Sin in the Camp

I. The Mystery I want to take you somewhere this morning. I want you to stand in the camp with them.

It is the morning after Jericho, and you have never felt anything like this in your whole life. You were there. You saw it. There was no siege. No ram at the gate, no ladders thrown against the wall. You walked. Seven days you walked around that city, and on the seventh you shouted, and the wall, that wall, the one that had stood over you your whole life like a locked door, came down flat in the dust right in front of you. And you stood there in the quiet afterward and you thought, there is nothing this God cannot do through us. There is nothing we cannot take.

Hold onto that feeling. Because a few days later you are burying your own men.

They send a few thousand up against a little town called Ai. A nothing town. A place you would not even slow down for. And they come back running. Thirty-six of them do not come back at all. And you are standing in the camp while the news moves tent to tent, and there are women who were wives that morning and are widows by dark, and nobody, nobody, can tell you why.

And something is happening in you that has never happened before, not once since Egypt. Your heart is melting. Going to water. And if you know this book, that word should stop you cold, because you have heard it before, and never once about Israel. It was the enemy whose hearts melted when they heard your God was on the move. The Canaanites. The people God was driving out. And now it is you.

Same God. Same army. Three days ago you were invincible, and now you are standing at a grave you never saw coming, and no one can tell you how you got here.

And I have to stop and ask you. Have you ever stood there? Not in a camp. In your own life. Where the thing was working, where God was near and you knew it, and then, with no warning and no word, something just closed. The prayers go up and stop at the ceiling. The room you used to walk into full of life is only a room now. And you cannot name the day it changed. You just know that it did. And you are standing inside it asking the very thing Israel is asking. What happened. What went wrong. Something did, and I cannot see it.

That is where this whole chapter opens. A nation standing over a loss it cannot explain.

And here is the question I want to leave sitting on the table the whole time we are in this story, because it is the one underneath all of it. Why do we struggle so much to confess?

Because it is not that we do not know we should. We know. We can name the thing. We can quote the verse. We can sit in a room like this one and nod along to every word of it, and then get up and walk out and live a long way from what we just agreed with. That is the part I cannot get past. It is not that we do not believe it. It is that the believing does not reach the doing. And the longer I sit with it, the more sure I am that confession is the exact place that gap is widest. We know we are supposed to bring the thing out into the open. And we bury it instead. Why? Why do we do that?

I want a real answer to that this morning, and not a tidy one. So let us go find the thing that is buried in this camp. Because there is one. And I think if we can find theirs, we might find ours.

Go back with me a few days. Back inside Jericho, the day the wall came down. Everything in that city was under the ban. Devoted to God. Off limits. Not because God is stingy, but because this was the firstfruits, the very first city of the whole promise, and all of it belonged to Him. Every person in that camp knew it.

And there is a man in the rubble named Achan. He is walking through what is left of the city, and he sees something. A beautiful robe. Some silver. A bar of gold. And watch what happens inside him, because it is the oldest thing there is. He saw it. He wanted it. He took it. Hold onto those three. We are going to meet them again. And he wrapped it up, and carried it home under his arm, and that night, by the low light, in his own tent, he got down on his knees and dug a hole in the floor. He laid the gold in the ground, and covered it over, and pressed the dirt back down flat. And then he lay down on top of it and went to sleep. And in the morning he got up, and put his sandals on, and stepped over that spot, and walked out and said good morning to the man in the next tent.

And nobody knew. That is the thing I cannot get over. Nobody in that whole camp knew. He got away with it clean. Except thirty-six men are dead, and an army that walked through Jericho just got run down a hill by a nothing town, and God is not confused about why.

Now I want to ask you something, and I want you to actually answer it. Not out loud. Just you, in your own chest, right now. What is under your floor?

Because I think every one of us has a tent floor. There is the mess we will show people, the stuff we will laugh about in a group. And then there is the other spot. The one we dug at night. The one we have lain down on top of for years, and stepped over every morning, and smoothed back down so many times that most days we have almost talked ourselves into believing there is nothing down there at all. It has gone quiet. And the quiet started to feel like peace.

It is not peace. And this story is about to show us why not. There is gold under a floor in this camp. And until it comes up, a people who walked through Jericho cannot take a town half its size.

II. The Prayer, and the Cost Now let me show you the leader in all of this, because he does not come out looking like a hero, and I love that the Bible left it in.

Joshua tears his clothes and falls on his face in front of the ark and stays there until dark. And you would think, good, he is praying. But listen to the prayer. Why did you ever bring us across the Jordan? If only we had been content to stay on the other side. That is not intercession. That is the old wilderness grumble, the same complaint their parents made in the desert until it killed them. The great Joshua, face down, and what comes up out of him is, I wish we had never come.

Now he does reach for something better. At the end of it he says, what will you do about your great name? And that line is not his. That is Moses. That is the exact argument Moses used to stand in the gap for these people when they made the golden calf. Joshua came up under Moses. He watched the man pray for forty years. And now, in his own first real crisis, he reaches for Moses' words. He just cannot quite reach Moses' heart. Moses used that argument to throw himself between God and the people, take me instead of them. Joshua opens it with a complaint about being made to leave home at all. He has the man's vocabulary. He has not been given the man's heart yet.

And I know that prayer from the inside, because I have prayed it. I was about eighteen months into the first time I ever led a church, learning in real time what it means to walk people through hard decisions, and I did not always get it right. When it got heavy, my first instinct was not to stand in the gap and pray for the people. It was to grumble, and to wish I were somewhere else. I had the words of the men I had learned under. I had not been given their hearts yet.

[ that is drawn from your Pastoral Witness. Keep it, or swap it for the older-brother line from "He Is Glad to Have You": arms folded in the field, doing everything right, and further from the Father's heart than the boy in the pigpen. ]

And then watch the first mercy in this whole chapter, because we read right past it, and it is not for the guilty man. It is for the leader who just prayed badly. God does not flatten him. He does not take his job. He says, stand up. Why have you fallen facedown? He gets him back on his feet, and He tells him plainly what is wrong. So before God ever deals with the sin buried under the tent, we get to watch Him be gentle with the man who missed.

And then He tells Joshua what is wrong. And listen to how He says it. Israel has sinned. Not, Achan has sinned. Israel. One man, one floor, and the whole camp is charged with it. That is the first hard thing this story asks us to believe, that the thing you have filed away as private and small and nobody's business is not, in fact, private. Someone took what was devoted and hid it among his own belongings — that is the tent floor, that is the digging in the dark — and until it comes out, hear this, I will not be with you anymore.

Stop right there. Because a few verses back, at the very end of chapter 6, the writer told you the secret of everything Israel had. He did not say they were strong. He did not say they had good tactics. He said, the LORD was with Joshua. With. That one word was the whole thing. It was the only thing that made them different from every other wandering tribe in that desert.

And now God says, I will not be with you.

Same God. Same people. And the only thing that changed between with you and not with you is one thing, buried under one floor.

So look at what the sin actually cost. It did not cost him the battle first. It did not cost him his reputation. It cost him the presence. And for these people the presence was not one item on a list of blessings. It was the list. Moses had said it as plainly as it can be said, that if Your presence will not go with us, then do not send us up from here. He would rather stay in the desert with God than walk into the promised land without Him. Because milk and honey cannot comfort a soul that was made for the presence of God.

That is what Achan really traded. Not a rule. The nearness. Somewhere back in that rubble he decided the gold he could bury was worth more than the God he already had.

III. Two Kinds of Grief So the morning comes when it has to come out. And God does not simply point to the man. He could have. He does it the slow way, the hardest way there is. In the gray light the whole nation is lined up, and it starts. Tribe by tribe. Then clan by clan. Then family by family. Picture standing in that line, watching the net pull in, tighter and tighter, toward the one tent where you already know the truth is buried.

And I have to stop the story right here, before the lot falls, because I do not want us to miss what is about to happen inside every person in that line. They are about to grieve. And the New Testament will not let us be naive about grief. Paul says there are two kinds. Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation. Worldly grief produces death. Same word, grief, and two ends that could not be further apart.

And the clearest place in all of Scripture to see it is two men who failed in the same week.

Peter denied Jesus three times beside a fire. And when the rooster crowed, the Lord turned and looked at him, and Peter went out and broke.

Judas handed Jesus over for money. And when it landed on him what he had done, he threw the silver back onto the temple floor and said it out loud. "I have sinned, I have betrayed innocent blood." Which is as true and accurate a confession as a man can make.

Two men. The same week. The same tears. One of them ended up back at a fire on a beach, with the risen Jesus asking, do you love me. The other ended at the end of a rope.

You cannot tell them apart by the weeping. You tell them apart by what the grief was about. One was sorry for what it had cost him. The other was sorry he had wounded someone he loved.

Now watch the lot come down. Verses 16 to 18. Judah. Then the clan of Zerah. Then Zabdi's household. And it stops on Achan.

Look at verse 19, at what Joshua says to him. "My son, give glory to the LORD... and tell me what you have done. Don't hide it from me."

Now that phrase, give glory to God, was a Hebrew way of saying, tell the truth. So even the command to confess is handed to him as an act of worship. Because to say out loud what you have done is to agree with God about it.

And Achan does confess. Verse 20. "It is true. I have sinned." Verse 21. "When I saw... I coveted... I took... they are concealed in the ground inside my tent."

There is nothing wrong with the words. Watch the timing. He says them after the lot has already closed on him. He did not come out. He got found. That is worldly grief. The sorrow that only shows up once you are cornered.

And that is the hinge of everything I am trying to say this morning. The difference between Achan and you is not that his sin was worse. It is that he got found. And you are being asked, right now, before any lot has fallen.

Look at his three words one more time, because they are older than he is. I saw. I coveted. I took.

That is Genesis 3. Eve saw that the tree was good, she desired it, she took and ate. The same three verbs, in the same order. It is David on the roof, when he saw Bathsheba and sent and took. Saw, coveted, took is the oldest pattern there is. The shape every fall has taken since the garden.

And underneath the pattern, every single time, is one quiet accusation. That God is holding something good back from you. That the real life is the thing He will not let you have.

That is what coveting actually is. It is not only wanting a thing. It is a failure to believe God is enough. Achan did not only want the gold. Somewhere along the way he had stopped trusting that the presence he already had was better than the thing he could bury.

