Morning Rhodes family. Would you stand with us today? It’s good to be back with you guys who, and I’ve been out of town, for the week, but it’s so good to be back with our church family. And over this past week, we were spending some time in prayer and just kind of overwhelmed with the need and the brokenness we’re seeing not only in our own life, our, in our world, um, just the need that we have for a savior for Jesus. But there are so many fingers being pointed at different people instead of being pointed towards Jesus Mt. Carmel Church. And I just heard the Holy Spirit whispered to me and say, return to your first love. And I feel that the Lord is calling his church to return to their first love. And then in revelation, it says in chapter two, verse two, it says, I know your deeds, your hard work, and your perseverance.
I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have dirt hardships for my name and have not grown weary. Yet. Mt. Carmel Church, I hold this against you. You have forsaken the love you had at first consider how far you have fallen, repent, and do the things that you did at first. And so I just felt the Holy Spirit was revealing to me that the next revival that’s going to happen is not only the loss coming to Jesus, but it’s the church returning to their first love returning to Jesus. Who’s the answer. Who’s the same yesterday, today and forever. So today I encourage your church to pursue Jesus with all that you have. He is drawing us towards him. He’s not filled with judgment. He’s filled with love.
His love wants to draw you in. So I was just thinking, you know, sometimes we, we wait till we seek for 25 minutes, have a testimony and get preached to for 35 minutes before we respond and come forward or respond to the word. Well, God’s saying now is the time. So this altar is open, calm worship, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. Let’s surrender our lives to him. Let’s surrender our Facebook or Instagram. Our bank accounts. Let’s surrender everything to him today because he’s the lover of our soul. And there’s nothing better than Jesus today. Amen. Let’s worship him. There’s nothing better than the new Jesus.
And one thing I found is to Declare peace Some may trust in horses. Some may trust in chariots, but we will trust in the name of the Lord and Of our God, we choose to trust you today. We choose to put our faith, our hope in you. And we thank you, God, that you have given us all authority through the name of Jesus, to cast out demons, to heal the sick, to raise the dead God you have given us all authority Mt. Carmel Church has. And today we access that authority by declaring your word over our lives in this place, over our world. God, we declare your word. We declare healing and restoration in Jesus’ name. We declare peace in Jesus’ name. God, we surrender our hearts to you. We surrender our voice to you.
I have the authority. Jesus has given me to come on. Now lots of market marching around the walls of Jericho. The last thing the Lord instructed him to do was to lift up a shout and the walls came tumbling down and they went in and took the, so today, whatever wall, when you lift your voice, shout that God has put inside of you. God’s going to prick those walls down. Either Clair his word in this place.
How many say full for the champion here today? Jesus, Jesus, no. Our Bible tells us first Corinthians chapter 15. Thanks. Be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Sometimes we think that that verse reads thanks be to God who never gives me a battle. When it says he promises to give us a victory, it doesn’t mean we won’t have a battle. It just means we will have victory through him. That he’s the Victor. He is the champion. Jesus is the one who wanted for us and our victory is found in him. But it doesn’t mean we won’t have to walk out that battle, walk out that adversity, but God’s promising us here at Mt. Carmel Church. If we will stay connected to Jesus, we have the victory, victory, and what victory in our marriage has victory in our finance, a victory in our health victory, with our kid’s victory, with our job, wherever you need a victory, that victory is found in Jesus. When we look for through our own measures, thrown efforts, we are not promised to get victory in Chad, Everett, Chad ever can’t get the victory, but in Jesus, I can have victory in my luck. So I’m praying. You’re encouraged today that God has given you the victory over every battle that you face it’s found in Jesus’ call. It feels like God’s got something that he wants to share.
I just feel like the Lord’s saying things are stirring. Reconciliation is happening and he saying walls are going to fall down through reconciliation. I know for me and my specific life, God has been highlighting things to me of going to my brother and sister or maybe where they’d been offended in the past, from something I’ve done in any sands through that, there’s going to be a spiritual awakening. The walls are going to fall down the defenses. Won’t be pulling down that there are more things happening in the spiritual than you even realize. In those moments he’s saying, I’m giving you an abundance of fruit. That’s going to produce out of this. He’s saying I’m stirring. You have stirred you that you’re going to be able to be bold and courageous and have tough conversations. And even if that person doesn’t think there’s something wrong that there’s going to be breaking, there’s going to be a free, that things are gonna flow up out of you. That they’ve been hindered before, where maybe those bikes have been something that’s caught them blockages that their blockages are going to fall out of your life. Blockages. Won’t be removed in Jesus’ name. So we cashed out Darren about the fence. You have no bikes in my life. You have no fights.
It is biblically. So word of prophecy, first Corinthians chapter 14, and talks about it, that a word of prophecy, exhorts, and encourages and comforts the brethren Switzer word from God to encourage you that God’s talking to you about reconciliation. That could be reconciliation between you and a family member between you and a spouse between you and a friend, reconciliation, tears down walls. The enemy wants to build up walls between us, but God wants to tear walls down. He wants to tear walls down and bring people together. So father, we just thank you for reconciling us today. We are reconciled to you through the blood of Jesus and we honor you and praise you as our champion this morning that you will show us how to reconcile with the people around us. God, I just release a spirit of reconciliation Mt. Carmel Church. Every bit of offense goes watching online, the right here in the room, we just bless them all offense, go in the name of Jesus. I pray for forgiveness to come. I pray for love to cover a multitude of sins.
