"A Radical Challenge to Our Freedom" (Independence Sunday) - September 19, 2021

hallelujah the psalmist declared oh give thanks unto the lord for he is good for his mercy endureth forever can somebody just give god some praise today can somebody just make some noise hallelujah if you are glad to be alive this morning would you just jump to your feet and give god some praise hallelujah he's worthy of it all hallelujah he inhabits the praises of his people hallelujah hallelujah i'm so happy to be alive today are you happy to be alive today hallelujah come on let everything that has bread praise the lord let everything that happened praise the lord hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah first chronicles chapter 16 and verse 34 says oh give thanks unto the lord for he is good for his mercy and joy forever hallelujah hallelujah we're here to give him thanks as we celebrate another independence we give thanks to god for bringing us this far hallelujah give back to the lord is [Music] is [Music] [Music] forever [Music] forever [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] forever [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] foreign hallelujah hallelujah with everything that we got lord we just come to give you praise we come to bless your holy name god if it had not been for you on our side lord we don't know where we'll be today so with every being lord with everything that we got lord hallelujah we magnify your name hallelujah we have 10 000 reasons to bless your name this morning hallelujah thank you jesus [Music] bless the lord oh my soul [Music] is [Music] [Music] one more time we gonna bless the lord [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] let me be singing [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] your name is great and your heart [Music] ten is reasons [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] your name is great [Music] [Music] my heart [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Applause] [Music] new every morning [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] new every morning [Music] every morning [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] i will trust in you [Music] i [Music] you [Applause] [Music] my face [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you're always [Music] my [Music] [Music] you gave me [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hallelujah come on would you make some noise over faithful god this morning hallelujah [Music] hallelujah his mercies are new every morning his faithfulness hallelujah mercies never comes to an end hallelujah thank you lord [Music] hallelujah [Music] it is coming from my heart [Music] [Applause] [Music] it is [Music] [Applause] i'm i just can't keep it to myself [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i can't tell you [Music] it is coming [Music] from all the things that you have done i'm grateful for your love i give you a question it is [Music] [Applause] [Music] i'm counting my blessings i just can't keep it to myself [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] i praise the lord [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] praise the lord [Applause] [Music] i i can turn it off [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] hallelujah hallelujah god is good so we thank him for his goodness [Music] we thank him for his love we thank him for his grace we thank him for his mercy that never fails [Music] so [Music] love you lord for your mercy never serves me [Music] until i lay my hair i will [Music] say all my life you have been paid for my life you have been so [Music] goodness i love you lord i love you lord [Music] [Music] until [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] of god [Music] love your voice [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] and i have in the goodness [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me [Music] is [Music] all my life you have been so good [Music] of the goodness of [Music] of the goodness [Music] [Music] my oh you have been so good with every breath and i am [Music] oh [Music] [Music] come on would you just lift up the lord for his goodness [Music] that keeps running after us we have failed him so many times [Music] but he loves us he extends his mercy to us hallelujah thank you jesus [Music] isn't god good this morning hallelujah [Music] to see things [Music] [Music] [Music] to see things [Music] give me [Music] i will love you [Music] hello [Music] [Music] give me vision [Music] my [Music] foreign [Music] my [Music] [Applause] [Music] love foreign is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] forever [Music] the hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] uh [Music] foreign forever oh [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] could somebody give god praise [Music] the psalmist reminds us he says the whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders you are being gone [Music] we are mourning dawns we are evening faiths you call forth songs of joy you care for the land and you water it you enrich it abundantly the streams of god are filled with water to provide the people with grain for so you have a planet you drench the flowers and levels the ridges you soften it with showers and you bless it with crops you crown the year with your bounty and your cards overflow with abundance the grasslands of the wilderness overflow the hills are clothed with gladness the meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain and they shout for joy with singing what an amazing god we serve and john said in first john that this is a testimony that we we have seen him we have experienced him we have handled him we gazed upon him we looked upon him john said with intent we have examined him and sometimes we have to stop and slow down i know we like to get antsy but just to slow down because it's in that moment we really begin to process and understand how god has been faithful except we do that there are days that i think that in our haste we would be willing to accuse god foolishly but today as we come as a people as a nation and reflect on our 38th year of independence god has been good we give him praise father [Music] we look to you we will not be overwhelmed what a great testimony and declaration in a season of anxiety fear worry uncertainty we declare we will look to you and we will not be overwhelmed we know what we see we know what we feel but we know also whom we serve [Music] you remind us in your word to be strong and of a good courage to be not afraid neither to be thou dismayed for you are with us whether so ever we go as and so we thank you on this special day when the people of saint kitts and nevis turn aside to give you special thanks for 38 years of nationhood we thank you for those who've blazed the trail and left their footprints on the sand of times those who believed in a better country a better people better families a better governance system a better church a better education system better social services many god fell asleep not seeing the fulfillment of their dreams and visions but in faith like the patriarchs of old they looked for a better country and they were willing to build to sacrifice and to give today we thank you for their commitment we thank you for their sacrifices [Music] for we are what we are because they were here thank you that they blaze the trail teachers who opened their homes to children and provided meals for children who otherwise would not have made it thank you for compassion from a society that knew how to love and to give and to care for each other thank you for neighbors who were willing to instill in children the right values [Music] thank you for those who built the fabric of this country [Music] [Applause] thank you god [Music] may we never forget the sacrifices many gave out of their little may we today find ourselves faithful equally and even more compassionate and willing to serve our current age to pass on to the generation that is coming behind a sterling example of civic duty responsibility commitment to service and to god we pray that in the ages to come