A Tale of Two Mountains

[Music] so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] oh hallelujah [Applause] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] say thank you jesus thank you [Music] thank you [Music] you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus [Applause] thank you [Music] good morning that's the beautiful song if you think about the words thank you jesus if you woke up this morning and you're inhaling and exhaling if you're watching this broadcast or even if you're here in person we ought to thank god here's an awesome god he has given us an awesome day for us to praise and uplift the lord i have one announcement this morning that is the food pantry ministry is still asking you to bring canned goods in the month of october we're asking you to start bringing toiletry items toothpaste deodorants etc toilet paper whatever you can to fill the basket so that's the only announcement i have so now we're going to do what we always do and turn to our neighbor and say neighbor god loves you and i do too and if you love me like i love you ain't nothing that's going to split i love it too and i do have one more announcement it's to keep to to remind us all that we need to continue to social distance uh we have gotten a little relaxed and started hugging people uh but we need to watch that and keep our distance from each other so just a friendly reminder keep your mask on and keep your social distance thank you let the spirit of the lord rise among us let the spirit of the lord rise among us to let the praises of our king hallelujah rise among us [Music] [Music] select the spirit of the lord's among us to let the praise rise among us let it rise [Music] sing let the glory of the lord let the glory of the lord let it rise among us select the glory of the lord [Music] let it rise [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Applause] rise among us and let it rise [Music] let it rise [Music] that the freedom of our freedom of [Music] let it rise [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] we everybody amen amen amen make a joyful noise unto the lord all nations know that the lord he is god is he that have made us and now we ourselves we are his people and the sheep of his be pasture unto him and bless his name for the lord is good his mercies are everlasting and his truth endures to all generations father god our god we thank you again for another day another time another opportunity to just say thank you thank you for your love your grace your mercy your patience your long suffering for enduring us poor wretched people we are but your dear children thank you for loving us thank you for having us and at this time lord we ask you accept our worship accept our praise accept our love except i offer it unto you in jesus name amen lord i want to say thank you all [Music] thank right [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] lord i want to say thank you thank you help us [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] help [Music] us thank you [Music] [Music] [Music] amen amen thank you lord for all you've done all to jesus i surrender [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] i give myself away away [Music] i give myself away so you can use me i give myself away [Music] [Applause] here i am [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] i [Music] me so i give myself away [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] i give myself away [Music] my [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] sacrifice [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] them in your hands i give myself away [Applause] [Music] i give [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] to say that you are my god you're all together [Music] [Applause] [Music] here i am lord here i am [Music] here i am [Applause] [Music] all together [Music] oh here i am lord here i am to worship [Applause] [Music] together [Music] [Applause] [Music] to me amen my god is awesome he can move mountains keeps me [Music] [Music] he can move [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh my god oh my god [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] his grace praise [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] his holy name my god oh my god [Music] do you believe that my god is also [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] my god is holy [Music] [Applause] he's my savior yes he's a savior [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] my god oh my [Music] forever [Music] amen amen someday sunday sing the song with us what's wrong [Music] someday someday [Music] [Laughter] sunday [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i've got to be ready [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] myself [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] ready [Applause] [Music] gotta be ready [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] everybody sleeps [Applause] [Music] there will be peace and joy and happiness no more [Applause] [Music] [Music] gotta be ready [Applause] [Music] gotta be [Applause] ready to be ready how many got to be ready how many is ready someday someday seek and ye shall find all right or [Music] is it's from [Music] to you [Music] is [Applause] [Music] shall [Music] we on it shall we give on to you again [Applause] [Music] shall we give on to you [Music] seeking yes shall be opened up to you [Music] [Applause] [Music] these blessings shall be mine these blessings shall be mine these blessings shall be mine these blessings shall be mine shall be might take the lord please these blessings shall be mine these blessings shall be mine these blessings shall be mine these letters [Music] [Music] blessings [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] these [Music] me [Music] my blessings [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the lord [Music] spread out [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] all these blessings [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] how many you really believe the blessing shall be yours y'all really believe me hey man hey man before we phobia i'm gonna have one more song what jeron is showing you i'm determined not to let you slip back into anonymity i'm determined come on up here jimmy turn this is this one no good okay yeah you can you can this is gonna be your personal mind now y'all remember the temptations used to have this one mic like this and they just all got in a circle and you shoot them shoes [Music] shoes and this is gonna be your temptation mike right here don't get any temptation mike i went to go buy some more bikes but i i bought all this in the package and they gave us crazy discounts i didn't know these much costs so i went into the store to the company that sold us and fought it i said give it too much is it you sure that's usually the indicator and you don't really wanna um yeah okay it's usually the indicator that you don't want to do something right and so they so and this is the owner's name it's mark so marx's password are you sure you want two more yeah yeah he'd go and get him he brings him to the county but 2000 i was like what he's like two thousand dollars so that way these mics cost a thousand dollars a piece and he goes in there but we got a discount because we bought so many of them but we ain't buying that mini again and so since we ain't paying a thousand dollars of mike curran and jerome that is your temptation tonight until we do a mic offering and uh get you another bite let the spirit of the lord let the spirit of the lord oh [Music] [Music] [Music] let it rise among us [Music] [Music] [Music] of the lord [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] come on [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] yeah he had to warm up and then the next one is the one who's the marstenberg okay [Applause] [Music] since i made [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] that's why i love there quick announcement uh y'all know we're still on prospect so uh we locked the doors at about 10 30. so for those of you who come and you pull on the door this locked is because it's 10 30 and uh i don't like to be caught slipping and so i know you know covent season and everything and protocols become relaxed but that's when they catch you and so the bible says that the thief came in while men slept and i just want folks to know me ain't never sleeping so if you get hit 10 30 uh the doors are locked you're going to knock on into somebody here you praise the lord and then we're gonna let you in uh but i've been through enough security trainings to understand what happens and so we lock the doors because obviously if we're here we don't know who's walking in and so we want them to have to make some knowledge in case we got to pull it down praise the lord amen y'all know the rule if i say duck y'all get under the chair and i'm pretty accurate praise the lord hebrews chapter number 12. i tell them i'll take you out and preach eulogy at the same time it's a shame what hebrews chapter 12 verse number 18. the bible says for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire and to blacknish and darkness and temperature and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore for they could not endure what was commanded and if so much as a beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow and so terrifying was the sight that moses said i am exceedingly afraid and troubled but you have come to mount zion and to the city of the living god the heavenly jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven to god the judge of all to the spirits of just men made perfect to jesus the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of anger amen i want to preach from the subject the tale a tale of two mountains amen maybe she's in the prisons of god you guys know a couple of weeks ago i began this series in hebrews chapter number 12 uh unintentionally when you are an expositional preacher which is what i claim to be i'll let you all decide whether i accomplish that mission each week or not but when we talk about exposition the root word of exposition is simply to expose and so when you are the type of preacher who believes in exposing the text when it gets you holding you sometimes you just can't let it go and so i had no intention of preaching this entire chapter number 12 and i will finish it probably next week but it's just been so good have you been blessed by this chapter especially in a time where christianity and church and everything has gotten to a place where folk are making a decision whether to continue with it or not i was talking to somebody the other day uh and uh just yesterday as a matter of fact and he was telling me that that preachers are now starting virtual churches with no intention of having a physical church because they feel that this is the way forward and the future and so as folk began to discuss whether they will come in person or become remain virtual or whatever decisions that churches and preachers and leaderships are making all across the country in the world for that matter i believe that there is a word from the lord regarding that so as we look at hebrews chapter number 12 for a quick uh synopsis of where we are you guys know that this is a difficult time in the life of the church that persecution has broken out and and primarily if we line our date shut chronologically the roman emperor nero set