SERMON: DEFINING FAITH

 I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Hebrews 11:1

 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

 

            -- In December of 2016, a ride at Knott's Berry Farm in California malfunctioned and 20 people -- including seven children -- were stranded 148 feet in the air -- a local fire crew responded to the emergency and tried to reach the stranded passengers by using a massive ladder, but it was too short -- they could not reach them -- they quickly realized they had no other choice -- they would have to lower each passenger from 148 feet in the air, harnessed to a single rope.

            -- Fire Captain Larry Kurtz spoke to the people and told them what was going on -- he said, "It sounds scary, but … we have very, very strong ropes that have 9,000 pounds of breaking strength on them. -- you’ll be okay" -- He was building the faith of those who were trapped -- He was giving them information that would dissipate their fears if they would believe -- It was up to each person to believe what he said and place their trust in the firefighter

            -- now consider what this would feel like to the kids who were on this ride -- Ray Comfort tells the story of one of the youngsters on the ride, a boy named Luke -- He's seven years old—old enough to feel terror as he looks at the ground 148 feet below -- he’s holding on to the ride with a death grip, refusing to let go -- but the firefighter who was working to free them looked Luke in his eyes, and with a steadying voice said, "Trust me, Luke. I won't let you go. Your life is very precious to me, and I will have you down before you know it."

            -- Luke listened to him and thought about the "very, very strong rope." -- He believed the firefighter's reassuring words and trusted him completely -- he knows that this is his only hope of getting to safety -- he put his hope and trust in the firefighter and believed that everything he had been told was true -- and, so, in faith, Luke lets the firefighter strap him into the harness and lower him to the ground safely, just like all the other people who had been trapped on the ride¹

 

            -- this morning, I want to talk about faith -- what it is -- and what it is not -- faith is such a common word, but it is frequently misunderstood or misapplied -- when someone talks about faith, their understanding of what faith means may not be the same as yours -- and it may not be what the Bible means when it uses the word

            -- Voltaire once said, “If you would converse with me, define your terms” -- we can be using the same word as someone else, but have entirely different meanings -- I ran into this problem when I first started dating Kim

            -- one time, I told her I would be over to pick her up at dinner -- but when I got there, she wasn’t at her trailer -- it was locked up tight -- no one there -- so, I got a little ticked

            -- the next day, when I saw Kim, I learned the difference between someone being a little ticked and someone being very angry, because Kim was angry -- she said I stood her up -- she had been waiting for me to pick her up for dinner, and I never showed up

            -- you see, growing up down here, I had learned to use the term dinner to mean the midday meal -- lunch -- Kim used the term for the evening meal -- we were using the same word, but each of us had a different understanding of what it meant -- so, now I try to just use lunch and supper instead of dinner so we don’t have that problem again

            -- but this illustrates the problem we have with the word faith -- when someone tells you they have faith, the way they define the word may not be the way you define it -- and it may not be the way the Bible defines it, either

            -- that’s why Paul Tillich wrote “There is hardly a word in the religious language, both theological and popular, which is subject to more misunderstandings, distortions, and questionable definitions than the word ‘faith’.”²

            -- so, with that said, let’s talk about what faith is and what faith isn’t -- and let’s make sure we are all on the same page before we leave here today

 

II.  Defining Faith

            -- so, what is faith?

            -- a lot of people will tell you that faith is synonymous with believing -- that faith is just believing in God or believing in Jesus -- on other words, if you know that there is a God and believe that this is true, that is faith

            -- but the Bible says otherwise -- in James 2:19, we read, “you believe there is one God.  Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.” -- so, James tells us that the demons believe in God, but certainly they do not have faith in Him

            -- faith is more than just knowledge -- faith is more than the acceptance of proven facts -- faith is more than just believing in something based on knowledge and facts alone

            -- this is something that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law struggled with in the gospel accounts -- the Pharisees knew their Bibles -- they had studied the Scriptures -- they could recite entire books from the Torah -- they knew the commentaries -- they knew the interpretations -- they knew all about  the scriptures -- but they were only filled with head knowledge

            -- in John 5:39, Jesus told them, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.” -- in other words, they were putting their faith in words -- in knowledge -- they assumed that by believing the Scriptures to be true, they were saved -- but Jesus went on to tell them in verse 40, “These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life”

            -- faith is more than just believing a fact with your head -- it’s more than the certainty that something is true -- to believe means that you do more than just know -- you know and you act on your knowledge -- you put your trust in it -- as Jesus told the Pharisees, you have learned about Me in the Scriptures, but you must believe and come to Me to have life -- knowledge is not enough

 

            -- faith is the next step after knowledge -- that’s why the dictionary definition of faith includes the word, “trust” -- it says that faith is complete trust or confidence in something or someone

            -- faith is moving facts from your head to your heart and putting your life in the hands of the One in which we believe

            -- that’s why the demons don’t have faith -- they know God is real -- they have seen God -- they have seen Jesus -- they witnessed the cross and the resurrection -- but they are not trusting in Jesus for salvation -- they only have head knowledge -- they only believe in the facts -- they don’t have faith

 

            -- if I was to ask the question, “what is faith?” in a Bible study, someone in there will always respond with Hebrews 11:1 -- read that with me again

 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

 

            -- but that’s not really the definition of faith -- it is more an illustration of what faith looks like in the life of a believer         

 

            -- to understand what true Biblical faith is we have to look back just a little in this book to the verses right before this -- remember that the chapters and the verses in your Bible were added later -- and sometimes these divisions can lead us to read out of context and miss the big picture of what is being said

            -- if you go back to the verses immediately before Chapter 11, you will see that the writer of Hebrews is trying to encourage his readers in the face of the persecution that the church is experiencing -- this persecution had caused many to doubt and to turn back and deny their salvation, leaving the rest to question their very salvation

            -- I’m not going to read this whole passage to you this morning for the sake of time -- but I would encourage you to go home and do so -- but I wanted to skim through Hebrews 10:19-39 quickly and point out a couple of key words in there that help us define faith

 

            -- the first of these is confidence -- the feeling that we can trust or rely on someone or something -- in verse 19, we read, “since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” -- and in verse 35, he says, “so do not throw away your confidence” -- so, faith includes confidence -- trust in what Jesus has done

            -- the next key word we see is hope -- a feeling of expectation or a desire for a certain thing to happen -- it is a belief in a future promise -- the writer says in verse 23, “let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised it is faithful”

