Man always wonderful to be home. Amen. It's nothing quite like it. It always feels so special to me We should be here every single Sunday, but it's not what God has for me obviously in this season So but silent that treasure every time we get a chance to be here with you this morning, man I'm excited about being here excited about what we're gonna look at this morning Tyler today's message is receiving the fullness of Jesus Oh, how many like that?
I mean, I'm if you want to receive the fullness of Jesus in your life man Receiving the fullness of Jesus and I want to tell you upfront today. This is gonna be a very very simple message There will be no astrophysics required come in okay very very simple message, but at the same time don't miss it It's also very very profound message. It's simple But it's profound very simple in terms of being able to understand what we're talking about again very simple concept But at the very same time if we really get this and I don't mean just kind of Sunday school understanding like I Got it, you know, you know at a surface level But if we really get this and begin to build this in our individual I build this into the life of this church more and more and more than the effect of it in our lives and the effect of it in this Church is going to be extremely profound I mean it really will amazing amazing Profound effect if we get this simple truth that we're looking at this morning Receiving the fullness of Jesus and here's where we're gonna start this morning in Matthew chapter 10 Matthew chapter 10 and verse 40 in Matthew 10 40 Jesus is speaking to his disciples and he says these words to them he who receives you Receives me there it is that's it he who receives you receives me he who receives you my disciples Receives me how many disciples do I have in here this morning? Yep, right?
He who receives you receive me when I receive you I received Jesus When I receive you born again blood wash spirit-filled believer brother sister real genuine brother sister in the Lord when I receive you I receive Jesus That's what Jesus is a thing that very simple very plain very clear and very powerful when I receive you I receive Jesus When you receive me you receive Jesus man any time you receive another born again believer Then you are receiving Jesus, okay now that's a simple part of that by saying man I got it so far I'm with you pastor mile but here's where it begins to get profound if we're willing to lay hold of this We come into we experience a greater level of relationship with Jesus as we receive each other We experience a greater level of relationship with Jesus as we receive each other We receive a greater level of intimacy with Jesus as we receive each other Amen come on we receive the fullness of Jesus as we receive each other to the degree we receive each other that that same degree We receive a greater fullness of Jesus in our life and in our myths Amen when we as a church family receive each other it releases the fullness of Jesus in our myths And I'm telling that that is that is a very big and very powerful statement and it obviously very very true again simple concept But lived out has such powerful implication when we as a church family receive each other It releases the fullness of Jesus in our myths, yeah When we receive each other we experience a greater measure of Jesus his power his presence I meant his touch in all of our life well as we receive each other we receive that in our myths we do But here's the key we have to receive each other we have to receive each other man We have to stop filtering things As we look at each other and live out life with each other and interact with each other We got to stop we got put down all of those filters all of our petty little offenses Where somebody said or did something that hurt poor little me man. We had to get somewhere that's like it ain't worth it You know, I mean that was wrong that was ugly that wasn't right. I don't know maybe they were just having a bad Hair day. I don't know man.
Maybe they're having a bad hair year I don't know and I'll tell you it's not worth it to hold on to that thing and So many times with little petty offenses that happen in our lives and somebody's saying well mine's not petty It is trust me it's I don't care what it is it is alright when you see it in light of what we're talking about it All of it's bad, right, but oh, you know so many times our fences you know what they are there there things that aren't even really real It's just our perception, you know, I mean I came in here today I said hi to Danny. He walked right by me. How dare Danny do that Well, I thought that brother love he told me how many times he loved me through the years and he didn't say hi to me this Morning, what's up with that? I mean how rude I mean can you believe Danny?
I mean I can't believe in the guy just a really mean I don't think he's a real quick. I'm not sure that he really love the long Maybe didn't hear me Might be something just that simple. We got to get rid of all of our little petty offenses. Amen How about this and we got to get rid of another filter this filter is judging a book by its cover No, I just don't like that guy You know, I just I'm not sure.
I mean I just I'm not sure about him. I think he's got some issues I think I think he's just a phony. I think he's a have you met him. Have you talked with no, but I just think that Well, you know she I just really think do you really know her well?
