Jul 17, 2011 ... you” continued to big the big deal in the New Testament. ... 1 Corinthians 5:3-4.
May the ... Where you lead me I will follow, forever and a day.
Week 2 of our series: Never Alone
Never Alone ... in our Relationships Church of the Spirit, Kingstowne July 17, 2011
Introduction: Last week we began this message series with a quick look at the one big thing God promised his people in the Old Testament. Over a period of centuries, through good times and bad, in famine, in times of war, in personal crises whether it was the immediate threat of death or being cast into a pit with lions, or having to walk through the valley of the shadow of death ... in and through it all, God had made one promise to his people. It was this: “I will be with you.” Not I’ll get you out of this, or I’ll grant you three wishes. God is not a genie in a bottle who comes and goes at our command. He is the God who is present with us. That promise to be with us became all the more real as time went by. It was a promise without a guarantee perhaps, but it was a promise that ended up being something you could have and hold, touch and see. For the promise of “I will be with you” became real when God showed up to be with us in person in the person of Jesus. And so, God’s big promise “I will be with you” continued to big the big deal in the New Testament. For instance we hear the promise given to Joseph who was worried when he found out his fiance was pregnant. God told him to calm down, the child would fulfill the promise that God would be with us ... Mary too heard this promise from the angel, and was even given that traditional greeting, “The Lord is with you.” But in her case, he really was, and that meant big things were about to happen, for nothing is impossible when God shows up ... Jesus continued this promise when he taught the kingdom of God was not someplace far off but in our midst ... Why was that? Because Jesus was here with us ... It was this promise that God would be with us when we gather together that kept the early Christians coming back together, no matter how dangerous it was to be identified as a follower of Jesus. Yet even in the face of torture and death, those Christians believed the promise. They knew God would be with them always, everywhere ... And that his promise meant he would continue to be with us, and give us peace, no matter what happens ...
Promises from the New Testament An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son ... as it was told by the prophets: ‘Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuel (meaning, God is with us).’ “ Matthew 1:20-23
Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Greetings, the Lord is with you …” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God … For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:28, 35, 37 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Luke 17:20-21
“For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:20 Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands ... and be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 Even though I am not there with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit … and the power of the Lord Jesus will be with you as you meet together. 1 Corinthians 5:3-4
May the Lord of peace himself always give you his peace no matter what happens. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Segue: The early Christians lived their faith as an adventure. For them to worship together with other Christians was dangerous. To tell others about Jesus was outlawed. To care for the needy or to lay hands on the sick and heal them, to break bread together or to sing a hymn, these were all risky things. Yet those Christians were ready and willing to take the risks. I’m not sure how many of us would do the same ... would you have come to church today if it was possible you would lose your job tomorrow should your boss see you enter this place? Would you wear a cross around your neck if it meant you might end up wearing a noose instead? Nowadays the church’s biggest competition is sleeping late, or going to the pool. Back then people risked it all. I think they did it because they were so much more sure that God was present with them as they lived out their faith. Living for God meant they were living with
him. And his presence made them feel fully alive. It didn’t matter where the road lead, even if it lead through the valley of shadow. So long as God was with them, they were ready to go wherever he would lead them. We will too, when what we’re dreaming of most of all is to live completely in and with God. What is life? For me it is about knowing God is with me, and I can stay with him, wherever he leads me.
Solo: Where you lead me What is life? A thousand roads, a thousand ways Why am I so afraid to move, I crossed the line, I’m stepping out so come what may I give it all cause I’m drawn to you As long as my heart is beating ... Where you lead me I will follow Where you lead me I give my life away Where you lead me I will follow, forever and a day I can’t deny your very presence is my life And why would I ever turn away Cause deep inside I know that I cannot rely on anything less than faith As long as my heart is beating ... Where you lead me I will follow Where you lead me I give my life away Where you lead me I will follow, forever and a day This is all I’m dreaming of to live completely in your love. So this is life As long as my heart is beating ... Where you lead me I will follow Where you lead me I give my life away Where you lead me I will follow, forever and a day
Reading: 2 Corinthians 3
[The Message]
God comes alongside us when we go through hard times. Then before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us … So, instead of trusting in our own strength or wits … we are forced to trust God totally … And he has rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. [So remember] you and your prayers are part of the rescue operation …
Segue: We are partners with God in our prayers. Communion with God helps us be better connected to one another. And as Jesus promised, when we gather together in his name, even if there are only a few of us, God comes alongside of us. You see, communion with God brings us into community with one another, and in the same way, community with others helps us find that sense of communion with God. Together community and communion changes lives. Ours and others. So let us join together as partners to pray for our own needs, and the needs of others.
