpose and a plan for it. And, Lord, we look forward to the day where we can look back.

And maybe, just maybe, just like this thing has gone all over the world. God, may the gospel of Jesus Christ go all. all over the world. And Lord, in the meantime, for all the church leaders and all the church folks, God, may we be filled with your spirit, filled with your love, so that the good news of the gospel will not be contained in any buildings anymore, that it would spread through the very ends of the earth. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen. So if you got your Bible's Revelation Chapter 3, if you're online, which I guess you are, you can click on the Bible button right there, and the Bible will come up.

And it's helpful for me as I've watched a little bit of church online so all the chatting, I can't see that because it's distracting to me. Also, you're going to need to change it from KJV. I don't really use the KJV. God bless you if you do. But you're going to change it to ESV and then all the text will be right there. We're going to be in Revelation chapter 3 verse 7. And I have just decided that we are going to stick with this series.

But I am switching things up a little bit. And here's why. As you know, we've been through this. We've been in this series called To the Church, where Jesus writes these letters to seven specific churches, and the number seven is the number of completion. And so Jesus was talking about specific things that these seven churches were going through, but I also think that he's writing to all the churches at all time. Now, we were slated to do Thiatira this week, but here's why we're not.

Thiatira is primarily about sexual immorality, and so I'm going to do that in two weeks. So I'm giving you warning now, the way we teach the Bible here at 1122, is all of the Bible is not safe for children. It really isn't. If you teach it the way it's written. And so in two weeks, what we're going to do is I'm going to be teaching on sexual immorality. So here's your warning, families, watching at home. I get it.

Somehow you've got to figure out how to do church with kids in another room, and there will be kids' curriculum and all of that available. But in two weeks, get ready because it's going to be crazy. All right? So what we're going to do is we're swapping Thyatyr in Philadelphia. So we're going to do Philadelphia this week. And so here's a part of the reason that I wanted to just stick with the series that we're in because we felt like, as the elders and a bunch of pastors and myself, we felt like this is where God was leading us in this season of our life.

And we just trust the Word of God. And we trust that God's Word is right on time every time. And so we're just going to keep going and we're going to dig right in. So if you got your Bibles, Revelation chapter 3 verse 7 says this. and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. Now let me tell you about the city of Philadelphia, not like the Philly here, but Philadelphia in Asia Minor. During the first century, this was written in like the mid-90s,

during the first century, the city of Philadelphia was known for two things. Throughout the 60s, they had experienced a series of natural disasters, earthquakes. They had earthquake after earthquake. earthquake after earthquake, and this natural disaster caused a panic all throughout the city of Philadelphia. And because these earthquakes kept coming, they kept knocking all the buildings down, and Rome kept rebuilding and rebuilding and rebuilding. And so by the time you got to about 90 AD, there was a financial disaster in Philadelphia. Philadelphia was experiencing a natural disaster that caused panic in the people and a financial crisis that caused panic in the people, and a financial crisis that caused

panic in the people. And to that church, Jesus writes these words. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write the words of the Holy One, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts, and no one will open. When the Bible talks about the key of David, it's referring to the book of Isaiah, essentially what it means is the temple. He says, Jesus says, I am the one that has access to the very presence of God. And what he's saying when he says he opens and no one will shut and shuts and no one will open is that God is sovereign overall. That he has never been surprised and he is in total control.

He's saying, Philadelphia, I knew about your earthquakes, I knew about your financial crisis, and America and the world, I knew about the coronavirus, and I knew about the Dow Jones. And I am in charge of all things. I've never been surprised. Nothing's ever over my head. Nothing's ever caught me off guard. God did not wake up today and turn on Fox News and say, what in the name of me is going on?

That is not how this thing works. That God is in charge. And this is how Jesus introduces himself to this church in financial crisis. And then he says this. Jesus says, I know your works. And behold, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut. You see, essentially what Jesus is saying to the church of Philadelphia is this.

Philadelphia, what you see as an obstacle in the kingdom of God is an opportunity for kingdom advancement. Because that's how good our God is. Romans 828 lets us know that God is at work in all things for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose. In the book of Genesis, the way the book of Genesis ends is there is this young man named Joseph who has been through it. You think you're going through it? Joseph has been through it.

Joseph had this dream. He shared it with his brothers. His brothers didn't like him. They beat him up. They sold him into slavery. From slavery, he was accused of rape, which he didn't do. And from there, he was thrown into jail. And in jail, he was forgotten and forgotten and forgotten.

