 Alex Hardt The Altitude of Gratitude, Clicked Into Others on November 20, 2022
Pastor Alex and Pastor Damon gave us a sober reminder this Sunday from Ezekiel 33:2-7. Did you identify with the watchman? Do you see yourself as one who is a herald for Jesus? The passage was clear that if we know there is trouble coming and don’t take heed ourselves then the destruction is ours to bear. If however, we see trouble coming and do not shout a warning to others of the coming destruction then their deaths are on us and God will hold us accountable. As a culture we like to think of ourselves as independent and the masters of our own destiny. The truth for every believer is that we are inter-related to one another in love because of Christ’s love for us. He loved us first as Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ specifically commissioned us to tell others and love them. John 13:34-35 ““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” You many ask, what does love have to do with it? If you know something is going to happen to a love one, then you act and try to prevent it, right? God tells us that each and every believer is a loved one of His and we are to act in love towards them. He also includes non-believers. We are to act differently from the world and love them, show them grace and give them the message of salvation. Romans 10:16-17 remind us, “But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” We have to tell them about Jesus and His love and sacrifice for all. Pastor Alex reminded us that refusing to open your mouth and tell others is considered by God an Act of Rebellion. It sounds like the child that whines, why me Lord? Why do I have to tell them? Why do I have to warn them that “the wages of sin is death” Romans 3:23 and that “ Jesus is the way and no one comes to God except through Him” John 14:6. Can’t someone else tell them, I’m busy, I don’t like them, they are mean to me, they aren’t worth it….. Jesus’ answer, is NO! It is your privilege to tell them about me because you LOVE ME and I LOVE You and I Dwell within you! Jesus empowers us to tell others and gives us the words and love for them. This Thanksgiving be bold and speak of the love of Jesus to those around your table. Tell them of what Jesus has done for you and continues to do each and every day. Let them know and see your love for Jesus. I spoke at the memorial for my best friend earlier this year. The line that God gave me to repeat was, “My friend Joan loved Jesus”. It was evident in how she spoke and acted. Words of praise and encouragement were on her lips and she loved to talk about her Savior. She loved Jesus. What about you? What is on your lips- words of praise and thanksgiving or words of discouragement and selfishness? If you love Jesus, it will be easy to speak about Him and what He’s done for you. Damon exemplified this in the story he shared about the job he miraculously got at Safeway that allowed him to share his new faith and new found love for Jesus with others. Remember Psalm 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble” SERMON LINK The Altitude of Gratitude | Climbing the Relationship Mountain Click Here to View the Sermon Sermon series, "The Altitude of Gratitude" Today Alex and Damon teaches from Ezekiel 33:2-7 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.  Alex Hardt The Altitude of Gratitude, Climbing the Relationship Mountain on November 13, 2022 Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: - Philippians 2:1-5 Have you ever climbed to the top of a mountain? I mean a really tall mountain. Not those rolling hills or those casual hikes that you go to get your Instagram post, but those mountains that take some sweat equity. One of my favorite places is Yosemite and one of my favorite places to hike is Yosemite falls. The main trail is about 7.4 miles round trip, but the is a bit grueling. You will climb around 3000 feet in 3 miles. The trail begins with a gradual incline then turns quickly into a steep grade. Your steps are uncertain, the rocks are slippery, you are enduring switchback after switchback, the elevation is taking your breath away, and midway through the idea of turning back is extremely tempting. You begin to wonder “Are We There Yet?” But when you get to top, your breathe is taken away. Hiking is a lot how relationships happen. When you first meet someone, you are excited…wahoo! My name is and it’s so great to meet you. Initially things go pretty smooth, perhaps you grab coffee together or watch the game or go shopping or just hang out. But as life carries on, relationships get harder Life gets harder, things get complicated. The things about that person that we use to love, now begin to annoy us. We can sometimes feel like we are going through switch backs. One day things are good, you’re the best in the world, then the next moment some drama breaks out, arrgh I can’t stand this person, then the next day things are good again, besties for life. It’s like we are on unstable ground, not sure where to plant our foot. At some point You may start thinking when CAN I GET A BREAK? …. instead of WHEN DO YOU WANT TO HANG OUT NEXT? In our minds we have this perfect, ideal friendship or relationship… If only the person did this or if they didn’t say that or if they actually listened. We imagine how our lives would be different if the other person lived out this picture-perfect scenario. If we could just get to the mountain top, life would be so much better. In the Book of Philippians, Paul is witnessing a community that used to be united through there relationship in Christ, is now divided because of personal preferences, judgments, or pride. Paul calls out their hypocrisy and their foolish behavior. He calls them to recenter their lives upon Christ. In Christ we find encouragement and love, we find comfort and commonality, we find tenderness and compassion. In Christ we find Unity. Paul also acknowledges