SBC Sunday Morning Worship Service - October 3, 2021

wow thank you right all right hope you got my good side oh good morning welcome springfield good morning and welcome to our pre-worship service gathering our fellowship time that we're doing here at springfield baptist church in case you don't know who i am if you just join i'm dr eddie robinson and i serve as minister of music here at this wonderful church we're excited about a 50-day straight challenge i hope everybody's participating in it i'm sure all of us have something that we can give up something we can gain through this fellowship so i want you to do uh let's put your emoji just an emoji on how your journey is going if you're having a good time put a smiley face if you're not really making it put a sad face if you mad with yourself because you have not stopped all that eating put an angry face in the chat so that we'll know how you're going we got to pray for each other and encourage each other as we go on this journey at this time it's my honor to rep uh to introduce one of my colleagues a dear friend of mine my co-worker here at springfield baptist church she serves as the director of medium marketing communications all of that let's welcome this all sister marvin mcknight good morning good morning how you doing you looking good you're all dolled up look at that big old pretty smile on your face thank you a compliment to me would have been appropriate right there you know i'm just messing with you yes you're always lovely so dr robinson did you tell him about our 50-day strength journey i tried to i don't know i think i'm out of phone with the ball like some of the football players going through the day when the game comes on so you might want to go back and clean up what i messed up well you know it's really easy hopefully you know about our facebook group 50 days straight if you don't know how to connect just go to our facebook page and select groups under groups you'll see 50 days straight and when you see that all you have to do is click the join button get into the group post tell us how it's going on your journey now a number of people said that they don't have facebook eddie so but you know what we created a group in realm yeah as you know if you are in the springfield family realm is our number one source of connection here so make sure you go into ram and you'll see a group search for the group 50 days straight and you can join there you'll be able to post you'll be able to chat you'll be able to do all those things right there in ram and don't forget all of our resources for the 50-day challenge is on our website if you go to our website on the resources you'll see that there is a link for the weekly readings and we post those every week and then also we have an information sheet just to kind of tell you about the journey so you understand some of the things that help get you through the journey and work through the journey for these next um days that we have um the journey ends on november 10th like pastor lee said on wednesday night is never too late to join us so we hope to see you all on either our facebook group page or in the um realm group yeah if you're struggling you know trying to get some motivation to do this every morning at six a.m there's prayer you can go to the church website and find the information as far as the log in to the conference call and let's pray and talk to the lord to get us through the next what it's about you got you don't have this about 40 day 43 days you know it's less than that you do the math right math was never my good subject but anyway we're getting closer and closer to the end of the um of the challenge and you can join in at any time as we read through the new testament during this time you know we're a pro-vaccine church here at springfield um shots have gone in arms and testing has been done here on this campus and we want to encourage you to uh to make your appointments to get your vaccination as well as make your appointment to get tested because in times like these you still need to be tested to make sure that you don't have the virus um you can go to the uh what is it g n c n r health dot com yeah g r gnrhealth.com and remember you need to go to that website to make your appointment we cannot make your appointment for you but if you go to our website page and towards the middle of the page you'll see a link that'll take you directly to that website where you can make your appointment yeah i know some of you are probably a little vaccine weary and nervous about getting it um i was like that to myself i you know almost had to be drunk kicking and fighting to get another shot because all my life people been giving me shots and i made up my mind when i got grown i wasn't taking no more shots but here comes covert 19 and i think the only way we're going to get this thing behind us is we got to get vaccinated so i was a little a little weary and there were others that were weary and this time i want to segue into a video from one of our members who was a little vaccine hesitant but they want to give their testimony about them getting vaccinated hi my name is kimberly bryant and i am a nurse i've been a nurse for almost 20 years and i want to share why i chose to get vaccinated when the pandemic first started in 2020 i had a baby the week before so having a baby the week before and there was no idea of what's happening family couldn't come visit and i was so excited when i learned a vaccination was available was i scared absolutely because i was breastfeeding and i was a mom of not only a an infant but a five-year-old and these are people that could not help themselves and so i said as soon as i was available to get the vaccine i went was i nervous absolutely but i knew the benefits of being able to get something that would help prevent me leaving this earth and not being able to do what i want to do and being able to be with my family so i decided to get vaccinated i definitely want to share that the health care system is strained right now we have nurses that are walking away from a profession because they're simply tired because one thing we know just because covet started diabetes didn't stop stop heart failure didn't stop things don't stop but we still have to be able to take care of patients so if we can do one thing to help take some strain off get vaccinated it's gonna help you it's saving lives i know there are a lot of myths out there get educated know that by getting the vaccine yes you hear stories about they're gonna be tracking me well you know we have to think about um nothing they're putting in you is tracking you whatever you have as doubts get your questions answered go to websites that are reputable i work for emory healthcare check out our website you'll be able to see some facts on why getting vaccinated can not only save you but save many other lives [Music] well we hope that you're logging in get ready for worship got my gospel gear here i feel a special anointing when i put on this jacket so hope we gonna have some church this morning encourage you now to call your friends call your neighbors and let them