Pastor Brad DeLong - Others

you may be seated tonight it's good to be back with you on this wednesday night midweek service as we look to 2022 into the vision of the lord for apc together didn't we have brother river mentioned in such an incredible service this past sunday he mentioned i'm so thankful for cindy who received the baptism of the holy ghost right in the middle of our worship service you know i am ready to give out more and more baptismal and holy ghost certificates we got the paper we're going to print them up we're going to hand them out as much as we can as often as we can which will mean lives changed and touched by the power of god thank the lord for what he did this weekend we just left here full as we made that declaration of now that brother parkey talked about we're going to reach people now we're going to take some territory now and we're going to reap a harvest from our field we're going to do it right now this is part of the essence of what i presented to our leadership team on friday night as we look to the vision of the lord together for the coming year and beyond here at apc if you don't have a handout with our theme if you just lift your hand and someone one of the ushers maybe can help us jared's he's he's on the move i think looks like everyone may have it so we should be good jared's he's ready he's ready to go if you need a handout he'll take care of you

but i presented this theme and that night i was able to cast vision for our mission for this year which is simply the word others the word i want to say others our theme and our mission for 2022 and i'm sure that that leadership team is going to hear a similar presentation here tonight as we recount what the lord is speaking to all of us corporately and i did think about apologizing to those leaders for having to hear some of the same stories and principles and thoughts but brother parkey helped me on saturday morning he said one of the key things he's learned from our general superintendent brother bernard is that he does not have to apologize for repeating things over and over and over again especially things that are critical and important and i believe that this is critical and it is important so he mentioned in in our context he said you know us teachers and preachers we can be pouring over something for weeks and months and we present it one time and expect those who hear it for the first time to get it immediately that is not all that realistic and it leads me to say that you're probably going to be hearing about this theme you are going to be hearing about it quite a bit in the coming weeks and months as we continue this direction in trajectory that we've already been on as a church and therein lies the benefit and the advantage we have as a body and as individuals because as i told several people this week this direction in this mission has already been on our hearts as a church for quite some time especially in the last six months the lord has been lifting our eyes beyond ourselves into the lives of others both those already here at apc and those who aren't here yet but even before that span of time for several years the lord has directed us to our city here in saint louis we've had a focus on our city to the field around us to the people who are in our immediate vicinity as well in fact i would argue that from our beginning the lord has always directed apostolic pentecostal church to others into the field and that field has not been limited to our city limits or our metro area this is who we've been from the beginning and the lord is bringing this to us again once again through this theme in this direction because there are seasons like the one we're in now when the lord just really ramps up that focus he reminds us what it's all about reminds us of our identity and who we are as a church in our mission to others that are around us this is one of those seasons the one we're in now especially after what coveted did to us as a society and as individuals we are in a season in which the lord's reminding us of the mission and the call to others i was telling our leaders the other night that coveted really had an inward effect one that drove us inward into a lot of introspection for many reasons our society and our church family included began to look inward and this did have several benefits how many of you feel like you grew personally during the season of covet i did but it also had a negative effect when people focused so inwardly that they forgot about others they forgot that others would need groceries and toilet paper too they forgot others had needs and health concerns as well there was this universal effect of covet and many shifted to an inward focus which was warranted in some cases but here at apc we came back together and i i feel like the lord began to help us and spur us to lift our eyes again beyond ourselves and to others both inside apc and those outside and i know i'm making a generalized observation but it seemed as though individuals in our church as a whole came out of quarantine after personal growth and introspection and the lord began to shift our focus away from ourselves and toward others and this isn't to say that we were selfish or self-centered during covey but we've experienced a shift last year many of you have recognized it in recent months and we've been more and more compelled by others this was fueled by our bishop's vision for the field and the communities around us that field initiative gave us a singular focus an action point which points to the trajectory and the progression we have already been on as a church and i know i'm taking a little extra time from the outset to talk about that progression