Sunday Sermons

Series: “Homecoming” Sermon: “Hopeless-The Lost Coin”

Luke 19:9-10 “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of

Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

John 1:17-18 “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one

has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has (Revealed NLT)

declared Him.” (Message) “made him plain as day.”

Luke 15:1-3 NLT “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made

the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even

eating with them! So Jesus told this story”

One parable in three parts.

Sheep — One in One Hundred. Coin — One in Ten. Son — One in two

Pattern: Something Lost, Found and then a Party

Healthy sheep stay with the flock. The Wandering is a symptom, not a wilful act.

Result of: injury, illness, parasites, exhaustion, or some other physical or mental distress that makes it unable

or unwilling to keep up.

The sheep has no recovery strategy.

The sheep doesn't demonstrate its worthiness.

The sheep doesn't find its way home.

The shepherd goes looking, finds it, puts it on his shoulders, and rejoices.

“… Until he finds it.”

Not: Until it’s dark. UNTIL HE FINDS IT.

Not: Until I’ve done my best. Not: Until I’m exhausted.

Only one acceptable ending. FOUND

Sheep — Hopeless. Coin —Helpless Son—Rebellious. Pharisee —Self Righteous

Grace finds them all.

Jesus you eat with sinners??? YES!!! That is exactly what I do.

Luke 15:8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the

entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, …

…she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the

same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.’”

1. The Loss Doesn’t Change Value

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female

He created them.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him

should not perish but have everlasting life.”

2. Love Takes Responsibility For Loss

Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”

Ephesians 2:4 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,…”

3. Love

-

Continuous Sacrificial Action

John 1:9 “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for

us.”

4. Love Demands Joyful Outcomes

Religion grumbles when sinners are welcomed.

Heaven rejoices when the lost are found.

Hebrews 12:2 NLT “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our

faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the

place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Jude 24-25 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the

presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise …”

Pharisees judge behaviour.

Jesus saw people of value.

They saw their failures.

Jesus saw God's image.

They saw reasons to exclude.

Jesus saw reasons to pursue.

The coin doesn't know it's lost.

The coin doesn't repent.

The coin doesn't call for help.

The coin doesn't cooperate.

The woman searches until she finds it.

The greatest danger isn't always losing something.

It's losing the desire to recover it.

Joy disappears

Peace disappears

Love disappears

Passion disappears

Hope disappears

Acts 3:20-21

“… and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the

times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world

began.”

Series: “Homecoming” Sermon: “Careless

-

The Lost Sheep”

Luke 19:9-10 “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of

Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

John 1:17-18 “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one

has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has (Revealed NLT)

declared Him.” (Message)

Luke 15:1-7 NLT “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made

the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even

eating with them!” So Jesus told them this story: “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? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he

arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost

sheep. 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!”

One parable in three parts.

Sheep — One in One Hundred

Coin — One in Ten

Son — One in two

Pattern: Something Lost, Found and then a Party

The answer to the oldest question ever asked.

Why does God always let the wrong people in?

Grace always feels unfair to the person who feels they have earned their place in the Kingdom.

“… even eating with them.” They grumble about the meal that heaven exists to throw.

This is about the Father's heart toward the lost—and the religious leaders who failed to understand it.

Their objection reveals a distorted understanding of holiness, lostness, and the heart of God.

Proverbs 4:14 NKJV “Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil.”

SEPARATION

Psalms 1:1 NKJV “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of

sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;”

MORALISM

Healthy sheep stay with the flock. The Wandering is a symptom, not a wilful act.

Result of: injury, illness, parasites, exhaustion, or some other physical or mental distress that makes it unable

or unwilling to keep up.

The sheep has no recovery strategy.

The sheep doesn't demonstrate its worthiness.

The sheep doesn't find its way home.

The shepherd goes looking, finds it, puts it on his shoulders, and rejoices.

“… Until he finds it.”

Not: Until it’s dark. Not: Until I’ve done my best. UNTIL HE FINDS IT. Only one acceptable ending. FOUND

Not: Until I’m exhausted.

Heaven celebrates the ONE sinner coming home. REPENTS

No celebration for Ninety Nine self righteous. NO NEED TO REPENT

Vs.7 “Just persons who need no repentance.”

Acts 5:31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance

to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”“Repentance, as defined by the parable under consideration, is not a meritorious work which the believer

completes. Rather it is likened to a sheep who does nothing but get lost. The shepherd then in turn …

… must come after that sheep and carry it home. The costly action of the shepherd who finds the sheep and

carries it home now defines repentance.” Dr, Kenneth E, Bailey (Finding The Lost)

2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the

sorrow of the world produces death.” Sorrow is not repentance.

Romans 2:4 “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that

the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

A. T. Robertson (Word Pictures In The New Testament) — Regarding the translation of metanoia as

repentance, “… a linguistic and theological tragedy.” Misplaced by latin church fathers.

The latin Vulgate: poenitentiam agite “do penance” be sorry again and again.

REPENT :-- Compound Word Re :-- Return to; get back Pent :-- The top as in penthouse

Metanoeo (met-an-o-eh’-o) :-- compound of after and thought; to think differently afterwards, that is,

reconsider Changed mind in light of new evidence.

Ezekiel 34:11 “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd

in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the

places …”

1 John 4:19 NASV “We love, because He first loved us.”

Psalm 23:1 AMP “The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.”

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life,

and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

The call of Homecoming is not only for the lost to come home, It's for the religious to come into the

Father's heart.

We can’t preach about determination of the shepherd while treating broken people as disposable.

Sheep — Careless. Coin— Helpless Son — Rebellious. Pharisee — Self Righteous

Grace finds them all.

Jesus you eat with sinners??? YES!!! That is exactly what I do.

Vs. 6 “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.”

“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Revelation 19:9

“Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me I one was lost buy now I’m found

was blind but now I see.”

Fights Till I’m Found!

WELCOME HOME

Sermon: “Grace Alone”

John 1:17 (NASB) “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through

Jesus Christ.”

Jesus revealed God's grace truthfully, faithfully, and completely.

John 10:10 NLT “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."

