blessed are

Blessed Are Part 4

“The one about Hungering for Righteousness”

Sunday, March 1, 2015- MRWC

 

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            Have you ever been hungry? I realize that this is a horrible question to be asking you at something to twelve on a Sunday morning; but I’m curious as to how many of us have ever been hungry…..

So hungry that you thought about eating your least favorite food in the world? Anyone ever been that hungry?

ILLUSTRATION- As some of you may know, I will be leaving for Halifax in just a few days for a few procedures, including my 8^th ERCP.

            I will spare you the details of this awful procedure, but I will tell you that one of the things that must be done for this procedure to be successful is too fast for at least 12 hours.

            Well, the last time I was in Halifax, I had fasted the night before the ERCP, and I was “all ready” to go for my scheduled appointment time of about 9 o’clock in the morning….

            Instead of going down at 9 AM, I had to wait for at least 3 more hours. Did I mention that I had to fast for this test?

By the time I was being wheeled down to where the procedure was taking place, I tasted the air and imaged that it was a T-bone steak… I was hungry.

            Fortunately the doctor gave me so much medication that I was completely out of it for the rest of the day, and night; but when I woke up early in the morning, I was dying of hunger.

            I remember texting Beth and asking her to bring me something; I didn’t care what it was, I just wanted something to eat before breakfast arrived.

            Beth showed up about 7:30 that morning and brought me a chocolate chip muffin, which I destroyed in no time, and then asked if I wanted something else, but I declined, as I knew breakfast would be arriving very soon.

            When breakfast arrived, I was deeply disappointed…. Not (just) because it was hospital food, but because it was all juices… (Does it look like this body was built by juices???)

            Normally I am allowed to eat 3 hours after my ERCP, but someone missed that memo, so again I asked Beth if she had any food, and she reached into her bag and pulled out Marcy Blaney’s homemade Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

            I think I destroyed like 5 of these cookies at once, they were soooo gooood!

            Shortly after eating the cookies, the doctor who normally does my procedure came in and told me that he had ordered no food for 24 hours; and I just looked at him and told him that I had already eaten; and he just stared at me with that doctor stare……

            I want to tell you that day I was hungry; when the food people finally showed up, I didn’t even let my tray hit the table before I dived in….

            Hunger and thirst represent the necessities of physical life. Ignore them, and you won’t be on this earth for very long.  Likewise, having a spiritual hunger and thirst is good, but ignore them and you won’t be living the life God intended you to live.

            As we continue on in our Blessed Are series, we will be looking at the “One about hungering after righteousness”, so if you have your Bible with you, please turn to Matthew 5:6. I will be reading from the NIV.

If you don’t have a Bible, there should be one in front of you, or as always, it’s on the screen.

            Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (NIV84)

            I would like to ask and answer three questions that stem from this verse and then give you very simple application steps to apply this verse to your life this

week, so, the first question I have that stems from this verse is:

            What is Righteousness?

            This word is used hundreds and hundreds of time in the Bible, but what does it mean?

            Well, I’m glad you asked, because a bible dictionary defines “righteousness” in this way: “Holy and upright living in accordance with God’s standard.”

I can boil that down a little more to say that this word, righteousness, is living right with God.

            The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, once wrote, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” (Ecc.7:20, NIV84)  

            Paul wrote in the book of Romans: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NIV84)

            These are just two, of several verses in God’s Word, the Bible, that tell us that we are not living right with God. We all have a problem and that problem is sin.

We all have sinned against God, and we are unable to become right with God on our own.

            Thankfully God knows this, and God did something about this. He sent His Son, Jesus, into this world.

            Some of the best words in all of Scripture can be found in John 3:16-17: 

            "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17, NIV84)

God loves you so much that He sent His one and Only Son to come into this world, and die the death that you and I were supposed to die, so that, if we surrender our lives over to Him, we can be made right, we can live right before God. There is no other way that we can be made righteous.

