YWC 2019 // JOHN 4 // ONE KINGDOM
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INTRO TO THE CONFERENCE
INTRO TO THE CONFERENCE
WHO IS HECTOR MORA?
I AM HERE TODAY BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO CHURCH
I AM HERE TODAY BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO CHURCH
I BELIEVE WE ARE IN A CRUCIAL TIME IN HISTORY
AS THE PROPHET DRAKE SAID “WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE”
I’VE HAD A LOT OF COFFEE TODAY, WHICH MEANS IM PRONE TO CONFESS SOME STUFF
CHURCH, IT SADDENS ME THAT WHAT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING STRUGGLED WITH 58 YEARS AGO, IS STILL THE SAME STRUGGLE THAT PLAGUES THE CHURCH TODAY.
This means that if you are a church in 1/3 of the world, you would go through your whole life struggling with the same issue.
CHURCH, WE ARE A DIVIDED KINGDOM
NOT ONLY BY THE NATURAL ELEMENTS LIKES RACE AND CLASS.
BUT THEOLOGICALLY, WE ARE DIVIDED
NOT ONLY GLOBALLY, BUT AS A MOVEMENT, MY HEART IS STILL IN PIECES FROM WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE CALVARY CHAPEL MOVEMENT
MAN MADE TERMS HAVE RELEGATED THE WORD OF GOD
WORDS LIKE
PRE TRIB VS EVERYONE
EGALITARIANISM
COMPLIMENTARIANS
PRE TRIB VS EVERYONE ELSE
TOPICAL TEACHINGS VS VERSE BY VERSE
PRE TRIB VS EVERYONE
HOMOSEXUAL CLERGY VS
THE MOSES MODEL VS THE COUNCIL OF ELROND
IN LONG BEACH, WHERE I PASTOR, IT IS A LITTLE MORE LIBERAL
AFFIRMED HOMOSEXUAL CLERGY VS CISGENDERED LEADERSHIP
FEMALE DOMINANCY TO BALANCE THE #METOO MOVEMENT VS FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE
SOCIAL GOSPEL VS THE GOSPEL
BLACK LIVES MATTER VS ALL LIVES MATTER
WHATEVER THE DIVISION LOOKS LIKE IN YOUR COMMUNITY, IT SHOULD BREAK OUR HEARTS THAT SO MANY THINGS HAVE SEVERED PARTS OF THE BODY THAT ARE CRUCIAL TO ITS OWN FLOURISHING.
JESUS DESIRED ONE THING:
JESUS DESIRED ONE THING:
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
But sometimes we cultivate a homogenous community
This should not only blow our minds
A community that talks the same,
But it should cause the church to put away its subtitles
Votes the same,
Loves the same type of music
Aligns themselves with the same movements,
It should cause the church to be unified in Mission
When a foreign object tries to be apart of
It should encourage us to cheer one another on
Most importantly, it should cause us to lock arms with everyone who has been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ
JESUS, IN SPEAKING TO THE FATHER SAYS THIS:
“Father, I am not just praying for these alone”
“I am praying for those who will come to faith because of these”
As they are transformed by the Good News that You sent me
More people will come to faith
More will know who you are, who I am, and who the Spirit is.
As this diverse group of people comes together
“I am praying for one thing”
“THAT THEY MAY BE ONE”
Just like me and You Father
Just like we are in unison
As you are in Me, and I in You
May it be with them
That You, I, and everyone who believes in this Good News would be United as One
WHY DOES JESUS DESIRE THIS?
CHECK OUT WHAT HE SAYS
“That the world may believe that You sent me.”
FRIENDS, HOW MANY OF US WANT TO SEE THE NEXT GENERATION COME TO FAITH IN CHRIST?
The salvation of the world hinges
HOW MANY OF US WANT THE WORLD TO BELIEVE THAT GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER WOULD BELIEVE IN HIM WOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE?
Now, lets re-read , but slowly.
May I be so bold as to say that this dream OF OURS hinges on the unification of the Church.
CHURCH IF WE WANT TO SEE THE FRUIT OF , WE MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT .
BUT FIRST,
LET’S LOOK AT HOW JESUS SQUASHED SEGREGATION FOREVER.
READ JOHN 4:1-30
1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
PRAY
1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
43 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.
46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
49 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”
50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”
52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.
54 This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
JOHN 4:1-26
PRAY
IN THIS INTERACTION WE CAN SEE THINGS IN TWO WAYS
WE CAN EITHER PUT OURSELVES IN THE SANDALS OF THE RIGHTEOUS, OR THE NEEDY
WE CAN EITHER CHEER JESUS ON, AND SAY THINGS LIKE:
“THATS RIGHT JESUS, YOU TELL HER”
OR WE CAN SEE OURSELVES AS AN INFORMED BUT TEACHABLE SINNER, LIKE THE WOMAN AT THE WELL
I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU THE CHOICE TONIGHT.
