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A Charge to Discipleship - Week 2 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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He says, so all this authority has been given to me, so go and make disciples.
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And defines what that looks like for us.
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To all peoples, baptizing them in the truth of the Trinity, teaching them to observe all that he's commanded.
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And then he ties it up again with the promise.
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And behold, I am with you always.
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That I will bring to pass all of these things by my work in you and by you.
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This should be enough.
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This should be enough.
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I feel that I should be able to just simply read this to you.
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And that the people of God should go, amen, and get busy.
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But I fear there is more necessary.
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And I know that there are no doctrines that very readily stay alive in our minds unless they're fed.
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And so we need to be feeding them and we need to be about this work.
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So what is the God-ordained institution meant to accomplish this?
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To continue to remind us of the way in which we should be living.
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It's the church.
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He has given us this organization by which we are meant to fulfill the Great Commission.
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Peter writes in 1 Peter 3, 9 and 10,
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This is the great high calling for us as the church and as a church, as part of that.
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That we have been given a mission in this world.
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And there are ways in which we go about fulfilling that mission, which includes our meeting together.
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But to that great end that we might see the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed amongst the people of the world.
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I hope that that's something that excites your heart.
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That you have such a degree of love and adoration for Him.
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That you want His praises to be sung.
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That you want more and more people to experience the transforming power of the gospel.
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That they might forever tell of how great their God is.
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Is He not great and worthy to be praised?
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Should we not invite people into that?
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That He might be praised in higher and higher degree.
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And so the church is the methodology by which we press at each other.
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That we move each other into that kind of living.
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And that we remain in that place together.
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And I will tell you that the study of the church in the scriptures is one of my favorite studies.
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As a church leader, likely.
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It's called ecclesiology, if any of you care at all.
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The theology, so to speak, of the church.
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Literally, ecclesiology means church knowledge or church logic, which I particularly prefer.
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Rather than asking, as we look at the scriptures, what is the church?
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What we need to be asking is, who is the church?
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And the place that we need to be going to ask this very question is the scripture themselves.
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We believe as a church in a doctrine called the sufficiency of scripture.
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And that is that God has given to us all things necessary for holy living.
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It is here in the Holy Bible.
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This is why it's called this.
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That we don't need anything out and beyond it.
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Which isn't to say we shouldn't read a good book, but only insofar as the good book points us back to the scriptures.
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We don't need to add a bunch of methodology to the methodology in the scriptures.
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God has given us everything that we need.
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God, when he had the scriptures penned by the Holy Spirit, didn't not know what was going to happen in the 21st century.
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He didn't go, what? Simulcasts?
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I had no idea that was a possibility.
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He knew.
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God is the church.
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This is a vastly misunderstood topic in our day and time.
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Wrongly, many people look at the Greek word ekklesia, which simply means gathering, and understand it to mean a gathering, an event, so to speak.
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One evangelical writer put it this way.
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For the modern evangelical, worship is defined exclusively by the individual's experience.
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Worship, then, is not about adoring God, but by about being nourished with religious feelings.
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So much so that the worshiper has become the object of worship.
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Sunday worship is to be centered on my needs and desires.
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I am at the center.
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My needs are paramount.
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Meet them or I will go to church elsewhere.
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A large local church in our area advertises their multiple services in this way.
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At 930, you have a traditional blend of praise and worship.
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At 11, an inspiring and vibrant contemporary worship experience.
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And at 11, I guess at the same time, on the same campus, contemporary acoustic worship.
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Right?
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Meeting all of the needs and all of the desires of the individual coming, who says they're coming to adore God.
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But it has seemed that the object of worship has been turned around on the individual, the congregant, rather than the God that the congregation comes to worship.
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What distinguishes the church from any other social club?
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There are some things.
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But it would seem in many churches, you simply have to show up and pay your dues and don't do anything that would embarrass the club.
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Just be sure that you don't get out there and make the club look bad.
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This is very consumption driven.
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We live in such a consumer society and that is exactly what happens in most churches and in ours.
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We don't need consumption.
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In fact, I would say that if you are a consumer Christian, you have much to consider.
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Much to consider.
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What we need, rather, is participation.
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We so often think of our churches as businesses.
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This is evidenced in the way we talk.
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Out of the outflow of our hearts, our mouths speak, beloved.
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This is a truth that we cannot avoid in the scriptures.
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We say things like, where do you attend church?
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We ought to be asking questions like, who do you fellowship with?
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We think of a church as a name, a building, a pastor, and a collection of programs.
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A website.
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Such a wrong way to think about church.
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Church.
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Now, I've got the whiteboard back from last week.
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I'm going to draw you a picture.
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I think this is the way most people consider what church looks like.
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This is going to be my very rudimentary Jesus.
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Church, then, is structured like this.
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It's a triangle.
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This is how every business that we're aware of is structured.
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Someone at the top and a structure that plays out below this.
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Good for business.
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I applaud this for business, but this is not meant to be the structure of the church.
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We, as a more biblical, in many ways, church, we've tried to take the tip of the pyramid off.
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And biblically, we have a group of elders who give leadership to this.
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But culturally, many of you put the pyramid back on the top.
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Right?
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That this is the structure.
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Information is disseminated from the top.
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Right?
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So, I'm somehow holier than you.
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I have some special granted access to Jesus.
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You'll hear us talk a lot in terms of vision, church leaders will talk about.
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And I think all that a church leader is really trying to say is,
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there's a place I think we should go.
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I could say these couple of weeks we're taking off from Mark is about vision casting.
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Right?
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But it's not that God has come to me and given me some kind of a dream that we're driving toward.
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Right?
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And I think a lot of people think in those terms,
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this guy gets up and he says he has a vision.
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He must be hanging out with Jesus.
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We should do whatever he says.
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The altar call presses at this type of thing.
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People to think that they have to get up and go down to the quote unquote altar.
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Didn't Jesus do away with sacrifice and that type of a system?
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Somehow we built some stage out of wood and carpet and it's become a holy place.
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And there's a man who's going to stand between you and God.
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God, this is not healthy.
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This is not the way the church should function.
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But the congregants do this too.
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Right?
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Sitting and consuming.
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Giving, paying, saying, put together programs, put together ministry.
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Do things where I can plug in.
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And we will expect you as the trained professional to reach people.
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This is a shame.
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And you know why?
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Because all of you have the Spirit of God.
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All of you are some expression of God's great work in the world.
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You are necessary in the kingdom.
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A man named Mark Dever, some of you may be familiar with.
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A pastor of First Baptist Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
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wrote a rather wonderful book called Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.
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I would commend it to you if you'd like to read it.
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Let me just read to you the way he begins.
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Chapter 1.
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And this, for him, was the beginning of a sermon series which became this book.
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And this is how he actually started out the sermon.
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Now, I want you to hear, he's going to say some things that have no application to our building at all.
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I think their building is much nicer than ours.
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Probably their program is a little bit nicer than ours.
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But still get the flavor of what he's saying here.
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So he gets up on a Sunday morning and he says,
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So, how's it going?
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Did you get enough sleep last night?
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Did you have trouble finding a good parking place this morning?
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Were the doors clearly marked?
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Did the people welcome you as you came in?
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Did the building seem nice and neat?
