Be The Bridge

i want to turn your attention to john chapter 14 as well as second kings chapter 5. john 14 we'll read one verse there verse 6 and we will read six verses in second kings chapter five we'll skip around in that chapter a little bit thankful to be able to bring the word of the lord this morning and feel something that's been on my heart for a while not necessarily in this sermon format but there's the themes of this sermon have been just percolating in my spirit for weeks so from john 14 and verse 6 jesus said to him the disciples whom he was talking to believe it was philip here i am the way jesus said i am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me no one comes to the father but by me jesus said we've got to go through jesus got to go through jesus second kings chapter 5 i'm going to read verses 1 2 and 3.

skip to verses 9 and 10 and then skip to verse 14. now naaman commander of the army of the king of syria was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master because by him the lord had given victory to syria he was also a mighty man of valor but he was a leper and the syrians had gone out on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of israel and she waited on naaman's wife then she said to her mistress if only my master the leper were with the prophet who is in samaria for he would heal him of his leprosy verse nine then naaman went with horses and chariot and he stood at the door of elisha's house and elisha sent messengers to him saying go and wash in the jordan seven times and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean verse 14.

so he went down and dipped seven now don't because i skipped the part where he like argues about that don't think that he just immediately went he was like surely this man knows who i am surely there's much better waters than this jordan muddy jordan river i skipped that part but there was a little bit of fighting that happened so naaman went down and he dipped seven times in the jordan according to the saying of the man of god and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean the leper from verse 1 is now in verse 14 the clean soldier what was the connection what is it that caused the change between the leper of verse 1 and the clean soldier in verse 14. it was the little maid that made a connection she became a bridge from what was the point of his greatest need she made a connection she was the bridge that overcame that separation that sickness that disease and connected him to the man of god who could perform miracles by the power of

god so today i want to preach to us be the bridge be the bridge we're being the church this year and part of being the church is being the bridge being the bridge that connects somebody from the point of their greatest need to the one who can help them who can problem solve who can heal them who can save them we get to be the bridge would you lift your voice right now and just ask that the lord would speak and call and affirm some things in this room today god i thank you lord i thank you for what you're already doing i thank you for the call that has already been established here today lord you are drawing hearts already you've done it before 9 a.m this morning you've been doing it for weeks you've been speaking into spirits and and you and compelling hearts and compelling action from each of us and today we're going to be sensitive to you and we are going to respond and i thank you lord i thank you jesus thank you for what you're going to do

in jesus name amen and you can be seated what is a bridge well in 605 craftsman lee chun completed construction on what is now the oldest standing bridge in china not yet picture thank you though you're on it and thank you the oldest standing bridge in china it's actually called the anji bridge a-n-j-i i think that's how you pronounce it i'm not sure i didn't get my degree in mandarin it's called wolf for sake of me having the microphone on g bridge its name literally means safe crossing which is what it provided for those merchants when it was built in 605 it provided access for merchants to be able to trade it provided access to another part of the city that had previously been cut off because of the tributary that ran through that city it means safe crossing a bridge is and should be a safe crossing because a bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle such as a body of water or a valley or a road even without closing the way underneath it provides a passage over the obstacle

it's constructed entirely for this purpose it's the obstacle is usually something that is otherwise difficult or impossible to cross a bridge carries a pathway over a depression or obstacle a bridge is a means of connection bridges are all about connection did anybody drive over a bridge to get here this morning if you came from illinois hopefully you did you didn't paddle or have to take a ferry i don't even think we have ferries because we have so many bridges bridges are all about connecting they connect counties such as the page extension bridge which connects st louis and saint charles county or the daniel boone bridge that i have the privilege of driving over every day bridges connect cities such as the bay bridge in california uniting san francisco with oakland bridges connect states such as our very own jefferson barracks bridge the poplar street bridge the stan mutual veterans memorial bridge the eads bridge the mckinley bridge macarthur bridges all of those bridges are downtown except for the jefferson barracks one bridges give us access they provide a means of connecting one place to another

and a bridge is firmly cemented on one side stretching over the separation the obstacle the chasm or the canyon and firmly cemented on the other side there's two places where this bridge is securely connected on one side of the obstacle and then again on the other and bridges give us access in my study for this message i researched the number of active bridges in st louis county i found that st louis county has roughly 55 bridges i was impressed too caleb 55 wow that's quite a few doesn't even count all of the overpasses for highways particularly these bridges are ones that the railroad uses or span over a body of water even as small as the gravoy creek that bridge was on there right over at green park and rivas that one was on the list 55 bridges in st louis the oldest of these is the edes bridge downtown 147 years 1874 it was built the youngest is was built in 2014 the stan mutual veterans memorial bridge st louis has 55 bridges and i would just pose this question to you this morning