A moment ago, I read to you from Romans 3:23; I want to go back to that verse and read it again, as well as the verses that come after it:

^“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.” (Romans 3:23-25, NLT2)

God makes people right with Him, when they believe in and accept His Son Jesus Christ. Please don’t miss this truth.

The only way that we will ever be righteous or live right before God is by confessing our sinfulness and asking the Saviour of the world to come into our hearts and lives. 

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."(Acts 4:12, NIV)

Are you living right before God? There is only one way to live right before God, and that is by accepting--and living for-- Him. We do that when we confess our need for a Saviour.

The Bible reminds us that: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Prov. 14:12, NIV84)

We may think we know the way to go, but we really don’t, because we are unrighteous people. But if we surrender to Jesus Christ, we will know the way, because He is the way.

Jesus Himself said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV84)

Do you know Jesus, personally? The only way to live right before God is to surrender to Jesus. 

Now that we know what righteousness is, (living right before God) the second question I want to ask and answer is: What does it mean to Hunger and Thirst for righteousness?

Very simply put: To want the things of God.

There are some incredible words recorded for us in John 15. These are the words of Jesus:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes—or cleans--- so that it will be even more fruitful…

4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (NIV84)

The only way that I know of to hunger and thirst for the things of God, is to stay connected to God. You want to Know Him more than you did yesterday; you want Him to go to that untouchable spot in your life, the one that you have been doing your best to hide from your friends; you want God to go there in your life, because you want Him more than life itself.

David wrote in Psalm 42: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (1-2, NIV 84)

David longed to be with God; he was hungry for God. Does this describe your life? Do you want to be with God; do you want to hunger for the things of God?

If so, then get alone and tell God. Tell Him that you want Him more than you want life itself. The only way to Hunger and thirst for righteousness, is to remain connected to God and to want the things of God.

If you have lost some of your appetite for God, for whatever reason, I want you to know that you can come back to Him today. You can ask God to fill you with a Hunger and a Thirst for God and for the things of God.

The third question I want to ask and answer is: What happens if I hunger and thirst for Righteousness?

            Well, like the other beatitudes before it, this beatitude comes with a promise from Jesus himself. What is that promise? Look at the text:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (NIV84)

ILLUSTRATION- My kids went to the dentist this past week. Apparently Erica has a couple of cavities, and by a couple, I mean 12. She is not filling up on the correct things. Don’t worry; we have taken steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

            Don’t be fooled, we can fill up on all kinds of good things, but they may not be the best things. We, who profess to follow Jesus, need to fill up on the best things.

            The psalmist wrote in Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (NIV84)

            Jesus said: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37-38, NIV84)

            We read in verse 39 of the same chapter: “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”(7:39, NIV84)

            In order for you to be filled, you must come to Jesus and ask Him to fill you with His Spirit.

To stop feeding on okay things, even good things, and ask Him to fill you with the best… His Holy Spirt.

            So what do I want you to do this morning? Well, 3 things:

1.     Receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

If you have never asked Jesus to come into your life to be your Lord and Saviour, today is your day.

The Bible says that today is the Day of Salvation. Today is the day that you get right with God, today is the day that you start living right before God.

It starts by confessing your sins, and asking God to forgive you of your sin and inviting Jesus to be the Lord of your life.

“If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, NIV84)

In order for you to live right before God, you must give your heart to Jesus. There is no other way to be made right with God, than to surrender to Jesus.

The second thing I want you to do is:

2.     Receive the Holy Spirit.

ILLUSTRATION-When I was attending Kingswood University I had the opportunity to sit under the teaching of Dr. John Oswalt, a great bible teacher and theologian.        

One thing that he said was of such importance to me, that I wrote it in the front flap of my bible, he said this:

“You’ll never get more of the Holy Spirit when you were converted, but the Holy Spirit needs more of you.”

Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Th 5:23, NIV84)

I know there is more that the Holy Spirit wants and needs of my life, and I know the same is true for each and every one of you; I know this because you’re not dead yet. (Well most of you, anyway.)

Will you receive the Holy Spirit today? Will you receive all that God has in mind for you? If so, I’m going to ask you to respond in just a moment…

But there is one more application step that we all can take:

3.     Fill up on God, daily.

In order for us to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and to be filled, we need to fill up on God. You can do that in several ways: pick up a copy of the newest Our Daily Bread devotional book and spend time reading that and God’s Word.

If you have a smart phone or a tablet, download the You-Version app and being a daily bible reading plan.

You can go to the Lighthouse Christian store in Fredericton this Tuesday and purchase Third Day’s new worship CD, or download it on iTunes…it’s called “Lead us Back: Songs of worship.. (I also have a couple tickets for their show in April…)

There is so much available to us to fill up on God and the things of God.

So as the band comes back I want you to listen to the invitation given to us by God Himself:

“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free!

² Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?  Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.” (Is. 55:1-2, NLT2)

God invites all of us—no matter where we are on the journey—to come to Him just as we are, and when we come to Him, He will fill us with the best thing imaginable, Himself.

So if you would like to receive Jesus, you can.

If you would like to receive more of the Holy Spirit, you can

If you would like God to fill you with the best things, you can.

You can come to the alter; you can stand up in your space, you can remain seated, you can raise your hand; you can ask someone to pray with and for you, but promise me one thing: don’t leave this place without telling someone about the step you just took to draw near to God.

Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6, NIV84)

 

Blessed are part 2

Blessed are, part 2

Matthew 5:4

Sunday, February 8^th, 2015- MRWC

            We are continuing on today in our new sermon series called “Blessed Are”. This new series focuses on Jesus’ first sermon, what we know as the Sermon on the Mount.

            Pastor Mike introduced this series last week by reminding us that God blesses those who are poor in spirit; the ones who depend on God instead of depending on themselves.

            This was good news to those who had gathered to listen to Jesus. Instead of their being an unattainable bar to get to God, Jesus was making it so everyday people could come in contact with God Almighty.

            One of the verses that he shared with us last week was Proverbs 3:5&6, a verse many of us have memorized:

            “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV84)

            The people God blesses are the ones who rely on Him for His wisdom, His strength; His timing; His defense and His wealth.

            “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (Matthew 5:3, NLT2)

            How did you do this past week of relying on God?  Great? Not so great? Thankfully, today is a new day and we can begin practicing being poor in spirit!

            This morning we are going to deal with the 2^nd beatitude, which, by the way, comes from the Latin word which means “Blessed”.

         We will be looking at “The one about those who mourn.”

            Our verse is found in Matthew 5:4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (NIV84)

            This verse causes me to ask a few (obvious) questions. First of all, what does it mean to mourn? 

            The word in the Greek is “Panthēo”, and it means to lament, to be sad, to be sorrowful. Also included in this definition is to mourn the death of a friend.

            The second question I have about this verse is: Who—or more specifically—What do we mourn?

            There are at least 3 things that we can mourn.

1.     People.

ILLUSTRATION- I will never forget the date of March 29, 2013 for as long as I live. This was the day that my brother called me at 2 in the morning to tell me that my father had passed away because of the tumor on his brain.

            While my father and I didn’t always see eye to eye, he was my father and I loved and respected him. He and I were close and I wasn’t ready for him to die.

            Losing my father was one of the hardest things I had to endure up to that point.  I went through a period of mourning, and for the most part I have come to deal with the fact that my father is not here anymore.

            There are times, however, that I miss my father. I will be watching something on TV and the water works begin, and I’m mourning my father one more time.

        This happened again, last Sunday night.

            I was watching the Super Bowl, and one of the commercials did me in. As soon as it came on, I knew I was in for it. 

            I’m not completely sure what it was that did me in, the “I’m your dad”; or the NASCAR references, (which my dad loved) but this commercial reminded me that my dad is no longer here.