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I wonder, did the church's name make it more difficult for you to decide to come in?
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Or maybe that was part of the reason why you decided to come in.
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And when you did come in, were the people friendly and welcoming?
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Any trouble dropping the kids off?
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Not a problem here, is it?
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And what do you think about the stained glass?
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I know I have the best view of it, but it's really pretty, isn't it?
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Then again, maybe it's a little too traditional for you.
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Are the pews comfortable?
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Do you have a good view of all the activities from where you are sitting?
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Can you see clearly?
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Can you hear okay?
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Is it warm enough for you right now?
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Do you feel pretty comfortable?
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And how about the bulletin?
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Nice, clear, simple, pretty straightforward, wouldn't you say?
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Not too complicated.
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Maybe a little too staid.
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Did you notice all the announcements in it?
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And did you see all the programs listed in the church card?
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There are a lot of them, aren't there?
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Probably more than you've ever read.
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Of course, it's easy to read, but I guess the print is kind of small, isn't it?
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And there aren't any pictures.
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I mean, it's so type-heavy.
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That probably tells you a lot about the church, doesn't it?
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You think this is probably the kind of church where they'd rather have thousands of words than pictures, right?
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What about the people sitting around you?
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Are they the kind you like to go to church with?
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Yeah, I know you're too nervous to look around you right now, but you know who they are.
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What do you think?
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Are they the right age?
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Are they the right race?
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Are they the right social class?
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Are they just like you?
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And what about the service so far?
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I mean, was it too difficult switching between the two hymnals?
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You know, most churches just use one, and here you have to use two.
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You've got to go to the green one, and then sometimes the beige one.
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Had the leader seemed informed, yet not know-it-all-ish?
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Competent, yet not overbearing?
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There weren't too many announcements in the service were there.
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I don't think so this morning.
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Have the prayers been involving?
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Have they engaged your heart and mind?
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I'll skip.
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There's two more pages.
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The preacher does have a very difficult job, doesn't he?
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The preacher has to be someone that you feel you can relate to and talk with
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and let your hair down with or trust in some measure.
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But he needs to seem holy, too, but not too holy.
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You know, he needs to be knowledgeable, but not too knowledgeable.
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He needs to be confident, but not too confident.
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He needs to be compassionate, but not too compassionate.
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And his sermon?
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Well, his sermon needs to be good enough, relevant enough,
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entertaining and engaging enough.
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And certainly, short enough.
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And he goes on for a whole other page beyond that,
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listing off all of these criteria by which people shop churches.
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The very fact that we tend to call the buildings that we meet in churches
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says so much about our misunderstanding about what church is.
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Out of the outflow of the heart,
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every time you call this building the church,
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it says something about what you think about church.
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It reduces it.
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It reduces it to a place and programs,
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rather than being a people.
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It's confusing to me.
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When somebody says,
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I'm going to drop something off at the church,
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I say, how is that possible?
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Our people live all over the place.
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Who specifically are you talking about?
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But it's become the cultural norm that we speak in this way.
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In fact, we had called this building,
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not the church,
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but the meeting house,
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is what we were trying to call it,
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get to stick in those days,
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for years.
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And yet I found myself still calling other church buildings churches.
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Which says something about what I thought about every other church in our region.
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I had to adjust my heart concerning that,
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to think of those as people groups gathering in a place under a name,
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but as people, as eternal beings,
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things that will last forever,
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versus all of this which is going to turn to dust.
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Not a single bit.
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The name Christ Family Church,
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our website,
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our signs are already turning to dust.
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This building,
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it's all passing away.
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But you guys are eternal.
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You have eternal souls,
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and we are the church.
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If you have a bulletin,
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I hope everybody got one today.
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You'll notice on the front of it,
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it says this every single week.
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We try to do it in our speaking as well,
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but it says,
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Welcome to 60 South,
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the meeting place of Christ Family Church.
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We've just coined a name for the property,
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so we could call it something,
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because meeting house was taking too much time to get out.
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It's what the Puritans used to call their places of gathering.
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So we call it 60 South.
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If you don't like it,
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take it up with Wes.
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He came up with the name.
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I didn't care,
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so we started calling it that.
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We're located on the side of 60 South,
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so there you have it.
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This is just where we gather.
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It's not who we are, praise God.
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This building doesn't define us.
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It ought not, anyway.
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This is an improper way of thinking about church.
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The better way,
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the better way to understand that the term ecclesia
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is the gathered ones.
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Not that church is an event,
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but rather a people centered on the event,
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namely Christ redeeming his people,
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his life, his death, and his resurrection.
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That this is what we are gathered around as a people.
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Ecclesia, the gathered ones.
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Now the church is both invisible and visible.
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We can see,
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there's some things we can tangibly touch about the church.
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We see churches in function in our world today,
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but it's also invisible,
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which is the way that God sees it,
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which would be all true believers for all time.
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The scriptures speak of the church in this manner
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rather regularly.
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The church is both universal and it's local.
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The scriptures once again do this.
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The church is universal.
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All believers alive today,
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right now are the church,
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capital C.
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But the more regular expression of church
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that we see in the scriptures
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is the local form that's most mentioned.
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And that's what we would be considered.
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We're a local church.
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And just for your sake
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and for your future study,
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I've been kind of working on a definition
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of the local church.
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Actually, let me say this is a working definition,
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but I put it in the notes section of your bulletin
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and it goes like this.
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The local church
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is a community of regenerate disciples of Jesus Christ,
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believers,
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true believers of Jesus Christ,
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organized under qualified leadership
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who gather regularly
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to grow in the knowledge of God,
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to be equipped for every good work,
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and to observe the biblical sacraments
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of baptism and the Lord's Supper
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to the end
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that the Great Commission is fulfilled.
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This, I think,
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is a pretty good biblical definition
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of what the local church is.
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It distinguishes it
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rather from
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a Bible study you might participate in.
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Right?
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If you can't meet all these criteria,
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then it's not a church.
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It's not an expression of that word,
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ecclesia.
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It may even distinguish it
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from some of the things
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that are called church in our area
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that are really much more like
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large weekly conferences.
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There's a place and a time for that,
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but I think that we must rightly understand
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what church should regularly look like
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in our lives
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if we care at all,
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and we should,
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about the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
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All right, let's land on our text for today.
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The major part of our text, anyway.
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Hebrews chapter 10.
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Hebrews chapter 10.
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Just as a little
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bibliology for you.
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The way your Bible is organized
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is not in chronological order.
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But you have
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Paul's epistles
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with the pastoral epistles
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being at the end.
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Then the book of Hebrews.
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We're not exactly sure
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who wrote Hebrews,
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although many people
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believe it was Paul.
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Here it's placed at the end
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of the Pauline epistles
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because maybe,
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but maybe not.
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But then beyond that,
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you have the other writers.
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So Peter, John, etc.
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And so you know
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you can separate it out that way.
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Help you find
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the book of Hebrews.
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Hebrews 10, verses 19-25.
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Therefore, brothers,
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since we have confidence
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to enter the holy places
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by the blood of Jesus,
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by the new and living way
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that He opened for us
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through the curtain,
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that is,
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through His flesh,
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and since we have a great priest
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over the house of God,
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let us draw near
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with a true heart
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in full assurance of faith,
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with our hearts
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sprinkled clean
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from an evil conscience,
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and our bodies washed
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with pure water.
