All Things Are Possible

Guest (Male): I'd rather be under God's mighty hand and wrong than not be under His hand and right. Because if I'm under His hand, wrong or right, I know that I'm protected by the power of God.

Guest (Male): New Covenant Fellowship Church. In-person worship Sunday mornings at 10:30, 1326 North Moore Road in Chattanooga. New Covenant Fellowship Church, a place for every race.

Now, from New Covenant Fellowship Church, All Things Are Possible. At New Covenant, we show and grow people in Christ and glorify God. It's what we believe. To say it another way, if you're looking to worship in a place without having to worry about what to wear or a plate being passed for money, come to New Covenant.

Every Sunday morning at 10:30, you'll enjoy great music and solid teaching from the Bible. You'll find us on North Moore Road in Chattanooga with directions right to our door at ncf.church. New Covenant Fellowship Church, we are a place for every race. And here's Pastor Bernie Miller.

Dr. Bernie Miller: A pastor said his church almost split over the thermostat. One side said it's freezing in here. The other side said it's hot enough to baptize people with steam. One member walked in wearing a winter coat and carrying a handheld fan. She said, "I don't know who to agree with, so I came prepared for both rivals."

Isn't that just like the church? Sometimes we have folks that say over here it's too hot. Over here it's too cold. I'm just using his illustration. We don't have a problem with the thermostat because we have somebody guarding it.

We can survive hostility at work but lose our humility and unity over the color of the carpet that people are going to have to vote on, the volume of the worship inside the church, food at our fellowship meal, or someone sitting in someone's seat that they like to sit in, as if that person has leased that seat for their entire life.

I don't have a seat. If I don't have a seat, nobody has a seat. My name isn't on the back of any seat. Have you ever been to a church where one person contributed to buy the seats for the church, and this one seat also had a chandelier over it that the family also purchased because their relative needed some extra light in order to read her Bible that she never opened?

One day, somebody came in and sat in her seat. It was rude. She told them, "You're in my seat." It was a visitor. The visitor was looking for the name. "Do they have names on them?" She said, "My mama bought this seat and the chandelier. I need that chandelier so I can read."

I was embarrassed because of all that stuff. When we decided on the colors in this sanctuary, we didn't have a committee meeting. Mary was the one that was in charge of the decorating committee. She's gone on to be with the Lord. I said, "Mary, I want you to choose the color of the carpet and everything for the sanctuary."

She said, "Pastor, I don't know what to do." I said, "Mary, go in the Old Testament and read what the colors are that God used for His temple, and bring those colors in here." She said, "Do I need a committee?" I said, "No, if you get a committee, you're going to have a problem."

She came up with an idea. She found some things. She said, "I don't want anything loud." She gave me some options. I said, "Mary, you're close to home plate on this color here. Go with it so you can cross the plate and I can go back to studying."

We allowed her to do that because that was her assignment. There are times when committees are good, but you have to be united with one mind and one purpose, and the purpose is to glorify God. If you're not on a committee to glorify God, it's not going to be a good committee.

We survive hostility at work, but we lose our humility and unity over things that we shouldn't even have a problem with. Biblically, humility changes the heart. Biblically, civility changes the tone. Biblically, Christ changes both.

He changes the heart and the tone. If Christ is in you, the hope of glory, then you're going to speak and act like God. God only got upset when people were preventing people from coming in to worship. They were charging them for sacrifices.

Jesus said, "Wait a minute. You're charging these people more money than they need." They were trying to switch it over to temple money. They were saying your money that you've been using outside in the street, you can't use that in here. Where is that in the Bible?

Some of you, I know you've hit the number. You played the lotto and you've given it to the church. I don't know about any of that, but I thank you. I don't want to encourage you to throw your money away like that, but some people say, "I don't think I ought to give the church any of this because I got it by playing the numbers."

There are some people in church that deal in drugs and have some money. Be careful for those bills sometimes. You may get it and say, "What's this white stuff on here?" Stay out of people's business. We just thank you. You can put it in the envelope or the basket. We don't care.

Pride argues for a throne. Humility grabs a towel and washes the disciples' feet. He said you ought to be doing this for one another. He wasn't saying that we ought to be washing each other's feet. What he was showing us was a picture of humility where you will do whatever it takes for God to be glorified.

You never know what people are looking at and what makes people respect you. It's those little things. Paul said we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, but we ought to look out for other people. That's what a lot of you do.

I look at the bottom line every month. The secretary gives me the reporting of the numbers at the end of the month. I look at what's come in each week and how it's totaled up. As long as we're hitting our budget, I'm fine with that. I don't know who gave or how much they gave. I just have numbers and no names, and I like it like that because someone told me to stay away from the money and the honeys.