            -- the next key word is perseverance -- staying the course -- keeping on, keeping on -- in verse 36 it says, “you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised”

            -- and, the final key word is in verse 39 -- believe -- “but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved”

            -- and then we come to Hebrews 11:1 -- the verse that everyone quotes as the definition of faith

            -- the writer begins this verse with the word, “now” -- which means, based on what I have just told you in Hebrews 10:19-39 -- going back to verse 39, “we are those who believe and are saved -- we have faith because faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”

            -- what he is saying is that when we stand firm in confidence and trust in Jesus Christ -- having assurance and hope in the promises that we have in Him -- eternal life -- the forgiveness of sins -- our salvation -- persevering and continuing to believe and be certain of what we do not see -- that is faith

            -- knowing God -- trusting God -- believing in God and His promises -- and acting in confidence and assurance and certainty on those beliefs -- that is true biblical faith -- that is the faith of salvation

            -- as Charles Finney put it, “faith consist[s] not in an intellectual conviction that the things affirmed in the Bible about Christ are true, but in the heart’s trust in the person of Christ”

 

III.  Faith over Fear

            -- before we close and leave this topic of faith, I wanted to quickly address a phrase that you have probably been seeing a lot of recently -- “Faith Over Fear”

            -- even though the phrase came out a few years ago and we started seeing it on t-shirts and bumper stickers and Facebook posts, it has taken on a new life in light of the coronavirus pandemic

            -- and going back to Voltaire, I think it’s important for us to understand what is meant when we say we have “Faith over Fear”

            -- to say that we have faith over fear means that we are putting our confidence and trust in the person of Jesus Christ -- in the promises we have in Him through His death and resurrection

            -- it means that we are not going to be led by fear, but we will step out and live our lives based on our heart’s trust in the person of Christ

 

            -- now, some have taken this phrase during this pandemic and put forth a false interpretation of what faith over fear means -- as Raven Jenkins pointed out in an article called, “What it Really Means to Have ‘Faith Over Fear’,” “There are a number of religious leaders claiming that following the rules and regulations is a sign of ‘a lack of faith’. -- That somehow you don’t actually believe that God is going to deliver us from the crisis and that you’re letting the media, government, etc. influence you.”

            -- it’s like what we saw with the pastor of the church in Tampa who refused to stop face-to-face worship services when the state of Florida issued shut-down orders earlier this year -- he said that the state was trying to take away their constitutional rights to gather for worship and that they believed and trusted in God in faith during this pandemic -- but that was a misinterpretation of what the Bible means by faith

            -- “Faith over Fear does not mean that you blatantly disregard common-sense practices: washing your hands, coughing into your elbow/sleeve, avoiding excessive physical contact with others, etc. -- It does not mean that you blatantly ignore regulations that are supposed to keep your congregation safe in order to “prove God”. -- People like this tend to be more about their own pride, rather than the glory of God.”

 

            -- that would be like me telling you today that we were going to go up on the roof after the service and that each of us would step off the roof, trusting in faith that God was going to keep us safe -- or that I had a box of rattlesnakes up here and I was going to pass them out, and your faith needed to be stronger than your fear -- that if you have faith, you won’t get bitten and die

            -- now, based on what we looked at in Hebrews and the definition of faith we see in the Bible, do you believe that? -- do you believe that God will protect us from all harm if we climb up on the roof and step off?

            -- faith is trusting in the person of Jesus Christ with the assurance and certainty that the promises we have in Him will come true, right? -- being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see

            -- where in the Bible is the promise that God will keep us from harm if we step off a church steeple? -- where in the Bible is the promise that God will keep us from getting sick or dying? -- it’s not there

 

            -- our faith is in Jesus Christ and the promises of God that we have in the Bible -- in salvation -- in eternity -- in eternal life with Him -- those are what is promised to us -- not complete immunity in the midst of a pandemic or protection when we do stupid stuff -- that’s not faith -- that’s an illusion of faith -- that is a prideful testing of God and His grace

            -- so, faith over fear is something we can proclaim -- for we trust in God and His promises -- we know the risks -- we know that God is with us -- and we know that our future and our eternity is secure based on His promises -- we can be led by faith instead of fear -- but that doesn’t mean that we won’t get sick or hurt or die, for faith and the promises of God are beyond this mortal plane -- faith looks to the eternity to come

 

            -- I’ve gone on long enough -- let me bring this to a close by sharing with you the story of John Paton, who was translating the Bible for a South Seas island tribe -- Paton discovered that the natives had no word for trust or faith -- and, so he was having a hard time getting them to understand the concept.

            -- One day a native who had been working hard came into the missionary’s house, flopped himself into a large comfortable chair and said, "It’s good to rest my whole weight on this chair."

            -- This became a revelation to Paton. "That’s it," he said. "I’ll translate faith as ’resting one’s whole weight on God.’"

            -- When we believe in God the way the Bible tells us to, we are indeed resting our whole weight on Him -- we are trusting in Him and His promises with more than just facts, but by putting our whole life and our eternity in His hands

            -- we are those who believe and are saved when we are sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see -- when we believe in God with all our heart and our soul and our strength and our being and give ourselves completely over to Him

            -- let us leave here now -- putting our faith over fear -- trusting in God for our salvation -- and knowing Him as our Lord and our Savior

            -- for it is in faith that we gather and close in prayer

 

 

1 Modified from Ray Comfort, The Final Curtain (New Leaf Press, 2018), pg. 199-200

2 Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith (New York: Harper & Row, 1957) as cited in the sermon, Faith, by Tony Grant -- https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/faith-tony-grant-sermon-on-faith-general-84494?ref=SermonSerps

SERMON: THREE STRANDS

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:

10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

            -- a few years ago the movie "300" came out -- a fictionalized account of the Battle of Thermopylae -- not many people, myself included, remembered the amazing story of King Leonidas and his Spartan soldiers who stood against an overwhelming Persian force led by King Xerxes of Persia during the second Persian invasion of Greece -- this was the same King Xerxes who married Esther and who is mentioned in the Book of Daniel

            -- the unified Greek army was vastly outnumbered by the Persians -- they had little chance of winning against such a massive force -- so King Leonidas positioned his men along a narrow coastal passage that restricted movement -- the idea was that the Persian army could not attack with all their men because there just wasn’t enough room -- this way, the Greeks evened the playing field and gave themselves a better chance of surviving the battle

