Last week we told you that ONE is the most important number – right? There is ONE Lord, ONE mediator, and ONE name… We are called to be at one with our God. How we do that, begins at home in our hearts. Who you are matters, and the question is, who are you really? You need to be at one in your home.
Welcome back to Redemption Church in Plano TX. My name is Chris Fluitt and I am blessed to be in a new year and honored to share the Word of God with you today.
How is your new year going? I hope it is still a happy New Year!
Twenty Twenty One (Title)
We are in the 2nd week of our sermon series “twenty twenty-one.”
The number “ONE” is the most important number in the Bible. Your Bible declares that there is 1 God, 1 Mediator, 1 Sacrifice, & 1 Name that saves – the name of Jesus! And in your Bible, Jesus prayed that we would be ONE just as He and the Father are ONE.
In the beginning days of 2021 we are going to purpose our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our strengths to answer the prayer of Jesus and become ONE. Jesus prays a prayer that we can take part in answering.
Jesus prays that we would do more than just call ourselves Christians…
Jesus prays that we would do more than just attend the same church…
Jesus prays that we would do more than just put up with each other…
Jesus prays that we would do more than just show up once a week and shake hands after a few songs and a message…
One in Complete Unity –John 17:23
Jesus prays that we would be one in complete unity. Jesus prays that we would have the same unity as He and the Father have. In order for us to achieve this we have to be willing to do more… We must be willing for the Spirit to work more than ever… We will need more of God & His Word/Will and less of us.
One in the Home
Today I want to talk to you about being ONE IN THE HOME.
Have you ever noticed that people can one way on the job, in the school classroom, online, at church, at the grocery store… but be completely another way at home?
I feel like you don’t really know a person until you experience them in their home. Almost like the real person is the one you would find in their home environment. There may be a little more authenticity in the home than in society.
It leads me to ask of myself… “Who am I really?” Am I one way at home and another way when outside my home address?
“Who am I really?” may be what our spouses, our children, our close friends ask after viewing us in different environments.
2 in 3 kids
There are my 3 kids: Will, Hudson, & Josh mean the world to me. I would do anything for these guys. They bring me such joy… moments like seeing Josh catch a brand new pokemon, or seeing Hudson & Will ride their bikes for the first time… and yet they are able to hurt me like no one else… seeing them hurt physically or struggling in a problem, seeing Will struggle with autism and seeing how it effects his ability to make friends and interact with other people…
These kids I love. I would do anything to help them.
Church I hope we feel that way about all the kids here at Redemption Church. Not just the Fluitt kids, but all the kids in our church and in our cities. Would you be willing to do something to help them if they were in need?
There is a disturbing statistic that 2 out of 3 children raised in Church will end up walking away from church and their faith in Jesus Christ as they enter adulthood.
If I told you that 2 of my kids were missing would you help me search for them?
If I told you that statistically, your child or your grandchild only has a 33% probability of being a follower and worshipper of Jesus would you do something about it?
When we gather on Sunday, at one point in the sermon we bring out a big green leaf and our kids excitedly hurry off to have Sunday school and learn the wonderful stories of the Bible… We celebrate this every Sunday. Wouldn’t it be alarming if after service only 1/3 of the children who entered the classroom remained?
Wouldn’t news of an abduction of children spur you to action? I hope to spur you to action today.
If you have children currently, plan to have them in the future, or you are currently an empty nester, I am praying that your heart is stirred today. If you plan to never have children, I am praying that your heart would be moved to be a help to families taking on the responsibility of retaining these precious gifts of God called “children” for the Kingdom of God.
One in the Home
Why do you think 2 out of 3 children depart the faith? These are the stats, now what do they mean?
You might be able to come up with other reasons for a 2/3rds exodus, but I feel like the Lord has directed me to the subject of authenticity.
We need authentic lives in and out of the home.
Many people that walk away from faith have similar stories… stop me if you have heard this one…
“I just got tired of all the hypocrites…”
“My family went to church and acted real excited, but at home they were completely different…”
“My dad shouted “amen” to the preacher… but at home my dad shouted curse words and abuse at my mom…”
“My mom & dad took us to church every Sunday and told us to respect the house of the Lord, and after service in the car all they talked about was how much they disagreed with the church and my parents seemed to disrespect the house of the Lord.”
“At some point I just didn’t need all the negativity of church people…”
“I was hurt by those who said they loved me. What they said & how they lived did not match up.”
I do not think 2/3rds are walking away from Jesus because they found Jesus to be lacking…
I DO think that 2/3rds are walking away because they find the PEOPLE of Jesus to be lacking…
The people of God represent God and effect how people feel about God.
Paul says that your life becomes like an epistle, a letter, an additional book of the Bible that people see and read by experiencing your life.
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (NIV) You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
Your life matters. The authenticity of your life attributes authenticity to the Word of God.
Matthew 5:16 (NIV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Your deeds effect how others will glorify God.
2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV) We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
You are Christ’s ambassadors. God makes his appeal through you and me!
Who you are matters
Who you are is ETERNALLY significant. “No man is an island.” Your life will always interact with others and affect the lives of others.
Nowhere is this truer than in the home. Who you are in the home preaches the loudest sermon. Who you are in the home is the loudest declaration of what you really believe.
