Represent | RE: A Guide For The Disconnected

hey lighthouse happy sunday or monday or whenever you're watching this i hope you're having an incredible day uh it's fall which is my favorite season what about you it is definitely not really because cold weather is coming and i do not like cold weather you're a summer summer man i'm a summer guy okay summer guy i can see that but i can see the fall so you look good in fall thank you i love fall i like when it's cozy and so the fact it's a little misty out leaves are falling i'm into it but we are so glad that you joined us if you don't know me my name is john smart i'm one of the pastors here and this is my good friend mr dj swick and i'm the campus pastor here at our glen burnie campus and it is so good to be with you but we have a lot going on we did one of those things today it's pastor appreciation day john uh-oh and i just want to say the whole right it's actually not just the day but the whole month but i just want to say how much i appreciate you as my pastor gleaned from you highly but i'm gonna let the cat out of the bag okay all right john and i had a conversation a couple days ago and i know you've been around a lot of pastors you've gleaned from a lot of pastors all through bible college pastors you study but you reveal i'm a little nervous where this is going but you revealed to me the other day that i am your favorite pastor absolutely even everybody here on staff i humbly accept that at far and away my favorite pastor yes i'm so excited yeah but i love you man i appreciate that but hey look we have so many things going on here and john's going to fill us in what we got coming up not only tonight but all this week yeah so one of the huge things that's starting today is love week and so if you haven't heard us talk about love week you haven't been paying attention love week is our opportunity this is a once a year opportunity to go out into our community and not just tell people but show people the love of jesus so we have projects all over the area a myriad of places you can sign up to influence people tell people about jesus with your words and your actions but if you're watching this most likely you're part of our online community and we have an outreach project specifically for you yes yes you can go out into the community and clean up you can do that online actually you can register online and you'll get one of these cool boxes now what's in there let me show you get a couple stickers yeah all right put them on your computer your car you can't get a nice pair of cotton gloves uh-huh all right and an ipod touch yeah and a couple trash bags you guys do not want to miss out on this but this is an incredible way to be the hands and feet of jesus to show our neighborhood just who he is amen yeah and so what's going to happen for our online community is next saturday there's going to be a meeting if you sign up online go to lighthouse.church forward slash love week yep yep right with no vowels no vouchers lvwk uh you can sign up for the online project everybody's gonna gather together digitally there's gonna be a time i believe of prayer and then we're gonna go out into our community that's the online project and we'd love for you to be a part of it if you sign up you get one of these boxes you don't want to miss that it's a cool box absolutely it's some stickers but that's not the only thing happening today tonight at our glen burnie location we're gonna have a night of worship yes and so we're gonna gather together we're gonna praise jesus um i don't know about you but in this season i've learned how much worship is just so good to reset your perspective put problems in their proper place to remind me hey jesus is in control he loves me he's a part of this um but there's also a way to be a part of this online if you can't join us in person yes you can do that online this is the very first time we are streaming our night of worship to our online community it's going to be epic we have jesse leading it tonight and let me tell you what the holy spirit is going to be in the house or whether you're online he will be right there with you in church we are the church we see that week in and week out that you don't have to be in this building to be part of the church that you are with us your family and we cannot wait to see the move of god that's going to happen tonight so join us online it's going to be incredible yeah yeah where can they join us online can facebook youtube facebook and youtube um you go to our website i'm pretty sure it's gonna be on our website as well okay awesome so hey again we just wanna provide opportunities to get to know you to meet you so if you can join us in person that would be incredible if it's online that's great too or if there's anything we can do to help you yes if there if we can pray for you if uh man you need assistance for something i'm sure you've heard about it but maybe you haven't actually considered utilizing lh chat lh chat is a direct line with our staff with a number of our pastors if you have prayer concerns we we'd love to hear from you so how can they use ellie's chat so you can go to lh chat you can go to our app or our website and what we do is we have a team of people on standby our staff members that are ready to answer any questions you have it can be a question about the sermon it can be a prayer request you just type that chat in we'll get back to you and that's a perfect way that we can connect with you in lifetime you can do that all week long totally yeah and so we're constantly getting chats from people those that are local that have been to the church those that are local that happen in the church or those that are even international that are just connecting for a prayer request for a question what's going on over here you're getting phone calls somebody wants to serve already there you go i mean come on it's crazy is as i was getting married i actually um had an alarm on my phone to get married so as like mary and i were saying our vows my phone was going on you couldn't hear it it was just the vibration and i don't think i ever told mary this but my phone was like vibrating for the get married alarm yeah yeah now she's gonna know so uh so hey it looks like we have just a little bit of time before we go back into the sanctuary for worship uh i just want to say we are so glad that you joined us we're glad that you're able to either be with us live or if you're watching us later please reach