fire to rome and blamed it on the christians and so it is because of that that folk have began to see christianity as a different kind of religion they see it as a group of almost anarchists a group of individuals who who have no scruples and no morals a group of people that would that that would would rather vote for somebody i'm sorry i'm going into the wrong direction but even today this kind of concept that the church is so radicalized that it uh has lost its identifying marx as the body of christ because the church has become so radical right that we are more concerned about a set of beliefs than we are about our folk as a whole for instance that it is the church that uh the largely the evangelical movement that would support deporting folk from the border who need a cycle it is the the evangelicals that would are the ones who are now restricting voting rights and have supported the conservative republican party in donald trump and so now folk are beginning to ask the question what's the purpose of christianity at the church in particular this is not new i was just reading the other day uh a a french renaissance writer by the name of michelle de montagna as he's writing during the french renaissance period and he's he's he's making mention and comments about the radicalization of the church even in french and how the church has began had begun all of these wars and how the church had lost its identity evenly so it appears that periodically the church goes through phases where it ceases to look like the church that we read about in our bible let me be honest with you that even among the fellowship of the churches of christ sometimes we are hard pressed to enter through the doors of a local congregation and see it look like the church in your bible buddy of mine the other day he came and preached for us many years ago posted a picture of him being ordained in the culture church so we had a conversation about it and i said tell me why you chose to leave us and go back without even trying to um say anything negative or whatever the case may be i was just curious as to what would move him from here to there and and essentially the the idea behind it or the comment that was made is that the church even of christ fails to look like the church that he sees in his bible i got news for him and everybody else is that the church as a whole is not doing a great of a job all right and and i would rather stay here and fight to make it right [Music] i'm talking back to you see we can't run and leave every time problems arise our mission as preachers who are dispatched by god is to speak truth in season and out of season so they believe it when the church fails to live up to the mission that god has given us we don't run we preach about it [Music] this is the scenario in hebrews chapter number 12. this is as the germans would say that since i'm a laban of this pericappy that's that's as you have seen the city of this tension that the church is fought and faltering and so the writer begins uh in chapter number one it brings it all the way forward of contrasting the differences between the religion and the faith that they once knew in judaism and the church and christianity and christ that they have chosen today and he tells them and you guys have been here for the last several weeks is that he understands that in christianity days get rough and i'm not even talking about just you having trouble paying your bills but but every now and then it's a challenge just to profess christianity and if you've never been in a situation where it was uncomfortable to understand it and say i'm a christian then i will check my own faith because we have not always been the religion that folk were proud to see amen look at the text so he tells them as we prepare to close out the fault verse number 18 he tells them you have not come to the mountain that could be touched that burned with fire blackness and darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words so that those who heard it vague that the word should not be spoken to them anymore he is contrasting mount sinai and mountain giant mount sinai was the place where god gave to take commandments to moses mount sinai was the place where moses would ascend the mountain to meet with god and come back down and tell the folk what god see in particular what the hebrews writer is referencing is the first time god showed up at sinai if that god showed up in all of his holiness and all of his power and the sky got dark and it was gloomy and thunder and lightning as they heard the voice of god so much so that the children of israel said we don't want to hear god speak no more moses going up that mountain you talk to god and then come back down and tell us what god said but and god was so holy that he told them when i show up at sinai nobody but moses climbed this mountain as a matter of fact don't even let your animals come to this mountain because if the animals come to the mountain they will die god is is is helping them to understand how awesome he is how holy he is how moral he is how how how majestic he is and he needs a bunch of sinners to know it so that they understand god is not to be played with right oh my god as i was looking at this text this week i thought to myself i feel like folk need a reminder that god is not to be played i thought about what god went through to put this in their head that if they touched the mountain went near the mountain went by the mountain god was gonna kill you right away because this mountain was over and can't nobody climb this mountain unless your name is moses but if you look at the text the text says that it was that god was so terrified that even moses was afraid look at look at verse number 19 and