The God That Joins Together

Good Morning. What a beautiful and wonderful morning.

Easter

Sin and death fully defeated by Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection

Praise God

What a joy and privilege to start Easter off with a baptism.....I can’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate Easter

We join heaven in rejoicing with and for you Sydnee!!!!!

As I said earlier Church it is now our responsibility to underpin her

support her

encourage her

rebuke her

disciple her as she grows in Christ

Welcome to the family Sydnee.....We love you!

Let’s Pray

Start OBS

I have gone a couple directions with what to bring to you today. Yesterday at men’s breakfast I felt God leading me in a different direction yet again. Same topic, several of the same scriptures just different perspective.

The God that joins together

What does that mean?

It means lots of things, way more than we could discuss here this morning

God joins lots of things

Man and woman in marriage......notice man and woman.....not man and man or woman and woman or whatever other lie society sells to define gender and marriage

Man and woman joined together in holy matrimony with God at the center!

Church....you and I....Christians are joined together in Christ’s body and as His bride. God joined us together through Jesus

There are many other ways and things God joins together but today.....Easter..we celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection

I want to jump on a soap box for a minute....Easter has nothing to do with new clothes...

Eggs

Candy

Easter bunny

Family gatherings

The list goes on and on

Are those things bad.....are you sinning by doing those things?

Not necessarily....If you put those things in front of God then yes you are sinning

Those things in and of themselves are not bad, in fact I enjoy all of those things....especially the peanut butter filled Easter bunnys!!!!!!!! I may or may not have encouraged some of my boys at school to share their candy they get this weekend!

Here is where we have to be careful....human traditions are not always evil but they can be

They become evil when they become the focus or we ADD them to what the Bible says.

If you want to hide Easter eggs or give candy or baskets or have people over there is nothing wrong with that. If you define Easter by those things instead of Jesus dying for your sins and being raised to life again then it is sin

As you go about your day today enjoy your family.....we are hosting a family easter celebration and having......yes you guessed it TACOS!!!!!!!!! Have I ever mentioned I love tacos??????

Celebrate your family but keep the focus on the focus....Jesus....talk to your kids and grandkids about Jesus....talk scripture with your family members.....keep Jesus in the center and everything will be aokay!

Back to this morning

Why is it important, The God That Joins Together?

It is the power, the reward, the strength, the endurance, the everything about salvation and living a true Christian lifestyle

Matthew 27:35-53 ________________________

King James Version Chapter 27

35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. 36 And sitting down they watched him there; 37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

39 And they that passed by reviled him, iwagging their heads, 40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. 44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. 48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. 49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many

This was Friday...........Jesus was beaten and battered.....rejected and despised......abused and nailed to a cross

The chief priest and all the religious leaders of the day thought they had won

The Romans thought they had won

satan and his demons thought they had won

Friday was dark.......don’t get caught up in Friday

Your life may look like the enemy is winning....you may be beaten down

battered

rejected

despised

abused

feel like the world is crashing down all around you......

when you do remember Friday.......remember the cross

It looked like it was over.......

it was but not for Jesus and us as Christians but for satan and the world and sin and death

Had they known they would not have put Him on the cross

I Corinthians 2:7-8

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“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

By doing all that they did to Jesus

By nailing Him to a cross to die for your sin and my sin and the sin of the entire world

They defeated themselves

The victory was in the cross on Friday

It didn’t look like it

It sure didn’t feel like it

Everyone said it was over....Jesus and Christianity were finished but in fact Jesus just won!

Don’t get hung up on Friday because Sunday is coming!

Jesus knows your sin better than you do

He felt it

He became it

He gave His life for your sin

He died in your place

Look at vs 51....God accepted that payment for sin

The veil separated man from God.....man from the holy of holies where God lived in the temple

God tore that veil because now in Jesus’ death and payment for sin we are joined together with God....by God....through Jesus!

Romans 10:9-10

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“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Salvation....it truly is that simple

Believe with all your heart

Confess with your mouth

Saved

Sydnee today publicly declared her salvation to the world through Baptism

Once one accepts Jesus and are saved they are joined to God and each other by the Holy Spirit

That is what we celebrate on Easter

Jesus’ death was enough and He rose again so we too will live again with Him in paradise for all eternity if we are Christians

When something is truly joined together it changes

Take tea for example

I like regular tea. I like the way it tastes…I know I am weird but I like tea

When you add sugar to that tea it changes....it is joined together and forms something new....sweet tea.

You for sure can tell a difference between the two.....taste…smell..even color....changed because the tea was joined together with sugar and it became something new

Christians must be the same way after being joined together with God through Christ

This morning I want to talk about 5 ways we as Christians are changed when joined together with God in Christ Jesus

When you accept Jesus the old is dead and gone and the new is here.....let’s dive into a few of those changes here this morning

1. Companionship

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One of the enemy’s biggest and most successful weapons is isolation

Separation

Removing companionship from your life

God created us to be social creatures

Genesis 2:18-25

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18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

God knew it was not good that man should be alone

Yes ladies that is in scripture…explains us meathead a little better…we need you....anyway

We are social creatures designed for companionship with each other and God

God takes companionship very seriously

Deuteronomy 31:6

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“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

Powerful words and truth

God goes with you

God will not fail you

God will not forsake you

He is your eternal companion

Someone may be thinking that this is Old Testament and God is speaking directly to Joshua there....it still applies to us but let’s go to the New Testament

Hebrews 13:5-6

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“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

Isn’t God and His Word Awesome?????

Genesis and Hebrews…helper....companion…God is for you if you are His child in Jesus!

