Let’s Begin With This… | Sunday, August 1, 2021

Hey, welcome to our broadcast! We are super glad you guys are here today. If you'd like more information, be sure to check us out at lifeinconnection.com. Also, if you came prepared to give today, you can do that at give.lifeinconnection.com. Make sure you hang around to the very end of the service because we'll have some announcements about things that are going on real soon. God bless you guys.

The head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory. The Savior knelt to wash our feet; now at His feet, we bow. The One who wore our sin in shame now rose in majesty. The radiance of perfect love now shines for all to see.

Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. The fear that held us now gives way to Him who is.

Our peace, His final breath upon Your name. Your name is victory; yes, it is. All praise! We will rise to Christ our King. Your name, Your name is victory. Our praise will rise to Christ the King.

By Your Spirit, I will rise from the ashes of defeat. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. In Your name, I come alive to declare Your victory. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. By Your Spirit, I will rise from the ashes of defeat. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. In Your name, I come alive

Is resurrecting me what our God is. Well, before we get into the Scriptures today, a little bit of a disclaimer: this talk, or this message, may quite possibly bother some of you. I guess you could say that what I'm giving right here is what you would call, in this time, a trigger warning. This message might get under your skin; it might anger or frustrate you.

I want to encourage you to acknowledge that frustration or any anger you might experience as a result of this message. It may be what the Bible calls your flesh. We all have that. We all have what the Scriptures call the old man or the old woman—our old nature. It is that part of us that comes out when we are hungry, stressed, sick, or tired. It is that piece of you that snaps at your spouse when they say something to you with a certain tone, and it pushes that proverbial button, causing you to snap back at them. That is what the Bible calls your flesh, and I'm sure you know exactly what I am talking about.

This aspect of us—our sinful nature, our carnal nature—has shown its face in each of us this week. Maybe even for you this morning, you’ve already started off the day in the wrong way. You might say, "I woke up on the wrong side of the bed," and so you've already experienced a little bit of that flesh rising up to where you can see it. So, it's possible that this message, this talk...

May I stir your flesh? What I am intending to say today is meant, just like every time we come to the Scriptures together here at Cross Connection Church, to help you grow in Christ's likeness. It is meant to foster what the Bible calls the new man or the new woman.

One of my favorite passages that talks about this is found in Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, in Ephesians chapter 4. There we read, beginning at verse 22: "Put off concerning your former conduct the old man, which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness."

Now, guess what? This whole process of putting off the old man and putting on the new man is very much my work as a pastor. I am meant to help you make this a reality in your life. Just before Paul says those words in Ephesians chapter 4, he states in verses 11 through 14: "And Jesus gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and teachers."

Why did He call some to be evangelists, pastors, teachers, apostles, and prophets? For the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying or the building up of the body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith, to the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This means that we should no longer be as children.

My work and calling as a pastor is to help you grow into mature, Christ-like men and women, to equip you to be obedient followers of Jesus. That is what it means to be a disciple: you are an obedient follower of Jesus. My calling as a pastor actually came from this passage in Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 through 14. I remember reading that when I was first asked to begin teaching the Bible more than 22 years ago. I read those words and realized that Jesus is the one who calls some to be pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry.

The ministry for the building up of the body of Christ is my calling. It is to equip and enable you to be what God has called you to be, to grow into an obedient follower of Jesus. However, let me share something I have observed in the last several months. The events of 2020 and 2021 have, in many ways, brought out our flesh. They have caused that old nature, that carnality within us, to come more to the surface, making it more evident to us and to those who live or work with us.

I'm sure you've noticed this as well. The happenings of 2020 and 2021 have been almost like gasoline, an accelerant poured out on some smoldering coals—the smoldering coals of our flesh that, as followers of Jesus, we have been trying to suppress. They are still there, lingering under the surface. Then, events like those of 2020 and 2021 act like an accelerant, breathing fresh oxygen onto those coals that have been suppressed for a long time.

