Surprise! The Good News is Jesus

Launch Sermon Player

“Surprise! The Good News is Jesus”

Pastor Jerry

Luke 4:14-21

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Have you seen some of the video clips where people do some of the craziest things? With Youtube, Tik-Tok, Facebook, and so many other social media platforms the things you can see people doing is only limited to the imagination.

I read about this embarrassing story that a business man encountered who was just stepping out of the shower when his wife called and asked him to run down to the basement and turn off the iron she had accidentally left on. Without bothering to grab a towel the man just as he reached the bottom stair, the lights came on and a dozen friends and colleagues jumped out and shouted, “Surprise!”  His wife had planned a secret birthday party for him. Surprise!

Not all surprises are good ones, at least at first glance. Jesus would often do and say things that would take people by surprise – and they weren’t always pleased about it. Take, for instance, the surprise Jesus had in our Bible passage for today. Jesus was handed a scroll from the book of Isaiah and asked to preach on it. He went straight to a Messianic passage of great importance to the Hebrew people, and read these words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” And then, he closed the scroll, sat down, and announced, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

SURPRISE!  The prophet Isaiah had been inspired to write those words more than 700 years earlier. For seven centuries, the word had been preached on a soon-coming Messiah who would turn the world upside-down. He would lift up the hurting, the oppressed, the blind. They had waited hundreds of years for the fulfillment of this prophecy, and were prepared to wait hundreds more if necessary. And now a poor, no-name carpenter claims to be that Messiah. Surprise! Is it any wonder that later on in the chapter we discover that the men of the synagogue tried to kill Jesus?

However, “The Gospel is neither a discussion nor a debate.  The Gospel is an announcement!”  And that’s exactly how Jesus treated it. He didn’t explain, argue, debate he just announced this information and let the worshipers make up their own minds. Still today, if we take this passage seriously, it has the same potential. Jesus’ announcement tells us three important things about God.

FIRST, OUR GOD IS A GOD OF HOPE.

Listen to Jesus’ message: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 

Wherever Jesus went, he brought hope. It is what people need! He brought hope to the leper, exiled from his home and his community. He brought hope to the paralyzed man who was unable to care for his family. He brings Hope to people in a pandemic, to those in an earthquake, to people in wildfire, and to those in a storm, to people caught in a war. To people who feel worthless, or lost, or broken, or rejected, or beyond saving, Jesus brings the message that God loves them – that they have a purpose in life. This was Jesus’ first act in life and his last act before death – the giving of hope.

Where God is, there is hope; where God is absent, there is no hope. That was the message Jesus came to share with us.

The SECOND thing Jesus’ announcement tells us is that our GOD IS A GOD OF JUSTICE. 

Most world religions operate on a very simple assumption: you get what you deserve in this life. It’s a simple, but flawed equation: health and wealth are blessings from God. If you don’t have health or wealth, then God must not love you.

Jesus came to turn this world view upside down. No longer does might equal right. He came to declare that God loves the poor, the blind, the sick, the oppressed even more because of their humble state. It is treasure in Heaven for which we should be striving. He showed that a healthy body is worthless if one’s soul is dead in sin.

When I worked for Acadia in Roanoke, I had opportunity to work with (a co-op engineering student from VA Tech who was born in India, Besheck (his name). When he learned that I was a Christian, he shared with me about his religions of India. They had many gods in their religion. The society in India has lived under a rigid caste system in which each person is born into a set social group. There are different levels, or castes, and a person’s caste at birth will determine what job he can have, whom he can marry, and what rights he has in his society. On the very lowest rungs of society are the Dalits, The Christian faith is quite attractive to the Dalits. They choose to follow Christ even when they know the consequences they might face.  Why would the Dalits, who are targets of persecution and abuse, invite more such treatment by becoming Christians? Because in Christ, we meet a God who loves and lifts up those whom others would tear down. He cares about those who are hurting, who are helpless, who are brokenhearted, who are in bondage. God is a God of hope. Also, God is a God of justice.

Finally, Jesus’ Announcement tells us that our GOD IS A GOD OF FREEDOM. 

In our world, slavery is officially illegal, yet it is still a fact of life for many people who live in remote parts of the world. Generations of indigenous peoples have been raised with no idea of freedom, individuality, or basic human rights. As slaves they are not allowed to get an education, marry without their master’s permission, or keep their own children.

In Jesus’ day, He encountered people who were slaves. But Jesus continually demonstrated that God is a God of freedom, not bondage. When Jesus walked this earth, He rebuked the power structures that oppressed people. And Jesus made it a regular practice to set people free. Our God is a God of freedom. And He can free you too. 

Some of us end up living for years in prison cells of our own making. We are bound by addictions, anxiety, low self-esteem, anger, fear, guilt, misconceptions about God. We can’t grasp who God is when we come to worship and when we hear talk about His love, or new life, or stepping out in faith, or living the abundant life. We’re just lucky to make it through the day without collapsing from the weight of our chains. But we weren’t made to live that way.

The Spirit of God is always the spirit of liberty; the spirit that is not of God is the spirit of bondage, the spirit of oppression and depression, the spirit of the evil one.

When I was young and studying to become a pastor, I went for training to Dr. James Kennedy’s Church in Coral Ridge, FL (he was the founder of a program known as Evangelism Explosion). While I was there, part of the training was to go with a team into the neighborhood to share the Good News of Jesus with people in their homes. So on one particular night we visited a home close to the beach. We were invited in and we explained why we were there. We were from the church seeking anyone who needed to hear about Jesus and how He could change their life. After some time of sharing, this man and woman prayed and committed their lives to Jesus that night. Before we left, the couple said, “We have been feeling so confused about the things going on in the world and in our lives, but now we feel so different and so at peace and free.” Surprise!  

“The Spirit of God is always a spirit of surprise and a spirit of liberty.” That’s what God is all about. God is about hope; God is about justice; God is about freedom. Surprise! Jesus came to share the Good News that God cares about our hopelessness, our oppression, our bondage. God loves you! And today Christ wants to surprise you by changing your life. Will you come?

The Prayer of Fulfillment

Launch Sermon Player

Series: “Connecting with God” – Part 8

“The Prayer of Fulfillment”

Pastor Jerry

Romans 11:33 & 36

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Today we end our series “Connecting with God” on the Lord’s Prayer.  We come to the final phrase of the prayer which is the prayer of Fulfillment: “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.” Each phrase of the prayer teaches us that we’ve all got choices to make as we pray the prayer.

I can’t think of three more important words you need to understand than those in this last phrase.  “…the kingdom, and the power, and the glory…” Listen closely because I’m going to explain to you the reason for everything in the past, in the future, the reason for the universe, the reason why you are alive. These three words kingdom, power and glory, are the reason.

First, the kingdom of God is his PLAN.  God existed before time, He exist now in time, and he will exist after time. Second, the power of God is his PROGRAM. It is how God accomplishes his plan. Third, God’s glory is his PURPOSE. Everything God does he does to reveal what he’s like. That’s his glory. He wants us to understand what he’s like.

You will never understand God or life until you understand God’s kingdom, power and glory. You were made by God and you were made for God. Until you understand that, life’s not going to make sense. That’s why you’re alive. God made you for himself. The Bible tells us that God is love. It is the essence of his character. And God made you to love you. He made you so you could live in his kingdom, to show you his power and to bring him glory.

