The Greatest Challenge

Lord Once you flood this place with your presence. What you change the atmosphere of this place into one of expectancy?

Lord make our hearts long for you. I believe wholeheartedly Lord that your holy spirit is the means by which the church is empowered. So come Lord. move Among Us enable us equipas Empower not for ourselves not for our own selfish desires, but in power us and equip us. Enable us so that we might be greater Servants of you.

Now Lord as we enter into this time may you blessed with your presence for we asked this all in your holy and Mattress name? amen There is an extra sheet in your bulletin and I did not touch on during announcements want to want to connect with you very quickly on a couple of things. Number one that you're a dinner and a movie night is this week this Friday evening, August 30th or no? Yeah, that is this week. Sorry. My days are all mixed up. That's this week. We're going to be having dinners on at 5:30 as normal. Once that is cleaned up and ready to go probably by about 7 when she say Randy will start the movie. So when all of that is ready will move over here into the sanctuary and show the movie a break through this is going to be a great movie. And so what you didn't want to come and bring somebody with you and so plan to come join us in the Labor Day Parade. I mention it's already I need five more people to help me make sure that that that gets accomplished and then being prayer that we are going to start a new worship service. I talked to you about this last week. We are going to be starting a new worship service targeting young adults. the weirdest Target younger people because they are the largest.

non churched unchristian generation in American history

I believe that they are a mission field waiting to be reached. and so we're going to be starting over Thursday evening worship service. It's going to be music that is more contemporary. It is going to be geared to reach younger adults. Okay, so me and prayer for that because we need God to move in that. So that we can reach people. Cuz that's what the church is meant to be about. Listen to me. It's meant to be about reaching people. I read one time that the church is the only organization on the face of the planet that does not exist for its existing members.

Listen to

We got to get after the mission of Jesus.

If we don't we can't really call ourselves a church. Come on.

Now with that all of that in mind, let's jump into the the message this morning. I we're doing a series and Kyle the neighbors. How do we love people last week with talk about love and and the reality of it and and what love is and what love isn't a tenth as we talked about this we talked about the great command that Gene has commanded us to love one another.

I don't know why this thing's not working.

Okay, let's talk real quick. Love is not based on emotions. It's not an emotional thing the love that Jesus talks about his non-emotional. It's a choice. And so this whole understanding is loves not about romance. Right? Come on. It's not about degrees. It's not about I love this more than I love that the understanding of love. It is a to take command. Love your neighbor as yourself.

And I think many times we look at that. We think okay. I got to love the person next door the person on the other side and maybe the person across the street wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. Your neighbor is anybody you come in contact with come on? It's so weird to love our neighbor as ourselves and that love is a choice you choose whether or not you were going to love other people every single day. It is a daily Choice when you get out of bed, you make the choice whether or not you were going to love people.

You know what? I had a lady that that when she came in the church is my first church and and and and she would come and she wouldn't be in a terrible mood and everybody in the church knew it yet. You know what I'm talking about. Maybe she was just in a horrible mood. She would just grumpy and it just just wish she was not fun to be around.

And I asked her I said what is the problem? And she said oh Pastor I got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning. That's my problem. Now back in my less diplomatic days.

I thought struck me and before I could stop and it came out of my mouth. I put my arm around her and I said, okay do us all a favor. Go back home go get in bed. Get undressed get get get back in bed and get out on the right side of the bed and come back.

The truth of the matter is we choose whether or not we're going to love people right? Come on, we choose it and it's a choice that we make Daily Now, how do we love our neighbor? Wow, we got to have a lot of enough love to have compassion on people. The reality here is that we've got to have compassion. Compassion is simply it's not having pity on people. It's love and action that it's not enough to say that we love people. We got to prove it. By the way. We behave come on. And I think the reality is that we are to be compassionate with people and their oblique encounter people every single day who desperately need Jesus. Come on. We talked about in Sunday school this morning that we have intersections that God gives us intersections with people. It is not by accident that you encounter. The people that you encounter God is setting you up so that you can make a difference. The problem is that we are often not ready.

Or we're not willing. one of the two and I think reality here is that we got to have compassion on people. We also got to love people enough to connect with them and what I mean by that is we have to actually care about people. No, I don't mean this the wrong way that there are times when I encounter people that you know, what? It's really difficult to connect with them. Right come on and there are people who couldn't care less about anything but who themselves until the reality is that we are called to connect with people got to love them enough to connect with them. And that means even the people that are difficult to connect with the people who are difficult to Love by the way, the people who are most difficult to love need it the most

Did we need to make the effort to connect with people? That the reality is it's our connection with people that might help them connect with Jesus.

