Hey welcome to National Community Church.
So good to have you with us today.
uh Anybody else have this problem with
your glasses steaming up when you wear a
mask?
I do all the time. Hey while our band
gets ready to uh
to lead us today in worship. We're we're
just so excited to be able to gather
together
and uh this whole idea of the mask right?
We wear the mask
to protect ourselves and we also wear
the mask
to protect others from us. You know I
think we do this a lot in our personal
lives as well.
We we uh wear masks. Don't we? In our
lives and our personalities. We put masks
on to protect ourselves from others,
but we also do it to protect others from
ourselves. Maybe from
how we really think about a situation.
How we feel about a person and so
we put a mask on so that we don't hurt
others.
Well here's the invitation today as we
enter into the presence of God.
We want you to take your mask off. Not
just
the mask that you wear to protect
yourself,
but also the mask that you wear to
protect
others from you because you know what?
With God you don't have to worry about
protecting God from how you feel.
From how you think and no matter what
you're going through this week or even
today
you can bring that to God. You can bring
your full self to Him.
You can bring your feelings to Him. In
fact the invitation today is for you to
do that.
And as you enter in today, we ask you
take the mask off. Let's lift our hearts
today. Let's lift our voices in worship.
Let's engage. You might stand.
You might stay in your seat, but however
you want to engage today
the invitation is here. Let's have a
great day at church today.
God bless you, let's roll it.
Cause you're more than able, yes You are
As You turn things around for my good
With my praises
It's when I exalt You, greater than my situation
Receive my hallelujah
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
Would you just take a moment right now
wherever you're at and just
close your eyes, unless you're driving.
Would you just close your eyes
and let me just pray a prayer over you?
Father God right now in Jesus name
Lord we grab hold of the beginning of
that
song when peace like a river,
when peace like a river.
God I just pray right now that the river
of God that is filled with peace would
just flow into the lives of every single
person right now.
And I speak specifically to those of you
that are dealing with anxiety right now.
Dealing with worry, dealing with
overwhelming frustration. A sense of
drowning. Right now,
in Jesus name I pray that God would
would allow His presence, His manifest
presence of peace to minister to you.
And to comfort you. And I thank you Jesus
that you're going to do that right now.
In Jesus name I pray.
Amen amen. And if you'd like prayer we'd
love to pray with you, hit that live
prayer button.
We'd love to engage with you in prayer.
Hey welcome again to National Community
Church. It's so good to have you with us
today.
We've got a special, special thing that's
going to be coming up,
and so I'd like to tell you, or just
encourage you grab your kids.
Wherever your kids are right now. If you
kicked them out of the room so you could
watch
church go get them, bring them back in
because we've got something special that
we're going to set up for
right now. That's going to include our
kids and so
grab them and let them be a part of this,
but while we're setting up for
that let me just encourage you in your
faithfulness in giving.
Generosity is our privilege,
and I just want to encourage you and
just
thank you for your faithfulness in that
area. If you have not had an opportunity
yet to engage in this privilege
we want to invite you to do that, and
we've got opportunities for that
uh here on the screen. And you can engage
in giving in that way.
I'd also like to acknowledge all of our
#NCCANYWHERE
gatherings that are happening
right now.
A big shout out to you. Hey make sure and
take a picture,
post it for us, and tag National
Community Church. We'd love to celebrate
that that's happening right where you're
at. Speaking of
gathering small groups,
and sign up for small groups is
happening now.
So you can go to our website and check
that out,
and begin to get an idea of what kind of
groups are happening.
The different areas of engagement that
you can get involved in. Whether it's a
virtual group or even some
physical groups that are gathering again.
We'd love to uh
be able to get you connected with those
and um
another way if you're struggling to get
connected
we would love to invite you to our
connect live that is actually happening
the first three Sundays here in November
at 10:15.
Each one of those Sundays and uh
if you're new to NCC this is really an
invitation for you
to come and be a part of this connect
live. Also if you're looking to get
connected and maybe you've been a part
of NCC for a while
the invitation for you is to come and
join Pastor Mark,
myself, and some others as we just share
a little bit more about how you
can get connected in that way.
One other thing I do want to announce
and Pastor Mark is going to talk a little
bit more about this
is NCC daily. And I want to put a special
plugin
for the new app, the NCC app, that is out
on your phone. Download that and uh
that's going to be a great resource for
you.