There is a difference between seeing a promise and experiencing its fulfilment.

Number 20: 8-13 “… speak to the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. … Moses raised

his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and water came out abundantly, … for that reason

you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

Deuteronomy 34:4 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. I have caused you to see it with your eyes,

but you shall not cross over there.’”

Moses represents the Law that points toward the inheritance.

Joshua represents taking the inheritance.

Jesus is the greater fulfilment.

What the Law points toward, Jesus fulfils.

What the Law describes, grace delivers.

1. The Law, Moses, can show you the address, but it cannot take you home!

Romans 8:3 “For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh (Adam),

God did by sending his own Son.”

The Law could tell you what righteousness looked like.

The Law could not give you the reality of that life.

Galatians 2:16 “…yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness

of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the

faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be

justified.”

Galatians 3:10 “For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is

written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.’”

“…Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the

knowledge of sin.”

The Law doesn’t provide an answer it raises a problem.

Galatians 3:19, 22 “Why, then, was the law given? … But the Scriptures (LAW) declare that we are all

prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews 8:13 (NLT) “When God speaks of a ‘new’ covenant, it means he has made the first one

obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.”

Wayne Grudem —

Christian Ethics

“It is important to realize that the author of Hebrews is not saying that some old covenant laws are

no longer binding on Christians (such as sacrificial laws or purity laws, for example), but that the oldcovenant itself, that entire system of laws that defined the relationship with God and his people, is no

longer in effect.”

Thomas Schreiner

— (40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law)

“Paul argues that the entirety of the law has been set aside now that Christ has come. To say that the

‘moral’ elements of the law continue to be authoritative blunts the truth that the entire Mosaic

covenant is no longer in force for believers.”

Romans 6:14 NLT “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the

law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”

2. Grace Alone, Joshua, brings you into your inheritance.

Joshua 1:2 NLT “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these

people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.”

Numbers 13:16 “These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses

called Hoshea (salvation) son of Nun, Joshua.” (Jehovah Is Salvation)

2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of

God through us.”

2 Corinthians 1:20 (AMP) “For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered]

'Yes.’ So through Him we say our ‘Amen’ to the glory of God.”

The law can bring you to the border, but only Jesus can bring you in.

The way he brings you in, is not by handing you a map of the promised land.It's by joining you to

himself.

He is the destination. He is the reward.

John 14:20 NLT “When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in

me, and I am in you..” Union has obtained you. You don't obtain it.

Hebrews 4:1-2 NLT “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear

that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—

has been announced to us just as it was to them.”

Hebrews 4:8-10 KJV “For if Jesus (Joshua) had given them rest, then would he not afterward have

spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered

into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”

Romans 4:4-5 “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted

for righteousness,”

Two systems:

WORKS: “I do → God owes.”

GRACE: “God has done → I believe.”

Grace and performance can't be mixed.

Righteousness is wages, God is my employer.

Righteousness is grace, God is my Father.Sonship is received.

You don't perform your way into the family.

You can work for a wage, but you can only receive an inheritance.

You can earn a position, but you cannot earn a birth.

John 1:12 “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”

Grace is not a spiritual motivational speech telling you to try harder.

Grace is God's initiative, God's provision, God's power, and God's gift in Jesus Christ.

The Law says, "This is the righteous standard."

Grace says, "Look at what God has done in His Son."

We have to STOP living at the border staring at our inheritance from a distance.

Live from the grace, relationship, and rest that are yours in union with Christ.

Galatians 4:6-7 “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,

crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through

God.”

The Spirit creates the confidence and consciousness of sonship within us.

You're not a slave trying to get close to God.

You're a son who has been brought home.

The Spirit awakens that reality in you.

And the cry “Abba” is the spontaneous expression of that sonship.

Grace changes the source of transformation from trying to earn God's acceptance to living out of

God's acceptance.

Sonship is not the prize at the end of your performance.

Sonship is the gift from which your whole life begins.

Thanksgiving: Living a Life of Gratitude

Thanksgiving Sunday 2026 | Impact Church London

Key Scripture: Psalm 100:4–5

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”

Thanksgiving is more than a holiday or a moment of appreciation. It is a lifestyle of recognizing God's goodness, acknowledging His grace, and expressing gratitude in every area of our lives.

We don't give thanks simply because everything is going well. We give thanks because God is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His faithfulness never changes.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 reminds us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in every circumstance.

Thanksgiving is an act of worship. It is something we express through our words, our actions, and the way we live.

1. Thanksgiving Begins Where the Sense of Entitlement Ends

Gratitude and entitlement cannot occupy the same place in our hearts.

Entitlement focuses on what we believe we deserve or what we think is missing. Thanksgiving shifts our attention toward what God has already provided.

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve were surrounded by God's goodness, yet their attention was drawn toward the one thing they were told not to have.

Romans 1:21 warns us about knowing God without honouring Him or giving Him thanks.

Scripture also challenges us to guard against complaining and grumbling.

Supporting Scriptures:

• 1 Corinthians 10:10–11

• Philippians 2:14

• 1 Peter 4:9

• Proverbs 30:15

Instead of allowing dissatisfaction to shape our perspective, we can choose to remember God's faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22–23 reminds us that His mercies are new every morning and His compassion never fails.

Key Thought: Gratitude begins when we stop focusing on what we think we deserve and start recognizing what God has graciously given.

2. Thanksgiving Is Never Invisible

True thanksgiving is more than an internal feeling. It is something we express.

The biblical language of thanksgiving includes eucharistia, associated with gratitude and giving thanks, and towdah, associated with expressions of praise and thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is meant to be demonstrated through our words, worship, and actions.

Luke 6:45 says:

“For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

What fills our hearts will eventually be expressed through our lives.

Gratitude should be visible in how we speak to others, how we worship God, and how we respond to His goodness.

Proverbs 17:22 also reminds us of the value of a joyful heart.

Key Thought: Thanksgiving isn't just something we feel. It's something we give.

3. Thanksgiving Increases Favour and Creates Opportunities

A thankful heart helps position us to recognize God's goodness and respond faithfully, even in difficult circumstances.