the sound of the trumpet and the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore for they could not endure what was commanded and if so much as a feast touches the mountain it shall be stoned or shot with an ammo and so terrifying watch this show was the sight that moses said i am exceedingly afraid and trembling he says to them i want you guys to see this because i'm gonna shift to verse number 22. he says to them after the end of it you remember the last thing he says verse 16 and 17 is don't be like esau y'all remember that from last week don't be like esau don't be unrighteous don't be unfair don't defile yourself don't be like esau and then the very next thing he says is you have not come to a mountain not a future that can be touched what he's trying to say is you haven't come to a ventricle mountain sinai that you can reach out and touch and of course if you touched it when god showed up you died god was such a great sight so powerful that even if the beast it they die and moses said i am afraid to climb this mountain can you imagine that that god has been leading moses speaking to moses even after burning bush moses is hearing and speaking with the divine and even moses said when god shows up it's terrible and i saw it i thought to myself how terrified is unmediated conversations with god what do you mean by unmediated in the old testament moses is the mediator in the new covenant christ is our media so if you ever wonder why you need jesus [Applause] you need jesus because you can't climb that mountain i wish i had some help in here you can't climb that mountain because you're too sinful you're too bad y'all ain't talking back to me i need some folk in here who can be honest about themselves and you ain't always been and perfect you've been a drunk you've been a customer you've been a fornicator you've been uh uh the bible says arala you've been fighting in the street you don't have some kids ain't nobody talking back to me heaven why do i need jesus because god the father is too holy and i'm too sinful and the only way to break my sin into the presence of his holiness is i need a mediator by the name of jesus who goes in between us because i'm not holy enough to enter into god's presence but all of this describes what the relationship with god used to be you have not come to that kind of mountain but verse number 22 says but you have to come oh my goodness y'all get ready to run to mount zion come on god oh my goodness watch this y'all look at the texture to the city of the living god i'ma read it because y'all don't know what it is yet but you have come to verse 22 to mount zion to the city of the living god the heavenly jerusalem to an innumerable accompany of angels and if you want to know what he's talking about it's right here to the general assembly uh and church of the first boat come here come here y'all got to see this she's telling them you have not come to a physical mountain god doesn't move the mountain god moved the mountain to a heavenly jerusalem the church is now that mountain and so everybody who thinks church don't matter no more you still got to climb this mountain y'all ain't talking back to me this is the heavenly jerusalem let me tell you why i shouted with this though jerusalem was a physical place god intends for the church to be a spiritual heavenly jerusalem that means we take jerusalem wherever we go it's no longer a political place on a map somewhere where you got to go worship there that means whatever i'm going through if i'm scattered abroad if i'm locked up in prison if i'm in a hospital room if i'm in a hospital builder i take the mountain with me [Applause] don't listen y'all look at the text now that's part of the periphery you have come y'all underline that now circle the word come c-o-b now next to the word come write the word perfect tension you have come perfect tense now i'm gonna break this down for you what perfect tense means so you can shout perfect tense means that an action took place in the past but it has present results when you chose jesus you came to the mountain that are talking back to me and that means when i came to the mountain at the point i told jesus that now in the present i get all of this stuff that he's talking about but it's still from the action that took place in the banks you have past tense with present what we're present in present items you've come to the mountain oh my goodness but this is the part they got me this is when i really start shouting look at the picture i want to read it again verse 22 you have come to mount john look at this y'all look how he describes mount sinai to the city of the living god y'all come here come and come here talk about the church right it used to be that on sinai god would show up to side now talk with moses and then the dosa the glory would leave and then that thought can come to the mountain which was the glory of god leach in this new system god doesn't show up to the mountain and leave the church is the city y'all are talking back to me of the living god it means when you show up here you're coming to where god resides you're coming to where god lives that's why when you ask the church to pray for you [Applause] when you have the church to pray for you and we bow our heads god is already present because this is where god lives and so for folks who think the church don't matter no more that means you're not interested in coming to god's city y'all ain't talking back to me to where god lives oh my goodness but but not just not just what god lives not just to the city of the living god but also to see how he describes god living god oh my goodness to be alive and here's why it's my issue with the church two things number one the church is