out to us let us know how we can be a part of helping you walk closer to jesus amen amen we love you guys [ __ ] well good morning lighthouse how are we doing this morning yes thank you for the shout out we can do better than that how are we doing this morning yes the sanctuary is ready welcome to everyone who's watching a part of our lh online fam if you're in our sanctuary or if you're in our foyer or a cafe make your way into the sanctuary we're gonna get started in a couple minutes if we have not met yet my name is brittany guy i have the privilege of being on staff here at lighthouse church and i thought i'd change it up a little bit and make this a little interactive so i have a question for you guys do you guys know what today is i'm hearing what what day it's pastor appreciation day yes you got it so today is pastor appreciation day um so if you have not yet seen any of our pastors i don't think any of them are in the room right yet but they're out in our foyer they'll be chatting on lh online part of lh chat we just wanted to say thank you to our incredible pastoral staff yeah amen let's give it up for them we have eight pastors on staff so if you see them today just give them a shout out that's pastor sammy pastor steve pastor john pastor dj pastor dave corbin pastor kevin spence pastor dt and pastor tc so i know tcdt all the initials right does anyone else notice how we have so many initials around here uh tcdt and pastor kevin are not here but watching online so we love you guys and appreciate you so much it's also something else today we go big or go home here at lighthouse church anyone know what else is today night of worship is happening tonight here yes that deserves a round of applause absolutely we got some kingdom coming t-shirts up in here so we are going to do that tonight 6 p.m here at 6691 we're also going to be streaming online so we can all come together and worship jesus but hey before we do that we are going to get started in about a minute the band is going to lead us in worship and then we've got pastor sammy coming he is going to close out our re-series how many of you guys have been loving this series amen right how many of you guys have read the book yeah it's been absolutely life-changing i don't know about you i did not realize how disconnected i was until we started going through this series so he's going to come and close us out in week five every it's going to be an amazing amazing morning we can't wait to see what jesus does amen amen all right thanks pastor hey happy appreciation pastor steve get up for pastor steve good morning church so good to be with you this morning please stand and let's worship our god together amen all anxiety let it rise raise the it right everything we sing with all we all we claim your victory let it rise let raise when we oh the raging sea let it rise is looks like this is what freedom feels like this is what heaven sounds like we praise you we're causing it out this is what living looks like this is what freedom feels like this is what heaven sounds like we praise you we praise you this is what it looks like this is what freedom feels like this is what heaven sounds like we praise you we praise you this is foreign is forever we praise you church uh before we go into this next song it's one of my favorite songs king of my heart um and i just want to confess to you years ago when we first were playing this and i was singing along in the congregation i got to that part and the bridge where it said you're never going to let me down god you're never going to let me down and i felt like i couldn't sing that from an honest place and i don't know if there's anyone out there that has felt the same way but i'm just here to just tell you god is good trust in his goodness he knows behind the scenes he knows the beginning to the end um we we may be in the midst of circumstances maybe people are are letting us down or situations are letting us down but that's not that's not of him that's not of him we shouldn't project that onto him so i just want to encourage you to remember that he sustains us he is for you he is loyal to the end we see that in our salvation what jesus did for us so remember this as we sing be the mountain where oh he is you are good you're good let the king of my heart be the fire inside my face the echo of my days oh he is let the king of my heart be the fire is you are good you're you're you're good you are good you're never gonna let me you're never gonna let me down we think of you getting this guy we sing of your mercy lord we sing of your faithfulness we sing of your promises and even when it feels like there's nobody there and even in the dark times when it seems nobody cares you're there and you promise never to leave no forsake us if you are good cause you are good good oh so i'll grade the chasm that lay between us how high the i mountain not lie in desperation i turned to heaven and spoke your name into the night then through the darkness your loving kindness tore through the shadows of my soul the work is finished the end is written jesus christ who could imagine i am forgiven jesus christ set me free set me free your buried body began to breathe out of the silence the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me your very body began to breathe jesus jesus christ set me free every is how are we that's good good it's so good to see you and be with you and i want to remind you of something that i've heard uh many times countless times of of uh people that will testify about their experience at church and how they felt upon leaving and many times i'll hear you know when i went in i felt one way when i left i felt another and sometimes we don't recognize that just hearing the proclamation of truth via a sermon or or moreover amidst worship it satisfies something in your soul like your soul craves for something that's why we feel depleted or we feel depressed we feel despair we feel a need for something what your soul many times craves is as my sister said it craves a reminding of the promises of god you are fearfully and wonderfully made you're more a soul with a body than a body with a soul and so your soul craves to proclaim the goodness of god why because your creator designed you that way and so when it doesn't hear his promises and it doesn't hear his truths and it doesn't hear the proclamation of how big and awesome majestic and sovereign he is your soul begins to wither but when you come into the house of god