You have probably noticed this; I certainly have. We can be a little bit on edge. Maybe you have sensed this impatience in yourself—impatience for your spouse, impatience for traffic, impatience for your kids, impatience for co-workers. It seems that this impatience has come to the surface more after the last year and a half we have all gone through. Perhaps you have seen this in the way you are a little more snappy and snippy with people. I have certainly seen it in myself, and I must confess that I need to repent of that to the Lord.

I mentioned that this would be a bit of a disclaimer. I am giving this as a trigger warning so that you recognize that some of the things I will be saying in this message are not meant to push your buttons. Instead, they are meant to help us see these issues brought to the surface so that we can confess them and grow in Christ's likeness. One of the things I believe God does in our lives is allow us to go through what the Bible calls the testing of our faith. As we go through trials, we grow.

Through tests, the testing of our faith, James says in James chapter one that it produces patience. How does it produce patience? Well, it draws up the impatience, frustration, and anger; it brings all this stuff to the surface. We get to acknowledge it and see that it's there so that we can confess it to the Lord.

Here is the great promise of the Scriptures: as we confess our sins, our God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. God wants to make us into a new creation; He wants us to be holy and completely new. We see that we are to put off the old man and put on the new man.

In Ephesians chapter four, we see that pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets, and apostles—this whole group of leaders within the church—are given by Christ for the work of equipping, perfecting, and maturing Christians to be what God wants them to be, to be fashioned more into the image of Christ.

I want to look at one more passage in that same chapter, Ephesians chapter four. It's a passage that is filled with really great truths. If you haven't read through Ephesians chapter four in a while, you might want to take some time as homework this week to read through it. In fact, just read through the whole book of Ephesians; it's only six chapters. Take a chapter a day, and you'll be done by next Saturday.

Ephesians chapter four begins with the opening words of Paul: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, beg you, that you would walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love."

Then notice verse three: "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Let me just say those words again: "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." God wants us to walk in humility; He wants us to walk in gentleness and patience. He wants us to put up with other people's issues graciously, putting in the effort and work to maintain unity and peace within the body of Christ, the church.

He wants us to work to do these things. These are the hallmarks of the church; these are the marks of true Christians. I want you to really think about this for a moment.

Humility, gentleness, patience, grace, peace, meekness, and unity are the hallmarks of the church, and they should be the marks of Christians like me and, hopefully, like you if you're a follower of Jesus. I'm sure you remember the old adages that suggest avoiding the topics of politics and religion. I have found that this is practically impossible for me.

For one, religion is kind of like my job. I am a pastor; I lead a church and teach at Bible colleges. So, when it comes to religion, staying away from the topic is pretty much impossible for me. It's what I think about, what I write about, what I talk about, and what I've been studying for more than two decades.

Not only is it hard for me to avoid the topic of religion, but I have also been one of those people who has been very interested in the political happenings of our nation and the world for a long time, even before I was an adult. I am normally pretty well-read about all the things that are going on here in our nation and throughout the world politically. I don't watch any TV news; we don't have cable TV, so I'm not watching CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, or any of those sorts of things. However, I consume a lot of news through the internet, podcasts, and various other sources, and you probably do as well.

Avoiding the topics of politics and religion is practically impossible for most of us in 2021, especially after all that has been going on in the last 16 to 18 months and in the last 20 years. Politics has really found its way into every aspect of life, including the church. Now, virtually everything is political. Sports are political; I'm sure some of you have been watching the Olympics, although viewership seems to be at an all-time low in the modern era.

We see that politics has taken hold of sports, whether it's the Olympics, baseball, basketball, or any other league that people watch. Every single one of these leagues has become political. Business has become incredibly political, and even restaurants seem to be political. Medicine, too, has been affected by the political landscape.

Science has been politicized in a huge way, and the church has become very political. Politics are polarizing and divisive; one of the most polarizing and divisive things is politics. We see that in our culture right now. As a result of the politicization of nearly everything in our culture, we are very divided today. Our nation is very, very divided.

Here is the crazy thing: I heard this years ago. I didn't come up with this on my own, but when I first heard it, it was like a light went on. It stuck out to me. A person said, "In the 21st century, in our culture here in the West, it is very uncommon for someone to change their politics because of the church, but it is overly common for people to change their church because of politics." Let me just say that again: in our current culture, it is very rare for someone to change their politics because of the church, but it is very common for people to change their church because of politics. This is especially true in the last year.

