• Wherever and whenever we meet in the name of Christ, we should consider Him as present in our midst.

 

The Power of the Other

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

• “A rope that is woven of three strings is not quickly broken.”

 

1. Stronger in Christ

The Apostle Paul was thanking the people who had helped him in his need.

Philippians 4:11b-14 “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” NIV

 

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NKJV).

Jesus is Our Source of Life and Strength

John 15:5-8 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you^[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

• The vine is the life source of the branches and the fruit.
• This is the strength we draw upon to live this life and face its challenges and transcend our human frailty to be the people God is calling us to be.

 

2. Stronger in Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:9-11 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

• Jesus says, “I’ve got this. Abide in me. Live in me. You’re weak, and it’s OK because I’m strong. Your weakness gives more room for my strength to shine.”

 

3. Stronger Together

When we are together Christ magnifies His strength exponentially as we live out His love as the body of Christ.

 

Romans 12:4-6 says it like this: “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;”

• Each of us is a single part, woven together like the rope into a much stronger unit to support each other and function as the hands and feet of Christ on earth.
• Let’s continue pursuing togetherness in God’s love.
• Let’s lean in together to deeper relationships and support each other.

John 4:1-7

 

The Savior of the World

Mark 16:15

1. The Invitation

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

2. The Assignment

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

3. The Commitment

• The ancient Hebrew word here translated lovingkindness is hesed – mercy, kindness, and love.
• This is a good prayer to pray.

 

1. The human race was infiltrated by from the kingdom of Satan by evil angels
2. Every thought of man’s heart was evil
3. The earth was filled with violence
4. There was blatant, aggressive, sexual perversion

“What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Matthew 24:6-8 – “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains”.

Vs 9-11 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

Vs 12-14 “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

• Endurance = G5278 – to stay under, remain, to undergo, i.e. bear trials, have fortitude, persevere, suffer.

You Can Be Certain of This

2 Tim 3:1-5 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

Perilous – G5467 – Through the idea of reducing the strength: difficult, dangerous, furious, fierce, grievous times, hard to bear times.

Stability in Changing Times

1. Take charge of your thought life.

1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”

1. Take hold of the unchanging reality of God.

Stability does not mean lack of change but moving with God in every circumstance.

Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

Mark 13:31 – Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever. [NLT]

Three elements of the unchanging reality of God

1. The promises of God – Joshua 1:3 – “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.”

 

2. The presence of God – Joshua 1:5 – “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

 

3. The principles of God – Joshua 1:7-8 – “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

 

1. Remind yourself that this world is not your home.

1 Peter 2:11 “Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.” (MSG)

Philippians 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1. Stay focused on Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior

A Message of Grace and Truth

• Grace is the unmerited favor of God toward people.
• Grace is something we have not earned and do not deserve.
• Grace is unconditional love and acceptance.

 

“Grace is something you can never get but only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.” Frederick Buechner

 

We Need Grace to Grow

Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

 

2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

 

We Need Truth to Grow

John 1:16-17 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

• God’s truth leads us to what is real and what is accurate.
• John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

 Sanctify – G37 –    To make holy, purify or consecrate; mentally to venerate.

                            

Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,”

 

“The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.” MSG

 

Ephesians 4:13 “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—”

 

 

Grace and Truth in Action

John 8:1-3a

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.

 

John 8:3b-6. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

 

John 8:7-8aSo when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.

 

John 8:8b-11 And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

• Grace – “Neither do I condemn you”
• Truth – “Go and sin no more”

 

Jesus Christ has the fullness of Grace and Truth

• Jesus Christ, in His life, death and resurrection, met all the demands of the Law of God.
• Now God is free to share the fullness of Grace and Truth with those who trust Christ.

Senior Pastor, Dr. Janet Cook

Luke 19:10 “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

• Zacchaeus was willing to do whatever it took to see Jesus.

 

And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

• Jesus knew his name
• Zacchaeus followed Jesus instructions with a joyful attitude
• When the crowd saw what was happening, “they all complained”

 

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

• His heart changed and then his behavior changed.

 

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

• Salvation – G4991 – Deliverance, health, salvation, save, saving, rescue or safety.
• When Jesus recognized Zacchaeus as a son of Abraham his identity changed.

 

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

• Seek – G2212 – to go about, to desire, to endeavor, to enquire for, to seek after.
• The Greek word sozo G4982 translated “save” in this statement is a word that actually means “healed” or “made whole.” To heal, preserve, save, that is, deliver or protect, do well, to be or make whole. It occurs 110 times in the NT
• Lost – G622 – destroy fully, to die, perish or lose

 

What we learn from Zacchaeus..

• Be willing to do what it takes to encounter Jesus.
• Be willing to humble yourself
• Accept His invitation
• Answer His call
• Be excited about salvation!

 

Zacchaeus was changed because of who Jesus is, not because of who he was.

 

Some important aspects we learn about Jesus in this passage is…

1. Jesus knows our names.
2. Jesus welcomes those who want to see him.

 

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

 

3. Jesus sees value in every person.

• While the crowds were grumbling, Jesus was welcoming Zacchaeus as a son of Abraham.
• We were created for relationship. We have a deep need to belong, to be recognized, to be known.

 

4. Jesus saves those who seek Him.
5. Jesus wants to be in your home today! He wants to be in your heart today.

Freedom in Christ
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Galatians 5:1​ Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us Free , and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Stand fast​ :Stay where you are ,Paul asserts , because of the benefits of being free from the law and, the flesh as a way of salvation and the fullness of blessing by grace.
Free :​ Deliverance from the curse that the law pronounces on the sinner who has been striving unsuccessfully to achieve his own Righteousness. But who has now embraced Christ and the salvation granted to him by grace.
Entangled again​: Better translated to be burdened by oppressed by or subject to -Because of its connection with a yoke
Yoke of Bondage​ : Yoke refers to the apparatus used to control a domesticated animal. The Jews referred to the yoke of the law as a good thing, the essence of true religion, Paul argued that for those who pursued it as a way of salvation the law was a yoke of salvary.
Galatians 3:13​ – Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law , having become a curse for us ( For it is written , Cursed is everyone who hangs on a Tree)
Romans 8:2 ​- For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ. Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Freedom
Genesis 3:45​- Found in obeying God
Genesis 50:4,5​- Often results from being trustworthy Romans 5:20​- Finding the freedom to obey
1Corinthians 8:10.13​ – What christian freedom is all about
John 8:33,36 ​- They answered Him, We are Abraham’s descendents, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, you will be made free? Jesus answered them,Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free ,you shall be free indeed

The End
Romans 6:22​ – But now having been set free from sin, And having become slaves of God, You have your fruit to Holiness and the end,everlasting life
The Invitation
Matthew 11:28,30​ – Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and i will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you , learn from me, For I am gentle and lowly in heart, And you will find rest for your soul.