that we live in a fragmented world that seeks to divide us, hurt us, and cause us disappointment. It is not easy living in this world and maintaining a mentality of unity, but in Christ we are not alone in this pursuit. Unity comes from centering ourselves around a central idea, surrendering our pride as we engage one another in humility, and being in a mindset of serving. Essentially what Paul is saying is that it’s not about me. We are behaving in a way that sacrifices our love for oneself and that edifies the other above me. That a life unified with Christ is one that does nothing out of selfish ambition but rather in humility value others above yourself. When I treat you well and you treat me well, then we both get our needs met in a context of love and unity. When I treat you poorly and you treat me poorly, then we experience division, pain, and disappointment. What Gods wants and Christ Models is to give you and I deep, satisfying relationships with others. God is trying to prevent us from harm and the barrenness of loneliness. Philippians 2 teaches us that the people who love humbly and unselfishly spread joy and promote unity. I don’t know about you, but for me there is enough division in the world, and I would rather be drawing people in than pushing people away. Christ was so Good at climbing the relationship mountain that even his enemies were drawn to him. A Roman Centurion and a Pharisee, who were supposed to be enemies of Jesus, were drawn to him. The Roman Centurion asks Jesus for help and the Pharisee helps to bury Jesus after his death. If you are looking to climb the relationship mountain, mirror the one who has done it better than anyone else. Like Jesus, center yourself on the Heavenly Father, live in humility and serve in love and even your enemies won’t be able to deny you. Let’s get real practical for a moment and what does this mean for you?
SERMON LINK The Altitude of Gratitude | Climbing the Relationship Mountain Click Here to View the Sermon Sermon series, "The Altitude of Gratitude" Today Alex teaches from Philippians 2:1-5 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.   Damon Hopkins The Altitude of Gratitude, Elevating Your Relationship with God November 6, 2022
It was a privilege to hear Brother Damien preach on how to improve our relationship with God. His enthusiasm and love for Jesus comes through loud and clear in every story he shares. The chosen scripture was John 14:15-21 with 21 being the key verse (our memory verse for the week). “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Damien asked us, how do you show your appreciation for Jesus and all that He has done, is doing and will do in your life? Are you proud of your Savior and desire to speak about Him? Damien reminded us of Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Jesus has the authority to tell us to go, to talk about him, talk about his saving power, talk about his transforming love, talk, talk… and I will be with you always is his promise. We are God’s plan A until He returns. He does not command us to go without power. In our passage Jesus assured his disciples that he would send a comforter, an advocate to help us, to indwell and empower us, His Holy Spirit. We are not doing this alone; He is with us. Damien gave multiple examples of how he seeks to follow this command from Jesus. He avails himself of opportunities and trusts God to bring whomever He desires to hear his words of truth from God’s Word. He is not preaching on street corners or in a pulpit but sitting, walking, going about his life waiting and ready for God’s divine appointments to come. When God does bring people across his path, Damien speaks about what God is doing and has done in his life. He is open to answer questions about Jesus and is not intimidated. Why is he not afraid? Because he knows that God is with him and will give him the words to speak. His job is not to save someone but to present Jesus. God does the saving not us. I was reminded of 1 Peter 3:15 while Damien was sharing. “ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” Paul exhorts us to be ready to talk about the hope we have in Jesus and to do it with love and respect. No one is bullied or argued into the kingdom of God. They are brought in with genuine love and gentleness of spirit. Are you ready to share your hope today? What would you say? Why are you hopeful about your future no matter what the circumstances? If you don’t have a ready answer to that question, look into God’s Word. Seek to know Him better and claim His promises in and over your life. Here are a couple verses to claim: John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus is the only way to God. Deuteronomy 31:6 ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Jesus will always be with you. 1 Timothy 2:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” Jesus empowers us with His Spirit to witness for Him. My biggest take away from Damien’s message was that I need to speak up and live like I believe that Jesus’ message of love, redemption and salvation is the most important message I have to say or give to anyone at any time! Jesus is the reason for my hope. I have a cross stich plaque that hangs in my office of Psalm 107:2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble.” Has God redeemed you? Has He shown Himself powerful in your life? THEN SAY SO! Be ready for a God opportunity with an open mouth and open heart of love. Linda SERMON LINK The Altitude of Gratitude | Elevating Your Relationship With God Click Here to View the Sermon Sermon series, "The Altitude of Gratitude" Today Damon Hopkins teaches from John 14:15-21 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. |
AuthorA collection of thoughts from our community Archives
May 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
Moving To Connect Ourselves and Others to God |
We are on Spotify!
|
Hours |
Contact |
Location
|