ep 24 final: Welcome to the Faith Alive Sermon Podcast. This is a replay of a past sermon from Faith Alive Church. Whether you missed it, want to hear it again, or share it with someone you know, we're glad you're here. This sermon is by Fred Bellinger. Thanks for being here tonight. It's a beautiful night. you notice that we have to wear sweaters or shirts in the morning now. And we have to wear them in the evening. So the fall season and the winter season is slowly reminding us that they're not far. I want to title my message. I mean just take a minute just to get ready for prepare your minds. Just thank you, Lord, for allowing us to come together and as a family to meet, to meet freely. Just pray that the word that we hear today is led by the Spirit as I am confident it is. And that it speaks to us and gives us meaning and gives us direction. And the title of my message today is Have You Heard? And I open this up with the scripture I was studying in First Peter 1, 22 through 25. And it says this So, since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren. Fervently love one another from the heart. For you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is through the living and abiding word of God. For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the grass. The grass withers, the flower, it falls off. But the word of the Lord. Abides forever. And this is the word which was preached to you. And that's where this message came from. That have you heard? As I was studying, and that just stuck in my mind. This was the word that was preached to you. And that is the word that I heard. And I started mulling on this, and as I pray over it, and it's just one of those things that stick in your mind, and the Holy Spirit says, Yeah, we're gonna talk about this. I have a question. Why are we here? Why are you here? Why am I here? What prompted you to attend tonight? What prompted you to attend on a Wednesday? A beautiful fall? Yeah, it's fall night. I'm sure there's other things that could be going on. Maybe a sports event, maybe a a bowling league. But you're here. And what prompts you to attend tonight? And what prompts you to attend on Sundays and participate in all of our various fellowships and groups amongst this fellowship? This church does such a wonderful thing. we have core groups for those that want to dig deeper into the word. We have serve days, days, Saturdays that we wanna be there and we wanna serve and we wanna reach out to the community. We have women's rallies, but the men's rallies are better. We have small groups, which are such a necessity in a church like this. There's no way that we would get to know each other. Three services. If there's a test at the end, name everybody in the church, I'm gonna fail. Small groups are so essential for a church that's of our demographic, and they're vital because large churches serve a beautiful purpose and they can move resources, but small groups bring that intimacy, that love, and that connection that is so necessary. For a big church to move. And we choose to be in these. Somewhere, somehow, a seed was planted in your heart, a seed was planted in my heart. A word was heard, a gesture, an act that reflected the love of Christ. It pointed you in the direction of this living and abiding word that is in 1 Peter 1. It pointed you in the direction of an everlasting and imperishable word. So what is this word? What is this something that caught your attention that made you be here instead of anywhere else you wanted to be? Well, how did this start? In short, this a living and abiding word is Jesus, right? It's Jesus. This is not an all-exhaustive list. Jesus, the the descriptions of Jesus are infinite, and they cannot be spoken with such a finite mind. But here's a few things that are pertinent to this message. That word, that living and abiding word, was there in the beginning. In John 1:1, it says, In the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. That was that living and abiding and perishable word that you heard. It says in Genesis 1, 1, because everyb everybody knows that in begin in the beginning was In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, right? That word is plural, Elohim. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He was there. Again in Genesis 3:22. After the decision of man to partake of the forbidden fruit, it says, Behold, the man has become like one of us, capital U. He was there. And if you read Genesis, that is the beginning of their plan of his plan for salvation. And you can see it strewn through the whole Bible. You can see that starlet thread that runs through the generations. What else does this word? Well, what else is this word? It provides assurance and hope. In 1 John 5, verse 11, it says, And the witness is this that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son. He who has the son has life. That's an assurance and a hope. That word that we heard was something different, and we had an assurance and a hope for this. Word. I'm gonna in verse twelve it finishes, He who has the Son has life, but there's a warning, he who does not have the Son does not have life. Continuing, it promises our eternity with him. That's what this word is. It promises eternity in First Thessalonians 4, 16 through 18. Paul is speaking to the people of Thessalica, and there was a concern that maybe they missed the boat. Maybe Christ had already come again. That's the context of this when he talks about this the coming of Christ and what we know is the rapture. And Paul says, For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. That's what this word is. Again, it's not an all exhaustive list. We could say this word is our healer. We could say this word is our comforter. We could see, say that this this word is our strength. This word is our guide. But in the context of this message, there's three examples of what this word is that we heard. This living and abiding word. So again, this living and abiding word caught your attention somewhere. Somehow, the reason you're here is you heard this time and your ears opened. Isn't it funny in the Bible? Sometimes if you read some of the gospels, it says, He who has ears to hear, let them hear. Well, I thought I heard. Well, apparently you didn't. Did you really hear? But your ears were opened. Your eyes saw something different. And this time you left your boat and your nets, like Peter did, right? Or you left your tax booth. Pastor Jordan was talking about Matthew, how he was a tax collector and a traitor of the Jews. Nobody likes a tax collector. I don't think anybody likes a tax collector today. But they left their boat. You left your tax booth. We put aside something which we strived for. We had we put aside something that