REWIND
The podcast "REWIND" features a collection of past sermons from Organic Church. Each episode takes listeners on a journey through the teachings and messages delivered during previous worship services. The content is a retrospective look at the spiritual guidance and insights shared by Pastor Michael and visiting guests!
Listeners can expect to revisit powerful sermons, meaningful scriptures, and impactful messages that have been shared in the past. The podcast aims to provide a convenient and accessible way for the church community and new audiences to engage with the timeless wisdom and spiritual teachings presented during earlier sermons.
Whether it's a reflection on a particular theme, a series of teachings, or a selection of sermons covering various topics, "REWIND" offers an opportunity for individuals to deepen their understanding of the faith and find inspiration in the timeless messages.
The podcast may also include commentary or reflections on the historical context of each sermon and how it continues to resonate with the present-day congregation.
REWIND
Unified in the Spirit (July 27, 2025)
What would Pentecost have looked like if the disciples had each been alone when the Holy Spirit fell? The power of that world-changing moment wasn't just in the tongues of fire or the miraculous languages—it was in the unity of believers gathered in one place with one purpose.
In this challenging and heart-stirring message, Pastor Michael examines how our modern church culture has normalized division and absence while God's design has always been for unity. Through a fresh look at Acts 2, we discover that the disciples weren't just waiting for the Holy Spirit—they were waiting together, creating an atmosphere where God could move powerfully.
"Unity doesn't just attract people, it attracts the presence of God." This profound truth reshapes how we should view our church attendance and participation in the body of Christ. It's not about religious obligation but spiritual necessity. When we gather with expectant hearts, setting aside personal preferences and embracing our shared identity in Christ, we create space for divine movement that simply cannot happen in isolation.
The message addresses how unity manifests in our marriages, friendships, and church community while acknowledging that unity doesn't mean uniformity. We can maintain our unique perspectives while prioritizing our shared foundation in Christ. Most importantly, we learn that unity breeds the courage we need to boldly share the gospel in an increasingly hostile world.
If you've been feeling disconnected from church or struggling to understand why community matters, this message offers both conviction and compassion. The early church showed us the blueprint—now it's our turn to create that same atmosphere of unity where the Holy Spirit can move freely in our lives and communities.
Amen, amen. Well, you can be seated. Parents, as today is not a normal kids class day, we did put together some baskets for the kids in the back. There are only seven, so one per family, please. But there's lots of stuff inside of the baskets Coloring stuff, just different things that they can play with, gives them something to do quietly. But the nursery is open. So, yes, dawn was like wait a second, do I have to go? I'll stay.
Speaker 1:Yesterday, my wife and I actually my wife and kids and I were blessed to be invited to Denison Foursquare, to the summit, for, I'm sorry, that's what I meant Dover Foursquare, the summit. I'll get there For a pastor's get together in the area, and it was such a blessing to be there. My kids were so excited to be there. Let me tell you they were thrilled to have to go to church on Saturday in the middle of the day, right. They loved every second of that, didn't they? Amen, yeah, it was beautiful outside and then when we got home, it rained, right. So they were really angry by the time the day ended. But what I realized was it's not often that us pastors get to get together and really get to just pray for one another and just be in that space. And when we got in the car to leave, my wife said I really love those things and I was really touched. As we were sitting there, we had lunch and then we went to the sanctuary for a small portion of worship and just ministry time and Pastor Larry Massey from Cornerstone in Coshocton delivered the message.
Speaker 1:Now, if you've ever met Pastor Larry, have any of you ever met Pastor Larry? Not many of you. He's a man's man, right. He looks like a lumberjack, right. He's got these fingers that are about that big around, like he's just a big guy, but he's like he doesn't mess around. But he said to me, or he said to the group for the first 30 years of my life I wasn't allowed to cry. I was told that I wasn't allowed to cry because real men don't cry. He said so I'm making up for lost time as he wept and just praised the Lord in all the things that he had done.
Speaker 1:But he had talked about a particular passage of scripture that each and every one of us know, we love, we understand, especially coming from a Pentecostal church Amen. You don't even know what I'm talking about. Don't say amen. You don't even know what passage of scripture. I'm just kidding Dale, right? Yeah, it don't matter, it's the Bible, right?
Speaker 1:But he preached about something that just you know, we know it and we don't think about it and we take it as part of who we are, as part of our DNA, but then we skim over it. But he was talking about waiting on the Lord and I was like man. It is hard, it is probably one of the hardest things you have to do, but there is blessings in waiting, amen. And we can't always see them, we don't always understand that there are blessings in the waiting. But as he told the story, I realized there was something just as important that we always miss.
