George Williams - Help I Have Fallen and Can't Get Up

[Music] that day doesn't come [Music] [Music] take control [Music] my [Music] just give me directions please [Music] please to be treasures that perfect likeness to wear [Music] lord from this moment [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] please [Music] won't you please forgive my voice [Music] me [Music] i finally made its home [Music] lord you know i find it made it home lord you know it's been a long long journey but i finally made it me [Music] lord [Music] i finally made it [Music] lord you know i [Music] me [Music] oh oh [Music] oh i have finally made oh lord you know lord you know this [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] have finally made it safely oh [Music] one thing i desired [Music] uh is now i thought about that but i don't know it is now time for our morning worship service we would ask that everyone would please come into the art of sanctuary it is now time for our morning worship service for those who are visiting we want to welcome you to the church that meets here at east side church of christ here in austin texas and for those of you who are online we thank you for joining in we realize that you could have been anywhere but you chose to be with us and for that we are eternally grateful let us lift our voices and give praises unto the master is that all right if god has been good to you why don't you smile and say amen say amen again amen i keep falling in love with him will i keep falling in love with him over and over and over and over again lord i keep falling in love with him over and over just over and over again will he get sweeter and sweeter as the day goes by oh what a love between the savior and i and keep him falling in love with him over and over and over and over again well he keeps cleansing me overlord over and over yes over and over again and he keeps cleansing me over and over and over lord over and over again will he get sweeter and sweet as the day goes by oh what i love between the savior and i i keep falling in love with him well over and over keeps blessing me overlord over and over yes over and over again and he keeps blessing me over and over and over and over and over again will he get sweeter and sweeter as the day goes by oh what a love between my savior and i keep falling in love with him over and over and over and over again good morning at this time let's go to our heavenly father in prayer our heavenly father who are in heaven we humbly come before your throne of grace and mercy this morning to thank you for the gifts of another day a day that wasn't promised to us and so we thank you for blessing us with peace and safety throughout the night and for allowing us to awaken and to arise and to go about our day and be able to function as we normally do merciful god we thank you for the safe passage to our place of worship this morning and we pray for the safety of those who are still on their way our heavenly father this lord today we have come off the battlefield for a rest to gather together in corporate worship with our brothers and sisters in christ we have come together to glorify you father and in to enjoy fellowship praying giving and to hear another portion of your holy word being preached for our edification and for the refreshing of our spirit and the strengthening of our faith heavenly father we pray that you will help us to put away our earthly distractions and concerns and focus all our attention on the worship service today so that all that we do here will be pleasing and acceptable in your sight this we pray in the name of jesus christ and the church of christ said amen y'all feeling all right amen let's see if we can take us back just a little bit because we love the lord we're going to sing the first chorus twice sing sing come on and sing sing come on bass sing sing come on and sing sing a big we love the lord come on base where you know we're gonna sing sing come on and sing sing sing sing come on and sing sing because we love the lord everybody we're gonna sing sing praise is gonna sing sing praise was gonna sing sing praise come on and sing sing praises because we love the lord where you know we are about come on and bow we'll be on the bow we're gonna bow because we love the lord where you know lift your hands in [Music] everybody we ought to shout be happy we're gonna shout come on and shout we're gonna shout [Music] because we love the lord will you know we ought to praise you we're going to praise come on in praise come on in praise and become [Music] we're going to shout in the praise you become we love the lord where you know because we love the lord amen [Applause] as we get ready for prayer let's focus our minds on the worship this morning and get ready for the preacher let's bring the preacher up and let's get the spirit moving in this place is that all right we're going to sing a song it's just a little different but it's very easy to follow it's just a couple songs mixed together here is that all right hi sir to you everything i give to you [Music] withholding nothing withholding nothing [Music] withholding nothing withholding nothing i saw to you [Music] everything i give to you [Music] withholding nothing [Music] withholding nothing withhold nothing lord withholding nothing i give myself away i give myself away so you can use me i give myself away i give myself away so you can use me and we all i want is you come on and all i want is you you you you one more time and all i want is you you you you [Music] and we say yes yes yes lord yes and we say yes yes yes lord yes i give myself away i give myself away so you can use me i give myself way away i give myself away so you can use me if you all please would stand with me as we go to our heavenly father in prayer let us pray dear heavenly father first of all we come to you thanking you for for who you are dear god we thank you for bringing us here and giving us this opportunity to worship you in spirit and in truth we can't thank you enough to god you've brought us to see another week and that was not the case for many people to god today we pray that we never take the many blessings you give us for granted we thank you for the measure of health that each of us have today we thank you so much for our families we thank you for more than anything for giving us your son from heaven to come down and die for us dear god just just so we could have the choice to to follow him to believe in him and you god we know that we are like filthy rags in your eyes but yet you still sent heaven's best to god we we come to you because we know we have members of the body and people who have experienced death close in their family we pray for them and what they are going through we understand that although we may have experienced death in our own lives we never truly know what each individual is experiencing but we can be confident and and assured that jesus knows and that with time and prayer dear god we can we can just continue on we are ever mindful that when death comes that we are just here temporarily this is not a permanent existence and that we have a charge here to do while you give us breath to share our life story and how christ has touched us that's all we have to do dear god there are people that are hurting and we have the answer and there are people looking and we just need to take a moment out of our lives out of ourself and whatever circle that you have put us in that we just look at that individual as a soul first and foremost someone that's been created by you that is created in your very image regardless of their background and who they are we pray that we take off our physical eyes and use our spiritual eyes to to share what jesus has been in our life so thankful that we don't have to memorize your word and be on call for scripture and verse but if we can just share what jesus has done and we're sincere about that people want to know more and they can they can look it up as well but we have to take that step because we are your your voice as far as a physical vessel dear god you're not going to do that part for us you've told us that is our part and regardless of how bad our life may be or how tough things may be going on and we each have situations we each have a cross to bear we know that as long as we're living there's going to be drama so there's really no time of convenience if we're looking at waiting for that to reach somebody that may be the only opportunity that we have with that person dear god we pray that we live our lives in a way that people want to hear from us about you thankful that we don't have to be perfect but we do need to try and we do need to get up and and if we've fallen and know that we don't need to listen to satan who is an accuser who is a liar we just need to listen to you dear god listen to your son jesus our shepherd to know his voice to heed his call you know but to know his voice through god we got to know the word so there are things that we can do daily and this is it's not like a task to god but it is in our best interest to get into your word to handle and deal with all that's going on right now uh dear god we need to be the ones as members of your body to be excited not in a false sense through god but i have a sense of peace that passeth all understanding to where people want to know what is it that's that has you in this place to where you can still function with all that's going on when things are falling apart we have to be that peculiar people do god to where the world is peaked because there's so many things so many distractions um social distractions technology that has their attention and there's going to have to be something peculiar to to make them look away and we pray that we're that people dear god you have told us we are and we pray that we just let go of tomorrow we are here now and we just pray that we get ourselves back on track this is something that has to be done daily every day uh just because we get off course but thank you dear god for for your grace and your mercy and satan may try and talk to us and tell us we're not this we're not fat but our shepherd as