SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Gateway Church's podcast.
SPEAKER_02: Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message.
SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh.
SPEAKER_01: Well, welcome, Gateway Church.
SPEAKER_01: How are we doing today?
SPEAKER_01: Come on.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, what a powerful video, a powerful testimony.
SPEAKER_01: It is MLK weekend and and and church.
SPEAKER_01: Um before we go into this week, I just want us to remind ourselves of the person that MLK was, what he stood for, what he fought for.
SPEAKER_01: That he was somebody who stood up for injustice, who fought for unity, so that we as brothers and sisters in Christ can see the divine image of God in our brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER_01: So, church, my prayer as we go into this week is that we can be a church that doesn't just pray for unity, but we can be a church in a body that fights for unity.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Well, listen, a big hello to all of our campuses, those that are joining us online, our gatherings, our gateway gatherings, and our brothers at our prison campuses.
SPEAKER_01: We are so glad that you're here today.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, if you're new here, or if we haven't gotten the chance to meet yet, my name is Matthew, and I'm one of the pastors here.
SPEAKER_01: And I get the honor of sharing today, and that we get to open up God's word together.
SPEAKER_01: We get to open up God's uh scriptures together and hear from the word together.
SPEAKER_01: I've called Gateway Church my home church now for the past 10 years.
SPEAKER_01: And Gateway, what I want to tell you is this is I am so excited that we serve a God who is living, breathing, and active in his church today, but we serve a God who is living, breathing, and active in this church today.
SPEAKER_01: Do you believe that?
SPEAKER_01: I have enjoyed every season of calling this church my home, but what I'm experiencing and seeing with my very own eyes is a freedom like never before to watch the hunger for the presence of God like never before.
SPEAKER_01: And I can't wait to see what God continues to do through his church.
SPEAKER_01: Well, if you um have your Bibles, uh, we're gonna go ahead and we're gonna be in the book of Acts, chapter three.
SPEAKER_01: The book of Acts, chapter three.
SPEAKER_01: And if you are like me and you like titles for your message, the title for today's message is this Where is your gate?
SPEAKER_01: Where is your gate?
SPEAKER_01: We're in week four, I believe, of our This Is the Way series following the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_01: Um, the early church.
SPEAKER_01: And what I love is the book of Acts has three main themes.
SPEAKER_01: I just said one of them.
SPEAKER_01: One is the Holy Spirit, two, the early church, and three, it's the spread of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: Last week, Pastor Jelani delivered a really powerful message titled, Why Are We Here?
SPEAKER_01: If you haven't got a chance to hear that yet, I encourage you, go back and watch that message.
SPEAKER_01: Let it challenge you and let it encourage you.
SPEAKER_01: But he talked about the four reasons why the church is here, why we gather.
SPEAKER_01: He said this the church is here for one, exaltation, two, edification, three, evangelism, and four, expansion.
SPEAKER_01: Last week, Pastor Gelani brought us the four E's, and today I want us to give us, I want to give us the three outs.
SPEAKER_01: And my hope in prayer is that this can just simply feel like a part two of Pastor Gelani's message as we um continue on with our This Is the Way series.
SPEAKER_01: But before we get into that, before we open up God's word together, church, can we just pray for a moment?
SPEAKER_01: Let's bow our heads and close our eyes.
SPEAKER_01: God, I thank you.
SPEAKER_01: God, I thank you that your presence is here in this place.
SPEAKER_01: God, as we as a church, as we go into this week, let us remember Martin Luther King Jr., let us remember what he stood for and what he fought for.
SPEAKER_01: God, help us challenge us, be a church that doesn't just pray for unity, but a body that fights for unity so we can see your divine image in our brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER_01: God, we have come a long way as a country and we have a long ways to go.
SPEAKER_01: But by the power of your Holy Spirit, God, we can accomplish much.
SPEAKER_01: God, I pray that you take these ordinary words that I'm about to speak in the next few moments.
SPEAKER_01: And Holy Spirit, I beg you that you breathe your life onto them.
SPEAKER_01: And it's in your holy name we pray.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: I have called it Texas home now for the past 14 years, but before that I lived in California.
SPEAKER_01: Don't hold that against me.
SPEAKER_01: But I have called uh California home.
