Covenant church of Mobile
Life Together Whole Hearted Fellowship
Sunday morning message
Locations & Times
Covenant Church of Mobile
7150 Hitt Rd, Mobile, AL 36695, USA
Sunday 10:00 AM
Life Together Wholehearted Fellowship
Sometimes I have an issue with focus. By that, I mean keeping focus on the things that are most important.
On a small scale, I have a pretty tight ability to focus on the thing at hand. I remember as a little league baseball player the difference for me of standing in the on-deck circle and stepping into the batter’s box. When I was on-deck, next up to bat, I heard all the things being yelled and said about the batter or me or the pitcher. I heard the crowd, the chatter of the catcher, even the yells of the little kids playing “cup ball” outside the fence on the third base side.
But when I stepped into the batter’s box, I learned to shut all that out and focus on the thing at hand. I had to focus.
I can still do that in lots of things: reading a book, driving down the road, listening to a podcast, mowing the grass, brushing my teeth. I can get lost in the smallest things. Focused on the thing at hand. On what must be done now.
Here’s the problem with that. I can go a considerable amount of time and not do anything important! I can miss the forest because I am in the trees.
In cooking, I can get the seasonings out of the cabinet but I don’t know how to season the food. I can cut carrots, but I don’t know how many to add to the dish or salad or soup.
Perhaps we are all like that in some ways. We have so many things to take care of, to focus on, that we miss focusing on the one or two that really matter.
The little foxes spoil the vine.
In conversations, we focus on what we want to say instead of listening to the other person and processing it. What if we were more interested in the other person? Maybe for you it is different.
Yesterday, a friend called about his step-son who is 23 and not working. In trying to help him find a job, he asked him to name three places. His son did. His job then was to contact them. The next day, he had called one, but never turned in the application. Result: still no job possibilities. Frustration.
This lack of focus on the most important things is his enemy. And yours and mine.
Perhaps we can help each other along the way. If God’s goal is to make us like his Son Jesus, how can we cooperate with Him more fully in His process in our lives?
How can we depend on the Father like Jesus?
Can we react to pressures of life and situations like Jesus?
Can we treat one another like Jesus?
Are we becoming more like Him? Can we help and remind one another of these priorities? Only if we are living life together.
We are exploring Life Together, how we can live with one another, help one another, love one another in the way that God loves us. Like Jesus.
These are the kinds of things that Jesus was teaching his disciples before he went to the cross. And these are the kinds of things his apostles taught new believers when they came to Jesus. How to live godly, God-like, Jesus-like lives!
Walking with Jesus affects how we live together at home and in our community. Any community: neighbor, work, hobby, exercise, social communities!
These groups affect our outcomes. Our directions and our destinations in our lives.
Carlos has 10 men praying for him because he shared his challenge. (35 hrs. of online training, 750 page book, and a 4 hr. examination.)
Jeff and Micah coming alongside Ashley at work.
What if we belonged to a small group that had as its goal to make our lives better, more effective, more relational, more caring, more courageous, more loving, more like Jesus?
What if those around you are for you and you are for them. What if we are for helping each other be better at self-control family
relationships work integrity attitude?
This is what we are exploring and learning. This heart for one another is true fellowship. Together we are learning how to invite God, the All-sufficient, the Ever efficient, the All powerful, the Never failing One into our lives. Our hearts are made whole, complete.
Small groups bring whole-heartedness to your life. Trusted friends in your life help fill you up. They challenge your comfort zone and take you into an area of risk that enlarges you, grows you, builds you.
Why do I need to know that?
Wholeheartedness pleases God for He is wholehearted. His arm is not short!
Wholeheartedness makes a difference in results in your efforts and projects.
At the heart of all we do is the All-sufficient, the Ever efficient, the All powerful, the Never failing One.
Last week, Joshua challenged us to continue to grow with God.
He used real people and real signs to illustrate this journey to this God-centered life. . . WE come to faith in Jesus.
We learn and grow in God’s word, learning how he works in people’s live and learning to discern his voice above all others. This brings us close to God.
E.S. Jones called his quiet time his “listening post.” He learned to get direction from God instead of giving direction to God.
Then we come to where Jesus is the foundation and the center, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega,the first and last.
This God-connection with Jesus equips us to be life-givers to others. To bring them to Jesus, to the One who is life!
So if you are a life-giver and I am a life-giver and we get together, we give life to one another! Mutual benefit! Life Together!
In 2 Kings 13:14-20, When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” he cried.
Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows.” ….
Then he commanded, “Open that eastern window,” and he opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek.”
One arrow is important. This is the Lord’s arrow.
Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.”
Then Elisha died and was buried.
I love the brevity of the Bible stories. To the point. These are the last words of the dying prophet. Not listening? “Oh, well. You blew it.”
Then the prophet is dead and buried. The end. Good luck, Joash. You are on your own.
Joash of Israel fails to recognize the importance of his actions. He obeys half-heartedly the instructions of Elisha, who is looking into the future and speaking his final words! He strikes the ground three times and stops. “You should have struck the ground five or six times so that your victory would be complete.” If one arrow was important, what about the other arrows?
