Well, I tell you, it just makes you want to be there, doesn't it? It just wants to make you want to be there. And we're thankful, Elena and Steven. Is it Alicia? Good to make your acquaintance. Good to have you with us today. All right. Appreciate you. Did somebody lose a mask? That's all right. I believe that you can be turned with me this morning to Matthew chapter 16 again. We're going to pick up with the church that the Lord Jesus Christ built this morning. But I believe, Brother Mike, that in the Old Testament days that the priest got some of the choicest of the meats. Just a word. And we were under the law, or they were under the law then, but now we're under grace. So it means double? Well, we're thankful that Joan got her elk. And I know that probably a lot of men in here are envious. If you have your Bibles open to Matthew chapter 16, we're going to read just one verse this morning It's going to be Verse 18. So if you want to stand as we read that verse If you're unable to that's quite alright And Jesus Saying to Peter to us. In verse 18, he says, and I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock, what rock? I'm not talking about Peter. But he's talking about upon the profession of the fact that Jesus Christ is the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. And that's what church of Jesus Christ is building upon that truth. Says. Upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Pray with me, Heavenly Father. Again this morning, we're grateful and thankful. for the gift of song, how we have enjoyed, how we have been blessed by the congregationals and by the trio. And we thank you, Father, for each and every one who's gathered here today to Rejoice in your presence to worship and to praise you because Lord there is none worthy, but thee And father we are grateful that there is a place prepared for your children one day after a while That we will either come individually or corporately into your presence and For that, we are thankful. Bless this message for your honor's sake, for your kingdom's sake, and we'll be all glad if you do that. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Amen. Started a message last Sunday. And just as a quick recap, we talked about We talked about how that there is the universal church, which makes up all believers, all who have been born again, blood bought, and have received the gift of God that he offers through his son, Jesus Christ. And that's why it's called grace, is because it strictly is a gift. We none earn it, we none achieve it, we don't deserve it. But God gives it, and that's grace. But not only on that side of the coin, but he also withholds something from us. He withholds his judgment, and that's mercy. He gives us something we don't deserve, and he withholds something we do deserve. So we're thankful for both sides of that coin. We know that the universal church is by invitation only. We cannot force our way into the universal church. Unless the Father draws us, we cannot become a part of it. And Jesus said, whoever the Father draws to me, whoever he brings to me, I will in no wise cast out. And over in Acts, we find that the Bible says that Christ adds to the church daily such as should be saved. So the universal church is all believers everywhere, no matter where they worship, no matter where they hang their hat. As a child of God, every one of us make up the universal church. We talked about the fact that the local assembly of believers Calvary Baptist Church is one of those local assemblies. And we are made up of those who are also part of the Universal Church. But, and we talked about the fact that there can be someone who comes into the local church that is not part of the Universal Church. Because we do not have the ability to determine who is part of the Universal Church. God knows, but we sometimes don't know. So we say that not because we want to make anyone doubt their salvation, but because we want everyone to know that that is a possibility and we need to examine our own lives to make sure that we have come the way that Jesus Christ says we have to come. And that's through and by him and only through and by him. By grace are we saved through faith. That's not of ourselves. It's a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. But one way to be included in the family of God. So we talked about several things last Sunday about the importance of the church. We talked about the being powered by the Holy Spirit. You know that one day the Holy Spirit's going to be withdrawn. 