And after over a decade of his life, from going to be. from human trafficking to domestic violence to imprisonment. Finally, God elevates him to be like the senior vice president of all of Egypt. When a worldwide famine hits, Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to ask him for help. And he looks at his brothers and says these words, God has always been in control. What you intended for evil, God intended for good. You see so often as believers in America that live in the lap of comfort, we often see what we often see as a huge obstacle from God's perspective is actually a huge opportunity for kingdom advancement. You see, this open door for Philadelphia is that the gospel would be proclaimed.

Hey look, and open door for us, because as we obey the authorities that are over us, according to Romans chapter 13, and we can't gather together the way we are accustomed to gathering together, then we have decided to do church online. And last week, we had about three times as many people engage with the gospel as we do in a regular weekend and regular weekend attendance. You see, again, what we thought was this huge obstacle, how we're going to do church, was actually an opportunity for gospel advancement. Also, on Monday nights and Tuesday nights and Wednesday nights at 8 p.m., I'll be sharing divos with you if you just want to tune in. And it's just about 15 or 20 minutes walking through some text that God has leading me to as I'm trying to shepherd us and lead us as a church. Now, the other thing is, I think if we as a church would have decided, hey, should we do this online thing, it gets real easy to get bogged down in all of this. Well, what do I think about that and what's my opinion about this? And here's what I know, that Jesus says, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the very ends of the age.

and while there's a lot of people sitting around kind of debating what they think about online church, the gospel is continuing to the very ends of the earth. And as I thought about that, when the day of Pentecost, when Peter preaches on the southern steps of the temple, and the spirit of God falls and the gospel goes to all kind of different people, and they begin to go into their villages, guess who didn't like it? The religious people didn't like it because it did not fit into the box that they were used to. You see, turns out. out what was an obstacle was actually an opportunity for the advancement of the gospel.

Jesus says, what God has opened, no man can shut. Which means the opposite of that is true. That man cannot open what God will not allow to be open. You see, in the book of Acts, after Pentecost, Peter, James, John, preaching like crazy. One day, John and Peter, they're on their way to the temple, and this man asked for food and money. And Peter says, silver and gold have I none. Here's what he's saying, I'm in ministry. I ain't got no money.

But what I have, I give unto you in the name of Jesus, arise and walk. And the man gets up and he walks. But he did it on the Sabbath day, so Peter gets in trouble, so they arrest them, and they take them in front of this religious council. And they say, look, man, you can keep healing people. Everybody loves a good healing, but you've got to stop with this Jesus stuff. And Peter says in Acts chapter 4 verse 20, hey, you decide for yourself what you need to do, but I can't help talking about what I have seen and heard.

There is one name under heaven whereby we must be saved. And then all the religious people begin to get together and say, what do we do with these men that keep proclaiming this resurrected Christ? And as they're arguing about it when you get to Acts chapter 5, kind of the Pharisee of Pharisees, the most famous one, his name is Gamaliel. He walks into the room. as they're arguing about this advancement of the gospel. And Gamaliel says, hey, you might want to be careful with these boys and what you do with these boys.

And ultimately, his advice was this. Don't mess with them. Don't do anything. Because if this is of man, it will fail. But if this is of God, then there's no way you could stop it. And you don't want to fight against God. You see, what we want to do here at the Church of 1122 is when God opens a door for us, a gospel opportunity, we want to set fear aside and to walk by faith through the open doors that God has given us.

Now, the question is, is every open door from God? Because I've heard this, man, I've been in ministry too long to count now, 20-something years. and I can't tell you the number of times people have come to me and be like, God has opened a door. And I'm like, I'm not sure God opens that kind of door. You see, and here's what I mean. Every door that's open from your perspective, it may not be from the Lord. I got an email one time about two years ago. Some young lady at our church, I'm sure she's a delightful young lady.

She sent me this email. She knew that me and Tim Tebow are friends. and that we do Bible study together, and she told me, she said, I have a word from the Lord that I need you to share with Tim Tebow. And she went on to tell me how God had opened a door for me to tell Tim that Tim should marry her. Oh, she had it all worked out. She talked about how she woke up in the morning and she saw the sunrise and it was orange and blue and how her favorite number was 15. And she had all of these things to which I replied to her, Darling, it sounds like the preamble to a restraining order, not a vision from the Lord.

So, how do you know what, if it's God that's opening the door? Because, again, not every door that is open is meant to be walked through. Remember three times when Jesus had fasted 40 days and 40 nights and he was hungry, and the enemy Satan met him in the desert, and three times the enemy opened the door? Said, Jesus, come on, you hungry? I've opened the door. make you some bread out of the rocks. Jesus said, no, I'm not supposed to walk through that door.

