The Church - 2025 - Pt 5 - A Sent and Spirit Filled People seen in Gospel Centered Expressions.
The Church 2025 A Sent and Spirit FIlled People • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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GREET EVERYONE-
Good Morning Loved Ones
If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.
The purpose of Stonewater Fellowship, The Reason why we are here, the mission that Jesus has given us both collectively as His church and Individual as His followers:
Is to engage people into a multiplying relationship with Jesus!
To make disciples of Jesus.
LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND
Open it to Acts chapter 10 and verse 21 today as we come to the conclusion in our current teaching series exposing what God says about His Church -
PRAYER OVER SERIES
Is that every one of us would be
reminded,
renewed
or maybe for the first time it would be revealed to us
by the Holy Spirit through the Word
what the Church is
and as a consequence we would come to realize what the church is not.
I’m Praying that through this series the answer we so fervently give when the question is asked: Who is the Church?
and we answer “We are the church!”
My prayer is that ANSWER will become more and more of a reality to all of us in an ever increasing way so that you and I live out being the church together.
My prayer is also that as we live that out together.
the Holy Spirit would change us in an ever increasing way
from from being consumers of Church to Disciples of Jesus who make up the church.
over the past 70 or so years, to the eternal demise of tens of thousands of people - we have managed to make lots of consumers of Church-
And we have made very few disciples of Jesus who are the church.
I pray that more and more and more, that the Holy Spirit would move us as we would lock arms together more and more intentionally and collectively be devoted followers of Jesus not Just fans of Jesus
our devotion to him will be becasue we experience His great love for us through what He did for us on Calvary and the fact that God raised Him from the dead and He has sent us into the world to proclaim that to all of creation
PRAYER OVER MESSAGE
IS that as we grow in understanding our Identity in Christ -
understanding that if we are His followers?
we are His church
and as His Church we are to designed to be a part of each other lives.
That we are a Spirit Filled, Sent, Gospel Centered People,
on a Gospel Centered Mission -
Engaged in Gospel Centered service
Connected in Gospel Centered Community,
Led by Gospel Centered Leaders
AND as Part of that Identity is understanding an important part of how the world around us see us interacting with each other.
Here is what I mean - Yes the world needs to see Christ reflected in our actions and our interactions with each other and with the world around us.
But that is not what I am talking about this morning.
This morning, we will be looking at, the scriptures and we will see under-girding and over arching thyme in What the Church looks like from the outside in
and what that will possibly so is draw us into is what is possibly the designed of the new Testament Church.
A design of form and of function that would gain the Followers of Jesus in the fist century to be called - Christians - Little Jesus’s by the outside world because what they did is they lived in such a particular and peculiar way that they totally lived out the mission of Jesus -
Representing Jesus in everything they did and making Him know to every people they encountered.
They were not fans by any means they were fully devoted followers.
And what we will see and hear this morning from the words of Scripture is that these Gospel Centered people
and we as a Gospel Centered People
are designed to be seen in Gospel Centered Expressions of Both Temple worship and House to House -
before I begin engaging with this subject - Let me just say that this message, for some of us and maybe all of us, Strike really hard and very close to us.
ENGAGEMENT –
Houses and house or Home Ownership, or the Idea of our House
whether that is an actual house
or apartment or
Mini House -
Or Even if we are FULL TIME RV’s as some of us in this room are.
There is this Idea of the Place we live and lay our heads down at night to sleep and rest is our HOME
Idea of our Home - no matter what type of house has some very interesting cultural frameworks that in some really big ways are different that most other places around the world and are certainly different than the people living in the first century when the Church took root and Christianity began to spread like wildfire.
Today in our culture we have this idea of our Home being our Sanctuary -
Our place to leave to outside world behind -
Our place of protection -
Our place of individual expression
Our place of Rest and Peace and Comfort and Safety and security.
A Place where we have ultimate control of things
Our Homes have become the Ultimate expressions of achieving the 4 idols of our culture of comfort convenience safety and security.
Our homes, and especially when we OWN them.
Generally for most if not all of us- Our Homes are the ultimate place of comfort for us becasue it is the place we rest.
Our homes are filled with gadgets to make the time we spend in our homes more convenient so that we can rest and be more at peace and be more comfortable.
Our homes and especially home ownership give us a sense of security becasue when we own it we get the sense that no one can take it away - no one can take control of this part of my life -
And finally our homes are supposed to be the safest place in the world.