that our people would be offered up to you as a trophy of grace having recognized that you are over all we do not look to the hills for our help commit not from the hills but our help comment from the lord the maker of heaven and earth in an age of skepticism and pessimism in an age when we have forgotten god constantly reminds us that you have been with us and will be with us to the end we pray for our country and the leadership from the governor general the prime minister deputy prime minister all those who are formed part of the executive branch of government endowed them with wisdom a heart for you and a love for people so that their service would be serviced as unto the lord serving with a heart like jesus you said i came not to be served but to serve you have left us a great example we pray god that you would strengthen all of our legislators those in the opposition and god in our judiciary and all our institutions we lift them up before you today we pray that our people would recognize that as they operate the systems that the systems are only as good as the people who operate them we pray now god that you would speak to us even in these trying times that together we would be each other's keeper and god as you carry us through we are mindful and hopeful that we can endure for a night but joy would come in the morning so we lift up our people together we pray for our students who are displaced even at this time and father the challenges in families as they try to balance job and children being at home and our educators and and all the difficulties that exist even at this time god nothing surprised you and in all of it you are god may we look to you and when we cannot change the big things around us maybe just trust you to work on the small things changing us one step at a time so that we will be able to cope through the big things speak to us to today's service and god we pray that your name would be glorified in the singing the spoken word and all that is done may we as we minister be hidden behind the cross so that you alone would be seen and you will receive glory and honor we commit ourselves to you father in all of our brokenness and our failures our shortcomings we cry out to you and we reach out knowing like that woman who said i know that if i touch i shall be made whole may the desires of our hearts today be met as we reach out to you in faith thank you for hearing and answering in jesus name amen oh father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but delivers from evil for that is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever amen you may be seated please we armaged one land harmonized freedom voices advances and trials on majestic mountains are fertile valleys or crystal sea or mighty fortunes our hearts and loving people courageous proud we are we are proud bigger the great you brought the cradle of tranquility we shall forever stand as one people one nation one god we are proud to be we are proud amen anybody proud to be architection an evasion just to be from saint kitts and nevis you're proud for different reasons but i'm proud because we are a people who love to give we might have lost some of it but every time this time comes around each year i can't help but think of regular people everyday people people who really built this country people who provided support in the communities the shopkeepers the drain sweepers the cane cutters the regular people teachers who took their purses and you see them rummaging through for coins to give you to buy a launch the regular people and sometimes i think we forget them we've become a little sophisticated especially when we think about recognizing people our mind immediately goes to sophistication but there are some people whose sacrifices [Music] have made us what we are given tremendously and unfortunately we wait until they are dead to say how great their work has been you know how many people opened their homes across this country and served meals to so many children had it not been for them because you can't think in school if you if you're hungry why we got a lot to give god thanks for and let us never forget don't don't damn the bridge you cross don't damn the bridge you cross you know even in my prayers the holy spirit led me many made great sacrifices and did not see the end result of their vision but they believed their hope and that is why when you've made it you become a doctor a lawyer a businessman engineer a certified plumber certified mechanic you don't forget you don't forget your mother might not be here but you remember the lady or the gentleman who helped your mother with you that's how we build a great country and you carry it on you don't forget you don't sign unto the church you don't forget i'm just thankful to god it's good to see you in the house of the lord it's good to have a deputy prime minister with us [Music] i like the fact that he is taking me seriously last week he said see i came back i said because it's a special service you just need to show up so he has just showed up very good [Music] i want to take the next few minutes and share with you a thought from god's word if you have your bibles take it out in the house of the lord [Music] let's see your bibles if you have them jesus christ the living word testifies to this written word that this is the word of god amen [Music] there is something that is intriguing about our national anthem [Music] o land of beauty a country where peace abounds thy children stand free an expression of freedom you know we like to say america is the land of the free and the home of the brave well saint kitts is also the land of the free and the home of the brave [Music] you see our freedom is no accident our freedom is god given and later it says that god is in all of our struggles i doubt you can find another answer many ways that promotes god and especially in a time when people are turned off and they're not to revering god and his word it is a trophy for us to have an answer which acknowledges that god is with us [Music] every time as a country we go through a tale spin let us come back to ground zero and remind ourselves that our forbearers understood so very well the importance of god that enshrined it in the national anthem with god in all of our struggles and i pray that we will continue this freedom not only today but for generations yet unborn and i imagine i hear some people say yes pastor connor but yeah we really don't have freedom you are right because you see the truth is your definition of freedom may be one which is absent of all constraints and restraints i'm free i can do whatever i want but what is really the definition of freedom is it for us to say there are no limitations there are no checks there are no restrictions break all the rules find freedom and live your life is it for us to say that i mean it is my life i choose to live it the way that i want to what it is when we talk about independence and freedom i know we would all agree that the object of our country is its beauty that is that is a given you can't go any place that looks better than saint kids i challenge the people from dominica jamaica anyway no place look better than scent kids that's our object we love that when i say send kids the whole ascent kids sandy pointed him by himself the whole of send kids because even if we cut sandy point out the same kid's sake it can still look good and the nevis send kids and the nevis they say nevis nice and sink it's one sweet but but we know the object is the beauty but what is the subject if you are asked to to to talk about the subject of your country what is it going to be you see there was a time when i believe that all of us would agree that the subject would have been the sense that we are a people of enduring faith and a deep personal relationship with an omnipotent omniscient omnipresent god we were devout people a people of faith a god-fearing people but today i am afraid that we see even our freedom in christ as one which takes away our ability to live because for us we see that god takes away the freedom to live so what we do we flirt with god but we don't