And then the enemy took him up on the mountain and said, hey, look, here's everything that is. I'll give it all to you if you'll just worship me. He opened that door of opportunity. And Jesus is like, no, no, no, no, no, that opportunity is not from the Lord. And then he takes him up on the temple and says, why don't you show everybody how impressive you are and throw yourself off because the angels promised that they would catch you. You see, three times the enemy opened up a door and Jesus did not walk through it. So every open door has not been opened by the Lord.

And every closed door has not been closed by the Lord. Remember the post-resorrected Jesus? When the disciples were afraid and they were hidden together in the upper room and the door, the Bible says, was locked and Jesus just walked through the closed door. So then the question is, so how do you know? How do you know the difference? Well, 21st century theologian, Dr. Flint. We know him as Pastor Adam.

He just got his doctorate. Yay, you should be cheering in your living rooms right now. All right. By the way, those you hear cheering are the well-displaced, dispersed, very few staff that we allowed in the room here. He wrote, I've shared this. Man, we're getting a lot of mileage out of this paper that he wrote. But he wrote this paper about how do you know God's will for your life? an acronym, the gospel, that just, it's six, it's six checkpoints that you can check when you,

when you feel like, is this an open door from God or not? And the G is simply this. Does it glorify God or me? Because if it glorifies me, then guess what? Then it ain't from the Lord. And the O is, what do other Christians think? You see, there's so many people that I look at and I think, do you not have friends? Remember when American Idol first came out? Do you remember this when we all watch it, I guess a few of you still do, but remember this? Do you remember when it first came out and the first, I only would watch the first two or three weeks to watch the people that were terrible? And weren't your, and I'm sure, I'm sure, and a lot of them are Christians, right? A lot of them are Christians. Somebody, you know, they've played in youth group, they were like,

you just dropped an American Idol. And when they would sing and it would be horrible, my question would be, do you not have friends? Do you not have somebody in your life? They'd be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, bro. I don't think this is of the Lord. So when you think a door is open, it's a really good idea to find some wise counsel, some wise believers, and ask other Christians, that's the O. What do you think? The S is, what does the scripture say? Now, just by the way, you should start with the S, but you can't spell it right, okay, so it's gospel, this is the order, but God will never tell you individually to do something different than he has told us corporately to do in his word. The P is prayer.

Have you bathed this thing in prayer? And I mean bathe this thing in prayer. Do you know when the disciples were replacing Judas for the 12th disciple spot? Do you know how ultimately they did it? Prayer in casting lots. They had prayed to the point where they said, God, we know that you were in charge. I'm not saying have you said a prayer about it. I'm saying have you immersed, have you baptized this thing in prayer?

The E is evangelism. Because I'll tell you the door that God opens, God opens the door that leads to the proclamation of his name to the ends of the earth. We call it the Great Commission. And the L is your lifestyle. That God would never open a door for you to walk into a lifestyle that is opposite of what God has called us to do as people. So that's a great way to know. Now, let me give you this too. when you think God has opened a door for you and you decide to walk through it,

immediate success is not a measure. It's not. God's measure of success is faithfulness, not fruitfulness. Fruitfulness is all up to him. What you do with what God has called you do is up to you. And so God's measure of success is faithfulness, not fruitfulness. You're like, pastor, how do you say that? Jesus said that we'll be known by our fruit.

He was talking about the fruit of the spirit, not the fruit of our work. You want some examples? How about Jeremiah? You ever read the book of Jeremiah? Probably not. It'll depress you. It'll make you go to lamentations. It's not fun.

Jeremiah gets this call on his life of God. God comes to Jeremiah. Jeremiah, I have called you to be a prophet. I have put the power of life and death in your tongue. If you say nations build up, they'll be built up. And if you say nations be torn down, they'll be torn down. Every leader I know would love. that power and then Jeremiah preaches all the days of his life and guess what happens in the

end of the book? He goes into exile with everybody else. You see, did God open that door? 100%. What about Moses? You want Moses's call to lead a group of grumbling, complaining people for 40 years. You know what we call that? Ministry. And then guess what happens? They get to the edge of the promised land and the brother doesn't even go in. He does all the hard work, leads him out of Egypt, he leads him around for 40 years about grumbles and complains, and then finally when he can see the promised land, God kills him during his quiet time and he lets Joshua take everybody in. You see, success is not evidence of whether God has opened a door or not. In fact, just a few weeks ago, many weeks ago now, when we were in Bethlehem, the pastor at Bethlehem in this community,

is 99% Muslim where persecution is not an idea. It's an ever-present reality in his life. For three years, for three years, every Sunday he prepared a message and he showed up to preach it. And he preached to his wife and children and not one other person showed up for three years. And people kept telling him, don't you think God's telling you something? Don't you think God's telling you something? Don't you think God's telling you something? And he said, yeah, I think God is telling me to be faithful and preach the word, be faithful and preachful and preach the word.

