Gracepointe Church (Dover, OH)
Gracepointe Church (Dover, OH)
Love in Action | Shawn Miller
I was also going to mention something about what Sean mentioned in his devotional this morning, and Ron mentioned it already. Peace is not an absence from a storm, the peace of being in the presence of Jesus. For some reason, that just really caught my attention. It was so true. So my name is Moe Henderson. This woman with the riddle goes like this I'm not a coin, but I make me rich. I'm not a gift, but I make you rich. I'm not a gift, but I invest for giving. I cost nothing, yet change everything. The more you give, the more you live. Why not Love? And I realize that I'm probably not doing anything, I didn't answer.
Speaker 1:The title of the sermon this morning is Love in Action. Love in Action. You've probably all, at some point or another, found it difficult to love in action, and that's actually what's been a, a benefit when you get caught up on while driving down the road. Those actions could have been when you are gossiped at by one of the voters. Love in action when you provided that scenario with the spots. Love in action when somebody mistreated or when the dog is understood. How do you show the best side of all of the when the dog is being mistreated? So my thing and all I did is a lot of inspiration for teaching the students. A large part of my inspiration is when I came out and started in the number class and in that number class, in preparation for that first number class, I was again one of the people that was out here.
Speaker 1:At this point Now I'm going to take a chance in order of four core values that we have here at this point. Now I'm going to take a chance and make a message passing to the words. I can ask Mayor Bob, by asking you, what are the four core values you're worried about? Can somebody give me one of the four core values at this point? The second step is one, one of the four core values of this time Reciprocity is one, evangelism is another one, holiness is another one and one more Worship, worship, holiness, evangelism, reciprocity. This morning, the depth or level of our love for each other is a key ingredient in carrying out these four values here at RISC-A. Love in action To pass for this morning respect, love in action.
Speaker 1:The text first comes in Romans 12, verse 9, and 21. Before I go into the text, I'd like to give a little bit of a background in the context of these verses In the upper Romans. Paul spends the first of the chapters in explaining God's mercy and love for us. This love comes through Christ, the sacrificial love of Christ In the first day of Romans. It all explains how long we were in this, all explains how God we were, yet sinners, as disciples. Paul explains how God one day sacrificed for Jesus. Paul also explains how the Messiah, who is alive, justifies us as his children. And he also explains in the first commandment chapters how the adoption of us into God's family, how long will it take. And then it's very interesting, when we come to chapter 12, all things of God's mercy toward us live like this, live in this way.
Speaker 1:I like to read the first two verses in Romans 12, even though we are not our first years. Romans 12, verse 1,. I appeal to you, therefore and again, the word therefore is a connector to the previous element of this Therefore, since we now know that God's mercy is for us and God's love is for us, therefore, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice of holy and acceptable to God through Jesus' spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that, by trusting you may serve what is the will of God. One is good and acceptable and perfect. So then, as Paul goes into the stream of chapter 4, paul begins his exhortation on how to live out the person's longing for you, how to live out being a living sacrifice Other than the being not cast on the world but to be set apart for the world. Then, in verses 4 and 5, it's interesting that the root in verse 2 represents is we, so many are one of our own thoughts, and that is the church.
Speaker 1:Before the human goes into the life, the vagina life, paul addresses the church through the difference that the Gentiles have and have been given to Jews, through the mercy of God. And then Paul goes into what it doesn't look like to go along with the action. In verses 9 and 21, paul paints a picture of Christ's life law. This law is not just being casual. I love you, by the way, that never followed on. Paul Bonner with me and Paul Dunley. He used the planes to tie up my life. It could often be mixed as a party. It could often be used as bedtime prayers. People would go. It all makes sense at one of the long times. This is the last musical, I'll say on the board I'm a ball. Those three are my four words. I love them.