No, not really, but no you don't stop Man stop judging people being critical people. You don't even really know them much less know their heart. Amen But we start judging people by what we perceive out of them or maybe they remind us of somebody from their past And that leads us to another real big one, you know, we got to get rid of this filter of past church hurts Man past church bad experiences with leaders or other Christians or just a bunch of hypocrites I mean really everybody is I mean sure fun, but we carry these things forward and it's like my patram out You just don't understand I was hurt so bad years ago. Oh, trust me I think I understand better than you think I do because I've been through that one too So I'm going through a number of those through the year But come on you can't let that dictate the rest of your life Are you gonna let that jerk or that person who's messed up or struggling with all of them things in their own life?
You know that them control your life for the rest of your life. Oh, but you don't know how bad I was hurt Oh, I do understand. I mean I got it I mean I wasn't there I didn't walk through with you But I do understand this as well too that that damage it was done to you in that moment way back win You know what that pales in comparison to the damage that's ongoing in your life because you won't receive others Man and in not receiving others. You're missing out on receiving the fullness of Jesus in your own life Amen, see the only way you're gonna receive that dimension of the fullness of Jesus in your life is by receiving each other You can wear your Bible out come on you can pray till you get Calis on your knees You can sing until you get hoarse, but you're not gonna get the fullness of Jesus in your life until you get this the only way You're gonna get that dimension of the fullness of Jesus in your life is by receiving freely each other By receiving freely each other if you want more of Jesus, then you're gonna have to receive more of his body And that's why it works I mean now who in here realizes that the devil does not want you to receive more blessings and wonderful things in your life I mean more than good things that God has for your life Of course he doesn't all right we all understand that so what does he do he works very hard?
It is one of his main attack points in our life one of the main things he folks on our life is to what divide us in Any way shape or form you can he wants to bring all these little divisions all these little past things He wants to keep him fresh in our mind He wants us to not be willing to get over those things or get past those things He doesn't want those filters to come on our life coming out of our life And so he wants to divide us bring some distance and separation between us and if he can do that three things happen number one Some one thirty three is gone some third one thirty three where the commanded blessing of God is present in that place of unity When there's disunity when there's separation Division then what that place of God commanding his blessing to be poured out it's gone So if he can accomplish something number one the command of blessing gone some one thirty three here's number two if he can bring separation Division just some break in between us then guess what Genesis 11 is gone the power of unity Where God looks down from heaven on these guys building the tower of battle an unrighteous and ungodly thing But it's a shocking statement that he made he looked down He said because they are in such incredible unity together Nothing that they set their heart to do will be impossible for them now my goodness That's a huge statement They're not even doing something good godly righteous and God says nothing that they do will be impossible to them How much more powerful would be unity when we're doing that very thing which God himself commands a man and wants to see happen on planet earth But we lose some one thirty three we lose Genesis 11 when we allow that division separation to come in and here's number three If we allow that division that separation to come in that divide then we won't receive the fullness of Jesus in our life And in our midst amen though back to Matthew chapter 10 and let's look at the next verse and and I'm sure they don't pop it up They're really forced but before we start reading them understand it Jesus has not changed what he's talking about He receives you receives me and he's not changed the subject here. He's continuing on with this same thought pattern verse what he want He receives a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's reward and he receives a righteous person As a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward In other words what he's saying very simply Saints is this if you want the ministry that God has put in that person then you're gonna have to receive the person if you want the blessing That God has for you that he deposited in that person But if you're blessing if you want that you're gonna have to receive the person Otherwise you don't get it now you might get a little measure of it You're not gonna get anywhere close to the fullness of that you're not gonna anywhere near all of what God has for you That he doesn't positive that person for your benefit meant for your blessing If you want the gift that God has for you that he put in that person you have to receive the person everybody in here Say amen Let's look at this in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 This is a fairly familiar passage to many of you in here this morning most Christians are very familiar with this passage I want us this morning to read this very familiar passage in the message translation I want to pause you real quick I want to make very clear to you the message translation is not really a translation we take translators It's a paraphrase and there's something very different living Bible and the message translation They aren't translations to paraphrase where somebody's unlike a translation where you have this team of Bible scholars who gather together And they and they argue over in 30 50 of them 70 of them They're in there arguing over every word in the Hebrew in the Old Testament every word in the Greek in the New Testament And arguing over different ways to interpret each one of those sentences each one of those verses right That's a different deal than somebody who takes the Greek in the Hebrew but also takes the English translations and just tries to put it in words That are familiar to us, right? It's not negative. It's not bad.
I mean I got savory in a living Bible I'm 17 years of age. Am I handed me a living Bible paraphrase now? You're all these people get up there pastors conferences I've speaking through the year Oh, I'm living Bible. I think it's not good.
