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*Intro

- Leadership Summit, Bill Hybels and Willow Creek...always a champion of the local church.

+ 'The Local church is the hope of the world'

+ I totally agree

- Matthew 16:18...Jesus is gonna build His Church, so don't stand in his way

- We can't forget that 'we are the church'

+ Not just buildings, monuments, institutions, services...

+ We are the church, the expression of the living King to and for this world, hands and feet of Jesus

+ If we leave it to buildings, monuments, services...the world will miss it.

+ I love my church T-shirts...I love the Church

+ This might be the most significant revelation that we can get today as 21st Century Christ-followers...we are the church.

+ It is time for the church to rise and take her place.

*Acts

- ACCESS218 has been walking through the book of Acts this summer

- Chronicle of Jesus building His Church in 1st Century AD

+ The King lives...and that means something for us

+ The kingdom will advance, the mission will go forward

- Acts 1:7-8

+ He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

+ Disciples: We are excited about all you are gonna do...we'll wait here until you are done.

+ Jesus: You are gonna be a part of it

- Luke writes the chronicle of the mission going forward through the Church

+ Honest, messy, not organized and the Christ-followers fight

+ All kinds of rough moments...yet the mission moves forward.

*Acts 8:26-35

+ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth." And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

+ So much that we can learn from Philip as we engage this thought that 'we are the church'

* Philip is scattered

- Acts 8:1-4...

+ And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

+ Philip is among those who are scattered due to persecution

+ They are in places they don't wanna be, doing things they never planned on doing

+ Scattered, yet preaching the word

- Anyone feeling scattered these days?

+ Sometimes when we feel scattered, persecuted, held back...our response is to pull back

+ Life gets hard, let me ease up on the call of God on my life

+ Life gets rough...we'll leave the 'we are the church' thing to the paid people

+ Life gets hairy...I'll pull back on going deeper in my relationship with God.

- Imagine what our lives could look like if being scattered was less a signal to pull back, and more a push to move forward

+ Life is rough...now it is time to get busy with building the kingdom

*Philip responded (Acts 8:29-30)

- And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

- He listened to the voice of God in his life, and ran to respond

- We believe He is always speaking

+ Eternal Word

+ More to do with our position and less to do with whether He is speaking

- Garmin and traveling

+ Love the 'recalculating'

+ Gotta follow

- We all wanna hear the voice, but are we willing to follow it?

+ Are we quick to follow it?

+ Yes that ministry, that mission, the role...

+ Small unctions

- Erwin McManus

+ You can't live a single day without hearing the voice of God

+ You'll forget you ever heard it...

- Not there yet...often it is clear and simple

+ Love God, love your neighbor, forgive your enemies

+ Love mercy, seek justice and walk humbly with your God

+ Can it be said that we 'ran' at the sound of His voice

- The Church are the people who say, 'yes and amen to the voice of God in their life and get going with it.

*Philip gets close (v. 30-31)

- So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

- Sees beyond the outward appearance

+ Gentiles should have no capacity or desire for God

+ This eunuch is reading Isaiah, but doesn't get it

+ The eunuch just came from the temple and worshipping God, couldn't get close

- Are non-believers in our world making attempts

+ Sometimes they just need a believer to point it out

+ There is a desire in you, there is good in you, truth is coming through...

- The Church is not only called out, called together, but called towards the world.

*Philip sits (v.31)

- And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

- Philip sits with the eunuch to talk to Him about the scriptures.

+ Philip is not a lazy apostle...He's a busy guy

+ Philip somehow has enough time to stop and really engage this moment

- Can God interrupt your schedule?

+ He doesn't have to follow our day planners and lists of things to do...He is God

+We're not talking about being irresponsible, we're talking about being responsive to the Spirit

- Flights from Sydney...

+ God already had my flight plan worked out...He just didn't tell me about it

+ Girl crying in the airport...probably the main reason why the whole flight plan changed

- The Church will be the people who will be flexible enough that God could use us at any moment.

*For all of us...

- We believe that this story about Philip is more than a story

+ We believe that this is inspired word of God

+ Luke is not just telling us 'hey, this was Philip's day'

+ The Spirit is saying, this should also be a signal and a picture of your life

- It was Philip, not Peter, not Paul...

+ We are the church...not Gee, not George, not me...WE.

+ Every member a minister, every follower a contributor to the advancement of the kingdom

+ There is an individual call on each life...cuz you are the church

- Spirit leads Philip to the eunuch

+ Who is the Spirit leading you towards

+ Who is the Spirit leading us towards

+ We are the church...the tangible expression to and for the world.

- Romans 8:19

+ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

+ The whole of creation is waiting for God's people to take their place

+ Waiting on you...waiting on us

+ We are the Church...not buildings, not monuments, not services, not celebrities...WE.

*Communion Intro

- Jesus is hanging out with His disciples...and He has anticipated this night

- Lift up the bread, and breaks it before them and tells them to eat

+ He was asking, 'will you take me in?'

+ When we take the bread today, it can be more than ritual

+ The bread can be our acceptance of the life of Christ in us

- He lifted up the cup, and gave thanks and said drink all of you

+ He was asking, 'will you drink from the cup I drink from?'

+ When we take the cup, it can also be more than ritual

+ The cup is our acceptance of the mission of Christ in our lives

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