Victory Fellowship Church Podcast Victory Fellowship Church

Who is in charge of the church? Continuing this series about the church, Pastor Jamie shares about church authority. 


What is a church?
Ekklesia - a church is an intentional gathering of people who follow Jesus. It's not a building, it's a spiritual family.
 
Who is in charge of the church?
 
Jesus is in charge of the church.
Colossians 1:8 NLT "Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body."
Ephesians 1:22-23 NLT
 
Jesus is in charge, but He uses leaders to care for His body.
Ephesians 4:11-13
Jesus gave us some going-away gifts. He left us with the Holy Spirit, His written word, and He left us with leaders who have been gifted and commissioned to help us all grow spiritually.
In the church, everyone is a minister, but not everyone is a leader. 
Things you need to know about church leadership:
1. Leaders are stewards.       
Matthew 28:18-19a
Leaders of the church are simply stewards of Jesus' authority.
James 3:1 NLT "Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly."


2. Leaders are servants.       
Mark 10:42-45
Don't wait to get your life together before you serve others. Serving others is how you get your life together.
 
3. Leaders are imperfect and incomplete.
1 Timothy 1:16 
Don't ever try to get from a leader what you can only get from the Lord. We don't follow people, we follow Jesus.
4. Some church leaders are bad leaders.
Jeremiah 23:1-2
Leaders who have unquestioned authority, exert control over you, require you to get permission from them, practice elitism and utilize shunning are engaging in spiritual abuse. RUN.
 
5. Leaders are necessary.    
Hebrews 13:17 "Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit."
Acts 20:28-30
We need shepherds because there are wolves out there, and shepherds lay their lives down for the sake of the sheep.  
  
It's time for you to get healed from church hurt.
The Lord told me years ago that he was going to send people to VFC that had been wounded.
Proverbs 14:4
The church is plan A for bringing the Kingdom to earth and there is no backup plan. Church is a spiritual hospital – you will find sick people. Church is a spiritual gym – you will find out-of-shape people.
God lives among the mess. We should as well.
 
Are you embracing church authority?

What are churches supposed to be doing? Do we help our city or help our church members? Do we reach the lost or disciple existing believers? In this message, Pastor Jamie Nunnally shares about what activity a church should be doing. 


Ekklesia - a church is an intentional gathering of people who follow Jesus.
 
What is a church supposed to be doing?
Acts 2:42-47 
Based on this passage, there are several activities a church should be engaged in. Not all activities happen at once, and different size gatherings are better for different things.
 
1. They engaged in Bible study. (v42).
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Romans 15:4
The Bible is bread for daily meals, not cake for special occasions.
 
2. They fellowshipped with one another (v42).
Hebrews 10:24 ESV "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works."
You'll ask someone to watch your stuff, but are you asking others to watch your soul?
 
3. They ate meals together. (v42).
Acts 20:7 NIV "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight."
Sharing a meal with someone is a quick way to reveal the real you.
 
4. They prayed together (v42).
Matthew 18:19-20
Your prayer life reveals what you think about God. If you think He's listening, you'll talk to Him.
 
5. They practiced supernatural ministry (v43).
Matthew 10:8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give."
John 14:12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father."
 
6. They helped others in need. (v44-45).
Galatians 6:10 "Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith."
Hebrews 13:16 "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."
Wanna make God happy? Help someone out!
 
7. They met in large gatherings, and in a small gatherings (v46).
Acts 5:42 "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah."
If you only meet in small groups, or you only meet in large groups, you're missing out on the full benefit of being a part of a church.
 
8. They praised God (v47)
Psalm 150:1-6
We worship because we want to give back to God the love He first gave us.
 
9. They received new believers (v47).
Churches are not only called to disciple existing believers, but we receive new believers too.
1 Peter 2:2


Are you engaging in church activity?

Why do Christians gather on Sunday mornings? Does it matter where we gather? Who is welcomed at these meetings? What should we be doing when we gather? In this message, Pastor Jamie shares who we truly are as "the church".


History of the word "church":
Ekklesia: not a religious term. It means a gathering, a congregation, or an assembly of people.
In the first English translations, ekklesia was correctly translated as "congregation." But in 1611 the King James Version unfortunately opted for "church" instead, based on the German word "kirche".
The church is not a building, but a gathering of believers. Its not somewhere you go, its something you are.
  
