Developed by Devotion | Philip Anthony Mitchell

hi and welcome to the victory church podcast we're so glad you could join us if this ministry has impacted you in any way we'd love to hear all about it please send us an e-mail at share and victory Church ATO dot org we pray this message will speak to your heart this is your your first time at a victory we want to welcome you all of our guests we want to welcome our online audience want to welcome you to week two of a series call a hundred proof it is very obvious that there is no screen behind me and I was told when I arrived here that the bulb in this unit was blown obviously this is a school we don't own this facility these things happen and so there is I don't have an ability to put any sermon notes up for you and and and obviously that could be a little frustrating for some of you who will follow along as I teach from the screen but uh you know I was just reminded you know that you know there was a time when the preaching of God's Word had no technology there was no screens there was no screens there were nothing to put up on the screen was no microphones there was none of that stuff was just Bibles in the Holy Spirit and so uh with no screen and I can't use any sermon notes we're gonna go old school today just Bibles that people still carry those and your phone and I guess what I cannot do from the screen I'm gonna sit right here in this chair and still preach God's Word to you and it's it's not gonna be what I thought it would no let me not say that we don't have notes on the screen but we have a Bible we have the Holy Spirit and so we we're gonna just have Bible study this morning and it's gonna come right out of you right out of your Bible and so let's do this before I jump in Acts chapter two right so if you want to if you want to just I don't even know I mean our church is so full of Millennials I don't know people carry Bibles but if you if if you got your phone you got your iPad you got a Bible Acts chapter 2 is where we gonna be and we're gonna camp out there we're actually gonna be camp down to Acts chapter 2 for the next three weeks and so if you want to just go in there with me Acts chapter two and going old-school Melissa yes sir yes sir a screen is not gonna stop the preaching of God's Word all right we don't need technology and we don't need what people think we need like my brother Jay Monty says we don't follow Yahweh we follow Yahweh and so we we follow God and we have his word and we're gonna do our best without sermon notes on the screen or whatever the case may be amen so Holy Father we are we love you you mean everything to us not bound by technology or what people think we need and yet I feel your presence in this moment I pray you would be glorified she would be exalted venerated that you would add a blessing to the preaching of your word in Jesus name I pray amen and amen how honest can I be with you this morning a hundred proof honest you really cannot really be honest because I think sometimes I think sometimes people see pastors is like ministry machines y'all see them as Giants and I know some of your favorite preachers you've never seen him cry or shed tears they never tell you stories of their weakness and and some of them think that that's actually you know that you know a lot of preachers a lot of us think that that's that's that sign of public strength all the time as is as encouraging to people that they never see us in moments of weakness or shedded tears I actually I'm encouraged when I when I look at people who I think of giants actually show humanity when I when I sometimes can see their tears or have their frustrations even if you read through the scriptures you see Paul sometimes talks about the things he's going through his talks about the tears you shed he talks about being despaired of life I mean the Apostle Paul too did the right of 75% of the New Testament talks about being despaired of life being pushed to the fringes of trouble and issues to the point of almost near death and so if I could just be honest with you this morning you know if I could just be honest with you this morning I uh man like I'm not I'm not really feeling it today I woke I wake up every Sunday morning really really early maybe 4 a.m. 5 a.m. consistently for years I get up and I pray for a few hours I look over my sermon how come upstairs I'll get dressing and this morning I'm gonna be so honest I'm gonna text you something I texted my wife this morning I text her and I said um a text Lina and I said to her I said I'm having a difficult time this morning feeling very weary and disoriented and struggling to pray and focus I feel frustrated with myself and my wife texted me back she said maybe you should just stop you are a mouthpiece of God he has already written his words on your heart all you have to do is begin to speak and his word will come out of you if you feel frustrated just try to find peace and and so I just start to us I didn't you know I just stopped looking over my sermon I I you know I didn't get a chance to even really review these notes well and I'm not even sure how this message is gonna come out today but I was always got up this morning and I was weary if I could confess to you I was I was weary and not not physically weary but I just felt spiritually weary and and I felt disoriented and I felt I felt frustrated and you know I didn't I didn't have a bad night you know I spent time with my family I watched Duke beat Florida State you know I I'm not in any sin I confess whatever I knew before God and but I just I just felt heavy