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Let us hold fast
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the confession
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of our hope
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without wavering,
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for He who promised
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is faithful.
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And let us consider
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how to stir up
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one another
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to love and good works,
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not neglecting
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to meet together
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as is the habit of some,
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but encouraging
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one another
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and all the more
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as they see the day
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drawing near.
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Now, what I want us
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to primarily draw
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out of this text
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this morning
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is the corporate nature
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of God's people.
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If you look at the very beginning
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of verse 22,
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the writer of Hebrews says,
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let us draw near.
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And this is a single Greek word,
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proserkamai.
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It's plural,
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present tense,
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active voice,
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subjective mood,
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which means it's contingent
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on something.
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And so to draw out that,
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let us draw near
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at greater length,
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it could be said,
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let us continually draw near
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because we can in Christ.
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Because of what Christ
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has accomplished
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on our behalf,
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one of the blessings,
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one of the outworkings
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of that is that
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we get to gather together.
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We get to draw near to God
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together as a community
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of faith.
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As Kyle says so regularly
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and I love,
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as a faith family together.
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Notice that's what
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those first three verses
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are about,
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19, 20, and 21,
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the accomplished work
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of Christ.
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So we get to draw together
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and look at the rest
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of the plural pronouns
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in verse 19,
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since we have confidence.
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Verse 20,
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that he opened for us.
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Verse 21,
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since we have a great priest.
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Verse 22,
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once again,
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let us,
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our hearts,
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our bodies.
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Verse 23,
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let us hold fast
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the confession of our hope.
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Verse 24,
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let us consider.
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So we are to draw close together
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in celebration and worship of God,
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holding fast the confession
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of our hope without wavering.
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This is the doctrinal part
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of our learning together,
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holding true the gospel doctrines,
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stirring up one another,
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encouraging one another,
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pressing at one another
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to love and good works,
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and all the more,
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as we see the day drawing near.
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This is meant to be the activity
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of the church,
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right?
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That we are firmly planted,
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our feet are firmly planted
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in doctrinal truth,
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and we press at each other
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for the going,
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the loving,
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and the doing of good works.
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Any expression of Christianity
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devoid of the church
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is foreign
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to the pages of Scripture.
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It does not exist.
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Just think about
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the biblical metaphors
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for the church.
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The church is called
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a body made up of parts,
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a household
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made up of family members,
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a temple
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made up of living stones.
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Apart from them,
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the individual
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makes no sense.
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They were created
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to exist together.
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These are all pictures
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of life together.
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Now, even biblical analogies
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tend to fall short, right?
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Certainly your body
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can function without part of it.
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Some parts are more vital
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than others.
24:11
But you will in some degree
24:12
be handicapped,
24:14
will you not?
24:14
My back seems to have
24:15
given up on me today.
24:16
I can still function
24:18
as a human being,
24:19
can I not?
24:20
Sure trying anyway.
24:22
But I'm handicapped
24:24
in some regard
24:25
because I don't have
24:25
the full function
24:26
of my back.
24:29
All the parts
24:30
are necessary
24:32
and not
24:33
for filling seats.
24:36
It's really not
24:37
that important,
24:38
you know,
24:38
that your participation,
24:41
this is for you,
24:42
this is me,
24:43
bringing a meal to you,
24:44
feeding you.
24:45
I'm glad you're here.
24:47
I want you to be fed.
24:48
I want to preach
24:49
the good news
24:50
of Jesus Christ to you.
24:52
You know,
24:53
I do the same amount
24:53
of preparation
24:54
whether it's ten of you
24:55
or however many
24:56
are here today.
24:59
It doesn't really matter.
25:00
You come and you sit.
25:01
It matters for you
25:02
but it doesn't matter
25:02
for the church.
25:04
You've got to get involved.
25:05
You have to participate.
25:06
You have to be part
25:06
of this process together.
25:08
So you ready?
25:09
So not this.
25:10
We're going to draw
25:10
an X through that version.
25:11
Let me draw Jesus again.
25:17
Boy, that crown
25:18
just got bigger.
25:20
I'm sure Jesus' crown fits.
25:24
The church rather
25:25
should look more like this
25:27
and hang with me.
25:29
Let me explain
25:29
my perspective here.
25:34
This is a circle
25:35
on its side.
25:36
Get that?
25:38
Rather than trying
25:39
to draw it from above
25:39
or make it just
25:40
this weird straight line.
25:41
A group of believers
25:44
a gathering
25:45
an ecclesia
25:45
gathered around
25:48
the event
25:49
and that is
25:51
the life, death
25:51
and resurrection
25:52
of Jesus Christ
25:53
linking arms together
25:54
certainly playing
25:55
different roles
25:56
in that process.
25:57
You look back
25:58
at my very definition
25:59
of the local church
26:00
and it includes
26:01
gathered under
26:02
qualified leadership.
26:05
But nonetheless
26:06
that we're all
26:08
part of this.
26:08
We're all linking
26:09
arms together.
26:10
we're all looking
26:11
for direction
26:11
from Christ himself.
26:14
We do that
26:15
by his word
26:16
as revealed to us
26:18
by the spirit.
26:19
This is the way
26:20
that this functions.
26:21
Right?
26:22
A priesthood
26:22
of believers
26:23
with different roles
26:25
to play
26:25
but nonetheless
26:25
that we all recognize
26:27
that we're part
26:28
of this process.
26:29
We need
26:30
one another.
26:32
I'm asserting
26:35
that you cannot
26:36
be a faithful
26:37
disciple
26:38
of Christ
26:39
apart
26:39
from the church.
26:42
Exactly what I'm
26:43
saying to you.
26:43
You cannot be
26:44
a faithful disciple
26:45
of Christ
26:46
apart
26:47
from the church.
26:49
Many Christians
26:50
merely attend
26:51
a worship service
26:52
of the church.
26:54
Many of you
26:55
merely consume
26:57
and do not
26:58
participate.
27:00
Now I know
27:01
I know
27:03
that a lot of you
27:03
are in a
27:04
transitionary part
27:05
of your life
27:06
college students
27:07
particularly.
27:09
Right?
27:09
You're only up here
27:10
nine months
27:11
out of the year
27:12
but I would just
27:12
say to you
27:13
you're up here
27:13
nine months
27:14
out of the year.
27:15
Three quarters
27:16
of your time
27:16
has spent living
27:17
in a place
27:18
called Dahlonega
27:19
home
27:20
and invest
27:21
and be involved.
27:22
Many of you
27:23
do this well
27:24
and I'm thankful
27:24
for you.
27:25
Many of you
27:25
have caught this
27:26
already
27:27
and you're coming
27:28
and doing this.
27:29
If you're just
27:30
coming
27:30
and you're just
27:31
consuming
27:31
this is what
27:32
you're up to
27:33
let me make
27:33
a suggestion
27:34
to you.
27:35
If that's all
27:36
you're doing
27:36
and that's all
27:37
you're ever
27:37
going to do
27:38
let me make
27:39
a suggestion
27:39
to you.
27:40
Sleep in
27:41
on Sunday mornings.
27:43
Get up
27:44
have a nice
27:45
leisurely
27:45
eleven o'clock
27:47
breakfast.
