Blessing Our Community (b)
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Blessing Our Community
If you have your Bibles, please turn to Genesis 12. Our purpose during the next 6 weeks is to discover how God wants us, individually and corporately to Bless Our Community. If you recall, this initiative involves the Nazarene churches throughout the US/Canadian region (5100 in total).
Blessing Our Community is about the missional church getting outside the comfort and safety of its walls.
Blessing Our Community is not necessarily about doing more or doing what we’ve always done. Blessing Our Community is about discovering and doing what God wants to do. For that to happen,
We must first seek God’s presence, wisdom, and revelation.
Dedicating Sunday evenings (6pm) and Thursday mornings (10am).
We’re seeking God because we want God’s ideas – not good ideas. This was articulated very well in our Prayer Journal this past Wednesday. Olivet Nazarene University President Gregg Chenoweth wrote,
“Don’t prepare a cautious, ordinary ministry idea and then ask God to bless it. Ask God what is needed most, now, here.”
Then he said,
“Lord, we’re exhausted by limitless good things. They don’t even seem to bear much fruit. Get us on your agenda. What is needed most, now, here?” ~ Gregg Chenoweth
in Klamath Falls? That is what we need to ask God from now until Pentecost.
Last week we discovered that the word Bless is an expansive and fluid word depending on context.
At its core, blessing is about creating or giving life.
Whether it’s an action or spoken, physical or spiritual, a blessing is intended to generate life.
Our theme verse is
By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.
Blessing is to generate life.
Exalted (yā·rûm) means to rise or be lifted up.
As God’s people generate life, a city can be raised from the dead.
So let’s rephrase v11.
“By the life-generating blessings of Klamath Nazarene, Klamath Falls will be exalted.”
Imagine Klamath Falls being on the map – not because of alcohol, drugs, abuse, crime … but because of what God is doing.
Blessing Our Community is not about the pastor and ministry leaders telling the church what to do. This is not a time to sit back and wait. Blessing Our Community is an invitation for all of us to seek God and His direction - then to follow. Listen very carefully -
I might be the one whom God chooses to reveal His plans or even use to revive the Klamath community.
You may be thinking, “Me? Why would God choose me? I’m nobody special. I have nothing to offer.” The reality is, none of us have anything to offer God that He needs. God is not looking for our talents or skills or abilities – yes, we offer them, but that’s not what He’s looking for.
God is searching for the person who will say yes.
regardless of their talents, skills, and abilities. “Yes, Lord, I will follow You no matter what.” That’s the person God can use to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine – that’s the person God can use to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and exalt a city. Will you and I say yes?
Saying yes is one of the main reasons God chose Abraham. Abraham believed God and followed Him, even when he had no idea where he was going.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The first uses of the word blessing is in Genesis 1. God created animals and humans and He blessed them and told them to be fruitful, multiply, He told the humans to subdue the earth and have dominion. Blessing is about creating life, expanding Eden – God’s presence and Kingdom. Blessing is about creating order in chaos; creating life where there is death; shining light where there is darkness. That is what God invited Abram to do – to be a blessing.
Easy enough? Maybe.
Let’s think about Abraham’s world. Preceding Abraham’s call was this massive human rebellion in Genesis 10 & 11. We call it the Tower of Babel. Humanity collectively rejected Yahweh and consequently, He gave humanity over to the gods. There was this massive spiritual shift in the world.
Many generations before that in Genesis 6 was the Rebellion of the Watchers. This is when the sons of God rebelled against Yahweh, cohabitated with women, severely corrupted humanity, and created an evil unredeemable version of humans known as Nephilim. Genesis 6 tells us that humanity had become so evil, wicked, violent, and all flesh was corrupted beyond redemption - accept for Noah and his family. Thus came the flood.
We’re talking about ancient Mesopotamia! This is not Little House On The Prairie! This is a place where the gods were prevalent, still had Nephilim after the flood, and what we call mythological creatures probably existed in some fashion, and evil was rampant. That’s the world Abraham would have been familiar with. And there were very few who were loyal to this one God named Yahweh. And so God said to Abram, “Go - out there into that scary dangerous world and be a blessing. Go into a world that desperately needs someone to generate life.”
“Lord, out there?!” “Yes, Abram, out there.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
– when he left his country, family, and father’s house.
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you this morning? Let’s take a moment to listen to God’s voice. As we do, some may be hearing that voice inside, “It’s time to give your life to Jesus.” Perhaps in full surrender, or what we call entire sanctification. Give your all to Jesus. For others, perhaps it’s time to give your life to Jesus for the first time. We call this salvation. How does one receive Jesus? Admit. Believe. Commit. If you received Christ, we have a booklet for you – ask one of the greeters. If you need prayer for, we’ll have a time at the end of service.
Go and be a blessing. Let’s take a moment to listen to God’s voice.
Baptism
The Apostle Paul wrote in
By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Christian baptism is a sacrament – it’s a means of grace – God meets us as we participate in such sacraments as Communion and baptism. A sacrament is also public declaration declaring allegiance to Christ Jesus. It is a forsaking of all other gods.
Our participation in baptism signifies that by faith we are joining in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and joining ourselves with His Body, the Church.
Though we do not believe baptism is a means of salvation, we do believe that those who are saved and cleansed in the blood of Christ should celebrate their salvation through baptism. Same with Communion. We don’t partake of Communion to be saved, but because we are saved. If you have never been baptized, I would encourage you to do so.
Baptism is also a public affirmation of the Christian faith, which is articulated in the Apostles’ Creed. Because this is a family event, I think the family of God should reaffirm their faith. Please read the
Apostles’ Creed
We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) Church of Jesus Christ,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Now will those being baptized come forward.
Will you be baptized into this faith?
Response: We will.
Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and that He has indeed saved you?
Response: We do.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, will you endeavor to follow Him all the days of your life, striving growing in grace and the love of God and the love of neighbor?
Response: I will with God’s help.
______________________, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.