That's not the word of God. I got saved dude I mean, thank you Jesus. I hand me something I could read all right because they hand me these and dows and King James I've been out of there. I mean, okay, so I'm not slamming those translations those paraphrases, right?
I'm just saying they're not a great study source for you If you want to get really deep in the word of God, that's not really where you want to go, okay? Right, but they are many times they do a fantastic job in real simple plain English I mean they say it in a way that it's like wow makes it pop So a lot of times I'll look at a verse in the message and I'll go oh, you know that is not what's there in the Greek or that's not What's there in the Hebrew that's really kind of skewed out there and so I wouldn't touch that with a 20 foot pole But there are times where he nails it I mean just absolutely nails what's there in the Greek in the New Testament and Hebrew in the old obviously and he just absolutely Gets it and sets it in such a way it really pops in and I believe this passage in 1 Corinthians 12 He absolutely just crushes his passage all right. So let's look at it in the message 12 verses 12 through 25 verse Corinthians 12 Look no further than your own body Your body has many parts limbs organ cells, but no matter how many parts you can name you're still one body It's exactly the same with Christ by means of his one spirit. We all said goodbye to our partial and piecemeal lies We each used to independent we each used to independently call our own shot But then we entered into a large and integrated life You get that a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything This is what we proclaimed in word in action when we were baptized Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body Refreshed and sustained at one fountain his spirit where we all come to drink The old labels we once used to identify ourselves are no longer useful.
We need something larger more comprehensive I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant not less a body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge It's all the different but similar parts arranged and functioning together if foot said I am not elegant like hand embellished with rings I guess I don't belong to this body would that make it so if ear said I'm not beautiful like I Transparent and expressive I don't deserve a place on the head Would you want to remove it from the body if the body was all I who could hear it who could it here if all here? How could it smell as it is we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it? But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self importance for no matter How significant you are it is only because of what you are a part of an enormous eye or gigantic hand wouldn't be a body But a monster what we have is one body with many parts each is proper size and in its proper place No part is important on its own Can you imagine I telling hand get lost I don't need you or head telling foot your job has been phased out The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church Every part dependent on every other part the parts we see and the parts we don't Every part dependent on every other part the parts we see those that are kind of prominently they're out in front They're on the platform on Sunday month and those that are more behind the scenes that we're not even sure who did that But they're all critically important equally important And we're dependent on them now there we can pick this theme up again and again and again through scripture and anytime God says something once It's really important and when God keeps coming back to something again and again in his work That means we you and I really need to perk up our ears I mean open up our hearts even more fully said man. This is important I've got to get this God is doubling down tripling down quadrupling to keep saying this thing again and again So that tells me it's really really important number one and it also tells me something else That means people are very likely to miss this.
It's a problem area people miss it Right, so it's really important people miss it so I need to make sure I'm not one of them Alright, and so we'll see this with this whole concept that's just been on back there in first Corinthians 12 for again and again and again This thing's on back sometime It's a reference with body parts using the human bodies and example other times It doesn't use the human body but it keeps coming back to this whole thing about how all these different giftings are put in the body We're different from each other and we need those different giftings from each other Romans 12 is another example where and this one does use body parts and it's really doubling down on this same truth Because it's such an important truth Romans 12 versus 4 and 5 or just as we have many parts in one body And all the bodies parts do not have the same function So we who are many are one body and cry and individually parts of one another So since we could say it this way spiritually speaking this is exactly what Jesus he dies on the crawl He's resurrected from the dead right he ascends into heaven his kingdom begins to be established We know that from the word of God very clearly and what he does in essence is he takes his self His body he breaks it up into millions of pieces and he scatters it throughout the body of Christ That's that's spiritually what took I broke up all these different things that I got the whole spirit without measure All the gifts are a resident and all of the different personality all these different things are in here And he just takes any scatter that breaks into millions of pieces scatters it throughout the body of Christ When you receive another Christian you are receiving from Jesus amen when you receive from another Christian you're receiving from Jesus When you receive ministry from another Christian you are receiving from Jesus That it's not the rapture of the hope of glory It's Christ in you the hope of glory man, and that in just you I mean Christ in you who's gonna grow and develop and change you But Christ in you is what you're gonna minister to me and I need what God put in you You know everything most everything if not everything that we need is either in or flowing through the body of Christ Most everything that we need is either already in already deposited here in the church family or it's flowing through the church family to me Most everything that I need a man healing Well, Jesus is a healer. Yeah, but he heals through people man It almost okay, not all I mean sometimes you just sovereign him nobody else involved that happened absolutely But most of the time that's why I said most everything Because sometimes you'll do these things sovereign, but he has chosen to do it through his body do it through the church family man He lean is there deliverance is there come on counseling is there encouragement? Oh my Discipleship all these different things that we need how about this one prayer support when you're going through a difficult Season in your life or a difficult situation in your life that support people supporting you encouraging you and praying for you How about this one how to be successful financially in your life how to manage your money biblically man? How to build well biblically how do you do that?