Some people think that the kingdom of God is something to come. But the truth is the kingdom of God is wherever God is king. If he’s king in heaven then the kingdom of God is in heaven. If He is king on earth then the kingdom of God is on earth. If he’s king inside you, ruling in your heart then the kingdom of God is in you. And Jesus said God’s kingdom is in all three of these places. It’s wherever God is king.

When Jesus sent his followers out to do good in the world he said this is the demonstration of the kingdom. That’s why after people fill up their lives with their pursuit of happiness, they turn around and ask, “Why am I so unfulfilled?” It’s because you were made for more than things. You weren’t made to live for that. You will never find fulfillment in life, until you get connected spiritually with God, and begin to live in God’s kingdom, by God’s power, for God’s glory.

So, how do that? How do I live in God’s kingdom, live by God’s power and live for God’s glory? How do I live a fulfilled life? Let’s look at the three keys to living a fulfilled life.

  1. Real fulfillment comes through living in God’s kingdom.

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians: “You should live in a way that proves that you belong to the God who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” What does it mean to live in God’s kingdom? It means that you care about what God cares about in life. You make God’s will your will. Jesus said, “God will give you all you need from day to day if [here’s the condition] you live for him and you make the kingdom of God your primary concern.”  

 If you are surrendered, if you are submitted to the will of God, and place Him first in your life as that which is most important, you find life. The Bible says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,” that means above everything else. So live in God’s kingdom by making Him first in all that you do. The Bible says the second way to live a fulfilled life is to …

  1. Live by God’s power.

The Bible tells us “For the kingdom of God is not just fancy talk. It is living by God’s power.” Did you know God does not bless self-reliant people? He blesses people who are dependent upon him. The problem with a self made man is he thinks “I did this all by my own hand!” God says I bless people who expect me to help. Jesus said, “According to your faith it will be done unto you.” 

What are you expecting God to do in your life? I can tell you exactly what God’s doing in your life. He’s doing what you expect him to do. No more, no less. Because if you study the scriptures you find that every time God came from heaven and moved on earth and did a miracle it is because somebody believed. Somebody prayed! Somebody expected God to act. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 3 “By his mighty power at work within us he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.”  God says I’m able to do more than you can ever imagine. God can make more changes and do more work in one week if he’s doing it, than you can accomplish in your entire lifetime.

How do I get God’s power in my life? Three ways: (1)  By praying.  (2) By taking risks to obey God. (3) By not giving up.

I live for God’s kingdom.  I live by God’s power. The third thing you’ve got to do if you’re going to live a fulfilled life.

  1. I must live for God’s glory.

The Bible says this “Jesus died to defeat sin and now he lives for the glory of God so you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus.”  Whose glory are you living for? God didn’t put you here on the earth to fulfill the desires of anybody else. God says I want you to live for my glory. God says there’s only one thing worth living for: the glory of God. Don’t waste your life living for the wrong thing: God made you, he loves you, he has a plan for your life. He is worthy to be glorified.

How do I live for the glory of God?  Let me just give you three real quick. (1) The first way to live for the glory of God is show love to everybody.  Did you know that every time you show love it gives glory to God? Because God is love. Scripture tells us, “Warmly welcome each other into the church just as Christ has warmly welcomed you. Then God will be glorified.”  It shows what God is like. God says, “I want you to be like me.”  I want you to learn to love people the way I love people. Being loving brings glory to God. Here’s a second way you could bring glory to God.

(2) Use your abilities to serve everybody. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10-11 “God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other.”  When you use your abilities to help each other God is glorified. God didn’t give your talents to you for your benefit. Your talents are for the benefit of other people. When I use my talent, my talent is not for me. My talent is for you. It’s to help you. You’ve got talent too. When you use your talents for me they bless me. God is glorified when you use your abilities to serve others.

(3) The third way you can show God glory: share the good news with everyone. The Bible says “As God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, God will receive more and more glory.”  Every time you share your faith you bring glory to God. Every time you bring somebody to hear the good news you bring glory to God. The Bible says there’s a special place for people who help others get to know God.

So, do you want God’s blessing on your life?  Do you want to live a fulfilled life?  Each morning when you start your day you need to pray, “Father today I’ll live in your kingdom (by putting you first in my life), I’ll live by your power (by trusting You for everything), I’ll live for your glory (by showing love to everybody). And God, because of Jesus, I’m going to live in You forever.”

The Prayer of Deliverance

Launch Sermon Player

Series: “Connecting with God” – Part 7

“The Prayer of Deliverance”

Pastor Jerry

1 Corinthians 10:12-13

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

I assume that you came to Church with the good intentions to have a blessed day. But will it be so? If you came with good intentions, why would it end up by doing things that you know are bad for you?

If your life is going to break free from the stuff that messes you up, it’s going to take more than good intentions. Good intentions with no positive follow-through leads to hypocrisy. That’s why we need to talk about temptation, prayer and deliverance.

We often think temptation is an enticement to do something evil, wicked, and nasty; the really bad stuff – murder, adultery, lying. But actually Satan is much more subtle than that. You can train your mind to think that certain things aren’t so bad.

The truth is temptation is a lot more subtle than we think it is.  But the answer to overcome the temptations that we experience in life is to pray the Prayer of Deliverance (which is): “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”  The Prayer of Deliverance always leads us to the path of escape.  What is the path of escape? 1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience.”  We all have the same basic temptations in life. Some of your temptations are more unique but temptation is not unique. We all get tempted. They’re not any different.

Then he says “And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it.” God says I will always make a way out. The truth is temptation is a choice. Temptation is a choice to do right or to do wrong. So, make the right choices! What are the steps of the path of escape using the Prayer of Deliverance.

  1. I must identify what makes me vulnerable.

Notice I didn’t say identify what tempts you. You already know what tempts you. But what causes you to be tempted by that. What makes you vulnerable to that temptation? Jesus said in Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” In other words, you may be willing, you may want to overcome your temptation but will power is not enough. Jesus says, watch and pray! You can’t just pray. You have to watch. What do you need to watch for? You need to watch for the circumstances that make you vulnerable.

 So where do the temptations in your life come from? Some are caused by nature, some by nurture, some by your environment, some by your character, and some by your circumstance. What I am saying is this: you don’t get to choose your temptations. The implication of that is you cannot be self-righteous about anybody else’s temptation. So when you see somebody who’s tempted by whatever temptation: the fact is they’re all the same thing.  One is no better or less evil than the other. The Bible says sin is sin. What I’m saying is you have a pattern of vulnerability and you better figure out what it is.  Because I want to tell you for sure, Satan knows what it is. You need to know what your emotional triggers are.

  1. I must Plan to avoid it.

You don’t wait until you’re in the situation to decide am I going to give in to this or not?  No, you decide before your emotions kick in to gear. The Bible says “Plan carefully what you do. Avoid evil. Walk straight ahead. Don’t go one step off the right way.” Temptation always begins with a natural desire in you. So temptation, what it does, it turns a routine desire into a runaway desire. Wrong time, wrong way, wrong amount. Any good God-given desire out of control becomes a sin.

  1. Step number three: I must guard my heart.

This is very important because the Bible says that out of the heart everything comes. Out of the heart a man speaks and all of the issues of life. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.”  Prov. 4:23 (NLT) Temptation always starts inside of you. The trigger is on the outside but the temptation is actually inside you. The Bible says in James 1:14 “We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us.” And look at this next verse, “It is inside you, out of a person’s heart come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, the desire to kill people, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceitfulness, lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.  All these vile things come from not outside, but inside.”

