Ordinary or Extraordinary sermon notes. Ordinary people live ordinary lives and die ordinary deaths never changing or affecting anything or anyone. Extraordinary people live extraordinary lives and affect and change something. I have never been ordinary. My name is not ordinary. Nothing about me is ordinary. Our church is not ordinary. How about you?
Ordinary or Extraordinary
By Pastor Delbert Young
Ordinary or Extraordinary sermon notes
Scriptures: Revelation 21:9-10, Ephesians 5:25, Galatians 4:26, Hebrews 12:22-24, Matthew 5:14, 1 Peter 2:5, Ephesians 2:19-20, Matthew 13:45-46, John 7:38, 1 Peter 2:24, Matthew 7:17-20, Psalms 1:3
The difference of being Extraordinary is settling for Ordinary.
Ordinary people live ordinary lives and die ordinary deaths never changing or affecting anything or anyone. Extraordinary people live extraordinary lives and affect and change something. I have never been ordinary. My name is not ordinary. Nothing about me is ordinary.
Our church was not put here to be ordinary.
If it was then the Lord would not have placed me here to be the pastor. We have a work to do. We are not here to be like any other church in any place in the world. This Life Gate Church is not a clone of anything. We are here to be extraordinary
Ordinary is my enemy.
Ordinary tries to make me “fit in” and be accepted by ordinary religion. My Lord Jesus is not ordinary. My Father God is not ordinary. The Holy Spirit is not ordinary. There is nothing about belief in God that should be ordinary.
Ordinary or Extraordinary
Life Gate Church is not ordinary.
We are not to be like a church down the street or across town or even in another town. There would be no purpose for our existence if we were to be ordinary. Our message is not ordinary. Our praise is not ordinary. Overall our services are not ordinary. We are here for an Extraordinary reason with an Extraordinary purpose.
What bothers some of us is when people talk about us in a negative way. They are saying we are different, therefore we must be wrong. Why is this? Why does different make us wrong? We should learn to say we know we are different because we are extraordinary
The New Jerusalem is not ordinary.
It is not built with or upon ordinary people. First, allow me to show you what it is so we will all be on the same page.
Revelation 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God
The angel needed to show John the Bride because she was not ordinary. He had never seen anything like her before.
Ordinary or Extraordinary
The New Jerusalem is not heaven as we have been told by preachers. This is the wife of the Lamb which is the church.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it
This is not something supposed to happen one day. This is now the mother of us all.
Galatians 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all
This is not a place we will go one day when we die. It is the place we come to now as we enter the kingdom of God.
Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel
We are not talking about a satellite one day orbiting the Earth. We are not talking about something God is yet to create when he burns up this earth. If you and I have experienced the blood of Christ and have come to Jesus, then we have also experienced Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, angels, and the church.
Ordinary or Extraordinary
The New Jerusalem the Lamb’s wife is Extraordinary.
She has a brilliant light.
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid
She is covered with clear jasper stones.
1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house,
The city has twelve foundations with the names of the twelve apostles.
Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone
At each gate was a pearl.
Matthew 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it
The Lamb’s wife has a river flowing from it.
John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water
The Lamb’s wife has a tree giving healing to the nations.
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed
Matthew 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them
Psalms 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper
Ordinary or Extraordinary
The New Jerusalem, the Lamb’s wife, in not ordinary. She is extraordinary. As easily seen, this is not heaven. This is the church, or better put, the way the church should be today
Our church, Life Gate, is not ordinary. It is extraordinary. You are an extraordinary body of believers. There is nothing like you any place on this earth. You are from heaven descending and bringing the kingdom of God
Closing
The New Jerusalem, the Holy City, projects excellence. She is excellent because people make her excellent. I want to bring this teaching from a spiritual position to a place we can touch and apply
The New Jerusalem is an extraordinary facility.
As we look at the New Jerusalem we see excellence. The city, the Lamb’s Wife is four square. She is perfect on every side. She doesn’t have a good side or a bad side.
I cannot study the New Jerusalem and not look at our facility. Is it excellent? Does it have a bad side? What do people see as they pass our facility? Do they see a pearl of great price to enter through?
Once they enter, is it a golden walk? As they look around do they see excellence? Are the walls and doors clean? Are the bathrooms nice and clean? Do the grounds project excellence? Do all the fluorescents work? Also do all the commodes work properly? Is there paper and cookie crumbs on the floor?
Ordinary or Extraordinary
The heavenly city has two perspectives. First as one gazes upon it, it is beautiful and excellent. Every stone is in its place and glitters. Second, the city ministers. Out of its belly flows a river and the tree produces healing. We see two concepts. We see the facility itself and we see what it does.
I want to make this extremely practical. What do you do to make the facility glitter and project its brilliance? If each of us are a lively stone (1Pe 2:5), then we each are responsible for producing a glitter
Willow Creek
I have asked the Life Groups to select an aspect of our facility to watch over and maintain. Judy and I were in Chicago visiting Willow Creek Baptist Church a few years back. The building was immaculate. The grounds were well groomed. It was very clean. We were told everything about the facility was done by teams. A team came in every Saturday and did the grounds. A team came in every week and cleaned. Another team made certain the walls were clean and not scuffed. Why can’t we do this?
But you don’t need to be on a team. And you don’t need to be asked. If we see something needing to be done, do it. This is your church too. Do your part to make it glow and bring the glory of God
If the Holy City is made up of precious stones and each stone gives its special glitter in its special place, doesn’t this tell us we are not only responsible for flowing out and feeding the nations (which we do), but also for making certain our spot in our facility is shiny and clean?
Ordinary or Extraordinary sermon notes
Ordinary or Extraordinary sermon notes
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