your as the sheep dear god we we hear the shepherd's voice and that's all we should follow dear god we pray that our minister will come and we just thank you so much for his spirit we thank you for his preparation for for his life for placing the placing him here with us for all these years did god where he could have been anywhere else and could have been welcomed anywhere else but he's here and we're thankful for for him we're thankful for all that he does and just wanting to share a little of your word that it will help us in this walk and that we can go in this race with confidence to have a renewed spirit after seeing each other in the midst here and and and know that each and every one of us are are trying to walk the same path to god and just encourage each other we pray that we are edifiers of each other and that we look highly upon others through god and because you never know where people are mentally and where they are and and if we can help them in any way and just give them hope and encourage their faith then so be it because it'll be our time to need to be encouraged and to be built up dear god we just we thank you for the brotherhood brother brotherhood here all the members all the servants those who are doing their part those uh who who want to do better dear god those who have tuned in online those who are here in person we all want better and we want to worship you in spirit and in truth dear god you know our hearts we know that there is a lot of work to be done we know that we need to be busy with the things of this life but we need to always be mindful that our purpose is to seek first your kingdom and to share god's word and at the end of the day if he blesses to see it we can lay down and rest and turn over everything that may be on our hearts and minds to you and if you bless us to see another day we do it all over again until you call us home dear god bless bless those who are hurting physically who are struggling financially who are struggling on the jobs who are looking for employment relationships that may have issues parents and children grandparents aunts uncles every wonder god friends we pray that we mend our relationships while while we have breath to not live with regret dear god we just pray that we do our part continue to guide us and bless us in yours name we do pray amen let the church say amen certainly want to thank their brother for lifting us up in prayer let's lift our voices as we get ready for the speaker to come heaven's on the other side do i have any bass in the house raise your hand do i have any bass any bass any bass okay bass how about sopranos any sopranos or how about altos any tenors all right all right let's see if we can do this base have friends on the uh the side or have friends on the uh the side of have runs on the other side of heaven's on the other side and i will make it i will make it soprano heavy friends on the uh the side and heavens on soprano come on other side heaven's on come on the side of heaven's on the [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] where you know heaven is on the other side oh lord heaven's on it's on the other side [Music] come on church [Music] [Music] it's on the other side church if we work real hard we'll make it on in come on y'all well i heard the gospel i believe come on y'all what you doing it's on the other side and lord heavens on the other side in heaven's on the other side where you know how i'm gonna make it on it friends on the other side where you know that heaven's on the other side come on y'all heaven's on the other side oh lord heavens on the other side heaven on the other side where you know i sing it like your minion now sing it like you mean it heavens on the other side sing a jaw heaven well i heard the gospel i believe it's saint repented of my sin confess his holy name i went down in the water and washed my sins and ever since that day i'm trying to make it on and i said i oh i lord will make it on in come on church sing heaven [Music] is on the other side [Music] it's on the other side [Music] church if we were hard we'll make it on in one more time y'all the other side we're in one of these old man then it won't be long you're gonna look for me and i'll be gone back home gone to that place there's joy on every hand i'm going to that place that's not made by man i said oh our lord will make it on in the other come on church sing heaven on the other side uh [Music] [Music] amen we appreciate brother brother walker it was our first time hearing him lead us in songs and we appreciate he's going to get used to us and we're going to get used to him but he did a wonderful job amen god bless you my brother and uh certainly we want to thank brothers the brothers who led us in prayer brother loving did a wonderful job and brother booker the brothers just led us in such a a very spiritual manner and uh i'm appreciative and i know that the whole church is appreciative of how we have been led before the throne of god this morning in worship to the lord and lord god of heaven and earth i want to encourage you now to please lift your voices and repeat after me o israel trust in the lord he is their help and their shield o house of aaron trusts in the lord he is their help and their shield you who fear the lord trust in the lord he is their help and their shield now we're going to do it this time and we're going to do it like we mean it but instead of saying aaron and this is where we're going to say east side amen all right here we go oh east side trust in the lord he is our help and our shield oh house of oh east side trust in the lord he is our help and our shield you who fear the lord trust in the lord he is our help and our shield amen amen that's psalm 115 verses 9 10 and 11. uh i just thought it'd be good for us to put our name in there because we are being called upon to trust in the lord and what a wonderful joy it is to know that the lord is our help not only is he our help but he is our shield thank god for having him as our god who helps us in this world but not only helps us in this world but think about all of the things that god has protected us from that we don't even know he has protected us from and so we have dangers around us all the time and we're not cognizant of those things but god has protected us and so he has helped us in our times of need and so we thank god for all that he has done and all that he is doing if you're happy to be here this morning say amen amen god is good not some of the time but all the time and all the time god is good if you're visiting with us we want to take a moment to recognize you if you're not a member of the church of christ here at east side we'd like to ask you to please stand so that we might recognize you if you're not a member of the church of christ at east side please stand we just want to say thank you for coming we just want to recognize you if you will amen god bless you all wonderful wonderful indeed we have several who are visiting with us this morning we want you to know that you are indeed our honored guest and we thank you for coming we thank you for being a part of this worship assembly and we trust that you know that you are among friends and not enemies and even though we're in a covert 19 situation where we're trying not to to get in each other's space i know that but i trust and pray that you'll at least give us a chance to get close enough to you to say hello and welcome you i i think a lot of us have had our shots and we're trying to do what we need to do to protect ourselves i still want to encourage those of you who have not had them i still want to encourage you to pray about it think about it and i trust that you'll come to a point that you'll do it not just for you but for others as well and with god's help we're going to make it through this pandemic amen and and we're we're we're planning to stay open uh we're not planning to shut down again if 10 folks show up then the 10 of us will worship the lord amen that's what we're going to do so and we understand that there are a lot of people who are not comfortable and we're not judging them by any means we're praying for everybody because only god is in a position to judge and so we are not judging we want those who are looking at us this morning our members at east side we love you we want you to know that we're not in judgment on you we're just praying for you as well that god would bless you to be able to get your shots and be able to come back and be with us and we're praying that this pandemic will pass so that one day all of us together will be back together and i'm praying that it'll happen i know i know we want it to happen right now but i'm certainly praying that it will happen by the time we go back into our building amen what a joy that's going to be well the hallelujah day there will be when we go back into our building we'll have a celebration and all of us to be together and that's what i'm looking forward to and i pray that you are as well and if you are not a member of the church of christ and you are veering on this television broadcast this morning we appreciate you for tuning in as well we want you to know that you are indeed our honored guest we appreciate you for supporting us and praying for us and and for the love that you've shown to us and we appreciate that we want you to know we love you in return now if you have your bibles please hold your bibles up and just let us see them if you and a lot of us will use our electronic devices it's always good to see the bible the word of god it's always good to see that the church is still carrying the sword amen don't put the sword up because we're in a battle if you would open your bibles to galatians chapter 6 galatians chapter 6. galatians chapter 6 and verse number one galatians chapter 6 and the verse is one if you have it say amen i'm reading from the new king james translation galatians chapter 6 and verse number one the bible says brethren if a man is overtaken in any trespass you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness considering yourself lest you also be tempted now i want you to underscore certain