The Bible says, “Do not give the devil a foothold.”  How do you give the devil a foothold?  It’s a mental state, a negative emotion. The longer you hold onto a negative emotion, you are allowing the evil one to get a hold in your life.

  1. The fourth thing needed is I must pray for deliverance.

What I mean by that is just ask for God’s help. The Bible tells us that God is ready to help. He says we’re to pray “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”  That is the Prayer of Deliverance. You ask God for help. The Bible is full of examples of people who’ve prayed for deliverance. God provides assistance for anybody who asks.

You can expect God to help you when you pray because God has promised it. Psalm 50:15 “Call upon me in your day of trouble. I will deliver you and you will honor me.” You can just say “Help!” God, I need to pray.

God knows everything that’s going on in your life. He knows the things that tempt you. In fact, look at this verse. “Jesus understands our weakness for he faced all the same temptations we do yet he did not sin.  So let us come boldly to our gracious God and then we will receive his mercy and grace to help us when we need it.” Jesus understands. Why? Jesus faced the same temptations. The Bible says he was tempted in all ways as we yet he sinned not. That’s the difference. He never gave in. He had the freedom to choose.

Jesus had the freedom to choose, even at the cross. In the garden of Gethsemane he’s praying and he’s struggling with it. He says “Father, not my will, not my will but yours be done.”  Jesus had a choice.  John 6:38 he says, “I didn’t come to do my will.  I came to do the will of the Father.”  He was God in a human body. But even better is he never sinned. He can help you overcome.

  1. I must turn my attention elsewhere.

I change the direction of my thoughts. I refocus on something else. That’s what you need to do when temptation comes up. Here’s the secret to temptation: don’t fight it. Just refocus. Did you know in the Bible not once are you told to resist temptation? We are told to resist the devil and that’s a whole different issue. The key to overcoming temptation is not push back the temptation. It’s just change my focus.

Whatever gets your attention gets you. The battle for sin always starts in the mind. That’s why the Bible says, “Thinking about your commands will keep me from doing some foolish thing.”  Why? Because if I’m thinking about your commands, if I’m thinking about truth, I’m not thinking about the dumb stuff I could be doing.

If you focus on good things in life, godly things in life, true things in life, it’s going to pull you in that direction. If you focus on bad things in life, dishonest things, false things, it’s going to pull you in that direction. Whatever you focus on gets your attention. Whatever gets your attention is going to get you.

I don’t know if you’ve realized this but the more you think about something the more it upsets you. By the time you’ve thought it over and over, it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. So whatever is tempting you, whether it’s food, or gossip, or sex, or anything else. Whatever you focus on is going to pull you that direction. So the key is to just change your mind.

So you don’t fight a temptation, you just turn your mind to something else. “We capture every thought and make it obey Christ.”  Friends, that’s the secret to temptation, but we’re not good at that. We’re not very good at – capturing every thought and turning it to Christ. If you change the way you think, it changes the way you feel and that will change the way you act.  Romans 12:21 “Don’t let evil conquer you but conquer evil with good.”  Fill your mind with truth, good thoughts, good things and it pushes out all of the junk in your mind. This pattern of thinking is not easy. But it is possible. It takes practice! You can learn how to do it.

Following Christ does not exempt you from temptation. And on this earth you’re never going to be sinless. But it is possible to sin less. James 5 “My dear friends, if you know people who’ve wandered off from God’s truth don’t write them off.  Go after them.  Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives.”  Friends, do you know somebody in your life who’s struggling right now who needs your help and you need to go after them?  If you love them, you’ll go after them and love them unconditionally and listen to their confession and turn their eyes away from their sins and turn their eyes upon Jesus and help bring them back.

 

The Prayer of Release

Launch Sermon Player

Series: “Connecting with God” – Part 6

“The Prayer of RELEASE”

Pastor Jerry

Matthew 18:23-35

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

We’re in a series called “Connecting with God” as we go line by line through the Lord’s Prayer.

We first looked at the Prayer of Connection.  Then we talked about the Prayer of Surrender. Next was the Prayer of Dependence. Last week we looked at the Prayer of Cleansing. This week we want to look at the Prayer of Release which deals with resentment.

The Bible says, “Forgive us our sins just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” That is about the Prayer of Release.  In your life you’re going to be hurt by other people. Sometimes intentionally! Sometimes unintentionally! If you don’t learn how to release that hurt it’s going to pile up in your life. It’ll poison your spirit inside you.

It’s one thing to forgive people who just hurt you one time , but what about repeat offenders who keep doing it over and over. How often am I supposed to forgive somebody who continually keeps on hurting me? That’s the question the apostle Peter asked Jesus 2000 years ago. Jesus told the story in our scripture reading in response to Peter’s question.

The truth is about ninety percent of all resentment starts in the family. It is the people around us that we’re closest to that often hurt us the most. The Jewish law required that you had to forgive a person three times. After three times, it’s not your responsibility!

So Peter says, Do I forgive “seven times?” thinking that’ll really impress Jesus. “Jesus answered ‘Not seven times but seventy-seven times.’ The point is if I’m counting it’s not really forgiveness. He’s saying an unlimited number of times.  Today we’re going to talk about what that means and what that doesn’t mean. Jesus said you’ve just got to keep on forgiving the people in your life. So he told the story in Matthew 18 which is called the story of the Unforgiving Servant. It is about a King who feels sorry for a servant who owed him millions of dollars but says I’m going to forgive your debt. He released him and forgave him, canceling his entire debt.”

 Why would anybody do that? More important, why must you let people off the hook who’ve hurt you deeply and badly?  God’s word gives us three reasons why we have to let go of our hurt, why we have to forgive, why we have to not hold on to our resentment.

  1. Because God forgives me.

God has forgiven me many times. So I am to forgive other people. That is the Prayer of Release! God sent Jesus Christ to pay for our debt. The wages of sin is death and Jesus Christ died for all of your sins. If you were this servant in the story, how would you feel if you were told by someone you owed millions dollars, let’s just call it even? I would feel like being nice to everybody else because somebody had just forgiven my tremendous debt.

But that’s not what the servant did. In fact what he does is once he’s forgiven he walks out and finds a guy who owes him just a little bit of money and he has him thrown in jail. Although he had been forgiven millions of dollar of debt, he shows no mercy to a guy who owes him a little bit. We have such a hard time forgiving other people when we don’t feel forgiven. In Ephesians it says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  The most forgiving people in the world are those who feel the most forgiven.

  1. Resentment is self-torture.

Resentment is a self-inflicted wound. Whenever you’re resentful, it always hurts you more than the person you’re bitter against. They’ve gone on with their life. And you’re still worrying about something that happened a long ago. Your past is past and it can’t hurt you any more unless you hold on to it. And holding on to the hurt is called resentment. It’s self-torture.

Job says “To worry yourself to death with resentment it would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.” You’re only hurting yourself. That’s why Job says this “Some men stay happy until the day they die and others have no happiness at all. They live and die with bitter hearts.” What memory tortures you every time you think about it? Friends, it’s not worth it. You’ve got to let it go. You’ve got to learn how to pray the Prayer of Release. Forgive us our sins as we forgive everybody who sins against us.