            -- things worked well the first day, and the Greeks held their own against the vast Persian army -- but on the second day of the battle, a local resident betrayed the Greeks by showing the Persians another passage into Greece, which would allow the Persian army to outflank the Greek warriors and trap them in the very pass they were trying to hold

            -- realizing this, King Leonidas ordered a retreat of the Greek army -- and while the Greek Army was making their way to safety, Leonidas and 300 of his men stood in the gap to protect the retreating army

            -- for three days, these 300 men held off over 300,000 Persian soldiers and gave the unified Greek army time to disengage from Thermopylae and prepare new battle lines against the Persians along the flank

            -- for centuries the story of King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan soldiers has been heralded as a symbol of what it means to have the courage to stand side-by-side with your brother against overwhelming odds

            -- one thing that really stands out in the movie "300" is the way the Spartans joined together in battle -- rather than fighting as individuals, they fought as one -- moving together -- standing together -- facing the enemy together

            -- it kind of reminded me of a school of fish -- you've all seen pictures or movies where a school of fish take on the shape of a larger organism for protection -- when a predator comes against them, even though the predator is larger than any one individual, the school takes on the form of a single, unified organism -- moving together, standing together, facing the enemy together -- and sometimes the predator leaves because it thinks it is facing an enemy larger than itself

            -- it was the same way with the Battle of Thermopylae -- when the Persians advanced, they didn't advance against an army of individuals -- they advanced against a single, unified body

            -- as Steve Kamb pointed out, on the battlefield, the Spartans "always fought as one -- their actions supported and protected their brothers, and they expected the same in return" -- when enemies would attack, the Spartans would interlock their shields to form a phalanx -- an impenetrable wall that protected them from opposing armies while still allowing them to thrust out their spears against their enemies

            -- but in order for the phalanx to be effective, every man in the line had to do his part -- every man in the line had to hold up his shield and not waver, because if one shield fell, the entire phalanx would fall apart

            -- This is why Spartan warriors who lost their helmet or spear during a battle were fined -- but those who lost their shield and survived the battle were put to death upon their return -- the helmet and spear were carried for the protection of the individual, but the shield protected every man in the line -- thus the famous motto of the Spartans:  "Either come back with your shield or come back on it"¹

II.  Who's Got Your Back?

            -- this idea of standing side by side with another is not original to the Spartans -- it is also an integral part of our faith -- as God has been showing me over the last several years, Christianity is not about doctrine or theology or knowing all the right things -- Christianity is, first and foremost, about relationship -- our relationship with God -- which was restored and reconciled by Christ on the cross of Calvary -- and our relationship with others

            -- that's why Jesus told us in Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three gather in My Name, I am there" -- that verse had always bothered me -- why two or three? -- didn't Jesus tell us He was always with us and would never leave us or forsake us? -- what did He mean about Him being there if there were two or three? -- because it comes down to relationship

            -- as John Donne wrote, "No man is an island" -- we are part of a whole -- we need each other in order to live and thrive and grow and to experience the reality of Christ in our lives -- we need each other to hold us accountable -- to help us when we fall -- to keep us strong in our faith -- and we need to be there for our brothers and sisters in Christ

            -- when God appeared to Cain after he slew his brother Abel, God asked Cain where Abel was -- to which Cain famously replied, "Am I my brother's keeper?" -- and the simple answer to that is, "Yes -- yes, you are"

            -- we recognize this need for each other -- this need for relationship -- when someone joins the church -- as part of the liturgy and the process for bringing someone into the body of Christ, we ask the church to make a covenant with that person -- to commit to standing with them just as King Leonidas and the Spartans stood side by side in the pass of Thermopylae -- we ask the church to be there for this new convert -- to support their walk of faith -- to help them grow -- to hold them accountable -- to have their back

            -- this is biblical -- this is obedience to Christ's command to love our neighbor as ourselves -- to love them as we would be loved -- and this is sorely lacking in our churches and in our world today, especially in the midst of this pandemic

            -- people are lonely -- people feel alone -- they feel as if no one else cares -- as if no one else is standing with them -- even before the pandemic hit, we were in the midst of a loneliness crisis in America -- despite all our social media -- despite Facebook and Twitter and all the rest, Americans -- and especially the younger generations -- felt alone and lost in this world

            -- that’s why Facebook became so popular in the first place -- it's because Facebook revolves around friendship -- you don't have members -- you have friends -- and more than anything else, people desire friendship -- they want relationships in their lives -- they want to know someone else is there -- that someone else cares

            -- several years ago, the evangelist Luis Palau was doing a crusade, and he thought it would it be interesting to see what the true needs of the audience were -- to preach on a subject they were concerned about -- to reach their real need through the word of God -- the overwhelming response:  preach about loneliness

            -- the fact is we need each other -- we have to have others in our lives -- we have to be there for them -- and we need them to be there for us -- and we have to do a better job in the church making sure everyone understands the need for this type of relationship

            -- a lot of people were concerned that during the pandemic, the problem of loneliness would get even worse -- but when they went back and asked people how they were doing, scientists were amazed that people were actually doing better than before the pandemic -- do you know why?

            -- it’s because the pandemic forced people to reach out to others -- it forced them to text and to call and to check in on family and friends to see how they were doing -- it made people aware that they were not alone -- and that there was someone who cared -- someone who was going to stand with them during this hard time -- that is something that all of us need

            -- Solomon makes that point quite clear here in this passage in Ecclesiastes as he tells us the benefits of having a friend to stand with you in life -- so let's look back at it again right now in a little more detail and see what we can learn about being the church through our relationships with others -- not just during the pandemic, but always

            -- Ecclesiastes Chapter 4, starting at verse 9

Ecclesiastes 4:9

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:

            -- the first thing we see in this passage is that a friend shares the load -- Solomon says that two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work

            -- this idea of sharing the work with someone else has always been hard for me -- ya'll know I'm introverted and, as an introvert, I prefer to work alone -- I feel I'm at my best when I'm fully engaged in a project by myself

            -- and that's why there's no words that strike fear in my hearts like being at a training class and hearing, "Everybody partner up with one or two other people to work on this example" -- as a general rule, I just don't like to work in small groups -- I probably need one of those T-shirts that says, "Doesn't play well with others"

