When Good Works Eclipse God’s Word: A Review of ‘Morning Sermon’

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:07:31] God of grace and God of glory. Let's stand together as we sing Trinity Baptist Church, how we doing? Isn't it great to be back in the house of the Lord? Amen. The word of the Lord says in Isaiah 55 verse 6 not your thoughts neither are my ways your ways declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth making it bring forth and sprout giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that what I purpose it shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it for you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field will clap their hands if you're thankful to be back in the church today could you could you give God a hand clap of praise it is so good to be gathered together with the saints this morning I know it's cold out there but it's nice and warm in here and so thankful to be with you on a very special Sunday.
[00:12:00] As you know, our pastor is away as an important missionary, essentially giving the word of the Lord to different local churches in our area, also in Washington, and we're thankful for his ministry.
[00:12:11] And part of his ministry is promoting biblical worldview and Christian values.
[00:12:16] And we're so thankful today to be able to have a very special Sunday dedicated to those.
[00:12:21] One of those is standing for life.
[00:12:23] You know, Jesus said that he came that we may have life and have it abundantly, and we wanna make sure And we do that several ways. We partner with a local pregnancy resource center. We partner with Walk for Life in Charlotte. And we also partner with our local Baptist children's home. And we've done that today in bringing in a very special guest speaker. So I just want to thank you, welcome you in here. If this is your first time being here at Irvin Road, my name is Robert and I serve as an associate pastor under our beloved Pastor Mark Harris. We're so thankful that you're with us today as a matter of fact if you are visiting with us today we have a gift for you our deacons have little gift bags and if you would be so kind as to simply slip up your hand they'll come by and make sure you get one and all you have to do is fill out a visitor card and drop it off in the offering plate and we'd love to get to know you and just find out your story pray for you partner with you in a special way to equip you in your walk with the Lord and if you're visiting with us online we welcome you into the sanctuary today if you might be in the overflow or might be shut in at home, not feeling well, welcome here to 221 Irvin Road. And we are so thankful you're joining with us today. When we pray, we invite you to pray. When we go to God's Word, open up God's Word. When we sing, sing. And just know that you are loved, cared for, and cherished. And we're thankful that you're here with us today as well. Well, church, let's go to the Lord in prayer and we'll start the service off. Father in heaven, we're thankful, God. We're so incredibly thankful for who you are, for what you have done, what you are doing, and what you will do. Lord, we're thankful for your word. God is going forth this Sunday all over the world, and we ask that just like that promise in Isaiah, it would go forth and cover the earth and not return void, Lord, that it would produce fruit, Lord, that it would grow the church, Father, and that we would bear much fruit as a result in abiding with you today, and so prove to be your disciples. Lord, we confess that apart from you, we can do nothing.
[00:14:27] Lord, every one of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but we're thankful for the cross.
[00:14:32] We're thankful for Christ, his righteousness that's credited to our account.
[00:14:36] We're thankful for the grace needed to walk uprightly.
[00:14:39] And we ask for it this morning.
[00:14:41] Father, we plead for you this morning to help us today.
[00:14:44] Worship you in spirit and truth.
[00:14:47] Thank you, Father, for clearing the roads so we could gather today.
[00:14:51] Thank you, Father, for a nice warm building to enter into.
[00:14:54] Thank you, Father, for the saints who have gathered to lift high your name and to glorify you, for you alone are worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.
[00:15:03] And, Father, we just ask that you bless this service.
[00:15:05] Again, may everything that we think, say, and do bring you all honor and glory.
[00:15:09] We ask this in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:15:12] ...through third grade.
[00:15:18] At this time, we'd like to welcome you to join us for our children's church.
[00:15:21] So if you'll kind of make your way to my right and your left, then you can make your way to children's church.
[00:15:26] but let's stand in this place this morning and welcome each other here with a hearty handshake and a hug.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:15:32] Morning, church. Aren't you so glad to be here finally again?

[00:20:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:20:12] Wasn't so fun sitting at home.
[00:20:15] This morning we want to continue our worship by taking over our offerings and our gifts and our tithes this morning.
[00:20:22] And if you're watching online or tape delay, you can give to TrinityBaptist.com.
[00:20:31] let us go to the Lord in prayer gracious and mighty heavenly Father we're just so thankful for this time that you've given us to be back in your house oh Lord it's good to be here to worship you and Father you're so worthy of our worship Lord you're so good and you're so kind and you take care of every need that we have and Lord we just want to honor you this morning Lord I pray that your word be broken here this morning for us to hear and to partake in lord lord just watch over us and care for us and father i pray that you just be with our pastor this morning as he's away from us watch over and care for him and beth and bring them back at the next appointed time father and lord we pray for mr rick this morning lord i pray that you just bless him in a mighty way that you take and use the words that that you've given him for us to hear father just bless him in a mighty way and keep him uh sheltered in the cross of jesus christ and heavenly father we're just thankful for this offering that we're taking lord i ask that you just bless it in a mighty way that it can be used for this ministry here and for the ministries around the world that the money goes to uh to share and to uh provide for father lord just be with us in the remainder of our service just watch over us and be in this place father turn your spirit loose in here

[00:22:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:22:13] for these things i ask in your holy and precious name amen and thank you so much pastor grant

[00:26:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:26:09] well church it is uh my honor and distinct privilege to introduce to you our guest speaker today, Pastor Rick Norman. Pastor Rick Norman has served for 13 years or so at Stony Point Baptist Church in Stony Point, North Carolina. And I'm also told that he served for 13 months or so as the Baptist Children's Home church liaison, essentially the tether point between churches and the Baptist Children's Home. And I got to be honest, I've never heard this brother preach, but I'm sure he can preach because somebody named a lake after him, obviously Norman. So Pastor Norman, welcome to Lake Norman.