still acting like that they're approaching sinai instead of zion all right what you're saying well sinai equals distance remember only moses can go sinai equals vestige well what happens when i'm distant from god well you might remember when moses is up on the top of the mountain dealing with god israel is at the bottom of the mountain making a golden calf what happens is when there is distance between us and god we end up doing stupid stuff like worshiping gods of our own preaching y'all are talking back to you know that you did some stupid stuff when you were the furthest from god oh my goodness am i talking to anybody in here anybody here that can be honest and say i know when i look back and all of the stupid stuff i did i did it when i was at the bottom of the mountain and god was at the top of the mountain i did it when i wasn't close enough i did it but my prayer life wasn't the best i did it when i was uh backsliding it half coming to church i did it when i was doing stuff i didn't have no business do it i did it when my stop listening to mama telling me to go to church and to pray and to worship i did it when i was the furthest away i did it when distance got in the picture [Applause] and if you're wondering why you're not where you should be it's because you're still acting like you worshipping sinai god is saying come here oh my goodness not only can you touch the mountain but into my city it's in kansas city it's god's city oh my goodness this is why the church has been so powerful to me in all my life and my upbringing because the church is the place where god's power resides oh my goodness that's why folk get to come in and say but my life was changed when i came to church my life was changed when i gave god my heart and gave the preacher my hand and god my heart my life was changed and folk who can come here every week and not be better i can't believe that you are sincerely in the city of god right and still the same y'all watching like i got to go i've been up here too long already look what he calls it he calls the church the heavenly jerusalem oh my goodness look what he look what he says is in the church we we don't talk enough about fish in in the churches of christ but he says not only if are we in the church but look look at how you try he's up to an innumerable company of angels to the general assembly that's what we are and church of the firstborn y'all underlined church of the firstborn i got i got to take you to uh to school before you can get your shower now the word for him for first born is actually plural it means first born of ones so what he's saying is watch this now in this general assembly that we have entered into at the at the point of jesus not only are we present in the community but god says there are an innumerable amount of angels watching y'all when he gave the covenant and sinai according to psalm 68 thousands upon thousands of angels showed up oh my goodness and in the church we are afraid to talk about guardian angels but watch how much god loves you god dispatches the angelic beast to minister to us why because we're in the same assembly y'all can read to make me shout we're in the same church same fellowship same assembly same community with angels this is why it's called the heavenly jerusalem y'all talking back when you come to church though you come physically your mind ought to be in heaven y'all talking back to me and on sunday morning after angels praise the lord we just praise the lord with the angels oh my goodness y'all look at this texture he said unto the church of the firstborn in the plurality firstborn ones jesus is of course the firstborn now when we say first born i want you to understand what first born means it means he who has the preeminence it doesn't mean he who was born first but it means he who's first imposition that's what that's what first one being it's preeminent he has the first place the first position but he didn't he makes it interesting he calls us the church i'm the firstborn watch watch this show to suggest that in christ we get to share his preeminence oh my goodness that we get to gain position with jesus as he is the first born from the dead we are the firstborn of one's goodness and this is what gets me excited when i began to think about who i am in christ jesus see i may not be nothing in the world tell me talking back to you [Applause] i may not have enough money for the world man i have no power enough prestige my name may not be enough my reputation may not be high enough folk may not know who i am but all of you ask jesus about me and we spend so much time trying to get the world to know who we are would it ought to be that it's jesus who knows who you are forgive the world [Music] y'all they're talking back to me the folk tell me hey you need to do this get your name out there get on this [Applause] when it comes to god y'all ain't talking back to me the world tells you you ain't good enough that's why when folks are asking how is it that black folk can keep going after everything they've been through it's because black folk have always known you can ridicule us you can try to hold us back you can try to put us down put your knee on our neck tell us we ain't nothing tell us that we're free fields of the person tell us we ain't human but if you mess around and check the role in heaven god says that we are the preeminent bonds wish that would change us as a matter of fact i get excited every time they pass a lot of hold us back because i get to say look at what god is about ready to do every time they try to keep us down god shows up and shows them that's not my [Applause] there's so anointed power in this place all right i got to go i got to go i got to go y'all trying to