and that journey but i think it's important for us to know where we've come from recently and who we've been so that we can know exactly where we're headed and where we're going as a church it's for this reason i told someone i don't believe this theme in the word others is some new revelation or cutting edge direction for apc instead it's just who we are it's where we've been headed for quite some time the difference is that now we are focusing on it all the more and bringing it to the surface as a church and as a body so lord's already been working on me he's been working on each of you on a personal level the word others was first planted in my spirit last february but this direction was already ingrained in my heart and in my mind we were at some district meetings and brother gurley who pastored and served at first church in pearl and he told us he said our entire church mission statement is just simply the word others that word got lodged in my spirit and i began to study and pray and consider along those lines and what i found is that this principle this direction is affirmed in scripture over and over and over again the new testament alone the word others is used a hundred times 59 of those references our commands that teach us how to treat and how to approach and how to relate to others beyond that the examples and the principles of preferring others serving others reaching loving discipling teaching considering praying for giving to forgiving helping looking beyond ourselves to others these examples and these principles are extremely prevalent throughout the bible as a whole and some of you probably have seen some of those verses on the screen or you already had some this past sunday that came to your mind but

i reference in particular philippians chapter 2 and verse 4 on sunday it's our theme verse for the year i want you to think on and focus on the words of these scriptures this should be on your handout you can take a look at it there but don't get too focused on just filling in the blank you probably already know what the words are there they're pretty self-explanatory but i want you to just to let these words sink into your heart therefore if there's any consolation in christ for any comfort of love if any fellowship of the spirit of any affection and mercy fulfill my joy by being like-minded i pray tonight that we would have the spirit of unity and the bond of peace that god would bring us together with this vision having the same love being of one accord of one mind verse 3 let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself let each of you look not only for his own interest but also for the interest of others this was paul's admonition to the church of philippi and also to us the church of 2022 and especially in the midst of a culture that's inundated with self-interest and self-centeredness paul says in lowliness of mine let each of you esteem others is better than yourself new living translation says be humble think of others as being better than yourselves esv says count others as more significant than yourselves and don't look to your own interests church of god but also look to the interests of others don't be too consumed and focus on your own interests but look out for and consider the interest in the lives of others that word esteem in verse 3 refers to exactly what those different translations reference it's a word that can be translated to account to think to consider or to deem so in other words when you think of others think of them consider them count them deem them as higher better or more significant than yourself this command is amplified by that first phrase that same sentence it says in lowliness of mind in humility indeference to others regard or consider others as greater than yourself so there's this implied and stated humility in this verse and i'll admit this is not an easy thing to hear in the stomach what paul's writing he says humble yourself and then consider others being better than you are how many of you does that come naturally oh yeah every day that's how i live do you even consider others as being greater than you are think of their interests and their lives and their needs and not not just your account and think of others as being more important than you are this is the command of scripture this is unquestionably a difficult undertaking but it flows directly out of that lowliness of mind that call to humility paul was talking about dr cindy miller says on your your page there she spoke about that call and its place in scripture in general i was reading this book she has on marriage i didn't expect to find something for our theme here but she's talking about scriptural principles and this one in particular she applies it to marriage this will help us but she applies it to every relationship she said every biblical principle promotes high other esteem in order to do that there must be low or lower self-esteem a higher value should be placed on others than is placed on self hm that's not to say that we should have an extremely low self-esteem that we should walk around with our shoulders slumped we shouldn't think of ourselves falsely or incorrectly but instead the command is to think of others and regard others even more than we do ourselves because the truth is you really can't think more highly of others if you're not willing to decrease yourself it's difficult to consider and think of the interests of others if you're consumed with your own interests and your own needs and your own cares and concerns instead we are committed to considering to contemplate and to think about the interests of others which i believes points to a mindset in a worldview that is others focused bear one another's burdens galatians 6 says and so fulfill the law of christ hebrews 13 and 16 and don't forget to do good and share with others for which such sacrifices god is please let love be without hypocrisy paul says in romans 12 of what's evil cling to what's good be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love in honor giving preference to one another it all points to the fact that we simply need to have in others mindset that's the next blank on your handout we need to have in others mindset we need to make sure our perspective and our worldview allows for and is focused on the needs of others on a daily basis we need to be intentional about others and considering the needs of others and not just on sundays and wednesdays and special events but every day a continual concern for and a consideration of others

