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| This video was put together by Greg Waggoner for the 2014 Northgate Youth Fall Retreat. It was shown as part of the "Belong" message. |
It has been a long time since I was last up here speaking on a Sunday morning. I’m glad to be back and I’m really excited with what God is doing at Northgate. I have been the youth Pastor here at Northgate for 3 1/2 years now and have had to privilege of working alongside some amazing staff, amazing leaders and amazing students.
Summer is always a nice break but by around the start of August I am ready for youth to start back up because I miss seeing everyone. The first INSIGHT and the first event are these awesome reunions, almost like a family that hasn’t seen each other for a long time. We come together and tell each other about the summer and in most cases it’s like no time has passed.
SCHOOL YEAR
I remember when I was kid the beginning of the school year always being filled with a bit of dread and excitement all at the same time. You got to see your friends again and you got to find out who your teacher was, who was going to be in your class.
This year Oliver started grade one and Oliver is a very unique and amazing kid but he doesn’t quite fit the mould of a typical 6 year old kid…and he never really has. When Oliver was much younger for his third birthday all he wanted was a broom. So he could do some “brooming”…he still calls it that. We got him a broom and he was over the moon. The next year all he wanted was a cane…like for walking with. He would walk around the house holding his leg telling us how a cane would really help him with his walking…so my parents got him a walking stick and he was over the moon.
When we would go visit my Grandma in her seniors home most kids would be nervous of all the other residents, but not our Oliver. Oliver would walk around and say, “Do you know who I am?” and when they would answer, “No” he would say, “I’m Oliver!”
On one particularly awesome Oliver day he was going around greeting all the residents when he got to this really gruff looking elderly gentleman.
Oliver has a very tender little heart that’s bigger than any little six year old boys has any business having. He loves big, his feeling get hurt big and he over reacts all the time. He is our special little Oliver.
So Oliver has always been different from other kids his age, different good, but different. So this year Oliver entered the big bad world of Grade One and it is rocking his world and he is finding it hard to fit in with the kids because he just doesn’t understand them. Oliver is having a hard time at recess because he just doesn’t get what’s happening. Because Oliver has such a big heart he’s got lots of love to give but when he tries to pay with the girls they run away…but he doesn’t understand that that’s what girls do in Grade one…they run away from the boys…and the faster they run the more they like you. But it just hurts Oliver’s feelings…”Why do they run away from me?” So he tries to play with the boys, but the boys fight and wrestle…Oliver is not a wrestler…so he just gets upset and says, “Why do they always try to hurt me?”
So the girl run and the boys punch…Oliver doesn’t understand them and they don’t understand him…and it makes Oliver feel like he doesn’t BELONG.
So we try to make sure he knows he is special and loved and absolutely BELONGS in our family even if he feels like he doesn’t BELONG anywhere else.
We created this wall at home that we call, “Walliver of Oliver.” It’s right in our dining room and filled with pictures and memories of Oliver and we all look at them and talk about them all the time and it makes him feel so special.
Have you ever felt like Oliver? Like you just don’t fit, like you don’t Belong? I know I have but I also know that I have looked to Belong in the wrong places or to the wrong people. This morning we are going to look at the amazing truth that when we choose to follow Jesus that we BELONG to God and not only do we BELONG to God but we also BELONG to this amazing thing called the Body of Christ….the church.
ADOPTED BY GOD (Turn to Ephesians 1:4-5)
So these verses, if we read and understand them, are mind blowing. “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us…”
Isn’t it great to be chosen? When I was in grade 6 we moved to a new town, new school, new everything. The first week I was at school because I was the new kid no one wanted to go with me so the teacher MADE this one kid go with me…and he cried. I didn’t feel super great about myself right then. But when I asked Erin to marry me and she said yes! She chose me?! I felt great!!
This is amazing to think that God, the creator, sustainer, all powerful all wise all loving God says, “I choose you to be mine. I want to be with you forever.” That makes me feel great. Especially since he is the all KNOWING God. He knows my good parts and my bad parts and he says, “I still want you!”