Hey I'm excited Pastor Mark
and Summer are going to be doing
something special with our kids.
Here we go, let's engage.
All right thank you Pastor Robb, look at
this.
We just had some very cute kids
magically appear
on the stage. How are you guys doing?
Good yeah um you know what this really
makes me miss
our NCC kids. We miss you. We love you
and uh hey did any of you start school
this week?
Yeah and um what do you what do you
think about your teacher?
Five yeah. What do you think about your
teachers?
I bet some of you, your teachers are
probably your mom and dad right?
Wow, wow.
Well we're we're getting a lot of
information up here,
and uh I tell you what when we socially
distance we have things to share.
So guess what you guys. Do you know who
this
is? This is my daughter.  Yeah it's Summer.
This is my daughter
and we wrote a little book together
called, God Speaks
in Whispers. What would you think about
us reading
it to you? And then to all of the kids at
home
are you guys ready? Yeah okay you can
open it up
and we're gonna read just the beginning
and the end. A few of the pages and you
might even be able to see it
up on the screen. All right here we go.
Are you ready?
Okay. Big sound, little sound,
where in the world is God's voice found?
Can you hear God crashing in the waves?
Can you hear God echo in the caves?
Do you hear Him when a bird chirps or
when your sister slurps?
Can you hear Him on top of a mountain?
Yeah has anybody ever been on top of a
mountain?
no, no no no
You have? Yeah did you climb it with your
dad?
yeah yeah
And Trudy too and your mom. I love it. Or
even at a drinking fountain. Have you
ever had a drink
at a drinking fountain?
Maybe you might have water bottles.
Okay we'll hang on, okay? All right.
Do you hear God's voice when you're
feeling sad?
Or perhaps when you're a little mad?
God is speaking rain or shine. God is
loving
all the time. Remember that
God is still right here listening to
every single prayer.
Above all else know this is true that
God is singing
all around you. And what is He saying
in that voice still and small?
That you my dear are His
favorite of all. You know what
He loves you. And you know what right now
we're just gonna pray
a prayer of blessing over you and all of
our NCC kids that are at home.
As you begin the fall season and some of
you begin
school. And so Lord thank you for all of
our
NCC kids we bless them.
Lord they are a gift, and we pray
that they would grow in wisdom and
stature.
And in favor with God and with man.
In Jesus name. Can you say amen?
Amen all right thank you guys.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
We know it as the Lord's Prayer, but it's
more than a prayer.
It is our mission. It is
our vision. We talk a lot about going
to heaven, and there's nothing wrong with
that, but we get this backwards.
Heaven is not just a future tense
uh reality. It is a present
tense reality. And I know that, that's a
little counterintuitive.
Might even be counter cultural, but
heaven
is invading earth right here,
right now. How? How? Well when we love our
enemies,
heaven invades earth. When we pray for
those who persecute us,
or bless those who curse us, heaven
invades earth. When we care for the poor,
the widow,
the orphan. When we exercise
faith, hope, and love, heaven
invades earth. When a relationship
is reconciled. When someone experiences
miraculous
healing. When justice flows like a river,
heaven invades earth.
This weekend we begin a new series.
A new season. This is more than a title,
this is our prayer, this is our mission.
Heaven on Earth.
Let me do a quick fly over. If you are at
our online campus there is a
notes tab you will find a link to the
bible project. Would you take 8 minutes
and 57 seconds, that's how long
it is to watch their overview
on the book of Ephesians. Great on ramp
to this book.
To this series. Over the next 12 weeks
we're gonna walk through the book of
Ephesians
verse by verse, and we will do it
Monday to Friday as we shift
gears to daily church. More on that
in a few minutes, but you can sign up
ncc.re/daily Now the book of Ephesians it
forms this
beautiful chiasm, this mirrored image
if you will, and and listen our media
team our production team
they're amazing. Dave, and
Reagan, and Josh, Jay Jay, Ethan,
Robbie, all of our volunteers. Man
that trailer was this beautiful picture
of what the book of Ephesians is all
about. Let me butterfly cut
uh this book: six chapters, 155 verses, you
can read it in about 20 minutes
flat. Klyne Snodgrass said, "pound for
pound
Ephesians may be the most influential
document in history."
