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B.E.L.L.S. • Sermon • Submitted
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Five habits to help us live on mission with and for God.
What is our mission? To alert others of God’s reign and His kingdom.
Recap the first two missional habits:
Bless: Words of affirmation, acts of kindness, gifts. - They get blessed we become generous.
Eat: Having meals with others. - We build deeper relationships and we become more hospitable.
L in B.E.L.L.S. is listen
To be on mission for and with God we need listen to God’s Spirit and be Spirit led.
Listen to the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit as we engage with those around us.
Imagine two spectrum's: Living a life around only Christ followers and living a life around only people that don’t know or follow God. God wants us to live somewhere in the middle. Not to compromise the life God has called us to live for Jesus. But to engage this world for His kingdoms glory.
To live somewhere in the middle we are going to need to listen and be led by God’s Spirit.
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
They were following the worlds path. Then I revealed to them your path. And they followed.
So I plucked them out of the destructive path and put them on the path of everlasting life.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
https://www.thriftysigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Not-Of-This-World.jpg
They have a heavenly address.
They should look, act, and live different.
Moved to Missouri. This So. Cal boy from the Inland Empire was not ready for the culture shock that he was about to endure. I went from a primarily African American school where I was one of five white boys, to a school that was 98% white. Needless to say that I looked like them because of the tone of my skin but I did not act or talk like them.
15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
Is not that you take them out of the world. Out of where they will alert other ppl of the reign of God. To alert them of the same path of salvation and eternal life I gave them.
But if they stay in the world they will need to be protected from the evil one.
I will come back to this and share more.
18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
We will come back to this “sent part” in two wks.
So we need to learn how to “Listen” and be Spirit led as we navigate this life and help alert others to God eternal plan for them.
Listening does not happen by default; it happens by design.
You have to seek solitude. You have to ruthlessly eliminate distractions.
You have to turn some voices down or tune them out altogether.
Let’s talk about creating space for the Spirit of God to speak to you.
The Spirit encourages, corrects, and prompts us to pursue others.
Steps to listen to the Spirits voice.
Set aside a designated time.
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
At least once a week set aside a time to communion with God.
2. Eliminate distractions
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Find a quiet spot “whispering spot” to listen to God’s Spirit.
3. Let God in
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Search my heart. Does my heart line up with you and your ways?
Is there any offensive way in me? Lead me in the way everlasting.
4. Ask God to use you.
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
5. Follow God’s promptings
To go.
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
Taking time to ask God who to bless and eat with. - Who do you want to send me to Lord? Sit and listen for Him to prompt you.
Barista at Crave. Every time we would see her we would encourage (bless/words of affirmation) tip (bless/gift) But what else Lord. How do you want us to love her? To pray wait and listen for the Spirit to answer. - Iron Maiden t-shirt
So Pastor. You keep reminding us as we live on mission for God to remember: Good Deeds = Good Will = Good News. Have you had the “relationship with God” conversation with her yet? Nope. But I know God’s Spirit will orchestrate that in His plan and perfect time. The day she does ask why we are loving on her we will tell her why. Until then we will keep praying and loving on her as God’s Spirit leads. (How fun is this!)
Neighbor - Prayer
15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
As we engage this world where it is “falling” we have to be wise as we navigate how to reach it.
Like a life guard swimming out to save a drowning person, we have to be careful not be pulled down with them.
1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Balancing our engagement in the world and our difference from the world.
Not of the world but in the world to reach it. That is the tension we need to live in. To be in the world and all it’s mess and to be from another world proclaiming the Good News of God’s redemptive plan for humanity.
Back to our spectrum:
If you hang out with only Christians you don’t have to think about how you live because they live like you. And there is no engagement and alerting this world to God’s reign and love for them.
If you completely immerse yourself into culture and the world, you live and look like everyone else. There is no distinction between you and everyone else.
We are called to live somewhere in the middle. Not of this world but in it.
There is no play book for this. We need to listen to God’s Spirit to lead us.
The Spirit encourages, corrects, and prompts us to pursue others.
Hearing the Spirit say:
You should not have stayed at the party so long or you should have stayed longer.
You should have keep talking to that person or you should stop talking to that person.
You should have not laughed at that joke or you should have laughed at that joke.
The more time you spend seeking and listening to God’s Spirit the more he is going to guide and lead you as you are on mission for Him.
I will do anything short of sin to reach someone for the Lord. - Bachelor party.
I am not of this world, but I am called to be in this world, to reach this world, and lead those in this world that are called to follow Jesus so they too can say “I am not of this world”.