It's Time to Dig Ditches!

                                             All Saint's Sunday!              

Introduction:

A.   Today, we remember the saints who have gone on before us!

 

B.   Many of these people who we hold dearly and who may have been very influential in passing the gospel on to us, if asked, would probably have said their ministry was not very significant!

 

C.   As we shall see today, God uses insignificant people doing seemingly insignificant things to make a  significant difference in the world.

 

                            Prayer

                         II Kings 3:16

 

"and he said, 'This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches.'" NIV

 

I.   A Little Background.

A.   Israel was in a bad situation:

1.   They had had several mean and unGodly kings.

2.   As a nation, they were living far away from God.

3.   Mesha, the king of Moab, was out to get them!

 

B.   So the three kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom teamed up  together to go against Moab.

 

C.   They came together and decided to call Elisha to see what they should do.

1.   He told them that the Lord said to dig some ditches; so they did!

2.   This must have seemed pretty insignificant to them and a little unnecessary!  They were asking for instructions on how to win a war, and Elisha said "the Lord said to dig some ditches!"

3.   In the morning, after their offering, the ditches were mysteriously filled with water, supplying the necessary water for people and cattle!

4.   Besides this, when the Moabites looked down from their advantage point, the sun made it look red, and they thought it was blood!

5.   They assumed the three kings had fought each other, having a very bloody battle in the night!

6.   The Moabites rushed down the hill to collect the spoils, and being caught completely off guard by the very much alive Israelites, they were defeated!

 

II.  How does this apply to today?

A.   Sometimes, we think God is foolish in telling us to do some of the things God tells us to do!  We think:

1.   I can't do that!

2.   Surely with my education, God doesn't want me to do that!

3.   That isn't really important!

4.   Or even, somebody else can do it better!

 

B.   But God knows; God doesn't ask us to do things without a purpose!

 

C.   So we need to find God's purpose for us and dig in and  "dig some ditches!"

 

III. How can we find God's purpose for us?

A.   We need to get ready!

1.   Do what we can to get ready to be used of God!

2.   Study the Bible.

3.   Make good use of good Bible Study helps: commentaries, Bible dictionaries, Concordances, etc.

 

A word of caution here:  Commentaries are written by

People. People have biases.  If the commentary is

written by someone from a certain tradition, it will

have that bias.  Maybe use different commentaries

and make sure they all don’t have the same bias.

Sometimes it helps to use commentaries that are

written by a team of scholars instead of just one.

Being a United Methodist, try to pick at least some

commentaries that are written from a mainline

denominational tradition instead of fundamentalist!

 

B.   We need to be patient and listen to God; God will show us  the plan in God's time!

1.   We need to patiently consider why we think God wants  us to do whatever it is we feel God leading us to do.  This involves considering:

a.   how our doing this or not doing it will affect God's Kingdom overall.  Will it affect the  Kingdom of God positively?

b.   how our doing this or not doing it will affect other people in our lives.  Positively?

c.   how our doing this or not doing it will affect ourselves.  Positively?

d.   will our doing this show God's love?

2.   Our listening to God involves 2-way prayer:

a.   our speaking and pouring our heart out to God.

b.   and our listening for God's guidance in our lives!

c.   We tend to leave the latter out!

 

C.   If we do find God's purpose and dig in, what will happen?

1.   As a church, we will see people coming to God through Jesus Christ!

2.   We will see our young people grow up and assume spiritual leadership roles!

3.   God will see us through!

4.   Sometimes, God takes the little things and makes something great happen!!

 

Conclusion:

A.   Little things, everyday things are what make a difference!

1.   Assuming the task that God has for us, no matter how  small and insignificant it may seem at the time,and  doing our very best at it!

2.   Living for God faithfully every day!

3.   Being an instrument of God’s Love every day!

 

B.   IT'S TIME TO DIG SOME DITCHES!  LET'S DIG IN AND BE USED  OF GOD!

 

C.   Today, we are celebrating All Saint’s Sunday.  As you

entered today, you were asked to write a Saint’s name down

that has passed on and who has had an influence on you and

take a candle.

1.   Some of those people, if asked, would have probably

said their lives were pretty insignificant, but yet,

they influenced you!

          2.   We are going to remember them as Geraldo passes the

flame and the candle you have taken is lit in their

remembrance. I will then lead us in a prayer of

remembrance.

 

(Geraldo pass the flame while music is softly

 played.)

 

         

                        Prayer of Thanks for Saint’s

 

              We bless your holy name, O God,

                   For all your servants who, having finished their

course, now rest from their labors.

              We thank you for their influence on our lives!

