Epiphany 2

We're going to continue on with a theme that I start a couple weeks ago. When I introduced you to the challenge called the 21 days of prayer Challenge and that 21 days of prayer. I don't know if you're participating or have not participated, but it's a great opportunity. Even now we're in. This is Dave 14 or day 15 now of the challenge to pray and this is just an opportune be more focused on our prayer life and how we bring our our needs and our Praises all to God and so do that challenge and if you recall the word challenge, I gave very synonyms that it could be but the the beginning and end of those synonyms was dare and double there. So if all the different synonyms of what a challenge could be like a competition or or something to overcome these two words really stood out to me dare and double And so as I repeat the challenge and I'm going to use that challenges kind of a recurring theme throughout the year. This is the year of the challenge. I guess it started with my driving a Challenger for a couple weeks and I got all hyped up on that but this will be the year of the challenge in our first challenge then two weeks ago was to pray and so we want to continue that we did with the 21 days of prayer. If you haven't already begun that challenge 21 days didn't have to start on January 7th. That's when it officially began it can start anytime if you want to really commit yourself to be prayerful and thoughtful about what prayer is and how did to carry it out effectively a prayer life prayer relationship with God visit praying praying Challenge and you'll get resources here that you can follow along with last week online. I continued with a challenge dare and double dare and I introduced you to this word, which I don't think she appeared properly. I think it was reversed on But it's or yada and means to know and so when we talked about that last week, I spoke about it first yada yada yada, you know, that's how we hear it and maybe in our if we're not yet ish. We say blah blah blah.

But you say that you typically it's something that's boring is a blah blah blah and why is something boring think about that? Why is it boring because you're so familiar with it that is if there's nothing new or exciting or thrilling about it. It's non it's so well, no one has become mundane and Monday and isn't bad. How many times has your life been turned upside down and you wish for Monday, you know as that that's her two-piece or that kind of settled time. And so we look at you. I want you to look at that first. The first yatta would be to know the second yada would be to make noise and the third yadah is when it gets boring. That's when everybody knows do for us. We won't reach yada yada yada until Jesus comes again because there won't be a time in our life span when everyone Will know Jesus unless he comes back before the end of our lives and then everybody will know it as everyone is battling a need to Jesus and every tongue is confessing that he is Lord of the glory of God the Father we can save no great surprise there. So it was a challenge for us that challenges and know him better to know him better at the end of this year than we know him right now and to make him known to others. So if you know of someone that doesn't know him to introduce or make him known and our goal ultimately is the yada yada yada. That's the challenge.

And then this is the next one this third third point of challenge that I want to lay out for you today. Jesus was asked what must I do to inherit eternal life. and the answer was was given, you know, where the Commandments in and Jesus listed them off later, which is the greatest commandment and response response was love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul mind strength and Love your I'm on the run verse. Love your neighbor as yourself.

The second part of that command. So if we love God it's going to be followed with a love for others because we're all part of his creation bearing for the image of God is he created us In His Image Center knowledgeable able to make reason we bear that image and he is actively taken steps to restore that image through Jesus Christ and his life is death is resurrection. And so to love our neighbor is now only to love him as we love him ourselves as we want to be treated as we want to be cared for but it's the love God. We love God by loving our neighbor as we ourselves have no one God to love us. Okay, so that's that no.

When when the disciples answered the call and follow Jesus they walk for 3 years getting to know him until at the end as they're entering into Jerusalem and they're waving their palm branches and everybody's excited. They're like yada yada yada. We've reached the Pinnacle at that point. They probably thought Jesus is coming in cuz they still didn't get all that. He was saying, you know, the son of man must be handed over to the Gentiles be Insulted abused crucified and then arise again. He spilled out for them. They didn't quite get it. So when they start wearing weave in the palm branches, they're probably all like yada yada yada. Everybody's finally on the same page. They all know that this Jesus is the Messiah the Son of God.

