We Need Each Other – 7

We Need Each Other – 7

Subject – How Corporate Community Makes a Difference

By Rick Welborne

Acts 2:1-6 (NKJV) ¹ When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
²  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
³  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
⁴  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
⁵  And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
⁶  And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 

--Today we are continuing this series about community and how important it is to the body of Christ. Let’s see what God can do when this community of God is functioning the way He intended.

Acts 2:44-47 (NKJV) ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
⁴⁵  and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
⁴⁶  So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
⁴⁷  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Heb. 10:24-25 (NCV) ²⁴  Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds.
²⁵  You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming.

Community of God – A group of born again believers worshiping together, loving each other, encouraging each other, and sharing their possessions and responsibilities in complex unity for the glory of God.

--I truly cannot think of anything more complex than getting large groups of people together from different backgrounds and demographics and throw them together for the glory of God. 

--The community of God intentionally comes together to worship the God Who saved them, to love and encourage each other, for a common mission, and comes together for the glory of God!

--The key is that we are intentional about doing this. We all know we are sinners, we all know we have different likes and dislikes, and we know community can be messy but we choose to do it anyway. Why?

--Because we are so much stronger together than we are apart. We can accomplish more together than we ever could apart. We all need each other to bring honor and glory to Jesus.

1. The Day of Pentecost

--Because we consider ourselves to be Pentecostals, Spirit-filled, or Charismatics we all understand about the day of Pentecost and the initial outpouring of Holy Spirit. 

--I want us to look at this through the eyes of community and see how it really happened. We just rush to the miracle or the outpouring without investing proper time.

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (NKJV) ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
⁴  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
⁵  and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
⁶  After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

--I have heard people say silly things like…we will never have revival here at Life Church until we get everyone in one mind and one spirit. Have you ever studied revivals…Brownsville Revival?

--Leading up to revival there were people who wanted revival and people who did not want to shake up the apple cart. We have been like this for 100 years…why change now? Because you are dead.

--Question for you…Jesus appeared to how many? Over five hundred. Remind me but how many showed up on the Day of Pentecost? 120…380 didn’t find it important enough to show up…sound familiar?

Luke 24:49&52-53 (NKJV) ⁴⁹ Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
⁵²  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
⁵³  and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. 

--In this community of God which seemed to be over 500 there was a remnant of 120 who made up their minds that they were going to do what Jesus said and receive what Jesus promised.

--I am sure there were some in the 120 who either said or at least, thought…I wish our friends were joining us in the upper room to wait on the Promise of the Father. 

--One hundred and twenty obeyed the command of the Lord:

Luke 24:49 (NKJV) ⁴⁹ Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." 

--The point here is that this community of 120 were obedient to God’s command and they had the privilege of experiencing God’s Promise of pouring out Holy Spirit. The results were immediate.

--The apostles were infused with power, the coward Peter was filled with Holy Spirit power and preached to thousands…the 120 became 3120. They were all baptized with water and instructed about Holy Spirit.

--Again, the point here is that the community (120) were in unity and because of that the church grew. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

2. The Day of Persecution

--Not long after Pentecost God was using the apostles in such a great way that people were being healed and turning to Christ (grew to 5000) this brought much persecution to the church.

--They threatened the apostles telling them not to speak at all in the Name of Jesus but they answered them that they could only speak the things they had seen and heard. They return to their community.

Acts 4:23-24 (NLT2) ²³ As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.
²⁴  When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: 

--Their default mechanism as soon as they were released was to return to the community and to pray for God’s power to be demonstrated and for boldness to keep preaching.

--Hear your pastor, if Life Church will be the community of believers God wants us to be…we will need Holy Spirit to show up and we will need to lift our voices in prayer. 

--When Holy Spirit shows up, His presence is the invitation to worship, to sing, to seek, to move out of your pews to the altar. His invitation to break through!

--We have gifts of Holy Spirit exhorting us as a community to seek Him and to trust that He has everything under control in our lives. Our corporate worship shakes things up.

Acts 4:29-31 (NKJV)
²⁹ Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
³⁰  by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."
³¹  And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. 

--When the community prayed, the place where the community was assembled was shaken, and the community was filled with Holy Spirit and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. 

--When we come together come expecting, come believing, come praying, come worshiping, come seeking, and come believing that God will show up. We will leave empowered to speak with boldness!

