SERMON: GO AND SIN NO MORE

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO SERIES¹

16 July 2017

I.  Introduction

            -- this evening we’re starting a new sermon series called, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” -- you probably recognized the title from the book by Dr. Seuss -- so let’s begin by listening to just the first part of the book

           

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

by Dr. Seuss

“Congratulations! Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

“You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

“And you may not find any you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town.

“It's opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do
to people as brainy and footsy as you.

“And then things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along. You'll start happening too.

“OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!”

            -- this book by Dr. Seuss has become a common graduation gift -- we give it to our young men and women as they’re graduating high school and heading out to begin life -- it’s a reminder that life begins with going -- it’s a reminder that our lives are journeys into the unknown -- there are paths that will lead us to greatness and to great things -- and there are paths that will lead us into dark and scary places -- but the message is to trust yourself -- to trust your instincts and your education and your experience and to go -- to take that first step and begin this journey of life

            -- this is a message that we hear repeated in the Bible, as well -- throughout scripture, we hear the word of God proclaimed to us to “Go” -- but we have a problem in our churches and in our Christian lives -- too often, we hear the word of God commanding us to “Go,” but we never take that step -- we never begin that journey -- and our spiritual lives never take off -- we don’t grow in grace and the knowledge of God and the streams of Living Water becomes a stagnant cistern in our souls

            -- so over the next several weeks, we’re going to be looking at some of the commands from God to “Go” and commit ourselves to actually stepping out in faith and doing what He has commanded

II.  Scripture Lesson (John 8:1-11)

            -- we’re going to begin this series by looking at a familiar passage in John -- John 8:1-11 -- the story of the adulterous woman

            -- if you would, please join me in John 8 and let’s look at this story together -- let’s back up and begin with the last verse in Chapter 7

7:53 Then they all went home, 8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

            -- so here we have the setting -- Jesus has spent the night on the Mount of Olives, and now He is back in the temple courts teaching as He has been doing for some time now -- He is surrounded by a great crowd of people who are all gathered around Him and are listening intently

            -- when, suddenly, a disturbance begins at the back of the crowd -- a group of Pharisees and teachers of the law force their way through the crowd, dragging a woman by the arm -- they go right up to the front -- right in front of Jesus -- and shove her into His face and crow, “Teacher” -- that’s sarcasm, if you didn’t get it -- they call Him “Teacher,” but they don’t accept His teachings

            -- “Teacher,” they say. “this woman was caught in the act of adultery -- the Law says she must be stoned -- now what do you say?”

            -- a trap, pure and simple -- these men did not care about the holiness of the Law -- their concern was not over a sin committed -- their concern was Jesus -- they were seeking a way to trap Him and force Him to act in a way they could use against Him

            -- the Law was clear -- a woman caught in adultery was to be stoned -- they were right -- but if Jesus condemned the woman and commanded her to be stoned, He would be facing several problems -- first, His credibility -- His authority -- His compassion and love for the sinner -- would be called into question -- who could trust Him with their sins from this point forward? --who could trust Him to speak grace and truth into their lives with love when He reacted so harshly to this woman, who had obviously been set up by these Pharisees and teachers of the Law? -- so that’s the first issue

            -- the second problem was one of authority -- the Pharisees had repeatedly questioned Jesus’ authority, just as they had done with John the Baptist -- Jesus was not a priest -- He was not part of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council and court of the people of Israel -- He had no apparent right or authority to condemn someone to death -- and, without that authority, His pronouncement of a punishment of stoning would be akin to murder -- so He couldn’t do what they were requesting, and they knew that -- so that’s the second issue

            -- finally, they were setting Him up against the Romans -- remember why the priests carried Jesus before Pontius Pilate for His trial? -- it was because they had condemned Jesus to death, but did not have the authority from the Romans to execute anyone -- if Jesus commanded the woman to be stoned here, He would be in trouble with the Romans for killing someone without authority

            -- so the trap is set -- and it looks like is Jesus is boxed in -- here He is -- confronted with an obvious sinner -- someone caught in the act -- someone with no defense -- her sin was obvious and irrefutable -- and the Law was clear -- the penalty for this sin was death -- so what was Jesus to do?