That didn't happen. By the end of the week he was hanging on a cross little taller than that. wood And with Nails in it. We know he rose from the dead and the disciples who had followed him for those three years finally got the message. What Jesus said come for and how it accomplish it? Remember Peter? Why does Santa know this will never happen to you. He wanted to stop the whole deal. He would never known. The resurrection have had he stopped him in that point. We would never know the power of the Resurrection, especially when we come to it personally or as we experience it through the life of someone else is passing from this life into Glory. But thankfully he died thankfully Heroes and thankfully he ascended into heaven and his followers of Jesus. We believe this we've learned this we follow him now and what does it look like well, Peter and the disciples rest of the disciples gathered in the upper room after Jesus ascended to Heaven they prayed and they prayed challenge one. They prayed and they prayed. For the gifted got it promised them in Jesus that he would pour out his Spirit on to them and 10 days after he had ascended to Heaven that Spirit was poured into them in that upper room and they began to speak in tongues tongues of fire lit on their heads and they'll all like a birthday candle and as a experiences they praise God. For all that they had known about him and all that had been revealed to them and they shared that knowledge as Peter preached a great message on the day of Pentecost to the crowds that started Gallery. Just imagine being on a balcony this what I'm mad. You don't we see pictures of of the Pope standing on a balcony preaching some sort of homily to the crowds gathered below. This is the image that we kind of get as Gap the crowds gathered. It was a crowded City. It was a festival time Pentecostal Festival from the Old Testament. It was they were experiencing right then and there were three thousand people Probably more than 3,000 but 3000 that responded positively to the message and were baptized that day. I don't know how many walked away and didn't respond positively. I know there were probably some because not too long after that. They were stoning disciples in the streets of Jerusalem. but as it was Peter gets on this balcony in the upper room and he preaches to a crowd of mob of over 3,000 people. And this is this is what happens the crowd. It's cut to the heart. His words as he tells them that this Jesus the Same Jesus whom you crucified is now both his risen. He is both Lord and God he is Christ and they're cut to the heart of the so what do we do? We don't know how to respond to this and he says repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ. And your sins will be forgiven. And the gift of the holy spirit will be given to you and then he can click concludes that same for The Promise This Promise of forgiveness. And God's indwelling spirit is for you and for your children and for all who are far off everyone in the Lord. I've got calls to himself. So just like those disciples they were in their boats fishing and got called personally by Jesus God is calling us now to carry that message forward and he is because he intends to call many others those who are far off but I news4u news flashes. We are those that we're far off where the whole different continent then when this message first with Sherry and he's called us into faith into a relationship with Christ to know him into believing to follow him. This Promise is for each one of us in it in the baptism where our sins are washed away replaces his name baptized into the name of Jesus Christ name Montessori calls us into his family where he gives us with the spiritual gifts and produces in us through the seed of the Gospel of love joy peace, patience kindness goodness and self-control and as he continues his in Welling confirming and guaranteeing the fact that we are errors to eternal life. And we have treasure being stored up right now in his glory. That's what the promise is a promise that we have that is our children and our grandchildren from generation to generation.

Is for all of them and for others whom the Lord Our God calls himself and that call comes like a did from my in my vision of Jesus my imagining of Jesus calling me it came through the words of my father. That's where that invitation came from through the words of my father and I want you to hear that because if we're waiting for Jesus to appear in visual physically. I saw a visually in my mind, but the words came through another. They came from me to someone else and they come from you to someone else. Perhaps to your children. But also perhaps for someone who's a far far off, maybe not geographically. The far off is that they've never heard anything about this or what? They heard has just kind of distant them or their sense of religion is skewed by world events and activities and circumstances of Life. Maybe they maybe this is time to plow the soil and to get some of those rocks out of the way so that in that person's life, you have the opportunity to plant that seed deep. Maybe this is the opportunity for us to get the thorns and the thistles out of the way so that that seed can be planted deep. And have roots and grow and thrive.

But each one of us have around us a group that we call our ikos. And we think about our Aiko's we've thought about those people that are not have my Bible up here, but I must have already carried see how I do. And wander with we ever Waco Center or Coast is all those people.

That are part of our life. So like for instance this right here. This is God's house hold his family. He's made it part of that and we were but we also have a humanoid Cosette that is around us. So it is our immediate family those that are maybe part of our own household in terms of we're related to them. We know them they might share coffee or food with us from time to time. Maybe it's an friend or neighbor. Maybe it's an associate at work. But at this point cuz that we could draw around us would be all those people that we we have some relationship to So for me, I've got a Norco set and it's inclusive of the Village Hall. So I go over there and I get to know the people that are over there and their Associates of mine. I have no previous history with them, but they become part of my toy coast and so I think about them when I think about Christ and him calling to others Beyond Myself. For the Oyster House is for you that same sort of thing you draw that Waco's map. Now. I want you to draw different map. And another thing that it's bad. It's on the back corner of the cabinet there. This is something that we're going to work yet. We're going to work on this actually throughout the year and then we're gonna have a celebration. So this is this is where this challenges is big toe. It's not a 21-day challenge. It's not going to be a whole 365 day challenge, but we'll be coming back to this in the fall and seeing how we do on meeting this Challenge and you can complete this challenge as quickly as you want or you can take your time pacing yourself through it, but these are so this is a this is work. I'm going to give you a big homework assignment we're going to have to pass this on to others that are apps and they thought they were getting out of this homework assignment. They're not going to get out of it. We're going to chase him down and give it to But I want you to think about your neighbors. We're going to get specific in terms of a Waco's and focus on a particular grouping this year. Whereas we've drawn a map and just been inclusive of everyone that's in early cuz now we're going to get a little bit more specific and I want you to hear this message from this reading from Luke chapter 10 as I think about being a fisher of men. Where are we going to put our lines in the while we're going to throw our Nets this year this year. And so I'm going to help you with throwing your net this year. We're going to do it via this very challenging homework assignment that is going to Paperwork and sweat like pulling thorns and thistles and digging up rocks. Okay, aren't you excited? This is okay from Luke chapter 10 and behold a lawyer stood up in this is beginning a 25 and put Jesus to the testing teacher. What shall I do to inherit Eternal I and he said damn what is written in the law? How do you read it? answered you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and What do you think? The next part is? your neighbor As yourself thank you. Tell your neighbor as yourself and he said to him you have answered correctly do this and you left that's what we're to do to love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. Shouldn't we be actively looking at how we do that? I mean it's a doing thing. It's not a thinking thing. It's not feeling think it's a do anything what must I do to have eternal life. This is what you must do. You must love God and you must love your neighbor. He said when you've answered correctly do this and you will live. But the guy wanted to justify himself. So, how do I make this easier? I want to I want this graded on a curve. Can we grade this on a curve and going to get all your homework assignment? Can we simplify this homework assignment make it easier so that we don't have to really work that hard. We don't have to do that much. We can just say we love our neighbor and you know, maybe even shrink that is so who's my neighbor is so that I don't have to love a lot of people just may be like maybe one or two.

