One Church

I am here to talk to you today about working together in Unity. We as brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ need to realize that we are one people with one purpose, to share the love of Jesus with the world and to glorify him. To many times in the body of Christ, believers and Christians tear each other down. Whether it be gossip, rumors, talking down to or about one another does no good, but just causes strife, pain, and hurt emotionally and spiritually. Sure we may have our differences in style, age, personality etc. but that does not give us the excuse to patronize one another. We as believers may be part of different denominations, but the truth is, there are born again Jesus followers in most likely every one of them. Some of us may “know” more than others, some of us may be better servants than others, some of us may be baby Christians and some of us may be mature Christians. My whole point is that we as a universal body of believers need to, forgive me for the cliche, need to just get a long more. What do you think could happen if believers came together to spread the love of Jesus, rather than wasting their time trying to tear each other down. I think a lot more would be accomplished for the cause of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 “12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

Ephesians 4:1-3 ” As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Romans 14:19 “So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.”

My challenge to you today is to look for the good in people. Look for the good in your fellow believers. Remember that they are your brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ and how you treat them is how you treat him. Yes you may have messed up and treated people horribly in life up until now, but God is a God of forgiveness and mercy. Confess it to him and repent and begin to turn your life around. He wants you to, don’t feel so ashamed that you think you can’t go to him for his love and mercy are far more than we can imagine. Treat others well!

Don’t be a Zombie

I could have went two different ways with my title because I am talking about a two step process, but “Dont be a Zombie” just seemed right haha. My other title was “Noise Complaint”, so take both of those into consideration. I want to talk to you today about voices. So many voices in this world, in your personal life, in your head that we hear playing over and over again and again all throughout our day everyday. Whether we are voluntarily choosing to listen to someone or something or involuntarily. We have radio, tv, friends, family, commercials and so much more that is constantly feeding us with who we are supposed to be, what we are supposed to do, why we need to do this or that, etc. When there is only one true voice that should be piercing through all of the noise that is going on. That is God’s voice, the one we should be keen on listening to. He has a still small voice that beams through all the noise and it comes from the inside of us. It could come in the form as a strong desire or passion to do something. It could be a scripture from the bible that sticks out to you and stays with you through whatever you are going through. It could be an encouragement from somebody that keeps you strong at your lowest point. These are just a few of the ways that God talks to us. He is trying everything possible to reach you and to connect to you and to walk with you in life. So many distractions in life that are telling us who to be and what to do. For example, instagram is telling us we need to have these super awesome fun cool lives that we need to share in order to show other people that we are super awesome fun cool people. But what does that get you, we are looking to show off to people, when we should be searching and seeking to glorify God. I am not saying that instagram is bad, I love it and share sweet awesome super cool photos myself, but when that is what is speaking to us most and becomes a priority to want to please people, then that is a voice that we need to quiet down in our lives. Same goes with facebook, twitter, tv, magazines and anything else we are feeding ourselves that takes away from us hearing the voice of God and hearing his leading personally in our lives.

Things that can be easily innocent, can also be things that slowly chip away at the person God is leading us to be.

Psalm 37:4-5 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act”

We need to make a decision to seek God’s voice and leading in our lives and not only to hear it, but to follow it. When we choose to follow God and his voice, you are going to be following in the will of God for your life and then you are going to be able to witness God do mighty miracles through your life. Miracles like, seeing other people’s lives changed because you listened to God and obeyed and because you bought someone’s meal they are eager to listen to what you have to say about God, or because you took a step to serve in the church nursery, lives are being saved because a single mom got to come to church and hear God’s word in a way she never heard it before and in touched her in a way that she dedicates her life and her family to serving God for the rest of her life, and so many more scenarios that could play out.

What I am saying is, when you listen to God, he always has a plan and a purpose for you doing what he wants you to do and if you do it, the miraculous can happen. God can use you, no matter who you are or where you are, you are a disciple of Jesus and are called to be a light to the world. Don’t let life pass you by without ever realizing that God has a voice and he is talking to you, don’t let all of the distractions in life keep you in a zombie like state never realizing that God has a huge plan for you to change the lives around you that he has put there. Steven Furtick said it like this “Most believers aren’t in imminent danger of ruining their lives. Their facing a danger that is far greater. Wasting them.” It is time that you and I and we as a church, stand up and listen to God, listen to what step he would have you take next. If you notice that life is passing you by, day in and day out, then change something, make a decision to take a step of faith and follow God and his word.

