P.A.R.T.Y.

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Well, we're continuing a sermon series. That's really talking about the one another's in the New Testament and how we need one another and I want to continue this morning if I can get my clicker to work here. There we go. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever decided that you were going to buy a certain type of vehicle? Maybe you done your research and you decided I'm going to get a minivan or I'm going to get to pick up or I'm going to get this type of pick up. And then once you made that decision suddenly you see them everywhere you ever had that experience you never notice it and then want you to sign. I'm going to get a Honda Element then you're like, they're everywhere every time you're at a red light. You see them. It's interesting how it works. That way we can we can put something in our mind and then our awareness increases of that thing that we put in our mind and that's a little bit of what we talked about last Sunday about putting the one another's and what God calls us to be in to do in our relationships in the side the church in our mind in such a way that we're more aware. We talked about the fundamental principle that God's answer to lonely. Yes in our life. I want of his first and fundamental answers is the church itself. The body of Christ scripture says and let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.

I'm going to like it here.

Maybe I don't know.

Not neglecting to meet together as in the habit of Psalm but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching that's a fundamental principle of the body of Christ that we would gather together regularly. And that's one of the ways that God address is loneliness in our life when we talked about that last week we talked about This verse in 1st Peter 4:9, welcome others into your homes without complaining some of us don't like that that versus there. But there it is blatantly and scripture that part of what it means is to open the doors and welcome others in our home and build Fellowship in relationships Galatians, 6:10. We talked about fatigue in our life that scripture says right now therefore every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of starting with the people closest to us in the Community of Faith and Ecclesiastes 4:9 through 12 is another great passage that bills that fundamental concept that one of the ways God deals not only with loneliness in our life, but with fatigue is through the one another's coming alongside one another encouraging one another and building one another up. We also looked at this passage Romans 12:15 in relation to discouragement. We are to encourage one another and Paul says laugh with your happy friends when they're happy and share tears when they're down and that's part of what the body of Christ is to do with one another to be there. During difficult times to be there to celebrate Joe and all that kind of assumed your building relationships and next week. I'm going to continue this series and I want to talk about building relationships what builds up relationships and what discourages relationship but this morning as we continue to review last week and I want to talk about a special topic this morning last week. We conclude about talking about let's make a pact together pact. Here's how we we get that awareness going in our minds so that like seeing those Vehicles everywhere we go. We we want to pray that God will help us be more aware of other's needs and our own needs because sometimes we can just go through life and not notice the needs of others and sometimes we can just move at such a pace that we don't even stop and reflect upon our own needs. And so we want to pray that we'd be aware of other's needs and our own needs and that we would involve ourselves both in self-care and letting our own needs be met and caring for others that it's a two-way thing that we both receive. And extend care because sometimes we can get on one side of the other we can just get in the mode of being a consumer and thinking it's all about me and my needs and somebody needs to meet him and we never think outside that box other times we can get on the Other Extreme and we just think in terms of I need to do do do and we never pause and reflect upon her own needs and God calls us in the body of Christ to be aware of our own needs to see those needs and aware of the needs of others and have this two-way both extending and receiving care and that's kind of the foundation of the one another's and like the next week. We're going to talk a little bit about what builds up and what tears down relationship but this week I want to kind of do an aside and talk about an unspoken discouragement that's often present in our hearts and in our life that we don't really put out there and that's the Lost friends and loved ones. Sometimes we just jump straight into getting busy being the church and no one talks about the fact that we've got close family members or neighbors are loved ones who don't know the Lord and that weighs on our hearts and sometimes we just, we don't bring that out and I want to talk about that open early this morning because God wants to encourage yourself and kind of a light-hearted way in relation to a missionaries visiting. I want to share. How can we help each other to be missionaries in 5 easy steps and this works out to the word party. Is that sound like a fun thing? Cuz the thing that that Christians and non-christians have in common about evangelism is neither of us want anything to do with it. That's how we feel about it. But look there's a way in which to help one another be a missionary that is a fun way and it's God's way. It's Jesus white. Think about this what did Jesus often do in the New Testament with those who weren't saved who weren't following him had a meal with him and he got accused of having parties with him. If you're always eating and drinking with people who don't belong Euro and I called him a drunkard and a glutton because he was always at parties. He modeled this for us. This is the way to be a missionary. We we've come and retooled it and made it something else but Jesus model for us. I think I think that's worth learning. So let's talk about how we can be a missionary. This is our calling as a body also not just a care for one another but to be a witness to the world outside the church Paul says in Philippians 1:27 above all else. You must live in a way that brings honor to the good news about Christ then whether I visit you or not. I will hear that all of you think alike. I will know that you're working together and that you were struggling side-by-side to get others to believe the good news. That's part of Calling not just individually. So here's here's good news for you. But the call for you to be a missionary is not something you have to put on your shoulders alone. It is not this individual calling where you have to feel weighed down by that. It's something that Paul is saying that the body of Christ that all of us together are called to learn how to work together to be effective Witnesses of the gospels and that speaks to our own Hearts because we all have friends and family and loved ones that we wish to the Lord and don't and we wonder how can we how can we leave them to the Lord? How come we will be effective witness this to them? Look what Paul says in Colossians 4:3 pray for us to