Consider Joseph's journey:

From the pit, to Potiphar's house, to prison, to the palace.

Joseph experienced betrayal, injustice, and disappointment, yet God's purpose continued to unfold throughout his life.

Jesus also demonstrated thanksgiving in His ministry.

In John 6:11, Jesus gave thanks before distributing the bread to the multitude.

In John 11:40–43, Jesus thanked the Father before calling Lazarus from the tomb.

And in Daniel 6:10, Daniel continued his practice of praying and giving thanks to God, even when doing so placed him in danger.

These examples remind us that thanksgiving is not dependent on perfect circumstances.

Key Thought: Gratitude positions our hearts to recognize God's goodness and remain faithful through every season.

4. Thanksgiving Builds Up Relationships

What we appreciate, appreciates. What we fail to appreciate can depreciate.

Gratitude strengthens relationships because it communicates that people are seen, valued, and appreciated.

In Luke 17:15–16, Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to glorify God and give Him thanks.

The one who returned recognized more than the miracle. He recognized the One who had made him whole.

We are grateful for the Giver, not just the gift.

Thanksgiving doesn't simply recognize what someone has done. It recognizes the person who did it.

Sometimes the most meaningful words we can offer are:

“Thank you. I noticed what you did. It mattered to me.”

Imagine what our families, friendships, workplaces, and church community could look like if we intentionally expressed appreciation more often.

Key Thought: Gratitude builds relationships by reminding people that they matter.

5. Make Thanksgiving Your Default

Thanksgiving should not be reserved for special occasions. It should become our natural response to God's goodness.

Colossians 3:17 teaches us that whatever we do, in word or deed, we should do it in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Paul modelled this attitude in his relationships.

Philippians 1:3 (NLT) says:

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.”

In Romans 1:8, Paul also expresses gratitude to God for the believers in Rome.

What would our relationships look like if they were saturated in thanksgiving?

What would our Impact Church community look like if gratitude became our default response?

Thanksgiving changes how we see our circumstances, how we treat others, and how we experience the goodness of God.

Key Thought: Thanksgiving doesn't change the goodness of God; it changes how we experience, recognize, and participate in the goodness that is already ours in Christ.

Putting Thanksgiving Into Practice

This week, challenge yourself to make gratitude intentional.

• Thank God daily. Take time to recognize His goodness, faithfulness, and grace.

• Replace complaining with thanksgiving. Choose to focus on what God has done rather than only on what seems to be missing.

• Express appreciation. Tell someone specifically why you are grateful for them.

• Give thanks in every season. Even when circumstances are difficult, remember that God's character remains unchanged.

• Make gratitude a lifestyle. Let thanksgiving become part of your everyday conversations, relationships, and worship.

Final Encouragement

Thanksgiving is not about convincing God to be good to us. He has already demonstrated His goodness and grace through Jesus Christ.

Our thanksgiving is a response to who He is and what He has already done.

Start — Giving Thanks.Keep On — Giving Thanks.Don't Stop — Giving Thanks.

Vision Sunday 2026 | Participation in Transformation

Bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to London and beyond.

At Impact Church, our vision is simple: Transforming Lives to Impact Their World. Vision Sunday is about recognizing that transformation isn't something we simply watch happen. God invites us to participate in what He is doing in our city, our region, and beyond. 

Participation

Jesus didn't call His disciples to simply observe what He was doing. He invited them to participate.

In Luke 9:13, Jesus tells His disciples:

“You give them something to eat.”

The disciples were being taught to move from watching Jesus work to participating in His work. The miracle of the loaves wasn't only about feeding a crowd—it was part of their training. Later, Mark 6:51–52 tells us that the disciples still hadn't fully understood what Jesus was showing them through the loaves. 

Working Faith

Luke 8 records Jesus telling the disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.”

They launched out because Jesus had spoken. But adversity came along the way.

The message challenges us to recognize that the enemy sends winds of adversity and wants to block our assignment. The enemy recognizes that the word spoken over us is powerful—but the question is: Do we?

Faith doesn't mean there won't be resistance. Faith continues moving toward what Jesus has spoken even when resistance comes.

Authority Over Territory

When Jesus and the disciples arrived in the region of the Gadarenes, they encountered a man who had been tormented for years. Luke 8 describes him as living among the tombs, bound by chains and driven into the wilderness.

When Jesus confronted the spirits tormenting the man, they identified themselves as “Legion.” The message emphasizes that they didn't want to surrender territory.

This encounter represents a progression in what the disciples were learning:

The training is over.
You have authority over creation.
You have authority over storms.
You have authority over territory.

These Are People Jesus Loves

Our city is filled with people experiencing addiction, anxiety, loneliness, despair, fear, disease, pain and abuse.

But these aren't simply problems or projects to address.

These are people Jesus loves.

The message of Vision Sunday reminds us:

Darkness doesn't own a territory. It only occupies territory until light arrives.

The battle isn't only about an individual—it is also about influence. Jesus came into a region where darkness had established influence and began reclaiming it.

As Impact Church, we believe we've also been assigned a region. Our calling is to bring the light and Good News of Jesus into it.

Purpose Restored

The man Jesus delivered wasn't simply rescued from his past—his purpose was restored.

Jesus told him in Mark 5:19–20 to return home and tell his friends what the Lord had done for him and how He had shown him compassion. The man went throughout Decapolis proclaiming what Jesus had done, and people marvelled.

The person who had once been tormented in that region became someone carrying the testimony of Jesus throughout that same region.

This is regional transformation: a region that had been harassed by darkness becoming a region flooded with light.

Participation Changes Regions

Later, Jesus returned to the Decapolis, and Mark 7 records people bringing someone who was deaf and had difficulty speaking to Him.

Something had changed.

The testimony had travelled. People who once encountered darkness were now bringing people to Jesus.

This is what happens when transformed people participate in transformation.

What Do You Have to Give?

John 6 tells the story of a boy with five barley loaves and two fish. He didn't have enough to meet the need of the entire crowd—but he gave Jesus what he had.

Jesus took it, gave thanks and multiplied it.