Jesus, you are so good to us, but you washed our sins away. Help us to never hold other people’s faults over their head, but to walk in the grace that you’ve given to us. So freely, we thank you for it. Lord, we praise you in Jesus’ name. Somebody say amen this morning. Amen. Amen. Come on, go ahead, and make your way to your seats. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to continue worshiping God with communion. And if you’ll look right in the seat in front of you down there below, there is a communion cup. If you’ll get both of those, we’ve got them available there. They have the breather’s two layers. If you’ll peel the first layer, that’s what the bread is on. And then the juice is in the bottom layer. The bread represents the body of Jesus. The juice represents the blood of Jesus. So as we’re taking communion this morning, remember this is not a church ritual that you just go through the motions and go, okay, I eat the bread and drink the juice. No, you’re remembering. I’m remembering that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. But when I was lost and dead in sins, Jesus hung on the cross for me and saw Chad ever 2000 years down the road and said, I’m going to die for his sins right now. So when I’m doing this, I’m remembering him. So let’s get the bread out.
You get the bread out. I’m not getting my bread out. So I’m working right now, but that’s all right. I want to pray over it, father. I just thank you for the power of the body of Christ. I thank you, Lord, for your body that was given for us. And I just bless this body. Jesus, that you took a beating for us and you hung on a cross for our sins. So we receive your body. And we remember the payment that was made for us in Jesus’ name. Amen. Go ahead. Just eat the bread right now, remembering Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Then your Bible says that Jesus took the cup. He says often as you do this, do this in remembrance of Mt. Carmel Church. Jesus, I thank you that your blood was shed for my sins. That I have a, a promise from you that I can have eternal life through you, that you are my champion. So I drink juice sword, remembering
That I’m saved by the blood, by your grace, through my faith. I received salvation. God, we love you this morning. We praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen. Go ahead and drink the juice. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. We remember the price you paid from us in Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen. How’s everybody doing this morning? My name’s Chad. If I haven’t got a chance to meet you at my wife, don’t know the lead pastors here. We just want to welcome all of you to the road’s church, wherever you’re watching, whether you’re watching online or whether you’re right here in our service. We’re so glad to have you with us this morning. If you’re guests today, first time at the roads or new to the roads we want to welcome you. So can we do something we love to do? Let’s give a big road. Welcome to all of our first-time guests and our erodes family.
Watching online. Come on, make them feel welcome. We love you erodes family. So glad to have you welcome to the road’s church. Couple of things you can do. We’d like to connect you with your next step. If you are new, get out your phone and text the word roads to this number (618) 243-0900. You’re watching online. We want to get to know you text that number. Wrote the text, the word roast (618) 243-0900. We want to help you with your next steps with us here at Mt. Carmel Church. If you’ve got a connect card there in your worship guide, you can fill that out, drop that off of our next steps table on your way out. We’d love to connect with you and get to know you a little bit and help you follow your life out in your purpose. That with Jesus, when we get ready to receive our ties and offerings, we worship the Lord with our giving.
If you want to get those out, there are three ways that you can give today through texts to give. You can give online at our website at the Roadster church, or you can also write out a check or give cash. They’re going to be boxes at the back wall for your cash or check it. And you can give that at the end of service on your way out. We won’t be passing buckets this morning. If you’re watching online, you can go onto our website or you can text, give the information. Is there for you in Mount Carmel and North city? We just want to say thank you to all of you that are continuing to give watching online or erodes family. They’re supporting what God’s doing here. We’re thankful God is using you to touch all around the world. Ministries. We’re helping individuals where we’re helping and supporting.
God’s just using you in tremendous ways. And we want to say thank you for being a part of that. Let’s pray over our ties and offerings. Father. We just honor you with the first fruits of all of the increase we give to you this morning. We pray that your name will be praised and exalted around the world. I pray that lives will be changed by the seed that we sow today. The people will be connected to Jesus from a road of life because of our generosity. Lord, I pray over all the churches in the area, all the pastors and the leaders with Mt. Carmel Church are here for you. I pray that the body of Christ will come together in unity for your purpose, for your kingdom. We love you, Lord. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen. Hey, this morning, I want to remind you of one thing. This week is the first Wednesday service. So Mark your calendars. First Wednesday, we come together, our youth and our adults together, we will have children’s ministry. So come be a part of that. It’s a great service for us on Wednesday nights, where we kind of joined together, it’s going to be a fantastic time. Six 30, this Wednesday be a part of that. We’re going to show you the road news. Lets you know what’s happening here at the church. How you can get plugged in how you can get involved and then I’ll be right back out to introduce today’s speaker.
Good morning, Rhodes church. I’m Sophie, Neil. We want to welcome everyone joining us this morning at our North city campus, our Mount Carmel campus. And so all our erodes family joining us online this morning, we are excited to be living in Liberty this morning. As we worship in unity and give God all the glory. The road’s vision statement is connecting people with Jesus from all roads of life. And we believe that relationships make us stronger. It’s why God made us a family. He created us to be connected today. We want to do both. We want to connect you with Jesus and help you discover your next step, connecting you with people. So here are a few ways that help us help you get connected. If you’re joining us at one of our campuses this morning, we would love for you to visit our new next steps table.