              Give us grace to follow the example

                   Of their steadfastness and faithfulness,

                   to your honor and glory;

              through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen

                                  (Modified from BOW #415)

 

D.   As we encounter Christ at the table today, let’s ask God

to help us assume the task God/Christ has for us and do

it to the best of our ability!

 

Celebration of Communion

 

"Belief That Endures!"

 Intro.

At the church where I attended as a teenager, there was this lady who had two little boys who also attended; for the purposes of this recollection, we will call her Sherry.  This lady attended very faithfully.  Many of her brothers and sisters, also her mother, attended the church as well; this family was very strong in the church.  There were a few people in the family who did not attend, and one of these was Sherry=s husband, we’ll call him Terry.  Terry was one of these good old boys who just didn=t come to church and really didn=t see much use in it.  Sherry would talk of how she prayed that he would come to know Christ and she worked at it, but usually she was doing good if she could get him there for Christmas.  Time went on, the church went through some hard times and split, and Sherry continued to come very faithfully; she even got more involved after the split, Terry still didn=t come.  Sherry=s brother-in-law, who was a pastor, became the pastor of the church, and Terry still did not come.  Time went on and the church would not leave the split behind, so we later went to another church.

 

At that church, things began to happen.  The church began to grow, during which time I was able to find healing, but that isn=t the point of this story.  As the church was growing, one Sunday, Sherry=s sister showed up for worship; a few weeks later, Sherry and her boys showed up for worship.  They began to attend and eventually joined at that church too.  Sherry also needed to find a place where she could pick up and go on and leave the dissension behind; a place where her boys could grow in Christ in a positive environment.  One Sunday we arrived at church to find out that the thing we had hoped for and prayed for had happened.  Terry had come under conviction and had called our pastor to his house and had made a profession of faith.  Terry became very active in church.  He was a go-getter for God!  He brought others of his family members to Christ, one was an alcoholic brother-in-law!  A couple years later, Terry accepted the call into the ministry.  For a while, he later became the pastor of the church where I attended as a teenager.  He tried to help that church have a new start.  What if Sherry had given up?  What if she had quit praying for him?  What if she had quit coming to church, to be with him?  The story might have had a much different ending.

 

Trans:

This is much like our scripture for today.  Let=s look

today at some people who had to wait a while with belief and

endurance before victory finally came.

 

 

Prayer

Joshua 6:6-16&20

 

I.          Notice the people had a "Belief that Endured."

 

A.        They marched around the city six times and nothing happened.  Not even one stone fell!

 

B.        What if they'd given up?

1.         What if they'd said, "This won't work!  I don't see any results!"

2.         Remember these are the ancestors of those who had said, "We can't                                    conquer Canaan!"

 

C.        What had happened to them?  What had happened to their old attitude?

1.         Revival!  They had their belief in God revived! 

2.         They had their belief in what God could do through them revived!

3.         Could this be one of the greatest needs of the Christian Church

            today?

 

D.        Theirs was a belief that wouldn't give up, and victory came!

 

II.        We need a "Belief that Endures!"

 

A.        Victories don't always come to us when we want them to!

1.         It may be a loved one who we want to come to Christ.

2.         Maybe it's church growth in attendance.

3.         Or maybe it's our own personal growth as a Christian.  We find that                                    we try and try, only to fail again!

 

B.        The lesson here is to not give up; this could be the sixth time around

            Jericho so to speak, and it could happen any time!

1.         If we don't stop believing in what God can do through us and in the                                    world we live in!

2.         If we don't give up & quit!

 

C.        Let's not let Satan stamp out our belief with time!

 

III.       Could it be that one of Satan's greatest tools against the church and individual

            Christians is unbelief, resulting from discouragement?

 

A.        Look at the world around us:

1.         Christians who don't believe their life matters!

2.         Christians who don't believe they can make any difference!  Things                                    are just going to go this way, and I can't stop it is the general

            feeling!

 

B.        If Satan can discourage us thus killing our belief, he has us!

 

C.        A lot of times I have noticed he does it with time!

1.         Time when things we wish and pray for don't happen!

2.         Time that he can work on our minds!

3.         We need endurance to keep believing!

 

IV.       But it doesn't have to be this way.

 

A.        God is greater than Satan!

 

B.        God hasn't changed!  God hasn't moved!

 

C.        If we believe with endurance, we can have victory today!

1.         We will start seeing our loved ones come to Christ!

2.         We will continue to see our church grow!

3.         We will have personal victories over our old selves!

 

D.        When we believe, we are more prone to let God use us to do the things

            that need to be done so these things can happen!

 

Conclusion:

A.        Do we believe in Christ?

 

B.        Do we believe in the difference Christ can make through us?

 

C.        Do we have belief that endures no matter what happens or how long it

            takes?