I mean well, I mean he'll drop that in the body price of it's taught to you How about being a great parent so that you raise really incredible children who are not just godly But they're incredibly successful in life. I mean come on I mean how did that happen? He drops that in the body price and make sure that that gets to it I mean we have to receive from each other in order to get it. Yeah I mean I saw the announcement I mean, you know the end of August what's happened King of family's happening, you know You know, yeah, you know, I miss that last year.
I know man. I mean I'm telling you, you know, you know Yeah, what can I just tell you you know, we miss you but more than that you miss us oh Man, we miss you we did but more than that you missed us Thank God drop something in the body to minister to you to help your life be richer fuller more complete. Come on Marriage works. Oh my goodness.
This last marriage work last year, you know, that's oh that seems like a lifetime ago I'm about six months ago. My goodness. Well, that incredible. Yeah.
Oh man. I missed it. Well, you missed us We did miss you, but you missed up. Yeah Listen God has dropped some amazing Understandings biblical understanding about marriage in this shirt look around this shirt It's got so many incredible marriages and you might be if you're newer in the church and you don't know somebody Maybe my look around and say oh my I mean they just they just got lucky No, you should have known them back when they walked in the door of the church.
I'm a son Oh, I'm about to be 20 years ago. No, that was three. I mean I mean No way. Oh, yes way.
Hey man. Yeah, they got the truth of God's word and begin to build their marriage on it and everything Jane Oh, I could never have a marriage like that. That's what they were saying three years ago God drop that in here so that you can say oh man. Hey, whoa, can you share with me?
How'd you get the marriage you got? Will you teach me? I mean would you read what you do? Could you could in fact could you I know this is a big act?
Could you come alongside me? Can't be like a mentor to me into our marriage. I mean help it absolutely. Oh, and I mean you get it I know that you got this.
I mean I could sit here and go after one after another after another I just use marriage as a simple example, man But God has dropped so much gifting in this church But you don't get it you don't get it unless you receive from each other. Amen. Come on I'm telling you this church has powerful healing ministry and you're not gonna receive it unless you come up here and get them to pray for you Yeah, yeah True, yeah Mazing prophetic gifting that God has dropped in this church amazing prophetic gifting But you have to receive the person in order to receive the gift. Amen.
And by the way, if you have prophetic gifting in you You get around somebody who's really strong prophetic or I get around Steve Warnock And I'm telling you I hang around him and especially if he starts I'm with him He's traveling with me. You should we travel some together different churches and and you know he starts flowing in the prophetic man Something starts stirring inside of me that I'm not my primary gift by any me, but boy I mean I'm around him. It's in there Well, what's in me start bubbling up and it's like oh man It just stirs like it becomes a catalyst thing when you're around somebody with a bigger gift in an area than you have Maybe it's a bigger gift. It'll always be bigger than yours.
Maybe yours is just in Bud form right now It'll be John maybe bigger than there's in time, but it'll get stirred as you hang out with them I mean something deep within them starts calling to something deep in you Look at his Ephesians 4 this is exactly what's going on here in Ephesians 4 Ephesians 4 verses 11 12 and 13 This and he gave some he meaning Jesus gave some as apostles some as prophets some as evangelists some as pastors and teachers For the equipping of the saints who's that? That's you and me come on That's us for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry for the building up of the body of Christ Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man To the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ Amen, so here's what happened Jesus gave these gifts amen to the church Apostles prophets evangelists pastors and teachers Amen He gave those wonderful gifts to the church and did you catch why he gave those to the church so that we could all sit back in all and go wow Oh My we need to get a billboard out there with Michael's head on it. I mean, oh Yeah, I mean why I'm gonna be laughing but you know, you know, yeah, I mean, yeah, that is a real problem today in the church in America in America I mean so it's not that in my day goes gift So we could sit back and stand in all of them and applaud when they do it I mean but it's it's there to what to train up and raise up others in the church to equip the saints So that the saints do the work of the ministry. Oh, I thought that's why God gave us these big shots So they could do all of the work of the ministry.