Speaker 1:When they were in the upper room waiting on the Lord, what were they? They were together, they were in one accord, they were all in one place, together, because that's what Jesus told them to do, amen. You know we live in a time where division is the standard right, that's the norm. It dominates our lives, it dominates our families, our communities and even our churches. But, honestly, the early church told us what we need to understand about being in one accord, in being in unity, amen. And I, just every time I think about it, I think about what would Pentecost have looked like had they all been alone or on their own right. Each of them would have gotten these tongues of fire resting upon their heads and they would have started speaking in tongues and in languages that they had never heard before. But nobody would have cared, because nobody would have seen it, because they would have done it in isolation. Amen. They would have hidden that from the Lord, they would have hidden that from the people around them, and I think every time that we talk about that story, we have to remember that they were together, and togetherness can create an atmosphere of God Whoo Right Now.
Speaker 1:I don't know about you guys, but even when I come in this building by myself, there is a presence that rests here like no other right Like I can. We were talking about it when we were in Dover yesterday. In their sanctuary there is a presence of the Lord that you can almost touch. Right. It's the same here. The problem is, oftentimes we become complacent because we're here all the time. Right, many of us are in and out all week long. We come in to grab a water while we mow the grass, or we stop and do this, or we stop and do that and we get used to what this experience is, and we get used to being in the presence of the Lord, and then we start to take the presence of the Lord for granted and then we don't need to be at church on Sunday and we don't need to be at church on Wednesday, because you know it's just the same stuff, right, but not everybody feels that way.
Speaker 1:I want you to look around the sanctuary right now. Just take stock of the people who are missing. Now I don't want to get down on everybody that's missing today, because I know sometimes that's what it feels like I'm doing, but if you look around and you realize the people that are missing, my question to you is why Some of us have to work. Right, some of us have legitimate reasons, but many of us we wake up and we just don't feel like going. I wake up every Sunday morning thinking, man, do I have to go? Do that today? Right, because the enemy doesn't want me here, he doesn't want you here. Because if we are here in one accord and we allow the presence of God to rest upon us, things will change in our lives. And when things change in our lives, they change in our community, amen. And when they change in the community, they change in the world. And what does the enemy have if he doesn't have the world? He has nothing. He has nothing.
Speaker 1:So I want you to just take stock in who is missing today. Okay, I want you to think about that. And then, if you are a wife and you're sitting here and your husband isn't here, I want you to take stock in that. Okay, now, I'm not saying, go home and yell at them or you have to come to church with me next week, pastor. I'm sick of Pastor Michael telling me you need to be at church. It's not what I'm saying, it's pray for your spouse, pray for Lord, soften their hearts, allow them to see what God is doing in my life and that he can do it in their life too, amen.
Speaker 1:So if you are sitting here missing us, I want you to really pray about that. I want you to really, because the thing that I struggle with is that on Saturday night, we posted on Facebook that we were at this concert and we were having a great time, and then on Sunday morning, we can't show up for church. What's more important in life? Is it the world or is it God? Because I'm going to tell you I will miss church on occasion, right Like it happens, but I don't miss it out of choice. I miss it because we're going to go on a cruise in November and I'm going to miss two Sundays. I'm not telling you which Sundays, by the way, because I know what you guys do. You like to bounce out on those Sundays? Right, I will be gone. Do you know how hard that's going to be To be gone from this place for two Sundays and not have access to you for two Sundays?
Speaker 1:This community gives me strength. This community gives me hope, because if he can do it here, he can do it anywhere. Amen, because when we come together, we can't stop the move of the Spirit, even if we really wanted to. Amen, amen. Listen, he is no respecter of person. He didn't come here today. God didn't show up here today because Marcus showed up for church. That's not why God came. God showed up because we came believing that he would. Many of us came prayed up, knowing that God was going to do something great in this place.
Speaker 1:I tell you guys, all the time I pray over every chair in the sanctuary. Every single Sunday morning, I walk through and just touch the chairs and pray in the spirit, and I know that when I do that, god is like I've got a person for that seat. I've got a person for that seat, and even the empty seats, he's got a person for that seat, but the enemy has convinced them that that seat does not need to be filled today. Let me ask you a question Is today a good day to be saved? Oh, it's the best day. Why is it the best day? Because it's here right now in front of us. Tomorrow's an okay day, but tomorrow it will be a great day to be saved. We can't wait on the world to tell us when it's okay to be saved, when it's time to show up, when it's time to be part of the community. We have to be ready every waking hour. Amen, all right. So we're gonna to start in Acts, chapter 2, verse 1. We're just going to read for a few minutes.
