January 19 2020

Got it. Okay. There we go. Good morning everyone and thank you for the fruit to the freedom Worship Center. I have we sure appreciate you being here this morning. Thank you to those of you who may be watching at home online via Facebook or on YouTube. We are on YouTube now a couple of housekeeping things real quickly. We do have a big year coming out. Like I said last week we got some programs coming out one. We're going to be doing a program this year with our new K-9 pastor Pastor. Tegan is called walking your dog Through the Bible. So there's going to be more coming on that. Be sure to check our website as we get details put out for that. We are also going to start us and missions this year. So Please keep us in prayer for that. Please keep our congregation and prayer for that as we move forward in starting to reach out more to our community with missions. We're going to be putting together some meal bags. So again, there's going to be more to come on that so keep keep keep turning into Facebook and our website for that keep our congregation and prayer. We've got quite a few people out this morning. I know Pastor been his son. Andrew isn't feeling the best. My son is out this morning homesick Arcanine pastor Pastor Teagan is doing her job. She's ministering to him why he's sick in bed this morning. So and keep Pastor being in prayer because this morning he is lights stay on camera having he's like doing everything this morning, so, please keep him in prayer because he's been running circles around me this Morning, so, please keep him in prayer the website. I keep referring to that. We have done some modifications and moved it to a different domain. If you want to be part or want to volunteer here at the freedom Worship Center because like I said, we are growing congregate at you know, growing church and we're getting ready to do a lot of things this year. Please check out the website. It's the the FWC church. Again. That's VFW C. Church. You can we do not do tithes and offerings here during service time that you can go into the website and do tithes and offering anything that you can do would be greatly appreciated because we do have a lot coming up and we can only do what we do because of your ties and offerings, so that would be greatly appreciated and if you want to volunteer your time. Please reach out to one of us again. You can send us an email through that website or using email info at FWC church. And that will Ben and I check that periodically. So either way you want to do that. That's fine. But we need all the help and support that we can get this year. So it's a beginning of the year and what I would like to see the part of this year and why I wanted to do stand-up but this is the second series in a three-part series for stand up. I want to chew as a church to start being a little bit more intentional about our faith being a Christian isn't just for Sunday mornings being a Christian you want to be intentional about what you're doing and as a church as a whole we need to be more intentional about how we do that. If you're new to the faith and you're just starting out you just found cries. Congratulations, welcome to the family, but you're wanting to know okay. I know what I'm not supposed to do and I know what I'm supposed to do, but I'm not quite sure how I do that. Okay, it's so weird that that's what this year's going to be about is that actually giving you the tools to intentionally live out your Christian faith the last week we were talking about stand up for Christ. How do you do that? How do you stand up for Christ? What does that look like? So we talked about a few things, you know being the stand being of light showing people what Christ is like this week. We're talking about stand up for 8. Yo standing up for others. So, how do we do that? How do we stand up for?

God's children well prescription going to look at today and everything is based around is proverbs 31 verses 8 through 9.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves for the rights of all who are destitute speak up and judge fairly defend the rights to the poor and the needy soda stand-up. You have to speak up. Just stand up you have to speak up. Okay?

You cannot keep your mouth shut. You have to stand up you have to stand up for your brothers and sisters. There are people that cannot do that for themselves or there's people who are marginalized or there's people that feel like they are not seen or heard. These are the people that we as Christians need to intentionally stand up for Why do we need to do this? Cuz Bible tells us to we're supposed to Bear each other's burdens, and we're also supposed to lift each other up and nothing says more about loving your neighbor than to stand up for them. I'll never forget. Most of you know that I'm divorced my ex-husband when my father which I did not have a good relationship with came up for a cookout one day. and my father was pretty absent through the entire entire childhood. And my father made the comment. He said, you know, why did a pretty good job of raising her? I will never forget what my ex-husband said.

