"Is the Church Really closed?" September 25, 2021 Speaker: Pastor Jordaan Houston

[Music] [Music] [Music] good morning good morning everyone welcome to revision church atlanta's worship experience we are grateful that you've joined us virtually today to worship the lord jesus christ hello everyone many blessings to you and yours welcome we're glad that you're here this is your first time uh we're especially glad that you're here we love to see you active in the chat so even if you're watching on a bigger screen grab a device that you can type on and please get active there on facebook and on youtube if you're a revision church member good to see y'all if you are one who watches around the world on a regular basis welcome back we're looking forward to a great time today if you would just say good morning start saying good morning and let us know where you are from where you are watching from today we like to do shout outs at the beginning of our time together go put that up on the screen and we're going to say good morning to you by name morning solomon good morning solomon from mexico all right welcome back welcome back all right who else do we have all right mr sounds from trinidad welcome welcome welcome our trinidad crowd is growing week by week good stuff rita from the grand canyon state oh all right from the grand canyon state good stuff nice night we haven't been to the grand canyon not yet yeah we got to get there we got to get there all right turkey all right welcome back from turkey remember you from the last week uh welcome back all right and then we've got oh saying good evening that's right it's good evening yeah zimbabwe all right god bless you thank you for joining us love to try to say that yes it is beautiful yeah keisha all right all right what's up keisha uh that lakeisha throws me off every single time all right keisha naomi saint all right good morning to you thank you for being with us and tracy from braintree now okay you haven't seen that yeah that's good braintree uk i love it welcome okay all right welcome all right dayla what's up dayla all right good morning good to see you dayla say hello to the whole family god bless you good morning good morning all right van clar um jamaica good morning nick is in the house as always good to see you all right uh shauna b all right from toronto as well good morning good morning good morning all right it's getting cool up there that's right hollis hines that's right the heinz family from trinidad good morning yeah good to have you good to have you always great to see you yes all right thank you thank you maxine i'm barbados welcome back next time we're coming we're coming over there hopefully next year all right all right uh alexis yes oh from guyana welcome welcome i also have family from guyana as well welcome alexis all right christina morse okay it's your first time first time well welcome and good job welcome christina virtually that's right make sure everybody on there say hey say welcome to christina all right glad you stopped by thank you for being with us today ryan marie davis troy detroit all right okay hello good stuff motown all right april from your living room yes it's nice out there that's right this morning yeah yeah yep all right ben's is coming from edmonton okay edmonton alberta thank you for being with us today excited about you being with us all right all right good morning good morning sheree all the way from latonya that's right that's right we know revision members are in here y'all say good morning glad you stopped by all right kalisha mccalla all right felicia yeah from jamaica okay good stuff we know the mcculloch family yes that's right our family to us we're so glad that's right we have family near and wide okay okay morning from maryland now we love the seasons there monica welcome welcome monica thank you for being with us today all right all right who else we got jack what's up jack hold way loganville that's right loganville is in the house good morning everybody we're glad that you're here and uh you can continue to give greetings where you're from and uh in each worship experience we like to do something interactive uh we like to be able to get you active ass ass answering some questions having some interaction so today is and actually since uh we're not gonna tell them that's part of the trivia oh okay we're not gonna tell them all right go ahead okay so we are celebrating um his hispanic heritage month and um we want to ask you all a couple of questions about that so the cat was almost out the bag when do we celebrate heritage uh hispanic heritage month when is it celebrated here in the united states all right so let us know when when is it oh we don't know what's going on now but i guess you're when did it begin yeah there's a whole it's a range of times okay when is hispanic heritage month when is it you all come on all right and we are assuming that we october yeah part of it is in october okay give me some dates then uh-huh not usually like the other holiday times right we're our special times it's significant yes good guess though erica all right who else we got texas then all right amber yeah amber it's september 15 to october 15th that's right and that's for a reason okay so that's that brings us to our next question okay so what's then the significance that it starts on september 15th why does it start on september 15th can anyone tell us why hispanic heritage month starts on september 15th yeah instead of september 1st right yeah or october 1st yeah why is it september 15th okay this is because when we're always talking about our brothers and sisters black and brown we need to make sure we educate ourselves so that we can understand their culture as well because we're in this thing together right okay yeah come on does anybody know our family some folks are googling right now yeah that's okay all right quick google that's why that's why we have that question all right september 15. why and try to condense your answer as much as possible if you can all right well we'll give them another minute after that then we'll before okay come on somebody all right somebody anybody want to join is a little slow this morning all right internet speed it needs to speed up all right okay okay give us the okay here we go okay now that may be something that goes along with it all right that's what we have here is okay the beginning of the mexican war for independence that's it that's what yes that's it right there thank you all right chris all right it's the anniversary of independence for the latin american countries of costa rica yes el salvador guatemala honduras and nicaragua that's right mimi got it as well independence of latin american countries that's right so that's why it