know the springfield is now live and on the air and we gonna have some church this morning got a special surprise for you so you tune in i gotta catch my breath and put on my jacket well thank you so much dr robinson for joining us this morning doing the pre-show we know that you have to go ahead and get ready so we can go ahead and start worship service and we'll be back with our sunday worship service don't forget this is our communion sunday and make sure you get all of your elements ready for communion and we hope that you have a wonderful worship service with us today thank you for joining us [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] over here in the sanctuary even in your homes it's okay for you to bless the lord the bible says make a joyful noise unto the lord serve the lord with gladness come before his presence with thanksgiving for the lord our god is worthy to be praised worship team y'all ready this morning to give him glory [Music] [Music] unto him and bless his name for the lord is good and he's worthy to be praised hallelujah we bless your name this morning come on beloved this is our invitation to you this morning come before his presence [Music] [Music] and be thankful unto him [Music] everybody come on enter his courts with praise yeah [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] make your voice [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] come on give him glory yes sir the lord is worthy to be praised hallelujah hallelujah somebody may wonder why he's worthy to be praised to put me in g please because he's done great things and we give him the glory this morning let's think i'm mourning him this morning uplifted voices to god be the glory great things he had done so loved he the world that he gave us [Music] [Music] praise the lord praise the lord let the earth hear his voice praise the lord praise the lord let the people rejoice oh come to the father through jesus the son [Music] everybody [Music] jesus [Music] through jesus [Music] through jesus [Music] praise the lord [Music] [Applause] the sun [Music] one more time praise the lord praise the lord [Music] praise the lord let the people rejoice oh come to the father jesus [Music] amen amen glory to god [Music] he says for whosoever believes on the lord jesus christ shall be saved and whoever calls on the name of jesus shall be saved can somebody just call on the name of jesus this morning somebody say jesus lord we need you lord we love you lord we praise you we call your name we call your name hallelujah [Music] we love to call your name is something we cannot explain that happens when we proclaim your great name your great [Music] we cannot explain [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] somebody just worship him right now [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] hallelujah praise the lord there is power in the name of jesus so much power in her name oh there is power in the name of jesus so much power in the name everybody say there's power [Music] [Music] changed [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] it's [Music] what's up that happens in the spirit when we go [Applause] [Music] we will call on the name of jesus [Music] shifting when we call [Music] somebody needs healing healing [Music] jesus [Applause] i'm gonna lift up my [Music] somebody needs healing in their body today somebody needs to be saved today the bible says that whosoever calls on the name of jesus shall be said that could be you today don't wait don't wait call call him he's a promise keeper he'll watch over your soul he'll take good care of you come on come on calm down that's above our next [Music] when i call your neighbor but [Music] god is him bless him give him thanksgiving hallelujah move by your spirit today lord hallelujah glory to your much listening thank you amen amen amen springfield amen how many know that there's power in his name how many know there's power when you call the name of jesus ain't nothing like calling the name of jesus at the name of jesus every knee must bow and every tongue must confess that jesus is lord i'm so excited to be here this morning uh first given honor to the lord who's the head of all of our lives it's a blessing to be back in the house of the lord somebody ought to shout right now the same anointing is still in this house my mama this morning i will be coming i will be reading the apostles creed this morning the lord is so good and kind oh my my it says i believe in god the father almighty the creator of heavens and earth and jesus christ his only son our lord who was conceived of the holy spirit born of the virgin mary suffered on the punt pontius clock pilot was crucified and died and was buried he descended into hell on the third day he arose again from the dead he is he ascended into the heavens and sits at the right hand of god the father almighty from whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead i believe in the holy spirit the whole the holy universal church the communion of the saints the forgiveness of sins directs the resurrection of the body and life everlasting amen let's pray together father we thank you lord you are so good you're so kind and you're so great god lord we love you we're not ashamed to say we love you this morning god we worship you god we adore you god lord we just so grateful to you god for allowing us to come through those doors god and i and i just say thank you this morning god god it didn't have to be this way but lord you're allowed it to be and i'm just so thankful god lord bless this service right now god lord let it be what you were having to be god do what you do god save somebody save somebody god do it right now lord bless our pastor god lord bless the first family god bless this ministry god and we'll be so careful to give you the praises and the glory will be so careful god to lift you up to worship your god we believe that you're gonna heal our land we receive it and your son jesus name somebody say man amen and amen amen good morning springfield we hope that you're having a wonderful week if this is your first time worshiping with us welcome springfield is a growth center church that has been proclaiming and explaining the gospel of jesus christ since 1879. we would love to connect with you during this broadcast where one of our growth ambassadors will be happy to reach out to you in one of our chat rooms now here are your announcements [Music] our next drive-through food pantry will take place on october 9th and october 23rd this month from 10 a.m to 12 noon or until all food has been exhausted all are welcome and pre-registration is not required however face masks are required see you then make sure to tune in to our seventh annual solos jubilee that will take place on sunday october 17th from 6 p.m to 7 p.m this event will take place virtually online and all of our live stream platforms the solar jubilee will feature solos from all of our springfield choirs along with this special guest artist so make sure to tune in to support all of our sbc solos also make sure that you save the following dates sunday october 