SPEAKER_01: I grew up in California.
SPEAKER_01: I grew up in a very small town in California to a Hispani in a Hispanic family, which made our household very exciting.
SPEAKER_01: My mom was born in Juarez, Mexico, and my dad was born in Del Rio, Texas.
SPEAKER_01: And some of the vivid memories I have, or or or shall I say, some of the memories that are scarred in my brain, is my dad in the morning, I would be getting ready for school, I would be eating my cereal, whatever I was doing, and and my dad would come out of his room.
SPEAKER_01: This is the image that is scarred in my brain, now maybe scarred in yours, but just a very large Hispanic man in his tidy whities and a white shirt.
SPEAKER_01: And through his thick mustache, he would say, Good morning, mijo, which means son in Spanish.
SPEAKER_01: And I would respond back, good morning, dad.
SPEAKER_01: And then he would say, Mojito, which means little son.
SPEAKER_01: Some of y'all just thought I said mojito.
SPEAKER_01: We're in church, calm down, we're Mexican, but relax.
SPEAKER_01: He would say, Mojito, newspaper, which essentially meant meant, hey, can you go fetch me the newspaper?
SPEAKER_01: And so I would go and I would get in the newspaper, and I'd watch my dad every single morning take it out of the plastic wrapper that it came in, and he would open it up, he would hand me the comics or what he would call the funnies, and I would read the comics as he read the newspaper.
SPEAKER_01: As I got older, he would then hand me different articles that he would want me to read as well.
SPEAKER_01: And so his love for the news and staying up to date, it rubbed off on me as well.
SPEAKER_01: But what I've experienced now in my 40s, and not necessarily what I experienced as a as a young boy, what I see now, the drastic change, is that our headlines have gotten drastically different.
SPEAKER_01: You can turn on the news or you can read the newspaper or read on your news app, you can scroll social media, and the headlines feel incredibly heavy and sometimes even hopeless.
SPEAKER_01: But the response that we have as a church, friends, the response that we have as followers of Jesus, we can be weighed down by it or we can be motivated by it.
SPEAKER_01: That's why I love in Acts 1, verse 8, you don't have to turn there, it's gonna be here on the screen.
SPEAKER_01: It says this.
SPEAKER_01: This is Jesus talking.
SPEAKER_01: He says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
SPEAKER_01: Not the power to witness, the power to be a witness by the way that we live our life.
SPEAKER_01: Acts reminds us that it's not just what happens inside these four walls, it's actually about what happened inside the tomb and the resurrection story that we get to take out into the world and to everyone around us.
SPEAKER_01: That church, if you're in here today and you're a follower of Jesus, the church isn't just for you, but we are the church and we're here for the world.
SPEAKER_01: We're here to take that resurrection story to our workplaces and to our world that we surround ourselves in.
SPEAKER_01: That's why I love the book of Acts, because the book of Acts is actually a book of action.
SPEAKER_01: I love that Jesus, when the disciples ask him, Hey, Jesus, how should we pray?
SPEAKER_01: He says, When you pray, say this our Father who is in heaven, holy is your name.
SPEAKER_01: Heaven, the Greek word for heaven there is orenos, which the translation could be sky or air.
SPEAKER_01: Our father who's in the sky, or our father who's in the air.
SPEAKER_01: Or as my buddy Brad likes to say, our father who's as close to me as my very next breath.
SPEAKER_01: Holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Let your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: See, Jesus didn't just come to make converts of Christianity, He came to make disciples who were serious about advancing the kingdom of God and bringing heaven to earth, showing the world around them what there can look like here.
SPEAKER_01: That's why I see that in the book of Acts, we see this all throughout the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_01: The disciples and those Jesus followers, followers of the way as they were referred to, like Pastor Jelani said last week, their whole mission was to show people what there looked like here.
SPEAKER_01: That's why Acts is a book of action, but I firmly believe that Acts was not just a book written for then, Acts is a book for now.
SPEAKER_01: In today's day and age, in today's culture, Acts is a book for now.
SPEAKER_01: Acts is a book for now.
SPEAKER_01: So in chapter three, verse one, if we can open up God's word together, it says this.
SPEAKER_01: One day, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer.
SPEAKER_01: It was three in the afternoon.