27:48
Go find
27:49
a beautiful
27:49
place
27:50
in these
27:50
gorgeous
27:51
mountains
27:51
to go
27:51
sit
27:52
and listen
27:53
to a better
27:54
preacher
27:54
than me
27:55
on your
27:56
iPod.
27:58
There are
27:58
better
27:58
preachers
27:59
than me.
28:00
John Piper,
28:01
John MacArthur,
28:02
Martin Lloyd-Jones,
28:03
you can get
28:03
all of his
28:03
stuff on
28:04
Ephesians,
28:04
it's phenomenal,
28:05
Arturo
28:06
Azerdia.
28:08
Just go
28:08
and consume
28:09
it.
28:09
It's out
28:10
there for
28:10
you,
28:11
floating
28:11
around.
28:12
Eat away
28:13
until you're
28:14
full.
28:16
Not argue
28:16
that there's
28:16
no better
28:17
music,
28:18
but do you
28:18
know that
28:18
Wes and Liz
28:18
have an
28:19
album out
28:19
and they're
28:19
working on
28:20
another one?
28:21
So listen
28:21
to the music.
28:23
Sing along
28:24
at the top
28:24
of your lungs
28:25
in your car
28:25
by yourself.
28:27
If that's
28:28
all you're
28:28
ever going
28:29
to do,
28:30
why?
28:31
Why come
28:32
here and
28:32
why do
28:32
this?
28:33
I'm telling you
28:33
it makes
28:34
no sense
28:34
to me.
28:36
Why do
28:36
we gather
28:37
in this
28:37
way?
28:39
Because we're
28:39
a people,
28:40
a community
28:41
drawn together.
28:43
Because we
28:43
need to be
28:44
with people
28:44
who know
28:45
us,
28:45
who know
28:45
what we
28:46
struggle
28:46
with.
28:47
We've
28:48
been finding
28:48
Sam and
28:49
I as we're
28:49
continuing to
28:50
minister how
28:50
many people
28:51
in our church
28:52
struggle with
28:52
depression.
28:53
And we've
28:54
just kind of
28:54
been wrestling
28:55
with this,
28:55
like what is
28:56
going on
28:56
in our
28:57
church?
28:58
Why are
28:58
so many
28:59
people struggling
28:59
with depression?
29:00
And it just
29:01
kind of struck
29:01
me as I've
29:03
been doing
29:03
some reading
29:03
on the matter
29:04
that it's
29:05
not just
29:05
our church,
29:06
it's our
29:06
culture.
29:07
Maybe it's
29:08
just the
29:08
human condition
29:09
in general.
29:10
People struggle
29:11
with depression.
29:13
And so I
29:13
said to Sam
29:14
just the other
29:14
day,
29:15
it's probably
29:15
a really
29:16
wonderful thing
29:16
that we're
29:17
coming to
29:17
this realization
29:18
because it
29:18
means that
29:19
people are
29:20
letting us
29:20
know them.
29:21
That they're
29:21
actually putting
29:23
down the mask,
29:25
they're letting
29:25
the veneer be
29:26
stripped away,
29:27
they're actually
29:27
coming and being
29:28
honest about the
29:29
things that are
29:29
going on in
29:30
their life.
29:31
That's a good
29:31
thing.
29:33
We need
29:34
this.
29:35
We need to
29:36
expose ourselves.
29:37
It's the healthiest
29:38
thing that can
29:38
happen for my
29:38
Christian walk,
29:39
is that I say
29:40
to a group of
29:41
believers,
29:42
I'm failing.
29:43
Let me tell you
29:44
how I'm failing.
29:45
I need your
29:45
prayers and I
29:46
need your
29:47
support.
29:48
There are
29:48
burdens in my
29:49
life I cannot
29:49
bear on my
29:50
own.
29:51
We need
29:52
one another.
29:53
You need a
29:54
pastor who's
29:55
paying attention
29:56
to the ebbs and
29:57
flows to which
29:58
way the wind is
29:59
blowing in the
30:00
congregation so
30:00
that he can take
30:01
a text and not
30:02
only tell you
30:02
what it means
30:03
generally, but
30:04
tell you what it
30:04
means specifically.
30:06
John Piper and
30:07
all the other
30:08
guys that I
30:08
listed for you
30:09
can't do that.
30:10
They don't
30:10
know you.
30:12
A great old
30:12
adage is that a
30:14
shepherd should
30:14
smell like a
30:15
sheep.
30:16
I agree.
30:18
We can all be
30:18
stinky together.
30:19
Can we?
30:22
We are meant to
30:23
be an army,
30:25
not an audience.
30:27
There's a time
30:27
for this.
30:29
But we're meant
30:30
to be mobilized
30:30
as an army on
30:32
a mission.
30:34
And let me
30:34
remind you what
30:35
that means.
30:37
The kind of
30:37
nagging,
30:38
haunting words
30:39
of Jesus from
30:40
Mark 8,
30:41
verse 34.
30:41
I shared with
30:42
you last week
30:42
where Jesus
30:43
says,
30:43
if anyone
30:43
would come
30:44
after me,
30:45
let him deny
30:45
himself and
30:46
take up his
30:47
cross and
30:48
follow me.
30:49
Let him put
30:49
aside his
30:50
dreams and his
30:51
goals.
30:52
Let him instead
30:52
take up my
30:53
dreams and my
30:54
goals, which is
30:55
going to be
30:55
hard and it's
30:56
going to mean
30:56
death for them
30:57
and let him
30:58
follow me.
30:59
And at the
31:00
end of Mark,
31:00
he says,
31:01
again, this is a
31:02
re-declaration of
31:04
the Great
31:04
Commission, Mark
31:05
16, 15, and
31:06
16.
31:07
Go into all the
31:07
world and
31:08
proclaim the
31:08
gospel to the
31:10
whole creation.
31:11
Whoever believes
31:12
and is baptized
31:13
will be saved,
31:14
but whoever does
31:14
not believe will
31:15
be condemned.
31:17
And again, when
31:18
he appears to
31:19
the disciples in
31:20
Acts 1, 8, he
31:22
says, you will
31:23
see power when
31:24
the Holy Spirit
31:24
has come upon
31:25
you and you
31:26
will be my
31:26
witnesses in
31:27
Jerusalem and
31:28
in all Judea
31:29
and Samaria
31:30
and to the
31:31
ends of the
31:31
earth in these
31:32
ever-increasing
31:33
spheres of
31:34
influence, these
31:35
circles radiating
31:36
out from the
31:36
place that they
31:37
were, Jerusalem,
31:38
Judea, Samaria,
31:39
and to the end
31:40
of the earth.
31:42
And we see this
31:43
begin happening
31:43
just a few
31:45
chapters later
31:46
as we see
31:47
Peter's great
31:48
sermon and many
31:49
thousands come
31:50
to faith in
31:51
Christ.
31:52
And then in
31:52
Acts 5, 40
31:54
through 42,
31:55
after the
31:55
apostles are
31:56
taken to
31:57
trial and
31:58
they're then
31:59
let go,
32:00
they're told
32:01
not to speak
32:02
in the name of
32:03
Jesus anymore,
32:03
Acts 5,
32:05
verse 40,
32:05
and when they
32:06
had called
32:06
in the
32:06
apostles,
32:07
they beat
32:07
them and
32:08
charged them
32:09
not to speak
32:09
in the name
32:09
of Jesus
32:10
and let
32:11
them go.