this in mind i've been doing some self-assessment recently someone told me a while ago they said don't practice what you preach preach what you practice preach what you're already practicing so i've been doing a little self-assessment because i want to have in others mindset so i've been asking myself some questions recently i want you to consider these questions as well they're they go somewhat like this okay ask yourself do i really consider and prefer others on a regular and daily basis do i consider others more than myself even when i'm beyond the walls of the church do i consider others when i'm looking for the shortest checkout line at schnook's and i cut someone off with my cart to get there that one hits home for me maybe not for you that hits home for me because i got to get out of there am i considering others when i'm driving and they're driving too slowly for my taste do i consider others when they're trying to get in my lane and i can't be inconvenienced enough to let them in anyone there am i looking to others when i get to my house and i rush inside instead of talking to any neighbors i just take off inside do i prefer others on the job at the store on the road in the church or my daily routine in lifestyle do i have that loneliness of mine that paul was talking about the one that lends itself to the concern for and the consideration of others do i prefer others more than i prefer myself

and i had a great chance an opportunity to test this and to get a real-life application moment a couple weeks ago we packed the whole family up on a monday night and we took everyone to olive garden on a monday night we went to olive garden they had to wait on a monday night why you know i should have called ahead we get the kids there we get the family there they check us in and we're all hungry we're ready to get the table wes's hungry meals wes is hangry mila's using me as a personal jungle gym she's climbing on top of me she's running around through there we're ready to get to that table we're ready to get those bread sticks we're ready to get that dipping sauce all the above if you're like me when you get to a restaurant and you get on a wait like this you start watching everyone that comes in the door and you're taking inventory you're like okay they got here at uh seven minutes past us they got a party of two uh willing to make sure that they don't get seated before i do and then okay they got here and you're just watching you're you're making observations and that happened we had a family of two come in and they came in about seven eight minutes after us and then a family of four came in with their kids they came in 10 minutes after us and we're sitting there into my utter shock in dismay they call that table of two and they stand up and i'm thinking what are they doing i was here i thought well maybe there's a two-person table and they call the the four-person table that whole family stands up it was such an egregious mistake that the dad looks at me dad to dad he said wait a second you guys were here before us you should get this table it took everything within me not to say yeah we should instead i said no go ahead and i literally started quoting philippians two and three under my breath you think i'm lying i did in loneliness of mine let each esteem others better than himself and lowliness and mind let each esteem others better than himself prefer others consider others i'm saying prefer others prefer others before is this not where we're living this is where we're all living and on a daily basis we have the opportunity to live this scripture on a daily basis this mindset of others needs to dictate our thoughts and dictate our decisions on a daily and consistent basis we ought to prefer and consider others as being greater than ourselves even when they're taking your table at olive garden and they're eating your sticks we're on a mission for others we have a mindset that is others focus

it's the same mindset jesus had himself he had a mind for and a consideration for others jesus lived for others he loved and cared for others he was others focused he had a mind for others the follow-up to philippians two and four says this and in verse five it's your next blank let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus who being in the form of god did not consider it robbery to be equal with god but he made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bond servant excuse me coming in the likeness of men being found in appearances of man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross and who did he do that for he did it for others he says this himself in matthew 20 and as the son of man didn't come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many if you'll let me insert our theme into that scripture i read it like this the son of man didn't come to be sir