and I sat in my prayer room my wife texts minutes and I just sat still and I was just reminded as I sat still man that that we are in a spiritual war yeah and I think sometimes we forget that that whether we are going to work or coming to church or doing life if I could just be straight honest with those of you who are afraid of the demonic and afraid of the supernatural I'm sorry to announce to you that there are demonic spirits all around you all the time that there is a very vicious spirit in the earth called the adversary the enemy of your soul and and whether we believe this or not because we only live in the natural then we only focus in the natural the truth of the matter is there is a spiritual world around you that hugs the natural and in that spiritual world we are involved in a very vicious spiritual battle you and I are involved in a warfare that's being fought for your soul and my soul in fact I was sharing with some of the team some of my late team this week I was shared with them that the Apostle Paul a former murderer turned Christian wrote to one of his young followers his protege he wrote to him and he said that we should not be so overly entangled with the affairs of this life that we may please the one who has enlisted us as a good soldier meaning that we should not be so attached to the things of right now so attached to family houses cause jobs material isms businesses he said you should not be so overly attached to those things that we could properly please the one who has enlisted us as a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ the fact that Paul would say that we are enlisted in an army it speaks to me that there is a very vicious warfare that's being fought around us and and that warfare is is it's real it's powerful and I really felt that maybe this morning I was the victim of some type of demonic attack against my mind I mean I was completely disoriented completely weary and and frustrated and and for all how I tried to press in and review my notes and try to pray I mean it was like just this pressure coming against my mind and and I thought to myself I'm the man of God you know I'm the pastor of the church I mean I know how many hours I devote in prayer how many hours I spend with the law and I thought to myself in that moment man if I feel like this this morning if I feel this way right and if I feel this way I thought to myself man I'm going in there to see hundreds of people who I call my brothers and my sisters and if me the man of God is being attacked this way man I just thought to myself man I wonder how many others of my brothers and sisters are just feeling heavy this morning for whatever reason maybe just weary because of life maybe frustrated with a marriage maybe tired in a relationship maybe their hearts of being jostle through life circumstances maybe don't have the money to pay the bills maybe frustrated or with with some family member tired anybody tired just a little bit weary or maybe frustrated with your own self anybody in here maybe just frustrated with your own self maybe just feeling a little a little depressed maybe a little heavy a little moody maybe some of us feel like yo we had an epic fail this week this was not like a good week we didn't spend the time with God we wondered spend - like real life that has wore down the joy of the soul anybody knows what that feels like right anybody knows what it feel like to go into your prayer room and feel like you just don't even know what to say no I don't have no honest people in this room I'm I'm I'm the only one that's never gone into prayer and didn't know what to say any any where anybody shed tears this week or even this morning or how about this one anybody felt like not even leaving your house this morning come on 9:30 right anybody felt like you didn't vote it's 9:30 a.m. I felt I didn't want to leave the house this morning look look whose hand is up right and and and and I thought about all that you know and the adversary in our soul and I thought that that maybe maybe this message today maybe all this happened for this message because we're not when I think about the text that that we're gonna we're gonna study this morning I thought to myself man how fitting it is that in the morning I'm supposed to preach this text I'm battling with these feelings in my heart I can sense that many of you may be battling with these feelings in their heart and what what I believe that the text can do for us this morning like obviously I'm not gonna go hard today cuz I just don't have that kind of energy and but I believe what the text can do for us today if we listen carefully to God's Spirit through the man of God I believe this text this morning can inspire and encourage a lot of you right now in an area of need and so if you if you're following this series you know that in this series a hundred proof what I'm talking about is is pure biblical Christianity like no chaser and for some of you even uh familiar with the terms 100 proof or no chase I'm not trying to turn you on to alcohol but the bible does talk about being drunk but not drunk with wine but drunk with the holy spirit and and when we say no chaser we mean like you know chase is like if you drink something that's alcoholic and it burns a chase would be something to ease that burn and when we say we want a hunted prove Christianity with no chaser so no chase would be like faith in Christ alone that's a hundred proof chase it would be and good works we don't want that like we don't want we don't we just want a hundred proof Christianity and the and the reason