He stood up for me. By speaking up and said she raised herself. She did she did a good job of raising herself. And I will never forget that I will never forget that he was the first person to ever speak up for me and my father. I cannot tell you what that meant to me. I cannot tell you what that meant to be to this day. That's one of the things that I am. I am hold deep in my heart for my ex-husband that he did that for me. That's the first time anyone has ever done that for me that was huge to me. That was huge. I know they're saying there was a TV program. I don't know if it's still airing it is called what would you do? And I would show they would plant people in public places and they would have you know, what scenarios I remember there was one scenario a lady was yelling at this kid in restaurant has kid couldn't do anything right in the man and the woman was just yelling at this kid and I would video record this to see if there was anyone that would stand up and speak up about what was going on. What was so easy for us to sit behind the scenes sitting on a couch watching the TV screen and go I can't believe they're just sitting there letting this happen. I can't believe that I'd be doing this or I'd be doing that but the majority of the people in these public places didn't want to get involved. They just kept watching. Wouldn't say anything was shaking their head, but wouldn't say anything.

Not to me that was amazing and I would like to think that I would if I saw someone that cannot speak up for themselves. I would hope that I would stand up and speak up. Because we are all God's children. I would really hope that each and every one of us would stand up and speak up. The second part of that verse speaks to me greatly because it's his judge fairly. judge fairly

Speak up and judge fairly.

As human beings, we have a tendency to immediately judge someone without having all the facts.

You cannot judge fairly if you do not have all the facts. Okay, that's just XXX. You cannot judge fairly. If you do not have all the facts. I'll give you some REO my son hates when I use him in my sermons, but guess what part of being a pastor son. So here you go. I came home one evening unless I was sitting on the couch with a young lady that had a newborn child never seen this girl before my life. So most parents would Panic. Okay, not me. I know my kid. Okay, so I was like, hey hi. My son looks at me. He says mom. Can I talk to you what had happened is this was a young girl that was still in high school and her mother from her story had locked her and her newborn baby out of the apartment. I don't know what the whole story was. I didn't get into the whole story because I don't know the whole story my thing wasn't this girl needed my help. She had nowhere to go with a newborn child. But my son immediately started getting upset and he said what kind of mother would do that. How could she this is a newborn baby and it was wintertime. How could she what kind of mother would do that lasted Whoa stop right there. He said what I said say that again. He said what kind of mother would do that I said exactly. I said you were upset at her but you don't know what all the circumstances are and you don't know what that mother has been through. I said to me it sounds like that mother needs just as much help as her daughter and her child does. And my son sent there for a second and I said because like you said no under normal circumstances and in a normal thought process no mother would do that. So there's something we don't know. There's the information that we don't know that we cannot judge her and get mad at her. Even though that's our initial reaction when we don't know the whole story. We cannot judge her fairly. We should not judge her fairly.

Not to mention the fact we like to judge people button. Very very rarely do we ever take a good look at ourselves in the mirror? We're going to move on to her next piece of scripture this morning. This one is in John. This is a well-known story. Everybody knows this. This is the woman that was going to get stoned for adultery. So, this is John 8. He appeared again in the temple courts were all the people gather around him and he sat down to teach them teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus teacher this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

They were ready to Stone this woman. All they could see was that she was an adulterous? I said it's only cared about didn't care about the facts. They didn't care about what led to this I didn't care about where she came from what the circumstances were. They don't care about any of that all I knew she'd broken wall.

What Jesus did to me was amazing?

He stood there for a minute start drawing in the ground.

Now someone who studies scriptures this is totally on a personal it drives me insane cuz I really want to know what he was drawing was. He writing was he drawing? I don't know what he was doing, but I don't know if it had any significance or not. But I think the act of him doing it had significance. And I'll tell you why he was stopping that mental thing that we do have immediately wanting to go from here's what she committed adultery this person did this to Let's punish it here. This is the action we are to take he had he had that pause he was able to take a break that cycle for just a minute and I think that's really smart. That was so intuitive. I mean Christian only he's Christ was SpaceX, but he was drawing in the ground.

So everybody was waiting to hear what he said they were more focused on what he was going to say then actually what they were going to do to this woman and then he completely turned it around. Completely turned it around and he told him.

Those without sin cast the first stone. And then he returned to drawing on the ground.

When you looked up they were gone. There was no one there left to condemn her. So we are so fast to condemn when it's not us. When it's not us, but again Jesus spoke up to stand up for this woman. He spoke up. He wasn't confrontational about it at all. He just turned it around and had people instead of looking outward. He had them looking inwardly. Have you know what? Maybe there's a little more to the story cuz I'm not always. Doing what? I'm supposed to be doing. I have failed. I have made mistakes. My judgment isn't always the best that it could possibly be even when my heart's in the right place. Sometimes my emotions get away with me and I cannot make the right decision sometimes our emotions or Cloud our judgment. We're unable to to see or really what the right option is. And sometimes we feel that were an outcast or were totally alone.