[00:26:46] And after this video plays, let's give him a warm Trinity welcome, shall we?
[00:26:50] Thank you.

[00:26:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:26:56] Seen, known, loved.
[00:27:02] This is what every child longs for.
[00:27:06] This is what every child deserves.
[00:27:10] Every child carries potential, but a child cannot thrive in isolation.
[00:27:17] Every child needs someone to say yes, support it.
[00:27:27] This is what every church can become.
[00:27:32] Not alone, not on the sidelines, but in step, bringing help and sharing hope.
[00:27:40] We don't stand in the church's place.
[00:27:42] We stand beside you, equipping, supporting, strengthening, so the gospel can be lived out and your church can say yes.
[00:27:53] And when the church says yes, families are not alone.
[00:27:59] children are embraced communities are strengthened hope is restored and it all starts with one yes

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:28:12] every child on mission together the yes the mic a little bit later how about that does that sound good all right well good morning trinity baptist it is good to see you it is great to be with you this morning in the house of the lord and and if you're like me yes we've missed a few sundays and And we are just so thankful to be back with God's people and to worship him and to exalt him, to sing praises to him.
[00:28:56] And, you know, we don't want to do anything different but to praise him and to give glory and honor to Jesus, where Jesus is the one, only one worthy of that kind of honor and praise.
[00:29:06] And so thank you for the introduction and thank you for the pressure about preaching.
[00:29:13] You know, so, but here's what I always hold on to, that it's never about the man who stands in the pulpit.
[00:29:18] It's always about the Savior.
[00:29:19] and so as long as we open up God's word and we're speaking his truth listen the Holy Spirit moves and speaks and and does what only he can do right it is not man that brings conviction but it is the work of God's spirit and my prayer this morning is is that as he uses me as a tool that he would speak to your heart to show you the great need that we have with vulnerable families across our relationship with King Jesus and so this morning we are thankful to be here I got my most of my family with me my wife Melissa there for 26 years and I've got four of my children with me the other two are old and they think they're not old they're older and they think they can do what they want to do and so one is in Lenore she recently got married and she is a social worker and her husband is serving on staff at um fleming's fleming saint what is it fleming's chapel i'm gonna get it right one day i got a lot of churches in my brain right and so we also have uh sheila hood here wave your hand sheila she is um our licensor and she's going to be the one who will be training the classes held here in april and so if you haven't met her i encourage you to do so she'll be at the table after the service today and she can answer all your questions and i am so glad that she's here because I probably can't, right? And so we're grateful for her. And again, her being here with us this morning. And so as Pastor Robert mentioned, I am the liaison between the churches, specifically in the role of foster care and adoption. We have a lot of different ministries and I'm going to highlight a few of those this morning. But the truth is, is that my major emphasis is in foster care and adoption. As you'll hear this morning that we want to call Christian couples into the ministry of becoming licensed through bch to become foster families so that you so we want to be a part of that process and then as well as for those who may not be called to become foster families there's also an opportunity for the church to step into this ministry and to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to love on those who are fostering, but also to handle and do They can provide many ways of ministry to those couples, but also to the children. And I'm going to highlight some of those ways here in just a few moments. My favorite verse is John 3.30.
[00:31:58] and it is one that I reminds me of who I am and who God is it says these words he must increase but I must decrease that is the verse that I have to remind myself often because it's a reminder that my life is not about me it's about Jesus right when I was saved by the blood of Christ listen I become his vessel his child and so whatever I do is for his glory alone and so we want to exalt jesus this morning and we want to to humble ourselves before god and his word as we come to this time so let me pray for us and then we're going to dive into some scripture and some information and think so again let's go to the lord in prayer father in heaven we come humbly before your throne of grace this morning god thanking you for lord the privilege of being in this place, God, a place of worship. And God, we're reminded that it's not about, Lord, the building or anything like that. God, it's about you. And God, may your people this morning exalt your name.