Prayers for ourselves, others Song: We expect you
Message: It’s been said that the world would be a lot easier place if there weren’t so many people in it. Take the news reports from yesterday. Though construction on the Seminary/ 395 intersection will not be finished for another year, an extra 5000 people will be working at the Mark Center starting the end of the summer. So in case you thought the commute on 395 was not crowded enough, there will be a whole bunch of more cars trying to get on down the highway. The official solution offered for this situation was counterintuitive, which could mean it was creative, or as it may turn out, just plain dumb. In order to lessen congestion around the newly built Mark Center for those 5000 employees, the local government has decided to decrease the number of parking spots. Decrease. The idea is to convince people not to drive. Of course it may just make those who have driven get a whole lot more cranky. Cranky drivers are contagious. I’m sure you have noticed that. When a few people start acting badly, it makes everyone get cranky. Case in point. Drive on any highway in New Jersey. At any time of day ... The point is we are all connected in some way. People effect you, and in turn how you act or what you say, or even the tone of your voice will effect others. We rub off on each other, even when we’re not trying to. One of our members suggested this week that we try to rub off on one another by doing small things that add to our communal insanity. For instance: ! Whenever you write a check, add 'for marijuana’ on the memo line ! Always order a ‘diet water’ whenever you go out to eat ! When you order at a drive-through specify that your order is ‘to go’ ! When leaving the zoo start running and yell, ‘Oh no, they're loose!’ ! When the elevator doors close, announce to everyone, ‘It's okay. Don't panic. The doors will open up again in a minute.’ OK, it’s summer and it’s hard to take some things seriously. But you could imagine easily enough that doing any of things might have an effect on other people. Maybe not a good one, but at least an effect. So if we are going to effect one another, the real question is why not make sure we’re doing it well ... why not rub off in a positive way on others? That’s a lesson I learned long ago from an all-time classic movie ...
Video Clip: It’s a Wonderful Life George Bailey says he wishes he’d never been born. He gets a chance to see what life would’ve been like without him. He sees it but doesn’t like what he sees. Then he hears: “Strange isn’t it. Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around it leaves an awful hole.” Of course it’s also true that each of us can make a big difference in others. No matter how much we value independence, we are in this life together. That was simply part of the plan. In creation God made man, but he felt alone. So God created relationships. Man and wife, parent and child, and then on into family and
tribe and naton. The sense of community we share with one another is all part of the plan of creation. And God is in it. No really, God is in those relationships. That’s part of his promise. When God says he will be with you, it’s not like he promised he and you will go through life together, you and him against everyone else. God is with you and he’s also with the person next to you, and the person you don’t like, the stranger and foreigner and the illegal immigrant. God is with us in the plural. God is the connection you have with others, whether you see it or not. Because it’s not like God is not there, not in your relationships. If he’s with us, he’s with ... us, as a group. As I said, that’s been the plan. When Jesus promised to be with us when we gather in his name he was giving us a grand incentive to get up and get out of our safe little individual worlds. You will meet God when you meet together with other people, just as you can only serve God when you serve someone else. That’s why a central part of the New Testament deals with how we are to live with one another ... to encourage one another, love one another, help one another, admonish and challenge one another, correct one another, and forgive one another. For you can experience God’s love and mercy, indeed you experience his presence, when you come alongside other people and forgive them or love them. As Jesus said, when you cut yourself off from others, you limit how much of God you will experience in your own life. He is in the midst of us. He is present when we are with others. That’s a hard thing for an introvert like me to hear. It would be so much easier, and simpler, if God promised to meet me when I am off by myself. I like it when Jesus teaches us that when we pray we should go off by ourselves and be quiet. Sounds right to me. But then he teaches me how to pray and he starts with the words, “Our Father”, not “My Father” or “My Lord”. Coming closer to God means being more connected to others. So while God is certainly present with us when we are alone, we also have his word that he is present with us when we are with others. There’s actually a big benefit here. God can be the glue that helps hold our relationships together. Whether it is a marriage or a relationship with a son or daughter, or if it’s a friendship or a work relationship, all of these relationships benefit when you realize God is involved in them. He’s there. Think of it this way: what all of us need is for a little bit more of God to rub off on us. That way we could bring God more into our relationships. As we all know, relationships are not easy. Any number of things can go wrong. One person may let themselves get walked all over in order to please others. After a while of doing that you start to feel invisible, or angry because people take advantage of you. Sometimes a person needs to be the center of every relationship, where everything is about them, and their needs. That’s not healthy. One-sided relationships don’t last long. Nor do relationships where there is a lack of patience, or a need for control. Worries (and arguments) about finances can kill a marriage faster than anything. Or you may have lived with a lack of trust, or a lack of forgiveness. Those are deadly too. Sometimes I wonder how people stay married at all. And there are