words as we study this passage the bible says brethren if a man is overtaken underscore that verb overtaken in any trespass you who are spiritual underscore spiritual restore understood underscore restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness underscore gentleness considering yourself underscore considering yourself lest you also be tempted you say brother williams that's almost everything well underscore the whole verse it's all good amen it's all good uh this one i want to talk on the subject help i have fallen and can't get up help i have fallen and can't get up how many of you have seen that commercial amen all of us i'm sure have seen that commercial about the lifeline medical alert commercial and you have the older the person who falls and sometimes it's a man sometimes it's a woman and that individual is saying help i have fallen and i can't get up and then you have of course the commercial showing us that the benefit of having the alert system on the person so that when and if that were to occur that person would have aid immediately coming their direction i remember that when my mother was alive we we had to give her one of those because on more than one occasion she fell and couldn't get up and so i am very much familiar with how it works we are very much familiar and many of you perhaps have had to do the same thing the system is designed primarily to help those who live alone and are prone to falling to get help as soon as possible after they fall now i want you to think with me because i make an application to this text these medical alert devices are so technologically advanced that they even have the capability of detecting when a person falls without them pressing the button they have something that can do that if you fall and you're not even capable of pressing the button because you're injured in the process they can detect that you have fallen and they will alert the system just because you're fallen and and i as i was reading on this i also learned that that these systems are so sophisticated that they can even detect an intruder and then they have some that can detect smoke fire and even carbon monoxide so the sophistication is there the technology is there and some of them they can do all of that and others of course don't have that capacity they just notify the system when you're falling but the other thing i like about the system that that we're talking about is that it's monitored 24 7. 24 7 there is someone who is always on call monitoring that system and the goal is that if you were to fall to contact you in less than a minute and to immediately alert the medical experts so that they might dispatch them to your location because they understand that the sooner they get to you the more likely they are to help you and to aid you and to keep for the injury from transpiring you know i used to hear about people falling and of course when you're young you don't think about these things when you fall you get up you know i look at my grandchildren now they run and jump and fall and they just get up you know i don't even think about it and i said lord if i did that it'd have a whole lot of folk trying to help me up you know because we just we don't bounce up like that and so used to hear when people would fall and they you say they had a fall he said well that's not that big of a deal but but as i was doing my research what i discovered was that some serious damage can occur just from a simple fall from a person standing and that person falls the research says and this is medical medical journal a medical document that i was reading and that gave me this information and the information was simply this that a person can fall just from a standing position and and by doing that that person could break a bone that person could have a serious head injury or that person could have internal bleeding and all of those are very serious and can lead not only to immediate problems but can lead even to and so when i started thinking about that i started thinking about how serious it is for an individual to have a physical fall and i started thinking about how serious it is for a person to have a spiritual fall and how urgent it is for those of us who are supposed to be on call to inherently get to the person who has fallen into some spiritual entrapment that they cannot extricate themselves from on their own power and i thought about if the world has sense enough to know that when a person falls that they need immediate help and immediate attention then surely those of us in christ ought to recognize that when our brothers and sisters fall we too or they immediately try to rush to their aid to rescue them because if we don't they might be destroyed by the sin that they are entangled in and the longer they stay in their condition the greater the damage he is and so church i wish that we lived in a utopian world where sin did not exist can somebody say amen with me i i don't know about you but i would to god that once we were baptized into christ we never had to worry about sin or sin and ever again i would to god that once we became a christian it would be absolutely impossible for us to sin and we would be immune to sin i would to god that after becoming a christian we would never encounter i have to contend whether with the flesh ever again and i would to god that after becoming a christian we would never have to be bothered by the devil ever again but brothers and sisters you and i both know that that's a pipe dream we all know that that's not reality we all know that in the real world after becoming a christian we still have to contend with the flesh in the real world even after becoming a child of god we still have to deal with temptation in the real world even after becoming a child of god we still have to deal with sin and we still have to deal with the devil has anyone struggled since you've been in christ with the flesh has anyone struggled since you've been in christ with sin has anyone struggled since you've been in christ with temptation and has anyone struggled since you've been in christ with the devil and if you tell me you haven't then i know something is wrong amen i know either you were not converted or you're lying say amen if you can because if you live in this world the devil is coming at it and you need to understand watch this now when we become a child of god we are not immune to sin we are not immune to temptation and we are not immune to the devil in fact when we obey god's word we put our targets on our backs and not only do we have a target on our backs we have one on our sides and we have one on the front of us every direction we can think the devil is going to come why because the devil has been alerted then that one has left his kingdom that has come into the kingdom of god and that roaring lion is awakened and the devil immediately gets on our trail seeking to devour and to destroy us that is the nature of christianity that is the real world in which we live all of us need to know that when we try to do right when we decide that we're going to live for god and that we're going to serve god that the devil is going to try to disrupt our relationship and destroy our relationship with god that is his job and i believe that this is clearly seen in the life of christ the bible tells us that immediately after jesus was baptized he had to deal with the devil he had to deal with temptation and he had to deal with the flesh listen if you will to matthew chapter 3 verses 16 through chapter 4 verse number 1. and i'm going to be reading this from the niv immediately after jesus was baptized he was thrown into the lion's den listen to the bible if you will matthew chapter 3 verses 16 through chapter 4 verse 1 the nrv the bible says as soon as jesus was baptized he went up out of the water and at that moment heaven was opened and he saw the spirit of god descended like a dove and lighting on him but the voice from heaven said this is my son whom i love with him i am well pleased chapter 4 verse 1 then jesus was led by the spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil now i want us to look at this and i want to study some things briefly if you don't mind look at luke's gospel because luke's gospel's gospel gives us a little different nuance on this if you will look at luke chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 part a and i want to read the new american standard updated version on this text because there is a an important nuance that you need to grab in order to understand what god is going to do with what happens to jesus all right now stay with me because i got to teach a little bit here the bible says in luke chapter 4 verse 1 through 2 part a new american standard updated version jesus full of the holy spirit returned from the jordan now watch this now and was led around by the spirit in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by the devil now did you notice how luke says in this translation which is the essence and the meaning of the greek that he was led around in the wilderness by the holy spirit now that's going to be important because there was somebody else that was led around in the wilderness by god for 40 years now stay with me i want you to see this now matthew's gospel does not make the extent of the temptation of jesus as clear as luke's gospel does it appears when you read matthew's gospel that after jesus had been in the wilderness for 40 days fasting and praying that then on the 40th day the devil shows up and he tempts jesus at his weakest moment and his moment of greatest need but i want you to understand that that's not actually what matthew is trying to tell us well one of the things we need to understand about what matthew is trying to convey to us is simply this that one of the devil's tactics and strategies as he attacks us is to attack us at our weakest moments when we are at our greatest point of vulnerability he looks for us when we are already hurt and wounded and down and out and here he comes to seal the deal and you need to understand that when you're really being attacked and when you're really being beat up by life you need to