3. Immeasurable Value

Immeasurable value

I John 4:9-11

- Thank you again for being wise in protecting yourself and your church family… … Thank you for staying home if feeling ill or somehow compromised As a staff and a board of elders we are constantly seeking the direction of the HoLy Spirit to lead our church through this unprecedented time with respect for authority, but also the heart and the mission of LPAG in mind.

- We Thank you for your confidence and your participation, even when it deviates from what we would all call “church as normal”… … And we want to encourage you to make it a priority to pray for those who are having to make decisions in this process… WorlD, National, Local and even LPAG leaders… And pray for those who have been impacted by this illness… PRAY… LEADERS... THOSE SICK (JIM)

Open Bibles

- So over the last couple of weeks we’ve been in a series we’re calling UnStuck…

… talking openly and honestly about disappointments and challenges we face in our lives.

… Those unwelcome moments when life makes us uncomfortably aware of how different our

far our reality is from our dreams…

… and our goal has been to figure out “How do we get past feeling STUCK there?”

- Now… we all agreed that the culture around us teaches that the only way we can get UnStuck is to run away.

- Abandon your responsibility… walk away from that job, or marriage or family.

… b/c if you don’t do it now you may never have the chance to find yourself again.

- But like millions of people around us… the mind-numbing truth we’ve discovered about Running

Away is... no matter how far or how fast we run… Life didn’t get simpler… it only got more complicated…

… And that is in large part to the indisputable fact that… Wherever you go… there you are.

- So in every frustrating job, every relational conflict, every failed marriage the only common

denominator was you…

- So we took a look at a passage of scripture where the Apostle Paul tells us “I GET IT… Nobody wants to be STUCK in an unfulfilled life…

… BUT getting UNSTUCK doesn’t happen by Running AWAY… or by simply deciding on a

different job or a different church or a different spouse…

… because the same thinking that caused you to make the first mistake will lead you to make the same mistake… just with a different cast of characters.

- So Paul is telling us… “Don’t be like everyone else and just decide to run away… because that never leads to a positive outcome…”

Slide

He says this in Romans 12:2 NLT… MEMORIZE THIS VERSE…

“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

- In other words, if you want the outcomes of your life to be different… your gonna need to allow God to come in and renovate the way you think…

… Because every decision you’ve ever made has been the result of a way of thinking.

- It may be the understatement of the day to say that our world is deeply divided right now in the midst of this pandemic… this political charade… this age of civil unrest…

… And people are all over the map in how they’re choosing to respond to it…

… And for the most part… Our individual opinions about how to move forward through

All of it are largely shaped by the news outlet or information entity we ascribe to.

… We listen to what they say… and we allow their opinion to shape our thinking

… and in turn that way of thinking shapes our behavior.

- And this perfectly illustrates what the Apostle Paul is trying to say when he says… In order to live lives that are UNSTUCK we have to shift where we are getting our information and our perspective…

… He is saying instead of allowing NBC or CNN or FOX NEWS… or our particular Political Party

or our Water Cooler brain trust at work to form the way we think… instead we need to allow

God to come in and RENOVATE the way we think…

- We have to Allow Him to tear out the old way of thinking and replace it with new.

- So the practical side of this is… If you want to live a life that is UNSTUCK… if you want to trade the bad outcomes in your life with outcomes that you will be happy with… it starts by embracing some simple Biblical truths…

… and when you embrace these truths, they will change the way you think and the way you decide and ultimately will lead you to those desirable outcomes.

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- Last week we talked about a truth that when we embrace it… it will truly revolutionize our entire lives and lead us to fulfillment in life rather than frustration…

…and that truth is… “God knows what’s best in my life BETTER than I know what’s best in my life.”

- That means… “If what I think is the right thing were to come in conflict with what God says is the right thing… I’ll trust that He knows best and go His way.”

- How many of you would agree that some things in your life may have turned out very

different had you had the courage to embrace this TRUTH?

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- Now the TRUTH we’re going to tackle today is honestly no less threatening to us than the TRUTH from last week…

… In fact, it may present an even greater challenge to you… especially in this contentious

season we’re living in…

… BUT THE PAYOFF OF THE PAIN... is that if we will embrace this TRUTH and apply it in our

lives… It LITERALLY has the power to change your relationship with every person you come

in contact with.

- And across the globe… when we look at the genesis story of nearly every Hospital, Orphanage, and Nursing Home and Homeless Shelter in the world… we discover that they were made possible because someone bought whole heartedly into the TRUTH we’re going to be talking about today…

- This very morning millions of people are filling church buildings just like this one b/c somebody cared enough to believe this truth.

- And unfortunately those people who have chosen to stay away from a relationship with Jesus do so b/c there are a whole lot of Christians who have forgotten this simple truth.

Slide

TRUTH: Every person you come in contact with is someone that Jesus died for. (REPEAT)

- That means… Regardless of how YOU view the people that cut you off in traffic… that ring up your groceries at Kroger… that sit in the cubicle next to you at work… that decide wheterh we are a yellow, orange or red state… Your Heavenly Father believed they were valuable enough to die for…

- Let that sink on for a few seconds…

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ILLUSTRATION:

It’s no secret that the housing market is going nuts right now

- We have friends who live in Franklin, TN and they have told us that people are literally showing up on people’s doorstep and asking them to sell them their home that is not even for sale…

… They have told us about bidding wars where people are paying tens of thousands of dollars

OVER already ridiculous asking prices…

POINT: And these stories just reinforce the idea I have heard my dad talk about my whole life…

… The value of anything is not necessarily what it is actually worth… the true value of

any item is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it.

Barrett Jackson Auctions. Buying cars that once cost $3,500 for over 1 million.

Home Improvement Shows (buying 1 room shacks for millions of dollars.)