No That is an absolutely unbiblical pattern He gave those gifts so that they could equip the saints of the saints could do the work of the ministry Oh, you pass their y'all are all I know what that's a volunteer man volunteer and come to you come do that come do that You guys get that's why we pay you Oh, it's time of your life and I listen I was in two different churches where I heard people say that repeatedly man Oh, come on. I want it to come up here and do that man. We pay them to do that. I mean You have zero biblical understanding when you say stuff like that.
Oh, yeah He puts them in there to draw those gifts up in you and then help you discover what's in you and then to train you And develop you so those things are released out of you Yeah, hey man. Can you see that? Let's say this way. He gave us apostles so that every single one of us could function apostolicly.
Oh Wait a minute. What did he just say? Oh, I'll say one more time. He gave us a puzzle so that every single one of us could function Apostolicly We're all apostles.
I did not say that you're not listening carefully He gave us a possible that really unique wonderful gift that's in this huge measure in somebody so that all of us begin to function Apostolicly what does that mean? The apostolic really just me some of the apostles used to 12 read through action You're gonna find it there's a whole bunch of more apostles. I mean There's no name people that they are functioning as apostles in the early church And some people just stunned when they hear that pastors are like what? I mean yeah, I go back and read and act again slowly and watch all these different ones that are named apostles So you what does it mean to function apostolicly apostles establish beachheads?
I mean in a new area That's that's what the term meant literally in the Greek They go to a new area and they establish a beachhead now a lot of times it's used militarily of course, right? So an apples up a puzzle the Greek word fact they go there and they land and place and they establish a beachhead to conquer that whole nation, right? They go and establish it so that it can be conquered listen every single one of you should function apostolicly Oh, you mean I'm gonna go to the mission field well, maybe but but your workplace is a mission field Come on you need to establish a beachhead until that whole thing gets conquered. Amen.
Are you with me apostles multiply ministries? That's another thing that there's a multiplication thing and you should be multiplying ministries. Yeah, come on Man ministry should flow amen out. Yeah, what's in you should be touching people and then there what stirred and called into ministry as well All of us should function apostolicly.
He gave us evangelists. This is an easier one. This is simple Let's go to this gave us evangelist so that every single one of us could be evangelistic All of us are called to be evangelist. No, I mean that's a different that's a unique gift It's a real strong powerful gift, but God gave it to the church so that all of us would be evangelistic So that we would hear them speak and we could hear their heart and we could watch their model again even when they're doing the ministry It's not for us to sit back and stand and all of them.
It's it's a it's a pattern. I mean they're modeling for us How we do it? We learn from them as they do it. Does that make sense?
They're with me. It's the same with the prophetic in man. We're all prophets. No, not that's not what I'm saying But all of us should function prophetically.
Amen. Come on. We see what's there and we see what's beyond that, right? How about pastoral?
How about teacher? Yeah, absolutely All of us should function pastorally man We should all have a heart for the sheep around us and the more you hang out with a pastor and you receive them then you start receiving from them You guess what? You have a more pastoral heart it will start influencing the way you think it the way you live All of us gonna be teachers. No, no ma'am.
No, sir That's not what I'm saying But every one of us had to have that teacher heart where we love the word of God and we're able to maybe we don't be a teacher And then stand at a podium and teaching somewhere, but we can share those things that have been taught with us Those things have been taught to us we share with others. Amen. So the end result What did you read that? What's the end result is that the whole church becomes mature?
The whole church comes into the fullness of Christ That's what happens you man. Well pastor mouth. How do you know when a church is becoming a church when its members are functioning Apostolicly prophetically evangelistically pastorally and teacher while they're doing those things and they're not just doing it at church They're doing it in their homes. They're doing in the workplace.
They're doing in school. Come on So we are well on the way. Thank you Jesus. I'm excited about where we are, but there's more.
Amen. There's more absolutely come on Now one last thing before we leave Ephesians 4 here. It says this in Ephesians 4 verse 8 says this is what leads into where we Almost everybody starts and I did it today We started in verse 11, but eight leads into that that's the beginning of that whole Section there about Jesus given these gifts and he says this in Ephesians 4 verse 8 He gave gifts to his people and then it goes on and says these days apostles prophets of angels pastor teachers Right, so what are the gifts that he gave? The great question he gave gifts to his people he gave gifts to his church.