It must have been somebody that had gone through something and they didn't want me to have to go through that same thing. They wanted me to keep my life. Apparently, the person who was involved went too far.

We're going to look at several things today. One, humility protects unity. Patience preserves unity. Our growth spiritually strengthens unity. You can always tell when someone is an immature believer. All you have to do is read 1 Corinthians chapter 3 where the Apostle Paul talks to the people. He says you are babes in Christ. You're acting like children. There is jealousy and strife among you. Because of that, you are a carnal Christian.

A lot of people think carnal Christian means someone who is doing crazy stuff, but a carnal Christian is one who has jealousy and strife and they're causing the body of Christ to react to it. It's not a good thing.

If you're maturing, you're strengthening the unity in any church that you are a part of. Unity is not maintained by everybody getting their way. Unity is maintained when everybody walks in God's way. Humility isn't pretending we're worthless. It's refusing to treat ourselves like the main character.

Some of the guys that come in and preach sometimes for funerals that I don't have to do, they ask, "Where are the seats on the platform?" I say we don't have seats up there. "Isn't this a church?" Yes, it is. "Well, where are the seats?" I sit down here. "You sit down there?" Yes. "What about on Sunday?" I sit there first with my wife, and then I sit over there getting ready to get up here because it's easier.

"You don't have any seats?" I didn't come here just to deliver a message. I came here to worship. I can't worship up here. The praise team is doing that. I'm out there enjoying the worship that they're doing. I want to be down there where you are because we're worshipping together, and I feel like that's the best place for me to be.

I've been there and I acted a fool because I had a title. I said, "God, why do I have to preach this message?" He said, "Go on and preach it anyway. I told you what to preach, and if you don't preach that, I'm going to make you look foolish." I didn't want to look foolish, so I'm going to preach this thing about humility.

Ephesians 4:1 says, "Therefore..." You know what "therefore" means, don't you? Whatever came before it. Chapters 1 through 3 talk about our doctrine. But chapters 4 through 6 are about our duty because of the doctrine. He says, "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Because of who we are, we're to walk worthy. We're to live like who we've become. It's a lifestyle and a conduct. Paul says don't just claim Christ, walk like Him or walk like He's in you. Every believer has been filled with the Spirit. Initially when you are saved, God fills you with His Spirit. That is the Spirit that brings you into the family. But every day you are filled with the Spirit to go about your life in Christ. The first Spirit filling was for your sealing into the body of Christ. The second is for your walk daily in Christ.

Now that you are saved and connected to the Father and the Son by the Spirit, you must now walk like you are a child of God. My wife and I were out at the park. We had a good time. I surprised her. We had lunch prepared by a chef out there in Coolidge Park in the center of the grass, music playing. My wife didn't know any of this was going to happen.

We walked around for a little bit. She said, "Look at that, someone is getting ready to serve some of this." I said, "Let's go over there and see what's happening." She said, "No, no, no." I said, "It's okay, I know them." I walked over and said, "Hey, welcome. Sit down." My wife said, "What?" People were looking down on us going, "Wow." They were overwhelmed by the fact that here is a man with his wife.

Another time, Zach came walking with us, and a guy looked at me and looked at Zach and said, "That's your son, isn't it?" When you walk in the room, somebody ought to say, "That's a child of God right there." You don't have to say you are. The way you walk in, they ought to be able to tell.

People ought to know that you belong to God. A man who loves his wife like himself treats her like he would himself. Christ treats us like he treats us because we're His bride. When we're disciplined, Christ doesn't discipline us, the Father does. Christ loves His bride; He never beats on the bride. The Father disciplines us. The Father disciplines His children to child-train us. Christ just loves on us.

If you had kids and one kid got in trouble and you spanked one, the other kids are looking at that going, "I'm not doing that." God loves you so much He wants you to have the very best, but He also has to discipline you. If you're not walking the way He wants you to walk, then He will discipline you. If your lifestyle doesn't match your calling, it reminds me of a chef wearing a chef's hat while burning microwave popcorn.

If we wear the name Christian as a label, our walk ought to match our wardrobe. Our conduct should fit it. We ought not be hot and bothered and burned up and irritable because somebody took your parking spot. We've got extra spaces, so if you want to park way back in the back, that's fine. It's going to be live with the Chicago Mass. We've got 50 of them on the bus coming through, so you about know what's going to happen. That whole back is going to be filled up. I suggest you get here soon.