the reason I'm doing this series the reason I'm doing this series is because because my heart was grieved coming back from Jerusalem and I've been saying this all year coming back into America and taking a good look of American Christianity you know sometimes you have to be outside of an environment to realize the toxicity of the environment you came from this is like if you're in a place you can't smell the aroma of that room and then if you go outside of that room and then you come back into the house you can smell the aroma of that room but if you sit in something so long right you can't you can't tell the aroma of that room so let me let me do this in another way that there's some of us we it's like being in something dysfunctional so long we think dysfunction is normal right like you you could be in a bad relationship for so long and think being mistreated is normal you could be in a bad relationship for so long and think being condescending to someone else is normal some of us have come up in families that's so dysfunctional we think dysfunctional is normal it's normal for a father not to be around it's normal for a woman to disrespect her husband it's normal for a husband to disrespect his wife it's normal for kids to cuss out their parents some of us have we have been raised in dysfunction to the point we think dysfunction is normal some of us have been raised in such dysfunction we don't even know what love feels like and we think not being loved as this is normal and so when a man Oh real woman comes along to love us we don't even know how to receive love because we think being treated the way we was was was normal some of us was raised in dysfunction for so long we have normalized dysfunction and in the same way all of us in this room who are at least 40 and under were born into an American cultural Christianity that is so dysfunctional that for many of us we think that what we see is normal the way we perceive God is normal the way we treat the church is known for some of us what we call Christianity what I'm telling you in this country is so toxic and dysfunctional for some of us we think that's wrong more like like somebody um like this whole this whole year like people been trashing me on social media and and and sending me all kind of hate speech somebody said to a man igano Church I'm angry right um I'm angry and and it's almost like why are you mad bro why you mad why mom why first I'm not I'm not angry at the church I love her because she's the Bride of Christ but I do have a righteous indignation yes a holy anger against false preaching bad doctrine false prophets Liars in the pulpit right divas in the pulpit I do have anger against God's people being led astray by nonsense I do have a righteous indignation against cotton candy and I do have a righteous indignation against the antics shenanigans the garbage and foolishness that pass itself off as Christianity and I feel like the Bible calls us to be angry about that because if I read the writings of Jude the brother of Jesus man he tells us to contend for the faith you can't tend the word contend means to fight for and you don't fight with joy you fight with anger right so he tells us to contend for the faith and what some people would accuse me of just being our angry loudmouth um I'm the mad rapper right no right I'm on the mat no I'm not I'm the mad rapper I'm Amanda has an awareness and I'm a man whose eyes have been open and and maybe the haters who keep saying I'm angry maybe these are ones that's so attached to the affairs of this life that they are so a part of the toxicity they can't see that they're toxic people like to criticize what they don't understand right and they like to criticize when they when they're compromised as being is being rubbed up on right and so and so and so listen you're gonna be fat they I can either be famous for truth or famous for compromise right and and they both cause pain but I think the latter is more painful that when over everybody said like you can be known for truth or known for compromise they both will bring pain but I think the latter is more painful right because at the end of the day I'm not gonna give an account to my hater right I'm gonna give an account to the Lord Jesus Christ and so and so and so that that's the whole premise of this of that's the whole premise of this series now we don't have a screen so I'm gonna ask you to read right like that almost sounds blasphemous I'm gonna ask you to read your Bible I might add chapter two and and last last I'm not gonna be distracted by that last week we started this series with a message called born of fire and what I was teaching you last week before we get to this text was that that Jesus had a conversation with his follow us and told him that he was going to give birth to a church it was the first time the word church had ever been used in history he'd be give to give them instructions about the church and about staying in the city of Jerusalem he told him that in a few days there will be baptized with the Holy Spirit they go and stay in Jerusalem they wait 10 days on a day of Pentecost which means 50 the Holy Spirit is poured out on a hundred and twenty followers of Jesus in the upper they burst out into that upper room out into the streets of Jerusalem they're praying in tongues of other languages there are people who are watching them who are mocking them and scorning them Peter stands a bully he preaches the very first sermon on the day of Pentecost he preaches the very first Christian sermon that sermon was not laced with man's opinions it