but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for others he came for others he died for others he lived for others he served and preferred others he loved and cherished others he went out of his way and he inconvenienced himself for others he led and discipled others he taught and instructed others he sacrificed he poured himself out on behalf of others he was the lamb slain and the propitiation for others he looked to the interests the lies the conditions and the final destinations of others and he did it all for the glory of god and in the name of others jesus was all about others he had another's mindset and i told our leadership team this church is all about him we're just telling you it's all about you but he's all about others so that makes us all about others as well he tells us in john 15 and 12 it's a commandment this is my commandment that you love one another as i have loved you these things i command you verse 17 that you love one another and then he says this in matthew 22 37 said to him you shall love the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind this is the first and great commandment and the second is like it you'll love your neighbor as yourself on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets and you notice there's no restrictions placed on who those others are who those neighbors are in fact jesus called the samaritan their neighbor the one that they would have opposed and hated outright in other words he tells them your neighbor includes someone like the samaritan who is noticeably different from you even someone whose life and lifestyle are directly contrary to you your neighbor is a samaritan who hates your guts and worships differently than you do they fought vehemently over that it includes a person to put in our context who hurt you recently or years ago the one who talks about you behind your back others includes the one who plays their music too loud in your neighborhood or they drive your street too fast as they go down the street includes the man it's on the corner asking for money it includes the person who stole your amazon package last week that one's for me my new toiletry bag i'm supposed to love that person they walked up on my porch and took your neighbor our neighbor is others and with this understanding in mind i summarize the commandments tonight again in terms of our theme and you'll have to excuse the paraphrase but i've been reading this a little differently recently i've just been summarizing these commandments it's on your hand out love the lord and love others love the lord and love your neighbor love others this is the first and great commandment and the second is like it he said one translation says the second is equally as important you shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two hang all the law in the prophets the entire law and the prophets are hanging on these two commandments which means both of them are very important to god love god love others the second is like the first he said the second complements the first the second is inseparable from the first the second in my opinion is a natural byproduct of the first jesus came for others so if you love jesus the natural result is a love for a concern for a consideration of and a preference of others the second can't be separated from the first because the closer you get to jesus the more you love jesus the more you follow jesus the more you get to know him in his heart for others the more concern you have for the things and the people he's concerned about himself i'll just put it to you this way tonight the closer you get to jesus the more love and concern you have for others he gave his life as a ransom for others he came to serve others he came to save and to reach others and matthew 5 says in the same way let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven he had a mindset for others he loved others he loved him so much he died for others including you and me but it says in romans 5 and 8 but god demonstrates his own love toward us others we were others we are others in that while we were yet sinners he died for us and then the addendum john 15 we read earlier it says this is my commandment that you love one another as i love you greater love has no man than this that he would lay down his life for his friends that a man would lay down his life for others that's what he did because he loved others he lived and died for others he loved others and he was on a mission for others not only that i believe his mission was others it didn't just include others it was the son of man he says has come to seek and to save those who are lost that's why i'm here others

and then in john 4 jesus goes out of his way to meet with he goes to find the woman at the well samaria again his neighbor in samaria the disciples are apart why are we doing this why are we going to sumeria what a quandary this is speaks with her changes her life she leaves to tell everyone about jesus and the disciples return to get him to eat something verses 31-35 just give us a snapshot and a picture of the mission jesus was on i love this passage and john 4 31 says in the meantime his disciples urge them saying rabbi eat but he said to them i've got food you don't even know about therefore the disciples said to one another has anyone brought him something to eat what's he talking about this food jesus said to them my food my fulfillment is to do the will of him who sent me to finish his work and what is his work he says do you not say there are still four months and then comes the harvest behold i say do you lift up your eyes look at the fields for already ripe and white for harvest for the park you remind us this weekend keep the mission ahead of you keep the mission in front of you jesus's mission his father's work his continual pursuit is wrapped up in this passage as he goes out of his way to find a wayward samaritan woman at a well in samaria in order to reach her this was his father's work this was his mission this was his pursuit it was simply others to seek and to save others it was to serve others offer himself a ransom for others jesus was on a mission for others and the bible tells us he was motivated and moved by others