keep me here it's already 11 23. i got to go look the the key to the interpretation of this passage is you have come in the perfect tense you have come actually in the past present results so that means that as you sit here right now members of the firstborn if right now an angel was dispatched from heaven and the roof was pulled off the place and he had a strong [Music] we used to say when the saints go marching in how i want to be and the number y'all come to come and come and come the church was always so worried about whether you were going to lose your salvation or not that they forgot to tell you that god had already written your name in heaven y'all not talking back to the entire john i'm talking back to myself all of the folk who worried about how if they gonna get to heaven did i do enough the answer is no you did not but jesus did enough so that you [Applause] for you it has everything to do with the fact that jesus said my name is on the road oh my goodness let me talk to your black folk that's why you are not worried what they want to do is take anybody give the lord to praise right now and thank the lord for and keeping you after your name on that role for making you a member of the first border and the general ship and you have come to that mountain the mountain where your name is already there the mountain where god is already present the mountain where you live in the presence of the glory of god not just on special occasions but every single day [Applause] he not only have you come to all of that general assembly church of the firstborn uh registered in heaven you come to god the judge of all you've come to god really you couldn't go to him before but now in the church you've come to god so a lot of folks don't appreciate what we have today because they don't know what used to be that it's a privilege that you and i can come to god as we are but hang on to the spirits of just men made perfect i ain't got time but that's the old testament saints who existed before jesus they are the just men made perfect god is so good that even before jesus he reached back and got him y'all get rid of the big shout because that tells me god don't forget nobody oh my goodness y'all if there ain't a reason to shout right there even if you feel like your blessing is taking forever to get here that god is telling you i don't forget anybody even the folk that bled suffered and died before jesus ever came i reached back in god y'all watch this now here's where you need to be to jesus y'all know when you see jesus i want you to take note that you saw jesus and not christ to jesus the mediator of the new covenant oh my god now can i just have 10 minutes to wrap this up go ahead to jesus you've come to jesus he wants you to connect with the human figure the man jesus if you wanted to connect to christ you will say christ but he said you come to jesus the man like you and this is what he does for you he's the mediator of a new covenant what kind of covenant a covenant where you don't have to worry about trying to go to mount sinai and dying to climb the mountain all right the covenant washes y'all coming coming but i saw this i said this is so great well let me bless you so you can see the impact of this god has not changed from the sinai god he's still everything now that he was at sunday still too holy still too powerful still too much shock and awe god is the same god of china but in the new covenant you get a new mediator [Music] and now your approach gets to be different you have come to jesus this is why you can't go back to judaism that's why you can't go back to moses because you've come to jesus oh my goodness that's what he said the mediator of the new covenant washington and to the blood of sprinkle is a foreshadowing of the sacrifices in the temple but now instead of a lamb it's jesus and this is the part where y'all are lost i nearly lost when he says that blood speaks better than abel's blood what what what does that mean well y'all remember in the beginning kane killed abel and and and god comes to to uh cain and says what have you done to your brother cain says am i my brother's keeper god says i hear his blood crying out from the ground what was able was what was able crying out for justin justice vengeance what was done to him he wanted it he wanted it to be righted the wrong to be written but what's wrong with that nothing but jesus's blood doesn't scream for justice and screams for mercy oh my goodness y'all it screams for forgiveness it's that he'll come to jesus oh supply strange mercy [Music] [Applause] why why why should i be a christian because of all this and i don't know about you church but i need some mercy anybody know what i'm talking about i need some grace i don't know about y'all but i need some forgiveness i don't know about y'all but i've been a bad boy on a lot of occasions can i tell y'all the truth i'm still a bad boy every now and then now can i be honest with you that i don't live up to the standard that god has set for me i set for myself every day i don't do it and i'm tired of leaders acting and still that they never have bad thoughts that they never have bad days and that they never failed to hit the mark some days i am not who i think i should be let alone who god thinks i should be but when i hit a block this time not crying out from the grave but crying from the cross saying mercy lord mercy anybody know what i'm talking about anybody ought to give god some praise and he show blood that his blood cries for mercy he's that preacher i need some mercy i need some forgiveness i need some grace because even though i've been in the church all my life i'm still trying to get that [Applause] and even if it ain't sinful you need his blood