WEBVTT 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:06.799 Hey all, Pastor John here. Thanks for tuning 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.980 in to the weekly sermon podcast. We pray this 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.740 message encourages you, strengthens your faith, 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:15.359 and helps you to take your next step with Jesus. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.359 If this content blesses you and you'd like to 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:20.500 be a part of helping us continue to bring the 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:22.960 gospel to life, we'd love for you to consider 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.079 supporting the ministry of village. Your generosity 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:28.579 makes it possible for us to keep creating and 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:31.670 sharing resources like this podcast. You can 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:35.770 give safely and easily by visiting sacvillage 00:00:35.770 --> 00:00:39.390 .org slash give, or by heading to our website 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:43.350 at sacvillage .org. Thanks again for listening. 00:00:43.909 --> 00:00:54.429 Now let's dive into this week's message. Amen. 00:00:54.609 --> 00:00:57.409 Well, we've been in our series true and better. 00:00:57.469 --> 00:00:59.950 And today we're going to talk about communal. 00:01:00.170 --> 00:01:03.090 not isolated. How many of you guys know that 00:01:03.090 --> 00:01:07.810 we live in the most connected generation in all 00:01:07.810 --> 00:01:10.510 of history? And I'm gonna actually put quotes 00:01:10.510 --> 00:01:13.030 around that, connected generation. We're connected 00:01:13.030 --> 00:01:16.590 in some way. You may not know this, but 20 to 00:01:16.590 --> 00:01:20.790 27 billion internet connected devices exist in 00:01:20.790 --> 00:01:24.200 the world. That's a couple for every single human 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:26.560 being on the planet, right? I mean, I don't know 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:28.719 about you guys, but I have a light bulb that 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.379 is connected to the internet. Like if I wanted 00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:32.500 to pull out my phone, I could turn it on and 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:35.180 off my light bulb right now. It's somehow connected 00:01:35.180 --> 00:01:37.920 to the interwebs, right? Me and my wife had the 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:41.379 opportunity to travel to Ireland many years back, 00:01:41.620 --> 00:01:43.500 about almost a decade ago. And while we were 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:46.280 there, we were able to call in to our staff who 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:48.939 were back in Bakersfield, California, and video 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:51.840 chat with them. We were able to connect and communicate. 00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:54.159 My son lives in Montana right now. I could pull 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:56.280 out my phone and whatever he's doing right now, 00:01:56.379 --> 00:01:59.340 I could connect with him through my phone or 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:02.799 through video. We can talk to anyone. We can 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:05.480 talk to any place on the earth and we can do 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:10.669 it nearly instantly. We can curate an online 00:02:10.669 --> 00:02:13.250 version of ourselves. I don't know if you guys 00:02:13.250 --> 00:02:15.409 remember back when Instagram first launched, 00:02:15.449 --> 00:02:17.710 but I was doing some youth ministry at the time, 00:02:17.969 --> 00:02:20.469 and the youth girls particularly would have Instagram, 00:02:20.789 --> 00:02:22.469 and what they would do is they'd post a picture 00:02:22.469 --> 00:02:24.270 of themselves, and they'd say something like, 00:02:24.349 --> 00:02:26.729 hey, I might take this down later. And so you'd 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:28.449 go onto their Instagram account, and there'd 00:02:28.449 --> 00:02:32.129 be like one photo. out of their whole timeline, 00:02:32.229 --> 00:02:34.449 one photo of them, and then later they put up 00:02:34.449 --> 00:02:35.870 a photo and they take down the old photo, and 00:02:35.870 --> 00:02:39.050 they have like one curated version of themselves 00:02:39.050 --> 00:02:41.110 that they wanted to put down there with, you 00:02:41.110 --> 00:02:43.110 know, the provision that maybe later I don't 00:02:43.110 --> 00:02:45.169 like that one anymore, and I'm gonna show you 00:02:45.169 --> 00:02:47.210 something else that I want. Well, we do that 00:02:47.210 --> 00:02:51.090 now just instinctively on the internet. You choose 00:02:51.090 --> 00:02:53.949 which photos you're going to put up on your social 00:02:53.949 --> 00:02:57.150 media. Some of you probably take 10 versions 00:02:57.150 --> 00:02:59.590 of it and select the best. Some of your phones 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:02.599 can mold photos together to make the perfect 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:06.180 image of you or others around you. You guys know 00:03:06.180 --> 00:03:08.159 what I'm talking about, right? Some of you are 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:10.000 like, no, I don't do that. I never participate. 00:03:10.139 --> 00:03:12.840 They're like, no thanks. And that sounds horrible. 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:17.020 Good for you, right? But there are people all 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:19.340 across the world curating versions of themselves 00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:23.400 online. Anyone can pull out their phone. One 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:24.919 of you could pull your phone right now and go 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:28.719 live on YouTube and broadcast out your thoughts 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:31.300 and opinions on anything right now, and you could 00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:36.099 gain a worldwide following. The most connected 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:41.199 generation in human history, and yet, loneliness 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:48.229 is epidemic. About one in three US adults report 00:03:48.229 --> 00:03:53.370 regularly experiencing loneliness. It's a phenomenon 00:03:53.370 --> 00:03:56.430 that is linked to significant mental and physical 00:03:56.430 --> 00:03:59.930 health risks. Surveys consistently show that 00:03:59.930 --> 00:04:02.689 a majority of adults report lacking a sense of 00:04:02.689 --> 00:04:05.770 belonging in at least one area, key area of their 00:04:05.770 --> 00:04:07.689 life, whether it's the workplace or community 00:04:07.689 --> 00:04:12.569 or broader society. And what is our culture's 00:04:12.569 --> 00:04:15.729 consistent solution to this sense of loneliness? 00:04:15.909 --> 00:04:19.670 Well, it's leaning in even more to rugged, radical 00:04:19.670 --> 00:04:25.189 individualism. But scripture, on the other hand, 00:04:25.329 --> 00:04:30.430 invites us into a very different story. Not isolated 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:34.649 self -creation, not identity by group coercion 00:04:34.649 --> 00:04:38.089 or control, but identity that is formed through 00:04:38.089 --> 00:04:42.240 gospel -shaped community. And this morning, that's 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:45.959 what we're talking about. We're saying your identity 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:50.800 is formed in the people of God, not privately 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:54.220 constructed and not socially engineered, but 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:57.639 shaped through shared life, through mutual encouragement, 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:00.939 through loving correction and through faithful 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:06.480 presence. See, if identity is formed alone, all 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:11.750 by yourself, then no one can challenge you. And 00:05:11.750 --> 00:05:16.370 if identity is imposed by the group, you must 00:05:16.370 --> 00:05:19.389 act this way. You must behave this way, otherwise 00:05:19.389 --> 00:05:24.269 you're out. Then no one can truly know you. But 00:05:24.269 --> 00:05:27.329 if identity is formed in Christ among his people, 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:30.009 then transformation is possible without losing 00:05:30.009 --> 00:05:35.170 yourself. See, in Christ, you are known fully 00:05:35.170 --> 00:05:39.350 and secured eternally. And among his people, 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:43.120 you are shaped gradually without being swallowed 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:47.600 up by the group. So the New Testament says God 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.839 is forming a people, and he uses these metaphors, 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:54.819 a people, a body, a household, a family, to try 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:58.000 to communicate something to us. And so here's 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:03.800 a question. Can we claim a gospel -shaped identity 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:09.810 while resisting biblical community? Can we claim 00:06:09.810 --> 00:06:12.350 a gospel -shaped identity while resisting biblical 00:06:12.350 --> 00:06:16.029 community? This sermon is not so much about getting 00:06:16.029 --> 00:06:18.769 more church attendance here or promoting disciple 00:06:18.769 --> 00:06:22.290 groups, which are both great, but this sermon 00:06:22.290 --> 00:06:25.470 is about, really at the root of it, the very 00:06:25.470 --> 00:06:31.269 nature of God himself. God himself is not solitary. 