Participation doesn't begin with having everything necessary to accomplish the vision. It begins with being willing to give what we have.

Vision Sunday is an invitation for each of us to ask:

What can I give?
Where can I serve?
How can I participate?
What has God placed in my hands?

We aren't called to simply observe transformation.

We are called to participate in it.

Together, we're believing for transformed lives, restored purpose and a region increasingly filled with the light and Good News of Jesus Christ.

Impact Church — Transforming Lives to Impact Their World.

SMALL GROUP SUNDAY: LETT … US!

There is a study done by a global software company that specializes in helping organizations collaborate, surveyed thousands of teams (who are a part of the Fortune 500) and found that 93% of executives say cross-functional collaboration is more important than ever. (Cross-functional collaboration simply means people from different areas, with different skills or responsibilities, working together toward the same goal.)

It also found that 40% of knowledge workers' direct collaborators work in a different job function.

Starting at the beginning of Genesis, God is creating the world all of these miracles of light and dark, God said it was good, separating land from water and sky, God said it was good, then he get to man, creates man and says it is VERY good. Steps back from everything…. Looks at all He’s created, analyzing it and the very FIRST aspect in which He remarks in… ‘NOT GOOD” found in…

Genesis 2:18 “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone I will make him a helper comparable to him.ʼ” helper:— (ezer) strong help comparable:— (kenegdo) as in front of him; perfect match, same nature.

The first thing God said was "not good" wasn't sin—it was isolation.

God’s decision to create a helper for the human that is “comparable to him” recognizes a primal human need for companionship…

For over 75 years, Harvard's Grant and Glueck study has tracked the physical and emotional well-being of two populations: 456 poor men growing up in Boston from 1939 to 2014 (the Grant Study), and 268 male graduates from Harvard's classes of 1939-1944 (the Glueck study).

The conclusion? According to Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, onething surpasses all the rest in terms of importance:

"The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period."

IT’S NOT JUST THE BIBLE STATING THAT COMMUNITY IS CRITICAL… IT’S SCIENCE! LOVE WHEN SCIENCE COMES TO THE SAME CONCLUSION AS TRUTH!

Many people think that Christianity is a belief system, but it’s really a belong system.

John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by our love for one another.

If a disciple traveled alone, they could talk about our love for one another but could not demonstrate it. By traveling together, the disciples SHOWED the world a living, breathing model of reconciled community in action. 

Community is the message. 

Actions speak louder than words…

59 One Another Commands In New Testament. 21 Involve “Love.”

1 Peter 3:8 “Love one another deeply, from the heart.”

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

When we look at the life of Jesus on the earth, he practically never sent anyone out alone. Every time He explicitly commanded His followers to go out and interact with the world (part one of together… going out not remaining inward) He structurally baked community and teamwork directly into the mission.

Mark 6:7 When Jesus sent out the 12 Apostles… Luke 10:1 When He expanded to the mission to a much larger group of followers… He sent them out two by two…

African Proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.”

Dr Dean Ornish — Ornish Lifestyle Medicine “Love and intimacy — our ability to connect with ourselves and others, is at the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well, … People who feel lonely and isolated have a 300-500 percent greater risk of premature death due to physical illness.”

You cannot fulfill the purpose for God outside of community. You can know God without community and get to heaven without community, but you can’t manifest God’s fullness.

YOU CAN NOT manifest God’s FULNESS WITHOUT COMMUNITY!

The language of the book of Hebrews is not ‘me and God.’ It is ‘we and God.’”

Hebrews 10:21-25 NLT

21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Connecting Is Mandatory!.... Let US, see what we are accomplishing together…

1.Together We Approach

Hebrews 10:22

“…LET US GO RIGHT IN TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD…” 

Heaven is not a collection of isolated believers. It is a family gathered around the throne. If eternity looks like people together, why would we try to live Christianity alone?

Revelation 5:9

“…your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” 

Think about the picture of eternity.

Heaven is not a crowd of disconnected believers who just happen to be in the same location at the same time.

The picture Scripture gives us is a family gathered around a throne.

People together.

Worshipping together.

Celebrating together.

Hebrews establishes that Jesus is our great High Priest.

The presence of God was kept behind that veil, and only once a year….. a priest could go in…

Under the Old Covenant, access to God's presence was restricted. But Jesus has opened the wayand the gospel isn't simply:

Jesus died so I can have my personal spiritual experience with God.

Jesus didn't just open the door so that you could walk through it alone. He opened the door so that everyone could approach the throne!

Ephesians 2:19

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household.”

AND THIS IS WHERE HEBREWS GETS REALLY BEAUTIFUL… Because Hebrews doesn't just tell us that Jesus gives us access.

It tells us that we are joining a story that started long before us.

Hebrews 12:1 

12 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it…!”

The literary context, Hebrews chapter 11, runs through some of the veterans that are in the same family as we are…

Hebrews 11 is essentially a hall of faith.Pioneers.Veterans.People who went before us. The ‘TOGETHER’ earlier on the timeline…

“5By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him..”

“7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, prepared an ark for the saving of his household…”

“8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going…”

By faith, Pastor Cheryl has become the first female Apostle in the worldwide Apostolic movement birthed out of the Welsh Revival—pioneering a path of leadership, courage, and faith for generations to come.

This isn’t about select people accomplishing noteworthy historical events and moments. This is about documentation, a snapshot account of believers who are apart of an entire body.

YOU are apart of that!

We all play a significant role in eternities scale, together we are moving along on this part of the timeline fulfilling God’s purpose on the earth, and how He wants to deliver it through you specifically!

F1- ANALOGY

A Formula 1 car doesn't win a race because of the driver alone….

An individual can be highly visible while the outcome depends on an enormous, interconnected team…

A good pit-stop could be the one element that leads a team to a top of the podium finish; a poorly executed one, more often than not, leads to the driver losing quite a few places and facing an insurmountable challenge for the rest of the race. The pit crew is vital to an F1 team alongside the driver and car, forming the "F1 Trinity," with some stops becoming legendary for their success or failure, raising the question of what these crews actually do during a stop.

Different people have different responsibilities.

