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BUILDING BRIDGES
Imagine…
1. Why build them? (Rom 12:6)
a. Trade / opportunities
b. Enhanced
c. Help
d. Friendship (racial, cultural, gender, economic, educational,
religion)
e. A new world
f. Test and strengthen the bridge
2. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it (Pr 6:4)
a. Avoiding the inevitable
b. Procrastination
c. Proactive initiative
d. The bridge needs to be built first before you can cross it!
3. Bridge over troubled waters (Umgeni)
a. (Paul) Simon (of Simon and Garfunkel)
b. What did Paul and Simon say?
c. Is there a “Peace Bridge”?
d. What about water under the bridge? (Job 11:16)
4. Bridging the Gap
a. Generational Gap
b. How to make the connection
c. Consistency – or don’t bring them onto the people’s planet!
5. Burning your bridges!
a. No retreat!
b. Advancing to victory
c. The risk
d. No looking back
6. Unity Bridge (the Mayor)
a. That’s what a bridge does
b. Bridging the racial divide – why?
c. How? Skills
d. B.R.I.D.G.E.
7. Crossing over
a. Who wants to be “medium”? “Mediocre – half way up the
mountain!
b. Medium or Media or Mediator?
c. The occult bridge – creating demon traffic
8. The Cross is the Bridge that you must cross over!
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Moral Minute
Check Up
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1. Just imagine that beyond your grasp lies something of immense value, but
it’s just out of reach…
Have you watched those movies where the hero gets locked up and he tries
to hook the keys from guard while the guard is sleeping…
Or pioneers who are breaking thru jungle territory to new frontiers, and they
have to chop a tree down to bridge the raging river…
That’s what we would like to look at today:
 Building bridges that will add VALUE to who we are thru new
friendships, and will also increase our reach
 Building bridges to obtain keys that will bring greater freedom to who
we are
 Building bridges for the thrill of entering new frontiers
Romans 12:16 (MsgB)
Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with
nobodies; don't be the great somebody.
2. For many of us, we live life in the seclusion and isolation of our culture and
experience and we never venture out beyond these invisible borders. We
never break ground into a new frontier because we say, “I’ll cross that bridge
when I come to it.” And whilst there is merit in not worrying about tomorrow,
there is something so skilful about anticipating the inevitable, where we take
proactive initiative. The problem for us many times is that we say we will cross
the bridge when we come to it, but when we do come to it we see that it hasn’t
been built yet! And sometimes putting off to tomorrow what can be done to
day is procrastination, and what happens is that your world starts to get
hemmed in with all kinds of excuses about why we never got around to doing
certain things, just because we wont cut a tree down to bridge a raging river,
and get across to the other side, a side that holds opportunity, perhaps the
promised land. And in the same way, just like we tend to bump into life and
take it as it comes, so too, we do not take the initiative to build relational
bridges, and so we stay stuck in our ruts, never challenged out of our comfort
zones, saying, “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.” But friends, what you
and I need to recognize, particularly in South Africa, is that those bridges that
were meant to bridge the racial divide were never built, so when you do, (Q)
“cross the bridge when you come to it” (EOQ), you will find that there is no
bridge, and the responsibility lies with you and I to energetically and
proactively build these bridges that can add such value to who we are as
people… Proverbs 6:4 (NLT)
Don't put it off. Do it now! Don't rest until you do.
3. Way back in the 1970’s, Paul Simon, of Simon and Garfunkle wrote that
famous song, “Bridge over troubles waters”. In it he says, “When you're
weary, feeling small, When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all; I'm on
your side. When times get rough. And friends just can't be found, Like a
bridge over troubled water. I will lay me down.” Goes onto to say, “Sail on
silvergirl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
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All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine
If you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.”
Is there a Peace Bridge? Does it really have to be a “silver girl”, the needle of
a drug-loaded syringe that will ease your mind?
Jesus said, John 16:33 (NIV)
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In
this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the
world." To overcome just simply means to come over and make it to the other
side. Jesus said there will be troubled waters, but he has made a bridge for
you to come over, and it’s not drugs…
Paul Simon said this
What did Paul and Simon say?
Paul said, Philip. 4:6 (MsgB)
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises
shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
Simon says, “1 Peter 4:12-13
Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion
that God isn't on the job. [13] Instead, be glad that you are in the very
thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process,
with glory just around the corner.
Perhaps one of the best ways we can deal with the troubled waters of our
lives is if we see that as water under the bridge. Job 11:16 (NLT)
You will forget your misery. It will all be gone like water under the bridge.
4. The challenge for so many parents is how to bridge the generational gap
without becoming cheezy!