Speaker 1:On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place, in one place, right, not several places, they weren't scattered across town doing Zoom, they were all in one. I couldn't figure out how to get on a Zoom if I wanted to. That's how I know I'm getting old. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm. It filled the house where they were sitting. Now, you don't often stand to wait, do you? How many of you go to the doctor's office and stand? Why don't you stand to wait, do you? How many of you go to the doctor's office and stand? Why don't you stand at the doctor's office? Because you know it's going to be a minute, right? I got a 2.30 appointment. I might get in by three, right? Thank you, jesus. So we sit to wait because we don't know what that's going to look like. They were sitting, waiting on the Lord. They were sitting and waiting. Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them, and everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like a roaring and mighty windstorm that filled the house where they were sitting. The Holy Spirit did not come when they were scattered. It came when they were together and unified.
Speaker 1:Unity doesn't just attract people, it attracts the presence of God. Listen, we might all be great friends and we all want to hang out with one another, right, but do we do it so that God can be present with us or do we do it so that we might just have friends that we can talk to? Listen, I love all of you, but when we're together, I want God to be there too. I want there to be a presence of the Holy Spirit in that place, and what I mean by that is I want the Holy Spirit to go before me in everything that I say. I want the Holy Spirit to go before me in everything that I do, because if I don't allow that to happen, it just becomes a free-for-all and we start talking about other people and we start acting ways that we know we shouldn't be acting. Right, we start doing things we know we ought not be doing, but we don't care because we didn't welcome the presence of the Spirit to be with us. We met for social hour instead of spiritual hour. Can I promise you that when you come to a gathering of this building, we typically aren't going to start anything without prayer, because prayer is the foundation for all things that we are going to do.
Speaker 1:Right, I don't have a relationship with Christ if it weren't for prayer? Right, because that's how I communicate. Now, if any of you are married, have a significant other and you don't communicate, how long does that relationship last? Not long at all. Because if I'm frustrated and I choose not to tell my wife if I'm worried and I choose not to tell my if I'm stressed, if I'm angry and I choose not to tell my wife if I'm worried and I choose not to tell my if I'm stressed, if I'm angry and I choose not to tell my wife, she's going to sense all of those things but she's not going to know why I'm feeling them. Right, that communication is important. Jesus knows my heart. I'm not hiding this from him. Right? Listen?
Speaker 1:For the past week and a half I wandered around my house. Just give me peace, father, lord. Just whatever it is. Just give me peace, lord. I just need you to understand that I believe you and I trust you and I know you're gonna do something great. But my body, my flesh, it can't accept it. Right? And when you're doing that nonstop and you're in relationship and in conversation with him, mighty things are going to take place in your life.
Speaker 1:We cannot have relationships with one another that the Holy Spirit is not welcome at Right. So that means you can't come to my house and not expect the Holy Spirit to come with you, amen. You can't be in a relationship with somebody and expect the Holy Spirit to come with you, amen. You can't be in a relationship with somebody and expect the Holy Spirit to not be there, because through the presence of the Holy Spirit, we are unified. Right, big crowds, small crowds where two or more are gathered. Right, when two or more are gathered. So when there are two of us together, the Holy Spirit will also be present. God will also be present.
Speaker 1:You know, I've been praying a lot about that and I realize that there are people who don't understand the Holy Trinity right. To me, that's a scary thought, because when I say the Holy Spirit is present with you, when you are filled with the Holy Ghost, god is present inside of you, jesus is present inside of you, because they are one in the same. There isn't a separation of the three. Right? We all on the same page. Am I scaring some of you? Okay, I don't think you're scaring anybody. We're going to do a whole series on that, all right? I was just telling my wife I really want to get really good at doing sermon series with you guys, so that we can not just hear the word, but we can learn the word and we can absorb the word Amen.
Speaker 1:And there are so many of us who do not understand the importance of the Holy Trinity, so many of us who don't even respect or understand or even care to know about the Holy Trinity. Right, I was talking to somebody the other day actually it's been a little while ago and they asked me this question. They said do you speak Hebrew? No, and they said, well, one Sunday you were like up front and you were like speaking a language I ain't never heard before and I was like, well, okay, all were like up front and you were like speaking a language I ain't never heard before and I was like, well, okay, all right, so we're gonna go down this path. That's a heavenly language, that's how I communicate with God, so that the enemy can't intercept it. Right, it sounds weird to people who don't fully get that. It is not. I mean here's, this is what we're talking about, right, right, I mean this is what we're talking about, right, right now.
Speaker 1:Right, everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. I remember one time Florence said to me have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? And I looked at her and I said, well, yeah, and she goes. I don't know that I've ever heard you pray in the Spirit, and I was like man. If my pastor hasn't heard it, who has?
Speaker 1:Right, it's not something we should be afraid of. It's biblical. The Bible tells us this is acceptable and that this is how we should be. And so I want to encourage you today that, as we are talking about unity and we become one with the Holy Spirit, we should be seeking that experience. Right, we should be looking for that experience. It's not something you can force. When God gives it to you, embrace it, don't hide from it, because I'm telling you when you get it and you learn how to speak to the Father.