Where we have the Right as citizens of this land to protect our homes from ANY and all threats.
with deadly force.
In this we have created a Mote around our homes
A barrier of protection around our homes that says -
This is Closed to the outside world.
TENSION
what happens to us When we take these Ideas of our home into our relationship with Jesus.
Our Homes stay the Island Sanctuaries of Isolation and the ultimate expression of Self that they always have been.
Here is what that means - What it means is that the Gospel of Jesus may change Everything else about who I am.
My thoughts - My desires - My hopes and it may even get to removing some of the Idols of our culture -
But our homes, and what we think about them and how we use them and what they represent in our lives The Gospel does not change all that much and it creates an inner conflict between What Jesus calls us to and Who we are inside the walls of our home.
And all of this is counter to the call of the Gospel - Pick up your cross daily and follow me and I will make you a fisher of men.
You see loved ones - A cross is not safe - A cross is not convent - A cross has zero security, and zero comfort attached to it in fact it is the ultimate threat.
And what we will read this morning is that the Home did not represent any of those things to the Church but rather a tool and a framework by which the Gospel was proclaimed and moved forward throughout the land and the culture was changed.
BACKGROUND
In Acts Chapter 10 -
Peter is in a home of a guy named Simon - in a place called Joppa -
Peter had been preaching there - he and His team and they were making disciples of Jesus, Gathering them together as local churches and Advancing the Gospel and building the Kingdom
All in obedience to what Jesus had told them to do.
There is this great story of Peter and a Guy named Cornelius - Who was a solderer of Rome
Peter has a dream and Cornelius have a dream and they Both end up coming together.
The detail of all this are in verses 1-20
Basically the overarching happens in the Story is that up and until this point the Gospel was mainly shared with the Jewish world through teaching in the Synagogues
and What God is going to do NOW is bring the Gospel to the Gentiles and save them.
and Acts Chapter 10 for the most part is when that starts.
SO both have this dream -
There are men Who Cornelius sent to Peter to invite Him to his house
and this is where we pick up the Story.
UNPACKING
21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests.
The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
(RECAP THE STORY)
So this is where we pick up!
24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered.
SO Peter arrives at Caesarea - Heads to Cornelius's house and Watch what Cornelius has done -
Cornelius meets him is humbled that Peter came -
Watch verse 27 - When Peter “Went in”
Went in where?
Went in to Cornelius's Home. Peter was invited to come to HIS home.
Peter and team are entering to His home.
He has gathered his relatives and his close friends. into His home to hear something important. to hear something life changing.
to hear something eternally significant.
Cornelius didn’t know how to articulate what was going to be said - But the rest of the story will tell us they would hear the Gospel.
Verse 28 and 29 Peter then explains there is a Legal problem that Peter has with hanging out with Gentiles
and at the same time Pater speaks to his obedience to the Call of God in contrast to do just that.
To Violate the Law regarding hanging out with gentiles.
and He asks: “Why did you send for me?” at the end of vs 29
Verses 30-32 Cornelius Answers peter and basically says -
“Just like God spoke to you and you obeyed God spoke to me and I obeyed by sending for you and you are here -
Watch how Cornelius concludes this part of the narrative He says “NOW we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the LORD.
Verse 34 begins with “Peter opens his mouth and Said”
Here is what you will read in vs 34-41 - Peter is sharing a Gospel narrative with them! He is sharing the Gospel!
He is in a Home filled with unbelieving Gentiles - A people that is was against religious law for Peter to even entertain being around - Dozens and Dozens of People that this solderer had gathered - All of his family and all of his close friends.
Peter shares the Gospel.
Watch what happens as we pick up in verse 42
Peter is concluding his message of the Gospel by saying
42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
The HE when peter said “and He commanded” that peter was referring to is Jesus.
Jesus commanded them to preach to people - The Gospel.
and watch how peter lands the plane.
Jesus is the one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead and the Bible (thats what He means by the words “the Prophets” bear witness to that fact and they also tell us from old that EVERYONE who believes in HIM receives forgiveness of Sins through His name.
Some people receive forgiveness?
A few people?
No Everyone!
Everyone say Everyone
Everyone who believes - Trusts that is what Believes means - Everyone who Trusts in Jesus receives Forgiveness of Sins.
Notice Sins is plural -
Some Sins?
A few Sins?
Only the sin from yesterday?
Only the sin from today?
no ALL SINS -
Everyone say “All sins”
Loved ones that is Good news of great Joy!