commit and where we commit we keep it private our faith is personal and private it's about me and you can't judge me and i don't need to share it with anybody because i don't want to offend anybody so i keep my faith personal and private so i want to speak to you quickly a radical challenge to our freedom whatever you think your freedom is a radical challenge to our freedom and i want to ask us to look at john chapter 8 and i'm going to look at a few verses in john chapter 8 from verse number 31 and jesus says if you hold to my teaching you are really my disciple then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free they answered him we are abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone how can you say that we shall be set free jesus replied verily truly i tell you everyone who sins is a slave to sin now a slave has no permanent place in the family but the sun belongs to its forever so it is the sun who sets free so if the sun sets you free you shall be free indeed i know that you are abraham's descendants you are looking for a way to kill me because you have no room for my word i am telling you i have seen the father's presence and you are doing what you have heard from your father so jesus says to them listen i want to say to you what true freedom is how you can understand what it is to be free and the first thing i want us to understand is that freedom is complex freedom is not as easy as we say you see our desires contradict oftentimes our choice for freedom when we think about it real freedom does not come from our choices but real freedom comes from the fact that we have to lose something in order to choose something you can never just choose whatever you want you are losing something in the choice of something else freedom is not merely the lack of restraints it is not just finding liberation but it is a strategic freedom that you are developing because you choose to give up something else in order to have something different so it is contradicting it is complex it's difficult to appreciate we have the argument that well i am free to do whatever i want but your freedom imposes upon mine so you're not really free to do whatever you want you're free to do whatever you want within the confines and boundaries of your own space and until we recognize that we have to challenge what we consider to be our freedom we will forever be imposing upon each other the reality is when we as a country understand that freedom is complex we have to offer as it were choices we have to offer another way we have to offer individuals the opportunity to recognize that there is a reality within constraints so you are constrained but you are expressing a degree of freedom so in this complexity we must recognize that we have to foster a system that values each other and not disregard each other because we are different whether it be politically socially emotionally whatever it is we have to foster a system that recognizes that we have to develop to be sophisticated but yet not disregard what we believe and oftentimes because we have become sophisticated we disregard what we believe because we say i am free i give it all up i throw it away i'm free but we must remember that in that freedom we are giving up something else so we can choose something else so are you really free you are only free to the extent that you are strategic with the choices that you make but you are not free to the extent that you can do whatever you want and so it is in this freedom we must recognize we must encourage lifestyle development and not disregard the reality of our health you see we must recognize that if we pay attention to what is happening around us we would not view freedom simply as the the lack of limitations but to rather we would view it as a responsibility that we have so freedom is not merely that i don't have restraints and i don't have boundaries but rather there are responsibilities that come with being free so even in our debate and discourse about kovite 19 i am free not to we have a mask i am free but freedom comes with responsibilities and that is something that we have to appreciate freedom comes with the strategic choice that we are losing something as we gain something else when you enter into a relationship do you lose your freedom to some degree but you gain another type of freedom you see because in that relationship you can no longer just go and you feel come when you want don't say anything to anybody you say but i'm still free no you're not you do not have limitless constraints or boundaries you've made a strategic choice you've lost something you've gained something else when we as a country said well we are going to in going into independence we made a choice you lost something you gained something else but we had to grow up and take care of ourselves that is a choice that we made that we are saying i can take care of myself you gave up your colonial masses for the opportunity to take care of your own affairs that comes with responsibilities when you as young people you tell your parents i'm free i'm legal i'm 18 and you still give me a key i'm a big man and a big woman and i can talk to whoever i want and i can bring who i want to the house you can't tell me what to do i'm free i am an adult but that comes with choices so if you are free you are an adult then you should leave pay your own rent open your own door and close your own door and until you are willing able and ready to do that you don't have some of the freedoms you think that you have because you you're still within the confines of somebody else's bounds and limits so i want us to understand quickly then that there is a complexity our desires contradict often in our choice for freedom we can say i'm free to eat what i want yes you are free and you die quicker [Music] that's a choice that you make you are free but if you choose not to eat certain a particular diet are you really free no because you are in the constraints of what the doctor says is going to preserve your life so when we think about our freedom let us not merely think about our willingness or our desire to do whatever we want because that is not possible there are consequences to the choices that we make secondly look at verse number 34 jesus says to them in john chapter number eight he makes his point in verse number 34 and he says clearly to them i tell you everyone who sins is a slave to sin now when we think of the complex complexity of freedom and then we look at the construct of freedom jesus says everyone who sins is a slave to sin well if you have passed off god you have cast off a transcendent god you have cast off living in community you have cast off the directives of god's word then you are living the word of god says in sin and you do not have freedom not to live in sin you see when you cast off a transcendent god community and all that makes us who we are because of our belief in god then you do not have the freedom not to sin everyone who sins is a slave to sin because you are constantly out of the realm and understanding of god and you have not committed your life to him you don't have the freedom not to sin because your life is sin continuously so really you don't have the freedom not to sin if you're not in christ does it make sense i know that kind of gone over your head you're kind of like this what are you talking about the point is we are not as free as we think we are except when we come to the reality that we have been liberated by christ it is only that liberation that gives us freedom you see the reality is jesus says that if you are sinning continually you are a slave to sin now what does sin mean it means to mr mark it means to transgress against what god desires and intends for us do you know the reality is we have missed the mark of god we have transgressed against him in disobedience but why we have disobeyed we disobey because we don't love you see people who you love you respect and people you respect you obey now when we disobey god we disrespect because we don't love him our fundamental issue is that we have missed the mark in our love for god who constantly loves us and when