SPEAKER_01: Now a man who was lame from birth, lame simply just means paralyzed, was lame from birth, was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg for those going into the temple courts.
SPEAKER_01: See, just briefly, the temple had many different entrances, but this temple gate called Beautiful, it was called beautiful because it was made, um, it was made of fine Corinthian brass.
SPEAKER_01: It stood 70 feet, 75 feet tall and had these incredible double doors.
SPEAKER_01: And when the sun would reflect it at just the right time, it was beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: And so they they take him to the temple gate called Beautiful, that were they did every single day so he can beg.
SPEAKER_01: In verse 3, it says this.
SPEAKER_01: So the man gave him his attention, expecting to get something from them.
SPEAKER_01: Then Peter says, This silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give to you.
SPEAKER_01: In the name of Christ Jesus of Nazareth, walk.
SPEAKER_01: Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong.
SPEAKER_01: He jumped to his feet and he began to walk.
SPEAKER_01: He went with them through the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God.
SPEAKER_01: And when all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
SPEAKER_01: A little bit of context for you guys.
SPEAKER_01: I'm a context guy, and so I enjoy context.
SPEAKER_01: Is the chapter right before this in Acts chapter 2, we have the Holy Spirit who came just like Jesus had promised.
SPEAKER_01: He comes in the upper room like a rushing wind, and lives were forever changed in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: I believe we as a church gather today because of what also took place in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: So we have the Holy Spirit that comes.
SPEAKER_01: And then Scripture says right after that, Peter delivers a sermon, and scripture says three thousand people's souls are converted to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Three thousand people.
SPEAKER_01: It goes on to say that more were added to their numbers daily.
SPEAKER_01: And then that's all in Acts chapter two.
SPEAKER_01: The very next chapter, Acts chapter three, there's this one guy that gets healed.
SPEAKER_01: And what I love about this is Luke, the author of the book of Acts, he writes with the same excitement for this one guy as he did for the 3,000 people that got saved.
SPEAKER_01: Which tells me, church, that he wasn't numbers motivated.
SPEAKER_01: That's not what encouraged him.
SPEAKER_01: What encouraged him and motivated him was partnering with the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't about numbers, it was about partnering with the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's work on this earth.
SPEAKER_01: And then scripture says this, Peter and John, they directed their eyes to this man.
SPEAKER_01: If you can just put yourself in this scene and imagine with me, they're there, just the three of them at this gate.
SPEAKER_01: It's as if at this moment everything dies down.
SPEAKER_01: The noise, the background noise dies down.
SPEAKER_01: And it's just Peter, John, and this lame man, this paralyzed man who is reduced to just begging every single day of his life.
SPEAKER_01: It's just the three of them there in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: Peter looks at the man, as did John, and they see him.
SPEAKER_01: They notice him.
SPEAKER_01: In this moment, their eyes are open, their hearts are open to see that this man was the divine image-bearer of the most high king.
SPEAKER_01: See, before the miracle even takes place, partnering with the Holy Spirit is what took place first as they notice this man.
SPEAKER_01: They simply see him.
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm a firm believer that how you see the creation, it reflects how you see the creator.
SPEAKER_01: Let me say that again so it sinks in.
SPEAKER_01: How you see the creation reflects how you see the creator.
SPEAKER_01: Because, church, let me tell you something.
SPEAKER_01: There are people, metaphorically speaking, that may be spiritually crippled, laying by the gate called beautiful, every single day of your life as you're walking and going on to your normal routine.
SPEAKER_01: There are opportunities to the left and to the right of you of God wanting to use you to speak to them, to call out the divine image bearer inside of them.
SPEAKER_01: But yet we walk right past them.
SPEAKER_01: I choose to believe it's not because we're intentionally ignoring those at the gate called beautiful, wherever that may be in your life, but oftentimes we walk right by them because we're so busy and distracted that we don't even notice them.
SPEAKER_01: Corey Tinboom says this.
SPEAKER_01: She says, if the devil can't make you sin, he'll make you busy.
SPEAKER_01: If the devil can't make you sin, he'll make you busy.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because both busyness and sin have the same effect on our life.
SPEAKER_01: They cut off our connection to God.