00:06:32.829 --> 00:06:38.379 God has eternally existed as Father, Son, and 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:42.860 Spirit, three distinct persons, one essence, 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:45.480 perfectly united in love. I'm gonna say that 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:48.639 again, because if I say it again, maybe a few 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:50.839 of your heads will just blow up right here, right? 00:06:51.220 --> 00:06:53.279 And we'll start the cleanup, right? Because this 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:57.899 is a crazy, crazy reality of who God is. God 00:06:57.899 --> 00:07:03.600 exists as Father, Son, and Spirit, three persons, 00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:07.569 okay? I can go one, two, three, the three persons, 00:07:08.029 --> 00:07:12.889 but one essence, oh, that's different, an eternally 00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:18.050 existing and perfect unified love. In other words, 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:21.009 or some of the implications is that God did not 00:07:21.009 --> 00:07:26.290 create us or anything out of loneliness. God 00:07:26.290 --> 00:07:27.990 did not create us or anything out of loneliness 00:07:27.990 --> 00:07:32.290 because God was eternally in communion, Father, 00:07:32.350 --> 00:07:35.629 Son, and Spirit. God did not create anything 00:07:35.629 --> 00:07:40.810 out of loneliness. He is relationship. Which 00:07:40.810 --> 00:07:43.709 means community is not a social construct, but 00:07:43.709 --> 00:07:49.889 a reflection of the very being of God. And isolation 00:07:49.889 --> 00:07:51.850 then on the other hand is an inconsequential. 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:59.370 Isolation is creationally incomplete. and we 00:07:59.370 --> 00:08:01.370 move to redemption in Christ. Well, redemption 00:08:01.370 --> 00:08:04.709 doesn't move us away from relationship, but restores 00:08:04.709 --> 00:08:07.910 relationship in Christ. We are not only forgiven, 00:08:08.449 --> 00:08:10.769 but we are adopted and brought into a family 00:08:10.769 --> 00:08:16.449 and joined to a body. Friends, salvation is deeply 00:08:16.449 --> 00:08:22.629 personal, but salvation is never private. How 00:08:22.629 --> 00:08:24.269 many of you guys know that people are messy? 00:08:25.769 --> 00:08:28.029 Right? You have to clean up after people a whole 00:08:28.029 --> 00:08:33.809 lot. People are messy. Community. When you get 00:08:33.809 --> 00:08:36.129 a bunch of people together, we all have different 00:08:36.129 --> 00:08:38.250 preferences. We all have different ways of seeing 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:41.370 the world. And it can get very, very messy. It 00:08:41.370 --> 00:08:44.669 can get very, very intense. Why does community 00:08:44.669 --> 00:08:48.110 feel so intense? Well, community feels intense 00:08:48.110 --> 00:08:52.909 because it presses us into a form of life that 00:08:52.909 --> 00:09:01.600 mirrors God himself. self -giving, mutual, faithful 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:08.820 love. And God invites us into it to heal our 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:16.080 broken identities. The church then is not a random 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:20.620 collection of individuals, autonomous, self -creating 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:24.759 beings who just came here and decided to be in 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:30.929 the same room together. Now the church is a living 00:09:30.929 --> 00:09:36.990 signpost of God's very being and life. Can I 00:09:36.990 --> 00:09:42.610 get an amen? We're not merely doing church. We 00:09:42.610 --> 00:09:46.110 are displaying the eternal nature of God and 00:09:46.110 --> 00:09:50.730 practicing eternity right now. We're being formed 00:09:50.730 --> 00:09:53.289 for the shared life that we were made to have 00:09:53.289 --> 00:09:59.420 with one another and with God. So creation flows 00:09:59.420 --> 00:10:03.759 from relationship, redemption restores relationship, 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:07.480 and salvation brings us and makes us into a people. 00:10:07.539 --> 00:10:09.820 If you're taking notes, I have four points today, 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:12.279 and I'm gonna kind of pick it up a little quicker 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:17.500 now, so buckle up, buttercup, let's go. Number 00:10:17.500 --> 00:10:20.500 one, identity was never meant to be formed alone. 00:10:22.309 --> 00:10:24.429 See, if we want to understand how a Christian 00:10:24.429 --> 00:10:28.110 identity is formed, we start with a sort of creation 00:10:28.110 --> 00:10:29.769 story. We've always had a creation story each 00:10:29.769 --> 00:10:31.649 of the five weeks. We've always gone all the 00:10:31.649 --> 00:10:33.929 way back to Genesis. We have a sort of a creation 00:10:33.929 --> 00:10:37.250 story. This creation story is the birth of the 00:10:37.250 --> 00:10:40.370 church. Oh, the church was born? Yeah, the church 00:10:40.370 --> 00:10:44.899 was born in Acts chapter two. And in Acts chapter 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:48.340 two, the Holy Spirit comes in power at Pentecost. 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:51.700 And then Peter, the apostle who denied Jesus 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:54.620 and ran away, who was restored by Christ, now 00:10:54.620 --> 00:10:57.360 stands up and preaches the good news of Jesus 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:01.919 Christ to anyone who will hear. And the Bible 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.840 says that it cuts to the heart of the people, 00:11:04.059 --> 00:11:06.659 and they say, what should we do in response to 00:11:06.659 --> 00:11:09.720 who Jesus is? And he says, repent and believe. 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:16.539 And Acts two says, about 3 ,000 people joined 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:20.820 the church that day. About 3 ,000 people believed 00:11:20.820 --> 00:11:26.539 and began to follow. Someone counted. Someone 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:29.200 counted and said, there's about 3 ,000 people 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:32.679 who just joins. See, that's why it always strikes 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:35.740 me. Anyone who says, man, numbers, numbers don't 00:11:35.740 --> 00:11:39.500 matter, has totally missed God's fierce love 00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:45.220 for one more prodigal. You know who says, man, 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.000 numbers don't matter. Someone who has a comfortable 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:51.679 seat. Someone who has a comfortable seat that 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:54.700 they want to protect. You know who says one more 00:11:54.700 --> 00:11:57.019 matters? Someone who has a son or daughter who's 00:11:57.019 --> 00:12:00.740 lost. Someone who has a mother or father who 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:05.639 is lost and hell bound. They go, no, I got room 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:07.580 for one more. I'll make room. I'll sit at the 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:11.179 back. Bring a man. Imagine all the people out 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:13.700 there that God wants to reach with the good news 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:16.360 of Jesus Christ. And that's why we're a one more 00:12:16.360 --> 00:12:19.860 church. Unapologetically, we are about the one 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:23.940 more. You all have someone you can think of who's 00:12:23.940 --> 00:12:26.840 far from God. Well, look around. There's a seat 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:31.340 for them. We're saving it for them. Bring them, 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:33.340 invite them, they will have a seat and they will 00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:37.039 hear the good news of Jesus here. Numbers matter 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:39.879 to God because souls matter to God. Someone counted 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:42.100 when the church was born and right at that moment 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:44.279 the church comes alive and then we grab Acts 00:12:44.279 --> 00:12:47.460 2, 42 through 47 and it says that they devoted 00:12:47.460 --> 00:12:49.779 themselves. So this is what those new believers 00:12:49.779 --> 00:12:51.720 and the apostles and the disciples, what did 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:54.320 they do when they first formed up the church? 