It's all we've got to be willing to connect with people. That means that this whole understand we've talked about inviting people to church. There's a radical thought. That's a way to connect with people right? Come on. The truth of the matter is we have connections that are unique. In other words what I mean by that is you connect with people that probably nobody else in church connects with Right. Come on. There are people that you know people that you connect with the I don't connect with there's people that you connect with that. Your neighbor doesn't connect with or the person down the Pew with you doesn't connect with you are responsible for your connections. Listen to me. You are responsible.

God gives you those opportunities and he expects you to do something with them.

I believe who are the week week week week. We often talked about having to answer to God for all the things that we've done.

Listen to me. I think Christians are going to have to answer more for the things they didn't do than the things they did. Because their sins of omission are far worse than our sins of commission. Come on.

And I think reality that God is going to give us opportunities that I believe wholeheartedly. He's going to give us opportunities Limitless. Give me this week this week. Do me a favor pray for God to give you people to connect with How come on it's fun. I love meeting people. I really do and last night. We we got to go out and we got to to do the Cleveland Indians thing in and we were out there. We were doing Dippin Dots and I don't mean this the wrong way. It was too cold yesterday have Dippin Dots. It's just wrong and quite honestly those think they tried to try to pass it off as ice cream. I'm sorry that is not ice cream. I'm not sure what it is, but it is not ice cream. It's something weird. And lots of people like him so there I was kind of the extra last night so that as I'm there I'm just kind of connecting with people in it. Stacy and Lynn did all the real work. I just there talking to people that's really what I was doing.

I have The Gift of Gab. I mean, come on. That's reality. It's reality. We're meant to connect with people. We we need to be connecting with people and it's not as difficult as we might think it is right. Maybe make a phone call to somebody haven't seen in awhile sitting down and writing him a quick. No, not that tough. You see the reality is it that when we connect with people with the store, somebody's interview go to the store. Somebody's got to wait on you to get out right here is what I see is that I see that as I have their undivided attention. For however long they're checking me out. And so guess what that's perfect opportunity to give them an invitation to church now they look at me like I'm nuts. I've had that look before and it'll I get it sometimes on Sunday mornings, but you know, hey, the reality is people and we have to communicate with them. We got to love them enough to communicate in other words. We've got to say something. I meant sometimes I don't mean this the wrong way, but I used to work as a substitute teacher in one of those difficult groups of people that I think to relate with sometimes our science teachers. No offense.

Non Christian Science teachers, okay.

I I had a situation. I was subbing at the high school and they come in and they start talking about evolution. And how scientific evolution is in an in all of this and and they just start talking and one of them knows on a pastor and has to say something. What do you think about evolution? That was the wrong thing to say to me.

It's all I'm eating less enticing will the problem with evolution is it doesn't take him to send it into effect scientific law. And they just looked at me this it it is law. I said no. It's a theory. Siri it completely ignores the law of entropy states that a lower state of energy can't move to a higher state of energy without a catalyst if that is the case, then there is no big bang. reality It just throws Hall of evolution out the window with that one law. But they don't want to hear that and so we have to communicate and sometimes it's not always easy. Man, they never ask me anything ever again. I'll just be honest. But the reality is we got to be willing to communicate. Let's look at Galatians chapter 5. This is probably a very familiar passage to you. Galatians chapter 5 but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace, patience kindness gentleness and kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control against such things. There is no law those who belong to Christ have been crushed by the simple nature with his passions and desires since we live by the spirit. Let us keep in step with the spirit. Why on Earth am I talking about love with this talk about this fear? It's the first one and it's the first one for a reason. It holds all the rest of them together. Listen to me last week. We said if I don't have love then everything else. I do doesn't matter. If you don't have the gift of love, you know, that your gifts matter either by the way. Love is the means by which God changes the world Mother Teresa said that she said she love flows from Christ the reality of the spiritual gift of love that flows from Jesus. He's the source of it that there is no love outside of Jesus. He is the source of love and if you don't have Jesus is the source of love in your life. You can't love anybody effectively. That's why we seeing her our culture so many marriage is falling apart. Big trying to love each other out of their own ability and they're wondering why it's not working.