  1. I need forgiveness every day.

The Bible teaches very clearly that we cannot receive what we are unwilling to give. Do you want to be forgiven? The Bible says you need to be forgiving. The Lord’s Prayer says. Forgive us our sins as much as we forgive others. Forgiveness is a lifestyle. It’s not just something you do one time. You need it every day of your life. We need it because we mess up a lot and we need forgiveness. But you’ve got to give it to other people – over and over.  In fact in Jesus’ story the king treats the servant exactly the way the servant treats the other guy. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

How do I release my hurt?  The Bible says there are three things to do to release your hurt, to find freedom so you can have peace of mind again There are three things. How do I release my hurt?  What do I do with my anger…

  1. I leave it to God.

It’s saying, God I’m going to let you handle the justice. I have a right to get even with this person who hurt me but I’m not going to.” The Bible says in Romans 12:19 “Never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God for he has said he will repay those who deserve it.” Leave it to God. Forgiveness does not mean the instant restoration of trust. Forgiveness is instant. Trust must be rebuilt over time.  Forgiveness is based on grace. You earn trust. You don’t earn forgiveness. So, how do I release my hurt?  First, I leave it to God. 

  1. I heal it with grace.

Friends, the only cure for your hurting heart is with grace. God’s grace. Hebrews 12:15 says “Be careful that none of you fails to respond to the grace, which God gives, for if he does there can very easily spring up in him a bitter spirit   which is not only bad in itself but can also poison the lives of many others.” 

Friends, if you don’t get God’s grace in your life, life will make you bitter. “Is forgiveness fair?”  Absolutely not! It is not about justice. It’s about grace. You don’t forgive a person because it’s the fair thing to do. You forgive a person because it’s the right thing to do. You don’t want your heart holding on to the hurt and the hate.

It is the grace of God that gives you forgiveness. You don’t deserve God’s forgiveness. But Jesus paid for it with his life. It’s not fair that you don’t have to pay for your sins. But it’s not about fairness. It’s about grace. The Bible says: “Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did it for us so that we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. You are healed because of his wounds.”  What Jesus did on the cross has paid for all your sins, to heal all the hurts in your heart.

Forgiveness is free but it is not cheap. It cost Jesus his life. And as Jesus was dying on the cross and his arms outstretched and the blood was dripping down he was saying, “Father forgive them!  They don’t know what they’re doing.”  He was saying “I love you.” Father forgive them.”  How do I release my hurt? First, I leave it to God.  Second, I heal it with grace.  There’s one other thing that I need to do with my hurt and with that hang up.

  1. I need to nail it to the cross.

Everything you need in life is found in the power of the cross. Jesus on the cross broke the chains of sin and death and bondage and addictions and habits and all of the things. The cross has the power to free you. To free you from your regrets and to free you from your resentment. Nothing else can heal you like that. Nothing is going to release you from the hurt of people who’ve hurt you and the guilt from people you’ve hurt except the cross. It is God’s answer to all of our needs.

My natural inclination when you hurt me is to hurt you back. All of the things that I’m naturally inclined to do actually make it worse. “We know that our old life died on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would no longer be slaves to sin, slaves to the past.”  When Christ died on the cross…your old life died there too…Jesus rose from the dead, and He is alive and here right now …and you can come here today and Christ can change you and give you a new life …if you will let Him!

The Prayer of Cleansing

Launch Sermon Player

Series: “Connecting with God” – Part 5

“The Prayer of Cleansing”

Pastor Jerry

Hebrews 12:1-2

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Some of you know that I finished building a blacksmith shop back in the spring of this year. However, several weeks ago when I fired up the coal forge, I could not get the air to flow from the blower to the fire pot. By just looking I couldn’t see anything that was wrong with it. So, I decided to tear it apart. After I got inside the works I discovered that a tiny mouse had gotten inside the air pipe and had built a nest that obstructed the air flow. That was the problem.

That’s a lot like life. Sometimes small things get entangled & balled up inside of us and can stop us from working properly. Let me ask you this morning. What’s hindering you from being all that you could be in life? A lot of times we want to blame external things. But the truth is what holds you back in life is almost never external. It’s internal.

What it is may surprise you. But the Bible tells us that what holds us back more than anything else is unconscious guilt from un-confessed sin. You weren’t made by God to go around carrying a load of guilt. In fact the Bible says in Hebrews 12 :1-2 “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” 

Did you know that when God made you, HE had a plan for your life? God has a purpose, a plan for your life that is unique and nobody else can fulfill that plan and purpose. The problem is everybody else has a plan for your life too. The sad thing is most people don’t know the plan God has for them. They get side tracked, they get entangled and blocked. And then they give up.

The fact is God says we need to throw off the things that hinder us and the sin that entangles us and blocks us.  That which hinders us is un-confessed sin that creates unresolved and unconscious guilt. That guilt entangles us and keeps us stuck. It keeps us stuck in our past. We get entangled in our problems. And like my forge we just don’t work right anymore.

A lot of times we know we’re guilty but we try to deal with it in ways that don’t work. We deny it. We excuse it. We rationalize it. When you rationalize anything you know that’s wrong, what you’re doing is trying to convince your mind what your heart says is wrong.  And you feel guilty about it. The truth is God doesn’t want you walking around with a load of guilt. Guilt can make you physically sick.

The Bible says in Proverbs 28 “You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins.  Confess them and give them up and then God will show you mercy.”  This is a prayer, the prayer of cleansing – “Forgive us our sins.” When you understand the prayer of cleansing and you practice it, it opens the door to live a life of freedom, a life that is joyful, a life of blessing and a life that God uses. I want you to experience that in your life.

You have no idea how much God wants to use your life and wants to bless your life. The things he could do in your life would astound you if your life was a clean vessel. You’ve got to pray the Prayer of Cleansing “Forgive us our sins,” and mean it and get specific.

I want to give you now very simply, real quickly the six steps on the path to a clear conscious.  There is no reason you should leave today with any guilt in your life. Do what God asks, and go out with a clear conscious and be guilt free. How do you do it? Six steps.

  1. I REVIEW every area of my life.

You could call this making a personal moral inventory. You sit down with God in a quiet space and you make a list of anything that’s between you and someone else. The Bible says in Lamentations 3 “Let us test and examine our ways.” You ask God to reveal your sins. That’s step one. I review every area of my life.

  1. I REPENT of every sin.

Next I repent of every sin. What does it mean to repent?  It means three things. (1) First, I take responsibility for my sin. (2) Second, I turn away from those things. (3) And third I turn toward God and his grace. I say, God I don’t want to do that any more. That’s what it means to repent.

The Bible says in Lament.3 “Let us turn again in repentance to the Lord.  Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say, ‘We have sinned and rebelled.’”  The greatest holdup to the healing of your hang up is you. God wants to heal it in your life. Here’s the third step.

  1. I RESLOVE to make restitution.

You find somebody that you have hurt and they know it then you go and make restitution. If possible you make restitution. Matthew in Luke 19 :8-9 (NIV) “…’if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to your house.’”

Sometimes it’s not possible to make restitution. The person may have died. They may have moved away and you can’t find them. So in some situations you can’t make restitution. But anything you can do to make it right, you do so. Here’s the fourth step…

  1. I RECEIVE God’s forgiveness.

Now I am ready to receive God’s forgiveness. The Bible says “Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God and there we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”  There we will find not scolding, not punishment, not rejection. When we come to God with our sin, we receive his mercy and we find his grace.