Now that's a pretty bold statement, but
give it 12 weeks and see if you don't
add
an amen. Paul is writing
around 62 AD and this is sort of like
Dr. King's
letter from a Birmingham jail. Paul
is in prison in Rome. I've
actually stood in that prison cell in
Rome where Paul is purported to have
written this letter. He's writing to the
church
at Ephesus, but we think it's a circular
letter so it went to Ephesus
and then probably forwarded by fedex to
some of these other churches
in Asia minor. The first half
of Ephesians, it's all about this
heavenly
realm. We have been blessed in Christ
with every spiritual blessing. Where?
In the heavenly realm. Jesus is seated at
the right hand of the Father.
Where? In the heavenly realm. All power
and dominion is His.
That heavenly reality is our identity.
In chapter one it's our destiny. In
chapter two it's our
authority. In chapter three
and then Paul flips this script
and uh there's this word, therefore. Kind
of
right in the middle of the book. Now
preachers love this because you got to
find out what therefore,
is there for, and this is where we
shift to the earthly realm.
It's all about behavior informed by
belief.
It's about culture transformed by
Christ. This is heaven invading earth. And
so the net result
is unity in chapter four. It's maturity
in chapter five, and then finally it's
security
in chapter six. And so ready or not
here we go. Ephesians one verse one
and we'll put it on the screen. Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus,
by the will of God to the saints, who are
in Ephesus, and are faithful
in Christ Jesus, grace and
peace to you from our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. We read
right past Paul, we read right past
apostle.
Listen Paul an apostle go together like
Ruth and Chris right steakhouse.
Okay um but this is an ancient
oxymoron. Listen before becoming Paul his
name was Saul.
He was a domestic terrorist who hunted
christians like
wild animals. He is the least likely
person
on the planet to become
an apostle. And listen so if you're
watching this weekend you aren't sure
you're a first-round draft pick.
Okay welcome to the team.
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are
faithful
in Christ Jesus. Job 11:6
says true wisdom
has two sides. Now you've heard me say
this
many, many times. Truth is found in the
tension
of opposites. Okay uh lots of two-sided
truths
in scripture, and you have to flip the
coin
to see both sides. And I think this is a
great
example you've got another chiasm right
here from the heavenly point of view
we're saints, this is how God sees us.
That is our position
in Christ. But from an earthly POV
we are faithful in Christ Jesus. There's
this process
called sanctification. We are being
conformed
to the image of Christ. So
in Christ you are perfectly
and positionally sanctified.
Your sin is forgiven and forgotten. There
is
no record of wrong. You are the
righteousness of Christ.
All of it, right here
right now. Practically speaking
sanctification is a process. You are a
work in progress, so am I.
uh God is working His plans, His purposes,
His promises
in your life. And so you are sanctified,
past tense, that moment you put your
faith in Christ. But you are
being sanctified, present tense.
Well which is it pastor? No no no it's
not either or. It is
both and and that'll make a lot more
sense
as we move forward. Absolutely critical
as we talk about
identity formation in Christ.
Let me back up the bus a little bit. I
want to take us on a field trip this
weekend to
ancient Ephesus. If content is king.
Then context is queen.
So let me give us a little bit of
backdrop as we begin to look
at this book. Ephesus one of the largest
cities
in the ancient world. Best guess few
hundred thousand people,
had an amphitheater that sat 25,000 people. I'm going to show you a
picture of these ancient
ruins. Think Russell Crowe and
gladiator. uh Ephesus was a port
city. It sat at the intersection of
four major trade routes, and it was wall
street.
This is where the Caesars open up their
offshore
bank accounts. Now even more important
than all of that
is the Temple to Artemis.
Actually ranks as one of the seven
ancient
wonders of the world. Four times the size
of the Parthenon, 127 columns if you're
keeping score
at home. I'll show you that artist
rendering.
A few years ago read this book titled
The Geography of Genius, fascinating book
about how different geographies have a
unique
genius to them. You've got Athens, Greece
6th century BC,
a lot of philosophers. You've got
Florence, Italy
14th century, a lot of artists right? And
then you've got
even Silicon Valley, 20th century
and a lot of technological breakthroughs.
And so those
geographies and demographies
are marked by a unique genius. Okay are
you still with me?
Let me take this a little bit further. I
think different cities have
different personalities. Have you found
this to be true?
They have a unique tone. A unique
tenor. They even have a unique pace and
there's a word for it,
urban metabolism. But I want to take it
even a step further than that.
