Worship for Sunday, July 26, 2020

Message Ivan title. We are a conduit. I want a basis on it at the mission statement that we have is a congregation. You see it on the back of the boat, or maybe you don't see it on the back of the bulletin, but they're each week this reminder of who we understand ourselves to be as a congregation and what we understand ourselves to be as a congregation is up there on the screen. It says Grace Community Fellowship is a body of Believers centered in the Tri-Cities that is committed to being a conduit of God's transforming power and presence as we live in loving supportive relationships with one another There's a specific piece and I'm sure you can figure it out. There's a specific piece of that mission statement that I want to focus on this morning that did really is is shown to us in in this song and Psalm 105 in the verses that are there. I want to talk about that idea of the fact that we are committed to being a conduit of God's transforming power and presence that idea of what it means to be a conduit of God's transforming power and presence. There's a little bit of a free before you let me tell you a little bit about what it what I'm stand it means to be hundreds of things are necessary for that before we move on with the meat of the message this morning that idea of being a conduit and it was intentional to use that phrase and intentional to use that that concept that idea being a conduit means a couple things. That means that we need to be attached on one side to wear the power sources. And attached on the other side where the power needs to go. And the conduit itself. Is that which it is in the middle? You see it. I'm going to say this again at the very end of the message, but you see God does not for his grace is transforming power and presence into our lives. Just so that it can stay there. We are not savings accounts for God's grace. Is never what God has intended for us is for us to gather it and for us to keep it and for us before it to simply be poured into us. God is always intended for us to be conduits of it for it to be poured through us into the lives of others. We see that little more info and a couple of the scriptures were look at today. But this understanding there would God intends with all of the Avenues of his grace. There isn't any part of it that did God intends for us to have to receive and hoarding is not a virtue of other Christian disciple. None of that God intends to be poured into us for our sake but to be poured through us. For the sake of others that doesn't mean that we are unimportant in God's eyes because you remember God poured his grace through somebody else into your life. And God intends for that Gracie dpor through somebody else into your life to be poor through your life into somebody else's life. There's several ways that that we operate as conduit several ways that that this happened in our world. It happens to the church on time and in their Sunday that we can look at this for several ways. We do that one is evangelism. Obviously the message of the Gospel the message of Salvation needs to come true us into the lives of others. The Bible says that you know that they won't hear unless somebody tells them and each and everyone of us. God intends to be a conduit of his grace there was poured into our lives. Importer Alive's then into the lives of others. If you have come to know Jesus Christ as your savior, he desires for you to share that story. He desires for you to share that Gracie desires for you to take that message out into the lives of others evangelism is a way that we are a conduit of God's transforming power in the present into the lives of others another ways missions. We had to help Kristy here with us last weekend. And one of the ways that God wants us to be a conduit is through the Avenue of mission worldwide evangelism is is a way that we would say that in and of course one of the one of the primary ways by the two primary ways that we are a conduit of God's power in missions is through prayer and through financial finances as we financially support missionary forgot. They also call us to go Whether to go if short-term or to go Zachary missionary God is not done calling people to the mission field. Either for short-term or for for long-term and God wants to pour His blessings through us. We into the lives of others God intends for us to support those who go intense for us to recognize that there are people going to unreached up laces on our behalf places. He's not called us to go to its was called us to support them. That's one of the other ways that that we are a conduit of God's transforming presence and power. Another way is through service. It's amazing to me and it's interesting to me as we look through scripture at how many times When it when Jesus especially the gospels where Jesus as he's talking about people's faith is he's talking about their salvation. He he emphasizes the fact that we see the people know him by what they do. We cannot separate service and salvation word and deed always go together in scripture. We cannot say we are Christian and then not give a cup of water in his name. We cannot say I love God and not love our neighbor and not love our neighbor and tangible ways. Like we cannot say we love our neighbor if we never reach out to them in service. so many of the things that that are described in scripture, there's a great passage in in Matthew 25 where Jesus talks about the judgement day and as he talks with a judgment day as he says he goes to terms of the wind said well done come and enter into the kingdom in and he says and here's why you can do that because You saw me hungry. You saw me thirsty. You saw me naked you saw me sick. You saw me in prison, and you did something about it. Then you said to the other group depart from me. I never knew you because you did not. You saw me hungry. You saw me thirsty. You saw me naked you saw me sick. You saw me in prison, and you didn't do anything about it.