each of us search ourself even as a country ask yourself we ask often times for other people to show love and generosity but ask yourself how much do i love and remember those who are slaves to sin who have not found freedom in christ they don't have the freedom not to sin remember that they will continue to hate because they don't understand and have not yet accepted the love that god gives but those who have accepted it and say i have received the freedom of god why is it then that we still hate it love cannot begin in our highways and byways our alleys and our our of our our communities except those who have been received freedom of love from christ begin to love so when we look we say there is no supreme god you know what that means i don't have to submit to him if you don't believe he exists you don't need to submit to him there is no need to submit to him and if we don't submit to him who teaches us community because god teaches us community christ the bible says came into the world to save sinners he came not to call his own but so that all would come to repentance the reality is god is a god of community then if we haven't experienced a god of community then we don't find ourselves operating in community so when we don't love we become hardened and selfish and we don't see the need to serve each other but when we have truly received the freedom forgiveness and love of god we understand the need to serve each other because christ says i came not to be served but to serve you live a life like he lived a life of service alas what has happened is that we have missed the mark and we have become so focused upon ourselves that once that that which once was our subject is no longer our subject because you see if we believe in an omnipotent transcendent god we would have no choice but to live the way that he directs us but when we don't believe in him we don't have to live the way that he requires because i don't believe and so when we examine where we are we find ourselves in a situation where in our deepest parts we are slaves to sin and there is no freedom for us to not sin no matter how hard we try we still do it no matter how much we pray to god and we sugarcoat it and we we ask him to make it a sweet lollipop god i'm so sorry so sorry we still do it because the reality of the situation is we are slaves to sin and if you're a slave to sin you have no choice but to sin so where we find ourselves we find ourselves with no freedom to choose not to sin because we have not set god before us that we can see him directing us how to live you know what has happened we have become relative in all of our belief system it's just relative it's how you feel about it you see our children didn't become the way they are by whims and fancies our children became the way they are because we turn to a new system of living our values as it were became relative it was okay to steal as long as you would get away with it it was okay to steal as long as you felt that the person had more than you and you needed it more than them it was okay to steal as long as you felt that this person is not supposed to have what they have values became relative the way we engaged each other was merely as objects for a transaction this for that that's how we'd be you give me this i give you that we move on go separate ways and then you ask where is the love all of our relationships have become so transactional the values that made our subject what it was we moved away from that became slaves to sin and as a result lost the freedom to choose another way you see when we are seeing god god gives us that clear vision so there is always that struggle between the spirit and the flesh giving us a clear choice but when we move god there is the tendency to go further and further into depravity evil wrongdoing and of such you do not have an option not to do it does it make sense as a result what has happened we have become disillusioned we have become disappointed and we are still not free we thought we were going to be free but we are still not free we become hurt beat up wounded still not free wow we are ready to give up to give in to forget about it still not free because we have lost the subject that made us what we will let me say this just quickly if god gives us a way to live we choose to live another way then whatever we are doing constantly in living that way is breaking our covenant with god and as a result what is happening to us we are saying well god there is absolutely no real sense of me focusing on you because i find pleasure in this and we have become a nation that finds too much pleasure in things that are not of god and you may think i'm talking about the fets that's not what i'm talking about we have found too much pleasure in high places to do things that displease god and that has become a core issue for us we find pleasure in hurting people we find pleasure in seeing people not live not eat not survive how can we as a nation feel good finding pleasure in seeing people have no jobs find pleasure in seeing people not able to pay their student loans find pleasure and i know somebody will say pastor can you cancel that yes there are people who find pleasure in making other people hurt and then we ask for a better country i'm going to say something and i'll give you the last point and i'm going to be done until people who love god who have the fear the holy grail fear of god inside of them in positions of authority the cycle will forever continue and when i suppositions of authority not just the politicians personal assistants who block you from seeing them the people who sit in the banks as managers the people who take your business plan and give it to somebody else until there are god fearing people sitting in some of these seats it will continue finally jesus offers freedom there is a freedom look what he says in verses 37 and 38 of john because you don't have to continually do this but he offers a freedom in verses 37 and 38. and this is what he says to us i know they say lord whatever i mean never in slavery so what you come telling us about being free he said i know yet you are looking for a way to kill me because you have no room for my word i am telling you what i have seen in the father's presence and you are doing what you have heard from your father jesus says i know you are looking for a way to kill me because you can't tolerate what i'm saying you don't like it you see when jesus says you're trying to kill me jesus understood the pathway to freedom the only part of the freedom is the cross you see until we truly understand and appreciate what christ has done we will never truly understand what it is to be free for he made a strategic choice to give up heaven's glory he was free he could have come down after cross he was free he could have abandoned the mission he was free but you see that freedom was within the context of the strategic will of the father that is why our freedom is not just something that we can just take for granted and so our caution to the wind your parents work hard to give you a good life you can't take it for granted abuse your hard work they give you a property they sign off your banknote you're going out there to study and don't look back and you say you're free i don't have any debt to pay of course you have a debt to pay you see the reality is just the we the way we are we will pass that on to others if you want to see a better place you have to first begin with you with you with you and we have a big problem in this country of putting people in our cua and just can't take them out just can't take them out years you got them in your car and you wouldn't take them out we have a big problem in this country you have politicians up in your core all kind of people up in your core take them out your children up in your choir i'll take them out show them how to love and show them how to live if you have met the christ you cannot make christ and be the same it cannot work it cannot work cannot work just cannot work i can't say cannot enough it cannot work you cannot meet christ and be the same nobody who came into contact with christ was