was laced with the Word of God and with Peters exegesis of the Word of God he preached truth of the word he quoted from Joel we quoted from two different Psalms he preached the word and at the end of his sermon at chapter 2 I'm gonna ask you to read it with me so you should have your Bibles open I'm reading from the NIV at the end of his sermon in Acts chapter 2 he in verse 37 I want to start there it says when the people heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles brothers what shall we do verse 38 it says Peter replied repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit the promise is for you and your children and all who are far off for all whom the Lord will call and then verse 40 says with many other words he warned them and he pleaded with them save yourselves from this corrupt generation and then verse 41 is very very important it says those who accepted the message were baptized and about three thousand were added to the three thousand were added to their number on that day okay it says about three thousand were added to their number on that day and I said to you last week that the church was born with fire born of the Holy Spirit and it says three thousand was added to them that day now this is very very important now listen to me carefully okay everybody watch watch listen listen listen to me very carefully watch look look directly at me there were a hundred and twenty followers of Jesus in an upper room praying they are baptized with the Holy Spirit and starts speaking in tongues and languages Peter preaches the very first Christian sermon because the men are being accused of being drunk he says they are not drunk as you suppose but yes they are drunk but drunk with the Holy Spirit the Bible will tell us later on in the book of Ephesians Peter preaches the gospel to them everybody watch look at me and three thousand people are converted with one sermon and I want that kind of anointing right three thousand people are converted with one sermon everybody watch three thousand people are converted with one sermon watch three thousand people are converted this is powerful with one sermon who are among the three thousand Jews Gentiles Greeks parthians medes men from Cappadocia pontius Asia Pamphylia people watch who are not familiar with Jesus this is powerful people who are not familiar with the Old Testament three thousand people are converted to Christianity with one sermon and now the first Christian Church has an attendance rule of three thousand one hundred and twenty people and of the three thousand one hundred and twenty people three thousand of them have never been around the Lord Jesus man this is powerful watch so now the Apostles now are staring at these massive church people who hate mega churches I don't know why like the first Christian Church was a mega church I'm not gonna bother that it's not about the size of the church it's the spirit of the church so now watch this is powerful the first church the very first church has 3,000 120 people in the church and of the 3,000 120 people 3,000 of them had were not in the upper room they did not hear the last commands of Jesus they were not in the room praying so we have a church when 90% of them have no substance at all this is powerful they have no substance at all now the Apostles have a problem watch now the Apostles have a problem we have 3000 former unbelievers who have now come into the church how are we going to Shepherd them how are we going to guide them how are we going to lead them in Christian discipleship and spiritual formation what are we gonna do should we just give them coffees when they come on Sunday morning should we just feed them doughnuts every time they come should we start telling them that they're awesome and that God loves them and that everything is gonna be like how what are we going to do with all these people if the gold now is what Jesus told us make disciples what do we do with 3000 extra people add it to our number and what we see next in the book of Acts is as pure as Christianity has ever been and and what they do next verse 42 through 47 is what you call 100 proof Christianity and where the churches don't look like this we find perversion what are we gonna do with all of these people watch who are coming just feed them donuts and coffee and tell them they are awesome look at your Bible right since we have no screen so you not looking at me verse 42 right it says they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching teaching and another translation I like that old King Jimmy says the Apostles doctrine look what it says and they devoted themselves to fellowship to the breaking of bread and to prayer the first church verse 43 everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles verse 44 all the believers were together and had everything in common verse 45 selling their possessions and goods they gave to anyone as he had need verse 46 every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts they broke bread wear in their homes I don't want nobody to come into my house they broke bread where in their homes I don't want to make friendships they broke bread where in their homes and ate together with what glad and sincere hearts verse 47 because we can't lift a hand praising God we can't say Amen and enjoying the favour of all the people and and as a response to 100-proof Christianity God added to their number daily those who are being saved my brothers and sisters oh Jesus Christ I feel something coming over me right now my mom my brothers and sisters these verses right here verse 