Group Effort: Part I (Sunday Sermon Notes)

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Jr.
Title: Group Effort
Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost Sunday Backstory:
• The Holy Spirit poured upon the apostles and their followers.
• Jesus promised the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit came just as Jesus had promised.
• A mighty wind came upon the people, fire came upon them, tongues like fire fell on the people and filled them with the Holy Spirit.
• They were able to communicate and BE witnesses with POWER!!
• Many were baptized and became believers in Jesus Christ.
• They became witnesses with power.
• That day, establishing the body of the church. The church was birthed that day.
• The same God back then that EMPOWERED the early church EMPOWERS us today.
The MOST segregated day of the week is on Sundays. You have too many different denominations.

Our church gatherings are meant to empower us to be witnesses.
The Chosen Church’s position is to bring people together.
UNITY is just as precious as the anointing. The unified person (church) brings people/things together.

COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY
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Some settle in other people’s identity. You can only BE who God created you to BE. Meaning, sometimes we try to take on something that God didn’t give you. Please don’t take on a title that God did not give you, please don’t let anyone put a title on you that God did not give you. BE and EXIST in who GOD created YOU to BE and LOCK IN!!!

Link up with the right people because that’s what community helps you to do!! Being linked up with the RIGHT community helps you find your calling. Community helps you find your calling. Your calling is to help somebody get to Jesus.
Again…YOUR calling is to help someone to get to Jesus.

Having a title and not doing the work of it causes you to be judged harder.
You cannot lead at church and not at home. Home comes first. BE A SERVANT! YOUR HOUSEHOLD IS THE FIRST PLACE YOU HAVE TO SERVE CORRECTLY!!!

Acts 2:1-4 (ESV)

1 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested1on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

It’s a GROUP effort; you were NOT meant to do it alone.
There is power in unity. We were designed to be interdependent.
There is POWER in UNITY.
We were NOT created to walk this earth alone.
We were not meant to live a life of independence.
 We were NOT designed to be I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.T.
We were designed to live interdependent. We are not designed to live isolated and disconnected.

Friendly Reminder: Genesis 2:18, God states: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." (NIV)

Question: How can we be a BODY of CHRIST if we choose to live a life that’s disconnected from the BODY.

COMMUNITY, CONNECTION, COVENANT:
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We were designed for community, connection and covenant. God created us to help complete us.
• To bear one another burdens
• To restore each other.
• To tell the truth in love.
• To help lift one another.
• To help bring our strength to those who are weak.
• No one has it ALL together. That is WHY we NEED each other.
• The enemy works so hard to divide the unity of the church (body). This happens because a unified body is an unstoppable BODY.
• Independence means, I do not need anyone. Interdependence means God designed me to meet the right people.
• United people can walk around the walls of Jericho 7 times and the walls fall. United people can rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days. Meaning, the POWER of God often shows up where the people of God learn how to move together.

Moving together means:
• There is selfless posture.
• There are some sacrificing.
• There are some ego and pride let down.
• God can bless individuals BUT He births MOVEMENTS thru UNITY.

GOD MOVEMENT ➡️➡️ CHOSEN CHURCH IS A GOD ORDAINED MOVEMENT!!
We cannot do anything without UNITY.

Psalm 133:1-2 (ESV)

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!”

Pressure Point: The power of God often shows up when the people of God know how
to move together. That’s selfless posture.
We cannot have all these anointed houses, and we don’t have any unified houses.

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1. It takes a group effort to be on one accord.
2. It takes a group effort to put down your preconceived notion, assumptions, your upbringing to lock in with others for a great cause.
3. Nothing can stop a group of unified people BUT it takes a GROUP EFFORT.
4. Question to ask self? Are you ALL in?

In order to be a part of the group:
• Sometimes I’m not going to like you.
• Sometimes I’m not going to want to be bothered by you.
• Sometimes I’m going to get weary of you.
 
However
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• It’s a group effort so I know that two is better than one.
• Lock in with a group that’s going after God.

• Group check ✅✅✅✅✅✅

 Who are the people in your group? What are they going after (Chasing)?

Note: You should feel a response from what you feel from the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2 is not just about the fire. The fire started by alignment. It’s not just about tongues; it’s about the unity of one!

The sound was AMAZING but look at the precondition of the synchronization…..Agreement on Earth to BE on one accord made room for the sound of heaven to come in.