i told our leadership team jesus was moved by others and the closer we get to him the more compelled we will be by others as well the closer we get to jesus the more stirred we will be by the plight and the needs of uh the more mood will be by the captivity and the eternity the final destination the depravity of others and the more motivated we will be by the call to others both inside the church and outside the church jesus was moved by others fact in all five instances when the bible says he was moved with compassion or moved in his heart to action it was as he was looking over a crowd of people or looking over lost sheep without a shepherd or looking at someone who was in need of a miracle simply put tonight when jesus was moved in scripture it was because of others that's what moves jesus others i attempted to convey this to our leadership team friday night and then right in the middle of this the holy ghost swept into the room we didn't make it much further after that it was almost as if we got a sense of his heart for others we were compelled and moved for the sake of others we were burdened and concerned with the eternities and the destinies and the needs of others i had a member of our team come up to me afterwards she said as we began to pray over others he said i couldn't even get their names out of my mouth because of the heaviness of the presence of god and the spirit of god his spirit is stirring us towards others and if anything describes my personal sentiment of late is that phrase i just mentioned i feel compelled and moved by others and in feeling so i really believe that i'm more aligned with his heart than i have been at times before i told our leadership team that on a personal level i can honestly say for many years i've i've been concerned with others and i've looked and i've had a passion for others but i almost feel like that passion has been dwarfed by what i've felt here of late as god has stirred our entire church family to others and i mentioned them in particular last february i got so consumed by others in my neighborhood and in my streets and the apartment complexes and the kids that i see all around i had to do something our leadership or our staff was reading a book by osborne a man named osborne he talks about prayer the power of prayer and he said if you'll pray for something for six months every day he said you'll be surprised what happens maybe you won't see a miracle externally but there will be a change internally so i got so moved by others i thought i'm going to pray for this every day just to see what happens i started that last february i continue that to this week and beyond at the time i started praying i had met six of my neighbors most of them in close vicinity to me this last week i counted i've now met over 40 of my neighbors and i don't mean to embarrass him but one of them's here tonight jordan i love you i've been praying for you long before i ever met you we're moved by others stirred by others see those kids riding in the street or see another ambulance take off down burview stirs in my spirit sometimes we can get so numb to others and again coven has done a a number on us that we're so focused okay i gotta make sure my home is settled i gotta see and our homes are pretty much in good shape for the most part and there's other homes that are completely falling apart and shrouded in darkness god's calling us to others

i talked about my neighbor some of you have heard this a couple houses down from me felt like the lord was stirring me to get in connection with him and to get to know him so i i decided to go out and reach out to him and at first i knocked on his door he didn't seem to want anything to do with me and what are you here for you know i invited him over to the house i needed him to help me with something look at something i knew a profession he was in so he came over the house and i got to talking to him he's still a little he didn't want to come in very very far he's a little standoffish but he began to open up to me right then and there he had a family need a pressing need in need of a miracle i didn't know what faith he was i just looked at him i said can i pray for you i'm gonna be praying for you he said please please do that so every night our family would pray this this call to others and compulsion to others ought to cause you to change some routines change the way you get out of your comfort zone a little bit go knock on the door of someone nearby and i felt like you know what i need to get this guy a gift basket i don't know why a gift basket i just felt like i needed to get him a gift basket so i asked sister sarah dennis who puts those together she does a phenomenal job she put it together i brought it over to him i had no idea what religion or faith he was but it turns out the religion that he is when you get them a gift it's a high honor in their faith i had no idea i didn't know how he'd receive it but i gave it to him and he did receive it and everything changed the next day or a couple days later i saw him on the road and i said hey he did one of these he would hey he came over to my house in my living room taking care of some