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Rookie Mistakes Series: #4 Groundwork (Part B)

Cross Reference Radio / Pastor Rick Gaston
The Cross Radio
January 8, 2020 6:00 am

Rookie Mistakes Series: #4 Groundwork (Part B)

Cross Reference Radio / Pastor Rick Gaston

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January 8, 2020 6:00 am

Pastor Rick Gaston; Rookie Mistakes Series: #4 Groundwork (Acts 2:42)

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The question I have when I read that yes brother, let me have joy from you and the Lord refresh my heart in the Lord. My been a friend was refresh the heart of another friend, one of those sharp toothed critics the nose out of white cell verbal raids on other people and hit them criticize them anytime I give a compliment.

I give to other insults with it. You know some people like that. It would just kill him you wish it would just kill him to give a compliment. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through a series called rookie mistakes. Please stay with us after today's message here.

More information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching today. Pastor Rick will continue teaching through the book of acts chapter 2. His message called groundwork Matthew 28 again teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. He supersedes Moses in Isaiah.

He doesn't throw them out. He just says I'm over all of them what they said.

Plus what I said over what they said you want to understand what Isaiah meant Isaiah 53 you look at the cross of Jesus Christ. Nobody can explain it without that he was wounded for our transgressions bruise for Alice's chastisement for our peace was upon him by his stripes we are made whole and so many other Old Testament verses you can apply to no human being except Christ. So, in John 17 is to sanctify them, set them aside.

Sanctify them by your truth.

Your word is truth, so when the apostle says they continued steadfastly in the face of all opposition and the apostles doctrine that is the truth that Jesus is talking sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. And when you put it in writing, it becomes the Bible Scripture and is going to take the spirit of God for us to withstand the fiery darts that come in a multitude of ways. Experience must always be tested and filtered through doctrine not doctrine by experience. We don't think we'll have felted brother yet all of it doesn't match the Scripture you got it from hell. I don't care what you went through what you experienced the great delusion is is going to come in a way that is never been people are already messed up in their head when the even now have Christians fussing about.

While evolution might be no is not it's not God created Adam out of the dirt did not evolve from just going to walk it back here 50 billion years ago. Evolution did not exist and we know it and those who are drinking the Kool-Aid are abandoning the doctrine scientists do lie not all of them but they do lie some of these guys the same ones were telling us the world was flat. I mean, that's it did not always get a right to still get something from God allows them to see into things.

It's amazing is incredible but it's not enough to still avail their well I didn't mean to go, we should respect the scientists will we be without Tyler. I appreciate these people but I don't get my doctrine from them, no matter how I feel I have a headache and not well we come next to fellowship.

Unfortunately, some who need to hear this on here because I don't believe fellowship is time spent with God's people. It's time spent among the righteous, it's righteous companionship. It is come to be known in the Greek the Queen and the other that we have this in common. Christ Jesus. We recognize that he is holy and high and self existent and all the things that belong to deity and sovereignty. Sovereignty belongs to deity, and we are not yet. He loves us. I have colleague.

Another pastor I don't get to use the word colic. That's why I put in the mine bullet point colleague makes me sound distinguished anyway. So he calls me up and become gets right to the point tells me things that this is not the struggling with with three things. It was really thing for.

I told him lying is now five that's okay so I said the first is really struggling with gratitude and I said thank you I'm not and I did explain that and I said I share with him.

You say you know a few months where you let them talk and he talked a long time you think I could talk. She has some of the other pastors anyway.

They talk and it was very good, is probably one of the richest conversations we've ever had. After he finished nice keep notes when I'm on the phone with anyone pretty much as it was told about the gratitude. As I reached a point in my life as a Christian pastor all these years, decades, and just you, Lord, I'm not.

I'm not getting this crap attitude right I need you to help me. Thank you the right way and I think God appreciates that. I'm still working on it but I'm not lost sight of it for a for a moment when I say for my food.

Thank you Lord. Well, I think most of us mean every word of what is got to be more to it and if you serve the Lord.