even when you doubt even when your faith is struggling it ain't always when i say i ain't always who i should be i'm not talking about just saying but even in my faith that some days is not what it should be and i need the blood to say cover in love [Music] give them some mercy but what jesus gets to do is the mediator here's where i finish i said to jesus because as the mediator jesus gets to go lord i know what he feels like i was him i was human i know the pain i know the trouble i understand wanting to give up i had a garden of just so many more but when i asked that the couple passes i know the pressure i know what it's like to live down there and walk among them give him some grace he's trying to what i've learned from this that as god gives me grace i'm learning to turn around and extend them tests and y'all know i'm not built like that yet but god is working with me that really what i'm talking about when i say i ain't what i should be all the time i'm talking about that is is that learning to to temple myself and give folks some grace as god has given it to me because the mediator sees that they need some grace i'm going to tell you that y'all said if you don't know where you standing somebody here needs to be in this church somebody needs to be in the church of the firstborn member of the general assembly in this in this assembly we have a numeral angels thousands upon thousands of angels this is why i tell people don't mess with children of god [Applause] [Music] praying and and that is because i believe that i am valuable in god's eyes and while we attempted to pick up swords and spears and guns and bullets and everything else and those have their place we also pray we also are children of god by faith and we serve an all-powerful god who shows up for his children somebody's in here today and you are not a member of this general assembly you have not come to jesus in that way the trouble that you're gonna have is that all of the things that we just talked about you have yet to come to mount zion you're not a member of the heavenly city and when you need the lord he's inclined to hear his children that's why john was saying john 9 31 and this is what we've done for this service john says for we know god here is not the sinner's prayer and we took that to mean that if a person isn't saying that that if they begin to pray that god will hear you that's not what john is saying in the gospel of john it said we know god here is not the sinner's prayer a sinner is then defined as someone who is wholly disobedient not that god cannot hear you i'm the audio god is omni audio all hearing but do you have the right to have an audience with god that's what that means that word here akuo in the greek means to have an audience with god have the the imagery of a king on the throne holding out his scepter telling his citizen his subject he can come speak the problem with folk who are disobedient in rebellion to god is that you don't live in the city so you can't walk up to the mayor's office and talk to god because you don't live in the city but for those of us who are citizens of the kingdom god hears us we are heals and that is why you need to be a child of god you got to come this morning by believing in jesus christ that mediator whose blood was sprinkled for you and for me making up in your mind that you're going to change that you're going to repent you're going to turn around from what you've been doing confessing jesus christ and then we will baptize you and make you a member of this glorious kingdom the church the assembling this phenomenal body of believers but folk look at all that we have done as a church and they're surprised i'm usually not because i know the god we serve and that in this place we're not just great at metro we're greater believers [Music] [Applause] you just need prayer if you're watching with us at home you can go to greater metro dot church click on the link uh for prayer requests or for baptism and if you want to be a member of this church of the city of the kingdom of god we'll get in contact with him if you're here and you want to be a member of this great king we'll baptize you today come on down there as we sing this show there is power in the name of jesus [Music] there is power in the name of [Music] there jesus power in the name of jesus [Music] break every chain break every chain break every day [Music] there is [Music] [Music] to break every chain break every chain break and reach [Music] every chain breaker [Music] [Music] as i approach your throne [Music] [Music] i've fallen short and i know i have not done the things that you would have me to do [Music] but i'm asking father to look past me and hear the words as i [Music] try to phrase them and say them in a way that reaches you and [Music] where you can hear what i'm saying i'm praying on behalf of all those lord that hear me and those within the hearing of my voice i'm praying for those five i'm asking you to overlook me and just hear the prayer for my fellow man [Music] lord we need and they need your mercy and your grace father i was talking to a person this week and they were talking about prayer [Music] and they asked me about prayer so lord you know who i was talking to and you know [Music] and i'm just asking father that you just bless them bless them father because they need you right now they need you in a way that only you can you can help [Music] and not only that father we just ask that you listen to and hear the prayers of all of us here within this assembly within the hearing of our boys because your grace and your mercy is the one this is how we're getting through this your grace and mercy fathers how we living day to day your grace and mercy father is how we