If you have ever felt.

Like the woman that is standing there. And you got an entire mob that is ready to Stone you to death for mistake that you've made?

You're not alone.

We've all been there. And we all should be punished for our sins.

the beautiful thing for me

and why stand up for others is because I always remember that there's someone that no matter how what my past was like what I have done how dirty I get. How shameful my actions have been?

The Bible reminds me of this and this is our last scripture.

Saint Luke

and Jesus said father forgive them for they do not want know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The way I feel and see this in my mind. Our sins are nailing him to the cross.

My shortcomings my poor decisions everything that I have done is either nail in his hand or his foot. orthorn on his head or lash across his back.

Every time I make a bad decision every time I do something I'm not supposed to.

We are the ones that are actually nailing Christ to the cross.

And even though I am nailing him to the Cross as I'm nailing him to the cross. He is standing up for me and he is standing up for you. By speaking up. To God and saying forgive them for they know not what they do.

That's love. That is love. How beautiful that is. That is love. So if Christ you want to follow Christ. Speak up to stand up. Speak up to stand up even when it's not easy. There is nothing more that you can do to show the love of God's Children of your brothers and your sisters then just speak up when they cannot.

Stand up.

and speak stand up and speak up.

Dear heavenly father. Thank you so much for allowing us to be here today. Thank you so much. For allowing us to gather in your presence.

Thank you for those that are here today. Thank you for those that are online or watching on YouTube or Facebook. Thank you for those that are. Gotten under the website and watching the video there. However, they hear you were Lord. Let it touch them let them know. that you

Are standing up and have spoken up? It are interceding for them with God.

Lord without you

Without you lord we would not be worthy. Will you be so unclean?

And our Shane would weigh us down.

Dear Lord, it is you that intercede for us. It is you that restores us it is you that is our Salvation it is you. It has spoken to God his self.

And shown us the love and show us the way that we are to live here on Earth with each other and for each other. Or thank you for your grace. Thank you for your mercy and thank you for your sacrifice Lord. I pray for each of us here and for each of us online watching. But if they feel like they have no one let them know that they have you.

Let them know that they have you. But you will never leave them and you will never forsake them.

Even if you hung up on the cross.

Lord I pray for the freedom Worship Center. I pray that we continue to do your will Lord and that you bless us you continue to call us to do your work. To reach out to our community to help them to spread your word Lord.

And thank you for all of our blessings is always both seen and unseen in our personal lies and as a church.

Lord you are amazing. You are so amazing.

I wish that there was a way.

then each person could see their neighbor Through Your Eyes Do the love of your eyes?

What a Wonderful World it would be if we could see each other's you see your children

Lord I hope we go through 2020 and live more intentionally in our faith.

Not just on Sundays, but on Monday Tuesday Wednesday. the whole week

and not just to the people that we go to church with on Sunday, but to the people that we work with. The people that we encounter on a daily basis being in the grocery store at the gas station. Let us realize that these are all of your children.

And let us live and be more intentional. About living our faith and showing our love for each other.

Put it in these things that we pray and it is in the name of the love that you held for us. Within your heart as you hung up on that cross for each of us.

And father got it is in your son's name Jesus Christ that we pray these things. amen

Again, thank you so much for being here and please please.

Think about being more intentional and being a Christian.

living a Christian Life

It's one of the most beautiful most rewarding things that you can possibly do.

I can promise you.

That it is worth every single bit of struggle that you will go through to do it.

And not just because of the rewards from when we leave this world. But when you see what you can do when you moved up your brothers and sisters and you can love the people around you as children of Christ. Is God's children at 8 I can explain to you what that is like until you actually lived it and seen it and done it. If you can do that, and I guarantee you here's a challenge to you. If you live an intentional Christian Life you lift others up in the name of Jesus Christ, and it does not change you. Come to me and say you know what it didn't do a thing for me. Call me by sorry it didn't do anything for me.

I won't get one phone call.

Because you cannot do that. You cannot do that and it not change who you are.

Everyone. Have a good week. Thank you again. Bye. Bye.