And when everybody else told him he was crazy, he's like, I think you're right. And he continued to preach and continue to preach and then one day, I don't know what happened, but something broke open in the heavenlies. And now, today, there's about 200 people that attend that church and they've planted three other churches. You see, success, the way God measures it, is just different. So let me ask you, has God opened a door for you? Well, if he has, then by faith, walk through this opportunity. Maybe it's a new ministry, a new job, maybe it's an opportunity to share your faith. Maybe in our current circumstances, you have an opportunity to love your neighbors like you've never been able to before.

Like where it may have been weird a few weeks ago to go knock on the neighbor's door and just say, hey, listen, can I help you in any way? Guess what? Today, you have an opportunity to do that like never before. Maybe you felt a little nervous about inviting somebody or sharing the gospel with somebody, but I'm telling you, in today's climate, all you've got to do is click a link that you can see somewhere on this screen and share this very message with everybody in the world. What is the opportunity that God has given to you? Maybe the open door that God has given you is to pick up the phone and make that hard phone call to begin reconciliation. Maybe it's to forgive somebody.

Maybe it's to join a disciple group. Hey, listen, for years you're like, I ain't going to nobody's house. Guess what? You can't even go to nobody's house anymore. You just join and you get on Zoom and you can just mute yourself. If you're afraid of something, say it's something dumb, you can just hit the mute button the whole time. God has given you an opportunity to get connected like never before.

What is that open door that God is provided for you? And then also, has God shut a door for you? I mean, is there something in your life that it's time just to let it go? To quote our good friend Gamaliel, do you really want to fight against God? And so Jesus wants the church at Philadelphia, and I think Jesus wants the Church of 1122 to know, I have put before you an open door that no one could shut. And then look what he says. I know that you have but little power.

and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I've told you this before, but look, man, when God's about to do a big thing, he takes some pretty cruddy people to do it. That God, all throughout the Bible, drafts like the Jaguars. Have you seen what we've been doing lately? Super Bowl, MVP, quarterback, now, don't worry about him. I mean, it's crazy. And here, Jaggs are going to be the most godly team of all time.

They've got to be. Because what God likes to do is God likes to take the nobodies and the nothings of this world and then do something so that when people see the something that was done, the somebody that gets the credit is the one true God and not the people that he used. I mean, Exhibit A is right here for sure. But if you think about it, if you look at the heroes of the scripture, most of the people in the Bible, we wouldn't hire him at 1122. They wouldn't pass a background check. I mean, who you want to go? Moses, he killed a guy.

David, look, man, my wife's the looker. I ain't letting that cat anywhere near my wife. You understand what I'm saying? I mean, over and over and over all throughout the scriptures. Peter's a racist. Paul's a terrorist. I mean, one person, some people are like, Daniel. Look, the second staff meeting, he started talking about his crazy dreams.

We'd Baker Act, that dude. Do you understand what I'm saying? God uses people all over the place. Here's why I say that. Because when I feel like God has opened a door for me to walk through, and I look on the other side of that open door, and I begin to think, I got this. It's usually evidence that that is not the door that God has opened.

It's usually the evidence of a door that I'm trying to kick down. But when God has opened a door and I look through the other side and I think, Lord, there is no way. There is no way. It's usually then and only then that I am really, it's confirmed in my soul that this is an open door of God. You see, Philadelphia is looking at their poverty. Philadelphia is looking at their persecution,

and they're thinking, man, all the doors are shut. And little do they know that God, what they see as a setback is actually a setup for God to do amazing things. And so he says, I know that you have, but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. So how do you know if a door's been opened by God? Well, I can tell you, you should use that gospel acronym. But I can tell you three things that are not from God when it comes to opportunities and open doors.

You want to write these down. Number one, pride. Pride. You want to make sure that you're on the other side of the will of God in your life. Then you make it about you. That the sovereign king of the universe will not. be a means to our end. James, the brother of Jesus,

says it this way in James chapter four, he says, but he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud. You want God to be on the other side of you pushing against you, then you make it about you, and then God is not on your team. He says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourself, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee.

from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Look, I think this is in the context of your humility. That when God opens a door, opens an opportunity, and you look, and there's fear, and there's, I don't know if this is going to work and how do I know. And you, by faith, begin to walk through that. It requires a humility because you realize I can't do this on my own. And God, I need your help in this one. And he goes, that's perfect. Because when you draw near to me by faith, then I draw near to you. And then it goes on to say, cleanse your hands. I just put that in there because of the situation that we're in right now.

