I Have A Dream
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Derrel Strickland
This week's message from Pastor Tom was all about dreaming dreams from God and living in harmony as a church community. Pastor Tom shared a fun story about a Valentine's Day misunderstanding, linked it to Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous dream, and reminded us that dreams rooted in God's desires are the most powerful. We explored the idea that our dreams need to be big, as Christ's love and mission to save souls is enormous. Pastor Tom highlighted the value of being grounded in the Word of God, like the early church in Acts 2, and called for a vibrant community that reaches out, values each person, and lives in fellowship like a family. The takeaway? Let's dream big with God, hunger for His Word, and be a church that everyone calls family!
Additional Info
The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.
God’s Dream for Us
Inspiration often strikes during the most unexpected moments, and sometimes, a storm serves as a potent reminder of our desires for spiritual renewal. As we anticipate opportunities for growth and connection, we must reflect on our dreams and the divine purpose behind them.
The Power of a Dream
Dreams are powerful motivators. They can inspire individuals and transform communities. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously shared his dream of equality and respect for all humanity. In this spirit, we too can embrace dreams that invite us to work toward a greater purpose—a community rooted in love, kindness, and unity.
From Personal Dreams to Godly Visions
A critical distinction exists between dreams that stem from our own ambitions and those inspired by God. While personal aspirations often reflect our desires for comfort or recognition, God’s dreams lead us to align with His will. Scripture assures us that God places desires in our hearts that are aligned with His purpose.
The Outpouring of the Spirit
The vision for our community can be rooted in the promise found in Acts 2:17, which states that in the last days, God will pour out His Spirit on all people. This invitation extends to every individual, regardless of background or status. It encourages us to both dream and act in faith, anticipating significant transformation within our lives and community.
The Purpose of Pentecost
Understanding the purpose of Pentecost reveals that it was designed not merely for emotional experiences or spiritual gifts, but primarily for the salvation of souls. The early church grew rapidly because its members embraced this mission whole-heartedly, as illustrated in Acts 2:41, where three thousand were added in a single day.
God’s Heart for People
At the core of our mission is the understanding that God is deeply passionate about people. This love propels us to reach out to those who feel lost or marginalized in our communities. The parables of Luke 15 illustrate how valuable every single person is to God, prompting us to cultivate an environment where everyone feels welcome and appreciated.
The Importance of Community and Family
The sense of fellowship (in the greeek, koinonia), extends beyond casual encounters to deep, meaningful relationships. Encouraging bonds rooted in shared faith allow us to support and uplift each other through challenges and joys alike. Being a part of the family of God means embracing one another through solid commitments, mutual encouragement, and collective purpose.
Hunger for God’s Word
A thriving spiritual community is characterized by a collective hunger for God’s Word. This devotion is vital for growth and maturity in faith. Staying deeply rooted in Scripture allows us to discern truth and encourages us to share the incredible message of God’s love and salvation with others.
Accepting All
Embracing diversity within our church makes us richer. God desires us to welcome individuals from all walks of life. By fostering an inclusive environment, marked by genuine friendships and service to others, we strengthen our community’s heartbeat—a true reflection of Jesus’ love.
Conclusion: Living the Dream Together
In envisioning a vibrant church community, we commit to fulfilling God's calling. We recognize that dreams formed in unity can inspire extraordinary realities. Working together, engaging with God’s Word, and living out the love Christ exemplified can lead to monumental changes in our lives and the world around us. As we navigate the complexities of community and relationship, let us collectively seek God’s direction, stepping forward in faith to fulfill the dreams He has placed in our hearts.
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Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.
1. What dreams are you holding in your heart?
Consider whether they align with your personal desires or God's desires.
2. How do you interpret Pastor Tom's analogy of spiritual hunger with newborns?
Discuss how we can cultivate our spiritual appetite for God's word.
3. Pastor Tom talked about being a ‘family closer than family’.
How can you contribute to making our church a home for everyone?
4. Reflect on the diversity and inclusion aspect in church.
How can we ensure that every visitor feels welcome regardless of their background?
5. Share a dream for your relationship with God or for our community.
How can we support each other in making these dreams become realities?
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The Historical Context of Acts 2:17
In Pastor Tom's sermon, he refers to the scripture from Acts 2:17. This verse is part of Peter's speech during Pentecost, a pivotal moment in early Christian history. Pentecost, coming 50 days after Easter, was originally a Jewish festival known as the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, celebrating the harvest and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
During Peter's speech in Acts, he quotes the prophet Joel, signaling the fulfillment of prophetic writings and emphasizing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for all people, breaking traditional barriers of age, gender, and social status.
The cultural context for this scripture is the Roman Empire, known for its vast expanse, diverse populations, and a complex social hierarchy. Tensions between Roman rule and Jewish autonomy existed, influencing the dynamics in which early Christians lived. The early church in Acts, including the Apostles who were devout Jews, had just experienced Jesus' ascension and were waiting in Jerusalem, as Jesus had instructed.