What was Joash thinking about? It’s a hot day. I have a long drive home. I have to get my servant to go find that arrow we just shot out the window; those things aren’t cheap!
Whatever it was, Joash missed the proper response to this important prophet’s dying words. He failed to focus on the important, distracted by something less. This was a power-packed moment and a wholehearted response was needed, was required, was vital. Joash was half-way there. Just half-way.
1 Corinthians 10:11 Joash’s failure is our chance to succeed. He is an example of doing it wrong!
Close and trusted relationships bring whole-heartedness to your life. Joash missed it.
Why do I need to know that?
Wholeheartedness pleases God. HE is whole-hearted, leaving it all on the court, on the field, on the cross!
Wholeheartedness makes a difference in results in your endeavors.
This Wholeheartedness of Jesus needs to run through all of our lives. Every niche and corner. His mark on us and in us.
He wholeheartedly clarified things for his disciples.
He wholeheartedly encouraged the poor and weak and underdogs of life.
He wholeheartedly rebuked the Pharisees calling them white-washed tombs: clean outside and dead inside.
John 15:7 If my word abides in you. . . Ask what you will (determine) . . . It shall be done to you.
What is your distraction that keeps you from what is most important?
How important is it for you or me to be whole-hearted? About my spouse? My children? My employees? My job?
Col. 3:18-24 and 4:1
Wives, (wholeheartedly) submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.
Or just three times. That’s enough. What do you think?
Husbands, love your wives (wholeheartedly) and never treat them harshly.
Children, always obey your parents (wholeheartedly), for this pleases the Lord.
Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged. (Encourage them wholeheartedly)
Slaves (employees), obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely (wholeheartedly) because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly (wholeheartedly)at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will (wholeheartedly) give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving (wholeheartedly) is Christ.Masters (bosses), be (wholeheartedly) just and fair to your slaves (employees). Remember that you also have a Master (boss)—in heaven.
What am I supposed to do differently?
Commit to a small group that challenges you
Why do I need to do that?
So that I will not make peace with half-heartedness. So that you will do what is most important.
What are my next steps?
Time with God for focus, share in small group for accountability, carry out your important goal.
WE: What if we all meshed with another or two in a small group of at least two and made a commitment to follow up on? Would we be more effective? Would you be? How would that affect our lives, relationships, efforts, etc.
The Apollo mission to the moon was off course 95% of the time, I think. Constantly, the astronauts were checking in with mission control in Houston to correct course, speed up, slow down, etc. That connection led to a staggering success that amazed a breathless world.
What if they had missed the moon?
We all need mission control. We all need one another keeping us on course, helping us guard our priorities. We all need life together, wholehearted life together.
Sometimes I have an issue with focus. By that, I mean keeping focus on the things that are most important.
On a small scale, I have a pretty tight ability to focus on the thing at hand. I remember as a little league baseball player the difference for me of standing in the on-deck circle and stepping into the batter’s box. When I was on-deck, next up to bat, I heard all the things being yelled and said about the batter or me or the pitcher. I heard the crowd, the chatter of the catcher, even the yells of the little kids playing “cup ball” outside the fence on the third base side.
But when I stepped into the batter’s box, I learned to shut all that out and focus on the thing at hand. I had to focus.
I can still do that in lots of things: reading a book, driving down the road, listening to a podcast, mowing the grass, brushing my teeth. I can get lost in the smallest things. Focused on the thing at hand. On what must be done now.
Here’s the problem with that. I can go a considerable amount of time and not do anything important! I can miss the forest because I am in the trees.
In cooking, I can get the seasonings out of the cabinet but I don’t know how to season the food. I can cut carrots, but I don’t know how many to add to the dish or salad or soup.
Perhaps we are all like that in some ways. We have so many things to take care of, to focus on, that we miss focusing on the one or two that really matter.
The little foxes spoil the vine.
In conversations, we focus on what we want to say instead of listening to the other person and processing it. What if we were more interested in the other person? Maybe for you it is different.
Yesterday, a friend called about his step-son who is 23 and not working. In trying to help him find a job, he asked him to name three places. His son did. His job then was to contact them. The next day, he had called one, but never turned in the application. Result: still no job possibilities. Frustration.
This lack of focus on the most important things is his enemy. And yours and mine.
Perhaps we can help each other along the way. If God’s goal is to make us like his Son Jesus, how can we cooperate with Him more fully in His process in our lives?
How can we depend on the Father like Jesus?
Can we react to pressures of life and situations like Jesus?
Can we treat one another like Jesus?
Are we becoming more like Him? Can we help and remind one another of these priorities? Only if we are living life together.
We are exploring Life Together, how we can live with one another, help one another, love one another in the way that God loves us. Like Jesus.
These are the kinds of things that Jesus was teaching his disciples before he went to the cross. And these are the kinds of things his apostles taught new believers when they came to Jesus. How to live godly, God-like, Jesus-like lives!
Walking with Jesus affects how we live together at home and in our community. Any community: neighbor, work, hobby, exercise, social communities!
These groups affect our outcomes. Our directions and our destinations in our lives.
