The Place Where I Got Grace!

good morning welcome to the house of the lord this morning everybody continue with your greetings but we're about to start any minute now please get to your seats when you when you can very nice to see everyone this morning hey faye hi mama we have come into this house to magnify the lord jesus yourselves and concentrate foreign oh [Music] this house this house to magnify the lord jesus christ which [Music] catch good morning [Music] brother thompson was supposed to do our welcome this morning so i'll just stand in place of him how's everyone this morning we'd like to welcome you to another lord today morning and another uh worship that we are going to endeavor to present to our lord and savior and to god we'd like to welcome you here and it was special if we have any visitors not necessarily in the household of faith you are considered um you are considered our our honored guests if you're having the visitors with you so as we get ready to sing and pray and give god our best and prepare our hearts and our minds for worshiping the lord we'd like to again thank you for being in the house of the lord this morning and then before we go into our devotional let us have a word of prayer father in heaven it is again we approach the throne of grace and mercy father thanking you for waking us up this morning first of all father and giving us amount of health and strength and allowing us to do things that we take for granted that a lot of people just can't do father we're thankful for allowing us to come here and to prepare our hearts and minds to worship you in spirit and in truth father as we go through the service we pray that we would take the woes and the cares of this world and set them off the side and take our burdens to you and leave them there so that we can clear our minds and worship you gladly and willingly and happily father we thank you for this world even though we're going through a lot the pandemic has hit us worldwide you can't go anywhere in this world and not run into it we know you're in control and we have that faith in you we know that you are going to take care of us because we are your children and you said that you would take care of us father we love you we thank you we give you the praise the honor and the glory and these are the things we ask in the name of your dear son who died for us all let us all say amen so as we begin our first song lord hold my hand lord hold my hand my oh hold because i don't want to i while i run this [Music] this is [Music] in vain amen well good morning church family i'll try that again good morning church family good morning all right say we together be standing for our responsive reading and our invocation prayer our reading will come from psalm division 34 verses 11 through 14. please repeat after me and remain standing for prayer come your children listen to me i will teach you to feel the lord who is the man who desires life and loves many days that he may see good keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit depart from evil [Applause] and do good seek peace and pursue it say we together pray great god of heaven we thank you for yet another day for watching over us on last evening while we slept in early this morning gracing us with your finger of love and giving us one more day we just want to say thank you for being present physically cognitively emotionally and spiritually we have gathered on this day father but for one purpose and that is to glorify you we pray that that does not escape us time has been set aside this moment this space in order that we may give you all of the praise and the glory and the honor for what it is you have done and for who you are even now father as we stand in your presence we are doing so not out of obligation but out of love and respect and reverence for who you are and what you do and what an honor it is for us to call you our father but even greater still the reality that you would look down from lofty heights and consider us your children is deeply humiliated humiliated and it humbles us so father we approach you in the spirit of love you know our thoughts from afar you know our goings and comings you know all about us and so we cannot stand in your presence dressed up physically and not be dressed up spiritually and the way in father is the entrance to humility and even now as we have read from your word as we seek knowledge and wisdom and understanding about how to live we're mindful of our defaults and defects sometimes when we read your word we we think of others and not ourselves we don't want to stand in your presence dressed up and hiding behind the reality that we are broken as well so this morning we confess our faults our sins before you there are times we say things we shouldn't say we have thoughts we'll not be thinking and we even go places we have no business going whether psychologically or physically forgive us each one every day we allow your word to confront us we allow your spirit to convict us and correct us and help us and so as we enter into this worship service we're mindful of whose we are and who we are and we just want to say thank you for being a gracious god today is a very special day for the figaro family as we embrace the returning of our beloved brother and the person of brother apollos maxwell father it's good to see him he's missed deeply by all and especially by yours truly we're grateful that you granted him safe traveling grace you're praying now for la kanye and for grace and for his son watch over them keep them be with the congregation where he is laboring bless them as well now father this day we lift up to you as we will be installing our new leadership we're thankful for the holy spirit and your word in guiding us help us now to live out the reality of what it means to seek good and to do the right thing for the right reasons we live in an ugly world full of hate ugliness and bitterness and you've called us to be a light a life-changing life so let that light burn in us today and every day therefore we ask all of this in the name of him who made it possible he is jesus christ and the church says amen amen church i need you to help me sing this song i am a heart fighting soldier and i'm on the battlefield and jesus i and i missed the verse didn't he no now i have taken the master's hand and i served come on i keep how by the next song to sing is thank you lord but i was asked to sing a song who helped you just hope you'd bear with me just for a verse that's your breath son it's called there is a bomb there is sometimes i feel discouraged and feel my words my is there is so thank you thank you you lord i just want to thank you lord is it anybody that's in here did he wake you up this morning you saved my soul you say my soul [Music] you made a way for me standing right here give him face i just want to thank you the lord let the spirit speak just [Music] me [Music] thanks [Music] thank you thank you lord for giving me strength and healthy i just want to thank you i just want to thank you i just want to thank you i just want to thank you [Music] good morning good morning our scripture reading for this morning will be taken from ephesians the second chapter verses 4 through 10. after which i asked you please stand as we go to the throne of grace ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 through 10. i'm ready for the new king james version and it reads but god who was rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in christ jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and in his kindness towards us in christ jesus for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of ourselves it is the gift of god not of works lest anyone should boast for we are his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works which god prepared before him that we should walk in them this includes our scripture reading for this morning ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 through 10 would you please stand for prayer eternal god our father in heaven we come this morning's giving thanks thank you for another day father thank you for bringing us through this week thank you for strength that you blessed us with today father to be able to come to this building to worship you in spirit and in truth thank you father that you've allowed your man brother maxwell to be able to arrive here safely today we're thankful for him once again father to be in our presence to bring a mighty word from you today we're asking dear lord that our