10th is survivor sunday in recognition of domestic violence awareness month and sunday october 17th has been designated as sbc cancer awareness sunday in addition woven and our health and wellness ministry samaritan grace will host a cancer awareness program on tuesday october 26th at 7 p.m on zuma there will be more details to come on this program so stay tuned and also we wanted to take this time to recognize and congratulate all of our new members from this summer we welcome you to the springfield family and there you have it these are your announcements springfield please continue to stay connected by visiting our website at spcrook.church connecting to brown or following us on our social media platforms facebook instagram twitter or youtube and don't forget to like us on facebook and subscribe to our youtube channel thank you for tuning in now let's continue with the worship experience [Music] good morning springfield baptist church this is the day that the lord has made and we shall rejoice and be glad in it it is october the 3rd 2021 it is the first sunday sacrament sunday of october and we welcome you and we thank god for the privilege of coming into your homes thank you for allowing us onto your tablets and cell phones and smartphones and laptops and desktop computers we're grateful for the privilege to share with you digitally the providence of our lord and our savior and our god and we thank god today uh for each and every one of you and certainly we praise god uh for this service moving forward i want to just join with our video announcements and welcoming our newest members to springfield baptist church we give god praise for each and every one of you for texting the word join to 865 what is that number whatever it is uh you text the word join the 865-465-1937 if you're joining today you do the same thing and i thank god again for all the families that have united with us over the last few weeks and we praise god uh for their spiritual growth their spiritual formation eight five five four six five one nine three seven text the word joined to eight five five four six five 1937 if you haven't done that yet if you've been planning on joining and you haven't done it yet we urge you to do it today uh just a few more announcements the ministers in training of springville baptist church we'll have a check-in zoom call on thursday october the 14th this coming thursday excuse me two thursdays from now october the 14th at 7 pm go to the ministers group in realm to rsvp and to access the zoom information uh come see how you can achieve even more growth during our 50 days straight journey uh the springfield baptist church food pantry and and social justice ministry will be on task again this weekend october the 9th from 10 a.m to 12 noon volunteers are needed on friday at 8 a.m and on saturday at 8 a.m helping to serve during our 50 days straight the social justice ministry in partnership with the newton rockdale chapter of zeta 5 beta sorority will be will be on hand to help get you registered to vote or to check your registration status so please reach please uh pre-regis pre-registration is not required for this so just come on out the public is welcome we look forward to serving on this coming uh this coming saturday we want to take a moment also just to say happy birthday again to all of the september birthdays god bless you and god keep you it's now october and today we celebrate the birthday on october the 1st of brother charles simmons one of our cameramen here at springfield baptist church who brings decades of camera experience he's been behind the camera for his entire career he retired came to springfield and is still behind the camera for the lord and we thank god for you charles we praise god for you and your wife and certainly for your most recent birthday i thank god from whom all blessings flow that everything that you have we recognize it came from the lord the earth is the lord's and the fullness thereof the world and they that dwell therein whatever you have today is because god chose to bless you with it and i thank god for those of us who are wise enough and who know enough bible who've lived enough days to appreciate that to whom much is given much is required we invite you now to honor god in your giving to tithe in love and obedience to our god i'm not going to assume that everybody knows what a tithe is a tie a tithe is a tenth of everything that the lord has given to you it started in genesis uh when melchizedek gave god a tenth of everything that he had we invite you now to honor god in your giving today the bible says test me in this and see if i will not open up the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing you have not the room to receive we invite you now to honor god in your giving to test god on his reciprocity in giving but just but just to be included in the in the in the kingdom building business is enough of it of adulation for me i thank god for the opportunity to participate in what god is doing to to for the opportunity to contribute to the foundation that god has established for the opportunity to to make my generation's contribution to what other generations of faith have already built we invite you now to trust god in your giving here at the springfield baptist church there are several ways to give you can mail that gift uh to our p.o box 80307 in congress georgia 30013 don't mail it to the physical address mail it to the p.o box if you're coming to the physical address you can drop off your gift there are church envelopes at the rear of the worship center there is a a door mark drop box and that is a secure drop box we urge you to come during the daylight hours that camera is that there is a security camera on that door we invite you uh to come during the safety of the daylight hours to make that drop but we also invite you to give digitally here at springfield baptist church and our number one portal through which we give is realm you can access realm by way of the church app or by way of our church website at sbcgrowth.church you can access realm when you text the word growth to 73256 you can also give by paypal by giblify by pushpay and also through cash app you can give here at springfield through cash app through give life through push pay and through paypal we invite you now on this first sunday to trust god in your finances to trust god to be a steward of everything that the lord has prospered you with on this first sunday of october october the 3rd father in the name of jesus we give you the honor we give you the glory we give you the praise and we come before your presence with a gift with an offering we come before your presence with frankincense and myrrh and gold we come before your presence god not empty-handed but recognizing that you have been a god that has provided you have been jehovah jireh you have opened doors god you have built homes you have done exceeding abundantly above all we could ever ask or think and we pray now god that you would accept this offering that you would accept these times in jesus name we pray amen amen and amen won't you join us in giving [Music] oh do whatever it says [Music] [Music] [Music] and do everything he gave me [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is yeah [Music] [Music] [Music] whatever whatever whatever [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] i know [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] eddie i'm so glad that the room doesn't have to be filled for the holy spirit to move amen i'm so glad that the room doesn't have to be occupied for the holy spirit to move think i just heard the song i'm going to be singing the rest of this year i'm all in whatever it takes i'm all in you you want to play that one back go back on the on the on the demand and play that one back and make sure you learn the language on that one learn the lyrics on that one you're gonna hear that one real soon again here at springfield baptist church amen we praise god for dr tammy feltner we thank god for this music worship arts ministry for leading us on this sacrament sunday whatever it takes god we're all in that's what these 50 days is all about it's about prayer it's about drawing closer to god and certainly it's about god having god's way in our lives we're praying now victory over these names in our ministry and in our community those who are recovering are preparing for surgery illnesses or hospitalizations brother glenn worthy barry bury excuse me baby ryan ryan marie clay mother davis sister dorothy lee sister janie stevens sister matilda thomas sister glenda gail walker those who are battling cancer as we recognize october as cancer awareness month brother ezekiel perrault those battling covet 19 we're still in a pandemic brother gray malden there are a number of bereavements that need our prayerful attention this morning sister latonya mitchell and family mourned the passing of her father earl smith he passed on september the 17th this graveside service was held on september the 25th here in here in covington sister angela smith and her family mourned the passing of her father clarence smith jr of chicago illinois passed on september the 15th sister luanna dixon and her family mourn the passing of her brother-in-law michael thomas who passed on september the 30th due to a heart attack sister carolyn brown and her family mourn the passing of her sister in love springfield baptist church member sister gloria gene devereaux she passed on september the 20th her celebration of life was held on saturday october the 2nd in vicksburg mississippi at w.h jefferson funeral home sister ernestine curry her brother her son brother javon curry and their family mourned the passing of her daughter melanie curry she passed on september the 20th at the age of 44 after years of health issues and arrangements are pending sister rosie carlisle and her family mourned the passing of her father milton he passed on sunday september the 26th his homegoing service will be held october 9th in richmond heights florida at the second baptist church of richmond heights where our friend and brother dr alfonso jackson is pastor sister lenora bryant and her family mourn the passing of her husband springfield baptist church member brother rodney bryant he's also the brother-in-law of sister bonnie hilliard he passed on sunday september the 26th and arrangements are pending we invite now minister jacqueline robinson to come now to lead us in prayer over our victory list hallelujah hallelujah the bible reminds us that we should be still and know that god is god gracious god and our eternal father to thy name be glory praise and honor god we thank you for your loving kindness we thank you for your mercy we thank you for your grace we thank you god for another privilege to be in your house one more time we thank you god for all your blessings upon us but here we come god presenting this victory list before you god we come nothing in our hands we bring but simply to the cross we are clinging god as we are going through and we are persevering through this pandemic oh god we want to thank you that even now even during this time that you are still god you are the still god that still hold us by the very palm of our hands you are that god that is still our rock and our shelter in the time of storm we come giving you god that list to you this morning those that are sick in their bodies those god that are going through cancer treatment or have been diagnosed with cancer god we give them to you right now in the name of jesus those who have diabetes god bless disorder whatever sickness that they're going through right now we give it to you because you are god god those that have passed on before we come thank you that there is still hope beyond the grave and in the midst of death that there is life so god in the name of jesus right now we pray for the families that have lost loved ones we give them to you god action you to be their comforter even in this time of storm god you remind us that one of these days that we shall be caught up to meet you in the year after death is past so god we say thank you for the hope that we have that is beyond the grave we give you springfield baptist church right now and every one of his members those that are going through covet 19 you are still our god those that are depressed you are still our god no matter what our conditions are right now and our situation you are still our refuge and our strength we give you glory we give you honor and we give you praise and we say thank you right now jesus as you reach out your hands of mercy as you reach out your hands of grace you touch every heart every mind everybody and every soul we say thank you right now in jesus name amen [Music] this morning for this wonderful worship opportunity for us but we're especially happy to have one of our sisters who was a part of our music ministry several years ago you remember her from singing oh holy night on our christmas cd she's here visiting this week and she came in to worship with this morning so she's going to minister with the worship team this morning let's welcome back to springfield one more time miss deborah williams [Applause] [Music] so you think that you can't make it [Music] is you must remember god cares for [Music] you knows just what is best for you he cares [Music] [Applause] [Music] so you think you think that you you just can't make it through [Music] but you got to [Music] remember so much he knows what is [Music] he [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] don't you [Music] [Music] trump [Music] [Music] he can [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] trust him at all times he knows he knows just what to do yes [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] he's [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] [Music] [Music] amen [Music] so [Music] now lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts lord let them be acceptable in thy sight lord you our strength and lord our redeemer and we thank you and we honor you god we give you the glory we give you the honor and the praise touch heal and deliver let your power fall let your voice be heard change our hearts as we stand on your word in jesus name we