--Obviously we are stronger together…we are stronger when we are in community…we are stronger when we are in unity…in one mind and one Spirit.

3. The Day of Perpetuation.

Perpetuation – the continuation or preservation of a situation, idea, or a cause.

--The community of God (120) were filled with Holy Spirit for one reason…You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…You will perpetuate My Gospel thru missions all over the world. 

--The community was in one mind, one spirit, and one accord when Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. Some believe to have strong missions you have to have strong givers…I think they have to stay filled with the Spirit.

--The continuation of the community happened…120 became 3120, and then 5000. The Lord was adding to the church thru missions and evangelism. Suddenly the adding was multiplying…Perpetuation of the community. 

--When community gets the same heart, the same vision, the same mission…there is no limit what can be accomplished for God. No way to measure what Life Church can do when we are one.

1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT2)
¹⁰  I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 

--What we have done for missions is great here in this community and we give Him glory. Can He do it without you…of course but is that His will. I know He wants to use all of us not just 120. 

Acts 2:17 (NLT2)
¹⁷  ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 

We Need Each Other – 6

We Need Each Other – 6

Subject – Trust in the Community

By Rick Welborne

Luke 5:18-26 (NLT2)
¹⁸  Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus,
¹⁹  but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
²⁰  Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
²¹  But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
²²  Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?
²³  Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?
²⁴  So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
²⁵  And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.
²⁶  Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!” 

--It is quite difficult for me to get away from the community of the mat. This small group of men teach us so much about what community should be.

--This paralyzed man had true friends in their small community. Not people who were just friendly but people who are committed to you in a way acquaintances or paid service providers are not.

Jean Vanier – A community is never there just for itself or for its own glory. It comes from and belongs to something much greater and deeper: the heart of God to bring humanity to fulfillment. A community is never an end in itself; it is but a sign pointing further and deeper, calling people to love. 

--Today for a moment please imagine with me that you are the man on the mat. 

1. The Trust Issue with Your Friends.

--You wonder if you can trust your friends to keep you safe. What are these guys getting me into? Are they going to drop me? Ground level wouldn’t be so bad but from the roof…devastating!

--Whenever you venture out to share Christ with someone, are you a person who can be trusted to not drop them? Can you deliver on what you are promising them? Be careful what you promise people.

--Probably the most important question we need to ask…are we truly a friend to the person we are witnessing to? Have we taken the time to develop a relationship with them?

--Do you know about their lives and their families…has there been enough connection with this person that they trust you? Are you a friend or just an acquaintance? Listen to what Jesus was accused of:                                                                            

Matthew 11:19 (NIV) ¹⁹  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."' 

--People want to know they are loved and that we truly do care for them. Love keeps showing up, love keeps listening, love keeps making sure that people are not hurt…love keeps directing people to Jesus!

--Because I am strong in evangelism, I often talk of leading people to Christ. But what about those who are already our brothers and sisters. Can they trust us not to drop them?

--It would be scary to find out how many people are out of church because they felt someone dropped them when they were on their mat. Now they feel they cannot trust the community of believers.

Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV)
⁹  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
¹⁰  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

--As a community of believers we must be able to trust that we have other’s good in mind. We do all we can to get each other to Jesus when someone finds themselves on the mat. 

2. Trust Issues with the Crowd. 

--The paralyzed man wonders if he can trust the crowd to be civil who had gathered to hear Jesus teach. After all, they had arrived early to get their seat. 

--Don’t you imagine that they came with their own list of things that they would love for Jesus to take care of for them. It may not be as serious as being paralyzed but it meant a lot to them.

--The crowd could have looked at this as a form of butting ahead and no one likes for anyone to jump in line in front of them. He was in no place to defend himself if people got physical. 

--Years ago I was on the platform watching as people were coming into the sanctuary finding a place to sit for the service. I thankfully saw a new couple come in. Thank you, Lord!

--Right after they got seated a couple comes in behind them who were regular attenders and they head for the same pew where the new couple was sitting. It was their pew…their permanent seat.

--I am sure there were impressions of their bottoms because they had sat there for so many years. I think…no they want…then, I think…yes, they will.

--I make a bee-line to the regular couple to try to intervene before something got ugly. I put my arms around them and gently guided them to another pew.

--They said to me…those people are in our pew and they need to move. They are guests and they did not know so you have to sit somewhere else. 