2 Thessalonians tells us that that one day that the Antichrist is going to show up and he's going to have all kinds of power among those who are living in the end times at that time. And it says when he can't show up until he that lets is taken away. You see, or withholds, is taken away. So the Holy Spirit, who encompasses every believer, fills us. We become the temple of the living God. One day we'll be taken away, and evil will run completely unhindered upon planet Earth. And that's a place, my friends, that no one wants to be a part of. So the church, the universal church, is power. We receive our power from the Holy Spirit. The universal church is is patterned after Christ is that we Jesus came to be the express image of the father. He went back to the father and he left us to be the express image of the sun so that we could carry on the work of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, the importance of the church is to is to provoke love and good works. As a body of believers, we join together to provoke good works among us. We gave an illustration of the local fire department, the firefighters, how as a group of individuals who make up a local fire department, they come together and they find encouragement. They have grave responsibilities. enter into dangerous places and risk their lives on a lot of occasions. And unless there was a camaraderie, a fellowship among firefighters, and I'm just using them as one illustration, then there would be much less ability to stay together and enter into those dangerous situations and to fight the good fight. And that's the way it is with us as the children of God, is that we need to be together. We need to encourage to continue in the good works. We talked about that. One of the importance of the church is that it is the pillar and the ground of truth. The pillar and the ground of truth. And we talked about how that you won't find truth anywhere else other than in the the scriptures. There might be some resemblance to truth, there might be some half-truths, there might be some attempt to give the truth, but if you want to be absolutely sure that you're getting the truth, then the truth is found only in the Word of God. So the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the pillar and the ground for the truth. We also talked about that the church. Is a place of praise and worship. And how do we talked about how that when we come into God's house and we hear the truth being taught, we hear the truth being preached. It brings us into a worship full experience because we see God who he is way up here and we see ourselves as being way down here and there is a great big and a chasm between us and God. And when we see God in the truth of his word, then it makes us fall down and say, holy, holy, holy art thou Lord God almighty. Amen. So there is these that we have talked about, the importances of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that leads us up to our next importance that we want to talk about here today. And that is that the church provides exhortation to remain faithful. You know, as we go through this pilgrimage together, as Brother Mike talked about that pilgrimage where we're sojourners here on earth, and how that we need to exhort one another, to encourage one another to continue on this path that God placed us on. And the word exhort is to urge by a strong, often staring argument, admonition, advice, or appeal. You know, sometimes we need somebody just take us by the hand, set us down, and begin to talk to us in a very rational way about where we are in our Christian lives. Sometimes we need people to be honest with us. Amen? Now, why a preacher? Because I'm telling you, there's enough evil forces in this world to grab us by the hand and sit us down and begin to talk to us about all the reasons that we don't need the church. That the church is outdated, the church is archaic, and that it has no place in modern day society. And so, therefore, we need to exhort one another. We need that. Listen to what Hebrews chapter 3, verses 12 through 14 says. Take heed, brethren, lest there be any of you of an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily. While it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. My friends, we need to be exhorted. We need to be challenged. And we need to be helped to be each other, to examine each other's lives, to see are we on this straight and narrow path for the right reason? Are we truly? Are we truly sincere about our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ? The reason that it is important is, like I said before, is if we are not sincere, if we are not completely, absolutely know that we are born again children of God, headed towards heaven, then my friends, we want to know that so that we can get ourselves right with God. Hebrews 10.25 says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. What day approaching? The end, the day there's a coming, an end to what we know now. There's coming an end to when the church is going to be raptured out of this world, and the tribulation is going to begin, and it's going to be hell on earth. And as we see that day approaching, we need to exhort one another even more so that we remain strong and firm and faithful to God, that we don't waver in our belief, that we don't waver in our service to a holy and righteous God. My friend, listen to me. There is a lot of forces out there that would drag us out, would drag us away from what we know is right. And what we started out on as believing is the only way we can live. But over time, there is a lot of people who lose their way and drop out of the scene. I'm not saying they're lost. But I'm telling you, they are in a horrible condition. And if you find yourself, ever find yourself or a friend or a family member that's in that kind of condition, then my friends, we need to exhort them. We need to help them to come back and be part of the vibrant and living body, which is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus is the head, and he is the one who gives the commandments that we follow his leadership. And we gotta be part of the body in order to be any use to the kingdom of God. Now you say, preacher, what about those who are shut-ins and can't be in the body of Christ? Well, I want you to know that, my friends, I know a lot of people that would rather be in church than some that are coming to church. And God knows them. God understands that. Every one of us, if we live long enough, may be one of them. But those who really want to be with the body of Christ, wants to be in the church, then God will supply them with a way that they can receive their growth and continuing maturity in the things of God. I believe that with all my heart. Next thing I want to talk to you about this morning is importance of the church. We need to be under the preaching and the teaching of God's Word. The Bible, the Word of God is living and it's powerful. Listen to what Hebrews 4.12 says. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit and of the joints and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. You see, the word of God is like nothing else. It is able to divide even the soul and the spirit and the bone and the marrow, it is sharper, meaning that it is able to teach us things that we cannot learn except unless we're under the teaching and the preaching of the Word of God. There is no doubt a lot of people who are starving to death, who are literally wasting away as as Christians because they fail to be nurtured by the Word of God. We need that. We need that as a body. So what's the Word of God able to do? Well, first of all, the Word of God is able to equip us. Listen to what Ephesians 4, 11 through 13 says. And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God and to a perfect man and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. You see, the Lord set up an organization, but it's really not an organization, it's an organism. And it is set up in such a way that he has given different gifts and talents and abilities to different people within the body. We talked about that first over in 1 Corinthians, or 2 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. How that God, how that Paul used the body as an example, as an illustration of the body of Christ. How that he talked about how that the body had many members, but it was only one member. Same way with the church of Jesus Christ. There's many members, many parts, but only one body. And what happens is, is whenever that we, as part of the body of Christ, begin to break loose and go our own ways and we try to do our own thing, you know what happens? We become disoriented. We become disfigured. Because the body is not together. And the body, in order for it to function appropriately and properly, has to be brought under one and have unity and purpose. and be in one accord. And then the Lord has set up this great institution called the church to equip the believers, to give us the, help us to understand and to break down the word of God and expound upon the word of God so that we can understand it together. But he also gives other gifts and talents that you all have that I don't have that enables you to perform other functions in the body of Christ. Now, you all know it's a standing joke about my ability to carry a tune. And Brother Mike Hammond is the only one that I know is worse than I am. So you see, unless we had people like Elena, Steven, Alicia, Susan, Dale, to fill the role, to have the talent, the gift. You see, do you get what I'm getting at? Is that we're all needed. And we're needed as a body fitting together. Right? And that's how the Lord Jesus Christ uses us. It is by he equips us. And then the word of God is used to sanctify us, to set us apart, makes us different from the world. John 17, Jesus says in verse 15, I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, Jesus, in that high priestly prayer, saying to God, I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth. That word is truth. So we're sanctified by this powerful word of God. We're set apart for the use, the purpose of the glory of God. And through this sanctification, we are, first of all, we are positionally sanctified. It means that we are set apart from sin, the penalty of sin. We've been set apart from the penalty of sin. And then we are progressively sanctified from the power of sin. The more we are sanctified, the less that we are attracted to the things of this world. the less that the world has influence over us, and we have more influence over the world. Do you follow me? Sanctification is not only a one-time event, but it is progressively throughout the life of a Christian. And by being sanctified, being more set aside, empowered by this word of God, then we become more useful to the kingdom of God. And then ultimately, we are permanently set apart. That's when we enter into the presence of God, and we have been permanently separated from sin. No more tempted by it. No more influenced by it. But the word of God helps sanctify us as believers. Let me give you just a simple illustration. Now, ladies in here probably have a fine set of china somewhere in your house that you only use on certain occasions. Maybe