that. God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That's why I'm here and change. So I want to make this a super practical you can you can take note. You can write the first word for party and I want this to be a super practical plan for us here. It is pray regularly specifically lost friends and family with clothes Christian friends How's that for tangible? Okay, it is not vague. It is not mysterious. If you want to be part of helping one another be effective missionaries. The first step is on a regular basis, maybe weekly your Sunday school class your life group, maybe people you have coffee with our Brothers and Sisters in Christ that you're building a relationship with that. You trust pray regularly with them by name for those that you want to see come in a little more specifically not we just pray for our lost friend lent friends and family, but it needs to be closed Christian friends who know the name of your aunt or your son or your daughter and your sharing with one another and your encouraging one another so that you're praying regularly specifically for those lost friends and family. That's the first step toward being an effective because even as Mark shared, it's the prayers that go ahead of us that prepare the heart to receive and that lay that groundwork it's not just a matter of us pushing up her sleeves and doing the work ourselves. And so pray so pray regularly. That's the first step and Paul commands on Colossians. Look at what Paul says in Corinthians. He says whatever a person is like I try to find common ground with him so that he will let me tell him about Christ and let Christ save them I do this to get the gospel to them and also for the blessing I myself received when I see them come to Christ other version say Paul says, I become all things to all people this second step is appeal to common interest and yet I'm making this super tangible and concrete it is not mysterious. So you gather with clothes Christian friends and you pray on a regular basis for those family or loved ones or friends or a lost and then secondly you appeal to common interest meaning if they're in your city. If you can be in relationship with them you find a way to spend time with them and the way you do that is exactly what Paul said he find something he has in common. And Principe love bowling. Guess what in the name of Jesus with you love bowling or not. You might say yourself. You know what I'm going to ask Brad to go bowling honey. He still he loves a bowl and I'm going to see if he'll go bowling with me and maybe we're going to bowl once a month together you find common interest in order to spend time together because that creates opportunity to know that person you ever wherever wish somebody could come to know the Lord but you're not sure how to pray for them. You're not sure what their struggles are. You not sure what the obstacle is that prevents them from coming to know the Lord will guess what if you appeal to common interest you're going to get the opportunity to know them better you're going to spend time together bowling or walking or eating at favorite restaurants or whatever it is that you use to build the beginning of a friendship as you get to know them better. Your prayers will become more specific and more knowledgeable. And so that's the second step is to appeal to common interest because that gives you the opportunity to know. Look at what Paul says in 1st Corinthians, 5:12 interesting. He says it is not my business to judge those who are not part of the church. He would not make a very good Christian, Woody. You read that you like what something is wrong is that I got you. I got to read it. Surely that can't be right. The reality is that those outside the church and participate that their interaction with Christians will meet would be one of judgment. That's what they fear. That's what they feel if they're going to if a person wants to meet with them or wants to talk with them or are there sister-in-law who goes to church and they don't says I got to meet I know I know she's going to say when you going to do this when you going to stop doing that, why are you doing that? We've we've created that expectation in our culture because the truth is that tends to be what we do as our first interaction with somebody is we evaluate and judge them, you know fellow you wouldn't have these problems if you would just... We talked about this a few weeks ago how Jesus looked and saw people and had compassion on them and then acted on that compassion instead of judging and evaluating and assessing and it's so tempting in our own human nature to meet Lee judge men, especially in and I do this I mean and husband and wife can't relate to this why whenever you have a problem with your husband to meet Lee want to do analyze it and fix it and lies and fix it because we're just got locked and loaded that way. We were here's what you got to do honey. You don't let that person work talk to you that way. You need to sit down with your seat immediately. We're really evaluating and assessing and judging is implied. There. Here's the solution that you've not seen that I've got and we've got to short-circuit that and and and reach out in love to folks and Paul says it is not my business to judge. Those who are not part of the church. You can't expect non-christians to act like Christians. But we do that all the time by default. What is wrong with you? Why don't you do this while you do that? Well, maybe it's cuz they don't know the Lord. They don't know his love and his grace and they're in the same place. We would be without the Lord in our life. Paul says this also for the love of Christ overwhelms us when we consider that if one man died for all then all have died that Paul sees the gospel can reach and is available for everyone overwhelmed him with love that we could extend the gospel and any and all could hear and believe repent and be saved and he's overwhelmed other version says the love of Christ compels them to share so our third thing is Reach Out In Love Not judgment, I think about how wonderfully freeing that is for you and I sometimes we feel like when I can't spend time with. You do this and I cannot affirm that I cannot be part of that. I got to make sure you know right off the bat but no way can you be a Tennessee volunteer fan, you know, I just got to lay that right out. That's a bad thing is sometimes we feel this burden to meet Lee, put that out there when it's dead scripture says reach out in love and so our agenda so to speak on behalf of God In The Name of Christ. Spirit of Christ is to love is to love that person to be praying for them. To get to get to know them to spend time with them based on common interest so that work spending good quality time with them and learning to know them better and we're reaching out to them in love. That's why we love them the way Christ. It's been he getting a lot of trouble for 11 people that other said hey, you can't we just talk just laughing it up and eating and drinking and having a good time with all these folks don't they know that your fellowship should be withheld from them until they straighten up their life and Fly Right a little bit more Jesus Juice graciously and open-handed Lee reached out and love all those he encountered in the name of the Lord and so just relax a little bit. We get the freedom to reach out and love we won't be doing anything wrong.