And so he says Desiring to justify himself. He said to his to Jesus who is my neighbor. Jesus replied A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed leaving him half-dead now by chance a priest was going down that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side so likewise a levite when he came to the place and saw him pass by on the other side, but a Samaritan as he journeyed. In any part of this is we we often touch focus on the part that Samaritans were the most unlikely because they weren't like or anyting but in this case, I want you to think this American actually lived in another area. Okay, it wasn't living it. If this isn't in Judah area around Jerusalem and Jericho area. This guy was an out-of-towner. So he would not be counted as a neighbor like this guy wasn't even an American or this guy isn't even from Vicksburg. This guy isn't even from colon, you know, so that's how that's how this was this Samaritan out of town or the stranger as he journeyed came to where he was and when he saw him he had compassion he went to him and bound up his one pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him and the next day he took out to dinner 8 and gave it to The Innkeeper saying take care of him and whatever more you spend I will repay and when I come back, which of these three do you think proved when I will pay when I come back? Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? And he said the one who showed him mercy and Jesus said him you go and do likewise. And once again working with that. Do you see Jesus is not is not just a Visionary. He's not just a he doesn't just talk yet. He walks it he does it and he calls us to not just follow me from your boat stay where you are. Follow me as a disciple in your boat, but he calls an out of their boat to come and physically follow him. I mean we kind of dismiss that in favor of this faith that is an Oculus or we can justify herself saying what I believe and we don't actually do anything with our faith when he calls us to do this to love God and to love our neighbor and when the guys tries to justify himself and says, yeah, but who's my neighbor? He says you're the neighbor to everyone else. You're the neighbor be the neighbor. Don't wait for me to identify someone else for you to call neighbor. Okay, you only have these people. These are my neighbors. This is this is true for us to us. God calls us to witness. He doesn't limit who we witness to and so the assignment that I'm going to give you is actually going to do it down a little bit little bit. But it limits you on seeing that you're a neighbor to everyone. What this is this difficult challenging homework assignment that I'm giving to you right now and this is where the reading was I just gave you is. I'm going to dare you. I'm going to double dare you to love your neighbor. Okay, that's a challenge and I'm going to do that with this kind of a year-long challenge. I love in your neighborhood. It's called neighborhood Bingo. Okay, this is your assignment we give you one per per household. Here's your markers that you can use to fill in the blanks, but they're a little things that you can do to kind of get to know the people that are right around you and to initiate some way in which you can demonstrate love for the people that are nearby that are on your road going to the other side of the road. Well, in this case, you might actually have to go to the other side of the road. You just stay on your side.

Did I give you the the fill-ins to all right, there you going there's a fill-ins and so there's a lot of different things. I'd like you to try and fill this out, you know yet all the boxes which some of them are going to be challenging, but I wanted to do this at this point in particular cuz I didn't mean you can think about this while we just had like the the national championship of football. We're about to have the Super Bowl later on we'll have like World Series there is all sorts of different opportunities sports-wise, but there may be other things as well that you can invite people around you to kind of share the event or maybe there's I'm just looking at this soon on my bingo sheet. The first one on my card says draw a map of your neighborhood marking down the neighbor's you know, my name. Right there. I'm convicted. I don't know my neighborhood that very well and I'm not a very real setting so you think I know everyone on the street and yet I don't know that I can call them all by name but that's a challenge for me and this year. I'm going to get to know my neighbors better so that how can I love them? If I don't even bother to try and know them? Okay, maybe by the end of the year. I can combine the prayer and the yada yada yada and the loving my neighbor all into one thing and say hey, I know my neighbors and they know Jesus and they know I know Jesus and they and I've been praying for them by name. Throughout the year. So these are that this is a challenge for us. That's why I said we're not going to let those people that are absent today get off the hook. We're going to do this together in a challenge ourselves to actually get outside of our box and maybe get to know people a little better there right around us and maybe in the process we might even make some

relationships that connect us not only to our own huecos, but the gods only cuz I love finding those that I didn't know that they were brother or sister in Christ and then all the sudden I get to know that we get to talk and really and then suddenly we're going to spend eternity together and we didn't even know it and we're just, you know, maybe a half a mile away from each other. So that's the The Challenge and it's not just a 21-day. It's hopefully something that'll change your life in your area forever. I hope from this year on it'll be okay. So come follow Jesus as we together become Fishers of Men.

Okay.