I think that this truth says something about us that you may not like. If you're taking notes, you may want to write this down: we have far too much carnality and far too little Christ-likeness. Looking at the division within the body of Christ, the church, I think one of the things it says is that we have far too much carnality and far too little Christ-likeness.

So, there's the trigger warning. Here's another trigger warning: this might bother you, ruffle your feathers a little bit, or get underneath your skin. Recognize that it may be God, by His Holy Spirit, just kind of touching on an area of our lives to say, "Hey, this is something we need to consider." Whether or not it is something that God wants in our lives right now, as I say that we are filled with too much carnality and not enough Christ-likeness, you may think to yourself, "No, not me."

But let me read to you from Paul's letter to the church at Corinth to highlight this. In his first letter to the Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians chapter one, Paul says, "It has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren..."

By those of Chloe's household, the church used to gather together in homes. One of the homes that gathered in the city of Corinth was a woman named Chloe. Those in Chloe's household were gathered together for a cadet group for church. Paul says it has been reported to me concerning you, the church at Corinth, from those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.

Now I say this: that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Then Paul asks the question, "Is Christ divided?" He writes this letter to the church at Corinth to rebuke them and to challenge them because of their carnality. He says, "Listen, I've heard a report about you there in the church, and there is all kinds of dissension, division, and carnality." Some of you are saying, "I am of Paul," while others are saying, "I am of Apollos," another well-known teacher to the church at Corinth, or "I am of Peter." There were all these factions and divided groups within the church. Paul asks, "Is this the way that Christ wants His body to be? Is Christ divided?"

Not just in that passage, but a few chapters later in the same book, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning at verse 1, Paul writes, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. You are like little babies in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able. For you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not carnal?"

Now again, you may object when I read those words and challenge areas in us as Christians where we might be a little fleshly, a little carnal. You may say, "I don't see any connection to Corinth and our church in this day. We don't have envy and strife and divisions; we're doing just fine here at Cross Connection Church." I wish I could say that I wholeheartedly agree with that. I wish I could say that is true.

But let me prove just a little bit that I think we are maybe a little bit carnal as the body of Christ, acting as Paul says, like mere men. When he says that we're acting like mere men, he's implying that we should be different. There should be something characteristically different about the way that we live.

Our lives are influenced by many factors, and I want to share some words that may serve as a kind of carnality test. Have we become a little bit more fleshly? I will throw out some words, and they might trigger you, so get ready.

The first word is "masks." Next, "vaccines." Here's a good one: "Newsom" or "Fauci." How about this little acronym: "CDC"? Then there's "Trump," "January 6th," "Pelosi," "shutdowns," and "COVID." These words have a way of ratcheting up our tension. They evoke certain associations, images, and thoughts when we hear them. The question is, are we not perhaps a little more carnal than God would desire?

As His people, His church, the expression of Christ here in this world, are we behaving like mere men and women? God's desire is that we not be divided within the body of the church by all these things that divide the rest of the world. He wants us to grow in Christ's likeness and to die to ourselves.

Those are hard words for us because, in our culture, we are constantly told to be ourselves, to heighten ourselves, to build ourselves up, and to glorify ourselves. Yet God's desire is that we grow in Christ's likeness and that we die to ourselves.

There is a beautiful example of what this looks like in the Gospel, specifically in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John begins with the story of John the Baptist and the revelation of Jesus by John the Baptist. Shortly after Jesus is revealed by John, he says in John 1:29, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

John announces, "Here is the Messiah; you should follow Him." After Jesus is revealed, everyone begins to follow Him. People who had been flocking to John the Baptist to hear him preach and to be baptized now start to follow Jesus. Some of John’s most committed followers, some of his disciples, begin to make this transition.

Come to Him, and it's recorded in John's Gospel, chapter 3. At the end of chapter 3, in verse 26, some of John's disciples came to John and said, "Rabbi, teacher, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him." Everybody is following Him. They came to John and said, "John, listen, that guy Jesus whom you baptized and you said, 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,' everybody's following Him. They're not following you anymore."