hearts and minds be opened up today to the things are being spoken that we'll take these things to heart father and live them out in our daily lives father we just want to thank you for just another day you've given us strength woke us up today father we know that there are many people around us who are suffering right now and we just ask mercy and grace upon them dear lord we're praying for all those who are going through difficult times because of the destruction of the storm that's been going through the nation right now father from down south from the flooding and back east to new york and new jersey father we just ask for mercy and grace upon them that means we made for them father that they need to be taken care of right now we're praying for those from the front line taking care of those needs father those who put themselves in harm's way to make sure that those who are hurting have what they stand in need of father just give them your mercy and grace right now allow them to be able to return to their homes we pray that their homes will be restored once again that those who without food without water without electricity father but those things those things we provided provided for them in a timely way father we're just praying for our nation as a whole we know that as we're still going through this pandemic father there are those who are still suffering those who are ravished because of this pandemic who've lost loved ones those who are in hospitals that are sick father we just ask your mercy and grace to lord once again upon all individuals who are going through trials and tribulations right now and we're mindful also of those who are just going through the trouble struggles of day to life each day of this life father we know that this journey isn't easy dear lord but we know that we can turn towards you we know that you're in control of all things and we just want to put our faith and trust in you father and know that you'll see us through all situations we're facing right now father we're asking forgiveness for our sins this morning we know we haven't done the things that you ask of us to do collectively and individually father forgive us help us while we're weak help us to get back into your word father to keep it within our hearts that we don't sin against you and where we've offended others father please help us always to go to them to ask for forgiveness and to mend that relationship as needed we're praying for this community that we live in father that we can be a blessing to it that we can share the things we have materially father but also share the word father because that's the most important thing that they know what it means to be a child of yours and we just pray father the gospel continue to go out to the community to the world around us and that will be a blessing to those around us we're praying this morning father for the leadership of this congregation those who are already in the leadership father we ask for wisdom for them give them patience give them understanding father and dealing with the flock and we're asking for wisdom also father for our new leadership that's being installed we know this is a challenging task father and we just ask that you'll give them the wisdom give them the courage to stand firm in your word dear lord just to be a blessing to you to be a blessing to this congregation and just to do the things that are right in your eyesight father we're just praying this morning for uh those in this congregation that are ill right now we lift up all those on our sickness father we just ask that you'll make means for them the things that they're suffering in right now that they can be made better father and that they can be made more comfortable father open up our hearts today we pray that we give you a worship service that is worthy of you uh help our spirits father to be in tune with your spirit today father we just want to uh align our lives with your word and that we live it out each and every day according to that word we thank you we love you dear lord and we ask you all these things name your son jesus we pray amen come on lee hi yeah my voice cracked on that other song i don't like that brother hawkins said okay nobody beat you up like you that's what i'm doing our watch was lost in sin but jesus took me jesus is jesus makes it right and just a little talk with us have jesus little talk with jesus [Music] i go let us don't you know it's all right it's all right it's all right it's all right it's all right all right jesus let us tell him all about our troubles amen what a joyous occasion this is today in order that we might get together to worship god that's why we're here and we appreciate those of you who are watching via live stream and of course those are you who are in the audience it's good to have been surprised this morning all the way from realtor california is my mother-in-law in the back your buddy i don't know sister piss if you know she's here i don't even know if she knows you here but you can stand up and look at your friend they've been praying for over 75 plus years lord have mercy sister hawkins i'm gonna get you you surprised me i told you to stay home and be good but i'm glad you came i knew i couldn't keep you and your mother changed but it's good to have y'all i walked through the door with max and saw her and i was just wow it's a blessing and it's always a blessing to see you in the end of course all the way from home mother let me raise your hand god has brought her back in mother's been going through quite a bit we've been praying for her as well and a number of other of our members as being challenged lift up in prayer as we speak now jerome williams his wife and his son daniel and there are others who are struggling and these are challenging times but in the midst of all of that god sustains us amen all the way from uh where it is where are you from are you from texas or where you from where are you from you are from seattle now by way of texas all right good good to have my longtime birthday buddy and good friend and ministerial colleague back with us today i i'm having nostalgia moments very sentimental so i'm not gonna be long it's just good to have you back boy miss your man really miss you miss your preaching mitch miss your presence and this is just a good day for me and i just thank god that he brought you this way a few years back apollos and i worked with the first tier of leadership of this church to bring us to where we are and i wanted him to be here this time to help me once again i didn't want to go forward without him i'm making sure we started out together like peaches and cream see uh uh give me another group very quickly ashwood and [Applause] yeah i know yeah yeah oh it's her wedding green yeah i knew you'd get a laugh out of there what another club what other group we have other couple sanford and son what else peanut butter and jelly what else would you say simon i don't know them but i'm familiar with busters and dave but it's just happy i'm so happy and he's going to bless us i came up here really to wipe the mic down and sanitize everything i don't want max go back sick we're going to have a song i want you to stand god is a good god and of course we will give him praise so if you if you're with us this morning you're able to stand we're going to sing a little bit and i want you guys to sing we're going to bring max on and let him bless us with the word of god and also uh stick around after service for our very special ceremony we're excited about that and we're just thanking the figaro family for your leadership your participation we've got a great group of elders they're here with us this morning uh we're praying for of course brother whitaker and his wife it's good to have brother barkins and brother jerome and of course our deacons as well and this is just a great day and then the support of the church is so so valuable to what we're doing to where we are so at this time let's sing together and that will never got no and that's is i changed his name is singing over saying god get on your knees god is name let the church say amen say man again there's a happy land of promise over in the beyond will [Applause] everybody will be happy over there and everybody we'll [Music] everybody will be happy everybody everybody will be happy man let the church say man right out of the gate i'm grateful to be back home y'all said you heard me didn't you it's good to be back home there were times during the height of covet when i will i