00:12:54.899 --> 00:12:57.419 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, 00:12:57.820 --> 00:12:59.720 to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, 00:13:00.059 --> 00:13:03.019 and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe and 00:13:03.019 --> 00:13:05.279 many wonders and signs were being performed through 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:08.340 the apostles. Now all the believers were together 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:11.159 and held all things in common. They sold their 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:13.340 possessions and property and distributed the 00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:17.100 proceeds to all as any had need. Every day, they 00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:19.480 devoted themselves to meeting together in the 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:22.200 temple and broke bread from house to house. They 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:25.419 ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:28.519 praising God and enjoying the favor of all people. 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:31.820 Every day, the Lord added to their number those 00:13:31.820 --> 00:13:33.659 who were being saved. Can I get an amen on that 00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:37.679 one? They devoted themselves. That's where it 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:41.340 starts. And devotion implies commitment. It implies 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:45.539 a rhythm, a persistence, shared a life over time. 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.279 And you notice there's no mention of isolated 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:54.759 spirituality. No assumption of a sort of solo 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:59.059 discipleship, I'm going my own way. No vision 00:13:59.059 --> 00:14:04.600 of faith as a private personal project. Their 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:06.799 identity wasn't something they worked out in 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.860 solitude, it was something formed through participation 00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:12.870 in the community. They learned together, they 00:14:12.870 --> 00:14:15.070 ate together, they prayed together, worshiped 00:14:15.070 --> 00:14:17.350 together, they shared their resources together, 00:14:17.669 --> 00:14:19.750 they shared their burdens, and they shared their 00:14:19.750 --> 00:14:22.470 joys, and Acts goes on to say all of them were 00:14:22.470 --> 00:14:24.590 together, and every day they devoted themselves 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:28.450 to meeting in the temple courts, and they broke 00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:33.470 bread from house to house. See, a Christian identity 00:14:33.470 --> 00:14:38.590 emerged from shared life. It's not like they 00:14:38.590 --> 00:14:40.850 had it and then they came into shared life. It 00:14:40.850 --> 00:14:45.549 began to form in them through shared life. C 00:14:45.549 --> 00:14:49.220 .S. Lewis. one of my favorite thinkers, Christian 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:53.779 thinkers of the 20th century and authors. He 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:56.960 was good friends with J .R. Tolkien, the Lord 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:58.240 of the Rings, you guys know Lord of the Rings, 00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:00.639 right? The Chronicles of Narnia, he wrote that 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:03.500 whole series, C .S. Lewis did. Well, he was good 00:15:03.500 --> 00:15:06.879 friends and he had a circle of friends and he 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:10.500 always kind of thought this special group, what 00:15:10.500 --> 00:15:12.519 makes this special group? So he looked at this 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:15.320 group of men that would gather together regularly. 00:15:16.319 --> 00:15:19.080 What makes it tick? What are the inner workings 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:22.279 of how we grow together and we shape and sharpen 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:25.679 one another? And he wrote this in the four loves. 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:27.980 And maybe some of you will resonate with this. 00:15:29.259 --> 00:15:32.460 C .S. Lewis said, in each of my friends, there 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:36.240 is something that only some other friend can 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:41.360 fully bring out. By myself, I am not large enough 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:44.840 to call the whole man into activity. I want other 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:51.580 lights. than my own to show all his facets. What 00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:54.500 Lewis was saying is you cannot fully know a person 00:15:54.500 --> 00:16:00.940 by yourself. It takes a community to reveal a 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:04.399 person. And that means something deeper, too, 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:07.379 that you cannot even really fully know yourself 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:14.000 in isolation. Salvation always moves toward belonging. 00:16:15.750 --> 00:16:18.850 Isolation isn't just a personality trait. It's 00:16:18.850 --> 00:16:21.870 not, well, I'm an introvert, or I'm too busy, 00:16:22.049 --> 00:16:24.350 or it's a stage of life. You know, I'll do that 00:16:24.350 --> 00:16:26.610 when I'm in a different stage of life. Persistent 00:16:26.610 --> 00:16:30.250 isolation actually cuts against the very environment 00:16:30.250 --> 00:16:36.549 God uses to shape his people. You cannot become 00:16:36.549 --> 00:16:43.500 who God is forming you to be by yourself. You 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:46.980 guys ever tried to chop wood with a dull axe? 00:16:48.580 --> 00:16:53.679 Anyone ever tried that? Success? Failure? Yeah, 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:56.460 we live up in Georgetown. We had some firewood 00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:58.720 that needed chopping. We have these oak rounds, 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:00.879 right? And so I had this dull axe, you know, 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:03.460 and I thought, man, you know, these muscles can 00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:06.980 overpower, right? I'll just use my hand, right? 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:12.230 Hi -yah! No, I had this dull axe and I decided 00:17:12.230 --> 00:17:14.009 well, you know, it's got to get done. So here 00:17:14.009 --> 00:17:17.289 we go You know, I swung that axe at that that 00:17:17.289 --> 00:17:20.869 log that that that oak round BAM and hit the 00:17:20.869 --> 00:17:23.250 top and that head the hell the whole axe bounced 00:17:23.250 --> 00:17:26.789 right back at my face Just boom right back. It 00:17:26.789 --> 00:17:28.869 was really dull and the wood was kind of wet 00:17:28.869 --> 00:17:33.490 too. So it was really bouncy and spongy But man 00:17:33.490 --> 00:17:36.390 you ever you ever chopped wood with a sharp axe 00:17:36.390 --> 00:17:40.380 like a really sharp axe nice weighted It just 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:43.519 goes through like butter, doesn't it? Right through 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:49.539 it. But how do you sharpen an axe? How do you 00:17:49.539 --> 00:17:53.839 go from dull to sharp? Or, in my case, useless 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:57.539 to useful, right? You sharpen it, and how do 00:17:57.539 --> 00:17:59.960 you sharpen it? Well, sharpening requires a lot 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:03.400 of friction, doesn't it? And friction generates 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:09.849 a lot of heat. Right? There are things about 00:18:09.849 --> 00:18:14.190 the faith that you will never see alone. There 00:18:14.190 --> 00:18:17.309 are blind spots in your life that remain hidden 00:18:17.309 --> 00:18:21.890 without the friction of community. There are 00:18:21.890 --> 00:18:24.609 habits in your life that will go unchecked on 00:18:24.609 --> 00:18:27.210 and on and on without the benefit of having a 00:18:27.210 --> 00:18:29.130 community of people around you who love you and 00:18:29.130 --> 00:18:32.589 will speak the truth. There are fears that will 00:18:32.589 --> 00:18:35.470 grow in your heart left unchallenged will just 00:18:35.470 --> 00:18:37.430 keep growing and growing until they consume. 