And then when they say but when you said when you saw others hungry and thirsty and naked and sick and in prison, that's when you saw me. You see how practical Jesus was it in mentioning how we know? Our salvation, of course, we can easily turn to James who says you look good does it for you? If you see somebody cold or thirsty or hungry you say? Oh God bless you and go on your way and leave your belly empty and them shivering in the cold. We know our faith by our works. God expects us. To have his transforming power and presents for True Us in service. Service to the people around us. Jesus didn't say yeah, give somebody to somebody else so that they will serve you said you saw me and you did something about it. There is that there's that whole in we're going to see another verse in a little while about that. But there's that whole idea that that there are it is not enough for us to do to send help halfway across the globe. God has placed us here. Remember part of a mission statement we are centered in the Tri-Cities. God has placed us on this corner. We absolutely know that God blessed us with the opportunity to be in this building and God placed us here. Not so that somebody else could come to Buffalo and provide Ministry and evangelism and service. But so that we could it is ridiculous to think that our our primary Ministry is always to be somewhere else. And let somebody else come in ministry here are first spear not our only spear again. And you know me well enough to know that I I don't believe it all but it's our only we need to emphasize all of it. But but we have a primary sphere of influence each and every one of us has a little bit different for each of us come in contact with that that you have influence in their life. And nobody else does those are people to reach out to an evangelism and Ministry and service. There's a fourth way there really is what I want to emphasize that and that is in terms of discipleship. It's in terms of helping people grow up in the face. And that is especially true and I want to spend a stand this why I want want us to see in this passage of scripture that we're going to look at that is especially true as we think of another generation as we think about our responsibility to another generation of of Disciples of Jesus Christ. We often think of that in terms of the children and certainly as weak as we look at these passages and as we look at that idea of discipleship, we think about children and we think about another generation of children growing up and especially those kids to grow up in the church. We have a responsibility to to do discipleship to be conduit of God's transforming Tower and present into their lives. But we also recognize that there is an entire entire generation entire group of people. I only once a generation but there is an entire group of people out there. 15 Krupp in Sunday School it haven't been in church. But haven't heard the stories of the Gospel then when they come to Christ as your savior, they need somebody to connect them to the power and presence of God so that they can be transformed and we have a we have a responsibility. To be that conduit into their lives were talking this morning and at and all of these are important but I'm in for sizing this morning those who have come to know Christ as their savior. I understand but that doesn't mean that evangelism and missions and service aren't important. But but the emphasis in the passages before estate really is about those who have come to know him those who know him as your savior those who are are are in the Kingdom who need to grow up in the kingdom and they can only grow up in the Kingdom. If we are conduit of God's transforming power and presence into their life. Listen to what Psalm 145:4 has to say, it says one generation show command your Works to another and chill declare your Mighty acts over and over and over again, especially in the songs. I have been amazed as I've been reading through the Psalms and and focusing on them over. Over again in the Book of Psalms. We find this idea of one generation sharing god with another generation. Listen to Paul said to Timothy as Paul, which was writing to Timothy said I'm reminded of your sincere Faith a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I am sure dwells in you as well.