What’s the difference between mercy and grace? Mercy is forgiveness for all the things you’ve done in the past. Grace is the power to change in the future. You need both. Your forgiveness is not based on who you are or your deserving it. It’s based on God’s character.  If we freely admit that we have sinned we find God utterly reliable. Now we come to step five.

  1. I REVEAL my faults to a friend.

Here’s the question: “Do I want to be emotionally healed or just forgiven?” The way God wired us is that we need other people in our lives for healing. God wired us that we only get well in community.  The Bible says “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing. Confess, that’s how you find relief.

  1. I REPEAT these steps regularly.

That’s step number 6. Repeat the other five regularly.

Friends, God wants to bless your life. God wants to use your life. He wants to bless you and he wants to make you a blessing to other people. God uses every kind of vessel, small vessels, plain vessels, ordinary vessels, shy vessels, He even uses broken vessels. But the only thing God will not use is a dirty vessel. And this is a test. Are you willing to do what God tells you to do? Are you willing to be honest to God and honest with yourself?

“Let us draw near to God, with a sincere heart and full assurance having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscious. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful and let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds. And let us not give up meeting together as some are doing but let us encourage one another.”  Hebrews 10:22-25 (NIV)

We’re all in the same boat. We all need forgiveness. We all need cleansing. And God wants to cleanse us and bless us all. God wants us to come home. God wants us to get connected to Him and to each other through this church. Won’t you come just as you are, today?

The Prayer of Dependence

Launch Sermon Player

Series: “Connecting with God” – Part 4

“The Prayer of Dependence”

Pastor Jerry

Philippians 4:6 & 8

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Today’s news reports highlight people struggling with overwhelming stresses. What can we do? That’s what we’re going to look at today. We’re looking verse by verse at the Lord’s Prayer, which is the answer to the seven biggest stresses and problems you face in life.

We started off with “Our Father who art in heaven….” That’s called the Prayer of Connection. We talked about what kind of Father is God. Then last week we looked at “Thy kingdom come…”  That’s the Prayer of Surrender. We looked at the four ways that surrender was the solution to stress. Today we’re going to look at the Prayer of Dependence, which is the third phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. It’s only six words, Matthew 6:11 “Give us today our daily bread.” 

Bread obviously is the universal staple food. It may be one of the oldest foods known to mankind. Obviously, Jesus when he says we’re to pray “Give us this day our daily bread,” he’s talking about far more than just bread on the dinner table. In fact, in scripture the Bible tells us that bread represents four things.

  1. It represents the Necessities of Life.

You need water to live, you need air to live, you need sunshine to live, you need nourishment to live. It’s the necessities for your physical body. The truth is God says I provide for all of them.

God says I supply it. You gather it. Work is a part of God’s purpose for your life. It builds character and divine dependence. So bread first of all represents the necessities of life. What you need for physical life. But bread also has a spiritual implication.

  1. Bread represents God’s Word. 

The Bible is spiritual food. Bread is a symbol for scripture. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” When Jesus said that, he was actually quoting from Deuteronomy. Manna was the supernatural bread that God dropped from heaven for the people. Jesus said God gave you this bread and he did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their life. Real life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord. Just as much as you need physical food for your body, you need soul food for your spiritual food. You need the word of God.

  1. The third thing that bread represents is God’s Family and Fellowship.

You don’t just have physical needs and spiritual needs – you have relational needs. You need people in your life. Bread is a metaphor for the church; for the family of God. Jesus says, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” That’s why God created a family called the church.  It is to be a place of fellowship.  So bread represents the necessities of life, it represents the word of God, it represents the family of God, the church and fellowship for physical and spiritual and relational needs, and…

  1. The fourth thing it represents is Salvation.

Our salvation in Christ. Jesus chose bread to represent his sacrifice in communion. And when he gave the bread he said this, “Jesus took a piece of bread and he gave thanks to God and he broke it and he gave it to them and he said ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.’”  It’s a symbol. I want you to, every time you eat this bread, it is to remind you how much I love you and the sacrifice I made for your life. I’m going to give you a symbol with bread and we’ll call it communion.

Here’s the point. Whatever your need is – physical, emotional, relational, spiritual – whether it is a need in your body or a need in your mind or a need in your soul or a need in your spirit, God says I will take care of that need if you will depend on me.  “Give us this day our daily bread.” 

Let’s look at how to depend on God to meet all of your needs. The Bible says “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”    The Bible says, “According to your faith it will be done unto you.”   The Bible says “Without faith it’s impossible to please God.” 

So the way you connect to God, and that’s what this series is all about, is through faith. And how do I connect to God so that my physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial and every other need will be met in my life? What does it mean to depend on God?   It means three things.

  1. Depending on God means seeing God as my source.

The source of what? Literally the source of everything. Everything you see in the world and everything you can’t see God made. He is the source of everything. It’s a gift of God’s grace. The Bible says this in Philippians 4:19 “God will supply all that you ever need from his glorious resources in Christ Jesus.” There’s plenty in the world for everybody. The reason why some don’t have enough is because it’s not shared. God wants to meet all your needs. He’s waiting on you. “You do not have because you do not ask God.” Who are you looking to, to meet your needs? Only God can meet all your needs.  And you need to look to him as the source of your supply.

  1. The second thing it means to depend on God is it means trusting him for today.

Not for next week, next year, next month. Just one day at a time. God says, “I’m going to make this real simple. I want you to take life in bite size pieces. Twenty-four hour increments. I want you to trust me just for today.”  I don’t want you worrying at all. I want you to take it one day at a time. How do you do that?  How do you trust God just for today? You pray the prayer of Dependence: “Give us today our daily bread.”  There’s a third key to depending on God.

  1. Depending on God means  I share whatever he supplies.

Trusting God, depending on God, means sharing whatever he supplies.  When God gives you something he always wants you to share it with everybody else. Why does God want you to share it? He wants you to learn to be like him. God is generous. Proverbs 11 says “It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything.” God so loved the world that he gave. You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving. God says I want you to be loving and to learn how to share.

Love is all about giving. I think God is saying to the Boones Mill Church, “There’s hundreds of people in the area who are spiritually hungry. I want your church to feed them.” But we look at ourselves, look at our size, look at our age, and we think, God we can’t do that. We’re just one small church. “Yea, but with Me, I can do it. We can do it together!” I want the church to be that way. I want this church to be known for its compassion, for its generosity, for its trust in God.

Friends, I don’t know where you are today in your journey of faith? You may feel distant from God. You may be going through a tough time right now. Regardless of what you’re going through, I want to invite you to become a part of this church that says we’re going to trust God together for a new life. We are going to trust God in good times, and in tough times. We’re going to look to God as our source. We’re going to Trust God for today.

How do you do that? You first accept Jesus Christ into your life. No matter how much you eat, in a few hours you get hungry again. No matter how much you drink, in a few hours you get thirsty again. Spiritually there’s a hunger in your heart that only God can fill. You need him. And when you let him fill that hunger and that thirst, you’ll never thirst again. You’ll never hunger again.

The second thing you do is open your heart to Christ and say now that I have Christ as my Lord, my Savior, I’m going to take the three steps to depend on God: First, I’m going to see God as my source? Second I’m going to trust God on a daily basis – for daily bread. And third I’m going to share whatever Jesus gives me – even if it’s a little – I’m going to share it. And I’m going to walk hand-in-hand with God every day.