00:18:40.029 --> 00:18:44.029 But see, community is where faith is sorted out, 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:48.609 where love takes shape, takes on flesh, and is 00:18:48.609 --> 00:18:51.410 embodied. A community is where repentance and 00:18:51.410 --> 00:18:54.150 forgiveness, where grace and encouragement can 00:18:54.150 --> 00:18:57.670 be practiced. I don't know if you ever thought 00:18:57.670 --> 00:18:59.390 about this, but in Galatians, there's a list 00:18:59.390 --> 00:19:01.890 of the fruit of the Spirit. You guys know the 00:19:01.890 --> 00:19:06.529 fruit of the Spirit, Galatians? Galatians lays 00:19:06.529 --> 00:19:09.799 out the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:12.380 Spirit's life in the believer. What is the fruit 00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:14.240 of the Spirit? Will you ever notice that they're 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:18.700 all relational qualities? All of the fruit of 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:21.660 the Spirit are relational qualities. Love can't 00:19:21.660 --> 00:19:24.359 exist in isolation. Love always has an object. 00:19:24.700 --> 00:19:28.059 Biblical joy isn't some sort of personal euphoria, 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:31.720 it's overflow in shared life. In fact, C .S. 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:34.359 Lewis, I think in Mere Christianity, maybe somewhere 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:37.619 else, he talks about how joy is only half joy 00:19:37.619 --> 00:19:42.259 until it's shared. Joy shared is joy complete. 00:19:45.140 --> 00:19:48.299 Peace, well, peace in scripture is not an emotional, 00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:52.380 therapeutic inner calm. Peace in scripture is 00:19:52.380 --> 00:19:55.660 reconciled relationships. In other words, when 00:19:55.660 --> 00:19:57.680 relationships aren't reconciled, when they're 00:19:57.680 --> 00:19:59.880 in disarray, when there's chaos in relationships, 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:05.019 you're not at peace, amen? Peace, biblical peace, 00:20:05.420 --> 00:20:08.539 the activity of the Spirit giving peace is reconciliation 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:10.240 with God and reconciliation with your brother 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:14.799 and sister. Well patience, when does patience 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.539 show up? Patience only shows up when someone's 00:20:17.539 --> 00:20:20.890 being a pebble in your shoe, right? Patience 00:20:20.890 --> 00:20:24.490 shows up when someone nails on a chalkboard. 00:20:26.589 --> 00:20:29.269 And I could go on, kindness is personal, relational 00:20:29.269 --> 00:20:32.089 action for the benefit of others. Goodness is 00:20:32.089 --> 00:20:34.490 moral integrity expressed in how you treat other 00:20:34.490 --> 00:20:38.430 people. Faithfulness is reliability in your covenants 00:20:38.430 --> 00:20:41.309 and your commitments. Gentleness is strength 00:20:41.309 --> 00:20:43.569 restrained for the sake of another. And self 00:20:43.569 --> 00:20:45.490 -control, well, without relationships, self -control 00:20:45.490 --> 00:20:48.940 has no proving ground. Without relationships, 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:54.720 you're all about the self. Why would the proof 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:58.420 of the spirit's life in us be relational qualities? 00:21:00.460 --> 00:21:05.140 Maybe the spirit is trying to make us for community. 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:08.920 Maybe he's trying to make us for one another. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:13.880 And Acts 2 isn't describing some idolized perfect 00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:17.059 church, it's describing the normal spirit -enabled 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:20.640 Christian life of togetherness. They ate their 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:23.160 food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:26.000 God and enjoying the favor of all people. Every 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:28.160 day the Lord added to their number those who 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:30.920 were being saved. Their life together made the 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:34.200 gospel visible. You go, no, we gotta get out 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:36.319 on the street. We gotta go door to door. We gotta 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:38.619 set up tents and tell people to repent because 00:21:38.619 --> 00:21:41.700 they're heading to hell. No, their life together, 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:44.660 the way that they live together in love, joy, 00:21:44.779 --> 00:21:46.180 peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, 00:21:46.299 --> 00:21:48.460 faithfulness, and self -control, the way they 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:55.900 live together made the gospel visible. It's the 00:21:55.900 --> 00:22:00.200 greatest evangelism technique. Life together. 00:22:02.140 --> 00:22:04.839 Scripture never treats community as an optional 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:09.359 add -on to our faith journey. Because community 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:13.920 is the context in which maturity happens. You 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:15.940 don't grow out of needing the church, you grow 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:20.039 through the church. And Acts 2 doesn't just describe 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:23.079 what they did, it gives us a glimpse of how God 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:27.960 forms identity. Not in isolation, but in devoted 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:32.130 togetherness. If you're taking notes, number 00:22:32.130 --> 00:22:34.710 two, identity is formed through gospel -shaped 00:22:34.710 --> 00:22:38.730 dialogue. So Acts two kind of shows us the environment 00:22:38.730 --> 00:22:40.789 where identity is formed. We're gonna turn over 00:22:40.789 --> 00:22:42.589 to Ephesians four, and it'll show us a little 00:22:42.589 --> 00:22:45.170 bit more about the process how identity is formed. 00:22:45.710 --> 00:22:47.589 And I want you to remember as we look at Ephesians, 00:22:47.849 --> 00:22:50.750 Paul, the apostle, is writing to churches or 00:22:50.750 --> 00:22:54.829 to a church. He's not writing to an isolated 00:22:54.829 --> 00:22:58.470 believer. And he starts this call with therefore, 00:22:58.789 --> 00:23:01.190 in chapter four, verse one, therefore I, the 00:23:01.190 --> 00:23:04.170 prisoner and the Lord, urge you to walk worthy 00:23:04.170 --> 00:23:05.910 of the calling. And a lot of Paul's letters, 00:23:05.970 --> 00:23:07.809 if you're reading Paul's letters, unless they're 00:23:07.809 --> 00:23:10.309 directed to one person, a lot of Paul's letters, 00:23:10.430 --> 00:23:12.509 anytime you say you, you should read it with 00:23:12.509 --> 00:23:16.890 what? Y 'all, right? Get used to getting that, 00:23:17.029 --> 00:23:19.470 your Texas drawl on and saying y 'all, right? 00:23:20.170 --> 00:23:23.359 Because they're all plural. I urge you all to 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:25.880 walk worthy of the calling you all have received, 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:29.259 with all humility, with gentleness, with patience, 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.420 bearing with one another in love, making every 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:35.380 effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through 00:23:35.380 --> 00:23:40.539 the bond of peace. The unity, Paul says, is not 00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:43.579 automatic among the believers. We all know that, 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:48.259 eh? Unity is not automatic. It takes intentional 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:51.480 effort. It takes humility. It takes gentleness. 