32:11
Now just
32:12
pause for a
32:12
moment and
32:13
consider yourself
32:14
in that
32:14
situation.
32:15
Somebody beats
32:16
you, a
32:17
court beats
32:18
you and
32:19
tells you not
32:19
to speak in
32:19
the name of
32:20
Jesus anymore,
32:21
but they
32:21
respond in
32:22
such a
32:22
peculiar way,
32:23
right, in
32:23
such a
32:24
taking up
32:24
their cross
32:25
and dying
32:26
kind of a
32:27
way.
32:27
Then they
32:28
left the
32:28
presence of
32:29
the council,
32:30
rejoicing that
32:30
they were
32:31
counterworthy
32:31
to suffer
32:32
dishonor for
32:33
the name.
32:33
And then
32:34
listen to what
32:34
they do,
32:34
and every
32:35
day in
32:36
the temple
32:37
and from
32:38
house to
32:38
house,
32:39
they did
32:39
not cease
32:39
teaching and
32:41
preaching that
32:42
the Christ
32:42
is Jesus.
32:44
They did the
32:44
very opposite
32:45
thing of what
32:45
they were
32:46
charged to do
32:46
because they
32:47
understood that
32:47
they were an
32:48
army with a
32:50
mission.
32:50
And they
32:50
worked both
32:51
overtly and
32:53
covertly.
32:53
They went
32:54
into the
32:54
temple itself.
32:55
This was a
32:56
public place of
32:57
gathering and
32:58
teaching,
32:58
and they
32:58
were heard
32:59
proclaiming that
33:00
Jesus is the
33:01
Christ, and
33:02
they did it as
33:02
well from
33:03
house to
33:04
house to
33:05
house.
33:05
This is our
33:06
calling, beloved,
33:08
in Christ.
33:10
It's up on the
33:10
screen all the
33:11
time.
33:12
I think it's up
33:12
there now.
33:12
It is.
33:13
It's in your
33:14
bulletin.
33:16
I want you to
33:16
know the
33:18
vision statement
33:19
of our church.
33:20
It's important
33:20
that you know
33:22
it.
33:22
I was about a
33:24
year ago,
33:24
we were about
33:24
to have our
33:25
men's retreat
33:26
here at the
33:26
end of February.
33:27
About a year
33:27
ago,
33:27
we were
33:29
gone on our
33:29
men's retreat,
33:30
and a speaker,
33:31
which was a
33:31
good friend of
33:32
Darrell Allison's,
33:32
was there,
33:33
and we were
33:33
just talking
33:33
about vision,
33:34
and he's a
33:35
pastor of a
33:35
church,
33:36
and I was
33:36
talking about
33:36
the vision
33:37
statement of
33:37
our church,
33:38
and I told
33:38
him what it
33:38
was, and
33:39
he goes,
33:39
I really like
33:39
that.
33:40
I'm like,
33:40
yeah, we
33:40
try to put
33:40
it on stuff
33:41
a lot.
33:41
We really
33:41
try to press
33:42
that vision
33:43
at people,
33:43
and then I
33:44
won't name
33:44
the person,
33:45
not here at
33:46
all today,
33:47
or would be,
33:48
but he goes
33:48
walking by,
33:49
and I said,
33:49
hey, tell
33:50
him what our
33:50
vision statement
33:51
is, and he
33:51
went,
33:54
it starts
33:55
Christ's
33:56
family church,
33:56
exists,
33:57
and I'm
33:58
like, okay,
33:59
I guess I
34:00
have some
34:00
work to do
34:00
concerning this.
34:03
It's wordy,
34:04
I know,
34:04
it's wordy,
34:05
I know,
34:06
Christ's
34:06
family church
34:06
exists to
34:07
glorify God,
34:07
the great
34:07
high calling
34:08
of all
34:08
creation is
34:09
to glorify
34:10
God,
34:10
in what way?
34:12
By
34:12
experience and
34:13
proclaiming and
34:13
displaying the
34:14
supremacy of
34:14
Jesus Christ
34:15
in all things
34:16
to all peoples,
34:17
actually knowing
34:18
that it's true
34:18
that Jesus Christ
34:19
is supreme,
34:19
that he has
34:19
subjected all
34:20
things to
34:20
himself,
34:21
that in his
34:22
life, death,
34:23
and resurrection,
34:24
he has become
34:26
better than
34:26
everything else
34:27
in this world,
34:28
and that we
34:28
know that to
34:29
be true in
34:29
our own
34:30
experience,
34:31
the reality
34:31
in our lives,
34:32
and we
34:32
display that
34:33
in the way
34:34
that we
34:34
live,
34:34
and we
34:34
certainly
34:35
tell people
34:35
about it.
34:38
Sometimes I
34:38
wish I was
34:39
experiencing,
34:39
displaying,
34:40
and proclaiming,
34:40
because it
34:41
makes more
34:42
sense,
34:42
but it
34:42
sounds better,
34:43
experiencing,
34:43
proclaiming,
34:44
and displaying
34:44
the supremacy
34:45
of Jesus Christ
34:46
in all things
34:47
and to all
34:49
people.
34:50
So in all
34:50
things,
34:50
in the midst
34:51
of suffering,
34:52
both the good
34:52
times and the
34:53
bad in our
34:54
lives,
34:55
and to everyone,
34:56
every possible
34:57
place,
34:58
we can preach
34:58
the good news
34:59
of Jesus
34:59
Christ.
35:00
This is why
35:01
Christ Family
35:02
Church exists.
35:03
I think we
35:06
are a far cry
35:06
from accomplishing
35:07
this thing.
35:10
Who is our
35:11
Jerusalem,
35:12
our Judea,
35:12
and our
35:13
Samaria?
35:13
Certainly we
35:14
know what the
35:15
end of the
35:15
earth means.
35:16
We get all
35:17
peoples.
35:19
I think you
35:19
could argue
35:20
much about the
35:21
regional nature
35:22
of this type
35:23
of thing.
35:24
Jerusalem
35:24
could be our
35:25
Dahlonega,
35:27
and Judea
35:27
could be the
35:28
county surrounding
35:29
us, and Samaria
35:30
could be all of
35:31
Georgia.
35:31
It doesn't really
35:31
matter, though.
35:33
We're meant to
35:33
be going, is the
35:34
point.
35:35
We're meant to
35:35
start where we
35:36
are and continue
35:37
to go.
35:38
Let's just start
35:38
with this.
35:39
Last week I
35:39
shared with you
35:40
the three counties
35:41
in which we
35:41
live, and again
35:42
I know that not
35:43
all of you can
35:43
see this, Hall,
35:45
Lumpkin, Dawson
35:46
counties.
35:47
The dots here
35:48
are Gainesville,
35:49
Dahlonega,
35:52
Dawsonville.
35:53
My mind went
35:53
totally blank.
35:55
And the star,
35:56
which probably
35:56
looks like an
35:57
amoeba to you,
35:57
is where our
35:58
church building is
36:00
located, kind of
36:00
central in these
36:01
areas.