In fact he not only wants us to be his followers, he wants to adopt us as his own children.
I am uncle to these amazing kids. Faith, Thomas and Bereket. Bereket is adopted…can you guess which one is him?
My brother and sister in law waited so long for Bereket. They endured hardship, and heart break and had to show patients and faith and in the exact right moment they got the call, flew to Ethiopia and met their new son. They had planned and prepared for years and years, they loved Bereket before they even knew who he was. And now Bereket is theirs, he is their son. He belongs to them. In their love and care and plans for Bereket there is no difference between him and Faith and Thomas. It has been so amazing and inspiring to see them go through this adoption journey and it was such a great picture for me of the heart of God.
These verses say, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his family by bringing us to himself through Jesus.” When we put our faith in Jesus. When we turn from our sins and ask God to forgive us and put our faith in His son Jesus, God adopts us. We are his children, we belong to him. And if that wasn’t amazing enough…listen to what it says right after that, “This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” God wasn’t forced, we didn’t have to beg him or convince him, His plan was always for us to BELONG with him.
Look at the Garden of Eden. The whole point was for us to be in perfect relationship with God and each other. To BELONG to God and with God. Then we messed it up but God said, “It’s okay I can still make this work, I’ve got a plan.” And he sends his son to die for our sins so we can be back in relationship with him where we BELONG.
When we become a we don’t BELONG to ourselves or this world anymore. I take tremendous encouragement and hope from that. Whatever the world says about me, whatever people say about me, whatever I think about me, doesn’t change in the slightest what God thinks about me and whether or not I still BELONG to him. We are his cherished sons and daughters and He is the perfect father.
Listen to Ephesians verse 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece.” Sometimes when I look in the mirror I don’t see masterpiece…messed-erpiece maybe. But who am I to argue with God…He says I’m his masterpiece.
That doesn’t mean I’m perfect, that doesn’t mean I don’t mess up, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t need to discipline me for my own sake now and again. It means that I BELONG to him and that through Jesus I am made holy and righteous in God sight. He loves me more than this world could ever love me and He doesn’t change. I don’t have to be afraid that when I get up tomorrow he might have changed his mind, or that he thinks less of me. There is so much hope and encouragement in that.
God loves us more than we can imagine and nothing can separate us from that love. (Romans 8:38-39)
WE BELONG TO THE CHURCH
So we belong to God, which is incredible and life changing but God gives us something else that’s so amazing too. Think back to the Garden of Eden again. God creates everything, then creates Adam and says Gen 2:18, “It’s not good for this man to be alone.” Have you ever thought of that…like really thought of it?
Adam didn’t seem alone to me, in fact he was in perfect relationship with God. Yet God says “It’s not good for this man to be alone, I will make a helper that is just right for him.”
We were never supposed to walk through life without the help and support of others or without helping and supporting others. Pastor Bob talked about this last week in Nehemiah chapter 3. That long list of those rebuilding the wall, they all worked together, all had a task and purpose to accomplish something great. Everyone was important.
For God’s children today this takes the form of the body of Christ, or the church. So we not only BELONG to God as his cherished children but we also BELONG to his church. And not only do we BELONG but we are given a purpose and every person is important to the life of the church.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Now some you have possibly heard this portion of scripture a hundred times before but let this be a good reminder to you about the body of Christ. If this is the first time you have heard it I hope it is incredibly encouraging to you.
When we become a Christian, we BELONG to God and we BELONG to his church. And it’s not a social club where we go hang out. Just like Adam and Eve had a purpose in the Garden, Genesis 2:15, to tend and watch over the garden, we are each given a purpose in the church. Like a giant puzzle God fits us altogether to create this amazing picture of this flawed and broken group of people who love God and each other and are doing our best to represent their heavenly father well.
So in terms of the body metaphor we each need to remember that we play a vital part in the body of Christ. So if you are sitting there thinking, “I don’t have gifts, I’m not talented, I’m awkward, I find it hard to get to know people…I don’t have anything to offer.” or your saying “Man I’m really messed up, my life is a disaster, what could I possibly have to offer,” or saying “Maybe 20 years ago I was relevant and had something to offer,” or you say “I’m too busy, how could I fit another thing in,” I really want you to hear this,
“But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.” 1 Corinthians 12:18.