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:54.660 It takes patience, which proves that community 00:23:54.660 --> 00:23:59.000 is not just for our individual comfort. It proves 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:01.539 that community is actually for our formation 00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:05.359 because he wants to form in us humility, gentleness, 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:09.410 patience. And then Paul goes on to emphasize 00:24:09.410 --> 00:24:12.170 unity and he talks about one body, one spirit, 00:24:12.309 --> 00:24:15.549 one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. But 00:24:15.549 --> 00:24:17.750 then in verse seven, he almost kind of switches 00:24:17.750 --> 00:24:20.809 and begins to emphasize differences. Now grace 00:24:20.809 --> 00:24:26.009 was given to each one of us, that's each of us, 00:24:26.529 --> 00:24:31.029 according to the measure of Christ's gift. So 00:24:31.029 --> 00:24:33.569 what do we have? We have the same body, but different 00:24:33.569 --> 00:24:38.700 parts. We have the same Christ, but among his 00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:43.819 people, distinct callings. And sometimes we try 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:46.980 to collapse that in. Well, our culture says identity 00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:49.359 is formed inside ourselves, and other cultures 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:52.000 in the past have said identity is formed outside 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.640 by the pressures of the group. The group makes 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:57.839 you become something. But scripture actually 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:00.420 gives us a third way. It says that identity is 00:25:00.420 --> 00:25:06.640 formed between us through relationship. through 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:13.339 truth spoken in love, through dialogue. Me and 00:25:13.339 --> 00:25:15.859 my wife that we were talking about last night, 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:21.000 we've known each other for 29 years. This year 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:24.380 in May will be our 25th wedding anniversary. 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:32.339 That's a long time. Amen. But do you know that 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:37.450 in the 25 years I've been married, I have been 00:25:37.450 --> 00:25:45.109 married to many different women. All named Adrienne. 00:25:47.910 --> 00:25:50.230 And do you know, in the 25 years that she was 00:25:50.230 --> 00:25:52.509 married to me, she's been married to me, she's 00:25:52.509 --> 00:25:54.890 been married to many different Johns who have 00:25:54.890 --> 00:25:58.890 my likeness. Maybe a little thinner earlier on. 00:25:59.849 --> 00:26:02.769 Then I kinda had a marshmallow stage. Now I'm 00:26:02.769 --> 00:26:09.490 heading back. She was married to me, but I don't 00:26:09.490 --> 00:26:11.789 know about you, there's lots of yous and lots 00:26:11.789 --> 00:26:18.009 of me's. How did we negotiate that? I mean, when 00:26:18.009 --> 00:26:19.829 you got married, you thought you were marrying 00:26:19.829 --> 00:26:22.829 someone, but that someone changed pretty quickly. 00:26:23.809 --> 00:26:25.809 And then later on, they changed again, and just 00:26:25.809 --> 00:26:27.950 when you figured them out, they changed again. 00:26:28.329 --> 00:26:30.650 How do you stay married in that situation? Well, 00:26:30.769 --> 00:26:33.230 you know how you would stay married? You stay 00:26:33.230 --> 00:26:38.410 married in dialogue. As long as dialogue is open 00:26:38.410 --> 00:26:40.670 and we're talking and we're sharing, as long 00:26:40.670 --> 00:26:42.950 as we're talking about the issues as the kids 00:26:42.950 --> 00:26:44.950 are running around and things are going crazy, 00:26:45.049 --> 00:26:46.930 as everything seems like it's clapping in, we 00:26:46.930 --> 00:26:50.210 keep leaning in and talking. We keep dialoguing 00:26:50.210 --> 00:26:52.829 around the kids, around books, around podcasts 00:26:52.829 --> 00:26:55.269 that we watch, around some stupid reel that she 00:26:55.269 --> 00:26:58.589 always wants to show me from Instagram. Sorry, 00:26:58.769 --> 00:27:02.839 they're good. It's not so much the individual 00:27:02.839 --> 00:27:08.799 reels, it's the quantity of reels. But we're 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:10.920 dialoguing it, we're joking, even that has become 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:13.299 a joke. You know, it's like, how many reels do 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:15.220 you have stored up in your account that you haven't 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:17.720 looked at yet, right? And then we just laugh 00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:22.960 it off, right? Whether it's yard work, whether 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:25.680 we're fixing something together, whether we're 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:27.680 living life, we're out on a date night, we're 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:29.740 celebrating an event, or we're walking through 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:37.329 a tragedy. in dialogue, we shaped and have been 00:27:37.329 --> 00:27:40.750 shaped by one another. And I will tell you today, 00:27:40.930 --> 00:27:44.289 25 years later, we fit together better than ever. 00:27:48.250 --> 00:27:55.690 Yeah, yeah. Amen. I'll give it. We do. Do you 00:27:55.690 --> 00:27:59.440 know what marriage counselors will say? is the 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:03.720 near fatal death nail in a marriage. They call 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:07.640 it contempt. If someone has crossed the line 00:28:07.640 --> 00:28:09.880 into contempt, and contempt is usually marked 00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:14.019 by shutting down dialogue. Instead of talking, 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:17.160 you roll eyes and you walk away. It's nearly 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:19.640 the death nail in all marriages. It's the death 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:21.880 nail in relationship because dialogue no longer 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:25.160 can happen. Friction is no longer allowed to 00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:31.299 shape. You go your separate ways. Paul goes on 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:34.640 in verse 15 of Ephesians to say, speaking the 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:38.759 truth in love, let us grow in every way into 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:43.220 him who is the head, Christ. From him the whole 00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:46.619 body fitted and knit together by every supporting 00:28:46.619 --> 00:28:48.980 ligament promotes the growth of the body for 00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:52.819 the building itself up in love by the proper 00:28:52.819 --> 00:28:55.769 working of each. individual part. Every time 00:28:55.769 --> 00:28:57.630 I read that, I feel like I do need a whiteboard, 00:28:57.890 --> 00:28:59.630 and I need to draw out all the things he's talking 00:28:59.630 --> 00:29:01.230 about and connect them all, because I get a little 00:29:01.230 --> 00:29:03.390 confused in there. But I think we can track here. 00:29:03.569 --> 00:29:07.289 It begins with speaking the truth in love. That's 00:29:07.289 --> 00:29:09.269 where it starts. The foundation is not silence, 00:29:09.549 --> 00:29:12.390 it's not harshness, it's not flattery, it's not 00:29:12.390 --> 00:29:16.609 withdraw, it's truth in love. It's love in truth. 00:29:18.390 --> 00:29:20.829 And what that means is that the Christian community, 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:24.920 cannot affirm everything so that no one feels 00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:28.460 bad in their choices. But that also means that 00:29:28.460 --> 00:29:31.160 the Christian community cannot go around correcting 00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:34.460 everything so that no one ever gets anything 00:29:34.460 --> 00:29:40.279 wrong. Or maybe you've heard this from the personal 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:43.400 interactions in relationship. If you loved me, 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:48.220 I'd feel loved. Anyone ever heard that? You're 00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:52.160 like, is that in the Bible? It sounds. Well, 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:55.140 it's got a lot of love in it, right? If you loved 00:29:55.140 --> 00:29:57.759 me, I'd feel love. But do you know how crazy 00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:02.359 that statement is? Well, first off, we've collapsed 00:30:02.359 --> 00:30:06.940 love into an emotion. Is that what love is? Is 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:10.119 love an emotion? Or does the Bible describe love 00:30:10.119 --> 00:30:14.049 as something else? The second thing is, I don't 00:30:14.049 --> 00:30:17.269 know, when American Idol first came out, I don't 00:30:17.269 --> 00:30:18.890 know if you guys remember American Idol, the 00:30:18.890 --> 00:30:22.490 show about singers? And you'd watch it, and I'm 00:30:22.490 --> 00:30:25.329 a musician at heart, and I love to see talent 00:30:25.329 --> 00:30:27.529 come, and there were some really, really talented 00:30:27.529 --> 00:30:29.769 folks who came across. But then ever so often, 00:30:29.789 --> 00:30:33.210 you would get that one, right? And they'd come 00:30:33.210 --> 00:30:35.809 on, and they'd squawk like a seagull, right? 