So three things that are not from God. Pride, number two, self. Oftentimes, when people talk about this, God has opened a door. It's because what we've really done is we try to make God into our own image. We start with my feelings, my desires, my experience, and then we make God subject to that. Like I've heard people all the time say, well, my God would never, to which I say, you're absolutely right. Because your God is the one that you just made up in your head.

But we're talking about the God of the Bible. We're talking about the one true God, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God that so loved the world that sent his only begotten son that who would ever believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life. So you're right. We're talking about two different gods. And a lot of times what people will do is you will create God in your own. image and say things like, well, I know I was married to this one, but God gave me this one. No, he didn't. That's not how it works. This is not how it works. And then I love this one.

Okay. And I love it. I mean, it makes me so mad. I want to like lay hands on people and not a good way. Well, I just have a peace about it. Well, it's because you're worshiping at the idol of you. That's it. Do you know who doesn't have peace about stuff? that is God's will. Jesus. See the Garden of Gassimony. He walks into the Garden of Gassimony, knowing that his hour had come.

He begs his friends. Come on, will y'all just pray for me? Just stay awake and pray for me. He goes on a little further, and the Bible says that he feels sorrowful to the point of death, and he begins to pray to the point where he's dripping blood.

And he says, Father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. Does that sound like that? a peaceful, easy feeling to you? Mm-mm. Mm-mm. And he's the sovereign.

And he says this, not my will, your will be done. You see, when we put ourselves at the center, essentially what we are saying is not your will, but my will be done. That's not God's open door.

Not pride, not self, and not fear. And not fear. And this is the world we live in right now. And I want to tell you, there's a difference between, there's the difference between being scared, you can be scared, and fear. And here's what I mean. We've studied this a lot.

Paul tells Timothy, for God did not give us a spirit of fear. You see, again, there are things that you get scared of. It's like God ordered us in such a way where we have a fight or flight mechanism. that's fine. There are things that it's okay to be scared of. Like if you get real high and you're scared of high, it's okay. But fear is a spirit. And fear does things to you. Fear begins to whisper lies into your ear. Fear paralyzes us. You see, we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound bond or self-control because fear is a liar and fear tries to make us down.

fear primarily lies to us in three ways. Fear wants us to doubt the Word of God, the work of God, and the will of God. Fear lies to us and says, how could you really believe? Did God really say? You see, fear begins to overtake us and lies to us and we begin to question the very Word of God. Or fear lies to us and has us question. the work of God. And the enemy will begin to whisper through fear into our ears.

When Jesus died on the cross, you know that didn't count for you. I mean, it counted for all those people that get their life together in the video, but it didn't count for you. Well, then fear whispers these lies to question the will of God. You think God's really for you? You see, fear is a liar. and fear does not come from God. And yet to that, Jesus says these words.

In John chapter 14, when the disciples are afraid, he's gathered his disciples together. He has shared within the gospel. I'm about to go get crucified. They're all freaking out. And in John chapter 14, verse 1, Jesus says, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God.

Believe also in me. Don't let your hearts be troubled. If the disciples, if I was there in that room, I could be like, yeah, but this is true. troubling circumstances. And Jesus is like, right. But what you do is you don't put your faith in your circumstances. You take that trust. You take that pastuo, as the Greek word, and you put that in me. Believe in God, believe in me. Man, when I was growing up, I've told you this a million times before. But when I was with my dad growing up, I didn't worry about much. I didn't worry about much. We used to go

fishing every weekend. That's why we didn't go to church. But we go fishing every weekend. And we get up early, he'd wake me up, hey buddy, let's go. And I'd get up. And you know what I worried about when I go fishing with my daddy? Nothing. Because I knew, man, I knew he had it under control. He had this Johnboat. We fished in this John boat that he and his dad made by hand. His daddy's Joseph Perry Martin Sr., he's junior. I'm the third. We're into me at my house, okay? And me and my brother Russ, we would get three wide in the 73 Chevy. We were three on the column. Most of y'all don't know what it is. We didn't have AC. We had that one little triangle wind of my daddy smoked like a freight train i didn't worry about cancer we just didn't know that was

a thing yet and we cracked that little window open so we could get some air and we had an eight track you don't know what age google eight track we had an eight track johnny cash ring of fire you wonder why i like johnny cash so much because that's all we had to listen to and that one little speaker on the top it's the only song to sound good all right we listen to ring of fire the whole way there you think i worried about bait nope think i worried about fishing license nope i don't think daddy did either but whatever we didn't worry about stuff my brother would stand my brother's a police officer now which is It's kind of funny. He would stand in between me and my daddy on the bench seat as we would drive.