This period marks the birth of the Christian church, a community driven by the apostles' teachings, exemplifying the unity and sharing described in Pastor Tom’s sermon—values deeply rooted in the socio-religious environment of the time.
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Introduction
Hello kids! Today, we're going to talk about something really special that Pastor Tom shared with us. He talked about dreams and how God wants us to love each other. Let's break it down into three important points that we can remember!
Point 1: Dreams from God
Pastor Tom told us that everyone has dreams. Some dreams are just things we make up in our heads, like wanting to be a superhero or a famous athlete. But God also gives us dreams that are even bigger! These are dreams that help us care for each other and love others, just like Jesus does.
Activity:
Think about a great dream you have that could help others. Maybe you want to start a pet rescue, or create a big mural that everyone in your neighborhood can enjoy! Write it down or draw a picture of it.
Point 2: Love Each Other
Did you know that God loves everyone? Pastor Tom reminded us that we should love others too, especially those who might feel lonely or left out. He wants us to treat everyone with kindness and respect, just like we would like to be treated.
Activity:
Let's practice being kind! Think of someone you can show love to this week. Maybe you could share your toys, say something nice, or include someone in your game. Try to do this and see how it makes that person feel!
Point 3: Be the Best Family
Pastor Tom wants our church to be a place where everyone feels like family. That means we should all be friendly and help each other just like a big family does. When we help each other, we can all grow together and have fun!
Activity:
This week, let’s do something fun together as a family! Whether it’s a game night, cooking something special, or just sharing stories, let’s make sure we spend time together and appreciate one another. Remember, being family means sticking together!
Conclusion
Just like Pastor Tom shared, we can dream big dreams, love each other, and be one big happy family! Let’s remember that we can do amazing things when we follow God’s dreams for us.
Closing Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for giving us dreams and for loving us so much. Help us to share that love with others and to be kind just like Jesus. We want to be a family that supports each other! Amen.
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It's good to see all of you in the house of the Lord. This morning, we were singing that song about the storm coming, and right in the middle of my sermon, in the first service, all of a sudden, I started hearing this all over the roof. I could hear the grumbling of the thunder out there, and I could imagine the lightning. And then all of a sudden, it was just pouring on top of this roof, and I was like, wow, I would love the spirit of God to pour out on us like that.
That's my desire. That's my prayer.
Heard a story this week about a young couple, and they were gathered around their kitchen table early one morning, and it's just a couple of days before Valentine's Day. And the wife's got this big grin on her face, and. And the husband's like, what's going on? And the wife said, I had the craziest dream. You're not gonna believe this.
But she said, I dreamed that for Valentine's Day, which, by the way, is just a couple of days away. You bought me a $35,000 Rolex.
The husband had kind of a fearful look in his eye, but she asked him, what do you think that means? And he says, well, I think you're gonna find out later tonight. Well, she got all excited. She's thinking, I'm gonna get myself a Rolex. I mean, she went to work.
She had the biggest smile on her face. She couldn't wait to get back. And so she came home a little early, but her husband beat her home. And when she got there, on that same kitchen table was a gift box. And she was trying to be coy, you know, but she finally said to her husband, can I open the gift box?
And he said, sure, you can open the gift box anytime. So she runs over, and it was one of those that just. So she takes the lid off, and she looks inside, and there's a book. And she pulls out the book, and the title is how to interpret your dreams.
By the way, gentlemen, that is not a recommendation for this coming Valentine's Day. The reason I told that little story was because this weekend is Martin Luther King or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday weekend tomorrow. There's gonna be some activities going on.
Yesterday, Wildwood had a bunch of things going on. And the reason we celebrate this particular holiday is because he had a dream. And he's known as the one who had that I have a dream message, sermon, word for the nation, whatever we want to call it. And in that message that he gave the nation, in that message in which he inspired the nation, he actually communicated that man is created equal and women. But more than that, he had a dream that someday we'd all treat each other as equals, that we would treat each other with love and kindness and respect.
And I think some of that dream has been accomplished. But simultaneously, a dream is never completely clear. It's not clear until it graduates into vision territory. And so I'm springboarding off of his phrase I have a dream because I have a dream. I have a dream for why I came to Oxford, Florida.
And it's a bit hazy, to be honest. I don't have full clarity at all. And I'm gonna need a congregation, a group of men and women who are gonna help me clarify what it is that God wants us to do in this community. Because my dream is extremely big. And I think what he has dreamt for, for us is even larger than anything we can imagine.
Who can say Amen? Because we serve a miracle, working God. We serve a God who is so far beyond what we think that we limit him too often now, when it comes to dreams, dreams come from two primary sources. Dreams can come from your own imagination. And there's nothing wrong with these dreams, okay?