You ought not to lose touch with your kids…
I spoke about a treasure that’s out of reach or keys that are out of reach, but
here are 3 keys on how to make the connection and keep the connection with
your kids
1. Give – time, attention and discipline. I remember when Aquilla was 3
years old…
2. Appreciate and admire. Affirm and praise your kids. Believe in them,
and let them know it
3. Promises – keep them! Be consistent!
5. You may have heard the statement, “burning your bridges”. To Burn your
bridges is to be committed to a course of action from which it is impossible to
withdraw. A Roman practice of burning bridges after the army had crossed
over, with no hope of retreat. The phrase emphasis the high risk element; a
daring venture made all the more hazardous by an “all or nothing” action.
In South Africa, whilst we must remember so that we don’t repeat past
atrocities, we will never move on if we keep living in the past, or retreating to
the past to establish our value. Paul said this: Philip. 3:13 (NLT)
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No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing
all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to
what lies ahead,
That’s why ancestors will keep us trapped in our past because they haven’t
lived our future!
We have to advance to victory…there is no retreat
(Cross the Rubicon): to take a step or decision from which there is no
turning back. In 49BC Caesar crossed the Rubicon river into Italy fully aware
that this constituted a declaration of war. His words were, “The die is cast.”
And though this is attributed to Caesar, he was quoting a well known Greek
proverb of Meander from 300BC. Once the die has been thrown the player
must reconcile himself to the outcome. He cannot throw the dice again
6. Unity Bridge (with the Mayor)
How do you build bridges with
1. your spouse
2. your children
3. your work colleagues
4. your neighbours
5. other ethnic groups
Of course in Durban you just need to love curry, and you’re in!
1. Bend, and bend an ear! You have to change. No change, no change.
Be flexible. Be humble. Compromise. Psalm 86:6 (MsgB) Pay
attention, God, to my prayer; bend down and listen to my cry for help. 1
Cor. 8:2 (MsgB) but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more
than our proud minds. 1 Peter 3:8 (NLT) Finally, all of you should be of
one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with
tender hearts and humble minds.
2. Reconcile – forgive. Ephes. 4:32 (MsgB) Be gentle with one another,
sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in
Christ forgave you.
3. Invite the uninvited. Luke 14
4. Dialogue – ongoing communication. Ephes. 4:29 (GW) Don't say
anything that would hurt {another person}. Instead, speak only what is
good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what
you say will help those who hear you.
5. Generosity: Luke 16:9 (NLT) I tell you, use your worldly resources to
benefit others and make friends. In this way, your generosity stores up
a reward for you in heaven. Believe in people – if you honestly believe
that we came from monkeys you will never treat people the way they
are meant to be valued! If you believe that we came from monkeys
there will always be part of you that still keeps throwing peanuts!
Eccles. 11:1 (MsgB) Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity
yields high returns.
6. Empathize – enter their world. Connect, communicate, commune
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7. We’ve all probably seen these programs where people consult mediums to
get in touch with the dead. They call it “crossing over”. But Job says, 33:18
(NLT) He keeps them from the grave, from crossing over the river of
death.
Leviticus 19:31 (MsgB)
"Don't dabble in the occult or traffic with mediums; you'll pollute your
souls. I am God, your God.”
Leviticus 20:6 (MsgB)
"I will resolutely reject persons who dabble in the occult or traffic with
mediums, prostituting themselves in their practices. I will cut them off
from their people.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be “medium”. And if you consult a
medium, you will be medium. Have you ever wondered why the fortune teller
who is going to tell you your fortune, is in a caravan on the side of the road?
You know the word “mediocre” originates from two words that mean half way
up the mountain!...
Do you want a medium or a mediator? You don’t want to dabble in darkness
and build an occult bridge for demon traffic. A mediator is a bridge builder who
will confront you with the truth and not sell you out on the “tall, dark stranger”
syndrome!
1 Tim. 2:5 (NLT)
For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God
and people. He is the man Christ Jesus.
And you and I are to be bridge builders who reconcile people…
8. There is a huge divide between God and man because of sin…
The cross is the bridge that closes that divide!
Ephes. 2:16 (MsgB)
Christ brought us together through his death on the Cross. The Cross
got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility.
Col. 1:22 (MsgB)
But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for
you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together,
whole and holy in his presence.
You need the cross to get across – the cross is the bridge
2 Cor. 5:18-21 (NLT)
All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself
through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling
people to him. [19] For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to
himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the
wonderful message he has given us to tell others. [20] We are Christ's
ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as
though Christ himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to
God!" [21] For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for
our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.