pray amen amen and amen there is a word from the lord on this first sunday of october in mark's gospel the 11th chapter verse is number 12. verse 12 of mark's gospel the 11th chapter i thank god for those who've been reading through the new testament with us since september the 22nd if you haven't been reading with us today is a good day to start we begin with luke chapter 1 2 and 3 today but before we move forward in the gospel we want to go back and review some of what we've already read in mark's gospel we've already read all of matthew and as of last night we will have read all of mark's 16 chapters and i want to turn your attention to mark chapter 11 verses number 12. i want to thank god for deborah williams knowing you can come home god bless you thank you for coming back and blessing our hearts today that's one of my favorite songs amen wasn't that milton bronson thompson community singers back when i was dating my wife amen we were used to sing a whole lot of milton bronson songs in the 90s and 80s and i thank god today for that wonderful classic i know he cares he cares for each and every one of us reading from the new international version of god's holy and righteous word i do want to thank god for minister robinson who is with us not only as a member of springfield baptist church but in her capacity as a master of divinity student at emory's candler theological seminary and we thank god for her being available today i know there's a lot of folk who love to hear minister robinson pray and we look forward to providing more opportunities to hear her hold this microphone here at the springfield baptist church we're grateful to have with us today the the chairman of the board of directors uh excuse me the chairman of the board of commissioners of newton county uh we thank god for minister marcelo baines who's always humble never uses his title around here never tries to usurp authority around here very humble and we thank god for him coming and sharing with us the apostles creed on this first sunday chapter number 11 of mark's gospel verse number 12 the next day as they were leaving bethany jesus was hungry seeing in the distance of fig tree in leaf he went to find out if it had any fruit when he reached it he found nothing but leaves because it was not the season for figs then he said to the tree may no one ever eat fruit from you again his disciples heard him say it jump now with me to verse number 20. verse 20 it's the next morning in the morning as they went along they saw the fig tree withered from the roots peter remembered and said to jesus rabbi look the fig tree you cursed has withered jesus answered have faith in god truly i tell you if anyone says to this mountain go throw yourself into the sea and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen it will be done for them therefore i tell you whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received it and it will be yours and when you stand praying if you hold anything against anyone forgive them so that your faith in heaven may forgive you [Music] so that your father in heaven may forgive you your sins this is the word of god for the people of god praise be unto our god i want to talk as i did on last week the judgment of jesus part two the judgment of jesus part two i heard joyful sound jesus saves jesus saves spread the tidings spread them all around jesus saves jesus saves to the utmost jesus saves to the utmost jesus saves he will pick you up and turn you around hallelujah hallelujah jesus saves this is the jesus that i am most familiar with this is the jesus that i hear preachers preach about this is the jesus that i hear people shout about this is the jesus that songs and hymns are written about i am familiar with the jesus who saves the jesus who heals the jesus who has compassion last week we discovered however a jesus that judges in matthew chapter 11 and matthew chapter 12 uh jesus judges and he doesn't just judge individuals he judges entire groups uh he he he judges an entire generation at one time i'm i'm thankful for this reading through the new testament because it's helping us to appreciate the larger picture of the biblical narrative that this jesus who saves is also the jesus who judges and the jesus who condemns jesus teaches and preaches in a multiplicity of ways and in in in the most common ways in which he preaches and teaches he articulates and he illustrates it's it's not only about what jesus says it's also about what jesus does his articulation and his illustration uh there is no contradiction in his articulation and his illustration there is no distance in his articulation and his illustration there is no difference in the veracity and the truth of his word and for context jesus in chapter 11 of mark's gospel has just entered jerusalem like a conquering king the day before just the day before he has come in on a coat that has never been written before to the adulation of the crowd there in jerusalem that is assembling uh for uh the festival that's assembling there for passover that's assembling there according to god's word and when jesus enters jerusalem like a conquering king they cry hosanna hosanna in the highest blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord and blessed is the king blessed is the one coming the coming kingdom of our father david the adulation of the crowd is palpable but it's also accompanied by the aggravation and the irritation of the religious leaders of that day the crowd has adulation but the leaders are aggravated they want him dead and not a week will go by until they get what they want this is the week of crucifixion tensions are high jesus has had thousands of people following him at once but this is the highest profile moment in his ministry all eyes are on jesus tension fills the air and for context it's now the next day having spent the night in bethany perhaps he spent the night with lazarus and his sisters perhaps he spent the night with with people to which he is familiar and are are intimate with him and the next morning after his triumphal entry two things happen back to back that are uncharacteristic of jesus i'm not gonna preach very long this morning two things happen that are uncharacteristic the first happens in verses 12 through 14 he curses a fig tree and the and the roots wither and the tree dies and the next thing he does is he visits the temple in verses 15 through 19 he turns over tables and and he physically drives out corrupt money changes this is uncharacteristic of the jesus that we've come to know who uses force who uses the threat of physicality to clean out the temple but it's followed by an immediate teaching an immediate explanation he says my house is to be a house of prayer it is not to be a den of thieves jesus has just done two things that are uncharacteristic of him but it's the victory incident that troubles me maybe it's because for the last 19 months since the pandemic began i've developed something of a green thumb we have planted 50 trees my wife and i and my sons reluctantly been digging holes and two of the 50 trees that we have planted are fig trees so