On your way out today, our hosts are ready to help you. Whether you’re ready to get baptized, get more information about growth track, serve on the roads crew or learn about freedom ministry. We believe everyone has the next step in their journey and the roads church wants to make every opportunity available for you to discover yours. If you’re joining us online today, we’d love to hear from you. If this is your first time joining the road’s church, please text the word roads to (618) 243-0900. If you need prayer today, text the word prayer to the same number of roads kids is back in session. During our 10:45 AM service at our North City campus only to get the best Mt. Carmel Church services. I’m sad to say that currently, we do not have enough crew members for our roads, kids’ ministry. We are unable to hold road’s kid services at our Mount Carmel campus. We have just enough crew to provide for only one of our Sunday morning services at our North city campus.
So if you are a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, if you have the gift of teaching, if you love children and you know that the Holy Spirit has been tugging on your heart to start investing in children and you truly want to invest. We want to let you know that we need you to be a part of our kid’s crew. We need investors. We need builders just like in Nehemiah. Right now we have gaps in holes in our wall here on the roads. We need builders to help build this part of Jesus’ kingdom. If you’re ready to invest in our children, stop by the next steps table after service and our host will be happy to connect you with stepping into this serving opportunity. The move youth group service for sixth grade through high school is being held on Wednesday nights at six 30, located at our North city canvas.
The move is also live on Instagram, Mondays, and Fridays at 8:00 PM. We have an amazing lineup of leaders ready to engage with you. Follow the move on Instagram at the move Y G and join the conversation. We have great tools for you to stay up to date on everything. You need to know that Mt. Carmel Church is here for you. Take a few minutes to check out your worship guide. If you’re at one of our campuses today, grab the paper version. If you’re joining us online, our worship guide is now available on our website, along with a digital connect card. That’s all for the news on the road. We love you. Rhodes family and welcome home.
May, may I welcome home. Welcome home. Glad to have you again this morning. Again, I’m not going to be speaking today because you are blessed. You’re blessed because we’ve got a dear friend of mine here, William Wood he’s with global awaking ministries. We met last year at the voice of apostles and I’ve sat in on one of his sessions that he was teaching. And I was like, so I got to meet this guy. We went back backstage and got to connect and became friends. And I said, Hey, would you be willing to come and speak at our church? You are going to be blessed today. What an honor and a privilege it is to have him. He is anointed. The presence of God flows through him. The revelation that comes. So I hope you’re strapped on. Get your notes out, get ready. Cause you’re going to be riding faster than you can here. Come on. Can you give a Rhodes? Welcome to William Woods. Come on,
Bring it up, brother now is there anybody that’s excited about Jesus here? Come on. Let me ask that again. Is there anybody that’s excited about Jesus? Come on. This is the King of Kings. This is the Lord of hosts. Come on. This is the Redeemer. This is the healer. This is justified with us for the top Mt. Carmel Church. Come on. I stepped up. My boss says he is worthy to be worshiped. He is worthy to be honored. He is worthy to be praised. Come on, let’s lift up our voices to hear the King of Kings go Lord of Lords, every gamer.
I just love Jesus. I don’t know if you can tell, but I love being with Jesus. I love being in the house of the Lord. I love being able to gather with family and worshiping God together. Amen. I do have a confession to make and I confess as a minister to you this morning. Okay? Nobody wants to say yes to that. The pastor picked me up at the airport Friday. And as soon as I saw him, I repented for not working out. You know how Mike, I’m going straight to hell for if I don’t work out tomorrow, I have most of us love our pastors over here. They’re amazing people. Let’s give them a hand. Come on.
You didn’t know what I was going to confess to this. Some of you look scared like all the minister is confessing. Hey, listen, family. I am just super excited to be here. As the pastor said, my name is William Wood. I do work with a ministry called global awakening. How many of you are familiar with global awakening? Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Dr. Randy Clark is our overseer. He’s also my spiritual father. And for you that follow us and know us, you know that we have an extreme value for equipping the saints for the work of ministry with our services Mt. Carmel Church. You know, that’s, that’s the aim that we have as a ministry is to equip the church, to represent Jesus well in their society, in their culture, everywhere that they go just this past year, we saw over 500,000 people come to the Lord, come on, has given Jesus praise for that.
And with that being said, I did bring some products with me. Now, keep in mind. I do not bring the product to make money. I bring the product to make disciples. That’s why I’m bringing the product. I would like to sow a seed into someone’s life this morning and to bless someone with free teaching. So if any more I can get up here, the quickest can have this teaching. Let me see. Who’s going to do that. Oh boy, bless you. He kind of has the advantage to do that. That kind of reminds me both of you running. I was in Denver, Colorado recently, we were doing a conference and I said that and I literally had two people from both fans come run and they got to the center where I have the teaching and they hit each other and both fall out. I’m like both of you need to get saved right now.
But it was like, I shouldn’t do that. But you know, it is what it is. Are you guys excited to be in the house of the Lord? I feel like I have a very strategic and timely message for you this morning. But before I get into this teaching, let’s go to the Lord in prayer father. We just invite you to be among us, to be with us. Lord, we thank you for the privilege and the honor that we have as sons and his daughters to gather together as a family and to worship you as creator and to worship you as Lord. And even for myself, Lord we here at Mt. Carmel Church, I ask that you would wear me like a glove this morning that you would communicate your word and your gospel and your truth, and your understanding through me with clarity, with wisdom, with understanding and with power and conviction.
