Sermon Let s Be Honest (week 2)

Sermon Let s Be Honest (week 2) One of our core values is Authentic Community. Authentic Community We genuinely care for one another inside and outside the church s walls by showing acceptance, compassion, and friendship with permission to be honest without fear of rejection. Today s and next weeks sermon is asking you to give others permission to be honest with you, without fear of rejection. I am also asking that you would give yourself permission to be honest with yourself without fear of rejection. I am also asking you to give God permission to be honest with you. Proverbs 27:23 tells all pastors to Be sure you know the condition of your flocks As our nation begins to gather for the inauguration of President Trump, I found myself thinking of our first president. If George Washington went to Washington wearing a white winter coat while his wife waited in Wilmington, how many W s are there in all? Let us stand for the reading of scripture (if you can) The answer is none, because there are no w s in all. The question was a little tricky, but Hebrews 6 is not. It is straight up, and gives the reasons, why a person is not maturing in their relationship with God. So, let s be honest, and be open to the Word. Hebrews 6: 1So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 2You don t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. Pastor: The Word of the Lord Congregation: Thanks be to God 1

Prayer: Lord, Help us; take responsibility for understanding the fundamental importance of repentance and faith, baptisms and laying on of hands, resurrection and eternal judgments. Help us yield to your will all our hopes, plans and goals for our future. We want and need many things, and in all of them, we say, and pray, God willing we will move forward in all of them. Remind us, that our growth to maturity is not mechanical or automatic. Lead us by your Spirit, to be strong in the Lord, and to put our anchor in things above, not on things of this earth. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Be Honest with God, others and yourself. This passage gives us some areas of study if you feel stuck in your relationship with God, others and life. Be encouraged to focus some personal study on -Repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. (Repent from dead works and place faith in God, not self or anything of this world) Last weeks sermon went into greater detail on this. Be encouraged to study about - Baptisms and the laying on of hands. There are many baptisms; just one is the baptism of fire that can burn out the unwanted, unnecessary things in our life. Be open to come to others with your prayer needs and let them agree with you in prayer, and lay their hands upon you, which can be as simple as holding your hands or as complex as putting olive oil on your forehead in the form of a cross) Be encouraged to understand - the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment (As we move forward, there will be areas of deadness, that God wants to awaken from the dead, and yet others that need to die for if a person continues in sin, there is a judgment day coming, for all people, and that judgment is for all of eternity) Those areas are your responsibility to study and grow in. 2

For the rest of our time this morning, I want to be honest with you about the condition of the flock. As you allow me to be honest with you and the condition of our flock be aware that I come humbly and also try to read and study what others are saying on any topic. First, we can learn from others: Relevant Magazine listed four things to stop or do less in 2017 on the path to maturity. Sharing Our Opinions I have the right to do anything, you say but not everything is beneficial. (1 Corinthians 6:12) I m convinced that many of us have become enslaved to sharing our own opinions at the expense of building community Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. (Proverbs 18:2) Let s do less airing of our opinions, especially on social media this year and spend that time reading, asking questions and having conversations. Let s seek understanding. Complaining Complaining is a lack of gratitude. We give thanks in all circumstances, (1 Thessalonians 5:18) we show that we really believe God has been good no matter what our current situation may be. If you would like a gratitude work sheet, let me know, and I will send you one. Whatever circumstance you re facing today, you ve got a ton to be grateful for when you have Jesus. Which leads to the next thing. Comparing Comparison is the thief of joy When they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. (2 Corinthians 10:12) so stop comparing your life to others. Comparing your call in life, to others call is without understanding. We really need to mature in our understanding when we compare our jobs, our families, our health, our gifts, our talents, with others and ourselves. 3

