Loving God’s Church – Community – 2

                                                   Loving God’s Church – Community – 2

Subject – Acceptance in the Community

By Rick Welborne

John 8:1-11 (NKJV)
¹  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
²  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.
³  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,
⁴  they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.
⁵  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?"
⁶  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
⁷  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."
⁸  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
⁹  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
¹⁰  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"
¹¹  She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." 

--We have talked how we are all broken people in need of a Savior and we spoke of the illusion of finding a local church that will be everything we expect it to be. We are human.

Bonhoeffer - Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.

--Jesus is the cornerstone of this community of broken, strange, weird bunch of misfits and to criticize the community is to insult the Christ Who built it.

--We talked about the idea that there is no pain like the pain of loneliness. It is so strange that with so many ways of connecting, people are lonelier now than ever. Depression and anxiety are rampant.

Ortberg - I believe that if you had to sum up in a single word what God is up to, what His goal is in creating the universe and the persons who inhabit it, that word would be community.

--Finally we looked at last week how God has been experiencing this idea of community within the Trinity and He is welcoming us into that inclusive circle with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Father, make us one.

1. The Christian Community and the Humane Society.

--On Nantucket Island there is a museum dedicated to an organization formed centuries ago. Sea travel was so dangerous and because of the storms in the Atlantic off the coast of Massachusetts, many were lost.

--Because so many lives were being lost along a mile stretch or so, a group of volunteers decide to get into the lifesaving business. They banded together to form what was called the Humane Society.

--People built little huts along the shore where people were perishing and people watched the sea at all times.

They didn’t do it for money or recognition but because they prized human life. Listen to their motto:

Humane Society Motto – You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back. 

--That doesn’t sound very catchy but it was. The stories and accounts of people who would risk everything, even their lives, to save people they didn’t know. Sounds a lot like missions.

--Over time, things began to change. The US Coast Guard began to take over the task of rescue. For a while the USCG and the Humane Society worked side by side. 

--Eventually the idea that carried the day was, “Let the professionals do it. They’re better trained and they get paid to do it.” Volunteers stopped manning the huts and going out searching for those lost in the sea. 

--A strange thing happened, they could not bring themselves to disband. The life-saving society still exists today. The members get together, have a dinner, and reminisce of the good old days. They enjoy each other.

--They’re just not in life-saving business. Listen, you and I were made to be in the Life Saving business. We are not to abandon our huts when people are shipwrecked around us every day. People are hurting everywhere.

--We have the ability to offer acceptance, love, and hope to those who may be going through the trials of their lives. So many need acceptance from those of us who seem to be more mature or seem to be blessed now. 

Romans 15:5-7 (NIV)
⁵  May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,
⁶  so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁷  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 

--With church attendance on the decline, have you ever given consideration why you should be faithful to this community of believers? National averages say people are attending church one or two times a month.

Hebrews 10:25 (NCV)
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. 

Why we should be faithful to this community of believers…this local church? What if someone comes to church hurting? It happens every service. If you were here, you could give them a hug.

Single Parent – Hi Pastor Rick, I just wanna thank you for always having open arms, to give my kids a hug means the world to them. I appreciate your kindness and always giving my children a giggle, you’re not only their pastor, you’re their friend. 

--Many of the people who come on Sunday and on Wednesday nights need someone to show love. I can’t reach them all, but as a community we can. We can’t love anyone or reach them if we are not here.

--When we are faithful to God’s house, this community, we can encourage each other especially knowing Jesus’ return is so soon. 

2. Jesus, a woman caught in adultery, and the community of God.

--Question: Why do so many churches produce stone throwers? Do yourself a study about Jesus and see which sins upset Him the most…sins of the flesh or sins of the spirit. Attitudes verses acts.

--There are stories of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus feet, the Pharisee and the tax collector, the prodigal son and his older self-righteous brother. Jesus seemed to side with the sinners of the flesh.

C.S. Lewis – The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronizing; the pleasures of power and hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes to church regularly may be far nearer to hell than the prostitute.

--The Pharisees in the above stories were blind to the fact of how much they loved picking up stones to crush those who were hurting. Had no love or mercy. Story of the SS teacher and the smoker. 

--If I had my rather, I would rather have people who have been caught in their sins and are broken than to have those who are judgmental, superior in their attitudes, impatient, and bitter, leading our church.

--Questions: Who would you be in this story? The guilty caught in your sin, the judgmental picking up stones, or would you be more like Jesus? The truth is we all identify more with the adulteress. Not me, Pastor! Guilty!

Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV)
⁶  All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 

3. Go and sin no more.

John 8:10-11 (NKJV)
¹⁰  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"
¹¹  She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; 

--You see; this community should never be a place of stone throwers. People should be accepted here and they should know people care. 

--Jesus says something more to this lady which cuts her to her core but also gives her hope. Go and sin no more told her that He knew all about her sin but it also told her that someone believed in her. 

--Jesus accepting her into the community of the Trinity is not the same thing as simply tolerating any behavior that is contrary to God’s Word. She could not continue in her sin. We often miss this truth.

Ortberg – Accepting another human being does not mean we refuse to confront or challenge that in them which could harm others and damage their souls. 

--I love My Church means that everyone is welcome and that everyone will be accepted but it also means that once we enter this beautiful community of God that we should, go and sin no more. 

--This woman who was caught in adultery found forgiveness and acceptance in Christ but she also found something so unbelievably great…a new beginning…a new life…a new future surrounded by family.

--Failure to confront, to speak truth in love, can ultimately be as fatal to the growth of the community as being judgmental. 

Ortberg – “Go and sin no more.” Jesus’ acceptance is free, undeserved, unmerited—but it is also demanding. For the woman to fully examine her acceptance will require entering into a new way of life. The same grace that liberates her from past sins calls her to walk free of them in the future. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

--If you have found acceptance and love here at Life Church Villages and have found that the community of God is what you have been looking for, live in freedom every day! LIFE!

Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 11

                                                     Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 11

Subject – The Lance of Praying in the Holy Spirit

By Rick Welborne

Ephesians 6:10-21 (NIV)
¹⁰  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
¹¹  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
¹²  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
¹³  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
¹⁴  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
¹⁵  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
¹⁶  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
¹⁷  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
¹⁹  Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
²⁰  for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
²¹  Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 

--I pray that you are being intentional about putting on your armor every day and how it represents (every part) the Lord Jesus Christ. Please understand that when you are putting it on you are putting on Jesus!

Romans 13:11-14 (NKJV)
¹¹  And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
¹²  The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
¹³  Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
¹⁴  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

--Put on the armor of light…put on the Lord Jesus Christ and do it every day! Someone trying to be funny asked “Why do I have to put on the armor of God every day if I do not take it off?”

--Part of being intentional is forming good godly habits every day…how ridiculous…Well, I brushed my teeth yesterday, I bathed yesterday, I used deodorant a week ago…please do them every day! Wake up every day!

--First, it is a spiritual battle:

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
¹²  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

--Second, we honor Jesus by putting Him on every day and by praying in the Spirit! Not putting Him on daily implies that you do not have that personal intimate relationship with Him.

--As I continued to meditate on the armor of God my mind kept going back to the Roman soldier’s lance, his spear. I wanted to be careful not to imply what the Word was not saying.

--Two ministers of whom I have great respect for their wisdom of the Word and their walk with God…both speak of the lance of prayer according to verse 18…Pray in the Spirit!

--Rick Renner Dressed to Kill is where much of the information has come from in this series and Robert Morris at Gateway Church in his message The Power of Words speaks of the lance of prayer.

--I believe the Apostle Paul obviously studied all the armor of the Roman soldiers who were assigned to watch over him in prison…I personally believe he saw their spears and that was his inspiration here.

--Renner points out different lengths and shapes of lances and their purposes. He shares about lances that were five to six feet long and others as long as telephone poles.

--He speaks of spears used for close combat and others made to be thrown at the enemy…some were made for holding ground when the enemy would come in like a wave.

Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…

--This verse can be translated “Pray with all manner of prayer.” “Pray with all kinds of prayer.” “Pray with all kinds of prayers that are available for you to use.”

--How often should we pray? 1 Thes. 4:17 says that we are to pray without ceasing. Tonight we will look at examples of our lances of prayer.

1. Let us first establish that the lance as well as the rest of the armor is only symbolic.

--David wanted Goliath to know it was not the human power or strength of his weapons. He knew where his help came from.

1 Samuel 17:44-47 (NKJV)
⁴⁴  And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
⁴⁵  Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
⁴⁶  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
⁴⁷  Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."

2. The lance of prayer gives us faith to believe God will protect us when the enemy comes in strong!

--When the soldier is attacked especially by horsemen (Egypt had many)..the long lance (20 ft. long) could be anchored into the ground and pointed toward the enemy to minimize his attack.

