SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). A relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ.
(2). A relationships with other people through the power of the Holy Spirit
(3). A relationships with other people requires awareness through the Word of God
• (3a). Be aware of your priorities.
• (3b). Be aware of problems.
• (3c). Be willing to willing to put to rights broken relationships.
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• A little boy fell out of the bed in his sleep.
• His father picked him up and put him back in bed.
• He asked him, "Son, what happened?"
• The little boy responded, "I fell asleep too close to where I got in."
• TRANSITION:
• Sadly that describes too many Christians today;
• They have fallen asleep too close to where they got in.
• They are not in danger of falling out of salvation;
• But they have made no spiritual progress since they were saved.
• That is one reason why we are doing this series called ‘TRANSFORMED’
• Some of us need waking up and moving on in our faith,
• And hopefully these talks and the House Group follow on discussions;
• Will help us do just that!
This morning our topic is ‘Relational Health’:
• If you had to boil the Christian life down into one word what would that word be?
• At the risk of being too simplistic,
• I would suggest that the word would be “Relationships”.
Ill:
• On one occasion Jesus was asked a question;
• “What is the most important commandment”,
• To the surprise of his listeners;
• Jesus did not quote one of Moses ‘top 10 commandments’,
• Instead he quotes from two other Old Testament books;
• Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 5 and Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18.
• What he does is summaries the ten commandments.
• First: “Love God with everything”
• Second: “Love your neighbour as yourself”:
• “Love God with everything”
• That summarises the first 4 commandments (upward – us & or dealings with God).
• “Love your neighbour as yourself”:
• That summarizes the other 6 commandments (outward – us & our dealings with others).
• First: A relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ.
• Second: Healthy relationships with other people.
(1). A relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ.
Ill:
• In Berlin art gallery is a painting by German painter Adolf Menzel (1815-1905).
• Only partially finished.
• The artist intended to show Fredrick the Great speaking with some of his generals.
• Menzel painted generals and background, left king until last.
• He put the outline of Fredrick in charcoal, but died prior to finishing.
• TRANSITION: Too many Christians come to end of life;
• Without ever having put Christ into his proper place, i.e. centre stage.
• Yet, it need not be that way today!
Note:
• Remember God made it a priority to rescue a rebellious world;
• I guess John chapter 3 verse 16 illustrates that;
“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.”
It has been called the greatest verse in the Bible and it is not hard to see why!
• “God” - The greatest Lover.
• “So loved” - The greatest degree.
• “The world” - The greatest number.
• “That He gave” - The greatest act.
• “His one and only Son” - The greatest gift.
• “That whosoever” - The greatest invitation.
• “Believes” - The greatest simplicity.
• “In Him” - The greatest Person.
• “Should not perish” - The greatest deliverance.
• “But” - The greatest difference.
• “Have” - The greatest certainty.
• “Everlasting Life” - The greatest possession.
Ill:
• A group of college students toured the slums of a city,
• One of the students pointed out a little girl playing in the dirt,
• And he asked the guide, “Why doesn’t her mother clean her up?”
• The guide replied;
• “That girl’s mother probably loves her, but she doesn’t hate dirt.
• You hate dirt, but you don’t love her enough to go down there and clean her up.
• Until hate for dirt and love for that child are in the same person,
• That little girl is likely to remain as she is.”
• TRANSITION: God hated our sin and the judgement we were due to face;
• He loved us, the sinners and he and only he was able and prepared to act!
• God became a human being and lived among us.
• Through his death on the cross;
• He has done everything possible, so that you and I can have a relationship with him.
• Trust him, call on him, believe in him this morning!
Ill:
• It’s as simple as A.B.C.D.
• A – Admit your need.
• B – Believe in Jesus Christ (Son of God who loved you and gave himself…)
• C – Consider – Consider the cost;
• Salvation may start with a prayer & a promise, but Jesus deserves everything!
• D – Do something – God is only a prayer away!
• Good video clip: The Story of God, the World and You!
• https://vimeo.com/83662637
(2). A relationships with other people through the power of the Holy Spirit.
• “Love your neighbour as yourself”:
• That summarizes the other 6 commandments;
• (outward – us & our dealings with others).
Ill:
• D.L. Moody, was an eighteen century American evangelist;
• One day he was speaking to a large audience,
• When he held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?"
• One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!"
• Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass."
• After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled,
• Picked up a jug of water, and filled the glass.
• He then said; "There, all the air is now removed."
• TRANSITION: Being filled by God’s Spirit;
• Is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there,"
• Rather, “God does not leave a surrendered vessel empty!”