00:30:35.829 --> 00:30:37.990 Trapped underneath something, right? And they'd 00:30:37.990 --> 00:30:40.069 just go off and off, and they'd be singing their 00:30:40.069 --> 00:30:42.119 heart out, but they'd be like, what? What's going 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:44.339 on? And they'd show the judges, and they're looking 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:46.740 at each other, like, confused and befuddled, 00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:50.980 right? What's happening? And all I could ever 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:55.559 think is, did no one love this poor boy enough 00:30:55.559 --> 00:31:02.220 to tell him that he can't sing? And you go, well, 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:06.900 no, because I didn't want to hurt his... Oh, 00:31:07.500 --> 00:31:10.299 we're not talking about love. if we're talking 00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:13.500 about hurting his feelings. Because I have had 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:16.920 to love my children a lot, and their feelings 00:31:16.920 --> 00:31:20.339 have been hurt by it. I have had to love my children 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:25.220 a lot in ways that they didn't want at the moment, 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:29.200 but they needed. And they may not have felt it 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:33.079 in the moment, but it was still loving. Because 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:37.039 it was self -giving, sacrificial for their benefit. 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:42.579 Christian community is a shared commitment to 00:31:42.579 --> 00:31:46.519 help one another become who we already are in 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:49.319 Christ, even if that means speaking the truth 00:31:49.319 --> 00:31:55.960 in love. If no one can question you, your identity 00:31:55.960 --> 00:31:58.779 is not being formed or shaped, it's being protected 00:31:58.779 --> 00:32:02.859 by you. If no one can challenge you, encourage 00:32:02.859 --> 00:32:05.500 you, correct you, or call you back to truth, 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:09.400 then your faith is slowly becoming self referential. 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:17.039 But truth grows. I mean, true growth happens 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:19.599 when someone actually can name your blind spots 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:22.839 that you don't see. Or someone can say, hey, 00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:24.759 I see this gifting in you. You're not walking 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:27.539 in it. The church could really benefit from you 00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:33.130 walking in that gifting. True growth happens 00:32:33.130 --> 00:32:35.670 when someone tells you what you need to hear, 00:32:35.930 --> 00:32:37.609 maybe not what you want to hear, but what you 00:32:37.609 --> 00:32:41.869 need to hear for your growth. When someone loves 00:32:41.869 --> 00:32:44.950 you enough not to let you drift without fighting 00:32:44.950 --> 00:32:49.950 tooth and nail to pull you back. See, isolation 00:32:49.950 --> 00:32:56.230 may feel safer, but it costs far more. Isolation 00:32:56.230 --> 00:32:59.349 protects you from discomfort, but it also protects 00:32:59.349 --> 00:33:04.569 you from transformation. And Paul says the goal 00:33:04.569 --> 00:33:06.809 of all of this is maturity, that we would be 00:33:06.809 --> 00:33:10.450 mature believers. In verse 14, he says, then 00:33:10.450 --> 00:33:13.609 we will no longer be children or little children 00:33:13.609 --> 00:33:16.430 tossed by the waves and blown around by every 00:33:16.430 --> 00:33:19.650 wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness 00:33:19.650 --> 00:33:23.809 in the techniques of deceit. You notice what 00:33:23.809 --> 00:33:26.650 Paul doesn't say. He doesn't say it's persecution 00:33:26.650 --> 00:33:28.769 or suffering that is causing the instability. 00:33:28.950 --> 00:33:31.109 He's saying that when we become untethered, when 00:33:31.109 --> 00:33:36.150 we drift away, these things happen. Friends, 00:33:36.609 --> 00:33:39.750 disconnected Christians are easily discouraged 00:33:39.750 --> 00:33:45.289 Christians and easily deceived Christians. Disconnected 00:33:45.289 --> 00:33:47.450 Christians are easily discouraged Christians 00:33:47.450 --> 00:33:51.069 and easily deceived Christians. We'll believe 00:33:51.069 --> 00:33:54.789 all kinds of stuff out there if it's just us. 00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:59.519 me, myself, and I, right? The body grows, Paul 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:03.279 says, as each part works properly. Paul says, 00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:07.160 not spectators, not consumers, but participants 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:09.940 in the life and formation of the body. That's 00:34:09.940 --> 00:34:13.639 the way we grow to maturity. You know, the Great 00:34:13.639 --> 00:34:16.260 Commission, we read it earlier out of Matthew 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:18.679 28, says, to go, therefore, and make disciples 00:34:18.679 --> 00:34:20.920 of the whole nations. And I think some people 00:34:20.920 --> 00:34:23.619 mistaken and think that the church exists for 00:34:23.619 --> 00:34:29.250 care. The church does not exist for care. The 00:34:29.250 --> 00:34:32.070 church exists to go on the mission that Jesus 00:34:32.070 --> 00:34:34.469 gave the church, which is to go make disciples 00:34:34.469 --> 00:34:36.610 who make disciples who make disciples. Do you 00:34:36.610 --> 00:34:41.070 know what disciples do? Well, that too, yes. 00:34:43.809 --> 00:34:49.150 But well -made disciples care. But it's not the 00:34:49.150 --> 00:34:51.150 purpose of the church. The purpose of the church 00:34:51.150 --> 00:34:53.869 is to make disciples. The purpose of the church, 00:34:53.929 --> 00:34:56.610 when we gather together, is not simply to consume. 00:34:57.329 --> 00:34:58.869 Consume, give me, what do you got for me, preacher 00:34:58.869 --> 00:35:00.429 man? Give me more, give me more, I didn't like 00:35:00.429 --> 00:35:02.530 that this week. I want a different one next time. 00:35:02.710 --> 00:35:04.329 I didn't like that song, I want a different song 00:35:04.329 --> 00:35:07.889 next time. It's not about consumption, it's about 00:35:07.889 --> 00:35:12.909 disciple making. It's about pouring ourselves 00:35:12.909 --> 00:35:16.329 out for the benefit and the growth of the body. 00:35:17.190 --> 00:35:20.090 Not spectators, not consumers. participants, 00:35:20.489 --> 00:35:22.690 you don't just receive identity in the church, 00:35:22.969 --> 00:35:27.690 you contribute to it. An identity is not forged 00:35:27.690 --> 00:35:29.889 in isolation, certainly not a good identity, 00:35:30.010 --> 00:35:33.250 not a gospel identity. A gospel identity is formed 00:35:33.250 --> 00:35:35.809 in gospel -shaped dialogue with one another, 00:35:36.789 --> 00:35:39.829 not shutting the conversation off, not walking 00:35:39.829 --> 00:35:42.630 away in contempt, but allowing the shaping to 00:35:42.630 --> 00:35:44.449 happen. And sometimes that takes time, and that 00:35:44.449 --> 00:35:49.440 certainly makes it uncomfortable. But truth, 00:35:50.159 --> 00:35:57.860 love, together. Truth and love, together. Number 00:35:57.860 --> 00:35:59.940 three, the church doesn't replace identity, it 00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:04.980 reveals it. As we look over in Hebrews, the book 00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:09.820 of Hebrews, the author of Hebrews has spent time 00:36:09.820 --> 00:36:12.400 telling believers what they have in Jesus Christ. 00:36:12.460 --> 00:36:15.889 They have full access to God. If you are in Christ, 00:36:15.949 --> 00:36:18.409 you have full access to God. If you are in Christ, 00:36:18.429 --> 00:36:21.590 you have a clear conscience before God. If you 00:36:21.590 --> 00:36:23.929 are in Christ, you have confidence to draw near 00:36:23.929 --> 00:36:26.949 to the throne of grace because of the blood of 00:36:26.949 --> 00:36:30.909 Jesus Christ. It's our precious promises for 00:36:30.909 --> 00:36:34.369 everyone in Christ. And then Paul says, now let's 00:36:34.369 --> 00:36:38.579 talk about the togetherness. And he says in Hebrews 00:36:38.579 --> 00:36:42.159 chapter 10 verse 23, let us hold on to the confession 00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:45.679 of our hope without wavering since he who promised 00:36:45.679 --> 00:36:49.639 is faithful and let us consider one another in 00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:54.639 order to provoke love and good works. And that 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:57.840 phrase, let us consider, means focus intentional 00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:00.659 thoughts, deliberate concern for one another. 