eat your grace and mercy fathers how we drink the pains of this world your grace and mercy father is how we endure what we hear and all of the stuff that's going on lord your grace and mercy is how we endure it's because of you lord nothing that we've done nothing that we will ever do it is because of [Music] who you are and what you've done just because of my lord and what he's done and his love for you his love for you that he came here lord and he sacrificed his life that we may have life it is because of that his mercy it is willing to do [Music] what you ask them to do god it is your mercy and your greatness [Music] you have been there even when we're not even knowing that you're there i know sometimes in the darkness father i can't find a way but when i opened my eyes you're there you're there father all the time you're always i'm impressed thank you father thank you lord for being who you are i know we only come to this place and gather once a week but we are always together so lord thank you be with us keep us watch over always in the name of jesus have mercy have grace and have pity on this poor wretched man that we are for we all have fallen short but through you lord we can stand tall amen amen [Music] now it is the joyous time have we not had an uplifting service this morning all right well we're going to continue our joy because it's time to get back to god in second corinthians verse 9 or chapter 9 verse 7 tell paul's talking to the church of corinth and he tells them not to give reluctantly but to give generously because god loveth a cheerful gift so god is given to us so now it's time for us to give back to god the world says sometimes that give till it hurts but god tells us to give till it feels good so all right so let andrew sing a uplifting song and we're going to give and we're going to give generously and happily to god who gives to [Music] about the us of jesus it makes me feel good good good good you know that i feel good good good i feel [Music] makes me feel good good good i feel [Music] [Music] because there's something about the spirit of jesus is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is the heavenly father we come to you this morning with cheer father we're so grateful that you have blessed us in the ways in which you have father we didn't deserve it but you continue to give to us father so touch our hearts this morning father help us then allow us to be able to give back to you more freely father we thank you for uh the things that we didn't deserve as i said and father just help us to to be more free and father we also ask that these monies taken up will be used to uplift and glorify your kingdom and this is our prayer in jesus name and we say amen now it's time for us to commune with the lord as we think about the suffering that jesus did on the cross stream down his face and as we know there's power in the blood it's because of that blood that we are able to be cleansed and made free so let us think about the blood and the suffering that was done on the cross as we partake of the lord's son let us pray heavenly father again we come to you thank you for that ultimate sacrifice of your son on the cross father as we go from day to day we sin we are full of sin father and sometimes we sin too much but it's because of your sacrifice father that we are able to come to your feet and be washed and cleansed in your blood and made whole again and father we thank you we thank you so much and we ask and we say amen [Music] [Laughter] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] holy [Music] [Music] holy [Music] [Laughter] there's just a couple announcements i'd like to reiterate we're going to ask the food pantry ministry asked again that you continue to bring canned canned goods and also starting the month of october if you would bring toiletries and the announcement i made earlier let us also remember that kovit is still here unfortunately and we need to continue to make sure that we have on our mask at all times and more importantly we need to maintain our social distance as we become a little more relaxed and i think we're starting to hug each other so let's refrain from that keep our social distance all right so now we're going to close in the usual man i'm sorry i forgot to announce this phrase report the lord is good so you guys remember we did our greater scholars uh thing this past july so it's kind of those things where we kind of did at the last minute we didn't really know how we were going to pay for it but i just believe in trusting god so we raised some money gave it out so we we i was notified this week that we received a donation of twenty thousand dollars for our greater scholarship thank god i am committed as churches committed to making sure that we put our youth through school and that they know that our congregation is making a a sizeable investment in their future yeah and so we anticipate uh that when we do it again uh for the summer of 2022 that we will give out even more than that that's our good god each not only that but numerous congregations around the country our preachers have called me and said they too are going to begin giving scholarships to their young people [Applause] this this donor also committed to a multi-year donation for our greater scholarship fund amen proves church you just gotta trust the law [Music] we don't know how we gonna do it but we gonna do it amen let the words of my mouth and the meditation in my heart be acceptable in thy sight oh lord my strength and my redeeming

Channel: Greater Metropolitan Church of Christ

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Id: jjEcSGtFaS0

Length: 109min 41sec (6581 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021