ever the same again you wonder sometimes why you have backache and bellyache and footage is the people you have in your car they're moving around to developing your choice in your foot like a blood clot stopping the oxygen and the blood from flying through your veins when you come in contact with christ and you know something the more you begin to love christ and appreciate that's when that's when you really realize how difficult this work is oh because the things that you have to endure if you are saying christian life is easy you have not really experienced christ because there are things after a while you just you really want to live for christ and you just have to find a way but it's for the bigger good it is you looking at your savior and saying god you enjoyed all of this you got to i will get you too and you know what we will get you we always get you and so he says this quickly death is the way to freedom he says i know that you want to kill me but it's okay because is in that that i will bring true freedom you see the reality is brothers and sisters deep in our hearts all of us desire something more something else oh no matter where you go no matter how good the experience was no matter how how pristine and and and sophisticated no matter when it's all over and you wake up the next day except you got god deep in your heart it just feels like something missing nicodemus came to jesus with all of his he's accolades pen independence award pinon and he meddled them and all kind of things he had his independence i got to use real illustrations and all he meddled and pinned on an impasse academy decorated and he come to jesus and he said rabbi something i got all of this thing but i still feel like i'm missing something and jesus says to him something needs to capture your heart nothing has really captured your heart you thought that when you got that girl she would capture your heart she not only capture your heart she cutting off your breath she capture your oxygen she's killing you you can't keep up with your life story every week she wants to go do nails i just get in trouble sometimes but it's okay and jesus said to him something has to capture your heart you see something has to capture our hearts and he says accept nicodemus you'll be born again you are willing to to realize that outside of you there is more you will never understand the true freedom you are insufficient on your own to provide what you need and so jesus says to us quickly then that that freedom comes when we truly understand the freedom that christ has brought to us and i want to make this clear that until we as a country as a nation understand the freedom that christ brings will forever look to the authorities we look to the systems we look to the institutions but we will never get the answer the answer does not rest in our governments the answer does not rest in our institutions the answer was in us understanding freedom in a christ because you know what a government should probably even do better if some of us had freedom in christ for some paul says prayers should be made for them but those of us who have those who have not truly received that freedom you refuse to pray for them you who say you have the oracles of god's word you who say you have the keys to the secret place you who say you come boldly yet humbly to the sword you refuse to pray for them because in your mind it's not my government let me tell you something if they fail we all fail if they succeed we all succeed it is in the best interest that they succeed for government is a continuous institution it will continue i saw just for illustrative purposes which i thought was interesting i saw a video of the 1996 summer olympics in atlanta and at that time dr douglas was the prime minister and he was at the opening of the olympics and of course he stood up and was excited to see the contingent the delegation from st cats but i remembered when dr simon said we would go to the olympics some people said it can't happen he lost office a new leader came to power the delegation went on the leader who existed went and shared with them government is a continuous institution if we recognize then [Music] the freedom that christ offers he says to us i am the only lord and master you have and the only lord and master you need [Music] and he says if you fail i'm going to forgive you i will forgive you and so let me say this [Music] the cross represents our best hope and each of us must look to the cross before we point anyone else and when we look to the cross it will change us so that we in turn can point others to the cross to change them let me say this to us in closing if we truly desire to have freedom let us not look to humanity for that freedom it won't happen look to god it is good to have freedom of choice freedom of opinion freedom of self governance and all the wonderful things that we talk about in independence but there is a greater freedom in christ because you see the systems of the world as they are they are flawed and nothing can make them work the way that they should except christ is in the hearts of humanity we need a better country that is built on the premise that god is supreme and because he is supreme we will follow him think what a country would have if we believed that [Music] if we valued everyone else above ourselves and lived in community think of where we have heard each of you think of how much we are concerned about just ourself once our kids are in that's good enough once we are getting through that's good enough once we are surviving that's good enough in the sight of god that is not good enough god wants us to work together to show the world who he is how many of us are willing to say preacher i recognize that i am part of the problem and not the solution the question people don't want to know what you know until they know how much you care how much do we care as a country people are under breaking point how much do we care is it enough to talk about our institutions that they are falling apart or is there something we can do when was the last time you you looked at an institution and it's challenged but there are people who are working they're like bailing the water out and they're rowing that boat did you think to send them a car did you think to send them a little flower arrangement did you tend to send them a snicker bar did you think to call them and say i appreciate you i know no skins we have some challenges at the hospital i know you're going through a tough time it's not your fault but as a church we value you we appreciate you be strong in the circumstances you've made it you've done well have you instructed your children to to send back a card to their teacher to the school teacher call them and appreciate them those are the things that make for a better country not just striving and the climbing to walk on each other but how much we care for each other and you know what most people don't need a lot they just want to know that somebody recognized them they just want to know that somebody really recognized them i challenge you and i'm gonna be done all of you every single one of you inside here and following on those various streams and wherever you are every day you go to your home and if you are a real human being you ask yourself did i make a difference did anybody realize not not for for self-aggrandizement did anybody realize and value what i did you ask yourself that because that is what will make workers give their best that is what will grow our institutions that is what will grow our people but alas through and through our country our people are demoralized for various reasons demoralized working in situations without the resources that is demoralizing it is overwhelming [Music] not to be able to do the work that you would like because the resources are not there it hurts when people go to your health institution and they have to suffer because you don't have basic things you as a caregiver it talks at your heart we need to have a conversation of caring we can't just turn our backs and ex and and operate as if it does not exist these are realities that our children