John's response to this situation is what I would call a spirit-filled response. Look at this in John chapter 3, verse 30. John says to his most committed followers, to his disciples, "He must increase, but I must decrease." He must increase, and I must decrease. That's a hard truth. It's hard for us to live like that.

Jesus said this in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, verse 23. He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself." Let me say that again: "Let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Again, powerful words from Jesus. I remember reading those a very long time ago when I was in youth ministry here at this church. As a teenager, that phrase, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself daily," has always stuck out to me. It's like an every single day thing.

The Apostle Paul would say, "I die daily." Every day, I have to put to death my flesh because it seems to get back up every single morning. In fact, I remember someone saying when I was in youth ministry that the flesh is the first thing to wake up every single day. That's definitely my experience.

We see our carnality; we see our flesh in that we are divided. We are a divided nation. I don't think anybody would disagree on that point. In fact, that may be one of the very few things that we agree upon: we are a divided nation. I'm sure you've noticed this. You see it maybe in your interactions with co-workers, or you see it in your interactions with other people on the campus or school you go to. You might even see it in interactions with people within your own family. I want to suggest to you that it's not getting better; it seems to be getting much worse.

Worse, there are a lot of things that cultural leaders within our society are doing to amplify the division in our nation. The divisions, I shall say, within our nation are almost entirely political. These political divisions have found their way into the church, and I believe that they reveal, in a big way, our carnality. They show that we are less Christ-like than we should be, which is a problem. The whole aim of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and leaders within the church is to equip the body of believers, the saints, for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ. We should all be united together and fashioned more and more into the image of Christ, looking more like Him.

All of the divisions that have found their way into the church reveal the extent to which we are carnal. Are you not carnal in this, acting like mere men and women? We are less Christ-like than we should be. Hopefully, that upsets you to hear me say that; it upsets me when I think about it. As I said, I am a pastor, and it is my calling to equip you to be more Christ-like. It is also my calling to grow in Christ's likeness myself so that I can say to you, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." That has been my aim for the longest time.

When I look at my calling as a pastor to equip you for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ, I feel as though, in some ways, I have dropped the ball in equipping the body of Christ that God has committed to me. We should be united together as one, showing that unity to this world. I know there will be some who, when they hear me say that, will send me a text message or an email. Maybe if you see me here at the church, you'll stop me to encourage me and tell me, "No, pastor, you're doing a great job." I truly do appreciate the encouragement; it means a lot to me. However, I am also aware of the facts, and I want to share some of those facts with you.

We are more divided than we ought to be, and these are facts. Just at a very local level, I am not even going to cite facts and statistics for the state of California, the United States, or the world. I just want to talk locally about this church community, Cross Connection Church, which I have had the joy and privilege of leading and pastoring for, I guess, going on 13 or 14 years. I don't remember at the moment.

Sixteen months ago, Cross Connection Church had about 800 adults and kids. On an average Sunday morning, when we would gather together for three services, there were about 625 adults and kids here for services. We had three services and were just about to add a fourth before COVID happened. Today, in August 2021, most of the way through the summer, when we gather here together on a Sunday morning, we are less than 300 people, including adults and kids. We have another 150 to 200 viewers that watch online and connect with us online, but we don't know the full stats of those who watch online. Is it just one person watching? Is it two or three people watching? We don't know if they watch just five minutes of the service or the entire service.

So, what does it account for when we see those numbers? We don't really know. We are not able to connect with you in the same way that we would like to as the church. We are called to connect with one another through the Scriptures, through fellowship, through prayer, and through worship together.

That is the fact for this local church, and I want to suggest to you that this is not just true for Cross Connection Church. We have dropped significantly and been divided, but this is true for nine out of ten other churches in our community and in our nation as well. The statistics are very clear: a lot of people have been separated from their church and divided from their church. Most churches have experienced this fallout as a result of all the things that have gone on in 2020.

I have to be honest and candid. When COVID first started in March of 2020, there was a part of me that thought this would really cause people to gather together and seek the Lord. However, when it became very political, it started to push people away because politics is inherently divisive. There are some churches, and I know...