we believed would give us security. We put aside things that we thought would give us a hope. And we put aside things that we thought were definitely going to give us a future. And we heard something and we put all that aside for the everlasting. imperishable word. And this word came to us despite our hindrances in our lives. Our state of mind, whether we were prepared to hear the word or not, it came through that. There is never a good time to accept Jesus except now. That's when when do you accept Jesus? Well, I'm just not ready. I gotta get all this stuff in my mind figured out. I gotta I gotta get it right. I gotta be in that zen moment. There's never a good time. Do it. Right? So but that's a hindrance. And that word went through that. It might have been some of the hindrances the What type of soil or weeds or thorns? You see that parable about the seed that's been sown on all the different types of soil. You got the good soil, you got the bad soil, you got the soil full of weeds. The environment we're in, everyone is born into challenges. Everyone. We might have physical challenges, emotional challenges. But don't you know that no challenge is greater than? than the love of Christ is for you. And if Christ created you and created this world and He's called you, you can get through those challenges. But there's always hindrances in our lives. And other hindrances that might try to stop us from answering this word is the counsel that's around you. Who do you surround yourself with? Who were you surrounding yourself with? People speaking in your ear, you you become what is around you, right? You you become with that which you associate with. And despite all of these hindrances in our lives, there was a word that someone spoke to you that was imperishable, everlasting, and it pierced through all of this noise of the state of our mind, the environment that we're in, the counsel of those around us, and it pierced through all that noise of this world, and you heard it, and you're here. So my question then is who spread that word to you? The age through the ages, many have spoken of the imperishable word. John the Baptist, he was mentioned in Isaiah 40, verse 3. Says, A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Now we can read that in the scripture. I don't think anybody was alive when John was around. I don't think so. maybe it was Billy Graham. Everyone knows Billy Graham. he had the crusades. They said that nearly 3.2 million people came to know Christ through the Billy Graham Crusades. He wrote 12 books regarding the faith. Billy Graham was born on a dairy farm in North Carolina. But Billy Graham even had to hear a word. That imperishable word. And he heard it from a man named Mordecai Ham. Mordecai Ham had a revival, and Billy Graham just happened to be there, and he is the one that spread that word to Billy Graham. And Mordecai Ham would not have had that revival had he not heard from a man, heard the word from a man named William Sunday. So here we transcend from the nineteenth to the twentieth to the twenty first century. Maybe you heard the word from a man named John Sung. You say, who's John Sung? He actually was the sixth child of a method of a Methodist mission minish missionary in Asia. And he went back after his time at Ohio Wesleyan and Ohio State University. Can I say that up here without getting? Okay. I just want to make sure. Do I duck? But after he went hit in his schooling, he went back with the Bethel Worldwide Evangelistic Band in 1931. And that ministry team, they preached the gospel to China and Taiwan and Southeast Asia. And you'd never know this man, but he spoke the word and he touched so many lives that it shaped the early 20th century. Yes, Chinese evangelical Christian ministry. China was such a place of worship at one time. Till it was suppressed through the communist takeover. Maybe you didn't hear for them. Maybe, maybe you heard from that other guy. And that's what I want to talk about. And I want to read to you John 1, 35 through 40. I didn't put it up on the notes. But I'll read to you. Or you can follow along in your Bibles, your apps. It says again, the the context of this is Jesus is being baptized by John the Baptist. So they're they're in the proximity to each other. It says again the next day John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples. And he looked upon Jesus and he walked as he walked, as Jesus walked. And John said, Behold, the Lamb of God. And the two disciples that were with John heard him speak and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and beheld them following. And he said, What do you seek? And they told him, Rabbi, which translates teacher. Where are you staying? And he said, Come and you will see. And they came there far they came therefore and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it is about the tenth hour. Verse forty one of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. So I'm asking I have a question when you read this, and my math isn't mathing. The next day John was standing with two of his disciples too. And as we go through this dissertation and they follow him, then it just goes to Andrew and how he recruits Peter. What about the other guy? He was still a disciple, wasn't he? Is he ever mentioned anymore in the Bible? The other guy? We can call him Bill. Sally. I don't know. He's definitely a disciple. He's definitely a follower of Christ, but he's never mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. But there is definitely right there two disciples. He's the other guy. And that's the question I have. Did another catch your ear's attention? That made you decide to participate in tonight's service. It might not be somebody that has fame, far from fame, far from notoriety. You might not have even known that other guy's name. But something caught your ears, didn't it? And something sounded like it was a breath of fresh life. Maybe it was someone at work. Maybe it was a peer. Maybe you heard from a passing message on the radio or television. Or maybe things that I don't do is a social media post. I'm completely lost when it comes to social media. Wouldn't even know how to get on it. Could you have been another guy? Could another guy have been a family member? Someone that you had Thanksgiving with or a get together, and they just happened to mention something that's like, yeah, I'd I'd I'd like to seek that. I'd like to try that. Maybe, just maybe, you heard from that other guy while you were in the bleachers watching a game. Maybe you were on the beach. Trying to finally get away on that long-sought vacation. And someone in passing mentioned something to you that caught your ears and you heard that imperishable word. Or maybe it was just out to