Diving into Friendship with God (Loredo VBS Mission Trip)
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It’s great to be here this morning with you all.
My name is Dayton Ferguson. I have had the privilege of getting to come here to Loredo TX for the first time and we have the privilege of getting to help put on a Vacation Bible School here for the next few days.
If any of you would like to volunteer and help this week during the VBS, please let us know. We would love to get to work alongside you in God Kingdom work as we share the gospel with these young kiddos.
This week, our team will get to embark on a week of sharing some great stories from God’s Word that all try to get across one overarching point…
And that’s the reality that God is our friend.
This is a reality that we can with God’s power and the Holy Spirit’s direction guide the children into understanding and ultimately show through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, that understanding and knowledge can become a reality in our own lives.
God being our friend.
The truths this week that we will be talking about, really are truths that even us adults should hear and dwell on. They are in fact simple truths to understand, but at the same time they are also very profound. And they each cut to the spiritual neediness of every single one of us for God to be our friend.
It is humility that we need to adopt for us to hear these truths, and still apply them into our adult lives even now.
Jesus even told His disiples that it’s this kind of humilty that’s needed to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 18:1-2.
The humility of a child.
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,
So, let us this morning become like these children in hearing the truths of God that are so simple and yet so profound.
And also let us this week if God is pushing you to do it, to welcome these children this week to proclaim these truths.
Point taught in our VBS is the fact that…
God is a Friend who’s real. (Day 1)
God is a Friend who’s real. (Day 1)
This is obviously seen in the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18-19.
A harsh drought has come across the Nation of Israel because of the wickedness of their current King named Ahab.
God calls on Elijah to show himself to Ahab and ultimately prove to the people of Israel the realness of the God of the universe.
Elijah summons 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah to Mount Carmel.
The prophets build an alter and pray to their false god Baal for fire for hours, praying, shouting, and even cutting themselves to get the attention of their god. But their god doesn’t answer.
Elijah, then builds his altar and digs a trench around it. Servants pour water on his altar again and again until finally the offering is soaked and the trench full of water.
Elijah prays:
1 Kings 18:36–37 (CSB)
36 … “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things. 37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that you, the Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.”
Instantly fire rained down on the altar and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil!
Elijah was the conduit in which God used for this all to happen, and yet just a few verse after the miraculous event, Elijah quickly turns to worry, doubt, and terror as Queen Jezebel swore that she would have Elijah killed!
Elijah had fled, Elijah gave in to hunger, depression, and allowed the fear of man to entangle Him.
BUT GOD…
still showed Himself to Elijah… not through a great wind, not in a great fire, but in a soft whisper.
The ONE TRUE GOD ANSWERED AGAIN!
How often do we ourselves see God do HUGE THINGS in our lives. We see Him move mountains for us, take care of us, prove to us time and again that He is the true God.
And yet just around the corner we go through a trial of some sort, and allow ourselves to forget what we just experienced from His presence.
We must remind ourselves the God of the Bible is a real God who is our friend. This is what gives us hope, this is what grounds us, this is what keeps us on stable ground.
God is a friend who loves. (Day 2)
God is a friend who loves. (Day 2)
God is also a friend who loves us.
Many of us have heard the story of Jonah!
God tells Jonah to go and speak to the people of Nineveh on His behalf.
What does Jonah do?
He jumps on a boat and goes the opposite direction!
Jonah didn’t believe the people of Nineveh deserved to hear what God had to say through the prophet.
BUT GOD: had other plans for this city.
God sends a big fish to swallow Jonah to get him to submit to His plans. Jonah, like any of us would have after getting swallowed by a big fish decides to go along with God’s plans. God then uses Jonah to deliver his message to the people of Nineveh.
As soon as the people of Nineveh heard the message of God, they repented from their evil deeds and asked for God’s forgiveness.
10 God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—so God relented from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.
God revealed His undeserving love and demonstrated His heart of mercy in this story!
Unfortunately: we can fall into this thought of unworthiness. We may have this sense of being unloveable or think we have committed a sin that is unforgivable.
Let us be reminded of God’s great love for the people whom He has called.
Let us joyfully share this truth that God is a God who loves!
God is a friend we can trust. (Day 3)
God is a friend we can trust. (Day 3)
The Bible tells us also that God is a friend that we can trust!
Another story you may have heard is the story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41
35 On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
What storms are you facing right now?
Budget concerns?
Relationship concerns?
Job security, not knowing what the future holds.
Let us be reminded, even as adults not to allow these concerns in our lives sway us from the knowledge and truth that we can TRUST GOD. HE ALONE IS TRUSTWORTHY!
6 So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, 7 being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.
We can trust God when we are in need of comfort, guidance, counseling, or somebody just to listen.
Rest in the eternal stable reality that God is trustworthy.
God is a friend for everyone. (Day 4)
God is a friend for everyone. (Day 4)
For our last day of VBS… we will dive into the discussion about God being a friend for everyone!
On this day, we get to hear about the man Paul, who had taken on the call of the Gospel to the NATIONS!
Paul traveled all around the Mediterranean and Asia to let all know about the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Paul wanted everyone to know that Jesus had come as God’s Son, to die a sinners death on our behalf to defeat sin, to be resurrected by God’s power to defeat death. And to ultimately give all the ability to have a right relationship with God the Father.
Paul wanted everyone to know this. Even women. And even gentiles! This good news were for all who believed!
During his first missionary journey, Paul tells us the story of Lydia.
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. 14 A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Because of Paul’s faithfulness… Lydia becomes the first Christian that we are told about in Europe and then her home becomes one of the first churches!
Glory be to god!
28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.
The Good News of Jesus knows no walls that we tend to put up in the compartmentalization of our culture. It doesn’t matter your race. It doesn’t matter your whether you are man or women. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor. If you have been convicted of a crime or not.
The Gospel of Jesus presents you right here and right now the ability to have God has your friend. He is a friend to everyone.
If you’re a believer here today. Rest in these truths. Dwell on them and in our child like humility, let it encourage your faith today.
If you are not a believer in Jesus.
Today is the day of salvation!
Conclusion
Conclusion
God’s Design:
The Bible says that God created a world that was good, beautiful and without sin. Everyone and everything in the world fit together in harmony! We were made with purpose to walk with Him and worship only Him!
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
Sin:
Sin was ushered into the world by one man, Adam! Afterwords, we all follow in the place of Adam and are now born into sin. Now, life doesn’t work as it’s supposed to. We insist on doing our own thing. Living our lives as though we are god. The Bible calls this sin.
The consequence of sin is separation from God. In this life and for all eternity.
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Brokenness:
This sin leads to brokenness. We see this in all areas of our lives.
Disease, death, desecration of human life, self righteousness, worry and anxiety…
GOSPEL:
BUT GOD… in His goodness sent His Son Jesus into the world to be a remedy—— good news. Because Jesus came here to rescue us from our sin and death.
Jesus came to rescue us from sin because we can not rescue ourselves! He took our sin and shame to the cross and on our behalf He dies a sinners death! For you and I!
He payed the penalty that we were due to pay.
He was raised from the dead three days later to defeat death as well! To ultimately provide a way for us to have a right relationship with the Father for ALL who believe.
Jesus gave us a way to again be RIGHT FRIENDS with God the Father!
If we would only REPENT and BELIEVE this GOOD NEWS.
14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.
15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