God. And so Lord, I just thank you so much for this privilege as a son, to be able to talk to your family and to my brothers and sisters in Christ in Jesus name, as you can tell, I’m already using the language of family, and this is exactly what I want to talk to you about this morning is the family of God. How many of us know that the culture of heaven is family. When you read from Genesis to Revelation, you’ll see the blueprint of the culture of heaven, the culture of the kingdom of God. And that is the context of family, the context of a relationship, I would even go for it as saying this, that one of the pillars in the kingdom of God is the culture of family. It is the family itself, but not only is his family, a pillar in the culture of heaven.
Family is also a pillar in the culture of the society in which we live. Now, this is one of the things that I feel like the world is looking for right now. The world needs right now is the people of God, the family of God, to create and establish the pillar in society that we so desperately need right now, which is family. Amen. Would you agree with that? The enemy has done his best to come against family, into divide family, into destroying family, into, into calls us to no longer be in unity but to look at each other, not as people that complete one another with the best Mt. Carmel Church, but as people that are in competition with one another and all of those things are tactics of the enemy to destroy a pillar in society that keeps community. And so that’s what I want to talk to you about this morning, but I want to show you share with you some statistics that I’ve been studying through the last couple of days.
And it says this 40 to 50% of marriages in America end in divorce, 35 to 40% of children in America grow up in a single-parent household, 25 to 30% of children in America grow up with unmarried parents. So even though there’s a family there, but they’re still not going with the biblical model of marriage in the union. And then 20, that means 25 to 30% of children in America grow up with the potential of a healthy family. That is not very good statistics. Is it only 25% of people that you see in society right now, just as just America, just as just in our country, only 25% of those families have the opportunity to see a picture of a healthy family. So all of that, let me ask you, family. What is our response to this situation? What is our response to this issue in society? Let me say it a different way.
What is God’s response to this issue? I would like to suggest it is Christ in you. The hope of glory. Let me say that one more time. On this side, it is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Amen. You see the beautiful, the beautiful way that God works on earth today is through his people. You can see it in Genesis chapter one in Genesis chapter two, then it was always God’s intention to flow through his creation and to use his creation, to reveal his values, to reveal his glory for the best Mt. Carmel Church services, to reveal his culture, to reveal his family atmosphere. As a matter of fact, I could even say it this way. God is seeking a partnership where Buell will so that he can be accomplished. I want you to think about what I just said. God is seeking the partnership of your will so that he can be accomplished. That means you can have as much of God’s will as you will.
You see God is interesting, interested in doing things for you. He’s interested in doing things through you because he does not create people without giving them purpose. And when he gives you responsibility, he’s creating the opportunity for the purpose to be expressed. He’s created inside of you an Avenue for you’re designed to be express. So once again, I would like to suggest to you that an answer to society and an answer right now to creating a healthy family is Christ in you the hope of glory. And with that being said, I feel like there are two views that we need. If we’re going to move in this direction, the first view that we need is that we need to view ourselves as a son with a heavenly father. We need to view ourselves as a daughter to a heavenly father. The second-year that I think that we need is that we need to view others.
We need to view people, not just, not just as strangers, but as fellow brothers and sisters in the family of God. Isn’t that beautiful? Why have these two views important? Because number one, when you look to Jesus, he equips you to be able to look through Jesus. Matter of fact, I want you to go to the Bible right here and Hebrews chapter one. And it says this about the person of Jesus. It says God after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions with a new Mt. Carmel Church service, and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in his son. Do you see the language in which the Bible is using by here is using son shipped to a father, but what does this word say? That he is sent a messenger to this age? Some of us know Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is the messenger to this age.
So why is it important to know the message that Jesus brought here? It is the words of Christ to reveal the values of his kingdom. The actions of Christ established the values of his kingdom in society. Thus reason, James chapter one says, don’t just be a hearer of the word, but I do, or the word so deceiving yourself is not just a language in which we are using. That creates culture. It is the actions in which we’re demonstration, we’re demonstrating that establishes culture. And so when you look to Jesus, you’re looking at the messenger to this age, but I won’t even say it this way. When you look to Jesus, you’re looking at to a perfect picture of your creative purpose and value. That’s why you need to look to Jesus. Because when you look to Jesus, he reveals what every life and lifestyle of every believer, civil like, wow, this imagine how differently your life would be and how different your approach to life would be in. When you study the gospels, you don’t just look at Jesus, what he did for you. But you look at Jesus at what, as what he did as
The word Christian means little Christ. That means when I give my life to Jesus, I lose my right to represent myself. Now, what represents a God now represents a King. Now we represent a father. Now we represent a family that has a different set of values. And these values are to bring health and healing to society. These values can actually set up people in a way that they can begin to discover their true value, their true destiny, their true purpose for the best Mt. Carmel Church services. And so this is what we need to look to Jesus so that we can look through Jesus. What’s important about looking through Jesus, because now when I look through the life of Jesus, I put on the lens of the creator. I’ll put on the lens of Jesus himself, and now I no longer see people as they are. I see people as they were created to be, Oh man, this is good news family, but why is it important to look at myself first?
Because it, because by looking at ourselves first, that was, we don’t need to try to fix other people until we get ourselves properly founded upon God’s word. He said this is why I want us to look at ourselves in relation to the father, because now, now when I look at myself, when I look at the way that I need to respond, now, everything that I do is based on what people do to me. In other words, people’s bad actions. So never determine your good deeds. If we would stop trying to fix everybody else and focus on our relationship with God, then we would stop reacting to issues and start responding to the heart of the father. You see, society is looking right now for a proper context of family. Society is looking for right now for sons and daughters, to awaken, to her, to arise and shine and reveal the answer to society, which is Jesus Christ, himself Christ in you. The hope of going see, we needed to get to look at ourselves as God’s answer to the world’s problems. That’ll change your prayers wounded.