things in our home his son-in-law came and i'm talking to his son-in-law in my in my garage he's talking to me about his baby that's it's on the way and his faith in god and his trust in god and i'm i'm all of a sudden thrust into their lives and i don't know all the what to expect but then i get over to his house he invites me in again another big step and he's talking to me he's got tears in his eyes he's telling me about his background tell me about a story oh god it's just opening doors because he's stirred by who knows the prayers that man has prayed before i ever walked into his house but he's telling me a new friend and neighbor what's going on in his life last time i saw him was actually today i stopped by and went over and talked to him and he's sharing his life with me and he's sharing he's about to be a grandpa and i'm just thinking man i'm so thankful somewhere along the way god got a hold of me put me in the life of others and my male lady i told the story of telling him myself jenny we got her a gift card for christmas she gave us a little car and i put it on my fridge as soon as i read that card i thought jenny she's on my list now i was on the phone with a friend i'm talking to him and i see the mail truck going by so there's jenny i said hold on and i start running after the mail truck out in the street i get up to it it's not jenny it's a man with fear in his eyes i said where's jenny i'm running he said oh she's she's not on today i said okay is she coming back you know i'm seriously running and he just guns it jordan's looking out the window like what is this guy doing we ought to be moved by others maybe we're not chasing a mail truck i am but others ought to move me out of where i am i'm praying and believing that this word here is more than a word on a screen to us tonight but something would get down deep in our spirit that would compel us out of our comfort zone out of our routine out of whatever right we may be stuck in that we would see others as we go i met a young man named aidan at subway the other day i left praying for aiden i saw a lady at walmart the other day she's sitting uh getting in her car next to me and she's singing fill me up till i overflow i said that's a good song i love tasha cobb oh that's a good one that's a good one i'm praying for her as i'm leaving god it's been stirring me on behalf of others and i'm believing i'm not the only one here but the stories and the testimonies i've heard tell me otherwise god has been stirring our church we're removed and compelled by others

in light of his example his love and concern for others i've been wondering and questioning myself along these lines of late i've been asking myself it's on your page what would my life look like if it was lived entirely on behalf of others maybe a little more to the point what would my life look like if i cared about others as much as jesus cares about them well the colin kressman asked a similar question in our graduation service he said if we said what if we purposed every moment of our lives to be about others and then he said isn't this what jesus did and if he did it i need to do it now he's jesus but his example compels us this is a captivating thought and question it's been intensified in my mind of late i've thought about this theme and prayed over this and bishop gave me a quote several months ago i read it on sunday but i'll read it to you again it read like this it said the church is one of the only entities that does not exist for itself instead it exists for the sake of others and this is compelling especially when you consider who the church is we just make it practical and personal tonight i do not exist for myself i exist for him and for others sister amber said like this a couple months ago i am here for him and i'm here for others and brother gurley in our session in our small group session shared his personal mindset he said this is the way i think about it i'm third jesus first other second i'm third love the lord your god love your neighbors as you would yourself i'm third i exist for the sake of others and i obviously exist to bring him glory as well but i can do that by loving and considering others let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your father who's in heaven by this shall all men know you're my disciples if you have love one for another this is how we can glorify the lord by sharing in his mission for others and the bible is clear that that mission love for others happens within the body and outside the body

this is where we apply it i'm going to spend the last couple minutes talking about the application of this theme in 2022 many of the scriptures i read to you point to unity and serving those within the body of christ although some can be applied hourly as well but galatians 6 says this therefore if we have opportunity or as we have opportunity let us do good to all especially to those who are of the household of faith earlier in the same chapters when paul calls us to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of christ and of course the commandment to love your neighbor it applies to the person who's on your pew as well the addendum to the scripture we read earlier in romans 12 says this in verse 10 be kindly affection to one another with brotherly love in honor giving preference to one another not lagging in diligence fervent in spirit serving the lord rejoicing in hope patient in tribulation continuing steadfastly in prayer distributing to the needs of the saints given to hospitality so this mission for others applies to those who are on your pew already in the body of christ we're called to others that are near us in the church others in our