            -- look at the second part of verse 6

6b But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

            -- He bent down and wrote with His finger in the dirt -- confronted with an angry mob with the Law on their side -- intent on trapping Him and forcing His hand -- Jesus didn’t say a word -- He simply bent down, and wrote on the ground

            -- the Pharisees and the teachers of the law stood there, staring, as Jesus wrote -- was He just buying time? -- was He just collecting His thoughts? -- they questioned Him again -- “What should we do with this woman?”

            -- He straightened up and looked them in the eyes and said, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” -- and then He stooped down, and began to write on the ground again

            -- what did Jesus write? -- this is one of the greatest mysteries of all time -- you know, this is the only recorded instance of Jesus writing in the entire New Testament -- and He wrote on a temporary medium -- He wrote in the dirt -- which time and nature would erase within a matter of days, if not before -- what did Jesus write? -- we don’t know, but the people who were there with Him that day knew

            -- in all likelihood, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law hadn’t paid any attention to what Jesus was writing the first time He bent down -- their eyes were on Him, waiting for Him to respond -- waiting for Him to speak

            -- but now, having stooped down and beginning to write again, I am sure their eyes were drawn to the words on the ground -- what do you think was written there?

            -- most people have suggested that Jesus wrote the personal sins of the accusers on the ground -- that as the words of Jesus, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” reverberated in their ears, their eyes would have seen their own sins written in the dust for all to see

            -- as Barclay points out, this is probably the case -- the normal Greek word used for the term, “to write” is graphein -- but here in this passage, John used the word, katagraphein, which can mean to write down a record against someone²

            -- whatever was written there, it affected them greatly

            -- verse 9

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

            -- the accusing mob began to break up -- the men began to go away -- it is telling that the older ones left first -- those who had lived a lifetime trying to live up to the standards of the Law, but failing -- those who, as David wrote in Psalm 51:3, knew their transgressions, and whose sins were always before them -- for try as they might, they could not live a sin-free life -- they could not fulfill the Law and its righteous demands

            -- and, assuming they saw their own sins written in the dust before their feet, they recognized their own guilt and the punishment due them -- and so they left first, followed by the younger men, one by one, until no one was left standing there expect Jesus and the adulterous, sinful woman

            -- verse 10

10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

            -- “Where are they?” He asked. “Has no condemned you?”

            -- those who had condemned -- those who had judged the woman -- were gone -- and without at least two witnesses, the Law clearly stated that no accusation could be brought -- the immediate threat of punishment through the Law was lifted

            -- “No one, sir.”

            -- but the woman knew her sin -- it was obvious to her -- and it was obvious to Jesus -- the question still hung in the air unanswered -- what would Jesus do with this sinner?

            -- with His words, Jesus pronounced judgment -- “Then neither do I condemn you.”

            -- let’s not forget why Jesus came -- the reason He chose to leave His heavenly home to be born of a woman and live among us -- we all know John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

            -- but, too often, we forget the next verse -- John 3:17, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him”

            -- when Jesus declared to the woman, “Then neither do I condemn you,” He was proclaiming His mission -- not to condemn, but to save the world -- to offer salvation to those who believed in His name -- who trusted in Him for the forgiveness of sins

            -- some would argue that Jesus just discounted her sin here -- that He didn’t fulfill the requirements of the Law when He refused to enact the punishment due her

            -- but that’s not true -- her sin was forgiven, but not wiped away -- it was transferred, from her to Him -- and Jesus took it to the cross where the penalty was paid -- as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”

            -- the woman was not condemned because Jesus took the condemnation on Himself

            -- at the end of this passage, Jesus gives the woman -- and us -- her “Go” command: “Go now, and leave your life of sin”