starts september 15th spanish rebellion against new england all right lana thank you hey very good so now we know a little bit more about our hispanic brothers and sisters yeah uh independence the last question is when was it enacted into law here in the united states of america what year what year so what year did we start celebrating well they introduced it many years ago but they only had it for a week okay but then it was extended to the an entire 31 days and then it went into law in this particular year what year did it go into law all right okay that may have been when it was introduced but no we got to come on a little bit okay so okay star girl says 1968 okay that's when i think they started with lyndon johnson president lyndon johnson they started a little bit all right the closest was mimi all right 1989. and i have it here is 1988. oh 1988. yeah okay okay okay all right yes so we think and we celebrate yeah with our brothers and sisters um so this month try to learn something about hispanic heritage got the exact date there all right august 17 1980 all right all right we're glad to have you in the chat this morning that's right that's right um so we want to just try to make sure sometime this month next month you do an activity you learn a little more about our brothers and sisters from the hispanic community that's right as we celebrate with them during this hispanic month of celebration yes yes yes we probably get pastor hernandez um we know he's always traveling but you know he uh serves as one of our pastoral staff members and uh he's from cuba so maybe have him show us a few things about uh uh hispanic character tell us about some cuisine too yeah tell us about the cuisine he could talk about the cuisine he could certainly do that our brothers and sisters throughout the hispanic throughout the hispanic communities latinx um americans we are grateful for all of you and we're thankful for all of you and we're continuing to pray for you and we're grateful that we can celebrate with you this month from september 15 to october 15. and so let's remember our brothers and sisters today as we get ready to pray we want to remember all of the things that are going on around the world remember the fact that we are still in a pandemic and that we want to pray for those who are struggling those in the hospital the families that are being affected those who are infected and have uh in a real sense they might have asymptomatic uh they might be asymptomatic but still we want to pray for everyone who's still struggling through this not just through their health and medically but also economically as well and so let's remember that in prayer if you have a particular prayer um a request something that you need god to do you can put that in the chat um those of the things that you feel are appropriate to share that you don't mind people praying with you and for you about you can drop that in the chat as we get ready to pray of course uh i'll talk about this in just a little bit but we want to continue to pray for our haitian brothers and sisters as we've seen this week um not only the country of haiti but the people of haiti dispersed around the world particularly coming from south america central america here to united states of america let's keep them in prayer as they are in dire straits thousands of people in terrible situation let's pray for an awareness a level of compassion yes lord from our government and our people for our brothers and sisters let's please remember them in prayer and we'll talk about in a little bit how we can even do more than simply pray amen all right uh for all of you who've got your prayer requests let's get ready to go to god in prayer and stephanie will lead us in prayer today as we talk to our lord this is the day that the lord is made let us rejoice and be glad in it lord we rejoice at the fact that you are with us you promise you never leave us nor forsake us in your presence is evident in the world today nor there is problems on every hand but you have built a standard against the enemy that's why we have not been crushed to pieces so for that we are eternally grateful yes god lord we desire to pause for a moment and acknowledge you as the true and the living god to enjoy this sabbath because it is a time where we can reflect upon your goodness to us we can allow you to renew our strength to lighten our burden you can restore the joy of our salvation to us so we thank you for this time set aside to be in your presence to be bathed in your love to be cleansed from all unrighteousness thank you lord for being the god that you've been to your children lord it's going on two years now that we have been dealing with the pandemic we have been dealing with not only disease but also economic hardship we've been dealing with emotional and mental health issues my god it's too much for us to bear but we thank god for jesus that it's not too much for you to bear so teach us how to trust you teach us how to turn it over to jesus knowing that he can handle it he can help us he can heal us lord help us when we open our mouths that we don't rehearse the difficulties but that we find praise on our lips that we speak almost as it were in a prophetic manner we don't talk all the time about what we're going through but we begin to speak of what you are taking us through yeah and where you are taking us to lord we visualize that lord we anticipate that teach us how to encourage one another with songs spiritual songs with your word help us to allow you to renew our minds god help us to meditate on things that are elevating that are pure that are just lord build us up so that we can overflow with love yes to our brothers and sisters who are hurting all around us and if we all do that then none would go without yeah because where one lacks the other will feel and while they're being depleted somebody else will feel them god you have this already already figured out help us to look to you for our help help us to find ourselves building ourselves up in your word daily help us to pray more and to pray without ceasing help us to think about others and less of ourselves yes jesus how do you want to use us yeah what do you want to do through us lord help us to daily open ourselves as a vessel before you so that you can pour your spirit without limit into us we will give you praise we will give you honor we will give you glory lord we thank you for the good times yeah and we are learning to thank you for the challenging times the answers that we have not yet gotten from above yes we wait with anticipation help us not to become weary in well-doing right yes god help us not to become weary in well-doing because your word says that if we continue you will keep us from fainting