Created for Community.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] All right, go ahead and have a seat. [0:01] Welcome to Village Church. [0:03] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve. [0:05] I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church, and I am always happy to see you here, or [0:10] else I would just be talking to myself, which is weird. [0:14] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Genesis chapter 1, right there at

[0:18] the beginning of the book. [0:19] We’re going to be there for a good portion of the morning. [0:21] We’re also going to be in Genesis 3, and those are going to be kind of our two main texts [0:25] this morning, and then we’re also going to be in other places in the Scripture. [0:28] But if you sit tight there, you should be OK. [0:31] Now, we’re starting a new series today, and over the next nine weeks, we’re going to

[0:37] go through a series on Gospel-centered community. [0:41] Now, typically, when I use the term community, we think about small group programs in the [0:47] local church, or community groups, or cell groups, or Sunday school, if you’re raised [0:52] in the same tradition that I was raised in. [0:54] While community does involve these types of organized gatherings, community is much [1:00] larger and far more robust than that.

[1:04] It is about the whole of our lives in living out the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. [1:12] Now, if you’ve spent any time in the local church, you probably have experience in some [1:18] type of group gathering, or you have some vision of what small groups or community groups [1:23] are. [1:24] So when we invite people into the atmosphere and into the environments of community groups [1:29] that we have, typically what happens is that if we kind of span the room for vision, we’ll

[1:35] get like five different visions for what community is, five different thoughts as to what the [1:41] point of the gathering is, with everybody thinking, oh, well, I’ve done this before, [1:45] so I know all about it. [1:47] And so what happens there is that some things can get lost in translation, some things can [1:51] get left out, and you thought that was the cornerstone of what community is, and why [1:56] don’t we do this?

[1:56] Because this is what my old church did, you know, the church you left. [2:00] But so we kind of have these competing visions about what’s going on. [2:05] And so one hope that I have over the next nine weeks is that we can get everyone on [2:11] the same page as to what the vision for community at Village Church is. [2:17] And so we want you to know what community is here and what living in community, and [2:23] specifically with the organized gatherings that we have as village groups really is.

[2:28] And so Pastor Bob Thune, who’s an Acts 29 pastor out in Nebraska, has organized a great [2:33] guide about what gospel-centered community really is. [2:37] And you know, some months back when the staff here went through that book, we were thinking [2:45] about, man, this is wonderful, and this kind of just really puts on display what it is [2:50] that we want, our hope for our church with our core value of community actually is. [2:56] And so at first we kind of thought, well, maybe we should just kind of suggest discipleship

[3:01] groups to go through this. [3:02] And then we were like, well, maybe we could just kind of take a break from sermon-based [3:05] groups and just get our community groups to go through this. [3:08] And then what we really kind of centered on is that we believe so greatly that we need [3:14] to kind of do this as a church, that we were going to go through it on Sunday mornings, [3:18] as well as the books themselves in community groups for the next nine weeks.

[3:23] And so that is what we’re going to saturate ourselves with for the next nine weeks. [3:27] And so what I’m going to ask is that you hang with us through those weeks. [3:32] So if you’re new here, I really kind of am going to ask something really big of you, [3:37] and that is for you to really catch a vision for what we want for our community here at [3:42] You’re going to want to hang with us for the next nine weeks. [3:45] You’re going to want to stick it out.

[3:47] You really are going to want to really try to gather with a couple of our community [3:52] groups maybe and go through really the curriculum on weeknights as well. [3:58] But that’s what we’re going to be doing. [4:01] And so today specifically in week one, what we really need to do is just take an overview [4:07] of what community is biblically. [4:10] What is it that God has called us into?

[4:13] Why do we need it? [4:15] Why do we struggle with it? [4:17] How should we think about the gospel in community? [4:22] And so today I kind of want to span back and just take an overarching view of what is [4:28] community and why is it so difficult for us? [4:32] And so to do that, we’re going to need to start with creation itself,

[4:36] then talk about why sin causes us to struggle in relationships, [4:41] and then how Jesus is the hope and transformer for our experience in community. [4:49] It’s quite frankly, really the thesis statement for this morning is just that you cannot live [4:55] out the gospel apart from community because it is what we were created to experience. [5:04] Pray with me. [5:06] Father, you are a good God.

