6-17-2023 West Palm Beach Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Garfield “The Power of Community – Belonging” Acts 9;1-9,17-20, 26-27

[MizKJVOnly]

6-17-2023 West Palm Beach Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Garfield “The Power of Community – Belonging” Acts 9;1-9,17-20, 26-27

 

 

When we talk about community we are saying it is a group of people engaged with each other for a greater cause or common good. Your own family and the church congregation are a community. The problem with communities is that you have the good ones and the not so good ones. Brothers and sisters there are communities that breath out and develop self-doubt, loss of identity, misplaced values and even isolation. As a church we have a godly community. This is where members are inspired to support and stand with each other. They have group encouragement and a belief in godly relationships. In this community we see each other and are seen by each other. We develop a deep sense of self thru the experiences we have with each other. We connect with each other like a piece of a puzzle that’s part of a bigger picture. We embrace who we truly are and do not run from who we are. As a community we find support, we find encouragement, we find security, we find purpose, accountability and we find victory. There are three parts of a community that we believe empower it. 1) Belonging 2) Common Belief 3) Common Behavior

Today we want to focus on Belonging. Belonging is not just a feeling of community but it is about acceptance. It is about attention and understanding. It is about support. Sometimes these things are found lacking in a church but can be found more of in a local pub or bar. It is human nature to have belonging. Tribes bond together to find food. Husbands and wives have belonging and bond to each other. Brothers and sisters it is important that wherever we are, at home or at work, we build an atmosphere of community. An atmosphere where people feel belonging. Whatever their circumstances are, whatever their disabilities are, they will be accepted into the community anyhow.

The apostle Paul was at first not accepted in the church. He had great difficulty in being accepted in our churches. It was Barnabus who helped him. Barnabus made all the difference. He made Paul feel welcome. Paul’s sense of belonging was satisfied by how Barnabus treated him. It is the same way when someone visits your home or when you give someone a ride. It is the same conversation when a visitor comes thru the doors of this church. The heart of this message is that as we prepare for the community to come thru our church doors, we must give them a sense of belonging. We must make a place for the community and the community will make a place for us.

In Acts chapter 9 we are told about Paul being zealous for God and how he got permission from the high priests to go find Christians to persecute. He had a community with the Jews who believed that Jesus was not the Messiah. Then Paul had a Damascus road experience. And like the rest of us, when you come in contact with Jesus Christ, your lives are never the same. Paul changed his world view, his perspective and followed Jesus, the Son of God. Paul acknowledged that redemption of man only comes thru Jesus Christ. The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. God is our great sustainer that sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins.

In Acts 9;26 the new believer Paul tried to join the Christians in Jerusalem. Paul now had a different world view and now needed different associations. Paul sought for belonging in the church and he was rejected. I wonder how many people have visited a church and felt that there was no place for them? Verse 27 says that there was one man, Baranabus, who welcomed Paul. Barnabus took Paul to the apostles and told them how Paul had seen Jesus in the way and how Paul had preached at Damascus in the name of Jesus. When you go into a community like this, you seek validation. Validation is being recognized for who you are and being accepted. What Baranabus did was the ultimate expectation of validation. Validation is saying to someone “I see you”. There are four levels of validation that I want to point out today.

1) Validation level one: We must be attentive to that person, making eye contact and showing them that you are listening.

2) Validation level two: You acknowledge that you are hearing them. You may need to shake your head to show them that you are listening and understanding them.

3) Validation level three: This is where you actually speak to them. You repeat back to them the problem that they expressed to you.

4) Validation level four: This is where you say to them that its going to be okay. You say you don’t know how but it is going to be fine. You are not finding them any solution yet but you are simply saying its is going to be okay.

Give them a kind word and then you can ask the question “How can I help you?” Sometimes people will say that just your listening is enough. Or they will say can you speak to someone for them. In Acts 9;27 Barnabus did the action thing of taking Paul to the apostles. He introduced Paul to them. Barnabus was saying that he believed Paul was a Christian now. He believed Paul was worthy and had value. Validation is something that every person looks for no matter who you are.

 

AMEN