Connect Lesson #113: Fall by Pastor Lawrence C. Raftery
Scripture References: Mark 12:30-31 (NLT), 1 John 4:8, Revelation 2:2-5 (MSG/NCV/NKJV), 1 John 1:9, and I Corinthians 10:12 (NKJV/MSG)
Introduction (5 Minutes)
How many of you know God speaks to us in many ways? The Lord can use vehicles like daily devotionals, prompting in our hearts, scripture reading, worship music, and talking to believers. He doesn’t necessarily do that because we’re so dense. He does it to show the same thoughts from different perspectives. God’s not being redundant; He's placing within our hearts positive reinforcement. For this message, the word “fall” was repeated through different expressions. When it dropped into my heart, the thought came that if you're going to fall, fall in love. Then in rapid fire sucession, I got these thoughts, “if you're going to walk, walk in love; if you're going to stay, stay in love, if you're going to stand, stand in love, if you're going to help, help in love.” Hear what the Spirit of God says: Fall in love, walk in love, stay in love, stand in love, and help in love. Jesus made this point very clear when questioned about the greatest commandment. Read Mark 12:30-31 (NLT) Life "without" love for God and the love of God operating through it is missing the point of life. You can do life without love for God or without God's love for others, but then "life itself" falls short of its purpose. God is life. 1 John 4:8 says God is love, so you can understand that life without love falls short of its “God purpose”. There's that word "fall" again. Every time I turned around, God kept positively reinforcing the importance of His love. Look, you can do work, school, family, recreation, and church without God's love. But His love operating "in us" and "through us" keeps us from falling in a negative sense. Read Revelation 2:2-3 (MSG). It's like Martha in Luke 10, she was so busy working for the Lord that she didn't have time to sit at His feet and love Him.
Life Application (5 Minutes)
Listen, it's only as we "love Christ fervently," with all of our heart, that we can "serve Him faithfully." I guess you could say that the church of Ephesus had a heart problem. Read Revelations 2:4-5 (MSG). Read Isaiah 14:12 (NKJV) What caused Lucifer to fall? Pride and self will. When pride and self-will come into the life of a believer, love goes out the window. Revelation 2:5 says, “Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I’m well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.” The church, or the believer, who loses its love, will soon lose its light. Read Revelation 2:5 (NCV) Remember what was said at the beginning of this message, if you’re going to fall, fall in love. Read Revelation 2:5 (NKJV) “Remember” literally means “keep remembering” what we have lost, and cultivate a desire to regain that close communion once again. Repent, change your mind, and confess your sin to the Lord (1 John 1:9). Repent, in other words, do the first works again to restore the original fellowship that was broken by our sin and neglect. What does that exactly look like? It's Bible reading, meditation, obedient service, worship, fellowship, and communion with the church. It's putting "your heart" back into the game...if you're going to fall, fall in love. If you're going to walk, walk in love; if you're going to stay, stay in love, if you're going to stand, stand in love if you're going to help, help in love. Read I Corinthians 10:12 (NKJV) The Message Bible says: Don’t be so naïve and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
Discussion Questions (15-20 Minutes)
Q#1: What are some ways we can easily “fall on our face” as it relates to how we connect with God and others?
Q#2: How does love and humility help to keep us from falling on our faces in our journey as a believer?