maybe i have a sensitivity now to the lifespan to the life cycle of a tree i'm cool with jesus cracking down on corruption in the temple i'm cool with jesus throwing people out who have who have tainted the will of god i'm cool with jesus cracking down on corruption but i'm troubled by the condemnation of a fig tree you could make the argument that jesus shows more compassion for the corrupt than he does for the tree let's take a closer look at what happens to this tree in verse number 12 the bible says that jesus is the next day and jesus is hungry he's on his way to the temple to toss some folk out so the last thing you want to do is to have to check somebody on an empty stomach i get it the last thing you want to do is correct some folk on an empty stomach the last thing you want to do is have to check have to chin check somebody who is corrupt on an empty stomach i understand jesus is needing a meal because he's about to clean up today but in verse number 13 the bible says in the distance he sees a fig tree with green leaves and the green leaves is what draws his attention he examines the tree because it looks fruitful but it has no fruit it has the appearance of fruit but it has none it's as if jesus has been deceived by the appearance of the leaves and i can relate to that and i know you can too because you can look rich and be dead broke you can look holy and be hellish you can look spiritual and be carnal you can look like a king or a queen and be a counterfeit you can look like you're righteous and be wretched i understand the frustration of jesus because not everybody is what they look like they are it's green and it's leafy but here's the root of my trouble eddie it's not fix season yet leaves come first fruit comes later leaves come in march and april fruit comes in june so jesus my question is am i expected to be fruitful even when it's not my season was the fig tree a failure is it fair to expect fruit when it's not the fig tree's season why and if jesus has so much compassion why didn't jesus just command fruit instead of condemning the tree he could have commanded he could have spoken and the tree would have just given him figs right then and there why is jesus condemning a fig tree for not producing fruit when it's not even the fig tree season and in verse number 14 despite whether or not we think it's fair jesus then condemns the fig tree for not having fruit when jesus needed it and the roots with her this is troublesome for me and it's troublesome for me for two reasons one because it's a contradiction it seems like it's a contradiction to the compassionate jesus that we that we've already preached about the compassion of jesus the love of jesus to the utmost jesus saves we've seen jesus have compassion on the most despicable people in time we've seen jesus have compassion over the most of the most deranged people we've seen jesus have compassion over evil people this seems like a contradiction it's only the second time in scripture in jesus earthly ministry that jesus uses his power to condemn and destroy only one other time has jesus used his power to condemn and destroy and that's when there was some evil spirits and he put the evil spirits in the pigs and the pigs ran down the bank and were drowned he destroyed pigs because of impure spirits and now a tree that bore no fruit out of season is condemned it's just not the jesus i'm familiar with it's just not the jesus i like to shout about he judges and he condemns and i'm troubled because of what appears to be a country and i'm also so i'm also troubled because of the confusion because the explanation doesn't come for a full day there's a time interval there's a delay it troubles me because because he tells them why he turns the table the tables over right away but he makes them wait 24 hours and for 24 hours despite the conflicting actions of jesus despite what appears to be the contradiction to his compassion the disciples have to live with what they do not understand they have to trust god with what they do not know they have to walk into the temple confused about what jesus had just done and confused about what jesus is about to do i don't know about you but but is there anybody that has ever walked up in church confused about what jesus just did and confused about what he had what he was about to do but you walked up here anyway and you gave god the praise anyway because even when i don't understand you i got to learn how to trust you too many people think too many people are only going to serve him when they understand him but even when i don't comprehend him i've decided i'm gonna stay with jesus even when i'm confused about a sickness i'm gonna stay with even when i don't understand why i'm going through what i'm going through i've just decided i'm sticking with jesus i'm trusting him though i don't always understand him yo i don't i don't get it but i'm gonna trust them anyway they go the whole day not knowing why jesus condemned the tree that was out of season for not having fruit but in verse 20 the next day comes and peter recalls after seeing a fruit tree with withered roots a fig tree with withered roots the disciples noticed that the fig tree didn't make it to the next day the figure the fig tree is symbolic of the nation of israel when the when john the baptist came the kingdom of god and said the kingdom of god is at hand they had every opportunity to repent and they elected not to they had every chance to be fruitful but they chose not to john was rejected and john was beheaded judgment and condemnation are the consequences of rejecting god's word and the will of god that's what failure looks like jesus gave them an illustration of the failure of israel we need to appreciate what jesus came to save us from we need to appreciate that there is a lake of fire we need to appreciate that judgment has consequences and too many people think that judgment and condemnation are out of the question when it comes to a god who loves them and every now and then jesus needs to remind us i'm coming to seek and save those that are lost but i'm also coming to judge the quick and the dead so when jesus comes to a fig tree that has no fruit when he needs it most it ought to lead us to ask the question springfield what does jesus need from us that we have failed to produce what does jesus need from us in october of 2021 that we have failed to produce you don't ask you ought to ask the question husband what does this marriage need from me that i have failed to produce what does my family need from me that i have failed to produce what does god need from me as a disciple that i have failed to produce on this 50-day journey you want to ask yourself the question what should i have produced by now that god needs from me but pastor what about the season it wasn't the fig tree's season the leaves were green shouldn't jesus have been more patient i'm glad you asked that question because there are times when a fig tree has fruit on it when it's not its season fig trees have the ability to hold on to fruit from last season and perhaps jesus made a judgment that because you were so fruitful