SSM - Aug. 2, 2023
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Who can carry you?
Who can carry you?
No Man Is an Island
No Man Is an Island
Poem by John Donne (1572-1631)
No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were.
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
Magazine contest definition of friend:
Friend: The one who walks in when everyone else has walked out.
Friend: The one who walks in when everyone else has walked out.
If you are going to make in in ministry, you need some real friends.
If you are going to make in in ministry, you need some real friends.
Real friends are allowed into places that “other friends” are not.
Real friends are allowed into places that “other friends” are not.
1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic,
11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Characteristics of True Friends:
Characteristics of True Friends:
1. (The most obvious) They Carry you to Jesus
1. (The most obvious) They Carry you to Jesus
2. They see your brokenness and love you anyway
2. They see your brokenness and love you anyway
3. They lift you up
3. They lift you up
4. They carry you when you can’t go on alone
4. They carry you when you can’t go on alone
5. They break through barriers for you
5. They break through barriers for you
6. They lower you when you need to be lowered
6. They lower you when you need to be lowered
7. They rejoice when encounter Jesus and walk on your own
7. They rejoice when encounter Jesus and walk on your own
8. They are not jealous when the attention is on you rather than them
8. They are not jealous when the attention is on you rather than them
Bonus:
Let downs can leave you broken or bring you to Jesus:
How to handle letdowns: Shake off the dust.
The biggest letdown of all is rejection.
11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
12 And when you go into a household, greet it.
13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
Holding onto the dirt of rejection (let downs), affects the way you walk
Holding onto the dirt of rejection (let downs), affects the way you walk
Actor Walter Brenna limped onto the silver screen as a character named “Eddie” in the 1944 movie “To Have and Have Not” with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. He would use that same limp again as Amos McCoy in “The Real McCoys” series that ran seven seasons, from 1957-1963. Because of how real his limp looked in these two roles, some folks thought that the actor himself had a real-life limp. But he didn’t. You can see him with a normal gait in the role of the parson in the movie “Sergeant York” among others. While Walter Brennan was preparing for his role as Eddie, [the man with the limp in “To Have and Have Not,] his friend, sound effects technician Jack Foley, suggested to him that he put a rock in his shoe to create a limp. Brennan did so [which forced him to walk without putting all his weight down on the shoe with the rock in it] and that is how he learned his rather genuine-looking fake limp. (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037382/trivia)