I think different places have different
idols.
There are powers and principalities
and I think it's our responsibility
to identify those
idols. Why? So that we can operate
in the opposite spirit. We just finished
the book of Daniel. Is this not what
Daniel did?
He would not be named or tamed
by Babylonian culture. Lived counter
culture for
70 years. I think we're called to do the
same.
Now we'll talk a little bit more about
this in Upper Zoom,
but I do wonder if political correctness
is one of those powers or principalities
right here
in Washington DC. Question would you
rather be biblically correct or
politically correct? Because sometimes
they are at odds with each other. And I'm
just going to say it,
I think sometimes it's harder to be
biblically correct when you sit
in the shadow of the Capital, the White
House,
and the Supreme Court. Long story short
Ephesus is all about Artemis idols
all over the city. She is their patron
goddess.
The goddess of fertility, and so when
sailors would dock at Ephesus
they were greeted by signs. Some of
these signs still
exist that would point them to the
nearest brothel. To say that the city was
sensual would be an understatement. The
Temple of Artemis would have been
surrounded by temple prostitutes. Every
year
they celebrated the Festival of
Artemis and they would
take to the streets of Ephesus and they
would carry this statue of Artemis
down to the harbor. Almost like a
thanksgiving day float,
and they would in a sense baptize her
in that water and wash
the statue of Artemis believing that it
would restore
her virginity. Now I know that we have a
lot of different ages listening and so I
want to be careful right here, but
let's just say that she lost it and they
lost it.
By the time they got back to the temple
in Ephesians 5 Paul is talking about
marriage as
a metaphor for the church. And here's
what he says,
"husbands love your wives as Christ loved
the church, and
gave himself up for her, so that he might
sanctify her. How? Having cleansed her
by the washing of water." Are you getting
where this is going?
With the word we read right
past this, the Ephesians would have known
exactly what Paul
is referencing. He is flipping the script
and he's calling these christians to
live
counterculture. How? Well
in a culture where there were very few
sexual boundaries
Paul is advocating monogamy.
Sex, it's a sacred covenant between
a husband and a wife.
It was counter cultural 2,000 years ago
and uh it is once again. You need
a biblical theology of sexuality
if you're gonna live counter cultural.
And I might add
and love everybody who doesn't believe
the way
that you do. I have never seen
a statue of Artemis, but she is alive
and well. We follow Christ in a culture
that parades Artemis through the streets.
All right how are we doing? Let's keep
going.
A few weeks ago, talked about this Jewish
hermeneutic called
PARDES. Four levels of learning. Four
levels of study.
Kind of different ways of engaging
scripture at different
levels. And so level one is PESHAT it is a
plain
reading of scripture. And I want to say
there is nothing wrong with
reading the bible devotionally. In fact
this is such
a great place to start. You do not need a
seminary degree to hear the still small
voice
of the spirit. That said I kind of think
of PESHAT
as like the 13% of the iceberg that's
above the surface of the water.
I mean come on there is 87% beneath
the surface. And so I won't share all of
these levels but the third level
is the Deresh. And it's connecting the dots
I would liken this to a google search
that
produces lots of hyper links.
It is letting scripture interpret
scripture, and that's what we want to do
this weekend.
About a decade before writing this
letter Paul went on three
missionary journeys. Visited Ephesus
twice, and I'm going to show you a map of
that third
missionary journey. Just to get you
oriented it starts
in Antioch, which is really a home church
for Paul. A little family reunion in
Tarsus, which is where
Paul is from, and then he heads west. And
I bet you'll recognize some of these
cities.
You've got uh Thessalonica, you've got
Philippi,
Athens and then he doubles back. Now what
what the itinerary doesn't reveal is how
long
Paul spent in each of these cities.
Of all the churches that Paul planted.
Ready?
He spends more time in Ephesus
than anywhere else. At least
two years, and it may have been the most
discipled church
in the ancient world. Paul was writing to
people that he
pastored, okay. People he baptized, and
discipled. People that he
married. In families where he had done
burials, I mean
these are people that he knew by name.
Now if you have the bible I want you to
turn over to Acts 19.