breakfast with family, with friends, by yourself. Regardless, you heard and you could not unhear about that living, abiding. Everlasting and imperishable word that was calling you and me out of the wilderness. There was just something about that word. You heard something. It was refreshing. See how many people they keep pursuing things and they still feel empty. You know what I'm talking about? They feel empty. They pursue this and they pursue that and they feel empty. This word does not make you feel empty. And when you pursue it and have faith in him, you will always be satisfied. And here now you are. Welcome. Now it's our turn. What are we doing to pass on this living, this abiding word that was given to us? What are we doing about it? Do we just hang on to that word and hold it inside and do absolutely nothing with it? I don't think the word was intended to be kept and locked away. It was designed to be given away. Pressed down, shaken together. You don't want to have that power. You just hold it. What are you doing with it? Like Gollum and Tolkien's book. That ring that I once possessed now possesses me. We don't want that. So what are we doing? Well, excuse me. The Great Commission says in Matthew 28, 19 and 20. It says, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and And lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age. Again, assurance and hope. The task is before us. It's in black and white. You can see it strewn throughout the Bible. What are we supposed to do? We're supposed to pass this on. I am one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread. Right? We have all been called into a field. There's a parable about the laborers in Matthew twenty one through sixteen. Everybody's been called to a field. Are you speaking the word where you have been called? Are you willing to pass on this gift of life, of Christ, of salvation, of eternity, of salvation? Are you willing to pass it on? How are you catching the ears of those around you? It's different for everyone because we've all been created different. We all have a different circle of friends. We all have a different way of communicating. We all have a different way of approaching people. We all have different methodologies, but we have one goal, and that is Christ. And we have one goal, and that is to spread the word and to teach and to tell everyone the good news that has been given to us. It might be a loud declaration. You might be very comfortable speaking to a large audience. It might be a soft word of hope. Standing along, a person in need. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to go. This is impossible. I can't get out of this situation that I'm in. And that soft word spoken in love and that prayer could be just that word that they need to hear that pierces through their wilderness. It could be a prayer seen indirectly by peer by peers, obeying the Spirit's lead, all things in humility and not for gain. Why does that person trust in that God so much? Sometimes I always say, a lot of times it's not what we say, it's what we do. An act that shows the love of Christ. I would ask people, what chapter of the Bible are you demonstrating today? 'Cause people don't read the Bible anymore. They should. Study to show yourself approved. A workman is not shamed, but handles accurately the Word of God. But a lot of people don't read and study and dig, but what they do is they watch us. What chapter are you displaying today? All under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Everyone is different. Everyone has a different field. Regardless, we know the Bible says the need is great, the harvest is great, and the workers are what? Few. That's you and me. Whatever it is, however it is delivered, I ask that you be that other guy that speaks. the living and abiding word into others. It says so in Matthew 5.14, it says, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure. For you new Bible people, that's a basket. But you put it on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. And let your light, through the word that was given you, shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. What is different about you? You got this light. Even when you're cranky, you still got this light. You ever get that? And you're like, well, that's because I have Christ in me. And I can't explain it. But if you want Christ in you, all you need to do is admit, believe, confess, and you can have that light while you're cranky too. If you ever look in in physics or in science, darkness is the absence of light. Did you know that? Darkness is is is described. How dark is it? Darkness is described in relation to how much light is in the field. It's the absence of light. Nowhere is light the absence of darkness. Prove me wrong. Darkness does never envelop and take over light. Never has. You can even go into science into physics. Tell me where darkness ever envelops light. It's light that displaces darkness. And the only thing that light needs to do to displace that darkness is illuminate itself. That's you and me. In conclusion I just wanna close up here a little bit. A wonderful gift has been preached and spoken into your life, and it has been spoken into my life. And with your acceptance, with our acceptance, we embrace this wonderful, we embrace this living, abiding, and imperishable word. So I implore you to be that other guy found in John chapter one. Be that other guy. Sam, Sally, Jane, Earl, morning Earl, morning Ralph. But pass forward the gift that you have been given, so that others can take hold of that imperishable life, that word. It says in Romans 10, 12 through 14: There is no distinction between the Jew or the Greek, for the same Lord is the Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon him. But how then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher, without someone speaking that word? So I'm asking you tonight to be that other guy. Let's pray. Father God, I thank you for this night, the ability to gather as brothers and sisters, that we can share the word together, that we can share fellowship together and worship you, that we can share each other's burdens in prayer. I would ask that you give us all insight on how we can be that other guy, how we can be that light that shines in this darkness of confusion, doubt. And that we can share the word of Christ and pass on the word that was preached to us. That living, imperishable word. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the Faith Life Sermon Podcast. We hope this message encouraged you. If it did, be sure to subscribe or share it with someone else who may need it. If you want to get connected or reach out to one of our pastors, go to our website at faithalive.church. We'll see you next time.