            -- but over the years I've learned that my natural bent is wrong -- although I do like to work by myself on most projects, there is no question that Solomon's advice here is spot on -- sharing the load multiplies the result -- you can simply get more done with another person working with you than either of you could working independently on your own

            -- when I was laying the floor in our living room a few years ago, I had the idea that I would do it all by myself -- but I found out I couldn't -- I needed help to lay out the pattern and get the boards lined up correctly and to hold the initial boards down until everything was locked into place -- I had a friend come over to help me -- and together we managed to get quite a bit of floor laid that first day -- he couldn't be there the next day, so I kept going on my own, but I didn’t get as much done by myself as I did when he helped

            -- this is true in work and in our spiritual lives -- it is the holistic principle -- the whole is greater than the sum of its parts -- in other words, when two or three or more are gathered, they can do so much more than they could alone -- Jesus knew this -- that's why Jesus made us dependent on other people -- that’s why He created us with the desire and need for relationship -- that's why He created the church to be formed through relationship with Him and with others

            -- we need others to share in God's work if we are to be who Jesus called us to be

            -- verse 10

Ecclesiastes 4:10 (NIV)

10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

            -- a friend serves and supports -- Solomon says pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up -- this verse speaks of accountability and reconciliation -- this verse speaks to our need to have our brother's back and to make sure someone is watching our back -- this verse makes it clear we need to keep our shields together and interlocked

            -- in Galatians 6:1, Paul counsels us to keep an eye out on our brothers and sisters in the faith -- and if we see them falling -- if we see them caught in a sin -- then we are to go to them and help them and restore them back into relationship with the church again

            -- think about those old cheesy commercials where the woman falls down in the bathroom and says, "Help, I've fallen down and I can't get up" -- luckily, she had the life alert necklace on and was able to reach someone who could come and rescue her

            -- that's the purpose of the church -- to be on life alert and to serve and support those in the church who are in need -- spiritually, physically, and materially

            -- verse 11

Ecclesiastes 4:11 (NIV)

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

            -- in this verse we once again see how the body of Christ has to come together to live -- Solomon says that one person cannot keep warm -- they need someone else to come and lay with them

            -- do you remember the letter from Jesus to the church of Ephesus in the Book of Revelation? -- what was their problem? -- their love had grown cold -- they had lost their first love and they had distanced themselves from the heart of Christianity

            -- Jesus counseled them to go back and do the things they did at first -- to love as they had previously loved -- to join together so the fire would be lit again

            -- when it comes to spirituality, there is no doubt we need each other to stay on fire for God -- you cannot be a true Christian alone -- you have to be in a relationship with another person -- you have to hear what God is doing in their lives -- you have to share with them in their burdens -- you have to know what path they are walking -- you have to do life with them

            -- that's what Solomon is saying here -- you need each other in order to survive -- physically and spiritually -- walking closely with the church and with other believers keeps you warm and growing in the faith

            -- verse 12

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV)

12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

            -- finally, Solomon tells us a friend secures us -- a friend defends us -- a friend has our back -- when you read this verse, think of the King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans standing toe-to-toe against 300,000 Persians and holding out for two days -- not because they were superior fighters -- not because they had better weapons or better training -- but simply because each of them had their neighbor's back -- the shields did not waver and the line held strong

            -- that should be the picture of the church of Christ in our world today -- men and women of faith standing side by side for Christ and for each other against the evil in this land and the evil that tempts us daily

            -- now what this means in light of today's message is that we need to stand with our brothers and sisters in prayer when they are under attack -- to hold up our shield of faith -- to lift up our sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God -- and defend them during their time of need

            -- by themselves they may be overpowered, but when two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus -- when two or three come together and pray in God's will and stand for each other -- they can defend themselves

            -- this is one reason why I am such a big proponent of accountability groups -- I first got involved in an accountability group through Promise Keepers -- when we first moved down here, I would get together with a group of guys for breakfast once a week -- we’d read scripture -- we’d talk about how things were going -- we’d talk about our successes and our failures -- and then we’d pray for each other and commit to being there for each other, no matter what

            -- this group stayed together for years -- I’m still friends with several of them on Facebook -- and we still talk from time to time

            -- there’s other groups like this -- the Emmaus Reunion Groups were formed for this same purpose -- for men and women to meet and to hold each other up -- to support each other in times of need -- in Kairos, we strongly encourage the prisoners to get together with several other men to help stay strong in that evil place

            -- we see this modeled for us in Scripture -- as Paul would meet with Timothy and Titus and Barnabas -- they would travel together and hold each other up

            -- John Wesley picked up this idea with his Methodist Bands -- a group of men or women who would meet each week to talk about their lives and how they were doing together

            -- it doesn’t matter what you call it, you need it -- we all need it -- that’s what we read here in this passage -- that’s what we see in the Bible -- if you’re not in a small group of Christians who you meet with on a regular basis -- even if it’s just by phone -- you need to get in a group and start forming those relationships -- it’s vital to your spiritual health

            -- Solomon ends his point about needing Christian friends in your life with this final thought -- a cord of three strands is not quickly broken -- all through this passage, he has been talking about two people -- a person and their friend -- sharing -- serving -- supporting -- and securing each other

            -- so what is this third strand which just suddenly appears? -- it's Christ -- as He said, when two or three gather in my name, I am there with them

            -- it is impossible for us to walk as a friend in the way Solomon encourages without the empowering presence of Christ in our lives -- we just cannot be there for each other without Jesus walking alongside

            -- the bottom line message for all of this is we need each other and we need Christ

III.  Closing

-- let me close by sharing with you a story that really points out our need to join hands with others in our daily lives -- spiritually, physically, and materially

-- years ago, a beautiful little girl wandered out into the countryside of Canada in the midst of winter and got lost -- when the girl's parent discovered she was missing, they immediately began searching for her -- but they didn't have any luck -- the terrain was too rough and the area was too large

-- they notified the town and all the townspeople started looking for her -- but everyone had a different idea on where she might have gone, so people wandered off in different directions calling her name and looking for where she might have gone

-- as the sun started to set and the temperatures really started to drop, everyone gathered back at the home of the lost little girl -- no one had seen a thing -- no one had any idea where she might have gone -- one young man made a suggestion -- "Why don't we search in the grassy fields across the road from the house?  If we all join hands and form a line, we can cover a lot more ground." 