with the people of god drenched in the spirit of god it makes your soul come alive and so when you walk out you go i feel encouraged let it be known what was encouraged was your soul at the proclamation of truth that you and i so desperately desperately need can i get an amen somebody and so i just felt like my soul being refreshed and and i'm so grateful for it and so with that welcome welcome i want to welcome those of us that are watching online even those that are in the chapel we want to say that we love you we're family we're together in this together and uh how about a little hospitality showing them some sweet love sweet love and so i i found out this morning something that you desperately need to know about because i i imagine a lion's share of us uh don't know this but did you know that today this day this is a big big day and i didn't even i didn't even know it this is pastor's appreciation day good gracious and so target's right down the street you just go out here and bang a left and it yo yo you'll find it and and we'll be here until about one o'clock this afternoon and so we love you and uh but i i mean it from the bottom of my heart um it is filled with appreciation for you and this incredible church and gathering of believers and uh it's the highlight of my life ruth with a test and i just want to tell you how much i appreciate you i didn't get you a gift but um i would appreciate if you get me one okay week number five of re a guide for the disconnected uh today i feel like we're not ending something we're only starting something and i i certainly pray that over the course the last five weeks god has been speaking to you blessing you opening your eyes to things that maybe you need to appreciate him more for or put into practice i trust the spirit of god's going to be here with us this morning and so i'm gonna pray we're gonna get right to work would you pray with me heavenly father we um we gather here in your midst because our soul so desperately needs it some of us are aware of that more than others but lord jesus i pray that over the next few moments father your spirit would dwell richly in this place and richly in the places where my brothers and sisters are watching listening to online lord you're so good your promises are yes and amen and i pray father that as we consider the truths of your scripture the call on our lives father that it's both you that wills and gives us the strength to do for your good pleasure would you do that this morning father in the matchless name of jesus and all god's people said amen it was the day before father's day that ruth and the fam woke up and she said i i got something i want to do today and um this was on a saturday the reason that i i know it because my my birthday this this year was on the 19th of june that's just for you to remember for next year as well moving right along um that um ruth said to to me hey i want to go to target and i want to get some some bedding all right the kids need new bedding new comforter new this knew that um we need to go to target it's on sale there's this big sale let's go get it i said i don't want to go she said okay next minute i was in the car we're driving the target and we get there and it wasn't at the target close to our house so we had to go to another target only to arrive and we walked back to the aisle of of where the the betting was and even breaking the plane of target's door i knew everybody on the east coast found out that there was a sale on betting you know what i'm talking about so we walk in there it's packed i got a little bit of an attitude just being honest got a little bit of an attitude i was um i was i was i was a grumpy soldier that morning nevertheless we get back to the aisle of of where all the bedding was and there was like one sheet and like half a pillowcase left you know and and it was nothing that you'd put on your bed you know and so we're looking at it and you know we we quickly found out there's no bedding to be had all right they're cleaned out i mean it it looked like you know they gave it away and so it was i got i got frustrated and so i said you know what you know what i'm just i'm just gonna i'm gonna go and meander meanwhile the whole fam was there so i just started down this aisle so i crossed one aisle and went down another and here i come back up the the back aisle of for those of you that are that are target you know knowers you know there's a back aisle where all the end caps are and then there's another you know wall where you know some of the furniture is and so i come walking down this aisle and there in the middle of the aisle about you know 10 feet away from me is a cart right in the middle of the aisle all right and there's these two women that were very excited about their find on the end cap talking one with another you know and in this joyful glee and and so it was that their eye their carts right there leaving about you know yay much room on on either side and so it was that i just i just decided i didn't want to break their concentration or their conversation it looked rich and so not to be a bother i just i just sort of slimmed one by you know and it was only that much room you know and because i'm so fit it didn't take a whole lot you know to pull in and so while while going by so is not to lose my balance not to move the cart oh no oh no not to lose my balance i just placed my hand on that cart at that moment the two women that were standing there one glanced down seized my hand glances up at me catches eyes and then turns and says to her counterpart friend that was standing there real loud people are so rude right now for all intents and purposes i would love to tell you right here right now that your pastor operated in spectacular fashion but for example of what not to do i'm going to tell you what i did she said it so loud so that i would hear her and i didn't even clutch it wasn't like i had to think through or what should i do or sammy let's make a wise decision i immediately said to her you calling me rude in which case she then began to speak i cut her off and i went no no no no you're calling me rude i said here's the deal you parked your truck right in the middle of the aisle you leave no room for someone to pass on either side me not wanting to inconvenience you didn't want to disrupt you therefore i quietly was trying to slip on by unfortunately almost lost my balance placed my hand and you're calling me rude third time at this point she then