understand that the devil is involved and not only is the devil involved but it won't be long before he moves in for the keel so be careful when you're down be careful when you when you find yourself depressed and alone be careful when you can't find any happiness and joy in life and everything you think about is negative that everything that's going on in your life is negative because the devil is about to swoop in for the keel and so that's one of the points that matthew wants to drive home but nevertheless when we read luke's gospel luke's make luke makes it absolutely clear that jesus was not just tempted on the 40th day but that jesus was tempted 40 days by the devil the whole while he was in the wilderness so it wasn't a matter of him being there for 40 days and then the devil shows up no the moment he came out of the waters and went into the wilderness the devil got on his trail and for 40 days he hounded jesus and he tempted jesus now stay with me church did you notice the sequence jesus is baptized the holy spirit spirit comes upon him the father acknowledges him as his divine son and immediately after that happens he is led into the wilderness by the spirit of god and is tempted by the devil for 40 days now stay with me because the reason that this sequence exists and the reason that it's arranged in scripture like this is that god is trying to convey two thoughts to us number one there is a theological thought that god is trying to convey and secondly there is a practical thought that god is trying to convey i want to look at both of those briefly theologically speaking stay with me theologically speaking god is speaking and contrasting jesus with adam and jesus with israel both adam and israel are referred to in scripture as son of god or the son of god now stay with me if you will because i'm trying to show you how god has arranged this thing so you can see this theologically adam is god's son by creation and israel is god son by divine election so you have adam number one god signed by creation and then we have the son of god israel by create they are god's son by divine election and when you look at luke's account of the baptism i don't know if you've ever seen this but it's very important and very critical when you look at luke's account of the baptism of jesus unlike matthew's account matthew's gospel goes immediately into the temptation of jesus in the wilderness but when you read luke's account in luke chapter 3 there is after after jesus is baptized luke interjects the genealogy of jesus christ before he gets to the wilderness temptation now stay with me i'm trying to show you something when jesus is baptized matthew says he goes immediately into the wilderness to be tempted but in luke's gospel he interjects the genealogy of jesus now watch this now when you read matthew's genealogy he starts with abraham and comes forward to the birth of jesus but when you read luke's account what he does is goes backwards amen and goes back to adam and so one goes forward and one goes backwards well why does luke choose to go back because he's got to contrast the two atoms he's going to contrast the two that are called sons of god let me show you let me show you listen watch now pay close attention to how luke's genealogy ends he says in luke chapter 3 verses 37 and 38 get it now i want you to follow this luke chapter 3 turn there if you will when you get it say amen all right because we're trying to see the theological reason that god is doing what he's doing the bible says in luke chapter 3 verse 37 and 38 the son of methuselah the son of enoch the son of jared the son of mahalia the son of canaan the son of enosh the son of seth the son of adam and who is adam the son of god luke's genealogy ends by referring to adam as the son of god and then in luke chapter four and verse number one luke returns to the subject of jesus baptism you remember what god said about jesus when he came up out of the water this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased so now we have the son of god by eternity and we have the son of god by creation but watch this now what is luke trying to show us he returns and he says then jesus being full with the holy spirit are filled with the holy spirit returned from the jordan and was led by the spirit into the wilderness being tempted for 40 days by the devil there is a deliberate theological contrast between adam the son of god by creation and the second adam jesus christ who is the eternal god son of god incarnate in this world here is the contrast both men as son of god met the same enemy the devil watch this now adam the son of god by creation met the devil but he lost the battle are y'all with me and plunged humanity into sin into darkness and to death and into death but jesus the incarnate eternal son of god met that same devil in the same flesh that adam met him with faced the same temptations the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life but instead of the son of god by eternity failing the test he won the test but but here's what you got to see here's what you got to see because somebody's going to say yes yes but he was the son of god and he used his divine powers no he did not the only thing that jesus used to defeat the devil was the word of god every time the devil came to me said it is written it is written it is written and what is god trying to show us god is trying to show us that if jesus did it we can do it because we have the same access to the same power that he had are y'all with me church and so the second adam jesus christ the son of god from eternity he came and he did what adam could not do adam got us into trouble but adam number two got us out of trouble oh y'all with me yeah adam number one messed up but adam number two got us up oh hallelujah are y'all with me see what i'm trying to show you is that god says i want you to see the theological message before you see the practical message now now here's the other part of it watch this now another theological aspect to jesus's baptism and the wilderness temptation is seen in the notion that god refers to israel as his son hosea chapter 11 and verse number one he calls israel his son he said i've called my son israel out of egypt and then in exodus chapter 4 and verse number 23 moses was instructed by god that when you go to pharaoh you tell pharaoh this message but the lord said let my son israel go and so you need to understand that god saw israel as his son also now watch the theological connection what happened here israel is god's son by election but jesus is god's son by nature in other words he is god in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god and the word was made flesh john 1 14 and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth but watch the theological connection here what happened with israel god's son by election came out of egypt do you remember the conce the sequence when moses led them out of egypt they went through the red sea now watch this now when they went through the red sea paul says in first corinthians chapter 10 and verse number one they were baptized unto moses in other words that was a type of baptism so they came out of egypt and went through the red sea and into the wilderness and in the wilderness they were tempted they were tested and they were tried and guess what happened in the wilderness as they were tested and tempted and tried they kept failing over and over and over to the point that god killed many of them and they did not make it to the promised land in fact they ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years because they would not trust and obey god that's what the son of god by election did but now watch the son of god who is incarnate and has been the son of god and is the son of god from eternity when he was baptized he went immediately into the wilderness just like israel did and what happened to him he was tempted he was tested and he was tried but every time he was tempted and tested and tried he trusted in his father to protect him and to provide for him and god is trying to tell us that we can do the same thing that jesus did because jesus walked in the same flesh that we are walking in now i think some of us sometimes think that jesus christ was some kind of kind of you know different from a human being than we are no sir he was god and he was man i know that's hard for us to to reconcile in our minds but you need to understand that we're dealing with god and not man and so he was 100 mad and he was 100 god and when he faced temptation listen now he faced it and he felt the same stuff that we feel when we are tempted i don't i don't think we understand that you don't think jesus was tempted by women he was a man oh not the lord you ain't read your bible you don't think that jesus was god upset yes he did in fact i'm going to show you in john chapter 8. i think jesus was so upset he just said i can't say nothing right now you know i just need to hold my peace i'll deal with it but i need to shut up right now you see because sometimes folks be testing you to say the wrong stuff it's hard for us to fathom that jesus was in this same stuff that we're in but he was that's why the bible says we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but he was like us tempted in every area of temptation but he never sinned when israel got on the other side of the red sea they failed the test they failed to obey god but jesus christ obeyed him what is god trying to tell us jesus reverses what both adam and israel did and by his trust his faithfulness he serves as a paradigm for us so that when we come to our water to out of our waters of baptism and we face the trials and the difficulties and the temptations that this world will confront us with we can win just like jesus did by depending on the word of god and by depending on god and by trusting him that he would provide and protect for us provide for us and protect us but on the other side there is a practical side to this whole idea of jesus being baptized and then going into the wilderness what is that the sequence is not by accident but by design baptism and then the