-- They all thought that was a good idea, so they joined hands and began to walk -- it wasn't too long before they found the girl in the tall grass of the field curled up in a ball, but it was too late -- he girl had been out in the cold air too long and had passed away

-- at the funeral a few days later the townspeople all seemed to express the same emotion -- after paying their respects to her parents, many of them could be seen huddled together in small groups, heads hanging and whispering, "If only we had joined hands earlier."

-- as we leave here today, I want to challenge you -- if you’re not in a small group of Christians who meet together regularly, then I want you to find a group to join this week -- if you can’t find a group, then make one

-- I was just invited to join a Methodist Band a couple of weeks ago -- and I found out there is an app that you can download to your smartphone that helps you get together with other Christians -- it’s based on Wesley’s format for his bands, and it’s a good way to start

-- just search for “Discipleship Bands” in your Appstore and download it -- it’s by Seedbed, a Methodist-related group -- once you install it, you can invite your friends to join -- there’s daily readings in there and there’s a chat function -- and then you can use it together when you meet in person

-- you don’t have to use an app like this, but you do need to be in a group -- you need to find a group of people who can stand with you in the gap -- who can support you when times are tough -- who can hold you accountable -- and who you can do the same for

-- it will make a world of difference in your spiritual life

-- let us pray

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1  Steve Kamb, Nerd Fitness: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2014/09/15/the-oath-of-the-nerd-fitness-rebellion/

Note:  Topic headings for sermon modified from sermon by Eyriche Cortez, "I Can Count on You," http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/i-can-count-on-you-eyriche-cortez-sermon-on-friendship-general-107970.asp

SERMON: UNBROKEN

I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

2 Corinthians 4:7-18 New International Version (NIV)

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

      -- in 2010, Laura Hillenbrand released a non-fiction book called “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” -- the true story of Army officer Louie Zamperini, who survived a harrowing experience in World War II and who went on to become an evangelist after his conversion at a Billy Graham crusade in California

      -- Zamperini had lived a hard life -- constantly in trouble with the law -- constantly doing things he shouldn’t -- his brother saw the path he was on and saw how fast he could run, so he got him involved in long distance running -- the running and the training taught Zamperini discipline, and helped curb his wayward behavior -- he changed direction in life and focused on making himself better -- going on to compete in the 1936 Olympics as part of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team -- and enrolling in college, where he continued to run track

      -- not long after Zamperini graduated from college, World War II broke out -- and Zamperini enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a Lieutenant, serving as a bombardier on a B-24 bomber -- on one mission, Zamperini’s plane had mechanical problems and crashed in the Pacific Ocean -- only he and two other crew members survived -- they bailed out of the plane in inflatable rafts, and managed to survive for 47 days with little food or water before being captured by the Japanese and being sent to a series of prisoner of war camps in Japan

      -- Zamperini was subjected to constant harsh labor, punishment, and torture at the camps -- when he refused to broadcast anti-American propaganda over the radio, the guards would beat him and torture him -- they were constantly hurting the prisoners and abusing them physically and mentally in an attempt to break their will -- to cause them to surrender hope -- to make them just give up

      -- on one occasion, the men were loading coal into barges, and Zamperini paused during his work -- the guard, who had singled out Zamperini for punishment time and time again, ordered Zamperini to lift a heavy beam onto his shoulders -- he told the other guards to shoot Zamperini on the spot if he dropped it -- as the other prisoners watched, Zamperini managed to put the heavy beam on his shoulders and stand there, swaying in exhaustion -- and then, Zamperini did the impossible -- as tired as he was -- as physically exhausted as he was -- he lifted the beam and stood there with it lifted above his head until the sun set and the guards told him to go back to the barracks -- Zamperini remained unbroken despite all the Japanese had done to him

      -- stories like this resonate with us -- we are drawn to them -- because they are examples to us of courage, strength, perseverance, and hope in the midst of difficulties -- they teach us how to be strong and courageous in our own lives when we face trials and tribulations -- and their examples inspire us to keep on keeping on even when all we want to do is quit and give up

      -- 2020 has been one of those years that has worn on a lot of people -- it has been an unprecedented time in history -- characterized by trials and tribulations that seemingly just won’t end

      -- we began the year with the threat of war between the U.S. and Iran -- with the impeachment of Donald Trump -- and the largest locust invasion in over 70 years, impacting Africa, the Middle East, and Asia -- we saw volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, and avalanches across the globe -- we watched as wildfires in Australia and in South America destroyed vast swaths of forested land and homes and towns -- and all of this was before the global coronavirus pandemic exploded onto the scene -- not to mention the riots and the lootings that began here over the death of George Floyd and that have swept across the globe into other countries

      -- and we’re only half-way through this year -- what more can happen? -- how much more can we take? -- how can we keep going on?

      -- we find the answers to those questions right here in God’s Word -- in the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us how we can remain unbroken in a world that feels very much out of control

     

II.  Scripture Lesson (2 Corinthians 4:7-18)

      -- if you would, look back with me at 2 Corinthians 4, starting with verse 7 and let’s see what God inspired Paul to write about situations such as these

      -- verse 7-12

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

      -- Paul begins this section of his letter to the Corinthians by reminding them of the treasure they hold in their hearts -- the all-surpassing power they possess that comes from God and not themselves

      -- this treasure Paul writes about is the power of the gospel -- God’s grace and mercy made manifest in our lives through Jesus Christ -- it is the message of salvation -- of justification -- and of sanctification -- it is God working in us and through us to make us holy as He is holy -- to forgive us of our sins -- and to lead us into lives of righteousness and power through His grace -- it is the power of God to help us live Kingdom lives here in this world now

      -- Paul is trying to remind the Corinthians that they have within themselves the very presence and power of the living God -- that although they walk in this world, they are not part of this world -- they are part of the Kingdom of God -- and they are empowered to live above the world and above the troubles of this world through the grace of God within

      -- that is what he means when he talks about the treasure being in jars of clay -- he’s referring to our bodies -- he says the treasure is within us -- it’s held within these jars made of brittle clay that could easily break in times of trials and tribulations, were it not for the treasure hidden inside

      -- Paul’s point was that we can’t depend on ourselves or on other people or on the Government when times get bad -- we have to trust and believe in the treasure of God within us if we are to stand firm in these times we are now facing