Watch what happened -
The Holy Spirit fell and people Got saved and baptized and there was a movement of God that had begun saving people form all nations.
Saving people from the Gentile world.
44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
Here is what we need to ask this morning?
Where did this happen?
Was this is a large meeting place a campus that people went to?
Was this is a Synagogue?
Was this out in the open in the town square?
Not this was in a home!
The Gentiles heard the Gospel in a Home!
Here is what is also interesting to know and understand.
Rewind the book of acts Back to Chapter 2 which would be about 10 years before this -
The Day of Pentecost - The Day the Church - the assembly of the called out ones began by the Holy Spirit falling on 120 people who were in a 10 day prayer meeting.
Where did that happen?
in the street?
In a coliseum?
In a public place?
In a synagogue?
NOPE - That happened in the upper room of a house!
In someones HOME!
You might be thinking this morning:
Pastor? Where are you going with this?
Loved ones here is what we will see and hear in from the whole council of scripture.
The Church in the earliest times - Were visible from the outside world.
And internally knew that the Church
The Assembly of the called out ones - the assembly would assemble in two places -
They would be seen in two expressions -
1- Temple worship - Large gatherings
2- House to House
I want you to watch and listen to the whole council of Scripture.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
The first day the first church 3120 people after the day of Pentecost - Largely a formerly Jewish People
Temple Together
and In their homes breaking bread together.
42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
This is after all of the Apostles have been arrested - Taken before the High priest and the Pharisee council and warned NOT so speak and teach the name of Jesus. Having been beaten for the crime - They went on teaching and preaching the Gospel
And look where - Temple and HOUSE TO HOUSE
20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul and team - After spending three and a half years in the crazy spiritual dark City of Ephesus - with Apollos - Seeing God do some incredible things - He is leaving the region and returning to Jerusalem -
he is speaking to the Elders of the Churches in Ephesus and where did He proclaim the Gospel and Teach about Jesus
Temple - Actually the whole story would say not only in the temple but in a giant gathering hall called the Hall of tyrannous -
Temple - Large gatherings - Large assembly of the called out ones -
AND
house to house. Smaller assembly of the called out ones.
And what we are going to see next is that these Expressions of House to House was not limited to the Apostles - The First Church after Pentecost or just in the City of Ephesus.
This is mention So frequently it could certainly be thought of as normal for the church.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.
Paul writing to the Saints in Rome - the Assembly of called out ones in Rome -
Send greetings to Prisca and Aquila -
Whom He calls Fellow Workers — in some of your versions - He will say Fellow Bond Slaves in Christ Jesus
Now I want you to think about this - If the Apostle Paul calls you a co-worker - What have you been doing?
Sharing the Gospel, Preaching Jesus, Making disciples and assembling them together in Local Assemblies - In other words Planting Churches.
and In His letter to the Churches and the leaders in Rome - He says -
Greet them and the Church that meets in their house!
19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
Here is a phenomenal thing - Prisca and Aquila and the Church in their house get two mentions by Paul.
One A greeting TO them in the letter to the Romans.
And one A greeting FROM them when he writes to the Church in Corinth.
Then we move to the Churches of the area of Colosae and Laodicea and Paul send greeting to the leaders there -
Paul has never been there -
Epahras Made disciples and grew the church in Colosae and that disciple making effort bled over to Laudesia -
Becasue back in those days Disciple of Jesus made more disciples of Jesus and Watch -
15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
He has never been there - He has never met these people -
and YET he says - Give my greeting to Nympha and the church - The Assembly of the called out ones!
That meet where?
in her house!
Paul and His team writes to Philemon - Asking him to take back in new relationship, as a brother, a former slave named Onesimus -
Philemon is in Laodisea - Again Paul has never been there -
Philemon is called a “fellow worker” - meaning He is a fellow disciple maker - and He says TO Philemon - our fellow worker
and to Archippus our fellow soldier - our fellow Disciple maker and the Assembly of the called out ones - AKA The Church
where?
In your house!
1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:
STICKY POINT
Loved ones this is so very important for two reasons. and I believe it is the Design of God for the Church. For these same two reasons.
What may be causing you Pause at the very moment is I said Design -
Like this temple and house to house is the way the church is supposed to be acting -
Yes - I believe that for three reasons.
ONE is Biblical.
The Church does one thing very regularly and that is Communion -
Doing communion is what the church does - It is called an Ordinance of the Church.
Communion is only mentioned 2 times in the New Testament.
and Yet is a church never did communion we might question its design - and Yes Jesus established it.
