What Is Your Church Known For?

you can be seated those of you standing and welcome to god's house i think that probably at the outset i was a couple minutes late forgive me but welcome all of our guests that are here we thank you for taking the time to be here on this wednesday night in april and we certainly are still rejoicing in all that took place this past sunday if you'll recall either from being here or seeing it online that our pastor preached about being near the cross and then our youth pastor preached about who's following you and particularly noted signs and wonders follow them that believe and in our service we had two ladies sister karen lindsay and amber williford testified to the healing touch of the lord in

that very service and we thank god for that we don't want to forget quickly what he has done and if i'm not mistaken i think i saw a post where sister caron uh even added to that as she was going home something else kind of dawned on her that she was feeling better in another area so we thank god for that and certainly give the lord all of the praise for what he's done and we look forward to our time together this evening in the book of revelation and i'm not going to preach from it but in the first couple of chapters there are seven churches of asia that are addressed and for each one there's an opening statement i know your works this is

the lord speaking to the church i know your works and then specific details about each of them uh were mentioned as an example ephesus was known in part as a church that had lost its first love philadelphia was commended for being a church that had kept the word and not denied the name but each church was known for something of those seven churches and whether it was good or whether it was bad each of them had a reputation and so i'm going to bring to you this thought it's under the umbrella of our yearly theme be the church but i'm going to bring this theme and pose the question what is your church known for what is your church known for i guess tonight we

might be able to say it's known for remodeling right we apologize for the mess pardon our progress i think mcdonald says when they're building a new one but we hope to have this wrapped up in the next week or so all that they're doing getting some permanent lighting so we don't have these temporary ones in my eyes you've heard me complain right but they're going to get that all fixed up but thank you for working with us we'd rather than put pews back for one service we thought we could arrange things as we did tonight but what is your church known for i'm going to read from the book of acts and this is a little lengthier passage so you can remain seated if it's

your custom to stand for the reading of the opening scripture but acts 11 and then beginning at verse 19 going to read now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about stephen traveled as far as venice and cyprus and antioch preaching the word to none but unto the jews only and some of them were men of cyprus and cyrene which when they were come to antioch spake unto the grecians preaching the lord jesus so of course christians were gentiles and the hand of the lord was with them and a great number believed and turned unto the lord so there was conversions and growth in this new church verse 22 then tidings of these things came into the ears of the church was

which was at jerusalem and they sent forth barnabas that he should go as far as antioch who when he came and had seen the grace of god was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the lord for he was a good man and full of the holy ghost and of faith and much people was added unto the church then departed barnabas to tarsus for to seek saul if you remember this was saul or later be known as paul his conversion had taken place but he went back to tarsus barnabas went to get him verse 26 and when he had found him he brought him onto antioch and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves

with the church and taught much people and the disciples were called christians first in antioch and may god add his blessing to the reading of his word it is from this passage that i want to explore the question what is your church known for the bible here doesn't describe the actions or the events of the antioch church but clearly from these last couple of verses that i read whatever they were doing in the course of the year that barnabas and saul were there it reminded people of jesus christ to the point that as it says here the members of this church became known as christians or known as people who were followers of one jesus christ and word presumably spread through the town and i

guess it was the the popular question have you heard about the christians have you heard about what's going on with these followers of christ and i use that as a little backdrop to ask what comes to mind when someone mentions the apostolic pentecostal church and maybe you've had experience with this talking to neighbors co-workers what are we known for or what do people think of it i suppose some might say we're known for being fanatics uh maybe a bit beside ourselves in some degree a bit narrow-minded or even impassioned because of our lifestyle and our manner of worship it's not something that they encounter with every religious group and many times one of the things that comes to mind with any pentecostal church and certainly

this one is the experience of speaking in tongues and we as a church certainly have no problem with that it is a genuine experience biblically based and it's not something that we conjure up or work up it's a genuine power from on high and so we're not at all ashamed of that but we do like to say there is a whole lot more to serving the lord than just speaking in tongues amen there's a lot more to our experience that is an experience it's a part of it but a whole lot more to it and the antioch church here in acts 11 became known as the christian assembly because of what the individuals were doing because of what was happening in the church and i

believe the same is true for our local assembly reputations are influential they have far-reaching effect for example a bad reputation can sound a death knell for a neighborhood if it's not kept up or if it's in a bad school district it can sound a death knell for a restaurant on the other hand a good reputation to use those same examples can bring a boom to a neighborhood increase residence because of the good area the property values the school district and that and the same thing is true for a restaurant if there's a good reputation word of mouth travels and it can have a boom in business it's like i guess yogi berra used to say it's so crowded there nobody goes there anymore but that