      -- Paul knew what he was talking about -- he’s not just a preacher telling a story he read in a book or relating a theological principle he learned in seminary -- no, Paul knew what he was talking about because he had experienced trouble in his life -- he knew trials and tribulations intimately

      -- in Chapter 11, beginning at verse 25, Paul tells us of all the trials that he had gone through since beginning his Christian ministry -- everything from being beaten with whips and rods to being stoned and left for dead -- about being shipwrecked and spending a night in the open ocean -- about going through his journeys hungry and thirsty and cold -- about how he had been in danger from Jews and Gentiles alike -- in danger from thieves and from false brothers

      -- Paul wasn’t telling us all this to brag -- he was telling us this so that we could trust his word -- because he knew what troubles looked like -- because he had experienced them many times in his life -- and would continue to experience them, even after he put pen to paper here for the Corinthians -- going to prison and eventually being executed by the Emperor Nero -- we could believe him when he told us the secret to withstanding these trials in our own lives

      -- Paul was able to survive and strive through the storms of life -- not through his own strength or character -- but solely through the treasure of God’s presence in his life

      -- that’s why Paul can write here in verses 8 and 9 that he was hard pressed, but not crushed -- perplexed, but not in despair -- persecuted, but not abandoned -- struck down, but not destroyed -- nothing phased Paul -- Paul was unbreakable because he stood with God and in God’s power

      -- that is the only way we can survive when trials and tribulations come our way -- we must live by faith, because it is only by faith and trusting in God’s treasure within us that we stand -- as Victor Frankl wrote, “A weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them”

      -- on Friday, I gave a tour of the base to some biologists from the state of Georgia -- as we were riding around, I carried them by a forest stand that was very sparse -- it only had a handful of trees left in it -- and you could tell they were confused as to why the forest was in such bad shape

      -- so, I told them we had just completed a timber thin, removing about half of the trees in the stand so that the remaining trees would grow bigger -- when Tropical Storm Irma came through with devastating wind and rain -- the soil became saturated and when the winds hit, about 75% of the remaining trees toppled over, unable to stand in the storm it faced

      -- trees stand because of what you don’t see -- they need a strong root system that goes deep to hold them up -- and the problem with the trees that were left after our timber harvest was that they had never faced any storms before -- they had lived sheltered lives, protected by the trees around them -- and, so, their roots had not grown deep

      -- and when Irma hit them with all her force, they were unable to stand against the wind and the rain and they toppled over

      -- storms and trials and tribulations like we are experiencing this year are necessary in the life of a Christian -- they build our faith and strengthen our roots -- trials and troubles force us to rely on the treasure of God’s presence hidden in our mortal frame -- and as we experience these trials and storms of life, we grow stronger -- we learn to trust in God more and more -- our faith grows -- and our character grows -- and we learn to face trials as Paul faced them -- with courage and perseverance and strength

      -- that is why God allows trials to come in our lives in the first place -- to help us learn to trust in Him in all things -- Paul calls these trials here “the death of Jesus,” alluding to the sufferings Jesus endured for us -- but just as Jesus overcame on the cross and through the resurrection into new life again, so we are made alive in Christ through faith so that we can bear up to trials when them come our way

      -- verse 13-18

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

      -- Paul writes here in verse 16, “we do not lose heart” -- we do not give up -- we do not allow ourselves to be broken by the things of this world

      -- yes, we might be wasting away on the outside -- we might be buffeted by winds and rain and the storms of life -- but we do not lose heart -- we stand firm and are being renewed daily by the presence of God within

      -- we’ve been through a lot this year -- not only with because of the trials and troubles that have affected the whole world, like the global coronavirus pandemic and the riots and looting -- but all of us here have been through our own personal storms -- times of trials and troubles in our own lives or in the lives of our families and friends

      -- sometimes, I look at what some people are going through and I wonder how they’re making it -- I look at what we’re facing, and I wonder if we’re going to survive

      -- but then I remember the words of Paul when he reminds us that these trials and troubles -- as great as they seem to us in the moment -- are just light and momentary troubles that are working in us and through us to achieve for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all

      -- we have to remember that although we are jars of clay -- fragile and perishable items -- living in mortal bodies that are wasting away outwardly, especially more so as we grow older -- we have within us a treasure that is eternal and all powerful that gives us strength and courage and hope in times of trial

      -- we have this all-surpassing power within us that not only gives us the power to stand in the storm, but to grow and to become stronger and to become servants of the living God, reaching out to others to tell them of God’s love and mercy and grace and showing them with our lives what it means to live for God daily

      -- our actions are the voice of our beliefs -- what we do in times of trials and tribulations -- as Christians and as the church of Christ -- tells this world what we truly believe about God

      -- do we believe that God is all-powerful and can do all things through us? -- do we trust in faith in the midst of the storm or only when the sun is shining?

      -- Paul says to fix our eyes not on what we see, but what is unseen -- to look past the clouds and the rain and the wind of the storms of life and to see the sun that shines on the other side -- to see and know eternity in our hearts

      -- he reminds us that what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal -- and it is there we find our life and our hope and our way

III.  Closing

      -- listening to the people around me, I hear the voice of failure creeping in -- everyone is getting tired of the storm -- it has just been blowing and blowing and blowing all year, never letting up -- the trials and the tribulations just keep coming

      -- for a time, I think we were standing in our own strength -- depending on our own ability to stand in the face of adversity -- but now, as time has gone on -- as the storm and the trials continue -- the jars of clay are cracking -- people are losing strength and courage and hope

      -- people are tired -- and they’re ready to quit -- that’s really what’s going on with all the complaints about wearing masks or social distancing or any of the other recommendations the Government is putting out -- people are tired of it and just want it to go away -- if they put their head in the sand, then they can pretend the danger is not there and just go on with their lives as if nothing is happening

      -- but God calls for us to not lose heart in the midst of the storms, whether they are global pandemics or the personal storms we all face in our lives -- He calls for us to surrender ourselves and our will and our strength so that we might know His all-surpassing power that is the treasure within us

      -- if we will stand firm in our faith and put our trust in Him, we can weather any storm that might come our way -- and, in doing so, we will serve as a beacon of hope -- a lighthouse of faith in a dark and stormy world

      -- I have been praying for God to lift His hand from us -- to take away the plague -- to take away the riots and the racism and the discord in our world -- to give us a break from the natural disasters that we have been facing -- but I read a quote by Philip Brooks that showed me I was praying for the wrong thing

