The Power Of Being Planted - 1 | Ps Glenn Bleakney

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to the Newman Church podcast. Wherever you are in the world, we are so glad that you've joined us. Our prayer is that this message will reveal more of who our heavenly Father is as we grow deeper in intimacy with Jesus. Enjoy the message. [00:00:15] Speaker B: Let's jump in. Isaiah 61. This is going to be a great message. We're actually in a series, and the reason why it's a great message is because it's the word of God, not because I'm preaching it. I know myself a little better than that. Okay, so Isaiah 61, new king James, starting in verse one, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, which is actually the year of Jubilee. A year jubilee when debts were canceled, slaves were emancipated, and property was restored. Right? So it says here, the acceptable year of the Lord, the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they may be called. Notice this, trees of righteousness. Trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. I'm going to speak on the subject this morning, and this will probably take us two sessions, maybe three. But I want to speak about the power of being planted. And this is something that many believers there is power in being planted. It's a truth that is replete in scripture, the power of being planted. And what we saw here in this passage is actually the words of Jesus over in Luke, chapter four, verses 18 and 19, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 61, and he speaking about his ministry and what he was called to do in terms of seeing people set free, healed, delivered, et cetera. And the purpose of this is to establish a people in the righteousness of God so that they would bear much fruit for the glory of the father. And he specifically says this, that they may be called trees of righteousness. Trees of righteousness. The word trees in the Hebrew language refers to a strong tree such as an oak. In fact, it's literally speaking of an oak tree. An oak tree is a large and sturdy tree with a robust root system capable of withstanding strong winds and harsh climates. Climate. Come on now, do you guys have tumbleweeds here like we lived here? From Texas. Have you seen the old western movies that tumbleweeds that just blow in the wind? Yeah. So we're not called to be that. We're not called to be tumbleweeds that we just blow. It says in ephesians four that we're not to be literally blown around by every wind and wave of doctrine, but we're to be established. We're to be firm, we're to be steadfast. We are to be planted in Christ Jesus. It's a powerful truth that he wants us to experience. There is power in being planted. So the Bible says this. Jeremiah 17, seven, eight. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water. Now, what he's actually saying is that we are called to be trees planted by the river. Sometimes when we're going through seasons in our life that seem like dry seasons, desert seasons, we're in the wilderness. Why is it that we're struggling this way? The truth of the matter is God is actually calling us to deepen our pursuit of him. And so in that season, he sometimes dries things up in our life, not to lead us to ruin in the wilderness, but to compel us to seek him at the river's edge. He's the God that dries up things. Elijah was at the brook during a famine, and God was taking good care of him. There was literally ravens that came and gave him food, meat, bread in the morning and in the evening. And he literally found refuge in the brook Kereth. And during that time, God took great care of him. He never lacked anything. But the day came when the Brook ran dry and the birds no longer would fly. And what happened is God was drying up the brook intentionally in Elijah's life to move him into his next season. God will cause us to experience a sense of dissipation and even a sense of times of being distanced from him, not because it's actually true he's with us, but he's saying, I need you to go deeper. I need you to pursue me and to go deeper. And so the word here in Jeremiah 17 seven, eight is those who trust the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and their confidence. They're like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep. It doesn't matter if in the natural things seem dry. Things are arid. You feel that you are in a barren wilderness. You are not forsaken. God has not left you, but he's doing something in you to just stir up a greater desire for him. It's a holy dissatisfaction. It's something that he's doing to say, you will never find or experience everything that you need unless you take the next step. Jeremiah again, 17, seven and eight. Let's look at it a little more closely. He actually says this. They will not fear when heat comes or when a drought comes. They will not fear in the midst of drought. Listen, it says, what actually happens is their leaves will be green. They'll not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. No matter what you're going through in the natural, you can experience a flourishing season. You can literally experience the fullness of God, even though things around you seem like it's dried up. But the key here is very clear that they are like those who are planted by a tree, planted by the waters, the new king James says, which spreads out its roots by the river. The new living translation says they have roots that actually reach deep. So it's speaking of a