Family Worship Center - Raton, NM
Hope Starts Here
In these 4 messages, we are going to examine the remarkable spread of the gospel and the kingdom of God from Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the world. Jesus has commissioned every one of his followers to be his witness by the power of the Holy Spirit. Despite challenges from outside and within, the kingdom of God continues to advance. Today, we continue to be his witnesses and have a vital role in the continuing story of Jesus’s unstoppable kingdom.
Locations & Times
Family Worship Center
219 Kearney Ave, Raton, NM 87740, USA
Sunday 10:00 AM
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Good Morning Family. It’s great to see you today and I’m excited. I’m excited for what God is doing… I’m excited of what God has done. I am excited that we have some dedications today… that we had a testimony today… that we have baptisms to do today. I am thankful that we serve a loving God who sees us through the difficulties of life.
Seasons transpire and wether we get the full scope in the now or not… we can still trust God! Let’s be real… it’s easy to trust God when everything seems good and everything is falling into place. It’s easy to claim His blessings. It’s not so easy when the blessing or the good comes on the other side of tragedy, turmoil, unrest, bitterness, brokenness, hurts, you name it! From the perceptions via miscommunications to the intentional undermining… this life has a existential way of humbling you.
And here is the reality… that is not a bad thing. It might not be a fun thing… but its not a bad thing.
Seasons transpire and wether we get the full scope in the now or not… we can still trust God! Let’s be real… it’s easy to trust God when everything seems good and everything is falling into place. It’s easy to claim His blessings. It’s not so easy when the blessing or the good comes on the other side of tragedy, turmoil, unrest, bitterness, brokenness, hurts, you name it! From the perceptions via miscommunications to the intentional undermining… this life has a existential way of humbling you.
And here is the reality… that is not a bad thing. It might not be a fun thing… but its not a bad thing.
Have you ever lost hope? I know that there have been seasons in my life where it has seemed unattainable. I’ve always been optimistic and have seen the potential in things…almost to a fault, but everyone has their breaking point where hope seems lost.
Now Proverbs 13:12 tells us...
Proverbs 13:12 NLT
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
You also see in Proverbs 17:22
Proverbs 17:22 NLT
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
other translations read… “but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
And you can see this all around us today. So many things have the potential and opportunity to steal our joy… to break our spirits. If we are not careful… we will find ourselves wrapped up in the sarcophagus doubt, denial, frustration, hurt, pain...
We even find ourselves asking questions like “God, do you see what’s going on here?” “Do you even hear me when I cry out to you?” “Do you even care?”
We find ourselves stuck in these places. The people around us seem to abandon us. The voices in our lives seem to counter what you’re standing on. The voices in our heads beat you down to the point you don’t hardly want to do what Paul says in Ephesians 6:13
Ephesians 6:13 NLT
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
This is why we are given the armor of God in Ephesians 6—so that we have the ability to withstand the attack of the enemy. He is roaming about seeking whom he may devour(1 Peter 5:8)… he is the author of confusion as God is not (1 Cor 14:33)… he is a liar the Father of Lies (John 8:44).
What does Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians 10:5
2 Corinthians 10:4–6 NKJV
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
If we don’t know this… guess what we do? We try and find a way to numb the pain! We try to find a way to circumvent our frustrations, our guilt, our shame, our convictions.
Now Proverbs 13:12 tells us...
Proverbs 13:12 NLT
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
You also see in Proverbs 17:22
Proverbs 17:22 NLT
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
other translations read… “but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
And you can see this all around us today. So many things have the potential and opportunity to steal our joy… to break our spirits. If we are not careful… we will find ourselves wrapped up in the sarcophagus doubt, denial, frustration, hurt, pain...
We even find ourselves asking questions like “God, do you see what’s going on here?” “Do you even hear me when I cry out to you?” “Do you even care?”
We find ourselves stuck in these places. The people around us seem to abandon us. The voices in our lives seem to counter what you’re standing on. The voices in our heads beat you down to the point you don’t hardly want to do what Paul says in Ephesians 6:13
Ephesians 6:13 NLT
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
This is why we are given the armor of God in Ephesians 6—so that we have the ability to withstand the attack of the enemy. He is roaming about seeking whom he may devour(1 Peter 5:8)… he is the author of confusion as God is not (1 Cor 14:33)… he is a liar the Father of Lies (John 8:44).
What does Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians 10:5
2 Corinthians 10:4–6 NKJV
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
If we don’t know this… guess what we do? We try and find a way to numb the pain! We try to find a way to circumvent our frustrations, our guilt, our shame, our convictions.
What lives in our mind shapes what is going on in our hearts.
Then you get to the crux of the church in its infant stage. And there are 3 things we see in the early church…
1. The Gathering
a. They worshiped together daily… they ate together often… they shared
the Lord’s supper (meaning communion) vs 46
2. The Discipleship
a. The believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. Vs 42
3. The Generosity
a. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with
those in need. vs 45
1. The Gathering
a. They worshiped together daily… they ate together often… they shared
the Lord’s supper (meaning communion) vs 46
2. The Discipleship
a. The believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. Vs 42
3. The Generosity
a. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with
those in need. vs 45
Thought:
AND GUESS what happened??
THE LORD ADDED TO THEIR FELLOWSHIP THOSE BEING SAVED…DAILY!
These people weren’t worried about building a big church. They probably didn’t even recognize that they were the church yet. They simply wanted others to witness what they were witnessing.
AND IT’S THE SAME THING YOU ARE WITNESSING!
I WANT OTHERS TO WITNESS WHAT YOU ARE WITNESSING! I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT GROWING A BIG CHURCH… LET’S JUST GROW BIG PEOPLE AND WATCH GOD GROW HIS CHURCH!
AND GUESS what happened??
THE LORD ADDED TO THEIR FELLOWSHIP THOSE BEING SAVED…DAILY!
These people weren’t worried about building a big church. They probably didn’t even recognize that they were the church yet. They simply wanted others to witness what they were witnessing.
AND IT’S THE SAME THING YOU ARE WITNESSING!
I WANT OTHERS TO WITNESS WHAT YOU ARE WITNESSING! I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT GROWING A BIG CHURCH… LET’S JUST GROW BIG PEOPLE AND WATCH GOD GROW HIS CHURCH!
It’s not a building, its the people ! When you gather , you are the church. When you grow , you are the church. When you Go … you are the church.
#ONEMORE