are displaced it takes us to a different level of care the gaps in the education system how parents are making it takes you to another level of care the anxiety we can't just move on as if like it's normal it's not normal it's not normal it is not normal i would dare say for some people it is hard it is very very hard and they are only trying to put their best foot forward they're not talking about it they're not sharing it but it is hard and i think we need to do more we need to turn a lot of what we're doing into more caring we need to stop the politicking and start caring just care when the time comes for the votes the key are in the key are going to turn into votes just care just care we need to give people an opportunity to be able to share sometimes all they need is advice that's all they need we are missing the mark in our country we are missing the mark and we need to build and to grow our people to care to love because if we don't stem the tide 5 10 15 20 years down the road we're going to reap a bitter harvest all these children who are growing up to have no feelings no emotions we're going to reap a bitter harvest they're going to be abusing families they are going to be running through society destroying our facilities because nobody cared for them so why should they care about anything we are sowing some seeds for a harvest that we will not be able to contain center your feet wherever you are how many of you love the lord how many of you would say god i want to do more i want to do more show me more that i can do anybody anybody let it start with you overflow into your homes and into your communities don't give up keep hoping in a better and brighter day focus on what god wants to do in the closing moments of this service there is a beautiful song lord i come to you let my heart be changed renewed flowing from the grace that i found in you [Music] commit all that you have and all that you are to god you have a business committed to him you can't lose with god you can't lose some days you're gonna be up some days you're gonna be down some days you'll be glad some days will be sad but you can't lose with god you cannot lose with god you will never lose with god yes sir you put god first you cannot lose with god god is taking note of your faithfulness and god will reward it in due time you cannot lose with god young people you will never lose with god never never you can see it all around you you'll never lose with god some of the heartache and pain you enjoy is because you left god you left god but he says i will receive you and i will forgive you but you will never lose with god never lose with god as we sing this song this all the world is open worship the lord give god thanks for allowing you to see this moment in time lord i come lord i come lord i come to you let my heart let my heart lord i've come to know lord i've come to know lord i've come to know the weakness the weaknesses i see me in me will be stripped away me [Music] i'll rise up please [Music] lord unveil my eyes lord we my knew is is oh hallelujah would you bow in the presence of the lord would you bow in the presence of the lord god is so great god is amazing he is good to his people god is good to his people hallelujah god we worship you we worship you father just lift your hands to the heavens and worship the lord just worship the lord lift your hands to the heavens and worship the lord just lift your hands to the heavens and worship the lord don't be ashamed don't be afraid lift your hands and worship the lord and give god honor and thanksgiving and praise and glory hallelujah hold me closer lift your hands to the heavens let your love let your love surround me bring me [Music] and there i waited [Music] oh [Music] hallelujah put your hands together put your hands together and give god praise and glory give god praise and glory hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah it has been god and only god it has been god and only god we thank him for his faithfulness towards us as a people we thank him [Music] we thank him for his goodness for carrying us for carrying us for lifting us and placing us on his shoulder and carrying us carrying us [Music] he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders can carry you is carrying us thank you god thank you thank you for safety in our communities thank you lord thank you for protection from the storms thank you lord thank you lord oh thank you god thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord what have we done why you are so faithful to us thank you lord thank you for your grace your mercy your favor your hand of protection upon us thank you lord thank you lord thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you lord could somebody just showed hallelujah to the lord hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah through many dangerous toils and snares thank you god thank you god thank you lord thank you lord thank you father thank you god thank you for those who've come today special blessing be upon them father thank you god pour out yourself upon them and may they open to you god bless your name jesus bless your name jesus thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord when we look back we can say we certainly have a testimony of thanksgiving a testimony of thanksgiving when it looked like we would not make it we thank you god that we got to the finish line thank you thank you lord thank you thank you lord thank you oh thank you god we thank you lord you took god you took it in your body so that we would have no condemnation thank you thank you that someone took the callous god in their hand god and they went without so that the next generation will be better prepared and equipped for the task thank you god thank you for what you're going to do in the life of this nation thank you for the leaders you are raising up thank you for those who are coming thank you those who are birthing father god into this nation to do your work and your will so that righteousness would run down like an ever mighty stream thank you god thank you father thank you god thank you lord thank you god we thank you we thank you jesus we thank you hallelujah [Music] hallelujah amen amen amen amen hallelujah praise god you may be seated please amen you just stay with us on this special sunday to give thanks to the lord hallelujah i give thanks to the lord hallelujah amen the ushers of the weight on us as we give our tithe in our offerings and as we do this we are going to have a special selection at this time and so we give to the lord for the support of the ministry the expense of the church the relief of the poor and the spread of the gospel through all nations when you give your offering goals so we can help those who are in need it goes to pay the bills associated with this ministry the mortgage electricity gas all of those things and it helps us to carry the gospel through the media ministry and also assisting other ministries across the world and so when you give you give into multiple channels so you are blessing many with what you do may god bless you as you continue to give to his service amen [Music] hey time [Music] so hey [Music] [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music] amen amen amen those of you who are celebrating birthdays would you kindly stand please september folks thank you beautiful amen lots of you celebrating this month this week our praise leader sister marita it's a birthday thank you very much sir yes of course yes they're very good um if and no one else claps you should clap that's right thank you and um mckayla and david and sister pierce and sister peer and all of these lovely people and all of you who are standing we are so honored as you celebrate another milestone what god has done in your life if this season has taught us anything that is that we should really count our blessings don't wait just celebrate every moment every day every small happening celebrated amen celebrate your progress don't wait for the total outcome celebrate the progress amen pick yourself up pick yourself up learn to encourage yourself in the lord you don't