tree. And a tree has a taproot, a tree has feeder roots. But the taproot, literally, it's almost like it has a sense of spirit. It can detect where water is. And when it's in the midst of a drought, that taproot extends itself. It digs, it literally goes deeper and further in pursuit of the rivers of living water. And that's what we are called to do as believers. I fear that the greatest thing that's holding us back as the people of God in this season is not that we're living in difficult times. It's not how big, it's not how bad the devil is. It's not how, you know, difficult. The times we are in, for example, the economy, inflation, people are becoming harder to the truth of the gospel. That's not it. The thing that's holding us back from experiencing breakthrough and manifesting the fruit and the life of Jesus Christ is our complacency and our contentment with where we're at. We are. You are as close to God as you want to be. That's good preaching. You are as close to God as you want to be. If you seek me, you will find me when you search for me with all of your heart. That's his promise. That's what God says to us. We can live an abundant life, a life of breakthrough miracles, supernatural provision, prosperity so that ministries flourish, so that our businesses flourish, our families flourish, our health flourishes, everything about us can flourish. And it's God's will. Jesus said, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. But I've come that you might have life and life more abundantly. That's God's will. But it requires that we go deeper in our pursuit of God, that we extend our spiritual roots in pursuit of God. It may seem dry. You may be frustrated, you may be discouraged. But I'm here to tell you today that the answer is not in complaining. The answer is on going deeper with Jesus. If you can't go further with him, if it seems that there's literally a wall in front of you, go deeper. Go deeper in your prayer life. Go deeper in your worship. Go deeper in the word of God. Go deeper in your consecration. Go deeper in your relationship with him. I am preaching better than most of you are amening. Come on now. We are a people that are pursuing his presence. We are a people that will not rest content with the status quo. We will not take mediocrity as our portion. Second place is first loser. Come on now. That's us, marines. Second place is first loser. Guys, come on now. We're called to go into the promised land. We're caught. He didn't take us out of Egypt so that we would wander around in the wilderness. He took us out so that we can go in and possess everything that he's promised to us. For the diligent seeker, the diligent God seeker, adversity only draws them closer to the Lord. As they extend their spiritual roots in quest of the living waters of salvation. They persist and they pursue until they break through into abundance and find the source of their sustenance. They lack nothing. Lack nothing. Psalm 80 411. No good thing. Or will those who will they lack? No good thing will they lack? Those who what love God, those who fear him will not lack. He is a God, or right. He said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not lack. I shall not lack. So when I'm going through a season of lack, when I'm saying, God, I need a miracle, I don't have the resources. I don't have the faith, or whatever it may be to believe you, God, the answer I know is found in you. I've got to go deeper in my pursuit of you. Hebrews eleven six says, without. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Isn't that something? That with God all things are possible, but without faith it's impossible to please God. So he who would experience this type of faith in their lives must believe that he is, that he exists. And then he says this and that. He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. Those who diligently seek him. Notice that adverb that's used there. It's not just those who are seeking God. It's not the casual inquirers, but it's the deep pursuers of God. Those are the ones who will experience the reward. So there is power in being planted. We want to look at three specific ways that we can experience the power of being planted. Number one, cultivate communion with Christ. Number two, cherish christian community. We're going to talk about that today, as well as the first point. And number three, commit to your kingdom calling and contribution. Commit to your kingdom calling and contribution. Next time that I'm speaking, I will unpack that thing. Third point, God willing. So let's look at this, this morning. Cultivating communion with Christ. John 15. Let's go there, please. Let's look at John 15. We're going to look, actually at verse number five, John 15. Five. Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He says, I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing. So in the natural, the secret to ensuring a harvest of rich, luxuriant fruit. Think about this, right? We're called to bear fruit. In the natural is the health and the vitality of the root system. This is true as it relates to a christian walk. Romans 1116 says, if the root is holy, so are the branches. If the root is holy, so are the branches. You know that a vine is basically a root. That's what it is. And if we're connected to the vine and the vine is healthy and there's life in the vine, then the branches will experience the transfusion or the transmission of that life into the branches and will bear fruit automatically, effortlessly. See, this is a powerful revelation that, in truth, we have not been given the responsibility of bearing fruit. You see, Jesus said, every good tree bears good fruit. Yes, that's a statement. That's a fact. If the tree is good, it will bear good fruit. Years ago, Martin Luther said, it's not the fruit that makes the tree good, but it's the tree that makes the fruit good. I'm paraphrasing what he said in German. Essentially, the idea is this, that if we stay connected to God, just like that branch, if it remains intact, the word abide in Greek literally means to stay connected to abide. And it can be used of an abode. The idea of a house, not just a place you visit, but a place you live permanently. And he's saying here that we are called to have that type of experience with him. Verse 16, Jesus said, you didn't choose me, I chose you, and I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit. Well, does that contradict what I just said, that we're not called to bear fruit? Yes, in a way it does. It's kind of like that scripture that says he will build his church, but yet in one corinthians three, he says that we're colaborers with him. So there is a partnership that will result in God doing what only he can do and our responsibility to do what we are required to do. So the truth is, verse eight. When you produce much fruit, Jesus says, you are my true disciples. One translation says, you prove that you're really my disciples, and this brings great glory to my father. So if you read this passage, you see that the tree that does not bear fruit, it literally is cut down. It's thrown into the fire. Verse six of John 15. But we are called to bear much fruit, fruit that remains, fruit that endures, fruit that is sustained. In other words, that's our calling. But how do we do that? We don't do it through our own effort. Again, let's look back at John 15, verse number four, where verse number five, is it four and five. I'm the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. So apart from him, we can do nothing. There is a promise here, and there is a process. Do you know, in every reference to God doing something, there is promise and process. If we delight ourselves in the Lord, he will give us the desires of our heart. See, there is a promise. He will give us the desires of our heart. But there's a process. We have to delight ourselves in the Lord. So in this verse, the promise is that we will bear fruit, but the process is our responsibility. We must abide in him. Bearing fruit is a promise. Abiding is a process. And if we abide, God will provide. If we do our part, God will provide. Think about it. The branch that stays connected to the vine, the life that is in the vine, will literally flow into that branch, and that branch will begin to blossom. There will be a flower, and then eventually it will bear fruit. So what is fruit and the natural? It's actually the external manifestation of the invisible life that is in a tree or a plant. Fruit is the external manifestation it is the outward appearance of life that you cannot see. So when you stay connected to God, here's the amazing thing. When you stay connected to him, you may not think things are changing in your life. You may not notice it right away, but after a while, you will begin to see that your life is changing. Fruit is being manifested in you, not by human effort, not because you said, bear fruit, bear fruit. Bear fruit. Can you imagine a tree doing that? An apple tree or an avocado tree? Bear fruit. Bear fruit. No. The nutrients that are in the soil that are being dispersed through the root system end up going into the branches, and then they bear the fruit just by staying, remaining intact, being connected. So our focus is not on trying to bear fruit, but on abiding in him. And it literally speaks of staying connected to his life, going deeper, unceasing communion, living in a place of perpetual fellowship with Jesus, that we live in that place where we're constantly connected. You know, some people think that it's prayer, actually. If you look at what Jesus said in this passage, he actually said, if you obey his commandments, you literally will abide in him. He didn't say, if you pray. He said, if you obey my commandments. Now, that messes most of us up because we've been told a few things about that passage. Number one, we've been told, obeying God. Oh, and he will do something. Well, that is actually legalism. That's works. May I say to you that it is works, but faith without works is dead, right? We're saved by grace through faith, not by our own effort or works. And then in verse ten, what? That we might do or produce the works of God. That we might do the works of God. So in other words, our responsibility is to stay connected with him. And how do we do that? We are obedient. We're obedient. Do you see the great commission in Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20? Jesus said, you know, go into all the world, make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then he said this, and teach them to obey or to observe everything that I've commanded you. He didn't say, teach them theology. Teach them the purple book. If you don't know what the purple book is, it's great, foundational, but it's not about just learning doctrine. It's not because people can say the right things. They can be orthodox, but not orthopraxic. Orthopraxic means they're living the life you can say, yes, I believe in this. Yes, I embrace the nicene