all understood As he wrote to Timothy what a blessing he had to be a third generation Christian. But it's not just those family relationships. Not just those multi-generational family relationship. One of the great privileges that we have always had here at Grace Community Fellowship is the way that we are a multi-generational congregation. There is always been and still is today and and even though right now, you know, we are really very scattered is a congregation still there still is today such a picture of a variance of age and that's a wonderful and a blessed thing On Any Given Sunday and it's been true throughout the years and it remains true today as we are at full strength. So to speak On Any Given Sunday at least 25% of our congregation is under the age of 18 On Any Given Sunday think about that the people who are involved in the life of this Community of Faith. 25% of them are under the age of 18. That's an incredible statistic. You'll find that very many places my friends. You may think that we don't have very many young people as a part of our church that we have a high percentage compared to many many many churches. That gives us an incredible responsibility to those kids and not just their Pastor not just their youth leader and not just her Sunday school teacher We Are Family each of us has the ability to influence them with God's transforming power in present. We talked about the one of the ways. I always described Grace Community Fellowship the people is it We Are Family and his family we Minister into an influence the lives of all of those there are part of our family. I would it be if I stopped right here and I'm not going to stop right here, but I would leave you with with this such an important concept such important truth and that is an each and every one of us. Has a spiritual responsibility into the lives of each and every other one of us the person sitting next to you and the person sitting as far away from you as possible in this in this Sanctuary this morning, you have you personally have a spiritual responsibility toward. That's what it means to be a virtual family is one of the great joys of being part of this organization is is that concept that we have that we have that kind of ability an opportunity to have that influence on one another. Let me read this passage of scripture and then we're going to look at how this happens cuz only talk about how we do this this morning. How do we become? How do we how do we be conduits of God's transforming power and presence? I want to look at that from Psalm 105. So listen with me Psalm 105 beginning and verse 1 the passage before is the first 11 verses that talk about what's in between there by the first 11 verses and then vs. 45 is the passage it was laid out for Listen to what Psalm 105 beginning of verse one has to say and once again, let us hear the word of the Lord. Oh give thanks to the Lord call upon his name make known his deeds among the peoples sing to him sing praises to Him. Tell all his wondrous Works glory in His holy name that the hearts of those who seek the Lord Rejoice seek the Lord and his strength seek his presence. Continually. Remember the wondrous works that he has done his miracles and the judgments he uttered oh off Spring of Abraham his serving children of Jacob his chosen ones. He is the Lord Our God. His judgments are in all the Earth. He remembers his Covenant forever the word that he commanded for a thousand Generations the Covenant that we made with Abraham is sworn promise to Isaac witchy confirm to Jacob as a statute to Israel as an Everlasting Covenant. Did you catch the generations there Abraham? Jacob Israel same to you. I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance and then he goes on in the next several verses throughout the rest of that passage e goes on and and describe so many of the wonderful things that God did in their lives as he brought them out of slavery in Egypt as he brought them into the promised land and goes through all done any finish up and finishes up in first 45 and he said that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws, praise the Lord. So from this passage? I want you to see how we can be a conduit of God's transforming power and presence into the lives of those who are around us. Remember this teaching In this passage is really about it really is about helping people grow in their faith the same things can absolutely apply to evangelism in the service into the missions, but the focus in the passage that the song Escape gave us is really about that helping people grow up in their knowledge of God and I want to show you three things this morning of how we can do that the first of them Is the model that we become a conduit of God's transforming power and presence as we model it? As we live it out. As we show it in our lives someone 45-105 45 says that they make keep his statutes and observe his laws. Expects us not just to know what his word has to say he expects us to live it out. Webe, a conduit of God's transforming power and presence into the lives of others as we model it. In fact, it is so important that we model it people won't care what we say if it can flicks with what we do. We need to bottle God's transforming power president need a model what it means to be recipient of the grace of Jesus Christ. We need a model what it means for us to get to know that we have been redeemed as we sang that beautiful song. Need the model that we need to show other people by our lives that we understand that in the we actually believe it because we do it. In 2nd, Timothy chapter 3, you know verse 16 all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching for reproof for correction for training in righteousness. But listen to this is profitable for those things so that