what if saint louis had no bridges some of you wouldn't be here because you you had to cross a bridge to get here you've already raised your hand our com our commutes wouldn't be as nearly as convenient as they currently are in our apc family that lives in illinois would require that ferry to cross the mississippi river and for some of us a commute to work would require a ferry and that's just too complicated but in the same way in the same way that natural bridges are put in place to connect a path over a depression or an obstacle usually something difficult or impossible to cross there are spiritual bridges that are built for the same purpose as natural bridges are about connection so are spiritual bridges we live in a world that is tainted by sin and the effects of the fall of the garden of eden numerous chasms and obstacles present themselves along our journey of life sin storms struggles sicknesses despair fear and anxiety grief and addiction emotional trauma they all separate us from and become obstacles and we all encounter them

we all encounter them but i'm thankful today to be able to stand here to remind you that we serve the great bridge builder he doesn't leave us without hope floundering in desperation on one side of an expanse that's too wide for us to cross on our own no he's a god of connection and he has made a way when there seems to be no way he is the great bridge builder this morning in the old testament we see bridges like moses moses was a bridge that god provided to the people of israel they were in egypt and there was slavery that was happening and so they were in they needed a bridge out of egypt and god said all right i'm going to send my servant moses and he's going to be the bridge he's going to be the one that acts in place for you he's going to intercede for you to the the pharaoh and you're going to come out of egypt they needed a bridge and so god provided moses and then the law was established and in order for humanity to

be able to come before god and to present themselves and to be cleansed of their sins there was a sacrificial system which necessitated priests and priests became bridges they bridged the gap between humanity and divinity and the sacrificial system bridged the gap between where humanity was and where god is and then there were the prophets they also could be considered bridges and i'm not listing all of them from the old testament you have esther and you have ruth and you have uh david and hundreds of others that we read about but the prophets were also they spoke for the word of the lord there was a gap there was there was this time of exile and there was this time of disobedience in the life of israel and they needed a connection from where they were to where god wanted them to be and who he had in mind for them to be and thankfully we serve a god who is a great bridge builder and he does not leave us in the predicament that he finds us in but he can put a bridge

in place that can take us from a sickness to a healing he can put a bridge in place that can take us to our lack of need to the provision that we absolutely need he can take us from the place where there's a family struggling there's a rift and he can build a bridge of healing to where there is now wholeness and where there is now completeness that's the bridge builder that we serve he doesn't leave us in that place and probably not probably the absolute greatest canyon and chasm that has been in our life is that created by sin isaiah 59 and verse 2 says but your iniquities have separated you from god there is a separation when we sin there is a separation between us and god but john 14 and verse 6 jesus said i'm the way i'm the truth and i'm the life and no one comes to the father except through me that's an exclusive statement right there but i hear a bridge when i read that that there's a bridge between the sin that is separating where you are

right now the sin that's separating you there's a bridge that can be built there's a bridge that's already died on a cross he shed his blood for our sins bridging the gap between who we used to be and who we are now can we thank him for that today if you're thankful that chasm was bridged why don't you give him praise today god i thank you i thank you today jesus i thank you lord you don't leave us in our sin but you provide it away you provide it away as we journey this path of life and we encounter that deepest and widest canyon of all which is sin the verse tells us that the way to salvation is through the bridge called jesus he's provided safe passage across an otherwise impossible obstacle just try to cure your sin on your own you can't do it we can't manage our sin we need a bridge that connects us from where we are to where god wants us to be through faith through repentance through water baptism in jesus name through the infilling of his spirit

we can pass from death to life we can pass from hopeless to hopeful we can pass from lost to found from bound to free jesus is the bridge to connect you to what you need from him and let me say he builds the bridge right where you are we would say it this way probably you don't have to get good to get god that bridge that he's going to construct is going to come right to where you are you don't have to hide in your sin the way adam and eve did he proved right there i'm going to build a bridge i'll come right to where sin is i'm not afraid of it he's not afraid of our chaos and of our our dirt and of the things that we mess up in no he comes right to where we are maybe i'm preaching to somebody in here today but maybe i'm preaching to somebody watching us online not yet filled with the gift of the holy ghost god wants to build a bridge to right where you are jesus is that bridge that connects