• The more of our lives we surrender to God,
• The more enabling and power of the Holy Spirit we will experience!
• As we are filled with his Spirit;
• So we find the desire and the enabling to build healthy relationships.
(3). A relationships with other people requires awareness through the Word of God.
(A). Be aware of your priorities.
Ill:
• Surprised to see an empty seat at the FA Cup Final:
• A diehard fan remarked about it to a woman sitting nearby.
• "It was my husband's," the woman explained, "But he died."
• The man replied; "I'm very sorry to hear that, but I'm really surprised,
• That someone else didn't jump at the chance to take the seat reserved for him."
• "I am flabbergasted too," said the wife;
• "But they all insisted on going to the funeral."
• TRANSITION: Now what makes that story funny;
• Is that the wife’s priorities are all wrong!
• She has put her love for the beautiful game above anything else.
Question: What is our priority? What are our key relationships?
Answer:
• For the Christian, there are at least six levels of relationships:
• God, Spouse, Children, Church, Others, self.
• Now I would suggest that, that list is in order of priority.
• God, Spouse, Children, Church, Others, self.
• And if I change that order of priorities;
• Then my life becomes out of balance and happiness will elude us.
Note:
• Someone here might say; “Hold on, where does your job appear on the list?”
• Others might say; “My priority are my children”,
• Many a Church pastor/evangelist;
• Has wrongly placed their priority on their ministry.
• And the odd person here might say, “What about me football team?”
• But they are odd, I mean the unusual person.
My list is not comprehensive, but I believe it contains the key, the important ones:
RELATIONSHIP #1: GOD FIRST!
Quote: Jesus said (Matthew chapter 6 verse 33):
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.”
• We are to work on our relationship to God;
• And the promise is the other things in life will fall into place!
Ill:
• In a few weeks-time we will journey the other tourists;
• As we visit one of the great tourist attractions in the world,
• It stands 179 feet tall and is a work of beauty,
• The problem is the architect built it on 10 feet of foundations.
• The leaning tower of Pisa,
• Is externally impressive but was a disaster waiting to happen!
• Because they got their foundations wrong.
• And it has only survived to this day,
• Thanks to the skill and knowledge of many different experts.
• TRANSITION: The right foundation for life is to put God first!
• If God is first in my life I will be a better husband to my wife.
• If God is first in my life I will be a better parent to my kids.
• If God is first in my life I will be a better employee in the workplace.
• If God is first in my life I will be a better neighbour to those I meet.
So make sure he is first:
• i.e. Above other relationships;
• Otherwise you really have got, ‘the cart before the horse’
• i.e. Above work: no workaholic ever said, as they were on their deathbed;
• “You know what? I wish I had spent a bit more time at the office!”
• i.e. Above hobbies, leisure pursuits and even sports;
• My football team never phoned me up and asked; “How’s your wife & kids?”
• The only time I get a call or an email from them, is because they want my money!
• TRANSITION: The right foundation for life is to put God first!
• Then Spouse, Children, Church, Others.
• Note: To those of us who are married;
• Wife/husband above children;
• Because the best thing I can do for my children is to love their mother!
• The best thing a mother can do for her children is to love her husband
• TRANSITION: The right foundation for life is to put God first!
• Then Spouse, Children, Church, Others.
• (that might make an interesting discussion at this week’s house groups!)
(b). Be aware of problems.
• Problems in relationships are going to happen;
• Because we are all human and we are all flawed (sinful) human beings!
• Sooner or later I am going to ‘tread on your toes’ and unintentionally hurt you;
• And you may well ‘tread on my toes’ and hurt me!
• And often we hurt each other without even realising it!
• So problems in any relationship are going to happen;
• Because we are all human and we are all flawed (sinful) human beings!
Question: What are some of the problems we face?
Answer:
• For the sake of time, let me give you the skeleton (basic points);
• And you go home and put on the meat!
PROBLEM #1: UNRESOLVED OFFENSES:
Quote: Matthew chapter 5 verses 23-24:
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift”
• TRANSITION: Notice Jesus did not say pray about the problem;
• To paraphrase his words, he said, “It’s time for action!”
Ill:
• We are trying to deal with an incident like this one;
• In connection with putting together a team of workers for our youth camp.
• One person has emailed me to say, he can’t come because of a problem;
• He has offended another one of our helpers on Facebook,
• The offended person has let that person know she was offended and unfriended him.
• The person who did the offending, has emailed to say;
• “It’s best I don’t come to camp because it will be a bad atmosphere etc.