SPEAKER_01: So be very careful the next time you run into that old friend at the grocery store and they say, Hey, how's it going?
SPEAKER_01: You say, good, just busy.
SPEAKER_01: Both busyness and sin have the same effect on our lives.
SPEAKER_01: The beginning of this miracle is simply Peter and John continuing on in their day, not being rushed, but being sensitive to what the Holy Spirit may want to do at that time, and they notice.
SPEAKER_01: They see.
SPEAKER_01: And then they lay out something so practical for us as followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: If the church isn't just for us and we are the church and we're here for the world, here are three practical steps that we can take the kingdom forward.
SPEAKER_01: Point number one, if you're taking notes, what Peter and John do, the example they set for before us is this.
SPEAKER_01: They call out.
SPEAKER_01: Acts 3, verse 6 says this.
SPEAKER_01: Then Peter said, Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give to you.
SPEAKER_01: In the name of Christ Jesus of Nazareth, walk.
SPEAKER_01: I love this.
SPEAKER_01: That they don't speak to his current circumstance.
SPEAKER_01: They actually call out his potential.
SPEAKER_01: They don't speak to where he's at, they call out what they know he's capable of.
SPEAKER_01: Or better yet, what they know God is capable of doing through him.
SPEAKER_01: Where else have we seen this before in Scripture?
SPEAKER_01: We see it in Mark chapter 2, where Jesus does the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: Scripture says there's a paralyzed man who's lowered through the roof, and Jesus looks at this man, he looks at his friends, and he says, Because of their faith, your sins are forgiven.
SPEAKER_01: Take up your mat and walk.
SPEAKER_01: And the man is healed.
SPEAKER_01: He takes up his mat and walks, and people are both amazed and offended.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus speaks to his potential.
SPEAKER_01: He speaks to what he's capable of.
SPEAKER_01: He says, I know how my father designed you.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm calling out your potential.
SPEAKER_01: What would it look like for us, Gateway Church, if we walked into the places in our normal everyday routines and we called out the potential in others?
SPEAKER_01: We spoke life into them.
SPEAKER_01: We didn't just call them out, but we called them up because we know what our God is capable of.
SPEAKER_01: What does it look like when we partner with the Holy Spirit and we see the thing that's below the surface, not just your average encouragement, but we partner with the Holy Spirit to see the thing that's beneath the thing and we get to reveal it to those around us.
SPEAKER_01: See, speaking of someone's potential, calling out and calling up, it does something to them.
SPEAKER_01: It helps them not just see their circumstance differently, it helps them see themselves differently.
SPEAKER_01: Because we're calling out what we believe the divine is capable of doing through them.
SPEAKER_01: Like I said, it's more than just surface level engagement.
SPEAKER_01: I want to be a church, I want to be a people that calls out greatness in others so that they begin to walk in the full confidence of everything God has called them to be, everything God has wired them to be.
SPEAKER_01: Can we partner with God and partner with the Holy Spirit to call out the potential in others on our everyday path, on our everyday ordinary path?
SPEAKER_01: So point number one, they call out.
SPEAKER_01: Point number two that they have laid out for us so beautifully is this they help out.
SPEAKER_01: It says this in Acts 3, verse 7, taking him by the right hand, he helps him up.
SPEAKER_01: And instantly the man's feet and ankles become strong, became strong.
SPEAKER_01: He jumped to his feet and he began to walk.
SPEAKER_01: What I love is right before this, Peter says this, hey, silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give to you.
SPEAKER_01: That no, that that like no, I don't have that, it has to be one of the most liberating no's in scripture.
SPEAKER_01: And I hope that it's liberating for you because isn't it just like the enemy to make your know your weakness?
SPEAKER_01: To make your know your excuse.
SPEAKER_01: No, I can't, I can't help out.
SPEAKER_01: I don't have that skill set, I don't have that gifting.
SPEAKER_01: I'm really not outgoing.
SPEAKER_01: No, I can't do what my neighbor who's sitting right next to me does.
SPEAKER_01: No, I I just I can't do that.
SPEAKER_01: You don't know the sin in my I have in my life.
SPEAKER_01: No, I just can't do that.
SPEAKER_01: We can let that know hinder us, or we can actually let that know liberate us.