IV. The Wage, and the Door Verse 24. They take him out to a valley, and the story ends the only way this grief can end. In death. That is where Paul's sentence lands. The wages of sin is death. And Achan collected his wage in that valley.

Verse 26. They named the place Achor, which means trouble. And they left it named that way on purpose.

But that is not the last word Scripture speaks over that valley. Hundreds of years later, God speaks through Hosea, and He says He will take that same Valley of Achor, the valley of trouble, and make it a door of hope. The very ground where sin was paid out in death becomes a way through. And there is only one way that ever happens. Jesus went down into that valley Himself. He collected the wage that had our name on it. On the cross He went into the God-forsakenness we had earned, and He carried it up the hill. That is how a valley of trouble becomes the road home.

V. Grace in Every Room Now go back to Achan's verbs one more time. Because they are not only a confession. They are a diagram.

Saw. Coveted. Took. And in the end, he became what he took.

Those are the four ways Jesus said you were made to love God. With your mind, your heart, your strength, and your soul. Sin did not get into one of them and stop. It got into the source the whole self runs on, and it worked its way out through all four.

And here is the good news of this passage. Grace, which is to say Jesus Himself, does not stand in the doorway of those rooms. He goes into every one of them.

Into the mind first. Because that is where it started. I saw. The trouble in the mind is that reasonable voice. The one that says, only this once, no one gets hurt, you have earned it. And here is what you have to understand about that voice. It is not your conscience. It is the sin. And it has learned to sound exactly like you. You will not out-argue it. Because in that room your mind is not the judge. It is the defense attorney, already hired by the part of you that decided. So Jesus does not come to win the argument. He does what He did on the first morning of the world, when He said, let light shine out of darkness. He turns a light on inside you. He gives you sight you did not have.

Into the heart, where the coveting lives. And the question grace brings to the heart is not, what did you do. It is, what were you actually thirsty for underneath it. Because it was never really the object. It was the wrong well for a real thirst. And Jesus is the water you were after the whole time. He does not hand your old heart back and tell you to try harder with it. Through Ezekiel He promised to take out the heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh. He goes to work on what you want. Into the strength, which is the hands. Achan's hands buried the thing, and then they never once moved again to dig it up and give it back. All his strength went into the hiding and none of it into the repair. And that is most of us. A grief that feels awful and never gets up out of the chair. But the hands of Jesus went the other direction. All the way to a cross, and all the way to the mending. And having done the repair we could not do, He puts our hands to the part we can.

And into the soul. The room we keep locked the hardest. Because by now it is not about what you did. It is about what you are afraid you have become. Not, I did a bad thing. But, I am one. Achan became the accursed thing. The devoted thing, under judgment. And Paul says that Christ became a curse for us. He took the very identity you are most afraid of, and He wore it in broad daylight on a hill, so that you could be fully seen and still go on living.

VI. Healed Which brings us to the door Achan never walked through. And James names it plainly. "Confess your sins to one another, so that you may be healed."

Look at the word he uses. He does not say forgiven. He had that word. He reached past it for another one. Healed.

Because it was not only your record that got hurt. It was you. And it is you that Jesus is putting back together.

And he says, to one another. Out loud. To a face. Because there is no healing from behind a mask.

It is one motion the whole way down. You came in the door by confessing that Jesus is Lord. And you stay clean by confessing your sin. It is the same door, and the same act. Coming clean is only coming in again.

VII. Come Home So come out of the tent. Not to be scolded. Not only to be pardoned. To be healed. And to come home.

And if you have confessed this before, and you are still carrying it, still bleeding yourself for a thing that is already under the blood, then hear this. The voice keeping you on the floor after you have already turned is not the voice of God. It is the accuser. And the cross is the one place guilt is finally allowed to die.

Now go back to the question we left sitting on the table at the start. Why do we struggle so much to confess? I told you I wanted a real answer to that. Here is the one I keep coming back to.

I think we have believed a lie about what confession even is. We treat it like the punishment. Like the bill that comes due. And it is not the bill. It is the door. Confession is just the sound a buried thing makes when you finally stop hiding it and say it out loud. It does not cost you the nearness. The hiding already did that. Confession is how you get the nearness back.

There is a man in John 5 who had been sick for thirty-eight years, lying by a pool. And Jesus walks up and asks him a question that sounds almost unkind until you understand it. "Do you want to get well?"

Of course he does, you would think. Thirty-eight years. But Jesus asks it because He knows a person can be sick so long that the sickness becomes home. Until the tent that started out as a prison starts to feel like shelter. And a man will not walk out of a shelter he has stopped hating.

So Jesus does not reach down and haul him up. He asks.

And let me be as honest with you as a friend would be. The man had a real problem, and it was not the pool. Every time the water stirred, someone else got in ahead of him. So he had spent thirty-eight years waiting to be carried down by somebody else. And Jesus does not offer to carry him. He tells him to stand up on his own two legs and walk.

The healing is not going to be done to you while you lie there waiting for it. Nobody in this room can want it for you. You have to answer the question. You have to get up. You have to pick up your own mat.

So the question Jesus puts to you this morning is the same one He put to that man. It is not whether you believe He is able. It is whether you actually want it.

Do you want to be healed?

If you do, here is what it looks like. And it is simpler and harder than you would guess.

You name the actual thing. The real one. Not the general fog of, I have been struggling. Because a doctor cannot treat, I do not feel well. And we do the same thing in prayer, if we are honest. We give God safe words. Religious words. Words that sound fine. And we keep the deepest part of us hidden. That is just the fig leaf with better grammar.

So say it out loud. The real thing. To God, and to one person who is safe, who will not flinch and will not repeat it. And say it without the sentence that starts with, but. And then let that person say back to you what is already true. That you are forgiven. That you are healed.

One thing. One person. This week.

He is not standing off at a distance, waiting for you to fix yourself first. He walks straight into your loneliness and your striving and your fear and your shame, and He does not flinch, and He carries you home to the Father.

So do not carry it back out the door you came in. It is open now. It will not always be.

Open your hand. Give Him the thing you have been holding. And get up off the floor.

Come home.

Your own words, sourced: "Milk and honey cannot comfort a soul that was made for the presence of God" and "He walks straight into your loneliness... and carries you home to the Father" — from your sermon "Show Me Your Glory." "We give God safe words, religious words... and we keep the deepest part of us hidden" — from "Holy Ground: The Lord Is Near." Two slots left for you: Joshua's prayer, and the final word.

Six-Seven and the Soul's Deepest Longing

Alright, who can teach me how to do the six-seven thing? Seriously, I need a volunteer. Come up here. Okay okay, I think I got it. SIX... SEVEN! Here's my question: Why is this so addictive? Like, it means NOTHING, right? There's no definition. It's literally just two numbers. But you can't stop saying it! Show of hands - how many of you have said "six-seven" at least once TODAY? That's what I thought. It's everywhere. Now, I could stand up here and be the old youth pastor who's like, "This generation and their brain rot!" But I'm not gonna do that. Because I think six-seven is actually revealing something really important about how God made you. And if you'll hang with me for about 20 minutes, I think you're gonna see yourself - and God - in a completely different way. And honestly, you might never look at six-seven the same way again.

YOUR SOUL IS SPEAKING (Even When You're Just Being Silly) Here's what's happening when you say six-seven: You're experiencing belonging. For like 3 seconds, you and your friend are on the same wavelength. You're in on something together. You're not alone. And it feels GOOD. That's not an accident. God designed you that way. Look at Genesis 2:18 with me - "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone.'" Even in Paradise - PERFECT garden, perfect relationship with God - God said, "It's not good for humans to be alone."You were made for CONNECTION. You were made for COMMUNITY. So when you shout "six-seven" and your friend shouts it back, your soul is going, "YES! This is what I was made for! Shared experience! Belonging! Joy with others!" That desire, is all a[art of being made in his image… He put it there, within you.… There's nothing wrong with wanting to belong. But here's what I want you to think about: If a meaningless meme can make you feel that good, what are you missing when you don't have the REAL thing? It's like... imagine you've been eating cafeteria pizza your whole life. And it's fine. You're like, "Yeah, pizza's pretty good." But then someone takes you to actual Italy and you have real Neapolitan pizza from a wood-fired oven, and you're like, "OH. THAT'S what pizza is supposed to be. Everything else was just cardboard with cheese." Six-seven is cafeteria pizza. God is offering you Italy. That's not a knock on six-seven - have fun with it! But don't stop there. Don't settle for crumbs when God's offering you the feast.

THE BIBLE ACTUALLY USES THESE NUMBERS (No, Really) Okay, this is where it gets crazy. Open your Bibles - or your phone, whatever - to Genesis 1. I'm gonna show you something wild. Question: What day was humanity created? Day SIX. Genesis 1:27 - "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Question: What day did God rest? Day SEVEN. Genesis 2:2-3 - "And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy." So when you say "six-seven," you're literally acting out the story of the Bible without even knowing it! Let me break this down: SIX = Humanity (That's You) You're made in God's image - you're glorious, you're loved, you matter. But you're also incomplete. Day Six humanity was made FOR Day Seven - for rest, for completion, for wholeness, for God Himself. Think about it: God didn't create humans and then say, "Okay, we're done!" He created humans on Day Six, and then there was STILL one more day - the day of rest, the day of perfection. We were always meant to move toward Seven. SEVEN = God's Perfection Seven represents completion. Rest. Wholeness. Sabbath. Everything your soul is aching for. In the Bible, seven shows up EVERYWHERE as the number of completeness: 7 days of creation 7 churches in Revelation Forgive 70 times 7 Jesus spoke 7 times from the cross Seven is perfection. Seven is "it is finished." Seven is REST.

The Problem: We're Stuck at Six Here's the issue: After Day Six came... what? The Fall. Genesis 3. Sin. Rebellion. Separation from God. Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Fall short. You're stuck at six. You're reaching for seven - for completeness, for rest, for "I'm finally enough" - but you keep falling short. You can't make yourself a seven. You can't complete yourself. You can't save yourself. You're Day Six people living in a Day Six world, and you're EXHAUSTED. So what do you do? You grab for mini-sevens. Little moments of completion: Six-seven with your friends A good grade Someone liking your post Making the team Being included in the group chat Being in on the joke And for a second, it feels like, "Ahh, I'm complete. I belong. I'm enough." But then it fades. The high wears off. And you're back at six. Incomplete. Reaching. Hungry for more. Here's the question that changes everything: What if there was a way to ACTUALLY get to seven? Not fake seven. Not temporary seven. Not "lasts for 3 seconds" seven. REAL seven. PERMANENT seven.