• My reply was simple; “Come, say you are sorry, get reconciled and move on!”
• As well as wanting both of them on camp as helpers,
• The situation needs resolving, otherwise it just festers!
• TRANSITION: There are three things you can do,
• Regardless of the fact whose fault it is.
• Somebody needs to confront the conflict with an eye to resolving it;
• A bit of humility and a little repentance will bring about healing!
PROBLEM #2: UNFORGIVENESS:
• We naturally think that refusing to forgive someone actually hurts them!
• When the Bible (and now doctors and psychiatrists also) confirm that it hurts us too.
Ill:
• Forgiving those who have wronged us is never easy.
• But withholding forgiveness is like allowing a tumour;
• To spread aggressively through our body;
• While ignoring the necessary treatment to eradicate it.
Ill:
• Remember the words of Jesus in what we call ‘the Lord’s Prayer’.
• “Forgive us…as we forgive others.
• TRANSITION: Jesus did not come to just bring forgiveness for us with God;
• He came to reconcile, to bring forgiveness between people and people!
Ill:
• Jesus told a parable, we call it ‘The parable of the unmerciful servant’,
• It is found in Matthew chapter 18 verse 21-35.
• In the parable, a king forgives an enormously large debt;
• (basically one that could never be repaid) of one of his servants.
• Later, however, that same servant refuses to forgive the small debt of another man.
• The king hears about this and vents his anger.
• The point of the parable is this;
• We are to treat others the way God treats us otherwise there are consequences.
• TRANSITION: When we refuse to forgive other people;
• We dam up our lives to prevent God’s grace from flowing in us.
PROBLEM #2: UNCONTROLLED TONGUE:
• Many of us suffer from an uncontrolled tongue;
• We speak first and engage brain second!
Ill:
• There is a classic movie called, ‘A Christmas Story’,
• It is a nostalgic look at growing up, through the eyes of a boy named Ralphie.
• In one scene it is break-time and all the kids are in the playground.
• It is the middle of a freezing cold winter.
• And two boys are arguing as they are surrounded by their classmates;
• The argument is about whether your tongue will stick to a metal pole;
• If you lick the pole in their below-freezing conditions.
• Eventually one of the boys succumbs to the dare.
• He hesitantly sticks his tongue out and touches the metal pole.
• Sure enough, it gets stuck.
• Then the bell goes to resume lessons.
• Everyone runs into the school building,
• Everyone except the hapless victim.
• When the teacher finally looks out the window,
• She sees the boy writhing in pain, his tongue frozen to the flagpole.
• TRANSITION: While few of us have been in that predicament,
• We all know what it's like to have our tongues get us in trouble.
Quote: James chapter 3 verse 5:
“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.
Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark”
• Gossip is always wrong because when you gossip you poison two minds.
• The person that listens to you and yourself.
Ill:
• During his last year in office, Churchill attended an official ceremony.
• (I am talking about Winston Churchill, the former Prime Minister.
• Not Churchill the dog from the TV adverts!)
• Several rows behind him two gentlemen began whispering.
• "That's Winston Churchill." "They say he is getting senile."
• "They say he should step aside;
• And leave the running of the nation to more dynamic and capable men."
• When the ceremony was over, Churchill turned to the men and said,
• "Gentlemen, they also say he is deaf!"
• TRANSITION:
• Gossip is always wrong because when you gossip you poison two minds.
• The person that listens to you and yourself.
Quote: Will Rogers (American, humourist, newspaper columnist, social commentator, )
"So live that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip."
PROBLEM #3: UNWISE ACTIONS OR CONDUCT:
Quote: Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15:
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise”
Ill:
Ten Commandments of Human Relations
• 1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.
• 2. Smile at people. It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, only fourteen to smile.
• 3. Call people by name. Music to anyone's ears is the sound of his/her own name.
• 4. Be friendly and helpful.
• 5. Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do is genuinely a pleasure,
• And if it isn't, learn to make it so.
• 6. Be genuinely interested in people. You can like almost everybody if you try.
• 7. Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism.
• 8. Be considerate with the feelings of others.
• There are usually three sides to a controversy: yours, the other fellow's, and the right one.
• 9. Be alert to serve. What counts most in life is what we do for others.
• 10. Add to this a good sense of humour, a big dose of patience,
• And a dash of humility, and you will be rewarded manifold through life.
And I would suggest two more:
• Be quick to confess when you have hurt someone else.
• Be quick to forgive when you are done wrong.