            -- other translations put this as Jesus saying, “Go and sin no more,” but I think the NIV has the intent of this declaration of Jesus correct here -- to leave a life of sin implies an act of repentance and of faith -- a change in attitude and belief -- a change in allegiance from bondage to sin and death to new life through Christ

            -- Jesus addressed the two greatest needs in humanity -- forgiveness and a challenge to holiness³

            -- as Chris Benfield wrote: “She had been delivered from her sin and she was expected to live a life that honored the Lord. That isn’t to say that He expected her to live without sin, but that she was to seek the righteousness of God. She was no longer to willfully seek sin. Her life was to reflect the One who had forgiven.”

            -- the adulterous woman had been given a do-over -- a second chance -- a new beginning -- a clean slate -- and now Jesus commands her, and us, to “Go” and leave our lives of sin

III.  Closing

            -- too many Christians have bought into the lie of Satan that we cannot live lives free of sin -- that we have no choice but to sin -- that it’s just part of being a human

            -- and, like all that Satan tells us, there is some truth to that -- we do still have this sin nature within us -- the old flesh -- the old man, as Paul called it -- that same bent towards sin that we inherited from Adam and Eve

            -- but just because this old sin nature is still within us, that doesn’t mean we have to follow that sin nature any longer -- that is the lie that Satan tells us -- that is the lie so many Christians have believed

            -- let me read 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 for you

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

-- do you see what that said? -- in every temptation, God has provided a way out so we can stand up under it -- we don’t have to sin -- we can choose the way out that God has provided

            -- in his epistles to the early church, John pointed out that he was writing his letters so that the Christians could choose not to sin -- 1 John 2: 1 -- “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin” -- sin is not a certainty -- sin is a choice -- we don’t have to sin, we can choose not to sin

            -- but how? -- how is this possible? -- how was it possible for the adulterous woman to leave her life of sin and to sin no more? -- because of the death of Christ on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit within us

            -- let me share with you two passages that make this clear, and then we’ll close

1 Thessalonians 5:22-24 (NIV)

22 Avoid every kind of evil.

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Jude 1:24-25 (NIV)

24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--

25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

            -- do you see what these passages are saying? -- God Himself will keep us from falling -- God Himself will sanctify us through and through -- God Himself will keep us from sin -- if...if...

            -- if we trust in Him -- if we have faith in His power and strength in our lives -- if we really want to be free from sin

            -- it’s a choice -- it’s a choice between continuing to live in sin or to “Go, and sin no more” -- to “Go, and leave our lives of sin behind”

            -- so, as we close tonight, remember this command of Jesus and the places we will go through Him -- if you trust Him -- if you have faith in Him and in His Spirit to bear you up when tempted -- if you trust that He has the power to keep you from falling and to sanctify you and keep you blameless until His return -- then go with Him, just as the adulterous woman did

            -- “Go, and sin no more”

            -- let us pray

---------------------------------------------

1 Series idea and title borrowed from Eric Bryant, Gateway Church, Austin, TX [http://www.ericbryant.org/]

2 William Barclay, Commentary on John

3 http://archives.calvarymurrieta.com/brian/studies-books/new-testament/43-john/43-john-007-040-09.pdf

SERMON: WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

2 July 2017

I.  Introduction

            -- as we open this evening, I want to read you a quote from Charles Sheldon's book, "In His Steps", which started the "WWJD -- What Would Jesus do?" movement

            -- in this book a tramp, a man without a home and without a job has been going from church to church looking for help -- and in each church, the answer is the same -- no help is available

            -- when he comes to the last church in town, he asks for permission to speak to the congregation -- this is what he says right before he collapses on the altar and must be taken to the hospital:

            "I'm not an ordinary tramp, though I don't know of any teaching of Jesus that makes one kind of tramp less worth saving than another.  Do you?  I was wondering as I sat here tonight, if what you call following Jesus is the same thing as what He taught.  What did you Christians mean by following the steps of Jesus? 