need a lot of money to do that just have a nice meal that you would like just clean off the table of the clutter and set it for once use some china and stuff just feel good for a little while you know um it's worth it it's worth it it's worth it amen amen it's worth it i love to see people enjoying themselves having a good time growing excited not droopy we serve a wonderful god amen times are tough but you could be tougher than the times surely times you're going to be tougher than it amen yes sir all right so we want to celebrate with you let us return thanks first father thank you for your offerings in your children those who are celebrating this week we pray your benediction upon them and god we thank you for their plans their purposes their progress whatever is going on in their life we present it before you the good things that they are celebrating the not so good things your god over all of it the things that they can speak about the things that they're not comfortable speaking about we bring it all before you and god we thank you for allowing them to see another milestone rest your hand upon them keep them in good health and strengthen as they celebrate may they do so with their assurance that you are a faithful god thank you for the gifts that have been received today and those who give we pray that you will return as you have promised in your word and that these gifts would be used for your service we give you thanks in jesus name amen let us sing please [Music] amen and happy birthday to you and we pray god's continued blessings upon you amen amen [Music] thank you this time we have reception of new members we receive members here in antioch one through a professional faith in having followed the lord in believers baptism that you've made a commitment that your desires are following the lord and to adhere to the teachings the doctrines the disciplines and principles of his church secondly you may be baptized already and you were part of a local church and the lord has led you to us and you would like to transfer your membership and so you can do so via statement indicating why is it you would want to transfer your membership but you have already made a decision and you were baptized already or thirdly it might be through letter where you are coming from a church of like faith or it may be a church in in another jurisdiction and they write a letter to us indicating that you have been a part of the congregation and now that you've migrated uh you have gone through the the the um elementary teachings of salvation you've made a decision and you've been baptized and then we receive you based on the testimony from that church so if you're here today and you have always thought about being a part of this congregation we have indicated to you as we always have that these are the gateways that you can use to be a member of this church but if you have never been baptized you have never trusted jesus you have to do that we don't just accept folks because you like the church you have to make a commitment that you are desirous of living for christ and following as his disciple and and following him in believers baptism and then receive you into the local church amen and so today we have a number of individuals who have made that commitment and our desire is to receive them into the fellowship of the church so that they can have all the rights and privileges of being a part of this local new testament church amen sister brianna osborne we are now following the leadership of christ for membership in this church the church has encouraged you with the officers and members of the anti-baptist church receive you into full membership of this church and may always live a consecrated life of service in the membership of this church amen [Music] sister carol alice i selma phipps sister carol following the leadership of christ for membership in this church the church has encouraged you we the officers and members of the anti-baptist church receive you into full membership of this church and may always leave a consecrated life of service in the membership of this church amen sister denny is daniel sister danny is following the leadership of christ for membership in this church the church has encouraged you with the officers and members of the anti-baptist church receiving the full membership of this church and may always leave a consecrated life of service in the membership of this church amen since the tree see i wanna sister tracy are following the leadership of christ for membership in this church the church has encouraged you with the officers and members of the anti-baptist church receive you into full membership of this church and may always leave a consecrated life of service in the membership of this church amen [Music] [Music] brother glenn for jack [Music] brother glenfeld following the leadership of christ for membership in this church the church has encouraged you with the officers and members of the baptist church receiving to full membership of this church may always leave a consecrated life of service in the membership of this church amen [Music] all those individuals will receive based on baptism and we are going to receive two individuals on statement sister karen richards [Music] sister karen following the leadership of christ membership in his church the church has encouraged you with the officers and members of the anti-baptist church receiving full membership of this church may always leave a consecrated life of service in the membership of this church amen [Music] sister loretta boone following the leadership of christ for membership in this church the church has encouraged you but the officers and members of the anti-baptist church receive you into full membership of this church and may always leave a consecrated life of service in the membership of this church amen sister alouemi mawson mr monson following the leadership of christ for membership in this church the church has encouraged you with the officers and members of the anti-baptist church receiving full membership of this church may always live a consecrated life of service in the membership of this church amen [Music] thank you very much if you rejoice with those decisions say amen amen all right it's always exciting when there are those who come into the body of christ and into his local church in a few moments we are going to participate in the breaking up bread and we'll be on our way but let me remind you on tuesday of this week at 5 30 we have a prayer service here at the church at 5 30 on tuesday afternoon and so we encourage you to be a part of that on tuesday and then on friday on friday at two o'clock soon the service begins at two the tribute's at one it's the home going service for brother taj we are going to have the home going service here and it's sad at his passing but we are happy that he knew god and he made a decision to serve him and um so we are looking forward um to that service on friday at two o'clock our praise team is asked to be here and we are going to have a wonderful time celebrating his life this afternoon parents and the children you log on to zoom for our engagement with the children at four o'clock and so we are looking forward to that we want to thank all of our children's ministry workers for their constant work and dedication during this time sister massey and her team we really really appreciate that these are very uh difficult trying times for all of us and we want to encourage you to be sober and to be mindful don't take anything for granted if you're not feeling well be responsible uh exercise freedom choose to lose something stay away from individuals don't send your children to school if they're not feeling well don't come to church if you're not feeling well and these days because of what is happening if you if you if you feel unwell just assume you have covet um no no what i mean is what i mean is there are people who feel unwell and still going among people and then saying well it's not that now you don't know if it's that just assume it is that and and then you do whatever procedures you need to do and you you eliminate that but