PROBLEM #4: UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS:
Quote: 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 8:
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
Ill:
• I remember my friend (and mentor) Bob Telford saying;
• That when he started at Moorlands Bible College;
• He thought it would be a taste of heaven.
• Likeminded Christians, keen to study the Bible and serve the Lord;
• Living and working together!
• I remember him saying why I thought it would be a taste of heaven, he did not know;
• Because he was anything but ‘heavenly’ to live with!
• So why would they be ‘heavenly’?
• TRANSITION: Many times we are unrealistic in our expectations.
• The answer: get your eyes off people and get them on Jesus.
• The members of this Church are all flawed people;
• So you must accept that fact,
• We would all like to be ‘mini-Jesus;’ but we are still being made;
• None of us are the finished article.
• So because you are not perfect, don’t expect perfection in others;
• As the old saying goes, “Be patient, God is not finished with me yet!”
Quote: John Newton.
• The former slave trader who became a Christian and a preacher;
• As well as a hymn writer who penned ‘Amazing Grace’.
“Though I am not what I ought to be, what I wish to be, and what I hope to be—yet I can truly say, I am not what (I used to be) I once was…“
(b). Be Willing to put to rights broken relationships
Ill:
• A wife walked into her front room to find her husband,
• Stalking around with a fly swatter.
• She asked him, "What are we doing?"
• He replied, "I am fixing the fly problem by hunting them down".
• The wife then said: "Ok have you killed any of them?"
• He replied: “Yes Got 4 males, 3 females,"
• Intrigued, she asked. "How can you tell the difference?"
• "Simple." He replied, "4 were on the TV remote and 3 were on the phone."
• TRANSITION: Forget the fly’s we got bigger problems to sort out;
• But we have to be willing, they do not solve themselves on their own.
FIX#1: CONFRONT WITHOUT DELAYING ANY FURTHER.
• When it comes to putting things right;
• There is nothing to be gained by delay - the sooner, the better.
• Remember the Bible quotation from earlier?
Quote: Matthew chapter 5 verses 23-24:
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. FIRST GO and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift”
• TRANSITION: Notice Jesus did not say pray about the problem;
• To paraphrase his words, he said, “It’s time for action!”
• Do not dilly-dally, do not delay do not procrastinate!
ill:
Someone has put it this way…
“Procrastination is my sin,
It brings me nothing but sorrow,
I know that I should stop it
So I will…tomorrow.”
• Have you noticed…when you procrastinate doing the right thing,
• You can often end up doing the wrong thing.
• Knowing what should be done obligates a person to do it.
• The point is: Delayed obedience is disobedience.
Ill:
• Every parent knows that delayed obedience is really disobedience.
• If you tell your teenage kids; “It’s your turn to go and do the washing up”;
• And they reply, “Sure dad, we’ll do it in two days,”
• That’s not obedience, that is disobedience!
• TRANSITION: Jesus says; “first go!”
• In other words, “Now is the time for action!”
FIX #2: BE WILLING TO COMPROMISE.
Ill:
• A couple who had been married for 50 years,
• They were asked the secret of their success,
• The husband replied;
“Every time my wife gets mad she tells me,
Every time that I get mad I go for a walk,
The secret to our marriage is largely due to the amount of times I have spent outdoors!”
FIX #3: MAKE A COMMITMENT.
• Quote: Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32:
• Be “reconciled to each other”.
• Restore the relationship and be reconciled to each other.
Ill:
• This week my car has been in the Ford garage 3 times;
• And it has go back again Monday morning for a fourth time,
• In the hope they will fix it.
• Now I am sat in a waiting area looking directly at the showroom.
• I never get to go in the back of the building to the service department.
• All the cars I look at are brand new, they are perfect;
• And they are only ever joined by other perfect cars.
• But in the back are the cars like mine;
• The cars that need fixing!
• TRANSITION: Too many people think of church as a showroom;
• Where image is everything,
• But they could not be further from the truth;
• The Church is the service department.
• Helping people, helping relationships get back in running order,
• Reconciling people to God;
• And reconciling people to each other! with God is what the church is all about.”
• So today, if you need to make a commitment.
• Quote: Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32: Be “reconciled to each other”.
• Restore the relationship and be reconciled to each other.
In conclusion:
• Jesus taught that our first priority was to have a proper vertical relationship with God,
• And then, a proper horizontal relationship with our fellow man.
• You can’t have the first without the second.
• Final challenge:
• Where are you in your relationship with God today?
• What about your relationship with other people?
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=IzDDNOFxI97F8uv4xxXPsNL9WBJldaM9&forceSave
