Sunday Recap @ da Chapel
Reverend Joshua Goodin
Mark 2:1-12 (NRSV)
“Who’s in Your Circle?”
In order for you to be successful according to John Maxwell, you need to be REAL.
Relationships
Equipping
Attitude
Leadership
*You live in a world that will try to keep teaching and preaching to you that you can make it on your own. If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go further, take some people with you. In the journey of life, you already have to experience lonely and isolated moments. Every now and again you need someone to encourage and push you to don’t give up, and tell you, you’ve got this. Don’t let your temporary inconvenience make you miss your permanent blessings.
*You are a sinner saved by grace, you make mistakes, you fall short, you have done some things that you shouldn’t have. The older you get the less you can do, things don’t work the way they used to work, you can’t get away as fast as you used to. Some things change, but it doesn’t mean you don’t sin and you don’t struggle. You need relationships with other people because it impacts every aspect of your life. Your relationships make you or they break you. Sometimes working with other people requires you to do more than your assigned portion. The sad part about it is everybody gets the same credit. One of the most hurtful feelings is having to carry other people’s load.
*Who’s in your circle? There are multiple circles because you have multiple circles of friendship. You have one circle filled with yes people. Whatever you want to do they will say yes too. They are always ready to go every time you want to do something even when you know you shouldn’t be doing it. More than likely the people in your yes group are the people who will lie for you, be your alibi, your getaway driver, or take one for the team. You have another circle of people that won’t always tell you yes, but also won’t tell you no, the in-between circle. Then you have your honest circle. The circle you don’t always want to talk to because they will tell you exactly the truth that you don’t want to hear. You have moments with people where you avoid their phone calls because they know something is up, and you don’t want to hear what they are trying to say. Then you have the circle in the middle of all the circles created by you, because you are the mutual connection, and you are not alone, because Jesus is there with you. There are some circles that should never cross paths. There are some friends that you have, that you will never bring to church because instead of you enjoying service you have to filter them. Your circle matters. The goal should be to get all the people in your circle to the center because ultimately you need people in your life that are balanced.
*There are some people that come to your house only for what they can get from you. Not because they are concerned about you or they want to check on you, but they’re only coming to make a withdrawal. There are people in your life who only know how to come asking and taking, but don’t know how to give. When you are doing great things, it will always draw a crowd. Do your friends know when you need to come to Jesus? Can your friends identify when you’re having a come to Jesus moment? Sometimes you don’t realize you need to have a come to Jesus moment, but can the people in your circle identify that you need a moment? Your friends can identify you need a come to Jesus moment, but you’re so prideful, stuck, and complacent that when they reach out to you, you start screening their phone calls. Sometimes you shut the world out when you’re lying on your bed of affliction. You, or which one of your friends are afraid of being isolated? You don’t want to be by yourself that you will settle for someone you don’t even like. When your friends identify that you need to have a come to Jesus moment, are you willing to go?
Your condition requires that you go see Jesus, but you have been in your condition for so long that you feel like you can never escape it. That’s what happens when you allow the enemy to tell you that what was temporary is now permanent in your life. *When you raise your standards then your real expectations will be met. Don’t be so lonely that you lessen your standards. A person can only give you what you allow.
You have to come to a place where you raise your standard, and you keep it there. If you sought God for it, then you have to allow God to give it to you. In the midst of waiting don’t compromise what you and God agreed upon. You are frustrated, not because of what God allowed, but by what you allowed. Real friends can carry you when you need to be carried. You don’t know what it feels like to be carried, because your circle is full of weak people. Every time you need someone to carry you, you find yourself carrying yourself because the people in your circle are too weak. They don’t have to be strong in the areas that you're strong because what makes you strong together is your diversity. Everyone in your circle should bring something different, but when you have the yes circle, everyone looks alike.
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