            "I've tramped through this city for three days trying to find a job and in all that time I've not had a word of sympathy or comfort.  What is meant by following Jesus?  What do you mean when you sing "I'll go with Him, with Him, all the way?  Do you mean that you are suffering and denying yourselves and trying to save lost, suffering humanity just as I understand Jesus did?  What do you mean by it?

            "It seems to me there's an awful lot of trouble in the world that somehow wouldn't exist if all the people who sing such songs went and lived them out.  I suppose I don't understand.  But what would Jesus do?"

            -- and with those words, the man collapsed at the altar

            -- what would Jesus do? -- despite how commercialized that phrase has become in recent years, with the WWJD wristbands, bumper stickers, magnets, and t-shirts you still see all over our community -- this is still a good question for us to stop and ponder -- what would Jesus do?

            -- for the past several weeks, we’ve been discussing focusing our attention on seeking God first -- on seeking His presence and drawing near to Him before anything else -- on putting aside the church’s worldly desires for more people, more money, more activity as a measure of influence and power and getting back to the basics of Christianity -- focusing on worshiping and serving God and trusting in Him to bring the increase

            -- but invariably, we have to ask the question -- what does God want us to do?

            -- contrary to what Bob Dylan might have us believe, the answer to that is not blowing in the wind -- but is found in the pages of Scripture -- Jesus came to show us how to live in relationship with God -- to show us what was expected of those who were the children of God -- those who believed in His name and who were filled with the Holy Spirit

            -- and in the Bible we can see what Jesus did and pattern our lives after His -- remember, the name “Christian” literally means “little Christ” -- it implies that we are following Him -- imitating Him -- becoming more and more like Him as the Holy Spirit works in us and through us to sanctify us and impart holiness into our lives

            -- so to know what to do -- to answer the question, “what would Jesus do?” in this particular situation -- we have to first answer two questions: 

            1) What did Jesus do? -- in what ways did He minister to others? -- for in His life and His example we find direction for our own -- this question is easy for us to answer -- all we have to do is read the gospels -- to see what Jesus did so we can do what He did -- Jesus ministered to the sick and the poor -- the widows and the orphans -- the hungry and the needy -- He spoke to the people about the Kingdom of God -- He told them the way to salvation was through Him -- that’s what Jesus did -- that’s what we should do

            -- the second question -- and the one I want us to focus on this evening is:

            2) What led Jesus to act? -- what was the catalyst that stirred Jesus to action?

            -- we know that Jesus healed many people during His time on earth, but He did not heal everyone -- He did miracles in many places, but He did not do miracles everywhere -- for example, the Bible tells us Jesus couldn’t do miracles in Nazareth -- so what caused Jesus to heal some and walk past others with physical ailments? -- what caused Jesus to do miracles in some places, but not others? -- what led Jesus to move and to act when He did?

            -- the answer to that question will inform the direction we go -- as Christians and as a church

II.  The Catalyst for Action

            -- so what led Jesus to act? -- what were the decisive factors -- the catalysts -- that made the difference in whether Jesus would do something or not?

            -- in reading the gospels, we learn there were three distinct reasons that led Jesus to do something:  1) The Will of God; 2) The Faith of Others; and, 3) Compassion

            A.  The Will of God

            -- turn over to John 6:38

38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

            -- now flip over to John 8:28-29

28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

            -- in these verses, we see the overarching catalyst or reason why Jesus did what He did -- to do the will of God -- everything Jesus did -- everything Jesus said -- was predicated on the will of God

            -- Jesus came to earth in the first place in obedience to the will of the Father -- the Bible tells us that Jesus put aside His glory and left heaven to become one of us -- to bear our sins on the cross -- to atone for our sin and pay the penalty we could not pay in order to redeem us and restore our relationship with the Father

