9:00am Service | Pastor Austin Hix | Come and See
John 1:35-39, 43-46 (NLT)
35 The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” 37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
1 John 1:5-7 (NLT)
Living in the Light
5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Ephesians 2:11-13 (NLT)
Oneness and Peace in Christ
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
Luke 19:1-10 (NLT)
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man[a] came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Luke 15:1-7 (NLT)
Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Ezekiel 34:1-6; 11;16 (NKJV)
Irresponsible Shepherds
34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”
God, the True Shepherd
11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”
Jeremiah 23:1-8 (ref)
11:00am Service | Pastor Landon Heinen
One Thing
What is the one thing?
“The One Thing that changes everything”
We have created words like focusses and priorities to describe how we approach life.
Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Words Build Worlds. What worlds are we building from our hearts?
‘The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ‘
Luke 6:45 ESV
Have we listened to the words coming out of our mouths?
As good people, we may even have our “Focuses” on excellent and Godly things?
Focusing on work, marriage, children, health, education, understanding, healing, food, shelter. clothing…pickup trucks, and coffee.
He said don’t be anxious about anything.
‘But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’
Matthew 6:33
We are seeking to be a part of more than just what God is doing. We are seeking who God is. As we seek Him, we are transformed by Him.
“The One Thing that changes everything”
He didn’t say that we were to seek first our marriage, our children, or our work.
Jesus is at the center of it all.
When we seek Him first, He changes everything.
The problem with the plurality of focus is that we are so easily lured by idolatry.
‘You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ‘
John 5:38-40
Another way that we have divided focus is our obsession with comfort.
We are obsessed with Heated and Cooled everything, whatever it takes to avoid the experience of discomfort.
In Jesus’ The Sermon on the Mount, He has some pretty weighty challenges for those willing to listen.
‘“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘
Matthew 5:3
‘“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ‘
Matthew 5:4
‘“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ‘
Matthew 5:5
‘“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ‘
Matthew 5:6
‘“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ‘
Matthew 5:7
‘“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ‘
Matthew 5:8
‘“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ‘
Matthew 5:9
‘“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘
Matthew 5:10
‘“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ‘
Matthew 5:11
‘Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ‘
Matthew 5:12
How often are we comfortable and full of the faith to move mountains at the same time?
Beatitudes: when all worldly comfort is gone, we maintain that we belong to Him and in His Kingdom.
When we seek Him first, He changes everything.
‘“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. ‘
Matthew 5:13
‘“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ‘
Matthew 5:14
‘Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ‘
Matthew 5:15
‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ‘
Matthew 5:16
When we seek Him first, He changes everything.
Psalms 46
At his voice, all of the worldly distractions melt.
‘“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven. ‘
Matthew 6:9-10 NASB
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘
Matthew 6:11-12 NASB
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[ For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]’
Matthew 6:13 NASB
So often, we read the word’ Temptation” and see the word Difficulty.
‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”’
John 16:33
In hard times we love to say, “Just give It to God!”
What does that mean?
If I had to tell you what it means to “Give it to God!” It would be to trust Him but to trust Him. We must also know Him.
‘But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. I have told you these things while I am still with you.’
John 14:25-26 AMPC
When I was getting to know my wife, I pursued her. Because I still want to know my wife, I still pursue her, and we grow in knowing each other’s character.
When we seek Him first, He changes everything.
What good thing do you want most in your life? A good marriage, kids who make good decisions and have a comfortable life… if only we could control the outcome!
When we seek Him first, He changes everything.
The Kingdom of God is?
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17
- Righteousness 2nd Corinthians 5:17-21
- Peace Philippians 4:4-9
- Joy: Strength and companionship, Galatians 5:22, John 5:25,26
The process of seeking the Kingdom Of God is submitting to the Lordship of King Jesus.
When we seek Him, we will find Him.
Repentance: turning, changing our minds, submitting our rights, repeat, repeat, repeat… exercising our faith!
James 1:8 “The double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways.” In submission to King Jesus, we are becoming more stable every day.
The church has an epidemic of immaturity. We use Christianity as a ticket to heaven, stuck as double-minded converts.
We were called to follow Jesus as disciples! A disciple seeks to root out thoughts and ways in his life that do not line up with the Kingship of Jesus.
It is a process.
Discipleship is a process of radical daily transformation.
2nd. Corinthians 3:16-18
Hebrews 11 & 12:1,2
We like to trust in something, anything, to prevent us from feeling out of control.
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Romans 1:21,22
It is finished.
Matthew 11:28-30 MSG
We are giving up our rights and following Jesus.
When we seek Him first, He changes everything.