You'll find out there's got to be more to it and there is wealthy continued with the second point gratitude to the struggle gratitude we swap notes on that both felt better and then the next one was silence on speaking to me anymore. So when I got to my turn to talk us opinion telling me, telling me just animated. After that one going through this for the last couple years.

This incredible guy would just speak to me on top. Now, he still speaks to me in the pulpit and in my study time and I told him that and he said yes me to but when I getting this conversation we used always have about the same age of age better than him. I'm just home and no I think a humble opinion helps you out could use some help. There from a humble person but anyway so that was a homerun to and then the last one he cities I struggle with mercy believes having a good thing going on in his life, which would make you say I can see what here's struggling with this one humbly and serious. Syria tries humble as I know how to be, which really isn't much. I haven't struggled with this when I'm when someone is repented of managed and so far watch after service on Patrick. I thought Ray punch this guy out nevermind mercy.

So on that one as we on your own. See theology is right. We understand these items always got a cut through them. Nonetheless, the only way we going to do that is by continuing steadfastly through the apostles doctrine and the fellowship and this was fellowship. This was fellowship that we can't get anywhere else. He and I and you probably have similar. I hope you have someone in your life that can give you a bit of fellowship you can't find anywhere made you got more than one that's good. I have more than what just happened to be at that time. This particular one listen to Philemon.

I prefer to pronounce it by lemon but Philemon. He says right now is a story Philemon is a slaveowner on this and this is one of the slaves on this and let's get sick of the whole deal and he escapes he goes to Rome he gets save hearing Paul preach. Paul says you gotta go back, make restitution.

The law says and so on this and this goes back with a letter from Paul to Philemon or Maximus the slave. He stole stuff and so these are bringing it back is how Yorty ponder on what is gone. No mention of it but anyway he comes back to his slave, his master with the letter from Paul and Paul starts writing about. You know how I view her work for me.

Philemon you would need to be increased.

Paul says, but he doesn't smear that on his face to my just mentioned it but he says this in verse seven, Philemon's letter that we have great joy and consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother Philemon could refresh no one's heart in isolation. If he was a hermit Christian, refusing to be in the assembly where the action is. It would refresh no one.

How many times have you been refreshed. Enjoy genuinely refreshed by somebody in the flock. I miss the conferences that Calvary Chapel used to have out in Marietta California. I miss them. The fellowship with camaraderie. I don't think those days are ever come back. But I got a lot from and I'm not letting those memories go by put them into work. I bring it up to say sweetness of fellowship as difficult as we Christians can be with each other.

There is still a sweetness.

There that is unmatched. It will just give it a chance and take some hits, hermits and isolationists. They do not arrive at such experiences as Paul with Philemon. Now they were separated at this time, Paul's and Romy's in jail by 900 miles or so and yeah because Hebrews 1025 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together was implemented in practice by these men. They had a foundation there was groundwork there. Philemon verse 20 Paul says again. Philemon yes brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord, refresh my heart, refresh my heart.

You say that Philemon is now the pressure is on Philemon to act as a believer to show love to anesthetist a slave come back home. Of course, he showed that mercy otherwise we wouldn't have let the wood burned, but he publishes the question I have when I read that yes brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord, refresh my heart and the Lord have I been a friend was refresh the heart of another friend of my one of those sharp toothed critics, the nose had a bite and set out verbal raids on other people and hit them criticize them anytime I give a compliment. I give to other insults with it.

You know some people like that. It would just kill him, you wish it would just kill him to give a compliment for Freda somehow was going to go to your head to take reasonable and still all the tires of something that we too much of our own problems to refresh another one. I like to encourage you but I need encouragement to myself, you know, we can multitask when it comes to encouragement. One is a genuine breaking bread is the next one. We know this as communion coin and Mia is the word for communion. Paul uses in Corinthians will be using that when we have communion all read from that passage in first Corinthians 11 here. It's not that word here means breaking bread eating food. Time spent heightened time spent with the Lord conscious of his presence. It's all about his presence. This one this is a word picture it its meaning is found in the practice when the early church met initially and they took this bread. It was like the upper room with Christ before the cross. It was of us, not just a meal did devolve into that in the apostles dealt with that they fixed it.