Indulging in Social Media This year, get off social media and spend that time having some real, face-to-face conversations. There s probably a lot more that we would all benefit from doing less of this year. But start with these and I d wager it d lead to a pretty amazing year. WTOP posted some websites that carried resolutions. They all are a good way to figure out what you want to stop all together or do a lot less off, and start doing more of. They range from creating less food waste, read more, take up a creative hobby, get organized, learn how to cook, travel, go green, try new foods, volunteer, get in financial shape, There are resolutions for teens, caregivers, pet owners, social media people, etc. These are just idea starters. A person can get an idea of what others are resolving to do and be this year. In the topic of Let s be Honest here are mine. 1. Listen to and follow the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit. The sheep, know the shepherd Jesus, voice. Every one has the opportunity to hear from the Lord. Reading and listening to God s Word, and following that with times of prayer, opens you up to pause and listen for the nudging of the Holy Spirit. God wants to talk to you; God wants to talk through you to others. It can come in a dream, peace, a gift of the Spirit, a heightened mental state, a check in one s spirit, a sign in nature, and a vision. God speaks in many other ways as well. God is speaking, just not always in your native language, so you have to be really open to wanting to hear. For your own blessing and the blessing of others, hear from God. 2. Travel via a mission s trip to a regional, national or a global destination. Traveling as a missionary to asset a missionary is one of the greatest catalysts for spiritual growth. It is a jump-start, it will profoundly mature your spiritual life, and whatever money you spend it will come back to you. I have failed to offer you enough choices that include a trip to Fredericksburg to help to property maintenance on a teen challenge center, or to the flooded areas of West Virginia, or to the other side of the world. 4

Traveling to a mission s destination, elevates and matures your spiritual life, and prayerfully consider one in your lifetime. I hope to be able to raise enough funds to travel to Africa, later this year to conduct leadership training in bible colleges in Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia. I also hope to lead a group of us to help needs such as the floods in WV, or helping a small rural church with their property maintenance. 3. Read, Listen and watch more faith building devotions, podcasts, and programs. Adam and Eve walked with God. Enoch walked with God. Noah walked with God. They didn t just sit, kneel or stand with God. Walking was a means of transport. Whether walking for exercise or transportation it is enjoyable with others. While doing stuff, they communicated with God. While doing stuff, read, listen, and watch faith filling devotions, podcasts and programs. I am not great at just sitting to do my devotions. I prefer a relational approach, inviting the Lord into whatever I am doing. Listening to a podcast while driving or exercising, or dressing, or cleaning, or cooking is the relations pattern we can follow. Walking and talking is a great way to communicate with loved ones, especially with God. 4. Set aside time to Attend Sunday morning church and another church ministry during the week. I used to track everyone s attendance and it started affecting my spirit. So I don t do it anymore, but you should track your attendance. There will be 52 Sunday s this year. I am not talking about travel sports events, emergency work, a fevered contagious sickness, vacations, etc. What is an acceptable level for you? Face and be honest with yourself about your church attendance. When you choose to only come half of the 52 Sunday s, it just becomes a dead, unfruitful work. If, you do miss, consider reading through the notes, that are provided on the church website. Consider, the possibility, that the Lord has given the person who fills the pulpit, a Word from God to You, and maybe, just maybe the answer you ware seeking will be given through the message. Consider, replying to my Sunday morning emails, with a simple word. Hey, Pastor, I have this going, and I won t be there today. Consider saying, something like, once you post the notes, I will look over them and trust the working of the Holy Spirit in my life. When any person consistently misses the word from the Lord for their own spiritual growth, their growth is limited and prayerfully consider, not forsaking the assembling as a community of God s people. 5. Give Tithes, Missions Faith Promises, and Alms. 5