You see God doesn’t want to do things for you. He wants to do things through you. And so you need to understand that you’re not living in this area by accident. God has placed you in this area. It is placed in you. His spirit is placed in you, his authority, his power in his kingdom. And he says, now you as my son and you as my daughter, reveal, reveal my values and establish a family. Isn’t that beautiful. Matter of fact, I want to say it a different way to you with our Mt. Carmel Church services. Romans chapter eight, verse 15 goes on to say this, you have not received a spirit that makes you feel for slaves. Instead, you received God’s spirit. When he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him up up father, listen to this for his spirit, joins with our spirit to, to affirm that we are God’s children.
Isn’t that beautiful. This is amazing. And what, what, why do I want to reference and read this passage of scripture? Because this gives us a context of understanding. We all know that Jesus was fully man, and he was also fully God in a similar way, you are fully human, but yet you’re filled by God’s spirit. Come on. Now, if that doesn’t get you excited, your wood is wet. You need to dry that wood out so it can catch on fire this morning. I meant, in other words, what am I saying? When you become a born again, believer your spirit and God’s spirit is joined together in union. And it makes up the new creation. That means in your spirit right now, you look just like Jesus. That means in your spirit right now, you are righteous and holy and pure. That means in your spirit right now.
Wow. You’re able to live from the fullness of Christ within that same spirit is inside of you saying you’re a son, your daughter to a heavenly father because he dwells within you. How would your life look? How would it be different if you viewed yourself? Is that Holy temple, where it’s God’s spirit dwells. First Corinthians three verse 16 says, do you not know that you are the temple of God with the spirit of God dwells? Do we realize that this building is, it is a house of prayer. It is a house of worship, but so are you a house of prayer? So are you a house of worship is so when you go into society, you set up temples of worship and you show people how to worship the creator through your words and through your actions. Is this helping anybody? This, this perspective right here has absolutely changed my life. Family. Just look to me. I look to Christ within, and I understand that when I look at Jesus, I’m looking at a perfect picture of my creative purpose and my creative value. As a matter of fact, I could even say it this way, any way of thinking that would undermine the identity of Jesus undermines my purpose.
That’s good now any way of thinking, that’s inconsistent with the person of Jesus is inconsistent with the purpose you have in your life. Oh man, I thought I was going to get somebody excited about, I guess not, this is why I’m bald really like a light the fire. God burned my hair off a long time ago. You know, like I love Jesus, man. I like, I go after him with everything that I am, because I know the life that I live and I know that the drugs that I’ve done and I know God says that is committed, but also know that Jesus that I have met. And I know the King of Kings that I have met and I know the Redeemer and I know the justifier and I know what he would do to your life and for your life with us here at Mt. Carmel Church.
The second view that we need as we are to view [inaudible] family members, brothers, and sisters in Christ, Luke chapter 15, verses one through two, begins to paint this beautiful picture. Jesus begins to address two different mindsets in this chapter. And so what I want you to do, and when you go back home, I want you to study the parables in this chapter because it’s going to give you a picture of what Jesus is addressing in these first two verses Luke 15, verse one says this. Now all the tests, collectors and, and centers were coming to him to listen. Everyone says the lost both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble. Everyone says the religious saying this man receives sinners and even eats with them. You know how dare Jesus, hang out with people that need help. You know, what is this rebuilding right here in this first two bears it reveals number one, a value system of heaven is a, he, Jesus has come to go for the lost, but what does it also expose the value system of most religious people? People is that they disassociate themselves from the very ones they’re called to reconcile.
You see religious people think their holiness is found in their separation from the world. Instead of their union with Christ is said, what will happen? A religious person says why can’t go over here. And I can’t hang out with those people because it’s not going to present a proper image. Jesus wasn’t concerned about his image. He was concerned about their redemption. It’s the one. When we get to a point where we value the voice of God, more than we through the fear of man. Now we begin to present the pure gospel because now it’s about bringing reconciliation, not my dignity in the way that I appear before, man. So Jesus right here is exposing these two belief systems. He’s rebuilding his value system and he’s exposing the religious mindset of the day. Now we’re going to get all the way to the parable, which most people will identify and recognize as the parable of the prodigal son, Luke chapter 15, verse 11.
We’re not going to go all the way through it, but how many of us know this parable? Isn’t just about that one lawson. It’s three characters merging together within this parable. It’s about a father and two sons. It’s about a loving father. So actual, proper heading brought this parable is not the prodigal son. It is a loving father. This is the proper heading of his parable, but I want you to notice right here, Luke chapter 15, verse 11, the very first statement that Jesus makes right here. And he’s reconciling these two things he says, and he said, a man had two sons. It, the parable doesn’t begin with this here at Mt. Carmel Church. A man hit two centers. Now it says, the man had two sons. What is Jesus doing? He’s reconciling the religious to the laws. And he’s saying, no, actually the person that you’re disassociating yourself with is actually your brother and sister in which you need to reconcile and redeem. But as long as you’ve viewed them as a dirty rotten center, you’ll never have a value system for their redemption. Oh man, we get it. This is so what does this reveal? Jesus did not come to simply save sinners. He came to reconcile, lost children.