it's Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, whatever it may be. Or maybe it's when you have some really, maybe it's when you have a pastor over. But that china is sanctified. It's set apart. It's to be used only for a particular purpose. And God has set us apart. We are set apart for the purpose to bring God glory. Sanctified. Also, the Word of God is able to cleanse us. Ephesians 5, 26 says, that he might sanctify, talking about Jesus, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, talking about the church, with the washing of the water by the Word. I gave you an illustration one time about a bucket that had a hole in it. How the father was talking to his son about Sunday school, how he kept saying, it's not doing me any good, Dad. It seems like I just ain't no better than what I used to be. And the father gave him a bucket that was dirty, but it had a hole in the bottom. He told his son, he said, go down to the creek, son, and fill up that bucket and bring it back to me. And he went down and he filled that bucket up. And by the time he got back to his father, it all leaked out. He said, Dad, it's all leaked out. He said, son, go fill that bucket up again. He did this two or three times. And finally, when he came back, he said, now, son, look in that bucket. He said, wow, Dad, that bucket's clean. He said, well, that's exactly what God does for us. As we study his words, it don't happen overnight. But He cleanses us. Now I'm not talking about for salvation. That's a one-time act. But I'm talking about how the water is able, how the Word of God is like water in that it continuously is cleansing us. And the more of it that goes through us and in us, the cleaner that we appear. How important is it to be a part of the church of the living Christ? Very important, isn't it? That little boy learned a lesson that day. I guarantee you, Brother Joe, he didn't forget that. Amen. Something else. The importance of the church is that God has given the church a program for giving. a program for giving. Now, you know, they had a program for giving in the Old Testament. It was called a tithe. It was called an offering. Tithe and offering. And so many people today wonder, what is God telling us to do as believers? Well, His Word tells us directly about what He expects. from his people as a church. First Corinthians 16.2 says, upon the first day of the week, that being Sunday, let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him, that there be no deadlings when I come. So the Lord tells us through Apostle Paul That when we come together as a body of believers, first day of the week, we bring our offerings to God. Preacher, you didn't say anything about how much. A lot of people look, I think, for reasons not to give. But I think the most important thing is to look in God's Word to see why we should give, not why we shouldn't give. 2 Corinthians 9, verses 6-8 says this, But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man According as he is purposed in his heart. So let him give not grudgingly or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver and God is able to make all grace abound toward you that you always having all sufficiency all sufficiency in all things May abound to every good work Wow Okay, let's talk about what we learned here First of all, there's the principle of sowing and reaping. If you sow sparingly, you can expect a very sparingly harvest. If you sow abundantly, you can expect an abundant harvest. What attitude do we give it with? We give it with an attitude of gratefulness, of understanding that God is the giver of all good gifts, that it comes down from the Father of lives. We understand that everything we have is based upon what He gives us. We have nothing that God doesn't supply. Whether it be our health, whether it be our wealth, whether it be our family, whether it be whatever. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights. So, the Lord says to us, if you can see all that I have done for you, and then you hold grudgingly back from me, Yeah. You just keep it. Amen. You just go ahead and put it in your barn. If you have to build you a bigger barn, build you a bigger barn. Amen. Because that's all you're going to get in this life. Amen. There's not going to be any treasure in heaven. Whatever you lay up here on earth, it won't meet you. If you're fortunate enough to make it to heaven, it won't meet you there. So he says, God loves a cheerful giver, one who wants to give to God, one who feels a privilege to give back to God a portion of what God has given us. Well, preacher, what about a tithe? I hear tithe, tithe, tithe, tithe, tithe. Well, I'll tell you that the New Testament does not teach tithe. The tithe was under the Old Testament. It was to the Jewish nation. But let me say this, the tithe preceded the law. Abraham, after going out and recovering Lot and his family and all the goods of the town that the kings of the Planes had come in and taken everything, robbed them, and took them. And Abraham and his army went out and saved them and brought them back. And he met Melchizedek. And his Bible says that he gave a tithe. He gave 10% to Melchizedek. That was before the law. So the way I figure it, a tithe is a pretty good rule of thumb. Because it was a pretty good rule of thumb with Abraham. It was a pretty good rule of thumb with God when he required it of his children. So I think probably we'd be safe if we were looking for a safe number. But you know what about grace is? Grace is that you don't have to stop at a time. You don't have to stop with the time, because God's looking for cheerful givers. And God is blessed when we want to give to Him. And all we're doing is giving back to Him what He's given us. And listen to what He says. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. We've heard it said many, many times, you can't out give God. You can't. And if our lives are built around wanting to give to God for what we get back from God, we're not giving for the right reason. These people that stand and they teach us that if you give $1,000 of seed money that you can expect your house will be paid off. I don't know about that. But I do know this, is that we've got a God that has title deed to everything. And when he says that I'll give you sufficient, that's good enough for me. I don't have to know, God, are you going to pay my house off tomorrow? But it sure is a comforting thought to know that he says, I will give you sufficient amount. You won't go hungry. You'll have money to pay your bills. You know, I'm not against wealth. And God isn't against wealth. Abraham was one of the wealthiest men that lived. Solomon, one of the wealthiest men that lived. Nothing wrong with wealth. But my friends, the wrong thing is, is when we become grudgingly holding on to wealth, And we don't allow God to use it for his purpose and his plan. That one day after a while, we're going to leave it all behind. And it hasn't brought us any pleasure nor happiness. What time we lived here on earth. Oh, what a freedom it is. When we can give to God with a beautiful heart. Trust and believe. We're going to have three parts to this message. But I wonder, how important is the church to each of us? Have you ever thought about it? What would you do? What would you do if all of a sudden you woke up And all the church house doors had been locked shut. We faced something like that in the pandemic. Couldn't come to church. What if you woke up and it was closed and it wasn't gonna reopen? Would it matter? Would it matter to me? Would it matter to you? That's a solid thought, isn't it? How important is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to us? If you're here today and you don't know Christ on the terms of the gospel, meaning that you've never surrendered, to the truth of what God's word says is that we are totally unfit for the kingdom of God. We're all sinners. We all come short of the glory of God. All of our righteousness is filthy rags. But Jesus Christ, the righteous one, came into our world and he paid that sin debt for us that we could not pay. And he offers us one of the greatest trade-offs that's ever been offered in the world in time. He says, Tim McClanahan, you are an unrighteous soul. Your righteousness is stinky frags. But my, look at me. Jesus says, I'm righteous. I'm holy. If you would allow me to become your savior, then you could dump all your filth on me, and I'll dump all my righteousness on you. That's what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary. If we believe and trust Him as Savior, He'll give us eternal life. He'll cleanse us of all unrighteousness, make us His own. Wow. Put us into the family of God. Transport us from darkness to light. You can have that if you're here today and you believe it and trust Him. So we're going to call for a time of invitation. Would you come, Brother Dale? Would you stand? Are you ready to trade your unrighteousness for the righteousness of Christ? Do that. Do that. and be saved today. Won't you come? I've got my mask on. I won't impact you with anything. I want you to know that Jesus Christ can change your life, set your feet upon solid ground, give you a new purpose, a new direction. He'll sanctify you. He'll set you aside apart for a purpose of bringing him glory. But you come. There may be decisions to be made here today by others. Maybe there's things today that you need to get right with God. You don't have to tell me, just come tell God. Or tell Him right where you stand. Ask Him to forgive you. Ask Him to cleanse you. What about it? What about it? Now's a good time to do it. Today is the day of salvation. Amen. Amen. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you all for coming. It's always, always good to be in the house of God. together. And as we see more coming back out, it just thrills my heart, and I'm sure it does everyone. But we pray that it continues to see more and more people fill these seats as we come back together as the body of Christ. Amen. Anything before we go? Wednesday night, Brother Tom is going to be bringing the message. So you'd be praying for Brother Tom. Brother Mike brought us a great message this past Wednesday night. I tell you what, we're having some great times on Wednesday nights. So come be part of it. Come out to Sunday school. Oh, Sunday school is important. And we're thankful that we have the ability to be taught by some of the best teachers around. So come be part of it. Nothing else? Brother Dale, would you close us in prayer?