you will give us what we need so that we have stamina we have endurance we have persistence in this world yes we can only do that because of you thank you lord so we lay our burdens at your feet ah god we trust that you can take care of it nor we give our enemies over to you lord because you love them you died for them and so we know you can handle them yes lord that we thank you we thank you not only for our friends but we also thank you for our enemies because it reminds us we're not home yet yes and it helps us to press toward the mark than the high calling of jesus christ so lord everyone who's looking and everyone who's not looking we are asking that we will intercede one from another and that we will have a testimony because we have endured like good soldiers yeah and we will be careful to give you the praise the honor all of the adoration all of the glory for you alone are worthy of the lord you alone are worthy of all of our praise yeah and we thank you lord for looking beyond every single one of our faults and meeting our needs yeah and it's all for your glory thank you jesus thank you lord amen amen amen amen amen today all we praise god today for the access we have to god in prayer yeah today as we continue to pray we mentioned just before we pray that we want to in a special way seek god as to how we might be a help to our brothers and sisters on the border our haitian brothers and sisters i was horrified as i'm sure you were as you watched mothers carrying their children and as you watch all kinds of things um being all kinds of things happening and so we want to make sure that we do more that we do more than just pray we're going to be calling our leadership team together in a special way this week to make sure that we come back next sabbath with ways that we can be able to support our brothers and sisters on the border so stay tuned for that all right we're getting ready to go to praise and worship so let's now sing along with revision praise team as they lead us and then we'll be ready for the word of god today let's worship together in the year king isaiah died the word declares that we saw the lord high and lifted up and the strain of his robe filled the temple hallelujah what a savior do we want to see the lord highly lifted up on today enter into our worship oh god please pray hallelujah song said [Music] i want see you sing family [Music] me [Music] to see [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] like [Music] that i really want to see [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] i wanna see family [Music] [Music] i want to see you [Music] [Music] no one else can touch my heart like you do [Music] and i can spend all this time searching the world and i still won't find that there is none [Music] two [Music] no one else [Music] [Music] is [Music] and i still can't find one [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] long enough to [Music] my [Music] can we sing it all over the building as the tears [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] you alone you alone [Music] on my heart [Music] do it again [Music] [Music] you [Music] two [Music] god we desire to be right where you are in your presence lord there is fullness of joy and god at your right hand pleasures forevermore hallelujah [Music] you hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah can we just give our god praise within his virtual space because there is none like him i mean we can acquire some great things here in the world and within our society but none of it surmounts to the beauty and grandeur of our god can we just give god praise because we serve a god that is untouchable i don't know where you are within your household but you can just raise your hands and if we could just give god praise within this moment because there is none like him he's not like the president of the united states he's not like the boss on our job there is none like the lord i'm just so happy that i can testify to the fact that there is nobody like our god oh goodness gracious can we give god praise within this virtual space because we serve a god that is untouchable that he's in a lane all by himself praise god praise god thank you so much to our revision praise team for leading us in worship here today listen i don't want to be before you long i want us to jump right here into the text here this morning so if you have your bibles if you have your bibles if we can just turn to john chapter two that's john chapter two john chapter two that's right john chapter two if you got it just type in the comments and say i got it you're like listen i'm still trying to find it say hold on for just a second john chapter two i want you to be able to pull it up on your phones your your ipads maybe even if you have a physical copy in front of you of the bible pull up john chapter two john chapter two and we're going to start at verse number 13. this is a familiar passage of scripture to many of us john chapter 2 starting at verse number 13 i'll be reading from the esb version and the bible says this that the passover of the jews was at hand and jesus went up to jerusalem in the temple he found those who are selling oxen sheep and pigeons and the money changer sitting there and making a whip of cords he drove them out of the temple with the sheep in oxen and and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables and he told those who sold the pigeons take these things away do not make my father's house a house of trade his disciples remember that it was written zeal for my house will consume me verse number 18 goes on to say so the jew said to him what sign do you show us for doing these things jesus answered them destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up jesus said destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up the jews then said it has taken 46 years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days but he was speaking about the temple of his body when therefore he was raised from the dead his disciples remember that he had said and they believed the scripture and the word that jesus had spoken for just a few moments here this afternoon i would like to speak on the topic is the church really closed is the church really close let us pray god we're just so grateful because god we've already experienced your presence within this virtual space thus far and god lord we've already felt the freedom from your presence and so god lord we pray that you would just carry with us just a little while longer so order our steps in your word hear us guide us right now in this very moment send your anointing upon us father we do pray order our steps in your word in the precious name of jesus we do pray amen amen is the church really closed the