            Though I went through a season of mourning when my father died, I still tear up from time to time because he’s not here.

            Some of you are saddened at the loss of a loved one or a friend—they may not be dead, but they are not with you at this present time; you are enduring a season of mourning for them.

            This beatitude contains a promise for those who mourn…. And we’ll look at that promise in just a moment…

            The first way that we mourn is over people. We also mourn over our sin.

ILLUSTRATION- Evangelist Billy Graham tells the story of a mother in an African nation who came to faith in Jesus and grew strong in her commitment and devotion to the Lord.

            As so often happens, however, this alienated her from her husband and over the years he grew to despise her and her new devotion to the Lord.

            His anger and bitterness reached a climax when he decided to kill his wife and their two children, then himself, as he was unable to live with the self-inflicted misery. But he needed a motive.

            He decided that he would accuse her of stealing his keys. These were the keys to his house, his car and the bank he managed.

            Early one afternoon, he left his post at the bank and headed for the tavern. His route took him across a footbridge that extended over the headwaters of the Nile River.

He paused above the River and threw his keys into the water. He spent the rest of the afternoon drinking and carousing.

            Later that afternoon his wife went to the fish market to purchase the evening meal, a large Perch.

         As she was gutting and cleaning the fish, much to her surprise, in its belly were her husband’s keys.

            She had no idea how they got there, but she cleaned them up and put them on the hook.

            Sufficiently drunk, the young banker came home that night and pounded open the front door and shouted: “Woman, where are my keys?”

            Already in bed, his wife got up and picked up the keys off the hook and handed them to her husband.

            “When he saw the keys”, Billy Graham wrote, “By his own testimony, he immediately became sober and was instantly converted.

         He fell on his knees sobbing; asked for forgiveness and confessed Jesus Christ has his Lord and Saviour.” (From my files)  

            This story illustrates for us the meaning of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:4.

         When we come to the understanding that our sin is wrongdoing before God, we should fall to our knees and repent. We should go through a period of mourning for our sins.

            King David did. When the Prophet Nathan confronted David after his affair with Bathsheba, and covering up her husband’s death, David went through a period of mourning for his sin.

            Some of the sweetest words in all of scripture can be found in Psalm 51, words that David wrote after his sin:

            “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

            2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 

3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.” (51:1-4a, NLT)

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7, NLT2)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. ¹¹ Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” (51:10-12, NLT2)

“You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.

 ¹⁷ The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” (51:16-17, NLT2)

            David endured a period of mourning for his sin.

He admitted to God that what he did was wrong, and asked God to forgive him.

            While it’s good for us to mourn our sin, it’s not good for us to continually and constantly bring up sin that has been confessed and forgiven.

            Psalm 103 reminds us that “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” (103: 12, NLT2)

            Jesus said: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (Joh 8:36, NIV84)

            If you have been forgiven, you have been forgiven! There is no need to constantly bring up forgiven sin.

But if you haven’t been forgiven, then you need to be forgiven, and most of the time this includes a period of mourning over our sin.

            The third way that we mourn is over the sins of other people.

ILLUSTRATION- I remember the day I opened by email and read about one of my friends who was forced to leave the ministry because of an extra-marital affair.

            I had known this man for several years; we went to school together, I was a guest in his house several times, and I was a youth pastor to his children.

            This news broke my heart. A friend, a colleague, had fallen into temptation and was out of the ministry. I sat in my chair and wept for this

person and his family. I cried out to God for him and this situation.

            I saw this person a few years ago at Beulah Camp, and I had a chance to talk with him, and he told me that he was doing better and was taking steps to repair his broken world.

            I left that meeting still mourning for this former pastor, while he was doing better, my heart still broke for him and what was his “new normal.”

            Sometimes we have to endure seasons of mourning over wrongdoing--and even sin-- that other people have done.