The Hand Motion Is Actually The Gospel

Okay, everybody stand up. I'm serious - stand up right now. Do the six-seven hand motion with me. Look at what you're doing! One hand goes DOWN... the other goes UP... DOWN... UP... Do you see it? This is literally the gospel. This is the story of Jesus. And you've been acting it out this whole time! Let me show you what I mean. The Great Exchange 2 Corinthians 5:21 - "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Watch this: LEFT HAND DOWN = Jesus came DOWN He left heaven Philippians 2 says He "made himself nothing" and "humbled himself" He came down from glory to earth Born in a manger Lived as one of us Went all the way down to death on a cross RIGHT HAND UP = We go UP We're raised with Christ Lifted up from death to life Seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) Made righteous Made complete But watch - it's ALSO the reverse! RIGHT HAND DOWN = His righteousness came DOWN to us His perfection His "it is finished" His completion His Seven - given to US LEFT HAND UP = Our sin went UP onto the cross Jesus took it all Our shame, our incompleteness, our death Our six - He carried it It's an exchange! Up and down, down and up - that's what happened at the cross! That's the gospel! Jesus's Whole Story in Your Hands Think about Jesus's entire journey with this motion: DOWN (one hand): Born in a manger - DOWN "He humbled himself" - DOWN Death on a cross - all the way DOWN "He descended into the lower parts of the earth" (Ephesians 4:9) - DOWN UP (other hand): Third day - Resurrection! - UP Ascension to heaven - UP "God exalted him to the highest place" (Philippians 2:9) - UP And because He went UP, we go UP with Him! The Gospel Rhythm When you do this motion, you're showing the gospel rhythm: DOWN in incarnation and death, UP in resurrection and glory. DOWN with our sin, UP with His righteousness. This is what gets me so excited: God took a meaningless meme and hid the gospel inside it! You've been rehearsing the story of Jesus every time you did this hand motion!

The Six-Seven Gospel Remix

So here's what I want you to do this week - and this is gonna change six-seven forever for you: When someone says "six-seven" and does the hand motion, I want YOU to see it differently now. Option 1: Jesus's Journey ONE HAND DOWN = "Christ came down" OTHER HAND UP = "I go up" Option 2: The Great Exchange ONE HAND UP = "My sin goes up to the cross" OTHER HAND DOWN = "His righteousness comes down to me" Option 3: The Numbers + The Motion SIX (one hand down) = My incompleteness going to Jesus SEVEN (other hand up) = His completion coming to me You get to choose! They all work. They're all the gospel. They're all TRUE. Your Secret Worship From now on, every time you do that motion, whisper under your breath (or just think it): "Down and up" (Jesus's journey) "He came down, I go up" "My sin up, His grace down" "Six to seven, incomplete to complete" Here's what's amazing: Your friends are gonna keep saying six-seven probably every single day. And every single time, YOU get to be reminded of the cross. Of the exchange. Of Jesus. They think they're just doing a meme. YOU know you're rehearsing the gospel. You're taking something meaningless and letting God make it meaningful. You're redeeming the culture around you. You're hiding Scripture in your heart through a hand motion. That's GENIUS. And it's so simple you'll actually do it.

Jesus Is The Bridge From Six To Seven

Let me bring this home. You are Day Six humanity. Glorious, yes. Made in God's image, yes. But incomplete. And you FEEL that incompleteness every day, don't you? You feel it when you're scrolling at night wondering why you're not satisfied. You feel it when the laughter stops and you're alone with your thoughts. You feel it when you got everything you wanted and it still wasn't enough. You're six, reaching for seven. And you can't get there on your own. But Jesus can. Jesus is Day Seven. He's PERFECT. Complete. Fully God, fully human, zero sin. And here's what He did: On the cross, Jesus became Day Six. He took YOUR incompleteness. YOUR sin. YOUR death. YOUR six. He became what you are so you could become what He is. When Jesus died, what did He say? John 19:30 - "It is finished." Not "almost finished." Not "you finish the rest." Not "try harder and maybe you'll get there." FINISHED. Done. Complete. SEVEN. And then what happened three days later? Resurrection. He went DOWN into death, and God raised Him UP to life. New creation. Victory over death. The ultimate Sabbath rest. So now, if you're in Christ, you're not stuck at six anymore. You don't have to keep reaching and reaching and reaching for completion. You ARE complete in Him. Colossians 2:10 - "And you have been filled in him." Not filling. Not almost filled. FILLED. Complete. Seven. Done. The Invitation Maybe you're sitting here and you've never given your life to Jesus. You've been living at six, grabbing for mini-sevens, and you're exhausted. Jesus is saying: "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). REST. That's seven. That's completion. That's what your soul has been aching for. You don't have to earn it. You can't earn it. It's a GIFT. Jesus did the work. He went down so you could go up. He became six so you could become seven. All you have to do is receive it. Trust Him. Say, "Jesus, I need you. I can't complete myself. Be my Seven." If that's you tonight, come talk to me or one of our leaders after. Don't leave here still trying to save yourself.

The Challenge

Alright, let's make this practical. Here's your challenge for this week: The Six-Seven Challenge: Every time someone says "six-seven" this week, let the hand motion remind you of Jesus. Do your secret worship. Whisper your truth. Count it. See how many times you get to think about the gospel because of a meme. I bet it's like 50 times. That's 50 mini-worship moments! Share it. If someone asks why you're smiling when you do the hand motion, or why you're still doing it after everyone else stops, tell them: "It just reminds me of Jesus - how He came down to lift us up." You don't have to preach. You don't have to make it weird. Just answer honestly when they ask. Go deeper. When you feel that emptiness after the laugh fades, ask yourself: "What am I really hungry for? Am I settling for six when Jesus is offering seven?" Bonus Challenge: Post a video or story doing the six-seven motion with a caption like: "When you realize six-seven is actually the gospel 🤯" "Down and up = the whole story" "Jesus came down so I could go up ✝️" See if anyone asks what you mean. You might get to share Jesus through a meme. How cool is that?

CLOSING Look, six-seven is gonna die out eventually. Maybe in 3 months, maybe in a year. Some new trend will replace it. That's how this works. But Jesus? He's the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Trends will come and go. The memes will change. But the God who made you, who loves you, who DIED for you so you could be complete in Him - He's not going anywhere. So yeah, say six-seven. Have fun with your friends. Enjoy the silly moment of belonging. God's not mad about that! He MADE you for joy and connection! But don't stop there. Don't settle for the cafeteria pizza version of life. Jesus is offering you the real thing. He's offering you HIMSELF. And I promise you - HE is better than anything this world, or TikTok, or any trend could ever give you. He's your Seven. He's your completion. He's your rest. And the next time you do that hand motion, you're gonna remember: Down and up. That's my Jesus. That's my Savior. That's my story. Let's pray.

CLOSING PRAYER "God, thank You for making us for belonging. Thank You that even silly trends show us You put eternity in our hearts. Thank You for not being annoyed with us, but for meeting us where we are - even in a meme. Thank You for Jesus, who came down so we could go up. Thank You for the great exchange - our sin for His righteousness, our death for His life, our six for His seven. Help us this week not to settle for fake sevens when You're offering us the real thing. Every time we see or hear six-seven, remind us of the gospel. Let it become worship. And for anyone here who's never trusted You, who's still trying to complete themselves, give them the courage tonight to say, 'Jesus, be my Seven.' We love You. In Jesus's name, Amen." *

Can He Use Your Boat?

If you’ve got your Bible—and I hope you do—turn with me to Luke chapter 5. We’re beginning a new series this month called "Into the Deep." And I’ll tell you straight up: this is more than a catchy title. This is a call. It’s a challenge. It’s an invitation to go where Jesus is leading us—not just as a church, but personally.

We’ve been saying it for months: God is doing something here at Community. I believe that with all of my heart. You can feel it—in our worship, in our conversations, in the way people are stepping up to serve and stepping out in faith. God is moving.

But here’s the question we need to wrestle with:

Are we recognizing it?

Right? I mean, feeling it and actually receiving it—and stepping out by faith—are two different things.

So I want to challenge you this week..

I want you to ask yourself this question: Why am I here? I know, that’s a dangerous question. Because when people start asking that, sometimes they pack up and leave. And I’m praying that’s not the case. I’m praying you recognize that the Spirit of God has drawn you here on purpose. You’re not here by accident. You’re not just passing time. You’re here because God has a plan for your life.

And our goal here at Community isn’t just to preach good sermons or provide amazing worship—it’s to equip the saints for service. It’s discipleship. And the outcome of real, relational discipleship is always mission.

So let me press deeper: Why is Christ in you?

Why does Christ affect your mind and your emotions, your body and your will and your relationships?

Because He wants to use all of it.

He wants to use you—your mind, your emotions, your body, your will, your relationships, your friendships, your marriage, your parenting. Every part of who you are—to display His glory to the world.

And I want some of you to hear this… he wants to use what you think is broken, for his glory.

He has a purpose for being in you.

I want you to see your faith as more than a Sunday morning routine. Have you ever thought about this verse in Galatians 1:15–16?

"But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…"

Did you catch that? Paul said God, in His grace, revealed His Son in me for a purpose—that I might proclaim Him to the nations.

Why, Paul? Why did God save you? Why did He bring you into Christ?

I could ask the same, and you too… why did God save me? Why did He bing me and you into Christ?

Paul would say, "So I can proclaim Christ. Show Christ. Declare Christ to the world around me.”

This is the reason why Christ is in you. He is in you for a purpose. He is in you for a mission.

So let me ask it another way:

Can He use your boat?

Lets look at our text together this morning, Luke chapter 5 beginning in verse 1. (NIV) One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Have you ever been hungry?

I mean, really hungry. We all have, right? Hunger is just part of life. It’s normal. But what’s not normal—what’s heartbreaking—is being hungry and having no way to feed yourself.

This week, I had a meeting at Panera. When it was over, I was heading back to my car, feeling full and satis ed. As I was walking out, I noticed a man sitting in one of the outdoor chairs. Now, I tend to strike up little conversations with people as I pass by, so I casually said, “Hey, are you enjoying the day?”