SPEAKER_01: Because what Peter says is, I don't have this, but here's what I do have.
SPEAKER_01: What I do have, I give to you.
SPEAKER_01: So, church, my question to every single one of us today is, what do you have?
SPEAKER_01: What do you have?
SPEAKER_01: What's in your hand that you can extend to your neighbor, to those in need, to say, hey, I I may not have this, but God has designed me in a very intricate way, and the skill set that He give me, I can all I can He gives me, I can offer to you.
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm telling you this right now.
SPEAKER_01: You may not have this or that or whatever excuse you may have, but whatever you do have is what God has placed inside of you.
SPEAKER_01: And there's a world outside these walls that desperately needs what God has given you.
SPEAKER_01: How can you reach out your hand to help someone else in need?
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna tell you a story about my friend PJ and his wife, Kelsey.
SPEAKER_01: PJ and Kelsey have served here at Gateway Church for a very long time, longer than I have been on staff.
SPEAKER_01: And PJ saw a need and he wanted to fill that need.
SPEAKER_01: He started an equip class where he teaches next gen how to work on cars because he was burdened that there are oftentimes student-age kids that may not have a parental or father figure in their life to teach them these things.
SPEAKER_01: So him and his wife taught an equip class.
SPEAKER_01: Around 20 guys and girls showed up to this class to learn how to change oil in their car.
SPEAKER_01: I'm 40 years old.
SPEAKER_01: I still don't know how to do that.
SPEAKER_01: So, PJ, I'm coming to your next class, man.
SPEAKER_01: But PJ answered the question, What do I have?
SPEAKER_01: Here's my skill set.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I can do.
SPEAKER_01: And he used it to partner with the Holy Spirit so he can teach those that do not know how, he can teach them how.
SPEAKER_01: Because here's what I believe, church.
SPEAKER_01: That when we, as a church body, as followers of Jesus, when we're generous with our actions and not just with our words, people begin to experience God in a really tangible way.
SPEAKER_01: I remember I was around eight or nine years old, it was December, and my father had gathered us around the table.
SPEAKER_01: Not necessarily for a family meeting.
SPEAKER_01: If you were here and heard um Pastor Abram's message during first conference, which was phenomenal, by the way, he talked about this family meeting they had.
SPEAKER_01: Well, like we're Mexican.
SPEAKER_01: We didn't do family meetings.
SPEAKER_01: The family meetings that took place in our household was to gather around and like share which one of our family members got arrested that week.
SPEAKER_01: True story.
SPEAKER_01: I kid you not.
SPEAKER_01: My mom's watching, so embarrassed right now, I'm sure of it.
SPEAKER_01: But I remember my dad gathering us around the table, and with tears in his eyes and with a heavy heart, he began to share that this year's Christmas was gonna look a little different.
SPEAKER_01: He shared that we were not doing great financially.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't grow up in a house with a lot of money, and so I was used to this, but he shared how we were on the verge of losing our house.
SPEAKER_01: The bank was gonna take our home, which eventually the bank did.
SPEAKER_01: But he was sharing with our family so full of guilt and shame, I saw it in his eyes as he was sharing with me and my brother that we didn't have money to provide, that he didn't have money to provide Christmas gifts that year.
SPEAKER_01: And I watched him as he was so heavy-hearted because he felt like he had left, let his family down.
SPEAKER_01: I was eight or nine years old, so I was I was pretty disappointed, but I saw hope fall from my dad's eyes.
SPEAKER_01: I remember Christmas came and we woke up every morning, or we woke up that morning like we did every morning.
SPEAKER_01: This morning was no different, except there was a heaviness in the room.
SPEAKER_01: I remember going the heaviest in the house.
SPEAKER_01: I remember going and um eating my cereal, and from where I was at at the kitchen table, I can see directly to the front door, and there was a knock on the door.
SPEAKER_01: My mom went to go answer it, probably because my dad was still in his underwear and t-shirt.
SPEAKER_01: And so my mom goes to answer the door, and I remember I can see her from where I was standing, I can see her side profile as she places her hands in her face and begins to sob.
SPEAKER_01: Because at the door there were three large garbage bags full of Christmas gifts for me and my brother.
SPEAKER_01: The church had provided Christmas for me and my family that day.