[00:33:03] God, may we lift you up on high. God, to see you clearly for who you are. God, that we would be willing to surrender our lives completely and totally to you. God, maybe we've never put our faith in you may today be the day of salvation but God for every believer that's in this room may may today be the day that we we settle that in our heart that our lives are no longer about us when we are in Christ but it is about the work of the kingdom and the work of the king so father have your way in our hearts this morning as we again come into this this text and God may you speak to us as only you can and we pray in Christ's name amen well I want to answer two questions this morning. The first one is the why and then the second will be the how and the reason I want to begin with the why because I think the why is the foundation. It is the foundation for the Christian life. It is the foundation that we have to make sure that you and I have settled before we can ever step into effective ministry and so the to answer the question the why begins with some of the commands that Jesus gives us and I'll explain the context here in just a moment but we all know the great commandment that Jesus gives right he tells us to love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind that is Matthew chapter 22 verses 36 through 40 right and then the rest of these this verse says this is the great and foremost commandment the second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets jesus has given us as the primary foundation of the christian life meaning that if we ever get our love relationship with jesus wrong right we're not going to love others the way he's called us to i believe that the sequence that jesus gives us in this text is absolutely critical right we ought to strive to love jesus more because the second part of that is to love your neighbor which is where bch comes in as well as the local church right but i want to encourage you this morning that that make sure that you're right with jesus first right it is his spirit it is his power that works and enables us to carry out the gospel in our lives and so we have to make sure that we are striving in our love relationship with Jesus. Now, when we say love your neighbor, that obviously encompasses the Great Commission, which is found also in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 through 20. This is what the Bible says. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. How do we love others? First and foremost we love Jesus because that is an overflow in our lives that we that enables us to have that kind of compassion to love others well what is loving others just the gospel it is to go into all the world and evangelize and make disciples of Christ because there's no greater love than you and I can show the lost world that we live in except for speaking the truth of the gospel to see people's lives changed by Christ and to come into a right relationship with Jesus and so what is the connection the result of obedience to the great commandment leads to the fulfillment of the great commission so guess what our priority is the first two commands that jesus gives but remember you have to love jesus first and notice he says with all your heart with all your mind and with all your soul that's not a comfortable christianity that's a sold-out christianity that's a christianity that we're willing to say jesus here's my life tell me what to do and i'll follow because I owe you my life. I owe you everything because you gave your life for us.
[00:37:00] The second part of the why is this, is that Jesus still saves. And guess what? The gospel still works. Matter of fact, in the Bible, it tells us so many ways that we find power in the name of Jesus Christ. And in Acts 4.12, it says, and there is salvation in no other name but the name of Jesus. 2 Peter 3.9, it says that Jesus, that our God is patient toward us, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. And of course, one of our favorite verses, John 14, six, Jesus says so clearly and so emphatically, listen, no skip in what he said. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the father, but through me. See, the scriptures are clear that the gospel still works. The gospel doesn't go out of date, right? The gospel is still as relevant as it was when Jesus uttered the words. And so we rely upon the scriptures to bring conviction through the God Spirit. But it reminds us of this great truth that Jesus is still in the business of saving lives. But what about the church? See, we're called to be a part of that mission, to be on mission with the gospel and with Christ. And so how does this point to the why?
[00:38:17] because it is number one is an act of obedience we have the gospel we have the commands of Jesus but are we being obedient to walk in obedience and faithfulness it's all about obedience it's about worship it's about giving our lives completely and totally to Jesus and not only in salvation but into his work and so that's another why the third why is this is because people need Jesus there's a desperate need for the gospel we don't have to look very far to and listen we're called to be those local missionaries into the world to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to see people saved now the difference is that when we think about the connection and the call of the church right we said it is a great commandment and it is the Great Commission. Those are the things that if the church is to focus their attention upon, same emphasis. That is the striving aspect of everything that we do, because we want nothing more than to see people's lives changed by the gospel. We want to be gospel-centered in all the things that we do as a ministry. And so the picture is that the local church has the call of the gospel bch has the call of the gospel and see our desire is to be able to come alongside you have before we want to be a part of that that time of obedience and worship the difference for us is of foster children and foster families that are in great need of the gospel there there's an opportunity for the church and for believers to step into this ministry with great passion and desire that stems from our love for Jesus and I often refer to the foster children as the forgotten people group because unless it's brought before the attention of the church many of us forget that those children exist but the truth is is they're in our schools they're in our shopping marks they're everywhere that we go there may even be in our churches praise the lord they were and so they're all mixed they're not labeled you can't pick them out but we know for sure that there are children who need jesus children who need christian homes that christians who step out in faith and trust jesus with their lives the the scriptures tell us that that is the call of the church that is the call of bch now there are over 10 000 children in north carolina alone that are in the foster care system and i can tell you there's quite a bit less number of available homes even though the number will say that there are over 5 000 homes that are that are still licensed foster families make no mistake not every one of those are still able to take placements many of those have a license that is that their path has said you know what we're going to take a break so there's a lot of availability and a lot of need for new christian homes in our state now when a child is removed from their home right you can imagine the the from the perspective of the child and how when the child is removed that it brings a lot of trauma and anxiety all right they they're essentially removed by dss and they're taken from their home without any warning without any opportunity to take some of the the things that they hold dear the things they find precious in their lives, the little things that they find comfort in when they're scared and when they're anxious. And so the child is removed. And when the child is removed, there's really four options that take place once that child is removed. The child stays in the DSS office. That's one option, meaning they sleep in an office building until they can find a suitable home for the child. The second option is, is the child is placed in an unlicensed home or group home, which is one that essentially has not been vetted, right? And we hold ourselves to a higher standard because we want the standard of Scripture. We want people to know Christ. The third option is the child is taken to the local emergency room where he or she will stay for several days or weeks until the home is found. I don't know about you, I don't like going to the emergency room myself. Imagine a child being removed from everything that they've known, everything that they've ever known in their life and they're removed from it and taken to this place the third the fourth option is this the child is left in their family home even though the child should be removed well we want to add a fifth option to that and that is to place them in a God-centered gospel-centered Christian home that they may hear the love of Jesus that they may experience what it means to be in a Christ-centered family to be loved on to be nurtured to be cared for to be provided for, but also to be discipled in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now remember the second greatest command, that is to love your neighbor as yourself. James 1.27 gives us these words. He says, pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