36:03
In this area
36:04
there's 232,000
36:05
people.
36:06
This is recent
36:07
census data.
36:08
It's probably
36:09
gone up since
36:10
then.
36:10
The Chattahoochee
36:11
Baptist Association,
36:12
which we're a
36:12
part of,
36:13
estimates that
36:15
80% of this
36:16
232,000 people
36:18
are unchurched.
36:20
So this is
36:20
self-reported
36:21
people who
36:21
attend church.
36:23
It doesn't
36:23
really specify
36:24
denomination.
36:26
I think that
36:26
this is a very
36:27
optimistic number
36:28
as a result of
36:29
that.
36:30
Unchurched.
36:30
But let's
36:31
use it as a
36:32
starting point,
36:32
just as a
36:33
number to
36:33
roll around
36:34
in your head,
36:34
that there
36:34
are 185,600
36:36
people in
36:37
these counties
36:37
around us
36:38
that in many
36:39
ways we
36:40
touch.
36:41
That there
36:42
are our
36:43
spheres, the
36:43
little places
36:44
that we run,
36:45
the circles that
36:45
we work and
36:46
play and sleep
36:47
in, those of
36:48
you who live
36:48
on campus.
36:50
And there are
36:50
people in that
36:51
category that are
36:53
dying and going
36:53
to hell, eternal
36:54
beings that matter
36:56
immensely.
36:56
And it's our
36:58
job to share
36:59
the gospel with
36:59
them.
37:00
God is at
37:01
work.
37:02
He wants to
37:03
save people.
37:03
And I think
37:04
that often he
37:04
delays blessing
37:06
because he wants
37:07
to bless us.
37:08
He wants us to
37:09
participate in the
37:10
blessing of the
37:11
gospel.
37:11
He wants us to
37:12
be obedient to
37:13
his call.
37:13
He wants to
37:14
see us grow up
37:14
in our faith and
37:15
actually do the
37:16
things that he's
37:17
asked us to do
37:18
that he might
37:19
pour out blessing
37:19
on us in
37:21
immense ways.
37:21
Now, what is
37:26
the primary mode
37:27
our church is
37:28
going to work
37:29
to this end?
37:31
To being a
37:31
people who are
37:32
changed, to
37:33
shift the
37:33
culture, that
37:34
our church is
37:35
different, that
37:36
we are all
37:36
actively sharing
37:38
our faith.
37:39
Certainly we
37:39
want to do that
37:40
on Sunday
37:40
mornings.
37:41
Anytime we
37:41
gather together
37:42
as a church,
37:42
we should be
37:43
doing this.
37:43
We should be
37:44
lifting high
37:44
Jesus Christ.
37:45
In my
37:46
preaching, every
37:47
sermon should
37:48
be a gospel
37:48
sermon.
37:49
Every text of
37:51
scriptures,
37:51
scriptures, just
37:52
cries out the
37:55
gospel.
37:56
A rapper once
37:56
said that all
37:58
roads in the
37:58
Bible lead to
37:59
Galgotha.
38:00
It's very true
38:01
of the scriptures.
38:02
This should be
38:02
the case for
38:04
us.
38:04
You should hear
38:04
it in everything
38:05
that I'm saying.
38:07
Certainly it should
38:07
be true in the
38:08
way in which we
38:09
sing, in the way
38:10
in which we pray
38:11
together.
38:12
Our heart should
38:13
be turned towards
38:13
Christ as we meet
38:14
together in this
38:15
setting because this
38:16
is in some degree
38:18
consumeristic.
38:19
There's only so
38:19
much interrelating
38:21
and connecting
38:21
with people you
38:22
can do before
38:22
and after the
38:22
service.
38:23
It is the
38:23
nature of what
38:25
we have.
38:25
We don't have a
38:26
big grand
38:26
foyer where you
38:27
can stand around
38:28
and drink coffee
38:29
in.
38:29
We clog up the
38:30
hall very
38:31
effectively every
38:31
Sunday morning
38:32
trying to do
38:33
that.
38:34
Don't we?
38:34
Go across the
38:35
hall.
38:35
It's better over
38:35
there.
38:38
But it's the
38:38
nature of it.
38:39
It's going to be
38:40
true of it.
38:41
So what's the
38:42
primary way we're
38:43
going to do
38:43
this?
38:43
And that's
38:44
going to be
38:44
through community
38:45
groups.
38:46
Through community
38:47
groups.
38:48
It has always
38:48
been the intention
38:49
of our community
38:49
groups to both
38:50
build community
38:51
with each other
38:52
to reach community
38:54
for that great
38:55
end.
38:56
In fact, I'll
38:56
suggest a name
38:57
change this
38:57
morning.
38:58
I may try to
38:58
work this into
38:59
more that we're
39:00
doing.
39:00
Instead of calling
39:01
them community
39:01
groups, calling
39:01
them community
39:02
outreach groups.
39:03
Because I think
39:04
that we've lost
39:04
in some sense that
39:05
vision of what
39:06
we're meant to be
39:07
doing together.
39:09
Gathering together
39:10
as a small unit of
39:12
the greater army in
39:13
order to accomplish
39:14
the great gospel end
39:16
of reaching our
39:17
communities around
39:18
us.
39:19
Community outreach
39:20
groups, this is the
39:21
activity we're meant
39:22
to be about together.
39:24
Now, we handed out,
39:25
and I don't think we
39:26
quite had enough for
39:26
everybody, which I
39:27
apologize for, but we
39:29
handed out a sheet
39:29
that has one another
39:30
verses on it.
39:31
I want you to grab
39:31
that out if you have
39:32
one.
39:32
If you don't have
39:33
one, if someone's
39:34
near you, share with
39:35
somebody who doesn't
39:36
have one.
39:36
If you don't have
39:37
one at all, it's
39:37
okay.
39:38
You're going to be
39:38
all right.
39:39
You're not going to
39:40
miss out on everything
39:41
not having this.
39:44
But we would say in
39:44
church that it's very
39:45
important that we do
39:46
the one another's of
39:48
scripture, right?
39:50
If you've been around
39:50
here for very long
39:51
at all, you've heard
39:52
me say that.
39:52
I say it in passing
39:53
quite often.
39:54
What am I talking
39:55
about?
39:55
The one another's?
39:57
It's these, all these
39:58
things, all the places
39:59
in which we're told
40:00
how to interact with
40:01
each other.
40:02
And these aren't the
40:02
only places.
40:03
Certainly there are
40:04
other instructions
40:05
given to us.
40:07
Typically it's a
40:08
repetition of many of
40:09
the things that you
40:09
read here that just
40:10
don't have the phrase
40:11
one another in it,
40:12
right?
40:12
And those are good
40:13
and valuable too.
40:14
I'm not trying to
40:14
elevate these in
40:15
any way, but a
40:16
pretty quick way we
40:18
can identify the way
40:19
we're meant to live
40:20
together is to look
40:21
at these one another
40:23
verses.
40:24
The one another
40:25
that's always being
40:26
referred to as the
40:27
people of God with
40:28
each other, right?
40:30
One person of God to
40:31
another person of God.
40:32
The way in which we're
40:33
meant to relate
40:34
together.
40:35
I've highlighted some
40:36
of them for you.