creed. I can say all of these things and yet not have a relationship with him. A vibrant, living relationship with him. Jesus said in John five to the Pharisees, you study the scriptures. The Niv says you diligently study the scriptures. And the scriptures testify of me. But yet you refuse to come to me that you might have life. You know the word of God. You have memorized many of them, had memorized the Torah, some of them, even the Tanakh, the whole Old Testament. But yet you refused to come to me that you might have life. In other words, you know the word of God, but you don't know the God of the word. Read that passage, he said. You've never seen him, you've never heard him. That's what he said to them, the ones that knew the word better than anyone else. He said, you've never encountered him. You don't know who he is. Obedience that comes from a heart of love. One John 419, we love him because he first loved us. We love him because he first loved us. God, I'm going to obey you because I love you. I am going to obey you because I fear you. I'm going to stay in a place of obedience. I'm going to do what you say because my heart delights to do your will. And out of that place we pray, we read the word, but we also do what Holy Spirit says to us. You see, this is a life where Holy Spirit is speaking to us. He's leading us, he's guiding us. It's not just enough to say, hey, I was, you know, received Jesus as my lord and savior. I was baptized in water. I received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, whatever. No, you have to walk in the Spirit. We need to become pentecostal pedestrians as the late Donald Gee, an american pentecostal scholar, says, pentecostal pedestrians where we walk in the Spirit, we begin to walk in the spirit. And you hear his voice. Remember last Sunday? We're talking about the prophetic hearing the voice of God. We live in a place where we hear his voice. And when he speaks to us, we obey. We obey. And when we stay connected to him that way things change in us. Because his life begins to flow in us. His nature begins to replace our nature. His nature. Yes, we have his nature. But the Bible says that let this mind be in you, that which is in you, in Christ Jesus. We have to let him have his way. And by staying connected, what takes place is his life flows into us. And all of a sudden now, if I'm an irritable person, if I am a person that struggles even with being around people, hello. There might be a few. Was it 70% of people are introverts? The fact is, if we are in that place, no matter what it is in us, that is nasty, unchristlike, not like Jesus. He will begin to change that in us. So it's not a twelve step program. It's not a six step program or a three step program. It's a one step experience where we abide in him and the things that we struggle with, we experience freedom. The things that in the natural, we hate, we begin to love. And the things that we love in our sinful mind, we begin to hate. And we move into a place where we begin to change our desires. Change. It says in Philippians two, verse 13 that God works in us both to will and to do his good pleasure. The NLT says that God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. God is working in you. That word, in Greek, energio, means energy. There's a divine energy that's working in you, and he's literally changing you. And he's giving you the desire to do what pleases him. It's so supernatural. Can I tell you? That is Grace. That's Grace. Grace isn't the COVID up. Just do what you want to do. Just live any way you want to live. No. If you are experiencing grace, you will change. Your desires will change. You will hate sin, you will hate what is evil. You'll be convicted. When your flesh begins to rise up and you do things that are unlike Jesus. When you don't manifest the love and the humility and the kindness of Jesus, you'll come under conviction. Not condemnation, but conviction. And conviction is like this. Son, daughter. No, not good. You can do better than that. Lean in. Lean in. So it's all about having deep roots. It's all about staying connected, manifesting his life. That's the promise that we will bear much fruit if we engage in the process. Secondly, let's talk about cherishing christian community. You don't hear a lot of teaching on this today, but this is so important, guys, so important. And I'm going to explain some things to us this morning when we look at the reality of what God has called us to, he has not called us to live out our christian life autonomously, like in a silo, doing what we want. He's not called us to do that. See, there's over. There's actually 100 times in the New Testament where we read the phrase one another, one another 100 times. 59 of those occasions are commandments, direct commandments. One another, love one another, care for one another, pray for one another, you know, encourage one another, etcetera, etcetera. 59 times in the New Testament. I'm sorry, but watching church on YouTube, you're not in community, you're not able see. See, I know Covid was tough, but ultimately, the thing about COVID that was so difficult, especially for most people, was, yeah, there's the fear of getting the disease, etcetera. But ultimately, the isolation and the independence that for many people, even people that are more prone, more, have more of a propensity or a proclivity to be able to just say, hey, I'm good. Being alone by myself. I'm peopled out. Have you ever feel like that? It's like, hey, I've been good, but now, at the end of the day, I'm peopled out. Just let me be alone. Let me spend time with Jesus. Let me chill. Whatever. We all have that to a degree. Some people more. Some people are absolutely wired, their batteries charged as a result of just being around people. So the truth is, regardless of whether we're extroverted, introverted, whatever proportion, we all need each other, each one of us, one another. 