That means you can be totally content in what you have

Spouse

Kids

Job

House

Car

etc etc etc

It also means nothing earthly that happens

good or evil

joyful or sad

encouraging or devastating

can touch you because God is your companion

2. Complete

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As we saw earlier we are all sinners by nature

Jesus confirms this in

Mark 10:18

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“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

You and I are incomplete without being joined together with God through Jesus!

Ephesians 2:12-13

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“That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

Incomplete before Christ

Complete with Christ

God joined us together through Christ

You are only complete with Christ

So many are searching to be and feel complete

Unless Christ is the answer you will always be incomplete

So many shove all kinds of things into that whole that only Christ can fill

alcohol

drugs

sex

money

power

pride

greed

job

etc etc etc

You will never be complete until you are joined together with God through Christ in salvation!

3. Covenant

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Marriage is a covenant

Society says it is a contract that can easily be broken by divorce

God says it is a covenant

You and your spouse and God are in a covenant

The difference is this....contract either party can break the contract and it is no longer binding

Covenant is forever....it is binding even if the other party doesn’t keep their end of the deal until the covenant is fulfilled

When God joins us together with Him in Christ it is covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34

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“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant With the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand To bring them out of the land of Egypt; Which my covenant they brake, Although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, And write it in their hearts; And will be their God, And they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For they shall all know me, From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: For I will forgive their iniquity, And I will remember their sin no more.”

Hebrews 9:13

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“For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:”

New covenant because Jesus fulfilled the old covenant....it moved from works to relationship

It moved from earthly, physical blood sacrifices to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and our sacrifices in how we live our lives

What God joins together no man can tear apart

Your sin is not too bad

your past is not too dark

your soul is not too broken

Through Jesus you can join the new covenant with God

4. Communication

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Jeremiah 29:12-13

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“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

God wants to communicate with you

How He does that varies

Sometimes He audibly speaks

Sometimes it is things He places in your head or heart

Sometimes through other people

Always through His Word

We are called to communicate with God about everything

Philippians 4:6

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“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

How can we be careful for nothing....anxious for nothing....by constantly communicating with God

I Timothy 2:1-4

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“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Our communication should be for the hearts and minds of leaders....govt…all men because God wants all to come to salvation

Like I said earlier we get so caught up in the Fridays of life we miss Sunday

God wants you to bring him your desires

It is not wrong to pray for healing if you are sick or injured or even dying

But we must pray as Jesus prayed

Luke 22:42

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“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

This cup is what he is about to face

beaten beyond all recognition

abused

whipped with whips that had glass and metal tied to the ends

having a crown of thorns shoved into his skull

carrying a cross on a back that is now hamburger

being nailed to a cross

being despised and rejected by the very people He came to save

that is all bad but that is not the cup, in my opinion

The cup is the moment on the cross when He became your sin, my sin, the sin of the entire world past, present and future

At that moment God looked away from Him....that is the cup

Jesus is praying God.....Dad take this cup....don’t make me do it....nevertheless your will not mine

That is what our communication with God should look like......not my will but thine!

5. Commitment

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In Jesus we are joined together with God

He is committed to you

Look no further than the cross to know that is 100% true

He sent Jesus to die in your place

Jesus willingly went to the cross to die in your place

to pay your price

That is commitment

God also expects since you are joined with Him in and through Jesus

A true Christian

That you are committed

Not committed to works but committed to a true, living, meaningful relationship with Jesus

If your heart is committed to God through Jesus works will follow but it is all about the relationship

I Kings 8:61

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“Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.”

John 14:15

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“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

God doesn’t say to be saved walk in my statutes or keep my commands......

No you walk in His statutes and keep His commands because you love Him

Because you realize what today, Easter is all about

You realize the price that God and Jesus paid to join you together with them

You look at the cross and you don’t see a necklace or Christian symbol

You see a death instrument that God used to pay your price

To shed Jesus’ blood for your sins

You see salvation

You see the only way to God and heaven and salvation and forgiveness

You see JESUS!

You must also be committed to studying and applying God’s Word

II Timothy 2:15

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“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Study to show thyself approved

Learn to love God’s Word

Learn to love to study God’s Word

Commit to a Bible study

We have multiple options here

Coffee and Jesus meets Mondays at 6:30 pm…this is a woman’s Bible study

Men’s Bible study meets Wednesdays at 7 pm

Co-ed Bible study meets Wednesdays at 7 pm

Free in Him meets Fridays at Noon this is a womens Bible study and lunch

Sunday School meets Sundays at 9:30 am

GET PLUGGED in to a Bible study

What about application?

Luke 9:62

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“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to teach and apply God’s Word to your life

Are you changed?

As you realize you are a sinner, that sin requires your death as a penalty,

As you realize you can’t pay that price

As you realize Jesus paid the price for you and all you have to do is believe and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior to be saved

As you realize all of those things you are changed

You don’t long for your old ways

I sure wish I was still addicted

No.....you look forward toward heaven and Jesus

You don’t look back

You can’t look back

Because what you have seen in Jesus is so wonderful and life changing that there is no reason to look back

I want to close with this

Proverbs 16:3

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“Commit thy works unto the Lord, And thy thoughts shall be established.”

Commit all you do to God

God already committed all He is and all He has to you in Jesus on the cross

Commit all you are and all you have to God

Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior

Study His Word

Apply His Word

Do those things and watch your mindset change

watch your thoughts change

watch your lifestyle change

God joined you to Him through Jesus

The only question is this morning have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior

If not today is the day....what a perfect day to accept Jesus into your heart and life

If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior are you living a life that is changed......that reflects that you are joined with God in and through Jesus?

Are you radically different than the world because Jesus was and is radically different than the world and if you are joined with Him you must be radically different.

The altar is open for you to come and get with God

I would love to pray with you or over you

I would love to talk to you about whatever it is that you need

Come.