--They were not happy with the people or with me…what is wrong with people when we take ownership of certain seats. Just wiggle your big _____ until it fits in the new pew. I shall not be moved!

--Now that is funny (not really) but what about new converts or new people who come into the church and begin to take over positions you thought you should have? I have been here 20 years!

1 Corinthians 12:11-12 (NKJV)
¹¹  But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
¹²  For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 

--I have had people want to argue with me that they should have seniority because of how long they have been attending or how long they have been saved. 

--The collective congregation (the crowd) needs to take a deep breath, swallow our pride, realize it is not about us, and just love people God sends our way. The lost or re-locating believers. 

--The crowd should rejoice with those who get to Jesus and find salvation or healing.

Romans 12:15-16 (NLT2) ¹⁵ Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.
¹⁶  Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

3. Trust Issues with Jesus.

--The paralyzed man has to be wondering if he can truly trust Jesus. What if it turns out that He cannot help me after all? What if He is making a really good point and doesn’t like being interrupted. 

--He lies on his mat (or you sit on your pew) thinking of all these dangers. I could get dropped (hurt), I could get ridiculed, or I could be rejected if I stand or come forward. Does Jesus love me?

--On the other hand, if I don’t go thru the roof, it is certain that I will never be healed. This is your one shot at wholeness. He makes his decision and affirms he wants to be a roof crasher too.

--This man’s friends must have wondered how Jesus would respond (we still wonder). Jesus looks up and sees the faces of the friends looking down at Him. The verse says He saw their faith.

--We have no indication that these men said anything to Jesus but he saw their faith. He saw men working hard to get their friend to Him and their only thought was…We must get our friend close to Jesus.

 James 2:17-18 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
¹⁸  But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

--How interesting…Jesus saw these four men’s faith…so what did He see. I think James makes it pretty clear what Jesus saw…You show your faith by your works. Missions!

--Jesus saw these men doing everything they could, working with their hands, to get their paralyzed friend to Him. They could have had faith that Jesus would come by the man’s house but that wasn’t enough.

--Usually healing stories speak of Jesus seeing the faith of the one asking for healing for themselves or their child. Here it’s the faith, not of the man, but the faith of his friends. 

--Do we, in our wonderful community, have any idea what the faith of one person can do for a friend? What did Jesus see in the faces? A big hole and four faces but more.

Ortberg – Jesus sees four guys who are sweaty, dusty, anxious, hopeful, thinking only of their friend and trusting somehow Jesus has the kind of heart that will respond. Jesus sees a little of what God intended when He made human beings. He sees a little island of shalom in a sea of brokenness. He thinks to Himself that this is humanity at its finest. He sees their faith.

--What does Jesus see when He sees you?

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NCV)
²⁴  Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds.
²⁵  You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming.

Learn to Listen – 4

Learn to Listen – 4

Subject – Let There Be Light – His Voice

By Rick Welborne

1 Samuel 3:9-10 (NIV)
⁹  So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
¹⁰  The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 

Genesis 1:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
²  The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³  Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 

--Think about the power of God’s voice. With just four words He speaks the universe into existence. God said, “Let there be light.” These are God’s first recorded words. His first recorded miracle.

--Again, try to wrap your mind around His words. Light is the source of vision; without it we can’t see anything. Light is the source of technology; we can talk to people halfway around the world.

--Light is the first link in the food chain; no photosynthesis equals no food. Light is the basis of health; the absence of light causes everything from Vitamin D deficiency to depression. 

--Light is the origin of energy; in Einstein’s equation E=MC2, energy (E) is defined as mass (M) times the speed of Light (C) squared. The speed of light is the constant.

--Light is the alpha and omega of everything, and that includes you. The very first revelation of God was as creator. So how did God create? With His voice!

--The universe is God’s way of saying, “Look what I can do with four words.” This same voice parted the Red Sea, made the sun stand still, healed a withered hand, made a tree barren.

--God’s voice can turn water into wine, can heal a blind man’s eyes, and it can resurrect a man after he has been dead for four days. 

--There is nothing God’s voice cannot say, cannot do. And, frankly, He can do it however He pleases. He can speak thru burning bushes, Balaam’s donkey, or Bethlehem’s star.

--His voice can write on palace walls or shut the mouths of lions. His voice can quench the flames of a fiery furnace or calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee. 

--His voice is all-powerful but that’s only half the story. His voice is also all-loving. We need to listen.