said to me all you had to say was excuse me that was true but we were too deep into it you know what i'm saying at this point i just swatted my hand as to say i'm not hearing it turn to walk away we're right in front of me stood ruth asher lucia and silas looking at me like are you serious wasn't a word exchanged there was a lot said through the eyes in which case i then had to walk by myself for some time it was in that moment that i was immediately it wasn't like it took a while or you know it was it was later that morning it was in that moment that i was immediately filled with shame like what were you doing sammy what what kind of representation is that how dare you bark it these people you swatted your hand like you're in some tick tock video like like you're not 14 and so it was that i walked not but six paces and realized i gotta go find those two ladies so it was that i looked down aisle after aisle after aisle only to then find them they then locked eyes with me and i could tell when i was walking down that aisle they were half cocked like oh we're either gonna throw hands or throw our purse at them because this dude has done lost his mind and i said to him i said excuse me ma'am ma'am and i had to do it from like a far off right unless they pulled something like i was like listen listen listen i come in peace and i said i just i just want to tell you i am so so sorry for the way that i acted back there i said you didn't deserve that and i should have never responded like that i said in a world full of hate and arguing and people fighting i said the last thing i want to do is add to it and i said and you certainly didn't come here for it would you please forgive me that woman took a long dramatic pause and then said i forgive you happy father's day turned around and walked away i tell you that because it took but a split moment for me in target to forget who i was i say it often up here i say you know when you know who you are you'll know what to do as we've been sort of threading through this series i've made the point that the the enemy doesn't have to destroy you if he can simply distract you because many times he can distract you to forget who you are that you actually will wind up destroying yourself and what i realized that day is that i quickly forgot who i was and whose i was see it's for that very reason the very reason that paul the apostle would see the church acting many times a full in when he would write to the church at corinth and many times knowing our propensity to forget our identity and think that we can give way to impulse or feelings or the moment or our own indignation that we feel like there's a no holds barred i'm just going to say what i'm thinking that paul the apostle now writes to the church at corinth to give them a greater understanding of who they are he says this in second corinthians 5 17 he says this means that anyone who belongs to christ has become a new person ultimately what paul would go on to sort of unpack is the new person means is that you think different you live different you behave different you talk different you serve different you see different paul goes on to say the old life is now gone a new life has become begun and all of this is a gift from god it's not a laborious mandate it's not like it's not like a labor that he burdens you with ultimately paul said it's a gift because your old life wasn't serving you anything anyhow it wasn't satisfying you it wasn't pleasing you it wasn't pleasing those around you he said this is a gift given to you by god he goes on who brought us back to himself through christ and god has now given us the task of reconciling people to him that's if you're wondering what what is your christian task you are a reconciler you are a reconnector he goes on to say for god was in christ reconciling the world to himself no longer counting people's sins against them and he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation so we are christ's ambassadors god is making his appeal through us we speak for christ when we plead come back to god he continues for god made christ to never send to be the offering for our sin so that we could be made right with god through christ i i want you to understand that what paul just gave you and i was our new life marching orders whether you want it or not whether you feel qualified of it or not paul said the minute that you surrender your life to jesus you're no longer your own furthermore you are jesus's ambassador now an ambassador just so we understand for for simplistic purposes and a working definition an ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat that represents one kingdom to another so whether you're thr you're you're sent by the prime minister the president of the united states the the the the king of of dubar no matter what an ambassador is a representative of sent kingdom and paul the apostle is saying you are now the ambassador sent from heaven to earth for people to come back to god that's our mandate now if you look around our landscape right now when it comes to the church it comes to christians those that claim the name of jesus i think that by and large we've forgotten who we are the reason we're in the mess that we are in the reason that people don't want anything to do with jesus the reason that people have have no desire to come to church by and large is because because of both sin but moreover because the ambassadors that god has sent have done a bad job at representing just like sammy foster in target but then grow no conviction over it just feel like that's what we're entitled to so when it comes to this there's there's two things real briefly that i want you to understand about being an ambassador being a representative and the first is is that you must understand we were not elected by people but chosen and appointed by god so so people don't vote you in it's not like oh well you're a pastor so uh you know those people have cast their vote you know you're the ambassador uh-uh uh-uh the minute you say i surrender my life to jesus you you you were sir you surrendered your life to jesus not on your own wisdom or not because you know things sort of worked out or it was coincidental or it worked out that particular day the reason that you came to faith is because god chose you and the minute that he chose you he not even chose you to graft you and adopt you into his family but then to be a representative of it this is why um jesus said in john 15 you did