I mean, I remember being a little kid and I dreamed of playing in the NBA. And then reality hit. When I turned about 16 or 17, I knew I'd never be good enough to play. Not because I didn't have the dream. I had the dream.
I even had the passion. But if you have the dream and the passion and not the talent, it's called a hobby, okay? It's not called a career. And so I recognized early on I had to quit going that direction. I have a dream today.
I want to be a billionaire. I would love. Wouldn't you want to be a billionaire? I would love to be a billionaire. Just think how much I could give to you, Lord.
That's what we all tell him, right? But he knows our hearts, okay? He knows that a lot of our human dreams come out of a selfish ambition. We want something for ourselves. We want life to be easy.
We want to be recognized through our dream. That's why I would prefer my source for my dreams to be God. The Bible says that God gives us the desires of our hearts. And we interpret that sometimes as he gives us what we want. No, he literally gives us his holy desires.
He gives us desires that align with the word of God. And so when I'm thinking about dreaming, I wanna go to the book of the Bible. I wanna read the Scriptures. Because the same way the Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures, he can use the Scriptures to inspire our dreams. Who can say Amen?
And so that's where I'm going. And that's where we started last week when we were actually looking at Acts, chapter two. And the key verse from last week is verse 17. And this is what it says. It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of my spirit on all flesh.
That means everyone here has this opportunity. And on your sons and your daughters, they shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. What I love about this is everyone is included. It doesn't matter if you're young or old.
It doesn't matter if you're a man or woman. It doesn't matter if you're a has been or you're really you are it right now. You're a part of the elite. God has something for each and every one of us. And so when we ended the message last week, we had only spoken through Joel's prophecy.
So it was from the book of Joel. Peter quoted it. And then over the next 15 verses, Peter starts sharing with us the heart of God. Peter starts sharing that he wanted the people to know Jesus Christ, so he shared Jesus life, his death, his resurrection. And the author of Acts summarizes his message with these words and with many other words.
Peter testified and exhorted the people, saying, be Satan saved from this perverse generation. Pastor, what are you saying? I'm telling you what the purpose of Pentecost is. The purpose of Pentecost is not to have an emotional experience, although that might happen. The purpose of Pentecost is not to be slain in the Spirit, although that might happen.
The purpose of Pentecost is not for you to speak in other tongues, although that should happen. The purpose of Pentecost is for people to get saved who can say Amen. That's the whole purpose. Acts chapter two boils it down to this summary statement. Be saved from this perverse generation.
And then he says in verse 41, then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And that day, about 3,000 souls were added to the church. What, 3,000 in one day? 3,000 in maybe a 30 minute, 40 minute sermon. Do you think that could happen today?
Oh, man, you guys are getting me excited here. Okay, because with that response, I have no doubt that next week there's gonna be 10 more people here, and the week after there's gonna be another 10 more people. By the end of the year, we could have 5, 500 more people in this church. And here's my question to you. Is that what you really want?
Because you know, the lines to the bathroom are going to be longer.
I'm serious, though. Having babies is not convenient. Having babies is a lot of work. Having babies is hard. And yet God says it is his heart.
The heart of God is pictured in this great multiplication of souls. They started the day with 120. They ended the day with over 3,000. And so I have a dream, and I dream of a church that understands the heart, the passion, the heartbeat of God. And God has a passion for people, Say people.
He has a passion for people. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that He. He gave his only begotten Son. I mean, he gave his very best gift. He wanted to make sure that anybody who called upon the name of Jesus Christ could be saved.
But sometimes, because we see John 3:16 in the background of a football game, we might be a little, I don't know, hardened by that verse. Do you realize that there's a word in there, it could have said, for God loved the world, but it says, for God so loved the world. An expression of passion, an expression of more than you could imagine. An expression that Paul takes it this way in Ephesians, chapter 3, verse 19, that he prays that you may be able to comprehend with all those things what is the width and the length and the depth and the height of God's love. And to know this love that literally passes understanding, passes knowledge, you can't completely comprehend it.
You can just receive it. You can just make it a part of what your life is. And so In John chapter 15, Jesus tells three stories about three lost things, because he wants to give us a picture as to the heart of God. So Luke 15:1 begins like this. Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him to hear him.
And the Pharisees and the scribes complained, please don't be a Pharisee. Don't complain when dirty, unsanctified people come into the body of Christ. Don't complain when someone with a ripped T shirt or Holy Jeans walks into the building because they might not know anything at all. And they're looking for somebody like Jesus. We can't be scribes, we can't be Pharisees.
We can't complain about people coming to the church. Jesus. This is what they accused him of, this man. Jesus receives sinners and eats with them. Wow.
That's their complaint. I mean, this word receives is the whole key to these first two verses. Receives means literally that he accepts them. He doesn't require change before getting to know them. He accepts them right where they're at.