I've seen, and you've probably seen as well, that there are some churches that have grown through everything that has happened in 2020 and 2021. However, I'm going to be very candid and frank with you: show me a church that has grown in the last year, and I will show you a church that has capitalized on people's baser and more carnal tendencies. It has capitalized on their desire to be divisive. I know that this won't come across great, but that is the reality.

Another fact to point out is this: I'm not worried about Cross Connection Church. I know that God is doing a good work here at this church. However, the extent to which we've seen a departure in 2020 and 2021 is the extent to which we are carnal. There has been what I would call a pruning. I've talked about this before on our broadcast. There has been a pruning of unfruitful branches. I don't like to say that, but that is the reality.

This reality isn't entirely bad because I do believe that the result of pruning is future fruitfulness. Our growth and fruitfulness sometimes require pruning; that's just a reality. Now, I'm not a big farmer or someone who takes care of orchards, but I do know, with the limited understanding that I have, that there has to be pruning.

I remember when my wife and I first bought our very first house back in 2008. In the backyard, virtually everything was dead because it was a foreclosure, and the water hadn't been turned on. The yard was a complete mess. There was basically one thing in the yard that was still green: a giant grapevine. It was growing all over the place; it looked really great, with shoots going off like 20 or 30 feet into trees. However, there was no fruit on it whatsoever. It was a beautiful vine, very lush and green, but it bore no fruit.

I talked with a friend, and he said, "We're going to have to cut it back a whole bunch." We cut that thing back to the point where it looked completely dead. He said, "It's going to take some time for it to put out some new shoots. We'll need to direct it." We built a trellis and did this whole thing. For two or three years, we cut this vine back in different ways and guided it before, finally, at one point, we got something.

Like 40 pounds of grapes off this one vine, it was amazing. However, our growth in fruitfulness sometimes requires pruning. Jesus said this in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, a passage that maybe you've read before. It's a familiar passage. Jesus says in John chapter 15, verse 1, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may be more fruitful."

God's desire is that you and I would bear much fruit, that His church, Cross Connection Church, or the other churches in our community, would bear much fruit. As a result, we have been pruned. In this present pruned state— and that's exactly where we are, a pruned state, a bare tree if you will— what do we need to do? What ought we do as a church so that we can fulfill the calling and the mission that God has given to us? What is the purpose for which He created His church? It is to reach this community: Escondido, San Marcos, Valley Center, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Fallbrook, Bonsall, and all these areas around us in Southern California, the nation, and the world.

What is it that we, in this pruned state, need to do so that we can fulfill the work that God has for us and be fruitful? I've been thinking a lot about this for the last several months, and very much about it over the last couple of weeks. As I was on vacation with my family, we did a huge driving loop. We drove up to visit some friends in Santa Barbara, then went up to Shasta, and then to Bend, Oregon, with some of my family. After that, we drove back down to Reno to visit my brother who lives there, and finally returned home this last Thursday night.

During a lot of that time, I was driving and thinking about these things: What do we need to do as Christians, as a church here at Cross Connection Church? The first thing we need to do is regroup and strengthen the things that remain. Now, some of you are regular Bible readers, and you caught those last words when I said "strengthen the things that remain." That might remind you of a passage of Scripture from the book of Revelation. If you have your Bible, I want you to turn to the very last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 3, verse 1.

In chapters 2 and 3, we have seven letters from Jesus to seven churches that were in Asia. The churches were in cities like Ephesus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These different churches were located in Asia Minor, which is modern-day western Turkey. Jesus is giving a letter to each of these seven churches.

In Revelation chapter 3, verse 1, we have the letter to the church at Sardis. We read, "And to the angel of the church at Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: 'I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore, if you will not wake up, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know the hour that I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

There is a lot to unpack in these passages in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, particularly in the seven letters to these seven churches. If you have never studied it or would like a refresher, you can visit our website at lifeinconnection.com. In the search bar, just search for "Cross-Examined," as I did a series a number of years ago called "Cross-Examined" on these seven letters.

