January 2008 Sermon Notes
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Q: So, how did your week go?
I found I was preoccupied with people!
Examples:
o Person donating a vehicle
o Clerk at Younkers
o Waitress
o Neighbor walking their dogRemember…we are in this together! God has areas in my life to deal with.
Don’t Forget the Goal: That we ALL become walk across the room people.***He gave his one and only Son to reach lost people, right?
***To help lost people get found.
***And for those who truly desire to become more like Christ in your lives…
…you become most like him when you help him help lost people get found.
/Recap of last week…1. Be willing to enter the Zone of the Unknown
By voluntarily removing extricating ourselves from our Circles of Comfort and being open to engaging with someone who might need a touch from God.2. Listen for the Spirit’s promptings…
By choosing to rely on his guidance instead of our own.3. Just walk…
…remembering that Jesus took a long, cosmic walk for us, right?
Today we are focusing on what happens right after you decide to “just walk.”
--What should you be thinking about, praying about, talking about in the “Zone”
Agreeing to “walk” is one thing, but knowing what to do once you’ve reached the destination—the person standing across the room from you—is quite another.This week, we’re exploring what’s called “Living in 3D.”
Point 1: Develop FriendshipsWalk-across-the-room people are those who live life in “3D”; first, they are constantly looking for ways to:1. Develop FriendshipsIf we’re going to reflect the Father’s heart, then we must be in continuous search mode.
We’ve got to make it a habit of searching for new friendships on the horizon.
Watching for ways to connect with people.Heaven watches and waits…Will you lean into the faith and courage God has given?
Will you extend a hand of friendship?
Will you open wide your arms of acceptance?This is the way it SHOULD be…but is it?
Q: Does anyone remember Direct & Indirect Variations from Algebra?**Ask for Volunteer to demonstrate:IF his height & weight are in direct variation, as one goes up, the other goes up too in “direct” proportion.Indirect variation would be his height & weight go in opposite directions.Apply to the Christian LifeNew Christian: things are in direct variation
Over time: indirect variation
That’s why the “circle of comfort” is so comfortable.
Almost all of us find it easy to love some people—spouse, kids, friends, etc.-We see them & our initial reaction is love. We want to bless them. We want to
spend time with them.Q: Can anyone relate to this?Its true: Almost every human being has a loving heart toward some people.
Its also true: Almost every human being also has a secret list of people they just can’t stand.--A business partner who took some of your money.
--A spouse who walked out on you.--Someone who wounded you with words.You might have reasons—really good reasons—for not liking a certain people.It gets even worse…Some of us don’t like entire groups of people.Some people here this morning…o get huffy when surrounded by men & women who don’t vote the way we vote.o Some get all constricted inside when we’re confronted with certain ethnic groups.o Some of us are just plain disgusted with people who aren’t at our same socioeconomic level.
We don’t talk about this very often. But it is true. Many of us have a “list.”Ask me to love some people outside of my “circle”, and seemingly out of nowhere a whole host of qualifiers & filters arise up out of me.o “they better be nice, they better not hurt me, they better be safe, they better be stable, they better be deserving….”o Maybe I’m not alone here in this. Tell me you have qualifiers too!
It’s the list of “better-be’s”:o They better be white, they better be black,
o They better be pro-life, they better be liberal
o They better be Democratic, they better be Republican
o They better be young, they better be old
o They better be single, they better be richAny of these ring a bell?
So, what are these filters all about?
Parable ImagesJesus paints us a picture about this found in Luke 15. The Parable Trifecta
…the lost sheep ….the lost coin ….the lost son.Here’s the setting:
Jesus is seen in the marketplace setting talking with people who are “irreligious”------that is, people who are really far from his Father & who have made lots of mistakes.---people who have painted outside the lines, used terrible language, drank too much, slept in the wrong bed, cheated other folks out of money…and the list goes on & on.---Jesus is interacting with them…talking, listening, just enjoying the fellowship---The religious leaders—the scribes & Pharisees—become a little troubled in their spirits (a little wrinkled in their shorts).---They think the whole scene is utterly scandalous because Jesus is interacting with people who are ON THEIR LIST!---These are the precise people the scribes & Pharisees hate—and Jesus, of all people, is hanging out with them!
They assumed Jesus felt the same way they did…some he loves & some he hates. They thought it OK to feel this way.Jesus hears them grumbling. Jesus knows their hearts. He knows what they are thinkingAnd he tells three stories…one right after another.The first………the lost sheepThe second……the lost coinThe third………the lost sono Maybe just one of the Pharisees remembered Jesus’ words later that week and started thinking.o “Why does Jesus hang out with those people?”o “Doesn’t he realize who they are?”o He remembers the stories. Something similar about them.o What is common about all three….something is missing.o “Whatever it was, it was very important to them. It really mattered!”o And then it hits him…like a ton of bricks.o “Could it be that the Father’s heart is not at all like our heart?”o “Could it be that what Jesus was saying is that the Father loves indiscriminately?”o “Could it be that the heathen, the irreligious, immoral, profane individuals Jesus was talking to….really matter to the Father?”o “Could it be that they were on His LOVE LIST?”o Maybe what Jesus was saying is that God doesn’t even have a hate list.
Point 1: Develop FriendshipsBefore we can agree to walk across the room…we have to remove our “filters”Think of all the opportunities we have wasted b/c we were unwilling to see people as God the Father sees them.
A lot of Christians are growing in knowledge, growing in worship, growing in character, inserving, in giving. But are we growing in our ability to radically accept whoever is standingon the other side of the room?
Point 2: Discover storiesWalk across the room people are people who live life in “3D”, constantly watching for ways to:o Develop Friendships….in order too Discover Stories
Our goal is to engage the lives of the people around us…o …creates a baseline to ask questions.o Helps understand their needs.o Once we understand peoples’ needs, we can help meet them.***Once you take the time to uncover another person’s story…***Once you are viewed as a confidant….the other person opens up about their heartfelt needs.
E.G. – Menard’s
When we let the Holy Spirit lead…incredible the doors that he will open.Just take a chance. Ask God to use you. Reconnect with the lost world.Take an interest in someone…..And see what God might do.
Point 3: Discern next stepsYou will begin to face situations—forks in the road—in the coming days & weeks.Intersections where you can either:--Listen to a person’s story and then pray like mad for God to show you what to do next….or…--Where you abdicate any responsibility to extend a hand…and just walk away.
I hope you will choose the path that leads to engaging. That leads to investing.The path that leads to sticking our neck out to provide a need for someone.The path that leads to:3. Discern appropriate next steps
Once we have taken the risk to walk across the roomOnce we have given our hand in friendship and learned the other person’s journey…The best thing we can do….is listen to the nudgings & whisperings of the Holy Spirit.During every conversation…beg the Holy Spirit for guidance, direction. For insight.For wisdom. For creative ideas. For appropriate next steps to take.
Left to ourselves…we will botch it all up.
Mark 3 text
Story about Jesus in the temple & the man with the withered hand.
Mark 3:5-6
5 He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out — it was as good as new! 6 The Pharisees got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with Herod's followers and ruin him.
Jesus makes no apologies as he heals the hand. Why???? Because that is why he came!!!It was his mission. It was his cause.Our challenge today is to approach this world with the same radical love & irrepressible acceptance that Jesus carried with him wherever he went.Someone did it to each of us.It is our privilege to do the same.
ReviewThis Week, let’s commit to “living in 3D”.1. Developing friendships…with all sorts of people, withered in all sorts of ways2. Discovering stories…remembering to keep the focus on the other person.3. Discerning the steps…letting the Spirit guide our every action.