the so isn't included in this In this passage, but it's there so that the man of God or woman of God don't excuse yourself that the man of God may be complete equipped for what for every good work. Not simply for knowledge not simply the gain Understanding God's word is given to us so that it can be lived out by us. You say that again God's word is given to us so that it can be lived out by us every single thing that God gives to us he gives to us so that they can change us so that we can live it out in our lives with Buddy example of the Holy Spirit and as we talked about the gifts of the holy spirit in Ephesians 4 as it gives his wonderful list that says any gave the apostles he gave a prophet to give the Evangelist he gave the Shepherds and teachers to equip the Saints for the work of Ministry for building up the body of Christ. That's what he gave them for me to go back to that. He gave those people he gave all with the gifts of the holy spirit. In fact, if you look at what Paul says about the gifts of the Spirit in 1st Corinthians. He says the same thing. You see the gifts of the Spirit guides empowerment through the holy spirit is not there for my sake. That's one of the great mistake that is made as people seek. The power gives as we as they call the Knicks seem to think that those things are designed for them. It's not what he says. He says it's for the building up of the body of Christ. That's what he gives gifts for. And that can only happen. Has there moved out and so we model that and as we model that then people can see it now. Here's the other thing is going want you to see as well. We're going to touch on this in each of these things. That's why I want you to know. This is well that God model that for us. God showed us that being in the Incarnation. The Incarnation is self is Jesus modeling God's transforming power and presence is there is to show us what it means to live in relationship with God Jesus did so that we could see he modeled that and doing that he showed us how we can be conduit of God's transforming power and his presence. Let's move on the second thing that we can do. We become a conduit of God's transforming power and presence as we speak. It is not enough just to live it. We need to speak it. We can't just say well, you know, I'm I'm showing by my actions. I'm I'm living in front of people. I'm showing him and that is all well and good. But they need to hear it as well faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Nobody was ever brought to Faith in Jesus Christ, simply by watching somebody else. They had to hear the good news that they had need of a savior that he hear how they could come into relationship with him that has to be spoken to them. Somebody has to speak it.

in an order for one of the ways that we are conduits of God's transforming power and presence into people's life is that we speak it a great example of that is as we again think about ourselves as a family of Faith through as we live out that face, that's one thing but if we want our kids and and spiritual children at whatever age they are scriptural knowledge We have to speak the scripture, don't we? They're not going to gain scriptural knowledge by just watching us live out our faith. We have to speak the scriptures as well these two verses in Psalm 105 and say this vs. 1 + 260 give thanks to the Lord call upon his name noises that make known his deeds among the people sing to him sing praises to Him tell of all his wondrous works. We need to speak the word of God into people's live those those verses and sometimes we sometimes we missed the power of what God's word has to say listen to what it says in the Great Commission go it says therefore and Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the son of the Holy Spirit and Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and then Acts 1:8, of course we know is that as that other one at the hotels as you receive power who's that conduit? Then you will receive power when the Holy Spirit is, and you will be my witnesses witnesses speak. Witnesses are not silent Witnesses speak when we receive Power by the coming of the Holy Spirit In Our Lives. We speak that into the lives of others.

The word as Jesus is called. Is Jesus speaking God's transforming power and presence again? He showed us that he didn't just come to live in relationship with God. He came to teach me to speak what it meant to be in relationship with God and he calls us to do that. Same thing. He calls us to speak his word into the lives of people that we congregate with on a Sunday morning because it's into their lives weather is in a formal setting or an informal sin Ti. I want you to stand it far too often in the church week. We leave these things to those formal settings and that's not at all with the scripture teaches more good teaching is done in informal settings than informal settings think of all the times when you have learned an important life lessons, most of them have not been in a classroom. Let's just be honest not their classrooms are unimportant. I that's not what I'm saying, but but so many important life lessons we learn or in a casual. casual conversation somewhere in Italy in an informal setting we need to. Leave it to our Sunday school teachers. We need to teach we need to speak God's word into people's lives in our conversations around the table it and then our conversations as we share with each other is a third thing. I love this as we look at this the third thing we can do. The first thing we have believed we need to do is we become a conduit of God's transforming power present in a way that I ordered it is as we memorialize it we become a conduit as we memorialize only show you a couple of things that are here. He tells us in in in Psalm 105 verse by verse says remember the wondrous works that he has done his miracles in the judgments that he uttered remember that word. Remember I always loved so much that word. Remember me to bring back together to collect the pieces when we remember something we put it back together. And we do that by memorializing it is a great passage and we're going to look at here in in in just a moment in in Joshua chapter 4 is an incredible story that's there. It was a part of our daily readings this past weekend and is that I've always loved this story as a people of Israel were getting ready finally to go into the promised land. They came to the banks of the Jordan. As it came to the banks of the Jordan and got ready to go across Joshua instructed the Levites to pick up the Ark of the Covenant and a step into the Jordan River, which is says was at flood stage. You said that you step into the Jordan River. It's going to dry up. The waters are going to stop up here and they're going to stop down here and you're going to cross over on dry ground. You should know by the way. You know, there's 12 that I had to appoint a while back. 1 from each tribe. What I want you to do is call them forward. And they're all going to step into the dry Jordan River ahead of everybody else. Which one of them is going to pick up a big rock? at the time that he did that didn't really tell them what they're going to do with it. Is it it's what I just want them all each other to pick up a big rock and carry it with them as they leave the river. And then as the people were going across and Joshua chapter 4, it tells us that at the people inside them those 12 Stones, which they took out of the Jordan Joshua set up at gilgal. Now, this is this is not like right on the banks of the Jordan River City pick up these rocks and they're carrying them as they're going to where they're going to camp and it says 12 Stones what they took out the Jordan Joshua set up a Google catch this and he said to the people of Israel when your children ask their fathers and times to come what do these Stones mean? Then you should let your children now Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground. You see they memorialized what God had done. They took this incredible miracle that got it performed and they did something physical with it. So the people in future Generations would notice it. And in noticing it they would ask questions. If we don't ever ritualize and memorialize anything in our life of faith.

There will be no reason for future generations to ask. What does it mean when you do that? The church has a long tradition a long history of stained glass windows and we have these wonderful stained glass windows in the sanctuary. And if you ever looked at them, you know that they tell the story of Jesus life. Now, there are a couple of them that you know are our way to Catholic for us it but but they're there and and these windows tell the story has are there people inside? What does it mean? Windows me and we give the opportunity to tell the story. But there's another way that the church memorializes that the church builds up a ritual. So the people can ask what it means. Listen to what Paul says. The 1st Corinthians chapter 11 Paul is talking about Holy Communion. And there is he's talking about Holy Communion. Listen to what he says he says for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed to bread. And when are you giving thanks, he broke it and he said this is my body, which is for you do this in remembrance of me. In the same way. Also we took the cup after supper saying this cup is the New Covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. It was to help all in this is this is Tuesday edition what Jesus said said for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes we know that Holy Communion is a memorial meal. We don't typically call it that that's not the phraseology that we usually use but that's what it is designed for. It is to memorialize incredible sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf us. We don't understand Holy Communion to be salvific human of itself. If it says our state is grape juice and bread. That's all it is. There's nothing magic about it. There's no salvation contained in those element. It is to remind us. He said do this in remembrance of me. We memorialize we do things in our lives.

so that people will look at the pile of rocks. And I'll say what do these Stones mean? And as we memorialize them? The questions can be raised and we can be conduit of God's transforming power and presence into the lives of others. Remember God's intent is never to Simply fill us up. But rather to pour through US God's intent is never simply to pour into but true. We are designed to be a conduit of God's transforming power and presents as we live in loving supportive relationships with one another As we model our faith as we speak our faith as we live in rituals and memorials and and and activities and routines that that emphasize our faith. We give opportunities for others to receive God's Transforming Our and presents as they are in contact with us. Is you going to this week? Let me encourage you to think about how God can pour his power and presence through you into the lives of others who are around you. Let me invite you think about how you can live out your face. So that others can be built up by it how you can speak your faith. So that others can learn and know more about who God is how you can develop routines and rituals in your life and in our life as a congregation, so the people can remember what God has done by bringing us into the promised land if we use that image of those Stone in Joshua 4.

Let us commit ourselves now and it all times to being a conduit of God's transforming power and presents a man. musicians to come