last year and a half has been a roller coaster to put it kindly the pandemic has presented our society with challenges that we never thought we would have to face for example who would have thought for three to five months our favorite restaurants would have to shut down who would have thought that our young children would be learning from a screen for so long who would have thought that even with our children returning back to school that they would have to return with masks on their face who would have thought who would have thought that churches would be forced to close and force to have virtual worship who would have thought that churches would be forced to purchase technology in order to have worship who would have thought that out of the necessity to be safe and cautious that we would still be worshiping virtually today but one flower that's been able to bud through the concrete of this pandemic is that we've been forced to think about how we do church we've been forced to ask ourselves questions like questions like do i need to purchase a 200 suit to go to church many of us are sitting at home having worship right now with sweatpants on and with nice comfortable t-shirts on do we have to purchase expensive things to go to church we've been asking ourselves questions like am i less spiritual because i'm worshiping from home instead of in a church building do we need to be busy at church all day or can we literally hold the sabbath at its true meaning and find time to rest and fellowship with others the pandemic in many ways has revolutionized the way we see church and in the text this morning jesus is informing the jewish people of a paradigm shift that will revolutionize the way they do worship walk with me here in the text this afternoon the passover was at hand and the people from all around the world was gathering at jerusalem messianic hopes ran high as people anticipated the messiah who they thought would come as a warrior who they thought would come and save them round services in the temple at jerusalem were filled with unbending dignity and pop while its courts were filled with worshipers beggars money changers and sellers of sacrificial animals this was a prominent time in jerusalem this was the time of the year that the city made the most money men and women came all across the globe to make sacrifices the passover was dry was the driving force for the economy in jerusalem and the temple's revenue stream over time what began to happen is that the temple became less of a place of worship and more of a place of prophet stay with me here revision the priests and the jewish leaders began to strategically plot and profit off the backs of those coming to make sacrifices the place of worship became consumed by the love of money it became a place for the haves and not the have-nots the conference i mean sorry the temple became concerned more about money than they were people the priests and the jewish leaders had lost sight of the true meaning of the temple that this was supposed to be the place where the lord dwelt they forgot that it was supposed to be the place where men and women from all ages could come and have an encounter with yahweh so jesus with spiritual indignation rose up and drove the traitors out of the temple jesus with spiritual fervor said do not make my father's house a house of trade they ask jesus by what sign do you show us for doing these things destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up the jewish leaders responded saying you will do what it took 46 years for us to build the temple it took 46 years for us to build this beautiful edifice but you mean to tell us that you're going to raise it up in three days see the people were so focused on the physical building that they missed the spiritual implications of what jesus was actually saying in other words they were so focused on what they believed the church should look like that they mixed the hucks of jesus's message sometimes our traditions and beliefs that are biblically unfounded will hold us back from experiencing the work that god wants to do in our lives their love affair with brick and mortar was an impairment to the work that jesus was trying to do and similarly here people of god we have adopted a love affair with brick and mortar that's right we've adopted a love affair with beautiful edifices we believe the church to be a building or an architectural edifice in other words we have what i would consider to be called a edifice complex uh the church building is so connected with the idea of church that we unconsciously equate the two just listen to the vocabulary that we use on a regular day basis for example wow honey did you see the beautiful church we passed my goodness that is the largest church i have ever seen i wonder what the electricity bill costs oh the church is chilly too chilly today can the deacons go and turn up the heat isn't it wonderful to be in the house of the lord today to put it bluntly our thoughts do not reflect new testament christianity and the revolutionary experience christ has imparted to us let me explain ancient judaism was centered around three elements you have the temple you had the priesthood and you had the sacrifice when jesus came he revolutionized all three fulfilling them in himself jesus became our high priest and mediator so no longer will we have to go to a place and have a human being mediation between us and god no human being would be the propitiation for our sins because jesus now took on that role no longer do we have to make animal sacrifices instead jesus was the lamb that was slain for the world not only that but there would be no need for the temple in sacred spaces why because jesus is the temple who embodies a new and living house made of living stones without hands for the bible says that do you not know that your body is the temple of the holy spirit within you whom you have from god for the bible says do you not know that you are god's temple and that god's spirit dwells in you when christ says destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up what jesus is doing is he is redefining sacred spaces jesus is saying the building isn't sacred you are sacred jesus is letting us know that the person next to you the person to the right of you the person in front of you is sacred to him and not the building scholars and studies have shown that the christian church was the first non-temple based religion ever to emerge pastor houston what are you talking about see in the minds of christians the people not the architecture constituted a sacred space the early christians understood that they themselves corporately were the temple of god and the house of god how do we know this because nowhere in the new testament