[00:43:47] that is a command church that is the command that falls under the greatest second command that jesus gives us behind loving him that is loving our neighbor to the word visit kind of brings a little bit different meaning because we think of a visit as a a short period of time but the truth is this means to look after means to care for it means to seek out someone that means to be intentional with the the gospel to be intentional with our love to point others to jesus and so to visit the orphans and the widows is the call of the believer now how that looks like in your life right there are different ways that you can minister to them but the but the actual ministry is not is essential and non-negotiable and so the question here about this verse is not if we visit orphans and widows but how that's what you have to answer for yourself this morning it's not if because the call the gospel has been made clear but it's how and so now we get to this port this part of the service where we also answer this question the how which is where i want to share some of the the highlights and the of the ministries that we have because remember the gospel is the emphasis of the local church the gospel is the emphasis of the baptist children's home. And that's what we strive to do, to see lives changed by Christ. And so all these different ministries that I'm going to share very quickly this morning are avenues that we use to proclaim God's truth, right? To see people change, to see people's lives molded into the image of Christ. And so let's run through a few of these ministries just to kind of give a brief highlight. Here, this slide is more of a kind of an overview. Many things you guys may already know about bch but we were founded in 1885 and we've got some ministries in guatemala also beginning ones in south africa and some of these things will be found on the next slide so we'll go ahead and move past that one and then we have cottage homes on many of our campuses across our state there are cottage homes these are homes that look like a normal family home the children there they're They're essentially several children in a home.
[00:46:04] They have house parents that basically live and encourage them and try to stand in place of what they're missing in their lives to be a good godly family, a good influence on their lives.
[00:46:17] They disciple them. They love them.
[00:46:20] These children go to school.
[00:46:21] They go to do the things that every child would do, but they are able to come to a nice home in the evening where they are loved and nurtured.
[00:46:28] and so we have these cottages in several places across our state the next slide is this that we have are also a idd ministry which is for intellectually disabled adults we have committed to care for over 50 of these adults until the lord decides it's time for them to go home and so it is a great joy to see what god is doing through their lives and they just bring joy to your heart and i always tell people if you've ever seen ever seen them in worship man it'll just spark some worship in you because they just they just don't give a they just don't care they just want to lift up their hands and give praise to the lord and it's just a beautiful picture of how we ought to be willing to worship and so the next slide is also our ncba ministry this is a one probably one of the most well-known ministries that we have it is our north Carolina Baptist Aging Ministry. And this ministry strives to keep our senior adults in their home as long as possible because we know that their home is a place of security and comfort and of what they are used to. And it's a place of independence. And so we want to strive to come along them and help them stay in their home just as long as possible. That may look like the building of a ramp so that they can access and leave their home easier. It could also be some simple bathroom renovations where we take the shower or the tub and turn it into a walk-in tub or something like that so that they'll have the less risk of a fall. And the way we do that is that we work with the local church to accomplish that mission. And the reason we do it that way is to know that church down the street came to me when I needed help. We don't want them to be drawn to a place that is several minutes away like the baptist children's home we want them to be to have an opportunity to love on them in the name of christ the next slide is our food roundup many churches have participated throughout the years of collecting food and resources for our cottage homes. These go to where the cottage homes are and they feed the children and the house parents. They've got like a mini grocery store on every campus that they reside. And so this provides, what the church provides, actually feeds those children all year long. And so we say thank you for that. The next slide is probably one of my favorites, the Ride to Clyde. It's an opportunity for people who have motorcycles and i do not hint hint all right so um but you know it's ministry right so i mean it should count um but i guess she's saying dine's not not really ministry so um the ride to clive's an opportunity for people to come together and and fellowship and they ride across to bring awareness and to raise money for the baptist children's home and the reason why this is so beautiful because the truth is is that there's many unbelievers that would say you know what i'll come ride a motorcycle well at the end of the day they're able to hear the gospel we're able to share the love of christ with them and and we know that god is planting seeds among their hearts and so what a great ministry that we are able to participate in the next slide is this our friends of children day these these are days that are set up throughout the year for the church to bring groups to the church or to the to our campuses and help create some some basic maintenance and some things like that and so the way it would work is a church group would come and we would put them on a task that we need accomplished there and so that is also a great opportunity for you to see the ministry at hand and to be involved in what God's wanting to do and the upkeep of some of our facilities there's a there's a lot of different ways to serve the Lord through BCH the next slide is our greater vision this is kind of like a thrift store where families can come and they can find some clothes and some food and some basic things that they need. And of course, it's given to them. And it's also a great way for the church to come and serve. They're on the campus. We've got two of those across the state that you can participate in the organization of the clothes. You can imagine there's a lot of donations. Praise the Lord for that. But it's an opportunity for the church also to get involved in what God's doing to help feed local communities. The next slide is our birth mothers retreat. Now the picture says 2024, but the stat is actually 2025. There was actually 17 decisions for Christ at our birth mothers retreat. And the birth mothers retreat is where we first and foremost create a culture of being pro-life these are mothers who have given up their child to be adopted through christian adoption services god is at work adopting children into this world there's 17 women 17 mothers who chose life for their children that gave their life to jesus they experienced the ultimate redemption through the blood of christ and so we celebrate what jesus is doing through this ministry as well which brings to the next slide is our christian adoption services through christian adoption services they have we've seen 46 adoptions in 2025 that means that first and foremost the mothers chose life they recognize that life is precious that is created in the image of god and they placed their children up for adoption they had a hand in choosing their parents for their child and through that we've seen 46 adoption 46 children who have been placed in a christian home to to be loved on and to be pointed to christ on a daily basis what a beautiful picture of god's grace the next slide is the number of impact 2024 we've already crossed into 2026 the numbers for 2025 are not available yet but in 2024 we impacted i shouldn't say we impacted God impacted, through our ministries, 172,000 lives.