Speaker 1:That way, holy smokes, I don't have to worry about what the enemy is doing in my life, because when I call him defeated in the name of Jesus, when I tell him he has no authority in my life, god hears that and goes. I got you, I got you, and the thing is, my wife's got me right. My wife won't leave me nor forsake me, because if she was gonna she woulda right. I'm not saying she shouldn't, I'm saying I don't think she will. That doesn't give me a license to go and do whatever I want. I respect that about her right. But just because she won't leave me nor forsake me, I know that the Father will not leave me nor forsake me. Even more than that right, I can be a real screw up, I can fall short of the glory of God, but I know that I will always be redeemed. Amen. We should be able to do that to one another.
Speaker 1:Unity doesn't just attract people to other people. It attracts the presence of God. We are creating an atmosphere that welcomes the Holy Spirit. Amen. Do we do that when we come in here on Sunday morning, or do we find ourselves whispering about people? Do we find ourselves stuck in a corner being like did you notice that Pastor Michael's wearing a tie today? Wonder what's going on with him? Did you guys notice that Pastor Holly's hair is down? Wonder what's going on with her? Did you notice that so-and-so isn't here today? Wonder what's going on with them?
Speaker 1:Listen, this isn't the place for those conversations. Neither is the parking lot, neither is the text messages whenever church, because if we are truly unified, then we say whatever is happening in their life, I'm gonna pray that God's perfect will be done in all things for them. I'm gonna celebrate with them if they've had a victory. I'm gonna be frustrated with them if they're frustrated. I'm gonna pray that God is going to celebrate with them if they've had a victory. I'm going to be frustrated with them if they're frustrated. I'm going to pray that God is going to take whatever is happening in their life and make it bigger and better than anything he has ever done in my life. Amen, because when I can get excited for your wins, I can get excited for anybody's wins. Right, listen, god will do something great in every life that he gets the ability to touch.
Speaker 1:The problem is is, sometimes the Christians don't want to celebrate that with one another and what we do is we take the unity that we are so called to create and we separate it by your victory and my victory. But the victory comes in the name of Jesus. It doesn't come in the name of Marcus or in the name of Michael or in the name of Joe. Victory comes in the name of Jesus. It doesn't come in the name of Marcus, or in the name of Michael, or in the name of Joe. Victory comes in the name of Jesus, and if I am a true follower of Jesus Christ, I am excited for the victory that happened in his name. Amen. I don't have to be worried about myself or glorify myself. I have to give glory to God in all things. Amen. I need a nap now. Are we truly creating an atmosphere that welcomes the Spirit or one that divides? In our homes, in our church, in our workplaces, even in our commute to work? We make a choice to bring unity or division in the body of Christ? Amen.
Speaker 1:Poor Marcus, he always thinks I'm mad at him. I feel bad for him. He'll send me a text and I don't respond and he's like he's got to be mad at me. I'm not mad. Three to five business days, right. It's worse now more than ever. Sometimes I don't even know where my phone's at. That's today, baby, this sucker's laying at home somewhere, but I don't care about that. But the thing is, I need him to know and I'm never going to be so upset with you that I will just ignore you, right. It's just not who I am. I may text you back and you may still feel like I'm. I promise you, if you feel that way, just ask. Just ask, because I want unity in the body, not division. I don't want anybody to ever feel like they have to be worried about how I feel about them or how somebody else feels about them. Listen, there is only unity, togetherness in the body of Christ, amen.
Speaker 1:You know there are some churches who do marriage counseling, and I don't mean pre-marriage, I mean marriage counseling, so like when a relationship is on the rocks and they want to talk. I've learned something counseling so like when a relationship is on the rocks and they want to talk. I've learned something I don't like doing that. Here's the reason Y'all get a divorce. I feel responsible for it. Y'all work it out for six, eight months and then get a divorce. I feel responsible for it. Right, it's not something fun to do. Now I will pour wisdom into your life and I will give you all of the advice that I can possibly give you. However, know that on the backside I am praying God's perfect will. Lord, should it be your will, because I believe that unity is important in marriage.
Speaker 1:Right, being in one accord, being able to have conversation and honest conversation and say I don't like what you're doing. I feel this way, I feel that way being able to have those conversations, but, at the end of the day, if you have a spouse that doesn't reciprocate, that it's likely not going to end well, right, but there are some churches who do it, and when they're doing it, they don't care if you get divorced or not. I, on the other hand, care about that. Why do I care about that? Because I care about you and where you're going to spend eternity. And here's the problem. The church has gotten soft on divorce too. Right, because it's legally acceptable. So we get a little soft on it At legally acceptable. So we get a little soft on it. At the end of the day, the Bible tells us that we shouldn't get divorced.
