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Living Hope SDA Church

Christian Martin

Unveiling the Ultimate Love Triangle

You know, when God is love, He is the God that I can't wait to just run to as fast as I can and just fall in His arms.

And today we're in His presence and He's here with us.

You know, a recent analysis by a leading psychologist at the University of Virginia, he finds that active conservative Protestants who regularly attend church are 35% less likely to divorce compared to those who have no affiliation.

On the other hand, nominal unchurched Christians are actually 20% more likely than the general population to get divorced.

Now putting divorce rates aside, other findings show that Other findings show that friendships have declined in the last several decades.

35% of US adults report that they have less than 3 close friends, while 12% have none at all.

And this is according to Civic Science poll results from January of last year.

That's roughly 40 million people who claim not to have any close friends.

And what does it say about our greatest need?

Not just as families, individuals, church even, but as a society, as a culture.

And my message today is entitled, Unveiling the Ultimate Love Triangle.

Father in heaven, we're going to acknowledge you as we open your word.

It's the Holy Spirit who speaks through the living word.

And so that's why, Lord, we find it necessary to once again just simply acknowledge you and pray that as we open the word of God that your Holy Spirit would minister to our hearts and unveil to us the message that you would have us take home and take to heart.

Did you know that friendships and our spiritual and emotional well-being are linked together, are closely linked?

Klenn and Phyllis Hill in their book, The Connections Code.

Connection codes conclude that we are coded from birth for relationship, for connection, for functioning interdependently with each other.

We were created to coexist, to live together.

Each of us is coded, you know, hardwired to or for relational connection with other humans.

And that's because He created us to be interpersonal creatures, to have friendship with God, yes, and with 1 another.

Yet as we look around, as we look at our generation, as we look at our culture, we're more likely to have lost friends than to have gained them by a significant amount.

And among husbands and wives in our generation, in our society, in our culture, 53% of marriages in 2023 turned to divorce.

So what is happening to human connections?

After all, if God hardwired us that way, if he wired us to be social beings, why these stats?

Why is there a disconnect and not only among those in the world and those out there.

No, I'm talking about even within these walls.

I'm even going as far as to say that 1 could argue that those in the world are doing a little bit better in connecting than many of the saints, than many of those within the church.

What can lead to an enduring joy when it comes to any kind of relationship?

And during this season of love, we're not just going to focus on marriage because we're on a different journey.

Any type of relationship, whether you're married or single, how does 1 experience positive emotions and connections with people as God wired us to be, as God designed us to be, whether it be with our very own spouse or with even with others.

How do we have those connections that are healthy, vibrant, and loving?

Well, the biblical answer might surprise you.

Luke chapter 14 is the context, the passage that we'll be given attention to today.

And as with any story, the context is important.

And in this instance, in Luke chapter 14, it's a great multitude that is following Jesus.

Let's just stop there and unpack that a little bit.

And the multitude of Jesus' followers is even greater today.

If it was great back then, it's even greater today.

I appreciate an amen, but it may not be exactly what you might be thinking.

You see, there's a fine difference, and I say fine, fine difference, between being another person who follows Jesus And on the other hand, being a follower of Jesus.

You can be a man, a woman, that follows Jesus.

And in every congregation, there's a mix of both.

According to a report that was published in early January last year by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, talking about great multitudes, there is an estimated 2.3 billion Christians worldwide.

2.3 billion Christians 2.3 billion Christians worldwide.

But as we take a closer look, we'll discover that a significant number of them are what is being termed nominal unchurched Christians.

When asked to describe their Christian faith, nominal unchurched Christians, 6% acknowledge that they're questioning their faith.

31% say they're not currently practicing it.

And 32% say they aren't particularly devout.

And so, there's a labeling of Christian, but that's about it.

And so as it is today, so it was in the days of Jesus.

Great multitudes followed Jesus because it was a trendy thing to do.

In fact, just 1 evidence of that would simply be this, that we go from 1 instance, there's great multitudes throwing their garments upon the road with palm trees saying, the Lord, he is king, let's crown him, Hosanna to the name of the 1 who comes in the name of the Lord.

And it was those same voices, same voices that less than 10 days later are saying crucify him, crucify him.

Great multitudes follow Jesus and in every age in some aspects it's the popular thing to do But that's the extent.

And while there are many times, and believe me, many times, and you can see it for yourself throughout the Gospels, When Jesus said things that comforted the disturbed, he said it often.

We can find examples of that in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

He came to speak words of encouragement, of affirmation, of healing words that would comfort those disturbed.

But while he did that often, he also often said things that disturbed the comfortable.

And in this particular moment, it's a good case in point.

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Unveiling the Ultimate Love Triangle

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