Just reality. I don't mean this the wrong way, but I don't care who you are. If you stay with somebody in for very long, they're going to come up with a way to annoy you. bright Come on. Come on CT. Here's the here's the reality. I had to overcome a lot to get Elizabeth to marry me. Okay, the reality is this I understand that I am an incredibly annoying person. Or or or so I'm told but but the reality is I kind of enjoy it. Is the problem and it's not long ago. We were traveling at and N Abigail was with her and she doesn't go with us very often anymore. And so there are certain things that Abigail just doesn't like and sometimes just because well, it's kind of fun. I do things to annoy her. Like this she hates this and so I just do that every once in awhile and it sometimes I do it because I just don't realize I'm doing it, but the truth of the matter is sometimes we just annoy each other right? Come on. Some of us are gifted at it right come on, but but the truth of the matter is that we love out of the love that Jesus gives us because that's me honest. Generally people get annoying. Right. I'll come on. Y'all ain't being honest. I'm sure nobody ever annoys you come on. You must not drive very far anywhere. Come on there. The reality is salvation is the greatest act of love. The world has ever seen Jesus died on the cross for salvation. Jesus came to show love in action. He is the embodiment of God's love and he died on the cross so that we might be saved.

Is the greatest act of love that the world has ever seen and you know what? We're got it and when sharing it.

That's the problem in the church today is we've got it and we're keeping it to ourselves.

God help us.

Salvation is the greatest act of love the world's ever seen in sanctification.

This is something we don't talk about much in church. We need to talk about it more sanctification is the greatest experience of love that we will ever know. Here's the reality we talk about sanctification. We talk about Holiness, but here's the reality John Wesley talk about sanctification as becoming having a perfect love for God. It's not about being made perfect yourself. It's not being Mount Main sinless and is those things but it's the whole purpose of it so that you can love God with every fiber of your being.

You see when we get Sanctified. We love God with every fiber of a ring or at least we should and when we have that Sanctified power and I live guess what we didn't love other people the way Jesus loves them. I believe the whole church needs to get sanctified. Get filled with the Holy Spirit.

Because the truth of the matter is when the holy spirit moves in your life and changes you you can't remain the same just as just as Jesus change your life when you got saved there's a second work of grace to the power of sanctification that changes your life again and makes you more like juice than you were before.

Come on. Part of the reason that churches are failing in the United States today is they've given up on the power of God the moving the church. Come on. I don't know about you, but that drives me nuts.

Impossible does not exist in God's vocabulary.

And you say things like the church has gone to church is too far gone. We come on really do we serve the same God do we even know the same God? Let's be honest here. That we need to get on the same page with God love flows from Christ that this understanding.

Keep skipping on me there.

I'm sorry, it's it. Just technology hates me. That's just reality. I've come to come to understand that but but the reality here is that that this understanding as long as the basis for fruitfulness that that the whole understanding is the basis for this is true false starts the list of the fruit of the spirit with love because the foundation of all the others if you don't have love you was a radical thought If you don't have love you can't be patient with people. You don't have love you can't be gentle with people. If you don't have love you can't be kind with people right? Come on. Do we get the picture? Do you love is the foundation of all the rest of them and it's so if we don't have love then then reality is that we will never be able to truly live like Jesus you the spirit gives us the ability to live out our daily lives. And so the whole understanding is it we we have their love of God working Our Lives then we can be kind that. We have a love of God and all eyes, then we can be self-controlled if we have the love of God working Our Lives we can be patient. I'll come on. You know Elizabeth said one time that she prayed for patients one too many times and God sent her me.

You know the truth of the matter is I think she might be right on that. But but then I remind her she said yes, so, you know, it's a wrote it's her own fault. But but the truth of the matter is that love becomes that the foundation there's no place when we can have any kind of spiritual fruit Without Love. But love is that the means by which we bare all spiritual fruit in our lives. If you ain't got it. yours reality you need to get it right? Come on. The love is a basic everything starts with love and that love is a basis for being patient with others. It's the foundation of experiencing joy and peace is the groundwork for kindness goodness faithfulness. It's a source of gentleness and self-control that this whole understanding then love then becomes the motivation of Our Lives. Here's the truth of the matter when we love God and we love Jesus it motivates us to do something with our lives. You know, I I I sometimes I encounter people that have zero motivation in the lights.

I don't know about you. But I find that hard to deal with. they just don't want to do anything and they just

I don't know about you, but my thought is to give them a good kick in the seat of the pants and get them going, you know, come on. Come on, if you will need motivation Christians, we just serve him at Automotive atis to win people to Christ It Automotive as to go out and do greater things for him yet ought to be the motivation of everything we do. You know what? We got. We went out last night to the Cleveland Indians to raise money, but I'll real motivation is not about raising money, but it's about sharing the love of Jesus because you know what we're going to use that money to do Outreach in the church. That's why we do it. Come on on motivation isn't about raising money. I'm sorry. It's not about finances in about Jesus. Come on. Let's get real. Everything we do in church ought to be about Jesus. In the focus is on anything but Jesus here's the problem. We got the wrong focus on understanding hear me a motivational. We live out our do it out of devotion instead of Duty we do it because we want to not because we have to come on, right? There is nothing about certain things that I have to do. Do I enjoy doing the things that I have to do? Yeah, not really. Come on guys. You know what I'm talking about. Come on, man. Come on, there's things that you do because your wife tells you to Come on. cowards come on But the truth of the matter is I do things not because I want to but because I have to the realities we serve cheese because we want to love motivates us to extend Grace to others. In other words to be Grace like to other people, you know what when people do stuff that we just can't stand we be gracious. Come on. You know I ate it is just one of those things. There are things that happened that drive us nuts everyday. The I'm going to be honest there certain weaknesses that I have driving on the highway happens to be one of them. Whenever I get on people do stupid stuff anybody who comes shows up for driver's license. I think there must be a hundred times more in the Akron area than there is in the Cincinnati area.