[5:10] And I am thankful that you allow us into your presence. [5:15] Lord, you’ve called us into the privilege of worshiping before you through song, [5:21] of praying to you, of fellowshipping with you, the privilege of being in a reconciled [5:27] relationship with you where we can love you. [5:29] You have called us to experience that reconciliation as well with other people, [5:35] to love other people, to disciple other people, to live in community where we will grow and

[5:43] others will grow as we love one another. [5:47] Lord, be merciful to me a sinner. [5:49] Help us to catch that vision this morning. [5:54] In the name of Jesus, I pray. [5:56] Amen. [5:57] Well, just jumping square into it, point number one this morning is that we were created

[6:03] for community. [6:05] We were created for community. [6:08] In Genesis chapter one, here’s how Moses records the creation of humans starting in verse 26. [6:16] Then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion [6:23] over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the [6:28] earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

[6:32] So God created man in his image and the image of God, he created him, male and female, [6:39] he created them. [6:42] So there’s really two significant aspects to that text that for our purpose I want to hone in on. [6:48] And the first part is that we were created by a relational God. [6:54] Tells us in Genesis 1, 1 that in the beginning there was God. [6:59] He has always been and he will always be.

[7:03] He is the beginning. [7:04] He is the end. [7:06] He’s the source of all that is and his glory is the destination toward which all must move. [7:14] And there in Genesis chapter one, as God creates everything, there is a significant emphasis on the [7:21] creation of human beings. [7:24] There’s an interruption to the narrative of creation.

[7:27] There’s a discussion. [7:28] There’s an emphasis and a mission of dominion reserved for people that you do not see in any [7:35] other part of creation. [7:37] Then in verse 26, it lets us in on why we have the desires for others to be in our lives in the [7:45] first place. [7:46] I mean, if you are the most individualistic, most isolated person in the world, you still have this

[7:55] longing for relationship in you. [7:58] You have this longing for friendship. [8:01] Study after study has shown us that if you put someone in isolation long enough, they will be [8:08] miserable. [8:09] No matter how much they tell you they don’t like people, no matter how much they tell you they [8:13] want to be alone, everyone has this longing.

[8:18] Any man who doesn’t really like people, he still desires, especially for a spouse, to share his or [8:26] even her life with. [8:29] And the reason for that is contained there in verse 26. [8:33] God lets us in on how he exists himself when he says, let us make man in our image. [8:42] He himself is the picture of perfect relationship in himself. [8:47] God is absolutely unique in that he is perfectly one, yet also perfectly united in the community

[8:54] of God. [8:55] And historically, this is called the doctrine of the Trinity. [8:58] That he is one God, yet he exists in three persons. [9:01] God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. [9:05] He’s one God, three persons. [9:07] Now there is great mystery in that.

[9:11] But the application for our purpose today is that God exists in perfect relationship. [9:19] And because he is a relational God, we were created as relational people. [9:26] You know, when God creates man, it is with the designation that man would exist, as the text [9:33] says it right there, in the image of God. [9:37] And so the mission of dominion over all of creation bears with it the image of God to be [9:45] shown to the world all around us.

[9:48] And therefore, for us to bear the image of God to the world around us, and because of the way God [9:53] himself exists, we cannot do that in isolation. [9:57] We cannot do that just as individuals totally separated from others, because that is not how [10:04] God himself exists. [10:06] So God made male and female. [10:09] God created a relationship from the beginning because a very important aspect of the image of

[10:15] requires us to live in relationship in order to show the world around us the image of God. [10:24] This is difficult. [10:26] This is tough, especially for somebody like me. [10:29] I am not the type of person that spends my week craving to sit in a room with other people and [10:37] talk about my deepest, darkest longings. [10:39] I am not the type of person that loves to hold hands around a room and pray with others.

[10:45] Here’s when we do that, when I’ve ever had to do that, now I will never call people to do that [10:50] for the very purpose that when I’m doing it, I’m actually spending the whole time praying [10:55] that neither of our hands start sweating and praying that the other person does not have [11:01] some type of communicable sickness. [11:03] I don’t know why I’m doing this. [11:04] Because that’s skin to skin, man.