40:37
Bold faced them for
40:39
you.
40:39
John 13, 14.
40:40
If I then, your Lord
40:41
and teachers, as Jesus
40:42
talking, have washed
40:43
your feet, you also
40:44
ought to wash one
40:46
another's feet.
40:47
Not literally,
40:49
figuratively serving
40:51
in this way.
40:52
We're meant to serve
40:52
one another.
40:53
Do lowly jobs for
40:55
one another.
40:55
John 15, 12.
40:56
This is my commandment,
40:58
that you love one
40:59
another as I have
41:01
loved you.
41:02
Jesus loved us to the
41:03
point of death on the
41:04
cross.
41:06
Romans 12, 16.
41:07
Live in harmony with
41:09
one another.
41:10
Do not be haughty, but
41:11
associate with the
41:12
lowly.
41:13
Never be wise in your
41:14
own sight.
41:16
Romans 16, 16.
41:18
Greet one another with
41:19
a holy kiss.
41:20
This was a family
41:22
affection to kiss a
41:24
family member.
41:25
And the church had
41:26
begun doing this as
41:27
people were being
41:28
kicked out of their
41:28
families.
41:29
They would greet each
41:30
other as a faith
41:31
family, as Kyle always
41:32
says, and it became
41:33
known as a holy kiss.
41:35
I'm not suggesting that
41:35
we kiss one another,
41:36
but we ought to greet
41:37
each other as family.
41:38
Like, we ought to be
41:39
pulling people in the
41:41
way you should with a
41:42
family member.
41:43
All the churches of
41:44
Christ greet you.
41:45
1 Corinthians 11, 33.
41:46
So then, my brothers,
41:48
when you come together
41:49
to eat, wait for one
41:51
another.
41:52
Galatians 6, 2.
41:54
Bear one another's
41:54
burdens, and so
41:56
fulfill the law of
41:57
Christ.
41:59
1 Thessalonians 5, 11.
42:02
Therefore, encourage one
42:04
another and build one
42:05
another up, just as you
42:07
are doing.
42:08
Hebrews 3, 13.
42:11
But exhort one another
42:12
every day, as long as
42:13
it is called today, that
42:15
none of you may be
42:16
hardened by the
42:17
deceitfulness of sin.
42:19
Skip down, I'll come
42:20
back to Hebrews 10.
42:21
James 5, 16.
42:23
Therefore, confess your
42:24
sins to one another, and
42:26
pray for one another that
42:27
you may be healed.
42:28
The prayer of a
42:29
righteous person has
42:30
great power as it is
42:32
working.
42:35
This is the way we're
42:36
meant to function
42:36
together, beloved, and
42:37
you can't do it simply
42:40
showing up on a Sunday
42:42
morning, finding your
42:43
seat, getting up, and
42:45
walking back out.
42:47
For those of you who are
42:48
highly involved here, does
42:49
it bother you that you
42:51
don't know everyone's
42:52
name this morning?
42:53
It bothers me to no end.
42:55
It drives me crazy that I
42:58
don't even recognize some
42:59
of your faces.
42:59
That might be because it's
43:01
your first time here this
43:02
morning.
43:03
It may not be because you
43:06
slip in, and you hang out
43:08
in the hall for a little
43:09
while, and you sit down,
43:10
you get up, and you go,
43:11
and I never have a chance
43:12
to shake your hand and to
43:14
learn your name.
43:16
And for those of you who
43:16
know me, you know that it
43:17
takes me a couple times of
43:18
doing that to remember who
43:19
you are.
43:21
It drives me crazy.
43:23
Are you a person who
43:24
doesn't feel known?
43:26
You feel like you're
43:26
falling through the cracks?
43:28
This is not the setting to
43:29
be known in.
43:31
It's difficult to do that.
43:33
This is not too many people
43:34
to know, but we just have
43:36
to be able to take the
43:36
time to get to know you.
43:37
How do you do that?
43:39
You've got to do it in a
43:39
different setting.
43:41
You've got to do it in a
43:41
different setting.
43:43
And so all these functions,
43:44
these one another's, are
43:45
the way in which the church
43:47
lives together.
43:50
So the question for you is,
43:52
do you really love the
43:53
church?
43:54
Do you love the people of
43:56
the church, or do you love
43:57
programs and buildings and
43:59
maybe a pastor, or do you
44:01
love people?
44:03
If we love Christ, we will
44:05
love what he loves.
44:07
And Jesus loves the church.
44:11
Ephesians 5.25 says,
44:12
Christ loved the church and
44:14
he gave himself up for her.
44:17
Jesus loved the church
44:18
because Jesus purchased the
44:20
church.
44:21
Acts 20.28 says,
44:23
pay careful attention to
44:24
yourselves and to all the
44:25
flock in which the Holy
44:27
Spirit has made you
44:27
overseers, to care for the
44:29
church of God, which he,
44:31
being Christ, obtained with
44:33
his own blood.
44:36
He loves the church because
44:37
he purchased the church, and
44:39
Jesus himself identifies with
44:42
the church.
44:43
In Acts 9.4, remember Saul,
44:46
soon to be Paul's blinding
44:48
experience on the road.
44:51
Acts 9.4 says,
44:52
and Saul, falling to the
44:54
ground, he heard a voice
44:55
saying to him, Saul, Saul,
44:57
why are you persecuting me?
45:01
If we love Christ, we're
45:03
going to love what he loves.
45:04
And this is the church.
45:07
We love the church because
45:09
it's the gospel means, it's a
45:11
picture of the gospel, it's
45:13
this expression of God's
45:15
grace.
45:16
Every one of you who is
45:17
found in Christ is so
45:18
precious because you're a
45:19
picture of the gospel at
45:20
work.
45:21
You're a picture of the
45:22
transforming power of the
45:23
gospel.
45:24
I love it.
45:25
One of my favorite things
45:26
that we do as a church is we
45:27
get testimonies for new
45:28
members, and I get to read
45:29
them, and I get to read
45:31
these wonderful stories of
45:32
God's redemptive work in the
45:33
lives of individuals.
45:35
It is a pleasure to me.
45:39
And the drive of all of this
45:41
is we're loving one another,
45:42
as we're pressing at one
45:43
another, as we're bearing one
45:44
another's burdens, is so
45:46
that, so that we will be
45:49
going.
45:50
That's not the end itself,
45:52
that all of your emotional
45:54
issues get healed, but so
45:56
that they do, so that you
45:57
can go and share the good
45:59
news of Jesus Christ, so
46:00
that the transforming power
46:02
of the work is alive in your
46:03
life, and that you can go
46:05
and bring it about in the
46:06
lives of others.
46:07
Let me read to you again
46:08
Hebrews 10, 24 and 25.
46:10
That is back on your sheet,
46:12
if you care to look.
46:12
And let us consider how to
46:14
stir up one another to love
46:16
and good works.
46:17
not neglecting to meet
46:19
together as is the habit of
46:20
some, but encouraging one
46:22
another, and all the more
46:23
as you see the day drawing
46:26
near.
46:26
So this is the drive of that
46:28
together.
46:30
You need to be involved,
46:32
involved, participating,
46:34
marching with a local
46:35
congregation.
46:37
We love to have you here, so
46:39
hear me clearly.