happens because of a good reputation and reputations not only are influential far-reaching but they are also revealing they tell something about people and places i was thinking just take nations as a quick illustration and their inhabitants a lot of times they're known for certain characteristics and i can pick on the british a little bit because according to my ancestry.com dna i'm about two-thirds or so my ancestors came from that region so i can talk a little about them freely i think and they have a reputation for being the people of a stiff upper lip reserve you know the keep calm carry on slogan comes from there they're known for their understatement versus great exaggeration and it's just a characteristic that you kind of associate with

people of that part of the world cities are known by various symbols and we know here in st louis the arch identifies us quite quickly there's also ted drews and if you're in a real barn you could go to fritz's but i don't recommend it necessarily i thought i'd get more of a boo or something and then if you like oh there's brian on the front row in his plush chair you're a fritz man god help you oh that's the last time he'll be leading service horse church no i'm kidding but uh even the uh if you like italian food we know to go to the hill right i grew up close to targo park and never even knew growing up all those years that

the hill was not too far down king's highway there but a tremendous place and just just different things you get the idea that cities are known for and in religious circles uh various denominations are known for particular things i remember years ago when i was a youth pastor i went to an interdenominational training session it was an all-day affair and uh throughout the day i wasn't i've grown up in the united pentecostal church so i'm not really too much aware of the different stereotypes and inside jokes of different denominations but all through the day these leaders of the interdenominational team there they were pulling out different uh denominations and making their jokes you know they had something to say about the baptist and it was

all in good fun everybody was laughing methodists and so forth but i found it interesting as the day went on they were going to show a a movie a little film clip and to show you how many years ago it was a 16 millimeter projector so that tells you everything you need to know there but it wouldn't work and they had two or three guys up there trying to fiddle with it and finally the group leader spoke up and said do we have any pentecostals here that could come lay hands on it and so we had a reputation i thought you know wait i was kind of a backhanded compliment he was having a little fun but that's what we were known for the power

of god and denominations or different groups respond differently when the spirit moves them in worship leonard sweet made some observations about different denominations he said when the spirit moves upon them in worship and i thought i'd share just a few of these he says if you're lutheran you don't show anything but you move your toes in rhythm with the music lest anyone find out you really do have a beat he also said the american america or christian reform church you don't do anything with your hands a roman catholic you make the sign of the cross if you're episcopalian you thrust your hands nervously in your pockets if you're non-denominational you clap if you are westland or evangelical free you cry if you're nazarene you laugh

and again i can't verify a lot of this if your seventh day adventist you sway slightly with eyes shut if you're united methodist you extend your hands palm upward but arms never above the waistline don't ask me about that uh united church of christ you stand direct with arms crossed and face scowled now if you're watching online you're from that faith this isn't my list okay so please don't be upset with me i'm just reading these uh presbyterian you place one hand under the chin in the thinker pose i guess they're known for their thinking what else oh if you're southern baptist you'll hold hands with people across the aisle if you're american baptists you tap your feet if you are a salvation army you

lift your hearts to god and your hand to whoever is around you again if you're a salvation army watching live stream i'm not picking on you this is just a list i got if you're a quaker you get real quiet if you're church of god in anderson indiana you raise one hand to the heavens as if you're hailing a bus and i found this interesting he said if you're pentecostal you lift both hands high above the head and make the wave what but i think the uh we get the idea we're demonstrative and so he was just having a little bit of fun with those observations but what should an apostolic church be known for when we consider it for ourselves and for others looking

in i guess the list is long maybe even a little bit debatable although probably not highly but let's look at a couple of categories that i've chosen from scripture one churches that are christ-like or followers of christ are known for the principles of god romans chapter 3 verses 1 and 2 read what advantage then hath the jew or what prophet is there of circumcision much every way chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of god and so in these verses we're told that israel were given for safe keeping for preservation and for handing on to the coming generations the oracles of god and what is meant by that is the statements the principles or the truth of god these are the divine words

of god the utterances of god given to the people of israel and we know that they were his chosen people it started formally with moses in the law but even back to abraham when he was called out of ur the counties was told that all families of the earth would be blessed through him and his lineage and so they were given these precepts these oracles of god and it was up to them to preserve them to proclaim them to pass them on to generation to generation and much as israel had the oracles of god in the old testament the church in the new testament the body of christ it has the truth of god for today but it's so vital that we as a church