[11:07] When did you wash your hands last? [11:10] Did I see you sneeze into it while we were sitting around? [11:14] Like what’s going on here? [11:15] When can we please say amen? [11:17] Please, for the love of God, say amen. [11:22] So we can end this madness.

[11:27] I don’t sit around thinking to myself, you know, my day would be so much better [11:32] if I could just, you know, share my secrets with someone. [11:36] No, no, I think about my day would be so much better if nobody asked me a word. [11:42] The worst thing you can do for me is when you ask me how I’m doing and I say, pretty good. [11:47] No, really, Steve. [11:49] How are you doing?

[11:52] Pretty? [11:53] Good. [11:55] I answered you. [11:57] I’m usually somewhere between pretty and good. [12:01] That’s just me. [12:03] All right.

[12:04] You know, inside of my deepest struggles of life, when you’re like, Steve, where are you with God? [12:11] I read my Bible this morning and I prayed. [12:14] But how was it? [12:16] It was obedient. [12:17] I got nothing else for you, man.

[12:21] I’m not much deeper than that on my own. [12:25] I will be honest. [12:26] And so community for me is a lot of repentance.

[12:33] It’s a lot of me taking a look at myself and saying, [12:38] I do not naturally desire the environments that God has called me into. [12:46] Because sometimes they’re quite awkward. [12:48] If you’ve ever sat down with me and you don’t know me very well, [12:50] that was an awkward experience, wasn’t it? [12:52] I’m glad we got to share it together.

[12:54] But, you know, I really don’t have that much to say. [13:00] You’re like Sunday is shocking then. [13:01] I know.

[13:04] But part of my life and part of the reason that I love to talk about community [13:10] is for those of you that don’t get the really the ushy gushy feeling where you’re like, [13:15] when I get in a room with other people and we’re just talking about Jesus, I get all the feels. [13:19] All right. [13:19] I’m with you. [13:21] All right.

[13:21] I’m like, I don’t know what’s wrong with those people. [13:23] I don’t know what’s different for me than it is from them. [13:26] And so when I have to enter into community, what it is, [13:29] is it is me looking at the scriptures and saying, God created me [13:33] to be a relational being like he is a relational being. [13:37] And he’s called me to connect with other people on a spiritual level

[13:42] where I’m being a disciple, I’m being made a disciple, and I am making other disciples. [13:47] It requires me to deny myself to enter into those type of environments. [13:53] And that is an extremely good thing. [13:56] That is an extremely healthy thing. [13:58] And it is not something that I’m always chasing after. [14:02] But because of God’s command, it is something that I know I must chase after.

[14:10] And if you’re anything like me, that’s your story. [14:15] That’s what God is calling you towards. [14:18] And that is one of the examples of what repentance must look like in your life. [14:22] Why? [14:24] Because number two, this morning, sin has broken community. [14:27] Sin has broken community.

[14:31] Sin always starts with questioning God’s design. [14:35] And that’s how it started in the Garden of Eden. [14:37] I mean, we have this great vision of what’s going on in Genesis chapter one. [14:41] And then in Genesis chapter three, [14:43] Adam and Eve have been given this designation by God. [14:46] And here’s what happens to the command of God on their lives.

[14:49] They’re given one command. [14:50] Don’t eat of the tree of the guard of the knowledge of good and evil. [14:55] It says the serpent comes into the woman, comes to Eve and says, [14:59] You will not surely die. [15:02] For God knows that when you eat of the tree, your eyes will be opened [15:06] and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

[15:12] Have you ever wondered in your life if we were created for community? [15:17] Why are relationships so difficult?

[15:20] I mean, sometimes it’s difficult to even want it. [15:24] And as I’ve said, if you’re anything like me, [15:26] there are times you even struggle to see the point. [15:31] But it is undeniable. [15:33] And every study on the subject shows that within us is first, a craving for relationship. [15:39] And secondly, in the scripture, a command to be in relationship,

[15:44] in community with others. [15:45] And the problem with that is sin. [15:48] When Eve is tempted there in that text, [15:51] she’s first tempted to question the design of God. [15:55] See, God told her something. [15:56] He was crystal clear.

[15:58] He said, You should not do this. [16:01] It will go bad if you do. [16:04] And so the serpent comes and what does he do? [16:06] He says, Really?

