Sermon Reflections from A Hospital for the Wounded and Weak | Alex Hardt | February 5, 2023

In Sunday’s message, Pastor Alex focused on the who Jesus came for and why he came. The passage in Luke 5:27-32 opens with Levi being confronted with Jesus and responding to his invitational command to ‘follow me’. When did you receive Jesus’ invitation to follow him?  If you know him as Savior, at some point you decided to follow Jesus.  Many who have known Jesus for a long time, since childhood, have difficulty pointing to an exact time when they decided. However, if you see the fruit of your decision – the desire to learn more about Him, to tell others about Him and Serve Him, then don’t let the timing bother you.  Have you considered why you said yes?  Was it an emotional response to a call from a pastor, was it during a bible study or was it from seeing God’s grandeur in nature?  God can and does use all of these situations to lead us into the realization that we need Him!  The realization that we are sinful and cannot be holy through any efforts of our own comes from Him.  We can never be good enough in and of ourselves.  When Jesus calls us and we realize that He is connecting with our heart, mind and soul, then we respond with a resounding YES!  Our hearts connect with His love and tenderness, and we encounter His lasting forgiveness.  When this happened to Levi, he dropped everything, left his corrupt lifestyle and stepped out in faith to follow Jesus.  Levi was undesirable and looked down upon by both Romans and Jews.  Yet, Jesus singled him out and called him.  The definition of grace is the undeserved favor of God.  Levi had not earned God’s favor in any way and yet, Jesus chose him.  Each of us who responds to Jesus are sinners undeserving of God’s love and forgiveness, and yet, like Levi, God calls us to himself.  I love Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We see in our passage Levi’s response to God’s grace was to drop everything and follow him.  That is how it has to be, drop everything and follow Him. He is worthy of all our praise and love and is more valuable than anything or anyone.  What do you need to drop this week in pursuit of Jesus?  Where can you make time for prayer, study of His Word or fellowship with other believers? 
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We see from the passage that Levi wanted to tell everyone about his new found love for Jesus.  He hosted a large dinner party at his home. It is significant that he did not try to do this secretly but openly invited all those he knew.  The Pharisees who criticized the disciples of Jesus about why they would lower themselves to associate with tax collectors and sinners were probably not coming inside to eat with them.  They would not have wanted to be defiled by eating in their presence.  They would have stood outside the home and spoke with the attendees from outside.   In Luke 5:31-32 “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,”  Jesus was not suggesting that the Pharisee’s were healthy in their faith but that those who realize they need a doctor, someone to save and cleanse them, are the ones Jesus came for.  Following Jesus requires a repentant open heart. Levi had been open and recognized his sinful nature and became a follower of Jesus.  The result was a change of heart, mind and body towards his whole world.  2 Corinthians 5:17 describes this change succinctly, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  Doesn’t that sound like what happened to Levi?   Peter writes and gives us the why of this miraculous transformation in 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”    Knowing and following Christ changes us because we have new hope, a new life and a new forgiven perspective in Jesus!  Praise God!

Pastor’s last point was that Levi experienced joy in this new found life with Jesus. Likewise, we find Joy in Jesus. Sometimes this is not easy as we have many things in the world that would seek to rob us of this joy.  Difficult circumstances, hardships, painful relationships, death of loved ones, sickness…., the world is filled with things that would love to take away our joy.  Satan works overtime to defeat our joy filled walk with Christ.  He cannot take away our salvation but he can destroy our witness and rob us of joy.  To counteract this, one must put things aside, and immediately follow Jesus.  Focus upon Him and the provision he provides for us spiritually (indwelling of the Holy Spirit), emotionally (a home in heaven, salvation assurance, hope) and physically (casting away our sins, providing for us in so many ways).  Scripture is filled with verses that seek to uplift and remind us of who God is and how much He loves and cares for us.  Here are a couple of my favorites: 

Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”  Nehemiah 8:10b “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”   Regardless of your circumstances is your attitude like Habakkuk’s in

Habakkuk 3:18?  “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

When we choose to follow Jesus, joy comes and we need to learn to be open to it, accept it whenever and however it appears with gratitude and grace, knowing it is from Jesus!  Levi did and he was mightily blessed and blessed those around him.  He continues to bless us as we read his story and share in his joy.