proclaim it and of course before we proclaim it i think you would agree we need to live it we don't want to be saying something and not doing it ourselves so we do need to live that truth and then proclaim that truth and even preserve it in the sense that uh when we come into the church and we're first generation and we have a family and their second and third generations we want to make sure that that doctrine that teaching that truth is handed on to the next generation without being deluded and so apc just to put it this way should be known as those folks that follow the truth those who love it those who cherish it those who hold on to it and

to just to pull out a few of the teachings of scripture when folks talk of apc they should be and i trust they are they should be talking about that bible-believing bunch to put it one way i hope that folks recognize that we put everything on god's word our rest all of our teachings all of our activities everything on god's word we trust that it is the inspired word of god all of the bible it's true it's complete it's infallible and the scripture says the word of the lord is forever settled and that is the belief of the apostolic and that's what we should be known for not people who just uh you know take some of the scriptures that seem to be convenient and

forget the others or not those that live it sometimes and not other times but those who trust that god's word is his actual word to us and that we hold on to it reportedly these words were found in the fly leaf of an old bible the author is unknown but i think it sums up the sentiment of scripture for us here's what it read this book talking about the bible contains the mind of god the state of man the way of salvation the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers its doctrines are holy its precepts binding its history's true and its decisions immutable or unchanging it contains light to direct you food to support you and comfort to cheer you is a mind of

wealth a source of health and a world of pleasure it is the traveler's map the pilgrim staff the pilot's compass the soldier's sword and the christian's charter here in god's word the bible heaven is open and the gates of hell disclosed christ is its grand subject our good is its design and the glory of god its end it is given to you in this life will be opened at the judgment and will stand forever and i add to that reading the words of jesus heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away so apc should be known and i believe we are those folks with faith in god's unchanging word and i think that's important for us to note because again

not casting dispersions as persians i should say but there are some religions that don't hold on to all of god's word and that it being infallible and that it being the inspired word of god so when folks talk about us i trust they're talking about that bible-believing bunch they should also when they talk about us be talking about that one god group and i don't mean to come across in a condescending way especially if you're on live stream and if you've not explored the revelation of god and jesus christ i encourage you to do some study on your own get some books and of course read the bible first and foremost and find out about it we don't mean to be condescending but at the

same time it's a badge of honor as far as i'm concerned to have the revelation of the mighty god in christ i'm thankful for it that it's been revealed to us deuteronomy says to israel hero israel the lord our god is one lord and it's vital that we recognize that truth did not change when the new testament came along and that of course is where there is some confusion the revelation of the mighty god in christ there is one god period and there's not a co-equal or coexistent persons in the godhead there was a point in time when god gave his son when he was begotten and that word of course speaks of mary uh conceiving in her womb as a virgin by being overshadowed

by the power of the holy spirit and of course as the angel said that holy thing born of her is the son of god and so let there be no confusion about that and i i realize that that belief puts us in the minority especially in protestantism and as well even in some pentecostal circles it puts us in the minority but that doesn't make it untrue just because we might have a minority view about who god is and so i hope that we're known as that one god group and again we don't want to throw it in anybody's face and be haughty about it but thank god it's been revealed to us because it is the truth of god's word and then when folks talk

about apc they should be talking about those that believe that there's salvation in none other except jesus christ if you want to be saved we can tell you how to be saved jesus christ he is the answer the only means of salvation and i might check onto that with this new trim you can't see the baptistry these days but it's behind there the only valid way to be baptized is in the name of jesus christ that's the only way and we want to be known as the people who hold on to that truth and believe that he's coming back again one day for those who believe his word and when folks talk about apc they should also be talking about that godly group those people

that are holy righteous not in and of themselves but folks that are pursuing it and certainly that includes folks that are honest and trustworthy i think we'll agree to this that holiness is not only how we appear and dress but being honest and trustworthy and ethical and not lying those kinds of things are certainly very much a part of it and i trust that we're known as a group of people pursuing that and known as those who follow the principles of god and adhere to his word and then christ-like churches or churches with followers of christ in them are known for this the purpose of god if you remember when i read that passage in acts 11 it said that barnabas when he arrived exhorted

them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the lord in other words he was saying stick with him do his will carry out god's purpose and that begs the question just what is god's purpose well luke chapter 19 verse 10 quotes jesus as saying for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost with that one statement jesus sums up the reason for his birth and announces that it's the reason for his life on earth it's his mission his purpose was to seek and to save that which was lost and so the next question then is how that applies to us and for that i point you to second corinthians uh chapter 5 and verses 19