SPEAKER_01: I watched the hope come back to my father's eyes.
SPEAKER_01: I watched his shoulders go back as he walked a little bit taller.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know who tipped the church off, this church that we weren't really that involved in.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know who tipped them off, but that morning they decided to be Jesus to our family, and they showed up with Christmas gifts for me and my brother.
SPEAKER_01: I don't share that story because we got to experience Christmas.
SPEAKER_01: I share that story because it was that morning that I saw the tangible grace of God as the church decided to be the church.
SPEAKER_01: And it's one of the reasons.
SPEAKER_01: It's one of the reasons that I stand here today.
SPEAKER_01: Because I remember thinking, if this is what the church is all about, then I will give my life to it.
SPEAKER_01: If that's what it looks like to be the hands and feet of Jesus, then I will give my life to it.
SPEAKER_01: And I know, church, that there are stories in this room or whatever room you find yourself watching this at, there are stories that are here, there are future stories that'll come forth of lives that were changed, trajectories that were changed, hearts that were turned because of the people of Gateway Church and their actions and how we decided to be Jesus to our communities.
SPEAKER_01: We're already doing that, church.
SPEAKER_01: We're doing that right now.
SPEAKER_01: I want to share with you that in Frisco, at our Frisco campus, they adopted one of the Title I schools in their area.
SPEAKER_01: And during Thanksgiving, they provided both breakfast and lunch to the faculty and administration there just to simply say, hey, we love you, we're here for you.
SPEAKER_01: They took it a step further and they provided gift cards for all of the administration for Christmas.
SPEAKER_01: Again, just to say, we love you, we're here for you, we're praying for you, no strings attached.
SPEAKER_01: Our North Fort Worth campus, also in November.
SPEAKER_01: They partnered with World Relief and Sower of Seeds to feed a refugee committee in Fort Worth.
SPEAKER_01: They had 50 volunteers pack and deliver 200 mealboxes to over 100 refugee families in those apartments.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we can clap for that.
SPEAKER_01: That's incredible.
SPEAKER_01: They went back the following week just to throw a blog party, to play with the kids, to spend intentional time with those families, to say, we love you, we're here for you, we're praying for you, no strings attached.
SPEAKER_01: I was on the phone with Pastor Josh Briscoe yesterday at our Grand Prairie campus.
SPEAKER_01: Did you know that during COVID, they started this food drive to feed the people in their community?
SPEAKER_01: And not just feed for the feed them, but also offer prayer to them if they wanted.
SPEAKER_01: They wanted to meet the needs not just of the physical needs of their community, but also the spiritual needs of their community.
SPEAKER_01: Last year in 2024, 22,000 people came through that food line.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Not because Grand Prairie was saying, hey, we want to invite you to our church just so they can say, we love you, we're here for you, we're praying for you.
SPEAKER_01: No strings attached.
SPEAKER_01: Helping out.
SPEAKER_01: Can I tell you what we've done together, church?
SPEAKER_01: Last week, Pastor Jelani, when he got up here and spoke, he prayed for the wildfires in California.
SPEAKER_01: And not only just did we as a church respond in prayer, we responded in action.
SPEAKER_01: And we were able to give a gift to the Los Angeles Dream Center, an organization that is helping those that are in need, those that families that have lost everything in the fire, and they're meeting the needs of their city.
SPEAKER_01: We have a video to show you.
SPEAKER_01: So, church, take a look at this.
SPEAKER_00: Hello, Gateway Church.
SPEAKER_00: This is Matthew Barnett for the Dream Center.
SPEAKER_00: I just want to say thank you so much for your incredible response.
SPEAKER_00: We are blown away when we saw what your church has done for us and the thousands of people who are coming through this line as we respond right now to the immediate needs of people in the community.
SPEAKER_00: We're just so grateful for you guys.
SPEAKER_00: We have a great plan going forward all the way to responding and restoring and rebuilding and seeing lives change.
SPEAKER_00: So thank you for taking that journey with us.
SPEAKER_00: You gave us the kickstart we need to really go into the lives of people and to make a difference.
SPEAKER_00: I love you all and thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01: Los Angeles Dream Center is a place that is really near and dear to my heart.
SPEAKER_01: I was on staff there for 70 years before moving to Texas.