[16:09] You think God’s telling you the truth? [16:11] You think God understands how you belong inside of that command, [16:17] how you feel about that command? [16:20] You know, God’s lying to you. [16:22] You’re the exception. [16:25] You don’t have to do things exactly the way that God has laid out for you to do them.

[16:29] There’s an out for you. [16:30] Just eat it and you will see that God did not lead you the right way. [16:36] You can just lead yourself because you’ll be like God.

[16:42] And immediately sin broke what God made holy. [16:48] I mean, if you go down to verse nine, [16:50] you want to see the consequence of these sins. [16:52] You see God coming down calling to Adam after they’ve both eaten. [16:57] And he says to Adam, Where are you?

[17:00] It’s not that God needed a better GPS. [17:04] God knew where Adam was, but there’s so much consequence in that question, [17:10] because what God is iterating to Adam in that moment is something is broken about what was a hole between us. [17:18] About the community that you and I shared with one another.

[17:25] Adam responds and he says, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. [17:31] And God responds and says, Who told you that you were naked? [17:36] Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

[17:41] Right here is where we see the real consequence of sin, the real brokenness of sin, [17:48] as Adam is given an opportunity for reconciliation. [17:52] And what does Adam do? [17:54] Shifts blame.

[17:56] He looks to God. [17:58] Blames him and Eve. [18:00] He says, Well, God, you know, the woman. [18:04] This is a husbandly sin. [18:08] It’s her fault.

[18:10] The woman whom you gave to be with me, you know, she gave me the fruit of the tree and I ate. [18:18] So God looks to Eve and said to the woman, What is it that you’ve done? [18:24] Well, Adam had already, you know, used the spouse card. [18:26] And so Eve, given an opportunity to seek reconciliation, what does she do? [18:30] Shifts blame. [18:32] The serpent.

[18:34] Deceived me. [18:36] And I ate.

[18:38] What you see is a couple of things going on here. [18:41] First, you see shame. [18:43] You see the shame that we struggle with to this day, a shame that separates, [18:48] a shame that has broken our primary relationship with God as Adam and Eve cover themselves in an [18:55] attempt to hide from God. [18:58] And when that doesn’t work, there’s an attempt to be less than transparent with God.

[19:04] You see, friends, separation from God then causes separation from one another as Adam and Eve [19:10] seek to blame something, anything, anyone other than themselves. [19:16] They isolate themselves. [19:18] Isolation, friends, is a curse that we choose. [19:22] You know, selfishness is really ugly. [19:24] And I think I’d almost have a hundred percent agreement on that.

[19:27] I think everybody would say selfishness is so ugly. [19:31] But from the first taste of the curse of sin, that is something, yes, that we all hate. [19:37] Yet it is something that each and every one of us also struggle with. [19:43] See, it’s the very thing that you will look to someone else and you’ll say, [19:45] oh, you are so selfish. [19:47] I hate that in you.

[19:51] Yet when you look in the mirror, you can probably come up with at least a dozen different [19:56] thoughts from that day where you yourself have been selfish. [20:02] Note the selfish choices of Adam and Eve in this example. [20:06] Sin blinded them to reconciliation and instead they sought out what they thought was the [20:12] best thing for them as individuals. [20:14] Well, if I can just separate myself off from Eve, then maybe God will accept me.

[20:21] See, Eve thinks, well, I’ve already been separated off from Adam and now I’m taking [20:25] the blame. [20:26] If I can just separate myself from the temptation that was in me and blame the creation of God.

[20:35] Selfishness begets selfishness begets selfishness and they continue to not own up. [20:42] They don’t seek forgiveness. [20:45] They don’t seek to be reconciled with God or to one another and instead selfishness [20:50] is the choice of isolation over community because sin has broken community. [20:59] Sin has turned you into someone that every time will focus on the me rather than focusing [21:07] on the me.

[21:10] You can go to the highest form of relationship and when you deal with the bread and butter of [21:17] marital problems almost every time in my experience, it is because one or both spouses [21:23] focus on the me rather than focusing on the we. [21:28] Almost every single time. [21:31] Selfishness breaks community down over and over and over and it is the thread that goes down [21:39] through every one of our spines.

[21:44] Because deep down you really believe that life is all about you, but for you to enter into God’s [21:50] vision of community, friend, you must repent of selfishness. [21:55] You must repent of thinking that you are the center of God’s design or even worse, that you [22:02] are the exception to the rules that God has made to bring us back into his original design. [22:10] Because sin has broken community.