It's the backdrop for a lot of what
we're going to look at
over these coming 12 weeks. When Paul
arrives there are only 12 disciples in
Ephesus. That's it. But that's all it
takes. Give God 12 people, who go
all in and it might turn into 2 billion
a couple millennia later. Now here's a
fascinating thing to me
they have only heard about John's
baptism
and so they have no idea who the Holy
Spirit
is. Come on if you try to follow Jesus
without the help of the Holy Spirit,
good luck with that. Okay
when we get to chapter five it says
don't be drunk with wine, but be
filled with the Holy Spirit. Present
imperative verb.
Keep on being filled with the Holy
Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit I am
below average.
With the help of the Holy Spirit game
time, who.
Let me highlight four things that are
happening here
in Acts 19. If you're taking notes you
can jot these down.
One you've got unbelievable
miracles happening in Ephesus. It says
that their
handkerchiefs that touch the disciples
were used
to heal people. Like what, what,
what?!?! And I say do it again Lord. Do it
again. I'm believing for a supernatural
demonstration of God's
love and power. We have experienced
a lot of miracles. I don't think we've
seen anything
yet. You wait and see, or better yet taste
and
see. Two you've got radical
repentance. Now this is a key ingredient
when it comes to revival.
Radical repentance sets the stage for
radical reconciliation, which sets the
stage
for revival. And I might add reformation
into church
and renaissance in culture. Long story
short
the Ephesians were incredibly spiritual.
They also
dabbled in the occult. And so
when you begin to follow Christ like
that, that's where you look. Okay so what what do you do with all of
these sorcy
sorcery scrolls or books that that they
had?
I mean this is pretty amazing an epic
bonfire
in Acts 19. They burn the boats, they
burn the bridge.
It says that the books were valued at 50,000
drachma, now you know me well enough
that I'm going to do the math and so
a drachma is a day's wage. I multiplied
it by the average daily wage
in DC. This bonfire
they burn $9,850,000
in DC
dollars. Three,
you've got incredible courage. The
Ephesians
actually riot in the streets and so
they're dragging
some of these christians into the
amphitheater.
Now 1 Corinthians 15 Paul references
this,
this moment he says I fought with wild
beasts in
Ephesus. Now I want to be honest here, we
don't know whether this is literal
or figurative. In fact I think I
translate it
literally, but one way or the other Paul
is, you have got to live
counter culture when you've got people
rioting in the streets. They actually
shout for two hours
great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
When you mess with someone's idols it
may just
incite a riot. Now finally Paul held
daily discussions in the lecture hall of
Tyrannis.
From ten o'clock in the morning to three
o'clock in the afternoon. So five days a
week,
five hours a day, six days a week.
and uh that is three thousand one
hundred and twenty hours. And so that's
about a third of the way
to that ten thousand hour rule in two
years
flat. And I I wonder if that's why
this letter is much less corrective,
than say Corinthians, and far more
proactive. The only ceiling
on your intimacy with God and your
impact on the world is
daily spiritual disciplines.
God is shifting us from a weekly mindset
to a daily rhythm, and I'm not saying you
have to give them
five hours. Listen give them five
minutes, and that really is the challenge.
Would you
sign up ncc.re/daily
you can download our brand new app,
you give God five minutes and then see
what happens. Why? Because we're not just
going to study Ephesians, we're going to
do
Ephesians. Let's follow their example,
daily church.
Monday to Friday now all of that
adds up to verse 17. The name of the
Lord
was magnified. All of that adds up to
verse 20.
The word of God spread widely.
The gospel brings a city to its
knees. The gospel shifts
an entire socio-economic system on its
axis. They put idolatry out of business.
They experience this radical
reconciliation, as they tear down
the dividing wall of hostility in
Ephesians 2.
And I love verse 23. There was no
small commotion. Come on do it again God!
We are not just trying to build a church,
we are trying to bless
a city to the third and fourth
generation. All right that's a lot
of context. It's a lot of backdrop.
I'm gonna go back to verse one, we're
gonna look at two words and then we're
done.
Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the
will of God, to the saints who are in
Ephesus and are faithful to Christ Jesus.
Here it is grace and peace to you from
our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. All of Paul's epistles
start with the same salutation. Wonder
twin powers activate.
Form of grace, form of
peace. Grace and peace
set the tone. Shift the atmosphere.
Start revolutions, and stop riots.
I'm gonna take these one at a time we'll
start with grace.
It is the unmerited favor of God.
Mercy is not getting what you deserve.