Speaker 1:I'm not condemning anybody that's been divorced, listen, we are all covered by the grace of God, right? But when you are in a perfectly healthy relationship and you choose to walk away because you're obsessed with somebody on Facebook listen, listen, chances are that girl you're chatting with on Facebook Messenger is a dude. Right, chances are it's some dude in Indonesia or whatever, and you're sending him Bitcoin for no reason, right, I'm telling you, listen, listen, the enemy wants us to fall for these traps. God wants unity, the enemy wants separation. I am not willing to fall into a trap of separation for some person on the internet, right. I'm not willing to fall in separation for some person standing in front of me. Listen, I promise you, I married up when God gave me Alyssa. He gave me a lot more than I deserved and I am thankful for that every day.
Speaker 1:But the problem is the problem is you can look at a marriage and go well, that's not a perfect marriage. We never said it was. We never said it was. We don't pretend like it is. What we do is we learn how to communicate with one another and we put Christ in the center of everything. We put Christ in the center of everything. Listen, god moves when his people are together in heart, purpose and in spirit. Right, god doesn't move in my marriage if we don't welcome the Holy Spirit into that place Right Now. I always this is not a joke, but I always tell the story.
Speaker 1:When we move into a new home, the first thing I do is I hang our marriage certificate on the wall. There's a reason for that. That is what makes our house a home. Right, that marriage certificate is more than a piece of paper. That marriage certificate says that in a piece of paper. That marriage certificate says that in a covenant with God, we have bound ourselves to one another Right. But furthermore, that marriage certificate is signed by Florence. Now, I know that many of you don't see any value in that, but two of my favorite women in the world have signed that piece of paper. World have signed that piece of paper, and I made a covenant to her, to my wife and to God, and I feel all this pressure to perform at a certain level, right To be a perfect husband all the time.
Speaker 1:I am so thankful that none of those people expected perfection out of me, because I want to be perfect, I want to do the absolute best, but I also understand that I can't ever be what Jesus Christ was able to be. I will never be that, but what I will be is honest and what I will be is willing to change when something I am doing has to adapt. See, that's the problem with the church. We want to talk about unity and we want to pretend to be unified, and we don't want to talk about the sin that we have in our lives. We want to talk about everybody else's sin. Right, when we're gathering in the corner and we're chit-chatting about people, we want to talk about their sin. We don't want to ever talk about the sin that consumes our lives. Sometimes that sin is simple. There's kids in here, so I can't start listing some of the things that I know we are struggling with in this building. God knows that we are struggling with serious things in this building.
Speaker 1:I need you to know something that does not separate you from Christ. So long as you don't allow it to consume you, sin is not acceptable in the eyes of Christ. You are covered by grace and mercy. Grace and mercy is not a license to continue to sin. It should be a way that it should consume you to change your lifestyle, because you know that you are to please the Father in all things. Amen.
Speaker 1:Listen, some of you will walk out of here today and go. I am never doing that again and by dinnertime you've done it again. It will happen, but I promise you you need to look. Keep your eye on the prize A heavenly home, amen. I don't need to worry about this world. I don't want to deal with this flesh anymore. I want to be focused on the spirit. I want to be looking at what God wants to have in my life, those things that I constantly go back to. That is not what God wants for me, because that creates division between me and the Holy Spirit. Do you want to be in unison, in one accord with the Holy Spirit? Do you want to be in true relationship? Then you have to be honest. You have to be honest. You have to be honest with yourself, your spouse, your friends, whoever it may be. Listen, I've learned one really important thing in life If I need to stop doing something, I need somebody to hold me accountable for it. Amen.
Speaker 1:Anybody ever done anything they know they ought not do, but they don't tell anybody about it. So it's their little secret. Woo-hoo, hallelujah. Marcus, we all know yours is roller meat. You don't have to pretend like that's a secret, buddy. If you want to eat less roller meat, you need an accountability partner, right? You need somebody to say Marcus, you don't need six hot dogs today, right, probably can't be your wife because you ain't listening to that, you just get 12 at that point, right, kidding, I'm kidding.
Speaker 1:We know that we do things, we see it, we actively engage in it, but then we say well, I don't understand why my life isn't going the way I expect it to. Can I tell you why you are actively engaging in separation from the Holy Spirit? Actively engaging in separation from the Holy Spirit. Acts 1-4. Now this, you got it there. Acts 1, 4? Yes, no, maybe. Yeah, because you can only see, like Acts of the Apostle, you can't see the whole thing. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, I got you all messed up back there today.