For example:

• Race engineer communicates directly with the driver and helps interpret what's happening during the race. 

• Strategy teams calculate race strategy, tire choices, pit windows and responses to changing circumstances. 

• Aerodynamicists work on airflow and aerodynamic performance.

When a race car crosses the finish line, it is not just the driver that crosses that line, it is the whole TEAM that approaches that line together.

In life, we are not just created to move about solo, without thinking or considering anyone else. Approaching life narrow minded, “I am on my own journey, doing what I need to need to do and end comfortably…” The world is missing out on an aspect of God through you! 

You reflect and aspect of God that no one else does! 

QUESTION

• What is one practical step I can take this week to move from spectator to participant?

2.Together We Stand

Hebrews 10:23

“LET US HOLD TIGHTLY WITHOUT WAVERING TO THE HOPE WE AFFIRM,”

Holding on is a group activity!!! Hold on to each other as we hold on to the promises.

The writer doesn't say, “You hold on to your faith, and I'll hold on to mine.”

Galatians 6:2 — We carry one another

“Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

Notice:

Your burden becomes my burden.My strength can become your strength.

That's community = Isolation magnifies problems… Community shrinks them.

The strongest believers are not the most independent—they are the most connected.

Red ROVER Red ROVER Analogy….

A classic playground game where two teams stand in parallel lines holding hands. One team calls out, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send [Name] right over!". That person must run and try to break through the clasped hands of the opposing team.

The further apart two people were, the easier the line would be to break, and the tighter two people were together, leaving almost no space, was not even worth bothering. 

If the enemy can't destroy you, he'll try to disconnect you.

Isolation doesn't make you stronger. Isolation can make you easier to attack.

That's why the enemy would love for you to become disconnected.

Because when you're disconnected:

Nobody knows you're struggling.

Nobody knows you're discouraged.

Nobody knows you're questioning.

Nobody knows you're hurting.

Nobody can speak into your life.

Nobody can pray with you.

Nobody can remind you of what God has said.

And eventually you start believing things that you might never believe if someone who loves you was sitting beside you saying… “If it’s not hopeful, it’s not the end.”

Sometimes God strengthens your faith directly. Sometimes He strengthens it through the faith of the person sitting beside you. There are seasons when you hold the rope for someone else, and seasons when they hold it for you.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his classic book Life Together, he writes:

“The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him.”

Continuing…

“He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged.”

He isn’t saying “Christians need friends because loneliness is uncomfortable.”

He's saying:

There are moments when I cannot see clearly for myself, and God has placed another believer in the body to speak truth to me.

That's profound. Because sometimes your emotions are lying to you.Sometimes your circumstances are screaming louder than Scripture. Sometimes your disappointment is interpreting God for you. Sometimes your pain is telling you:

“God doesn't care.”

And you need somebody who loves you enough to say:

“I know that's what it feels like—but that's not what God's Word says.”

Think about Mark 2…

Four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus.

They can't get through the crowd.

So they climb onto the roof.

They tear open the roof.

And they lower their friend down in front of Jesus.

And Mark 2:5 says:

“When Jesus saw their faith...”

Their faith.

Not merely his faith.

QUESTION:

• Have I allowed disappointment, offense, busyness, or independence to isolate me?

3.Together We Act

Hebrews 10:24 

“LET US THINK OF WAYS TO MOTIVATE ONE ANOTHER TO ACTS OF LOVE AND GOOD WORKS.”

Join me in… Help me with… This has worked for me…

Real relationships are good and messy.

Proverbs 27:6

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

Proverbs 27:17

“As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

Countenance (paw-neem’) :— face, before and behind, toward, in front of, forward

A. How You Look B. How You Look At Things C. How You Look At Things Ahead

It’ll sharpen how you look at things… and give you strength to do life…

A real friend loves you enough to tell you the truth.

Two pieces of iron sitting six feet apart don't sharpen each other. They have to come together.

Iron sharpening iron creates sparks. Think about that. If there are never any sparks... there probably isn't much sharpening happening.

And the word translated "countenance" is panim. It has to do with face, presence, direction — literally the idea of what is before you. So community doesn't just change who you are.It can change how you see.

“Get your friends to tell you your faults, or better still, welcome an enemy who will watch you keenly and sting you savagely. What a blessing such an irritating critic will be to a wise man, what an intolerable nuisance to a fool!” — Charles Spurgeon

GOGGLE STATISTIC

Google found that HOW people work together matters more than WHO is on the team.

Google's famous Project Aristotle studied 180 teams and examined hundreds of possible factors influencing effectiveness.

Their research found that team dynamics mattered more than simply having the “right” combination of personalities or individual talent.

Psychological safety emerged as the most important factor: people need to feel safe enough to ask questions, admit mistakes, disagree, and contribute ideas. 

Google's researchers also found that people on teams with stronger team cultures were less likely to leave, more likely to use the ideas of teammates, generated more revenue, and were rated as effective twice as often by executives.

QUESTION:

• Who knows me well enough to celebrate my victories and challenge my blind spots?

4. Together We Remain

Hebrews 10:25 “…LET US NOT NEGLECT OUR MEETING TOGETHER…”

When Jesus instructed the Apostles and followers to go out into the world, it wasn’t just to stand a far off on a street corner, and preach at them…He instructed them to embed themselves in local communities. 

Luke 10:5-7 

5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality…”

This is not just running by, sharing the about Grace, then keep moving.... this is CIRCLESSS…

Social media is NOT real human interaction. It’s edited!!! 

BECAUSE WE ARE COMMITTED TO AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY:

1. Everyone is welcome. — Your background doesn’t matter.

2. Nobody is perfect. — Bring a Bible and your problems.

3. Anything is possible. — Simon can become Peter.

Together We Approach → Together We Stand → Together We Act → Together We Remain

Jesus opened the way for a people—not merely a collection of individuals

And finally:

"Let us not neglect our meeting together..."

Do you see the movement?

Jesus gives us access.

We approach God.

We hold onto hope.

We encourage one another.

We keep gathering.

The writer connects our confidence in Christ with our responsibility toward one another.