not choose me but i chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit fruit that will last what is that fruit we talked about that fruit last week that fruit is love joy peace kindness goodness patience self-control and the like that's the fruit that when people come into your presence hear me hear me and i'm not saying i do this well and i'm not saying that i do this consistently like like without flaw but hear me by and large when people come into your presence they should experience that you are representing a kingdom that is not like the one that we're living in that they experience a love a joy a patience a contentment a long suffering a forbearing a a a joy that they're that that it's that it's it's like it's like appetizing to their palate that even when you leave their presence it stung them so much that they go there was something really peculiar about that person or i like that about that person or that's really curious about that person paul content where jesus continues and he says this he says as it is you do not belong to the world but you beli but i have chosen you out of the world isn't that incredible hey hey that right there will preach all day long nothing else needs to be said because so often what we think is this is the be-all end-all this is where it starts this is where it stops this is as good as it gets jesus says you don't even belong here you don't belong to this world i've chosen you out of this world and appointed you to be my ambassador of another world first is is that we never represent ourselves and i mean first is we're not elected by people but we're chosen and appointed by god number two we never represent ourselves we always represent god now if you're anything like me when you walk in somewhere you meet somebody for the first time you find yourself in a in a in a foreign environment many times we are spring-loaded to represent us our reputation our namesake our personality that we're cool that we're down that we get it that we're likable i mean that's that's what we do not saying that that in and of itself is wrong however if that's where it starts and stops it's a wrong perspective listen to how listen to how um jesus said it in john 6 he says for i have come down from heaven not to do my will but the will but to do the will of him who sent me even jesus said i haven't come here to represent me i've come to represent the god that sent me now i know that's curious but even jesus understood that i am here as an ambassador on behalf of god although he was god he was pointing everyone heavenward this is why colossians paul says and whatever you do or say do it as a representative of the lord jesus giving thanks through him to god the father now week one of this series we dealt with realize that in order for us to get closer to god or to move in a direction other than where we're at we first have to determine where we are week two we talked about this idea this biblical principle that's a gift and it's the bridge to reconnection which is repentance that once you realize where you are you have to repent of where you've been week three we dealt with this idea of renewal that your soul just like mine needs to be renewed we get callous we get hard we get depleted we get empty we need to be renewed by the god that made us last week we dealt with the issue of remain that it's when we're rooted in him planted in him we make our home in him and we remain in him we bear fruit fruit that will last now all of that if it were to stop at remain will ultimately supply you a refreshment you a renewal and you fruit but if you don't understand what it's all for well then we're going to fall woefully short because all of that is so that ultimately we represent well that when we stand before our maker face to face and we see him for the first time upon arrival i want to hear well done sammy my good and faithful servant and that is predicated largely hear me on how well i represent did it represent me did i do me did i live for my cause did i give way to my impulse my moment my feelings my thoughts my trip or did i represent the kingdom that has sent me to be an ambassador for the one that everybody will eventually meet face to face see see see the the idea is is that if we don't realize and we don't repent and we don't renew and we don't remain then chances are we won't represent well that all of this is so not only do we get reconnected but ultimately we become a reconnector ourselves amen that's what it's about that's what lighthouse church is about that's what love week is about that we reach the lost and that we make disciples but many times we don't know how to ambassador many times we're not even mindful of what it is that we should hold in the highest priority as an ambassador and i just want to give you three right here right now and i don't want these to be cliche hear me on this because i believe that this matter right here is what's costing us so dearly if you don't think so well then you you haven't been around for any length of time but i'm gonna tell you right now the church is marred we we we got egg on our face we don't represent well we don't ambassador well we don't show fruit well and there's reasons for it and i want to give you just three real briefly i want to chit chat with you because i i feel like we got to do better we got to do better and so when it comes to being an ambassador you need to know that ambassadors know the importance of morality in the culture in which we live right now ambassadors must understand the importance of morality this is why this is why god has called us to be holy now hear me we don't talk about that much anymore when it comes to holiness when it comes to purity when it comes to morality we don't talk about that we talk a ton about grace and grace we should that the atonement on the cross and the price that jesus paid and what the lengths that he went to to demonstrate his love for us so that he could then be reconnected to us we will never stop preaching that however when we become a new creation there is an expectation of continued growth into morality this is what sets us apart from the world in which we live in and this isn't laborious again this is life-giving this satisfies our soul this is why um um paul writes this in ephesians 5 he says so be careful how you live not careless not momentary not spontaneous not not not not feeling driven be very careful how you live he says don't live like fools what do fools live like actually