do we find the terms church or the greek term ekklesia used to refer to a building the greek word ecclesia which literally means gathering or assembly or congregation does not refer to a meeting place instead it refers to a movement of people in fact get this now the first english translation of the bible the word church does not even appear let me take you on a little history lesson william tyndale one of the protestant reformers who was known for translating the bible to english decided to not to be politically correct and argued against the word ekklesia being translated to church and said that it should remain the word that it that it originally was which is gathering or assembly the church at that time was so angry at tyndale's refusal because by changing the word church would denote a sacred space which would give the church hierarchy power and authority to take away religious freedom away from individual worshipers stay with me here revision this was such a major debate that william tyndale was burned at the stake for using the word ekklesia instead of church in his translation it wasn't until years later that so-called smart men that wanted to control everything took the german word church which actually means house of the lord or god's house and inserted it into the english translation of the bible that's where we get the word church from so that's why when we think church we think place when you think church you think space jesus says no no longer will we focus on sacred spaces but instead we will focus on sacred people and i will be with them wherever they go oh y'all not with me here this afternoon let me put it like this i remember attending a swim meet in high school i remember i had a friend of mine who was on the swim team and i remember going to the swim meet and i remember getting there a little bit early so the swimmers were warming up they were doing a couple practice swims and as the swimmers were warming up i noticed something strange the team managers were placing multiple water bottles near the starting blocks on every lane where the swimmers would start i thought to myself why in the world would they need water bottles i mean they're about to submerse themselves in a pool full of water during the swim meet i noticed that swimmers would occasionally get a sip of water before and after their competitions afterwards i asked my friend who was one of the swimmers i asked him because i was curious i said why do you drink water before and after you swim i mean you're submersing yourself into a pool of water my friend the swimmer responded and said swimming takes a lot of energy and exertion so it's important that you stay hydrated so that you don't pass out during your swim and revision that day i realized that dehydration is determined by how much water is in you and not the amount of water that is around you oh what am i trying to say in other words your spirituality is not dependent upon what's around you but the transformation that takes place in you and many of us have been growing fake have been growing faint during the season of adjustment because for years we lived under the false pretense that church attendance in our proximity to the church building determines our spirituality i want to say that one more time is that many of us are growing faint during this season of adjustment because for years we we lived under the false pretense that church attendance and our proximity to the church building determines our spirituality that's right so the more you show up to the building the more spiritual you are growing up i remember it was the members that arrived to church early before everyone else got there that were considered to be the most spiritual and i remember that these so-called most spiritual people were oftentimes the most meanest people it's probably because they were getting up so early just to make it to the church building i remember even as a young person i remember showing up for church on sabbath and then showing up for church for pathfinders on sunday and then attending small group during the week and then attending wednesday night prayer service and then coming back for choir rehearsal on friday and all all the young people that part in all these events were considered to be the most spiritual and get this now it's not that we were the most spiritual it's not that we had some level or some sort of innate relationship with god it was because we had no life outside the building it's because that our identity was tied to the building instead of the gospel it wasn't that we were the most spiritual we just knew how to act when we came to church i'll stay with me it wasn't that we were the most spiritual young people it wasn't that we were the most spiritual ones that were in love with god but it was because we knew how to act when we entered the church building in other words we knew what we could get away with during the week and what we couldn't get away with for the eight hours we were in church on sabbath and here we are thinking that we're teaching people how to walk with god when in actuality we're just breeding generations of church performers people who know how to act but don't know how to live for jesus we were taught that the church building was holy when in actuality the church building is nothing but brick and mortar made by the hands of men and by default what we end up doing is we end up worshiping the building instead of jesus and so churches spend thousands even millions of dollars pouring money into edifices into buildings made of brick and mortar instead of even giving back to their communities and here we are pouring money into buildings buildings that we only use on one day throughout the week buildings that no that have no purpose to our community buildings that are only open for one day throughout the entire week buildings that our community has never even entered into buildings that we pour all our resources in buildings that we end up worshiping and i came by here to let us know that this is antithetical to the gospel of jesus christ when the new testament writer refers to ekklesia they are not referencing a building but rather they are referencing a people i need us to get this now in the new testament the writers when they reference ekklesia they are not referencing a building but rather they are referencing a people for the bible says matthew says all this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell should not prevail matthew isn't talking about a physical building but he is talking about a people when they are grounded in christ of people who when they are in love with the gospel the gates of hell shall not even prevail against them for the bible says in acts that peace that sold the church throughout