And so now my, the way that I view people in the way that I view the world is not Satan, Passaic, and center. I don’t need to look at the world is dirty. Rotten sitters that I need to disassociate myself from. No, I need to look at them as lost brothers and sisters in which I have the answer of redemption in which I have the answer of reconciliation for them. And so I need to view them through the set of lenses. It’s just helping anybody like this right here will change your life family. So we’re going to introduce a healthy family. If we’re going to be the answer, instead of an addition to the problem, then we need these two sets of lands with our Mt. Carmel Church services. Well, I need to look to Jesus so that I can look through Jesus and I need to look at each other. Everybody, that I encounter as a fellow brother, as a fellow sister, does that mean everybody’s going to get saved?
Absolutely not, but it doesn’t change the way that you should view them. Whew, man, I love the gospel of Jesus. I love the gospel of Jesus. And so now I want to give you a different context. Second Corinthians five 16. Jesus gives us another set of lands to see through in my redemption, in my reconciliation, in my advancement in the establishment of the family, I have to have this view. It says, therefore, from now on, we recognize no one. According to the flesh, even though we have known Christ, according to the flesh yet, now we know him in this way, no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, come on now. He is a new creature. Old things passed away. Behold new things have come with us here at Mt. Carmel Church. Now all of these things are from God, listen to this who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of not the ministry of justice, not the ministry of accusation, not the ministry of division, not the ministry. Listen to this of judgment that you’ve been given the ministry of reconciliation, which means your voice should be anchored in reconciling instead of judging. Do you realize when you allow yourself to begin to accuse, you’ve come under the spirit of the antichrist and now Satan is using your voice to authorize his purpose.
Why does, why does the enemy won’t your identity is because he is seeking the authority of your boards and the message that you and I are to carry is the message of reconciliation. The messages that I see the brokenness and I see the hurt and I see the bondage, but I don’t see too that I see through that. And I see your original purpose, your original value, your created design, which is in the image of God. And everybody deserves an opportunity to respond to their purpose and value. Oh man, that’s how I feel. Sometimes it says, and it goes on to say this. And he’s given to us the ministry of reconciliation, not counting their trespasses against them. The core value of reconciliation is not counting. People’s trespasses against them. Oh man, this is some good stuff. I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m just saying this good stuff. And he has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of God, be reconciled unto the father, reconciled unto God. And so what’s the core value that we are to have it creating and bring reconciling, not counting. People’s trespasses against us.
Realize that while you were yet sinners Christ died for you. He didn’t wait for you to clean yourself up. He didn’t wait for you to be redeemed. He didn’t wait for you to get Holy in lights and snow. He says I’m going to come to the dirt. I’m going to come to the broken. I’m going to come to the addicted. I’m going to come to those that need redemption. And while you were yet, sinners Christ died for you. I’m telling you that needs to be a fire in our hearts. Again, there needs to be a hunger in our relationship again, when we know what we’ve come out of with the best Mt. Carmel Church services. Listen, I grew up in an atheist and overdosed on drugs and an angel appeared to me in the hospital room and preach the gospel to me. That’s how I got saved. So when you talk to me about righteousness and holiness, it’s a big deal because I understand my flaws. I understand my shortcomings. I understand who I’m not, but I also understand who I am in Christ. Also understand now my creative purpose and value also understand. Now, when I look at the image of Jesus, I am looking at you, a mirror image of my purpose by design. Who do you realize that when you hold people’s trespasses against them, you are demonizing the image of God?
When you demonize people, you’re demonizing the image of God. You’re disgracing the image of God because every single one of us was created in God’s image for the purpose of being an exact representation of him on earth. I know every single one up in here, every single one of us in here, we have people in our life that have hurt us that have beat us that have done things against us. But listen, when you hold that against him, you’re keeping them from redemption.
Listen, I’ve buried 12 people in my family. I had a friend that I hang out with, which is also, it was my drug dealer. He had a date where he murdered seven of my friends. My brother was murdered in a drug deal, gone bad by, by a person, by a woman with the same last name as me and I had an opportunity to look face, to face with a murderer and say, I forgive you because Christ died for you with our Mt. Carmel Church services. And you have an opportunity now to be reconciled until the heavenly father because everybody deserves that opportunity. Not because I say so, but because Christ says so by dying for you on the cross, do you realize Jesus thinks you’re ought to die for,
I love this stuff, man. This is amazing. You have seen this set of lenses. You have seen the mission, the assignment of the church to bring reconciliation, to bring redemption to society. Matter of fact, I want to even take it a step deeper. Can I do that family? You know, the pastor told me that I had three hours today. So I’m kidding a proper sign. Some people call it a proper line, but I don’t know. Romans chapter 12 verses four and five days for just as we, if I say we have many members in one body, all the members do not have the same function. So we who are many are one. Everyone, everybody says unity or one body in Christ, individually members of one another, not only are we family, not only are we brothers and sisters, but we are also parts of the body of Christ that complete one, another, every single one of us in here is interconnected. According to God’s design. Let me say it this way. You are mine. My purpose and value are divinely connected to your purpose in my life. Let me say it a different way. You are so significant that the body of Christ is incomplete without you.