Speaker 1:The Christlike love that Paul is telling us about starting in this time is not just a warm, fuzzy, sentimental feeling, but it's more of a sincere, sacrificial and, at times, we're sure, involving our enemies in a supernatural lot. He's going to tell us how love clings to what is good. It even goes as far as blessing those who persecute us, blessing those who sing things falsely against us. These are the tells that love becomes evil by comforting our weak-minded. Not just by staking our weak-minded, but by replacing our weak-minded with good. This is the kind of love that meets us as a church shine in the very world. This is the kind of love that followers of the Holy Spirit embody on a daily basis. This is the kind of love that is impossible to share without Christ's service. The verse is 9 to 13. All purpose and intention are done on the aspect of the church, and then the verse is 4 to 21. All allows us to go outside of the church doors and into evangelism, and into loving those that don't do that themselves, loving those that are more than a servant.
Speaker 1:Turning now to Romans 12, and I'd like to read the text Romans 12, verses 9 and 21. As we read the text text, keep your eyes open for just a sprinkling of the sermon of the mouth. As we make the text, all words echo Jesus words in our sermon of the mouth, especially in blessing our enemies, overcoming evil with good. He gives us a picture of God, an explanation in self-sacrificing fact that we're going to be actually with God in action. Romans 12, 9-11.
Speaker 1:The lovely gentleman, a poor or a faint or an, utterly detest what is evil. Hold fastest what is evil. Hold fast to what is good, or love what is good. Love one another with brotherly love, with brotherly affection. Outdo one another to show higher. Do not be sloth or zeal, but be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Be forced in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show household power.
Speaker 1:Firstborn to me. Bless the Lord as a person to you. Bless and do not thirst there. Be the voice of your folks. Be, be rejoice and bleed with those who need. Persist in living harmony with one another. Do not be quiet. Do not be quiet but associate with the Lord. Never be wise in your own sight. Be a knower for evil, that you are taught to do what is honorable in sight of all, if possible, so far as it depends on you. Live peace of those who do it all. Be honest. Never avenge yourself or leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay it, says the Lord, and leave the first kind that is written in the name of the Lord. This is the first time we can be back and name of our Lord Jesus. The worst is that all human beings will be back and be revived. When they trap our Lord, we will be thrilled. I believe this verse is true in the Bible To the contrary. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. By doing so, miracle people are called on his fire. The worst is that they will go on your stead. You will be very full from on the step you're not before down by you. Three points the first upon us is founderzani, and that is simply Gold Sincerity.
Speaker 1:The key to this whole passage seems to center around this idea of hate, evil and good. He starts with it. He says I want you to say between two, lots of things, and then he also ends with it at the end of this passage. You know he's done with people. He's done with people. He's done with people. It begins with this.
Speaker 1:Let's first look at love in general. Watch this. It means to go on by the volume in turn one I love you in general. Watch this video through Google. By the volume in general. It simply means don't forget me. Don't forget me when you say I love you, I love that person. It's not one of them, it's not two people. It's not one of them, it's not two things. It's not telling one person something and the other person. The answer is something else about that other person. It means love through the good and bad. It means love through the good times and love through the bad. So why does Paul make this statement about good and evil and put it right between the two statements about love love in genuine and love in a different direction?
Speaker 1:I like to read it. Three things about love and all it's going to cost to the people. The first is what is love? Robert mentioned it's genuine. It is not driven by performance, it is good. And then he's also telling us what love does. A genuine love confronts a queen. A genuine love confronts a brother, not because, strictly from the right back, a genuine love does not go around the other side and our love looks like his brotherhood, affection and honor. It brings us to a very catching phrase, the phrase of Bogleman who's brotherhood has you? How do you want to remember the empowerment I'll do one another, the impalement I'm going to have that. Follow me at Grace Point. You know who's had the ambition of? Wouldn't impalement be out of the person? Thank you.
Speaker 1:In our household I grew up with three brothers and in our household we have four brothers, four sons, and competition is not a thing that we have to muddle with. Competition happens a lot. We try to outdo each other in anything we can think of In life. We try to outdo each other in a lot of things. We try to outdo each other in a lot of things. We try to outdo each other in on a horse moving somebody. We try to outdo each other in. It might be whatever you want to name it. That's how it was all at times.
