#0 - why is today so exciting?

3 John 1:13-14

¹³ I have many things to write you, but I don’t want to write to you with pen and ink. ¹⁴ I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

Peace be with you. The friends send you greetings. Greet the friends by name.

It’s finally HERE!!!

Like John, we send you greetings and desire to greet you by name too.

9:45 AM, Central Intermediate School, Waterloo, IA

There is more that could be written, but we'd rather chat in person.
 

We hope to see you this morning so that we can talk face to face.

May God’s grace be with you in amounts overflowing to good works for His glory.

All of Candeo Church thanks you for following along and for praying for us.

We are praying for plenty of people to gather this morning to thank God for what He’s done and continues to do by His grace.

 

Don't stop praying. As we launch into Ephesians this morning, Paul's closing words to the Colossians seemed quite fitting for going forward this semester.

 

Colossians 4:3a-4

 

^{3 ...}pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah... so that I may reveal it as I am required to speak.

God, thank You for everyone who read and prayed and put themselves to work to help make this day happen.  We are Your disciples and this is Your church.  Please send Your Spirit to again refresh the hearts and minds of the saints who prayed for us.  You are worth it God. Every last thought. Every last dollar. Every last ounce of energy. We need You more than we need any earthly resource. Thank You for orchestrating every last detail leading up to today. Please make this morning an opportunity to really celebrate.  All of our hard work all for You and making much of Jesus' Name.  Today is only a preview of the celebration we look forward to in Your presence forever.  Thank You God for everything. It's so much fun to serve You.  Amen.

#1 - why should we all be looking all around us?

Acts 17:22-23

²² Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. ²³ For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed:

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

Everyone worships. God made us to worship. Sin has corrupted how and what we worship, but it has not removed that desire altogether, rather it has just aimed it at things which are less than God Himself (Rom 1:21-23, 25).

Sex, self, spouse, money, comfort, control, kids, and even ministry are some of the most common alternatives we prefer to God. What is the thing you cannot imagine life without? There is a place deep inside of each one of us that cries out, “anything but that!” Whatever you use to fill in the “that” is what you worship. It is the person or thing to which you retreat when you feel out of sorts. It is the person or thing to which you give in order to get what you want. You run to it because it runs your life.

Everyone worships. They're doing it right now. Look around. Everyone has someone or something to which they willingly give their time, money, energy, effort, anxiety, affection, talent, etc… Every last single person you know. We all bow down to someone or something.

What many worship in ignorance, I proclaim to you.

There is a God worthy of every last thing you have. He made everything, including you. He is not limited to the places we here seek Him. He does not receive anything from us because He created everything we have and everything we are. If we give ourselves fully to Him, He only gets back what was rightfully His to begin with. He superintended all time and history and determined who would live where and when they would live there. You were born where you were at the time you were because He decided it. He put each of us where and when we currently are so that we would seek Him, reach out for Him and find Him. He is not far from any one of us. If He is so close to have intimately determined the day and place of our birth, He is near enough still now to hear if we should cry out to Him. We were created to live and move and have our being entirely and finally in Him. We were made by Him, so it is ridiculous to think that He would worship us or that we should worship ourselves. The time for overlooking this silliness is past and as you read this, God is commanding each and every person in each and every place to repent. Turn away from your idols and turn to Him. Die to the lifeless “that’s” which distract from Jesus. Just like God has set a time and place for you to be born, He has set a time and place for each and every last one of us to die. On that day, He will judge the world, one by one as they enter into His presence. The standard of judgment will be by the Man, Jesus Christ. He’s the only Mediator between God and mankind. He’s the only Way to salvation. God has proven that this Man, Jesus, will be the only means by which any will be judged “not guilty” by raising Jesus from the dead. He exalted and elevated Jesus to the place of highest praise. He owns the Name above every other name ever uttered by the hearts of men. By faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection you will find a place to exhaust your worship both now and evermore. You were made to worship Jesus. Don’t waste it on idolatry! (Acts 17:24-31; paraphrased)

People need to know this. Our neighbors are spending themselves on things that will rust and decay and waste away in graves. Tell them the Good News of Jesus Christ. Keep your eyes peeled. Everyone is worshipping. Proclaim to them the One worthy of all the efforts they currently waste elsewhere.

God, help us to look around. Our friends and families are spending their hearts and minds on substitutes that enslave them deeper into sin and suffering. You made all of us to worship. You deserve all of it. Lord, so much of it goes to waste in other places. Help gain glory for You in the hearts of more as we attentively look around and listen to our friends in order to proclaim to them what their hearts are stumbling over daily. Amen.

#3 - why shouldn't we just dine and dash?

Titus 2:11-14

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, ¹² instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works.