Wear your label well. Christ is your wardrobe and Christian is your label. Paul said lowliness is humility. In the Greek culture, if you said humility, it was considered weakness. But Christianity transformed humility into strength because when Jesus washed people's feet, he showed them a different side of that word. He humbled himself and became obedient even unto death.

Some people pray, "Oh Lord, make me humble." But when somebody corrects them, they respond, "Who do you think you are telling me that? I've got more experience than you do." I thought you said you were humble. Pride divides, but humility unifies. You cannot build unity while promoting yourself.

When we eat, people say, "Go on and get in front." No, I don't want to get in front. You're a guest. People that come to your house to eat, do you get in front of them? No. And I'm pastor, I don't need to get in front of anybody. Everybody goes before us. My wife and I feel the same way about that. You go ahead and eat.

The word meekness is strength under control, not weakness. It's used for a wild horse that had been trained. It's still powerful but disciplined. Meekness is like your grandma driving. She could hit 90 miles an hour if she wanted to, but she chooses to drive 37 in a 55 mile an hour zone. She's got the power, but she's not going any faster. That's power under control. A meek believer can embarrass people publicly, but they choose grace.

Long-suffering means long-tempered. It means patient endurance. God has been long-suffering with us, but some people have microwave patience. If God doesn't answer in 30 seconds, you go to Plan B. They give up hope. But mature believers develop spiritual endurance.

Forbearing is patience. It's lovingly putting up with other people. If you ever walked in my shoes for a week, I put up with a lot of stuff. But that's what I'm called to do, and I don't complain. If I have to call somebody aside, we go into my office. When we go into my office, they know it's not a good sign. Several people have been in my office and they don't come back into my office; they take care of everything they need to take care of.

Patience is lovingly putting up with other people. Not everybody in church is easy to get along with. Every church has extra loud people, quiet people, emotional people, suspicious people, and people who reply all to every email. Don't you hate it? Paul says love them anyway because God has been putting up with us since we've been born again and even before.

Being diligent means eager effort, diligently laboring for the sake of unity. Unity takes work; division happens naturally. Peace is what brings us together and keeps us united. But let me tell you something about the devil. My mama used to call him old Slewfoot. The devil knows if he can't destroy the church from the outside, he'll try to divide us from the inside. That's why Paul says patience preserves and protects unity.

Ephesians 4:4 mentions seven "ones": one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. That's talking about spiritual gifts.

In the Old Testament, God would go to Moses and say, "I need a certain something built. I also need a carpenter and someone else that's able to do these kinds of delicate and intricate things." He said, "I'm going to fill with the Spirit these people to do the job that I want them to do." That's an Old Testament principle, but it's a New Testament reality.

Whatever spiritual gift that you may have, God's going to fill you with the Spirit to do the gift that He has given you. Church people may differ on music styles, dress codes, coffee flavors, and potluck recipes, but we agree on Jesus because that unity is stronger than preferences. This grace is not saving grace alone, but serving grace. You need grace to serve people. Someone will get on your last nerve, and you ask God for some more nerves.

When the Spirit came down at Pentecost, they were all ready to do whatever God wanted them to do. Everybody has a spiritual gift and a talent. A spiritual gift is not the spiritual gift to sing. There are some people that try to sing the 67th note on the piano, and there are only 88. But somehow or another, they find that other note. That's not a spiritual gift; that's a talent.

Others have the talent to sing, and there are people who clap to the beat and people who create their own rhythm section. You'll get it by the time you're in the car. I was by somebody and they said, "Pastor, I want to play the tambourine with the band." I saw them clapping with the band supposedly. The band is on 2-4, they're on 1 1/2 and 3 1/2. They aren't going together. They're in the negative and the band is in the positive.

The church is like a body, and a healthy body uses all its parts. Imagine if the foot said, "I'm not important because I'm not the eye." Try walking without feet. Every believer has a role in the body of Christ. You're gifted on purpose for God's purpose.

Ephesians 4:11 says He gave some as apostles. Apostles go out and start things like churches. To be called an apostle, you had to have seen Jesus, the risen Lord, according to the Bible. He chose 12 because they saw Him raised and they had fellowship with Him after He was raised from the grave. Some people call themselves apostles; I don't know how you can be that, and so I'm not that.

Then there are prophets, those who can read the scriptures and give you an idea of what God is talking about in terms of the future, and they can bring things into alignment with the scriptures. And some as evangelists. Brother Jerry Marshall, when we started our church, took a team of people with my message on CD and hand-outs of our brochure, and he was knocking on doors, evangelizing. He was bringing people to the church.

And then some as pastors and teachers. You can't be a pastor if you can't teach. There are a lot of people that are great singers but they're not great teachers that are pastors. All that stuff I just read to you, what is it for? The equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ. It's not for you. It's for the building up of the body until we all attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man or woman to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

We're supposed to be building each other up in love, not in any other way. Perfecting means equipping, restoring, and preparing for usefulness. The church isn't for perfect people; it's a place for preparing people. Don't tell nobody we're perfect because we are not. I'm the first one to tell you I'm not perfect, and I'm teaching you.

But you know what I am? I'm in love with God. I'm a child of the King. I've been blood-bought, blood-washed, and filled with the Spirit when I got saved and filled every time I get up here to preach. If I didn't have that Spirit, I couldn't say a word.

I'm no longer a child. Immature believers are spiritually unstable, easily offended, deceived, and distracted. But maturity creates stability. Truth without love becomes brutality. Love without truth becomes compromise. Biblical unity requires both. Every member matters, and all can contribute.

Immature Christians change churches like people change streaming subscriptions. One bad sermon, and they leave. If someone didn't shake their hand, they say, "God's calling me elsewhere." Or "I no longer feel like I'm being spiritually fed." Are you reading your Bible? I hope you didn't come here just for the whole meal. I'm giving you some appetizers and a little piece of the meat and maybe a little dessert, but you need to go home and be eating on your own. I can't give you all these books in the Bible in one setting.

Some of you go to sleep on me in 48 minutes. That's why Brother Jerry gets you all out of here quick because he does it in 30, sometimes 28. He knows you. He's hooking up, getting up, and shutting up. I love Brother Jerry, but he makes it hard on me because then I say I'm coming back from vacation.

My son and I were trying to watch the program. He said, "It's only 15 minutes after. Did Brother Jerry preach that quick?" He preaches quick, but I don't think 15 minutes is what he would do. Biblical unity is not about anyone's performance; it's about God's Spirit united in you.

Paul says grow up instead of storming out. A lot of people leave and they never tell you why. Then you call them and ask if they're alright. They say yes, but they're lying. Tell me the truth. Did somebody offend you? Somebody wanted to talk to me every Sunday about something that didn't make any spiritual sense. I'm sorry they stopped coming because I called them and asked, "What's up? Is everything okay between you and me?" Spit it out, man. What is it?

Babies cry when things don't go their way. That's why Paul says grow up. Mature believers learn how to build. We mature through practice. When I became a man, I put away childish things. Pursue things that edify. Mature believers build bridges, not barriers. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.

Christ said, "I could lift myself up high, but I'm not. I came to do a job. My job was to bring you to my Father." It's amazing how people say they're believers but they don't love. Humility of heart doesn't mean thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. Experts at proving others wrong or provoking others, a husband told his wife, "Honey, I wasn't arguing." She said, "What were you doing?" He said, "I was explaining why I was right."

When people leave your presence, they should want more Jesus, not a stress headache. Today, God may be dealing with pride in your life. I've been a lot of places. I've been very blessed, and I didn't realize that until I got to be born again. Only people that are close to me have that record.

But I'm about Christ. I'm about lifting Him up. You know I was a knucklehead before I got saved. But Christ today is dealing with pride in someone's life. The Holy Spirit has said you have been offensive. You've caused division. Beware of those who cause divisions in the church. You've been jealous of people. You've been immature. There's unforgiveness in your spirit over some things that are not worth losing a friendship of another. Maybe you've been critical instead of compassionate.

Churches have enough people provoking irritation. God calls us to provide inspiration. Maybe you've offended instead of understanding somebody. Maybe you've disconnected instead of being committed to something. Maybe you need to repent. Is the Spirit calling you to come and humble yourself before God's mighty hand? Is He asking you if you've been hurt to come and be healed?

Guest (Male): All things are possible from New Covenant Fellowship Church. Connect with us anytime at ncf.church/connect or on social media at NCF Chattanooga. Worship with us every Sunday morning at 10:30, in-person at 1326 North Moore Road in Chattanooga or online at ncf.church/messages. New Covenant Fellowship Church, a place for every race.

Dr. Bernie Miller: There is no way anything or anyone can separate you from the love of God. There's nothing that you can do to separate yourself from the love of God. It is a done deal, sealed by the Holy Spirit of God, and we're sealed until the day of redemption.

Guest (Male): New Covenant Fellowship Church. In-person worship Sunday mornings at 10:30, 1326 North Moore Road in Chattanooga. New Covenant Fellowship Church, a place for every race.