He welcomes them as if they were coming over to his house for dinner. He includes them as his friend, as a personal companion. And you have to understand that in that day, this was highly unacceptable. In that day, it was all about the haves and the have nots. It was about the insiders and the outsiders and the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
They had the inside track. Not only were they Jews, but they were religious leaders. They had arrived in their minds and in their estimation. But they completely missed the Messiah. The Messiah's standing right there.
And you know who's showing up? It's the tax collectors, it's the sinners, it's the prostitutes, it's gentiles, it's the ugly, it's the untouchable, it's even the children. You guys understand that kids property back then, they had zero value at all. The disciples actually wanted to shoo the children away when they wanted to be in the presence of Jesus. When parents wanted their kids to be hands laid on them and blessed, the disciples were saying, get away, get away.
And Jesus said, no, suffer the little children to come unto me, because if you're not like one of these kids, you're not even getting through the door. Wait a minute. If Jesus was that interested in children, shouldn't we. I'm just telling you, my greatest fear is that there'll be a church filled with old timers who think they've paid their dues. That's a fear of mine.
I don't want to be 65, 70, 75, 80 years of age and think, you know what? I had my kids, I did my time. I don't need to help any longer. We all have a part to play in this. I'm telling you.
Maybe you're not physically able, then you can pray. Maybe you don't have the patience any longer you can give. There are a million different ways to help our children's ministry and our youth ministry. Who can say, amen I desire to have the most thriving children's and youth ministry in the entire area in the name of Jesus Christ. That's what I believe God is placing on our hearts.
Why? Because Jesus loved their humility, their curiosity, and their innocence. Kids are innocent. I heard a story about little Zachary who was three years old. And Zachary was brushing his teeth when his mom came on in.
And right when mom walked in the door, the toothbrush flipped out of his hand and landed in the toilet. And so he rushes down, grabs it, and he's about to put that thing back in his mouth, and his mom grabs his wrist and says, oh, no, no, no, no. If the toothbrush falls in there, we have to throw it into the garbage. And so they actually walked out to the kitchen, put it in a garbage pail, placed it there. She got out a new toothbrush for him, and he started brushing his teeth and finished everything up.
About 20 minutes later, she's in the kitchen making the meal when all of a sudden, Zachary comes running through the kitchen and he has his mother's toothbrush. And his mom goes, what are you doing? And he says, well, I dropped this in the toilet about a week ago, and I thought we'd throw it away now.
Remember, I said innocent, but I also said messy earlier on. Raising babies, even in the body of Christ, is messy. It's challenging. It's difficult at times. And we need to understand that God loves all people, especially children.
But anyone who doesn't know Christ causes God great pain. I mean, it causes them great pain. And we have to feel that same pain. God wants us to feel it, to understand it, to know it the same way, at least the best that we can. We will never have the greatness or the magnitude of God's heart, but we can start to feel his pulse, feel that heartbeat.
David had a heart after God, the scripture says. And these parables in John chapter 15 teach us that people are lost as a general way of communicating it. That's how God sees him. God has made you and me in the church to be the key to people getting found. We can be a bridge or we can be a barrier.
And what I mean by that is, and I heard this a long time ago, there are two reasons that people don't go to church. Reason number one is they don't know a Christian. Reason number two is that they do know a Christian. There you go. I'm telling you, it's the number one excuse I hear when I'm out going to McDonald's, going to Walmart, and I strike up a conversation, and I invite someone to church.
The number one reason they say no is because of something that happened to them before in the church. Or because of a hypocrite neighbor who says he's a Christian. Or because of someone who has a Christian fish on the back of their car and they flipped them off. Yeah, I'm just telling you, that's one of the devil's greatest weapons. But I want you to know that there is no greater joy than seeing someone to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
So in Las Vegas, when Robin and I pastored there, we were there for almost 25 years, and we had a Christian school. And just because it's called Christian school, how many of you know that doesn't mean all the kids or all the parents are Christians. All right? It's a school. Kids make mistakes, do things.
And so a friend of mine who wasn't a follower of Christ started sending his daughter there just because we played basketball together on a regular basis. And so she was in elementary school back then, and. And today she's 21 years of age. Well, I got a text from her this past Monday. Listen to what it says.
Hey, Pastor Tom, this is Skylar. I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am to you and the Christian school. I've recently been born again through Jesus, and he has truly transformed my entire life. Thank you for such an amazing foundation. You truly were planting and watering seeds a long time ago.
And now I've come to accept Christ as my Savior. Can you celebrate with me right now? Can you celebrate with me? I'm just telling you that that is one of the greatest text messages I have ever received in my entire life. But the reason that God values or wants or has passion for lost people is how much he values them.