What are those gifts? Prophetic words prophetic ministry apostolic ministry. No, no and no What are the gift? It's not a ministry.
It's a person Don't get that it's not a ministry. It's a person he gave gifts to his people He gave some to be apostles on to be prophets Do you see that the gift is not a ministry the gift is a person and you don't get the ministry unless you receive the person to the degree That which you received the person to that same degree you received the depth and the power and the blessing of the ministry that God put in them oh somebody say amen this morning you get that Luke 4 this look at this one. This is a shocking passage Luke chapter 4 verse 23 and 27. It's not a shocking as the one we're gonna look at next, but it's a shocker amen Jesus said to them surely you will quote this proverb to me physician heal yourself do here in your hometown What we've heard you did in Capernaum now.
This is Jesus beginning his ministry, right? He reached from Isaiah, you know he tells him he gets over the head on the Messiah and and this thing he gives him a hint Also the thing is going to the Gentile right and and they are not too sure about him Whoa wait a minute wait a minute. You're aren't you the carpenter son Do here in your hometown what we've heard you did in Capernaum? I tell you the truth he continued no profit is accepted in his hometown Now, why is that because he's too familiar to them?
Oh, I know I know you're the carpenter son man I remember you I know who you were I'm I'm what you grow up Hey, I was there that night yet that little league baseball game when you were 12 and the bases were loaded and you were down One run in the bottom of the sixth inning last inning and you struck out. I remember yeah I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time When the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land yet Elijah was not sent to any of Them but to a widow in Zerefed in the region of Simon now again You see he's not changed subjects here. He's think get this he's continuing with the same thought through this you won't receive me Therefore you're not gonna get what God has in me for you And then he goes on to say during this three and a half year famine when there was no rain Why is that because Elijah is the one who called for it in God all right and so Elijah is persona known grotta? Amen they are hunting him like a dog right he's been hiding out for quite some time in the carith ravine You know food's being brought to him by Raven every day.
He's drinking from the brook I mean because because he's a wanted man and people want to I mean if they see him it's gonna be pitchfork time Amen, right and so it says this there's all these widows who are starving, but God didn't send him to them He sent him to this widow in Zerefed why because she would receive him God No, so he's sitting there he's not changed He's still on the same subject here you go and there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elascha the prophet yet Not one of them was cleansed only name in the Syrian why were the other lepers not clean because they wouldn't receive him But here we go name and he's a foreigner He travels a long distance to come there to see him and get the gift that God put inside of him So what is Jesus saying to them you wouldn't receive me I was a gift from God to you Therefore because you wouldn't receive me you're not going to get the ministry the gift that God had for you that he put inside of me That's over and can I tell you the same thing happens today all the time and church after church around the world the same thing Happens all the time Want one example that Great message man. I'm responding to a while God touch my heart man that that is the issue for me in my life right now Boy, I'm so glad they're doing ministry today man. I need somebody to pray with me This is a big big deal in my life and so I hurried I get down there and it's like oh man Yeah, I want to pastor Michael to pray for me Well, he's only got somebody there to have my mind behind him man And then if that didn't matter enough I look over there like three or four people over and there's a guy standing there Nobody nobody's gone to him, but he's looked at me and he catches my eye and goes come on over here And I'm going oh man now I gotta go I can't I signed up for discipleship I hear the incredible thing about this site was your program You'll have 24 teachings and I hear testimony to all these people in this church their life is totally changed Dramatically touched and changed by this thing and so I sign up and I understand I don't get these great teaching about I get a mentor assigned to me He's gonna after each one of the teaching gonna sit down make sure that I got it answer questions for me You know maybe help answer other questions that are kind of related to that This is so cool. I'm so excited and I sign up for it.
Oh man. I didn't get healed up. I'm gonna heal up And they gave me this girl. I don't know her Never heard a name before I mean I don't think she's one of the pastors wives or one elders one In the gospel of mark Chapter 6 we get the second time that Jesus comes back to his hometown Sometimes people try and say it's the same account But it's a different account the first one that we just read in Luke 4 is at the very beginning of his ministry When he reads from the scroll about say this is later on he has his disciples with him He's trained them he comes back a second time and that's what we get here in mark chapter 6 Alright Jesus goes back to his hometown and it says these words Jesus could not do any miracles now.