[00:52:51] But you know, one of the things that we celebrate the most is the next number.
[00:52:55] There was 322 professions of faith.
[00:52:58] Listen, at the end of the day, that's why the church exists.
[00:53:01] To exalt Jesus, to glorify Him, and to see people's lives changed by Christ.
[00:53:05] It is why we exist as well.
[00:53:07] So we celebrate that first and foremost, because that means that every effort that we do, listen, is to point these people to Christ so that this number would continue to be greater and greater each year because there's, listen, there's never a need, there's never a loss for, a need, excuse me, there is never a void of lost people, right?
[00:53:26] There's, everywhere that we go, there's people who need to know the gospel.
[00:53:29] The next slide is our Every Child, Every Church ministry, which is where we're going to kind of stay just for a moment.
[00:53:37] I've already mentioned some of the statistics as to the why and the need that's been highlighted for families like you to step out in faith.
[00:53:46] But I love this new slogan.
[00:53:49] It says, every child, every church.
[00:53:51] And the reason we say that is because we believe that every child deserves, first and foremost, to know the love of God and to be in a Christian home.
[00:53:59] They deserve it.
[00:54:00] Listen, they were born into this world to be cared for, to be molded, right?
[00:54:05] So every child deserves that kind of life in the beginning.
[00:54:09] But the truth is, is that we want every church to step into the ministry.
[00:54:12] In some form or fashion, whether it be through becoming a licensed foster family or stepping into a church support ministry, listen, God has a role for every person in this room.
[00:54:24] So what can the church do?
[00:54:26] Well, there's a few things I'm going to give you just as a highlight to get you thinking in the ways that the church can be involved in foster care.
[00:54:35] You can certainly pray.
[00:54:37] Listen, I've seen God do more through a simple prayer than we can do through a full lifetime of effort, right?
[00:54:44] Because God is omnipresent.
[00:54:47] He is omniscient.
[00:54:47] He is good.
[00:54:48] He is powerful and he convicts and draws.
[00:54:51] And so we as a church must pray specifically for lostness, for those whom are lost, for the foster children, for the foster families, for the birth families, and seek ways to minister to them.
[00:55:03] Another way is the church can start a foster care ministry, which is some of these things as well.
[00:55:16] These bags have some basic needs and basic necessities that you can put and to hand the families when they take a placement.
[00:55:23] Because generally, as I mentioned before, they come with very little or nothing in their possession.
[00:55:28] You can have a support drive for diapers, wipes, bedding, clothes.
[00:55:32] You can provide space for training, which you are already in April.
[00:55:36] What about taking meals to foster families?
[00:55:39] Listen, it's not just Baptists that eat.
[00:55:41] Everybody likes to eat, right?
[00:55:43] And so we could take meals to these families to help them throughout their weeks.
[00:55:48] The month of May is Foster Care Awareness Month.
[00:55:51] What if every church across North Carolina made it a priority to emphasize, right, the ministry to foster children, foster families in the month of May to keep awareness out in front of the body of Christ.
[00:56:04] You can also help with some chores and yard work at their homes.
[00:56:07] You can offer child care and take the kids for a few hours, which is called respite care.
[00:56:12] You can also partner with BCH to bring trauma training to your church to learn how to better care for these children who have come from these situations that have ultimately caused some trauma in their lives.
[00:56:26] And lastly, you can also provide a parent's night out.
[00:56:29] Listen, these things are some of the basic ways that are absolutely critical for the church to support those who are taking children into their home.
[00:56:38] And that list is not exhaustive.
[00:56:40] I encourage you to pray and ask God, And so if you would, turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 9.
[00:56:49] I'm going to be very brief about chapter 9, verses 35 and 36.
[00:56:54] And I want to share just two things that I think from this text that are critical and essential for us to really evaluate in our personal lives but also evaluate in the life of the body and ask jesus this question am i doing these things as you tell us i believe there's things that we have to consistently evaluate and to ask god to change in our lives and so these two critical responses number one is this we must see with god's eyes We must see with God's eyes.
[00:57:28] Let me read verse 35.
[00:57:29] It says, Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
[00:57:39] And then in verse 36, it says the first three words, seeing the people.