Worry about seat belts, we didn't worry about nothing. Why? Because my dad's got this. John's chapter 14. Jesus looks at the disciples. Let not your hearts be trouble. My dad's got this. Trust him.

Believe in him. Believe in me. Listen, church. when you get home or watch the news and people say stuff and the anxiety begins to rise and the circumstances come up and the waves keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger hear the words of Jesus don't let your hearts be troubled our dad's got this now again you could be scared scared's all right but if you're scared and by faith you move forward that's called courage praise god but fear is when you take your trust and you put it in

in your circumstances and you and I are paralyzed. Listen, on the day that David walked out to meet Goliath, I'm sure he was scared. I mean, he's the little tiny guy. He didn't even have armor on. And this huge, nine-foot Goliath is cursing at him over and over and over. And I'm sure he got nervous. And I'm sure he was like, what if this doesn't work? And I'm sure he had all kind of doubt.

But he was not paralyzed by fear. He just did. The Lord opened her door and not in his own confidence. By faith, he picked up five smooth stones and he walked through that door of opportunity. What everybody else saw as an obstacle, David had the eyes of faith to see this as an incredible opportunity.

And David knew this. Lord, if you don't come through, I'm a dead man. Goliath says, you come to me with sticks like I'm a dog. And David says, you come against me with sword and spear and javelin but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty the God of the armies of Israel whom you have to fight and he's saying Goliath make no doubt about it brother this day the Lord is going to hand you over to me and I'm going to cut off your head and strike down your body and I'm going to feed the bodies of the Philistine armies to the birds of the air

and the beasts of the field and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel and everyone will know that it's not by sword or spear that the Lord saves for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands. You know why we don't have to fight our own battles? It's because he fights them for us. And so when the fear gets bigger and bigger and bigger, hear the words of Jesus, let not your hearts be troubled. Man, our dad's got this. Believe in God. Believe also in me. Now here's the thing. In Philadelphia, in their context, they had some stuff to be afraid of. He's not sending out this email and everything's going good. Look at the next verse. Verse 9. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not,

but lie. Remember the synagogue of Satan two weeks ago, Smyrna? The synagogue of Satan were the people that were pretending to be Jews and that were getting the Christians in trouble. And he said about the people of the synagogue of Satan, he said, they're going to put you in jail and some of you are going to die. So they have legit circumstances to be afraid of. But he says, Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not. But lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet,

and they will learn that I have loved you. Listen to me, church. Jesus gets the last word. That's the way he's saying. Jesus gets the last word. The synagogue of Satan doesn't get the last word. Your financial situation doesn't get the last word. Your divorce doesn't get the last word.

Answer doesn't get the last word. Conflict doesn't get the last word. Fear doesn't get the last word. Politicians don't get the last word. Fox News and CNN don't get the last word. Corona definitely doesn't get the last word. Jesus gets the last word and he is at work in all of this for all of us that love him. Amen?

And he says, because you have kept my word about patient endurance. Listen, things like patience and perseverance are characteristics of God loving his kids and growing us up in him. He says, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. And he says, hold fast to what you have

so that no one may seize your crown. I already told you they were in the midst of financial collapse. The only thing they had was Jesus. And Jesus is saying, hold on to me. Hold fast to what you have. All throughout the scriptures, the answer to fear is not suck it up and it's not pull yourself up. The answer to fear is always look up. Remember, there's two things that happen in boats on the sea of Galilee.

Storms come and the disciples come to Jesus and they say, do you even care that we're perishing? And Jesus looks at the storm and says, be calm. We find peace in the person of Jesus, not our circumstances. that a different time that the disciples are on a boat and they're out to see it and Jesus comes walking by on the water and Peter gets out on the water and walks with Jesus but then the Bible says he takes his eyes off Jesus he puts it on in circumstances the wind and the waves and he begins to sink out of fear you see what we are called to do the author of Hebrew says that when we find ourselves in these kinds of trials

what we are to do is to fix our eyes on Jesus the author and the perfection of our faith. That is where we find our peace. And to this church, he says, keep your eyes on me. Hold fast to me. I'm the only one that's going to get you through this. Church of 1122, we have an opportunity. We have an opportunity. Every church does. Every believer right now has an opportunity. Every one of your friends, every one of your neighbors, every one of your classmates, every one of your coworkers, if you claim Jesus, they are looking at you to see how you are going to react. And I'm telling you, I don't care how clear you have been about the gospel in your life. When they see your eyes and the body goes where the eyes are fixed,

when they see through your life and your words that your eyes are fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector or the author and finisher of our faith, I'm telling you, when they begin to witness in us a peace that transcends understanding. When they begin to witness in us, with the world falling apart, we go, hey, I know everything's changing in our world, but my God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. He's still got the whole world in his hands. I'm telling you, they want that. And it is an open door for us to preach the gospel with our mouth.

in our lives like maybe never before. A.W. Tozer says, a scared world needs a fearless church. A scared world needs a fearless church. And the Bible says that perfect love cast out fear. So Jesus looks at this church in Philadelphia and says, just hold on to me. Just hold on to me.