Carlos has 10 men praying for him because he shared his challenge. (35 hrs. of online training, 750 page book, and a 4 hr. examination.)
Jeff and Micah coming alongside Ashley at work.
What if we belonged to a small group that had as its goal to make our lives better, more effective, more relational, more caring, more courageous, more loving, more like Jesus?
What if those around you are for you and you are for them. What if we are for helping each other be better at self-control family
relationships work integrity attitude?
This is what we are exploring and learning. This heart for one another is true fellowship. Together we are learning how to invite God, the All-sufficient, the Ever efficient, the All powerful, the Never failing One into our lives. Our hearts are made whole, complete.
Small groups bring whole-heartedness to your life. Trusted friends in your life help fill you up. They challenge your comfort zone and take you into an area of risk that enlarges you, grows you, builds you.
Why do I need to know that?
Wholeheartedness pleases God for He is wholehearted. His arm is not short!
Wholeheartedness makes a difference in results in your efforts and projects.
At the heart of all we do is the All-sufficient, the Ever efficient, the All powerful, the Never failing One.
Last week, Joshua challenged us to continue to grow with God.
He used real people and real signs to illustrate this journey to this God-centered life. . . WE come to faith in Jesus.
We learn and grow in God’s word, learning how he works in people’s live and learning to discern his voice above all others. This brings us close to God.
E.S. Jones called his quiet time his “listening post.” He learned to get direction from God instead of giving direction to God.
Then we come to where Jesus is the foundation and the center, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega,the first and last.
This God-connection with Jesus equips us to be life-givers to others. To bring them to Jesus, to the One who is life!
So if you are a life-giver and I am a life-giver and we get together, we give life to one another! Mutual benefit! Life Together!
In 2 Kings 13:14-20, When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” he cried.
Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows.” ….
Then he commanded, “Open that eastern window,” and he opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek.”
One arrow is important. This is the Lord’s arrow.
Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.”
Then Elisha died and was buried.
I love the brevity of the Bible stories. To the point. These are the last words of the dying prophet. Not listening? “Oh, well. You blew it.”
Then the prophet is dead and buried. The end. Good luck, Joash. You are on your own.
Joash of Israel fails to recognize the importance of his actions. He obeys half-heartedly the instructions of Elisha, who is looking into the future and speaking his final words! He strikes the ground three times and stops. “You should have struck the ground five or six times so that your victory would be complete.” If one arrow was important, what about the other arrows?
What was Joash thinking about? It’s a hot day. I have a long drive home. I have to get my servant to go find that arrow we just shot out the window; those things aren’t cheap!
Whatever it was, Joash missed the proper response to this important prophet’s dying words. He failed to focus on the important, distracted by something less. This was a power-packed moment and a wholehearted response was needed, was required, was vital. Joash was half-way there. Just half-way.
1 Corinthians 10:11 Joash’s failure is our chance to succeed. He is an example of doing it wrong!
Close and trusted relationships bring whole-heartedness to your life. Joash missed it.
Why do I need to know that?
Wholeheartedness pleases God. HE is whole-hearted, leaving it all on the court, on the field, on the cross!
Wholeheartedness makes a difference in results in your endeavors.
This Wholeheartedness of Jesus needs to run through all of our lives. Every niche and corner. His mark on us and in us.
He wholeheartedly clarified things for his disciples.
He wholeheartedly encouraged the poor and weak and underdogs of life.
He wholeheartedly rebuked the Pharisees calling them white-washed tombs: clean outside and dead inside.
John 15:7 If my word abides in you. . . Ask what you will (determine) . . . It shall be done to you.
What is your distraction that keeps you from what is most important?
How important is it for you or me to be whole-hearted? About my spouse? My children? My employees? My job?
Col. 3:18-24 and 4:1
Wives, (wholeheartedly) submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.
Or just three times. That’s enough. What do you think?
Husbands, love your wives (wholeheartedly) and never treat them harshly.
Children, always obey your parents (wholeheartedly), for this pleases the Lord.
Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged. (Encourage them wholeheartedly)
Slaves (employees), obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely (wholeheartedly) because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly (wholeheartedly)at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will (wholeheartedly) give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving (wholeheartedly) is Christ.Masters (bosses), be (wholeheartedly) just and fair to your slaves (employees). Remember that you also have a Master (boss)—in heaven.
What am I supposed to do differently?
Commit to a small group that challenges you
Why do I need to do that?
So that I will not make peace with half-heartedness. So that you will do what is most important.
What are my next steps?
Time with God for focus, share in small group for accountability, carry out your important goal.
WE: What if we all meshed with another or two in a small group of at least two and made a commitment to follow up on? Would we be more effective? Would you be? How would that affect our lives, relationships, efforts, etc.
The Apollo mission to the moon was off course 95% of the time, I think. Constantly, the astronauts were checking in with mission control in Houston to correct course, speed up, slow down, etc. That connection led to a staggering success that amazed a breathless world.
What if they had missed the moon?
We all need mission control. We all need one another keeping us on course, helping us guard our priorities. We all need life together, wholehearted life together.