ever be able to get on the plane again and god has uh seen fit uh for us to come back to in-person worship and we know things are still raging in different parts of the country but god not only god is and you have to celebrate i think billy washington said the isness of god not only is god is but god also is able amen and he overrules all even this virus as it rages he overrules all for our good and i want to commend the church for having the faith and the boldness to keep going forward in the midst of a pandemic when most congregations would not even dare to add leadership at such a time that you're moving forward with faith that lets me know that uh this congregation uh trusts god amen uh to to continue to win for such a time as this i'm not going to preach a leadership sermon i know that all that's been done and bible resonate all times of the year and that's a message of god's grace amen that will encourage you to keep on keeping on and the only reason that we can celebrate this day together is because of the grace of god and i'm here to remind you in the midst of trying to get back to normal i know that a lot of work has been done even to get to this point and as you're moving getting back to normal never forget that uh what we're able to do is only possible it's only possible because of god's grace you can spray light all over the building you can spray and you can wipe down things but the only reason that we're here today is because of god's grace i did i got back from kansas city about a month ago i was there doing something with my dad and i said they had lights all everywhere they were spraying they sprayed me up they sprayed me down uh once i left that seat they sprayed that seat down this is a lifesaver spraying church up here but we had a good time and we understand you got to do what you got to do amen in order to stay safe it kind of smells good to me uh but we're thankful for god's grace it's good to be back here with uh my birthday buddy uh he's sanford i'm son he sanford and i'm son it's good to be back here this has a good spirit a good you won't meet many ministers with such a great hospitable spirit [Music] every day when you see him you know he's got a good spirit and we appreciate him for that we appreciate the leadership uh here and we're looking forward to these uh program after the service when we'll be adding uh installing more leaders to the figaro church of christ amen god is is good turn with me to the book of ephesians ephesians the second chapter verses 4 through 10 and and i've had i'm still working with the church uh from long distance some of you don't know but i still do some things for the church long distance and i i i enjoy it it's good working with your secretary sister sanders and back and forth we're emailing all the time and so i'm still connected still connected in ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 through 10 the bible reads but god who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in christ jesus and in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in christ jesus here it is again for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of god not of works lest anyone should boast for we are his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works amen which god prepared beforehand that we should walk in them my subject this morning is the place where you got grace the place where you got grace paul took some time on our past failures and god's present redemption and he insists that god not only raised jesus up and set him in heavenly places above all authority but he did the same for us and so we must identify with christ in his life in his death his resurrection and ascension we have been raised with christ therefore paul could lead this is why he was able to lead with such faith and with such boldness a very distinguished preacher giving an illustration to help this sermon out a distinguished preacher and two of the leaders of the congregation had attended an out of town meeting you know how meetings go uh sometime they go late into the evening and and they traveled a good distance down the road and they they uh it was time for them to head on back and as they were going back they became they were very hungry are y'all on the line and they decided uh that uh wherever wherever we saw food we're gonna stop and we're going to get something to eat because we are starving but the only place that was open was an old run-down bar and grill and they didn't want to go in there but they had to have something to eat because they had a ways to go and so they came they they they went into the place and and the only uh tables that were available were next to the bar i know you're listening now and uh they didn't wanna they didn't they didn't wanna sit down there but they were so hot sometimes your stomach will will cry out just give me anything and they said well all right and they set them down next to the old rundown bar ah and they went inside and they got to take they placed their order and after they had been served one of the men asked the minister uh to say grace and he said you know i really i really don't want to say grace right now i rather not because i don't want god to know where i'm at some of you may know what he was talking about he didn't want to draw any attention to himself uh but we know god is everywhere he says hi and looks what that's right and so the preacher didn't want to say grace because of where he was but by contrast ephesians says we get grace despite where we were amen and according to our text today god tells us that before we became christians uh we were dead in trespasses and sins we lived in the wrong place am i right about it we fought the wrong thing we we said the wrong thing we followed the wrong leader and as a result we were by nature the objects of wrath that was not a place where you say grace but it's the place where we got grace and after pointing out how dark our past had been ah paul wrote but god you need to have a god in your life he said but god that's verse 4 verse 3 he tells us what we were verses 1 2 and 3 tells us what we used to be that's why in verse 4 he began the sentence by saying but god but god who is what god who is is uh rich in mercy because of the great love uh with which he loved us even when we were not together even when we didn't have it all knowed up as david jones would say even when we were dead in our trespasses he did what he quickened us he made us alive together with christ and that's when he said by grace you have been saved wait a minute paul was telling ephesians you were in a bad place i know some of us don't believe now after we've been so long in the church that we were in a bad place uh but we were in a bad place amen and but but while you were in that bad place god saved you by his grace it was a place of need and he offered you his forgiveness even though you did not deserve it in that place of need wow you were and we were yet sinners while we were on the back streets uh i used to be a backstreet boy uh-huh on the back street while i was yet a sinner that's the beauty of god's grace you didn't deserve it but while you were in the sunken place god met you in the sunken place and provided you with his with his grace now a a clinical psychologist dr peterson dr peterson noted that most people don't often think of themselves as valuable and they don't certainly don't think that when they're depressed they don't uh think that they're valuable when they're going through a time of uneasiness they they they don't think that they're valuable uh when they are feeling ashamed or when they are feeling uh guilty or where they are feeling frustrated or angry or their problems uh at the house they don't feel uh valuable and when you are going through something and you're up at three o'clock in the morning and you got a heart get all up in your neck you don't feel valuable at those times uh in your life and but that's when you need him most that's when you need the lord the most and that's when god in my feeble opinion can use you the best when you don't think there's anything left to be used god can reach down and he can use you but what i found in the church is that sometimes we think too highly of ourselves y'all don't put me in the refrigerator you know i came a long way and uh uh is there anybody on the lower side this morning now i know we got masks and everything but but but you can nod your head or do something come on somebody sometime i think that because we've been in the