last season that there ought to be an expectation that there's some left over in do i have a witness out there that god has been so bles has been such a blessing to you and you've been so fruitful in past seasons that you ain't got no business being fruitless in this season had he opened doors in the last season had he healed your body in the last season hadn't he put a roof over your head in the last season and because of what he's done for you in the past you should have been you should have had some fruit in every season you ought to be fruitful every season when you think about how good god has been to you in the past seasons there's a lesson about failure but y'all there's also a lesson about faith and i'm almost finished because the bible says in verse number 22 have faith in god jesus tells his disciples because of what you saw you ought to you want to recognize that there's a lesson in failure but there's also a lesson in faith have faith in god that's what these 50 straight days is all about you ought to strengthen your faith in god you ought to strengthen your faith in god in three areas you ought to have the faith to move mountains you ought to have the power of prayer in your life and you ought to have the faith that forgives in verse 23 he says if anyone says to this mountain go throw yourself into the sea and does not doubt it will happen for them understand y'all that mountains mountains represent obstacles on your journey but but this doesn't make sense to have a mountain or an obstacle removed it doesn't make sense if you're not on a journey if you're not on the journey that god has for you then it doesn't make sense to ask god to help you move mountains y'all there's a difference between you taking a trip and you going on a journey with the lord you could be tripping and think you on a journey with the lord but if you're on a journey with the lord then you can call out a mountain and a mountain will be thou removed and then y'all he talks about power prayer therefore i tell you whatever you ask for in my in prayer believe that you will receive it and it will be yours y'all we are in 50 days of reading god's will if you ask god for anything it ought to be in god's will your prayers should coincide your prayers should cohere your prayers should be should be a and then inspired from god's word the reason you ought to read god's word is to know what to pray for then everything you ask for that's in his will will be brought to pass you got the power of prayer you've got the faith to move mountains you got the faith that forgives when you stand praying if you hold anything against anyone forgive them so that your father in heaven may forgive you your sins there's power there's faith to move mountains there's the power of prayer and there's faith that forgives the fig tree didn't survive the next day but the disciples survived the next day the fig tree didn't survive the next day but the israelites survived the next day the fig tree did not survive the next day but the sadducees and the pharisees and the sanhedrin council all survived the next day he didn't have to give he he didn't have to give us another day but he did and what are you going to do with your next day what are you going to do with your next chance the tree didn't survive but he gave the disciples another chance people get frustrated with me as i preach the gospel because they think that faith is a drug that allows them to escape reality and when i preach about racism and i preach about political problems and when i preach about covet 19 and cancer and all of these things people get frustrated with me because they come to church to escape but i believe that faith is not here to help me escape my problems i ought to be using faith to help me face my problems not to escape my reality and that's why i don't mind talking about the problems of the day because i use my faith to come through my crisis the crisis in haiti we ought to use our faith to come the the the migrants that are being sent back to a dead list we ought to be trying to use and apply our faith not to escape the reality of the crisis and back in 2020 i just want to remind you about the faith that moves mountains and the power of prayer and the faith that forgives in 2020 we were all reeling from the fallout and the reckoning from systemic racism and the role of slavery in america is brought about by the tragic death of george floyd america was being wrecked was reckoning with its its history of systemic racism and the role of slavery and and it was time to get to get uh the confederate symbols off of the flag in mississippi it was time to bring the monuments down in rockdale county in newton county and in henry county it was time to bring the monuments down there in virginia as it happened last month because american culture was being was was reckoning with the role of slavery and racism in its culture and it's in its economics and in its institutions and several institutions of higher learning stepped up to acknowledge the role that slavery played in their development georgetown university columbia theological seminary where pastor deandre matt is a student at the masters level he has all of his tuition paid for because they have a reparations program for the descendants of slaves and emory university which started in newton county at oxford college has acknowledged its role in the enslavement of africans and the displacement of native americans the place where my son went to school the place where jackie robinson is in school right now and in oxford college this week my friend judge horace johnson jr will have an academic building named in his honor on friday october the 8th on the same campus where slaves toiled at oxford college which became emory university they have asked there is a commission i have talked to members on the commission they are trying to reckon with their past and they are seeking forgiveness for the role that they played in the racial disparities that we still experience today i don't believe it's a coincidence but it was announced last week that researchers at emory university are responsible for the first oral anti-viral pill to be used in the fight against covet 19. we already have a vaccine but in the not too distant future we may have a pharmaceutical solution to covet 19. in the not too distant future we might have a cure to covet 19 and that research happened on the campus of emory university this could be a game changer this could be life altering this could alter the entire globe and it was created by people who believe in the power of forgiveness and the power of forgiveness leads to the power of healing do i have a witness in here that if you ask anything according to god's will i thank god that it will come to pass i'm so glad today that if you confess your sins he's faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness i'm so glad that god can use anybody that god can heal anybody that god can save anybody will you have fruit on the vine when god calls your name when god examines you when god examines your branches will there be some fruit on the vine that god