Why don't you just read that for a second and look at that and think about that man Jesus could not do any miracle it does not say that Jesus would not do any miracles now that I could get hold up That would be very easy for my little mind to get wrapped around but when I read a statement like that I can tell you that is the most amazing verse in the whole Bible to me Jesus the Son of God who has the Holy Spirit without measure the King of Kings the Lord of Lords Could not do any miracle. Why not because they would not receive him? They would not receive him and therefore he could not do any miracle all of that power Think about that for a second all of that power that is in resident inside of Jesus All of that gifting that he's chock full and overflowing with none of it can be released because they did not receive him It's there it just can't get released to them because they would not receive him Michael come here. Did you?
Lot of gifting in here Lot of great things in here. Yeah. Yeah got it. I'll agree with that Tremendous gifting tremendous knowledge understanding word of God experiences that are rich and God They're meant to be a blessing to you.
They're meant to be a gift to you. How do these things get released? From him into you. Oh, help me.
How? As you receive him. Come on up here. Oh, yeah That's it some of you know this young man some of you don't if you don't you need to get to know him What an amazing gift of God.
I mean really some amazing giftings in him This is gonna be fun to watch him man. Unless he pings off and I don't believe he will. All right He's got incredible things ahead for him in his life all kinds of rich full gifting within him How did it get released? How do you get what God put in him?
And And I wish that that somehow another we go to cancel Sunday school this morning Amen, all right and at least with the four five year olds or six seven year old and we could pull one of those I picked some little boy little girl and have him come up here right now and say okay I mean are you born again? Yes, are you filled with the spirit? Yes? I am okay?
You have wonderful How many of you understand they got wonderful gifts inside of it? How are you gonna get that? How's that released as you receive them? I have a dream I have a dream and it's something that has consumed me for 30 plus years and the dream simply comes out of a very Simple question and that question is this what does a church look like?
Where every single member freely receives from every other member? What would that church look like? What level of God's presence and God's power would be in the midst of that church? Same with me this morning people.
You know a few weeks ago. I was in our church in Fort Worth, Hurst GCF Hurst and it was really fascinating it was talking with some different people there and One of the new families there in that church they've been coming for some time. The life just totally changed I mean just so we just can't tell you how thrilled we are we found this church You know what what is it that made you you know come back? You know you came and visited somebody you know told you about it a member here kept telling you you need to come my church Some Sunday and they finally get what made you come back?
She said it was very very simple actually in a lap She said our son our young son. Oh You know like six seven years eight something like that. Yeah, he was the reason you came back. Yeah, he said that next Sunday when we were getting ready For church and we were talking about where we were gonna go Let's try we're trying some churches and and we thought we need trying several of them and and he said no No, no mom and dad and he said I want to go back to that church that we were at last week And they said well, we're gonna he said no no mom and dad I want to go back to that church And they said why and he said that because they see me Because they see me Watch the Avatar movies, you know, I mean and of course there's got some weird stuff going on there All right along with the weird, you know shapes and born right, but I do love that one thing.
I see you I mean, I don't just see you. I see who you are. I'm beginning to understand who you are Coach asked if you were just a minute here We need to read ourselves of any and every filter that we have and that's different from different ones over here this morning maybe prejudices biases maybe past offenses maybe past experiences Maybe past experiences in previous churches, but whatever it is we need to get out of our life, amen? out of Life so that we can receive fully and receive completely What God wants to do in us and through us and so that we can as a church family receive the fullness of Jesus in our midst Every single time we come together not just sunny morning.
Not just Wednesday night, but any time we get together Probably pray that that becomes a reality in the life of this church Right now if you have something just say it to him say Lord I repent of this I do I just I want this in my life I want this filter going. I'm laying this thing down. I've carried it way too long already anyway, but not anymore No more no more no more. I'm not gonna let the past control my present and my future I'm not gonna let these different things That I've allowed to control my life to control them any longer.
I want to receive the fullness of you in my life I want the fullness of you for every single church member for this church as a whole Father, thank you for these wonderful truths and thank you for speaking to us today, amen? Thank you for giving us vision to see things that we can't see otherwise So that we walk in ways that we otherwise wouldn't walk so that we get the very thing that you want us to have and that's life and life Abundant not just life but life abundant rich over flowing full of your very life. You're very power. You're very present God we thank you for that.
We thank you for what you've done in this church We thank you for what you're doing and Lord. We thank you for where we're going We're so happy to be your children this day and we're so grateful for your work and all the church said amen