It’s incomplete without you. Why? Every single one of us in this room, we carry an aspect of the nature of God that nobody else on this planet can reveal in the same way that you and I can reveal it. And so when we fail to reveal that we robbed the world of an aspect of Jesus, they need
For like a boxer. I don’t lie, but it’s true. So what does the enemy, the enemy comes in to bring division? The enemy comes in to get us, to look to one another as competitors, instead of people that complete each other. Oh yeah. How does he do that? But getting you to compare your function to somebody else’s do you realize that comparison is the sacrifice of contentment. You are no longer content with who God designed you to be. As long as you compare yourself to somebody else, why you all G generally compare your weakness to their strength? Do you realize when you have a desire to be someone else, it’s a sin against your own design with the best Mt. Carmel Church sermons? When you truly discover your originality, you are never want to be somebody else. When you truly discover your purpose and value in your function within the scheme of God, within the plan of God, within the purpose of God, you never want to be anybody else listens. Every single one of you you’re born and original. So don’t die a copy Because when you copy yourself up to somebody else, you just become a chief imitation of their purpose.
Some of you have right now said, man, he’s a lot different than dr. Randy Clark. Absolutely. Randy is so quiet and nice. And I’m like, you don’t like, I want to jump over pews and stuff. I want to run around and just get excited. And not because we have different values, but because we have different functions. And because we have an originality that manifests Jesus in a different way, you see what I’m saying? And so this is the importance of every single person in this room. You’re a son and a daughter to a father, but you’re also a brother and a sister that makes up the body that brings unity.
The reason the world isn’t seeing the fullness of Christ is that we have separated the body of Christ in revealing aspects of who Jesus is instead of the fullness of who he is. If the enemy could cause us to divide, he dismembers and disembodies the power of Christ on earth. Now listen to this. He dismembers the Bali body of Christ on earth or disables, the body of Christ on earth. If I lose the function of my right arm, I’m going to snow. My left arm can still get both functions accomplished, but if I lose the foot, lose the function of my legs. Now I need outside assistance to come to take the place of responsibility and function.
You see it at some point if we allow the enemy to cause us to divide some point, the body of Christ is so disabled that now artificial designs will take their place in the role that we are called to function in. All right, I’ll leave that alone. If he’s in chapter four, verse 11, I need to hurry up. I have 35 seconds. Do not count Ephesians chapter four, 11 through 16. And he says, and he gave some as apostles and some of his prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry with a new Mt. Carmel Church service, to the building up of the body of Christ until we all, I love the Bible, man, this is so good until we all attain unity of the faith knowledge of the son of God and, and to a mature man, to the measure of the stature, which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried out by every wind of doctrine, but by the trickery of men, by craftiness and the sequel scheming, but speaking the truth in love. Listen to me, family, we are to grow up and all and all aspects into him who is the head, even Christ, listen to this from whom the whole body being fitted and held together by what every joint supply, according to the proper working of each individual part, you and I wow, causes the growth of the body for the building up a bit self in love.
I can only mature to the degree you operate in your function. God is not going to allow me to run this race in such away. It dislocates me from the body of Christ, any understanding of identity that raises up individuals as an unbiblical perspective of identity in SunChips. God is interested in people. God is interested in a family. God is interested in us as a whole representing him as a whole. So you may be asking yourself right now, but we have what are some practical things that I can do with some practical application, not going to have to my life to demonstrate this in society. I want to give you three things that you can do. There are three values of a hip, healthy family. Number one is this community. Why is community important? The community provides a place for people to belong to. The community provides a place for people to belong to. So you may be at an extreme extrovert, and this may be easy for you. This may be easy for you to create a community and to hang out with people and build friendships. Or you may be that extreme introvert that could only do things one on one. But in both cases, you have an opportunity to create a place for people to belong.
Let me ask you, family. When people get around you or they reject it or do they find a home, do they find a family? Do they find a place to belong? Just because a Christian rejected you doesn’t mean Jesus has. You will not have this wonderful opportunity as sons and daughters, as a family to create a community, to give people purpose, and to give people a place to belong. The second quality or value of a healthy family is unity. Unity provides togetherness. See unity. Isn’t necessarily about agreement. Unity is this right here. I’m going to be with you. And even though we’re in the midst of the battle, I’m not going to abandon you and I’m not going to leave you. And I’m not going to straight-up leave you stranded upon an island by yourself with the top Mt. Carmel Church option. But I am here with you and at walking with you fighting this fight and with this unity, it creates together. Miss. Now we get to see the value if every single individual person in our life. And now we see that unity, we see this togetherness and we know how I’m not in this alone. The world is looking for unity right now. They’re looking for a place to belong. We don’t need to be part of the problem. We need to be part of the solution by creating in society, healthy family. And the third practical thing that you can do is safety.
It’s the quality of a healthy family. Is safety provides protection? Do people feel safe when they’re around you or do they feel exposed?
Do they feel safe when they’re in your midst? Because every single one of us on a practical level, we can create a community, give people a place to belong. We can create unity, a campus togetherness, and we could create safety where they feel comfortable exposing their weaknesses so that they can be healed. The Bible says, love, covers a multitude of sins. Why does love cover sin? Not so that you can continue in it, but so that you can deal with it under the protection of love. I’m so glad Jesus did not hold against me and my sins and hold against me. My wrongdoings and honing gets me. You will not have this wonderful privilege as a family to reconcile brokenness in this society. And with that said, I want to pray for two groups of people. Every single one of us is in this first group of people. And that is all of us as a family that have either failed or neglected to see the world as lost and sisters
And disassociated ourselves from the world. Instead of getting involved with the world, Jesus did not come to liberate you from the world, but for the world, that’s the beauty of this gospel. So I want us all to close your eyes and won’t lead us in a time of prayer. Holy spirit. I just asked for your conviction to fall upon us this morning.