can use to make a difference in the world father we come to you today not completely understanding everything you got going because your ways are above our ways your thoughts are above our thoughts but god we have seen enough of the sample size to know that you love us we've seen enough of a sample size of jesus to know that he came that we might have life and life more abundantly we've seen enough of a sample size because what kind of friend would lay down his life for a friend thank you god for the greatest love thank you for the savior of all thank you for healing and deliverance but god we recognize that examination and judgment are still coming and so that's why we plead the blood of jesus as we prepare for holy communion god we plead the blood of jesus over every fig tree god over every peach tree god over every apple we plead the blood of jesus god over every generation every marriage over every household over every child over every grandchild we plead the blood of jesus over every church god let your love be discovered today let someone come to know [Music] that i've got to spend my days being ready because no man knows that they know the hour that god will come looking for fruit and find none i pray now god that when god comes looking for fruit he finds a fruit grove and not just a fruit tree that when god comes looking for fruit at springfield that he finds a fruit grove and not just a fruit tree i pray right now god that you would use these 50 days to fertilize us to mulch us god to prune us to prick us so that we can bring forth fruit even when the winter comes and we will be so careful to give your name the glory the honor and the praise and the people of god together said amen amen and amen we give god the praise on october the 3rd 2021 the bible says if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart on the lord jesus christ that he was raised from the dead with all power in his hands you shall be saved everyone who calls upon the name of the lord shall be saved i'm believing god for fruit i don't care what season it is i'm believing god for fruit i'm believing god for fruit right now for somebody who would walk by faith and not by sight asking it shall be given seek and ye shall find knock and the door shall be opened i'm believing god for you right now wherever you are in front of a computer in front of a laptop in front of a in front of a tablet take a moment now and pray this prayer of confession with me let us pray together father in the name of jesus i allow you into my heart have your way now god touch heal deliver i confess jesus as lord and savior i confess that i have sinned that i've fallen short of the glory of god that i've had far too many fruitless moments but today i'm declaring fruit now and forevermore thank you god for accepting me as your son or daughter thank you for accepting me and saving me you didn't just come to judge and to condemn you came to save and today i accept that salvation in jesus name we pray amen amen and amen we just celebrated 22 new members to the springfield baptist church i'm just believing god for fruit we ought to believe god for 22 more members to the springfield baptist church while we're asking for fruit we ought to believe god for 44 new members to the springfield baptist church and i'm praying today that you would be one of those if you would if you would just take a moment to text the word join to text the word 855-465-1937-855-465-1937 to that number today there are people that are waiting to welcome you in there are people there willing to usher you in we invite you now make sure that there's fruit on the vine the doors of the church are open we pray now that you would take a moment to prepare for holy communion if you haven't come to the church to get your cup for communion to find some bread find some crackers find some juice in your house as we prepare our hearts for holy communion can we do that now would you begin to transition to holy communion we're going to take a few moments to prepare to do what jesus asked us to do in remembrance of him on the night that our lord and savior jesus the christ was betrayed he took bread and when he had given thanks broke it gave it to his disciples and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you and like manna he took the cup and when he had given thanks gave it to his disciples and said take drink this is my blood which is spilled for the remission of sin do this as often as you will in remembrance of me if it weren't for the blood the disciples would have never gotten another day if it weren't for the blood none of us would have gotten another day and we thank god for the blood that reaches to the highest mountains and flows through the lowest valleys take a moment now to prepare your hearts for holy communion [Music] so [Music] play [Music] that gives me [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] yes [Music] all right yes [Music] yes [Music] oh [Music] that gives me strength [Music] is [Music] is [Music] let us pray god we're not worthy to gather up the crumbs from under thy table but it is your property god to always have mercy grant us therefore gracious lord that we might partake of this sacrament of thy son jesus christ that we may walk in the newness of life and grow to reflect thy spirit in all things forevermore now god as we for the 19th time accept holy communion in the context of contagious airborne disease i pray god that you would continue to show yourself as jehovah jireh jehovah shalom jehovah rofa in jesus name we pray and believe and the people of god together said amen amen and amen the bible says if you drink without faith you drink damnation to your own spirits if you're not a believer then don't mess with the condemnation of god don't flirt with it don't tempt it but for those of us who believe we invite you now to partake in this sacrament the body and the blood of our lord and savior jesus the christ was given to preserve our souls into the everlasting now take eat and drink and feed on it in your spirits with thanksgiving that the church say amen let the church say hallelujah let the church say thank you jesus i praise god today for faith that moves mountains i thank god for the power of prayer i thank god for the faith to forgive and i thank god for the forgiveness that leads to healing let us pray now our prayer of benediction father we thank you today for those god who have been attentive to your word and your will and your worship today i pray now god that you would guide direct heal and deliver god that you would bring fruit that's enough even when a dry season comes that there's fruit god even when it's not our season to be fruitful and we will be careful to give your name the glory the honor and the praise now and forevermore and the people of god together said amen amen and amen we look forward to seeing you for bible study for 50 days straight we look forward to discussing self-care on this coming wednesday night god bless you and god keep you ready [Music] wants to be free hey [Music] you

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Published: Sun Oct 03 2021