proverbs are chock full what fools live like they live according to their feelings they live according to the moment they live according to what culture says they live according to whatever the the you know the their their their their flesh craves that's what fools do paul says that's not you that's not you any longer he goes on and he says this but live like those who are wise wise as meaning that you see life from god's perspective and you live accordingly he says smoke them make the most of every opportunity in these evil days just just just to clarify are we convinced we're living in evil days okay so so because that's the bedrock if you're not convinced if you feel like now we live in moral days all right then that's a whole nother conversation and um and we got counselors for that but but you got to be convinced wait a minute the landscaping which we're living in it is evil and it is dark paul continues and says don't act thoughtlessly but understand what the lord wants you to do and don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life instead be filled with the holy spirit paul's talking about godliness he's talking about morality he's talking about doing things that are unctioned not by feeling but by the holy spirit within you can i tell you something when you realize you repent you renew and you remain the holy spirit then becomes your guide he becomes your impulse he becomes your conviction he becomes your steer he becomes the one that leads you into all truth when you don't realize you don't repent you don't renew you don't remain your feelings drive you and that's just living foolishly so you can't represent well unless you're being powered by the engine of the holy spirit this is why paul says this in romans 12 he says and so dear brothers and sisters i plead with you to give your bodies to god because of all that he's done for you he continues and he says let them let them be a living and holy sacrifice the kind that he will find acceptable can can we can we just can we just unpack real quick there's an acceptable and an unacceptable there's an acceptable and unacceptable he says this is truly the way to worship him ultimately what paul is saying is the way that you represent him is what he counts as true worship not what you sing on a sunday morning true worship is living a life that represents him well then he goes on to say this don't copy the behavior and customs of this world but let god transform you into a new person by changing the way you think then then you will learn to know god's will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect let's get real practical real practical um when it comes to being an ambassador i want to give you three areas that i think we need to be ambassadors in the first is and i'm not going to put these up one on the screen i just want to just jog your your your conscientiousness the first is is how you make decisions and how you act how you make decisions and how you act how you make decisions financially how you make decisions relationally how you make decisions you know um occupationally how you make decisions testimonially that's not a word but i went to old mill um when when when you make decisions your decisions should be ran through the grid do these decisions represent the kingdom of where i'm sent from or do they only serve your best interest so when we're ambassadors we don't make decisions representing ourselves we make rep decisions based on how does this reflect on god and then we act upon them second second area real real practically is how we speak and how we post come on somebody let's just pause for a second let me get all up in your business you don't represent you i understand that is your instagram account and that is your face place subscription you do not represent you and you don't even represent your whether it's your special interest your political party your perspective on on whatever whenever however you represent the kingdom that sent you amen and so when you're getting ready to be like this is gonna be so good because i'm gonna light somebody up you don't represent you this is why we look like a clown show out there true story am i am i right for saying that or am i the only one that thinks that amen so so when you sit down and you think all right i'm gonna post this i'm gonna share this i'm gonna actually lend myself to the fighting that's going on with this you represent the kingdom you need to ask yourself would would jesus sit down and lob this bomb and if you're like yes he would all right that's a whole nother conversation we gotta have but you post and you speak on behalf of another kingdom thirdly how you suffer in the midst of hardship trying times i mean limitations burdens crisis and like hear me hear me you can either give way to your feelings in your own representation your anger your distrust your your fear and on and on and on or you can demonstrate what it is to be anxious for nothing but in everything prayers petition make your request known to god and the peace of god will guard your hearts and minds in christ jesus and it radiates to a world that's in the midst of crisis themselves many times i feel like when we get in crisis or when suffering or we hit trying times or we don't know where god is what we do is we pull the anchor to our soul up out of the water of his grace and then we just flip out to the world around us and then we wonder wait a minute why don't people want the god that's within us because you're not anchored why do they think they'll be anchored you don't have any peace why do they think they'll find peace you don't have any joy why do they think they'll find joy and many times the crucible of suffering is where god wants to demonstrate i can hold you fast i can give you grace that's a that that ultimately it stands in the face of any understanding i can give you peace when it looks really turbulent that when we are ambassadors we make an importance of morality but second to that is second to that is that ambassadors walk in their god-given authority the scripture says god has not given you a spirit of fear but of love power and of a sound mind ultimately what scripture says is is that when you walk with jesus you walk in a god-given authority why because when you know who you are you'll know what to do when you know whose you are you'll know what to do this is why jesus says this jesus said jesus came and told his disciples i have been given all authority in heaven and on earth