church a long time myself included i've been in the church a long time now sometimes we may think of ourselves too highly after all god needs us we won't say it but i think deep down somewhere inside that we uh feel that longevity has its place in the body of christ come on somebody i'm afraid that there is the thought that i'm okay just like i am after all i did show up in the midst of it so the lord ought to be faithful that i'm here but you do know that the loss must be saved [Applause] but the saved need to stay saved am i right about it you don't deserve heaven just because you're nice or have done nice things amen you don't deserve heaven because you've done more good than you've done bad in life and and that you've earned your ticket to the pearly gates and have banked so many righteous deeds like airline miles that god has to let me in because after all these years i've earned it i think we all every time we step in here ought to have an attitude of gratitude you ought to be thankful just to walk in a lot of folk are not here that were here last year and you're still here stepping high with your mask your matching mask got all kind of fancy masks i see lv masks tiger print masks all kind of flower prank man you ought to be grateful you can promise though that's right i'm thankful just to be alive thankful to be able to breathe in not too close though and breathe it out amen somebody y'all gonna start me spraying up in here this lysol ah uh but i'm glad to be in the house of the lord and i'm thankful and if i make it in it'll be my grace someone wants to scribe grace this way grace is god loving us just as we are but loving us too much for us to stay like we are and so god's love shown to us verse four and five the bible says but god who is what rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us he says god in verse four because of verse three but god and 4 because of verse 3 because verse 3 says verse 3 says and we were by nature the children of wrath then he said even as others i looked at that and i studied that vent and i said we were naughty by nature the text said it even by what by nature we were born with a inherently uh a nature that would gravitate towards sin amen we were born we weren't born sinners but we were born into a world of nature where it's easy for us we would gravitate toward sin meaning that left alone we would move downward all by ourselves is that right now i'ma prove that in just a moment one of the first behaviors a child displays come on somebody as soon as that child is able to express its developing personality is disobedience you don't have to teach a child to disobey is that right they they they where do they learn that from they gravitate toward it you gotta teach them to do what you obey you don't have to teach them to to disobey they're gonna do that but by nature isn't that right so no one has ever had to teach a child to disobey rather child is taught to to obey and the lesson must be reinforced you can't just do it one time you gotta reinforce it over and over again ah daddy said no papa said no mama said no granny said no stop stop what you're trying to teach them how to behave themselves the baby picks up the word no quick and satan has an enormous advantage because our nature is allied to his and god overcomes this disobedient spirit in man and that is one reason he took redeemed israel to sinai and he gave them the law and he instituted an age long course of discipline is that right and that is why he found delight in his son in that right who did always the things that pleased his father now john 8 29 one thing that i've learned is that we don't always always do anything and that's why in this age he commands all men everywhere to repent and the results of fallen man the results of all man are that we have no natural interest in obeying the gospel our first inclination is to disobey god even after we accepted jesus we find it difficult to walk in the path of righteousness and believe that god's will is better than our own will that's why there's a struggle the struggle between my will and his will what i want to do and what god wants me to do is that right we're in a tug of war of our will and god's and what satan does is try to influence us that god's will is unpleasant not fun are not beneficial and can't be accomplished so why even try when you can't live up to it anyway and so we are doomed by nature and there was no hope for us and i love the fact that verse 4 says but god can y'all say but god behind your mass but god but god god but god is the hinge on which the great issues of life turn paul painted a dark picture of human depravity and divine wrath but but draws our attention come on somebody to god's mercy and love god who is what who is rich in mercy he didn't leave it by saying god is rich there are a lot of folk who are rich a lot of people who are rich he didn't stop there by saying god is rich he said god is what he's rich in mercy god is rich but he's rich in mercy am i right about it and we will never fully know how rich he is until we finally arrive at our heavenly home some little kid asked me after church is god richer than oprah i said little boy let me tell you something don't don't don't disrespect god by trying to compare him to somebody that you know who is very rich is that right uh-huh he owns a thousand cattle on a thousand hills and he owns all the gold as in the hills yes he's rich and heaven is described in terms that only we may be able to understand but it's going to be more beautiful than that vincent said go on and preach a while so i guess i will walls of jasper foundations blaze with precious stones 12 12 foundations deep 10 million times 10 million worlds is his later you think your pearls are something try gates made with pearls he has lavish the treasure of his mercy guess what oh you and i we were in a bad place we were out there bad real bad but that's the place where you found grace dead in sins is where we were but when most people back away god came forward when most people step aside god stepped to us is that right when most people say i don't wanna you know you're not doing too good right now you better leave him alone god said that's that's that's when i start working is that right god didn't back away when we were dead and sins paul said even paul said even when can you say even when even when we were dead in sins at our worst we receive god's best and then god's love is shared with us that's verses five and six bibles say he quickened us together with christ he made us alive together with christ and raised us up together and the only thing to do with a person that is deceased is to bury them you bury them amen we have no other solution to the problem of death but to stay buried you can wash a corpse i just want to make it clear you can groom them and place cosmetics and the skills of the embalmer can be employed but the body is still a corpse can i help somebody and the only place for someone that's left here is a tomb is that right but verse 4 said but god but god however is not overwhelmed by death amen our trespasses and sins had brought us to the place of death but but god acted in grace and power and he came to us and applied his grace so so so he found us and applied his grace is that right and then quickened us right where we were made a spiritual alive plucked us from that place and the resurrection of christ was the key and since all of our trespasses and sins were dealt with on the old rugged cross when christ arose it became possible for us to arise so then what is grace then i know vincent loves grace doesn't he ever since i've known him he has he is stuck near the grace is that right and so so so grace then is the space i like grace is the space that god gives to complete our race is that right grace is space grace is room uh god gives us room to complete our race from the time that he began this good work in us until the time that he sees it to completion and i want to say to you who are listening online and who are here in person you ought to embrace grace you already know that you didn't earn it you don't deserve it you didn't outwork somebody for it but at some point you have to get over what you've done and just embrace god's grace am i right about it there'll always be somebody that can come along and do more work than you amen somebody i'm so glad that when i get to heaven i don't have to compare my work to somebody else's work well you know you on that side because you did all that work and you