 

D.        God is still the same today as he was back then!  We can see some things

            happen today, if we believe and will let God use us to make the difference!

 

E.         As we encounter Christ at the table today, ask God to rekindle your belief!

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

A Dedicated Body.

Introduction:

A.   The "Church" in God's plan is to be a thriving vital

part of our world!

 

B.   The "Church" is a team of believers.

 

C.   Paul gives us some instructions in Rom. 12: 3-21 as to  what this team of believers should be!

 

Trans:

Let's look at this passage and see what he had to say!

 

                            Prayer

                         Rom. 12: 3-21

 

I.   We aren't to think too highly of ourselves.

A.   We should see ourselves as a part of a team, working gether!

 

B.   Not as "the team."

 

     C.   The buck does not stop here!

 

II.  Paul refers to this team as the "Body" of Christ!

A.   This body has many members!

 

B.   But each member doesn't have the same job! v.4

1.   We need to be aware of that!

2.   We are called to different jobs.

a.   We aren't all called to be preachers!

b.   We aren't all called to be teachers!

c.   We aren't to all be singers!

d.   God hasn't given any one of us all of these talents!

e.   Although, I do believe that God has given all of us a talent!

3.   As a church, we need to be careful here because:

a.   We want to encourage people, so if they have these talents, they can find them!                              (This is important!)

b.   But we don't want to push people to the

point that they feel like they should do

"all things"   or they aren't right with

God!

c.   If we do this, people will become

discouraged and give up because after all

no-one can live up to that kind of

expectations!  None of us can or should do

everything!

 

C.   We should do the job that God has given us, and we

should do it to the best of our ability!

1.   If God has given us the ability to teach and we aren't doing it, that job won't get done!

a.   Somebody who we could reach may not be reached for Christ!

b.   Somebody who we could help through a bad

time may give up and quit!

2.   If God has given us the ability to sing and we  aren't doing it, somebody is missing a blessing and the encouragement that God intended for them to have!

3.   When we don't use the abilities that God has

given us, the chain of effectiveness is broken! 

The "Body" is crippled!

 

III. This team "Body" should show the world genuine love (v.9)!  When we do, we are showing them Christ! 

How?

A.    Love with mutual affection; outdo one another in

Showing honor (v.10).  If we are Christians, we will love each other, and if we can't, there is something wrong!

 

B.   We will be honorable in all we do, even our business

     dealings!

 

C.   Rejoicing in the hope that we have in Christ (v.12).

 

D.   Patient in suffering, realizing that God can make us  better for having gone through it!

 

E.   Being a person of prayer!

 

F.   Giving to those in need, etc.

 

G.   Extending hospitality to strangers, not just those who

Are like us!

1. Not saying or posting hateful things back!

2. Not defacing property, even if it is a sign you do not agree with!

3. Not saying bad things about them!

 

     H.   Bless those who persecute you!  Don’t hold a grudge

          Try to get even.  In our polarized world, many feel

Persecuted by the other.  We are to bless them!  What

does that look like?

 

     I.   Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who

weep!  We are to have empathy for one another!  We are

to place ourselves in their shoes!  Then we know how

to act!

 

J.   We are to do all these things because of our "genuine love!"  The only way we could do that is as we yield to Christ and let Christ Love through us!

 

K.   Through God's sanctifying grace we can become what God

would have us be.

 

IV.  This team "Body" is to live peaceably with all people!

A.   It should go without saying that we should live

peaceably with fellow Christians!

1.   The shame of it is that today this is not always

the case!

2.   We have Christians who fight and churches that  split!

3.   We have Christians who fall-out with a brother or sister over something and will not talk to them  because of it!

4.   I have seen church problems!  I have seen

Christians fighting!

5.   These things should not be, and they will not be

if we keep in tune with God and don't fail!

6.   But we do fail, and when we do, if it causes  problems, that is where forgiveness comes in!

7.   Jesus said in Matt. 6;15, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you!"

8.   Forgiveness is a must, and when we have this forgiving spirit, it makes it possible to live peaceably with all people!

 

     B.   This one hits home with the recent division of our own

denomination.

1.      With the things that have been said about us by

Those who have left, it is easy to feel condemnation toward them.

          2.   We have to leave the judging to God!

          3.   There are other traditions who do not and have

               Never agreed with our theology.  We have treated

them with grace and love.  We have to do that

with those who have recently disaffiliated as

well!

 

B.    This one hits home with the political polarization in

Our country!

1.      Things are said in person or online that

Demonizes what we think by the other.

2.      We have to not let it generalize our thinking

that all people who do not agree with us share those

thoughts.

3.      Whether they do or not, we have to give it to

God, pray about the situation, and treat the other with dignity and love! That is the Christian way!