59 commandments. Why is that? Listen to this. Psalm 90, 212 and 15. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon, planted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of our God. In the courts is where they fellowshiped. And then it says this, they will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, the Lord is upright. He's my rock, and there's no wickedness in him. In other words, can I just say that? When, if you are not careful, if you don't maintain a sweet spirit, which comes as a result of staying close to Jesus, the older you get, you can become more jaded. It's true, guys, you can become bitter. You can become a person that you've experienced so many negative things in life that you actually become bitter and you stop seeing the goodness of God. We have to be so careful. So what takes place as we abide in Jesus? First and foremost, he also calls to a place of connecting to community. Here's the reason why Holy Spirit doesn't just develop. You grow, you change. You through your personal relationship with him. The term personal relationship with Jesus is not found in the Bible. I could really unpack this and mess up a lot of people's theology right now, but in the Middle eastern culture, there's no such thing as being a personal or individual follower of Jesus. You're part of a household, a family, a community, sometimes families. There's friction, there's tension. Yeah, but we sort it out, right, because we love one another. But the truth is, that's what we're called to. We're called to a place of being connected to one another. See, there's this sacred oneness. It's very interesting how Satan undermines the two institutions that God ordained, marriage and the church. Did you ever think about that? He does everything he can to bring divorce and disruption in marriages and to bring division to the church. Why? Because the Bible says this. In Ephesians five. He says, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. It also says this, that by this, all men will know you're my disciples, by your love for one another. And Jesus was talking about the love between the disciples. There's something that will bring an incredible revelation to the world that we have that people that don't know Jesus are missing. And that is we can have marriages that literally exemplify and incarnate the very love that Jesus has for his church when we as believers. How good and pleasant it is when brothers, brethren, brothers and sisters dwell together in unity. The Hebrew word. There's no such word in unity. In Greek or Hebrew, the word means oneness, oneness. Unity to us can be conformity. Everybody says the right thing, does the right thing, we comply. That's not unity, okay? That's just conformity. But we're called to a place of oneness, which can I tell you, is not strictly horizontal. It's first and foremost vertical, because our fellowship is in the Lord. When you read one John one nine, it talks about how the blood of Jesus cleanses us of all unrighteousness. And it says how we have fellowship one with another if we walk in the light as he's in the light. One seven and nine. So the idea there is literally what happens is the closer we all move towards Jesus. Think about a triangle, and we're going closer and closer to Jesus. The outcome or the natural byproduct, as we become closer with one another, we don't have to force unity. We don't have to manufacture unity. It happens because it's a spiritual experience. Contrary to public, to popular opinion. When Jesus prayed that we would be one in John 17, he wasn't praying for ecumenical, horizontal kind of social unity. He was saying they would be one in him, just as he and the father are one, and that as a result of that, we would be one with each other. Any attempt to create a oneness that is not predicated on our relationship with Jesus Christ will not work. It will not work. You see, the fact is, when believers come together and we connect with God, it's like a window into the love and unity that is actually in the trinity. But here's the thing. We have a sneaky enemy, an adversary, Satan, who's always trying to mess with this connection, our connection, our fellowship, offense, anger, bitterness, thinking we're better than others. He's always working over time to stir up trouble and division among believers. But when we gather in him, guess what happens? We actually manifest his love, his person. And every one of us plays a part. In fact, can I tell you? The word that literally speaks of oneness in Greek means a symphony. A symphony. Think about a symphony. Different instruments, different parts that are played. But together, it produces something beautiful. That's the idea. Together we manifest Jesus. We manifest who he is. And so for me, I've become more and more sensitive. Not always sensitive enough to try to honor people and to love them, not because of who they are, not because if I just look at who they're not, you look at me and you go, he's not right. No. Honor Jesus. Honor Jesus. You were created in his image and