baptized all these people and you did this and did that and and somebody you didn't do as much as me so you over here somewhere it won't be any of that going on in heaven because uh we barely gonna get there in the first place so so so so uh and and not that you shouldn't work that's a the room for a whole nother sermon but but i want to dwell on the fact that that we are not trying to spend our time trying to outdo somebody or out seeing somebody or i'll preach to somebody amen i'd want somebody or i'll elder somebody i'll deacon somebody i'll greet of somebody just thank god that you're able to serve the lord can i get amen on that one yeah yeah embrace it like david who was on the ground back in the old testament and he wouldn't get up he'd been looking down too long his face was down his emotions down in his confidence down in his feeling down in his insecurities and guilt how do you do it how do you keep going in life maybe somebody can help me how do you survive an incident how do you survive a tragedy how do you survive or divorce how do you survive an accident how do you survive a fallout how do you survive a disagreement how do you pick yourself up and keep on going after your husband died or your wife died or someone close a sibling died how do you keep on and when is the time when you cried enough tears and you get up and you start moving on with life can somebody help me you walk the floor long enough you you you waking up in the middle of the night long enough when is the time to get up and wash your face like david did at some point he had to get up and wash his face and indicate that's time for me no matter how hurt i am no matter how down i am if i stay here any longer i'm not going to get any better so i might as well get up and wash my face at some point you gotta wash your face you gotta dry your eye comb your head and get on with life is that right because life is not gonna wait on you you better get get busy and with god's grace trying to help somebody out there you can make it god's grace you can make it and get up and embrace god's grace wash yourself of the dust of yesterday and trust god with your life it's not about what they say it's not about what they say it's about what god says is that right don't judge your progress or your closeness to god based on what people say because it's about what god has to say and if they were honest they'd be laying with their face on the ground too and then they get up and then they trust in god's grace to carry it through for your destiny is not in the hands of men it is in the hands of god get up this morning i dropped by ah from seattle to hell here to tell you to get up get up if you're living a mundane defeated boy it's me walking with your head down get up it's not my fault it's your fault get out jesus gave you grace that space but don't frustrate his grace by not getting up and living graciously thankfully full of praise that god has kept you here this long i'm afraid we may stay in this a little long until some folk get the message is that right yeah i remember about four or five months ago it's over with this thing is over we didn't defeat it call it and then boom bang boom pow ping ping please here got them ass back on they couldn't wait to take off the master going in the stores i had my mascot everybody had ripped off their mask and they were walking around massless and i say what did i miss something did i did i miss something i said well i better my wife you better keep your mask though she said i don't think this thing is over with i said you realize i'm out there i said i'm out there and i'm walking in there seem like everybody got that mask off maybe it is over i've been vaccinated and all that i started getting a little confident i had the mask was in my backpack i took it off a little bit because you feel strange when you're by yourself everybody looking at me why they looking at me i said oh they think it's over and you know i got called and i said i was thinking it was over two and then boom bang ping pow we had uh a variant and the variant is raising now they tell me they got something else out and i there my i got them put my putting my mask back on guess what everybody else did do everybody else did too we all in this thing together amen that's one thing we got in common we all know what this is about is that right but god but god is gonna see us free one way or the other and i so admire you know how everybody is moving forward with faith and and that uh you're not throwing a a mass burning party mask burning party uh out in the parking lot and doing all that stuff and you're just getting on with it and complying because you understand that that uh you don't play around with your health it's too fragile you can't play around with your body it's too fragile we know we're not going to stay here forever but you want to stay as long as you can yeah amen uh with you let me move on i i have to i have to move on god's love placed this thing god's love played he showed it to us he placed us on the throne verse 6 said and made us sit together in in heavenly places in christ jesus in christ we're already seated where he is why god has enveloped us in christ so that when he looks at us amen he always sees him i like that when he looks at us because we are enveloped in christ he sees him how he sees christ and all the beauty of his holiness all the glory of his grace and the splendor of his person we are like the boards of the tabernacle vincent in the old testament they were cut from twisted acacia wood you're listening and then they encased it in gold amen so when the people look at the boards of acacia wood encased in gold all they saw was the gold and the same is true of us when god looks at us all wrapped up in jesus he sees christ then in closing i i want you to look at verse eight and nine eight and nine says for by grace you're saved through faith and he said this not of your not of what not of yourselves right why it is a it is the gift of god and then he said not by what not by works why because we have a lot of folk running around uh uh high siding that's what we used to say down in texas bragging high siding about what they did some argue now i just want to be contextual that some argue over what the gift is but it seems clear that it is neither grace nor faith that's the gift the gift is salvation the gift of salvation made made available to us by god's grace and received by us through faith the gift then is salvation the holy spirit emphasizes not of works lest any men should boast suppose god were to take people to heaven on the basis of their good works and then you would have people saying i did this and you did that somebody said okay i did this and you didn't do that someone else would say i'm here because of my sacrificial giving somebody else will say i'm here because i didn't smoke i didn't chew and i didn't hang around those that do boasted and bragging boasting is an expression of pride and that's what got lucifer kicked out wasn't it he was lifted up in pride is that right that transformed lucifer into satan and the angel the the beautiful angel that got big headed god's most beautiful angel fell so fast the bible said uh jesus i saw uh satan fall like lightning out of heaven because he was lifted up in pride and so the vast cycle of sin began out of a prideful spirit y'all with me so no wonder god put salvation on the basis that cancels out pride and eliminates boasting so that if we get to heaven amen it won't be because of what you did by yourself hallelujah anyhow it will what be because of what god was able to do through you grace then is a force it's like a tailwind that pushes us toward the will of god and every false religion at his heart has the principle that salvation must be earned and merited at price the sinner must do something to deserve god's favor and the gospel strikes at the heart of false religion for it declares that salvation is what it is a gift available to sinners solely because of his grace and unmerited favor and when god commands us to do something it's because he told us to do something we are not earning it he's offering it you and nobody else sets the terms god says i'm offering you salvation and i love you right out of the gate before we even get started god say i love you and if you want to be with me i'm giving you an opportunity you can't earn it but you can obey it [Music] jesus said go into all the world and preach the gospel he that believeth and is what baptized [Music] shall be saved