wilderness of temptation because jesus wants us to know god wants us to know that when you are baptized in obedience to christ you can expect the devil to immediately show up amen but let me warn you now let me warn you that the devil never shows up looking like the devil amen you see see we have this idea of what the devil is going to look like see when you obey the gospel and you decide that it's time for me to live for christ sometimes the devil shows up in the in the form of a job promotion say now you just got baptized you just got baptized you need to be in bible class you need to be in worship but but but brother williams i i can make 300 more dollars a week but i got to work on sundays and i can't come to worship and i don't have time i don't have time for bible study i don't have time for all of that i want you to know that's the devil amen he shows up in the form of old friends that you haven't seen for years all of a sudden they just show up and their intentions are no good he shows up in the form of an old flame that died out a long time ago but all of a sudden they show up and they want to rekindle the fires he shows up in family members who criticize your decision to follow christ he shows up in the areas of your weaknesses he knows what your spiritual kryptonite is if you have issues with anger he keeps you in situations where your temp your temperament is tested if you have issues with lust he will inundate you with provocative images and people who are always trying to lead you astray amen oh he's going to look just right to you he gonna have on his own your favorite cologne oh brother she's gonna fix her hair just right for you and she's gonna smell mighty pretty and smile just right but you better know that's the devil see it man if you can if you have issues with worry he will keep you and keep enough uncertainty in your life to stir up worry if you have issues with discouragement he will keep negative people around you that will discourage you and every step of the way the devil knows what your issues are because he's had a lifetime to study you lord have mercy and guess what you get to the point when you're baptized into christ that you understand that temptations and sin are still a reality that they don't really go away they don't magically disappear in fact they are magnified because you're trying to live a different life and here's the reality that we must admit listen to me carefully no matter who we are no one is above and beyond the possibility of getting ensnared by sin but let me say it this way just in case you didn't understand it no one in the church is perfect amen now now you know i um i heard this story and the preacher was up saying there's nobody perfect in the world jesus was the only perfect man to ever live and then he challenged the order he said do you do you know anybody perfect have you ever heard of a perfect man other than jesus and a man sitting away in the back of the auditorium raised his hand says yes i know one and he the preacher was kind of stunned because he never heard anybody say he knew a perfect man and he said well sir well who is this perfect man that you know of he says my wife's ex-husband i don't think you got that did you get that he's living with a woman that keeps on telling her how wonderful her husband before him was but but but but see the strange thing is he ain't with her no more [Laughter] lord help us what i'm trying to tell you is that there are no perfect people in the world listen to me everyone in the church everyone in the church preachers elders deacons bible school teachers parents husbands wives children can all be overtaken by sin and brothers and sisters listen to me you are not above sin your preacher is not above sin your elders are not above sin no one in this brotherhood is above sin in 38 years of ministry i have heard and seen some of everything and i'm not talking about here at eastside i'm talking about i've heard and seen things all over this brotherhood i know preachers who have gotten caught up in drugs and alcohol and gambling and adultery i know i'm not talking about what i heard i know this i know of elders and deacons who've done the same thing i know i know of men who are over the lord's money who have stolen the money i have witnessed marriages fall apart because of infidelity i have known of christians who have issues with substance abuse with alcoholism with drugs i know of that and i'm not talking about all of this stuff happening at east side i'm just simply saying it happens in the church of christ period you name it i have witnessed it or been informed by others in the brotherhood about it that's the reason that god gives us instructions in his word about how to restore the fallen you see what some of us do is we write folk off well you know if he's a man of god and he was standing strong and he falls into something he was a man of god he was an elder he was a preacher he was a deacon a bible school teacher that he falls in or she falls in as a teacher into to some sin then what we want to do is write them off we want to say well see they were fooling us all along they've been hypocritical all along and we don't want to have anything else to do with them and that's the exact opposite of what the bible tells us stay with me church we know that all of us can be ensnared in sin and some of us can get so deep in sin that we cannot get out by ourselves and you might say well i don't understand that brother williams it seems like to me if a person has a mindset to get out they ought to be able to get out it seems like to me they ought to be able to do what the prodigal son did he was caught up in that hog pin but he got himself up well if that is the case why is galatians 6 1 in the bible god put it in there because he knew that there could be times when a person could get so steeped in sin that they couldn't find themselves a way out listen to galatians 6 and verse number 1. we're going to study this and i'm going to let you see it are you there all right let's follow it brethren if a man is overtaken now the niv the english standard version and the american standard version all say caught in any trespass you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness considering yourself lest you also be tempted now the verb caught or overtaken bono is critical the scholars debate its meaning uh some greek scholars will say that what it means is that the person is caught off guard and surprised by sin and entrapped by sin and then there is another group that would say that when he says overtaken or caught in sin is that the person is involved in this sin and thinks that he or she has concealed the sin and that they are discovered in the sin in other words i got you i caught you but most scholars would agree that that's not the sense of the verb most scholars would agree that it's not talking about someone getting discovered in sin but someone who has been ensnared in sin and captured by sid and in the grips of sin and can i get out of the sin all right let me give you an example how many of you like to watch wildlife shows any of you okay you know i like wildlife i learn a lot from watching wildlife and and one of the things that i'm going to illustrate what this means let me illustrate this and one of the things that i i really hate is when when the land animals the willow bees or antelope is going up to the water and he's drinking water just for survival i got a drink because i'm gonna die of thirst if i don't drink but lurking right beneath the surface is that crocodile right right beneath that surface is that alligator and while that that antelope or that wildebeest or that land animal is drinking the water for survival all of a sudden he lunches out and he grabs him and he pulls him into it and he cannot get out that's the image of a person who's not seeking necessarily to get involved in sin that person is not looking for sin but they end up in a situation and in circumstances that they find themselves wrapped up and involved in sin and they cannot get themselves out of it now before you get all holier than thou and start passing judgment on your brothers and sisters let me just ask you how many times have you been caught off guard by something that you were not anticipating not looking for not expecting and in the heat of the moment you did something or said something that you regret so it's not always about necessarily that you've done something just so atrocious you know sometimes somebody catch you off guard and you might say something off colored oh i didn't mean to say it but it came out your mouth or you did something that you had no business doing oh i didn't mean to do it but it you did it so none of us can point the finger at anybody else and say i've never been there you may not have been in the same predicament and caught in the same sin but we've all done some stuff that we were not intending to do and we were in it before we knew it and we regret it after the fact amen what are you talking about brother what you've done don't worry about all of that i've done the same stuff you've done sinned amen all right just stay with me stay with me stay with me in this case paul is envisioning a brother who is entangled ensnared and entrapped in sin whatever the sin is it has him in his grip and he's not strong enough to get out on his own and brothers and sisters sometimes these individuals watch this now are not out there in the world running the streets sometimes these individuals are here every sunday sometimes these individuals are in worship every sunday and they would not miss a worship day worshiping the lord they read their bibles they pray they do all of that but they are caught up in sin and they want to get out but they cannot seem to get out it may be drugs illegal or legal it may be alcohol you know you started with one social dream well you know i'm just gonna have a little wine to chill at night and before that you know it that one glass of wine that you thought would just be a little wine to chill out has become alcoholism or maybe you're caught up in pornography you know i'm just going to look a little bit just