He looked up and said, “Man, it’s hot.”

And honestly, I hadn’t even noticed the heat. I felt comfortable, refreshed even. So I replied, “Well, at least there’s a nice breeze.

He laughed quietly and shook his head. “Maybe where you're standing—but right here, the breeze is warm.”

At that moment, I realized our quick hello was becoming something deeper. It was turning into a conversation. And right there, I felt that familiar nudge from the Spirit, saying clearly, “Sit with him.”

So I did. I closed my car door, walked back, and sat down beside him. Just as we were getting settled, another person came out from inside and sat beside us and listened into our conversation…. We were talking about Alaska and he turned around and joined our conversation. Soon, all three of us were deep in conversation, sharing stories and getting to know one another.

As we talked, it became clear to me this man wasn’t just passing the time. He was a passerby, yes, but he was hungry. Yet here’s the thing—he wasn’t holding a sign, he wasn’t asking for food, and he wasn’t making himself obvious. He had simply stopped to rest and cool off, planning to move on shortly.

Through our conversation, I discovered what he liked to eat. So I went back inside, ordered him some food, along with enough for his friends, and brought it out to him. And as we sat together, sharing food and stories, God opened a door. In a simple, relational way, I was able to share the hope and love of Jesus with this man.

AND THIS is one of the most Jesus ways to minister to others… : ministry isn’t about big plans or programs. It simply starts when we’re willing to be surrendered to Jesus where he lives through us, and that happened by sitting down, seeing someone, and sharing a meal together.

All I did was share conversation with him and some bread.

And I think of Jesus feeding the hungry when he fed the 5,000 and eventually they were cornering Jesus on the other sides saying, we want more, And Jesus looks at them and says, one of these many, "I am” statements in the Book of John, “I am the Bread of Life.”

From the very beginning, God intended for our needs to be met, he created us to hunger.

Think about Man in the garden. The first created human was created to have a need for food. God had created him that way. Sometimes we almost think to ourselves, “In the Garden of Eden when everything was perfect, man had no needs.” That’s not true. Man de nitely had needs. Man had a need for air and for food.

We find out later in Genesis 2, he had a need for companionship. It was not good for man to be alone, and so God created and wired man with cravings, with needs, and with an empty stomach to fulfill.

Here’s the key though: In the Garden, it wasn’t that man didn’t have needs. The picture in the Garden of Eden was that man had needs that were intended to be met only by God, in a way that was designed by God.

So, God created us to crave and then, second, our cravings are designed to be satisfied by our Creator. Our cravings are designed to drive us to God as the one who ful lls our cravings, meets our needs, and satis es our desires, which leads us to the problem in Genesis 3.

Genesis three is the fall of man. And its when man and woman let their needs control their hearts. And we see for the first time, the trigger of sin….

Which is, We look to the things in this world to satisfy us apart from our Creator, and the tragedy of sin is this: We end up running from the one our souls long for and need most. This is what happens in Genesis 3. They think they can find satisfaction apart from the Creator. They end up doing that, and they end up turning away from the one their souls need most.

Now, I have said all of that to get this this moment in Luke… Look with me in verse one…

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.

They were hungry… they were pressing in. They were pressing in to hear the word of God. The language here in greek denotes that they had an intense craving.

But for what? There’s no mention anywhere about miracles, healings, financial provision, or even for food; so what were they pressing in for? They were pressing in for the Word

Thats what attracted them. And like a moth to light, Jesus as the word, drew them in with the word, to the edge of the sea.

All Throughout Scripture, whenever people truly hunger for God, He responds with satisfaction. Desperate people are drawn to God’s Word.

All throughout Scripture we see this.. a hunger for Gods word.

“I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments” (Psalm 119:131) and Jeremiah exclaims “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16)

His word is a joy and a delight…

Listen church, Scripture is soul food for the desperate.

Imagine that crowd jostling closer on the beach, eyes fixed on Jesus, ears straining for every word. That poses a convicting question: What about us?

I remember one time I went to Alicia house for dinner while we were dating. And growing up I always saw theses things called pickled eggs. And the look was horrible.. hard boiled eggs, in a a jar, purple from beat juice looking all nasty… like there’s also a thing called picked pigs feet.

I couldn’t even stand the sight of picked eggs without gagging. And here they were, sitting in front of me and all of her family enjoying it and I'm like, where’s the deviled eggs? What’s this. Ewww.

But guess what.. I ate one… I felt left out.. I wanted to make an impression and I wanted to enjoy what her family enjoyed because, well I wanted a wife. And so if that meant suffering by eating a purple butt nugget, then so be it…

But actually, I thought it wasn’t that bad… and then over time, and in all seriousness, my taste buds changed. The more I ate the more I enjoyed it.

I think one of the reasons we don’t desire God’s Word is because our taste buds are so accustomed to the things of this world.

We fill our stomachs with so many empty calories (like ve or more hours of messages from the world on our screens every day), and as a result, we’re not hungry for God’s Word. But what might happen if we took the time to feast on Scripture instead of all the measly morsels the world offers us? Might our taste buds change?

There’s a line in a hymn you might know it.. it goes like this..

“Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.”

The Word of God awakens a hunger that only God can satisfy.

And then something happens when we press in… When we lean forward like that crowd did on the shoreline look at where Jesus takes them. Jesus starts moving toward the places we weren’t even paying attention to.

Look at verse 2.

“He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.”

Ordinary life. Nothing special.. just two boats and failed fisherman.

But while the crowd is hanging on the very word of Christ, Jesus’s eyes is seeing something else…. He sees the invisible people.

This is what James and John and Peter and Andrew are right now.. ordinary people, doing ordinary things, but its something you see everyday, so its not a big deal.

And this is the theme of Jesus ministry in the gospels. His gaze gravitates to the lonely, the left behind, the discouraged. He sees what others have ignored.

And I often wonder, how often do we ignore the ordinary, so we can find the extraordinary things. We see them as precious and desirable, but what about the ordinary things we over look.

Hagar, an abused maidservant, gave God a beautiful name: El-Roi, “the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13)fter the Lord noticed her af affliction in the wilderness. The empty boats here in Luke show us that same El-Roi in action through Jesus. He sees the tired fishermen cleaning their nets in frustration, and His heart moves toward them.

This truth is deeply encouraging: No matter how invisible or ignored you feel, Jesus sees you. He sees what others overlook in your life.

So ask yourself: Are there areas of hurt, failure, or need I assume God doesn’t notice?

Hear this: Jesus sees! The God who created this word, who put galaxies together, and places us right here in this one, and gave us life, sees you. Your emptiness and disappointment have caught the eye of a compassionate Savior.

Peter wouldn’t know it in this moment watching this preacher come forward, but in 1 Peter 5:7 after time after time of failures and hurt, and hardships he would write, He sees what you’re going through, and He cares (1 Peter 5:7).

But look at that happens when Jesus sees us… Look with me in verse 3.

3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,…

He steps into our personal space… There is so much grace and wisdom in how Jesus does this. He doesn’t begin by commanding Peter to leave everything and become an apostle. He starts small. Just like a simple conversation… before Peter becomes an apostle, he’s got other learn obedience as a young follower.

You see, churhc, Jesus Gets Close Before He Calls.

This is so important. He doesn’t begin with a job description—He begins with presence.

Relationship precedes commission.

He doesn’t lead with a title—He leads with intimacy. Before Peter ever becomes a preacher, he becomes a disciple.

And that’s the order so many of us get wrong. We want the purpose without the presence. We want the mission without the Master. But Jesus says, “Let Me in the boat first.”

And I want to bring us back to the question we asked at the very beginning of this message: Why are you here? Why has Christ come to live in you? Why has He drawn you into this place—into this family of believers at Community?

It’s not just so you can hear a good sermon or attend a worship service. It’s because He’s forming you into a disciple. Because before God sends you to proclaim Christ to the world—like Paul in Galatians 1:16—He wants to reveal Christ in you. To many of you are trying to fish for people, or serve in ministry at the same time fighting Christ to be in your boat.

We want His blessing, but not His presence. We want His power, but not His Lordship. We want to be effective for the Kingdom, but we’re not willing to let Him rule over our private lives. And I’ll just say it plainly: You cannot fish for people if you keep pushing Jesus out of the boat.

So if you’re a young Christian, or maybe you’re just now taking your faith seriously, let me plead with you— don’t try to walk into calling without first walking with Christ.

Because if you do, it won’t be long before ministry becomes performance. And performance without intimacy leads to exhaustion. You’ll start serving for your reputation instead of God’s glory. Pride will move in, and humility will move out. And everything you do—even good things—will become activity without intimacy. You’ll be busy for God, but distant from Him. But that’s not what He wants for you.Jesus wants your heart. He wants your friendship. He wants to teach you how to hear His voice before He asks you to raise your own.

So pay attention to how He’s drawing near to you right now—through your relationships, your job, your struggle, your quiet time, your questions. I just heard a story about a 90-year-old woman who was ordained at our Nazarene General Assembly this year. That’s incredible. You are never too old—or too broken, or too young —to walk in your calling. But please hear me: before you walk into your calling, make sure your heart is surrendered to Christ. Don’t just ask, “Can He use my boat?”—ask, “Am I close enough to hear His voice when He steps in?”

You see church… before verse four comes, and well talk about that next week, when Jesus asks Peter to put out his nets out into the deep… Jesus simply asks, A simple invitation. “Push out a little from shore.” That’s what Jesus asked Peter. Not “Preach.” Not “Lead.” Just: “Move your boat a few feet.” And Peter obeyed.

And that small act of obedience became the foundation for a calling that would shake the world. You see , Obedience and love often begins with small steps.

As our worship team comes up… to prepare for our closing….

I need to pause here for a moment… because………. The boat in this story… isn’t just a boat….. It’s a picture. It’s a mirror. It’s a foretaste of something deeper. And I don’t know if anyone has ever seen this before, because I didn’t until this wek.

Sometimes we look at this passage and we overlook the ordinary. We see the crowd pressing in, we see Peter as a failure, we see here soon that he goes out into the deep and a great miracle happens… but remember, Jesus sees what we do not see at times…..

Jus like I never saw myself as a pastor. But he saw it.

But think about this… have you ever looked at this moment when Jesus gets into he boat and then realize that Jesus getting into the boat, was him teaching the people, and Peter, and us that one day, he will be in us?