Speaker 1:This is what Jesus told the disciples. He said once when he was eating with them. He commanded them do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends the gift that he had promised. As I had told you before, that was Jesus telling them that God was going to send the great comforter, that he was going to send the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, to be with them. They were obedient to what Christ had told them to do. They were obedient to what Christ had told them to do. They sat there and waited and waited, and waited. And I can bet there was somebody in the room that went hey, you think we can go now, like, I don't think this is gonna happen, right? And those who were dedicated to what the Lord had called them said sit there and shut up. We are waiting on God to send something greater than Jesus. Now, I know that you haven't walked the earth with Jesus, but you know he performed miracles. Right, jesus was a pretty solid dude. Jesus was healing people with simply his clothing. He didn't even have to touch them. Their belief allowed them to be healed. And he's saying that he is going to send somebody greater.
Speaker 1:The Holy Ghost gives us comfort on the inside. Amen. The Holy Spirit brings us peace. It brings us joy. It brings us joy. It brings us happiness, and so many of us don't even know how to feel those feelings. You ever met that person in your life? That's just miserable. All the time they don't know the Holy Spirit, because anger and frustration and all of those things, that doesn't come from God. It does not come from God.
Speaker 1:Dads, I want to ask a question Are your kids allowed to touch the thermostat in your house? Your wife's not allowed to touch the thermostat. Listen, I tried to lock mine out one time. My wife got on my phone and changed the password. She was like uh-uh, that ain't happening in my house. I tried to lock mine out one time. My wife got on my phone and changed the password, she was like uh-uh, that ain't happening in my house.
Speaker 1:There are some that, dave, are you that way? What do you set it at, dave? Great debate. What's your thermostat set at In the summer or in the winter? 62? You can hang meat in there, good gravy. 62? You guys complain that it's 68 in here. Tina's sitting there with a coat on. If Tina went to Holly's house she'd have to be dressed in a Sherpa. Have on winter boots like Jiminy Christmas. Good gravy, marcus.
Speaker 1:Where do you keep your thermostat set at 75? Okay, a little warm in there. What do we keep ours at? 72, 74, somewhere in that window. But now listen, we keep ours at 74 because we don't like that electric bill. Right? Air's expensive. Here's the reason.
Speaker 1:I ask that when you see somebody touch it, what happens to you? Right? Like I'm going to break somebody's fingers, right? Why are you touching? You don't even understand. Are you paying the electric bill, right? Can I tell you that that emotion is not from God. It's a thermostat, folks, right? Do you get what I'm saying? Sometimes we allow our flesh to take over in the simplest of situations, right?
Speaker 1:Stephanie likes to go to Pittsburgh. She loves the city of Pittsburgh. How many of you like to drive to Pittsburgh? I hate driving to Pittsburgh. No, loves the city of Pittsburgh. How many of you like to drive to Pittsburgh? I hate driving to Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1:Now, here's the thing. Here's the thing about Pittsburgh. You know that bridge that you go under, where you have like 0.2 seconds to decide which lane you need to be in before you just have to drive off the side of the bridge. You know what I'm talking about. Okay, listen, I get so much anxiety driving through there, like my fist clenched the steering wheel and I can't breathe until we're through it. Right, that is not from God, I promise you. It is not, but it's not that big a deal. It is not that big a deal, but for some reason, my body says you know what you're doing, you've been through here a million times, but I'm going to need you to panic Right Now. The Holy Spirit's like I got you, but I'm like you ain't got me through this. Unless this car gets wings, I don't mind the tunnel, I don't like the bridge. Right, I'm looking up. The cars are merging in front of me. It's nerve wracking, but my spirit just can't take over. They can't win the flesh in that moment. Go over more often. Listen, I sweat when I drive Like I can't like when I leave. My fingers are swollen from gripping the steering wheel. I ain't going more often. Something wrong with you. Something wrong with you. Something wrong with you.
Speaker 1:Jesus commanded them to wait together. He told them to wait together and they were obedient in that waiting Amen. Waiting is hard, and waiting together can be even harder. Right, we have waited upon the Lord in this building since 2019. We knew God was going to do something greater, but when COVID hit and we couldn't meet here, that was a scary time for us. It was scary and we believed that God would be doing something great and we waited and we waited and we waited Together. We waited and God has shown up. He has done something so amazing in this place and when I look around and I see the numbers are down and I count the tithe and offering and I see that the money is down, I think to myself but, god, it is much more than any of those things. Yeah, we need people in seats in order to get people saved right. Yeah, we need money to keep the air on because, you know, holly likes it at 62. We have to be able to do those things. But at the end of the day, if we are growing in Christ, that is the ultimate goal, right? And that comes with unity. It does not come with division. They didn't leave. They didn't leave, they didn't scatter. They stayed together, trusting in the promise that Jesus had made to them.
