Connecting to the heart of God

Introduction

Think about the story of your life and think about the people who have shown you most what God looks like. Think about parents , mentors, friends, pastors ... What was it about them that helped you understand the character of God? Think about the story of how you came to know Jesus as your savior. Was it a math equation? Did you simply look at all the facts and say to yourself Jesus is worthy of worship?

I'd be willing to bet that most of us , all of us know more about the character of God through the people we encountered and how they acted ... we know more about the character of God through the lives of the Christians we encountered then we do the sermons we have heard.

I believe that for everyone of you who has made a choice to follow Jesus today it connects backwards two experiences you have had. I follow Jesus today because I saw Jesus lived out in the love of my father and mother towards each other and me. I experienced the care of godly Sunday school teachers and other mentors as I fought through struggles in my life. I know God because gods people have shown up in my life.

Far too often men and women come to church, sing, hear a message and then go home to their safe and stable lives. We wonder why other people aren't passionate and committed to reach people with the gospel and to sacrifice to care for people in need. But then we so very much enjoy our safe Sunday morning experienced at church.

my children love show and tell. Isabel loves bringing her stuffed animals in or her latest Polly pocket. We still enjoy the story of how Christina wanted to bring her sister in for show and tell a couple years back at temple preschool. Show and tell is the best way for kids and for us too share about something.

Jesus loved to practice show and tell. He spent his ministry healing the sick feeding the hungry and caring for the poor. In the middle of all that he spent his time teaching the disciples, taking time to pray, and leading.

The church is at its worst locked in the doors of Sunday morning services and popping up just to oppose some new sinful legislation. The church is undeniable when it shows up with the listening ear and a warm hug. The church is undeniable when it shows up for the hurting and the wounded.

So many people are isolated today. The coronavirus has driven men and women even further away from community gatherings. Hurting people especially don't want to be hurt anymore. And far too often the image the church portrays is that of an institution condemning sin and sinners. Hypocritically many times as well.

Our world needs the church to come to them.

Monday morning I was interrupted by a car insurance salesperson on the phone. I really had no desire to review my quote. But I agreed to give her 10 minutes all the while not too happy to have my morning interrupted. The woman was incredibly generous and kind and apologetic and friendly and truly trying to help me out. Despite the fact that I wasn't looking for a change she showed me that I could save $67 a month on car insurance by switching. I wasn't looking for a change but this woman introduced a positive change into my life and I made a decision to change away from a car insurance company I've had for several years now.

Many people outside the church are not looking change their car insurance or what they believe about their eternity. Most of them are simply trying to get by today. The world needs the church to come to them.

Jesus didn't wait for the world to come to him he came to the world. He left the glory of heaven to serve on earth. And during the time he spent on earth he lived in the world. he had this capacity to somehow move between the powerful and the power list. He showed God's love for people on the edges of society lepers lame demon possessed foreigners children and women and others that society looked down on.

John 13:1 ESV

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

I love John chapter 13 verse one which reads: having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. And you remember the story of how Jesus showed his love: he got down on his hands and his knees and he washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus loud with his words and he loved by showing his care for those around him.

Somehow Jesus had the capacity to pursue the mission God had for him relentlessly while still having time for every hurting person.

It's been said that

“Our lives move at the speed of the pain we perceive in those around us. If we are unaware or uncaring we fly past them but if we notice and care we slow down to provide love and resources for them.”

Serve your city, Dino Rizzo, page 36

Jesus wants us to show and tell his love to others.

Remember back in Isaiah what God said?

Isaiah 58:6–9 ESV

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, [1]

God wants the right kind of sacrifice

Throughout history men and women have tried fasting to get closer to God. By sacrificing your daily comfort it helps clarify what's important for you. Fasting is actually quite helpful for clearing your mind and turn your focus to God. That said, it is also a false way that we can trick ourselves into believing we are earning God's favor . We can fast and think we are sacrificing for God. But if the sacrifice we make is not the sacrifice God wants then it doesn't make a big difference ... God doesn't honor it. It doesn't allow us to get closer to God.

We have to know what God actually wants out of us. For example if I chose to show love to Ashley by replacing her older laptop with a brand new laptop she wouldn't receive that as love ... she really doesn't care that much about how old her laptop is. On the other hand if you chose to surprise me by replacing my laptop with a newer laptop I would be tickled pink I would be happy and just enjoy seeing that new laptop four days. Because you would be speaking what matters to me.