        While we may not be the cause of their sin, it still affects us and we endure a season of mourning because of their sin.

            Jesus tells us that if we mourn the loss of a person; if we mourn over our sin; or even mourn over the sins of another; WE WILL BE COMFORTED.

            There is a terrific chunk of Scripture found in Isaiah 61. This is the same chunk of Scripture that Jesus read from early on in His ministry and said applied to Him.

            It reads like this: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn…” (Is. 61:1-2, NIV84)

            When we mourn—either people, our sin or the sin of another—we have the promise of Scripture that God Himself will comfort us!

            The Greek word for comfort in Matthew 5:4 is Parakletō, and it means: to bring along side of, to aid, to encourage.

This Greek word is very closely related to Parakletōs, which is translated Comforter. This is another name for God’s Holy Spirit!

            When Jesus tells us that we will be comforted when we mourn, He is telling us that He Himself, through the power of His Holy Spirit, will surround us and bring the comfort that only God can deliver.

Do you need to spend some time in mourning today? Either for somebody that’s gone, or for your own sinfulness, or the sin that has affected someone else?

The words of Jesus remind us that if we mourn, we will be comforted.

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians chapter 1: “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

⁴ He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (NLT2)

God Himself, through His Holy Spirit will comfort us, or God will use His people who have gone through a similar situation to bring comfort to those who mourn.

If you are mourning today, turn to God and seek His comfort. Seek out one or two Godly people who can help you get through this storm in your life. God will comfort those who mourn.

(BAND)

Isaiah 40:26 and on read like this: “Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.

²⁷ O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

²⁸ Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary.  No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. ³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.

³¹ But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Is. 40:26-31, NLT2)

            Strength will come to those who lean into God. Comfort will come to those who mourn.

            So here’s what I want you to do today:

            If you’re mourning—either someone who is lost, or because of some unconfessed sin you committed this week, or even at the sin of another, lean into God’s grace. He wants you to experience His comfort right now.

            Let Him bring strength to your world; let Him lift you up in His arms of love.

            I'm also asking you to Seek out another Christ follower who can help you get through your time of mourning, and lean into this promise from the mouth of the Master: “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4, NLT2)

            If, as we sing, you’d like to come to the alter and pray, feel free to come and pray. If you would like to remain where you are, ask someone close to you to pray for you.

        (repeat verse of the day)

         

New year, New Challenge

 

 

            Good morning everyone, I’m glad to be with you today. Several of you have been asking how I made out last week in Halifax, and I‘ve been told, I did quite well, they were able to replace a few drains and stints.

So thank-you for your continued prayers for my family and me during this season of life. You have no idea what it means to us.

I’ve been doing some praying lately. Lying in a hospital bed for hours on end, allows one time to pray.   Along with praying, I have been doing some dreaming about what could be possible here at MRWC--- but I’m getting ahead of myself.

            As we are still unwrapping this new year, I would like to do a couple of things this morning: I want to take you back, and I want to move you forward.

            We as a church have seen some great things over the last 4 ½ years; allow me to mention just few of these things:

            Life change- we have been blessed to see over 20 decisions for Jesus in the last few years! This loved ones, is cause for celebration!

            More people will be in heaven because of their commitment to Jesus, here at our church.

            We have also seen over 40 people go through the waters of baptism! This is another reason to celebrate! Lives are being changed because of our church!

            I have had the awesome opportunity and privilege to dedicate 10 children to God. If you are a parent of one of the children that I held in my arms and dedicated to God: Thank-you!

Thank-you for trusting our church to help in your child’s spiritual development. (I also want to ask you to HAVE MORE BABIES!!!!)

We have made significant improvements to our Sunday morning experience; we have an awesome children’s program, and have seen growth not only numerically, but also spiritually.

This is terrific and something to get excited about, and to give thanks to God for!

If you have prayed; given to; or volunteered for anything in our church over the last several years, Thank-you!