we didn't set those terms god set those terms he that believeth not shall be condemned mark 16 15 16. and so the whole command at its root turns on the hinge of faith ephesians 2 10 says we are his workmanship created in christ jesus unto good works which he has before ordained that we should do what we should walk in them good works are part of god's plan they're not the price of salvation but it's the proof of salvation the christian is not saved as a result of good works good works are the result of salvation amen they are the result of god's working in the believer's heart they are the evidence that he or she is alive from the dead and they are proof of the glorious togetherness that exists between the believer and the savior the word translated workmanship and i'm done that word when you leave here i want you to remember write it down that word that word workmanship that workmanship that word comes from the word poema which indicates that you and i are god's poem we are god's writing we are god's workmanship we are god's poem some of you like to write poems that's your work that's your work when you finish you can look at your work and when god looks at us we are his what we are his poem we as workmanship am i right but we are we are his masterpiece each of our lives is the canvas on which the master is producing a work of art that will fill the ages with his praise god is good my question is have you been his workmanship last week were you god's poem were you his masterpiece at work yeah were you his masterpiece at home come on somebody were you his poem his writing his work on the job amen while other people are looking are they able to see were they able to see in you last week god's poem on canvas on display have you in word thought indeed shown forth the praises of him that brought you out of darkness and translated you into the marvelous like god right now is giving you another opportunity and so when we look at the end the invitation really is just another opportunity we call it the invitation but really it's an opportunity to make ourselves right with god how many opportunities do you need in order to make it right with the lord one day the opportunities they just stop and we're gone we're not here and while we're here let's take advantage of our opportunities so that we can walk in the light as he is in the light if i'm talking anybody that's outside of christ we want to let you know of this opportunity at the invitation believe on the lord with all your heart be willing to repent of your sins confess jesus christ to be the son of god and go down the water grave of baptism to have your sins washed away i believe there's still some water in the pool right i went somewhere and there was no water in the pool you said we're talking about coming to jesus and getting your life right and the pool was was dry there wasn't no water in the pool i was up there embarrassed somebody the water is warm and ready and it wasn't any water in there it could at least been cold and ready it wasn't even in there it just seemed i didn't take time to check and i said the water is warm and it's ready come on to jesus and somebody came and the pool was dry and rusty and we sat around 20 minutes trying to get enough water in the pool to baptize somebody but not here right right not here the water is ready come on the table is set come on and feast from the word of god go down in the water grave of baptism to have your sins washed away rise to walk in the newness of life it's so it's so good to be able to be new amen to be new can i come down here where you are all right i went out of town a few days ago it's been a couple weeks now and we went until you know how these fancy stores they have fancy stores and going in the store i got to make sure and uh and they had these different brands and all that and my son said oh that's so-and-so that valencia i said valencia dad you don't know about belize i said no i don't know about that what is that you don't know i don't know and then we went to another place oh my plan and i asked the man i said uh where is your cell rack you should have seen him you should have seen him act up on me what i said where's your sail rack i looked in the back i didn't see it my claire don't go on sale i said okay okay that act out back back down out of there i went to another store and uh that's it that's that's my claire dad do you know when my cliff i said no you don't either you don't have one look you've been watching everybody else online wearing it and i said that to say this that when you put something new on it kind of make you feel like a new person and sometimes you feel like the higher it costs the better you feel are y'all following me okay and uh but there's no feeling like being new in christ jesus amen to have your sins washed away because clothes don't wash away sin is that right they feel good on your skin but they don't wash away sin but to be new in christ jesus to have your sins washed away oh what a feeling to be new in christ and i'll never forget the day jesus washed my sins away no matter how old i get if god blessed me with to keep my mind i'll never forget the day that he washed my sins away and to go through life and still have an opportunity to get all cleaned up again is a blessing that's why we bid you come we still do the invitation here we still stand up here all right if if the song leader get ready we're ready come on if you need prayer come on right now why are we together standing on a singing the song of invitation be god's poem wow [Applause] i see anybody [Applause] is let god [Applause] god [Applause] wow [Applause] for another powerful message uh we appreciate him so much he's uh been gone for a while but we're glad to have him back with us this morning and he just reminds us of um how i used to preach the word for us each and every sunday and so we're thankful to have him in the house this morning and we're thankful uh for brother hawkins to have the inside to bring him here with us this morning um as a result we have a few online that have made prayer requests and also um a prayer request has been given to me this morning after i read these we'll go to the audience and ask if there are any prayer requests you can stand where you are tell us your name and what your prayer request is and we'll pray on your behalf this morning um we have prayer requests online um just giving thanks and asking prayer for anthony robinson many of the people online on facebook are from nigeria and so we know that anthony is doing a great job of ministering to these people in nigeria and inviting them to hear the message online and so first we have ibm ethan inny he says good morning church i'm praying for mr anthony robinson may god bless him i'm also praying for myself for financial breakthrough we also have steve's ook pie and he says i pray for god's blessing upon my life this week may god also bless anthony robinson and rich his coast amen i also have a prayer request that was submitted by sister winifred crawford she says she's asking for prayers for a brother and sister harold and sherlin daniels and so we want to keep them in our prayers also says thanks for your prayers for both my nephews jonathan miles and dei motley both are recovering from surgery she also states she's asking for prayers for her own health because she's uh dealing with her um dealing with her diabetes so those are the prayer requests that came in online if there are any pretty quests in the audience i'll turn to my right first if you'd like to stand and give us your name we'll take your prayer request anyone in this intersection have a prayer request this morning thank you brother whitaker i'd just like to uh thank god for uh bringing us channeling grace to uh come back to los angeles and for uh all of the wonderful lessons that he continues to shower um amen in the back or in the center i got your grandparents saying who else hey man yes in the back your name and speak out prayer foreign my president bill they lost the arness to enjoy the hospital uh anyone else in this intersection to my right chef it's good to be here one of your girls breathing does the last time we were here the church was shut down because and i and at that time remember that but in 1982 my grandmother and grandfather had this program when they had an honest program [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] and i'm still trying to figure out where um that's the story of how i got to los angeles california in april of this year