all judea and galileo in samaria had peace and was being built up and get this now luke is not talking about the building up of churches but rather luke is talking about the building up of people he's talking about people that are grounded in the word of god people that are on fire for jesus the bible says that when the people of god stand together as the church as a community of believers that the gates of hell should not prevail against it in other words that the devil has nothing on the people of god when they are gathered together jesus is not talking new testament writers are not talking about a building but rather they are talking about the people and so what am i trying to say here this afternoon that the church building isn't the church you are the church and i want to make this clear because the enemy wants you to believe that if you are not in the in a building that you cannot access the presence of god i want to say that one more time is that one of the ploys by the enemy is is that he wants to get us to a space that when we feel like we're not in a building when we're not in a holy quote-unquote ordained edifice then we can't access the presence of god and i came here to let you know that that idea is straight from the mouth of the devil himself because if you are a believer in christ the bible says that the spirit of god is dwelling in you jesus did not come to establish a place but the bible says that he came to establish a people he did not come to establish a building but rather he came to establish a people this is important because it's it's a testament to god's love for us it's important for us to note that john is seeking to reveal here in john chapter 2 who jesus is in light of his relationship with humanity see john writes in chapter one he says in the beginning was the word and the word was god and the word uh and he was the beginning with god and all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made john established that jesus is god the creator of everything then john writes in verse number 14 and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory glory as the only son from the father full of grace and truth it's important that we pay attention to the word became flesh and dwelt among us jesus who is god the creator has now become flesh and is dwelling amongst us it's critical for us to look at the word dwelt because this word alludes to the ot tabernacle where the shekinah the visible glory of god's presence resided the glory of god or what we refer to as the shekinah glory comes from the hebrew word chakan which means to dwell which means to settle down to tabernacle or to have habitation in other words chicana is the one who dwells i would like to park here parenthetically and say that chicana is a reminder that we do not seek to dwell with god but he desires to dwell with us and you wonder why that's so good because god knew that our sinful flesh wouldn't desire to be close to him so instead god initiates communion with us god knew that you would struggle to wake up and spend time with him thus he initiates communion with you god knew that he wouldn't be the first person that you would think about when you start your day thus he initiated communion with you so before we can express our desire for him he expresses his desire for us and can we just give god praise within this virtual space because god desires to be close to us he desires to commune with us for the bible says that he desires for us to be under the shelter of his wings he desires for us to be our mighty fortress he desires to be our refuge and strength and present help in the time of trouble god desires to commune with us in exodus we see that it was god who first expressed his desire to dwell among men so god instructs moses to tell the people to construct a tabernacle for me that i may dwell amongst men the tabernacle was the place of worship for the people the tabernacle or the tent in the wilderness was the tent of jehovah which symbolized the dwelling place of god and we see in the old testament a transition from the tabernacle to the temple the temple was a more permanent edifice that would host the presence of god thus the jews found the temple to be a permanent place where god would dwell amidst people so now we see in john 1 14 this same language that we use in the old testament is now used to express the incarnate ministry of jesus christ jesus is showing us that god came to dwell amidst people through his son jesus christ christ has now become this new temple god's glory is now radiating through the personhood of jesus christ so we see a progression we see god was dwelling his glory was emanating through a tabernacle and then it was emanating through a temple and now it's emanating through the incarnate ministry of jesus christ so now jesus when he says destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up he is alluding to the fact that after his resurrection and ascension to heaven that he will send his holy spirit and the holy spirit will come down like fire from heaven that consumed the temple and the fire will rain down on those who believe in the life death and resurrection of jesus christ like the fire that filled the temple we as believers will be filled with the glory of god the glory of god is made known through the people not the building the glory of god is made known through believers not the building people of god through the power of the holy spirit we have authority we have power for ephesians says ephesians says that as believers our purpose is to make known the manifold wisdom of god see god's intent is that through the principalities in heavenly places that we may make them known about the god that we serve see being a believer isn't about making it into heaven being a believer is about vindicating the name of our god it's about letting the cosmic world know about the god that we serve it's about letting the cosmic world know that we serve a god that is one of a fair shake is about letting the cosmic world know that we serve a god that is righteous in all that he does it's about letting the cosmic world know that our god is one that does not lie it's about letting the cosmic world know that our god is the same yesterday today and forever that our god is a god of mercy and steadfast love as believers we are supposed to let demons know about the god that we serve we're supposed to let people who we come in contact with on a daily basis know about the god that we serve imagine what it would be like on a on a daily if we operated from the premise that the cosmic world was looking at us i bet we would think twice about going out and having affairs on our spouses i bet we would think twice about uh opening up that pornographic website i