Grace is getting what you do not deserve.
The only way you can qualify for it is
by not
qualifying for it. And listen the guy who
is writing this letter
knows a little something about it Paul
self-identifies as the
worst of sinners. What that tells me is
he knew an awful lot
about the grace of God.
Let me pause right here, I'm deeply
concerned
about cancel culture. One wrong word,
one false step, subscription
canceled. We we are writing people
off left and right.
Little double entendre right there, work
hard at this. Okay
um the good news there is a
vaccine for cancel culture and
it is called grace.
Jesus was full of grace
and truth. Truth means I'm gonna be
honest with you no matter what.
Grace means I'm gonna love you
no matter what. It's loving people
that you don't even like. You know what
that's usually the people who don't
look like us,
vote like us, or think like
us. Jerry Bridges said this,
"our worst days are never so bad that you
are beyond the reach
of God's grace, and your best days
are never so good that you are beyond
the need
of God's grace. Every day is a day of
relating to god
on the basis of His grace
alone." That is so good. The gospel starts
with grace, and His grace is sufficient.
And that's a word for someone this
weekend. I feel it in my spirit,
you needed it and now you know it. His
grace
is sufficient in your life. A few weeks
ago
Lora and I did this Listen and Learn
series and we were talking about
restorative
justice. And we interviewed Marcus
Bullock.
Man he is a new friend of mine. He made a
mistake when he was 15.
Carjacked someone, got tried as an adult,
spent eight years
in prison, from the age of eight uh 15
to the age of 23. His mom wrote him a
letter every day. He said mom don't do it.
She didn't listen. She would send him
pictures of the hamburger and say
someday you're gonna eat this.
She would send him pictures of a
mattress and say someday
you're gonna sleep on this.
I was so moved by his story and by
his spirit that
I had to ask him the question. How does a
15 year old kid
survive eight years in prison?
He did not hesitate, he answered with one
word. You know what it is.
Grace. Grace,
that is how God turned Saul into Paul.
That is how God turns sinners into
saints. That's how God turns
Marcus from a prisoner into this
entrepreneur.
I love this he applied for 41 jobs,
couldn't get any of them. Why? Because
they all asked if he had a felony on his
record.
Finally he got an application that said
have you committed a felony in the last
seven years?
Well you've been in prison for eight
years, okay so he was able to finally
answer no. Gets a job at a paint store,
turns it into his own contracting
business, and then starts something
called
Flikshop, where families can send
picture postcards to their loved ones
in prison. Come on somebody!
Let me say this again for good measure,
if you confess your sins, He's faithful
and just to forgive you your sins, and to
cleanse you
from all unrighteousness. You are
justified just as if you had never
sinned. No record of wrong. That is the
grace
of God. Would you let God grace you
this weekend? Let me touch
on peace. We'll unpack this idea a lot
more but peace
is not passive. In Ephesians 4:3 Paul
says
make every effort, every effort to keep
the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace. It takes some
blood, sweat, and tears. You have to fight
for it. If you're married you know what
I'm talking about, okay?
It is not easy. I want to paint a picture
in Mark's gospel Jesus is on a boat.
They're crossing the Sea of Galilee and
here's the deal.
uh Sea of Galilee, 700 feet below sea
level and then you've got the Golan
Heights to the east
uh 2500 feet above sea level and so the
topography
like creates these perfect storms. And so
sure enough
a furious storm of hurricane proportions
arose and the waves kept
beating into the boat. Do you remember
what happened?
The disciples wake Jesus up. They are
panicked to say the least, and these are
professional fishermen.
What does Jesus do? Oh it's one of my
favorite moments in the gospels.
He gets up and He rebukes the wind and
the waves.
Peace be still.
You know what this is a moment for those
of us who follow
Jesus to stay calm
and carry on, with faith, hope,
and love. This week at work I bet I bet
the winds are going to blow.
I bet someone is going to make waves.
Someone's going to say something, or do
something that is going to
rock the boat. Now what are you going to
do? What are you going to do? It's a lot
easier to act like a christian, than it
is to react like
one. A lot of us we wake up, we panic.
No, no, no let's be the people that
shift the atmosphere. That say
peace be still. Come on you're gonna have
an opportunity this week and I'm
believing
that you're gonna show God's grace and
peace. Now I'm gonna close with this.
2018, Chadwick Boseman gave the
commencement address at his alma mater
Howard University.