            -- the ultimate expression of Jesus acting in submission to God’s will can be seen in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed -- He prayed three times to be released from the burden of the cross -- He asked that if there were another way, for God to let Him know -- but He concluded His prayer by saying, “not My will, but Thine be done” -- Jesus went to the cross in obedience to the will of God

            -- we see that in other aspects of His life, too -- in these passages in John, Jesus said that He did nothing on His own, but everything He did was in response to the will of God -- He spoke what the Father taught Him -- He went where the Spirit led -- He ministered to others as God directed -- His own personal desires and wishes and will were put below the will of the Father

            -- so what does that mean for us? -- if we are seeking to do what Jesus did -- if we are asking the question, “what would Jesus do?” in our own lives -- then the first answer is that we must know and do the revealed will of God

            -- turn over to Colossians 1:9-14

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[a] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

            -- Paul prays here that the Colossians might know God's will -- that they might live out God's will in their daily lives -- the will that Paul is referring to here is God’s moral will -- the will of God expressed to believers through His Word -- through prayer -- and through the church -- this is the revealed will of God given to us through Jesus

            -- we come to know God's moral will as we experience Him in our lives -- by hearing and by doing

            -- when we know God's will -- when we understand that He wants us to share our lives and our love with others -- regardless of the cost -- we live lives worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him in every way

            -- Paul points out to us here four aspects of God's moral will for our lives -- things that God has called all of us as believers to do that will give our days meaning and purpose

            -- in verse 10, Paul tells us that it is the will of God for us to bear fruit in every good work -- we need to start living each day with the thought, "Today I will do a good work for Christ -- if nothing else, I will at least water the ground by sharing my love through faith to others" -- this is implicit in the Great Commission -- to tell others about Christ -- to share His love with others -- this is always the will of God for us

            -- there at the end of verse 10, Paul tells us we should grow in the knowledge of God -- when Paul tells us to do this, he's not talking about facts -- he's talking about relationship

-- we study God's word and we come to church and we listen to sermons and Christian music, not so we can know more about God, but so we can know God -- so we can understand who He is and so we can share in His life -- that's what Paul is talking about when he tells us it's God's will that we grow in the knowledge of God

            -- in verse 11, Paul says we are to demonstrate endurance and patience through the power of God -- it is God’s will for us to learn to walk through the trials of each day -- to learn to trust in Him -- to lean on Him -- to depend on Him -- when things get hard -- and trust in the hope you have for eternity -- faith is demonstrated more in times of adversity than in times of blessing -- and others see that when you persevere and endure in faith and hope

            -- finally, in verse 12, Paul says we should thank God who has saved us "qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light" -- the Westminster catechism says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever

            -- it is the will of God that we glorify Him by praising Him for what He has done -- we should offer up prayers and hymns of thanksgiving every day for who He is and what He has done -- thanking Him for our salvation, our redemption -- for the forgiveness of sins -- it is because of these mighty acts of God through Jesus that we have eternal hope and enjoy the inheritance of the saints

            -- we don’t have to wonder what God’s will is for our lives -- He has revealed His will to us through His word and continues to reveal it through prayer and through the church -- the issue is not about knowing the will of God, but doing the will of God, as Jesus did

            B.  The Faith of Others

            -- turn over to Matthew 9:1-2

1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

            -- in this familiar passage about the healing of the paralytic man who was lowered through the ceiling into the room where Jesus was teaching, we see the second catalyst that caused Jesus to act in the scriptures -- faith -- not His faith, but the faith of others

            -- when Jesus saw faith and trust in Him and the Father, that caused Him to act

            -- look at Matthew 8:10

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

-- a centurion had come to Jesus to ask for healing of his paralyzed servant, and Jesus agreed to go -- but the centurion told Jesus there was no need for Jesus to physically attend to the servant -- if He would just say the word, the servant would be healed -- and we read here that the centurion’s faith astonished Jesus and resulted in the healing of his servant

            -- our faith and trust in Jesus should be a catalyst for action in our own life -- True faith is faith that believes although it hasn’t seen -- true faith is faith that believes despite what our eyes tell us -- true faith is faith in Jesus regardless of what our senses or the world tells us. 