VERSE 1-6
VERSE 1-6
There I was meeting with pastors all over the city
Desiring to see greater unification
Reading Jesus desire in , and wanting to do something about it.
I soon realized that I didn’t fit in
My peers judged me for hanging out with those of other denominations.
But those who had already planted in LB, who were within my denomination wanted nothing to do with me.
I had come into their territory
I was building on their foundation
I had no business planting a church there
On the other hand, those who were a bit more liberal, a bit more lose, but who still loved Jesus
Loved me, but thought I was a little too fundamental.
They made fun of me for holding to the scriptures on all fronts.
They gave me good reasons to ordain my wife
They even offered me money to join their cohorts
I had to make a decision.
I chose to follow Jesus.
I chose to forgive those who hated me.
I chose to befriend those whose theology was foreign to me
I chose to follow Jesus.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY?
JESUS
Had been making Disciples
His Disciples had been making disciples and baptizing them
It was time for him to leave Judea and head to Galilee
One thing was mandatory, He needed to go through Samaria.
This route would be inconvenient
This route would be challenging
This route would be the equivalent of marching through enemy territory without their being any benefit to you.
DOESN’T MINISTRY FEEL THAT WAY SOMETIMES?
INCONVENIENT?
CHALLENGING?
THREATENING?
JESUS TOOK THIS ROAD OFTEN, WHY?
HE KNEW IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE LIVES.
VERSE 7
VERSE 7
WE ARE INTRODUCED TO ONE WOMAN
A woman who had come to draw water at Noon
A convenient time for someone like her
A non threatening time for someone like her
But still challenging because of the heat at this particular time.
JESUS IS NOW FACE TO FACE WITH THE REASON FOR WHICH HE HAD TO GO THROUGH SAMARIA
Coming from a culture that degraded women
Coming from a culture that devalued woman
That saw women as property
Jesus has the opportunity to prove the world wrong
In this moment, He has the opportunity to squash the beef
Not only with woman, but with this Race that was seen as Godless.
Jesus takes the inconvenient, challenging, and threatening route to restore the value of all women
To have a conversation with her
To have a one with one conversation
To talk
To ask her for a drink
THIS WOMAN KNEW THAT THIS WAS AWKWARD
IT WAS UNORTHODOX
IT WAS UNCOMMON
A JEW APPROACHED HER AND ENGAGED WITH HER
A JEW ASKED HER TO DO SOMETHING FOR HIM
JESUS DOES THE UNTHINKABLE, AND THIS WOMAN DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE IT.
Have we ever been in a position that we do not know how to handle?
Where Jesus confronts what we once thought was truth, but reveals to us it was just a man made opinion?
Have you ever been told, man read up on this dude. He is the truth!
Come to find out he had been cheating on his wife while writing all of those books.
Have you ever been told, this is how church has to be
Come to find out, there is no biblical backing for that particular practice.
Pastor, you ain’t going to make it, you need $250K in this city
You need a building
You need a crazy worship team
You need professional lighting and production
You need a Social Media Marketing Plan
Which if you need one, i’ll be doing a workshop on Wednesday
Five years later, you realize God has been faithful
5 Years later, you realize it is God who gives the increase.
5 years later, God whispers to me, “Isn’t my grace sufficient for you?”
Yes Lord, for in my weakness, your strength will be made perfect.
THE REALITY WAS THAT JEWS HAD NO DEALINGS WITH SAMARITANS
No one really talks about it, but the fact that the disciples went out to buy food in Samaritan land, was equally as powerful as the conversation that Jesus wants to have with this woman.
JESUS BEGINS THE CONVERSATION
He had traveled the inconvenient route in order to have this conversation
He isn’t going to be swayed by cultural tendencies.
“Oh girl, if you only knew what God was trying to gift you, and who it is that you are speaking to, asking you to give Him a drink. If you only knew, you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”
“Oh girl, if you only knew what God was trying to gift you, and who it is that you are speaking to, asking you to give Him a drink. If you only knew, you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”
You think God came in the flesh to ask you for a drink of water
But He actually came to draw from a deeper place
A compromised place
A place that youve tried to fill
A place that is crying out for God Himself
He hasn’t come to ask
He has come to give
Living Water that you may never thirst again Girl!
