Come To The Celebration – Overflowing Outreach
We want to welcome you to our church service today. We are glad you are here! We don’t believe that you are here by accident. We believe that God has brought you here today for a purpose. Today is a special day in our church. Today is a day of celebration. We have come today to celebrate the presence of God in our lives. Every time we come together we come to celebrate who God is. This is called worship. Today we begin a new series in our church called – “Overflowing Outreach”. As we come together we come to celebrate. We come to celebrate God in all of His glory. Even if you have had a rough week – today is to be a day of celebration. Our worship is an act of giving God the praise He deserves. We want to start today by watching a video showing people praising God.
(Show video clip from the movie “Sister Act”. It is the clip where Sister Mary Clarence {Whoopi Goldberg} leads the choir to sing pop songs during the worship service. Mother Superior then confronts Sister Mary Clarence about her actions. *Note: our church has a license from Christian Video Licensing International to show video clips.)
Did you know that most people consider church to be a drag? 90% of Americans say they believe in God. Yet surveys also indicate that the majority (well over 55%) consistently choose to be somewhere other than church on Sunday morning. In a survey taken in California here are the top four reasons people give for not going to church:
1. Church services are boring, especially the sermons.
2. Church members are unfriendly to visitors.
3. The church is more interested in money than in me.
4. We worry about the quality of the church’s child care.
The truth is that very few people don’t come to church because they don’t have an interest in God. Most people are very concerned about spiritual matters. They just don’t feel welcome at church or think that the church has anything to offer them. They find church boring.
I have heard people say that church should not be entertaining – but I want to ask – why not? Have you ever looked up the word entertaining in the dictionary? Do you know what entertaining means? Here is what it means: "To hold a persons attention. To treat a person as a guest. To show a person hospitality." Don’t you want to go to a church where the worship service holds a person’s attention? How many of you what to be bored on Sunday morning? Nobody! We want to hear something that’s exciting. We have an eternal message which should not be compromised but needs to be presented in an interesting way.
That reminds me of the story of two guys meeting on the street corner and one man asks the other man, "How was church last Sunday?" The other man said, "I don’t know - I was kind of bored. I think I slept through half the sermon." The first man looked shocked and said, "How could you do that - you’re the pastor?"
Church needs to be a place of excitement. It needs to be interesting. I have three exciting facts to tell you today.
1. Jesus turns funerals into CELEBRATIONS.
Follow along with me in Luke chapter seven.
“As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman’s only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, "Don’t cry.” Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, "Young man, I tell you: Get up." The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother. They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful—and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, "God is back, looking to the needs of his people!" Luke 7:12-16 (MSG)
Everyone encounters loss and tragedy in life. Everyone has bad things happen to them. It may be a loss of a loved one. It may be an end of a marriage. It may be a broken friendship. It may be a lifelong dream gone sour. But Jesus can turn funerals into celebrations. He did it then – He can do it now.
The good news of God is GOOD NEWS because it comes in contact with bad news.
When things are going well – there is little need of a savior.
But we need a savior when we encounter hardships in life. We need a savior when there is suffering and pain. We need a savior when we come to the realization that we are drowning in our own sinfulness. We need a savior when we are hurting – when we are in pain – when our world comes crashing in on us – we need a savior. That’s what happened to the mother who had lost her son. In the midst of her suffering she needed a savior and Jesus was there. Psalm chapter thirty verse eleven says:
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,” Psalms 30:11 (NKJV)
That’s what happens when Jesus shows up. He turns things around. He changes bad things in good. Wouldn’t it be great if all funerals could be turned into celebrations? They can be – if you have Jesus in the center of your life. I hope that at my funeral it would be a celebration of life. Even though I stop breathing - even though my heart stops beating - even though I am gone physically – I hope that my influence of following Christ will live on. Brother Andrew – the Bible smuggler when he died on his tombstone are written these words. “Here lies Brother Andrew. He accomplished far more than he was able.” Jesus is able to turn funerals into celebrations. That brings us to the second point.
2. Jesus turns emptiness into OVERFLOWING LIFE.
In John chapter ten and verse ten it says:
“I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” John 10:10 (HCSB)
Jesus has come to give us life – and not just life but abundant life. He has come to give us joy. Joy like a river. Joy like a fountain. Joy like an overflowing an artesian well – bubbling up from the ground and spreading throughout the land. He has come to give us peace. Peace lik a river. Peace which passes all understanding. He has come to give us love. Love as deep and wide as the oceans. That’s why Jesus has come.