and so whatever cliff edge you find yourself at today jesus provides a bridge of of safety if you're at a canyon of addiction jesus is the connection to deliverance if you've hit an obstacle of disease jesus is the bridge of healing maybe you find yourself on the banks of a raging river of confusion and frustration but jesus is the bridge that connects you to peace into a sound mind if you're at the cliff's edge overlooking the deep valley of sin poor choices and things you wish you could erase that are now obstacles in your path the jesus bridge connects you to salvation and restoration and there's no canyon so wide that god can't reach you there's no person so far that god cannot build a bridge to get to them the person that you're praying for keep praying those prayers are building a bridge of connection to that individual and there's nobody too far there's nobody too far god can find him and he can put a bridge in their path no circumstance of your life makes it impossible for god to build a bridge

because jesus has made a way and paul says in second corinthians chapter 5 verse 18 he says now all things are of god who has reconciled us or let me say it this way reconnected us to himself through jesus christ we've been reconnected by that jesus bridge through jesus christ what about jesus christ well his death his burial and his resurrection which is the plan of salvation it is the gospel our repentance our baptism in jesus name and that resurrection that living coming out and walking in the newness of life that is the bridge that jesus built and paul said we have been reconnected through that jesus bridge and he has given us the ministry of reconciliation that is that god was in christ reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation now then because of that we are ambassadors for christ we are bridges for jesus christ because he built a bridge to us now we build a bridge to someone else you didn't get here on your own you got here

because somebody built a bridge to you maybe it was your parents maybe it was a sunday school teacher maybe it was your first disciple maker who gave you a bible study but you didn't get here on your own they helped to build a bridge to you and now we build a bridge to somebody else we're ambassadors of christ i love i love this passage in second corinthians the last part of chapter 5 verse 20. we are ambassadors we are bridges for christ as though god were pleading through us we implore you on christ's behalf be reconciled to god in fact in other words everybody that we come in contact with we implore you walk across this bridge and be connected to jesus christ be reconnected to the god who made you and the god who loves you and the god who has a purpose for your life we implore you be connected to jesus that's our responsibility god does that through us he does it through you and how does he do it he does it through the relationship and the connections that you already

have this isn't an impossible task it's it's not an impossible ask this morning he'll do it through the relationships that you already have because remember a bridge is cemented it is securely connected in two places first of all our bridge is connected to god we are securely connected to him because we've walked across the bridge and we've experienced salvation or we've walked through some storms and we've found out that god is faithful we crossed that bridge now i'm securely connected because i know god loves me and he has a purpose for me and he's going to take care of me i'm securely connected to god so in my relationships when there is someone that is in need or there is someone that is facing a fearful situation or or they need salvation i'm not only securely connected to god i'm also securely connected to them as well because there's two at least two feet of a bridge i've got to be securely connected to god but i've got to be securely connected to others as well my relationships with people not in this room and

in this room but for the purpose of the message those not in this room are important they are necessary and maybe that's your co-workers maybe that's your unsaved family maybe it's an unsaved husband or wife that does not attend with you securely connected to god and securely connect investing in those relationships and relationships take time and they take work bridges do most of the bridges that i read about i think the quickest one was built in three years y'all that's a long time connections take time but they're worthy of the investment i don't know how long it took to build the jb bridge but boy am i glad they took the time to do so i went to school in dupo i can't even imagine my commute every day i had to get in a little canoe paddle across i would yeah my parents wouldn't have took me to school they walked up hill both ways in the snow i canoed the mississippi i'm sorry connections take time and all i'm saying here is all i'm it's a it's an invest in those relationships invest

in those connections because you never know you never know i don't know how long it's gonna take i don't know what you're gonna have to do to secure that connection i don't know what you're gonna have to do to make that connection more secure in your relationship with that individual but whatever it is take the time make the sacrifice because we're called to be bridges for christ and bridges take time we are employed in god's work of reconciliation when we are the bridge acts chapter 1 and verse eight we like to quote it as as pentecostals and and i hope we never hate it but he says i read this in a different way this week as i was studying you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses i changed it you shall be bridges to me in jerusalem and in all judea and in samaria and to the end of the earth we don't build bridges in our own power we build bridges empowered by the spirit empowered by the holy ghost and he gives

us the he gives us the wisdom to know how to secure this relationship how to secure this connection he gives us the wisdom to know how to help them across that bridge until they find jesus as their savior until they find him as the solution to the problem that they are facing you're going to be bridges for me he said just like the little maid in the story of naaman naaman and his wife the syrian king name and servants and the prophet elisha himself all felt the impact of a little maid who did what she could to connect a need to the answer she was a slave but she was a believer she was a young maid but she was a bridge being a bridge doesn't require years of experience it doesn't require a certain type of personality or particular level of status or wealth it simply requires surrender and faith to take action based on this what i've seen god do for me and for others i know he can do for you that's the motive when we build a bridge saying god did