The biggest epistle is who you are in the home.
The place where your deeds shine brightest is in the home.
Your station as ambassador for Christ must include your home.
The world doesn’t just need another person to profess Christianity… This world is in desperate need of authentic Christ followers: People of integrity who do not change who they are depending on what room they walk in… people who are consistent in living the truth of God.
Moms & Dads live CHRIST everywhere you go. Eyes are watching you. You are writing an epistle that is being read.
Workers in the Church, friends and extended family, live CHRIST at all times. Ears are listening to you and they are weighing your words against your beliefs to see if they match up.
Members in the Church, there is no area of your life that is unimportant… who you are in the grocery store, on the interstate, on social media… it all matters.
One Divided
When we are not consistently the same person everywhere… when we are hypocrites… when we are less than 100% authentic… we become one divided.
James 1:8 says a double minded person is unstable in all their ways.
James continues (1:22) with a command to be more than a hearer of the word… but a DOER also.
James 4:8 says to draw near to God, wash your hands and purify your hearts you double minded.
Jesus told us in Matthew 6:24 that no one can serve 2 masters… you will end up devoted to ONE and hating the other ONE. Are we trying to serve more than one master?
And the Lord said in Mark 3:25 that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
One in the Home
We need to be authentic. We need to be real. We need to be ONE. The one and same person who shows up in every place and location. We need to be one in the home.
Last week we taught briefly on the Shema. This first command of the 10 commandments has everything to do with living out authenticity in our home.
Shema – Hear – Deuteronomy 6:4
As a pastor, a preacher, and a person who loves the Word of God… I desire that you would know the SHEMA.
The Hebrew word Shema means “Hear,” and when Jesus was asked what the most important command of God was, He quoted the SHEMA.
Mark 12:29-34 (NIV) “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
To love the one God and to love your neighbor is more important than all burnt offerings & sacrifices.
This should remind you of this verse we looked at in week one.
Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV) “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
How we treat God and each other is more important than bringing our gift/sacrificial offering to the altar.
Thank you Jesus, for this truth. We believe it. Help us to live it.
So Jesus spoke of the SHEMA. Let’s turn in our Bibles to the very scripture our savior is quoting.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When Jesus taught on the Shema, his audience, the Jews, had a deeper understanding than we likely do. They could have quoted everything we just read, and more. They held this command high in their hearts and lives.
Let’s really try to understand the command.
#1 There is ONE Lord God!
#2 This ONE Lord God deserves ALL of you.
a. No compartmentalization. (Example) I love God openly, but only at church and my mother’s house…
b. God gets ALL of you. Your ALL goes to the ONE regardless of the location & situation.
#3 The commands of this one Lord… the Shema says these commands should be present. They are on your heart.
a. Is the Word of God present in your heart?
b. Is it present in your actions? What is in your heart comes out! (Luke 6:45) (Proverbs 4:23)
I think we feel great about saying it is in our hearts…
We have invited Jesus into our hearts. We are proud to say we have hidden his Word in our hearts.
…But do we allow what is in our hearts to flow out?
#4 Impress them upon your children. BRING THEM INTO YOUR HOME!
#5 Talk about them when you sit at home… walk along the road (drive)… lie down and get up (morning & night)
#6 TIE THE WORD OF GOD all around you. Hands (action), forehead (thoughts)
#7 On the doorframes and gates. (Doorframe – Your immediate home. Gates- the extent of your influence)
You can’t fake this. If you love God completely, there is no room for fakery. If you continually bring God & His Word into your life, you leave no room for fraud.
Is your Lord one? Do you love Him with all? Is He in every part of your life?
One in the Home
Are you one in the home?
Moms & Dads… Husbands & wives… will you build a home centered on your unity in Jesus?
There are some people who aren’t able to build such a home… We minister to some who come from a home that is dis-unified… Children from broken homes, people who live with those who are against God…
Can you be a help to those people. Can you be a source of unity for them?
2 out of 3
Remember that ‘2 out of 3 kids statistic’; can you do something about that?
1- Could you help our kid’s ministry? Could you volunteer?
2- Could you impact a kid? Be a person they see who truly loves God, and loves them?
Can you lead a small group or teach a bible study and help someone unify with you around the Word of God?
Can you do life with someone who really needs a brother or sister in Christ?
In our homes, can we unify around one another?
Who you are matters
Who are you, really?
Sarah and I have been watching a show about foreign spies living in America. These spies are set on harming the United States in every way… but they act on the cover like they are just everyday normal American citizens. What I find so interesting about the show is that as they act like Americans, they accidentally start to love America and the life they have here. Freedom starts to win them over.
Anyone feel like a fraud? Anyone feel like a spy or double agent. While I am preaching about loving God with all your heart and being ONE for God in every area of life… do you feel like you really fall short? You aren’t alone
I remember going through life as a double agent. As a young teenager I lived 2 lives… the life I was at home & church was different from the life I lived at school. It was a miserable existence. I was a fraud. I was unhappy. I was a house divided. …But even though I was a fraud, the love of Jesus won me over.
I remember the day I decided I was going to live ONE life for God. That was one of the happiest days of my life.
Today, the more at ONE I become with Jesus, the happier I become… the more fulfilled I become…
Before the Lord can be ONE in your Home… You need to be ONE in Him.