ONE IS
THE LONELIEST NUMBER
I SCENES of Loneliness
A. SCRIPTURE
1. David – Psalm 142:4
4 Look to
the right and see; For there is no one
who regards me. There is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul.
2. Jeremiah – Jeremiah 9:2 – called the WEEPING Prophet
3. Paul – II Timothy 4:16
16 At my first defense no one
supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be
counted against them.
4. Joseph – Genesis 49: 33, 50:1
33 When
Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his
people.
1 Then
Joseph fell on his father's face, and wept over him and kissed him.
B. SOCIETY - 2008
It comes to all of us sooner or later. Friends die, family dies, lovers and husbands, too. We get old; we get sick….In a society where people live in impersonal cities or suburbs, where electronic entertainment often replaces one-to-one conversation, where people move from job to job, province to province, and marriage to marriage, loneliness has become and epidemic. Morris West
1. Single Adults
2. Spouses
3. Survivors of death, divorce
4. Seniors
5. Sufferers
6. Servants of God
II SERIOUSNESS of Loneliness
“There is no more destructive influence on physical and mental health that the isolation of you from me and of us from them.” Studies show loneliness is a central agent of depression, paranoia, suicide, and a wide variety of diseases. We’ve all seen the polls that point to shorter life spans for lonely people. And when surveys are taken to discover the central concerns of society, loneliness nearly always tops the list. We were created for fellowship, and deprival of it is deadly.
Loneliness is a LONGING for COMPLETENESS.
III SLAYING Loneliness
1. ACKNOWLEDGE your loneliness
- What did
Joseph do? WEEP
2. BOLSTER your faith
- Do you know Jesus as Friend and Forgiver?
- Who is always with us?
- What resources do we have?
- What does Philippians 4:19 promise?
3. CRAVE God’s word
Psalm
27: 10 - For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the LORD
will take me up.
Hebrews
13: 5-6 - Make sure that your character is free from the love of
money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL
NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," 6 so that we
confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL
MAN DO TO ME?"
D. DEPEND on your network of Christian friends.
“ Every time the word “Saint” appears in the Bible, it’s always in the pleural.” David Jeremiah
Why? Christian individualism is an oxymoron
GOD WORKS THROUGH PEOPLE INTERTWINED TOGETHER
WE NEED EACH OTHER………
1. To WAIT and WEEP with
“ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Romans 12:15
2. To WATCH out for
“ Each of you should look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4
3. To WORK with
“ Two people are better that one, because they get more done by working together.” Ecclesiastes 4: 9
4. To WITNESS with
“ I will know that you stand firm in the Spirit, contending as one for the faith of the Gospel.” Philippians 1:27
E. EYE out for those who are estranged and alienated