Isaiah reminds us to pay attention to what matters to God.

Isaiah 58:6 ESV

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

God wants to see our love for him demonstrated by untying the chains of injustice and the cords of the yolk. He wants to see us be those who set the oppressed free and break them loose from what ties them down.

In our world today we have people in bondage to addictions, to endless cycles of poverty, to brokenness that is multi generational in their family. God calls us to demonstrate our love for him by how we demonstrate our passion for justice. He wants to us to love him through how we love and care for the week.

Isaiah 58:7 ESV

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

God calls us to be willing to share our food with the hungry and care for the poor. That's how we show our love for him.

Tell you what those verses are challenging. They are a risky. Calling us to love and care for the weak an homeless and impoverished.

But if we do... If we obey God and show love to him in the way he hears look what Isaiah writes:

Isaiah 58:8 ESV

8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

That is such triumphant language. Such a language of victory. Such language of triumph. I don't know about you but I've struggled to find my identity as a Christian in our culture today. I find my beliefs being openly challenged by so much of the culture. I find myself and my light almost being hidden. I find it hard to share my faith. I know whom I believe in and I believe that our faith is right. But so often it seems like the light of the church is rather dimmed today.

If we're willing to show God the kind of fast that he asks for. If we are willing to care for the vulnerable and show up in their lives then our light will break forth. The church will have the capacity and the platform to show who we really are. The church will have the power Of God and the glory of God behind us to share the gospel.

Isaiah 58:9 ESV

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

God will hear us. At this point of us choosing to do what God asks of us God says he will hear. And he will answer. I believe God is always listening and God always hears us. But perhaps it is part of his mercy today that sometimes he doesn't bless the church with a large platform because sometimes we struggle with judging the world more than loving the world. Judging the sins that we classify as products of the world and not showing compassion on the individuals in the world.

Conclusion

More so now than ever many people never show up in church because they have a negative perception of what happens inside the church. Many people have grown up completely disconnected from any church and the only thing they understand about the church is what they read about what we opposed. we need to go to the world around us.

We need to slow down to hear the pain of those around us and be willing to listen in love. We need to dream about how we can serve our community at our town halls. We need to invest more and more into community services. We need to love on our neighborhood. We need to show God's love for our community so they are able to hear our message.

I love those in our community who are already showing love for the world. I love how you guys have shown up in each other's lives with the many health problems our church has faced. I love how all the many individuals came up to church or rather the front of church last week to talk about caring for our children. I love hearing from many of you about how you wrestle to live out your faith with love in your workplaces. I love hearing about the many different conversations about faith that Madeline is always having with her friends and roommates and coworkers. I love hearing about how Ryan has many opportunities to encourage students in between making them cry over tests.

We are already showing up and showing God's love to our community. I believe our future as a church depends on us simply doing more showing up in our community to show love. It depends on us using Thrivent grants and brainstorming to come up with creative ways to show love.

I believe as we plan out this year and we look for ways to serve Terre Haute host we will find ourselves blessed and able to share the message of the gospel.

Little over 30 years ago cornerstone Bible church came into existence because a group of you guys decided that our town needed a community passionate about teaching the very words of God. We needed a community passionate about God's word and teaching others the beauty of God's word. So over 30 years we've built a community around the word of God. In order to continue to have the ability to share the word of God with our community , with our town we need to live such good lives among them but they must pay attention.

We need to wrestle as a church community with dreaming to reach Terra Haute with the gospel. Everyone of us knows men and women hurting and far away from God. Everyone of us knows men and women needing the lifegiving community that we find inside the church. How will we reach our community?

How can we serve Terra Haute in such a way that it makes a difference for the lives of men and women?

Our outreach must never abandon the gospel and a clear teaching of God's word. But our outreach must always imitate our savior. He invested himself in teaching people . And simultaneously he invested himself in showing compassion to people.

So this week continue your discipline of daily time with God and growing in your knowledge of his word. But this week, look for opportunities to show love to others. Look for opportunities to serve your actual neighbor or your coworker. It may be that through love you earned the right and opportunity to share the gospel.

And looking forward as we look at the town Hall meeting and we dream about what we will do as a church as we open up post pandemic ... let us look ahead with dreams about reaching our community. And part of reaching our community will involve serving our community.