Speaker 1:The greatest blessing often doesn't come in activity, it comes in inactivity, right, like? I get people who ask me this question all the time. Pastor Michael, why don't we do our own VBS? Tried, that once, ended miserably. Pastor Michael, why don't we have more things for kids to do? Great, that sounds like you want to volunteer, right, the reason I don't worry about programs right now, because without volunteers, programs don't exist and they can't survive. So I create it today and I kill it tomorrow, right? And then, well, pastor Michael just pulled the rug out from under. That You're right.
Speaker 1:You know, every year, when we do the Easter egg hunt, I think to myself how are we going to pull this off? How are we going to pull this? And every year we do it. That is the one time that I will pour my blood, sweat and tears into a program, because it is not for you, it is for our community. Right, listen, if you guys don't want to show up, we won't do it. If you want to show up, we'll do it.
Speaker 1:The problem is you ask for things. Well, you know, we want to do a prayer walk, we want to do this, we want to do that, we want to have all of these things. Why can't we do more? And then you don't show up to it? What's the point? Why do we do a Wednesday night church service? If nobody comes to church on Wednesday night, the same six, eight, ten people show up on Wednesday. What's the point? Listen, those people are saved. We know they're saved. They read their Bible. We know what they're getting from it right Now. We love it because it's a time to be refilled.
Speaker 1:But, guys, those of us who do not have a solid foundation, who are not in unity inside you, should be here if the doors are open, because, I'm telling you, you need Jesus. Probably more than other people need Jesus. Right, because you aren't connected, more than other people need Jesus, right, because you aren't connected, you aren't unified with the body. I don't understand why we fight so much for programs but then we don't show up for them. What's the point? What is the point? Unity does not come from simply creating a program. Unity does not come from simply saying I'll try to be there. Unity comes from showing up, sitting next to people, knowing that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, praying for the building, praying for the community, praying for the people around you.
Speaker 1:Yesterday, alyssa and I got to pray for a lady. I don't know her, I don't know for a lady. I don't know her, I don't know who she is, I don't know where she attends church. It didn't matter to me, because if you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, then I'm not going to sing it, but I want to sing it. I want to sing it. Come on, come on, nat just re-recorded it. Natalie. Come on, come on, nat just re-recorded it. Natalie just re-recorded it. I call Natalie Grant Nat. Her and I are like that. Her and I are like that. We're friends like that. Help me out here. What? Give me a break? This is a re-recorded song. It's the Russ Taft song from the 90s. You're my brother, you're my sister, so take me by the hand. Anybody know that one. Together we will work until he comes.
Speaker 1:If you attended here when Florence was here, you know that song, because every person in this room would have to stand up and hold hands and we'd sway back and forth like the who's out in Newville and we would just seriously, it was all the time and I'm telling you, she would look at you and go and you would know that you were all holding hands that Sunday afternoon. Right, it's the truth. But she believed that. She believed that if you were a blood-bought child of the Almighty, then you were part of the family. Division wasn't something that was normal in church then. Division is normal now because the enemy knows that it works. Right.
Speaker 1:Sometimes people feel like they're not important. They feel like they haven't. Oh well, so-and-so doesn't talk to me, and that person doesn't like me? Oh, listen, it doesn't matter. You are all together as one family in the name of Jesus Christ, amen, okay. Acts 2.14. Lord, have mercy. No, no, no, guys, I got a speed run now, sorry. Thank you, jesus. Acts 2.6.
Speaker 1:When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. Now, this is the point in which everybody is speaking in tongues. Right, all of the people in the upper room are speaking in tongues and there are people gathering around because they can hear this noise and they're completely shocked because the people who are speaking these languages are languages that they shouldn't know. They shouldn't understand them, but they do. That is when you know that the Spirit is truly moving, amen.
Speaker 1:Okay, unity does not mean uniformity. Right, the spirit will not erase our differences when we become one in Christ. Right, we will all have different opinions, we will all have different viewpoints, we will all have different lives, we will see things and do things differently, but at the end of the day, those things become second best to who Christ has called us to be in the body. Amen. So you may not believe exactly what I believe, but I'm going to give you lots of grace and mercy, because it doesn't matter, so long as you know that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. Right Now, there are some things I'm going to tell you.
Speaker 1:Hey, that's not right, that's not doctrinally sound opinion. Right, but that's what we're called to do, that's what pastors are called to do. Now, I'm not going to try to shove something down your throat. Hey, listen, you don't want to believe that. You need to pray about it. Allow God to change your heart. Allow God to change your mind.