We become the boat… his presence and Spirt in us, and we become living vessels.

Think about that.

Your life is the vessel. Your heart is the space. And Jesus climbs in, and Peter is in.. and Jesus begins asking Peter, will you push off.

Remember what I asked you at the beginning: Why is Christ in you?

He is in you because He wants to speak through you. Shine through you. Love through you. He wants your life to be His platform—just like Peter’s boat became a pulpit.

But here’s the thing: before Peter ever launched into the deep, Jesus just asked for a few feet.

Push out a little from shore.” Not a leap—just a nudge.

And maybe that’s where some of you are today. You’ve been waiting for some big assignment or loud callin or some writing in the sky, or some big miracle… —but Jesus is simply asking, “Will you trust Me right here? Will you give Me what you have?” Will you let me use your ordinary life. If Christ is in you, then your ordinary life has become a holy place. You are the boat. And He’s ready to move.

But you’ve got to say yes. You’ve got to surrender. You’ve got to push off—maybe just a little at first. But that little push can carry His glory into places you never dreamed.

Obey Him on the shore. Let Him in the boat. And watch what He will do, in you, and through you.

So how do we end a message like this?

We end the way Jesus began—with a question.

Can He use your boat?

But maybe now you hear it differently than when we started. It’s not just about what you can do for God—it’s about whether you’ll let Him in. Into your schedule. Into your pain. Into your dreams. Into your heart.

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be present. You don’t have to go deep today. Just push off a little from shore.

Because if Christ is in you, then your life is no longer just your own. It’s a vessel of His presence. And when His presence lls a surrendered life, even the smallest act of obedience becomes sacred.

So this morning… what’s your small step?

What small moment will you trust him in? No arguments.. no trying to talk Jesus out of the boat.. but whats one small step you can make before he hear the words, put out into the deep water.

Whatever it is—start there. Push off a little. Let Him in.

Because He’s not just calling you to deeper waters next week.

He’s calling you to make room for His presence right now.

Let’s pray. Jesus… You didn’t ask for a performance. You asked for a boat. You didn’t demand perfection. You just stepped close. And we confess—so many times we’ve pushed You away. We’ve kept You at the edge of our lives. We’ve tried to carry out callings without intimacy. We’ve longed for Your power without surrendering to Your presence. But today… we want something different. Today, we say yes. Even if it’s small. Even if it’s simple. We say yes to pushing off from shore. We say yes to letting You in. Yes to Your Word. Yes to Your will. Yes to Your presence—right here, right now. Lord, we believe that even the smallest act of obedience, in the hands of a holy God, can change everything. So take our lives—our minds, our hearts, our stories, even our failures—and make them vessels of Your glory. We are the boat. You are the Lord. Have Your way in us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lonely

I want to invite you to open your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 17, verses 1-8. 1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

Today, as we finish our series on 'Defining the Relationship,' I want to share something that's been hitting me hard lately. Here's our big idea for this morning: Sometimes our most defining moments in faith come from our hiding places. Think about that for a second. The very places we run to hide - those moments when we're trying to get away from everything and everyone - often become the exact spots where God does His deepest work in us. You know what's crazy? We all have them - these hiding places. Maybe yours is pulling extra hours at work to avoid dealing with something at home. Maybe it's scrolling endlessly through your phone when life gets overwhelming. Maybe it's just shutting down and going quiet when things get tough. I'll be honest with you - I've got my own hiding places. A vulnerable moments for me is that I spent 4 days this week in a state of loneliness, and i’ Ve been struggling with how to handle it. Where to run…… I’ll tell you what had happened to me, here in a moment….. But what I'm learning, what I really want to share with you today, is that God has this incredible way of turning our hiding places into holy ground. Here's what throws me - even now, standing here as your pastor, surrounded by our church family, sometimes that feeling still creeps in. You can be in a room full of people and still feel completely alone. And You know what's wild? That's exactly what happened to Peter, James and John….on that mountain. There they were, standing in the actual presence of Jesus, and they still ended up face-down, hiding.

I want to do something right now. It's going to take some courage, but even more than that, it requires us to be vulnerable with each other.” A few moments ago, I shared something deeply personal with you - that I’ve struggle with loneliness. You see, real relationships - requires vulnerability. They require honesty. And honesty... well, honesty is always a two-way street. "So I want to ask you something… "If you have experienced loneliness at any point in your life - would you raise your hand? Just keep it raised for a moment... Yes... thank you for your courage. Thank you for your honesty.” Now, with your hands still raised, I want everyone to look around the room. Just look around.” You can lower your hands now…

You know what this tells me? I'm not the only one carrying this weight. You're not the only one either. Here's what just hit me - loneliness isn't my story, and it's not just your story. It's our story. It's a human story. Do know what's crazy? It doesn't matter if you're the teenager in the back row or the grandparent who's been here for decades. Doesn't matter if you've got three dollars or three million in the bank. Loneliness finds us all. And here's the thing that's changing everything for me: Feeling lonely isn't a sign that something's wrong with us. It's proof that we're human.

Heres what’s wild about loneliness…. It's kind of like a master of disguise. It doesn't just walk through the front door and announce itself. No... it sneaks into our lives wearing different masks, using different doors. Shepherding people through their stories, after living my own story, I've noticed there are three ways loneliness tends to show up in our lives. The first one? It comes through circumstances - those moments in life we never asked for... When we lose someone we love, there's this space that opens up inside us. A space that feels impossible to fill. I... I'm walking this truth right now. My oldest brother lost his battle with cancer up in North Carolina this week. HE was only 50 years old. and you know what happened? In the middle of all of it... this deep loneliness just settled in. Like a heavy blanket I couldn't shake off. My heart's been so heavy this week. You See church, that's what circumstances can do to us. Life throws something at us we never saw coming, and suddenly... we find ourselves isolated. Not because we chose it. Not because we wanted it. But because life just... happened. Sometimes the deepest loneliness comes from moments we never asked for. But there's another door loneliness walks through.

The second way loneliness sneaks into our lives? It comes through sin and disobedience. You know what's crazy? When we mess up, when we know we've blown it, our first instinct isn't to run TO God - it's to run FROM Him. Sin and disobedience in our life guides us to push people away. We stop showing up. We dodge calls. We make excuses. 'Oh, I'm just really busy right now.' 'Work's been crazy.' But really? We're hiding. It’s like when someone knock o your door and you hide from them hoping they don’t see you home.. Lets be honest… And here's the crazy part - hiding doesn't fix anything. Actually, it does the opposite. Every step we take away from people, every excuse we make, every time we choose isolation over honesty - we're just pushing ourselves deeper into loneliness. Our PROTECTION becomes our PRISON The very thing we think is protecting us, is actually isolating us.

Now, here's the third door loneliness walks through, and this one might throw you for a loop - sometimes loneliness comes through courage and obedience. Yeah, you heard that right. Sometimes doing the RIGHT thing is exactly what leads to feeling alone. Think about it - standing up for what you believe in? Speaking truth when everyone else is staying quiet? Living out your faith when the world's pushing back? That's not exactly the path to popularity, is it? Sometimes following God's call means walking a path that not many people understand. And let me tell you - that path can get pretty lonely. Jesus understood this… think of his loneliness at the garden… right before the cross. Everyone had fell asleep, and then he was arrested and trialed alone… SOMETIMES THE RIGHT PATH is the LONELY road

You know, after looking at all these different ways loneliness shows up in our lives - through circumstances we didn't choose, through sin we need to face, through courage that sets us apart - it makes me wonder: What exactly is loneliness? I mean, really... what are we dealing with here? At first glance, we might say it's just about being alone - physical or emotional absence. And look at how we typically respond to that: 'I just need to get out more. I need to be more social. I need to be around more people.’ So what do we do? We try all the usual fixes, right? We make the calls. Show up at events. Push ourselves to be more social. And then... something still doesn't feel right. We're surrounded by people, but that empty feeling? It's still there. I saw this all the time when I was working as a middle school librarian. These kids would think if they could just hang out with the 'right' crowd, if they could just be 'popular enough,' the loneliness would disappear. But here's the truth - it doesn't work that way. Because loneliness isn't just about being alone - it's about something much deeper. When we feel lonely, what we're really feeling is pain. A deep, real pain. And not just any pain - it's separation pain. Here's what I'm learning: when we have a separation problem, what we really have is a heart problem. We can try to fix it by filling our rooms with people, but that's like putting a Band-Aid on a broken bone. What we really need is a heart doctor. You know what's amazing about God? He knew we'd have this heart problem long before we did. In fact, there's this incredible passage in Ezekiel chapter 26 that just blows me away every time I read it. Listen to what God says in verse 25: 'I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.’ Now, catch those two words - impurities and idols. When we run into hiding places, when we choose isolation over connection, it's because there's something deeper going on. There's a heart issue. Those impurities? That's our sin. Those idols? That's our selfish nature - all the things we put before God. But don't miss what comes next - because this is where it gets good. Look at verse 26: 'I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Think about that promise for a second. God doesn't just clean us up - He gives us a whole new heart. And this new heart? It's not made of stone anymore. It's alive. It's feeling. It's real. But here's the best part - verse 27: 'And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.’ This new heart doesn't just beat differently - it wants different things. Its whole direction changes. Instead of running away from God, it runs toward Him. Instead of hiding from His presence, it seeks it out. Why? Because this heart's deepest desire is for God's word. And who is the Word? Jesus. But let's be honest - where do we usually run? When life gets hard, when shame creeps in, when fear takes over - we run to hide. Why? Because we still have that heart issue. We're still trying to fix a heart problem with human solutions.

This isn't just our story. This heart problem, this loneliness thing, this painful separation - it's been around since the beginning of time. And I mean the very beginning. If we want to understand where all this started, we need to go back. Way back. Picture this - Adam and Eve in genesis had what we're all looking for. Perfect unity with each other. Perfect relationship with God. No isolation. No separation. Life was good! But then... then comes this choice. And I want you to watch carefully how this plays out, because it's the same pattern we still follow today: Choice leads to sin. Sin leads to shame. Shame leads to hiding.