[00:57:44] So Jesus was seeing the people, seeing the crowds, as some versions would say.
[00:57:49] And so the picture is, is that as Jesus was walking in his earthly ministry, he was providing all these different ministries to draw people to an understanding that he indeed was the son of god and he was the messiah but listen he paused to see the crowds now jesus sees differently than you and i doesn't he right we see through a fleshly sinful lens jesus doesn't have that lens jesus is perfect he's sinless and so jesus looks at it through the eyes of holiness and righteousness and he sees below the surface so as we see this text the word see means to perceive to discern to discover right to turn the eyes right we see Jesus provide this throughout all of scripture we see on many occasions where Jesus saw individuals now there was times that Jesus could could look at the crowd and guess what he knew everything about every person in that crowd but there were times where jesus stepped into a a person's life and said let me reveal to you who i am we see this in the gospel of john on multiple places we see that he called the devout worshiper nathaniel to him and commended him he he healed the crippled man right in john 5 we in in john chapter 6 we see where jesus fed the hungry multitude the 5 000 We see that Jesus came to the weeping mourners at the death of Lazarus.
[00:59:18] We also saw Him reach to His distraught mother and cared for her at the foot of the cross.
[00:59:25] We also saw that He healed the blind man and revealed Himself as the light of the world.
[00:59:31] Jesus, throughout Scripture, consistently saw people.
[00:59:36] But see, again, He sees them much differently than you and I.
[00:59:40] We see them on the exterior.
[00:59:42] We see their behavior.
[00:59:44] We see what they do.
[00:59:46] We see what they don't do.
[00:59:47] Listen, Jesus knows their heart.
[00:59:51] Several years ago, we had an opportunity to go on a mission trip to Canada.
[00:59:57] It was right at the time that I entered Stony Point 13 years ago.
[01:00:02] And I remember going on this first time I was ever on a plane, scared to death.
[01:00:06] and so we were we landed there and we were looking at assisting some individuals on a church plant through I believe it was through the IMB I'm not sure exactly maybe the North American Mission Board but we were going to partner with them and I remember that we were invited to to go to a mosque and meet some of their religious leaders again I don't know why that was the that was part of the agenda. But I remember sitting into the room and we were sitting in a chair and I just remember observing them as they worshiped, as they bowed, as they worshiped a God who does nothing for them, it doesn't save. And I just remember in that moment being absolutely shattered in my heart that I began to look at them and God said to me very clearly, he goes, when I return, they will spend an eternity in hell. And I remember in that moment that I began to see them not through a fleshly lens but I began to see them the way Jesus sees them because their ultimate need is the gospel their ultimate need is to repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and so in that moment God opened my eyes to see them the way he does listen church that's how we have to look at people we have to see people not for what they're doing because a lot of times we can say they don't deserve compassion but the truth is neither do you and I the good news is is that jesus also sees us i want to encourage you with that very quickly because here's the truth jesus knows what's on the inside of your heart jesus knows your anxiety jesus knows your pain jesus knows those quiet struggles that you have and listen the reason why we could be confident that he knows this because he loves us he wants us to bring those burdens to him he wants us to Lay those burdens down at His feet.
[01:02:01] And so listen, there is peace in Jesus.
[01:02:03] There is comfort in the gospel.
[01:02:06] Listen, turn that over to Jesus.
[01:02:07] Stop running and stop fretting over the things that are in His control.
[01:02:12] That was for me, by the way.
[01:02:15] The second thing is, is after seeing with the eyes of God, we must respond with God's heart.
[01:02:21] because it's not just enough to see the need in people, right?
[01:02:25] But it is actually to help accomplish that mission, to reach out to them, to provide some physical and tangible things in order to have an opportunity to share the gospel. Look back at verse 36. Seeing the people, it says that Jesus says he felt compassion for them. Now, just like we said that Jesus sees people differently than you and I see, guess what? His compassion is quite different than ours, right? Our compassion has limitations. Our compassion has a little asterisk. You know how when you uh i'm a coupon guy i like to find coupons and save money all right and that's my wife laughs at me because great you spent three hours and saved a dollar good job right but here's the thing at the you know when you read to save 25 and then you look underneath there's a paragraph like this right and it says not for other promotions not for if i'm looking at shoes not for air jordan's link right not for all these different things and so man with all the limitations what is it good for right right and that's kind of how we treat compassion right i'll give you compassion if i deem that you're worthy of it right i'll give you compassion but if you do this that or that no sorry that's not the compassion of jesus the bible says that while we were yet sinners christ died for us on the cross right so in our iniquity and in our sin the god of heaven came and he died upon that old rugged cross so that you and i would be forgiven It wasn't because of your good works or your worth, right?
[01:04:01] It was because, listen, we were sinful and we needed redemption and that Christ looked at us and He didn't say, you know, I'm not going to bring redemption upon you because you've done these things.
[01:04:12] But in my filthiness, in my dirtiness, Christ came to us and He redeemed us through His precious blood.
[01:04:20] So the question is, do you lack compassion?
[01:04:23] Does your compassion look like the compassion of Jesus?
[01:04:27] Now, there's many opportunities for compassion, and I'm going to be very brief for the sake of time.
[01:04:32] But here's what it says.