When you read these seven letters, you find that most Christians want to be identified with the church in the city of Philadelphia, the church that was faithful. No one wants to be associated with the loveless church in Revelation chapter 2, verses 1 through 6, which is the loveless church in Ephesus that had left its first love, or the lukewarm church in Laodicea, the very last church. People want to be part of the faithful church, and they think...

I'm one of the faithful ones, and I'm a part of the faithful church. I'm not lukewarm, and I'm not loveless. I think many within the American church, unfortunately, may have moved from being a part of the loveless church at Ephesus or the lukewarm church at Laodicea to being a part of the almost dead church, the church at Sardis.

Here in Revelation chapter 3, verse 1, Jesus says, "You have a name that you're alive; you look really good, that you're alive, but you are dead." It's like that vine that was in my backyard. You look at it and think, "Man, it's shooting off vines all over the place. It's green, it's beautiful," but there's no fruit. Or like the fig tree that Jesus cursed in the Gospels when He came into Jerusalem. He sees a fig tree there, and it looks lush and green, but as He starts to look, there's no fruit.

So, Jesus would say to the church of Sardis, and I think He would say to the church in America—not just Cross Connection Church, but the churches that make up the body of Christ in America today or throughout the world—He would say, "Wake up! Be watchful, be alert, and strengthen the things that are still alive that are about to die." Maybe there needs to be some spiritual CPR or a spiritual AED attached to the church to wake us up, that we would be awakened.

There were the great awakenings of the church in the 17th and 18th centuries, and we need a great awakening of the church in our day. Unfortunately, there's been a great awokening of the church in the 21st century, and it's not been very good. It's actually caused incredible division within the body of Christ.

Now, this certainly isn't the lowest point for the church in church history. I have studied church history extensively, and the church is not going to die. When I say "the church," I'm talking about the capital C Church—all of the churches that comprise the body of Christ. It's not going to die, but there has been a pruning, a winnowing, a purging of the chaff and the wheat. There is a remnant that continues, and I hope that we are a part of that remnant that is fruitful.

The church is not going to die. Jesus said in Matthew 16, "The gates of hell will not prevail against His church." He will build His church, and it will continue until He calls His church to be with Him and to rule and reign in His kingdom. So, we look forward to that, and I'm optimistic about the future, just like Pastor Mark said in our vision last week.

But let me share with you what I see as probably the most dangerous hazards for the church at this moment going forward.

Hazards for the church are not politicians and politics. The church has endured much worse politicians, politics, and political regimes throughout its history than what it is facing right now here in the United States of America. The most dangerous hazards for the church are not shutdowns and mass mandates. We have actually walked through those things in the last year and a half; we've gone through that sort of stuff.

The most dangerous hazards for the church are not viruses and vaccines. This too shall pass. The church has gone through times of very challenging epidemics, pandemics, and sicknesses. All these sorts of things have tested the church before.

The most dangerous pitfalls, note this, are internal debates, dissensions, and divisions within the body of Christ. Those are the most dangerous pitfalls. What is it that kills unity within the church and ultimately kills churches? It is when we divide on things and start to cut one another off because the other person holds a different view or opinion than we do.

If you find in yourself this feeling of division towards other people who are Christians, who are in your local church, who are part of Cross Connection Church, and you find yourself looking at others who believe differently or think differently than you do on things like vaccines and masks, consider this: if you look at someone else who has a different view than you and they are a Christian, saying, "I follow Jesus, I go to the same church as you, I sit in the same chairs in the same sanctuary as you on a Sunday morning," but you think that person is stupid, scared, a liberal, a communist, or a fool, that is carnal. That is not Christ-like.

You are slipping back into carnality and you are part of the divisiveness problem. If you think to yourself that people who get the vaccine are stupid or scared, remember that there are people who think if you don't get the vaccine, you are stupid and scared. Both of you may have your reasons for thinking the things that you think. You may have your reasons for saying, "I got the vaccine" or "I didn't get the vaccine."

Thinks differently than you. You might think, "Well, they're only doing that because they haven't studied, they haven't done any research, or they're just scared of the virus or the vaccine." Just remember that the person who is saved by Christ has a different view than you.

If you've received the vaccine, I'm going to assume that you did so because you conducted some level of risk-benefit analysis and decided that this is best for you. If you decided not to get the vaccine at this point, then I will assume the best—that you've made that decision after doing some level of risk-benefit analysis and concluded that this is the best thing for you or your family. You made those decisions after considering those factors.

We need to be careful not to point out and label other people, saying that person is anathema or needs to be cut off because they are a heretic on a political or medical issue. This has nothing to do with a biblical issue. Pretty much every single person who has cut themselves off from our church or other churches in our community over the last 16 to 18 months has done so not for a biblical reason. They may try to mask it in a biblical reason, but it's really for a political reason.

As I wrap this up today, I want to highlight a passage that maybe you've read before in Paul's letter to the Romans, specifically Romans chapter 14, not Romans chapter 13. I know that has caused problems for people this whole season. I want to read from Romans chapter 14, beginning at verse 1.

This is the Miles to Benedictus paraphrased version. I've kind of cut this up a little bit, so don't get too mad at me. This isn't like the revised version of the Bible; this isn't a solid King James only. This is the MD version.

Paul says in Romans chapter 14, "Accept other believers who are weak in the faith and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For one believes that he should get the vaccine, but another opts not to get the vaccine. Let not the one who gets the vaccine despise him who does not, and let not him who does not get the vaccine judge him who does, for God has received him. He has received both of them. Who are you to judge another servant? To his own master, he stands or falls. One person values masks, and another does not. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who wears a mask wears it to the Lord, and he who does not wear a mask does so to the Lord."

Lord, he does not wear it. He who gets the vaccine does so unto the Lord and gives thanks to God for it. He who does not get the vaccine does so unto the Lord and gives thanks to God for it. None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's; we are His possession. For unto this end, Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Each of us shall give an account of himself to God. Therefore, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this: not to put a stumbling block or cause to fall in a brother's way.

As I said, that's kind of a slight variation on the text; it's the M.B. version of the Bible. We need to strengthen the things that remain that are about to die, and we need to be careful that we do not become judges of other people based upon the scriptures, but rather based upon politics or cultural views that divide Christians and divide churches.

So how do we practically strengthen the things that remain? Well, the first thing I think we need to do is to acknowledge our carnality and repent of it. If there are areas of our lives where we are being divisive over things that have nothing to do with the Bible, then we need to make sure that we acknowledge that this is probably not what Christ wants us to be doing. We need to confess it to Him and repent.

If you have been spending more time reading social media and corporate news media than spending time with God in the scriptures, in prayer, and in fellowship with other Christians within the body of Christ, that is a problem. If you have been openly or even just internally judging everyone else on these issues and causing division, cut it out and repent.

So that's the first thing: repent. The second thing, as Jesus said to the church in Sardis that was on the verge of division and death, is that I believe the Lord wants us to get back to some very basic things. That's why we're doing this series this week and throughout the month of August. I'm calling this series "First Things First." We need to get back to some of the core principles.

Truths about who we are as Christians: we are Christians, and that means that we are to be Christ-like. We're to be like Christ, and that means that we ought to be different from the culture around us. Right now, if you look at the culture around us, it is incredibly divided. If we look within the church, it is incredibly divided as well. We look just like the culture, and that is not what God would have for us.

So remember what I said earlier: God's desire is that we grow in Christ's likeness. That may mean that we need to die to ourselves. Get the vaccine or don't; that's up to you. But recognize that there are consequences to your decision either way, and you really should not judge others for what they decide to do or decide not to do. That's between them and the Lord, and their family, or whatever it may be. When we bring those things into the church and divide over them, I think that we're being more carnal than we ought to be.

Remember, if something I said this morning kind of gets under your skin, that is probably an indication that this is an area that the Holy Spirit wants to speak to and deal with. He wants to prune out that branch from my life or your life. It may just be something that we need to crucify and put to death. Paul says, "I die daily." I've been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me.

May it be said of this church, Cross Connection Church, and all of us in particular who make up this body, that we are showing forth the light of Christ into this world. We should not be tarnished by the things of this world or eclipsed by them, but rather that we would shine brightly in a dark time that desperately needs the light of Christ. We need to wake up and be watchful to what it is that God has called us to.