likeness. You're his masterpiece. That means that when I look at you, even if you're not necessarily behaving like a child of the king, or I'm not behaving like a child of the king, ultimately, we still are God's children, every one of us. And we honor and we value people based on the fact that they're created in his image and likeness. They may not know it yet. They may not be, you know, exemplifying or imbibing that, but ultimately, that's the truth. So it's all about unity or oneness that's predicated on the truth of the gospel and our common citizenship as God's kingdom, members and family. Now, if we don't live in unity and oneness like Jesus did, it's a big deal. It really is, because messes with how people see jesus love. It weakens the impact of the gospel, and it can make Christianity look bad. It is making Christianity look bad. The nastiest people that I've met are religious Christians. I've dealt with Satanists, people of other religions, and legalistic Christians, the ones that are out there, the heresy hunters. Don't google this, but there was actually a podcast done about me on 15 years ago, myself and Steve Furtick. And they never reached out to me, they never called me, they never asked me. They made all these accusations and presumptions, and they even said I was part of another person's ministry. And I've never even met this person to this day. And they did a whole podcast to try to put me in the heresy camp. False prophet, false teacher. Like, what is that? How is that going to win the world, right? I mean, especially when it's not even true. I mean, ridiculous. See, guys, we're not just individual oak trees. See, we're a community. We're a community. We're not just called, you know, as individuals to just kind of bear fruit on our own. We actually are called to bear fruit in community. What do I mean by that? Listen to this. Did a little bit of study here. Contrary to common belief, many oak trees really don't have super deep roots. It's true that some can be 6 meters, the roots can go down six, 7 meters. That's true. But many do not have super d root system. They're like 40 cm. But what is actually incredible about this is that their roots spread out extensively and they cover an area four to seven times wider than the tree's crown. And despite this, oak trees boast a complex root system that connects and communicates with neighboring trees. It's amazing. Each tree in the community brings its own unique traits, contributing to the group's resilience and strength. Among them stands the mother tree, the matriarch. Come on, ladies. She rules the mature and dominant one. Yeah. In an oak grove, there is something called a mother tree, the mature and dominant figure that serves, listen to this. As the lifeblood of the whole network, nurturing and sustaining others. However, in modern day forestry practices, what often takes place is when the mother tree nears the end of its life. It's often felled, cut down for timber, without consideration for its role in passing on its legacy. What am I saying? I'm saying this, that in the final moments of a mother tree's life, that dying tree does something supernatural. It literally imparts or transmits, and it literally redirects its resources to the younger, emerging trees, ensuring that continuity of the community continues. It's a poignant transfer of life, a passing of the baton from one generation to the next, ensuring the community's survival and growth. See, we do not exist as individual oak trees, operating autonomously we comprise a community that is interdependent. We're not solitary oak trees. We're a tightly knit community relying on each other for support. My point is, you will never. I will never become the person Jesus wants me to be if I'm not in community. Hey, I tried community. It wasn't lots of fun. I tried a lot of things. It wasn't a lot of fun. I don't like roller coasters, but I may go on one again. I'm not sure. The point is, maybe you had a bad experience. Guess what? The enemy wants you to have a bad experience. He doesn't want you. He said, you just stay home and watch Steve Furtick on YouTube. If you're really spiritual, you watch Glenn Blakeney if you want the deeper meat. I'm just kidding. God forgive me. I'm sorry. My point is this, guys. Just say, hey, just me and Jesus. You ever hear that song, me and Jesus? Oh, the devil loves that song. Just you and Jesus. He loves our cliche language. Will you pray and accept Jesus as your personal lord and savior so you can follow him and just do what he's called you to do and fulfill your personal destiny and use your unique gifts operating in silos, doing what you want to do? No, no, no. That's not the kingdom. The kingdom is community. The kingdom is family. And when you refuse next session to use your gifts and fulfill your calling and make your contribution, it's like cutting down that mother tree in some instances, you see, the mother tree carried something. There was a level of grace and impartation that this mother tree carried. And in many instances today, we failed to recognize what the older generation carries. But there's a place in the church for the older generation, for the seasoned saints to be able to release what you've imparted in order that that life will literally be impregnated in the upcoming generations. I'm telling you that the enemy hates a church that has spiritual moms and dads and older seasoned believers that can impart and speak into that. He is the one who wants to literally