[22:16] So where do we go with that? [22:18] What’s our hope? [22:20] Our hope is of course number three, that Jesus redeems community. [22:25] He redeems it. [22:27] If you’ll just give me a few moments, I would love to share with you how Jesus gives us hope [22:32] for ourselves as individuals, but also in that restoring and bringing about the possibility of

[22:40] reconciliation and restoration of real legitimate community with one another. [22:46] Because Christ has defeated sin. [22:49] He has. [22:50] Now you have all probably experienced the many reasons to avoid community, [22:57] especially within the church.

[23:00] I have spent the past 36 and a half years of my life in church. [23:07] I’m 36 and a half years old. [23:10] All right. [23:10] I can’t look back and remember a moment of my life where I didn’t know who Jesus was, [23:16] where I didn’t know what church was, or I didn’t know that Sunday morning was booked. [23:22] As was Sunday afternoon for choir practice, Sunday night for Bible study,

[23:26] Wednesday night for prayer meeting, youth group, awanas, bus visitation. [23:32] I am so glad we scaled it back. [23:34] I was exhausted. [23:36] All right. [23:38] I loved every minute of it. [23:40] But during those times, during these three and a half decades of being in the Church

[23:46] of Jesus Christ, I have not been separated off from the pain that can go on in community.

[23:52] I’ve seen people get hurt. [23:55] I’ve seen pastors hurt people. [23:57] I’ve seen people hurt pastors. [23:58] I’ve seen church members hurt one another. [24:00] I’ve seen visitors come into the church, have terrible experiences because the [24:03] church members were just stupid.

[24:05] All right. [24:05] I mean, I have seen it all. [24:07] I have experienced it as well. [24:10] I have been hurt many, many times by people. [24:15] I mean, I’m not talking about even recently. [24:17] I mean, I look back to childhood.

[24:19] I mean, I mean, just things happened that were awful. [24:21] And in every one of those instances, it happened because of sin.

[24:26] It happened because of selfishness. [24:28] It happened because of broken community, because of sin. [24:31] But friend, I want to talk to you about why faith and repentance cancel all of those reasons [24:38] to not be involved in the church.

[24:44] And it’s just one reason. [24:46] Jesus, he is the reason. [24:50] The good news of Jesus means that he redeems us from the curse of sin. [24:56] You are not here this morning because of me. [24:59] You shouldn’t be. [25:00] I’m not here this morning because of you.

[25:02] I shouldn’t be. [25:04] You shouldn’t be here because of anything in the church other than Jesus Christ. [25:10] He is the primary reason that we are all together. [25:13] And when he becomes the primary reason, well, then people cease to be the reason to quit.

[25:21] People cease to be the reason that we use and the reason that becomes the excuse [25:28] for us to say, I tried church. [25:32] It’s messy. [25:34] It’s hurtful. [25:36] And I’m out. [25:38] I understand that greatly.

[25:40] But friend, you underestimate the power of Jesus Christ. [25:44] In the gospel, Jesus literally came to earth to live a sinless life so that he would have [25:51] no burden of the curse of his own to bear. [25:55] And because he didn’t have his own sin to bear, he could bear my sin. [26:01] He could bear your sin. [26:05] He substituted himself under that penalty of sin and then rose from the dead to defeat

[26:11] sin and death. [26:14] It’s not something that you can do. [26:16] That’s not something that I can do. [26:17] That’s something that only Jesus can do. [26:20] And because of that, we can be redeemed from sin if we place our faith in him. [26:29] We are redeemed then for reconciliation and restoration.

[26:35] See, there’s one thing to realize what you were redeemed from. [26:39] Sin. [26:41] But Jesus didn’t just redeem you from sin so that you could stay in a static state [26:46] of being redeemed from. [26:48] In realizing you’ve been redeemed from something, you must also realize that the [26:53] New Testament and the Old Testament, the whole thing is very clear that you have been redeemed

[26:59] for something to live out reconciliation with God, to live out becoming more and more restored [27:08] as you grow older in this life to the original design for humanity. [27:16] That is what God has done. [27:18] And in that reconciliation, we’re reconciled first to our relationship with him. [27:23] And because of that, we can then also be reconciled to one another. [27:30] And then in reconciliation, we live lives of trusting Jesus for redemption and then also

[27:38] to work restoration of God’s design back into our lives. [27:43] Therefore, even in struggling with sin, we seek community with others. [27:49] Why? [27:50] Because we believe we were designed to.

