Joined To The Lord-6

JOINED To The LORD-VI—1Corinthians 6:12-20

Attention:

America is considered by some to be a Christian nation. But we are unfortunately often reminded that it is not...

‘Zombies & Prayer At The Georgia Statehouse’

A public observance of The National Day of Prayer was recognized at the Georgia Capitol on May 3, 2018.

Mike Griffin, public affairs representative for the Georgia Baptist Convention, arrived early to set up for a Facebook Live airing of the noontime National Day of Prayer gathering. He noticed a number of people in eerie, dirty-looking black clothing were eating on the statehouse lawn when

"I thought maybe they were feeding the homeless," Griffin said.

A number of trailers had been pulled to the main doors & Griffin asked a security guard, "What's going on out here?"

“They're filming The Walking Dead”(based in the metro Atlanta area) came the reply.

FYI—“The Walking Dead” is a cable TV series largely featuring zombies in a post-apocalyptic world. It is filmed in North Georgia, & at times, in & around Atlanta.

On this particular day, The National Day of Prayer observance was slated at one end of the capitol building. The producers of ‘The Walking Dead’ had rented the rotunda & the other end of the capitol building.

The singing & praying of the crowd gathered for the National Day of Prayer resounded through the rotunda & hallways for much of the hour-long observance, Griffin said. Crew members from The Walking Dead stood at the side of the prayer gathering periodically to check out what was going on.

When Griffin left the statehouse, he noticed another scene that would be filmed for The Walking Dead on the street between the capitol & legislative office building. The street was littered with debris & banged-up cars, & a forklift was picking one up.

"It was kind of an odd moment, to say the least," Griffin said of his encounter with The Walking Dead on the National Day of Prayer.

Gerald Harris, editor of Georgia Baptists' Christian Index news journal, also was in attendance.

Mr. Harris was a few minutes late, due to traffic. When he arrived, he asked a distinguished gentleman standing near the governor's office where the prayer gathering was taking place. He said, ‘Walk that way, pointing left, & then turn right.’

Following the directions, Mr. Harris entered the staging area for the television program & was greeted by slovenly clothed people with pale faces & blank stares.

Harris said, “What I saw in that moment was the antithesis of a group of people attempting to connect with God.” “I soon found the right place where there was singing, testimonies & fervent prayers.”

“I felt like I was transported from Dante's Inferno to John Bunyan's Celestial City within a matter of moments.”

*Had the zombie actors & actresses been walking with the Lord, rather than pretending to be the Walking Dead, then both the National Day of Prayer & the Walking Dead TV series would have had a very different flavor!

Likewise, the Church can follow the right path IF we are Joined To The Lord!

Some of you are missing out on your responsibility to the Lord God!...You are going about it in the wrong way...You’re going about it on your terms & thus without Jesus! God may have showed up but you did not recognize the opportunity.

Lk. 19:41-44—“Now as He drew near, He saw the city & wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you & close you in on every side, & level you, & your children within you, to the ground; & they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

*The apostle Paul warned the church at Corinth of the inherent danger of sexual immorality.

‘Inherent’= “existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute”

God must be allowed to control our bodies, so...

God’s people must be joined to the Lord.

Why must God be allowed to control our bodies?...& Why must God’s people be joined to the Lord?

4 distinctions emerge from our being joined to the Lord.

We’ve found previously that When you/we are Joined to the Lord...

1. His MASTERY Emerges(:12)

2. His USE/PURPOSE Emerges(:13-14)

3. His MORALITY Emerges(:15-16)

4a. His SPIRIT Emerges(:17-20)[*17-18 only!]

4b. His SPIRIT Emerges(:17-20)[*:19 only!]

Continuing with this thought we find that...

(CONT...)4c—When you/we are Joined to the Lord...

His SPIRIT Emerges(:17-20)[*:20 only!]

:20—“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body & in your spirit, which are God’s.

“For you were bought at a price;”