therefore go and make disciples of all the nations that's that's that's a lot but he says this baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit teach these new disciples to obey all the commands that i've given you and be sure of this jesus says check this out he says i am with you always even to the end of the age do you do you know why he told them that last part because he knew he knew that as the disciples would venture out into really turbulent hostile waters when they would venture out preaching and proclaiming a kingdom that people would actually be adverse against when they would go out and they would be persecuted and they would be fought against and they would be scoffed at and ridiculed he wanted them to know i'm right there with you that you can walk with your shoulders back your chin up and your head high why because i've given you the authority to do so can i tell you something about being an ambassador this day and age i feel like we're cowering or or or do you know and hey i i struggle against this as much as the next person there is this proclivity to cower to culture as if they have the authority and we have timidity jesus said reverse it you have the authority so you teach them everything that i've told you why because i'm being representative or represented tid yup through you through you and their souls need it so when it comes to our culture hear me hear me um this is why this is why you know the scripture says let your words be seasoned with grace so that it brings life to the hearers you season it with grace you don't come in with a hammer or you know an anvil and you know some of you your speech is seasoned with bitters you know and you're like how come they don't like talking to me because i don't like talking to you because because it's sour to the taste when your words are seasoned with grace that's because you're walking in an authority in a world that stands against the truth of god's word hear me i talk with brothers and sisters all the time that say that's antiquated that's old school that's not for now that's irrelevant that's bigoted that's narrow-minded on and on and on there's something about me that wants me to buckle at the knee right true story and buckle at the knee and be like okay okay i prefer you over my truth hear me how in the world can we save those that are drowning if we take out our life's wrath as well how in the world can we aid those that are searching if we act like we don't know the way home how in the world can we offer life to those that are dying if we put our light under a bushel basket and get fearful of it because culture doesn't like it comes to morality it comes to sexuality it comes to relationships it comes to the cravings of the flesh on and on and on jesus says listen all authority's been given to me therefore go and reach the lost and make disciples and be my ambassador and don't walk in fear you walk in my authority and you watch me radiate through you an ambassador knows not only the importance of morality but an ambassador understands their god-given authority but lastly lastly lastly maybe i'll add one more two more to this when it comes to an ambassador they also this is where i think it gets really real ambassadors remember that we are the minority this is a whole perspective shift that when it comes to the landscape of 2021 that you live in and that lighthouse lives in it is not the landscape of 1985 of where parents and moms and families they ate around the dinner table at five o'clock every night ninety percent of americans went to church one sunday morning we lived in a amongst a culture that seemingly was moral and upstanding now hear me we are and always have been the minority and so paul the apostle understanding this that the message of the kingdom that he represented swam against the grain he understood that it needed the wisdom from heaven so to plant it in the hearts of men and women listen to what paul says even though i am a free man with no master i have become a slave to all people who bring to bring many to christ when i was with the jews i lived like a jew to bring the jews to christ when i was with those who followed the jewish law i too lived under the law even though paul said i am not subject to the law i did this so that i could bring to christ those who are under the law when i am with the gentiles the non-believers paul said he says who do not follow the jewish law i too live apart from the law so that i can bring them to christ but i do not ignore the law of god i obey the law of christ and when i'm with those who are weak i share their weakness for i want to bring the weak to christ yes i try to find common ground with everyone doing everything i can to save some i do everything to spread the good news and share in its blessings what paul said is hear me is what we're called to do once we realize and we repent we renew and we remain that we represent it means that we navigate the culture in which we're in with wisdom with truth with grace that we sit we empathize we sit and we listen we don't come in with hammers and anvils and we don't come in you know throwing just just just just truth without understanding where people are what they struggle with how they see life and how far from god they are we are the minority paul said and so we we pray we stay renewed we remain and we represent with those in our lives that may have never met jesus before right now i believe as the world gets darker the gospel is going to shine all the brighter that right now is our opportunity like never before but what it takes is is for you and i to understand the importance of morality that we walk in our god-given authority but we remember that we are the minority and god has sent us as his ambassadors to a lost dying jacked up world this is why proverbs says a wicked messenger oh they just fall into trouble trouble after trouble after trouble but a faithful ambassador brings health hear me lighthouse my hearts cry with those pastors that i serve with the staff that serve you and the elders that lead this church our hearts cry is that we would be faithful ambassadors that bring health to those around us so let me tell you why we do love week love week isn't our attempt to notch our belt love week isn't just our thing so that we can go out and you know you know serve those that need and you know retreat back into the four walls of the church and wait again until next year to do it love week is our opportunity to go and get