 

D.   Whether we are hurt by a Christian or a non-Christian,

we are to turn it over to God and leave the judgement

to God!

 

Conclusion:

A.   When we work together as the body that Christ meant for     us to be, we will make a difference!  We will see some good things happen!  We’ll see people come to Christ!

Great is our reward in heaven, as the song “Thank You” declares and so touchingly reminds us!

 

B.   To make a difference, to see these things happen, it

takes real dedication to Christ!

 

C.   Is your relationship to Christ what it should be?

 

D.   If it isn't, then yield to God as you encounter Christ at the table this morning!

 

                      Prayer of Confession

 

                         Holy Communion

 

Salty Words!

 

Introduction:

 

Let me share some interesting facts about salt from Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia.

 

A.      Salt - Chemical name is Sodium Chloride NaCl.

 

B.      Most widely used as a food and seasoning, as such is an essential part of the human diet (although we don't need as much as we as American's usually consume).

 

C.      Widely used as a preservative for meats.

 

     D.   Is used in some refrigeration processes, in dyeing,              and in the manufacture of soaps and glass.

 

     Trans.    Today we will look at it as a preservative.

 

                            Prayer

                          Col. 4:2-6

 

For the purposes of this message, I want to concentrate on vs. 6.

 

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.”

 

I.   Let's look at some ways our speech is not seasoned with salt.

 

     A.   Gossiping - telling something bad on someone!

          1.   It could be true, but if it isn't necessary, it

is still gossip.

          2.   Gossip tears down another's reputation!  Just the                opposite of preserving!

 

     B.   Have you ever saw people that liked to use their

Speech to ag people on?

          1.   Someone tells them about something that happened!

          2.   They respond with, "Boy, I wouldn't let them push

me around that way; I'd give them a piece of my mind! They think they know it all!  They think they are better than you!" etc.

          3.   Before you know it, unless the first person is                   really disciplined, he/she will get worked up to

the point of doing something, but it might be the

wrong thing to do!

          4.   Again speech has been used to destroy and not                    preserve!

 

     C.   The negative tongue!

          1.   "You can't do anything right!"

          2.   "You can't do that; you'll mess it up!"

          3.   "Your stupid!"

          4.   Children's ability to learn and confidence in                    themselves to achieve are greatly reduced if they                have parents that are negative toward them!

          5.   Adults are affected also!

              a)   If we have a boss that is an encourager, we                     will try hard to please, but if our boss is                      negative we will figure what's the use;

he/she won't be happy anyway!

 

              b)   One goal of marriage should be to help our                      partner to become the best he/she can be for                     God and for themselves.  We can't do that if

we are negative!

          6.   If we are negative about people, again, our

speech has been used to destroy and not preserve!

 

II.    Let's look at some ways our speech can be seasoned with salt!

 

     A.   By trying to always find something good to say about             someone or not say anything about them at all!

          1.   Unless it is to someone that can help the

situation and with the intent of helping.  90% of the tmei it is not!

          2.   This way our speech has been used to preserve                    someone's reputation and not to destroy!

          3.   I'm talking about idle talk, not when someone

asks for a reference, etc.

 

     B.   By being a peacemaker!

          1.   Matt. 5:9

              "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be                  called the children of God."

2.   Instead of trying to ag someone on, we try to bring peace and help them to put themselves in the other persons shoes, so they can understand why the other person acted the way they did!

          3.   This way our speech has been used to preserve a                  friendship!

 

     C.   By being positive.

          1.   By helping people realize they can do things! By                 being an encourager!

          2.   Remember and remind others of Phil. 4:13.  "I can

do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"

 

     D.   Be ready to preserve people's souls by pointing them

To Christ!

          I Peter 3:15b  "... be ready always to give an answer

to every [person] that asks you a

reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."

 

III. Our speech seasoned with salt can be the best witness we

can have! 

A.   It can help our personal ministry!

     1.   What we say. Like I’ve said before, we may be the

Only Bible some people read.  What are they

reading about God or God’s love because of our

speech?  Is God wanting to bring peace? Is God

loving?  Is God hateful?  Is God Judgmental?  Is

God positive or just wanting to get them for

whatever they have done?  Does God want

to have a relationship with them and include

them?  

     2.   Another way we speak today is online.  What does

What we post say about God?

          3.   Does our speech draw people to God or push them

away?

 

B.   It can help the ministry of our church and our witness in the community, because our church is not a building.  It is us, and the church is reflected through each of us!

 

Conclusion:

 

A.   Is your speech usually seasoned with salt?

 

B.   Is it used to preserve or destroy?

 

     C.   As we encounter Christ at the table this morning, do

you need to ask Christ to help you with this one?

 

                      Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion