Core Values 2023 - Week 4: Connection

We're gonna continue in our series on the core beliefs, or those five core

principles that we operate our non negotiables here at Cornerstone, And today we're gonna

be talking about connecting, connecting. If you've got a Bible, go to

Psalm chapter one thirty three. Psalm chapter one thirty three is where we're gonna

start this morning, and we're gonna kind of dance all over the place.

But Saw one thirty three, Well, not literally dance, Kathy, I'm

wearing new shoes. I might slide down Palm one thirty three. Starting in

verse one, it says, behold, how good and how pleasant it is

for brethren to dwell together in unity? Well, let me read that again.

That just sound that made me feel good on the inside. Behold how

good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. You

know, that says a lot of things. First of all, it talks

about the fact that it is good, and it also kind of indicates that

it's possible. Come on, somebody, you know, I know that a

lot of our experiences, we don't feel that way. We don't feel that

unity is possible. It seems like that our lives are always filled with drama

of some kind. Amen, that there's always some antagonists working in us and

against us, and there's always some kind of division. And when we see

the world, we've never been more divided as a people than we are right

now. We create new ways to be divided. Come on, somebody,

we think up things to disagree about. It is absolutely amazing that in a

day where we are broken as humanity and far apart, that we're still creating

new things to disagree about. I think we just need to stop thinking of

new things. Come on, somebody, until we master the simple principles of

civility and unity. But he says it's possible, and it's possible as brethren,

it's possible as the family of God, that we can come together in

unity. Now I know that. Right now you're sitting there and you're thinking,

well, I know, Pastor, it's not possible either, because there's

ten people in this church that don't even like me. There's probably more than

ten, Amen, just depends on what day it is, right, but

the reality is there's ten that do. And if you'll move away from the

ten that don't and reject the drama that's trying to attach itself to your life

and move towards the ten that do. It's amazing the embrace of unity that

you can feel. And he looks and he says, how good it is

that brethren dwell together in unity. And we think that we all that we

all have to come together, but that's actually not what Scripture says. It

says get together in a group that can come together in unity. When we

look at the day of Pentecost, when the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit

visited the earth, Jesus had to get rid of three hundred and eighty people

in the upper Room before there could get to unity so that the Holy Spirit

could come started with five hundred people in that room, and there was only

one hundred and twenty when the Holy Spirit actually visited the earth and fill those

people in that room with a display of power. You just need to get

together with some like minded, like hearted people. He says, how good

it is, how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

It's like the precious oil upon the head running down the beard, the beard

of Aaron running down on the edge of his garments. Literally, the anointing,

the powerful anointing of God, it's the anointing of that very first high

priest. As they poured the oil, he was dressed in the priestly garb,

and the oil would run down and pul in the hem of that garment.

And it was there that that miraculous anointing of God dwelt. And what

most people don't realize is that they then took that same garment, and they

dressed the next priest in the same garment, and they re anointed the same

garment. They didn't get rid of it, they didn't throw it away.

They continued to use the garment of annoying generation after generation after generation. We

don't have to continue to rebuild. We need to hold strong to the things

that are by finding a group of people that embrace the same things we embrace.

Listen, it's why. And it took me a while to get here.

You know. As a matter of fact, I had a pastor call

me one time and stuff was happening on social media or whatever. He cause.

He said, Hey, I just wanted to know what, you know,

some of your people are fighting on Facebook. I said, fighting on

Facebook? How do you do that? He said, what do you mean?

You know? They say mean things also, they're arguing. They're not

fighting. They're not. Actually, I thought there was a video my people

like throwing down in the parking lot. Come on, somebody another that they're

arguing with you, And I said, I'll be all right. He said,

well, don't you think you need to get invo I said, well,

am I involved? He said, well, no, they're not saying

anything about you. I said, well, they'll work it out. He

said, somebody's gonna get mad and leave. I said, okay. He

said, well, what what do you mean okay? I said, listen,

Cornerstone is not for everybody. If Cornerstone was for everybody, we couldn't

build a bigging up a building big enough. Come on, somebody, it's

not for everybody. But who it's for, we're going to love. We're

gonna put our arms around, we're gonna fight for, We're gonna go in

the trenches with We're gonna do all those things because God assembles a group of

people, and you know, sometimes people have to go find the best place

for them. He says, sir, you're okay. I said, yes.

God has called me to pastor, not babysit. He's called me to

pastor and not chase. Come on somebody. If if you don't go to

church, if you've left church here and I call you, it's because I

have found out that you're not going to church anywhere. Because I care about

your soul, not where you go to church. Amen, I care about

your soul. If you are falling away from the Kingdom, I will chase

you. If you've just gone to another church, I will bless you.

But probably if you acted ugly here, I'll call the pastor and tell him

because I probably love him too. Amen. But it's important that we find

a group of people. That's why we do groups. That's why we do

the things we do, so that we can find those like minded. And

this is why we keep reading. Running down the edge of his garments.

It's like the dew of herman descending upon the mountains of Zion. For there

the Lord commanded the blessing life forevermore. Come here, Jeremy, how's your

back feel? It's fine. Literally, come a little closer, because I

won't be able to chase you down. You might still be able to outrun

me. I doubt it, but you might. Literally. What this scripture

says is that when there's unity with the brethren. The original language says when

there's unity with the brethren, that God will command his blessing. And then

the original language just says, and chase you down from behind. But you

think about that. Everywhere else we read we are pursuing God once we come

into the kingdom, we are in pursuit of his presence. But when there's

unit, he pursues us. That should blow your mind. Maybe that's why

you're quiet, you know, So, uh, just start if I catch

you it's on, No, not really, just start moving at a you

know, a walking pace, not fast. It says that he says,

unity, go get him, and the blessing of the Lord right chases him

down, chases you down from behind and overtakes you until you're just covered in

the blessing and everybody can see the blessing not because of what you've done,

but because of who He is. And he loves it when we get together

with people like us and we fight for the same thing. Thank you.

Unity. Yeah, now, listen, that doesn't even mean you have to

believe everything I believe. If you're here and you're still trying to work out

whether you like that tongue's thing or not, It's okay if you if you're

mid trib if you want to be here for half of it, okay,

your post trip. If you're paying trib right you just think it's all got

work itself out. I'm okay because I'm going to major on the things that

we have alike. I will not spend my life fighting for things i'm against.

I'm gonna spend my life fighting for the things I'm for, and I'm

for Jesus, die for humanity. Every broken, busted, and disgusted person

on the face of the planet Jesus called me to go after. So if

you want to hang with me, let's just do that. But here's the

thing. If that's not even your thing, and you just want to pastor

the people that are gathered together, we can still hang together. We're probably

just not gonna do stuff together. But if you'll find some people centered around

that and you can get together for that cause, the Holy Spirit will set

upon it and bless it, because it's our promise from the Lord. In

First Corinthians, Chapter twelve, verse twelve, it says, for as the

body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one

body being any or one body so also as Christ. For by one spirit,

we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether

slaves, are free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit.

For in fact, the body is not one member, but many.

If the foot should say, because I'm not the hand, I'm not of

the body, is it therefore not of the body. And if the ear

should say, because I'm not an eye, I'm not of the body,

is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body, I don't

know about that. When I read, I get pictures of things. If

the whole body were an eye, let's think about that for just a moment.

If everything in these chairs were eyeballs, maybe the Lord just speaks to

me different. I don't know where would the Where would be the hearing?

If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God

has set members, each one of them in the body, just as he

pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

But now there are indeed many members yet one body. So if you're

if you were a piece of the arm, get together with other arm pieces.

If you're part of the digestive system, get together with other parts of

the digestive system and lend connection to one another so that it can operate completely

and fully and then as the Body of Christ works. Now, let me

first of all tell you this church is not the whole body of Christ.

We are a peace of the Body of Christ. And the body is more

important. Huh. Let me say that again. Get something you're like,

the body is more important. That means we will always have a kingdom driven

agenda. It may make us uncomfortable, it may make us not do some

things that we want to do in order to service the kingdom at large.

It's why Pastor Klay starts looking for something around here and he says, hey,

Chief, where's so and so? And I look at him and say,

oh, I gave that away. And he'll say, why you know

we still use that And I say, well, we weren't using it,

so I gave it away. Somebody needed it. Or while we find needs,

we intentionally go look for needs in the kingdom and meet those needs.

It's a connectedness. And I want to take an opportunity to uh, to

brag on some people that have started that that that we're just a group of

people and now they've come together and they started functioning. If you're part of

our board, stand up, if you're if you're in here. I think

there may only be not many of them, half of them. Okay,

these men do a great job of leadership and service to our church, along

with some others. I know one of them's over there and some of them

are laying out today. I'll send a strongly worded email, don't worry,

tell can sit down. You know, most of the time when we talk

about church boards, they get together in a room and they vote on things.

That's the way we existed for a long time here too, until I

realized that there had to be more in the area of leadership. So we

started a ministry that the board handles of meeting needs in the community. So

if someone in the community has a need, there is a I start telling

the stories and I get myself in trouble because I can't remember the U r

L. But there's a place on the website where you can go if you

have a need. Pastor Clay is going to fix this in the comments of

social media if it's wrong. Seastone dot church slash needs no no, no

no, seastone dot church slash help that's it seastone. I'm positive seastone dot

church slash help, and there's a forum that people fill out and that goes

to our board. And I'm privy to these these conversations that they have with

one another as they sort through and pray and distribute that help. And i

want to tell you that they do a remarkable job. They do a remarkable

job of hearing from God and making the decisions that have to be made.

They are functioning as like minded people for a purpose to meet the needs in

the community. And it allows me to continue to offer ministry in those areas

because when somebody asks for help and we have to say no for whatever reason

it is, it doesn't mean that ministry still doesn't need to be done.

But if I'm the one that says no, ministry stops. So it gives

an opportunity for the leadership of this church to make a decision, but positions

me as pastor to continue to be able to offer ministry. And that's one

way that people come together and function in a like minded way, and it

impacts people around our community outside of our four walls. Our connectedness should always

meet a need somewhere else. And also inside. That's what connection does.

It has the power to impact both the people that are connected and those that

see the connection, because we live in a dysfunctional world. In John chapter

seventeen, verse twenty, it says, I do not pray for these alone,

but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they

all may be one, as you father are in me, and I in

you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may

believe that you sent me. I want you to get the full impact of

the statement. When they look and they see that there's unity, the world

is going to realize that it's a god thing. Just because they love each

other and they get along and they got one another's back, and they're not

tearing each other down, and they're not back biting, and they're not gossiping,

and they're and if you're guilty of those things, we're going to open

the altar in just a minute. Just come say I repent, Go to

the person who gossiped about and say I'm sorry, and then it'll be over.

And the glory which you gave me, I have given them that they

may be one just as we are one, I in them and you and

me. That they may be, may they may be made perfect in one,

and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved

them as you have loved me, he says. When we're together and we're

functioning, the world sees that you love them the same way the Father loves

Jesus. That unity is such a strange thing that it has the power to

reveal to the world the goodness of God if we can just get connected.

That's why we offer you multiple points of connection. We offer you the ability

to connect to God, the ability to connect to ministry through teams, the

ability to connect to purpose through engage, the ability to connect to each other

through groups. If you're still resisting groups, I don't understand why you're still

pushing against groups. It's kingdom. Connectedness is kingdom. Stop doing life alone?

Well I'm not. My wife is doing life with me. She don't

like you half the time because you always whine and belly ache about everything to

her. Find a group to support you that will be there for you.

Because we all have moments in life. We got me. We all have

moments in life where we go through issues with our health, where we go

through issues with our finances, where we go through issues with our job,

we go through issues with our relationships, we go through just issues, and

a group of like minded people attracts the Holy Spirit to get involved in those

situations, in those issues, and he'll command his blessing to overtake you.

And it will set you up as a testimony and a witness to the world

around you. Because you have chosen to connect. The band could come and

get ready. And when we connect, people see the love of the Father.

Let me read this to you, and we're gonna close. John chapter

three, verse sixteen. For God so loved the world. No, we

read that, and I think a lot of times we think it means everybody

except us men, love the planet, love the people, each individual in

this room, and those that you feel like are enemies outside this room.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. I

want you to just in the context of everything we've been talking about, Jesus

says Dad. I want them to be one, just as you and I

are one. I want them to dwell together just like we dwell together.

Yet right here it says that the Father gave the son who was making those

statements about how close he and the Father were because when we are one,

when we're connected, we're willing to do difficult things for one another. We're

willing to take the challenge at hand and press through those challenges. Jesus never

wavered on the unity between him and the Father, even though the Father gave

the son to die for the sins of the world. Was never a question,

because there was so much goodness that whoever believes in him should not perish

but have everlasting life. For God did not send his son into the world

to condemn the world, but that the world, through him might be saved.

Saved from what yep, save yep, well, I'm okay, you

doo. Saved Saved from doing it alone, Saved from that secret dysfunction that

you have, that thing that you don't want anybody to know about, and

you do a whole lot to try to keep it invisible. Saved from that

those things that are trying to pull you down, that addiction, those thoughts,

those desires saved. The love of the Father will save you and allow

you to connect with people who will do life with you. Everybody staying with

me all over the room, Glenn. If you guys want to get communion,

ready. If you're here right now and you've never asked Jesus to forgive

you of your sins to be the lord of your life, you have stuff

that's in between you and him. If you've got that in your life,

now is your moment to turn that all over to the Father. Let the

sun wash you clean. The Father will receive you. If you're here and

you're lonely, you just feel like you're just surviving this alter costs for you.

Also, it's on the count of three. You're ready to turn your

life over to Jesus, or you're just tired of trying to do life alone,

You're just worn out, you're just feel beaten down, either one of

those things. On the count of three, I want you to step out

and make your way to the front. Yeah, everybody's watching. Everybody's looking,

because that's the way you're gonna live life out there. So it's the

way we do it in a here. It's on the count of three.

Don't look around and see if anybody else is moving. This is for you.

Whatever struggle you have, somebody will love you and help you through it.

On the count of three, one, two, three, step out

and move right now, come on, Come on, gentlemen, if you'll

go ahead and start serving communion. Amen, Amen, astle go ahead.

The altars are open. Somebody right now. You've got an internal struggle.

You don't know whether to come or not. You need to step out and

you need to move. You need to break free from that hold about a move right