[01:04:34] When we think about the child, that's obviously an area of compassion for us.
[01:04:39] But what about the birth family?
[01:04:41] The birth family is often ones that we forget as part of the equation of ministry.
[01:04:46] Remember, it says to love your neighbor as yourself.
[01:04:50] There's no limitations to that word neighbor.
[01:04:52] that means people who come in contact with us need to experience the love of christ and we are called to be the light of the world as christ is in us and so the birth parents is a great ministry and not to get into the stories but we've had opportunities to build intentional enrosing relationships with birth families right through foster care and the reason is is we've had an opportunity to share the gospel with someone in their last days and we we praise the lord because again that was an opportunity that God gave us right by his grace because we were intentional to build a relationship with them and we've also seen a beautiful picture of reconciliation in a family where we've had an opportunity to see a mother be reunited with her child to see the mother give her heart and life to Jesus Christ and now she is passionate about the gospel sharing with people that she's known in the past and so we've seen God at work and so I say that to say things because listen, God is compassionate. God is gracious. God is abounding in mercy so that all people may have an opportunity to repent and believe. But very quickly, why was Jesus moved with compassion? Look back at verse 36. It says, because they were distressed and dispirited.
[01:06:17] They were discouraged, they were rejected, they were overwhelmed, they were anxious, and they were helpless.
[01:06:25] See, that's what Jesus was observing in their lives.
[01:06:30] Now, I would like to say that we never feel this way, but the truth is we do.
[01:06:36] And again, it's a reminder that God sees us where we are.
[01:06:39] But we answer this question, like, why was Jesus moved with compassion?
[01:06:43] Which ultimately leads to the last question is this.
[01:06:46] why were the people overwhelmed anxious helpless and dejected well he answers that in the last part of verse 36 because they were like sheep without a shepherd they were like sheep without a shepherd listen at the core of the problem in people's lives is that they do not have a relationship with jesus christ they do not know the good shepherd they do not know what peace is like they don't know what true joy is like they don't know what it means to be redeemed by the blood of Christ, they don't understand what it means to experience the name that is above every other name. They don't know what it's like to be in that love-abiding relationship with Christ.
[01:07:27] Now, I would love to say this morning that when you come to Christ, that you no longer feel anxious and overwhelmed and helpless. Man, I wish that was true, don't you? But the truth is, is that we have an advocate. We have a compassionate God who reminds us of who He is in those moments.
[01:07:46] that his spirit reminds us of his word and reminds us of his promises that we follow and we hold on to the person of Christ and the promises of Christ and so the ultimate issue here in this crowd as Jesus was seeing the people as he was having compassion on them remember compassion for Jesus was an action it wasn't just something that he said because ultimately they were lost they were in need of Jesus Christ the last quote I want to share is from the the Bible study, Experiencing God, which is a tremendous Bible study. If you've ever had an opportunity to go through it, if not, I encourage you to do so. But this is the quote from Henry Blackaby.
[01:08:32] God wants to intercept those to bring about his purposes. Suppose he wants to do it through you.
[01:08:39] He comes to you and talks to you, but if you're self-centered, you may respond, I don't think I have time or I don't think I'm able to do it. So you can see what happens. The focus now is upon self. The moment you sense God is moving in your life, you give him an extensive list of reasons he has enlisted the wrong person or the time is inconvenient. We need to always seek God's perspective because God knows that you cannot do it and he wants to do it himself through you.
[01:09:08] Can I tell you that we're not equipped for ministry apart from the Holy Spirit?
[01:09:13] We're not equipped to step into foster care without the leading of God's Spirit.
[01:09:18] So the question I ask you this morning, what is God calling you to?
[01:09:22] What is He calling you to this morning?
[01:09:24] Listen, my goal this morning is not to talk you into becoming a foster family.
[01:09:28] It's literally to surrender to Jesus.
[01:09:31] Maybe this morning you've never surrendered to Christ in your personal life.
[01:09:35] Maybe you've never recognized and believed that you were indeed a sinner lost.
[01:09:39] and that you wanted to know what it means to be saved and you heard about this Jesus that died in your place so that you might be reconciled and forgiven by Him.
[01:09:50] The Bible says if you repent and believe upon Jesus Christ that you will be saved.
[01:09:56] You will be redeemed.
[01:09:57] You will be given a home in heaven.
[01:09:58] You will become a child of God.
[01:10:02] Maybe that's the decision that you need to make this morning.
[01:10:04] Maybe the Spirit of God is speaking to your heart in that way.
[01:10:06] but for those whom are we know that we're a child of god listen anytime the word of god is preached and spoken about god is at work in people's hearts no matter what it is it doesn't return void and it's not about the man that's on the pulpit it's about the living god the living word and listen jesus may be speaking to you in such a way he's calling you to become a foster family listen i encourage you april's around the corner we can get you in that place and we can get you started toward being that local missionary in your context but maybe God has just said you know what I want to do something I really don't think that I'm at a place to become a foster family but you know what I see the need I see God is calling me into something and and maybe I just want to say God use me in such a way that you show me exactly how I can minister to the foster children and you listen so here's the thing whatever jesus is calling you to this morning the only answer that he will accept is yes yes we give god excuses he's not going to accept any of those but listen we must respond in total surrender and total obedience so what is it that god has asked you to do this morning listen i invite you to respond to jesus as we pray as pastor robert will come and prepare for our time of invitation listen if you feel the lord's leading upon your heart to receive christ to join this fellowship whatever it is walk in obedience walk in surrender let's pray together father thank you for your word thank you for this time lord being together in this place of worship god i'm thankful that you are a god who is sufficient in all ways father i pray that in this moment god as you are speaking to the hearts of your people father that if there's anyone here that's never confessed to you as Savior and Lord.