Verse 12, the one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. never shall he go out of it. Remember what I told you the condition of Philadelphia was for this century? Earthquake after earthquake after earthquake. Instability, instability, instability. And God says, no, no, no, no, no, no. Your temporary surroundings will not define your forever. You see, your life may feel unstable right now, but for anyone who claims Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, I'm going to make you a pillar in my temple. And so not only is there going to be stability, but God is saying, I'm going to plant you in my heaven forever and ever and ever.

He's saying to the church, hey, listen, I need you to get your eyes up off the temporary. I need you to get your eyes up off just what is going on around you. I need to lift them up above the horizon. I need you to get your eyes up above the hills. Where does my help come from? because God is going to plant us as a pillar in his kingdom forever and ever and ever. And because of this, there are reasons for hope. We can hope because Jesus has conquered death.

We can hope because no one can snatch us out of his hand. And we can hope because this world is temporary. Believers in Christ, hear this. This is the closest to hell we will ever be. This is it. This is the worst it can get. And one day when we are heaven, we will look back on our earthly time. And it'll be like a bad night in a cheap hotel.

That's it. You see, our hope is found in Christ. And then this is my favorite part. Some of you are going to be uncomfortable with this, but I don't care. He says this. And I will write on him the next. name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, my own new name. You know what this is this? Congratulations, Church. We're getting

tattoos. That's it. You think it's a crayon? You think it's a Sharpie? Come on. You think, I mean, he just said you're going to be established in God's forever kingdom. He isn't using a temporary Marker to write his name on you. We are getting tattoos. God's going to write his name. We're going to get New Jerusalem, and then he's going to write the new name of Jesus. If you go to Revelation chapter 19,

verses 11 through 21, we find out there that when Jesus returned, Jesus has a new name. And here's what this means. Pastor Britt opened the series with this, okay? When we think of Jesus, oftentimes, if you've been to the Christian bookstore, you think of little Jesus, meek and mild, kind of

Swedish, blonde hair, bath, bath row, Michigan, America, sash, holding a lamb, petting him, okay? Well, that's Jesus' old name. He did. He came as a humble servant. Revelation chapter 19, when he returns, he's riding a horse, he's got a sword out of his mouth, and he has tattoos, king of kings and Lord of Lords on his quads. Bro, you got a quad tattoo, that's next level, you understand?

And he's going to write his new name on us. The Bible says that we are co-ares with Jesus, and all that is his will be ours, which means it could be that Jesus tattoos on us, his name, and his new name, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Let me tell you something about tattoos, just in case you don't know. They're permanent. I know you can try to get them off, but they're permanent. That you are marked forever. Jesus is saying, when you put your faith in me, I'm going to mark you in such a way that there will not be a circumstance that can take my name off of you for the end of the days.

because my marking is greater than any other thing that this world can throw at you. They're permanent. Secondly, they're painful. Anybody got a tattoo? Some of you at your house are like, oh gosh, you're home from college and they don't know yet. All right, well, you enjoy that conversation. They're painful. It's weird, though, if you get into it, it's kind of a good pain.

I don't know how to explain it, but people with them know. But I'm telling you, some of them ain't. Boy, I sleep in here one time getting some. I thought, I'm going to pass out, okay, but it is painful, but it's worth it. And I'm telling you from this day to that day, we will face pain. We will. They're permanent. Tattoes are permanent.

Tattoes are painful, and tattoos proclaim something. Tattoes proclaim something. Now, sometimes it proclaims that you were drunk in Daytona during Spring Break when you were 19, okay, and so you got something you're embarrassed of. All right, that's a proclamation. But sometimes they proclaim something on purpose. Like, I got a bunch. On this side, Acts 1124,

and he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and faith and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. I hope one day when I'm dead and done, somebody can read that over me like they read that over the man that led me to Christ. On this side, I got my family's name. I got a big G, JP, and RC. My God, my people.

And then, since we started doing this online stuff, the divos have been doing divos every night at 8 o'clock, been getting so many texts. Not so much about the Bible. I'm getting texts about one thing. Did you get a new tattoo? The answer? Yes, I did.