42 to 47 is as pure as Christianity will ever get this is 100 proof Christianity this is the standard by which which you hold up every church some churches got emotion but they don't have this they have money but they don't have this they have status but they don't have this they have technology but they don't have this and we sat in churches like that we've analyzed men who listen we prop up men we prop a brand we prop up churches but we don't search for this now retweet also so we we forego this for the sake of their popular they got a name they got a strong brand they got a big ministry they got a lot of money whatever the case may be and we will subjugate the Word of God for our opinion of what Christianity is we think if they have a lot of followers and people are coming that's Christianity from my brother and sister you take any ministry any Church and stack it up against these these verses and where we don't see this happening we have a deviation from a hundred proof Christianity man I got 10 minutes I'm going to give you this in 10 minutes we have a deviation from 100 proof Christianity and the problem with some of us y'all been living in dysfunction so long you can't even recognize when the place is not a hundred proof your last church wasn't a hundred proof that's why you're here [Applause] [Music] for some of you think you ended up here by accident no the Holy Spirit led you out of toxicity and planted you here as victory where there is a hundred proof Christianity and then the pit box it you start looking over your shoulder some of the places you used to be and you will see how toxic and how perverted is because you can't find this at that place and I don't care what their name is how big their brand is or how see y'all just keep giving credence to popularity okay how big their brand is or how popular they are or the person who keep calling me angry I have a righteous indignation for the Lord Jesus Christ yeah somebody must stand up for truth all you false prophets you want to be like so bad I don't know no prophets in the Bible that everybody loved them where there was a real prophet there will be haters where there is a hundred proof Christianity there will be haters I don't recall everybody liking Jeremiah and his message I don't recall everybody like in Isaiah and his message he seek you on his message amos obadiah a home Hosea on a northern Lord everybody like their message if everybody likes them and no one has anything to say you need to check their bloodline and their Christianity sometimes haters prophesy we're real men and goddess don't you understand Beelzebub will never attack Beelzebub the devil is not going to attack something that belongs to him [Applause] as some of you keep crying cause you are under attack the Devil attacks threats and that which belongs to Jesus saying is not gonna attack what belongs to him [Applause] you don't see nobody crucifying Mohammed you could talk about him in your job nobody's gonna get mad mention Jesus at your job they want to fire you and put you out I'm gonna let you open your eyes and be the understanding of what's happening in the earth am I gonna fight you for mentoring Confucius at your job or mentioned Joseph Smith at the watercooler but you just call Jesus anywhere and people want to fight why because the devil stirs up animosity against the truth but some of you the attack is this sign that you're heading in the right direction the attack is the sign that you're headed in the right direction you got people out here let me talk to y'all you want to be like so bad but you claim to be Christians right I thought the scripture says is so persecuted was my Savior and the prophets who came before them before him we saw addicted to the approval of men that we can't even tell the truth because we want to be like so bad we rather people fill the church and go to hell at the same time yeah we got two full gatherings every Sunday morning and we're not trying to pack the church with with lies we let the truth draw them people of God say pastor you shouldn't do that no every now and then you got to check a hater [Laughter] pull up we right here 1190 Northwest Atlanta Georgia pull up we right here come in and get some of this hundred proof for yourself we right here I invite the haters they might get saved in the process all right I gotta I gotta land this plane all right let me let me so I I just I just wanna I says we don't have no more time I just want to bother you with one verse I want to finish up this sermon with one verse verse 42 are you reading them with me they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and to fellowship the breaking of bread and to prayer let me just harass you with one verse look at the verse don't you you can't look at me because there's no screen look at the verse look at the verse they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching to fellowship to the breaking of bread into prayer right if I could draw your attention to one powerful word in that verse one powerful whatever it would not be teaching and what it would not be it would not be fellowship it would not be breaking a bread it would not be prayer if I could draw your attention to one powerful and if I could draw your attention to one powerful word in that verse you know what the word would be devoted because the other ones have no power if we're not devoted you know what the word to vote it means it means to persevere through it means to be it means to be aggressively attached to it it means to throw your whole heart into something it means to be faithfully