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:04.099 Because Christian community is not accidental 00:37:04.099 --> 00:37:07.489 proximity, it is purposeful. presence. And notice 00:37:07.489 --> 00:37:09.909 what he does not say, he does not say, let us 00:37:09.909 --> 00:37:12.909 consider our own personal private spiritual growth. 00:37:13.170 --> 00:37:18.550 He says, let us consider one another. See, identity 00:37:18.550 --> 00:37:22.190 in Christ does not turn us inward. That's how 00:37:22.190 --> 00:37:26.050 we lived before Christ. Identity in Christ turns 00:37:26.050 --> 00:37:30.570 us outward. And then comes the line that a lot 00:37:30.570 --> 00:37:33.030 of people know in Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10, 00:37:33.030 --> 00:37:36.860 25, not neglecting to gather together. as some 00:37:36.860 --> 00:37:39.460 are in the habit of doing, but encourage each 00:37:39.460 --> 00:37:42.360 other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. 00:37:43.679 --> 00:37:45.860 And now we're neglecting, it can sound harsh, 00:37:46.760 --> 00:37:50.719 but you know, it's really like, oh, but I'm just 00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:54.019 busy, but I'm just tired, but I'm just overwhelmed, 00:37:54.139 --> 00:37:59.300 but I just needed, you know, a self day. See, 00:37:59.579 --> 00:38:04.579 neglect isn't always this, you know, this explosive 00:38:04.579 --> 00:38:09.269 rebellion. Neglect happens slowly, without a 00:38:09.269 --> 00:38:14.849 whole lot of fanfare. Do not neglect gathering 00:38:14.849 --> 00:38:18.829 together as some are in the habit of doing. Well, 00:38:18.909 --> 00:38:21.070 the author of Hebrews treats it as spiritually 00:38:21.070 --> 00:38:25.130 dangerous to neglect the gathering of the fellowship. 00:38:25.210 --> 00:38:27.869 Why? Because gathering isn't about attendance, 00:38:28.289 --> 00:38:34.480 it's about formation. And so, Paul says encouraging 00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:37.000 each other and all the more as you see the day 00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:39.579 approaching. See encouragement isn't optional 00:38:39.579 --> 00:38:42.659 to the Christian or in the Christian life. Encouragement 00:38:42.659 --> 00:38:46.760 is oxygen to the Christian life. We all need 00:38:46.760 --> 00:38:49.340 it and without it, faith doesn't usually collapse 00:38:49.340 --> 00:38:52.780 in a dramatic kind of explosion, but it does 00:38:52.780 --> 00:38:58.179 slowly erode. But when we live in community, 00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:01.550 faith is tested. When we live in community, we 00:39:01.550 --> 00:39:03.610 get to practice love. I always thought it was 00:39:03.610 --> 00:39:05.670 funny when doctors say they practice medicine. 00:39:06.289 --> 00:39:08.889 Like, you gonna practice on me? I feel like you 00:39:08.889 --> 00:39:10.670 should practice on them before you come to me, 00:39:10.750 --> 00:39:12.849 right? I know what they're saying, but yeah. 00:39:13.809 --> 00:39:17.050 See, doctors practice medicine on our bodies. 00:39:17.389 --> 00:39:20.550 Christians practice love on each other in gospel 00:39:20.550 --> 00:39:23.889 -shaped community. We're here to practice love. 00:39:23.929 --> 00:39:26.150 That's what we're here for, to practice loving 00:39:26.150 --> 00:39:29.039 one another. where patience is required, where 00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:32.880 forgiveness is necessary, where pride is exposed. 00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:36.940 You don't actually know who you are in Christ 00:39:36.940 --> 00:39:42.480 until life together begins to press on you. See, 00:39:42.559 --> 00:39:45.300 isolation allows you to imagine a version of 00:39:45.300 --> 00:39:50.920 yourself that is not real. Community lovingly 00:39:50.920 --> 00:39:56.309 tells you the truth. And this is where modern 00:39:56.309 --> 00:39:58.989 resistance will kick in. We say things like, 00:39:58.989 --> 00:40:01.570 man, my faith is private or personal, or I connect 00:40:01.570 --> 00:40:04.570 with God best on my own. And sometimes those 00:40:04.570 --> 00:40:07.070 words come from pain. Sometimes they come from 00:40:07.070 --> 00:40:10.369 burnout or real wounds in the past. But sometimes, 00:40:10.389 --> 00:40:13.150 if we're honest, they come from a desire to avoid 00:40:13.150 --> 00:40:20.489 being known. Why? Because being known means being 00:40:20.489 --> 00:40:25.769 shaped. Hebrews doesn't say gathering is helpful 00:40:25.769 --> 00:40:29.369 if it works for your schedule. Hebrews says don't 00:40:29.369 --> 00:40:33.050 neglect it. And the assumption that is underneath 00:40:33.050 --> 00:40:37.769 this passage is this. You hear nothing else, 00:40:39.050 --> 00:40:44.349 hear this. The gathered Christian community cannot 00:40:44.349 --> 00:40:50.250 be substituted with any other community. The 00:40:50.250 --> 00:40:53.639 gathered Christian community, the church, I'm 00:40:53.639 --> 00:40:55.940 breaking down the idea of the church. The gathered 00:40:55.940 --> 00:40:58.699 Christian community cannot be substituted with 00:40:58.699 --> 00:41:01.900 any other community. What am I saying? Well, 00:41:01.900 --> 00:41:04.239 I experience the presence of God when I gather 00:41:04.239 --> 00:41:07.980 with my family. I experience the presence of 00:41:07.980 --> 00:41:10.380 God when I'm all by myself in the woods, hanging 00:41:10.380 --> 00:41:13.079 out by myself, thinking about myself, looking 00:41:13.079 --> 00:41:19.619 at myself, right? Great. Cool. Not a substitute 00:41:19.619 --> 00:41:23.309 for the gathered Christian community. Oh, but 00:41:23.309 --> 00:41:25.590 I really, really like the community that I'm 00:41:25.590 --> 00:41:28.010 a part of down at the Rotary Club, if that's 00:41:28.010 --> 00:41:29.250 still a thing, I don't even know this thing. 00:41:29.389 --> 00:41:32.050 The Rotary Club, or this other club that I'm 00:41:32.050 --> 00:41:34.050 a part of, or this other group that I hang out 00:41:34.050 --> 00:41:39.269 with. Great, awesome. It is no substitute for 00:41:39.269 --> 00:41:42.550 the gathered Christian community. The gathered 00:41:42.550 --> 00:41:46.210 Christian community, the church, is God's way 00:41:46.210 --> 00:41:51.030 of forming his disciples. Plan A, plan B, plan 00:41:51.030 --> 00:41:54.809 C, plan D, plan on and on. And your presence 00:41:54.809 --> 00:41:58.110 matters to others. Someone's perseverance in 00:41:58.110 --> 00:42:00.929 the faith is strengthened by your faithfulness. 00:42:01.929 --> 00:42:04.170 Someone's hope is restored by your presence. 00:42:04.630 --> 00:42:07.170 Someone's obedience is stirred and provoked because 00:42:07.170 --> 00:42:11.659 you share your life with them. Withdrawing doesn't 00:42:11.659 --> 00:42:14.360 just affect you, it affects the body. Imagine 00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:17.420 for a moment if one of your internal organs today 00:42:17.420 --> 00:42:22.900 just said, yo, I'm withdrawing. Peace out. I'm 00:42:22.900 --> 00:42:25.940 gonna take a break for a couple days. I need 00:42:25.940 --> 00:42:28.719 some me time. What would happen to your body? 00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:31.519 Let's just go with the lung, one of the lungs, 00:42:32.360 --> 00:42:35.260 right? Collapse lung, you know. Peace out, I'm 00:42:35.260 --> 00:42:37.519 sleeping for a little while. Like it would hurt, 00:42:37.559 --> 00:42:39.869 it would not be good, right? We had a medical 00:42:39.869 --> 00:42:41.690 professional in the first service, he shook his 00:42:41.690 --> 00:42:43.329 head, yeah, that wouldn't be good. Like, not 00:42:43.329 --> 00:42:47.869 good. Well, what happens when a part of the body 00:42:47.869 --> 00:42:53.130 of Christ withdraws? Any difference? Is it any 00:42:53.130 --> 00:42:56.090 different when we choose isolation instead of 00:42:56.090 --> 00:42:58.769 community? And hear this, friends, we're not 00:42:58.769 --> 00:43:00.949 talking about obligation, we're talking about 00:43:00.949 --> 00:43:05.690 the goal is love. Who is helping you hold fast 00:43:05.690 --> 00:43:08.269 to your confession? Who are you helping to do 00:43:08.269 --> 00:43:12.929 the same? Because identity in Christ is not maintained 00:43:12.929 --> 00:43:15.989 alone. It is revealed and strengthened and sustained 00:43:15.989 --> 00:43:19.750 together. My final point is number four in this 00:43:19.750 --> 00:43:25.030 brief. Isolation deforms the soul. Isolation 00:43:25.030 --> 00:43:28.030 deforms the soul. When we talk about community, 00:43:28.369 --> 00:43:32.650 many people only hear pain. Some of us didn't 00:43:32.650 --> 00:43:36.889 drift into isolation. We ran there for safety. 00:43:38.550 --> 00:43:43.369 Community hurts. Leaders fail. Trust is broken. 00:43:44.469 --> 00:43:47.889 And believe me, I get it. I do. I've experienced 00:43:47.889 --> 00:43:52.210 all of that. And isolation is understandable. 