and the thing that got me here was that my grandson [Music] that's why we are here this morning he'll never didn't make it this morning but i'm gonna see that he comes here amen all right see y'all and y'all pray for him and praise the lord can we get your name sir thank you for sharing that with us can we get your name also and also you can listen to them on facebook [Music] this is good to have you all with us thank you this morning amen uh in prayer request to the left side hey man any other prayer requests this morning we pray for sister murray also uh a little spray at this time father in heaven we give thanks this morning for your man servant brother maxwell who brought your work so boldly today father we're just thankful uh that you've allowed him to ride here safely father and just to bring a word that'll speak to the hearts of all of us father we're so uh thankful for your grace that you give us each day father and we know that we wouldn't stand here today it wasn't because your grace to your mercy and we're so thankful for that this morning father praying on behalf of the many requests have been made this morning we're praying on behalf of um our brothers in nigeria who are asking prayers on behalf of anthony robinson father for the work that he's doing with them and just helping to get the word spread over there we're thankful for them joining us online and we ask that you continually watch over anthony and guy to protect him father uh we're praying for uh ebm ethan and father who's um asking for prayer for financial help father whatever he's going through right now we ask that you'll bless him watch over him and grant him favor and give him the things that he stands in need of we're also praying for steve luca pie father who's asking for blessings in his life this week we're just thankful father for the blessings you show us each and every day and we just pray you continually watch over my brother and that you'll give him whatever he stands in need of at this time we're praying also on behalf of jennifer crawford uh she's thankful for the prayer requests been made on behalf of her nephews jonathan and dion who recovered from surgery we pray that everything will continue to go well with these young men and father and that they'll um once again be back to full strength and they can be able to do the things that they used to be able to before please continue to be with winifred father with her health issues right now we pray that she'll give her strength and her body in her mind um help her to follow the doctor's directions and just to do whatever's necessary to get her health where it needs to be we're praying also father for brother and sister daniels whatever they're going through right now we just ask your mercy and grace upon them we love this couple father and we just ask that you'll be with them and their family whatever they're going through dear lord once again please bless them with strength and bless them with wisdom we're praying also father on behalf of brother whitaker's request he's letting us know about sister whitaker and we're thankful that she's doing better father and she just wants to thank us for praying on her behalf dear lord we just wish to see her back with us once again uh please give her strength please give her a health in her time of need and just allow this couple father to continue fighting the good fight we thank you the lord for uh cecil and carol who've made it back safely from texas we ask that you'll be with them dear lord in the days ahead as they have decisions they need to make please continue to give them wisdom to make the right decisions their lord and allow you to work their lives wherever you see fit we're praying for our young sister at least the father who's asking prayer on behalf of her grandparents give them strength in their bodies father be with those who are in hospitals right now as well we just thank you for her heart and concern for those who are hurting around her and we just ask that she'll uh grant her request at this time we're praying for our sister uh mildred santa her father uh from the baker phil's congregation she's praying on behalf of her cousin uh sister barnes in detroit who was in the hospital and just ill at this time with congestive heart failure we asked dear lord that you look down upon her and give her whatever she stands in need of at this time and give her strength back in her body thank you for sister xander for father please bless her watch and protect her uh share with us right now and we're thankful dear lord uh for this family that has come robert johnson and his family father uh we just know father just through your providence that he's here right now a lot of his family uh we just ask that you watch over them and keep them while in their city father and continue to bless them as they head back to tennessee we're thankful that he's here in our midst this morning just sharing his experience with us to encourage us and uplift us father we ask that you watch over them and keep them in your care we like to lift up debra houston's request for the williams family right now we know that they're going through a lot we're praying for jerome for his health dear lord arrest the blessing for his uh his wife roslyn who's ill at this time and we're just also praying for daniel um we just appreciate love this family father for sister williams uh please continue to be with his family as they're going through so much right now and a lot is on their on their plate uh whatever we can do to help ease that burden dear lord we just asked laos to be able to bless them in any way that we can we're also lifting up sister uh darlene murray jackson father for her health we know that she's going through a lot right now we're just a blessed father that you bless her with a birthday recently and um we just actually continually strengthen her body strengthen her mind father be with those who are around her right now to uh take care of her needs and we ask that she'll watch over her and guide her the things that she stands in need of all right we also have a prayer request father for sister ida shaw she's praying for brother thomas her son he's ill last night and [Music] he was still at home we're praying dear lord we're praying to our lord for healing for him we're praying dear lord for um for all the situations that's going on with this family right now we ask that you'll grant them favor in their time of need dear lord please bless them with health strength and in the decisions they need to make in the days ahead their lord we ask that you'll grant them the things that they stand in need of father we just thank you for this day we thank you for the things you provided us with today the lord we're praying for this congregation as a whole father we know that there are many um who didn't come forward but we're we're aware of their situations we're praying for uh brother freeman and sister freeman right now for their health we're praying for brother wilford moore uh for sister rugby cease for sister stanton for sister mary cooper father and so many others their lords whose names i can't recall at this time but uh you know the situations that all of us are going through the things that people dealing with in this congregation right now and we just asked once again father that she'll look down upon them grant them the things they stand in need of and help us father to be a blessing to those who are who are in need fathers continue to guide us in all that we do help us to honor you throughout this day and throughout all days of our lives we thank you we love you and we ask you all these things and name your son jesus we pray amen [Applause] [Music] it's now time for the collection giving contributions and i would like to call your attention uh through the words of apostle paul and first corinthians chapter 16 verses 1 2 which reads now concerning the collection for the saints as i have given order to the churches of galatia even so do ye upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him and store as god has prospered him that there be no give gatherings when i come [Music] giving is an important aspect of our worship to god and we want to encourage you to be liberal in your giving particularly in light of the sermon that you just heard where god's grace is so wonderful and we are to respond to that in obedience and that we not adopt the ways of the world and that uh in the world we uh find that money is loved people are used and they serve their own needs but