times, when I am listening to you talk about your struggles I wish I had a magic wand that I could swish and flick and make everything better. Only I don’t have one of those, at least not one that works. But there is something else that works. It is God who brings us together with others, and it is God that can provide the glue for us to stay together, in healthy, and happy relationships. Here’s what I mean. Jesus came to love and to serve. It’s the two cornerstones of his life. As Christians we are to have this mind among ourselves that Christ Jesus had, the Bible says, that though he was God he took the form of a servant. We’re told that he loved the world so much that he gave himself for the world. Love and service. Those are the two last commandments he gave his followers. He told them to love one another as he had loved them. He bent down and washed their feet and told them to serve one another as he had served them. Love and serve. Those are also the Bible’s directions for husbands and wives. The Bible tells us they are to love and serve each other. Why? Because God is with us when we do. When we love and serve others we experience God’s presence, his Spirit. Love and service have got to be the glue that holds your relationships together. Love and service. Only they need to be the love that Jesus shared, the service Jesus showed. We need to live like him and love like him in order to have the kind of relationships we long for. How? You love like Jesus when what matters to you most is the other person, and not how the other person makes you feel. Love wants what is best for the other person, even when that’s not what you want. Love sits through a chick flick when you were thinking action; love orders cheese pizza when you were longing for sausage. Love gives, not to rack up points or to earn bonuses but simply because giving is part of living with love. This is the kind of love that wants the best for the relationship. There’s no question of someone winning or losing, of someone being right and the other being wrong. I hear this kind of love when people talk about the challenges they have faced and say, “Then we were in trouble,” or “We had to face that crisis.” We. Not “Then she did this and I said that and then she said ...” There’s strength in a relationship when you see it as a joint venture, a “we”, not a “me” and a “you”. (Listen to how you talk about your relationships and whether you see them as a “we” thing or if you see yourself as a “you” that just happens to be with someone else.) Jesus shows you how we can get to the point where your relationship is more important than having your needs met. The love of Christ leads us to love others for their own sake, and to value what we have in common with them, not just what you get out of all this. If you want a stronger relationship you need to learn how to love others more like Jesus. We also need to live more like Jesus lived. Living like Jesus means serving others, and in doing so, bringing out the best in them. I’m not talking about becoming a doormat. Service is where you set the needs (not always the wants, but the needs) of others ahead of your own. Their needs become a priority for you (but not an obsession). Jesus never let other people take advantage of him. He had good clear boundaries. But he gave and served and cared for others. In return people gave and
served and loved him back. The same thing can happen in our relationships. Remember the words of the prayer we say each week at the end of our services? We ask God to help us reach out to others. We say we know it is in giving we receive and it is in loving we are loved. It’s time those were more than just words for us. They can be the way we live more like Jesus with our spouse, our parents or kids, our coworkers. That’s the great thing about seeing God as a part of your relationships. Ignore him and do things your own way and you can bank on things being harder than they need to be. On the other hand, when you realize God has come alongside of you, and alongside of the other person, then it’s easier to look for ways to love and serve, to accept and forgive, to encourage and sometimes yes, to challenge the other person. Sound risky? Sure. You may have to be patient or forgive, you may have your heart broken, you may give more than you get. But it’s in relationships that you find God steps up and shows you he is right alongside of you. Living as a Christ Follower means taking risks. But you don’t take them alone. God is beside you as you do. And remember there is an even greater risk to doing life on your own, living your own way and doing your own thing. Not only is this a great way to screw up your relationships, it leads you away from the presence of God. We meet God when we do life with others. No matter how messy it may be, that’s where the action is, that’s where God’s Spirit comes. Are you ready to choose to do life with God? He’s ready to show you how to live and love others better ‘cause he’s already here by your side. All it takes is a choice to live like Jesus and love others like him. How about it? Me, I just want to be where you are and dwell in your presence, and walk with you by my side ...
Song: By your side O dear God we ask for your favor Come and sweep through this place ... O we desire you I just want to be with you, be where you are Dwell in your presence O God ... O I want to walk with you And I will climb this mountain, and I step off the shore And I have chosen to follow And be by your side for ever more Tell me what you want me to do Lord God Tell me what you want for my life, It’s yours, O God, it’s yours Do your will, have your way, be Lord God in this place O I want your will to be done And I will climb this mountain, and I step off the shore And I have chosen to follow And be by your side for ever more