--When it appears as the enemy is coming in like a wave or like a flood...the lance of prayer in the Spirit will stop them.

Isaiah 59:16-19 (NKJV)
¹⁶  He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
¹⁷  For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
¹⁸  According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.
¹⁹  So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.

--When the enemy comes in like a flood, raise up your lance of prayer against him...do spiritual warfare thru powerful prayer! The words in our mouth are the words of prayer inspired by the Spirit of God.

--God's Word will be in our mouth stopping the power of the enemy. Pastor, I am fearful of Satan’s attacks. 

Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV)
 ¹⁷  No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD. 

3. The lance of prayer can be thrown at our enemy with great results

--This speaks to me of intercession...before the enemy can get to us or our kids the lance of prayer stops him in his tracks. Put on the armor...put it on everyday...pray all kinds of prayers...pray and intercede in the Spirit.

--Our prayers can be where we can't be...we can send the lance of prayer mixed with God's Word and it can accomplish God's will!!

Psalm 107:19-22 (NKJV)
¹⁹  Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses.
²⁰  He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
²¹  Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
²²  Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing. 

--I remember many stories from our missionaries of how God sent His Word to them and rescued them just in time. A dear saint had been awakened by the Lord to pray for a missionary and his family.

--The Lord told her to pray until He released her.  She was sending power across the ocean to recue this family who was in great peril. At the exact time this lady arose to pray, hostile natives were surrounding their house. 

--Just at the moment that all looked hopeless…the natives saw something and ran away terrified. Later the natives started coming to Christ in large numbers…they experienced the power of God.

--The lady who prayed sent a letter to the missionary and his family inquiring of what might have been going on. They both discovered that at exactly the same time her prayer in the Spirit and the events were unfolding.

--Thru praying in the Spirit God’s power was sent to save this family…we all need to do spiritual warfare by praying in the Spirit every day and when Holy Spirit leads us!

Who We Welcome and Why - 2

                                                           Who We Welcome and Why - 2

Subject – Welcoming the Father into Life Church and Our Lives

By Rick Welborne

John 14:23-26 (NKJV)
²³  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
²⁴  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
²⁵  "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
²⁶  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 

--Last week we looked at how important it is to welcome Jesus, the living Son of God into our church and into our lives. Truly, without Jesus we can do nothing. 

--Think about this, the first miracle that happened in the life of Jesus and at the beginning of His ministry was simply because He was invited to the event.

--Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding celebration and because of that a miracle was in the house. Jesus says He is standing at the door knocking trying to get back into His church.

--It is truly sad that the One Who said that He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it has to knock on the door to get into what He built. Let’s welcome Him to His own house.

--Today we will look at welcoming God the Father into our lives and into His church. Pastor, you just said it is Jesus’s church, is it His church or the Father’s church and the answer is yes.

--You cannot separate God the Father, Jesus the Son, or Holy Spirit because they are One. All of them were and are vitally involved in the building of the church and all should be welcomed. 

--Notice the unity and cooperation of the Trinity in our text today and how each One compliments the other. Jesus said if you love Me and keep My Word My Father will love you. Awesome!

--Jesus goes on to say if you love Me and keep My Commandments My Father and I will come and make our home with you. Mind blowing!

--They are so unified that Jesus says if you don’t love Me or keep My words, you are actually rejecting the Father because they are His Words anyway. 

--Verse 26 should get us all excited because the unity is so magnified between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.

--The Godhead is showing us, His church, His people, His sheep, His disciples how important it is for all of us to be One like they are One. Listen to Jesus beautiful prayer about unity.

John 17:20-23 (NKJV)
²⁰  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
²¹  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
²²  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
²³  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

--Obviously, the reason I am sharing this with you today is to let you know that when we welcome Jesus, Father, and Holy Spirit, they come as a package deal. They are One. Let’s look at why we welcome the Father.

1. We Welcome the Father Because He Always Exalts the Son

Matthew 3:13-17 (NIV)
¹³  Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
¹⁴  But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
¹⁵  Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
¹⁶  As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.
¹⁷  And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 

--Again we see Father, Son, and Holy Spirit coming as a package deal and all of them are represented in these verses. They are always complimenting each other. We should do the same.

--A little over a hundred years ago when Holy Spirit was being poured out and the A/G were being established, three main groups came out of that move of God.

--One was a shepherding movement, another was a Oneness movement, and the other was the A/G. In Covington, La. A pastor from one of these organizations liked to argue. You figure which group.