one time i'm not going to stay long i'm not going to linger along but that one looks becomes two and three and four and five and before you know it your calling back is calling for you every day and you want to get out but you don't know how maybe online gambling it's destroying your family and ruining you financially but you can't let it go it may be anger and rage that's out of control that's hurting your family it may be an affair that you are never intended to get into but now you're hitting it and you're trying to figure out how can i get out of this unscathed how can i get out of this without destroying my family and you recognize that you can't get out unscathed the point is that there are any number of sins that a brother or sister can get caught up in and they are saddened by their circumstances they are broken by their circumstances they are depressed by their situation but they don't know how to get out they are full of guilt they are full of shame and they are struggling with whether or not they should just give up on god give up on the church give up on all of it because i don't want to be a hypocrite you may say well why don't they come to the brothers and sisters in christ and and ask them for help let me try that again why don't they just come and say brother says i need some help i'm called up in you know why they don't do it because they're too afraid to do it what are they afraid of they're afraid that they'll be judged harshly be afraid that they'll be shamed they're afraid that they'll be condemned instead of embraced with love and grace and mercy and forgiveness and restoration church is unfortunate and i i'll just say that's unfortunate there are some people that rather go to a.a n.a and all of these worldly organizations and talk about their struggles than they ever come before the church that's sad that's why i'm trying to change it i'm trying to change it because we ought to be to the church what a a is to the world we ought to be to the church what ena is to the world they ought to find love and acceptance and forgiveness and restoration in the church but it's unfortunate but true but there are some members of the lord's church who relish gloating in the failures of others and especially if they are in leadership in any way oh lord i knew it there are some people in the lord's church who sin listen carefully is gossiping oh i'm going to say it just stay with me amen see i know i'm in the house right now and my time is almost hot but i'm going to finish this amen watch this now watch this now see see some people love to gossip they love to spread the good news of your failures if they were as zeal full of zeal and spreading the gospel man the church would be full oh but when it's your business everybody gonna know your business but now let me tell you this says so you will know if you've got a gospel and problem you need to understand that gossip is a sin and guess what guess what guess what your sin gossiping is in that same list of sins that you hate [Music] the same listen see that you love to hate on gossip is in it lord have mercy oh well i'm about to tell this joke so bad i'm going to tell him you know i'm going to tell it anyhow you know anyway [Music] they had they had they had three three three preachers and i'm using preachers so y'all don't say you're picking on me i'm gonna put myself in here so three preachers out fishing and they say hey brother we gonna confess our sins to one another pray for one another because we need to do better they say all right that's good so one preacher said i'll go first he said well i'm gonna tell you i got a problem i i just love women i got a problem i'm trying to get over that problem pray for me because i do want to do right man brother say hell i'll pray for you another preacher said well i got a problem with with wine i just love wine and i'm trying to get over that stuff and i'm just trying my best to to let it go because i know god is not pleased and the other preacher that said that he said word they looked at me and said what's your problem he said i don't know i don't want to tell you he said what's your problem everybody didn't confess he said well i got a problem with gossip [Laughter] he said i can't i can't keep nothing to myself you know they were tempted to leave him out there lord have mercy well listen listen here's my point here's my point here's my point some people you you think your sin is not that that's sinful because it's not the big sins but sin is sin listen to paul in romans chapter 1 verse 26 to 32 i'm going to read this from the niv but i'm going to read it i want you to hear what he says because some of you lord have mercy you didn't realize that you were in this list paul said because of this god gave them over to shameful lusts even that women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones in the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves a due penalty for their perversion verse 28 furthermore since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of god he gave them over to a depraved mind to do what ought not to be done they have become filled with every kind of wickedness evil greed and depravity they are full of envy murder strife deceit and malice watch this now they are gossips slanderers god haters insolent arrogant and boastful they invent ways of doing evil they disobey their parents they are senseless faithless heartless ruthless although they know god write god's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death they not only continue to do the very things but also approve of those who practice them let me say this gossipers are listed with the likes of god haters the senseless the faithless the heartless and the ruthless so when you think i'm just i'm just i'm just talking a little bit that ain't that bad oh you need to read the list it is bad you know why it's bad because loose lips can destroy souls loose lips can destroy lives loose lips can drive people away from the body because you're talking us so much about what they did and everybody knows their business when they shouldn't that's why paul said that it takes a special kind of individual in christ to restore a brother or sister who has become entangled in sin let's finish the verse and the lesson will be yours go back to galatians chapter six verse one paul said you who are spiritual should restore him gently well the question naturally because who are the spiritual well you can't judge and tell nobody when they oh god says you can all you got to do is just investigate the fruit amen watch this who are the spiritual they are those who walk in step with the spirit galatians chapter 5 and verse number 16. they are the ones who are led by the spirit galatians 5 and verse number 18 and they are the ones who exhibit the fruit of the spirit in their lives galatians 5 22-23 watch this now but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control against such there is no law now i'm going to show you how these play a part in the restoration process when you see the fruit that serves as the evidence to the presence of the holy spirit in that person's life and they are part of the spiritual and notice the first fruit in galatians 5 22. the first fruit is what l-o-v-e did you see that you have no business trying to restore anyone if you don't have love in your heart for the one that you're trying to restore amen are you listening to me because one of the attributes of love according to first corinthians chapter 13 and verse number seven is that love bears all things now what you need to understand about that when paul says love bears all things he's not talking about in that text that it bears up under but it needs to cast a covering over amen let me let me help you to understand see let's listen brother hardeman brother harderman brother hardeman sees me and i'm always using me so i'm not trying to pick on anybody brother ottoman sees me come out over the liquor store with a fifth of whiskey but instead of brother ottoman getting on the phone and calling for the head and brother floyd and all of the other elders and say guess what i just saw brother george do he comes to me in secret and private and he says brother george this is between you and me i'm going to cast a tent over you and protect you not drag you out and expose you because i want this to stay between you and me see that's love love what love says that i don't want to expose you i want to protect you love says i see your problem i know your problem but together with god we will work through it do you remember what joseph did when mary was pregnant and he thought that she had cheated on him bible says he was mindful to put her away how privately he didn't want to make a public spectacle out of her you remember when when shem and j fed found their daddy noah naked and drunk the bible says they turned their backs and walked backwards and covered them up because they didn't want to look upon his shame and make him a an embarrassment out of him that's what love does love seeks to protect and not to expose see those hypocrites in john chapter 8 they didn't care nothing about that woman they didn't care nothing about her soul they didn't care nothing about her heart they didn't care nothing about her spirit nothing about her at all they were hypocrites to the core the only thing they wanted to do was try to destroy jesus christ and they took that poor woman that had been caught in the very act of adultery watch this now they dragged out this was a set-up from the beginning because the man wasn't there it was all a setup and they dragged her out of that that house she didn't she didn't get a chance to clean up and pretty up they dragged her up there as she was before that bible class and exposed this woman and said we caught her in adultery moses said she ought to die what do you say see jesus didn't say nothing excuse my grandma he didn't say anything because see sometimes folks are so hateful and mean and so hypocritical you could just cut them to pieces with your tongue if you wanted to because you know all of the dirt on them and rest assured jesus knew all of the dirt on