bet we would think twice about uttering that curse word to our spouse or to our loved one i bet we would think twice and the holy spirit is living in each and every single one of us and not the building see the beauty of the gospel is this the beauty of gospel is that jesus came he lived he died he resurrected and he sent his spirit to dwell amongst us this is why i'm so passionate about these topics because when we adopt a false understanding the building is holy we deny what jesus did on calvary i want to say that one more time is that when we adopt this understanding that the building is holy we subsequently deny what jesus did on calvary pastor houston what are you talking about see the fact that jesus dwells with us is a testament to his covenant you're wondering what in the world is covenant see covenant can be defined as a relationship with god a relationship that is characterized by love and trust in the bible we have the elastic covenant see the everlasting covenant is god's covenant of love that was established before beginning of time before creation existed god existed love existed covenant existed when humanity and sinned this everlasting covenant that god established before the beginning was adapted into a covenant of religion this covenant of redemption is god's plan to save humanity restore humanity to the image of god and restore eternal hope that is designed for each and every single one of us within this covenant of redemption we have two covenants we have the old covenant and we have the new covenant see the old covenant was characterized by multiple redeeming acts of god but the new covenant is characterized by the once and forever redemptive act of god in jesus christ the fact that christ lived died and was resurrected so that we can be reconciled back into his image see the old covenant is based upon an elaborate ceremonial system but the new covenant is based upon a simpler ceremonial system based upon baptism and communion see the old covenant was administered by an imperfect priest but the new covenant as administered by a perfect receipt the old covenant of the priests administered in a earthly sanctuary made by man but in the new covenant christ ministers not in a makeshift sanctuary made by man but in a heavenly sanctuary in the old covenant priests died and had to be seceded by somebody else but in the new covenant jesus lives forever and is the permanent priesthood see in the old covenant the priest had to offer sacrifices for their sins and then the sins of the world but in the new covenant our high priest jesus christ was blameless pure and set apart see the old covenant was ratified by the blood of an animal but the new covenant was ratified by the blood of jesus do i have some folk in here that just want to give god praise for the blood of jesus for the songwriter says that there is power power wonderful working power in the blood of the lamb there is power power wonderful working power in the precious blood of the lamb do i have some folk that want to give god praise for the blood for i know it was the blood i know it was the blood for me because one day when i was lost he died upon the cross i know it was the blood for me can we take a moment and give god praise for his blood because it was his blood that saved us it was his blood that purified us it was his blood that reconciled us can we give god praise for his blood because the old covenant was based upon works but the new covenant is based upon god's gracious gift a salvation and his redemptive act of christ that we was that we have been justified that god has forgiven our sins that we have been reconciled that god brought us back to be his people that we have been us sanctified through the indwelling of his holy spirit that no longer do we have to look at laws that are on stone but instead the power of the holy spirit is writing the laws of god on our hearts it's the holy spirit working in us to do the will of god it's the holy spirit working in us and through us it's the holy spirit that is giving us guidance every day it's the holy spirit that is instructing us it's the holy spirit that is pouring wisdom in us it's the holy spirit that stays behind and tells us what's right and wrong it's holy spirit that convicts us it's the holy spirit that encourages us it's the holy spirit that gives us peace of mind in the midst of the storm it's the holy spirit that gives us power and that gives us authority that gives us the ability to make known the manifold wisdom of god it's the holy spirit that gives us the ability to stand sin can we give god praise for the holy spirit because this the holy spirit it's his indwelling presence that lifts us when we're down can we give god praise for the spirit of the living god why because it was the spirit that let you that let you know that it was time for you to get out of that relationship 20 years ago it was the spirit that got you through trauma and your pain it was a spirit that got you through the pain of your mother's passing it was the spirit that got you through that home it was that sense of spirit that got you through that job that you did not like it was the spirit that got you off your sid bed can we get our praise here today for the spirit of the living god that is dwelling in each and every single one of us so when we say that the church building is holy we're denying the work that jesus did on hillary we're denying everything that jesus did for us because jesus at the end of it all left us with the holy spirit so that we can live church i just wanted to come by here today and just remind us that we are the church that we have power it's not the church building we still may be virtual but you still have power you you still have authority so when jesus has destroyed his temple and in three days i will raise it up he is alluding to a new covenant relationship that believers will experience through his death and resurrection in other words jesus is saying when i am resurrected this focus will no longer be on an externalized temple but on an internalized temple that is being built not around us on the side of us but in us through the power of the indwelling of the holy spirit god's presence isn't a physical space god's presence is in you you have power you have authority so walk you in today i believe that there are some folk that want to walk in that god has given to them you want to walk within the power of the indwelling of the holy spirit if that's you here today i just want you just to put in the chat i want you to say that the building is in the church i am the church put that in the chat a building isn't a church i am the church the building is in the church i am the church the buildings in the church i am the church and i'm constantly