connected to and me to pursue with everything in you when when you are devoted to something you hold it in high regard high standard you fight to get it you crave it you have a deep affinity for it you long for it now this is so powerful watch it says that they want they devoted themselves to what to four things to teaching to the fellowship to breaking bread and to prayer pause they devoted themselves to these four things they fought to be in it they persevered to get it they was deeply attached to it they longed to have it once they could not live without it they devoted themselves some of us a devoted to us Instagram devoted to our social media devoted to our relationships devoted to building our businesses Duvall you put all of your energy in that the first Christians were devoted above everything watch to Teaching Fellowship breaking bread and prayer okay I only got a couple minutes let me let me get to this real quick they were devoted to the Apostles teaching the words II is a definitive article it means it separates the Apostles teaching why is this important because there were other teachings at that time right so you have three thousand extra converts who had been exposed to other teachings it says that they devote himself to the Apostles teaching what would this be well there was no New Testament at the time so the Apostles was teaching them the Old Testament and the things that Jesus had taught them because we know the Lord says you will teach them everything I have commanded you so they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching watch in other words they devoted themselves to the Word of God and one of the great perversions of American Christianity everybody look at me we have a growing Christendom that is not informed by Scripture think about it think about the amount of sermons you listen to the blogs that you listen to the vlogs that you watch the podcast you think about how much stuff we consume for the purpose of self-help for the Christian that is not rooted in God's Word and we have a Christianity in this country that is uninformed by the scriptures and of the list which one did they prioritize the preaching of God's Word what is the most important thing that is happening in any church or Sunday morning it is the preaching of God's Word do you know why so many Christians are sick and anemic and confused because they're not being taught the Word of God they mad at God mad at Jesus because Yala yeah we are feeding people of Christianity and a God that does not exist man you got so many people mad at God think about it we got people that when when persecution comes they can't stand because they've never been taught a theology of suffering we got people mad because God is not blessing them in some way because they've been taught a God that does not exist listen there are many believers listen to me man oh gosh lord have mercy I gotta go there's so many of us right now who are we're suffering in marriages with suffering in relationships watch we're dealing with unnecessary pain frustration and heartache because we don't read the Word of God and listen if you're not gonna read no not to you but at least attend the church where you're being taught the Word of God and because we're not being listen I I told my kids the other day I told my kids through those two days ago and we was doing our devotion we was doing our devotion and I was saying to them I said from from all the years I've been studying to prepare sermons it's like this revelation came to me the more I look over my shoulder the more I've realized that the scars I have the pain I've suffered the things that I've lost the tears that I've shed the hurt of people in my family the hurt of friends I realized there's so much stuff that people suffer and go through watch unnecessary pain because we just simply don't obey God's and there's so much stuff we deal with unless unless two type of pain there's pain that God intends and there's pain we bring on ourselves because we're just we don't follow God's Word man and and this this this word man it was strengthened you in the middle of the night the Bible says the Word of God is truth it sanctifies us it makes us wise and discerning it speaks to the heart it speaks to us when we have need and it is it is it is the guide for every area of life and because we have so many believers we attend so many churches and gatherings where the word is not being preached I'm telling you Johannes go down with shout preaches down but they did not say anything we have people who say nothing eloquently and because we're not being taught the Word of God man we listen we have a Christianity in this country that's not informed by scripture in so many areas of the church but it says that men they devoted themselves to the Word of God they devoted themselves to the Word of God meant that the the most important thing any believer will ever do is to listen to you you don't you don't you eat food right you're gonna take care of your body that you're gonna put food in your body but you are spirit living in a body and the thing to feed the soul and the spirit we don't we don't prioritize that so we're not devoted to the thing that God gave us to keep us watch healthy and strong and feeling alive I had to bury myself in the Psalms this morning just to stir up my own heart I learned that from my mother man I had to go bury myself in the Psalms just to stir up my own heart man and and and what they did to help these believers for they devoted themselves in the Apostles doctrine what's the next one they devoted themselves