assume it is that don't go between people and create unnecessary strife now um i don't treat it like some people like you have to keep these people at a distance i don't do that you have to make people feel human but at the same time we have to be responsible and we all know and have seen the effects of this so let us govern ourselves accordingly in this regard please and so we want you to keep that um in mind today we are pleased to have our brother julian's sister with us um miss catherine she's a fireball for jesus this past week we laid to us our brother julian's mother she was a great servant of god love the lord and we appreciate her service and now that she has gone on to be with the lord we thank god for her i'm glad that i met her and it helped me to understand why brother julian is the way he is so but she was a tremendous tremendous lady hadn't it not been for her julian would be on his way to hell because he bad you know he bad he's a bad boy he bad but and and i can't believe in his tribute he write all his badness in his tribute i i think he felt he was in a confessional album things when he backs stone after the police and all kind of things in his tribute that yeah that julian bad boy um but we had a wonderful home going for his mother a tremendous woman of god and we gave god thanks for her life amen so thank you very much i think that's all by way of announcements that i wanted to share with us at this time we are going to participate in the elements and the breaking of bread and if you did not receive ushers would be meeting in the in the aisle here and you can indicate if you did not receive the elements so that we can do that together if you are at home you can get your elements and at the time when we partake we encourage you to partake with us let us sing jesus messiah name above all names blessed redeemer glorious lord jesus [Applause] in foreign jesus amen oh oh oh me see shall we stand please as we cite our church's covenant having having been led as we believe by the spirit of god to receive the lord jesus christ as our savior and on the profession of our faith having been baptized in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit we do now in the presence of god and disassembly most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in christ we engage therefore by the aid of the holy spirit to walk together in christian love to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge holiness and comfort to promote its prosperity and spirituality to sustain its worship ordinances disciplines and doctrines to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry the expenses of the church the relief of the poor and the spread of the gospel through all nations we also engaged to maintain family and private devotions to religiously educate our children to seek the salvation of our kingdom and acquaintances to walk circumspectly in the world to be just in our dealings faithful in our engagements and exemplary in our department to avoid all tattling backbiting and excessive anger to abstain from the sale of intoxicating drinks as a beverage and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our savior we seek by divine aid to live carefully in the world denying on godliness and sexual immorality and worldly loss and remembering that as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised again from the symbolic wave so there is on us a special obligation now to lead a new and a holy life we further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love to remember one another in prayer to aid one another in sickness and distress to cultivate christian sympathy in feeling and christian courtesy in speech to be slow to take offense but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our savior to secure it without delay we moreover engage that when we move from this place we will as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of god's word and may the god of peace who bought again from the dead our lord jesus christ that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make us perfect in every good work to do his will working in us that which is well pleasing in his side through jesus christ to whom we glory forever and ever amen you may be seated please we gather around this table in the name of your son the lord jesus christ who by your spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor proclaimed release to the captives set liberty to those who are oppressed christ healed the sick he fed the hungry ate with sinners and established a new covenant for forgiveness of sins we live in the hope of his coming again in glory on the night when jesus was betrayed he took bread he gave thanks and he broke it and he gave it to his disciples and he said this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me [Music] the body of the lord which has broken for you let us take a need this remembrance that christ died for us amen [Music] likewise when the supper was over he took the cup and he gave thanks and gave it to his disciples and said drink from it all of you this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it you do remember the lord's death until he comes [Music] the blood of the lord which is shed for you let us take and drink this remembrance that christ died for us giving thanks amen [Music] father by your spirit you have made us one in christ and one with each other and one in the ministry of christ to all the world until you come in your final glory in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit we give you thanks the lord's prayer our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power in the glory forever and ever amen father we thank you for the elements representing your broken body and your shared blood [Music] there are no saving graces in these elements but your word reminds us that as often as we do it we do proclaim your death until you come and so until we eat it with you in the new jerusalem our hearts are turned towards you and look forward to that great homecoming when all of your children will celebrate your great sacrifice for us until such time keep us faithful grounded steadfast unmovable always abounding in your works for as much as we know labor is not in vain in the lord through jesus christ our lord amen let us sing to him when i surveyed a wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died r [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh is oh [Music] oh [Music] oh oh is amen what a tremendous sacrifice we give god praise thank you so very much for being in the service we just want to feel the presence of the lord every day in our walk with him it is what we know to be well no matter what we are feeling or no matter what the day brings amen let's remember to preface this the illness who is in the hospital remember i know prayers please do well to do that is good to have you thank you so very much i appreciate that at this time we are going to ask divine to come and sing first the national anthem would you kindly stand please and then we'll sing of closing him oh land of beauty our country wealth with god as we stand for justice no sword no spell can conquer for god will sure defend his blessing shall forever [Music] [Music] thank you very much divine thank you beautiful thank you so very much amen shall we sing our closing song now thank we all our god with hearts and hands and voices oh rejoice oh [Music] [Music] [Music] peace [Music] and we is [Music] with them [Music] is [Music] amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Antioch Baptist Church SKN

Views: 1,381

Rating: 4.7894735 out of 5

Keywords: ABC, Antioch Baptist Church, Lincoln Connor, St Kitts and Nevis, Sunday Church, Praise and Worship, God, Jesus, Holy Bible, Lime kiln church, New Testament, Scriptures, Christianity, Religion, Dr William Connor, gospel, St. Kitts, Nevis, De Village, The Village, church, prayer, pray, testimony, hymns, repentance, repent, king james bible, freedom, independence, 38th anniversary of Independence, nationhood

Id: j8tlH9E4PbU

Length: 156min 56sec (9416 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021