The very first time we have someone over for dinner in our home, my wife will often clean from top to bottom and spend a good deal of time preparing a meal and place settings to warmly welcome our guests. We want them to feel at home in our home.

We recognize that if the goal is a glowing report from our guests, we need to invite them into something special, so we spruce everything up. We also want to invite people into Candeo by doing our very best to make it a place where guests can feel at home.

That said, if you are family,  you are put to work.  My wife, kids and I get after getting our home in ship-shape before guests come over.  It is a common goal and we all work together to get things in order. It’s good to pitch in, to contribute, to know that your efforts are making it possible for someone else to feel welcomed into what you already find exciting.

Do you love Candeo? Do you call it home? Are we your family? Don't just dine and dash on Sundays. Stick around. Get eager to get after good works by signing up to serve. It is fun to pull your weight and to give back to the family you love. It makes it possible for the whole family to be more productive and it creates a place we are excited to welcome others into.

We will set a pace for servant-hearted sacrifice if we embrace our role in the family of God by getting after the good works He has placed before us.  It will help our family to be healthy internally and attractive externally to our guests.  It will be natural for them to sign up to serve after they become part of our family because that is the pattern they’ve observed from the beginning when they were just our guests.

Jesus redeemed us for His service so that the ones we serve might surrender their lives to serve Him too.

So let’s get to work!

God, thank You for adopting us into Your family because of Jesus. We are so happy to be part of Your family.  Forgive us for being so upset about having chores to do. We get to live under Your roof, sleep in safety, eat Your food and call You dad.  We love being Your kids.  Thank You for good work to do.  Please use them for our good, Your glory and our neighbor's testimony that You are good (Mt 5:16) Amen.

#6 - why must we hold fast to first love?

Revelation 2:4

 

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

 

This charge was directed at the church at Ephesus. It is hard to imagine a church that had more going for it on the front end than the one in Ephesus. They were gathered together and taught by a man who had met Jesus face to face. Their church planter literally wrote the book on "how to build a church." Yet years later, Jesus told John to warn the Ephesians to repent of having lost their first love. If it can happen in Ephesus, it can happen at Candeo.

 

Churches are built on love: the love of Jesus and the love of our neighbors.Sound familiar? When people hear the Good News of Jesus and respond with repentance and belief, churches are born. These people then begin telling their neighbors, their co-workers, and their family members about Jesus and God adds to their numbers. This is how a church grows.

 

Candeo must not grow out of these things. We cannot use these principles to build a church and then abandon them for programs to manage a church. Churches are sustained by the same means by which they are built. But when disciples stop discipling, the church becomes just another club and when we try to protect the product of our hard work as though the church was ours, we begin to lose our first love. It's not our church. Candeo belongs to God.

 

The church at Ephesus was commanded to repent and go back to doing what they did at first. Everything Candeo is doing right now is our "at first" - at least for now. Observe what is happening here and now. Continue and persevere in it. Resist the urge to graduate past it. 

 

Love God.  Love people.  Make disciples.

#10 - why do we want you to read too?

Acts 17:11

 

The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

We do, by nature, what we want to do. 

We do, by will power, what we prioritize. 

 

Think about it. 

We find a way to do the things we think are important. We make room in the budget for our morning coffee because we like it.  We make room in our evening to check our facebook because we want to. We diet and watch what we eat because we want to look good and be healthy. We endure examinations that are uncomfortable and embarassing because we hope that they'll keep us safe.

 

If you are not regularly reading your Bible it is either because you don't want to or because you don't think it's important. If you liked it or thought it was important, you'd make a way to do it. If you're having trouble wanting to read your Bible, get into a Connection Group and find someone who delights in reading theirs. Ask them how they do it and if they'd be willing to take time to teach you how to read yours. If you want to read, but have a hard time prioritizing it, join a Connection Group and sit across from men and women who have reoriented their entire lives around doing what God has said. Ask them if they too have ever struggled like you or how they keep from falling back into bad habits.

 

So your priorities have been out of whack for years. Repent. Tell your Connection Group. They will help you read your Bible. They will pray for your wants to change. Don't just feel guilty and walk away. Turn to God and find someone who is doing what you want to do and ask them for help.

 

Candeo will teach and preach God's Word faithfully on Sunday mornings and we will depend upon it to guide our application in Connection Groups throughout the week. We can't read your Bible for you, but we will read ours with you if you’re up for it. We want you to want to read too. Join a Connection Group and ask someone how.

 

God, thank You for Your Word.  Forgive us for choosing facebook news and twitter feeds over Your Word.  We have valued other people's words more than Yours.  Have mercy on us for not making it more of a priority in our lives to listen to You. Use Your Word to inform our prayers, enlighten our minds and soften our hearts.  We want to know You. Create in us a hunger for heavenly bread. Amen. 

#12 - why could we all use a pinch?