Over the next four weeks, we will be getting back to some basic things about what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be a light for Christ in this world, and how that works out in our church. I hope that you will join us as we delve into these topics.

So, Father God, I pray that you would be doing work in my life and in the lives of my brothers and sisters. Lord, purge out from our lives anything that is not pleasing to you. Help us to see those things and bring them to the surface through trials and difficulties. Maybe those things have already come to the surface because of the trials that we've gone through over the last year and a half. As they come to the surface, I pray that you would work in us to will and to do your good pleasure. May we confess those things that are wrong and an offense to you, and may you forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness, causing us to be fruitful individually and fruitful as a church.

A church, for we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

The tomb where soldiers watched in vain was borrowed for three days. His body there would not remain. Our God has robbed the grave; our God has rocked the grave.

Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Oh, your name, your name, your name is victory. Yes, it is! All grace will rise through your eyes.

By your Spirit, I will rise from the ashes of victory. By your Spirit, I will rise from the ashes of defeat. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. In your name, I come alive to declare your victory. The resurrected King is resurrecting.

By your Spirit, I will rise from the ashes of defeat. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. In your name, I come alive to declare your victory

Resurrecting me, the resurrected King is resurrecting me.

Hey guys, thanks for joining our broadcast today. It was great to have you here. We'd love to see you sometime at our live in-person service, which is Sunday mornings at 10:30 at our campus here in Escondido. If you need more information about that or anything else, you can find it at lifeinconnection.com. Alright guys, God bless you, and have a great week.

Hey Cross Connection, how's it going? I'm Pastor Garrett, and I've got an announcement for you guys—a super big one! We're really excited about this. James, the younger brother of Jesus, in his epistle, wrote to the early church instructions to care for the widows and the orphans in their distress.

Sew Refugio is an organization that we have been supporting here at Cross Connection Church for quite some time, and they are doing just that. They are supporting orphans and widows in Argentina, Peru, and Paraguay. Not only are they providing food, but food is essentially their avenue to reach those people in need. They are also supporting the widows by helping them learn a trade, find a job, make money, and become proficient. Additionally, they provide housing and the care and shelter that they need, all in the name of Jesus. They are doing some important work around the world, and we can partner with them.

On August 28th, we are going to be packing a ton of food, so we're asking you guys to get involved in a couple of different ways. First, I would say you can pray. Pray for Sew Refugio and the work that they're doing in Peru, Argentina, and Paraguay. Pray for the orphans and the widows that they are reaching out to and serving.

You can also give. Go to our website, give.lifeinconnection.com, and scroll down to Sew Refugio. We are trying to raise three thousand dollars so we can pack up and send them a ton of food here in August. Again, on August 28th, we will be having a packing day here at the church. This is another way that you can be involved. The packing day will start at 9 AM on that Saturday and go until about noon.

We are trying to pack around 20,000 meals to send to Super Refugio, so we have quite a bit of work set out for us. We are inviting the community to join us for this great opportunity to reach out to your neighbors, friends, and family. Kids are welcome to this family-friendly event, where we can set up and pack food together. Again, 20,000 meals is a lot, and we need your help.

If you can make it on August 28th, please sign up at events.lifeinconnection.com. Just go to our website, navigate to the events page, and sign up for the Super Refugio food packing. Let us know how many people from your family, friends, or community can attend so we can estimate how many tables to set up and how many bags we can pack efficiently.

We are really looking forward to this event. We know that God is doing amazing work, and we are blessed to serve alongside Super Refugio in this way. So again, mark your calendars for August 28th at 9 a.m. and sign up on the website.

If you can also donate to Super Refugio to help provide these meals, we are trying to raise $3,000. You can simply go to our website, give.lifeinconnection.com, and make sure to scroll down to Super Refugio when you are giving. If you prefer to write a check, please make it out to Cross Connection Church with "Super Refugio" in the memo, and we will ensure it gets to the right place.

God bless you all! I hope to see you on Saturday, the 28th, to help pack all those 20,000 meals.