to the fellowship right to the fellowship III gotta get through this really quick the word fellowship man is such an abused word men's fellowship women's fellowship the married couples fellowship everything fellowship man that word we throw it around so much I don't have any weight anymore but but the scripture says David rules up to the fellowship not just any fellowship because you can have fellowship you can hang was with people and be in places that's not good for you they devote himself to self fellowship what is that to the the gathering of the Saints the word fellowship and Greek corn Ania corn Ania a word that implies the sharing of the life of Jesus together but you got people say homages do online church and never be around people let me let me let me tell you something you was not designed to do life alone and and they devoted themselves to the thing that gives us some of the most strength being in the presence of other believers is so healthy and invigorating I had 14 members in my house this week just sitting in my office and I just enjoyed that time with them we drank smoothies and we had a creative meeting and we laughed and crack jokes and if and when it was done it was so rich and it was so good and they devoted themselves to this but this is not we don't do this in America we're so radically individualistic we think we don't need other people so we we watch we forsake the gathering of the Saints some of us don't even we won't even come to church for for Sunday straight right but but just like I said this morning I didn't feel like going but even right now I feel encouraged just being here in your presence just talking to you it's giving me life and when I hear you sing it gives me life and when I hear you when I see you lift your hands that gives me and sometimes what you need is in the presence of other believers sometimes you could be going through and you just need the touch of another believer the shoulder of another that's why you should you should watch you know what the vote is is I'm gonna get up and press myself to Christian gatherings I'm gonna press my way to Sunday I'm gonna press my way to small group I'm gonna press my way watch to build real relationships in my church I'm not just gonna run in and run out because washes when life hits you're gonna need shoulders so they devoted themselves to building real relationships they had cornea they devoted themselves to coming to the gathering devoted themselves to if we would say watch and the fellowship large gathering they didn't miss those large gatherings it wasn't missing Church quote-unquote on Sunday there was a missing Navy group quote-unquote there wasn't missing opportunities to be together because in that we find strength let me let me let me let me land this plane they devoted themselves to the breaking of Burn Notice it says the breaking of bread not any meal but communion so to make it short they devoted themselves to remembering the sacrificial death of Jesus they devoted themselves to remembering the sacrificial death of Jesus watch they devoted themselves to remembering the thing that brought them into the faith how easily we forget in our self entitlement that God owes us nothing but all because of Jesus and his blood and His grace and they devoted themselves to remembering that it was the death of Jesus and the sacrifice of Jesus that brought them into the faith and lastly they devoted themselves what to prayer and if I could just finish this message right here if we would can call it a message side to prayer right listen listen everybody look at me if you understand the true meaning of prayer then you understand the important of their devotion and in our country when we think prayer we think we think get from God isn't that how we pray let's let's just be honest can we be honest the majority of our prayers is asking for something which is a part of prayer but that's not the primary reason up for it the primary reason of prayer is to build intimacy with God and to align your heart with his heart and if and if they devoted themselves to that the washes they devoted themselves to building a deep relationship with God Almighty and at this time I'm sure they're not crying out for stuff they're just pursuing him they devoted himself to his face and not just his head and I feel saddened because and we got a lot of gatherings a lot of books a lot of podcasts and a lot of blogs and and it's like for me it when I stare at American Christianity it's like men have turned the pulpit into exhibitions of talent our churches are full with shenanigans and antics Christianity is just being trampled under the feet of men it's it's a day of the week it's it's the church is what I do but it's not what I am it's where I go but it's not what I'm a part of I'm scared to say that man we're drinking and cyanide and not water and for what it's worth right now for some of us you will find yourself growing in strength and health and and having everything you need in times of difficulty and trial if you just take a lesson from the very first church that ever existed not not some man's book but the book 100-proof Christianity whatwhat did the first Christians watch I know I know you got your own ministry and I know you got your business and I know you have your blog and your web your YouTube page and I know you have your your your your business and your job and your marriage and I know you have we have all these things that I know we have all these things that are they above what is priority the First Christian Church people devoted they gave their