Small groups are one practical way we live out this invitation.

You can't practice the "one another" commands by yourself.

It means that when we gather in small groups, we aren't merely attending another church activity.We are creating space to live out the "one another" life of Scripture.

Romans 15:7 

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

William Arthur Ward, in “Thoughts of a Christian Optimist” wrote: “Most like beasts when we kill. Most like men when we judge. Most like God when we forgive.”

“The easiest kind of relationship is with ten thousand people. The hardest is with one.” — Joan Baez 

When you surround yourself with people who approach every aspect of life and faith just like you do, it can lead to a very dull experience. With no one or nothing to challenge you or add any contrast to your life, it can lead to a very dull and monochromatic existence.

Community keeps you edgy, keeps you effective…

When you join a small group, that’s vulnerable because you are exposed.

QUESTION:

• If everyone in the church approached community the way I do, would our church be stronger or weaker?

After "Social media is NOT real human interaction":

You can have a thousand followers and still be lonely.

You can be connected to everyone online and known by no one in real life.

God's plan has never been virtual community—it has always been authentic community.

The New Testament never asks, "Do you attend church?"

It asks, "Are you connected to the Body?"

Are you known? Are you loved? Are you serving? Are you encouraging others? ,,

Are you allowing others to encourage you?

At Impact Church, we believe:

Everyone is welcome.

Nobody is perfect.

Anything is possible.

So don't just attend.

Don't just watch.

Don't just consume.

Belong. Connect. Grow.

Because the life God designed for you is too big to be lived alone.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

CLOSING
1 Corinthians 12

You cannot be the body by yourself.

Paul's argument is fascinating. This is a very common passage, however The Message translation is pretty impactful…

“Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything…

Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive…

If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, transparent and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it…”

We need other people.

You can follow Jesus by yourself, but you cannot fully BE the body of Christ by yourself.

You can have a personal relationship with Jesus without having a personal relationship with His people—but you cannot live out everything Jesus calls His Church to be in isolation.

…

We're helping to remind people that they are more than conquerors in Jesus, that they were created intentionally, uniquely, and with purpose.

Every person in the Sunday rows matters.

Every conversation matters.

Every prayer matters.

Every person who walks into a group wondering, ‘Do I belong here?’ matters.

Every person who discovers Jesus in the middle of a conversation matters.

Because small groups aren't just another program on the church calendar.

They're one of the places where the church becomes personal.

This is where people are seen, heard, and valued.

This is where people learn can learn to hear God, walk with God, and walk with one another.

Together We Approach → Together We Stand → Together We Act → Together We Remain

SERIES: “Blockbusters” SERMON: “Origen”

A blockbuster asks one question:
Can the Avengers save the world? Will they Save Private Ryan? Will Dorthy and Toto make it home?
Genesis 1-3 Asks: “Who Am I?” “Why Am I Here?”

The Truman Show — Interesting Movie 
To understand the reason you are here, you have to understand the story you are in.

Psalm 139:14 “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.”

If Genesis 1–3 is merely the story of human failure, we'll spend our lives trying to fix ourselves.
If Genesis 1–3 is the story of God's relentless purpose fulfilled in Christ, then we discover why we're here.

Genesis 1:1-3 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [ ] The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.’”

Karl Barth (Gen. 1/2) “The Nothingness”- is a malignant resistance to God’s grace. It is the origin of sin, chaos, and evil. At the cross, in Jesus death, He absorbs the full weight of the darkness, chaos. His resurrection is the divine negation, the decisive conquering of Genesis 1:2.

1. THE PLACE
God Created for Communion. God didn't create out of need. God created out of overflow.
Before there was: Sin - Death - Failure - Brokenness
There was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Perfect love. Perfect joy. Perfect fellowship.

Creation wasn't God's attempt to get something. Creation was God's desire to share something.
God’s first desire was for relationship not obedience. The Bible begins with party not with a problem.
Not with distance but with communion.

2. THE PEOPLE
The universe begins with community. The Trinity is not lonely. The Trinity is love.
Then God creates humanity and says: "Come join the dance."

Adam and Eve are not merely workers.
They're image-bearers. Royal representatives. Beloved children.
Before Adam ever accomplished anything, he was already accepted.
Identity preceded responsibility. Sonship came before stewardship.

3. THE PURPOSE
God gives humanity a mission.
Fill the earth. Cultivate the earth. Guard the garden.
Adam wasn't just a gardener. He was a priest of creation.

Creation was designed to become a living temple filled with God's glory.
Mankind wasn't created merely to get to heaven someday. 
Mankind was created to bring heaven everywhere.
Starting with His first assignment. Eden

4. THE PROBLEM
The Tree Of Life and a forbidden tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The issue was never fruit it was trust.
Will God alone be my source OR will I take life in my own hands?
REACHING instead of RESTING

God did give man boundaries.
Genesis 2:16 “… you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
God also gave man the agency of choice. The Darkness creeps into the garden.
The serpent has a competing narrative.

Serpent: "Did God really say?"
The serpent doesn't attack Eve first. He attacks God's character.
Every temptation begins with suspicion. He’s holding out on you.

Shared knowledge builds authoritative voices in your head.
“You’re not enough.” “God is disappointed.” “You’re still distant.” “Try harder.”
The battle is not about behaviour. It’s about your conscience, what you’ve come to accept as truth.

Your conscience (Shared Knowledge) doesn’t create truth, It reflects the light it’s been exposed to.
If it’s shaped by:
Fear — God looks distant Shame — you feel unworthy Religion — you feel never enough

Genesis 3:11 “Who told you that?” It was a question of conscience.
Adam chose to embrace shared knowledge from the serpent.
From that moment humanity lived from shared knowledge with the lie.
Shame, fear, and separation became the new normal.

The single most important question you may ever answer is: Who told you that?
Your life is framed by shared knowledge.

SIN:— ”We want life without limits. Instead of living a life in submission to God, we want to take the place of God.”
Sin begins when we stop trusting the heart of the Father. Sin is questioning you own identity.

Genesis 3:13 (YLT) “And Jehovah God saith to the woman, `What [is] this thou hast done?' and the woman saith, `The serpent hath caused me to forget -- and I do eat.'