out of our comfort zone to be ambassadors for jesus love week is our means sometimes for those that don't know how to be around those that do to go and be representatives of a whole another kingdom love week is our way of taking our holy huddle that we do week in week out day in and day out into the lost that need it so desperately so that we can share the message of the kingdom you ask what's the message of the kingdom that there is a god that left heaven to come to earth he was nailed to a roman cross bar for your and my sins and three days later he walked out of a borrowed tomb triumphing over satan's sin and death itself and he wants to he knows you he wants you to know him come back to god that's what ambassadors do amen and if you're anything like me hear me if you're anything like me you forget that from time to time find yourself the end cap at the back aisle of target act in a total full and so what we've provided is is that when you leave here today we want to provide you these easy little bracelets to remind you that as they say represent on them that you are not your own that you've been bought with a price and you don't represent yourselves you represent the god that sent you and that you don't walk in your own authority you walk in the authority of the god that sent you and you weren't elected by men you were chosen and appointed by the god that loves you to be an ambassador for his kingdom so you can go to the welcome center and pick one up some of you need to get four or five of them put them on your arm but i believe that as we allow god to use us we're gonna see his kingdom come and his will be done like never before amen would you stand with me heavenly father we we don't feel comfortable at times being your ambassador lord we could give ourselves a million and one reasons why we're not qualified while we're not the why we're not the best pick while we gotta grow ourselves before we can represent you but lord you knew what you were doing you knew what you were doing when you chose us and you appointed us you saw what we did not and i pray father that you would use this local congregation to represent your name father i pray right now that you would show us the importance of morality that you would again remind us of our god-given authority and you would give us the wisdom as we remember we're the minority use this church father to be a lighthouse in a dark and dying world for your name's sake and for your glory in jesus name amen worthy of every song we could ever worthy of all the praise we could ever bring worthy of every breath we could ever bring we live for you we live for you jesus every other day jesus the only one you could ever say worthy of every breath we could ever there is show me who you are me worthy of every song we could ever see worthy of all the praise we could ever worthy of every breath we could ever jesus worthy of every breath we could ever is you are who is are oh is my oh there is who you are is me you amen amen what an incredible and timely reminder that we were not only created and called to build our life upon god we are called to go out and represent him as his ambassadors and as pastor sammy said one very practical way we can do that as this house as this body of believers is through love week it's kicking off today you can still sign up we've got a table out in the lobby we've got qr codes lh online fam we'll put it in the chat if god stirred something in your heart i cannot encourage you enough be obedient see what he's got in store for you as we go out and represent him all week long amen well it's been absolutely amazing being with you guys this morning as always if you need prayer if you're looking for someone to pray with you we've got an amazing prayer team who will be here at the front of the stage lh online you can go to lh chat or put it in the comments we would love to pray for you individually but before we do that i'd love to pray for us corporately so join me in prayer well god thank you so much for all that you have done here today god thank you for the reminder that you have called us and you have created us to build our lives upon you and that you will lead us to where you have us go to tell everyone we can about you god we just pray over love week as we are going out and being the hands and feet of jesus holy spirit that you move just pouring out your spirit on our community god and just bringing people back to you god thank you so much for my brothers and sisters go before us as we go among our weak lord and we will give you all the honor glory and praise it's in jesus name we pray amen man what an absolute incredible word this morning yeah but moreover i believe in even better series totally i don't know about you but this series really solidified some stuff in me that we need to remain that we need to repent but we got to know leading up to today we are called to represent absolutely and i think that really puts something on us to be the hands and feet of jesus just like sammy said that that we are ambassadors that in christ that we are a new creation and i've been in walmart target dunkin donuts where people are active yeah trying to get that coffee john first thing in the morning people are acting crazy but we got to understand we're not representing us that we are representing jesus and that's why we do what we do church absolutely and so if you haven't had an opportunity to represent jesus by signing up for love week it's still time to do it it starts today but it lasts all week you can go to lighthouse dot church forward slash love week find a slot for you and don't forget we have the night of worship tonight at glen burnie and we're also streaming that online as we gather together to praise jesus who is so worthy he's reconciled us forgiven us loved us now commissions us he deserves our worship that's right that's right for those of you that partner with us financially we cannot thank you enough that we are able to do what we do because of your generosity that we're able to have these love weekends that were able to go out and reach the lost and make disciples so if you want to give you can do that online or our app but we so appreciate it and we cannot wait to see you guys next week we so love you and may the lord bless you on the way out amen see you guys later you

Channel: Lighthouse Church

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Length: 86min 30sec (5190 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 10 2021