heart to four things above everything else teaching teaching fellowships sharing the life of Jesus together in fact the Bible says as we see the days approaching of the return of Christ we should do this all the more not missing Sunday not missing small groups not missing opportunities to build relationships they they gave their life to teaching they gave their life to gathering they gave their life to the sacrament and and food and remembering the sacrifice of Jesus above everything man the more I remember the sacrifice the more it humbles me the more makes my heart explode and love and gratitude for him they devoted themselves to prayer access quiet time turning off the TV and the radio coming together to get praying together they devoted themselves to these four things these were their highest priorities and it's with these four things the Apostles begin to lead this brand-new church and Christian discipleship where we don't see that and I know it did not last long because even this first church became the victim of what we have been the victim of watch flesh internal rifts and Fighting's people fighting for titles we will see later on new testament people getting drunk over communion fighting brothers and sisters and the rest of the New Testament will teach us how to work through problems to keep trying to get us back to that 100 proof Christianity my cried to you this morning is that you would wake up and that you would you would you would understand that this is not just about a service so much is it about a life we have in Jesus a time that's coming to an end a judgment that is ahead of us eternity that awaits us a mission has been given to us and that some of you will get so sick that you will start to vomit like I have vomit that that that 10% watered-down diluted garbage that you've been drinking from your popular preacher and that you would you would seek out wherever you can get it that that hundred proof Christianity had the more I keep taking it in the more it burns my soul towards transformation and change I want to be I want to be burned with truth I want to shed the tears of my Savior I want to look like him when I appear before him and that's my prayer for you that that you would you would you would thumb through social media you would hear things on the radio you would see things on TV you will listen to songs you would start thinking to yourself perverted perverted perverted perverted preferred it and you would just start searching and holding on to the truth as my brothers and sisters when it's all said and done this is the only thing that's gonna last this is the only thing that's gonna keep us in fact God says the concern is truth he exulted even above his own name we don't want 10 percent we want a hundred proof Christianity even when watch it hurts you for the sake of transforming you is what we want Alicia Alicia Alicia tagged me or somebody tagged me on a post you made on Facebook you what you were crying and ranting in your room shedding tears about what God has done in your heart since you got here and you said something so powerful you said man you said man pastor Phillip and those communicators man they preach the Word of God and you wept on that on that on that rant when you talked about how God has transformed your heart Alicia and you shed tears and I was in Orlando when I was when I was watching your video and with my wife at a restaurant and I wept with you on your video you are the fruit of my fight for our church how I trained our communicators how to talk to my staff and you are that you are the fruit of my fight in private that will be a church that teaches the truth we pray we fellowship we honor God's sacrifice we try to live out this new testament to the best of our bill far from perfect we are but we're striving to be a New Testament church like this acts 2:42 247 and I thank you for your testimony eleisha you are the fruit of my fight and you remind me that my labor is not in vain and maybe everybody won't have your testimony because they're here but they don't listen but you've been hearing and listening you bless me and you encourage me and what when I'm fighting for is not in vain and if I could just multiply you by by hundreds of people or thousands of people yeah then we can make more noise together and not be silent and cry out in this perverse and ungodly and perverted Christian culture that we need to return to biblical Christianity and the veneration of Almighty God and for that I will stand and fight for and be persecuted for as long as I have an eleisha to remind me that my labor is not in vain so holy father we thank you for this word I pray you would touch the hearts of your people now I pray you just give us a ferocious hunger help our hearts to be devoted to the word to teach him biblical teaching to fellowship sharing the life of Jesus together that will be devoted to the breaking of bread and the reminding of ourselves of the life of Christ the death of Christ and we will be devoted to prayer intimacy with you I pray that over these my brothers and sisters now and Jesus name I pray amen we truly hope this message resonated with you and encouraged you in Christ if this ministry has been a blessing to you please support the spread of the gospel by visiting us online and choosing the giving option that works best for you and again thanks for tuning in and we look forward

Channel: Victory Church

Views: 3,876

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Id: ZK-6q0LHGdU

Length: 56min 2sec (3362 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 17 2019