Samaritan woman at the well who asks where to worship- The temple or the mountain?
John 4:20-21;24
The location of worship is not as important as the way you worship.
The question isn't "WHERE do I worship God? but HOW should I worship God?"
True worship is the result of knowing the one you worship, not where you worship Him.
 You are the location where Christianity takes place.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
God is jealous for you like religious people are jealous for their holy sites.
 
Act 7:48 
There are no sacred places, only sacred people.
 
What is a church?
A church is an intentional gathering of people who follow Jesus.
 
Intentional
Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."
If you're gathering with believers less and less these days, you're going the wrong way. If you're going everywhere but church, you're going the wrong way.
"Successful people do consistently what normal people do occasionally." Craig Groeschel


Gathering
Church is a collective noun, meaning it describes a group.
Hebrews 10:25 
You can be a Christian by yourself, but you can't be church by yourself.
Jesus never discipled individuals, he always discipled groups.
Jesus had groups of 3, 12, 70 , 120 , & 500.
Online viewing is good as an exception. But watching a church service online is like watching a video of a fire—you can see the light but you can't feel the warmth. You're getting teaching, but you're missing out on gathering.
 
People who follow Jesus:
Church is not where you meet with friends; its where you meet with family. You don't choose your family—God gives them to you, and your family often aren't people you're naturally drawn to.
Colossians 3:11 
It doesn't matter who someone has been, it only matters who they are now.
"Christ is all and in all" - Jesus is the point of everything, so find the Jesus in people when they annoy you.
The biggest threat to the church is not from outside of the church, but from within. Its disunity.
John 17:21 
Galatians 3:26-28 
Put on Christ. Wear your Jesus jersey. Prioritize Jesus over all other labels.


Are you embracing your church family?

Do you realize that Jesus came to rescue you?In this message, Pastor Jamie Nunnally shares the hope-filled, awesome message that was lived out on this earth through Jesus Christ. 


The cross is Jesus' death for me, but the empty grave is Jesus' life for me.
The cross gets me into heaven, but the empty grave gets heaven into me.
The cross reveals Jesus as savior, but the empty grave reveals Jesus as king.
The cross paid for my sin, the empty grave means that the payment was accepted.
 
Resurrection changes our whole outlook on life.


1 Corinthians 15:54-55 NLT
We don't have to be afraid of death anymore. Jesus' resurrection marked the death of death.
 
What is an Easter Egg?
An "easter egg" is a hidden message, image or feature in a video game, movie, or TV show.  
The Old Testament has around 300 prophetic easter eggs about Jesus before Jesus was born. These are things like: Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, He will be preceded by a Messenger, He will enter Jerusalem on a donkey, He will be betrayed by a friend, He will be sold for 30 pieces of silver, He will be silent before His accusers, He will be executed by crucifixion.
Peter Stoner, a science and mathematics professor, wrote a book called "Science Speaks" where he and his students used the science of probability to calculate the likelihood that someone would fulfill these Messianic prophecies.
 Stoner found that the chance that any man might have fulfilled eight Messianic prophecies is 1 in 100 quadrillion.
The odds of fulfilling 16 messianic prophecies are 1 in 10 to the 45th power.  
What about 48 prophecies? Those odds are 1 in 10 to the 157th power. (The number of atoms in the entire universe is somewhere between 10 to the78th power and 10 to the 82nd power.)


The Father sent Jesus to rescue you.
1 John 4:14. "We have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world."
The resurrection of Jesus forces humanity confront the fact that we are the object of God's affection.
Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)"
 
Romans 6:7-10 (MSG) – "What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us."
 
Sin has a price tag, but Jesus paid the bill.


Have you been rescued by Jesus?

How should a believer manage money? In this message, Pastor Eric Robertson shares about a topic that Jesus taught about a lot. 


Jesus and Money
The focus of his teaching on money was not to create a path to financial stability, or not to invest in a Kingdom Ponzi scheme. The focus of Jesus was to ensure that you were in control of your money and that money was not in control of you.
Jesus makes a direct connection between our hearts and our wallets.
Matthew 6:21
NLT: "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."


Managing Money God's Way
Managing money God's way is not easy, but it is simple.