SPEAKER_01: That parking lot that you saw, it's where I first laid eyes on Britney, my wife.
SPEAKER_01: It's where we met, where we got married.
SPEAKER_01: So this place has a special place in my heart, but I love that the church that I call home has partnered with the church in Los Angeles to meet the needs of those around them.
SPEAKER_01: If you want more information, or if you want to know how you can still partner and still get involved, you can text Crisis to 71010 and a link will pop up and give you more information on how you can be a part and how you can partner with them as well.
SPEAKER_01: Back to Scripture.
SPEAKER_01: As I begin to close, Acts 3, verse 8, Scripture says this.
SPEAKER_01: Because it's one thing to walk with life, walk through life with people in their joy.
SPEAKER_01: That is sacred and holy work, but it is also sacred, holy, and heavy work to walk with people in their pain.
SPEAKER_01: As a pastor, I've had this privilege to be invited in some really sacred spaces.
SPEAKER_01: I've shared this with the South Lake campus before, but I share it with all of you.
SPEAKER_01: I have been in hospital rooms with a couple who have welcomed in their brand new baby, and they're so full of joy and full of life.
SPEAKER_01: I've also been at that same hospital, down that same hallway in a different room, with a couple who were holding their baby saying goodbye because he went with Jesus, went to be with Jesus far sooner than they could have ever expected or wanted.
SPEAKER_01: And there was sorrow.
SPEAKER_01: See, as followers of Jesus, I believe God has called us to walk out life with people in the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
SPEAKER_01: Church, I don't say that to get a pat on the back like I am some saint.
SPEAKER_01: As my friend Annie says, I have a hundred percent attendance to every single one of my sins.
SPEAKER_01: I say that because I've also been on the receiving end of those that have walked out life with me.
SPEAKER_01: I think of my community that we have surrounded ourselves.
SPEAKER_01: When times have gotten tough, they've surrounded me and Britney and my wife as they've prayed for our marriage, as they've prayed for my family.
SPEAKER_01: I've called my friend Johnny time and time again, asking for prayer when I have desperately needed it, and he has always been there.
SPEAKER_01: There's a pastoral voice in my life.
SPEAKER_01: His name is uh Toby.
SPEAKER_01: He has been with me for the past 15 years.
SPEAKER_01: I know I have disappointed him.
SPEAKER_01: I hope I have made him proud, but the thing that matters to me is that he has been there with me every single step of the way.
SPEAKER_01: See, walking out life with people is heavy but holy, holy work.
SPEAKER_01: Church, I want to ask you a question.
SPEAKER_01: Is there anybody in your life right now, anybody that's coming to mind right now that God is asking you to take them under your wing, to walk through life with them, not because you're perfect or you have all the answers, but because you can point to a God who does.
SPEAKER_01: They call out, they help out, and they walk out.
SPEAKER_01: This is what it's like to be the church.
SPEAKER_01: Having the ministry of presence and showing up for people and walking out life with them means more than you will ever know.
SPEAKER_01: Because as you know, and you may have had these moments yourself, we have these moments, these where was God or where is God moments.
SPEAKER_01: But church, if we are the hands and feet of Jesus, then us showing up and walking out life with people helps people experience God in a whole new way.
SPEAKER_01: Because we partner with the Holy Spirit and He uses us in the ministry of presence.
SPEAKER_01: In just a moment, your campus pastors are gonna lead you in a time of response.
SPEAKER_01: But you may be sitting there and we may be talking about this work, the three outs, calling out, helping out, walking out, and you may say, That sounds very good.
SPEAKER_01: It's actually very simple, but also holy and hard work to do.
SPEAKER_01: My soccer coach used to tell me, Matthew, simplicity is genius.
SPEAKER_01: Just stick to the basics.
SPEAKER_01: Church, can we just stick to the basics, basics here so that we can bring heaven to earth?
SPEAKER_01: And you may be in here and you may say, That's good for my neighbor, that's good for the person sitting next to me, this other this person in my family.
SPEAKER_01: But Matthew, you don't know this sin that I have in my life.
SPEAKER_01: You don't know this secret that I have kept, you don't know this addiction that I have been carrying.
SPEAKER_01: God can't use me in that way.