[27:55] If you want to follow Jesus, you need to realize that trusting him is obeying him.

[28:05] Community is our repentance back toward God’s design. [28:09] And so when I am in those meetings where it’s just like, man, another guy, he’s getting all [28:15] the feels over there. [28:16] Like it looks like he’s really loving community. [28:18] I mean, his spiritual gift is relating. [28:21] All right.

[28:22] It just ain’t me. [28:23] And when I’m sitting there and I’m like, I’m not designed like him. [28:26] This doesn’t feel natural to me. [28:28] My personality doesn’t gel with anybody else’s personality in this room. [28:33] Why don’t I leave? [28:35] Because it is my repentance back towards God’s design to join in, even when it doesn’t

[28:45] feel like anything.

[28:50] God’s doing something because I’m obeying him. [28:53] I believe that I have to. [28:56] Why? [28:57] Jesus. [28:58] Because he has told me that in faith. [29:03] Love him and love others as myself.

[29:09] That is what redemption hews into your life. [29:13] And then the restoration of God’s design in your life looks like you incrementally [29:19] obeying him more and more when you feel like it and when you don’t feel like it. [29:26] You obey him. [29:27] Why? [29:28] Faith.

[29:29] Because you trust that he is right even when you disagree with him.

[29:37] That’s the real stuff of faith. [29:40] Faith in Jesus is necessary for real lasting community. [29:45] Building an enjoying community requires that we believe the gospel of Jesus. [29:50] We believe that he is God. [29:54] How does that work out? [29:55] How does that actually work in real life?

[29:58] 1 Corinthians 12 casts a vision of those redeemed by Jesus coming together to build [30:04] the community of the church with their different giftings and then stating, [30:10] now that you are in Jesus, you are members together. [30:13] I mean, note in verse 27, he says, you’re the body of Christ and individually members of it. [30:20] He puts it this way in Romans chapter 12 verse 5. [30:22] He says, so we, though many are one body in Christ and individually members one of another.

[30:32] And so he’s casting this vision knowing that you see yourself as one. [30:39] I mean, I don’t know about you, but when I wake up in the morning, it’s just me. [30:42] You’re my wife’s there, but it’s just me. [30:45] I can’t read her mind. [30:47] She can’t read my mind. [30:48] I’m an individual.

[30:50] And God says, yes, you are. [30:52] But understand that in the gospel, he does this work where all of us with our different [30:58] giftings, our different abilities, our different levels of understanding the gospel, [31:04] our different levels of growth in the gospel. [31:07] We are to look out at other people in the local church who follow Jesus, who believe Jesus, [31:14] who want Jesus.

[31:15] And we say, hey, I’m an individual, but you and me, we are members one of another. [31:21] Why, Jesus? [31:23] We’re his body. [31:24] That’s what he has called us towards. [31:26] And so a lot of guys that are like me who want to avoid it, we’re like, I don’t know [31:31] if I want to talk to you right now or ever.

[31:39] We’re tempted to look at that and say, well, in Genesis, when God was forming community, [31:44] it was a calling to marriage. [31:47] And so, you know, I’m married. [31:48] I’ve been married for almost 12 years. [31:50] And so that’s my community. [31:51] That’s all I need.

[31:54] No, as the word goes on and it gets more robust about the vision of God for our lives, [32:00] we get here. [32:02] And he says, Steve, Jesse’s not enough. [32:06] That’s your primary calling. [32:08] But I’ve also called you into my body at large. [32:12] And that’s the Church of Jesus Christ.

[32:14] You are to be a member of the church, joining up with other people. [32:23] But friends, I know the struggle is real. [32:28] Now, the Bible is clear on God’s vision for us building real, authentic community. [32:34] But even though we know the truth, [32:40] you can know the Bible backwards and forwards. [32:44] But we all struggle with unbelief sometimes.