them so jesus said best thing for me to do right now is be quiet just right try to get my thoughts together on this one not that i have to think about it but i just want to make sure i say it the right way all right and then while jesus was down there right and they thought they had him and here they go come on jesus tell us now moses said she ought to die what do you say oh jesus just sit up and say all right the one that is without sin cast the first stone and then he went on back down and started writing lord have mercy and the bible says now watch this i like this because the bible is very specific and the bible says from the oldest to the youngest they exited the building the old devil said we're going to get out of here first cause we know we got a lot of stuff and when jesus finished with all of that he said right then that woman was there and he said where are your accusers she said he says has no one accused he said no he says neither do i go and sin no more that's what god wants from us church he wants that kind of spirit in us and if we don't have that kind of spirit we have no business messing with anybody let me close because i'm way overdue paul said you who are spiritual restore him gently the verb restore is the greek word cartaso and it literally means to put in order to restore to its former condition it is used in the new testaments in reference to the mending of nets that have been torn and is also used in the medical profession to talk about the resetting of a dislocated arm or a fractured bone so what is the goal it is to bring the person back completely and restore him or her to their former spiritual wellness prior to their fall that's where you're trying to get them back i'm trying to put you back where you fell from oh no we can't do that that's your goal now again because this is a delicate matter when you talk about resetting bones and dealing with a fractured arm you got to be gentle you can't just grab it come here you got to be gentle with that arm because you'll do more damage than good if you're not gentle and so you have to have gentleness and that's also fruit of the spirit you have to have patience that's also a fruit of the spirit then he says but watch yourself or you may also be tempted here's what you need to understand paul said the one who restores the fallen also must practice vigilance self-examination and self-control which by the way is another fruit of the spirit this is a warning to those of us who are spiritual who are walking by the spirit being led by the spirit that we need to be careful because we too can be overcome by sin let me tell you this as i close here i don't care how spiritual you are you can get caught you don't have to be looking for sin it can still happen amen do you remember you remember david just walking on his roof david didn't say i guess i'm going to look i'm going to go look for something to get into no david is a man after god's own heart that he took a stroll at the wrong time and saw the wrong thing and he didn't handle it right but here's a man who got caught up in sin that he couldn't get out he couldn't get out i know that because the baby was born and and it takes nine months of gestation before a baby is brought but nine months at least he was caught up in that situation and then finally god said nathan to him told him a parable and nathan said i'm david oh that man needs to die and they say you're the man god had to send somebody to deal with him in order to get him out he wasn't seeking it but he got into it and peter bless his heart lord i'll never deny you lord i never deny lord i'll never deny you jesus said you will no i won't i'll die with you but that very night jesus i don't know peter said i don't know the man i don't know the man i don't know my name he got caught and when he said it and the rooster crowed jesus looked at him and he looked at peter peter looked at him and he went out crying there may be someone here this morning you want restoration restoration is in christ if you believe that jesus died for your sins that he was buried and that he rose again if you're willing to repent of your sins confess the name of jesus christ and be baptized in water for the remission of your sins the lord in heaven will add you to the church of christ you'll be a christian a child of god a member of the lord's one body i want to encourage you to do that most of the time people don't have a problem with believing that jesus died for their sins that he was bearing rose again the question was will you repent will you change will you say i'm i'm ready to live for the lord will you confess that you believe that jesus christ is god's son will you go down in the watery grave of baptism for the forgiveness of your sins and let the lord save you by his grace and his mercy for those of you who are in christ and you have sinned just know that there is forgiveness and restoration with the lord don't worry about what brothers and sisters might say your brothers and sisters don't have a heaven or hell to put you in but god does only concern yourself about what god has to say about the matter and what god has to say is my arms are open come home to me no matter how sinful no i don't how dirty you are i'm ready to embrace will you come back repenting and confessing and christ will forgive and restore will you come as we together stand and sing there's a fountain free tis for you and me let us haste though haze to its brains [Music] freely we come come [Music] to the fountain free will you come tears for you and me thirsty soul lord hear god's wealth here's welcome call tears are found wow let the church of christ at eastside say amen is it okay to say amen again we have had church today we always have church but sometimes it seems like it gets gooder and good wonderful singing brother walker appreciate you and for the way the church followed wonderful prayers we've had two excellent sermons brother booker did a prayer sermon that all right and if you paid attention to his prayer it was the prelude of things to come and i know they didn't they didn't even talk to each other today that just shows you how the spirit of god works ain't god good and i know i shouldn't say ain't but it just sounds like it's the right way to say i'm going to continue on with what i'm supposed to do because you're going to accuse me of doing a third sermon i already got brother mcgee looking at me i'm here i have the privilege of facilitating a special time prayer time we have take we're going to take the requests of those then we're going to have a moment that we go to our heavenly father in prayer i'm going to ask if you are able to stand to do so if not wave your head and one reason we do this is we have others who are some even write your name down so they can pray for you throughout the week if you for our prayers for it anyone who have sinned repented and requesting prayer okay i see something and let me do this i'm gonna i got so caught up i did fail to do one thing so we'll come back to the court to anyone who wants to be baptized this morning in christ would ask that you come down front and be received by one of our elders so anyone who wants to place membership with this church family you also can come down front thank you your feet me i got caught up but brother after brother william's sermon i know you will forgive me for being human so we've always asked i already asked for those who want prayer for forgiveness how about prayers for traveling you know when we're going to be traveling we have some that's going to be traveling how about medical issues procedures we have some for medical procedures how about family illness several for family illness prayers for family of those who have had loved ones who's passed away i want to pause here to inform the church that brother daryl shavers who recently moved back to dallas his mother has passed away and we asked that we continue to keep the shaver family in operators how about for job search or work concerns for relocating to another city or state okay for prayers for school for college prayers for our children you know they say that when they're small they lay in our laps when they're grown and gone they lay heavily on our hearts and that is so true i think i've gotten all the categories we've had several in each category so let us take this time to go to our heavenly father in prayer most kind and gracious heavenly father we have truly been blessed this morning starting with the fact that because of your love for us you gave us the gift of life you woke us up from our sleep and father we know this is a blessing because we know that somewhere in this city in this in this state and in this world there were others who went to sleep with plans for today but they did not receive the gift of life this morning we know this to be true but you seem fit because of your love your grace and your mercy to allow us this great privilege and opportunity to come and worship you in spirit and entry we always approach your divine throne of grace with an attitude of gratitude whether we come on behalf of those who have stood or raised their hands for special prayer requests and fathers we all stand in the need of prayer that we're going to recognize those at this time father we pray for those who admit admittedly have sinned repented and asking for forgiveness father we're so thankful for the wonderful gift of forgiveness for if there was no forgiveness we would all be in a pitiful state thank you father we just pray that you will build them up strengthen them and they they be able to continue to walk this christian walk and father to help others as they'll walk in this walk father we pray for those who will be traveling to dangerous highways skyways we just ask that you have a shield of protection your children we know that you're more than able whether we come on behalf of those who are dealing with medical issues concerns we just ask father that you will provide the necessary procedures be with those who are administering the procedures and treatment give them the wisdom if it be your will or father we ask that there'll be complete healing or at least