this for me he built a bridge to me to connect me to him and now i i'm gonna build a bridge to you because i know god can do it in your life and there's nothing impossible in the lives of the people that you have influence with there's nothing impossible that god cannot build a bridge to get from him to them we don't even know her name this bridge has no name but she was fully committed to the lord and she believed wholeheartedly in his power and we must be as well fully committed to that work of reconciliation to that being a bridge and not just being fully committed that but being believing wholeheartedly in the power of jesus christ to meet the need in whatever chasm you're building a bridge this little maid in the story of naaman gives us all kinds of hints of how to be the bridge one thing she did was she expressed her faith as her mistress expressed her anxiety over her husband's leprosy now we don't read that in the story but i can just imagine that the

wife of naaman was perplexed over his situation that she was fretting over the fact that her husband was a leper and there was no known cure at the time for this disease but when that little maid heard those worries heard those fears and anxieties she did what we can do she then expressed faith as her friend expressed fear so when we get in a room with co-workers or with neighbors or maybe even complete strangers and they begin expressing anxiety over a problem that they are dealing with we can express our faith in god and build a bridge we can connect them to his power his sovereignty his friendship his love and his peace the golden gate bridge in san francisco when it was built san francisco was not the growing vital city that we know today by connecting san francisco to the other bay communities the bridge changed everything industry economy tourism and more practical transportation routes a bridge changes everything your connection to other people's lives can change everything your relationships with others can connect them with what they need the most many experts

believe that the golden gate bridge could not be built because of extreme wind and fog but engineers were able to overcome these barriers setting an example for future construction in other so-called impossible to build locations you may assume today that you can't be the bridge that connects people to god's plan and his purpose for their lives because there's turmoil in your own or their struggles and storms in your own life but even though it may seem impossible with god nothing is impossible don't believe the lie of your flesh or the lie of the devil that because of extreme wind and fog in your life that you can't be used by god to help others connect to him as we surrender and we take that step of faith that brother linder talked to us about we can overcome those barriers and we can be the bridge even in impossible to build scenarios the roebling suspension bridge is in cincinnati ohio and it was the prototype for the picture on the right the brooklyn bridge the roebling was basically a practice bridge for the brooklyn bridge without

the roebling the brooklyn would likely never have happened it gave the designers and engineers the opportunity to learn about suspension bridge construction in a less challenging area than new york's east river without the roebling bridge the brooklyn bridge would not exist and as of 2018 the brooklyn bridge provides connection for an average of over a hundred and sixteen thousand vehicles thirty thousand pedestrians and three thousand cyclists each day the roebling influenced the building of the brooklyn and my point with this is you never know whose life will be impacted because you provided a connection for someone brother marvin walker decided to be the bridge after he met a 13 year old kid in southern illinois he made a connection and he invited him to church the 13-year-old came but brother walker's bridge didn't end there he had connected him to the church but then he invited the boy to the altar he bridged the gap between attending and participating he brought the 13 year old to the altar and god filled that little boy with the holy ghost and now 54 years later that once

13 year old boy is the global missions director of the united pentecostal church brother bruce howell because of the marvin walker bridge the bruce howell bridge exists connecting hundreds and thousands around the world to the gospel you just don't know what that bridge you build may bring you just can't even imagine what influence you have with an individual can be multiplied to others don't undervalue the connections that you are making you don't know what god might do when you offer yourself and decide to be the bridge securely connected to god but securely connected to others i've found in my life i don't have so much problem with with this side of the bridge with this secure connection i'm connected to god i try to pray every day and be in his word every day and spend time with him and be faithful to his house i've fortified this side of the bridge pretty good but where i fail and maybe you're like me i don't do so good on this side whether it's my own fear or insecurity or my distractions sometimes i'm not too

good at being the bridge but i tell you what's been happening over the last year so is that god has been drawing me and compelling me and i have felt it in this church over the last several months that god is drawing us he is compelling us to secure some connections with our neighbors or with our co-workers i wonder if you would just find a place to pray right now you can turn and kneel in your seat or this altar is open please honor social distancing or you can stand or patient and eye open but can we pray about our connections to others god help us to be the bridge that someone can cross to receive the salvation that they need help us god mercy help us god nations he is offer yourself to him to be the bridge god i'm gonna be the bridge so you're gonna give me the help that i need lay some soul upon my heart god love that soul through me if i'm able to do my part and be the bridge i'll win that soul to you i'll

connect them to you to see with compassion to see with mercy the kindness of the savior they need the help that you've received just be the bridge just connect them to the one who can help them you don't have to be their savior you don't have to have all the answers you can connect them to the one that does