Speaker 1:Paul is saying outdo each other in honor, because they do not have to talk out the pain of society. They need to make that serious and try to honor each other and honor each other. Next, he says be firm in spirit. Actually, first he says, be not this lost, cold and sealed, but be firm in spirit. He's simply telling us don't put it in a zip.
Speaker 1:Love and action has no realm for resilience. Don't do only what's confusing, do what is difficult and for that, open your practice. Well now and pray to God now. He says Rejoice in those who rejoice and we will rejoice in you. Love in action is beaten up and tired. Love in action is not hoping that somebody will kill you. Love in action is rejoicing in things, so I'll have a paper box to support it. Is rejoicing with people and things to laugh. So I'll take a pause and explore it.
Speaker 1:And I think when I shared this with you from all my friends and sisters, even the people in the field, I came across a story that had this view of actually I'm not sure if it was a view, I think it was something I actually heard before and the question this I'm sure there's a few, I think there's almost a half, something like that four and the question was this If your friend would get $1,000 and you would get $50, would you rather have that or would you rather have two million nothing and them getting nothing Again. If your friend gets a thousand muffins and you already get fifty muffins, would you have that, your big muffins and ten million muffins? Or if you'd rather get a muffin than have a grandmum in one of them? Close this morning. That is not love and action.
Speaker 1:Rejoice with those who rejoice and the one who is victorious will be beaten. Be meek and be kind to each other and be dear to each other. One of the ways is to continually be brave and be there for each other. One of those ways is to continually be there for each other. At this point, we church that praise and God is things together. We church that praise for each other as he's gone. If we want to be successful in evangelism and discipleship, we need to practice to our next and our the ministry, which is caring for others. We will never be a discipling church if we don't give to them and care for each other while we're in prison. Be patient with each other through the long times.
Speaker 1:I imagine this to widen the scope of the city and you might be involved in various thoughts in the area, but I also think that if you're going to a planet, talk to the host here and somebody asks you what are you doing? They have to be very careful. Even as a football player, we've been through some intubation. We've also been through intubation in the name of the saints. That's something I've seen. But then we've done very well. In the case when we met us, our sister is a sister to the community, but then we've done very well with the Grace Community and that is to assist the system with immunity. Let's keep on moving, let's be there for each other, no matter how the Grace Community or the House of Samoan, house of Samoan interaction. We see all of each other Now we go through to.
Speaker 1:It could be inside the church or it could be outside the church. Do we have that as inside the church? Why is it that it is inside the church? I hope that the gospel we are just going to be the medium in the gospel and we are just going to die in a hell of a man and in a frost that we will all feel for when we share that. What about outside the church? Are there people that are going to be? What about us? Outside of the church? Are there people that are among you? How easy is it to not develop or show them.
Speaker 1:Love in action, for because of Christ's love for us, we are telling the Shulmah from other ones to be in the middle of those cells. We are called to bless them, not just not say anything about them, but to actually say words of blessing to them and do that First point. So the first point was love and saving. The second point is love and respect. Love and respect Live in harmony with one another. Do not be caught in, but associate with the Holy. Never be wise in your own way. We may know what we don't know, but we're taught to do what is on the inside of all, to do what is on your inside of life.
Speaker 1:Once this war is over, the main ingredient that we need to serve is humility. Don't think that you're so tired of the person you're serving. Don't think that you're so tired of the person you're serving. Don't be desperate. But if I realize that I'm serving this war in this weird, weird, bad world, I realize I'm a servant of this life. It's good to be a good father and I'm a line of police. I'm a good police guy. Don't be respected, christians.
Speaker 1:Jesus' words in Matthew 5. Truly I say to you, as you did it for our reason, you did it for me never do lies and need to be with one side. I've worked involved, I'm going to turn. Nobody gives a spot, as always. And there's another quality you find yourself within this house and I don't, and we're going to carry on worshiping the government and birth of living holy lives, love and action, addressing evil for each other, holding us evangelism, taking out what we have needed and can't give up on now and then establishing we cannot take from ourselves what is wrong and what goes wrong. And then the other person, solomon and all his wisdom, said and all his spirits said, prodigal and important, functioning, had always spirits which would follow. He also wrote iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. We can learn from each other Us as older folks. We can learn from the mother and some of the younger folks folks involved in the work is from New York. We can learn from each other. Don't blame New York At work. We also have a lot of our core values is respect and the new deep body. We can talk about it and going on in the script.