Colossians 4:5-6

 

⁵ Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. ⁶ Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

  

Do you make the most of the times you interact with outsiders? Are you nice to people? Do people like being around you? Many people enjoyed being around Jesus which is saying something considering some of the difficult things Jesus often said. They invited Him to their weddings.  They asked Him over for dinner. Is there an unbeliever anywhere that would call you 'friend', that would invite you to the most important events in their lives, that would want to spend time with you eating and talking?

 

The verse above assumes that when we act wisely toward outsiders, we end up being invited into their lives.  It also assumes that you have not compromised your faith and faithfulness in order to be invited.  I know this because the text urges you to know how to "answer each person." If you are a flashlight hanging out in the dark, people will eventually ask questions. 

 

"So, what's the deal with you shining your light all the time?"

"Don't you ever just want to turn off and be dark like the rest of us?" 

"Where do you get the power and energy to light up like that?" 

"If I wanted to light up, what would I have to do?"

 

You should have outsiders asking you about your faith because you live a life of faith AND you are often around people who don't know what it's like to live that way themselves.

 

God, help Candeo to develop a reputation among the Cedar Valley residents as a place fueled by grace and graciousness, faith and faithfulness because it is true.  May we not be thought of as something that we aren't. May we intentionally think about what we say and what we do and with whom we say and do these things.  Help outsiders to get a taste of Who You are. May they see that You are good and that You are God and give themselves entirely to feasting on You forever. Amen.

#14 - why does wrongdoing require the right response?

Galatians 6:1-2

Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won’t be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Jesus is the only good guy to ever walk the earth.  We are all bad guys.  If this were a western movie, only Jesus would have a white hat.  The rest of us would be sporting black hats and bandanas.  So let’s not pretend when we get together for Connection Group that the only prayer requests we have are for other people we know who are struggling.

Do not believe the lie that confessing your sin disqualifies you from being a member of a community of people seeking Jesus.  It is a lie from the devil.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our shortcomings.  If we claim we are without sin, we make Him out to be a liar (1 John 1:8-10).  Confessing sin is a prerequisite of communion with Christ, not a disqualifier.

Candeo needs men and women who are eager to restore their brothers and sisters with gentle spirits: capable and qualified men and women who are able to save drowning swimmers without themselves being drowned.  Candeo needs drowning people who cry out, “Lord, save me!” (Matt 14:30) in the hearing of others who are being saved. 

The law of Christ is fulfilled when saints confess their sins and carry one another’s burdens, just like Jesus carries ours.

 

Jesus, You ever live and plead for me before the Father.  You know my sin.  You know my fears.  I confess that I pretended to be alright when I was all wrong.  Help me to confess my sin.  Provide Candeo with credible men and women who confess their sins.  May we carry one another's burdens as Christ has carried ours.  May we seek to restore those in sin.  Grant us gentle spirits to minister to those entangled in sin.  Protect us from being taken under as well.  None of us is ever beyond our need for You to save us daily in Jesus' Name. Amen.

HALF-TIME SPEECH

Bon Jovi said it best (or at least most memorably I guess)

"Whoa, halfway there. Whoa, living on a prayer."

20 up, 20 down.

September 8 is coming up quickly.

Invite your friends.
Invite your enemies.
Invite your neighbors.
Make a new friend.
Invite them.

Now, let's get out there.

Be in prayer.

4 quarters!

Finish strong.

#21 - why do we care if you give?

Philippians 4:15-17 

¹⁵ And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. ¹⁶ For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. ¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. 

 

Not every church thought to send support to Paul. In fact, most didn’t. Paul did not point this out to shake more money from the Philippians' pockets, he wrote to say, “Thank you!” He wanted to express how encouraged he was by their spontaneous charity. Their sacrifice gave Paul assurance that they had received the sacrifice of Christ.

Paul was concerned for the people who had not supported him financially, however.  Not because money was everything to Paul, but because it gave him reason to worry that perhaps money was more than it should be to them. He was worried that they didn't get it.  Because when you get this, you give everything. God gave His first and His very best in giving His Son because He loved the world so much (Jn 3:16). How can we claim to have received the Spirit of a generous God and be altogether unlike Him in our giving? 

 

We give to that which we love because we want to. Our wallets speak volumes to what we worship and adore. Who does your bank account boast about? What do your sacrifices say about what you're willing to sacrifice for?

Lord, You are generous. You seek opportunity to supply. Thank You! Generously now send Your Spirit to make us like You in this regard.  May Candeo be a church where the givers and receivers of all things give thanks to You for all You do with Your generous hands. You withhold no good thing from us in Christ.  May we not now withhold anything from You. Amen.

#23 – why were we found?

John 20:21

Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

How was Jesus sent?

He gave up convenience and comfort in Heaven for poverty and suffering on earth.

He gave up reputation and honor in Heaven for criticism and slander on earth. 

