Nobody Stands Alone

Dan Harding

19 September 2010

*The richer we are, we exclude people
*We tend to want to be in the in-group that we exclude other people

Objections
1. We love people
2. We like to hang around, its a great community
*A great community does not mean we voluntarily exclude people

Patterns from exclusion to inclusion
*Because God tends to include people that we attempt to exclude

1. Deuteronomy 10:17-19: For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.

*Would you care and include people who are easily excluded?

2. City of Refuge
Joshua 20:1-6: Then the Lord said to Joshua: "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. "When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled."

*Whoever wanted to avenge the blood of those who accidentally committed sin may run away to the city of refuge

3. Matthew 1:1-5: A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse.

*Tamar, Rahab and Ruth are women
*God loves women but they always put men in the role of leadership
Ruth- A Moabite, enemy of the Jews
Rahab- prostitude
Tamar- did incest, scandolous
*We don't have to be perfect to be included in God's family

Acts 11:1-18: The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."
Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened: "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven b its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. Then i heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.'
"I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
"The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.'
This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.'
"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying. "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentances unto life."

*dream
*This story is about religious people. Many think only religious people can be in the in-group
*Circumcision party that excluded people are the ones God wants
*Is it worth sharing to people that are not involve
*We might blindly exclude people
*It is not only the nice Godly thing to do but that God wants to include these people

Thing we can include people
1. Hobbies we have in common
2. All of us have homes- powerful environment to include people
3. Holidays-invite people for a week

*God longs for people to include them in His heart
*Whom is God calling you to include?
*Communion is a symbolic way to include people in God's kingdom

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**