Right there. And you know what it says? To Telestai. To Telestai. It's Greek. For it is finished. That when Jesus was on that cross and he pushed up on his nail-pierced feet, the last thing that he said were these three words,

it is finished. Telestai. First century archaeologists have discovered that in banks, that in the first century, if you had a loan from a bank, once you paid off your loan, they would take a stamp with the Greek word to telestide. And when that loan was paid in full, they would stamp it, paid in full, Tetelistai. And when Jesus goes to the cross and God made him who was without sin to be sin, for us that we would be made the righteousness of God. And God heaps the wrath and the judgment for sin upon his only begotten son.

And he was pleased to crush his son. And by his stripes, we would be healed. And he was crushed for our iniquities in that moment when the blood of Jesus is spilled. Not to just cover sin, but to take sin away, Jesus pushes up and says this, to tell us die. It is finished. And so I put it here to remind me every single day. Because the enemy whispers to me like he whispers to you. The enemy whispers to me and wants me to question the word of God.

He wants me to question the work of God when he said it is finished. Did it count for you? It wants to question the will of God, is he really for you? And it's to remind me, his words are true. That when Jesus died on the cross, for anyone that would believe that counted for me. Then I've got good news. It's finished. It is finished.

that the payment for sin is paid in full. So the pretending can quit, and the performance can quit. And then you can just trust, hey, my dad's got this. How can I trust the will of God? Because if he didn't withhold his son for us, then don't you think he's for us and not against us? And for anyone, for anyone that believes on Christ died on the cross that counted for me, And congratulations.

You know what your future is? You're getting a tattoo. Doesn't matter if you get one on this side of heaven. But in glory, Jesus says, I'm going to write my name on you. You know the reason in the first century people would write their name on somebody? Because it was to claim them. It was to say, that one is mine. And for anybody that puts their trust in Jesus Christ, he writes His

His name on you. And he claims you as his very own. Now, I want to ask you, have you ever put your faith in Jesus Christ? I'm not talking about your church attendants, and I'm not talking about maybe the bad things that you have done or the things that you struggle with. I'm talking about your faith. Have you ever trusted that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, somehow that counted for you? Well, I got good news for you. You could do that right now.

Just like Corey talked about in that testimony video, right now you could trade in your heart of stone for a heart of flesh that he would give you. That right now you could admit it. You know what? I'm not just a bad person that needs to try hard to be better. I've tried that before. It's exhausting. But I feel like I am spiritually dead and I need life. And you can admit that.

And then you could believe, trust that when Jesus died on the cross, that counted for you. And in this moment right now, you can confess. confess, Jesus, I believe, I trust, I surrender. And the Bible says that you will be saved. And so, no matter where you are or when you're watching this, I want to give you the opportunity right now to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And so if you would, bow your head and close your eyes. And if you would say, that's me, that for the very first time I am ready to admit I'm a sinner that I believe when Christ died on the cross somehow that counted for me. And right now, I am ready to confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Then you just tell him right where you are. You just confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Christ died from you. He was resurrected from the grave and you will be saved. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, we love you more than anything because you first loved us. God, I thank you. God, I thank you that physical limitations cannot limit the power, the saving power of the gospel of Jesus. Christ. And God, I pray for men and women that have been part of 1122 for a long time, but they've never gotten to that point where they crossed over that line, and they've trusted in you for salvation.

And God, I pray for folks all over the world that may be watching that in this very moment, they would trust you and you alone for their salvation. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Now, if you prayed that prayer, if you in this moment surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, there is a button on this page. that says that, that I've surrendered to Jesus. And we want you to click that. And the reason we want you to do, it is not the click of a mouse that saves you. It's Christ's death and resurrection.

Your faith in that that saves you. But we as a church want to follow up with you. Because what begins to happen is God has adopted you into his family, and we want you to be surrounded by your family. So if you would click that, please, then we will follow up with you. Also, every single week, whether we go. gather in buildings or scattered all over the place, gathered around screens, we respond to the gospel. And so we're going to respond. We're going to respond by singing, so we're not finished yet.

In fact, in my opinion, this is like the most important part. This is the part where we kind of just marinate in what God is telling us to do. And we're going to sing, I am no longer a slave of fear, but I'm a child of God. And we're going to bring, because of the blessing of technology, we can still continue to honor God with our finances, that we bring our tithes and offerings. A tithe is just a statement of trust. God, I'm going to take my first and my best, my first 10% and beyond.

And I'm going to bring that to you because you gave us your first and best in Jesus Christ. And if you're ready to do that, you just click that give button and there'll be instructions there. And we're going to pray. You can click a button and pray with people online or if you're with anybody around you, then we would invite you to pray.

So let us sing, let us bring, let us pray, let us respond.