Don't Paul say what you drive home so you can go home and eat you coming to the house. Are you drunk when it comes out on what is this so the church had to tighten that up to this day it's tightened up. Most churches, this third feature within the groundwork has to do with intimacy with Christ discerning his presence.

He said do this in remembrance of me. Do this in remembrance of me. This presence is every bit of eating rise from the dead had no meaning. Luke's gospel chapter 22 verse 19 and he took bread, gave thanks and broke that's what he did and gave it to them, saying, this is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

So this communion is more than the body coming together in fellowship is got to be more than that because what we came in fellowship without Christ without a sense of his presence is supposed to be theological, intellectual, emotional and and volitional free will. This is what we want to do and you know I been saying it for the last few months. I think of you going to miss a day in church.

Do your best to not let it be the day we have communion together, whereas a body we come together we make a statement together that Christ is with us no matter what is going on in our lives is a time when I say Christ walks with me and my walking with him to be good to walk together unless they are agreed.

Job still walked with God he didn't agree with what God was doing but he agree with who God was and if you had the pain in your life. The Job had you wouldn't be agreeing with what God was doing either. Your theology would save you.

So what is communion again.

More than a meal. It's associated with the risen with the crucified and risen present Lord and Savior to commune is to draw near, you know.

And God said to Moses, don't run this place the ground you stand on this holy but still Moses was drawn close and loving to speak to God and Moses. At one point said show me your your grace and God said, I'll hide you in the cleft of the rock. This intimacy between Moses and God. Later, the Jews got away from all of that because of the rib rabbinical teachings. The pharisaical teachings to where Jesus quoting Isaiah said, these people draw near me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They're not communing with me. They're not with me is lipservice to not commune is to be withdrawn. Second Thessalonians chapter 3 verse six and his tour of fledgling church a newborn church. He says we command you, that the apostolic authority right there. This is the if you think of no commandments in the New Testament, you're wrong.

There are is as we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you withdraw from every brother walks disorderly, not according to the tradition which he received from us.

They don't want to behave there impenitent. They think sin is a joke sink and hit us. It will hit us, but will how do we respond to it. We put a border, a barrier up to keep her from spreading from time to get help. The temptation whoever the do about it first with his 1129.

Also, for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body not sensing his reality and his presence thinking that this is just a ritual and nothing more. First Corinthians 511 but now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral or covetous, or an idolater or revile her or drunkard, or an extortion or not even be with such a person younger person and maybe even struggling with these. That's one thing that one is not good care less. That's another thing communion is that intimacy with Christ. It goes beyond just finish with one more point about this. I don't know if I've got it here.

I should because I noticed that even my errors are correct.

I do know if I can wait while I'll just say you can always be learning, and never coming into the knowledge just one of the rookie mistakes. I don't know if it's working. That's why I didn't do it yet.

I'm still sorting this one out if it's immature if it's that veteran's mistake, but you can always learn and never come into the knowledge you have to digest what you get if you just listing the sermon after sermon years ago.

The news was someone in the church that would just listen. All I do is every waking hour there was a sermon on and the person was so problematic because they digested nothing to meditate properly and in the Scripture is to digested is to break it down to distillate and if that's not happening. The intimacy is lost.

If you're always learning. If it becomes a tell me more interesting and tell me more, but is not getting in their that's not any good is actually a problem.

You can become quite a know it all.

That way when I might return to that moment but let's go to prayer. Next time spent in dialogue.

I don't have to elaborate on this one course talking to God, the God of creation, who sits on the throne.

Christ our Lord.

When facing the cross he kept going back three times. He went back he ran out of time.

If I could bag more.

He knew they were coming.

It was in at night and there is a Gethsemane across from Jerusalem where they were coming from. He would've saw the lanterns and he certainly would've heard the cleaning of the swords and other spears. Whatever else they had with them to come in and arrest him. So he knew they were coming in. Yet he continued to pray. Matthew 26 verse 44, so he left them went away again and prayed the third time, saying the same words. This is not vain repetitions was an urgent matter that merited repeat in all the emotions that went with it there. Go sweat like drops of blood tense intensity was we cannot get that intense but we have an intensity all of our own. That is very real. Remember Elijah first Kings said to his servant go up now toward the sea. This is to stop the drought.