--He interrupted a lunch where I was trying to lead some folks to Christ so he could argue. I kindly told him to go away. He waited and we practiced Christian apologetics. We argued!

--He said you show me one place in the Bible where all three are there and I will shut up. I took him to Mat. 3. Who was in the water? Jesus. One. Who descended like a dove? Holy Spirit. Two. 

--The voice from Heaven saying this is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased? Unless Jesus was a ventriloquist it was Father. Three. So please shut up and don’t disturb me when I am witnessing. 

--The Father always exalts the Son. "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We always want to welcome the Father because He exalts and magnifies the Son.

2. We Welcome the Father Because Our Prayers Are Directed to Him

John 15:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

--What a privilege to pray to our Heavenly Father and what a privilege pray in His Son’s Name…Jesus. Our Heavenly Father wants us to cry out to Him and trust Him. Several verses about praying to our Father.

Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)
⁹  In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹  Give us this day our daily bread.
¹²  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
¹³  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 

--We welcome Him and we pray to Him because He can fill gaps not even family can fill. My family is so dysfunctional and messed up. I need a father figure in my life. 

Psalm 27:7-10 (NKJV)
⁷  Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
⁸  When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."
⁹  Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.
¹⁰  When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me. 

Psalm 68:5-6 (NLT2)
⁵  Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
⁶  God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. 

--Welcome God the Father, welcome God your Father into your lives and into Life Church. He is a good good Father! Again look at how Holy Spirit and the Father live and operate in perfect harmony as we pray

Romans 8:26-27 (NKJV)
²⁶  Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
²⁷  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

3. We Welcome the Father and We Direct Our Worship to Him

--Watch these verses showing us to be dependent on Holy Spirit, directing our ministry we perform toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and giving thanks (worship) to the Father. We must worship and welcome our loving Father.

Ephesians 5:18-20 (NLT2)
¹⁸  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,
¹⁹  singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
²⁰  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

--Listen to these verses explaining why we welcome the Father and why we worship Him.

Psalm 89:21-26 (NLT2)
²¹  I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm I will make him strong.
²²  His enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him.
²³  I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him.
²⁴  My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will grow in power.
²⁵  I will extend his rule over the sea, his dominion over the rivers.
²⁶  And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ 

--Welcome Him, worship Him and be thankful for Him. Our heavenly Father deserves our total devotion.

Colossians 3:16-17 (NKJV)
¹⁶  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
¹⁷  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Loving God’s Church – Community – 1

                                                    Loving God’s Church – Community – 1

Subject – A Cure for the Lonely

By Rick Welborne

Genesis 2:18 (NKJV) 

18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." 

Matthew 18:19-20 (NKJV) 

19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 

20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." 

–Today I want to speak about the community of God and His invitation for all of us to be a part of it. The small elementary book The All Better Book children are asked to solve some of the world’s toughest problems. 

1. “With billions of people in the world, someone should be able to figure out a system where no one is lonely. What do you suggest?”

Kalani (age 8) - People should find lonely people and ask their name and address. Then ask people who aren’t lonely their name and address. When you have an even amount of each, assign lonely and not lonely people together in the newspaper. (Administrative gift)

Matt (age 8) - We could get people a pet or a husband or a wife and take them places. (Makes you wonder about his understanding of marriage).

Brian (age 8) - Sing a song. Stomp your feet. Read a book. Sometimes I think no one loves me so I do one of these. 

“With billions of people in the world, someone should be able to figure out a system where no one is lonely.”

–This thing of being lonely is why we attend churches, join hunting clubs, have girls shopping days out.... why so many are joining on line...Find Me Somebody.com.

Martin Luther King - "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!".

 

–He articulated the need we have as humans for community.

2. There is no pain like the pain of loneliness.

–We would be shocked to know those around us who are so lonely or maybe we would not be surprised because we are. Home makers to CEOs are lonely and hurting. Lots of lonely people in the Villages. Friendliest?

John Ortberg - If loneliness is common for women, it is epidemic among men. One survey indicated that 90% of the male population in America lack a true friend. “No one wants to admit they are lonely, “writes psychiatrist Jacqueline Olds. “Loneliness is something we associate with losers.” Loneliness has such a sting, in fact, that people will admit to being lonely in anonymous polls, but when asked to give their names they will say they are independent and self-sufficient. 

Mother Teresa - Loneliness is the leprosy of modern society.  And no one wants anybody to know they’re a leper.