Live, Give, Save
Live Simply
God's goal for your life is to live a life of shalom. Shalom is a Hebrew word that means peace, wholeness, prosperity, full and restored.
Our access to excess has stolen our enjoyment of the necessities. We are applying biblical principles of generosity to chase after a type of prosperity that God never promised.
Matthew 19: 21-22
We should never be in a position where our possessions possess us.
The answer to living on money is to live a life of biblical simplicity. Simplicity is getting rid of what we don't need to enjoy the things we do need.
Richard Foster: "Simplicity sets possessions in their proper perspective. Simplicity is the only things that sufficiently [repositions] our lives so that possessions can be enjoyed without destroying us."
 
Give Generously
The biblical principle of generosity is as much about your heart as it is your wallet. When we treat generosity like a spiritual discipline, we reap spiritual benefits as well as financial ones.
Matthew 6:22
When your understanding or outlook of the world comes from a place of GENEROSITY, your whole life will be illuminated by God. If your understanding or outlook is STINGY, your life will be dark.
Generosity is a symptom of spiritual health, while greed and stinginess are symptoms of spiritual sickness.


2 Ways You Can Practice Generosity
1.      Give Consistently
Percentage giving is not God's subscription service for financial stability, it's the process by which we pledge our allegiance to Kingdom of God and keep our hearts from greed.
Start where you are and challenge yourself to be a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7
2.      Give Compassionately
What moves your heart? What brings you to tears? Give to that!
1 Corinthians 16: 1-2


Save Diligently
If generosity is an indication of spiritual health, then saving is an indication of financial health.
According to recent surveys, the median American household has about $1200 in saving. Another survey indicates at 56% of Americans could not shoulder an unexpected $1000 expense.
Saving is a form of self-control through delayed gratification.
Start now, Be intentional, Be consistent.
Proverbs 13:7
Proverbs 21: 20
Proverbs 13:22
Proverbs 21: 5
Are you willing to submit EVERYTHING, including your money, to God's way?

Married? Want to be married some day? Wish you weren't married? In this message, Pastor Jamie Nunnally shares how marriage is "simple". 


Marriage is simple: love your spouse the way Christ loves you. 
Ephesians 5:31-23
Your marriage is only as good as your maturity. The quickest way to improve your marriage is to improve yourself, not to try to improve your spouse.


Two mindsets that hurt marriage - roommates and soulmates.
Roommates: when a couple is sharing life, but not sharing love. 
Soulmates: when a couple is forcing passion and imposing perfection. 
 
The 4 C's of Marriage
1. Commitment.
Commitment is being dedicated and devoted, even if things aren't the way you wish they were.
Matthew 19:3-6
Marriage is meant to be a constant commitment, a declaration of devotion and a pledge of partnership that lasts for life. 
 
2.    Communication.
Ephesians 4:29
Think of words like bricks: you can build a home or break a window – it depends on how you use them.
The Golden Rule of Communication: Say what you mean. Say it clearly and say it kindly. But always say what you mean.
 
Differences in the communication style of men and women:
1. Men tend to communicate for information, women communicate for connection.
2. Men tend want to solve problems efficiently, women want to solve problems together.
3. Men think in straight lines and store information in boxes, women think in webs and network stored information. 
In the end, your goal is not for your spouse to become like you, but for you to learn to love your spouse for who they are.
Communicate about your communication. 
 
3. Companionship. 
Ephesians 4:32 "Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."


How to remain friends while married:
1. Remove the pressure of performance and perfection. 
2. Stop wounding each other with words. 
3. Become problem solvers, not argument winners. 
4. Remember to have fun together. 


4.  Christ's love.
Jesus defined love for us:
John 15:13
4 types of love – I'll give you the Greek word, a one-word English definition and a break up line for when this type of love is missing from a relationship.
Eros – infatuation. "I love you, I'm just not IN love with you"
Philia – friendship. "We just don't have anything in common"
Agape –sacrifice. "It's not you, its me"
Storge – family. "We've just grown apart"
Paul described agape for us:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
You can only give what you've got, and God is how you get agape.
 
Questions:
Married: Are you protecting the marriage God has given you?
Not yet married: Are you preparing for the marriage God will give you?
Not interested in marriage: Are you promoting Godly marriages?