classes others in our connect groups others in our families others outside of our connect groups others outside of our family others praying next to us in the altar as the church of god and followers of jesus christ we are here for others and we're not just here for ourselves we're in a session several years ago but the miller said this to our leaders and it struck me he said when you come to church you are here for others and not just yourself now there's many times when we come to church and we need a word and we need the presence of god we need the peace of god we need the strength of his body we need a blessing but as i walked in the building today i had this thought what if i came to church to be a blessing more than i came to get a blessing what if i came more intent on someone else getting their blessing experience moment in the presence of god receiving the holy ghost for the first time being baptized in his name receiving a healing more than i came to get something for myself what if i came for others and not just for myself and you may be wondering okay what exactly does this look like what are you what are you talking about i'll give you just a couple examples and i'm speaking to some people who have been serving the lord for many years and i i'm not trying to override that but what it looks like it might be serving others every time you come into the house of the lord and even outside it it looks like given to others like all of you have done so faithfully over there it looks like greeting guests and new members whether you're on the connect team or not it looks like going to the altar to pray for someone even when you don't have a need yourself and don't feel compelled for yourself it looks like walking in the doors with this mindset how can i serve others today how can i help today how can i bear someone else's burden today how can i give preference to someone else today can i skewed into the pew so someone can have the end seat can i move up so a guest can sit behind me and they can slide in and be a little more comfortable can i walk the aisles during worship and times of prayer to pray for someone or create an atmosphere where the spirit of god can move freely into service can i show up early whether i'm on the schedule or not and help get the church ready for others what it looks like is being compelled by others being on a mission for others having a mindset that prefers others so i will do good to all paul says especially those of the household of faith in doing so i'll also make sure that i don't neglect those who are not yet in the household of faith we're on a mission for others that mission includes the person on your pew but it also includes the one who hasn't walked in the building yet and they haven't experienced his glory and his presence and his power just yet on a mission to others in the field and in particular this call to the field seems to be the one that is ringing the loudest here at apc is we lift our eyes to others our leaders experienced that friday night as the holy ghost entered the room the lord spoke to us through a message in tongues about reaching god is so focused and fixated on others and i believe each of you are feeling that sense as well and i felt it in recent days and months as we just aligned our hearts and minds with his this call to lift our eyes to the fields for their right with harvest it's echoing in our hearts and in our church as a whole that mission that call to others it's encapsulated in one word it's just others

i've heard several stories recently i want to share one or two depending on my time sister chris you can come help me out i've heard so many god is god's working on us as a church he's working on individuals one of the stories came to me sunday but jason lindsay came up to me started telling me he'd been stirred by if you know him you know he has an others mindset he's on a mission for others every sunday and every not just sundays every day he serves at the post office in cedar hill missouri he told me sunday with a posture of humility he said that he's known all throughout the land of cedar hill he's a legend he said when he's out making his rounds he's intentional about others and he said every person that i see even if i only get a couple seconds with them i make sure to tell every person i say hey god bless you god bless sometimes we're so timid to say things like that i don't know if i've ever had someone say i don't want him to he said it's almost become a game and cedar hill they'll try to say it to him first he'll come by and say god bless you and then try to get in first because they know he's going to tell him the point is he he's been intentional about others in the short time that he's been there he's turned that post office in that community upside down he had a lady come to her and she said i like when you talk to me about god she said i want you to be my pastor you may be the only pastor she meets maybe i can't go to every workplace but i don't have to thank god every family gathering i got on their facebook page you was telling me about it i found some comments about jason on the cedar hills facebook page we adore our postman jason adore in all caps shout out to the carrier who handles graham road he's one of the best postmen we've ever had and they said i believe you mean jason he's a marine veteran the other one says he's a good worker he doesn't get the credit he deserves last one i read today he said i just want to say jason my mailman is the best ever so friendly so polite that's all carry on she said this is on a page with 11 000 plus members of the community and it points to the fact that one apostolic on a mission for others can