as people of god we know that we must love god and serve people and use money as a tool to serve the purposes of god and so let us keep our priorities in order uh that we know that the importance of our lives is not in what we possess but in the eternal spirit that the god put in us amen amen let us pray father in heaven was so thankful for the privilege and this opportunity to give uh after this manner father that you have given us all things you have given us the power uh to to make money and to to have the means father to provide for ourselves father we have freely received so let us freely give let us be uh generous and liberal father for we know that the needs of mankind are great and that you have left us father with this great responsibility so let us uh give from the heart let us give in obedience let us give in truth this is our prayer in jesus name amen as the ushers are assisting you they're giving we'd like to just sing a song of encouragement how many of you know i should wear a golden crown don't worry don't know it huh well let's try it one time anyway i'm sorry max no max won't know this watch [Music] you know not today day when the lord shall call your soul away if you lay them striving for the right [Music] i didn't know that but anyway thank you very much for your participation we've come to another part of our worship and that is in the line of communion recognizing the great sacrifice of our lord and savior and as we come to that part we ask you to sing along with us the old rugged cross on a hill far away stood and hold suffering and shame [Music] and best [Music] share is [Music] [Music] it is in acts 20 and 7 that we learned the frequency and the significance of this the lord's supper and the bible reads and upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread paul preached unto them ready to depart on the moral and continued his speech until midnight it was the lord jesus that instituted this the lord's supper in the presence of his disciples in an upper room matthew 26-26 reads and as they were eating jesus took bread and blessed it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body let us pray for the bread at this time father in heaven we're so thankful again for this opportunity to sep with king jesus father that we might gather around your table father and remember father the pain the agony and the suffering father that you endured through your son jesus christ as he uh suffered for us and we're mindful father of this great sacrifice and we do partake of this bread father that we might uh be reminded of that great sacrifice father and that we can remain faithful to this wonderful covenant relationship of love that we have been born in through by the water and of the spirit this is our prayer in jesus name and you may break the verse seal amen the lord jesus continues his instruction in verse 27 when he says and he when the bible says and he took the cup and he gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink ye all of it for this is the blood of the new testament which is shared for many for the remission of sins let us pray for the blood father in heaven again we come uh mindful father of the great purchase price of our redemption your precious blood father we understand that it was not the blood of bulls of goats but only the precious blood of jesus father that could truly free us from our sins and so we're thankful father for this opportunity father that we might celebrate in this great fellowship and we pray that we will continue to walk in the shadow of the cross of jesus christ for as in his name that we pray amen amen [Music] till my truth is and exchange it someday for [Music] you all to remain following uh brother hawkins because of the installation ceremony so following the announcements please maintain your seats and brother hawkins will come and finish up with what we have to do today just like to uh read this condolence letter actually uh from the whitaker family condolences not from the whitaker family condolences to the uh elder force with the and family for the passing of his niece gail denise darts last week from the covet the service will be held saturday september the 11th 2021 at fort bend mortuary 15006 highway 6 in rosharin texas rosharon texas cards and condolences can be sent to glasses mother uh el uh brother whitaker's sister hazel robinson at one five eight two two alger street missouri city texas 77459 please keep the robinson whitaker and entire family in prayer that address again for hazel robinson to where you can send condolences is 15822 alger street a-l-g-e-r alger street missouri city texas missouri city texas seven seven four five nine if you didn't get that maybe this week you can contact the church secretary and she may be able to help you with it we also want to remind you of the classes that are held we have to change the way we do things yet we do them anyhow there's a ladies bible class uh i'll speak to the men's class men's mystery class which i'm more familiar with zoom meeting on 7 p.m on tuesdays and that information you can read on the face of the bulletin and bible class uh still holds on 11 a.m on wednesday and 7 p.m on wednesday brother hawkins [Music] let the church say amen did we hear a mighty word this morning give it up for our brother god bless you god oh you better oh man feel young today doc thank you man bless our hearts tremendously we're getting ready to have our final benediction brother walking is going to leave that we are planning to have our uh installation services immediately following this but you've been sitting for a while we're going to give you a few roaming minutes to go uh and get some water and maybe refresh yourself and then come back immediately it is uh exactly 12 o'clock is right if you can get back here by 1205 or 1206 we'd appreciate we wanted to start at 12 15 but early so we'll start at 12 10 and this is a 30-minute brief installation but yet intimate time for us special time never to be minimized so we ask you to stick around encourage us and help us and it's so good to see so many of you gonna have uh our prayer and then two quick announcements we're saying happy birthday after the prayer for alicia raise your hand sweetheart she turned 11 yesterday and she has the heart of an angel and she's in our prayer meetings from time to time and we just love her so we're going to sing happy birthday for her is that all right with you okay good you know what the song is right so you don't have to get up there and look well i love you all right good and then two quick announcements we have a great deal of tragedies happening across the nation and i just want to encourage the church to consider donating to two reliable entities healing hands international church of christ affiliated out of nashville along with disaster relief also out of tennessee you can go to healing hands international if you want to donate to the fund to help haiti also for the situation down in new orleans the same can be done with disaster relief we get reports weekly of the work that they're doing and if you want to donate uh to either one of those and also red cars i think is a good a good entity as well a lot of people are hurting and so think about that pray about it be about it and hit those two websites brother markins thank you for coming and when you leave our hearts and prayers and then church you can be dismissed for five to six minutes water and refreshment all right come on guys let us uh put our heads in the word of prayer heavenly father we are thankful to be here thankful to witness another powerful lesson we thank you for all of our members those who are in attendance and we pray for those who are not able to come due to illness or sickness now watch over us be with us as we continue to bring on new leadership at this local congregation in jesus name we pray amen [Music] happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday happy birthday to you happy birthday to ym happy birthday amen [Music] find me [Music] [Music] hey

Channel: Figueroa Church of Christ

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Keywords: figueroa church of christ, church of christ, gospel preaching, gospel, preaching, faith, works, satan, god, jesus, lord, word, word of god, message, answer, heaven, hell, help, assistance, calvin bowers, minister, ministry, david holmes, vincent hawkins, david g holmes, vincent e hawkins

Id: Fmd8uFxItx0

Length: 122min 57sec (7377 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021