Speaker 1:I look at it and it simply is this we practice the golden rule by longing and putting the legs. The golden rule is now. Don't do what you don't want to do. The golden rule says do what you don't want to do. The golden rule is not to be thankful for that person. I don't want that person to be me, so I don't want to be that person. But the golden rule actually calls this the golden rule of the podcast. It says do what follows, not before we do that duty, but as we do our duty. Don't worry that we do the best of that. We must keep it at our self and ready. We're better at this. We're better at this now than we've been for a few years.
Speaker 1:What president has it out for him to do to others? Paul is not just calling us not to be able to move, but he's calling us to love and action. Then he says if possible, so far as it comes to you, peace and glory with God. So the first point was about sincere life. The second point live peaceably. And the third point is simply leave the vengeance to God. Leave the vengeance to God. Leave the vengeance to God, verse 19. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but lead it to the wrath of God. Fear his vengeance, venge his life. I will not fail you, says the Lord. You can't say Not only don't avenge the person who made be holding you, but go in the opposite. To the contrary, give your enemies company. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. By so doing, you will be thrown the lowest by his power, and we will be going about this on our step. If somebody has spoken or misread the Zephyr Guru, see the. If somebody has done something to you, go back. Okay, if I didn't have him, I it might have happened way in Bristol. Go back and talk to God about this.
Speaker 1:As I was thinking of an illustration on bleeding beds in Condata. We have many families here. We, as parents, will never think of letting our children give out a punishment to their siblings If there's a fight. If we don't show them getting into a fight, I would. I would hate to make fun of the father or the batterer. I would have told them, told me, that you guys want to go out to America. You have to take care of it. That is your responsibility. We do the hand, but we think it's the other way around. I want to see borderline solution. I think some of what we do when we are at home, when we have the gas, we sit at home, we sit in the summer, we walk outside in the church, here, here, and the parents, children, have a solution. That's our job as a parent to deal with. What consequences can be concerned about in the academy? Our job as a parent to fear the consequences, to keep them safe.
Speaker 1:Folks, this morning it's God's job to bring vengeance on whoever can be an enemy of the people of the past, who I just lied on the hour. If we retaliate, if I retaliate to whoever I think is going to get me, then I'm going to go for it as well, by English and Christians at the campaign first, because politics were involved, by hearing George. This is how I want to do it. Do not focus on the word, but only on the word. We do it. I want to do that at the last point. Again, don't be violent about it. It's a fair reason. I'm just wondering Don't be rendered powerless by English and Christians by their vision. Uh, don't try to talk to me, okay, I'm gonna ask you to do it. Okay, and I'm going to ask you to come up and listen to a song. I just kind of put it on the other end just now. A song, what I want to know. I think I'll do it tomorrow. What do you want to do? I'm going to do it for you. Let's start with that.
Speaker 1:What is law of action? First of all, I was in church so we can give to others and do that to them. Again, we want to be right out. We don't do that. We're mostly in the wilderness in the act of living inside the church. Well, since we're in Jaguar. So we honor and affectionate the public for another, we look peaceful and we have humility and respect for all of them.
Speaker 1:Leave them to God. How good do you live? By being good. Let's live like the people who have been taught by Christ and by living this way, show them love and true love. Before I leave, this morning again are going to be a beautiful thing in worship, worship, worship, evangelism and discipleship. That is what we need inside of you, all of us, in order to give that to those outside of here. Let's continue practicing those here. The sermon this morning was not. It was. Sermon this morning was not preached through the spirit of Satan, but as an encouragement to keep doing what you're doing. This time I'm going to have Daniel come up and read that psalm and then I'm going to have him psalm the landing of all our children. Thank you.