00:43:53.590 --> 00:43:59.219 But it's not healing. See, it may feel safer, 00:43:59.599 --> 00:44:02.239 it may feel more comfortable, but over time it 00:44:02.239 --> 00:44:08.059 begins to deform the soul. Isolation slowly teaches 00:44:08.059 --> 00:44:10.980 us lies. It tells us that I don't need anyone 00:44:10.980 --> 00:44:13.719 else, or no one really understands me anymore, 00:44:13.760 --> 00:44:17.920 or I can manage my faith on my own. Isolation 00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:20.579 doesn't often lead to this explosive rebellion, 00:44:20.699 --> 00:44:24.320 but slow erosion. and sand becomes more private, 00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:27.639 grace no longer embodied in the people of God 00:44:27.639 --> 00:44:31.639 becomes more abstract in our faith. And the book 00:44:31.639 --> 00:44:35.519 of Hebrews consistently ties spiritual danger 00:44:35.519 --> 00:44:40.139 to drifting away. Drift happens when there is 00:44:40.139 --> 00:44:42.780 no one close enough to notice that you're moving. 00:44:43.840 --> 00:44:46.960 And in isolation, no one reminds you of who you 00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:49.880 are in Christ when you forget and we are prone 00:44:49.880 --> 00:44:55.010 to forget. Eventually, identity collapses inward. 00:44:55.710 --> 00:45:00.550 We turn inward. The self becomes both the question 00:45:00.550 --> 00:45:04.670 and the answer. The wounds become the guide, 00:45:05.050 --> 00:45:07.710 and our feelings become authority in our life. 00:45:09.309 --> 00:45:12.730 That's not what God wants. That's the identity 00:45:12.730 --> 00:45:16.989 He's trying to rescue many of you from. But in 00:45:16.989 --> 00:45:19.670 community, in real, gospel -shaped community, 00:45:20.300 --> 00:45:24.719 It interrupts that collapse. It is not perfect. 00:45:26.019 --> 00:45:29.460 Gospel -shaped community is not perfectly or 00:45:29.460 --> 00:45:34.780 painlessly done, but we are called to faithfully 00:45:34.780 --> 00:45:40.719 do it. Healing requires presence. Scripture never 00:45:40.719 --> 00:45:44.230 treats encouragement. as optional and gospel 00:45:44.230 --> 00:45:46.889 -shaped community heals, not because people are 00:45:46.889 --> 00:45:49.730 perfect, but because God uses imperfect people 00:45:49.730 --> 00:45:54.650 as instruments for his care. The church will 00:45:54.650 --> 00:46:02.010 disappoint you. Shocker, right? People will misunderstand 00:46:02.010 --> 00:46:06.489 you. Someone will say the wrong thing at the 00:46:06.489 --> 00:46:10.309 wrong time. But you know what? Isolation will 00:46:10.309 --> 00:46:14.349 never love you. Isolation will never tell the 00:46:14.349 --> 00:46:17.750 truth to you, and isolation will never carry 00:46:17.750 --> 00:46:23.050 you when you're weak. So in conclusion, what 00:46:23.050 --> 00:46:26.329 are you going to do? Not just theoretical, but 00:46:26.329 --> 00:46:28.889 right here among us at Village, what are we going 00:46:28.889 --> 00:46:34.510 to do if God is shaping a community and calling 00:46:34.510 --> 00:46:38.269 us out of isolation? Well, here it looks like 00:46:38.269 --> 00:46:41.449 disciple groups. where the word of God is open 00:46:41.449 --> 00:46:44.329 and where life is shared together, where we grow 00:46:44.329 --> 00:46:46.269 in our knowledge of the word and we grow in our 00:46:46.269 --> 00:46:49.289 knowledge of one another. Again, not perfectly. 00:46:50.030 --> 00:46:54.070 Kind of stumbling. Where we sort out our faith 00:46:54.070 --> 00:46:56.789 together. We had our disciple group last night, 00:46:56.829 --> 00:46:59.469 that's what we did, right? We did some sorting. 00:47:00.630 --> 00:47:03.849 Like, we gotta wrestle with this, I don't know, 00:47:03.929 --> 00:47:09.409 like, we gotta wrestle. Disciple groups are a 00:47:09.409 --> 00:47:11.730 good place. Serve teams, we have teams where 00:47:11.730 --> 00:47:15.010 people use their gifting and their calling in 00:47:15.010 --> 00:47:18.449 service of the fellowship. If I was to pull everyone 00:47:18.449 --> 00:47:21.090 up here who is serving you, and some of you are 00:47:21.090 --> 00:47:23.289 on that serve team, but if I was to pull everyone 00:47:23.289 --> 00:47:26.389 up here onto stage who is serving you in the 00:47:26.389 --> 00:47:28.650 fellowship and your kids and making sure the 00:47:28.650 --> 00:47:30.750 place is ready for you and making sure the one 00:47:30.750 --> 00:47:33.210 more is welcome, there would be about 40 people 00:47:33.210 --> 00:47:37.070 or 50 people up here on the stage. Who every 00:47:37.070 --> 00:47:40.510 week, on their serve team makes the place ready 00:47:40.510 --> 00:47:43.730 and welcome for you and for your one more to 00:47:43.730 --> 00:47:48.170 come and encounter Jesus Christ. That's community. 00:47:48.989 --> 00:47:50.750 You know what happens on the serve teams a lot, 00:47:51.190 --> 00:47:57.329 too? You'd be shocked. Friction. Why do we do 00:47:57.329 --> 00:48:00.389 it that way? Why don't I get to the, there's 00:48:00.389 --> 00:48:03.650 all kinds of friction, right? Praise God. Every 00:48:03.650 --> 00:48:05.630 time I hear it, I'm like, yes, it's working. 00:48:07.619 --> 00:48:10.480 Throw them in the pit and let them cage match, 00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:16.659 right? What does it look like? It looks like 00:48:16.659 --> 00:48:19.719 life on life conversations. If you haven't taken 00:48:19.719 --> 00:48:23.079 someone out to coffee that you see in this room, 00:48:23.780 --> 00:48:27.059 take them out to coffee. Or grab a tea, if that's 00:48:27.059 --> 00:48:32.579 your thing. Or a lunch. Go take someone out and 00:48:32.579 --> 00:48:37.019 ask them, how are you doing? Not the Sunday quick. 00:48:37.079 --> 00:48:40.159 you know, only this deep. But how are you doing? 00:48:40.340 --> 00:48:43.679 How's your soul? How can I pray for you? How 00:48:43.679 --> 00:48:47.119 can I carry you this week? That's some simple 00:48:47.119 --> 00:48:48.880 discipleship. That's all it takes sometimes. 00:48:50.940 --> 00:48:54.780 It looks like opening your house and your table 00:48:54.780 --> 00:49:00.539 and letting a shared meal become the place of 00:49:00.539 --> 00:49:06.429 formation. I heard this joke this week. on social 00:49:06.429 --> 00:49:09.670 media, a theologian once said, I can summarize 00:49:09.670 --> 00:49:12.869 both testaments or each testament in the Bible 00:49:12.869 --> 00:49:16.510 in three sentences. Here was his summary. It 00:49:16.510 --> 00:49:18.909 was intended to be funny so you can laugh after 00:49:18.909 --> 00:49:23.409 you figure it out. Here's his summary. Each testament 00:49:23.409 --> 00:49:26.550 in three sentences. The Old Testament. They tried 00:49:26.550 --> 00:49:34.440 to kill us. We survived. Let's eat. And here's 00:49:34.440 --> 00:49:39.019 the New Testament. I love you. I forgive you. 00:49:39.980 --> 00:49:44.159 Let's eat. Right? Obviously, it's a joke, and 00:49:44.159 --> 00:49:46.119 there's a lot more in the Bible than those three 00:49:46.119 --> 00:49:49.239 things. But he was summarizing the idea that 00:49:49.239 --> 00:49:54.099 so much of the story of the Bible happens around 00:49:54.099 --> 00:49:57.679 tables and at feasts. And I don't know. I've 00:49:57.679 --> 00:50:02.590 always grown up hearing. We are a food -eating 00:50:02.590 --> 00:50:06.429 people. That's what Christians love to gather 00:50:06.429 --> 00:50:08.250 around and have a conversation. If you've ever 00:50:08.250 --> 00:50:11.289 done it with anyone on a smaller scale, not forced, 00:50:11.889 --> 00:50:14.289 you know that conversations go all over the place. 00:50:14.650 --> 00:50:16.710 And it's good. And you kind of weave around, 00:50:16.989 --> 00:50:19.750 and you have that dialogue. That's what it looks 00:50:19.750 --> 00:50:22.230 like. It looks like showing up Sundays with great 00:50:22.230 --> 00:50:25.000 expectation. to unite your voice with brothers 00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:27.940 and sisters, to be shaped by the word with the 00:50:27.940 --> 00:50:31.079 people of God, and to publicly testify as a witness 00:50:31.079 --> 00:50:33.639 to Christ's kingdom. We do that every time we 00:50:33.639 --> 00:50:36.719 get together. People in this neighborhood know 00:50:36.719 --> 00:50:39.679 that we come together here. They watch us out 00:50:39.679 --> 00:50:41.380 of their window and they look down the road and 00:50:41.380 --> 00:50:44.000 they see us arriving and showing up and how we 00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:46.760 greet one another. They hear our songs blasting 00:50:46.760 --> 00:50:49.559 out through the walls. They know we're in here 00:50:49.559 --> 00:50:53.360 declaring something. Every time we do that, we're 00:50:53.360 --> 00:50:55.780 witnessing to the kingdom of God here on this 00:50:55.780 --> 00:51:00.900 earth. Even better when we do it in love. Gospel 00:51:00.900 --> 00:51:04.619 shaped community is built through faithful presence. 00:51:05.679 --> 00:51:09.159 So my encouragement is open your life. Grab a 00:51:09.159 --> 00:51:13.280 seat at the table. Stay in the hard conversation. 00:51:14.340 --> 00:51:18.179 That is where identity is formed and where identity 00:51:18.179 --> 00:51:22.289 is healed. And that is the truer and better identity 00:51:22.289 --> 00:51:24.130 we are offered in Christ. Will you pray with 00:51:24.130 --> 00:51:24.309 me?