Three weeks ago we started our new Super Series – “Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition.”
In that first week we learned that we need a SOUL TRANSFORMATION … that means being “Jesus with skin on” more than simply wearing a “Jesus costume.” God desires for each of us to wear much more than a Christian costume …
Ephesians 4:24: “… take on an entirely new way of life … a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God reproduces his character in you” (MSG).
Last week you heard from Kerry Mannix … and she spoke about possessing a SOUL INSPIRATION … and that inspiration comes from being encouraged by God and being encouraged by those around you.
William Arthur Ward: “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”
Tonight I want to speak with you guys about developing a SOUL CONNECTION with some of the students here at MSO …
Hey, there is a NEW MOVIE coming out in the fall … let me show you a little clip …
SOUND / LIGHTING TECH – Play “OutCast Away” Video – turn off the lights and make sure the volume is on …
Hey gang, have you ever felt like that?
Like you want to meet “new” people or get involved with a certain group of “potential” friends and they just let you know that there is NO ROOM in their game for you?
I have been there many times in my life … feeling like I am living in the parody video we just showed you …
I want to TAKE AIM AT CLIQUES …
Do you know why most people don’t invite others into their circle of influence? I believe it is because it is easier to RETAIN your old friends than to GAIN new friends …
Sometimes we feel awkward going up to someone new at MSO or in school and just introducing ourselves to them …
Sometimes we are really insecure about whether or not this new person will accept us, so we sit back and say nothing …
Gang – this place should be the MOST loving and accepting places in all of the world!
Some in this room are basketball greats and others are computer junkies. It does not matter whether you are a prep, a nerd, a jock, a grunger, a hip hop guru, or unlabeled.
I am just glad you are part of my family.
Christ died for all of us and sees us ALL as part of his family and because of that we should care for EVERYONE in MSO … not just those we hang out with …
Matthew 11:19: “I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riff-raff. Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating” (MSG).
Here’s what I want you to do … I want EVERYONE in this room tonight to GET UP and change seats … AND SIT WITH SOMEONE YOU HAVE NEVER SAT WITH BEFORE … when you get there I want you to carry out a “1 MINUTE CONVERSATION” with that person …
Ask them …
• What’s your name?
• Where do you go to school?
• What do you like to do for fun?
• How long have you been coming to MSO?
• How are you doing?
A little awkward, right?
FACT: Most students walk into this place and walk out without even having someone ask them how they are doing and actually mean it!
It is my mission to get all of us CONNECTED to one another … I know, I know … we are not all going to be BEST BUDS … but we should at least aim to know as many people’s names as possible and INCLUDE them when we are doing something special.
Let me give you some OLD info …
Let me share with you the 6 things we should do together according to Acts 2:
1. The Bible teaches us to “learn” together (“… teaching …”)
2. The Bible teaches us to “hang” together (“… fellowship …”)
3. The Bible teaches us to “eat” together (“… breaking of bread …”
4. The Bible teaches us to “pray” together (“… prayer …”)
5. The Bible teaches us to “stay” together (“… continued …”)
6. The Bible teaches us to “grow” together (“… Lord added …”)
Vesta Kelly: “Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.”
Young person, there is much that needs to be done in this community … if we decide to “stick together” - look out world – we can do anything!!!
Psalm 133:1: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity” (NIV)!
It is an awesome thing when God’s people are focused TOGETHER!!!
One thing will keep us TOGETHER … LOVE!!!
Colossians 3:14: “And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony” (NLT).
Let me give you 2 Friendship Factors … if you don’t have these you will not have a strong friendship …
1. Unconditional Love
2. Trust
There is a friendship in the Bible that lasted through great struggles and problems … there were two guys in the Old Testament named Jonathan and David … they had a STRONG friendship.
They trusted one another … they had a “godly” love for one another …
Lastly tonight let me give you 4 keys to developing godly friendships from the lives of Jonathan and David …
1 Samuel 18:1-4: “After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself” (NIV).
1. Friendship requires finding common ground (“… one in spirit …”)
Many friendships are based on likes or dislikes … rap or rock … boxers or briefs … pepsi or coke …
The only common ground that we need is CHRIST … because we are followers of Christ we have the great possibility of friendship with one another.
We can be FRIENDLY with everyone because each of us has something in common … our relationship with the Lord.
2. Friendship gives more than it takes (“… loved him as himself …”)
Too many people make friendships for what they can get … but we should be friends because of what we can give!
Real love is summed up in John 15:12-14: I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it — the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends” (NLT).
3. Friendship is a lifelong commitment (“… made a covenant …”)
Jonathan and David made a commitment to one another … Jonathan’s dad wanted David dead, but Jonathan remained a strong friend to David.
Jonathan could have given up on David … Without Jonathan, David might have abandoned his calling and returned to tending his sheep. Or he might have developed a murderous spirit of retaliation to get even with Saul.
He had the opportunity on several occasions. He did neither.
Jonathan’s friendship encouraged David to persevere. He was divinely-placed in David’s life and helped David rise above the opposition and discouragement he faced.
LIFE PRINCIPLE: Friendships aren’t accidents.
CONCLUSION
A line from a poem, “The New Colossus,” by the nineteenth-century American poet Emma Lazarus. “The New Colossus,” describing the Statue of Liberty, appears on a plaque at the base of the statue. It ends with the statue herself speaking: 1
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
This should be the MOTTO of MSO … we accept EVERYONE AND ANYBODY!
WE NEED MORE “WILSONS” in our lives!