The lost sheep parable shows us the value of just one. Okay, so when you say I can only invite one person to church, that's probably your job right there. Just invite that one. Don't worry about the millions. Focus on the one.
All the wealth in the world doesn't come close to the value of one soul. Psalm 49. 8. For a soul is far too precious to be ransomed by mere earthly wealth. There's not enough of it in all the earth to buy eternal life for just one soul.
The lost coin explains why we're so valuable. And again, you have to do some research. You have to understand Jewish customs and what's going on. But that woman probably lost a coin that was a part of a marriage veil of some Kind. It was a gift that she probably received with 10 coins.
Coins in it, probably silver coins, a lot like this one that I have right here. And I don't know if we can get a picture on that or not. It's kind of corroded a little bit. But this is called a Liberty Head silver dollar, all right? And this is from 1879.
So this is over 150 years old. So how many Understand, this is probably worth more than a dollar, right? Because of how old it is and its rarity and all of that kind of stuff. And so that's pretty valuable. Well, back then, all the coins were minted with the image of Caesar or the image of the king.
You might remember Jesus was confronted and he said, whose image or likeness is on this coin? And they said, well, it's Caesar's. And he said, give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. But what this parable is communicating is that the image of God is stamped on you. The image of the king is literally stamped on every single human being the same way Caesar's image was stamped on a silver coin.
And because of that, you have a value that surpasses all of the wealth in the entire world. And I got on the webpage yesterday, and there was something that told me that there is $500 trillion of wealth in the world. So now you can tell somebody, I'm worth more than 500 trillion, because you are worth more than all that wealth. Number two, I dream of a church that hungers for God's word. Verse 42 in Acts, chapter 2 says this.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in the breaking of bread and in prayer. So I want to focus on that phrase, apostles doctrine, because when we hear the word doctrine, oftentimes we think of theology classes or university. What they're talking about there is just the stories and the principles that Jesus taught. That is what the apostles taught, everything that they learned from Jesus. So you and I have the apostles doctrine with us.
It's the 27 books of the New Testament are the apostles doctrine. It simply means teaching. And the Scripture says they were devoted to it. They were devoted to it so much that they wanted to make sure that everybody heard and knew what Jesus said, what he believed, what he taught them. So here's my question.
Are you still hungry for God's Word, or have you ever been hungry for God's Word? Because if there's no appetite, there will be no feeding upon. If you're not hungry for the Word or if you filled up your stomach, spiritually speaking, with the cotton candy and the junk food of the world, there will be no appetite for what's really important. And we're talking about God's word. So I want you to be as hungry as a newborn baby.
I had, I didn't have them. My wife had four children and I saw each of them born and within the first couple of hours, usually within the first hour, this is what they looked like.
I mean, they were born hungry. They were born with this instinct to get nutrition, to find a source that they could feed upon. Christians are born again hungry. Have you ever seen a new Christian? And they can't get enough.
They want more and more and more and more. And somewhere along the line it peters out. Somewhere along the line they're not moving forward any longer. And it may be because the church doesn't have a proper process. You see, back then the disciples understood, okay, okay, we've got to keep them continuously in the word of God.
We've got to teach them what Jesus taught us. But there's more to it than this. We can also take Jesus teachings and now we can interpret the Old Testament scriptures. So now we've got 66 books rather than the 27 that they're working with. So there's an expansion of material.
They start writing down all of their own teachings. They start creating and developing leadership teams, deacons, elders, bishops, all of these start becoming parts of the church. We can do the exact same thing. Because there's an inherent problem with babies and that is they will eat anything, right? They put anything in their mouths.
We've got to be on guard. Most of the epistles were written to ward off heresies in the scriptural teachings. They were constantly coming up against the Gnostics and other groups who were adding things to the gospel. Paul would say, no additives, no heresies to the milk, no artificial sweeteners, no easy watered down theology. Because I want these babies to grow up into thriving children.
I want them to be like when I was in third and fourth grade, I would come home cause we were close. I would walk to school and walk home. And when I'd walk home, my mom would always have something for me to eat. There'd be some snacks on the shelf, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And I wasn't gonna wait till 5 or 6 o'clock for dinner.
I was a growing boy when I went into junior high and high school and started playing sports. I started burning so many calories, I started growing so much during those years that I was constantly eating food. I would eat, and we'd go to McDonald's back then, and I'd have two Big Macs and two fries and a chocolate shake. And it's like I couldn't eat enough because I needed to be refueled again and again and again. Now listen to this.
God teaches the Israelites in the Old Testament, and Jesus shows us in the New Testament that man does not live on bread alone. So what am I communicating? Communicating? Listen to how God frames it in Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verse 3. So God humbled you.
What? So God humbled you, allowing you to hunger. Wait a minute. Why would God purposely, while the Israelites were in the desert, not let them see any food? Because physical hunger should drive us to God.