See, when God comes walking in the garden, what's the first thing they do? The exact same thing we do when we mess up - they hide. Not because God changed. Not because His love changed. But because something within them changed. Look with me in Genesis 3:8 tells us - they hid from the Lord. Can you imagine that scene? The same God they used to run TO, they're now running FROM. The same presence that used to bring them joy now brings them fear. Why? Because sin changed how they saw God, even though God hadn't changed at all. They had changed. Let's fast forward to another hiding story - one that hits a little closer to home. The story of Hagar. Picture this woman - Hagar. She's far from everything she's ever known, serving as a maidservant in a foreign land. And not by choice - scholars believe she was a captive of war. Now she's serving Sarah, a woman desperately waiting for God to fulfill His promise of a child. But Sarah gets impatient. And she does something I think we've all done - she decides to help God out. You know what I mean? Those moments when we think we know better than God about how things should work out? So Sarah comes up with this brilliant plan - have her husband Abraham sleep with Hagar. Have a baby through her. Problem solved, right? And Abraham... oh, Abraham. The Bible puts it so simply: 'Abram agreed.' You know those moments when your wife asks you a question and your brain just freezes? Because you know whatever comes out of your mouth next could change the entire course of your day? Yeah... Abraham should've just stayed quiet. Guys you know what I'm talking about… But here's where it gets devastating. Verse 6 tells the story in nine simple words: 'Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.’ Just let that sink in. Nine words. One broken life. No dramatic description. No detailed account. Just the raw truth - a pregnant woman running into the desert because staying felt worse than dying alone. This isn't just a Bible story - it's a story about what happens when loneliness comes through circumstances we never asked for. When life takes a turn we never saw coming.

Let me tell you about another person who knew something about hiding places - Elijah. Picture this: Elijah's like the heavyweight champion of prophets. He's known for incredible miracles. But he finds out that Queen Jezebel has put a death warrant on all God's prophets. Most of them are hiding, and honestly, who could blame them? But Elijah? He stands up. He's like, 'Nope. We're doing this. Let's have a showdown - your gods versus my God.’ So they're up on Mount Carmel, and it turns into this wild 'My God is better than your God' contest. The prophets of Baal are dancing, shouting, 'Come on, God! Do something!' Nothing happens. And Elijah? He's just standing there, being... well, being Elijah. He's so confident that he starts pouring water all over his altar. I mean, who does that? He's even trash-talking: 'Hey, maybe your God's in the bathroom! Maybe he's on vacation!’ Then Elijah prays one simple prayer - BOOM! Fire from heaven. Game over. Total victory. Everyone's convinced. God wins. But here's where it gets real. After this massive victory, one threat from Jezebel and what does this mighty prophet do? He runs. I kings chapter 19 says, 3 Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He was so scared, the next words say, her left his servant behind.. he was booking it out of there.. The same guy who just called down fire from heaven is now running for his life. The truth is…..Sometimes our biggest victories are followed by our deepest fears.

And then there's Peter. Oh man, Peter. You know Peter - Jesus' right-hand man. The guy who's always first to speak up, first to jump out of the boat, first to make big promises. 'I'll never deny you, Jesus! I'll die with you if I have to!' Peter's that friend who's all in... until he's not. Think about this - the same guy who walked on water, who saw Jesus transfigured, who boldly declared Jesus as the Messiah... what happens when things get tough? He tends to fail… right. He Falls asleep when Jesus needs him most Denies knowing Jesus - not once, not twice, but three times And when Jesus is crucified? Peter goes back to fishing. Fishing! Like, 'Well, that didn't work out, might as well go back to my old life. Peter ran. See, Sometimes the people who speak the loudest end up hiding the hardest.

So, Let me ask you something. What patterns do we see in all these stories of loneliness and fear? First, running and hiding? That's universal. It's what we ALL do. But what if… that thing that made you run, instead to hide, made you run to your solution??

You see, church: Regardless of why a person runs and hides, God still comes near. Psalm 139 says it best - there's nowhere you can go to escape God's presence. Listen to this: 'If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.’

"You know what amazes me about God? No matter where we run, no matter how far we think we've gone, He's already there. And it's not just that He's there - it's how He shows up. Think about this pattern in Scripture: There's Adam and Eve - they've just messed up big time, they're hiding in the garden, covered in fig leaves and shame. And what does God do? He doesn't storm in with judgment. Instead, He comes walking in the cool of the day and asks this tender question: 'Where are you?’ Or take Hagar - she's running away into the desert, pregnant and alone, probably thinking death in the wilderness is better than what she's leaving behind. And who shows up? The angel of the Lord - and many scholars believe this was actually Jesus Himself - finds her and simply asks, 'What's wrong?' Not 'What did you do?' or 'Why did you run?' Just 'What's wrong?’ Then there's Elijah - this mighty prophet who just called down fire from heaven, now running scared from one angry queen. God finds him in a cave and asks, 'What are you doing here?' Not to shame him, but to hear his heart. And Peter... oh man, Peter. After his biggest failure - denying Jesus three times - how does Jesus restore him? With this heart-piercing question: 'Do you love me?’ See the pattern? God doesn't just track us down to drag us back. He pursues us to restore us. His questions aren't about gathering information - He already knows where we are. They're about restoration. They're about relationship. Here's what we're learning in these hiding moments - God's not just finding us... He's wanting to heal us. He starts connecting with our heart the moment He says, 'I'm here, and I'm not leaving you the way you are. David got this. Oh man, did David ever get this. Listen to what he writes in Psalm 40, and I want you to picture this scene: 'I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; and set my feet upon the rock.’ Notice what's happening here. God doesn't just peer down into David's pit and say, 'Hey, how's the mud down there?' No - He does something much more beautiful. He lifts him out. Cleans him off. Sets his feet on solid ground. That's not just rescue - that's transformation. But here's what stops me in my tracks. Look at what David says at the beginning: 'I waited patiently. Think about that. In his pit. In his hiding place. In this hole of loneliness and separation... what does David do? He waits. Patiently. For the Lord to show up and speak…. That kind of attitude takes a real heart change. Like he understood something we often miss: Sometimes the pit isn't just a place of pain - it's a place of preparation. I think David saw something we often miss. These moments of loneliness? He didn't see them as punishment. These isolated moments weren't dead ends - they were doorways to deeper communion with God. When life got tough, David didn't run away from God - he ran toward Him. Here's what changes everything: When we run into isolation, we're running away from everything, including God. But when we run into solitude, we're running to God. Maybe that's where some of us are right now. Running into isolation, trying to escape everyone and everything. But what if we saw our hiding places differently? What if, like David, we saw them as meeting places? I need someone to hear this today - even in your darkest hiding places, God has never left you alone. Never. Not once. When we think we're hiding from Him, He's actually waiting there to meet us. To pick us up. To love on us. To set our feet on solid ground. The question is... are you waiting and listening for Him, or are you still trying to run from him?

When we return back to the mounting with Jesus and the three…we see this exact pattern play out. The disciples are face-down on that mountain, terrified, overwhelmed by God's glory. And what does Jesus do? Verse 7 tells us: 'Jesus came and touched them.’ What a friend! What an unshakable friend... He doesn't just speak to them - He touches them. Right there in their fear. Right there in their hiding. And then He says something incredible: 'Get up.’ Not 'shape up.' Not 'why are you afraid?' Just 'Get up... and don't be afraid.' And when they looked up, who did they see? Just Jesus. But here's the part that changes everything - verse 9 says, 'As they were coming down the mountain…' Jesus doesn't leave them there in their terror. He doesn't abandon them face-down on the mountain. No - He gets them up, and they walk down together. That's what He does with us. In our moments of isolation, in our seasons of hiding, Jesus comes near. He touches us. He speaks tenderly to us: 'Get up... don't be afraid... and I will walk with you, not just with you, but be in you.’ Church, sometimes our most defining moments in faith come from our hiding places... especially when our hiding places become meeting places with Jesus.

As Peter comes up… What if this moment, right here, became your turning point? What if today was the day you stopped running from Jesus and started running to Him? What if your hiding place became your meeting place? You see, this table before us... I didn't set it. I'm just a servant who prepared it for the Master. And here's what's beautiful about this table - Jesus is the host, not me. I don't hold the guest list. He does. And you know what kind of host Jesus is? He's not standing here saying 'Clean yourself up first.' He's not demanding perfection. He's offering presence. He's saying 'Show up. Just as you are.’ Church, I'm going to say something bold, and I pray it lands in the hearts that need it most: I believe there are people in this room carrying deep wounds. Some of us have been hiding behind our hurts so long, we've forgotten how to come to the table. Some of us are carrying guilt that feels too heavy to bring here. Some of us have been the ones causing pain, and we've been hiding from that truth. But this table? It's not about being worthy - it's about being willing. Willing to let Jesus meet us right where we are. Willing to patiently listen for his voice. This bread and cup - they represent the lengths Jesus went to end our separation. If you're here feeling separated because of circumstances - maybe life has thrown you something you never asked for - then come. Jesus knows what it's like to face circumstances beyond His control. He sweat drops of blood in Gethsemane, asking if there was another way. He knows your pain. Come. If you're here feeling separated because of sin and disobedience - then come with a repentant heart. Jesus' body was broken and His blood was shed precisely for this reason. He died to bridge this gap. To wash away this separation. Repent and come. If you're here feeling separated because of your obedience - because following God has set you apart and left you feeling alone - then come and be strengthened. Jesus knows this road better than anyone. He walked the loneliest path of all - the path to the cross. He felt the isolation of perfect obedience. Come and let Him strengthen you for the journey ahead. This table isn't about the reason for your separation - it's about the One who came to end it. His body, broken on that cross - it wasn't just for what we call the 'big sins.' It was broken for the bitter root growing in your heart. For the walls you've built. For the pain you can't let go of. And His blood? It wasn't just shed for the obvious wrongs. Scripture tells us that 'without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.' But this blood does more than forgive - it restores. It heals. It brings us near when we've wandered far. I want you to hear what Jesus might be saying to you right now: 'This table - it's been set for you. Not because you're perfect. Not because you've got it all figured out. But because I love you, and I want to walk with you out of that hiding place.’ When you're ready... come to the Saviors table. Tell him your heart. Be forgiven and extend it to others. Take the bread and eat. Take the cup and drink. And leave this place carrying not your shame, but His presence.