segregate the church by not only races and ethnic groups, but also by the generations. But that is not biblical. Let the older teach the younger, but yet the younger also have something that they can contribute. Right? He talks about that. Oh, I could teach on this for a long time. Guys, listen to this. Hebrews 1025. Hebrews 1025. This is good. It says in the new King James, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as in the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much more, much more, as you see the day approaching. One translation puts it this way, that this is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. How many know you can have bad habits? He says a bad habit is not being connected to the community, not showing up. It's a bad habit. Guys, okay? I'm just tired. I'm just this. Do you go to work when you're tired? How much more important are the things of God? Hello? Let's not be complacent. We got to wake up. The enemy has lulled many to sleep. I'm just on a journey. I'm just recovering from church hurt. Hello? You said that ten years ago. You still haven't recovered. I understand there's a place for that. Can I tell you, I've been kicked in the face many times by God's people and leaders. Can I tell you that? But I'm still in ministry. I could make a lot more money doing other things. I really could. I know how to do it. I know how to scale businesses. I can tell you. Listen, the point is, why am I doing this? Because I'm called. And the love of Jesus compels me. And woe unto me if I don't preach the gospel. It's not about me. It's not about my hurt. It's not about my disappointments or my setbacks. Jesus will help me. He'll heal me, but I have to keep going. And the enemy wants to literally cause us to become so discouraged and disillusioned at times that we just want to withdraw. I understand there's. Some church cultures are not healthy. I understand that. I'm not saying that's the case. Hello? We just say what we say here. Do you know what I'm. You know what I'm saying? We're just going to speak the truth in love, because there's a lot of stuff that's not being addressed in the church. We have to deal with this, guys. The enemy wants you to step back, to disengage from community, from using your gifts, all of those things. And when that happens, not only do you suffer, the entire body of Christ lacks as well. See, we need each other more. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate the day dawning. Now, here's what I want to share with you. The word that is translated, assembling in the new King James version, Hebrews 1025, it's a very interesting word. It literally speaks not just a being in one place, but of being in one place. In one accord. How many times do we read that in the Bible? They're in one place, one accord. Boom. Right? One place, one accord. Day of Pentecost. Back in chronicles, when Solomon's temple, they were in one place, one accord. The glory of God came down. Psalm 133 were one place, one accord. Oneness. The glory of God is manifested. This is a reality of what God wants and the enemy. Well, try to cancel that type of culture in our thinking so that we'll just go. You know what? I'm good. It's me and Jesus. I'm good. I'm good. No, you're not good. You might be good, but you're not great. You only go to a certain place. Your growth will be stunted. You'll never become the person God's wanted you to, really wants you to be. I'll never become that person. None of us will. We need one another. You carry something that I need. I learn from you. There's things every week that people say that helps me. It imparts. Sometimes it's a revelation, a confirmation. We need one another. So one accord in one place. What does that mean? As I said previously, for those of you who never heard, what's the difference between a gathering and an assembly? An assembly is this to assemble, right? Think of Lego being connected, being built together. Individual Lego pieces strewn all over, but not being interlocked, placed together, being assembled together. That's the picture. This is what we're called to be an assembly, not just a gathering, where we are being built up into a holy habitation of God. Ephesians 222 speaks of that close with this story. Some of you may have heard me say this, but it's such a powerful story that I share it again for the sake of those who've never heard it. Many years ago, probably about twelve years ago, 15 years ago, I was preaching in a community in Washington state. In America, it's called Tacoma. And in the city of Tacoma, we were there. We were ministering. Revival broke out. Miracles were happening. We were ministering the morning, the evening, literally, this was going on for over two weeks, multiple times on Sunday, people were driving four or 5 hours to come in and to experience what God was doing, healing salvations. God was moving in such a beautiful and powerful way. Near the end of the ministry time, on one Sunday morning, I saw this woman walk in the door, and there was nothing different about her and nothing special that stood out. But as she walked in, Holy Spirit spoke to me. And I heard this in my spirit, one accord in one place. And I looked at her, and I thought, okay. So she went, and she was sat down with some friends on the other side of the building. It was quite a large building near the front. And I just felt in my spirit so strongly, I've got to share this with her. So I ended up having a conversation with her, and I