change a community one christ follower on another's mission can impact hundreds thousands of others one person is intentional about others can turn a town upside down we have a call to others and i could share all kinds of other stories i'm going to tell you one more then we'll stand and pray [name redacted] this is my favorite 13. started a p7 club with several students from apc and students from other churches for home school students a p7 bible club they do it on zoom and despite the fact that students are really checked out on zoom they're done with zoom she came and told me she said we've got 27 seven of those are from apostolic churches the rest of them are unchurched they don't go to one of our churches they go they don't some of them don't go to any church and they're generally in our bible they're they're getting on the hungry for god after a wednesday night she came over here standing right over here and i said 27 i said if you're teaching one person a bible study that's remarkable 27 that's incredible she said it's 57. she told me she said we've had up to 60 on our calls and they're so hungry she said they're texting saying what do you all believe and what's what's this scripture mean and what about this she said that her and the other leaders are getting together early to pray this is 13 year olds getting together early to pray and they're strategizing and they're thinking how can we reach this one how can we they're in two different states in two different countries they got kids in mexico that are chiming in so hungry for the word of god ah we are on a mission for others oh and that 13 year old back in your service it's stirring my heart and compelling me to do better i got to teach a bible study i got to reach someone i got to serve better here at apc i'm on a mission for others

i feel god's help with just staying with me right now i wonder if you just lift your hands and begin to pray there are some others that have been on your mind all night would you call their name out before the lord would you call on his name speak his name over those others now i wonder if you just settle in your mind and your spirit they're on my list i'm going to help him i'm going to serve him i'm going to reach him i'm going to do whatever i can i'm going to be moved by others oh can we take a moment here and lift our voices and let the lord seal this in our hearts i wonder if some neighbors uh some leaders right now some apostolics who are in their community will lift their voice right now and god help me to reach my neighbors help me to reach my friends help me to reach my unsaved loved ones and i pray it helped me to be a servant to those around me that i would serve those who are on the pew next to me that i would have this mind the same mind that you have that i in loneliness of mine would esteem others better than myself i need your help to reach and to help and to serve and to be about others to be about others the lord spoke to us in that message in tongues friday night he said don't be afraid don't be afraid timid or fearful if all you get out is god bless you you have no idea what that could do for someone's day god bless you all you get out hey i'm praying for you that may be the first time in someone's life and this may be hard to understand that may be the first time in someone's life that someone's ever told them to pray in form that's the kind of world and culture we're living in we heard a story about a nine-year-old girl several years ago she was talking to one of our young ladies they said something about jesus and she said who's jesus they are so desperate for light that you don't have to shine all that much of it for them to see something i feel god stirring us on behalf of others i want us to pray over this year 2022 over our church family that as a unit that we would keep each other accountable that we would serve one another this is critical as well that we'd serve one another and that god would help us to reach and to serve with you would you maybe if there's someone nearby you're comfortable linking up with would you pray together right now over our church family as a whole would you link up with someone and can we pray lord i thank you for apostolic pentecostal church i thank you for elders men and women of god who have served others their entire lives i thank you for the call admission others it's nothing new tonight but you're stirring us again you're lighting a fire and us a king o god i pray you'd help us lord to serve one another to give to one another to prefer one another to be united with one another so that we can reach others we can reach those beyond these walls we can reach our community and our neighbors our friends co-workers and unsaved loved ones help us lord to be motivated and moved like you are by others lord those who are nearby us and those lord who are far off those we don't even know their name yet but they've been calling out to you they've been crying out to you and you've heard their prayers and you're calling us to them we call on you and ask for your help in jesus name

i told our team the other night i recognize the faithful people and saints of god who i'm speaking to that many of you have served others long before i was around i feel like the lord is just reigniting some things in us churning some things getting us fixated and focused on others the mission for others and i pray that this word i mentioned it would be more than a theme but it would be a mission and every day we'd wake up thinking how can i help someone else today god's going to help us and he already is i thank the lord for this mission that we're on 2022 we're going to be the church to do that by reaching others