and 20. the scripture says to wit that god was in christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation and then verse 20 now then we are ambassadors for christ as though god did beseech you by us we pray you and christ's dead be reconciled to god so our purpose as the church is the same as that of jesus christ the reconciliation of god and man jesus christ is the one that does it but we are the ones that proclaim that purpose or that message as verse 20 says we're ambassadors for christ and what does an ambassador do i guess if you looked it up on the google as i like to say

you could find a whole host of things that an ambassador does for a country but i've picked out a couple things in particular very broad and basic one an ambassador represents his or her country they are the representative in that foreign country of their home country and then also that ambassador speaks for his or her country he delivers she delivers messages of importance from the united states president or maybe laws that were passed by congress and they speak and as a messenger he or she expresses the will of the country the laws that have been passed or the edict or the i shouldn't say edict but the executive orders that might have been handed by the president and they should do that deliver the message

emphatically as if it were their own in other words they they come saying i'm speaking on behalf of the united states of america this is how it is whether it's a foreign policy situation or something else and both of those aspects apply to the church an ambassador represents his or her country speaks for his or her country the same is true for the church as ambassadors of christ we do represent him amen it's christ in us the hope of glory we're christ-like we're christians we're followers of christ and so we do represent him and that's why it's vital that we're uh not just quote unquote living for god in these four walls but we live our lives for him and as such we represent him

and then we also uh speak for him particularly when it comes to sharing the gospel of jesus christ we are declaring his plan of salvation when we share the gospel it's not something that we've dreamed up right it's not a plan that a a board of mem committee members uh concocted but the bible plan of salvation is god's not ours and so when we share it we have to number one present it exactly like it is we can't add to or take away and we do need to present it convincingly like this is the way jesus christ is the way the truth and the life period no man cometh unto the father except by him and so we have to remember that when you're explaining

the plan of salvation to someone you're doing so on god's behalf and there are lots of ways to do that you can of course quote the bible read the bible to them but you could also share a personal testimony it could be argued that that might be one of the most powerful ways to share the gospel just tell that co-worker or tell that family member that isn't in the church what happened to you just go through the account and i'm sure you could summarize it so it's not a a real real long story or life story but you could summarize the high points and tell how god drew you uh in his mercy and you came to repentance and were baptized filled with the spirit

and that personal testimony would be sharing the gospel plan but also letting them know that this is not something that i've just heard about i've experienced it it's happened to me we could do that by handing someone a tract and i think the usher is the last wednesday for sure and maybe this wednesday too have had tracks literature to hand to you and they've done a good job i think we're just about out of it if i'm not mistaken but that's possible or a bible study that might be a very good way to explain the gospel and even more things about scripture by having a bible study for several days or several weeks depending on how you approach it and my whole point is that

when you do those things it's not stuff you're making up it's god's word it's god's plan you're speaking for him and so apc should be known as ambassadors of christ for fulfilling god's purpose for letting folks know that he wants to save everybody what did the apostle peter write he would not he's not willing that any should come to repentance but all i should say he wants all to come to repentance not wanting any to perish and so that's his plan and that therefore is what we want as well and one of the special duties of an ambassador i read this is to help people to acquire citizenship and i think this could be said that we should be known as the church that has

this notion that god wants everybody to go to heaven we're not picking losers and winners are we we're not discriminating in any way but he wants everybody to go to heaven everybody to be set free from sin everybody to be redeemed and it's true tonight that we can't save anybody but we can point them to the savior can we not we can point them to the one who can change their life and transformed us and again we can do that in a very convincing way by saying it happened to me this isn't just something i'm hearing second or third hand but it happened to me and let me tell you about it and again i know they have to accept or reject it believe it

or not believe it but at least they're convinced of this you're convinced of it at least they're convinced that you know what you have is genuine and so we should be known as those people with the word of reconciliation or the gospel however you want to put it we should be known as ambassadors for christ and in wrapping up this uh these few simple thoughts uh in antioch going back to their acts chapter 11 the disciples were first called christians because they were christ-like or followers of christ they were acting and talking in such a way representing or just living their lives in such a way and behaving in such a way that it reminded them of what they had heard about this one called

jesus or maybe even had seen for themselves and so they were called christians there first at antioch and i think you'll agree with this also that in 2021 i i trust that apc would be known as christians followers of jesus christ those that have a heart for him known for his principles that is those who take his word at face value cling to it declare it live it and pass it on and also as those who are known for the purpose of god that is letting everybody know that he is the savior and he's ready and willing to save everybody and i know i think i can speak for us at this point mostly i can't but i think i can say this for the