He left a good situation with a great commission to find us.

He now sends the found in similar fashion to find people like we used to be: lost people who won't be found without a flashlight going into their darkness. 

What have you given up to get more God?

What have you given up to get after your neighbor? 

Lost people will not come looking for us.
We must get out and fish in their ponds. 

The found must not be content with merely checking "found" as their facebook status.

We were found for a reason: to find more. 

Are you looking for the lost or are you too busy looking for comfort and convenience for yourself?  We often imagine making time for other people when we have more time someday because we are always faithful to spend our first and best time on ourselves today. 

Repent.

Be sent.

Find more. 

Heavenly Father, we love You.  We are so grateful that You sent Jesus to look for us.  We were not looking for You.  We were content being lost. Send Your Spirit to convict us of our selfishness.  Send Your Spirit to help us surrender with glad hearts our time, talents, treasures, lives and livelihoods in order to free us up to find more lost people.  Help us not to forget how helpless and without hope we were before someone gave up something in order to gain us for You.  Inspire us to be generous.  Commission us to be finders.  Equip us to run after the lame. All for You, all for our good. Amen.

#30 - why doesn't it end with Cedar Falls?

Acts 1:8

“…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Cedar Falls is the end of the earth. Or at least it was at one point. What could have been further from the mind of some Christian disciples situated on the city limits of Jerusalem than Iowa?

Jesus instructed His disciples to begin close to home in Jerusalem, expand to neighboring communities and finally branch out as far as their resources could take them. 

How far is your reach? 
What resources have you been given?
How far are you currently reaching?
Are your pull, pennies and presence being used to proclaim His Name?

We once made our "home" in the "ends of the earth." It was where we lived and moved and had our being.  But that was before Jesus left the comforts of His home to come and get us. We should follow Him and do the same. We must get after getting to the "ends of the earth" that other people currently call "home." We were found to become finders . We were fished from dark waters to become fishermen.

A few men and women witnessed God do something incredible in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  They began telling other people about it.  They did what they could with what they had.

What can you do with what you have today to make sure the testimony doesn’t end with you? That it doesn't end here? That it never ends?

You can't be where you aren't.

Start close.
Work outward.
Stretch to your limits.

God, someone went out of their way to share the Good News with me.  Someone put thought, energy, effort, money, planning and prayer into passing on the most important Message ever proclaimed.  Someone did something because they acknowledged that You were everything.  Remind me of what You’ve done.  Send Your Spirit to grant me power and perseverance to plow forward. Amen.

#37 - why pray for us?

Ephesians 6:19

Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel

If the Apostle Paul needed prayer, so do we.

We need prayer to open our mouths.

We sometimes would rather be quiet.

We need prayer to be bold.

We sometimes would rather be absent.

We need prayer to proclaim every word God has said.

We need prayer to avoid adding our words to His message.

We need prayer to avoid subtracting His words from our message.

We all need prayer to use our words for His glory.

God, help us to firm stand on Your Word. May we be more committed to You than to our preferences. Protect us from listening to our itching ears. Guard our wayward hearts. Provide humble, teachable people in our pews and pulpits. May we listen to You. May we repeat Your Message. Renew our hearts to be more excited about what You’ve already done. Forgive us for our failures in the past. Thank You for Jesus. Because of You, we have a Message worth repeating. Because of You we are forgiven for not repeating it as well or as often as we should. May this grace urge us to be more bold and more often in conversation about Christ. Amen.

#40 - why 40 days?

Acts 1:3

After Jesus had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Jesus hung around for a while.
Isn't that amazing?

I have abandoned drive-thru lines because they were too long or going too slowly and Jesus spent another 40 days here away from home, away from His Dad. He stayed in a place where only weeks before people decided to nail His body to a cross.

Why?

It was important to Jesus to spend time with the men and women He was sending out to the ends of the earth. He desired to encourage them and prepare them for public ministry.

He made Himself known. 
He showed Himself alive.
He prepared His people.

We need to spend time with Him before we spend ourselves elsewhere.

We are 40 days away from having our first celebration service on September 8th at Central Middle School in Waterloo.  

It is important during this time of anticipation to spend time with Jesus.  

No church can save people. 
Jesus saves people.

If Candeo is used to save some, it will be because Jesus is with us.

Pray for Candeo.
Pray that God would be with us in this endeavor.
Pray that disciples would be made and equipped to make more disciples.
Pray that Jesus would spend the next 40 days preparing us for the good works He has planned for us.

The Cedar Valley does not need another church.

The Cedar Valley needs Jesus.
 

God, we cannot do anything without You.  Make Your glory grow in brilliance over the Cedar Valley through us as we submit and obey You more and more.  Thank You for the opportunity to pray.  We know You can hear us.  We know You can do even more than we ask. Amen.