Know that just like Levi, Jesus came for you and me and died to bring us into His forever family. We now have a new life, a new perspective and a new hope in Jesus.  Following Him brings it to us with joy an abundance! Praise God!
Linda
 
 SERMON LINK
The Unknown Love | A Hospital For the Wounded and Weak
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Sermon series, "The Unknown Love " Today Alex Hardt share how to Christ is A Hospital For the Wounded and Weak

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.   
 

Sermon Reflections from A New Way to Live | Damon Hopkins | January 29, 2023
 
We had the pleasure of hearing from Damon Hopkins again this Sunday. He graciously spoke for Pastor Alex as he was beyond jetlagged after his week spent time at Mid-Winter Covenant Conference in Florida. This was the last of the current series A New You.  The scripture from Matthew 25 points us to the importance of caring for those around us with a new gracious attitude. The memory verse for this week is Matthew 25:40. “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

In his message, Damon challenged us to use our gifts to glorify God and to serve others selflessly. He pointed us to several areas in which we can look to serve God by showing His love to those around us. Opening our lives and our hearts to Him will bring guidance and direction from God.  God has opportunities awaiting us each day if we will listen and look around us. God does his best work when we are outside our comfort zones.

First, Damon pointed us to look for those who are weak or sick.  God calls us to love others, help the helpless, love the less fortunate, and care for those who are sick.  When was the last time you picked up a card, made a call, or brought a meal to a sick friend?  Sometimes we have to disrupt our routine or get a bit uncomfortable in order to care for someone else’s needs. Perhaps there are other ways that you can tangibly express God’s love for those around us. 
How about praying for someone who is sick or feeling emotionally challenged?  The world around us is hard and being uplifted in prayer is a specific way God has for us to support one another.

James 5:16 puts it this way, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” 

Prayer helps us too as we seek God, talk with Him about our concerns, get right with Him ourselves and tap into God’s power to heal and save.  We are promised in Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  God’s Word will never come back empty and will accomplish His will in our lives. Pray and keep on praying and seek to diligently lift others to Him.  Prayer is a gift He gave to all of us. Do not be afraid to use it daily!

Damon also spoke of visiting the sick and those in prison. The blessing of one’s presence might be how one experiences the presence of God.  And though we might not all be capable of such a feat; All can pray, call, write, or express compassion through other mediums. Prisons, for example, have a specific set of rules and restrictions for entry.  As a congregation, we support Bay Area Chaplains, which minister to those in prisons within Contra Costa County.  Their mission goal is to make Christ known.  Join us in prayer as they reach a population that is inaccessible to the majority of us. 

The last area Damon mentioned is speaking to strangers about the Lord. It’s about planting seeds for the kingdom and taking advantage of those opportunities where we can speak of our Savior.  Those moments where we can express how God is affecting our lives. Damon reminded us that we are called to do great things for God. God calls us to reflect his love for those who are broken, weak, lost, sick, lonely, and in prison. 

Perhaps this is challenging and out of our comfort zone.  But following God is not about our preference, it’s about our posture.  We are submitting our desires, our plans, and our comfort before God so that he may be edified and glorified.  He asked us to go and do this for those in need, showing our love for them in His name.  

John 13:34-35 puts it plainly, 4 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” 

Jesus asks us to do this for Him.  And what we will discover is in doing these things for others reveals our love for Him and those around us. God calls us to love regardless of whether or not the person will love us back. God does his best work when we are outside our comfort zones.

Who will you seek out this week? Will it be someone sick, weakened emotionally or physically, or someone you do not yet know?  Be there for the world around you as Jesus asked. We are to do these things as if we were doing it for Jesus.  Do it and you will be blessed!
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By Alex Hardt

SERMON LINK
A New You | A New Way To Live
Click Here to View the Sermon
Sermon series, "A New Community " Today Damon Hopkins share how to live a New Way To Live. 

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.