And as he ministers to us and provides for us, it should teach us that it's more important to hear from God than it is just to fill our stomachs. Because if we hear from God, our stomachs will always be full. Physically speaking, God will take care of our needs. He promises to take care of our needs. But if we get so used to just seeking our needs being met physically and we miss out on the spiritual, we're gonna miss out on what's really, really important.
I mean, think about it. Jesus hadn't eaten for 40 days, and all of a sudden, he's confronted by the devil himself. And the devil said, hey, if you're the son of God, make this stone into some bread. Now here's the question. Could Jesus have made it into bread?
Yeah, he could have done it. So why didn't he? He was hungry. He didn't do it because God had not instructed him to do it yet. God had a word that he still wanted to be communicated.
A truth, not just for Jesus, but for you and I today. And now we know that if we listen to God, he will take care of our physical needs. Because in the end, angels literally ministered to Jesus. The scripture says he still got his needs met, but he got them God's way, not the devil's way. So God was training his people in Israel.
Jesus is training us in the New Testament. And this is the training. Hunger is the best seasoning. Let me say that again. Hunger.
Hunger is the best seasoning. You see, when I come home, a lot of times, Robin will have something made. And I'll go, robin, that is delicious. And she goes, that was not my best. She says, you must really be hungry because hunger is the best seasoning.
Have you noticed that when you're hungry. You don't care what you're eating. You just want to eat. And when it comes to God's word, if there's no hunger, hunger for it. You will probably not do what needs to be done.
Romans 10:17 puts it this way. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. If you want to grow from a baby to a child to a young adult to a mature adult in the scriptures, you've got to regularly allow yourself to hunger for his Word. And that means you might have to turn the TV off. You might have to put down Facebook and Instagram and TikTok and that new communist red note, because all the young people now are going to RedNote, which is TikTok, but from communist China itself.
Okay, listen, 12, 14, 18 hours a day, some of these people are on these things. If you're filled up with technology, I love technology. I mean, this is a new iPad right here. It's making preaching so wonderful. I love technology, but you have to love the Word more.
You have to love the Word more. So I want you to hunger like a mature adult, okay? Hebrews, chapter 5, verses 11 through 14. Famous scriptures. There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don't seem to listen.
Ouch. You've been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's Word. You're like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food for someone who lives on milk, is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. So solid food is for those who are mature, who, through training, have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
See, if you don't understand what's going on here, the writer of Hebrews is just simply writing the church and saying, some of you have been in the church so long, you should be teachers now. But because of hardened hearts, because you take the Word for granted. Maybe laziness, apathy, or maybe you just don't want to rock the boat at all. You love the comfort zone that you're in. You haven't become what God wants you to become.
Listen, whatever you want to be in Christ, you're training for it right now. You're training for it right now. My third dream, and this is just the third one. I've got three more for next week, so make sure and come back. My third dream is this.
I dream of a church that is closer than family. One of the reasons why, you know, this church chose me, you voted for me, right? But you know, I voted for you too. Okay? And one of the reasons I voted for you was because this is the family church for the family of God.
I love the family atmosphere. I love the thinking of family. I love how people feel when they walk in the doors and how hospitable we are and how we embrace strangers when they walk in the door. But I want more of that. And I don't want to just be the family church for the family of God.
I want to be the family church for everybody. I want some tax collectors and sinners walking through the doors. I want some ugly and untouchables walking through the doors. I want people that you regularly wouldn't see in church. I want to see them in the back row, the middle row, the front row.
I just don't care. I just want them here in Jesus name.
Verse 42 in Acts 2 says this and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. We talked about that and fellowship. Who can tell me what's the Greek word for fellowship? Koinonia. Say koinonia.
Koinonia. Man, I wish we could do a deep dive into that word right now. Because sometimes that word is interpreted as tea and cookies. Sometimes it's interpreted as fellowship out in the cafe area where we're drinking a cup of coffee and we think we've had fellowship. Do you understand that this word koinonia is way deeper than that.
This word koinonia is actually interpreted as Communion in First Corinthians, Chapter 10, and I'm talking about the blood in the body of Jesus Christ that is described as koinonia. Do you understand it? In second Corinthians, it is interpreted as a gift that is given to a struggling church. This word has far more depth, far more breadth than just having a cup of coffee with someone that's a part of the church. It means to live day by day in community.
It means to start up one on one relationships that grow into deep, intimate friendships of some kind. So Charlie Brown is talking to Lucy and he says this. I feel lonely and depressed. Lucy says, this is ridiculous. You should be ashamed of yourself, Charlie Brown.
You've got the whole world to live in. There's beauty all around. No man trods this earth alone. We're all in this together. One generation taking up where the other is left off.
Charlie Brown says, you're right, Lucy, you're right. You've made me see things differently. I realize now that I'm a part of this world and I'm not alone. I do have friends. And Lucy says, name just one.