church we don't consider ourselves perfect uh we don't consider ourselves having arrived in fact if there's anybody observing on the live stream tonight you're not from our church i hope that you haven't got the wrong impression we don't think that we've arrived we're trying though and we feel like we're making some progress and we feel like we've got the bible to stand on and we're not just dreaming these things up that we live our lives accordingly but god being our helper we want to be known as a church that is filled with followers of christ so what are we known for well i suppose others might have to answer that but you know we can influence the conclusion of others by the way we live

by the way we conduct ourselves and by the things that we share ultimately we're going to have to answer to god ourselves but i trust that others will come to the conclusion like they did of those in antioch those are followers of christ those those people are just like jesus everything we've heard about him everything we've read about him they are lining up and living like that and again we know they're not perfect because they're human but they are doing their best to pursue christ to follow him and to do his will and so in closing i'm going to invite you to pray this prayer that god would help us to truly and this is our theme for the year truly be the church but

i'll even say it this way let's pray that god would help us be the apostolic and everything that that contains or represents pray that god helps us be the pentecostal and again everything that that word contains or implies or brings the apostolic pentecostal church called out believers from darkness into light church of christians or followers of christ and of course you don't have to pray in those exact words but i'm just taking the the literal name of our assembly and asking you to make that a prayer tonight that god would help us be the apostolic pentecostal church believers who are following jesus christ and doing his work and his will those living by his principles and those doing their best to fulfill his purpose and

if you are willing to spend a few moments in prayer doing that i invite you to stand not that you can't pray seated but uh once you've done that would you just stretch a hand toward heaven and let's spend a few moments asking god to help us be the church to be known as the apostolic pentecostal church and all that means lord jesus thank you so much first of all that you have redeemed us we know it's only your grace by grace are we saved through faith and that not of ourselves it is the gift of god and we rejoice in your grace we rejoice in your salvation and we thank you lord for your word that guides us as the psalmist said it's a

light to our path a lamp to our feet and help us lord to walk in that light and i know as humans we can make mistakes and stray and and have things go awry with our decisions and that type of thing but by your mercy again and by your grace again help us to make the corrections and to continue living our lives for you help us lord to be known as those who proclaim the gospel of jesus christ to truly be the church the apostolic church the pentecostal church the church full of followers of christ i pray that you would guide us and direct us and we love meeting here we love worshiping you here we love seeing lives affected by your power and presence

as we worship but we know it's going beyond these four walls as well we ask in the name of jesus that you would help us to be lights and darkness to co-workers and friends and family members as we live our lives until you come again help us we ask do you do these things in the precious name of jesus christ for the glory of god and everyone said amen you may recall hopefully you do recall from last wednesday when our pastor preached uh he presented what he's been terming a field evangelism initiative and it basically involves praying for our community our neighborhoods those around us pastors ask that either on your way to church or on your way home from church that you just take

a little detour and drive through a neighborhood and pray for people there and even do that in your own neighborhoods and we've got the apartment complex that has been targeted and i don't mean that word in a bad way but uh been set up pulled apart for special focused prayer and a community around us here and so i'm going to ask you for the second part of this prayer just to again pray for our surrounding neighborhoods people and uh i know we probably can't all meet every individual but we know good and well god can draw by his spirit can he not and we can have people pulled in this direction and they might not even understand fully why just something kind of move them

to show up at that church and see what's going on over there and so let's pray to that end that god would draw people on themselves and that we'd have the chance to declare this glorious gospel to them lord thank you so much that you have placed us here even in this physical location but above all the church of jesus christ but help us lord as this local assembly in this community and neighborhood to do our best we pray that you would draw folks unto yourself let your spirit go before us let hearts be hungry and open to you and i pray lord that you would lead us to those hungry people help us to look for and even make opportunities to talk with folks

to tell them about you and your glorious plan of salvation let us be able to share what you can do and how you can change and transform a person's life rescuing us from sin because of your blood shed on the cross i pray that you remember all of these areas immediately around us and then certainly the neighborhoods represented by the people gathered here tonight you know precisely where we all live and different parts of the metro area i ask you in jesus name that you would move on those communities as well and let there be growth and progress in revival and i ask you to do these things in the precious name of jesus christ for the glory of god and once more everybody said

amen would you be willing to offer thanksgiving for god's salvation in your life and thank him amen amen so what is our church known for uh in summary the apostolic pentecostal church is just that and you can of course drill down the details as you meet people