Living out of Adam cannot reveal to you the things of God. 
You need to be re-fathered. The blood of Jesus does that. 
You are re-fathered through the blood of Jesus and given a pure conscience. 
You can now walk in the shared knowledge of the Godhead.

Hebrews 9:14 “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” 

5. THE PROVISION
Grace Was Already Waiting. The fall is not the climax of this story.
God's rich provision of GRACE is the big takeaway! 
Adam hides. God seeks. Adam covers himself. God clothes him. Adam runs. God pursues.

Genesis 3:15 (Protoevangelium) “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Redemption reveals something greater.
Adam knew innocence. We know redemption.
Adam knew God walking beside him. We know Christ living within us.
Adam lived in a garden. We are the dwelling place of God.

“O happy fault that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer.” Ambrose of Milan
felix culpa (Happy Fault)
The covenant that the Father made with His Son took me from from sinful to SONFUL!!!

Revelation 13:8 “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Before there was a fall — there was already a Lamb. God didn’t just solve sin—He outplanned it.

“The death of Christ was not an afterthought. It was the centerpiece of God’s eternal plan.” John Piper
Before God ever said, “Let there be light” — There was already a conversation about the cross.

Jesus is the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. 
Redemption through His Blood was always His eternal plan!
1Peter 1:20 “… he was chosen and destined for this before the foundation of the earth was laid, but he has been made manifest in these last days for you.”

1 Corinthians 15:22 (NKJV) “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”

Genesis 1–3 is not about the triumph of sin.
It is the revelation of a God whose grace is greater than humanity's failure.
The garden reveals God's intention. The Cross reveals God's heart.
The resurrection reveals humanity's destiny. The story is not about how far humanity fell.
The story is about how far God would go.

What voices have shaped my identity more than the voice of God?
Have I reduced Christianity to forgiveness of sins, or have I embraced union with Christ?
Am I living from the Tree of Life—dependence on Christ—or from the tree of self-reliance?
What part of my story needs to be reinterpreted through the lens of grace rather than shame?

Romans 8:19 “For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship].”

SERIES: “Blockbusters” SERMON: “Born Identity”

A blockbuster asks one question:

Can the Avengers save the world? Will they Save Private Ryan? Will Dorthy and Toto make it home?

Joshua 14 Asks: “Will Caleb Secure His Inheritance?”

Revelation 3:11 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your

crown.”

Romans 5:17 “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who

receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus

Christ.”

Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth (A MAN LIKE YOU AND I WAS SMEARED WITH

GOD TYPE ABILITY AND POWER!!!) with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing

good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”

Anointing:-- The person and power of Holy Spirit working through humanity to accomplish the or a

divine purpose. The unction to function.

Inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts

and puts forth power for performing miracles, moral power and excellence of soul the power and

influence which belong to riches and wealth, power and resources arising from numbers, power

consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts

Power:-- {dunamis} inherent power, explosive.

Power to produce 5 things:

1. Miracles 2. Morality 3. Money 4. Multiplication 5. Movement

1 John 2:20, 27 “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.”

“But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him

abides [permanently] in you;”

This life is ours legally because of the blood and vitally because of our relationship with Holy Spirit.

John 14:12 “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will

himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go

to the Father.”

We are anointed! The world needs what is in us to get upon us so that they can see the evidence of

the superior kingdom that we operate in. The anointing is how we establish the flora of heaven on

earth.

You can’t be more or less anointed but you can have more revelation on the benefits of the anointing.

You can also position yourself to be more effective in the flow and operation of the anointing … be

more intentional.

Numbers 14:24 (KJV) “But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath

followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”

The ten spies interpreted the promise through the problem.

Numbers 13:31,33 "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."

"We were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

Caleb interpreted the problem through the promise.

Number 13:30 “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and

take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’”Joshua 14:6-15 “Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of

Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: ‘You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of

God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea.

I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the

land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up

with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.

So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your

inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And

now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke

this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five

years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was

then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this

mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day;

for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It

may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.’

And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron

therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he

wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.”

Anointing Captures Your Sight

(7) “the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out (SEE get a vision) the land, and I brought back

word to him as it was in my heart.”

Anointing Quickens Revelation

(9) “Moses swore...be an inheritance to you...” I have the title deed to this.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for

(divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith

comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].”

Anointing Arouses Passion

(12) “Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day”

Proverbs 10:24 “...what the righteous desire will be granted.”

Desire:-- of the father. What possesses you fathers your desire.

Anointing Instills Patience

(11) “I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now

is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.”

Stayed fit. Unshakable Expectation.

Anointing Secures Results

(14) “So Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb...”

God never works anything independently of you that concerns your life. Yonggi Cho

Under the New Covenant, the Spirit has been poured out on all believers. What made Caleb

exceptional is now available to every Christian through union with Christ and the indwelling Holy

Spirit.

Caleb's different spirit was not merely courage. It was agreement with God.

Ten spies interpreted God through the giants. Caleb interpreted the giants through God’s promise.

Revelation 3:11

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

Don’t let anyone steal your stuff!

SERIES: “Summer Blockbusters” SERMON: “Wild At Heart”

A blockbuster asks one question: Can the Avengers save the world? Will Woody overcome technology?

Will the Hobbits make it home?

Judges 13-16 Asks: “Will Samson Find Love?”

Hebrews 11:32-34 “Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, … who through faith subdued kingdoms,

worked righteousness, obtained promises, …out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle,

turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

Judges 2:7, 10 “So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, … another generation arose after them

who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.”

Summary Of The Book:

Judges 21:25 (last verse) “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their

own eyes.”

God was their King. They didn’t remember who He was.

Judges makes us cry out for Righteous King!!!

Judges 13:5 “For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the

child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the

Philistines.”

Judges 13:25 “And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him…”

Judges 14:6, 19 15:14

“The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him.”

“The Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him.”

“The Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him.”

Not natural strength. He was supernaturally empowered.

Judges 15:14-15

“Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; ... He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his

hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.”

What remains unhealed often becomes repeated.