 

The Prayer of Surrender

Launch Sermon Player

Series: “Connecting with God” – Part 3

“The Prayer of Surrender”

Pastor Jerry

Luke 17:20-21

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

This past year people have experienced extreme stress with navigating through the pandemic. The most difficult type of stress is the stress that you have no control over. Let me give you three examples of stress you have no control over.

The first is uncontrollable circumstances. It’s where you feel helpless. Something that you can’t do anything about. A second is uncooperative people. People who are in your life that drive you crazy! They’re not going to change and you just have to kind of go along with it. A third is unexplainable pain. When we have pain and we know why we’re having it, we can handle it a whole lot better than unexplainable pain that doesn’t make sense.

Do you have any of things happening in your life that you have no control over? Uncontrollable circumstances, uncooperative people and unexplainable pain? The only solution is surrender. You have to surrender to God in that situation.

This truth leads us to the second phrase of the Lord’s Prayer in this series on Connecting with God.  Last week we looked at the first phrase “Our Father who art in heaven….” (The Prayer of Connection). We talked about what kind of father is God. Today, we’re going to look at the second phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  This is what I call the Prayer of Surrender. But what in the world is “God’s kingdom?”

First, let me tell you what it’s not. God’s kingdom is not political. It’s not national. It’s not governmental. The second thing the Bible says, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”  Here’s the third thing the kingdom is not.  Romans 14 says “The kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink but it’s living right with God and a life of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” These examples are what the Kingdom of God is not!

So, what is it? Well, first, let us answer, “Where is the kingdom of God?”  The kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is king.  If He’s king in your heart then the kingdom of God is within you. If He’s king in heaven then the kingdom of God is in heaven. If He’s king here on the earth then the kingdom of God is on earth. It’s wherever Jesus is king. It’s wherever His rule and reign is. And, the kingdom of God is wherever God’s will is done. If God’s will is done in your family, or in our church, or wherever, then the kingdom of God is there. Thy will be done is the Prayer of Surrender. It says, God you’re in charge. It says I am not in charge.

What does it mean to Surrender? It means that you make four stress changing choices.

  1. Surrendering to Jesus means letting go of control.

Every day you get up in the morning and you have to decide who’s going to be in control of your life – you or God. Every day it’s a battle. You want to control. You want to make your own rules. But that means you want to be your own god. The Bible says in Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God;…”  God says, “I’m in control so you need to let go and know that I am God.

Whenever we face out of control situations things that are beyond our control, we always tend to go to one of two extremes. First, the more out of control your life gets, the harder you try to control it. You redouble your effort. You’re not at peace at all. That’s one extreme. The other extreme, is just the exact opposite. You just give up. You go into despair and you start to get depressed. And you are miserable. Both of those reactions to stress are foolish. They don’t work.

Instead you need to pray the prayer of surrender. The number one reason you’re under stress is because you’re in conflict with God. You’re trying to do things, trying to control things, which only God can do. That puts you in opposition to God. You’re fighting with God. And in any conflict with God, you’re going to lose.

A lot of people pray the serenity prayer …“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”  But that’s not the whole prayer.  The power of the prayer is the entire prayer. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time accepting hardship as a pathway to peace taking as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to your will so that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with You forever in the next.  Amen.   (Reinhold Niebuhr)  The whole prayer is that I’m going to surrender to your will. That’s where all the power is. Step one is letting go of control.

  1. The second thing it means to surrender to Jesus – learning to be content.

What are the alternatives? You can worry about it. Does that work?  No. You can resent it and get bitter about it. You can regret it. You can be fearful about it. There is only one thing that works in the situations that you can’t change. Acceptance! Learning to be content!

Paul understood this. Notice what he says in Philippians 4, “I have learned to be satisfied  with the things that I have and with everything that happens. I know how to live when I’m poor and I know how to live when I have plenty. And I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens. I can do all things thorough Christ because he gives me strength.” When Paul wrote this he was in prison, in Rome chained to a Roman soldier in a cold, dark prison. So he knows what he’s talking about. He says I know how to be up. I know how to be down. I know how to go through bad times and how to go through good times. I’ve learned to be content.

  1. Surrendering to Jesus means laying down my plans.

You know plans we make get changed a lot. Problems come up that sabotage our plans. That’s called life. Plans don’t work out: first, because we make all kinds of bad decisions. But secondly, because we have an enemy and his name is Satan. Satan wants to defeat you. But third we live in an imperfect world. Though Adam, sin entered the world and everything on this planet is broken.

Listen. There’s going to be problems in your life. That’s why we’ve got to stick together. That’s why we need to get connected: to get connected to this church, get connected to God, get connected together.

What does God’s want to do in your life? More than anything else I’ll tell you what he wants to do. He wants you to learn to be unselfish. Life is about learning to be unselfish. It’s the number one lesson. God wants you to learn to be like him. God is love. In order to be like God it means I’ve got to learn to love like God. I’ve got to learn to be unselfish like God. Life is all about growing and learning to be other person centered instead of self-centered. God wants you to learn to be a giver not a taker in life.

Jesus said “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it.  Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the good news will ever know what it means to really live.” That’s what it means to surrender. I lay down my plans, my life, I surrender myself to God. God cares about people and he says that’s the kingdom of God. 

  1. Surrendering to Jesus means Leaving the future to God.

I’m going to live today one day at a time. I’m going to decide in advance to leave the results of my life up to God. Proverbs 3 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.” 

What does make straight your paths mean? It means this: He’s going to keep you on the right track. He will keep you from heading in the wrong way.

Let me ask you. Would you like to have less stress and more peace and more serenity in your life?  Of course the answer is yes. Then you have a decision to make. The decision is am I going to do what I think is best? Or am I going to do what God thinks is best for me? Am I going to do what He wants me to do? So, what will it be? Will you surrender to God? Today! Surrender is the ultimate expressions of faith. I’ll be honest with you. Here’s what Jesus said to do in Luke 14 “You must give up everything you have to be my follower.” When you come to Jesus you give up everything you’ve got. You surrender control, you surrender to be content in all things, you surrender your plans, you surrender your future into His hands. You surrender your all to Him! You pray the prayer of surrender: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done ….”

The Prayer of Connection

Launch Sermon Player

Series: “Connecting with God” – Part 2

“The Prayer of Connection”

Pastor Jerry

Matthew 6:9-13

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

One of the reason’s that I cherish the opportunity of going to Annual Conference is because it allows me to experience and to see the Church of the Brethren on a global stage. God is doing some mighty things in our Church of the Brethren.

However, at Annual Conference we also hear about challenges and global issues that our church and our brothers and sisters face in the world. The number one struggle is hunger and lack of access to clean water. A second struggle is poverty. Third is health care. A fourth is religious conflict, war and mass shootings. There are many more struggles that we and our brothers and sisters in the world face.

But at Annual Conference, as a global church we study the Bible together to find how can we best address these problems. One such passage in the Bible, in 2 Chronicles 15, which talks about a struggle God’s people were going through. It says, “During those dark times it was not even safe to travel….  Problems troubled the nation on every hand.”  That sounds like today!