[01:12:04] God, may today be the day of salvation.
[01:12:06] May today be the day that they say yes to Jesus, yes to the gospel.
[01:12:10] God, it's the most important decision.
[01:12:12] It's essentially the only decision that really has eternal implications this morning.
[01:12:17] To receive you, to be forgiven, to be redeemed.
[01:12:20] But God, we also pray for every person that's in this place.
[01:12:24] God, that you've called each of us to a place of service.
[01:12:27] God, help us to know your heart when you identify and help us to establish that place of service.
[01:12:34] God, maybe it's in the foster care system.
[01:12:36] Maybe it's just in the church.
[01:12:37] Maybe it's serving our neighbors.
[01:12:39] God, whatever it is, my prayer this morning is, is that your people would say yes to you, Jesus.
[01:12:45] Thank you, God, for your work.
[01:12:46] And we pray it in Christ's name, amen.

[01:12:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:12:49] Together as we sing, room at the cross for you.

[01:13:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:13:15] Cross upon, it's a shout, it's grace, it's a fear.
[01:13:36] And as wide as, yes, there's room.
[01:14:07] Well, thank you so much, Pastor Rick. You said it really well. It's not about the man.

[01:15:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:15:22] It's about the message. But we just want to thank you for being the man that God used this morning to bring the message. So thank you for that. Also, church, just want to implore, encourage you all to be the man or woman that God uses in some capacity. Again, it's not if we should do something, it's what we should do and what that should look like and how. And the best form of leadership I know of is leading by example so what I have here in my hand is an application for my family to apply to be foster parents and your yes might look different than mine and that's okay the every great army every great military has multiple branches you know we've got air force army navy marines we even have a space force and that's because we wage this fight on multiple fronts so it's not enough just to go down Charlotte once a week or I'm sorry once a year and walk it's not enough just to help out local pregnancy resource center. It's not enough just to send and implore legislators to change laws to allow for the opportunity for life. We all have to do something.
[01:16:25] Someone can't do everything, but everyone can do something. And partnering with the Baptist Children's Home is a way to do just that. We have a wonderful family here at this church that has donated the resources essentially to make this 10-week foster care training as easy as possible for you. Out of their own pocket, they provided child care. If you have children, you don't know what to do with your children on Thursday night for three hours, we have hired in babysitters or caretakers to come in and look after them. Well, what about dinner? We usually eat Thursday night.
[01:16:59] They, again, funded the opportunity to feed your family a dinner every Thursday night for 10 weeks starting April 16th ending June 18th you need to receive 30 hours of training to be licensed so it's going to be three hour increments we're going to be kicking that off here in April so look out for that and just because you go through the training that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to send 10 kids to you the next week that you could you could provide respite for a family like if a church family says yes to foster care you have to be licensed to essentially watch children who are in that situation. So again, I just want to implore you today, put your yes on the table with God. Allow him to put it on the map. Allow him to determine what that yes looks like, but just follow, be obedient to his call. I do have a benediction for you today. It's coming from the book of Hosea. Might be one of the shortest benediction I'll ever give. Hosea 14.3, Assyria shall not save us We will not ride on horses We will say no more our God To the work of our hands God in you The orphan Finds mercy We're not going to look to a nation To do what God has called us to do We're not going to try to do something apart from God's help We look to God And if the orphans come to him and find mercy The question will be Will orphans See Jesus in you Will orphans find mercy in you as well?
[01:18:30] Let's pray.
[01:18:31] Father, we're so thankful for your word.
[01:18:33] We're so thankful for your promise that this word will not return void, God, but it'll go out and accomplish that what you sent it out to do, Lord.
[01:18:42] And Father, you've covered the Carolinas in snow just two weeks.
[01:18:46] Father, you can cover the globe with your word, Lord.
[01:18:52] And we ask that you do that, Lord, that you'd send missionaries and evangelists and pastors and families to open up their home and even minister to those in their own backyard.
[01:19:03] Father, help us to say yes to this call today, to be found faithful to the call of Jesus, to love others, not just in word or in thought, but in deed and in truth.
[01:19:15] And Lord, as Pastor Rick will be at the door greeting families, as Ms. Sheila will be down at the door greeting families that come in, we just pray you would press upon their heart to say yes in some capacity.
[01:19:25] Father, may this church, may Trinity Baptist Church, May families run to it as a safe haven, as a refuge.
[01:19:36] But Father, they're ultimately not running to any man or any woman.
[01:19:40] They're running to Jesus Christ.
[01:19:42] And that's who we seek to lift up day in and day out.
[01:19:45] Help us to be found faithful to do just that.
[01:19:47] We ask this in Christ's mighty name.
[01:19:49] Amen.