Father, We come to you right now - not with polished words or perfect hearts, but just as we are. Some of us are hiding. Some of us are hurting. Some of us are carrying wounds so deep we've forgotten how to even name them. But you see us. Right here, in this moment, in this room - you see us. Not our performances, not our masks, but our true selves. The broken parts. The hidden parts. The parts we're afraid to show anyone else. Jesus, we need you. Meet us in our hiding places. Transform our wilderness into meeting ground. Break through our walls of isolation. Remind us that your love isn't dependent on our perfection, but on your grace. Holy Spirit, do what only you can do - whisper hope into our wounded places. Bring healing where we've been broken. Restore what's been lost. We trust you. Not because everything makes sense, but because you are good. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Benediction: "May you leave here knowing you are seen, Not just by eyes around you, But by the One who formed you. May you walk out carrying not your shame, But His grace. May you remember that your hiding place Can become holy ground. And may the God who pursues you relentlessly Hold you, heal you, and lead you home. Go with His peace. *

I Will, Together

Back in the 90’s I had graduated from Weeblos into Boy Scouts. And while in boy scouts every summer we would go to a place called Camp Kootaga for our summer camp. Camp Kootaga was a place where I would have many first. I ran a mini triathlon by running 10 miles, biking 10 miles and swimming 1 mile in a pool. I repelled a tower, rock climbed a mountain, Survived an overnight trip in the wilderness for wilderness survival training, and I conquered my fear of heights in the C.O.P.E Challenge.

Cope stands for, “challenging outdoor personal experience” and it was a course designed to take a group of individuals and put them in challenging moments to have them learn to trust and work with one another. And here’s the thing, no obstacle was ever accomplished by rejecting or having someone sit out, or sit one the sidelines. Your team had to figure out how to overcome the obstacle with every person succeeding.

And it was hard. Because we had kids that were bigger than us. So it made some obstacles hard to push or pull them up or through. We had kids that were uncoordinated. And at the end of the course was my greatest challenge. We had to finish the rope course by climbing a 100’ swinging ladder to a platform, and make your way through the tree top obstacle course that ended in an epic zip line.

And I remember, I couldn’t do it. My fellow scouts had to keep encouraging me and finally, at the end of the day, I faced my fear, climbed that ladder and zipped down to the ground in victory to give our team the completed status for this final challenge. If you were to ask me, what was the greatest determining factor of my success? I would say, MY scout family, the band of brothers that I had spent an entire week with never gave up on me, and they encouraged me the entire time to the end.

I ended up being presented the bravery award for overcoming a great fear mine. Henry ford once quoted Pastor Edward Everett Hale by saying, “Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” If there is one thing that the Bible teaches us is that living a life of faith is never meant to do it alone. And It is not good for us to be alone for us to be isolated from other human beings.

Why? Because you and I have been created for community. We are created for community. I want to show us this morning how this is true in Genesis chapter 2, and I would like for someone to read for us Genesis 1:26-27 Now someone read Genesis 1:31 And one more, let’s read together Genesis 2:15-25 So in the Bible’s opening chapter, I want to show you the rhythm of God’s creation of this world: it was good, and it was good, and it was good, and it was good, and it was good...

And in verse 31 of chapter 1, we read, it was very good. When we get to next chapter, Genesis 2, the story of creation is repeated, but this time from more of a zoomed-in perspective. We’re actually seeing the creation of humanity and how God create us, man and woman in the image of God. Now, there’s a problem. In this zoomed in chapter of the creation of humanity, It’s here where we learn that the first man was actually created before the first woman.

Which means that there’s this period of time when Adam was alone in the Garden of Eden. Now, we can crack all the jokes in the world about this… like, this was probably the most peaceful moment before woman came into existence. Adam must of had it well because it as just God and Adam and all the animals to hunt and fish. But honestly, it’s not good. Right? In this chapter we’re faced with the very first problem in the Bible.

When we ask the question, what was the very first crisis recorded in the Bible? Our first instinct is to say, the fall. But that’s not the very first crisis. The first crisis can be found in Genesis chapter 2 verse 18, where God flutters the following words: It is not good for man to be alone. When it comes to human companionship, Adam was alone. Now, let me remind you to keep this in the front of your eyes this morning…

We are created for community. In this moment of God’s creation, and after God saying this is good, this is good, this is good, and this is very good, we find ourselves in a moment where God is looking at man and saying, this isn’t good. Man, who is created in our image, is alone. That’s when we read in Genesis 2:18-25, The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make a helper suitable for him.” So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Now, when we read this. We instantly think of marriage, right? One man, one woman together, and united as one. Alicia is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my fleshed and we are to leave our father and mother and to be united together in holy matrimony to become one flesh. But it goes deeper than just marriage.

This passage is meant for marriage but it’s also meant to teach us that we have been created and designed for community. Now, lets go back to Genesis chapter one, the Bible said, So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. What do we see? Well, we see in the zoomed perspective in chapter two that there was a moment where God created man and it wasn’t good, but we wouldn’t of seen that in the higher persecutive of chapter one.

What I want us to realize is this: Did you notice how God’s image is made complete once there is a them—once a human community has been formed. It’s only when Adam and Eve come together to form the very first human community that God upgrades the status of creation from good to very good. Because now there were two human beings, who together, could become one. Remember, the verse about the two becoming one flesh does have marriage in view.

But even more fundamentally, it speaks to God’s primary goal for all humanity. God’s primary goal for humanity is to become a loving community – for the many to be as one. Jesus kind of cements this into reality when he prays before he goes to the cross in John 17:21 by saying this, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you.

And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” And I’ve been chewing on this this verse for awhile now, and it’s interesting to me that… Before humanity could truly be said “bear God’s image,” there needed to be more than one person.” There needed to be at least two people to bear God’s imagine. Jesus says, what? “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” This verse is about presence, but in what context does Jesus say this?

He says this in Matthew chapter 18 as he talking about when there is sin in the church, when there is sin in the body. What does sin do? It separates the church, and it separates the body. Sin causes division. Now, Let’s go back to Genesis chapter 3, and find with me verses 7-8. The context is that the perfect community of Adam and Eve has just ate the apple.

And there eyes were opened… and genesis says, Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

What do we see between the perfect, very good plan of God between man and woman, the first community, the body of Christ. We see sin causing division! Not just vertical division and separation between the first community of Adam and Eve and God, but also horizontal division between Adam and Eve. Sin literally caused the image of God, that was in the union of Adam and Eve to become broken and marred.

Right here: we witness that the very first consequences of humanity’s fall into sin, and it was relational. As the couple’s eyes are opened, trust and authenticity dissolve, and for the first time ever, they feel their shame. They feel the need to protect, to defend themselves. They cover up. They hide from each other, and they hide from God. Don’t we do that too? Do you ever cover up your true self?

Do you ever hide from others and from God? Maybe sometimes, you even hide from yourself. There’s been times when I want to hide from community. I don’t want to be around community. Because I know sin hurts. It’s true when said, hurt people hurt people. I’ve been hurt by others and there are still others who have yet to come and say I’m sorry for what I’ve said to you, and/or about you.

Or what I’ve done to you. Whoever said words will never hurt you, is wrong. They hurt. And often times when coming from those we love, they hurt the most. Proverbs 10:12 says “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” Peter, knowing about broken relationships and broken community writes, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (I Peter4:8) Scripture makes it clear that God’s most fundamental attribute, his most defining characteristic, is what?

It’s love. The Bible says in 1 John chapter 4 that, “God is love.” So it’s not just something God does, it’s who he is. And I believe because God is love, he treasures relationships. And because we are made in God’s image, and where more like his imagine when we are together as a church. I believe we are created and meant for, and made for loving relationships. Think about it.

Have you listened to the deep whispers of your heart. The yearning of your soul. Don’t they just cry out to have meaningful relationship? Wouldn’t you desire to be around others and not feel awkward, or shame, or fear. Very often, it’s our sin that keeps us from having that loving relationship. And so, an obvious question arises: Is community worth pursuing? And the answer is yes! A thousand times yes.

Why? Because God’s dream has not changed, and you and I are made for God’s dream. We’re created to be in a loving community. The challenge that we face, is getting where God is leading us. Getting there will have all kinds of challenges. And the truth is, at some point this perfect community of God’s plan will happen. Think about Revelation 21:3-4 “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.

They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” That’s the original Eden, the original plan of God. But then sin came in and messed all of that up. Now, the perfect community that reflected the goodness and love of God, was now distorted.

Our sins, which separated us from God and each other, were bore on the cross by Jesus, and our sins got in between Jesus and God the Father, separating them from each other for a time, so that Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 1 John 3:16 reminds us that, This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

Peter tells us, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Paul reminds us, that, “We all fall short of the glory of God” and to the Galatians, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Therefore eternal life is a free gift to all who will trust in Christ as Lord and Savior and supreme Treasure of their lives.

Peter preached, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31) Paul wrote: “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). So that when we put our faith and trust in Christ, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). Jesus purchased for us on the cross the right, and the ability to be united as one, to the Father, and to one another. He purchased for us the ability to be a loving community. So where do we begin? Let’s put some application to this.

Well, let me just say this… it begins with Jesus. This our vertical. It’s in Christ we are recognized to the Father. But unity in community begins when? When we make the decision to pursue it with our whole heart. Unity only works when individuals have made a decision to pursue it with their whole heart. I’ve preached that for three weeks now. You and I have got to make a decision that we’re going to be the body.

Without each other, as we learned, until we become a them, that is when we will be a right and loving community just as God had intended. This is so wonderful, think about it. It’s not all about marriage that two shall become one, but the body, with many members, should be united and become one. That means those who are married, come here to be one, those without spouses, though many feel alone without a mate, still comes and becomes one as part of the loving community.

And that leads me into the second and final application. After we make the decision for unity, then there needs to be a “vow of stability.” What does that mean? The term comes from the wisdom of ancient Christian monasteries, where monks would make a vow to stick with the same faith community for the long haul. Why would such a commitment be important? Why would such a commitment be a good thing?

Well, when it comes to living in Christian community, Pastor Tim Keller hits the nail on the head when he says: People are messy; therefore, relationships will be messy. Expect messiness. We all know life was way tougher 1500 years ago than today. And 1500 years ago when community life got hard, which it inevitably would, it could be very tempting for a monk to pick up and leave his faith community.

The problem with that is, as St. Benedict put it some 1500 years ago: When we run from community, we run from ourself. When we run from community, we are running from the part within us that is contributing to the messiness. We want to get away from others because we don’t want to face what’s happening in us. And when that happens, we short-circuit your own growth in Christ. Of course, God can and has all the right to call anyone from one church to attend another.