There is no way we could have done, or still do what we do without you, so thank-you!

But, we must not stop here. As good and awesome and wonderful as all of the above mentioned things are; I’m praying and dreaming for more.

I’m praying and dreaming for more, because God has called us to move forward, not stay where we are, even though it might be comfortable for us to stay where we are.

We must move forward and pursue all that God has for us as His church.

So, because it’s a new year, I would like for us to begin with a new challenge. But before I lay out this new challenge, I think it’s important for you to know that this new challenge has come out of my time alone with God.

I have been in prayer asking God for Greater things for our church for quite some time now. I have been dreaming about what our church could be and where our church could go.

I have looked into the Scriptures for guidance; and one passage in particular led to this new challenge. The passage comes from Matthew 9:35-38.

Jesus’ popularity was at an all-time high, and he: “went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (NIV84)

The verse that resonated with my heart then, and still does today, is verse 36: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (NIV84)

Jesus saw these people, the people from His hometown, and His heart broke for them. They were without direction; harassed and helpless, wandering around on their own.

ILLUSTRATION- For so many of you here today, this area is your hometown.

        You were born and raised here; you know almost everyone, and who they are related to. This is your hometown.

            Others of us are not from this area, but we live here now. This is our “hometown”. We live here, have set roots down here, and love the area.

We need to develop a heart of compassion for the people in our hometown, just as Jesus demonstrated.

Jesus’ heart broke for His people, they were, as Matthew wrote: “like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36).

Many of these people were bullied and oppressed, without direction to help them face the storms of life.

ILLUSTRATION- You don’t have to spend much time looking around to see that people are messed up.

            I see this most clearly every time I end up in the hospital. People are filled with sickness, and disease.

         Some people are in hospital for a life altering operation, or because of pain inflicted on them at the hands of someone else.

            The pain and hurt seen in a hospital ward is, often times, unbearable.             This is just the physical pain that can be seen; we cannot see how desperately people need the Lord, not only in hospitals, but also here in our hometown.

            Paul reminded us that: “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12, NLT2)

            Our battle isn’t just a physical battle, it’s a spiritual battle, and if we believe what we say we believe about the afterlife, we as a church have a responsibility to rescue the perishing.

            Paul, in 2 Corinthians, reminded us that: “we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead,

“Come back to God!” (NLT2)

            An ambassador is one who represents one in authority, and we represent The One in authority, the Lord God Almighty.

         He has chosen to spread His message of reconciliation through you and me. We are God’s plan A, there is no plan B.

            So, the challenge, and please don’t misunderstand me. There is no way in the world that I think we are able to meet one, two or all aspects of this challenge.

Without the direct involvement and full participation of God’s Holy Spirit, we cannot accomplish one thing.

            But with God, we can do anything! I know this because of the words found in Eph. 3:20-21:

         “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (NIV84)

            We need the power of Almighty God to fall upon our church and people like we have never experienced before.

       It’s “'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.”

(Zech. 4:6, NIV84)

            So, we must pray like crazy for this new challenge, and I’ll have more to say about that in a moment.

            I’m calling this new challenge: “5 fifteens in 2015”. Starting today, we are praying for:

            15 Salvations. There are hundreds of people in the 463 exchange—even more if you add in the 575 exchange—who are not regular attenders of an evangelical church.

        Starting today, we’re going to pray that at least 15 of them will come to faith in Christ Jesus because of our church.

            We’re also praying for 15 baptisms this year. If someone has committed their life to Jesus Christ, baptism is the next logical step to take as we move forward in faith with Jesus.

            If you are a follower of Jesus and have never been baptised, or if you were baptised early on in your life and want to renew your commitment to Jesus, we want to talk with you!

There is something supernatural that occurs when God’s people get baptised, so we’re praying for at least 15 of them.

            We’re also praying for 15 thousand dollars to be given to Missions.