[32:47] Every single one of us. [32:49] Now, you may deny it, but with all of the excuses and the reasons that we hear for avoiding [32:55] community and why you’ve given up on community and all the false ideas about community, [33:01] I can’t let you out of this without telling you that every one of those reasons and every one of [33:07] those excuses is because of one thing, and it is called unbelief. [33:11] And this specific area, you are not believing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[33:18] It is the sin of unbelief. [33:21] And that’s why Colossians chapter one warns us to keep fighting to live out what we believe here. [33:27] God has given us the vision and it requires faith and denying ourselves to pursue that vision. [33:35] He tells us in Colossians one, he says, if indeed you continue in the faith, [33:38] stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, [33:43] which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, what he’s telling you is,

[33:47] is that you need to determine in your life, I will obey Jesus in all areas, [33:54] because there’s going to be a heck of a lot of areas where you’re not going to want to.

[33:59] And when you don’t want to, it is because you believe the story that you are writing about [34:05] your life more than you believe the narrative of God.

[34:09] That you believe the commands that you’ve given yourself more than you believe the [34:14] commands that God has given you. [34:17] You hold yourself as the authority rather than holding God as the authority. [34:24] You believe the same lie that Eve believed when the serpent looked at her and said, [34:29] God is lying to you.

[34:33] You’re destined for something other than God’s vision. [34:37] That is what unbelief looks like. [34:40] And the scripture warns us, it says, don’t buy that lie. [34:45] So God has called us into community. [34:48] Jesus has paved the road of community and he’s called us to follow him into community. [34:55] And what he wants to do in community with you is a great work of transformation.

[35:01] We are transformed in community. [35:06] You see, Christianity, one of my favorite things about it is that it is about a future hope. [35:12] I don’t have to fear the future because I know where it is headed. [35:17] Now, lots of people will try to derail the train of God as it goes towards his vision for the [35:23] future, but God’s a pretty good worker and no one can derail that train. [35:28] He has the future in his hands and Christianity is about a belief in what’s coming in the future.

[35:34] And friend, there is coming a day when there will be no more struggle with sin. [35:39] All will be as God designed it. [35:43] Presently, through faith in Jesus, we can experience what the Bible calls the first [35:49] fruits of the kingdom of God. [35:52] Now, we fully don’t have the kingdom right now, and that’s why faith in God is required. [35:59] We trust that he will keep his promises and our endurance shows that we trust him.

[36:07] Our living out the values of the kingdom of God now show that we trust that the kingdom will be [36:13] delivered by God later, and that is the great part that we play in delivering the kingdom of [36:19] God on this earth. [36:21] Second, Peter three. [36:22] Peter puts it this way. [36:24] He says, according to God’s promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which

[36:32] righteousness dwells. [36:34] Now, to prepare for that, God grows us to prepare us. [36:39] He does that through the faith that we walk in. [36:42] He commands us in scripture to develop and be restored in his church. [36:49] Through that, we are changed to be more like God, to better show his image to everyone around us [36:57] so that they will see the effect of the reconciling and restoring power of God in our lives.

[37:07] But understand that you can’t do that without community. [37:10] Understand that community is the context in which your faith grows. [37:17] Following Jesus is about going in the same direction that he is and growing in your [37:24] knowledge and application of him and his commands. [37:28] You know, there’s a word that we use in church that most people don’t use, and it’s a word to sum [37:32] up some of what the Bible teaches about what life in Jesus looks like.

[37:37] And that term is the term sanctification. [37:40] And it is used to describe what growing in Jesus is actually like. [37:45] It literally means to be set apart for his purposes. [37:50] And when we trust him, we follow him by setting our lives apart in order to obey [37:58] the purposes that he has determined in our lives. [38:02] Well, here is how the scripture describes that process in community.

[38:08] In Romans chapter 12, verse 10, it says to love one another and honor one another. [38:14] In 2 Corinthians 13, 11, it says, restore comfort, agree, be at peace with one another. [38:21] In Galatians chapter 5, verse 13, it says, freedom is not for sin. [38:25] It is to lovingly serve one another. [38:29] In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32, it says, be kind, caring, forgiving to one another, [38:34] because that is what Jesus offers to us.