It’s his kingdom, not mine, or yours. But our default posture needs to be one of stability—of sticking with the local congregation we’re a part of—through thick and thin. Through hell and high water. My wife reminded me of that when I was hurt by a church we attended one time and I wanted to leave. She wouldn’t let me leave because she knew running wasn’t the answer. My answer was, when life got messy, it was easier to run to the church down the road than to stay in the mess.

Especially nowadays when we live in an era where the phenomenon of “church shopping and hoping” has become a thing. I can’t imagine how my marriage to Alicia would be if every time things got hard, I left her and found a new wife. We all know, that’s not healthy. And it’s not God’s intended design for community. But just like with our marriages and families—it’s when we stay and work through the messiness that Jesus does his best work in and through us, shaping us in his humility and love in ways that could never happen otherwise.

It’s when we stay and work through the messiness that community—the kind of community we’re created for— becomes truer, deeper, and richer. And to be honest, I believe it’s a better representation of God’s amazing grace, and full plan of redemption when we can see a hurting community become a loving community. And that can always happen when, The body makes a commitment for unity in the community. And a vow of stability.

When we say, I will, have the right attitude. I will, worship, I will, pursue together. Let’s pray. *

Holy Scripture

“IN THE BEGINNING, God . . . ” (Genesis 1:1). “There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job” (Job 1:1). “Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus” (Luke 2:1). “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John” (John 1:6). “Jesus said, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers’” (Luke 10:30). What’s one thing all five of these scriptures tell us?

They tell us that God is telling the world a story. This story begins in eternity past and stretches into eternity future. This story includes people like Noah, and Joseph and King David. It includes Peter, John and Paul. It includes famous people like Joan of Arc, Leonardo Divinci, and Napoleon. And it includes ordinary people like you and me. All throughout eternity, we find etched into time and space different stories from all different kinds of people, and from different generations.

And the theme of this story is shalom. It’s a story of peace. I believe it’s a story of God restoring peace. Meaning that all things in their created place, doing what they were created to do. And it’s simple… we are created to be in loving relationship with our creator and in harmony with one another as His creation. At some point in our life, we realize that as humans, we are living our lives as a story.

We are born into stories. We have been raised in stories, and we are living and we will die in stories. And what I find interesting but yet humbling, is that God has invited each of us to play our part in the over all story of life by living in this grand story we call faith. Whenever we have to answer a big question — who am I, why am I here, what should I do, what happens to me when I die?

— we tell our story through the lens of faith. Faith is more than just a thought. It’s more than just having good intentions. Faith at it’s very core is to be lived out through our lives, in the over all story of life. Did you know, that There is no other way to to please God than by faith. Think of what the writer of hebrews tells us from the message paraphrase translation, 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith.

Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. What we realize is that Faith is not merely holding to certain teachings, or holding onto traditions, or anything else… but rather Faith is a strong conviction that the world around us is part of a greater plan and story. God’s Story. Faith means that although at times the world looks chaotic and uncontrolled, we feel deep down that this chaotic world is not where we truly live.

That, our existences are guided by God’s strength and power. When it comes to this journey, what we learn is that our faith journey begins by understanding how our story fits into God’s story. But for that to be true we need to understand God’s story and how our story fits or belongs. I want to take a moment and read to you our stance as Nazarenes on what we say as a denomination, of what our belief is about the Holy Scriptures.

“We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith.” Now, We hear some big theological words in this article of faith..

The first one we believe as Nazarene is in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Spirit put a burden upon someone’s heart to write about a particular topic or event and guided them with thoughts or memories in order to bring about God’s message. Which simply means God intentionally gave to us his word. That’s what theopneustis means. It’s, Divinely Inspired, meaning that it was delivered to us intentionally from God.

Think of it like this, salvation is a gift, mercy is a gift, grace is a gift, but did you know, the Bible, the words of God, in its entirety, is a gift, to us from God. No one can say, “God does not speak to me.” That’s untrue. God throughout every life on earth, in eternity past and eternity forward is always trying to reach the heart of man to bring mankind, or humanity back into the story of peace through the salvation of God’s son, Jesus Christ.

We learn from this gift, the word of God, is that It teaches us everything we need to know about how to be saved, reconciled to God. Martin Luther said,“The Bible is the manger in which Christ is laid.” We derive no doctrine that is not verified within the word of God. With that being said, now don’t just hear what the Nazarene church believes, but what the Word of God says about itself, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed (Theo-pnuestus) and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So the Bible is important for you to grow in your faith, life and your purpose. But it’s also a call to submit your life to God’s word for teaching and correcting. Let me ask, who’s correcting you and redirecting you? Who in your life has the ability, right now, to say, hey, you’re walk is not lining up with what you’re saying it is? Is there someone, perhaps not including our solitude that you have given the right to speak life and truth into your heart?

One danger I have seen with online church is that you can learn a whole lot about faith, you can learn a lot about Jesus, but it still never provides anyone with accountability. And without accountability, our faith will always drive in the direction of our own understanding. Psalm 119:130 says, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” When we unfold the word, it shines light in the dark places.

Light not only gives illumination, but it also gives one understanding. It enlightens what was dark. It brings to light what lies in secrete. But what lies in secrete needs to be dealt with… it needs to be extinguished. Think of Hebrews 4:12 “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” It’s not passive, the HS makes it active in you, It cuts through the confusion and rebellion in thoughts and attitudes.

So what we learn is that the scriptures become our standard, it’s the standard to the story that we live out in our walk of faith. The scriptures must be this overarching theme of our own story. So, why do we need to read the Scripture? Well, its how we answer the big questions in life. We find the Nature of God The nature of humanity. Why are we here How to have a relationship with God How to have a relationship with each other How to live life as our creator intended it to be lived.

How to find real Joy, peace and purpose, We learn about life after death. And so, how we read the scriptures is that we read it as one grand story from beginning to end. I’ve always loved this phrase. The Bible is a love letter from God to you. It’s an amazing grand story of what God is up to in his world. One of the main problems is that many people read a few words or one act and try to make a determination of who God is by one part: It can’t work like that.

You have to understand the big story. God created humanity for fellowship, relationship and love. Humanity broke that relationship That breaking has caused imperfections, flaws, rebellion, and brought pain into this world And so, what we read is that God has been acting on behalf of humanity. He’s teaching humanity who he is He guides our lives in how the should live Then ultimately bringing Jesus to show and pay the price for humanity’s wrongdoing All of the individual stories, actions, commands, history are a piece of the journey to the grand ending of reconciliation with God.

It’s a story. It’s a A journey of restoration……. And peace. I think NT wright gives an amazing illustration on how to read God’s word. “Suppose a never before seen Shakespearean play is uncovered. It is a seven act play, but only six of the acts are found. The sixth act is missing. Several options are discussed, including having someone write the missing sixth act. Finally, it is decided to enlist several Shakespearean actors who would study and rehearse the first five acts and the final seventh act.

Then, on the night of the performance, the actors would improvise the sixth act while on stage, knowing they must be faithful to the first five acts and be ready for the final culminating act.” So what are the acts of the Bible? Act I - Creation God created all things and placed humans in the garden of Eden. Things are perfect. Perfect peace, perfect relationship, everything in creation is working as it should.

Act II - The Fall Adam and Eve sinned against God and were cast out of the garden. Sin now caused man and woman to be separated from God. Act III - Israel God chose to bring salvation to the world through his unique relationship and revelation to the descendants of Abraham. How did Abraham walk? By faith. Let’s visit what I said earlier.. Faith is more than just a thought.

It’s more than just having good intentions. Faith at it’s very core is to be lived out through our lives, in the over all story of life. Act IV - The Messiah Jesus came as the fulfillment of the promises of Israel, he came to save and redeem people through his life, death and resurrection. Act V - The Early Church After Jesus ascended to heaven, God sent the Holy Spirit to the believers, who formed the church, the body of Christ.

Act VI - (Blank) Act VII - The New Creation At the end of the age, Jesus returns to earth bringing heaven with him. The new age begins with Christ as Lord of all and his people called to rule creation. Here in a few weeks, we celebrate this reality and truth with anticipation of Jesus’s return as Christ the King Sunday. This is what that day and that feast represents.

Jesus is King, we are at the banquet supper with the Lamb. Singing and praising. But did you notice something….. Every act we find in scriptures had a story, and those story were being lived out by people use like you and me. People who struggle with financials. People who struggle with prayer and Scripture reading People who struggle with their faith and trust. People who have failed, and failed and failed, only to find mercy and grace.

We have the first five acts of human history where all of these people have struggled with faith just like we do. and then we have the final act. Our call, is to study and understand those who have gone before and to prepare ourselves for the final act. We are not called to repeat a specific act, but rather be faithful in the act that God has called us to live out our own story of faith.

There’s a song sung by Steven Green. We're pilgrims on the journey Of the narrow road, And those who've gone before us Line the way. Cheering on the faithful, Encouraging the weary, Their lives a stirring testament To God's sustaining grace. O may all who come behind us Find us faithful, May the fire of our devotion Light their way. May the footprints that we leave, Lead them to believe, And the lives we live Inspire them to obey.

O may all who come behind us Find us faithful. Church… I do not know what lies ahead…. For me, our family. For you and your family, and for us as a church. But faith isn’t in what we know… Faith is to be lived out with what we’ve learned from God’s word and then made active by His Spirit in and through us as Jesus manifests himself through us and into the world, making us all a part of a grander story as his redeemed people.

The Lord laid a very intimate Scripture on my heart this week….It comes for Joshua. 21:45 and Joshua 23:14. Joshua reminds us twice that: “Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” If you want to know what feeds our faith on this faith journey… it’s trust. Trust feeds your faith. God’ s word and his promises has always been a guide and a light to those on this faithful journey.

David reminds us, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet, and a light for my path.” Your word.,…. Your holy Scripture. It guides us and lights the way for us… why? So that Jesus can be shared with those we say we love. Romans 10:15 says: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" My prayers for this church is this.. what ever happens from here on out…I pray: Lord, may thier story be…

that we are earthly vessel that bring heavenly good news so that Your story, Oh Lord, is lived out through the Story I live and leave behind for those to come. May we be found faithful. *