It's funny until you realize how true it is. Did you know people don't have friends anymore? Maybe you don't have any friends anymore. Maybe you don't have these deep intimate friendships that the Bible promises. The Bible communicates 50% of Americans now are considered clinically lonely.
That's one in two. Loneliness can shorten lifespans by at least 15 years. One of our former surgeon generals said that the most common pathetic mythology he encountered in his entire career was loneliness. And what shocked me is the two loneliest groups are the 20 somethings and the teenagers. Why?
Because they're glued to these things. And they should be glued right here, face to face, hand in hand, arm around shoulder. We should be living life together on a regular and consistent basis. That's what God wants. Proverbs 18:24 says, A man who has friends must himself be friendly.
Okay? But he says there's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Now listen, I've heard people preach that that's about Jesus. That is not about Jesus. I just want you to know that does not pertain to Jesus.
And I can prove it to you. Proverbs is common sensical living for everyday people. And it was written before Jesus was on this planet. So you know what he's saying? He's saying, let's see, I'm Solomon.
My dad was David. And David told me stories about his friendship with Jonathan. And Jonathan and David were closer than brothers. And based on the stories that I've heard my dad tell, tell me that you can have a relationship with someone that is so deep and so intimate that you would literally die for that person. That you travel cross country to show up if they need you, that you do whatever's necessary.
The word here, closer than a brother is the same word used to describe what's to happen between a man and a wife. It's the same Hebrew word. It talks about joining together, clinging, cleaving, gluing together. I want to be known as the friendliest church in the world.
We got a ways to go. Okay, we are friendly, but can you imagine them doing a news story on our church? There's this little church in Oxford, Florida, who has become known as the friendliest church in the world. Here's the report that we've got on Oxford assembly of God Church. And they spend three minutes talking about all the things that we're doing in the community and with Our neighbors and with one another.
And at the very end they quote the scripture, they will know they're Christians by their love for one another. That's what the Bible says. And we get all this press coverage not because we need press coverage, but because we're doing something different. I want there to be a group for every person to belong to. More than that, I want them to be liked in that group, known in that group, cared for in that group.
And I want us to go beyond just this is for me, so that I have a friend. I want us to partner together to accomplish something great for God. The word koinonia has a root Greek word. And that root, Greek word literally means to participate in something, to be a partaker of something. In other words, there are no bench warmers in the body of Christ.
Nobody sits on the sidelines. Everyone has a part to play. Who can say amen? That's what this word literally means. It doesn't mean I'm dreaming for myself.
It means together we are team dreaming what it is God wants us to do, that we're gonna be unified, that we are literally going to be appreciative of the differences that are in our midst. You understand how many of you are married? Okay, so you understand differences, right? 46 years worth. 46 years worth.
I mean, that's a miracle in and of itself. Because what is the number one reason for divorce? Irreconcilable differences. I'm here to tell you God made you difference on page purpose. And just so you're not amongst that group of people who believe men and women are the same, they did a study at a preschool.
This was a few years ago. And what they did is they mic'd up the entire playground, okay? And they wanted to hear what was coming out of these kids that were two to five. And this is what they found for the girls. 100% of the sounds that came out of a girl's mouth were recognizable words.
Even when girls were playing by themselves and they were making noises, they were talking to themselves. Now, I understand my wife, but listen. This is what they said about boys. Only 68% of the sounds that came out of a boy's mouth were recognizable. The other sounds were like this.
Boys grunt and make weird noises all the time. Who didn't know that? We all knew that boys and girls are different. And for those sociologists who will say that's because we conditioned them to be that way, Pastor, that's hogwash. It happens in the womb.
You think I'm kidding? They now have scientific proof that within the first couple weeks of development, a hormone called testosterone floods the male brain and it separates the two hemispheres of the brain. Now, my wife says, oh, now I understand my husband. Okay. Literally, men's brains are unwired at that middle area so that we typically are better focused and women typically are better communicators at birth.
Baby girls can make out words and faces. It can take one to two years for a baby boy to do the same thing. Yes, we're slow learners, Robin, but we do catch up. All right, we do catch up. Men and women are different, but God takes those differences.
Psalm 133, verse 1 says, Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. It's like the precious oil upon the head. He's talking about the anointing oil because the anointing oil is made out of a little bit of spice. It's made out of a little bit of resin. It's made out of a little couple of different things.
But all these different things come together and create. Create one beautiful, harmonious smell that can change the atmosphere in Jesus name. That's what we're supposed to be all about. We're supposed to change the atmosphere as we become one. Acts 2:1 says they were in one accord.
We're taught in the Bible that God is three in one. Marriage is two people becoming one. The church is a conglomeration of of churches and people and individuals becoming one. And when we get to that place, we become kin. Are we kin yet?