[38:38] Friend, you cannot be sanctified outside of community. [38:45] That is where the word of God tells us our lives are transformed to grow in these specific areas [38:53] and find joy in these areas. [38:56] Do you know that there are over 50 one another commands in the New Testament? [39:01] 50 commands as to how you need to act towards one another. [39:08] You cannot obey that by yourself.

[39:11] You cannot obey them in isolation. [39:15] You need other people to grow in these areas. [39:20] Therefore, if you are not in community with others for the sake of the gospel, [39:24] you are already disobeying God in over 50 different areas.

[39:30] To be set apart for the purposes of God, you must be in relationship with others. [39:35] Now you may think, well, I don’t really find joy in community. [39:39] I feel you, man. [39:41] That is a legitimate response. [39:44] And I can personally tell you, I understand. [39:48] I know.

[39:50] But here’s what I want you to understand. [39:52] Because you need to grow, you can’t do that outside of community. [40:01] You can’t grow in the joy of community apart from community. [40:06] You can’t do it. [40:08] So that means I don’t feel like it. [40:10] Well, you need community.

[40:13] Well, I don’t want to. [40:14] You need community. [40:15] Well, I’m not going to. [40:17] You need community. [40:18] It’s the same answer for every reason to not join in. [40:23] Join in.

[40:26] Or else don’t obey Jesus. [40:28] Or else don’t grow in your faith. [40:31] And if you’re not following Jesus and if you’re not growing in your faith. [40:36] What is happening? [40:39] What is going on? [40:41] What is that showing?

[40:44] You see, friend, apart from gospel centered community in the local church, [40:49] you simply cannot call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ.

[40:54] Now, also understand that without faith in Jesus, community is counterfeit. [40:59] And so you may have heard that and said, so you’re telling me that all those fluffy little [41:02] marshmallows who get all the feels and want to have a hug fest at the end of every meeting, [41:06] those are the real spiritual people and I got to become like that? [41:09] No, I will never be like that. [41:11] All right.

[41:12] I mean, I’m just being honest here. [41:14] That’s not going to be me. [41:16] What we need to understand is that on both ends of the extreme spectrum, [41:20] it’s got to be about Jesus or it’s counterfeit. [41:24] So that means that if you’re the type of person that community is your sweet spot [41:28] and it makes you feel alive and you drive the group, thinking to yourself,

[41:33] I hope someone cries tonight. [41:36] Or even worse, you’re like, I hope I cry tonight. [41:40] First off, you are. [41:41] I don’t know. [41:42] All right. [41:43] I, I, all right.

[41:46] But secondly, my calling to you is that I love your passion. [41:50] God has gifted you, I believe, with a passion for community. [41:55] And I feed off of that. [41:56] I need that. [41:57] But make sure that your desire to feel an emotional experience [42:03] isn’t outgrowing your desire to be obedient to Jesus.

[42:07] You’re not there to cry. [42:09] You’re not there to hug. [42:10] You’re not even there to get all the feels. [42:13] Now, maybe that’ll all happen.

[42:16] But you’re there because of Jesus or what you’re going to experience is counterfeit. [42:23] Friend, you need Jesus. [42:26] You do. [42:27] You need to trust him. [42:29] You need to give your sin to him so that you can follow him. [42:33] And when you do that, he calls you to join up with other Christians to grow in him.

[42:41] So that means that if you’re in here and you are a follower of Jesus, [42:44] my calling to you is to endure in community if you’re already in there. [42:51] Or if you’re not already in there for all the reasons that I’ve talked about, [42:55] my calling to you is to repent. [42:57] Get in there because you need to grow. [43:00] Commit.

[43:02] Or if it’s been a while and you were in a group, but it felt weird and you just [43:08] didn’t feel like you were growing, join back in. [43:12] You can try another group. [43:14] You go to that one. [43:16] Or if you’re in here and you’re saying to yourself, I know I have that longing in me, [43:22] but all I know is the pain.

[43:24] All I know is the brokenness. [43:26] All I know is the selfishness. [43:28] All I know is every reason under the sun that I don’t want people in my life [43:34] because I don’t know Jesus.

[43:37] Friend, I want you to know that you can be saved. [43:39] I want you to know that Jesus loves you. [43:41] I want you to know that he is calling you to know Jesus, [43:46] and that needs to be what happens first. [43:49] And then together, we will seek to become like Jesus so that we can show the world [43:57] who God really is.