“With billions of people in the world, someone should be able to figure out a system where no one is lonely.”

–We do everything we can to try to avoid being lonely...we stay busy, we marry someone less than our standard, we join clubs, we do things that are crazy to not be alone. Loneliness hurts.

–Anyone who had great success in life and accomplished great things but never had friends died with bitter regrets. Every one of them.

–Other side, I have never known of anyone who succeeded at relationships–who cultivated good friendships, devoted to their families, who mastered the art of giving and receiving love–yet had a bad life.

–We learn that what really matters to us is not how high on the totem pole we get; it is people who matter the most. This beautiful idea of community and oneness. 

3. We were made for oneness. 

Genesis 2:18 (NKJV) 

18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." 

–Man needed someone to be one with...not a monkey, dog, cat, horse...someone made in His image.

Matthew 19:5-6 (NKJV) 

5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 

6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate." 

 

–We were made for oneness. Loneliness is so painful. In v.18 it says man was alone and God said, “not good”.

“With billions of people in the world, someone should be able to figure out a system where no one is lonely.”

This oneness leads us into life giving relationships which makes us whole.

Alameda County Study - A Harvard study of 7000 people over a 9-year period found that the most isolated people were 3 times more likely to die younger than those with strong relational connections. People who had bad health habits (such as smoking, poor eating habits, obesity, or alcohol use) but strong social ties lived significantly longer than people who had great health habits but were isolated. In other words, it is better to eat Twinkies with good friends than to eat broccoli alone. 

–What is this saying...we were meant for oneness in the framework of community...we desperately need each other. We need each other, Life Church Villages!

–There has been a steady decline in our American society of what sociologist call “social capital”– a sense of connectedness and community.

Robert Putnam - Bowling Alone: The level of community in America is at its lowest point in our lifetimes, and this loss of social capital results in lower educational performance, more teen pregnancy, greater depression, and higher crime rates.

4. The Answer: The Divine Community.

“With billions of people in the world, someone should be able to figure out a system where no one is lonely.”

Someone did. That system is called community.  

Ortberg - I believe that if you had to sum up in a single word what God is up to, what His goal is in creating the universe and the persons who inhabit it, that word would be community.

Dallas Willard - God’s aim in human history is the creation of an inclusive community of loving persons, with Himself as its primary sustainer and most glorious inhabitant.

–To show how important community was to God we can go back further than when man existed and see what life was like for Him. This is the doctrine of the Trinity.

--The Trinity turns out to be vitally important because it tells us that God Himself has been experiencing community throughout eternity. Community is rooted in the being of God.

5. Life within the Trinity - The Great Invitation!

–Frederick Bruner in an essay on the Trinity begins with discussing Holy Spirit.

Bruner - One of the most surprising discoveries in my own study of the doctrine and experience of the Spirit in the New Testament is what I call the shyness of the Spirit...What I mean here is not the shyness of timidity but the shyness of deference, the shyness of a concentrated attention on another; it is not the shyness (which we often experience) of self-centeredness; but the shyness of an other-centeredness.

–Holy Spirit is constantly drawing attention not to Himself but to Jesus. Holy Spirit comes in the Son’s Name, bears witness to the Son, and glorifies the Son.

–It is as if Holy Spirit is hiding but saying…Look at Him, listen to Him, learn from Him, follow Him, worship Him, be devoted to Him, serve Him, love Him, be preoccupied with Him.

–Jesus has this shyness too...He didn’t go around promoting Himself...If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. He didn’t come to be served but to serve. Jesus submitted to the Spirit and was led in the wilderness.

–The Father has this shyness...this otherness as He says at Jesus baptism...This is My Son in Whom I am well pleased...Listen to Him. The Trinity has this shyness...they point faithfully and selflessly to each other.

Dallas Willard - The Trinity is a self-sufficing community of unspeakably magnificent personal beings of boundless love, knowledge, and power.

–So what about this great invitation? Imagine with me the Trinity in a circle in perfect love and unity. We get God’s invitation to come into the circle. Listen to Jesus explain this:

John 17:20 23 (NLT) 

20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 

21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 

22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 

23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.  

 –We have been invited into this fellowship of love...this community of love.  Why Jesus says:

Matthew 18:20 (NKJV) 

20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." 

Ortberg - At enormous cost to every member of the Trinity, you and I have been welcomed to the eternal circle, to be held in the heart of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Therefore, to fail to prize community; to tolerate disunity with the people God loves–particularly disunity in the body of Christ; or to do things that could lead to disunity is unthinkable.