father give them the strength and the necessary that they can rise out of the bed of affliction be able to return to the household of faith father we ask that you do this according to your will well they're asking that you be with any families that are dealing with illness as we continue to pray that you just provide that healing that only you can provide father we ask that you be with those who have lost a loved one and father we know that we for sure have heard heard that brother daryl shavers lost his precious mother and when you have lost a mother you have lost something truly special so we ask father for special comfort and strength for that family and for all of those who are dealing with a loss at this time father we ask that you be with those who are searching for for work so that they can care for their families we just as father you will lead them into employment which will not hinder them from worshiping you just ask for that special blessing father we pray for those who are possibly leaving the city to state we just ask them wherever they go that they find you because anywhere is home as long as you are there we ask that if we have children that are leaving home for the first time father we pray that that on their list the top of their list that they look for a church home that they can identify with and continue to be strengthened father we just ask that you be with our children we thank you for the gift that you've given us in our children and we know that the love that we have for our children parallels the love that you have for us we just ask father that you protect them spiritually and physically that's this life has so many distractions we are in a time where right now being right seems to be wrong and being wrong seems to be right can be very confusing father we pray that we have instructed them in your word that they be able to defend the faith just be with us father continue to be with us as we go on into this service christ's name we pray amen let the church say amen again i just want to thank brother williams for that marvelous marvelous job amen amen amen it was um in 2017 i had met brother williams in philadelphia we were living in philadelphia and he came to preach and i remember that profound preaching style and i said i know that guy i know that guy i know that voice and that's how we we became here members here we heard that voice and sure enough we um that's my preacher and i love him amen so we we thank him for god using him and he continues to bless him let's prepare our hearts and minds for the lord's supper because he lives first and second verses only god sent his son called him jesus [Music] he came to love [Music] healing for gifts he lived and died to by [Music] [Music] is there to prove my savior [Music] i can face tomorrow [Applause] [Music] fear is gone because i know i know i know he holds the few and life is worth the living just because he lives [Music] a new one baby feel the pride and joy he gives but [Music] this child can face uncertain days because he lives because he lives [Music] i can face tomorrow because he leaves cause [Music] because i know i know i know he holds the few future and life is where the living just because he lives [Music] can we see amen here before you to lead us in what we refer to as the communion interesting word communion because of the basis of the word which means to commune um from this word we get the term community and as we have come together in this place this morning it's with the idea and the knowledge of knowing that we are a community we are the community of god and that is something that we must maintain at all times that that we we carry this idea of community and everything we do for each other which is really connected to brother william's sermon this morning being able to look upon each other in loving ways in in gentle ways and in also uh spiritual ways so as we can as we commune as the assembly of god this morning i'd like to encourage you to think of the words of the apostle paul in in first queen in second where he refers to jesus as the unspeakable gift and he gives thanks to god for this unspeakable or indescribable gift that god gave the very best of heaven he allowed jesus and sent jesus to be that sacrifice for a fallen humanity and and allowed us to know what it was to be in a in a a sinless state to be able to know what it's like to to feel unburdened by sin to know that we have a savior that actually cares someone who is so powerful but yet still so loving to care for us so at this time we're going to ask you to bow with me as we prepare to receive the communion let us pray father we thank you for this morning we thank you so much for this time to come together to assemble as your holy assembly to worship you to uplift your holy name to praise and adore you but also to give to you our very best our sacrifice of praise we thank you for the bread that we're about to receive we ask that you bless it help us to remember the sacrifice that your son jesus made on the cross for our sins help us to live lives that are worthy of that sacrifice help us to remember those things as we partake of the bread at this time it is in your sons jesus name we pray amen let us open the first seal let us now offer prayer for the cup let us bow our heads father we come to you once again thanking you for this communion we now ask you to bless the cup which contains the fruit of the vine that is a symbol and a um an emblem that reflects upon your son jesus's blood thank you for the sin that it covers thank you for the power of your son's blood and what it can do for the lives of men and what it has done for our lives i pray that you bless us to receive it with thanksgiving in the name of jesus let us all say amen let me break the second seal we encourage you to put the cups back into the plastic bags that they came in and at dismissal punishment so you can dispose of them in the trash receptacles in the rear now we also are here to offer a gift to the lord we call it the collection but i've always loved the term love offering and it is something that we are encouraged to do but i want i want to encourage us to be mindful of the apostle paul in 2nd corinthians chapter 8 and verse 24 the last verse in the chapter he says therefore openly before the churches show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you our love offering is evidence of our love towards god because it shows that as we give we trust god we love him enough to trust him to take care of our needs we love we love god and we prove that love in our love offering to show that we believe that we will not go hungry we would not go thirsty we would not go without our needs being met and we know that he is the one that blessed us with what we have anyway so it all belongs to him regardless of what we think so let's give freely let's give joyfully let's give uh with a spirit of of of of community knowing that what we do in our love offering shows not only our love for god but also shows our love for the church this time we want to make sure that you are aware of the ways in which you can give there are three ways that you can do that the first way is through the shelby app the shelby next app if you have access to that just go to the gift section and follow the prompts a second way to give is through our website the east side church christ website is www.east go to the giving section and we'll follow the prompts there the third way to give is you can mill in your contribution to the church of christ to the east side and and you'll be able to submit it in that way if you do have your contribution with you this morning you can feel free to see one of our ushers of one of our leaders and they will be glad to take your offering at this time let's ask god to bless us as we prepare to give let us approach the throne of grace father we come to you thanking you for this time to give this is a time that we should treasure because it is our way of being able to show you how much we love you that we will give freely to you we will give with a a humble heart and also with a and a spirit that is expecting you to bless us not just in monetary ways but in all the ways in which you stand ready to bless us continue to bless our offering bless the the ways in which it will be a blessing to your kingdom and to this community we ask these things in the name of jesus let us all sing amen uh uh let us pray father thank you for blessing us with another one of your days to come and worship you in spirit and truth thank you for blessing us to all to arrive safely and thank you for again the message that brother williams your man servant has brought to us this morning help us to keep these words in mind keep your word in mind and utilize the things we were taught this morning to not only help ourselves but to help those around us who have fallen and been led astray and helped them to come back and to follow your word and obey you pray father for those who have prayer requests those who are dealing with sin those who are dealing with certain things and transitions continue to give them wisdom give them strength give them guidance pray for those who are currently dealing with death of family members death with friends and loved ones strengthen them give them comfort also give them wisdom to negotiate the different tangibles that go with handling such events continue just to be with all of us protect us keep us safe as we all travel in our separate ways from this particular place thank you for everything you continue to bless us with thank you for continuing to protect us thank you for guiding us thank you for loving us thank you most importantly for your son jesus without whom we could have no life or relationship with you thank you father for everything and name of your son jesus we pray amen [Music] uh um [Music] the trouble land [Music] [Music] man [Music] will be home and last [Music] you

Channel: Church of Christ at East Side

Views: 1,946

Rating: 4.8518519 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 8T2zvszratU

Length: 134min 14sec (8054 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 22 2021