Fairfax will be doing the right thing the christ-like thing as we spend time with friends and family and loved ones who don't know the Lord. At a ballgame or whatever that common interests just enjoying them and loving them in the name of the Lord. Look at my 1st Peter 2:9 says but you are the ones chosen by God chosen for the High Calling of Priestly work chosen to be a holy people God's instrument to do this work and to speak out for him to tell others of the night and day difference he made for you. That's our calling in. This is the next step that we would tell our story of God's grace and it and what I mean by that is we would tell it briefly, you know, so we don't get 5 minutes into it and we say and then my third birthday, you know, the other person can be like, oh my oh my goodness. You learn to share how God is working our life in a way that's accessible for somebody who hasn't thought about that yet who doesn't know the Lord yet who may have not been raised in the church and but we do it not every time we're with them but we do it occasionally when opportunity presents itself, but we're creating that opportunity by praying and by spending time together around common interest and by showing them love we're creating opportunities. They're going to say you are so hot. Why do you care about me? Or I really appreciate what you did the other day and and those create opportunities for us to tell our story. Well one time I was I was going through what you're going through and this Christian friend came along and helped me and that was part of what led me to the Lord and you share that and that maybe a seed that you share and move on or or they may be other things may have happened where they say tell me more and you get the opportunity to present the gospel, but our responsibilities to tell our story when the opportunity presented in a right way and a reasonably brief way on occasion and repeat that different opportunities will come up in that relationship we can so you don't want can I is it okay if I pray for you about what you just shared that you're having a hard time at work or his guess what if you're praying for somebody already and you're spending time with them? That opportunity at some point they're going to say it's a rough week. They're they're laying people off work and I am stressed out about what's going to happen next and you might say is it? Okay if I pray for that this week and then you genuinely do that out of love and that increases that awareness like spotting those cars you got that in your head in your heart. So you see him again you said hey, how is work going through this is step by step as practical what we want to do for others is what Christ has done for us and he brought people into our life who cared for us and loved us and showed us his love Andrew us to him and we want to be a part of that for other so you tell your story And lastly yuck it up. Now. I know I was struggling to get my y a little bit but I thought about the fact that we do have to relax because we need to let others bless us to it is not I'm on a mission you are unsaved and I've got to save you it is not that sort of thing. God is the one who's working in and through us to accomplish his will what he calls me to do is to be loving to reach out to others. And so enjoy other people enjoy that time with them. They're not a notch on your belt if they do not respond in an open manner at all to the gospel. Guess what? You're still called the love them. That's the calling in our life to love them not to love them and say well it's been 15 minutes and then look like you're really going to get on board for what I've got planned here. So I'm going to move on to the next person that scripture says there are people who will kind of reject it forcefully and we don't push yourself on them. There are times when you move on so to speak if they don't want the Friendship, but but but enjoy what's going on have fun with those common interest, you know, you might discover people that you can win this too because of your own common interests. It might be the fact that you love to bowl and you meet somebody else who loves the ball and you become friends and it's a natural part of that friendship you're concerned about what's going on in their life and you're praying for them and you're sharing and they say will tell me more about that. You seem not to be quite as stressed out as I am you so well church. I've Got Friends that encourage me I pray and I can I come to church with you'd be amazed 84% of people surveyed said they would come to church if they were invited. 84% that I will come. I would come to church if someone invited me is simply doesn't work to do the blanket. We've got a building we put an ad up or just broadcasting to everyone, what works is when one person says to another person and there's some sort of relationships there. Would you like to come to church that they invite them to church now move through this quickly, but I hope it's a helpful practical way to think about how can God work in my life alongside Brothers and Sisters in Christ. To reach out to Be an Effective missionary to pray for our loved ones that they don't know the Lord. That's one of the ways we help each other with discouragement. Because that's one thing that weighs on our hearts at times. We've got friends and family and loved one and one encouragement to pray with Brothers and Sisters in Christ every week for that person and then as opportunity presents itself and sometimes they're not here until you can be praying Lord. We pray that other brothers and sisters in Christ in the kingdom of God will cross their their path in Arizona where they are so that these things might happen in their life. They might be reached out to look at what Paul says in this verse 2nd Timothy 176 for the Holy Spirit God's Gift does not want you to be afraid of people but to be wise and strong and to love them and to enjoy being with them and that a great verse.