1. God’s Voice is Sweetness.

--I have heard people say that they are afraid to hear God’s voice because they are afraid of what He will say to them. That’s so sad because they don’t understand His heart.

Song of Songs 5:16 (NIV) ¹⁶ His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. 

--According to rabbinic tradition, when God spoke to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, they were so scared that they felt as though their souls left their bodies. That was God using His outside voice.

--According to their tradition, what did God do? He softened His words and their souls returned to them.

--According to the Word of God, when God wants us to repent or to return to Him, He uses the sweetness of His voice to woo us back. Listen carefully and you will hear His love.

Romans 2:4 (NIV)
⁴  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? 

--I know that many people have a hard time believing God is loving, and it’s often because someone represented Him in a way that misrepresented Him.

--When I was at SW University in Texas I walked in on a conversation with one of these wild-eyed crazy people. He had a captive audience and was teaching them deep theology about Holy Spirit.

--He said, “Don’t believe that Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He has knocked me across the room to get my attention.” I had only been a Christian for two years and knew better.

--Being shy like I am, I walked up and interrupted the conversation and told his audience he was crazy and to walk away before he said something else crazy. The crowd dispersed. 

--I believe God is speaking over His children the same thing He spoke over Jesus at His baptism:

Matthew 3:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

--For you who are insecure; Pastor, God was pleased with Jesus because He was perfect and righteous. Yes, but we have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. He loves you!

--God has a voice you want to hear. When you are in love with someone, you can’t hear their sweet voice enough. You can spend hours talking to them. So sweet!

--When you are in love with someone, you love the sound of his or her voice. And you long to hear it often. A real relationship with God is no different.

2. God’s Voice is Singing Over You.

Leonard Bernstein – I believe the best translation of the Hebrew in Genesis 1 was not ‘and God said’ but ‘and God sang.’ Creation is God’s symphony and science provides plenty of corroborating evidence.

--Wow! Creation is God’s symphony. Did you know that the electron shell of the carbon atom produces the same harmonic scale as the Gregorian chant? Makes you go hmmm!

--According to the science of bioacoustics, millions of songs are being sung all the time. Those songs are infrasonic and ultrasonic so we can’t hear them.

Physician and Researcher Lewis Thomas – If we had better hearing and could discern the descants of sea birds, the rhythmic timpani of schools of mollusks, or even the distant harmonics of midges hanging over meadows in the sun, the combined sound might lift us off our feet.”

--Pastor, that is just a little crazy and farfetched. You make it sound like singing is going on all the time.

Revelation 5:13-14 (NLT2)
¹³  And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.”
¹⁴  And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb. 

--I just wonder all those times that we were totally convinced that we could hear music coming from somewhere, could it have been God letting us hear his voice or creation’s voices?

--We need to learn to hear and to discern God’s voice because I truly believe He is speaking and singing to us all day long. Every day. Why? Because he loves us.

Zephaniah 3:16-17 (NLT2)
¹⁶  On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
¹⁷  For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” 

3. His Voice Compared to Our Voice.

--The human voice is pretty much good for one thing—verbal communication. So we tend to think of God’s voice the same way. 

--God’s voice is so much more than audible words communicated in human language. God uses His voice to speak, but He also uses His voice to heal, reveal, convict, create, guide, and to show grace. 

--Does God speak to us audibly? Absolutely! But that is just a small part of His way of communicating with us. His ability to speak is way beyond our ability to hear audibly.

--There are people who say that they have never seen a miracle and there are people who argue that they have never heard God speak. I would argue with that thought process.

--That may be true of God’s audible voice within our small range of hearing, but everything we see on this earth was formed by His creative voice. “Let there be light.”

--What we see today, He once said. His voice is around us all the time. His creation shouts to us:

Romans 1:20-22 (NLT2)
²⁰  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
²¹  Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
²²  Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 

--Never think God is not speaking. His creation is shouting at you every day how awesome God is and how He wants you to know Him in a greater way. He loves you.

--How do you know that He loves me, Pastor? Everyone look up at the cross hanging in this church. Think about Jesus hanging on the cross. Listen to His voice.

1 Corinthians 1:17-18 (NIV)
¹⁷  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
¹⁸  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

--Maybe you don’t hear anything audibly but the cross is definitely speaking to you and if you listen carefully, you can hear Jesus say, I love you this much!