But loved ones - What we just walked through were 8 references out of 12 total indicating that the activity of the church also included HOUSE to HOUSE - and we saw Scriptural evidence that the gospel advancing happened in very significant ways House to House -
So we clearly see the possibility of design being House to house and in the temple in the Scriptures.
Reality is
Back then as it is today - The Gospel was most readily and effectively advanced House to house - Neighbor to neighbor -
As the unbelieving neighbors would see and experience the Church living out its mission every day in front of them.
Loved ones - Our neighbors are in desperate need of Salvation. They needs Jesus.
Third reason this is Important -
Today in america we Gather in large places under the blanket of Freedom - and we enjoy that -
loved ones there is a day and very possibly in our lifetimes where that will be taken away - Either under persecution or under taxation.
Persecution will be obvious but it will not start there - it will start with taxation - The Government will simply attempt to tax the church out of assembling together.
Right now we enjoy being tax exempt from paying property tax - Our current taxation rate would be almost 30000 per year.
and we have a relatively small property value.
A big place, like one in town - That tax rate would be 3 million a year.
What happens to the western church if we are taxed out of our gathering places?
Right now there are some 17 states with legislation already drafted, just waiting for the right leadership, the right court structure and the right public sentiment and we will see those tax protections leave. one by one.
What will happen? What will we do?
We will live in the expressions of the first century! Temple worship in different places and different venues and the Gospel will have to advance once again like it does in the persecuted areas of the world. HOUSE TO HOUSE.
THE GOSPEL CONNECTION
But ya know loved ones This is what the Gospel is supposed to do to us.
The Love of God is supposed to cause us to surrender Everything to Him.
The Gospel calls us to surrender to Him as Lord - Not partial
not only the parts that are comfortable -
not just the parts that really need surrender -
But the Gospel calls us to surrender all -
All to Jesus I surrender all to Him I freely Give. the hymn writer exclaimes -
Dr Rosaria Butterfield says it this way in her Book “The Gospel Comes with a House Key”
She directly correlates being a Gospel Centered People means we practice, together and individually what she calls Radical Ordinary Hospitality.
She says in the Preface of her book that Gospel Centered people — those who live radical ordinary hospitality
That we see strangers as neighbors and neighbors as family of God.
We see God’s image reflected in the eyes of every human being on earth.
We take their own sin seriously—including the sin of selfishness and pride.
We take God’s holiness and goodness seriously. We use the Bible as a lifeline, with no exceptions.
We see their homes not as ours at all but as God’s gift to use for the proclamation of the Gospel and the furtherance of His kingdom.
Gospel Centered people know that the gospel comes with a house key.
She correlates that Radically ordinary hospitality is reflected in a modern Christian homes.
Our homes resemble homes of the first century.
homes that are communal, a place of connection, relationship openness a place where the Gospel is lived out.
As Christians we are a set-apart people, and we do things differently.
Radically ordinary hospitality lived out in the family of God gathers daily, prays constantly, and needs no invitation to do so.
And those who don’t yet know the Lord are summoned for food and fellowship.
It means we provide the time necessary to build strong relationships with people who think differently than we do; as well as build strong relationships from within the family of God.
This shows this skeptical, post-Christian world what authentic Christianity really looks like.
This gives evidence of faith in Jesus’s power to save.
We knows what conversion means, what identity in Christ does, and what repentance creates. We knows that sin is deceptive.
We know that people need to be rescued from their sin.
We remember that Jesus rescues people from their sin. Jesus rescued us. Jesus lives and reigns.
My prayer is that you will stop being afraid of strangers, even when some strangers are dangerous.
ONE DAY - WORSHIP TEAM
My prayer loved ones is that one day - Stonewater Fellowship will be marked by a network of smaller assemblies living and meeting and making disciples House to House.
Proclaiming and living out the Gospel to literally anyone, any where and any time.
That we would see and hear testimonies of Salvation's in living rooms and over dinner tables!
WE would see and hear of baptisms in Hot tubs and Bath Tubs and swimming pools and river access parks.
A time were we as a people can ask the question Who is the church? and we can with joy pronounce We are the Church and we live that out together, locking arms together on the adventure of Making disciples together - in every neighborhood and every house.
So that the one who is able to do more that we can ask or think or even imagine according to His power that lives in us would get all the Glory in the church and through every generation -
Amen?
CHAD RUTTAN PRAYER
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
COMMUNION