Speaker 1:Right, there are some people who get so worked up over politics. Listen, listen, jesus Christ is always going to be king. Nothing else matters to me. Listen, bad things are going to happen in this world. Bad things are going to happen before good things happen. Right? They say it always gets darkest just before you turn on the lights. Sounds like a crazy phrase, but it's true. But when that light switch flips on and we all get called to glory, none of this matters. I focus on what matters, and that's Jesus Christ. Now the world is gonna get dark, it's gonna get ugly, it's gonna be heated and people are gonna hate each other, but the body of Christ has no place in that world. We don't need to hate one another.
Speaker 1:Now my question is is why aren't we dragging more people from that darkness into the light? Why aren't we going out into the world and saying hey, I got a question for you. Do you know Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior? And when the world looks at you like you're crazy, know that you have planted a seed and that there is hope for that person to receive Jesus Christ. Amen for that person to receive Jesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 1:Unity breeds courage. Isolation does not. So when we separate ourselves from the body, we do not gain courage. Now, courage is something that we need to understand as a very important part of being a Christian and being a disciple and being able to preach the gospel to the world. Amen.
Speaker 1:Because how many of you are confident enough in your relationship with Christ that you will say to somebody do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Not a lot of us, right, because we might do it, but we're gonna do it to the people that we've talked to a hundred times. You're not gonna do it to a complete stranger, right? Let me tell you we need to find courage, and that courage can be found in the body. Togetherness was just the beginning, because I want to remind you that as they were together, they started to step out and proclaim the name of Jesus. So when we're together, that's wonderful, but we also have to learn how to separate, conquer and divide. Divide and conquer. That's the right way to say that Divide and conquer.
Speaker 1:Because when Pastor Holly takes table, talk to Cadice. She's not taking this whole body with her right. This body's not showing up and able to talk to Cadice. She's not taking this whole body with her right. This body's not showing up and able to support her. She goes out into the wilderness almost on her own. She's got a team of people, but she's the one front and center preaching the gospel in some of the darkest places, right? Are we praying for her in that?
Speaker 1:Now, when I ask you about prayer, I'm being serious, I'm not. Do you think about Pastor Holly and her caddis event? That's not what I'm asking you. I think about Pastor Holly all the time and all of the things that she does. You know, all of these young women's walks and these prayer things that she's doing at the gazebo. She has you guys at her house, she has you here at the church, everywhere. There isn't an area of this community that she hasn't covered, right? And when you think about her and all of those ministries, do you truly pray for her and those ministries? When Pastor Roger and I are here working in the building, are you praying for that project? And what I mean is are you, lord, bless their hands, bless the project, lord, let your will be done. Because if you're not doing that, are you Lord, bless their hands, bless the project, lord, let your will be done. Because if you're not doing that, if you're like oh yeah, I forgot Pastor Holly's having that thing tonight. Hope that goes well. That means nothing, because that tells me that you have not unified yourself with the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Prayer above all else. See, when we go out into the wilderness, we have to be willing to pray for one another at a distance. Those prayers know no bounds. Right, I can stand here and pray for Dale, and that's just as good as if I'm laying hands on Dale, it's all the same. But at the end of the day, we have to understand that we can't just sit around hoping that things go well. Same. But at the end of the day, we have to understand that we can't just sit around hoping that things go well, thinking that well, I'm sure somebody will show up.
Speaker 1:Unity comes in prayer. Unity comes in showing up. Unity comes in being present in other people's lives. Amen. Pentecost should remind us of this. If nothing else, god meets us in community, amen. So when we are together and we are connected, god will show up. He'll show up in your prayer closet, he'll show up at your house, he'll show up wherever you are. But I'm telling you, god will show up in community when we walk out of worship, when I step into the pulpit on a Sunday morning and the Spirit is moving so mightily. Listen, god is doing something great. We have to be willing to embrace it. It happens because we are here as a body of believers, knowing that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Amen, let's pray together. Thank you, jesus.
Speaker 1:Father, I thank you and I praise you for your presence in this place.
Speaker 1:Lord, that you are moving in such a mighty way today in the lives of the people who are sitting here, that, lord, that you are moving in such a mighty way today in the lives of the people who are sitting here, that, lord, as you move, they're finding themselves unified and connected to the people sitting next to them.
Speaker 1:Father, not through flesh and blood, father, not through words that are spoken, but through prayer and through connection in the bloodline of Jesus Christ. Lord, we know that your blood runs through our veins and if that's the case, then I am related to each and every person sitting in this room. And that, lord, I find great peace in knowing that these people are praying for me and that I'm able to pray for them, that my words can reach your throne and make everlasting change in their lives, can reach your throne and make everlasting change in their lives. Father, you show up in every way possible. It is our responsibility to embrace that. Move in our lives, touch our hearts, give us a boldness to declare the mighty name of Jesus. We thank you and we praise you. We give you honor and glory in the mighty name of Jesus, and the church says Amen.