Whatever comes into your life, 10% of it is holy, and belongs to God. When you take any of that 10% and use it to pay your bills, you follow Adam and Eve s sin of taking that which God says not to take. Would you repent of the dead work of NOT tithing, not giving to missions, not giving alms to the poor. Not giving is a dead work. Be honest to yourself, others and God about your tithing. And, yes, as the pastor, and chairman of the board, I do know your giving and prayerfully pray God s blessings upon your income, and your heart to be willing to be a giver. 6. Join and/or lead a ministry team. The bible is full of metaphors and examples on this topic. The church being illustrated as a human body is the main one. If a body part, is attached to the body, but is dead, it is not helping the health of the body. All the team leads including myself, have spoken to one another, that we all are struggling with filling our teams. The Missional Leadership Team is the official church board; Tom Kraft leads the Spiritual Formation Team. The Sunday Morning Experience Team is led by Brenda Burns. The Youth and Children s Team is led by Cathy Knutson. Stephanie Slough leads the global missions team. I lead the community outreach team. We all have chosen to not do the work ourselves, but to do it in teams. 7. Become who you already are in Christ. Be the Healed, the Saved, and the Prosperous. We are NOT the sick, wanting to be healed. We are the Healed, and we resist anything other than perfect health, by fighting back against all forms of sickness. We fight back with physical exercise, diet, nutrition, regular check ups, and living by faith. We are NOT the sinner anymore; we are the friends of God. We are NOW a child of God. We are NOW a new creation. We are now the saved, and we resist sin, we flee from sin, we run to God. Our citizenship is in heaven not on earth, and certainly not in hell. We are Right Now, the saved. We are NOT the poor, desperately needing to be prospered. We are NOW free from the condemnation of poverty and positionally are raised with Christ, in the heavenlies. We are seated WITH Christ in the Heavenlies. We are the prospered, and we resist the curse of poverty and fight back with wisdom, self-control, education, a strong work ethic, living and giving in faith. 8. Consistently Proclaim Faith Filled words. 6

Mk.11: 24 speaks of words in prayer as that key element that must be engaged in consistently. It literally says, you can have what you say. Consistently saying faith filled words will produce a mature follower of Christ. A dead work is using your words in such a way that isn t helping you. It is the consistency of using your words as the expression of your faith. Proclaim, with words your intent are what mature followers of Christ do. If you are inconsistent with your faith filled words, it is a signal; you are not maturing and growing in your relationship with God. Consistently Proclaim with words your agreement in prayer with God s word and will. When a pastor officiates a wedding, we don t accept as an uh huh when I ask someone if they will be joined in marriage. We don t accept a yeah, I think so. We don t accept a thought, or a nod of the head. We only accept a verbal, out loud proclamation of ones heart s intent. Of course if someone were deaf or mute, or some other reason, then his or her way of speaking would be accepted. Consider asking someone to remind you to use words of faith, when you forget or fail to. Be honest with yourself about the way you use words. 9. Helping one another in times of need. Some in the church are struggling with a long-term sinus infection, others are recovering from surgery. Others may need some help with children. Others may need help with property maintenance, or car maintenance. A great resource on helping others in need is found in a book Rachel gave me for Christmas last, year. Fight Back with Joy. When a person is in need, they have needs, and one idea is to say, I have 45 minutes on Wed., I could come by and help with cleaning, laundry, yard or car maintenance, even clean your car. What if the Lord was calling us to carry others? 10. Evangelize others and engage in spiritual formation for yourself. This includes inviting friends to church. Inviting the lost to church remains very effective means of evangelism. It still works to invite a friend to church, and the possibility of them saying yes to Christ is very real. Even at the cohort leadership team meetings, though all agreed to invite a friend to come to church and to debrief the experience, so we could learn what a fresh eyes see in our congregation, there wasn t much participant. Everyone found it difficult. 7

Not inviting others to church limits your evangelism and your own spiritual formation. A recent visitor gave us valuable information on how to make our church ministries more appealing. And, there are plenty of people who once were involved in church, and for any number of reasons, are no longer. Those folks would greatly benefit to rejoin a community of God s people. Taking responsibility for your own spiritual life is what mature people in Christ do. Not taking responsibility for your own spiritual life is a sign you are not maturing as Heb. 6: speaks of. Let us make a prayerful action item to address any these that spoke to you. 8