If this samaritan woman knew what Jesus came to give
If she only knew the plans He had for her
If she only knew the story she would tell just hours later
She wouldn’t have wasted her time with questions, but with renewed faith
Not old faith
New Faith
Faith that moves the mountains of racial divide
Faith that changes our perspective
Faith that gives us Vision for those in our community
This woman, is just like us, and she falls back on what she has been taught by her culture.
You have nothing to draw water with Jesus
This well is deep Jesus
Where is this living water that you are talking about?
Are you greater than our Father Jacob?
These are the questions we ask when challenged to think different
These are the things that trouble us when we meet Christians from other congregations that believe something contrary to what we have been taught.
These are the barriers that we reinforce in the name of Orthodoxy
“But they don’t believe in the Rapture”
“But they ordain women”
“But they drink”
“But they vape”
“But they watched the entire Harry Potter Series over Christmas break”
“But they saw Birdbox, Bandersnatch, and put their money on the Saints”
If this is the mentality that we have, we will never take the inconvenient, threatening, challenging road in order to see some saved.
If we can’t get over ourselves, and our personal understanding about the Lord, we are going to be asking people to believe without living out
We are going to love the unbeliever, but hate the our brother and sister in Christ.
COULD IT BE, THAT THEY ARE YOUR SAMARIA?
BUT THEY BELIEVE THAT THEIR IS NO SUCH THING AS THE RAPTURE.
BUT THEY ARE CESSATIONISTS.
BUT ALL OF THEIR WORSHIP SONGS HAVE “SPONTANEOUS” AT THE END.
CHURCH, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SIN?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD?
WHAT IS THE JOB OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
JESUS IS SPEAKING TO HIS CHURCH RIGHT HERE.
HE IS LOOKING AT HIS DISCIPLES AND TELLING THEM
IT IS GOOD THAT I GO
FOR IF I DON’T GO, I CAN’T SEND TO YOU THE HOLY SPIRIT.
HE IS THE
We have done a great Job with Judea
But what about Samaria?
Just because their theology is different, we are going to draw a line in the sand
Just because they may be a little off
Just because they Major in a Minor
You are going to cut them off
What if God was calling you to stir up your gifting?
What if God was calling you to take the road less traveled?
What if God was calling you to make them your friend?
To build a relationship
To talk over these differences
To at least agree that OUR GOD SAVES, AND HIS KINGDOM HAS NO END.
HOW IS IT THAT WE TREAT UNBELIEVERS BETTER THAN THOSE WHO ARE THEOLOGICALLY DIFFERENT THAN US?
EARLY ON IN OUR PLANT IN LONG BEACH, I REALIZED THAT I DECIDE HOW I WANT TO SEE THIS TEXT.
There I was meeting with pastors all over the city
Desiring to see greater unification
Reading Jesus’ desire in , and wanting to do something about it.
I soon realized that I didn’t fit in
My peers judged me for hanging out with those of other denominations.
But those who had already planted in LB, who were within my denomination wanted nothing to do with me.
I had come into their territory
I was building on their foundation
I had no business planting a church there
On the other hand, those who were a bit more liberal, a bit more lose, but who still loved Jesus
Loved me, but thought I was a little too fundamental.
They made fun of me for holding to the scriptures on all fronts.
They gave me good reasons to ordain my wife
They even offered me money to join their denominations.
I had to make a decision.
Would I side with a Kingdom, or an empire?
I chose to forgive those who hated me.
I chose to pray for them. That they would be fruitful.
I chose to befriend those whose theology was foreign to me.
I wanted to learn
I wanted to grow
I wanted to expand my kingdom
I knew my God was willing to save the Samaritans
But how He did it still blows my mind.
ISN’T IT CRAZY THAT HE USES THIS WOMAN TO SAVE SOME
THIS WOMAN, WHO WASN’T TRUSTED IN SAMARIA
WHO HAD A BAD REPUTATION
SPARKS A CURIOSITY IN OTHERS, AND THEY COME TO FAITH.
CHURCH, I WISH THIS NARRATIVE CHANGED THE WORLD FOREVER
I chose to follow Jesus.
But it didn’t
Theological differences divided the Galatian Church
It caused some apostles to be hypocritical
It misrepresented Jesus and His Kingdom
So what are we going to do about it?
I AM IN NO WAY ASKING YOU TO COMPROMISE YOUR BELIEFS
In fact, Paul said, “Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind”
I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT THIS YEAR, I WANT TO FASHIONED MORE INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST
This means, I must be One with my brother and sister who think differently than I do.
I must put aside my hardline beliefs, and listen
Wrestle with the truth
Follow Jesus in a way that properly represents Him
So that the world would know that the Father Sent Him!