Parents don’t support him. His wife is given a way to best man.

His own people tie him up and give him to enemy.

He was valued for what he could do rather than who he was. Delilah sells him out.

He could defeat almost anything but couldn’t defeat the brokenness in his own heart.

He could defeat a lion. He could tear down gates. (41 miles) He could defeat armies.

He found no secure place for his heart.

Extraordinary gifting and calling can’t co exist with shattered identity?

We can become so disconnected from our true identity that we continue acting as though everything is fine

while inwardly we’re falling apart. He reduced his relationship with God to: Don’t get a haircut.

Judges 16:20 “So he awoke from his sleep, and said, ‘I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself

free!’ But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.”

In the end It’s a prayer of a broken man. Blind - Bald - Bound.

Judges 16:28 “Sovereign Lord, remember me."

No religious vow. No gifting. No strength. Just, God be gracious to me.

A large study of nearly 10,000 young adults found that those with a coherent, integrated identity experienced

the highest levels of well-being and the lowest levels of risky and destructive behaviors. Identity confusion

was associated with significantly more harmful behaviors. (National Library Of Medicine)Research on trauma and identity suggests that painful life experiences can create "identity loss," "identity

threat," and "identity alteration," profoundly affecting behavior and emotional health.

Identity disturbance is not merely a symptom of problems; it often becomes a driving force behind them.

(Biological and Behavioral Mechanisms of Identity Pathology Development: An Integrative Review Erin A. Kaufman and Sheila E. Crowell)

People rarely behave their way into a healthy identity; they live out the identity they already believe about

themselves. A wounded identity will look for love in places that cannot heal it.

You cannot discipline away a wound that only love can heal.

Rules can restrain behaviour, but only belonging can heal identity.

Hebrews 2:14 “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in

the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,…”

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the

poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to

the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The New Covenant isn’t about power it’s a Person

Not: God helps me.

But: God and I are in complete union in Christ.

Not: I have to hold on to God.

But: He has taken hold of me.

Not: Perform well enough, God will remain close.

But: I live from the finished work of Christ, and nothing can separate me from His love.”

You don't fight for identity. You don't strive for sonship. You don't earn the Father's love. You fight from identity.

You live from sonship.

You awaken to the love that has always been yours in Christ.

1. Live From Acceptance, Not For Acceptance

Ephesians 1:6 “…His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

What am I depending on to feel valuable?

Am I serving from approval or for approval?

2. Cultivate Communion Rather Than Performance

John 15:4 “Abide in me and I in you."

Is my spiritual life fueled by relationship or obligation?

When was the last time I simply enjoyed God's presence without an agenda?

3. Bring Your Wounds Into the Light

1 John 1:7 “But if (since) we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the

blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

What pain keeps showing up in my relationships?

What recurring temptation is connected to an unmet need or wound?

If Samson walked into this room today, would we tell him to get more disciplined, or would we help him

discover He’s a loved child of God? What remains unhealed often becomes repeated.

Samson's story points us to Jesus.

Transformation happens when you stop striving for acceptance and start living from acceptance.

Grace does not merely forgive bad behaviour; it restores forgotten identity.

SERIES: “Summer Blockbusters” SERMON: “Sleeping With The Lions”

A blockbuster asks one question:

Can the Avengers save the world? Will Woody overcome technology? Will the Hobbits make it home?

Daniel 6 Asks: “Will Daniel Get Eaten By Lions?”

“Champions aren't made in the ring; they're merely recognized there. What you cheat on in the early light of

morning will show up under the bright lights.” Joe Frazier

The lion's den was simply the bright lights.

The battle everyone sees is won in the place no one sees.

Revelation — “I am the kind of person that lions can’t destroy.”

Pressures of Babylon:

1. Rob you of your identity. “…renamed them…”

2. Rob you of your security. “ …eat from king’s table…”

3. Rob you of your destiny. “…enter the kings service…”

Daniel 6 “Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit

was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. So the governors and satraps

sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom;

"Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way." Booker T. Washington

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in

him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him

concerning the law of his God.”

So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! …

establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days,

except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. … Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows

open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before

his God, as was his custom since early days.

We don't pray toward a place. We don't try to find God's presence. Jesus has already brought us near. We pray from a Person.

We live in it.

Prayer is enjoying the relationship Christ secured.

So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not

show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a

day.” And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on

Daniel to deliver him they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to

Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” Then a stone was brought and laid on the

mouth of the den,

Also his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of

lions. And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to

Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you

from the lions?”

Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that

they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong

before you.” Now the king was exceedingly glad for him,

And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them

into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their

bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.

—

For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And

His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven

and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

5 Observation From The Text:

1. Excellence Flows From Union

Private communion produces public courage.

You don't rise to the occasion; you fall to the level of your revelation.

The battle everyone sees is won in the place no one sees.

2. Victory Is Rooted Divine Interruptions

Daniel 6:10“…three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since

early days.”

Live in Divine Rhythm: "Jesus is here.” "Give thanks.” "Rest."

3. Thanksgiving Fosters Immunity

Daniel didn't panic. He gave thanks.

Before the lions … there was worship.

Gratitude doesn't deny reality; it declares a greater reality.

4. Pressure Reveals Formation

Daniel wasn't made courageous in one night.

The lions simply exposed years of hidden faithfulness.

Don't prepare for lions in the lion's den.

5. Jesus Has Defeated Our Lions

Daniel was innocent.

Jesus was sinless.

Daniel was sealed in a den.

Jesus was sealed in a tomb.

Daniel walked out God rescued him.

Jesus walked out He conquered death itself.

Daniel prayed toward Jerusalem.

We pray in union with Christ.

Daniel hoped for God's presence.

We live in God's presence.

Prayer is not our attempt to reach God.

Prayer is our joyful participation in the relationship Jesus has already secured.

The greatest miracle isn't surviving lions.

The greatest miracle is living every day in union with Christ.

Daniel's faithfulness is inspiring.

Jesus' finished work is transforming.

"I am with you always."

An excellent spirit is not formed in extraordinary moments.

It is formed in ordinary moments, surrendered to an extraordinary God.