Joshua 1:8 “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

Yes you can watch tv, listen to decent music, read books, get on your social networks, but make sure that God has his place in your life and in your ear and heart. Listen to sermon podcasts, read your bible, talk with God in prayer time and let his voice take precedent in your life. Make a decision to listen, shut the world out for a bit and listen. God says “Be still and know that I am God.” Make sure his voice is the one leading you to action, and not the voice of your friends telling you who you should be. God made you the way you are for a purpose and only he can tell you how to be, who to be and so on. And know that his voice inside of you, the Holy Spirit’s voice, will always line up with the word of God. God is not telling you to do something that includes sinning in it, he is usually telling you to do something that is going to change your life for the better of it, or to do something that is going to change someone else’s life for the better. He has a plan.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

So let your heart plan your way in the way of the Lord and let him guide your steps.

Don’t be a zombie living life by basic instinct and wondering about aimlessly, but be moved to action by listening to God’s voice.

My challenge to you today is to make a decision to cut out all the extra noise and make room to listen to God’s voice, and not only listen but be moved to action, follow his leading, be someone who he uses to change lives. That can look like anything, no small thing you do is unseen, God appreciates it all and even a small step like giving someone a glass of water is a step toward following God’s voice. I challenge to listen to God and follow what he says. He is speaking to you right now about something he wants you to do, so DON’T Be A ZOMBIE and get off your hinder and do it 😉 haha, but for reals though. Listen and follow.

Never Give Up

In life we all go through ups and downs with emotions, with unforseen circumstances, with storms of life, with letting ourselves down and not living up to who we want to be. I have three words for you “Never Give Up”. Jesus tells us that there will be storms, that you will have ups and downs, that you will let yourself down. But one thing is certain and never changes – God and his love for us. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but what he does ask is that we depend on him and that we lean on him and that we build ourselves up strong by spending time with him. He gives us direction on how to do life and on how to lean on him. We could never survive life if it wasn’t for his goodness and mercy and his grace that gives us ability to be strong when we are at our breaking point, when we are at our weakest. When we learn that we are nothing with out him and that we can’t do it on our own, that is when his grace works in our lives and he makes a seemingly impossible situation work out.

James 4:6  “⁶ But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

We need to realize and be humble about life. We need to learn to trust that God knows what is best for us and that we don’t. When you learn to be humble in life in reverence  to God, he then will give you grace to get through what ever life is handing you. You will find more peace about not knowing what to do, because you are learning to lean and trust him in and through life, even when we go through hard times. He has been my constant and ever so faithful to me, and he will do the same for you.

Proverbs 3:5,6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heartand lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.”

This requires a DECISION on your part to put your trust in him. If you believe the bible than you should believe his word is true and that his promises are true. He will guide us, but it is up to us to place our trust and faith in him so that he can guide us. Things aren’t automatically awesome and perfect when we do follow him, but that decision to trust him will give you peace in times of trouble. And if you follow him and trust him long enough, learn also to see the miracles he will give birth to in your life. He will work things out even through the storms and the heart aches. It is a tough thing to do, to not make every decision on our own, but it is the best thing we can do, so that he can work in our lives the way he wants to. “All things work for the good of those who love him”.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

We need to trust that God is with us and he will never leave us. If we learn to trust in him and walk with him, we will find more courage and strength that if we were trying to do things on our own. He will give us grace to live life more joyfully and more fulfilled. Trusting him does require patience, because we live in such a NOW, Instantaneous results kind of world, we need to learn to change our patterns. It is something you choose to do, but if you don’t fully choose to trust, then you won’t see the great things God has planned for you. While you trust God, you should have a personal relationship with him, walking with him daily, talking with him daily and letting him lead your path. If you trust him, but go your own way, you can’t expect for your path to be straight and for things to work out. God has a plan for you and that is something he wants your trust in too. So continue to follow him in your life and learn to trust him. Make the choice, its yours to make. But God will lead you if you learn to follow.

Philippians 4:12-13 “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

My challenge for you today to apply to your life, is change your patterns of impatience and make a choice to trust in God and follow him through all the ups and downs in life. He gives you peace and grace to get through anything this life throws at you. I challenge you to follow him with your life and trust him with your life. He has the best life planned for you.