Easter – 2022 – Village Campus

                                                         Easter – 2022 – Village Campus

Subject – The Purpose, the Pain, and the Power of the Cross

By Rick Welborne

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. 

Philippians 3:18-20 (NLT)
¹⁸  For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
¹⁹  They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
²⁰  But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

--I heard someone use the term “Christian Atheist” and I thought immediately that statement is definitely an oxymoron. Then I listened to their definition. 

Christian atheist:  Someone who confesses Christ but lives like He does not exist.

--Today I want to speak to you about cross-less Christians.

Cross-less Christian – Someone who believes that their life in Christ should be, and must be, free from pain and suffering.

--Much damage has been done in the Kingdom by those who have taught a prosperity gospel that is all about what we receive and enjoy compared to what we give up and endure.

--So many want preachers to tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Preaching or teaching the Word of God comes with great responsibility and with fear and trembling. My job:

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
²  Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
³  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
⁴  and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
⁵  But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 

--Today I want us to talk about the cross of Jesus Christ…The Purpose…The Pain…The Power!

1. The Purpose of the Cross

John 3:14-16 (NKJV)
¹⁴  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
¹⁵  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
¹⁶  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

--The absolute purpose of the cross…the reason Jesus was lifted up was so that all of us could be saved. We do not have to be lost or to spend eternity away from God because of the price Jesus paid. 

--The message of the cross may seem to be foolish to some…think about the pretty cross you wear around your neck as jewelry. The symbol of death for our Lord Jesus Christ!

--Celebrities wear crosses…athletes have crosses tattooed on their bodies…right next to momma…people have crosses on their walls or desks…oh, that we would remember what it stands for. Its message.

--So what’s my point?  We have so softened the purpose of the cross and we have so devalued the price Jesus paid to the point we can wear the symbol of His death and still live like Hell.

--Please don’t misunderstand me, you can wear your cross but please don’t forget what it was for. When people tell you your cross is pretty, you tell them about Jesus. The cost.

Matthew 27:41-43 (NKJV)
⁴¹  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said,
⁴²  "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.
⁴³  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.' "  

--He saved others; Himself He cannot save…the chief priest, the scribes, and elders didn’t know how true their statement was…His purpose was not to save Himself but to save all of us.

--His purpose was not to get off the cross and save Himself but to bear our sins on that tree so that you and I can walk in freedom every day. 

Missionary Joseph Gordon – You hear people say the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will. Tell that to Jesus. God’s perfect will hung Him on the cross. 

2. The Pain of the Cross

Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)
⁶  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
⁷  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
⁸  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

--You see Jesus did not endure the cross for a bunch of wonderful people…He did it for rotten sinners like you and me. Our veterans went to fight for those who loved our country and those who do not. Thank you!

--Oh, how we here in America want a painless Christianity…give me the assurance of Heaven, give me my children serving God, give me blessings (big house and fancy cars) but no suffering please. No pain.

1 Peter 4:13-14 (NKJV)
¹³  but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
¹⁴  If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

--Only a century ago there were brave souls who became known as one-way missionaries. They purchased their tickets to the mission field without the return half. Today we have Live-Dead Missionaries. 

 --Instead of suitcases they packed their belongings in coffins. Most said their goodbyes to family knowing they would never see them again.

--A.W.Milne was one of those missionaries. He sailed to the New Hebrides in the South Pacific knowing that the missionaries before him were martyred by the headhunters there.

--Milne did not fear for his life because he had already died to himself. His coffin was packed. He had counted the cost and considered the pain. 

--He lived among the people there for 35 years and loved them. When he died they buried him in the middle of their village.

Milne’s Tombstone – When he came there was no light. When he left there was no darkness.

Matthew 16:24 (NKJV)
²⁴  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

3. The Power of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV)
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.

--The cross is the power of God…the cross is the power of God to save us and to save those who are lost. The power of the cross was by Him (Jesus) Who hung on it. 

John 12:32-33 (NKJV)
³²  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
³³  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

--To the carnal mind this does not make sense…how can a dead man on a cross draw people to Himself?

--Yes, He died on the cross and, yes, He was buried but that is not the end of the story…something happened three days later.  Jesus walked out of the tomb sealing the deal forever. He is alive!

--The power of the cross can take away all your sin. It was, no it is nailed to the cross.

Colossians 2:13-15 (NLT2)
¹³  You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
¹⁴  He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
¹⁵  In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.