And the reason I use the word kin is because if I die, they're gonna notify my next of kin. That's right. Kin stands for those people who are the closest of the close, the closest of the family. First. Timothy 3, 14:15 says, I'm writing this to you so that you will know how people should live in the family of God.
All the New Testament is written so that we know how to interrelate with one another. We should have the greatest relationships that anybody in the world has ever seen because we're following the Word. In chapter two of Acts. It says we should break bread together. That means we should go out to lunch, breakfast, dinner.
I am taking opportunities later on this afternoon. Just so you know, if anybody wants to invite me and Robin. We're supposed to pray for one another on a regular basis. We're supposed to be radically generous, not stingy, willing to give the shirt off our backs. We're supposed to hang out every.
Every day. Every day there's somebody in this church who last week, it was my first Sunday, and he comes on up to me and he says, pastor, you're not a stranger. He says, you're just a part of the family. We hadn't met yet and I was like, wow. And the reality is I felt it from my first time that I stepped on your campus back in September.
This didn't feel odd to me. I didn't feel out of place. I felt like I was a part of the family. And I didn't know if I'd get voted in. I didn't know if the board would even invite me.
But even before we had our conversations, I knew I belonged here. I knew that if I lived here, I could go to this church. Even, even if I wasn't the pastor, I felt like Ken. And so in this particular man's honor, I wrote a little song and I'm going to sing it. So I need you.
Thank you. Thank you. Because it's to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies.
It's fitting. I'm glad. I'm glad. So because of his inspiration, encouragement last week, this is what I wrote. Come and listen to a story about a man named Tom.
Born in South Dakota to a midwestern mom Spent his time a thinking bout what he should do and gave his life to Jesus and so should you Christ that is Son of God, King of kings. Well, the first thing you know, Tom's not a millionaire Kin folks said Tom move away from there. Said central Florida's the place you ought to be. So he loaded up the truck and he moved to the city Oxford, that is Sumter county villages too. Now he came to this city to share the gospel news with Jesus Christ within us.
There's no way that we can lose. We're in this thing together trying to defeat all sin. Help me, Jeff. Help me, Jeff. So join with me this morning cause you is my closest kin.
Would you stand with me, please?
I finished that out with cousins in Christ, holy homies and Bible buds.
Is it alright to laugh in church? I think so. But I want to make sure that if there's anybody who wants to join our family today, that we give them an opportunity. What do you think?
So would you bow your heads just for a moment? I just want to give them a little privacy between the Lord and them and me. And you've heard part of the dream that this pastor, this new pastor has for the church. I dream of a church that just loves people. I dream of a church that loves God's word.
And I dream of a Church that loves one another. And if you've never accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, or you feel like you're just a long, long ways away, would you just raise your hand and say, pastor Tom, remember me in prayer? Anybody?
Would you all look up at me right now?
I want salvations to be a Sunday occurrence here.
That's what I'm dreaming. And a few people out there, I couldn't quite tell. Some raised hands and some smiled at me and different things. I'm gonna pray for anyone who might have done that. You don't have to raise your hand.
Everybody understands that, right? You don't have to walk down an aisle. You have to accept Jesus Christ into your heart. So after I'm done praying, Robin and I, some of the pastors, Gator, Annetta, are gonna be up here at the front, just, they're gonna be available. And if you want to share a prayer request of any kind, if you want to tell somebody that you're coming back to Jesus or accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, this is just a time that you can do that in a safe environment.
So let's pray. Heavenly Father, thanks. Thanks for your word. What a great gift it is. What an encouragement and an inspiration to all of our hearts.
And I pray, Father God, that over the next couple of weeks and months, that, that we will just build up our faith and hearing all of these messages, that you will fill us with power and your holy spirit and encourage us to move out and that many will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Father God, if there's anyone here this morning, I pray that they would understand that it simply is found in Romans chapter 10, where you say, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, they will be saved. And so they just have to confess that they're sinners. They just have to confess that their life isn't going the right way. They just have to confess that they want it to go the right way and they want to dedicate their life to the Lord from now on.
That doesn't mean perfect perfection. It just means a course change. It just means instead of going the devil's way, we're going God's way and we're going to do things differently from this day forward under the power and inspiration of God. So, Father God, we dedicate anybody who said yes to you today, into your hands. We bless you.
We encourage them to tell their family to come tell a prayer, partner, Father God, to tell somebody. And I pray, I pray Father God, that this congregation will walk out of these walls just filled with the Holy Spirit, hop in their step. I pray that they'll begin to sense that God is up to something. I pray that they'll begin to hear from God the vision that he's placing in their lives. And I pray, Father God, that we will be a unified church moving forward, transforming this community for Jesus name.
I pray this today. I believe this today in Jesus holy and precious name and together everybody says amen. Amen. God bless you guys.