46:40
We are so thankful that you're
46:41
here, but it doesn't have to
46:43
be here.
46:44
We care first and foremost
46:46
about the kingdom of God.
46:48
We care so deeply about the
46:51
gospel and about our Jesus.
46:53
It's good news.
46:54
It's about Him.
46:56
And if you want to go march
46:57
with another congregation,
46:58
just go do it.
46:59
Just be marching.
47:00
Just be involved.
47:01
Engage yourself in the life of
47:04
a church.
47:05
If you're here, I hope it's
47:08
because you enjoy being here,
47:10
and I hope it's because you
47:10
want to be here for the right
47:11
reasons, and if you're not
47:12
already involved to the degree
47:15
that you should be, I would
47:16
invite you to do that very
47:18
thing.
47:19
Get more involved in the
47:20
activity of our church.
47:22
If you are not involved in a
47:23
community group, and you say
47:25
that you're part of the life of
47:25
this church, you need to be
47:27
involved in a community group.
47:28
You need to engage in that
47:30
way.
47:31
Members, let me remind you of
47:34
the covenant you signed when
47:36
you became a member of this
47:37
church.
47:38
There are seven commitments
47:39
that you made in that
47:40
covenant to this congregation.
47:43
Four of those seven have to do
47:46
with the way in which we live
47:47
with one another.
47:50
The second one, to love my
47:52
family, the church, and the
47:55
world with the gospel of Jesus
47:57
Christ.
47:58
Are you giving yourself
47:59
opportunity to preach the
48:00
gospel to the church?
48:01
Because we need to hear it.
48:04
These ideas aren't staying
48:05
alive in our minds by
48:06
themselves.
48:06
We need you.
48:07
You're important.
48:09
You have an expression.
48:10
You have the spirit of God.
48:11
You have a perspective that we
48:14
need to hear.
48:15
We need to hear the gospel come
48:16
out of your mouth for the sake of
48:18
our hearts.
48:19
The third one, to promote the
48:21
edification and sanctification of
48:24
the church, the building up and the
48:25
purifying of the church, by sharing
48:28
God's work in my life and praying
48:31
for the church.
48:33
If you're only coming here on
48:34
Sunday morning, you cannot do that.
48:36
There is no way to do that
48:38
activity.
48:40
Number five, to hold myself and the
48:42
brethren to the standard of
48:43
scripture, submitting myself freely to
48:46
the discipline of the church for my
48:47
restoration and spiritual gain.
48:49
Do people know the struggles that are
48:50
going on in your life?
48:51
Are people bringing correction to you
48:52
because you're sharing with them
48:53
what's happening?
48:54
Are you hiding away?
48:56
Are you closeted off?
48:57
It's not healthy.
48:58
And then sixthly, to contribute to the
49:02
work of the church with my talents, my
49:04
time, and my finances.
49:09
There is time in your week to do this.
49:13
We're only asking two things of you.
49:14
We do many activities as a church, but
49:16
the two things we want to see you
49:17
involved with are Sunday mornings and
49:20
with a community group.
49:21
And it pains me a little bit to say
49:23
this, but I will say it because I
49:24
believe it.
49:26
If you can have to choose between one
49:28
or the other, get involved with a
49:29
community group.
49:31
Get involved with a community group.
49:32
You've got that week, students, that
49:33
there's just no way you're getting it
49:35
done.
49:36
If you do not lose something in the
49:38
week, spend some time and study.
49:40
Don't show up on Sunday morning.
49:42
I think the community groups rightly
49:43
done are going to be infinitely more
49:45
valuable for you.
49:47
There's so much more to be gained
49:48
sitting down with people, studying the
49:51
scriptures, opening up your life, being
49:52
honest.
49:55
Love to see you at both.
49:56
I think both have important places in
49:58
your life, but if you've got to choose,
50:01
I'd ask you to choose community groups.
50:03
They're that important.
50:04
We must do this.
50:06
If you're a member of this church and
50:08
you're not actively involved in a
50:09
community group, you need to be.
50:11
If you are unwilling to be, then things
50:13
are going to get uncomfortable for you
50:14
around here.
50:16
Because I'm going to bother you and
50:18
bother you and bother you until you
50:20
decide to get involved in a group.
50:21
Or you decide that you'd rather just go
50:24
someplace where consumption is okay.
50:27
You just want to go sit.
50:28
That's fine.
50:29
If you have committed to us, to this
50:32
covenant, I have a responsibility to you.
50:35
And I love you much too much to not
50:38
serve you in this way.
50:41
Wednesday night is when all of our
50:42
community groups meet right now.
50:44
Wednesday is not a holy day.
50:46
It just happens to be kind of the
50:47
middle of the week.
50:48
Sunday is not a holy day for that
50:51
matter.
50:53
It's the middle of the week, which for
50:54
most people works out really good.
50:56
We get to meet with people of God on
50:57
Sunday.
50:57
We meet with people of God again on
50:58
Wednesday.
50:59
It helps push us through.
51:01
If you're not available on a Wednesday
51:03
evening, come let me know that.
51:05
Man, we want you to be involved.
51:07
So much so that we'll try to start a
51:08
group just to meet your schedule.
51:11
You don't want to meet in the evening.
51:13
Evening times are not good for you.
51:15
I understand, man.
51:16
After dinner, my graph goes like this,
51:19
my energy level through the day.
51:21
But then when dinner hits, it goes like
51:22
this.
51:23
Once I get food in me after dinner, I'm
51:26
really wrapping it up pretty quickly.
51:29
If that's rough for you, I'm sure we
51:31
could get a group going that meets at
51:33
6 a.m.
51:35
I don't know.
51:37
There you go.
51:38
It's vital and it's important.
51:45
And here's the thing.
51:46
It's your joy.
51:48
It's your growth that's at stake here.
51:50
But the thing that bothers me, the
51:52
thing that presses at me about this, the
51:54
thing that frustrates me about this is
51:57
not so much you.
51:58
And I hope that doesn't come off as
51:59
super unloving, but it's this.
52:02
It's that I want to see this change.
52:06
And I need your help.
52:07
I can't accomplish sharing the gospel
52:10
with all 185,600 of these people, but I
52:12
think that we, through a movement of the
52:15
spirit, can.
52:16
So we have to get active and involved.
52:20
The responsibility level is much higher
52:23
with the proper diagram view of what the
52:26
church looks like.
52:27
You have a part to play.
52:29
You have a responsibility to your
52:31
spirit, those people that you work with
52:33
and are involved with.
52:34
And I think that the best way, as a
52:37
church, we can encourage that and support
52:40
and equip you for that is through
52:43
community groups.
52:44
And that's why we do them.
52:45
That's the very reason that we gather.
52:47
Not because we've invented some extra
52:49
thing.
52:50
There's a lot of trendy stuff that's going
52:52
on right now about small groups and the
52:55
debate over Sunday school.
52:57
people and they call all kinds of things
52:59
is ridiculous.
53:01
The point being that we're gathering
53:03
together in smaller groups of people who
53:05
can do so many things that we can't do in
53:06
this setting.
53:07
Those one another's of scripture.
53:09
We need to be working those things out
53:11
together for the great sake of the gospel
53:14
and our joy in it.
53:16
Let's pray together.
53:18
Let's pray together.