- So, here’s why that matters to us today…

- Because when you look around this room this morning or in the grocery store this afternoon or in the office tomorrow morning the people that surround you… Regardless of what you’ve assessed their value to be… are so valuable to God that He sent His Son to die on their behalf…

- God came along and said … “I’ll pay a price ridiculously over asking price for them…

b/c to ME… they are of immeasurable value.”

- So, let me ask you… with that knowledge… how do you think God would expect us to respond to these people that are so valuable to Him?

- Let’s be honest… for the most part… whether you believe you are selfish or not… you typically assess the value of the people around you based on their value to you personally.

- The more they have to offer you the more valuable they become?

ILLUSTRATION:

How important is your TAX GUY 11 months out of the year?

How important is your IT guy when all your tech is running well?

How important is your doctor or nurse when you are totally healthy?

POINT: whether we want to admit it or not our valuation of people is directly connected to our personal needs…

- That’s why the TRUTH we’re talking about today is such an out of the box idea… to look at every person you come into contact with not through what they can offer you… BUT through the lens of how much value God has placed on them.

- And not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but can you imagine how drastically your life would change… your interactions with others would change… how different your decision making process would be if you kept in the fore front of your mind how valuable the people you encounter everyday are to God.

Slide

1 John 4:9-11 NLT

“God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”

- God is saying if I can love them… and pay such a high price for them…

… surely you can love them too.

- God says…

“Roger… you see that guy over there? Yeah Lord… I know you don’t know him, but He is really important to me… so treat him accordingly.”

“Roger tomorrow someone is going to say something about you that you didn’t deserve… they are going to try and attack your character and integrity… but Roger remember… that person is so important to me that I sent My Son to die for them… treat them right…”

Can I tell you what I think would happen if we were to look at people this way…? I THINK…

… we would say “Thank You” and “Excuse Me” and “Will you forgive me?” a lot more than we do…

… we would use a much more pleasant tone of voice wouldn’t we?

- Suddenly she would be more than just a nagging wife or he would be more than an insensitive

husband or a pompous boss… BECAUSE NOW they’re someone Jesus died for.

… And now you’re looking face to face with a person that God looks at and says… “WOW… NO PRICE IS TOO HIGH FOR ME TO PAY FOR THEM”

- It’s what we witnessed when Jesus was hanging on the cross and He looked down at the men who had LITERALLY just brutally crucified Him and yet He said… “Father forgive them… for they have no idea what they’re doing.”

- See Jesus’ prayer on the cross wasn’t based on HIS assessed value for these people.

- Let’s be honest God or not… they just beat Him. Mocked Him, spit on Him, nailed Him to a cross, put a crown of thorns on His head…

… Jesus isn’t wanting to have them over for dinner, BUT He allowed Himself to see these men not based on His feelings for them, but on God’s feelings for them…

… and do you know what God thought about the men who crucified His Son?… “These men

are of immeasurable value to Me.”

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- It’s this simple truth is that makes Matthew 5:43-44 possible when it tells us “Pray for your enemies…”

Slide

Matthew 5:43-44 NIV

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”

- From MY perspective this is about the dumbest idea God ever had… “Pray for my enemies… Well sure God... I’ll pray... that they fall and break their leg… or their car breaks down…”

- But God is telling us… “Don’t pray that something bad happens to them…

… or even that I would change them and make them think like you do…”

... No God is saying pray for them… WHY?

- B/c although they are your enemies… they’re not God’s enemies… in fact they are people that God saw to be so valuable that He sent His Son to die for them.

… Pelosi prayer…

… Black Lives Matter

… Just came through an UGLY Election… leaving country deeply divided…

This 1 simple principle is the first step to true forgiveness...

- At the beginning of forgiveness is the ability to see people the way God sees them, because then we will be better equipped to forgive them the way God has forgiven them.

John says… Everybody you lay eyes on is somebody that Jesus died for.

- If that could be the basis of your decisions in life… imagine how the outcomes of your life would change.

At the cross God declared our immeasurable value.

- This is why missionaries leave their homes and go to foreign countries… inner cities… medical missions… disaster relief… the local church…

...You interact every single day with hundreds of people that God says, “They are incredibly valuable to Me.”

- What if this became the basis of your interactions with those around you… even the ones you don’t like?

- Do you think that some relationships would be restored?

- Do you think that some conflicts could be averted?

- Do you think that our need to win an argument or a disagreement would suddenly take a

back seat to the need to treat this person with the respect and honor that God treats them?

- The challenge comes when we have to STOP looking at people based on our assessed value of them… which typically means what they have to offer me…

… and start looking at them through the scope of what high price God was willing to pay for them…

- They are somebody that are of Immeasurable Value to God.

… and we treat them on the basis of what God thinks of them.

Challenge:

What would happen if you did a 1-day trial?

-Where you decided that you would intentionally encounter every person with this perspective…

...“I’m surrounded by people that are of Immeasurable Value to God so I need to tread carefully.”

- Imagine what would happen in your home… or in your job or at your gym… or in the grocery store...

REMEMBER: Truth is Truth whether you choose to believe it or not…

- Whether you choose to see people in light of their value to God or not… they are of

immeasurable value to God and He died for them…

- And when we can embrace this simple truth… it will cause us to think different than everybody else around us… and when we think different than everybody else we will DECIDE different than everybody else… and these different decisions will lead us to different OUTCOMES.

BOW HEADS

Prayer of Blessing:

May the LORD bless you and protect you. (Numbers 6:24)

May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. (Numbers 6:25)

May the God of peace, produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to him. (Heb 13:20)

So You will be blessed wherever you go, both in coming and in going. (Deut 28:6)

May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.' (Numbers 6:26)

And cause you to overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom 15:13)

AMEN