repeating this because the enemy wants us to believe that unless we're in a church building that's the only way we have and that's a lie from the mouth of the enemy itself each and every single one of us as believers because of the work of jesus christ we have the indwelling of the holy spirit and we have power and we have authority the building is in the church i am the church i believe that there's somebody here who wants to give their life to the lord you're saying listen i want to experience this indwelling of the holy spirit i want to experience this power if that's you today you want a relationship with jesus i actually you just simply text jesus to the number there on the screen jesus to the number there on the screen if you're saying listen listen i want to be in a relationship with jesus i i've seen i've heard all that jesus has done for me and i want a personal relationship with him that's you here today i want you to text jesus to the number there on the screen if you're saying maybe i just want to be a part of a community of believers i want to be part of a church not a building but a movement of people and you want to join the revision family here today i actually just to text jesus to the number there on the screen jesus there to the number there on the screen let's pray god we're just so grateful because your love for us extends so far it's infinite gollum we're so grateful for the new covenant relationship that we have with you and god because of that new covenant relationship god you give us your holy spirit that gives us power and authority god we pray that we will walk in it god we pray that we would have confidence god we pray that we will not hold our head down but god we pray that we will hold our head up knowing god that we are sons and daughters of the most high god and god we pray that we would continue to hold on to faith god we pray that we will continue to be grounded in the promises of your soon coming god lord thank you again for everything that you have done for us for those who've made a decision to follow you god bro god i pray that you seal that decision here today this is our prayer in jesus name amen amen the building is in the church you are the church we want to say thank you for tuning in with us here today this is an opportunity now for us to interact through our giving we encourage you to give a tithe and an offering remember our tithe goes to support what we do globally our offering goals to support what we do here locally as a community of believers you can give multiple ways the first way you can give by going to our website at revisionchurchatlanta.org and clicking on the give tab which will then lead you to advances online giving and you can give that way you can give your tithe and your offering another way that you can give is through our paypal account it's through our paypal account all we simply have to do is just text rev paypal to the number there on the screen and we ask that you give your donation as if you were giving it to a friend or a family member and not a business a friend or a family member not a business and in the memo section can you just let us know how much of that offering you would like to allocate towards your tithe what you want to go support globally and then what you want to stay local which uh which you want to stay local which is our offering we also have another way that you can give the nest through our cash app all you have to do is just go on to the little green app that's on your phone and type in dollar sign revision church and you can give your donation that way again within that little note section we just ask that you let us know how much of that you would like to allocate towards your tire than how much of that you would like to allocate towards your offer again we're just so appreciative of your continual giving your giving helps us do ministry it truly truly truly does so we are so appreciative of your continual giving listen we want to let you all know that this upcoming week at seven o'clock that's right seven o'clock that's our new time not 7 30 7 o'clock the shift is back that's right we have a program coming up this upcoming this upcoming wednesday at seven o'clock not 7 30 7 00 and we're continuing our goal series and we're going to talk about time management ooh time management that's right are you a procrastinator maybe you're even good with time but maybe you want a couple more tips on how you can better maximize your time listen this is a good great program just you we invite you to tune in on wednesday not at 7 30 but at seven o'clock that's seven o'clock on wednesday we also want to remind all of our first year college students that we do have the revision scholarship that's right we have our vision scholarship and actually today is the deadline so we encourage you please please please share this with uh share this with your friends um share this with your family members you do have to be a revision member all the requirements are on our web on our website you can download the application there as well and you can send it right over to our church administrator and her email is right there on the flyer and it's also on our website so we encourage you please please please take advantage of this wonderful scholastic opportunity and again we want to say thank you so much for tuning in with us listen we want you to follow us on our various social media platforms follow us on instagram follow us on youtube and you can also follow us on facebook all at revision church atlanta that's revision church atlanta on our youtube page our facebook page and our instagram page and listen we want you to share this service we just don't want you to just keep everything that you've experienced today to yourself but we want you to share it with somebody else and so you can go on youtube and you can even share this sermon even on facebook you can share this sermon around with those you love and so we encourage you to do so you can also go on youtube and watch all of our past sermons as well all of our archive sermons are all there on youtube as well listen before we just let's just finally close with a final word of prayer god we're just so thankful for your spirit and your indwelling presence and god lord we pray that this week that god we will walk knowing god that you are living in us and that we have power and authority this is our prayer in jesus name amen again thank you for tuning in with us we hope you have a phenomenal week please take care and please continue to stay safe [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Revision Church Atlanta

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Length: 80min 25sec (4825 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 25 2021