        I believe God blesses a church who gives to His work globally, so we’re praying for 15k to be given to missions through the missionaries and missions projects that our church partners with, which are:

Ø Dr. Bob and Brenda Bagley, who serve as the Africa Area Directors;

Ø Allan and Sherri Stevens, who are missionaries to Albania;

Ø Kevin and Laura Meyers, church planters in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and

Ø Our Church plant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

            As well as our own local outreach, the Berean’s, which is the name of the Bible study that meets each Tuesday morning that is facilitated by Marilyn Moore.

This group regularly prays for people, and reaches out to those in need in our community, so we want to stand with and support them!  

            We’re also praying for 15 new families to be part of our church!

            The church is the only organization that exists for the people who aren’t here yet, so we want to pray and reach out and attract at least 15 new families this year.

            Each one of you has a special part to play in this. You know at least one family that doesn’t attend church regularly, so we want you to invite them to church on the Ridge!

         We are not a county club for members only, we’re open to anyone and everyone, so get out and invite!

            You have my commitment that we will do everything in our power to continue on improving our Sunday morning experience, because a Higher calling deserves Higher standards—and we will share the life changing message of Jesus Christ in a relevant way.

            So join me in praying for who we can reach out to.

            We’re also praying for 15 servant leaders.

            To make this church function, we need people who are willing to step up and serve in an area of ministry here at the church.

            When we work together, everyone wins, so I’m praying for 15 new servant leaders to rise up and serve in our church this year.

            President John F. Kennedy once said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

            I say: “Ask not what your church can do for you, ask what you can do for your church.”

We’re not called only to take; we’re called to serve too, so we’re praying for 15 new servant leaders this year.

            Please understand friends, these are not just numbers to me. Each number

represents real people.     

        As Pastor Perry Noble says: “Every number has a name, every name has a story and every story matters to God!”

            Because every name matters to God, we who follow Him are to concern ourselves with lost people. So how we do that?

Well, I’m glad you asked, as this is the “what do you want me to do with what I just heard” part of the sermon.

            I want to take you back to Matthew chapter 9 for another moment.

            After Jesus had compassion on the people of His hometown, He called His disciples together and said to them:

            "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (37-38, NIV84)

            The first thing you can do is pray!

            Pray that God would send workers into His harvest field, and reach more people for Jesus, and chances are that God is going to use you to reach the people you will be praying for.

            Pray for our 5 fifteens in 2015. Pray for lives to be transformed this year, Pray for God to pour out His spirit on our church.

            You can begin praying as soon as tomorrow, for tomorrow is our day of prayer and fasting.

       This day is where you give up something—usually food, but it could be anything—and spend that time praying to God.

ILLUSTRATION- When we’ve had days of prayer and fasting in the past, I’ve fasted from using my iPad, and spent the time I would normally be on my iPad to pray.

         I will do the same tomorrow. I will ask God to take our 5 fifteens in 2015 challenge.

            Oswald Chambers once wrote: “We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.” (http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/41469.Oswald_Chambers)

            God himself said: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chr. 7:14, NIV84)

            So before we do anything else, we’re going to pray and ask God for 5 fifteens in 2015.

            The second thing you can do, is take the card that is in your bulletin—or the extra ones on the alter rail—and write down the name—or names—of someone who you can invest in this year.

            It could be your friend, your neighbour, your co-workers, or a loved one—whoever it is, write their name down on this card, and stick it where you will see it most often, and it will remind you also to pray for our challenge.

            If, at the end of 2015 we don’t reach our goal of 5 fifteens, but we did something for Jesus this year, we’re going to rejoice, because we have seen lives transformed for Jesus Christ.

            We’re told in Luke 15 that: “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (15:7 NIV84)

            I hope and pray that PM and I can count on you to embrace, be excited about and take part in this new challenge for this new year.

            We have the opportunity to see lives transformed for Jesus this year and I’m praying that we would make much of Jesus and we would continue To Know Christ and to Make Him known!