Yes! We have problems troubling the world on every hand. But even in the darkest of times, God always gives a voice of hope.  In this particular time, in 2 Chronicles he brought along a preacher named Azariah.  Azariah had these words of hope to say to the nation. He said this: “Listen all you people. The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him. And if you seek him you will find him… For a long time Israel has been without the true God and without God’s law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord and they sought him and he was found by them.”  That phrase is our hope. “In their distress they turned to the Lord…and he was found…”

That is my prayer. That in my distress I will turn to the Lord, in your distress you will turn to the Lord. That’s my prayer for our church, our country, our world, that during tough times we will turn to the Lord.

For the next several weeks we’re going to look at the different phrases in the Lord’s Prayer which are answers to the greatest stresses in your life. If you understand the Lord’s Prayer and you don’t just pray it; you live it – it will change your life.

The first phrase in the Lord’s Prayer is this: “Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be your name.”  It’s actually the Prayer of Connection. How do you get connected to God? I want us to just look at the first two words in the phrase: “Our Father.”  You see, until Jesus came to earth –to let us know what God’s like – nobody really knew that God was our Father. In the Old Testament Bible, people thought of God as – Creator, Almighty One, Deliverer (and such). But they didn’t think of God as Father. Then Jesus comes along and says this is how you connect to God: call God, Father. Jesus uses the expression over a hundred fifty times referring to God.

Jesus is saying this: God is a person, not a power.  God is a personal God. And he created you with the ability to have a relationship with him. He is a Father, not a force. We can have a relationship with God as Father.

There’s only one problem. It’s a big problem. For many people the word “father” is a negative term. For many people the word “father” brings up all kinds of bad memories and hurts. A lot of people who say, “Our Father… in heaven:” if God’s like my father, no thanks God.

The truth is human fathers can be abusive; they can be angry and self-centered, vicious and violent. So a lot of times we carry baggage with that word, Father. The reason why many people never connect with God is because they unconsciously think God is like their earthly father. We transfer all those mixed up hurts and emotions onto God.

Dr. Paul ­­Vitz a professor and psychologist at New York University wrote a book called The Faith of the Fatherless. In it he did a study of all of the famous atheists throughout history, the only thing that he could find that they had in common is they all hated their dads. They did not have a natural connection to their father. So, What is God really like?  What kind of father is God? The Bible says that there are four characteristics of the father-hood of God.

  1. God is a Caring Father.

He is a caring, loving, compassionate father. God loves you more than you will ever know. He loves you more than you will ever understand or comprehend. God is love and he made you so he could love you. He is loving toward you in everything. 1 Peter says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you!” God is a caring father. One day when Jesus and the disciples were out on the lake in a boat and a storm comes up. Suddenly, water’s coming into the boat and they think they’re going to drown. They frantically wake up Jesus and ask him one of the most important questions in life: “Lord, don’t you care?” 

You and I ask that question a thousand different ways of God all the time. “God, don’t you care?  The answer is yes, God cares. In everything! Yes, God cares. In fact, he cares more than you care. He wants to help more than you want help.  If you feel distant from God and you feel God is a million miles away, it’s because you don’t understand how much God cares for you, and what kind of Father God is. God is not only a caring Father…He is…

  1. He is a Consistent Father.

That’s really important, especially when everything’s changing around us. God will never let you down. James 1:17 says this “Every good and perfect gift is from the Father...who does not change…”  That means everything in your life that’s good, God gave it to you. He does not change, He is a consistent Father. We know that the world is changing. There’s only one thing that won’t change –God!  He’s steady! There’s a third thing about God…

  1. He is a Close Father.

He’s not distant. He’s right here with you every moment. Here’s what the Bible says, Acts 17:27 “God did this so that people would reach out for him and find him since he is not far from each one of us.” God is with you right now. It might feel like he’s a million miles away sometimes. I’ve felt that. But your feelings and reality don’t always match. And the truth is God is right here right now. He’s a close Father.

The first word that many babies learn is the word “DaDa.” Abba is the word in Aramaic that Jesus used when he says we are to call God our Father. It mean’s Daddy. Papa. Abba. That’s how personal God wants you to be with him. “To call Him Daddy! Abba! Father!”

  1. He is a Competent Father.

That’s really important when you’re facing big problems. God can handle any problem you give him. There is nothing too big for God. Luke 1:37 “For nothing is impossible with God.” The Bible says this “God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers and desires and thoughts and hopes.” So let me ask you very pointedly. What have you been doubting that God can handle in your life?  God can do anything. He is a competent Father.

Is God everybody’s Father?  No! God created everybody. God loves everybody. But he is not everybody’s Father. You’ve got to choose to make him your Father. God wants everybody in his family. But you’re not in his family until you choose to be. That’s why God sent Jesus Christ. God is holy and we’re sinful. Sin separated us from God. We need a bridge to get us back connected to God. Jesus said, My cross is the bridge, to bring you back to God.  How do you connect to God again? How do you make God your Father?  “We are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” We need Jesus! It is only through faith. Its through Jesus! The only way you become connected to God, to become a part of his family, for him to become your Father, is through faith in his Son, Jesus.

You’ve Got to Get Connected

Launch Sermon Player

Series: “Connecting with God” – Part 1

“You’ve Got to Get Connected”

Pastor Jerry

Ephesians 2:1-10

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

We have just come out of one of the most unusual years in our life time: isolation due to the Global Pandemic! In many ways we need to start over in engaging again in normal activities and in re-connecting with God.

We’re going to look at the Lord’s Prayer and seven different phrases in it as our guide to reconnect. The Lord’s Prayer can recharge and change your life. With all the fearful events happening in the world is causing people to feel more and more disconnected from each other and from God. People are scared and feel like they’re alone. I know that people just don’t feel as safe and connected as they did a generation ago when everybody knew everybody else who were their neighbors.

The Bible tells us very clearly that you were created for connections. In fact the very first thing that God said was, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” We were made for connection. Why? Because we’re created in the image of God. The Bible says God is love and in order to love you’ve got to have somebody to love. There has to be loving relationships in your life.

However, we try to substitute all kinds of things for relationships and love. But nothing can take the place of connecting to God and connecting to each other. That’s what I want to talk about as we begin this new series.  I’m going to talk about getting connected spiritually with each other and with God.

The Bible says this in Romans 12:5 “Even though we are many individuals Christ makes us one body, and individuals who are connected to each other.  Life is all about connections. Today’s message is an introduction before we dig in to all the details in the weeks ahead.

The Bible gives us four different metaphors in the New Testament about what it means to be spiritually connected. So what does it mean to get spiritually connected? It means four things.

  1. To be spiritually connected means it’s like being built into a building.

Ephesians 2:22 says, “In Christ you are built together into a dwelling place for God.” It’s a temple built together for God. The most important thing about a building is this: the parts have to fit. Also, your life will be unstable too until you get connected just right.  In a building the connected parts have to be connected or there’s no support. Each holds up the other part.

If you’re not spiritually connected, there’s nobody there to hold you up. There’s nobody there to support you when tragedy strikes. You were not meant to go through life unsupported. That’s the idea of a building. You need physical support, emotional support, & spiritual support.

So what does it mean to be spiritually connected? It means four things. First, it’s like being built into a building, that we support each other when things are going wrong. If you’re not connected spiritually, you’re unstable.

  1. To be spiritually connected means it’s like being joined into a body.

The church in the Bible is described as the body of Christ. What Jesus Christ did when he was here in his physical body –he wants us to continue to do today. We are the body of Christ on the earth.

Everybody knows that in order to have a body it’s all got to be connected. You can’t have a disconnected hand or anything like that. The Bible says “In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other.” Notice not just to God but to each other.

Romans 12 “Just as there are many parts in our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it and it takes every one of us to make it complete. For we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” We’re all different. We’re all important. Everybody’s needed.

Never confuse prominence and significance. Something can be prominent but not significant. You may not be prominent in the body of Christ but you are significant. God says we all matter. Many parts, everybody’s needed. God says we belong not only to Jesus, you belong to everybody else who belongs to Jesus. Each of us needs all the others.

You cannot grow spiritually without being connected to the church. Why? Because God says growth is all about love. And you can’t have love alone. You’ve got to have people in your life.

This is absolutely essential. Not only do you need the body of Christ for support, like in a building. But you need the body of Christ for growth and if you’re not connected to the body of Christ you’re not going to grow.

  1. To be spiritually connected means it’s like being attached to a vine.

It’s interesting that Jesus, right before he goes to the cross, his last minute instructions to the people following him is to “Live in me and I will live in you.  A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me.” 

 Jesus is saying you’re not going to have any fruitfulness, any productivity in your life if you’re out there on your own. You’ve got to stay connected. “God’s Spirit joins himself to our spirit to declare that we are God’s children.”

What kind of fruit are you suppose to be producing in your Christian life? “The fruit of the Spirit is this love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” I don’t know about you but I’d like to be more. If you are not seeing yourself grow with more peace and more patience, guess what? It means you’re not spiritually connected. Because, Jesus says, when you’re connected you’re going to bear fruit.

You need the body of Christ for support, like in a building. And you need the body of Christ for growth, like being connected to a body. And you need the body of Christ for producing spiritual fruit, like being attached to a vine.

  1. Being spiritually connected is like being born into a family.

This description of the church says we are God’s family. There are only two ways to get into a family. You can either be born into it or you can be adopted into it. In the Bible God does both for you. It’s called being born again and it’s called being adopted into the family of God.

1 Timothy 3:15 “I want you to know how people who are members of God’s family must live. God’s family is the church.”  We are the family of God.  Church is not something you go to. Church is something you belong to.

Romans 15 “You will all be joined together and you will give glory to God Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God.” Acceptance and approval are not the same thing. God accepts me no matter what I do. He does not approve of everything I do. The Bible says acceptance is love. Approval is not love. The Bible says fifty eight times to love one another. It says pray, care, serve, help, encourage one another. Those are your family responsibilities.

I cannot fulfill God’s purpose by myself. It is absolutely impossible because the number one thing God wants you to learn in life is how to love. Love God and love other people. That means you’ve got to be with other people. You can’t do it on your own. It’s all about connections. What is love? Giving a person what they need, not what they deserve. That’s love. And that’s Grace!

What the new members did today was to commit themselves to a spiritual family: to the Boones Mill Church. That’s what God wants from us: to get spiritually connected to Him and to each other! Listen to this verse. “I beg you brothers and sisters to be completely joined together by having the same kind of thinking and the same purpose.” 

Here’s what life’s all about: (1) getting to know God, (2) learning to relate to God and to other people in his family, (3) growing in God, (4) serving God and (5) sharing God with those who don’t know Him. Those are the 5 purposes God has for your life and for this church.

What’s the first step?  First you give your life to Jesus, make Him the Lord of your life and then you give your life to a group of believers, to a church family. That’s the connection process. I invite you to do both.

 

Blessed Father’s Day

Launch Sermon Player

“Blessed Father’s Day”

Pastor Jerry

Ephesians 5:25-33

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Have any of you read the book entitled, Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus? Basically the book simply emphasized that what men say and what men mean are two different things. Please allow me to translate for you some phrases that men say, but what they actually mean! For example…

When a man says “IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO EXPLAIN”
He means: “I have no idea how it works”

When a man says “CAN I HELP WITH DINNER”
He means: “Why isn’t it ready yet?”

When a man says ’OH, DON’T FUSS, I JUST CUT MYSELF. IT’S NO BIG DEAL”
He means: “I probably need stiches, but I will bleed to death before I admit I’m hurt!”

Today is Father’s Day, a special day to honor dads. It seems to me that, Father’s Day is not as big of a deal as Mother’s Day. But I’m glad there is a Father’s Day. It gives us a chance to honor those who stand at the helm, and who lead their family through life’s battles.

James Dobson, in his book, “Dare To Discipline,” says, “Good fathers are made, not born.” Then he goes on to suggest 3 specific things for a father to keep in mind.

1. Children oftentimes follow in the footsteps of their father. During the earliest years of a child’s life he or she usually spends a great deal of time with the mother. But the passing years bring a change, and father often becomes the example in attitude and action that a child follows. The father should be a spiritual leader in the home.

2. The Second thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Next to his own close and personal relationship with God, a father’s top priority should be to love his wife. Paul tells the Ephesian husbands (and us) to love their wives “…just as Christ loved the church & gave Himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25) If there is that kind of love in the family, then that home is blessed indeed.

3. Thirdly, a Christian father will arrange to spend time with his children. Fathers, I can say without a doubt that being a good father and a good husband is the most challenging responsibility we can ever face. If you’re like most men – even those who may have had a poor or harmful experience with their own father – you want to be a good father. But to be a good father you need a model, an example of a father that you can pattern yourself after. Is there such a thing as a perfect father?

Yes, there is, and today, let’s see what we can learn about being a father by looking at God, the perfect Father.

I. GOD LOVES HIS CHILDREN
There are many passages of scripture that speak of God’s love for His children: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) God did not wait for us to meet His expectations. He did not wait until we measured up to His standards. He simply loved us and He loved us first. He may be angry when we disobey Him but He never, ever stops loving us. Yes, God loves His children and so should we!

II. GOD ENCOURAGES HIS CHILDREN
God throughout Scripture encouraged his children. He not only encouraged them with His words, but with His presence, and with His assistance. Sadly, many parents, are more prone to send messages laced with criticism than with encouragement. It is so important to watch our words. The apostle Paul challenges us, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Eph. 4:29)

III. GOD DISCIPLINES HIS CHILDREN
God is good. He is a loving father. He is a perfect father. His intentions and actions are never evil or unloving. Yet He disciplines His children. He disciplines because of His goodness. He does not discipline in spite of His love, He disciplines because of His love.  Proverbs 3:12 says, “The Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

The man who disciplines his children wisely is reflecting the character of God. We discipline because we love our children. It teaches them responsibility. It teaches them that wrong actions have negative consequences. It helps them to live rightly.

God is a perfect Father and a model that we should follow. However, we earthly fathers are not God and we are not perfect fathers. Some of you may have NOT been brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord by your father. That is a regret! But now that you are grown, it’s on YOU. No longer can any of us blame bad childhoods or bad parenting when we are the man of our house. It’s your time to provide for your family, to be the example that God expects you to be. Anything less means you don’t love.

I do not know where you are at this morning, but I know that our heavenly Father is wanting us to come to Him, whether we have made mistakes as a parent, or mistakes as a wayward child, He is waiting with open arms for you. God does not limit His love or time or circumstance to when we can come home to Him. That’s why He sent His Son to pay for our mistakes! This world needs Jesus! We need Jesus!

God our Heavenly Father already has made His desire known, to come home to Him, today, what are you going to do with it?