Some of y'all y'all realize what I'm not realize I'm new to the area. This might be typical. I don't know but it seems like way out of sorts. You know, I need Jesus the truth of the matter is you know what there's times when somebody cuts me off the first thought in my mind is not Grace. Maybe you maybe you don't understand but but I had somebody the other day they cut me off and then slammed on the brakes.

Almost hit him. And before I could think I wasn't thinking Grace by the way. I slammed on my horn and bluitt.

And then they they gave me the ever-loving one way sign, you know.

which didn't make me at that made me even more upset but Fortunately, I got sense of myself and so this reality.

Exactly in traffic makes me realize how desperate people need Jesus. Come on. It makes me pray a whole lot more, you know, and I think reality it is that we we don't think about these kinds of things sometimes when we're in the moment.

How do we love our neighbor? What is it? What is it that that we do? Wait a minute. I skipped one.

Well, it's not working for me.

Sorry, love motivates us to remain on Mission. Okay, whenever whenever we are in the midst of things we we need to remain on Mission that this whole understanding. I'm sorry. I have completely gotten myself out of.

You don't have to forgive me will pick it up later. We're going to go from where I'm at. The community is our mission field. We live in the largest English-speaking Mission field in the world. It's our mission feel we need to get on Mission with Jesus and soul of Manus man motivation to remain on Mission. It gives us the opportunity to reach more people when we love people it gives us the opportunity to reach him where our eyes are open when we have the opportunity to the Labor Day Parade. Why in the world are we doing that? We're going out to connect with me before they're out there not in here. We need to go connect with them out there if we want them in here.

There's even a whole lot of amens to that one. You know, we've got to go out and connect with people love motivates us to care a little message communicated motivates us to connect.

and I think keeps

I'm sorry. It keeps messing me up here.

Okay, love is love is the foundation of Christ likeness. I don't have the slide. Let me it's here. It's the first of all the understanding is it love Jesus model a lifestyle of love that everything. He did. He loved other people did he did everything we see that's going on in his life and in his ministry, he modeled love and love people even when they were lovable. K-LOVE is the motivation of Jesus that we need to understand that Jesus was motivated by love. The whole reason. He came to Earth was because he loved us enough to die for us. And so this whole understanding so that the reality is that long becomes the motivation of the way that we live very kind of covered that I'm backing up here. I apologize. I've gotten my my notes out of out of out of whack here and it's so this whole understanding how do we love our neighbor? What is it that we are meant to do number one. We need to seek a relationship a deeper relationship with Jesus. If you want to really love your neighbor you first have to love Jesus more. Come on. I think sometimes it gets be cut becomes very easy for us to become complacent in our relationship with God. It's a we need to love Jesus more than we do right now for going to love our neighbor. When you love Jesus the second things. We need to start following the example of Jesus and loving other people. radical thought if we're going to be if we're going to be Christian, that means we follow who Christ Christian means follower of Christ and so the whole understanding is that if we're going to be a Christian we need to prove it by the way we act by the way, we live by the by who we follow and that means we follow the example of Jesus. We love other people. Enough didn't act with them to communicate with them and care about them with it. We start following example. Just we need to just do it. UCI, I think sometimes I don't think sometimes I think all the time talk is cheap, then we can talk about doing stuff all the time. Does it really mean a drizzle make a difference to talk about something? No. You know what? I think this is the reality is that a lot of times we get stuck in talking. You know what? It's time to quit talking and start doing you know, the truth of the matter is we don't change anything in the life in the church in the life of the core in God's kingdom by talking about it. We got to do it. We got we need to adopt the night Nike motto just do it. We got to love people and so we're going to start getting opportunities to go out and love people. And so the truth of the matter is that is the reality of what we are meant to do. We go out. We love people seem to come going to sing a final song.

If you would please stand. It is morning. We're going to open the altar. Your dad's been speaking to you that you need to love him more. Maybe you need to love other people more as we sing this song this morning. I asked you to come to the Altar and ask for a refill of God's love in your life.