      -- Philip Brooks wrote that we should not pray for easy lives, but that we should pray to be stronger people -- that we should not pray for tasks that are equal to our strength, but for power equal to our tasks -- that by learning to trust in the treasure in these jars of clay we would become miracles of God’s presence in a world that yearns for hope

      -- so, as we close in prayer today, let’s pray that God would use this storm of 2020 to make us better people -- stronger people -- more faithful people -- people who know Him and trust in Him in all things -- people who look past our light and momentary troubles to the eternity that awaits and who share the good news of God’s treasure with all those around us

      -- let us pray

SERMON: EXPERIENCING GOD: FEEL (When God Moves Your Heart)

I.  Introduction

            -- this morning we are going to open with one verse -- John 11:35

John 11:35 New International Version (NIV)

35 Jesus wept.

            -- I imagine everyone listening this morning has heard that verse before and knows it -- some may just know it as the shortest verse in the Bible -- just two words -- “Jesus wept”

            -- others may know it in context -- they may hear it and remember that this verse appears in the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead

            -- Jesus’ friend Lazarus -- the brother of Martha and Mary -- was sick -- so they sent word to Him, hoping that He would come and heal their brother, just as He had healed so many others in their presence

            -- but Jesus delayed His return and Lazarus died -- when Jesus arrived in Bethany, He found that Lazarus had already been in the grave for four days -- Martha went out to meet Him, questioning through her tears why Jesus had not come -- in verse 21 she says, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died” -- her pain and grief are evident and deeply felt, although she still believes in Jesus as the Messiah, trusting that all will be made well in the end

            -- Mary, the younger sister, went out to see Jesus and repeated the same words of pain that Martha had said, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died” -- in response, we read that Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled and asked where Lazarus had been laid -- it is when they told Jesus to come and see the place where Lazarus lay that we find verse 35 -- “Jesus wept”

            -- of course, the story doesn’t end there -- Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb and told the Jews to take away the stone -- after some argument, they did -- not understanding why Jesus asked for them to do so -- but, after praying out loud to the Father, Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth” -- and the dead man came out -- alive once more

            -- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series on experiencing God -- looking at the many ways God reaches out to us and touches us in our daily lives -- so far, we have looked at See -- when God shows us His presence or leads us to see others in need -- Hear -- when God speaks to us even through the noise of the world -- and Touch -- when God places His Hand on us or leads us to help someone physically by touching their lives in a special way

            -- this morning, we are looking at Feel -- at how God moves our heart through our emotions -- which leads us back to John 11:35, “Jesus wept”

            -- the shortest verse in the Bible -- just two words -- easily memorized -- but not so easily understood -- for those two words mean so much -- there is so much wrapped up in them -- there is so much they tell us -- they speak of who Jesus was -- of who Jesus is -- and about why He was sent to us in the first place -- of what His coming was meant to show us about who we are

II.  The Emotions of Christ

            -- on the altar in a lot of our churches, there are two candles that are kept burning -- have you ever wondered why? -- why two? -- why not just one? -- is it just for the symmetry? -- for the feng shui? -- for the balance -- for the look?

            -- no, the two candles are placed there deliberately -- they symbolize the two natures of Jesus as the light of the world -- fully God and fully man

            -- one candle represents His divine nature -- His deity -- that He is God -- the other candle represents Jesus’ human nature -- the heart of the incarnation -- that He was one of us

            -- and it is these two natures that come together in the words, “Jesus wept” -- showing us the heart of God and the heart of man, expressed with deep emotion and feeling

            -- so, what are emotions? -- according to the dictionary, emotions are strong feelings that derive from your circumstances, your mood, and your relationship with others -- they are part of who you are -- they combine with your intellect, your personality, your soul, and your spirit to make up the complete person

            -- you can think of emotions as our response to ourselves and the world around us -- scientists say that there are five to eight basic emotions that all humans share -- Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Anger, Trust, Surprise, and Anticipation -- but there can be many more, depending on how you react and respond to the world around you

            -- now, some in the church don’t like to discuss emotions -- they don’t feel that emotions have a place within religion because our emotions can be affected by external and internal stimuli -- in other words, our emotions change based on how we’re feeling inside or what is going on around us -- and because our emotions will sometimes cause us to act in negative and unhealthy ways

            -- for that reason, they argue, emotions should be suppressed -- our faith and our responses should only be based on the truth of God’s word -- on what is written in black and white -- you faith can’t be based on feelings, they say -- your faith can’t be based on your emotions -- and, in that regard, they’re right -- but the answer shouldn’t be to wall our emotions away from our faith and spirituality

            -- as John 11:35 shows us, our God is a God who has strong emotions and who has given those emotions to us -- the Bible is full of examples of our God as an emotional God

            -- Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus and He wept at the sight of Jerusalem

            -- John 3:16 -- “for God so loved the world that He sent His only Son…”

            -- Matthew 9:36 -- “Jesus had compassion on the crowds…”

            -- Genesis 6:6 -- “The Lord was grieved that He had made man…”

            -- Isaiah 62:5 -- “…so will your God rejoice over you”

            -- we read of God’s love and joy -- of His anger and wrath -- of His compassion and grief -- of sadness and happiness and jealousy

            -- our God is a God of emotions -- and this tells us that the emotions that we feel in our lives are God-given -- because we were made in His image, we experience emotions and deep feelings in our lives, just as He does

            -- so, emotions should not be suppressed because they are a part of who we are -- of who God made us to be

            -- but I will agree that our emotions should be approached with caution -- because we live in a fallen world influenced by our enemy -- and because we are afflicted with self -- with a sin-nature -- we find that our emotions can be good or they can be bad -- they can be right or wrong

            -- our goal is to recognize and live out true emotions in our lives as God leads us -- not suppressing them -- not pushing them away like the stoics -- but learning to live and to relate to God and others through our emotions and our passions that God gave us -- there’s nothing wrong with being emotional, provided our emotions are proper and our responses to those emotions God-led

III.  Why Did God Give us Emotions?

            -- so, why did God give us emotions? -- what is the purpose for our feelings?