So he went and looked and said there's nothing in seven times. He said go again.

This is prayer that they continued to offer up. In the event with Eliza and his servant in the events with the church in our lives to and so as to this oversight. This rookie mistake of losing sight of acts chapter 2, verse 42 and continuing with these features of our faith. I think the church is a holding individuals must adhere to these things to be more effective for Christ churches can be effective.

How about more effective in sidestepping them diminishes our ability to have lasting fruit and anything less is carnal karma way of thinking and it weakens New Testament pattern and does not work well on our behalf. The meetings of the early church. Believe it or not, were largely for believers only that they excluded unbelievers to churches that had not grown to that as it is now. They met in houses and it was for them. They talked about what they did look at them and we say how do we stack up next to this early church that met on with these four pillars under them. How do we stack up.

Do we have this doctrine, we have the fellowship and love the Queen and Neo with the agape is you can have fellowship without the love. It won't last. The course than intimacy with Christ in the prayer room just trying to drill some of it home they shared their beliefs with unbelievers during the week and if it progress to the point with the unbeliever would had more interest or gave their life to Christ, then they bring them to church with them. They didn't rely on the pastor to lead people to Christ.

He interacted with whoever they met and once they share their faith again. They brought the listeners and the listeners were readied when you would bring somebody to church. You should ready them you should say listen, you're probably going to get verbally punched in the nose is called conviction. You may feel think that you guilty of this is the process of getting a person to repent. It's okay to tell them what they're in for you say what they might not come that will have you heard handcuffs take the freedom away for Sameer William McDonnell and his believers Bible is and what he says.

In contrast to today's imposing cathedrals, churches and chapels as well as a whole host of highly organized nominations, mission boards and parachurch organizations. The apostles in the book of acts made no attempt to form an organization of any kind for carrying on the work of the Lord.

The local church was God's unit on earth for propagating the faith and the disciples were content to work within that context. In recent years there has been an organizational explosion in Krista them of such proportions as to make one dizzy. Every time a believer gets a new idea for advancing the cause of Christ. He forms a new mission board, corporation or institution right on this all start a ministry at all.

Get a church to fund it.

What you just be a church. My own walk is a pastor here who we were going to do. We were going to have a restaurant and also God put the kibosh on that stuff for me to know and then he said to me, just be a church just be a church and that's what we been committed to and so we had to send back the flying monkeys and the lights and all the juggling to Elvis the Jesus shirt on. We don't need another para-ministry. We need churches to be churches. We need spirit filled acts 242 believers to fill those churches what the pew is supposed to do is echo the pulpit as the pulpit echoes the throne of God through his word is see if it moves laterally, it sweeps across the congregation. Hopefully as you meet people during the week you share these things and that's where we want to see that Wilson would like to see people save anywhere. That is where a lot of the work is done.

I'm almost finished.

Romans 323 all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God in Christ says to the believer. What you gonna do with that.

But even to do about. I did the dying partner rising part. What is your part.

How about if we abide with Christ and this is the principle is out.

Texas shown us this morning ask ourselves are churchgoers and pastors continually running for something new and thrilling, or other content to obey.

We don't need exciting and thrilling experiences. We need fresh experiences in the old ways of the Scripture. That's what we need to refresh the work in me as Paul was saying to his to the Philemon refresh me.

So in review doctrine time spent with truth fellowship time spent with God's people breaking of bread, time spent with Christ prayers time spent conversing with God. There's a difference between talking to God and communing with God, and it takes work and the songs help us do these things. Acts 243.

Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles church does not fill much here today does laughter mockery. Is anybody frightened by our truth anymore or are we too busy bringing attention to ourselves and not enough to Jesus Christ who we are glad you joined us today to learn how to avoid some rookie mistakes in the fifth pastor Rick will have more to share. Next time I cross reference radio ministry of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville, Virginia like to listen to more teachings from Pastor Rick.

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