said, ma'am, I don't know you. You don't know me? She said, are you the guest preacher? I said, yes. And she said, okay, nice to meet you. And we introduced. I introduced myself. I said to her, I feel God's given me a word for you. Said, what's that? I said, one accord and one place. What does that mean to you? One accord in one place. She looked at me, and she was not happy. I was like, wow. So literally went back, sat down, service started, worshiped, preached the gospel, ministered to people. At the end of the service, she approached me and she said, you know, when you share that word with me, do you realize how angry you made me? Who told you? I said, told me what? Like she said, who told you who I am? I said, no one told me who you are. I have no idea who are you? And she said, you see that man right there? And I said, yeah, the pastor. She goes, uh huh. The pastor. Yeah. I said, yeah, that's my husband. And I said, okay, I've never met you. I've never seen you. He never talked about you. And I said, so what's the deal here? And she said, you don't know what happened? I said, I have no idea. You don't let me in on the secret. She said, about six months ago, my husband and I had a sharp disagreement, and I literally left and took about half of the church, mostly all women, and went down the street and started my own church. They still live in the same house, but she's got her own ministry, and the husband has his own ministry, and she literally split the church. I was like, whoa, this is full on. And I said to her, well, apparently Jesus wants to address this issue. And she goes, yeah, you're right. And she ended up reaching out to her husband, and they were reconciled, and they brought the two ministries back together again. One accord in one place. That was crazy. Sometimes you don't know you're just being obedient. God was grieved. Holy Spirit was grieved. What they were doing. There's places all over the world. It's very true in America where if you don't agree with the pastor, you just leave. If you're in ministry and you start another church, we used to have a saying, jokingly, I've planted ten churches. We've started ten churches. Some of them were intentional. Somebody gets offended, they're in ministry, right? They go down the road, they start their own thing. And I'm not just blaming the person that leaves. I understand some church blitz are undiagnosed pregnancies. That was deep. Did y'all catch that? Undiagnosed pregnancies. God's birthing something. We don't know how to deliver it. We don't know how to work with people. So there's a place of unity that God wants to bring, a place of being planted not only in Christ, but in community. And I would encourage you guys, don't take it casually. It's so important. We're gonna be doing more things together, praying together, you know, walking together, going to be doing more amazing things. Actually, we've got some things planned. But you don't need us as a church to say, hey, you know, it's on the calendar or whatever. No. Just begin to love one another, spend time with one another, pray with one another. Right? Just like, just do it. Do life together and live in community together. And let's build his kingdom together. Let's do what he's called us to do. This is a powerful thing. The enemy wants to disengage us from a place of community and closeness with one another. But let's actually put the devil to shame. Can we do that? Let's put the devil to shame. Let's stand together. [01:00:52] Speaker A: Thank you for joining us. We hope that you enjoyed today's podcast, and we realise that not everyone has had the opportunity to respond to the good news of the gospel. And for this reason, in all of our services and platforms, we want to extend to you the opportunity to follow Jesus. The Bible teaches us that we have been created for a relationship with God. However, sin, which is essentially disobedience, independence and disbelief, or us simply missing the mark, entered the world and separated us from God. Romans chapter six, verse 23, says that the wages of sin is death and a debt was owed. And the Bible tells us that he, Jesus, demonstrated his love for us, that while we were still sinners, he died for us. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. John 316 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus, that whoever believes in him will be saved. All that is required of anyone is that they believe in Jesus. The son of God who came, lived, died and rose again so that we could be forgiven, made right and given the right to become children of God and to have life forevermore with him. Today you can begin a relationship with Jesus. To believe in him is to simply to respond with faith in our hearts and confess with our mouths that he is Lord and we do that through a simple prayer. Follow along with me dear Jesus, I believe that you are the son of God. I thank you that you love me and came to forgive me of my sin. I repent from my old way of life and I turn to follow you. I receive the free gift of eternal life and I ask that you fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can live a life of following after you. I thank you that I am born again as a child of God and that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. Amen. If you prayed this prayer for the first time, we would love to connect with you and connect you to your next step and the local church in your area. You can contact us on our website at Numa Church thanks for listening.