Go ahead and circle the word abundance. Make a note next to it – write overflowing abundance. What that word means is; it’s not that your cup is full – it’s that your cup is overflowing. It’s not full up to brim – it’s spilling over into the saucer. It’s exceedingly full to the point of overflowing. It’s so full it’s spilling over. In a nutshell, Jesus came with MORE life, MORE joy, MORE peace and MORE love than we can ever imagine.
Look at Ephesians chapter three and verse twenty.
“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)
How much life, joy, love and peace can you imagine? Are you experiencing it? Or are you like me, still thirsty for more joy, deeper happiness and real meaning in life? Here’s what Jesus told the woman that He met at the well.
“Jesus said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:13-14 (NKJV)
You see – Jesus offers us life. An abundant life. There are times we try to find fulfillment by searching for the perfect house, the perfect car, the perfect job, the perfect spouse, the perfect YOU NAME IT. But true fulfillment only comes in Jesus. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will NEVER thirst again.” True fulfillment is only found in Jesus.
The third fact that we want to look at this morning is:
3. Jesus turns self-focused lives OUTWARD.
If I told you that I had ten thousand dollars in my wallet for someone who really needs it – who would be the first person you would think of? If most of us were honest the first person we would think of would be “me”. We all look out for ourselves. We look out for number one.
Do you think God knows our human nature? Do you think God knows that we look out for our own self interests? Sure He does! That’s why He wants to fill you up first so you can overflow outward to other people. That’s called outflow. We get filled up to overflowing so that we can outflow to others.
Look at Acts chapter one and verse eight with me.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
Notice that God fills up His people first so that others may be reached. God knew that His people were going to need power to influence the people around them so He fills them up first. God used ordinary people like you and me to touch ordinary people like your neighbors. God fills up His people first. He fills them up to overflowing. He fills them up - so full they spill over - and touch other people.
Do you know what the book of Acts is about? The whole book is about people telling people about Jesus. Some would tell you that the book of Acts is about the growth of the early church. That’s true! But do you know how the early church grew? It grew by people telling people about Jesus. That’s God’s plan for outreach. God empowers his people – fills them up to overflowing – so they will tell others about Him.
You know what I have found. I have found that people tell people what they are excited about. That’s a fact. You and I talk about what excites us. Let’s read Acts chapter one and verse eight again.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
Do you see God’s plan for outreach in this verse. God fills up His people then God tells his people to go out and tell other people. They are to begin in Jerusalem, then go on the Judea, then go on to Samaria and finally go to the ends of the earth.
Some Bible scholars have suggested that Jerusalem represents a personal relationship with God. You begin where you are – with yourself. Jesus is to be our source of living water. He is to touch us first. We need a personal relationship with Him before we can try to reach others.
The second location to reach is Judea. Judea represents the relationship we have with our family and friends. This may be the toughest challenge we have in outreach. These are people we are closest to – but these are the people we care the most about. If we care about them we need to share God’s love with them.
The third locaction we are to reach is Samaria. Samaria represents the community around us. These are the people who live around us. These are the people we see at the store or at the gas station. They may not look, believe or act as you do – yet they are your neighbors and they live in your community.
The ends of the earth are just that – any place else in the world. Folks we live in an exciting time. We are in the information age. Since last October I have been putting my sermons on-line – they have literally gone around the world. How do I know that – because I have received e-mails from people around the world. I have received e-mails from people here in the U.S. but I have also received e-mails from India and Africa. We now have the technology to touch the world even from Burlingame.
Jesus invites us to come to Him and be refreshed. He wants to give us living water. In Revelation chapter twenty-two and verse seventeen it says:
"Come! All who will, come and drink, Drink freely of the Water of Life!” Revelation 22:17 (MSG)
Let us come to Jesus.
Come to receive healing.
Come to receive refreshment.
Come to receive a life changing experience.
Come to Jesus.
Come and be empowered by Him - today. Come to be filled by Him - filled to overflowing - so we can tell others about His love, His joy and His peace.
(Sermon starter ideas from the book, “Outflow – everyday outreach for everyday people.” by Group publishing. The message guide comes with power point slides and DVD sermon clips. This is a five week series.)