That's what he calls us to and we need to be more of what Dean Mathis my friend calls a walking party. You know, we we need to be the people who can come into the room sometimes and and lift the spirits of that room. We need to be the ones that can come in and offer encouragement or the ones that can cut loose and say let's have some fun in this moment that can bring life into a room that sometimes sit around just watching the clock tick and sometimes that room is in the church. We we we need to hear these versus versus them and let it work on our heart and and like I said pray for an awareness that God might show us when we walk in the room this week that there's somebody who's discourage that maybe we could encourage with prayer or maybe there's somebody who needs to be a pat on the back and and and some fun needs to be brought into that. Scenario. Somebody needs to know. Hey, let's go do this and help others to join those relationships responses. I love the translation of this verse that God's gift and I'm about to worship team to come forward. For the Holy Spirit God's Gift does not want you to be afraid of people anybody here afraid of non-christians. I think some of us end up kind of saying, you know, I just want to be in my circle of comfortable people and I'm afraid what if they ask me tough question. What if they ask me questions about science or apologetics or where they've had some hardship within their life of the church would have got heavy heavy questions. I want to have no questions all this one off all he did it with him. I'm busy you no matter what we can have different levels of fear. And it's amazing that that verses for the Holy Spirit God's Gift does not want you to be afraid of people but to be wise and strong and to love them and enjoy being with them. That's our calling portable it till we get to be a walking party, you know take that analogy and and and find a way to pray regularly for people and to reach out to them and love to tell your story in the context of those opportunities and relationships together and trust the Lord took to Bear those seeds. It might be something that you do for six months. It might be something you do for 6 years or 16 years. My dad did not come to know the Lord. Oh.

I don't want to start. My dad was not a nice fella growing up at all. And he didn't know the Lord when I came to the Lord he made fun of it. I wasn't raised in a Christian Home in that regard except for my mother who was Alone Christian in that home and we prayed for him for years and years and years and and witness to him and try to be gracious to him and it wasn't until he was well into his 50s that he finally responded to the gospel and we could have easily given up at any point because he gave us plenty to be blunt. He gave us plenty reason just to say are you kidding me? He is never going to be open to this because he never was and then suddenly he was and I know that we prayed regularly for him and my mom prayed regular for him. I just this past week. There was a funeral of a gentleman of my hometown who I baptize when he was in his seventies. In the 70s and never made that decision has never been baptized in his family called me and they knew I couldn't come down for the funeral but they just wanted to say you know, we we thank you because he never missed a day in church after is baptized not that church attendance was the key what that represents is. He loved Jesus and he loved to worship and he loved the fellowship and he went every time and he didn't get baptized until he's in his seventies in just a couple of months ago. Thanks to Vijay and a young lady in one of his nursing home to his I think 79 approaching eighty. We baptized here here on a Thursday afternoon. So it may be something you pray about for for 6 weeks or 6 months or six years or 16 years, but never give up pray about those friends and family those loved ones who need the Lord look for opportunities to Simply love them. 2 in to enjoy life the way God created us to enjoy life with them to celebrate who they are to see the good in there like to see God in them working in them trying to work in them and to celebrate their qualities that represent christlikeness that represent who God's calling them to be in a fuller way see them with Christ eyes and reach out and love them and trust God for the fruit. Let's pray. Father we thank you for this chance to think about missions this morning to think about Japan and to pray for our missionaries there in the fruit that they have borne out to be thankful and grateful for that and the prey about fruit to continue to be born and father. We pray in our own lives as a body that we would learn the wisdom of one another that we would support one another love one another spend time together with one another and build one another up and then we would get close enough to open our hearts to burdens like friends and family and loved ones who don't know you and that we would pray regularly for those and we would reach out and that we would be christ-like with an open spirit that we get accused of being a glutton and drunkard because we're always having a good time with those who don't know you calling them to understand that you are the author of life itself and that you call us to thrive to thrive. It's a father May. We'd be your witness in this world in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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