            -- God moves us through our emotions -- our emotions move our hearts to respond to others and to things going on in the world -- in other words, emotions lead to action

            -- speaking of John 11:35, Pope Leo the Great said, "In His humanity Jesus wept for Lazarus; in His divinity he raised him from the dead." -- in other words, Jesus’ emotion -- His sadness at the death of Lazarus -- led Him to act and to raise Lazarus from the dead

            -- emotions can be the catalyst God uses to inspire us to move and do something for Him

            -- let me give you an example of what I’m talking about

            -- right now, many in our country are focused on the Ahmaud Arbery shooting that occurred in Brunswick a few months back -- as I’m sure you know by now, Arbery, a young African-American man, was jogging through a subdivision in Brunswick when he was confronted by two residents who believed he was a burglar -- the confrontation went bad -- we don’t know exactly what happened -- even with the video that has been making its rounds, it’s just not clear -- but the fact is that Arbery was shot and killed at close range by the two men

            -- this act has triggered an emotional response that is sweeping across the nation -- and how you feel about the shooting depends on who you are -- your race -- your age -- where you live -- your faith -- what you believe about God

            -- many in the country are angry -- hurt -- scared -- anxious -- worried -- defiant

            -- but here’s the questions we should be asking -- how does God feel about this act? -- how does God want us to feel about this act? -- what does God want us to do in response?

            -- this is the point where we need to turn to His word

            -- emotions are like the needle on a compass -- like the voice on our GPS saying, “turn here” -- the way we are feeling about the Arbery case can point us in the direction God wants us to go, but we have to be careful that we are responding based on His word and not reacting based solely on emotions

            -- we can look back through history and see many cases of where tragic accidents or events led to strong emotions and resulted in changes for the better -- of where God used our emotions to inspire us to action

            -- but, on the other hand, there are just as many cases where emotional reactions to situations resulted in ungodly responses -- where emotions ran high and actions were taken that did not reflect God’s word or God’s will

            -- emotions are important -- they were given by God to catch our attention -- to move our hearts -- to stir us to action -- but we can’t rely solely on emotions, since our emotions can be affected by self, the world, or even Satan

            -- if we feel strongly about a situation, it could be God’s prompting to begin to respond in that direction -- however, we must always confirm what God would have us do through His word, prayer, and Godly counsel before we proceed

            -- as Mark Manson wrote, “Emotions are merely signposts” -- they point the way -- but we should never react emotionally without first considering where our emotions may be leading -- our emotions should lead to a calculated response based on God’s word and commands

            -- our goal is to be Spirit-led, not emotion-led -- so, how do we do that?

            -- in 1 John 4:1, we read that we should not believe every spirit, but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God or not -- we should follow that same principle when it comes to our emotions -- we need to test our emotions to see if they are coming from God or are coming from self or the world

            -- one way to do this is to consider the acronym THINK:

            -- T -- True -- is this emotion true? -- is it how we usually feel in a situation like this? -- is it how God would feel about this situation?

            -- H -- Helpful -- is this emotion helping or is it hurting the situation? -- is how I’m feeling leading me to make things better?

            -- I -- Inspiring -- does this emotion inspire a Godly response?

            -- N -- Necessary -- is this emotion necessary? -- is it beneficial?

            -- K -- Kind -- does this emotion lead to kindness? -- does this emotion cause me to act as Jesus would act in this situation?

IV.  CLOSING

            -- so, let’s bring this to a close -- the take-home message for you today -- the thing I want you to know and to get out of all of this -- is that there is nothing wrong with being emotional -- our emotions -- our feelings -- are from God -- they are part of what it means to be made in His image -- just as God is emotional -- just as God feels and loves and hurts and grieves and weeps, so we are called to be emotional in our lives

            -- God uses our emotions to get our attention -- to point us in the direction we should go -- to lead us and to inspire us to move -- to act -- to minister in His name -- and to help make a difference in the lives of those around us

            -- we have to be careful to read our emotions correctly -- to not take all emotions at face-value, but to test them to make sure they are coming from God and not from self or from the world or from Satan

            -- but when our emotions line up with God’s word -- when He points us to the path He would have us go and confirms it through His word and through prayer and through His people -- then lives are changed and hearts are transformed and the kingdom of God advances

            -- I want to leave you with this one example of someone who let their emotions dictate the path they chose, and how that made all the difference

            -- I am sure that everyone who is listening has heard of Mother Teresa and her ministry in India to the poor and the afflicted and the outcast in Calcutta -- but did you know that this was not what drew her to India in the first place?

            -- Mother Teresa was born in the Kosovo region of the Ottoman Empire -- in what became Yugoslavia and is now North Macedonia -- as a child, she became fascinated with missionaries and dreamt of carrying God’s word to people in foreign lands -- her goal was to teach and evangelize people and lead them to salvation in Jesus’ name

            -- in 1937, Teresa became a teacher in a convent in Calcutta, eventually becoming the head-mistress there -- for almost ten years, she lived out her childhood dream to teach and tell others about Jesus

            -- but as she taught there in the convent, she became increasingly disturbed about the poverty and the affliction she was witnessing -- her heart began to break as she witnessed starving children and handicapped adults begging in the street -- she grieved over their condition -- she wept at their plight -- God began moving her through her emotions

            -- in 1946, Teresa experienced what she described as “the call within her calling” -- she could not ignore what she was feeling when she saw the poor begging in the street -- and, after praying and seeking counsel through God’s word, she left the convent to live in the streets with the poor and the orphans and the afflicted

            -- eventually, she formed the Missionaries of Charity that created a hospice, a hospital for lepers, an orphanage, and other ministries to better the lives of the poor and afflicted throughout India

            -- when she died in 1997, the Missionaries of Charity had grown to over 4,000 sisters and an associated brotherhood of 300 members operating 610 missions in 123 countries

            -- and all of this came about because God moved Mother Teresa’s heart when she saw the poor children begging in the street

            -- there is nothing wrong with being an emotional or passionate person -- for our emotions and our feelings come from God Himself -- they reflect His heart and motivate and inspire us to do great things

            -- don’t feel bad about being emotional -- don’t take it as a weakness that you are moved to great feelings in life -- embrace your passions -- embrace your feelings -- see if God is leading you to do great things like Mother Teresa -- let His passions be the catalyst that inspire you to action -- that inspire you to move

            -- let me close with this -- what is God leading you to do today? -- where are your emotions -- your feelings -- your passions -- leading? -- how is God going to use your feelings to change the world?

            -- let us pray