Please hear this, no matter what you think of your gifts, abilities, age or availability God has placed you right here, right now, exactly where you are, exactly how you are, to do something amazing in the life of the church.
God’s plan for the church is that all its members have a purpose for his glory. We BELONG to Him, we BELONG to the church and He gives us a purpose to bring him glory through how we carry out that purpose.
I find that so encouraging because I don’t have to wait until I’m this ready, I don’t have to be as tall as this line, I don’t have to know this much or be this old or this young. Right now God says, “Nathan, this is the piece I have for you to play, and it’s important, it will give you great joy, be a blessing to the church and it will bring me glory.”
Sometimes people say things as if they are easy. Sometimes they give you the simple and forget to address the complex. So I don’t want to leave you with the idea that I think this is simple. Because I know it’s not.
The simplicity of the Body of Christ is that we BELONG and God has given each of us a purpose here. That’s awesome and encouraging but it can also be confusing and overwhelming because we then ask the next logical question…”So what is my purpose?” “What part of the body am I?”
That’s where simplicity turns to complexity. So how do we answer that question? How do you go about finding out where you fit in the puzzle? Just start doing stuff! Ralph used to tell us young eager college student, “Go until God says no.” I think it applies here.
When we did football tryouts every person tried out for every position and the coaches would look at your abilities and skill and slot you in where they felt you were best suited. So one way to find out where your purpose in the church might be is too try some stuff out. Sub for Sunday school, volunteer for ESL, start a small group, come to prayer nights, be an usher…try everything. You might say, “I don’t think I will like doing this or that,” to which my daughter Claire would respond, “You won’t know if you don’t like it until you try it!” So try some stuff out. Explore.
Secondly, ask people who know you. Say, “What do you think I would be good at?” We sometimes have these blind spots in regards to ourselves. Maybe we have had a failure or a fear in the past that blocks us from seeing an accurate picture of what are gifts are. Ask you parents, ask your friends, ask us pastors, ask your spouse, ask a stranger!! Those that love and care about us usually have a better picture of us than we do. So ask people.
Next you need to be open to the unexpected and the invisible. Paul clearly says, Not everyone is called to be preacher and teachers and to do miracles etc…he says, earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. Often these gifts are behind the scenes and might seem meaningless or unimportant but Paul is careful to remind us that in our bodies some of the most important parts are the ones that are unseen. The work of God, through the body of Christ extends so far beyond Sunday morning, sunday school, youth group. There are really unlimited ways God can use those in our congregation to bless others and bring Him glory.
So try things out, ask people who love you, be open to the unexpected and the last thing I will say about this is look for joy.
The joy I’m talking about is not the emotion of feeling happy. Emotions are tricky and changing things that easily deceive us. Look for joy. The joy I’m talking about is that state of contentment, a sense of fullness.
For me it’s kind of like I just took a deep breath and let out a good long sigh. When people ask what I do and I tell them I work with youth they say things like, “That must be hard,” or “You have to be a special person to do that”…and yes I am a special person, but honestly at the end of each event, bible study or retreat whether I am exhausted or energized, had a great time or it was difficult on my way home I just have this sense of fulfillment in my heart because I know that right now this is exactly where God wants me and it’s such a great place to be and I’m always excited for the next time to get to do it.
There is so much I could say about this stuff but it really is a journey and you need to be willing to explore and experiment, to humbly and faithfully serve where God wants you to be and to hold onto that purpose with a loose grip in case God decides to have you do something else because remember it’s not our purpose that defines us but the fact that we BELONG to God that defines who we are.
God has brought you right here, right now, exactly where you are, exactly how you are to do something amazing for his Glory in this church. You BELONG here, we need you.
There is so much hope and joy when we can realize and live in the knowledge that through faith in Jesus we BELONG too God, that he chose us and adopted us and has a purpose for us.