I just want to give you an opportunity to receive every, every odd close at us. Want you to thinking about you and Jesus right now? Holy Spirit, come with your conviction. Holy Spirit, come with your passion and your fire. Holy spirit breaks out of our mind, this judgmental attitude that we have, this authorizing the voice of Satan, instead of releasing the voice of the father. Lord, I ask that you will guard my voice guard. My eyes guard my ears. Holy spirit. I ask that every time that I opened my mouth, it is your words that come forth. It is your words, that decree and establishes, Oh, father, we just love you so much in this room with a better Mt. Carmel Church solution. The second group of people I want to pray for. You may be here this morning. You may be hearing this talk about family. You may not even know who Jesus is. You may not even know what family is and you, and you need to respond to that. Pulling up your heart rod now to Jesus, as savior as Lord in your life. And I want to give you an opportunity to respond to and anybody in this room. I want you to just wave your hand so I can see you.
This is not a time to be bashful about it. I want us all to do this as a family and pray this as a family. To help those with this decision. Say this with me, Lord Jesus. I know that you are the son of God that you died on the cross for me. You Rose again on the third day. Hi, acknowledge you as savior. I acknowledge you as Lord and welcome you into my life in Jesus’ name. Amen. Love your family. Thank you, William. That is what a word. Give us a great perspective on the family of God. We want to close by giving up to me for
Ministry time. We do this at the end of every service, one of welcome or Mount Carmel family watching. We love you guys so thankful for you. If you would, you couldn’t stand your feet, our ministry team. If you’d come to the front, here’s, what’s important to us. Maybe God’s spoken to you through the message and something you’re facing in your life, and you want prayer. You need an agreement. We want you to come up for prayer. Maybe you need healing physically. We want to pray for that because we believe Jesus is our healer. I want to give you a testimony last week. I don’t know if you remember this. If you were here, we gave a word of knowledge about someone with Lyme disease, and we give the words of knowledge at the end of the service as we do right now, but in Mount Carmel at our Mount Carmel location, you guys are getting rowdy about it right now, probably that they had a girl that 10 years old, that had been diagnosed with Lyme disease recently.
And she hadn’t been feeling well, stomach pain and muscle soreness. And during worship, she was trying to praise God, trying to worship, but the pain was was difficult. Then all of a sudden she felt this heat come over her body and the pain was completely gone. She went to her mom and say that the best Mt. Carmel Church here for you, Hey, God just healed me. And then at the end of the service, whenever I gave out the word of knowledge about Lyme disease, the Mount Carmel campus just erupted in praise because they recognize what God had already done before. They even heard the word of knowledge.
This is God wanting to heal in no form or restriction his presence. Does it so want to give you some things that I feel like God’s wanting to do today? Someone dealing with overwhelming stress, I go, I’m kind of stressed out, but no, you feel like overwhelming stress in your life. God’s willing to touch you. Someone dealing with chest pains on the right side of their body, or pray for that. Someone having pain, the very inside of their mid to lower right shoulder blade right next to the spine that you God’s wanting to heal than someone else. So maybe dealing with a God of the word of knowledge, it’s a different one about called boat. It’s a Botox injection, but it’s not just limited to like cosmetic things that you might be thinking. It also is used to treat next spasms, uh, excessive sweating, overactive bladder, lazy.
I also can help prevent chronic migraines. So we don’t know the details. We just heard that word. And so if you’re dealing with any of that connected to that, you’d be like, Hey, that’s me that God’s willing to touch you. So we just want us to pray right now. And if you need healing, you need prayer right now. Just start stepping out of your seat and make your way to the front. Holy spirit. We just ask you to come and touch every heart. I pray that every single one of us will be filled with the love of God.
Would I pray for healing to take place now pain? We rebuke you in the name of Jesus for sickness and disease to come in contact, come face to face with the, of all-mighty God Lord. You are Jehovah. Rapha, the Lord who heals sweet. Pray for everyone here. Watching online in Mount Carmel right here in this auditorium. We just thank you. That healing is taking place to the name of Jesus. Calling just make your way to the front. If you need prayer, just receive it. Let’s just give the Holy spirit and opportunity to touch those who are desiring a touch from heaven that you not walk out of here. The way that you walked in. Thank you, Lord. We give you praise. You are the healer Lord. We recognize you. We acknowledge you. We declare your healing takes place. Now in Jesus’ name, we pray for reconciliation in relationships. We pray for walls to come down in the name of Jesus by the authority given to us through Christ. We declare walls of fear and intimidation. Come down in Jesus’ name walls of all fence. Come down in Jesus’ name.
Just release your heart to God or tear down walls in my life. Turn down. Walls of insecurity, tear down. Walls of fear. God, I declare you are my savior. You’re my freedom. You’re my Liberty. You’re my champion. God, You are the healer when you come to us at Mt. Carmel Church.
Thank you, Jesus. So we’re going to continue to pray. William’s going to hang out of your front and if any of you need prayer this morning, we want to pray with you. We want to connect you to Jesus from whatever road of life you’re on. We’re so glad that you came. We’ll be watching online. If you need prayer texts, the word prayer to the number (618) 243-0900. Or you can send an email prayer@therhodes.church. We’d love to pray for you guys. If you need prayer again, just hang out after service. We’ll pray with you. We love you. Erodes family. You guys have a great week. Don’t forget. First Wednesday, this week, six 30 right here in North city. We can’t wait to see you. We love you guys. Have a great week. Be blessed.