SPEAKER_01: This whole message was based on a man named Peter.
SPEAKER_01: Peter, the one who continues to put his foot in mouth in his mouth in scripture.
SPEAKER_01: Peter, the one in the garden who cuts off the guard's ear, and Jesus is like, not now, Peter, as he heals the guard.
SPEAKER_01: Peter, the one who denies Jesus three times at his greatest hour in need.
SPEAKER_01: That Peter.
SPEAKER_01: But Peter wasn't one who was defined by his mistakes.
SPEAKER_01: Peter was defined by his identity in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: That's what defined him.
SPEAKER_01: That Peter.
SPEAKER_01: So you may be in here and thinking you're too far gone.
SPEAKER_01: You're rejected, you're denied, whatever it may be.
SPEAKER_01: Wouldn't that just be like the enemy to give you a false title to pick up what actually the God of the universe calls you chosen and calls you called?
SPEAKER_01: Don't let the enemy call you to live beneath a story that God has already written for you.
SPEAKER_01: So that you can participate in the calling out, in the helping out, and in the walking out.
SPEAKER_01: Just for a few moments, I'm gonna begin to wrap up right now, but to our prison campuses who may be hearing this right now.
SPEAKER_01: This message applies to you too.
SPEAKER_01: That you are not too far gone, that your story is not over, that we believe that you can bring Jesus to your communities right there where you're at.
SPEAKER_01: So I ask us all as a church, where is your gate?
SPEAKER_01: Where is God calling you to bring heaven to earth?
SPEAKER_01: What I love is Peter and John weren't doing anything out of the ordinary.
SPEAKER_01: They were actually just going to the temple for prayer as was their custom.
SPEAKER_01: They weren't doing anything out of the ordinary, they were just doing what they've always done in their life.
SPEAKER_01: But they slowed down, they paid attention, they noticed, and they partnered with the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Gateway Church, where is your gate?
SPEAKER_01: Our prison campuses, you have a literal gate as you are in this gated community.
SPEAKER_01: I ran that joke by other people, they said it was okay.
SPEAKER_01: To our brothers at prison campuses, no one in here knew what to do.
SPEAKER_01: They didn't know whether to laugh or not.
SPEAKER_01: Is your gate your workplace?
SPEAKER_01: Is your gate your boardroom?
SPEAKER_01: Your kids' soccer practice, your communities, your neighborhood, your grocery stores, your cul-de-sac, where is your gate where God is asking you to partner with the Holy Spirit so you can bring heaven to earth and show people what there looks like here?
SPEAKER_01: Gateway Church, where is your gate?
SPEAKER_01: To our brothers in the prison campuses, is it the chow hall where you eat?
SPEAKER_01: Is it the rec yard where you have your breaks?
SPEAKER_01: Where is your gate?
SPEAKER_01: Because there is a lost, hurting, and broken world that desperately needs you to go to the gate so you can share the love of Jesus with those around you.
SPEAKER_01: Because we believe that we will see God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, to our prison campuses.
SPEAKER_01: We believe that in the Coalfield unit, as it is in heaven, in the Michael unit, as it is in heaven, in the Lindsay unit, as it is in heaven, in the Sanders Estes unit, as it is in heaven, the Choice Moore unit as it is in heaven, the Buster Cole unit, as it is in heaven, in the Bridgeport unit, as it is in heaven, that we are believing God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, in your schools, as it is in heaven, in your neighborhoods, as it is in heaven, in your workplaces, as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Gateway church, where is your gate?
SPEAKER_01: And how can we partner with the Holy Spirit to bring God's hope, love, and mercy into this world?
SPEAKER_01: I leave you with this as your campus pastors and campus leadership takes it from here.
SPEAKER_01: May you, Gateway Church, by the power of the Holy Spirit, be a witness with your whole life.
SPEAKER_01: May you partner with him and participate in this holy and sacred work of calling out, helping out, and walking out to see God's redemptive work in the ongoing creation of the world.
SPEAKER_01: Gateway Church, may you find your gate called Beautiful, and may you bring heaven to earth.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us today.
SPEAKER_02: If you'd like to connect with us, text Connect to 71010 or visit gatewaypeople.com.
SPEAKER_02: We hope you have a great week.