He knew then what we know now.
He had stage four colon cancer.
Makes his words even more meaningful,
even more
powerful. By the way in that speech talks
about a
role he refused to play
because it reinforced the stereotype
that he was trying to change.
Now that takes courage and it takes
something else. Are you ready?
An extra measure of grace. It's the title
of the message, it's my whole point this
weekend.
I just believe this is a moment where we
need an
extra measure of grace.
How do you find the strength to play
King T'challa when
cancer is ravaging your body? How in the
world do you
love on and encourage all of these kids
with cancer, when you know
that you're dying from the same
thing? I think it takes
an extra measure of grace.
We are the grace givers.
We are the peacemakers.
We're going to talk more about it in our
ncc daily. I'm out of time. Monday to
Friday we're going to talk about
passing the peace. How do we be these
grace givers,
peacemakers in our culture? But I'll
quit with this an old Welsh pastor named
John Thomas said,
"you supply the grit and God will supply
the grace." I'm believing that for you
this weekend. You're here and you've
never experienced the grace
of God. You mean the cross to Christ.
He went to that cross because He wants
to show
you the full measure of His grace.
Listen it's as simple as confessing our
sin and professing our
faith. If that's you this weekend, you
want to take a step of faith, you want to
experience God's grace.
Would you just raise a hand right now? At
our online campus you'll see a button
right there.
And you're here, and you need an
extra measure of grace.
As our band comes we're just about to
sing about it.
Our prayer team is waiting uh to pray
with you, to pray for you.
You need that extra measure of grace, you
need the peace that
passes all understanding.
I don't know all that you're going
through. I know that all of us are
fighting a battle that no one else knows
about.
But I know that His grace is sufficient.
There's a little line in this song. I
love it.
Grace holds that ground. I believe
grace is going to invade your life this
weekend. The peace of God is going to
invade your life.
Heaven is going to invade earth. May His
kingdom come,
may His will be done, on earth as it is
in heaven.
in Jesus name amen.
Your grace holds us now
Grace holds us now
Oh Your grace hold us now and forever
Now and forever
Oh we need you, Jesus
Oh we need You
It's an amazing grace
It's an amazing grace
We fall into Your grace, today
We fall into Your grace, today
Oh we raise our voices
Oh we sing well of You
For Your amazing grace
How You pour it out over us
We thank you, we thank you
For Your amazing grace
As we sing
You deserve it
We say
Cause You deserve
We say
Forever we'll sing your praise
You're worthy of our praises
You're worthy of the glory
You are waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper
light in the darkness, my God, that is who You are
Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper
light in the darkness, our God, that is who You are
We declare
As we sing, Highest praises
A couple of months ago I'm out running
and this song be enthroned.
I got it on my ear uh my airpods
and I'm running and I'm running and I
just there's just no way
be enthroned upon the praises of a
thousand generation. And
I don't know, there's just no way I can't
not raise my hands.
And so I'm running and I'm just
I'm like this. I'm running like this and
just
and I'm start throwing it like I'm
worshiping in church, and
and of course a car
kind of sneaks up behind me and drives
by. Now I have no idea
I have no idea what they're thinking.
Listen
those who don't hear the music think the
dancer is mad.
But I want to tell us something right
here. When the praise
goes up His grace
and His peace begin to invade
our lives. God would you invade our lives
with your grace?
Oh but I don't deserve it. That's the
point you can't deserve it.
He loves you. He loves you.
He loves you. We'll talk about it next
week. You are beloved
by Him. Lord we pray
Your grace, an extra measure.
We pray Your peace that passes
understanding. That it would
guard our hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus. And you tell me is it
not a daily battle
these days? It's a daily battle to stay
centered in Christ. So one last time I'm
gonna challenge you.
If you don't sign up you aren't gonna do
it. Okay let's just be honest with each
other.
ncc.re/daily. We're gonna go on
a
journey together. We'll kick it off this
weekend, but listen Monday to Friday
we're going to press in and see what God
has for us. I want to say thanks again
for being here this weekend.
Would you invite a friend back to our
online campus next weekend
live.national.com
Now to Him Ephesians 3:20, by the way,
and not of him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we can ask or
imagine,
according to His power that's at work
within
us. To Him be glory in the church
and throughout all generations forever
and ever amen.
And amen God bless