            -- True faith is belief in Jesus as the sole answer to the promises of God in our lives -- true faith is belief in action, belief that we trust enough to depend our very lives and our souls on. 

            -- our faith should lead us to intercede on behalf of others -- to offer up their needs to Jesus -- to minister to them in the sure knowledge that Jesus will act because of our belief in Him

            C.  Compassion

            -- turn over to Matthew 14:14

14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

            -- the third catalyst that caused Jesus to minister and to act was compassion -- in this passage, Jesus is tired -- He is grieving the death of John the Baptist and He is weary from His ministry -- so Matthew tells us that Jesus withdrew by boat privately to go to a solitary place to be by Himself -- presumably, to recharge His energy -- to be in the presence of the Father and to be filled again with strength to carry on

            -- but the crowds heard that He had left and realized where He was going, and when Jesus landed His boat on the shore, a large crowd was waiting -- their needs overwhelmed Him -- their needs stirred His heart -- and Matthew tells us that Jesus had compassion on them and healed their sick

            -- many times in Scripture we read of the compassion of Jesus -- of how His heart broke at the condition of those around Him and He was filled with compassion for them and touched them and healed them and spoke words of hope to them

            -- the compassion of Christ comes from His great love for us -- and it causes Him to want to help

            -- in the same way, we should be led by our hearts and our compassion for others -- God will impress upon on and break our hearts for people and causes that He wants us to minister to

            -- every day, I walk past people in need -- most of the time, I am not led to act -- I see their need -- I may say a prayer for them -- but I don’t feel a compassion welling up within that causes me to move

            -- but, every now and then, God speaks to my heart -- and something catches my eye -- and I find myself drawn to that person and feeling like I must do something to help them -- even if they haven’t asked -- I think Kim had a similar situation just yesterday

            -- when that happens, that is a clear command from God to move and to act and to minister in His name -- compassion and love should drive us in our ministry as we seek to do what Jesus would have us do

III.  CLOSING

            -- the question that we have been asking ourselves as a church is when do we move forward in ministry?

            -- I think we should follow the example of the Israelites as they followed God in the wilderness -- they only moved when the pillar of fire or the pillar of cloud moved -- they only moved when God showed them where to go -- we must do the same if we are to be the people He wants us to be

            -- Jesus gave us the pattern of direction in His life, as He responded to the will of God -- to the faith of others -- and to the stirring of His heart with compassion

            -- these are the pillars of fire that lead His church today -- so we only move out when God clearly shows us His direction in one of these three areas:

            -- His revealed will -- God will reveal to us His plan and His purpose and give us clear direction on what to do when it is the right time -- we have to be careful to not take matters into our own hands or to bend our will just to be doing something -- it is better to do nothing than to be doing the wrong thing -- we must make sure what we are doing is what God wants us to do -- God will reveal His will to us, and when He does, then we have to be obedient to His leading and move out

            -- Faith -- our faith and the faith of others -- when God touches our hearts and confirms an action, we must have faith and trust in His ability to complete it through us -- we have to trust in Him -- likewise, when others come to us in faith because they expect to see God work in us and through us, this is a sign from God to minister in His name

            -- Compassion -- when God touches our hearts and stirs our souls on behalf of others, we can be sure this is something He wants us to do -- I believe that churches go through seasons of ministry, where God stirs their souls to minister in certain areas and to certain people for a limited season of time -- I feel the homeless ministry was a stirring of compassion from God in our souls, but I think that season has passed -- we need to be open to the next season that comes our way and ready to move when God leads

            -- Will, Faith, and Compassion -- these three are the catalysts for ministry in the church -- let’s pray for guidance and discernment in these areas -- and move out only when God shows us what He would have us do

            -- let us pray